Title Ephesians 05:15-18 As the wise
Content Like a wise man
(Ephesians 5:15 18)
In Genesis 33, there is a scene where Jacob meets his brother Esau after 20 years.
The older brother, who was running to take revenge on Jacob for taking his property with 300 men,
For some reason, when he saw his brother, he hugged his neck and wept.
What happened? It was the wisdom of God that saved Jacob.
God sent an angel the night before to wrestle with Jacob all night long.
As a result, his clothes were all wrinkled, his face was pale, and his legs were broken and he was limp.
So, whoever looked at Jacob's humiliation, he became very pitiful.
If I had dressed up and ate well and showed up with a shiny face, he would take all my fortune.
You must have been outraged that you ate well and lived well, but since you appeared with a pitiful appearance,
Esau's heart is just being relaxed.
What God is doing is so wise. Wrestling all night in the Yapbok River
The fact that he broke Jacob's stubbornness and greed was connected to the situation where he met Esau.
It played a very important role. The part that even the smartest Jacob could not think of
God prepared it in advance and made it.
The topic of today's text is the wise person.
But precisely what is wisdom?
Wisdom doesn't mean smart, or talkative, doesn't mean good manners.
Also, just because you make good money doesn't mean you're "wise".
I think it would be better to explain wisdom with words found in a Korean dictionary.
“The ability to discern the truth of things and good and evil,
The power to realize the truth without being deceived.”
The ability to discern, the power to realize the truth, this is wisdom.
Of course, what do you do if you decide between good and evil in life, you just need to earn a lot of money and get a career?
The speaker will not need wisdom.
If you are discerning and live, you will fall behind others and you may lose money.
If you live according to the truth and live a life where common sense works,
You could end up being ridiculous. Because that's how the world is structured.
But we must remember.
The world may be like that
In order to live a proper life of faith in the work of believing in Jesus, wisdom is absolutely necessary.
All you have to do is go to church on a Sunday and donate appropriately.
If you think that it is okay to live by faith, you are mistaken.
It is not that we do not have time to live a life of faith,
Isn't the money left to donate and serve?
You must be discerning and live a life of faith. You must realize the truth and live your life of faith.
Because there is freedom and peace and joy in the wise life of faith.
You can enjoy the true rest that Jesus gives you.
I've heard stories like this.
A daughter lost her husband at a young age. So the mother prays for her daughter,
Pray specifically. A seminary professor, but also a person who has lost his wife,
At the same time, he prayed very earnestly to have a childless widower as his son-in-law.
What do you think of this prayer?
Of course, it would be great if there was such a person somewhere now.
But, if you are currently a professor at a seminary (not even a general university),
What should God do if there is no single widower?
Think about it. In order for God to hear this prayer, choose a suitable person,
After barring children,
You would have to make your wife die and make the man a widower. Or, until such a person comes, the mother keeps praying,
The daughter will have to wait and see if she is living alone.
When the mothers of all entrance exam students say that they pray decisively while attending Seoul National University for their children,
What must we do in order for God to hear that prayer?
Even if all the children of praying mothers enter, the garden at Seoul National University will be full.
So the first thing God will do is
Pray that the children of those who do not pray like that, or those who do not believe in Jesus, fall away.
On the day of the exam, it would be a daunting task to let the day get in the way.
Therefore, a life of faith without wisdom is foolish in the sight of God.
We do not know when our life on earth will end.
And everyone has only one life.
But if you spend all those precious hours living a foolish life of faith,
How would you like it?
A theologian named Tony Campelow put it this way:
"When a person dies, he dies regretting the things he did not live up to, rather than regretting the things he did not accomplish."
Not living in a better house in death,
No one regrets dying without making more money.
I close my eyes with heartache at the things I did wrong to people, the things I didn't love, the things I didn't live up to,
No one, at the moment of leaving this world, // is heartbroken that he has not been an elder,
There is no one who beats his heart for not being able to perform a kwonsa.
Still, people who have time to regret like this are happy.
Because life can end in an instant in an unexpected accident.
So, as soon as we finish our preface, “Be wise” in verse 15,
Needless to say, in verse 16, we start our main body with the words “save the time”.
However, if you look at the bottom of the Bible, the word “save time” may be translated differently.
It is annotated "Buy the chance".
The phrase "buy a chance" comes from the original word for a marketplace.
The most representative marketplace today is the stock market,
Here, you will be able to experience the phrase "buying an opportunity" in a realistic way.
Keeping an eye on market trends, waiting for opportunities to sell or buy,
When the time comes, you need to trade quickly.
If you trade with discernment, without waiting for opportunity, and without wisdom,
Because in no time you will be bald.
That's why you should save time, that's why you should buy the opportunity today.
Because the times are evil. It appears in the second half of verse 16.
Life's time is limited, and there's only one life,
Evil years tempt us to spend our precious time indiscriminately,
In the end, I'm trying to make it a bare piece of my life.
Look how bad the years are.
In the old days, people trafficked young girls to nightlife,
Now you don't have to. Because there are a lot of children coming on my feet.
Not only the saints, but also the pastors stumble and fall.
If you don't come to your senses, you'll lose all your precious time,
With a weak body that loses strength and can't see the future
The time will come when you will stand alone in the marketplace of life.
Therefore, verse 15 warns us that "you must be careful how you do it."
If I don't pay attention, my actions, my life
You are going in the wrong direction.
But the problem is that they don't know that it's wrong and they continue to live that way.
That is the life of a drunken man in verse 18.
A drunken man does not know what he is doing.
Therefore, no matter how good your faith is, no matter how proud you are of being smart,
Knowing that we are living in the midst of evil years,
You should never be arrogant.
So, how can we overcome the evil years and save time?
Verse 17: “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Understanding the will of the Lord// being wise is the same thing.
The Lord wants us to live on this earth as much as possible in peace and joy.
To guide us to live our limited life worthwhile and worthwhile
It is the will of the Lord.
But there are things that hinder and prevent us from knowing the good will of the Lord for us.
There are too many in this world.
One of the most representative of them is found in verse 18.
As I said before, it's "to get drunk".
I am not a drinker So don't say I don't care,
Is there anything in my character or behavior similar to that of a drunken person?
Please take a look.
When you're drunk, your senses are paralyzed // and you become gibberish // and you lose your judgment//
Fights well// gets rough// never pleases others.
Why?
Because alcohol rules him. Because he owned it.
You must be filled with the Holy Spirit to become a wise person.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit means being in a state where the Holy Spirit possesses and controls you.
Then, with the wisdom given by the Holy Spirit,
You will become a person who saves time, and a person who can avoid evil years.
A wise person, that is, a person filled with the Holy Spirit, knows how to live.
It can be seen through the words of verses 19-21.
Let's all read together and conclude today's sermon.
Verses 19-21: “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your hearts,
Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Submit yourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ.”