Making the Most of It
Ephesians 5:15-33
* It was my Senior Year of High School. The last year to play football. I had missed my entire Sophomore year of playing because of a broken ankle and now I found myself riding the bench for the first 2 games as a Senior. We had a truly good football coach, one that I respected, and so after the first game, I went to him asked if I was wasting my time or would get to play. He told me about the upcoming JV game that was scheduled the next week and I that would play and would have an opportunity to move up on the rotation if I played well. While I didn't care for his answer, I took his last words to heart, “Make the most of it.” That night I did and enjoyed my Senior Year immensely as a playing part of the football team.
* For me, I had to make the most of it because it was my Senior Year and at 145 pounds, I had little chance of playing college ball, so my time was short. I had to make the most of it.
* In our text the Apostle Paul has said, “Make the most of the time” or in the old KJV, “Redeem the Times.” Why are we called on to do this? Because the days are evil and time is short. We are God-creation and for many, God's Children, who have been given a short time to make an impact here on earth. The days are, as the HCSB (along with almost every other translation) says, are evil. Peterson (The Message) says, 'these are desperate times,” while another paraphrase terms it 'difficult days.'
* Since these are indeed difficult days, God's children must redeem or make the most of the time. The Greek word means “to buy up”, “to buy out,” and even to 'rescue from loss.' This is what God's children have been placed here to do. We are to be a part of the redemptive and restoration process, but how exactly is this accomplished?
* Our text begins with two words; Pay Attention. We are told to pay attention to at least 3 things (which encompasses all of our existence)
1. Pay Attention to your life. - While this may seem trite, I will submit that we have been so blessed and so wealthy for so long that there is a temptation to breeze through life without much thought to the consequences. We give little thought about the legacy and heritage which we lead. The scripture gives us 3 parts of our life which demand our attention.
a. The Excluded – If we are to make the most of or redeem our times, there are some things which God's word tells us should be excluded from our lives. Verse 18 says, “Don't get drunk with wine,” verse 17 tells us to 'Don't be foolish”, and verse 15 tells us to “Not be unwise.” Make no mistake. being drunk with alcohol is excluded for the believer. Outside of all the other reasons, it is because to be drunk with alcohol is to be controlled by the alcohol not the Holy Spirit. By the way, look at the cascade effect. For the believer to be filled with something other than the Holy Spirit is to be controlled by whatever you are filled with, such leads to foolishness & being unwise. It seems that Paul is determined to make this point to the church because he is literally reminding us of his words in Chapter 4.
b. The Essentials - Once again, I find 3 essentials for the believer just like we named with the excluded. The first essential is found in verse 18. It is first of order of priority and to be able to fulfill your purpose, it is a basic requirement. The word tells us to “be filled with the spirit of God.” Being filled with the spirit of God is about the awareness that He is with you. This is born out of personal times of prayer which includes ACTS (Adoration
c. The Empowering - The most interesting part of being a child of God is that there is no record of “lone ranger” believers who were effective and that to become a child of God is to be a part of His family. It is also very interesting that we are to ‘gain encouragement and empowerment’ from each other. The text tells us how to do four activities (speaking, singing, giving, and submitting) which will help us to be strengthened, consistent, and even empowered. We are told to speak words of life & encouragement via psalms, hymns, and spiritual song. These words should be birthed out of the ‘song in our hearts’ which the Lord has given us at salvation. We are told to be thankful to God ‘always’ and for ‘everything.’ How difficult is this? Whether it’s at work or home or school, you do your best only to be a recipient of criticism and hateful remarks. When this happens, take Matthew 5:11-12 to heart. It will get you through the darkest day. Finally, we have lost the power of submission. This is the springboard of this topic. This teaches us the position of Christ in our lives and that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
2. Pay Attention to your love. – With the advent of feminism and the “day of the woman”, verses 22 and following are very unpopular verses. In fact, these are so unpopular that the addition of this concept to the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) has caused somewhat of a division in the SBC. “Wives, submit to your own husbands” is where we tend to stop reading and most of the time, we only read this to explain & rationalize the Biblical principle through the opinion of this 21st century culture. Thus, we explain it away and the result is seen in the fruit that it has given. What is this fruit? The institution of marriage is in disarray. Our society has deteriorated to the point that we cannot seem to agree on what really constitute marriage and family. So how does pay attention come into play? Let’s follow the text.
