What Time Is It?
Ephesians 5:16–Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Introduction:
· What time is it? Does anyone really know what time it is?
· That was one of the greatest hits by the recording artists known as Chicago. (back in the day)
· Go ahead look at your watches; now ask your neighbor, “What time is it”?
· Now let me ask you, does everyone have the exact same time?
· Maybe you’re 5 minutes fast, or maybe you’re 5 minutes slow, or maybe your battery is dead or your watch is broken.
· Even a broken watch has the right time twice a day. So, what time is it?
· We ask ourselves this question repeatedly all the time.
· Time is a precious commodity; time is of the essence. Like the sands of an hour glass; tic-toc, tic-toc, time is running, running, time is running out.
· Everything in life is time sequenced, or is affected by time, or suffers the effects of time. We can’t live without it.
· So I guess it’s safe to say that life equates to time, or life is time.
· Therefore, life is the sum total of our days, and every event, experience, occasion, successes, and failures, emotions and feelings (from happy to sad), and also growth and maturity, gains and losses, this is life.
· I suggest to you that life is a time account. God has blessed us with time; God has blessed us with life.
· My bible tells me that God has promised me three- score and ten, if I live a good life, and four-score for reason of strength. (Psalm 90:10)
· So, again we can pause and ask ourselves; “What time is it?”
· Simple math tells me that I have more years behind me than I have in front of me. Life is short, that’s the reality.
· So, how well have you managed your time account? Hopefully not like you might handle your bank account.
· The bible says that man born of a woman a few days and their full of trouble. ( Job 14:1)
· There was a hit tune back in the day and the catch phrase was; time waits on no one to make up their mind, if you really want to give love (God) a chance, do it right now.
· Now! Right now! Living in the presence of the moment!
· Do we appreciate the breath of God in our body, the blood of life running warm in our veins?
· We honor the privilege to worship and praise El Sheddai, the Lord God almighty, the God of more than enough, the creator and sustainer of life.
· And looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2)
· We all have a BOD – that’s a born on date
· And also a DOD, that’s a day of death, departure or expiration.
· This is the transpiration of time, other- wise known as age.
· We all have that curse, of which I think is the cruelest trick or joke ever played on man-kind.
· My hair used to be black, now I have snow on the roof-top. I used to have 20/20 vision, now I can’t read a book or document without glasses.
· When I get out of bed in the morning my body makes cracking and popping noises, and my joints and limbs and extremities have odd little pains.
· The things I used to do all day, takes me all day long to do them, and then there are some things I just don’t do anymore.
· But praise God, I’m a survivor; by His grace and mercy, I’m Still Here! Are you a survivor?
· Have you climbed any mountains? Have you been bogged down in the valley? Have you been through a storm? Have you had to tread water?
· Have you ever been sick?
· Thank God for brand new mercies every morning, and for the sufficiency of his grace.
· Though I might have a thorn in the flesh, God’s grace is sufficient.
In the historical setting or back-drop of our text:
· The Apostle Paul felt a need to expose the false teachers and false teaching or doctrine in contrast to the Gospel he had both taught and preached to the Ephesians.
· This of course was the Gospel of Christ the Messiah, our Redeemer.
· The Gospel of Salvation by a crucified Redeemer.
· There was at that time an unhappy division among Christians; circumcision and uncircumcision had become names by which they were distinguished from each other. (Eph. 2:9-12)
· The Jewish Christians are called the circumcision, and those of the circumcision.
· The false teachers were very zealous for circumcision to such a degree as to represent it as necessary to salvation.
· It was indeed of great importance to the interest of Christianity that circumcision should not be imposed on the Gentile converts.
· The false teachers were for mixing the observance of the Law of Moses with faith in Christ.
· In Jesus Christ or under the Christian dispensation neither circumcision availed anything nor uncircumcision as to men’s acceptance with God, but being a new creature.
· Here the Apostle Paul instructs us both wherein real religion does not and wherein it does consist.
· It does not consist in circumcision or uncircumcision, in our being in this or the other denomination of Christians; but it consists in our being new creatures; not in having a new name, or putting on a new face, but in our being renewed in the spirit of our minds and having Christ formed in us: this is of the greatest account with God.
· We are daily being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
· If any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new. (2 Corinth. 5:17)
· A foundation is laid for these in that gracious change which is wrought in them; and while they behave themselves as new creatures, and govern their lives and hopes by the rule of the gospel, they may most assuredly depend upon them.
· These, he declares, shall be the portion of all the Israel of God, by whom he means all sincere Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, all who are Israelites indeed, who, though they may not be the natural, yet are become the spiritual seed of Abraham; these, being heirs of his faith, are also heirs together with him of the same promise, and consequently entitled to the peace and mercy here spoken of.
