CONFRONTING THE DEMANDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Text: Ephesians 5:15-17, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."
Introduction: January 1, 2000 probably brought, to some, a degree of hope and encouragement that, somehow, This world might get better and brighter-- not worse. But now, thirteen and one half years into the new millennium, the days are no less evil than the past (blinding flash of the obvious).
(anecdote) A certain man's countenance appeared sad and forlorn. A neighbor noticed and said to him,
"Cheer up! Things could get worse." Later the sad man was heard to say, "I cheered up and sure
enough--things got worse."
Our text describes a better way to live, and move, and have our being. Eph. 5:15-17 directs specifically how saints are to behave in the 21st century.
This is the year 2013. We see trouble, confusion, hatred, abuses at every level of society and government.
Numbers 32:14, "And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel."
The Topical Reference Bible says that 1452 B. C. is when this verse was written.
Let us do a little math: 1452 B. C. to the year 1 A. D. is 1,451 years. A. D. 1 until 2013 is 2,012 years. 1451 plus 2012 equals 3463 years.
Three and one half millenniums ago the great trouble was on the societies of the earth. It is the same today, if not worse. So what is the answer for today? The answer is in the One Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).
Theme: Christ is the answer for this era of time. He is also the answer for every era of time.
I. Some Societal Demands With Which We Are Confronted
A. Fear, Worry, Hurt, and Rejection
B. Emptiness, Hatred, Prejudice
C. Bound to Bad Habits and Addictions
D. Sickness, Rebellion, Stubborness
E. Humanistic Self-Sufficient Attitudes
II. For Dealing With Fear Christ Offers Peace
A. John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
B. The word troubled in the above verse means
1. to stir
2. to agitate
3. to make angry
4. to stir up water till muddy-clouded (Strong's G5015)
C. Fear hath torment (1 John 4:18). One "expert" stated that now people are so anxious and fearful
that it requires two psychiatists to help one man across a street in New York City.
D. The world offers a temporary peace that is fraught with troubling questions.
1. Will that large asteroid miss the Earth?
2. Will the doctor's good prognosis last?
3. Will there be a peace treaty?
4. Will that peace treaty bring lasting harmony?
5. Will the politicians keep their promises?
E. Christ gives peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
1. "Our peace comes to us as a gift from God."__David Guzik
2. "Through the finished work of Jesus Christ one can have peace with God."__David Guzik
III. For Dealing With Worry Christ Offers Confidence And Assurance.
A. John 14:1, "let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."
B. In Jesus Christ we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).
C. Satan loves
1. worry warts
2. those with little or no confidence
3. those who are uncertain and unsure
D. Lives committed to Christ invites His uplift because He is the
1. Way
2. Truth
3. Light
4. Life
5. Door
6. Hope
7. Victory
8. Assurance
9. Confidence
IV. For Hurt and Rejection He Offers Forgiveness and Affirmation.
A. We must depart for all sin.
B. Jesus identifies with our times of suffering and rejection.
C. Christ in one's life affirms and strengthens that life.
D. Accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6)
1. sons not servants
2. God has ordained that the believer lives within God's boundary.
a) separated unto God
b) live within the evirons of His holiness
c) sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30)
d) objects of His affirmation (Heb. 2:16-18; 4:15)
V. For Emptiness, He Offers Meaning In Life.
A. John 10:10b, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly."
1. to preserve life
2. to impart LIFE, and communicate it in rich and unfailing exuberance__JFB
B. John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
VII. For Hatred and Prejucice, He Offers Love and Acceptance.
A. Gal. 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
B. Rom. 10:12, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek:
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him."
C. Rank, station, gender, geneology, etc., give one no special privileges with Jesus.
1. Whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life.
2. He loved us first. We love Him because He first loved us.
3. John 6:37b, "...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
VIII. For Bondage to Habits, He Offers Deliverance and Freedom.
A. John 8:36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
1. free
2. Strong's G1659, set at liberty: from the dominion of sin
B. True and perfect liberty is to be found in Christ.
C. Jesus will deal with the withdrawal
1. He is quicker than the 12 steps.
2. He is the "Higher Power."
3. He can detoxify, dry out, and deliver.
D. Discover and try God's way for a change.
1. Prov. 16:25, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death.
2. Grasp that lovely hand of Jesus.
3. Get out of that pit.
E. Grasp and apply the inward working of Psalm 51.
1. Wash me from mine iniquity (v.2).
2. Cleanse me from my sin (v.2).
3. Create in me a pure heart (v.10).
4. Create a steadfast [Strong's H3559, be fixed aright] spirit within me (v.10).
5. Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me (v.12).
F. God's strength must be allowed to infuse and pervade our beings/lives.
1. Isa. 41:10, "Fear thou not for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God:
I will strengthen [Strong's H553, persist in, prove superior to] thee;
yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
2. infuse--instill, imbue, inspire
3. pervade--to become spread throughout all parts of
IX. For Sickness, He offers Healing.
A. James 5:15a, "And the prayer of faith shall save[*] the sick..."
1. Strong's G4982 * "save"
2. "to save," is translated by the verb "to heal" in the AV of Mar 5:23; Luk 8:36
(RV, "to make whole;" so AV frequently); the idea is that of saving from disease and its
effects.__Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
B. Every type of healing provided:
1. mental
2. physical
3. emotional
4. financial
5. domestic
6. spiritual
7. etc.
C. Scripture and experience reveal to us the many facets of God's healing power.
X. For Rebellion and Stubborness, He Offers Submission and Servitude.
A. Matthew 23:11, "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant."
1. Example: Moses
2. Heb. 3:5, "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;"
B. Paraphrasing a statement from Matthew Poole--God will exhalt and men will
honor those who humble themselves in Kingdom work.
1. example: Daniel
2. example: Joseph
3. example: Dr. David Livingston, Missionary to Africa
C. God resists pride and exhalts humbleness
1. Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
2. 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time:"
D. Allow submission to replace rebellion (i.e., Jonah).
E. Allow pliable conformity to replace stubbornness.
F. Have you ever wondered what the Lord can really do with your submissive life?
XI. For Self Sufficiency, He Offers His Power and Wisdom.
A. 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient to think anything as of ourselves;
but our sufficiency[*] is of God."
1. *Strong's G2426
2. Ability
3. John 15:5, Without me (Jesus) ye can do nothing.
4. Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
B. What a beautiful picture when a life is dedicated to Christ and enhanced
by His power.
C. Christ's sufficiency-
1. breaks through
2. defeats our enemies
3. empowers
4. enables
5. encourages
6. overcomes
7. performs the impossible
8. prepares a place for us
9. strengthens
Conclusion: God can use the 21st Century Church to minister to a hurting world.
Are we willing to do our part?
Remember, sometime, somewhere when you least expect it; there will
be an ocassion to share Christ with the--
fearful and hurting,
rejected and discouraged,
empty and lonely,
hated and dispised
addicted and sick
rebellious, proud, and stubborn
