So, I did that with
the title of this message. I just typed
in the words “Don’t Be Foolish”, just to see what would come up and if you are
familiar with the computer, you know that a long list of websites popped up
with a few words of explanation about each one concerning “Don’t Be
Foolish”. And the vast majority of these
websites were talking about the Snoop Dogg song with that title.
Now, how many Snoop
Dogg fans do we have in the house this morning?
How many of you have never heard of Snoop Dogg? How many of you have and wish you had
not? That’s me. I know who he is but not much else and I did
not know that he has a rap song with that title. I assure you I will not be using any of the
lyrics of that song since the first line or two of the song was shown on the
computer screen. I didn’t click on any
links to any websites but I saw enough. And
I wish I had not.
What struck me as
interesting, though, was his encouragement to not be foolish was mixed in with
the most awful lyrics I have ever seen and in the most foolish way. I unfortunately understood the words but the
way he used them was, to me, very foolish and immature. I’m sure he will be crushed when he hears I
called him immature. And one of the
websites showed his picture right there on the Google page and you talk about
foolish! Give me a break Snoop!
Have you ever
noticed how few people actually think of themselves as foolish? Everybody sees other people being foolish but
few ever think of themselves as fools.
Sure, we all do something or say something every now and then that we
immediately think, “Wow, that was dumb.”
That’s actually pretty common with me.
But nobody ever says, “I am a fool.
I have always been a fool and I guess I will always be a fool.”
Nobody wants to be a
fool with their time or their money or any resources. Nobody, except maybe Snoop Dogg, gets up in
the morning and says, “I think I want to look like a fool today.” And certainly nobody wants to stand before
God and be judged as a fool. So, how do
we keep from being foolish? What can we
do about the times in our past when we have been foolish and how do we keep
from doing it again?
Let’s look at some
advice from the Apostle Paul about this and see what he has to say in the
wonderful little book of Ephesians,
chapter 5:15-20. What better place
to start in a quest against foolishness than this great book of wisdom? We talked last week about how God is our
Wonderful Counselor who gives good advice and this word from Paul is
God-breathed good advice.
15
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making
the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand
what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not
get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit, 19 speaking to one another
with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music from your heart to
the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to
God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul is writing to
the Ephesians as friends. He spent 3
years there; had lots of “adventures” there but is writing not to address any
certain problem like he does with some other letters. He wants to keep them from getting into any
trouble or developing any bad habits.
So, as he sometimes did, he spent about the first half of the book
talking about theology and what God wants, and then the last half talking about
practical ways to actually accomplish it.
And I am so glad he
does this because the way my brain works, I want to know the how, why, where
and who of something if there is a problem.
I’m like a little kid who constantly asks “Why?” until it drives you
crazy. But I don’t want somebody to just
tell me that the bridge is out. I want
to know why it happened and also, the most important thing, what do I do now?
So, when I read a
passage like this, my thoughts are, “Ok, Paul, how do I keep from being a
fool?” Paul makes plain 3 ways right
here in these scriptures and I want to elaborate on:
1)
making
the most of every opportunity
2)
understand
what the Lord’s will is
3)
be
filled with the Spirit
The first phrase is “making the most of every opportunity”
which literally means “to buy up the
time”. How do we buy up the time and
why should we? Those were my first
questions. “To buy up the time” is done
just like you would buy anything else.
If you are going to buy a coke at the store you would pull out your
wallet and you would trade something valuable (a dollar) for something you want
more (the coke). It works basically the
same with time. You trade something
valuable (your entertainment, your comfort, your hobby) for something you would
rather have (more time to do something else).
My next question
was, “Why should we do this?” My
entertainment, comfort and hobbies are valuable so why should I trade them for
more time to do something else? The King
James uses an interesting word in verse 15.
It says we are to walk
“circumspectly” instead of in foolishness.
The word is the same root word that we get “circumference”. No, it’s not
telling us to walk in a circle. It means
that we should walk while looking around.
We should always be aware of what’s around us. This is wise advice when you are leaving the
grocery store or taking stock of where you might be walking in foolishness.
So, I have 2
practical ways that you can make the most of every opportunity. Knowing that Satan prowls around like a
roaring lion looking to devour you, and knowing that you don’t want to be
foolish with your resources, look at
your past and have a plan for the future.
