Walk Filled with the Spirit

Kalynk Lyxova/ Asdov/o3 Hociow

(God's Magnificent Work through Christ)

Ephesians 5:15-21

“Walking in the Light” was the title of last week’s sermon. Light exposes us. Then, it gives us heat. Heat turns to flames, it purifies whatever is not pure, and eventually it turns us to light. Christ is the light, and through him we become light in our dark world. As you can see, Paul is addressing issues of daily life of the First Century Ephesus that are also relevant to us today. Christ wants to transform all aspects of our life, our relationships, our sexual life, family, home, work, use of time and so on. Therefore, chapters 4-6 are about the Christian life, or the Christian “walk.”

In our Christian walk nothing can be accomplished if we do not walk (live) filled with the Spirit. Today is the Day of Pentecost. It is the Church’s birthday. When Christ left the earth, he promised us that the Spirit would come to be the comforter, the teacher, the reminder of what we should remember about God, the power that empowers us, the sustainer of God’s presence in our daily life, and the gift giver so that we can practice our spiritual gifts for His glory.

Over and over Paul reminded the Ephesians that they cannot continue living the way they used to. Why? Because it matters to God how we walk, how we live. Paul often mentions before and after, old and new. Once they were alienated from God, now they are his children. Once they wore old clothes, now God gave them new ones. They were in the “dark” world, now they have the “light”.

Let us move on.

Walk using time wisely (5:15-16)

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity (making the best use of the time), because the days are evil” (15-16).

Walking wisely does not come automatically. Paul is asking the church to be wise, and careful. This means deliberate attention to check one’s life— how we walk where we walk, how we spend time, where do we spend time, what to make our priorities and so on.

King David knew that our life is limited:

“The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength…”

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10,12).

Indeed, time passes so quickly, therefore each moment is a gift given by God we cannot ignore.

Stephen Covey built a model used as a time management tool. He divided life’s activities into four categories:

1. Urgent/Important (life threatening issues, crises)

2. Not urgent/important (prayer, exercise, reading the Bible, relationships…)

3. Urgent/ not important (phone calls, emails, interruptions)

4. Not urgent/ not important (escapes, time wasters, facebook)

It is dangerous when most of the time we are trying to do some things that look “urgent” and are not even very important. What happened to our priorities? How to use time is so important. If we do not discipline ourselves we will not use opportunities wisely.

Here is how Solomon describes the importance of using time wisely: “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” (Proverbs 24:30-34)

We will continue in English.