“THE CLOCK IS TICKING” Eph. 5:15-17
CWBC – 4/14/19
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Clocks rule our lives.
- Story of friend of Jim Farrish. Died & went to heaven. “Where’s Jim’s clock?” “Oh, we keep it in the kitchen & use it as a fan.”
Clocks rule our lives. Basketball championship games –
- Heartbreak for us Mississippi State fans last year as our Lady Bulldogs played for the national championship against Notre Dame. A ND player hit a 3-point shot as the clock expired that gave ND the win & the national championship. The game was over & there was nothing else that could be done.
Bro. Jimmy Breland – 92 yrs old – Serving 3 different churches right now. Made me think, “I may have 40+ years left.” Or I may have less than a day left…or even less than an hour left.
My clock is ticking. Your clock is ticking. Paul challenged the Ephesian believers with that reality in Eph. 5:15-17. Open your Bible to that passage (pg. ____ in pew Bible) & here’s what I’m going to do today: Set my timer for 30 mins. When it goes off, the sermon is over & I will give the invitation. I’m going to ask everyone else in here to put your phone facedown or in your purse or pocket unless you are using it for your Bible (Start countdown clock).
Circle these words in your Bible: “look – making – do not (or “don’t”) – understand.” Let’s hit these 4 words from these 3 verses, & then make application:
LOOK – v. 15 – Paul telling his readers to “pay attention; understand; think about” how to walk & live for the Lord in a wise way. KJV – “See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but wise.” Walking circumspectly means that you are walking w/ preciseness & accuracy, not carelessly & foolishly.
MAKE – v. 16 – Redeem the time that God has given you on this earth. Live a life of faith! Live for the Lord! Give your life away! Live w/ an outward focus, not an inward focus! John Piper wrote a book entitled, Don’t Waste Your Life - “Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion.”
DON’T – v. 17a –
- ESV – “Do not be foolish”
- AMP – “Do not be vague & thoughtless”
- Common Eng Bible – “Don’t be ignorant”
- Cont Eng Version – “Don’t be stupid”
- TLB – “Don’t act thoughtlessly”
- MSG – “Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly”
Need I say more?
UNDERSTAND – v. 17b – Have clear insight into the will of God. So many people ask, “What is God’s will for my life?” Wrong question. Should be asking, “What is God’s will – PERIOD?” God has given you a mind & He expects you to use it to know & understand His will as you read & study His Word & as you pray. And He’s given you a heart to obey His will. Obedience to Him IS His will for you & me.
APPLICATION: The clock is ticking for all of us. So what does that mean for YOU today? I want to challenge you right now to do those 4 things that Paul wrote about:
- Look at your life RIGHT NOW b/c the clock is ticking.
- Make the most of this time that we have RIGHT NOW in this worship service b/c the clock is ticking.
- Don’t be foolish, ignorant, stupid, thoughtless, or careless RIGHT NOW b/c the clock is ticking.
- Understand what God’s will is for you RIGHT NOW b/c the clock is ticking.
- And then OBEY RIGHT NOW b/c the clock is ticking.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING, & MAYBE YOU NEED TO:
BE A CHRISTIAN – Get saved! Some folks accuse me of being too evangelistic, of talking about people getting saved too often. Here’s why I talk about it so much: NOTHING ELSE MATTERS AT MUCH AS THIS! The clock is ticking, & if you don’t know Jesus when your time is up, it will be too late & you’ll spend eternity in hell.
- Acts 4:12 – “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (NLT)
BE A COMMITTED CHRISTIAN – The Christian life is not just a one-time decision to ask Jesus to save you. It’s a lifelong commitment to follow Him, honor Him, & serve Him. For many of us, our commitment to truly live for Him has waned. Rev. 3:15-16 – “I know you works: you are neither hot nor cold. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, b/c you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Is your commitment to Christ a lukewarm commitment?
BE A BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN – Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is necessary to show your willingness to be obedient to the commands of Jesus. If you have trusted in Jesus to be saved, but have not been baptized, the clock is ticking & you need to be baptized. Rom. 6:4 – “Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” (CSB)
BE A DIFFERENT CHRISTIAN – When the Bible says in 1 Peter 1:15, “…as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all your conduct,” it is commanding us to live lives that are different from the world. Is this true of you?
BE A SERVING, MINISTERING CHRISTIAN – How tragic it would be for any Christian to get to the end of their lives & realize that they missed so many opportunities to serve the Lord & minister to others. Jesus gave us the great commandment in Matthew 22:37-39 – “You shall love the Lord your God w/ all your heart & w/ all your soul & w/ all your mind. This is the first & greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
BE A WITNESSING CHRISTIAN – You & I have been given the greatest gift in the world – eternal life. We have been given the greatest privilege in the world – telling others about Jesus. And many of us are guilty of the greatest tragedy in the world – keeping this good news to ourselves. Rom. 10:14-15 – “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (NLT)
BE A RECONCILED CHRISTIAN – It’s a tremendously sad thing when those of us who preach the love of God continue to live in an unloving way toward someone in our lives. It’s time to let go of our bitterness & unforgiveness & be reconciled w/ those who have hurt us or those whom we have hurt. Swallow your pride & do what the Jesus says to do in Matt. 5:23-24 – “So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there beside the altar and go and apologize and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” (TLB)
BE A REAL CHRISTIAN – If there’s anything that hurts the Church more than hypocrisy, I don’t know what it is. Being a hypocrite means that we say we believe one way, but live in a way that is different from that. It just not being real. It’s being a fake, a person who pretends to be what he/she is not. There are lots of ways that this can manifest itself in our lives, but you know if it’s true of you, & the clock is ticking. Jesus called hypocrites “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15), “whitewashed tombs”, outwardly beautiful but full of dead men’s bones on the inside (Matt. 23:27), “snakes, sons of vipers” (Matt. 23:33).
BE OBEDIENT
- LOOK
- MAKE
- DON’T
- UNDERSTAND
