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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (18-8-1996 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
Additional reading: Psalm 90
Now Paul deals with two
particular ways in which we should be wise: (i) the use of our time, and (ii)
understand the will of God for our lives. Covering the first of these in this
sermon, Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians
5:16).
The very mention of using time properly and sensibly shows just how practical and down to earth God-given wisdom is. Important also, because many Christians find increasingly less time for the things of God.
During this epistle, Paul has many times described the
background of his readers at that time. They had come from an evil background
into the light of the Gospel, and were having to live their Christian lives
still surrounded by this evil. All manner of evil prevailed, in words,
relationships, attitude to others, behaviour. Though they had new life in
Christ, they still had to live in a world where these things prevailed.
True, of course, of every
generation. The heart of man has always been the same, and society has always
been riddled with various forms of evil and wickedness. But there have been
times when evil has been manifested more blatantly and openly than others. For
example, we see it in our own time, because restraints on sin through Christian
influence and Bible knowledge are rapidly disappearing. In this generation, we
are witnessing a break up of society, family, law and order, and a growth in
violence. The forces of evil are rampant and powerful. The resources of evil are
limitless. The followers of evil are so numerous. The influence of evil is so
persuasive.
The Christian has deeper insight
into the reality of evil and sin than the non-Christian, though some of them are
alarmed and concerned and wonder why this is happening and when and where it
will end. On the other hand, there are those who are prepared to laugh and boast
and joke about evil as long as it does not affect them. They pour scorn on the
Christian being out of step and behind the times.
In this situation, Christians
must redeem time. There is a lot to be done, and little time to do it. And that
leads to another Biblical emphasis – the days are evil and our own days here
on earth to do anything about the situation are very few indeed. We do not know
how much time we have left. The Bible uses very graphic images to draw that to
our attention. The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if we have
the strength, yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass,
and we fly away (Psalm 90:10). And fifteen of our allotted seventy years are
spent in childhood, and twenty of them are spent asleep in bed! All men are
like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass
withers and the flowers fall (Isaiah 40:6-7). My days are swifter than a
weaver’s shuttle (Job 7:6). Like a shepherd’s tent my house has been
pulled down and taken from me (Isaiah 38:12, the shepherd’s tent being
erected every night, and dismantled early every morning. Why, you do not even
know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears
for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14).
Much has passed already, and we
do not know how much is left. One hymn-writer describes time as an “ever
rolling stream” (“O God our help”), bearing all its sons away. Time never
stands still. It is like the quiet, unbroken flow of some great river bearing us
ever onwards and forwards, or like a great conveyor belt which never stops, we
are carried on unceasingly by time.
So the days in which we live are evil, and our own days are very limited. There is a lot to be done. We dare not waste or lose any of this precious and scarce commodity called time. Consider how full Christ’s life was. Not what I will, but what you will (Mark 14:36), The one who sent me is with me… I always do what pleases him (John 8:29).
What some versions translate as “redeeming the time”, is translated “making the most of every opportunity” in the NIV. exagorazomenoi means buy up, purchase. The picture is of a man looking for a bargain, watching goods on a stall or in a shop window, in order to get the best bargain. Not waiting for opportunities to fall into his lap, but seizing every chance he gets. Unlike the non-Christian, who thinks of the world as a place to settle down and just enjoy himself, imagining he is going to last forever, the Christian knows he is not here for long, he is just passing through, a pilgrim, a stranger, whose citizenship and real home is heaven. He may be here physically, but does not belong to it in spirit (1 Peter 2:11; Philippians 3:20).
“I might pitch my moving tent
A
day’s march nearer home”
This is why the Christian must make the most of every
opportunity while he can. He must use his time in God’s will and for His
glory. We can all look back and see we have wasted enough time. We have wasted
and thrown away so much time in the world with rubbish and nonsense, we cannot
waste any more. There is an old Chinese adage which says: “Opportunity has a
forelock so you can seize it when you meet it. Once it is past, you cannot seize
it again.”
