20. Spiritual Alertness
Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians
Knowing Your Privilege in Christ
“Spiritual Alertness”
Ephesians 5:10-16 (KJV)
10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
OUTLINE
- Walk away from Sin (v11-12)
- Walk in Holiness (13-14)
- Walk in Spiritual Alertness (v15)
- Walk with Spiritual Urgency (v16)
Continued…
- Walk in Spiritual Alertness (v15)
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Be careful how you walk – carries the idea of looking around carefully so as not to stumble, which Paul explains equates with walking intelligently and not in ignorance. Hence, spiritual alertness. Walk wisely. Beware of moments and hours of ease. It is in these that we most easily fall into the power of Satan. [Meyer]
See(blepo) means to look at, behold, discern mentally, observe, perceive, consider, contemplate, look to in the sense of taking care, take heed. It means perceive with your eyes. Have your eye on so as to beware of. Blepo generally denotes simply a voluntary observation or taking notice of something or someone.
The present imperative commands one to continually pay especially close attention to how they walk. “Be constantly taking heed how accurately you are conducting yourselves.” We need to remember that our heart is more deceitful than all else and that the enemy of our soul constantly prowls around and his desire is for our soul.
Wuest said well, we are to “see to it that your conduct is accurate with respect to the demands of the Word of God. It is like a motorist accurately following on the right side of the centre line dividing traffic.”
The reason we are asked to pay continuous attention to how we walk is so that we may be delivered from the constant dangers of walking in the wrong direction, down the wrong way, and we are trapped by the flesh, Satan and the world’s fallen and depraved ways.
The word “circumspectly” means carefully, accurately, characterized by exactness, thoroughness [Friberg]. It means precision, accuracy in addition to the associated idea of looking, examining, and investigating something with great care and alertness. It pertains to strict conformity to a norm or standard, involving both detail and completeness, with focus on careful attention, in effort thoroughly, diligently. In this context, it refers to ethical behaviour with a focus on careful attention especially regarding the dangers and deceptions that continually assault us from our mortal enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil.
Truly, take hold of godly wisdom and walk in it is the encouragement.
Solomon gave this good advice to his son when he said exhorted him to obedience.
Proverbs 3:1-35 (KJV) 1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
And humility…
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whomhe delighteth.
Finding happiness in gaining wisdom
13 Happy isthe man thatfindeth wisdom, and the man thatgetteth understanding.
14 For the merchandise of it isbetter than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15She ismore precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 16Length of days isin her right hand; andin her left hand riches and honour. 17 Her ways areways of pleasantness, and all her paths arepeace. 18 She isa tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every onethat retaineth her.
19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
Enjoying wisdom’s benefits
21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Practice charity
27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. 29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the froward isabomination to the LORD: but his secret iswith the righteous. 33The curse of the LORD isin the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Recall, we said in the 4thmessage of our church camp – The Spiritual man walks in submission to the Spirit.
Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)
Walk (Gal. 5:16-17) – Make Progress
– Regulate One’s Life; Conduct One’s Self
(a) A Command – It appeals to the will! Do our part!
(b) Do so continuously, all the time without letting up!
Let us take the step of walking with God!
When we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. “Will not fulfil” not only forbids the occurrence of the action but it does not allow it even to begin.
This word to “walk” has the sense of submission and yielding ourselves to God’s truth is to not count the evil that others have done to us but to forgive. It is a choice that we have to make to submit ourselves to God’s truth. It is a command to choose correctly continually.
Galatians 5:13“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
You have been freed from the bondage of sin by your faith in Christ’s finished work. And He has given to you this freedom. Before your salvation, we are not able not to sin. After your salvation, you are able not to sin. And you have to exercise this choice for your spiritual benefit!
“Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” when you choose holiness, when you choose sanctification, when you choose to make progress spiritually you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The sense of the tense is that you will not begin to fulfill the lust of the flesh.
It is volitional, it appeals to our will and our mind, we have to exercise this freedom that Christ has given to us to say no to the flesh!
You know the effects of gravity pulls us to be earth-bound. How does the hot air balloon overcome the gravitational force and enable it to fly! The same for the jet plane, the propulsion of air from the engine at high speed gives it the lift to overcome forces of gravity to enable it to fly.
The Holy Spirit is that hot air in the balloon that helps the balloon to overcome the forces of gravity. Realize that the Holy Spirit power is supernatural power. We have to rest in the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the flesh. Try holding a book by your own strength for a while to overcome the force of gravity. After a while you get tired, you will not last. We cannot depend on our own strength.
