Don't Be Foolish - Eph. 5:15-20

I have to start out this message by telling you a story about starting out this message.  When I have a title or even a main theme of a message, it’s not uncommon for me to Google it just to see what pops up.  Sometimes nothing comes up or at least nothing interesting but sometimes I see a picture I can use for the bulletin insert or an illustration I can include.  Once I even realized that whatever phrase I put in was being used by kids inappropriately and so I left it out altogether.  Who knows, right?

 

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.