Time is a precious commodity. We all have the same amount at our disposal, with 60 minutes in every hour, and 24 hours in every day. None of us can stretch time, but wise people use it to fullest advantage, in the knowledge that time is quickly passing. Once time is past, no one, however clever or wise, can recall it. An advertisement once said: “Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward offered, for they are gone forever.” By contrast, Jonathon Edwards, God’s instrument in the great awakening of 1734-5, resolved “never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can”. It was said of F.B.Meyer, “He knew the difference between ten minutes and a quarter of an hour”.
So easy to talk and agree with these things, and then
leave them in the air with plenty
of pious resolutions, but no practical impact on our lives. Need to take very
practical steps to implement.
We cannot follow the Lord unless
we deny self. Our time belongs to the Lord. We are not our own, we have been
bought with a price. Therefore our time is not our own.
“Take
my moments and my days”
This makes us very different from the world. The man of
the world says, “My time is my own, I will do what I like with it. What I want
to fritter it away on is my business. No one is going to tell me how to spend my
time.” This is an attitude the Christian cannot entertain. Our time, like our
money and treasures, is the Lord’s, to please Him and glorify Him. No time for
anything else.
Plan your days and be
disciplined. Much of what we have to do in a day is already decided by the
demands of work and family and church – all of which are part of God’s will.
But there is still a sizable amount where we still have a choice. Discipline and
planning is essential. There is so much going on in today’s world, there are
so many more attractive and fascinating options to fill our time. Listen to the
voice of God “Redeem your time”. Make the most of your time. Be disciplined,
don’t drift or muddle through, frittering the time away.
In our use of time, we must make
sure we do not weaken our Christian life. The godly man of Psalm 1 did not walk
in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the path of sinners or sit with the
scornful. His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates
day and night (Psalm 1:2). In our use of time, we must ensure we have
adequate time to speak with God. Guard your relationship with Him, spend time
with His Word, time talking to Him. This should be the top priority in the life
of the believer. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not
think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Romans 13:14).
Remember we are being watched by
the outside world. The world expects us to be different, and will be quick to
point a finger. The newspapers love a story about a church-goer or a minister of
religion caught doing so and so. We represent Christ in the world. People may
not be reading the Bible nowadays, but they are reading our lives. The
administrators of Darius’s kingdom searched to find fault with Daniel, but they
could find no corruption in him (Daniel 6:4). So we should live to silence
criticism. How we react to trouble or misfortune or world events, is it any
different from the reaction of those around us? Do we have the peace of God?
Is it visible to others?
We must also redeem our time by
taking every opportunity that occurs in conversation to show the relevance of
the Gospel and the message of the Bible. Also in practical things as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the
family of believers (Galatians 6:10). These things soon characterise lives
when Christ has His proper place, and we understand what it means to call Him
not only our Saviour but our Lord.
It makes such a difference when
Christ is given His rightful place. When the believer lives life in the light of
eternity, he can really make a mark for God. He makes progress in spiritual
things. His influence is enlarged. He is better able to deal with life’s
unexpected events. R.M.McCheyne said, “Live so as to be missed”. Rutherford
said, “Build your nest in no tree here. God has sold the forest to death.
Every tree is soon to be felled. It is better to live lives on the rock that
will never be moved.”
How many of us live lives like that? Not just in the family, but in the church of God, in our service of God, among the people of the world. The Christian who will be missed when he dies is the one who has denied self, who said yes to Christ all along life. Organised and disciplined, he has taken seriously the injunction here, and redeemed his time well. God, His will, heaven and eternity will have been great, ever-present realities.
Our eyes should be turned off
our circumstances and turned on to the Lord. We shall see Him one day face to
face when we appear before His judgement seat, and render an account of how we
have used our time. He who has done so much for us will want to know how much we
have done for Him. We cannot waste a second.
To the unconverted, you have wasted so much time already, and the days you have left are numbered. Plea to respond to the Gospel before you waste more time. You are nearer to eternity than you were yesterday. Do not delay.
