Making The Best Use of Time | Ephesians 5:15-20
By God’s grace we started Emmaus Road Church 11 ½ years ago. It seems like yesterday. When we started, Laurie and I had three sons. Now we have three sons, three daughters-in-law, and 8 grandchildren. When we started, the majority of our launch team were in their twenties and single. Now those same twenty-somethings that started this church are married, in your second home, and piling up your child tax deductions. When we started this church, some were the age my grandchildren Will and Elliot and Noelle. I remember this, because of I have pictures, of Samantha Heinz sitting on my lap. And wee little Tait Dudgeon – who just graduated from high school. I even have a picture of Ryan Chase with hair - on his head. Time has gone by real fast, hasn’t it? And we can toss around familiar clichés about that, but just imagine where you will be in another 11 ½ years? IF I’m still around, I’ll be in my 80’s and have a granddaughter who’ll be 19.
What does that make you think about time? Here’s one thing I find myself thinking –
Our Time (and our use of our time) Is Profoundly Important!
And in Eph. 5 the Apostle Paul explains why. In order to put things in context, I’m going to start reading in v. 8. So please stand and listen with reverent care to Paul’s words in Eph. 5:8-20.
At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).
And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Awake, o sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
—Ephesians 5:15-20
I believe the main point, and claim of this text is this: Be careful and intentional to -
Make the (very) Best Use of Your Time
And in this text Paul answers the question, “Why?” Why is it so important to be careful to make the very best use of our time? Vv. 15-16.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because (here’s why) the days are evil.
—Ephesians 5:15-16
It is crucial that we make the very best use of our time because the days are evil.
Now we all could make long lists of the evil that we see every day. We see evil things. We see sinful things. We see things that are wrong in the eyes of God every day. Oh my. We see things that are dishonoring and displeasing to God EVERY HOUR of EVERY DAY! Right? You see evil on TV. You see evil in social media and the news. You see evil at work, and at school, and in your own family. We see evil in ourselves. We see evil going on in the world. The days are evil. And the days are evil because this world is under the power of Satan. 1 Jn. 5:19 says,
We know that . . . the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
—1 John 5:19
And who is the evil one? Satan is the evil one. And the days are evil because the whole world lies in his power. So, here’s what that means:
First, it means that every day, Satan, the evil one, is seeking to weaken my love for Jesus. Some days, I feel pretty strong love for Jesus. Other days, not so much. Some days, I’m happy worshipping Jesus with all my heart. Other days, not so much. Some days, I experience joy in Jesus, peace with Jesus, close friendship with Jesus, confident and steady trust in Jesus. Other days, not so much. Why is it some days, some weeks, you just don’t want Jesus? It’s because the days are evil.
Second, “the days are evil” means that every day, Satan is seeking to weaken your brothers and sisters in the Lord. The evil one is not only targeting your love for Jesus, he is also targeting your Christian brother’s love for Jesus, your Christian sister’s love for Jesus, your Christian parent’s love for Jesus, your Christian friend’s love for Jesus. The evil one is at work right now, today, to weaken your love for Jesus, your trust in Jesus, and the love and devotion to Jesus of the Christian friend or parent next to you. And not just now, but every day. You know friends and family that love and trust Jesus. But some days, their love and trust for Jesus is weak. And it is because the days are evil.
Third, “the days are evil” means that every day, Satan is seeking to increase his hold on the lost. Every day, the evil one is working to tighten his grip on people who do not know or love Jesus. We’ve been watching for the umpteenth time The Lord of the Rings movies. Maybe you’ve seen The Two Towers. And there’s a part where the old trees are waking up. And the hobbits, Merry and Pippen, are napping under the trees, and the roots of the trees begin to swallow them up, and squeeze them, and pull them under. Loved ones, it's important that we understand that that’s what it’s like every day for people who do not know and trust Jesus. The evil one is seeking to tighten his hold on them. And it’s because the days are evil.
So here’s the point of Eph. 5:8-20. It is meant to engender hope and confidence. How we use the time God has given us can and will accomplish things. How you (and I) use time can and will actually effect the evil in the world. How you (and I) use time can and will determine our eternal joy. And how you (and I) use time can and will ultimately bring honor and glory to God.
How You (and I) Use Time Effects the Evil in the World
Paul tells us, because the days are evil, then make the best use of the time. Because the days are evil, then be careful how you walk. Because the days are evil, then do not be foolish. Instead, what should we do? V. 17 says,
Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
—Ephesians 5:17
Understand clearly. Get it straight in your thinking what the will of the Lord is. And what is the will of the Lord? The will of the Lord is to use your time to overcome Satan’s evil. This is why our use of our time is SO, SO, important. The will of the Lord is to use our time to overcome Satan’s evil. Look again at Eph. 5:15.