William MacDonald said well, “To walk circumspectly is to live in the light of our position as God’s children. To walk as fools means to descend from this high plane to the conduct of worldly men.”
Epigram on Bible – Douglas MacArthur: “Believe me, sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed.”[1]
God used this man as a general in the US Army in the 2ndWorld War but an ambassador for Christ to the Japanese people.
A Glorious Open Door
The late Dr Criswell gave this testimony, “In 1950, I was on a three-month preaching mission in Japan. It began at the northernmost island and went down to the southernmost. At one place in the islands, an officer in the Japanese government took me to a governmental compound. General Douglas MacArthur, who was a great Christian, ruled the empire of Nippon. MacArthur sought with Bibles and missionaries to bring the Christian witness to the Japanese, and every time I preached we had at least one hundred fifty or more converts. It was the most glorious open door I have ever seen.
This officer took me to the governmental compound and assembled the people to whom I would preach. The auditorium was covered with rice mats on which the people sat and listened. When I was through, each one was given a card which was perforated in the middle. The top card read like this: “I accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I do it now.” The bottom card said, “I want to know more about Jesus.” After each one in the group had been given the card at the end of my appeal, a man stood up, and pointing to the top card he asked me a question: “Sensei, if I sign this card, then what?” That question burned like fire in my soul. There was no church. There were no Bibles. There was no pastor. There was no Sunday school. There was no literature. There was nothing!
That question covers the whole spectrum and gamut of the kingdom of God. It is not enough that a man be saved. It is not enough that a man gives his heart to Jesus. It is not enough that a man be evangelized.
In the strategy of the work and patience of our Lord, there is a matheteuo, a discipling; a baptizo, a baptizing, a church-building; and a didasko, a teaching and a training (Matthew 28:19-20).
When that strategy given of God is not carried through, how anemic and how apostasizing becomes the work of the Lord in the church!”
- Walk with Spiritual Urgency (v16)
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
The word “redeem” means “to buy up, to buy up for one’s self, for one’s use.” Redemption therefore is a purchase. When the Lord Jesus redeemed us with His precious blood, He made a down payment on His purchase of our souls. [Waite]
“To redeem” the time is to make the most use of our time. It means “to make sacred use of every opportunity to doing good.” It is as if our zeal for doing well is the purchase money by which we buy back the time and make it our own. To buy back the time is to “redeem” it. It is to make good use of our time.
Solomon said well in Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do itwith thy might; for there isno work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Recall the hymn by Mary A. Kidder – Did You Think to Pray?
- Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Saviour,
Did you sue for loving favour,
As a shield today?- Refrain:
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
- Refrain:
- When you met with great temptation,
Did you think to pray?
By His dying love and merit,
Did you claim the Holy Spirit
As your guide and stay? - When your heart was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another
Who had crossed your way? - When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
Dr Ray Pritchard gave this good illustration – the word “redeem” is a word from the market place. You go down to your supermarket and look for bargains because you know they will not last long; they are passing, changing. Therefore, make the most of them and buy them up. This is exactly the word he employs here. Buy up the opportunities which are created constantly by the evil days.
Indeed, the Apostle Paul analysed the fierce environment of prevailing evil of our times in the last days when he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1-9 (KJV) 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.”
There will be a constant source of discouragement when we see the depravity of the world around. But for the believers, we need to take time to be the salt and light that will impact the world. And this indeed is the mission of the people of God.
Clock of Life
The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To say just when the hands will stop;
At late, or early hour.
Now is the only time we own to do
His precious will,
Do not wait until tomorrow;
For the clock may then be still.
—Selected
Lifetime in Minutes
Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, in his book, Time for Godhas a mathematically calculated schedule which compares a lifetime of “three score years and ten” with the hours of a single day from seven in the morning to eleven at night.
“If your age is:
15, the time is 10:25 a.m.
20, the time is 11:34 a.m.
25, the time is 12:42 p.m.
30, the time is 1:51 p.m.
35, the time is 3:00 p.m.
40, the time is 4:08 p.m.
45, the time is 5:16 p.m.
50, the time is 6:25 p.m.
55, the time is 7:34 p.m.
60, the time is 8:42 p.m.
65, the time is 9:51 p.m.
70, the time is 11:00 p.m.”
The Apostle Paul tells us a time of reward is coming for the faithful in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:9-11 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things donein hisbody, according to that he hath done, whether it begood or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Jesus declares:
Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward iswith me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
CONCLUSION
May the Lord help us to make our days count for the Lord. Amen.
[1] Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times.