· The Jews and judaizing teachers were for confining these blessings to such as were circumcised and kept the law of Moses; but, on the contrary, the apostle declares that they belong to all who walk according to the rule of the gospel, or of the new creature, even to all the Israel of God, intimating that those only are the true Israel of God who walk according to this rule, and not that of circumcision, which they insisted so much upon, and therefore that this was the true way to obtain peace and mercy. [exposition by Matthew Henry]
Let’s take a look at our text;
Redeeming the time because the days are evil.
· Redeem means to buy, moreover as it’s used in context of this passage, to buy back.
· It’s like buying something that already belongs to you.
· Jesus is our Redeemer; he redeemed us from sin and Satan.
· He bought or purchased our salvation with his precious blood.
· As God, we were already his possession sold under sin.
· God has given us talents, time is talent, but we have misspent it, we have wasted valuable time.
· Have we made wise investments with our time, our life?
· Redeeming the time means to rescue or recover the time wasted to improve it for better and more important purposes.
· We can spend our time better.
· We’re wasting our time; time is slipping away, the song says that time keeps on slipping into the future.
· Not even tomorrow is promised. (James 4:15)
· What do we need to do? I’m glad you asked!
· We need to make the most of every opportunity; time is opportunity; and make the best use, or good use of our time.
· He that has a soul to save need not have one idle moment, and we that have a heaven to win have enough to do to occupy all our time.
· Old folk say that, haste makes waste; no need of crying over spilled milk; you can’t retrieve water after it’s passed under the bridge; but a stitch in time saves nine.
How can we redeem the time? I’m glad you asked:
1. Invest your time seeking salvation, the bible says to work out your soul salvation in fear and trembling; and endeavoring to do the will of God.
2. Spend much time in prayer, and self-examination to make the heart better.
3. Invest your time in gaining useful knowledge, daily studying the word of God; for man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of or from the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4)
4. Buy time to do good for others, employing it for the purpose of an honest Christian livelihood for yourselves and family.
Because the days are evil; there are evil influences abroad, allurements and vices that would waste time.
· The present times are dangerous they are full of trouble and temptations; in which iniquity abounds and many wicked men live, and errors and heresies prevail, and are days of affliction or persecution.
· These are days of the grossest ignorance, immorality, and profaneness.
How are we wasting our time?
1. We are enticed and drawn away in the allurements to pleasures and amusements (night clubbing, and being groupies) in every place, especially in the cities, (maybe not so much here) but there’s whole lot going on in the metroplex.
2. In the temptations to novel-reading (we’re reading everything but the bible) consuming precious hours (movie marathon) to no valuable purpose.
3. In the temptations of ambition, (we want to be famous, like snookie) most of the time spent for which is wholly thrown away, for few gain the prize, and when gained it is really not worth the effort.
4. In dissipation (wasting or squandering ), for who can estimate the amount of valuable time thrown away in the places of revelry (partying and banqueting) and dissipation.
5. In luxurious indulgence such as dressing, eating, and drinking. I wonder have I walked down your street yet.
Let’s fast forward to the present time:
· I hope and pray that all those things are behind us.
· Those things that we wasted our time on, we now need to redeem and buy back the time. It’s time to make a change.
· Jesus said it’s time; I must be about my father’s business.
· We must accept our mortality realizing that time is short.
· We have a hell to shun and a God to glorify.
· It’s a new season, and we must take advantage of every seasonable opportunity to do the will of God, and fully employ the rest of our time propagating the gospel for the gaining and winning of souls.
· This is the last call; this season cannot be prolonged or recalled.
· The whole season from the time one is spiritually awakened is to be redeemed from vanity for God.
Point #1 What Time Is It? Time to: Stop Living for Self Gratification
I Peter 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
3 For the time past of [our] life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
Point #2 What Time Is It? Time to: Wake Up and accept the urgency of now, being the opportune time to repent and commit.
Acts 17:30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent:
Rom. 13:11And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Point # 3 What Time Is It? Time to: Praise and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; It’s time to lift Jesus up, Jesus said, “If I be lifted up from the earth I’ll draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32)
2 Cor. 6:2 for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.
Gal. 4:4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal. 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (5) To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Conclusion:
In closing it’s time to make that change. It’s time to repent and commit. It’s time to turn from sin and Satan and turn to obedience and God. It’s time to stop the dumb stuff; marijuana, crack, alcohol, cigarettes, crank, crystal, meth, promiscuity, whoremongering, prostitution, pimping, hustling, stealing, and lying, fornication, adultery, and Idolatry.
What Time Is It? Time to:
Point #1-Stop living for self-gratification.
Point #2-Wake up and accept the urgency of now, being the opportune time to repent and commit.
Point #3-Praise and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, it’s time to lift Jesus up.