a. The Responsibility of it – First, I will submit that when God’s people demonstrate godly homes, the world will sit up and take notice. So men, let’s take it like men and see that the responsibility falls on our shoulders. Let us not be guilty of quoting verses 22-24 without first dealing with the principles of 25-28. We have the responsibility of setting the tone for the love in the house. Women love naturally while for most men, it takes effort. This is why we must pay attention. The type of love we must model is not a ‘if’ or ‘because of’ type of love. It is a sacrificial, in spite of type of love. When it doesn’t begin with dad, it begins without proper foundation. Today, the problem with teens can be traced by to an absentee father. The Stafford foundation says that 1 in 3 kids grow up without a father in the house. But what is worse; not having a physical being known as dad or to have a dad who does not give the basic need of love to his family. This love is a love that has the best interest of others at heart.
b. The Requirements for it - Scriptures give each one of us a clearly defined role and, as God’s children, we are expected to fulfill that role. Just as surely as husbands not giving and showing godly love to his wife is a sin before God, it is equally sinful for the woman to not submit. This is not up for debate, it is God’s work. For the home to work right, for society to remain strong, and the children to be properly trained, it is required that the structure of the home be solid. Let me offer to us what I believe to be the secret to submission for the wife. (And it’s not for the husband to first love her. In fact, in our scripture, submission is mentioned before love). Look at verse 25 with me. Notice the one word, “respect.” Ladies, here is your key, ‘respect.’ It is not ‘wait until he earns’ your respect just like it is not ‘wait until she earns my love.’ The requirement for making the most of this life and making the most impact from life is bound up in the word ‘unconditional.’ God loves us without any conditions like men are to love their wives and wives are to respect their husbands with no conditions. Once again, this is not a request, it is a requirement.
c. The Results from it – All the results from paying attention to your love are not enumerated here. When we pay attention to our love, we come to a place where it impacts our self image. While I’m not sure that self-image is a big deal to God, the last part of verse 28 says, “He who loves His wife loves himself.” When a woman shows respect to her husband, she empowers him in ways she cannot imagine. Even though men & women use the same words, many times they mean totally different things. Yet, when a wife shows her respect to her husband by her actions & a husband shows his love by his attitude, communication will be good.
3. Pay Attention to your Lord. – To understand any profound mystery requires attention, focus, and time. I offer the greatest challenge of our life.
a. Your focus – Where is your life focused today? Trying to discern the need in life & home requires a clear focus. To do this, we need to know God.
* When I read that the mystery of Christ, the church, the home, the husband, and the wife is ‘profound’ I get the feeling that it demands our focus. The word profound is mega in the Greek which means huge. Back in the 1970’s, a youth musical came out entitled, “Natural High.” I will never forget the song of dedication and commitment of that work. It said,
“O God of the stars, the sun, and the moon. O God of the wind and the sea.
Tho’ you’re everywhere, how amazing it is, that you are here with me.
The uncharted craters of planets beyond
You know like the palm of your hands
Yet, you’re concerned with my little world, Help me to understand.
For we are the objects of God’s mighty love
Love greater than our little minds can conceive”
* This is why our Lord demands our focus! To know God takes our entire being (and then we do not have enough to contain Him). To be all you can be and make the most of this life, we need Him front & centered.
b. Your friendship - Paul says, “I’m talking about Christ”. What a good thing to talk about! Do you remember the old song which says, “There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one. No not one.” Jesus comes to offer us His salvation, His hope, and His friendship. He is a true friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is the friend of a wounded heart. He meets you where you are, touches your hurt, your pain, and offers help. May I offer you a thought about this friendship of Jesus? For it to be the type of friendship you need and should want, it requires time to develop. A true friend is not someone who tells you what you ‘want’ to hear; rather he is someone who tells you what you need to hear. It is one who can be honest with you without worrying about harming the relationship. This type of friendship requires an understanding which only comes about through TIME! The call is to take quantity and quality time with our Lord.
c. Your faith – The word Church always brings to my mind the concept of “faith.” A church is not a building & the building is no longer the place of God’s presence. The Bible teaches us that the church is God’s people and that God’s presence is to be sensed in His temple which is the hearts of His redeemed people. These ‘redeemed people’ constitute His church which makes us a family of faith. It is our common faith which binds us. This is why some will come into a place such as this & seem to never understand why the body focuses where it does. To the person who does not have a close personal walk through faith in Jesus, a spiritual church makes no sense. We are called to pay attention to our Lord by focusing on Him that we might build a strong interpersonal friendship with Him so that our faith IN HIM might be strong. The result could well be, that we ‘redeem the times’ or said another way, we make the most of our life.