Look carefully then how you walk.
—Ephesians 5:15
Do you see that little word, “then.” It’s easy to miss it. “Look carefully then.” It can also be translated, “therefore.” Look carefully, therefore. And the word “therefore” or “then” is telling us that all that Paul just said in vv. 8-14 is another part of the reason for looking carefully at how we walk. Vv. 8-14 provides another reason why we must make the very best use of the time we have been given. And that reason is a gospel reason. V. 8,
At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light . . . (11) Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them . . . (14)
Anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Awake, o sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
—Ephesians 5:8, 11, 14
So, before we were saved, we were not light. But when God saved us through Jesus we became light. The light didn’t come from us. The light came from the Lord. The light came from God through Jesus. We are not light in ourselves. We are light in the Lord. In other words, it’s not our light. It’s Jesus’ light. And in v. 14 Paul describes what happens when God saves us. Before we were saved, not only were we darkness, we were asleep in sin. But when God saves us, He wakes us up from the sleep of sin. “Hey! What are you doing? Wake up! Hello!” And we rise from spiritual sleep and spiritual death. And Jesus shines His light on us. And when Jesus shines his light on us, we are transformed. We’re changed and we start to shine with His light. And the light of Jesus changes you so that you start to shine with his light everywhere you walk. And as people see the light of Jesus shining in and through you, they are convicted. This is powerful! They’re convicted of their emptiness. They are convicted for their sin. And they are brought to faith in Jesus.
I clearly remember when I was a Jr. in high school. And I was asleep in sin. And then I became friends with Terri. And Terri, Oh my word! She shined. I had never met anyone who shined with the light of Jesus like Terri shined with the light of Jesus. It all started with Terri – just Terri. And then my cousin, Doug. Because of Terri, God made my cousin, my sinful cousin wake up. God made Doug alive. And he changed. And Doug began to shine with the light of Jesus. And then my fellow marching band drum line friend, Craig – he was one of the most sinful people I knew. Around him, I felt self-righteous and smug. But then God awakened Craig from spiritual sleep. And I was rocked by how much he changed, and how he shined with the light of Jesus. And seeing it, seeing the beauty and the reality and the light of the glory of Jesus shining first through Terri and then Doug and then Craig, I was convicted of my emptiness and my sinfulness and the darkness of my own disobedience. And God woke me up. I woke up! And He brought me to faith in Jesus.
We can shine with the light of Jesus’ glory. We can shine so brightly that people will be convicted of their sin and brought to saving faith in Jesus. And this is why we must make the best use of our time, shining with the light of Jesus. It’s because shining with the light of Jesus can/will effect the evil and darkness in the world. 2nd,
How We Use Our Time Determines Our Eternal Joy
Or to say it another way, how we use our time in our earthly life, has a direct impact on the joy and pleasure we will experience in the life that is to come. And not just our eternal joy, but also the eternal joy of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Turn for a moment to 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. Paul writes,
We make it your aim (in life) to please him (Jesus). (Why?) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
—2 Corinthians 5:9-10
A day is coming when we all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of ourselves to God. And on that day, and in that moment, the only things that will count are the love we have nurtured in our hearts toward Jesus, the people we have encouraged in the faith, and the people we have brought to salvation. That’s it. And so if our lives have focused on these things – namely, deeper love for Jesus, stronger faith in our brothers and sisters, and the people we have won to Christ – our lives will bring honor to Jesus now, and we will have great joy – for eternity.
Now think about this – if you really believed this, how would it affect your use of time? If you really believed this, what would you do to strengthen your own love for Jesus? How would it affect your devotional life? How would it affect your relationship to your Bible? How would it affect the way you engage with God during this hour?
If you really believed this, what would you do to strengthen your family and friends and their love for Jesus? Dads, Fathers, how would it effect the things you would do to lead your families into deeper and stronger faith in Jesus?
Some of you are involved in discipleship huddles. Some of you participate in gospel communities. If you really believe that how we use our time actually has a determining effect on our joy in the life to come, what would you do to strengthen the others in your gospel community, or discipleship huddle in terms of their love for Jesus?
If you really believed that how we use our time actually has a determining effect on our joy in the life to come, what would you do to influence the unbelievers you know to lead them to love and trust and follow Jesus? In Psalm 90:12, Moses prays to God.
Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
—Psalm 90:12
Moses is asking God for a heart of wisdom. And the way to wisdom, when it comes to the use of time, begins with being crystal clear, in our thinking, about the number of our days. Now that doesn’t mean it’s necessary we know precisely how many days, or how many years we will live. That’s not for us to know. What isimportant is to own up to the fact that, 1) your earthly life will end. None of us knows exactly how many days, how many years we will live. But we ALL know that a day will come, when our earthly life will be over. We all die. And owning up to that is where a heart of wisdom begins. Life in this world is only temporary. Life in this world has an end date. It will end.
2) Your earthly life in this world is incredibly short compared to eternity. To be wise is to understand, and take seriously the reality that even 80 or 90 years of life in this world is like nearly nothing, compared to eternity. I was talking with a friend who’s an older guy like me. And we were talking about how little life there is left for us in this world. But he said this great thing. “Compared to eternity, we’re just little seedlings.” Compared to the massive Redwoods of eternity, we’re really young. Our lives, even the lives of us old guys, are just little baby sprouts popping through ground compared to the millions of millions of millions of years of eternity. Our earthly lives are incredibly short – compared to eternity. And owning up to that is the beginning of gaining a heart of wisdom for how to make the best use of our time. If this earthly life, compared to eternity, is this long – and eternity, compared to this earthly life is this long, then which life should we invest in and focus on more?
Think about this. There are 24 hours in a day. There are 7 days in a week. That means there are 168 hours in a week. Let’s say, you’re getting 8 hours of sleep every night. And let’s say you are running at maximum RPM’s and putting in 60 hours at work (or 60 hrs of work, school, study) every week. That means you’re spending 116 hours a week on work/school and sleep. That means you have 52 hours of discretionary time EVERY WEEK. 52 hours of time you get to decide how you will spend. Now perhaps you come to this worship gathering – that’s another 2-3 hours a week. Perhaps you participate in a discipleship huddle, or a gospel community, or both. That’s another 2-6 hours a week. So you’ve added an average of another 5 hours. And the time you have left now to spend on you is down to 47 hours a week. On average, that is almost 7 hours every day you are free to decide how you will spend.
If you believed Satan’s lies, how would you use your time? Would you even think about how you use your time? Would you be concerned about how you use your time? Would you think about those hours (50 or so hours a week) as “yours” to do with as you please or for investing for the sake of eternal joy? Do you need help in discerning the best use of your time? In Eph. 5:17 Paul writes,
Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But be filled with the Spirit.
—Ephesians 5:17-18
Your heavenly Father does not want to leave you wondering – wondering, “What’s next for my faithfulness in stewarding the time I’ve been given?” Your heavenly is pleased to give the Holy Spirit, His very presence IN abundant fulness to all who ask Him. His pleasure is that the dimmer switch on the Spirit’s work in your life would be on high.
And one of the ways the fulness of the Spirit is expressed, and the Lord’s presence is displayed, and we strengthen one another’s love and devotion to Jesus is the way we use this time – the time when we’re together, as it says in Eph. 5:19-20,
Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
—Ephesians 5:19-20
Because the days are evil – we should make the very best use of the time. That means intentionally and continually pursuing the fullness of God. That means engaging with God and with one another in Christ-centered worship. It means making your top priority every day that of spending time in the Word/Bible and in prayer so that your faith is strong and your love for Jesus is deep. Nothing should get in the way of that. It means learning to ask yourself: “What is the very best thing I could be doing right now?”
And it means breaking bad habits. Spending hours on TV, or gaming, or screen time – those are hard habits to break. But it must be done.
But here’s the main thing. When, by God’s grace, we make the best use of the time God has given to us, it can and will affect the evil in this world. Our love for Jesus will grow. Our faith, and the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ will endure and increase. We will shine with the light of the glory of Jesus everywhere we walk. And those who are currently in the grip of Satan will be convicted of their emptiness and sin, and will turn and trust Jesus. Because of this, our joy in eternity will be great and Jesus will receive the gratitude and glory.
Jonathan Edwards was a powerful preacher and thinker and writer in 18thcentury New England. And when he was a teenager, he wrote what are known as his 70 Resolutions. A “resolution” is simply a “firm decision to either do, or not do something.” For the joy of your faith here just a few of Edward’s “firm decisions” he made to live by when he was not even 18 years old.
“Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.” (If you knew you had one hour left to live, there are certain things you would not want to be doing, and other things you would.)
“Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I knew it would not be more than an hour until Jesus returned.” (If you knew that Jesus was coming again in an hour or less, what would you be comfortable to be found doing?)
“Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world (i.e. eternity), as I possibly can, with all the power, all the might, vigor, and passion, yes violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert.”
“Resolved, never to do anything, whether in soul or body, nothing more and nothing less, but what brings glory to God.”
So, look carefully then how you walk, how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.