152: Stop Wasting Time

To the Ruled Church Podcast.

This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. He is honored, and I get the glory. And by the way, it's even better, because you see that building in Perryville, Arkansas? You see that one in Pechote, Mexico?

Do you see that one in Tuxla, Guterres, down there in Chiapas? That building has my son's name on it.

The church is not a democracy, it's a monarchy. Christ is king.

You can't be Christian without a local church.

You can't do anything better than to bend your knee and bow your heart, turn from your sin and repentance, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and join up with a good Bible-believing church, and spend your life serving Jesus in a local, visible congregation.

I have no idea when this episode is coming out, but I think no matter the time that it comes out, it will be profitable to the listeners. Periodically, I have some what I call filler episodes that I record, or usually it's like a sermon or something, and in between guests, I put those kind of episodes out.

But you wanna stay tuned on this one, and listen, and consider, because I think it's something that all of us need to hear, we need to be reminded of, that we've only been given so much time. And so, this is not a prerecorded message in like a sermon or whatever.

It's prerecorded just like all the podcasts are, but this is an actual podcast, not a lesson, sermon, teaching, whatever. I did share this devotion in our New Year's Eve gathering as a church, but we didn't record that.

And so, I just thought it'd be profitable to the listeners to consider, and the idea is redeeming the time. The text that I wanna consider is from Ephesians 5, you're familiar with it most likely, Ephesians 5, 15 through 17.

Reflection on Walking Wisely

Paul says, look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

So, you can see how this would be an appropriate exhortation for a New Year's Eve gathering, but this isn't just for New Year's Eve. I mean, let's just think about the letter, the letter to Ephesus. Paul had no thought in his mind about New Year's Eve or New Year's resolutions when he wrote this letter to Ephesus because this is a practice in the Christian life that is necessary all year.

So, no matter, in fact, it's actually, I think it's better that you're not listening to this around New Year's Eve because it's a reminder that while resolutions may be good and helpful, I'm not like against resolutions, there is an aspect of the Christian life that should be constantly under reflection, not morbid introspection, not beating yourself up per se, but just constant reflection according to the word of God.

I'm gonna constantly think about my life in comparison to what God's word says. And so, that's what we wanna do in the episode. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil.

Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And so, what I wanna do is just gonna give you three headings. I usually do this in preaching and teaching. I hope it's helpful.

I typically alliterate. It's just how I do it. So, the first thought is, first exhortation, if you will, is the word reflection. The text says, look carefully. The word look in the text, it is an imperative.

It is a command. Paul is commanding the church at Ephesus this duty. And so, by application, we have the same imperative to consider ourselves. To look, but it's not just look. I know you didn't come for a grammar class.

It's not just look, but there's an adverb modifying the word look. Look how? Look carefully. So, this is the reflection. There is a command here for the believer to look carefully. And this is in the present tense.

And so, the idea is looking right now. Reflect right now. Look carefully at your life right now. Most people who profess to be Christians look far more carefully at social media, far more carefully about the latest sales, far more carefully about what's trending on X, far more carefully about politics than they ever carefully look at their own lives.

And Paul is saying, reflect. Give reflection. Is your walk wise or is it unwise? Are you walking in the good Lord's ways? Is your walk corresponding with your calling? Do you remember Ephesians is laid out nicely.

You remember one through three. We don't want to overstate this, but one through three is deep theology and four, five, and six is application of theology. Again, don't overstretch that. Don't overplay that.

But it kind of lays out nicely one through three and four through six. And so, after all this deep theology in chapters one through three, in chapter four, verse one, Paul says, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

And so then, in our text, in chapter five, verse 15, look carefully then how you walk. And so the idea here, this reflection is, are you walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called?

Is your walk wise or unwise? Now, think about the manner in which you've been called. You were, if you are a true believer, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. You were bound for hell. You were in chains of darkness and you were rebellious and unworthy.

And yet God, before the foundations of the world for the glory of his own name and for the exaltation of his son, nothing that you had done or would do or could do in and of yourself, God chose you. That's the calling.

God chose you before the foundation of the world. He predestined you in Christ for adoption. And then in time, though you were in rebellion and hatred of God and going in your own way, in time, he called you.

He effectually overcame your sin and your rebellion and your resistance to him. And he gave you a new heart. He made you alive. And you looked to Christ and you repented. You believed the gospel. And so Paul is saying here, look carefully then at your walk.

Does your walk reflect that? You have a new heart in Christ, a new affections. Are you walking in the ways of the Lord? Frankly, it's quite easy to rubber stamp your Christianity. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a Christian.

And there's no reflection. Have you considered this last week even think, has there been any unwise things that you've done? Unwise, not by the world standards, but by God's? And how are you going to correct that?

Are you going to look to Christ, rest in his blood, his atoning sacrifices, resurrection once again, rest in him, repent and correct your ways according to his word. Look carefully, Paul says, this is reflection.

