Fueling The Body Series

THE SUPREME MYSTERY – THE BODY OF CHRIST

ACT II: The Mystery of The Body Unveiled

7. FUELING THE BODY (Eph. 5:15-21)

INTRODUCTION:

Anyone remember Alice In Wonderland? Which wacky character in Carroll Lewis’ mushroom-induced world do you remember best? The Mad Hatter? Queen of Hearts? Cheshire Cat? For me, it’s the harried hare with the pocketwatch. I don’t remember if he had a name, but I’ll never forget his antics . . . (dramatize while describing) frantic, confused, darting first one way, then the next, looking about and exclaiming “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” Can anyone guess why that might be the most memorable scene to me? Yes, it’s true, I have been called “Tardy Todd” a time or two. But, even more than that, that hare with a complex of always feeling like there’s more that has to be done (or should have already been done), no time to rest, somewhere to go, something to do too often hits a little close to home!

But, then again, I don’t think I’m the only one who can say that! Even up here in the country, one could say there are two kinds of people: the harried hares and the vegetative ones (notice, I didn’t say vegetable - vegetative). Us harried hares are always (dramatize) running around, chained to time, appointments, and tasks . . . running errands, at work, at home, sometimes even at church. No time to stop, no time to be quiet, no time for relationships or fellowship, no time for prayer . . . The vegetative hares, on the other hand, live everything in slow-mo and their favorite words are “later” and “tomorrow.” Which hare are you?

If you’re a harried hare, ask yourself: where, amidst this swirling sea of busyness and the dense forest of distractions and demands, do you possibly carve out a solitary place to commune with and serve God? If you’re a vegetative hare, ask yourself: how can you fuel your mind, body and spirit to recognize and respond to the fundamental truth that the only time any of us ever has is the present? For all of us – myself included, we need to re-examine how are we to wisely live every moment for God in spite of ourselves? As with all questions worth asking, let us look to God’s Word for the answer!

THE WORD: READ EPHESIANS 5:15-20

PRAYER

THE INSTRUCTION (vv. 15-16b)

“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk . . .”

We’ve been talking for weeks about the importance of how we regularly “walk” - live, think, behave – and we are to do so in a manner that imitates and glorifies Christ.

To accomplish this, we must live and walk not carefree or careless, but very carefully; not unwisely, but wisely. Look carefully at where and how your walk takes you, so that you don’t stumble and become a fool!

The world is closely watching and scrutinizing us in every are of our lives. If we are to represent and bring glory to God, we need to give our full attention and concentration to living an irreproachable life.

Not As Unwise People, but As Wise. . . :

Fools Wise

Whatever, whenever Time Stewardship

Focus On Obstacles Focus On Opportunities

Procrastination Productivity

Aimless, Direction-less Purposeful

making the most of (redeeming) the Time: Wise Living is directly correlated with Time Stewardship!

In the original Greek, this phrase literally means “to buy back” or “take off the market.” That is, make the best possible use of all opportunities and circumstances just as a wise merchant does.

We need to take a hard, honest look at how our time is spent. How can we be imitators of God, walking in love and being light in darkness, as we live our schedules and commitments? Can we as our schedules and commitments currently stand? What do our daily planners say about our priorities? Are we enjoying and making the most of what the Lord has given us?

Illustration: “Click”

We need to give Jesus, and others, our time, energy and resources! And not just “in principle” or “on paper!” Not just, what we can “get by” with!

No matter how busy we are, there is always time ill spent and/or foolishly wasted (at least in light of how else it could have been spent).

(Note: This is NOT to say we should be busy 24/7 or that everything we do should be “religious” or “churchy.” But it DOES mean that everything we do should have the end result of being wise and bringing glory to God! Depending on our motives and circumstances, even such things as sleep, solitude and hobbies can accomplish this. But are they?)

Finally, it is important to note that this injunction is also given in Col. 4:5. And in both places it is given within the context of a call toward Christian witness in the world.