The new year is a
great time for looking at what you did in the past and seeing how well you
accomplished your goals. If you didn’t,
where could you improve? Did you share
Jesus with anybody this year? Did you
invite anybody to church? Did you speak
the name Jesus to anybody outside of church this past year? If not then I believe Paul would encourage
you to make the most of every opportunity in this next year and you do that by
making a plan. Set some goals for
yourself. I don’t ever make New Year’s
resolutions but you might set some goals such as trying to be a little better
friend with your neighbors so that when the opportunity comes, you will be
ready to share Jesus with them. Look at the past and have a plan for the
future.
The next thing Paul
says to do if we are not going to be foolish is to understand what the Lord’s
will is. And here is where the
irritating little kid comes out in me.
“Um, Paul, I have a question.
How? How do we understand what
the Lord’s will is?” Thank you for that
question, irritating little kid. And the
answer is two-fold. First know
where not to look and secondly, know where to look. Easy, huh?
You first need to know where not look and the first place
many people look is their own intellect.
“This is how I would do it if I were God.” Proverbs
14:12 says, “There
is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
Another place people look for
wisdom is in their emotions. In I Kings, Elijah was ready to die. He was tired and he had been threatened by
Jezebel and while just a few hours before he had seen God do a huge miracle,
now his emotions told him all was lost.
In Mark chapter 4 the disciples were rowing across the lake when a
huge storm came up and the waves were crashing over the boat. They were frantic. Their emotions told them one thing but then Jesus
calmed the storm and told them something completely different.
God gives us our intellect and
God gives us our emotions but neither one are the place to look for God’s
will. James 1:5 tells us where to turn to find God’s wisdom and his
will. “If
any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without
finding fault, and it will be given to you.” The first place to look for God’s will and
his wisdom is to go to the source. Ask
God what His will is.
Worldly thinking is that if you try real hard and think real hard
and weigh the pros and cons then you can figure out the best way but Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God's will is--his
good, pleasing and perfect will.”
E.M. Bounds said, “God’s will and His glory are bound up
in praying.” John Wesley said, “Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin
and desire nothing but God and I don’t care a straw whether they be clergy or
laymen. Such alone will shake the gates
of hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven on earth. God
does nothing but in answer to prayer.”
I have heard it said
that true wisdom is making the choice that God would make and you can’t know
what decision He would make if you look to yourself. You have to ask Him.
The last thing Paul
says to do if we are to be wise and not foolish is in verse 18. Be
filled with the Spirit. And how are
we filled with the Spirit? I want you to
see the contrasts in this passage. Paul
contrasts being unwise and wise in the first part but then contrasts being
drunk with wine with being filled with the Spirit. In verse
18, Paul’s warning against drunkenness is not just good advice echoed
throughout scripture about getting drunk.
I believe his real intention is to compare how you are when you are
drunk with how you are when you are when you are filled with the Spirit.
If you were to go to
an AA meeting, I’m pretty positive you are not going to hear somebody stand up
and say, “My name is Todd Blair and I’m an alcoholic. Even though I have never actually had a drink
I am an alcoholic.” No. What you might hear is somebody stand up and
admit that they are an alcoholic but then say, “It all started with that first
drink. And that led to another and
another and another and pretty soon my life was saturated with alcohol. I was consumed by what I was consuming.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the same
way. When we give our lives to Jesus and commit to
being who He wants us to be; admitting that we are sinners and confessing that
we know that He is the only way we can get forgiveness of those sins; believing
that it is through His death, burial and resurrection that we can have eternal
life; then we have the gift of the Holy Spirit come into our life. That’s the first drink.
But that is not
being filled with the Spirit as Paul is talking about here. Being filled with the Spirit means that you
are consumed with Him. He is everything
to you and not just a choice you make on Sundays. When D.L. Moody became a Christian somebody
told him that the world has yet to see what can happen when someone is
completely sold out to God. His response
was, “Well, let’s find out!” He wasn’t
content with a little bit of the Spirit.
He became a God-aholic. His life
was saturated with God, His word and His
will.
He didn’t want a
taste or a little sample. He bought up
the time by trading what was valuable for what he really wanted. He knew better than to trust his intellect or
emotions. He did like they did in Acts
chapter 4 where it says the apostles raised their voices together in prayer and
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God
boldly.
Moody knew that
the only way to keep from being a fool was to be saturated with God, to be
filled with His Spirit.
When somebody has
had a lot of alcohol they act differently.
They are not their normal selves.
It’s the same with someone who is filled with the Spirit. You know what happens when a believer becomes
saturated with Go, His word and His will?
They start “speaking to one another with
psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart
to the Lord, 20
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let’s do that right now.