Interesting to note, but the word carefully is the same word that Herod used when he told the wise men. Remember he said, go and search diligently in Matthew two for the child, to look diligently. Well, that's the idea that Paul is using here.

Look carefully, look diligently, take account. Are you looking this way at your walk? Are you making a diligent search as it were, that your ways, that your walk is aligned with God's ways and how he has called you?

So the first exhortation then is reflection. Look carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise. Second exhortation is resolve. So verse 16 says, making the best use of the time. Making the best use of the time.

Is this our resolve? Making is a participle, which for our purposes, we're just gonna say for right now to let you know, it's all tied together, right? It's tied to the main teaching here of verse 15.

So if you're looking carefully that you're walking wisely, then it's going to involve making. Making what? Making the best use of the time. A lot of translations I believe say redeeming the time, which that's literally the word.

The ESV that I'm reading from is just sort of giving the interpretation there. That's what it means, to make the best use of the time. Jonathan Edwards says, time is very short, which renders it very precious.

Brothers and sisters, time is very precious. Very precious because it's so fleeting. In fact, consider this. If I were to say, look, I'll give you the option. You can live 100 years or you can live five years and you can be very wealthy.

Which are you gonna choose? You're gonna choose the time over the money because you understand that time is more valuable than money in the sense that you can work, you can earn money, you can do extra things to receive more income, but there's nothing ever you can do in your life ever to get more time.

You can't get more time. You can't make more of it, but you can't add more time to your day. Everybody gets 24 hours in a day, but what you can do is you can redeem it. You can make the best use of it.

The idea here of the word, so there's two words when it comes to time or to main use. There is chronos, which we get words like chronology. That makes sense, right? So that's like the time, like seconds, hours, minutes, kinda.

I mean, I don't wanna oversimplify it. The other is kairos and that's the word that's used here. It's like moments in time. Like Esther, such a time as this. We just use the word time the same way. So if you say, what time is it?

Well, you're talking about chronos. Like, okay, it's 8 .13 in the morning. But if you say now, you talk to the senior class maybe, and you're saying, it's your time. Your time is now. Well, you're speaking more of kairos, and that's the text here, making the best use of the time.

So I think the idea is not necessarily like, make the best use of 9 a .m. or whatever, but it's make best use of the season. Make the best use of this time that we have after the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and he is king, ascended, and make best use of these days that God has given us to bring glory to his name, to make good use of these moments that God has ordained that you would live in.

And so the idea here is resolve. Resolve, you can redeem it. You can make the best use of it. You can't add to your days, but you can make the best use of it. It literally means to take one lexicon, to take full advantage of every opportunity.

So just some exhortations. Quit doom scrolling. I get guilty of this. You're sitting around, you're vegging out, looking at your phone, it's been a hard day, or man, maybe some of you distracted the office, and you're just video, video, video, video, video, and before you know it, you've wasted 30 minutes or an hour.

Well, how are you gonna, this moment that God's given you of Christ's ascension and reigning and this beautiful time that God has given you to live under his authority and to make much of his name and to glory in all that he has done and to further his kingdom, as it were, through the proclamation of the gospel, how are you gonna do that when you're doom scrolling?

Spend more time looking at your loved ones face-to-face. Cut out some of the dumb stuff that we do. Read your Bible. Read Christian literature. Take a free theology class online. Learn a trade. Please don't hear me saying in this episode that unless you are out there preaching the gospel, you're wasting your time.

I'm not saying that. But what I am saying is that we ought to be kingdom-minded. We ought to think about the gospel. We ought to think about the moments that press on forever. This is a silly illustration, but I was thinking about, because at the time of this podcast, I recently watched the Ole Miss versus Georgia game in the college football playoffs.

Now, by the time you hear this, who knows what they'll have done versus Missouri. That's fine. But the point that I'm trying to make still stands. I don't think that Lane Kiffin should have went to LSU.

I get why he did. I understand everybody, a more prestigious school and all that. Okay, fine. But there is something to be said that in 100 years, and look, he may come out on top. He may be the best coach in LSU history and win 15 national championships.

Okay, whatever.

But there's also the possibility that he goes there for three years and then LSU is now buying out his contract in this perpetual cycle of what LSU has been doing. But if he stays at Ole Miss, man, they're making a statue.

And I get it. But in 100 years, what's gonna be more important to the legacy of a man? A statue at Ole Miss or the fact that you, you know, maybe were semi-successful at LSU? You understand what I'm saying?

I mean, the analogy is that, and again, college football is so trivial compared to what I'm talking about. But the point is there are things in our life that may seem in the here and now, like, oh, I can jump up, I can make more money, I can do these things.

You know, maybe you're considering, I can get a raise and I can take this position. But if you take that position, it's gonna pull you away from the church. It's gonna pull you away from your family. And so you think, in 100 years, think this way, in 100 years, what will have been more important?

And I'm not saying this, I mean, maybe you should take the job and maybe you'll be able to navigate and work those things out. But you understand the idea that I'm saying is, is making the best use of your time just making more and more money?

Is it just doom scrolling? Is it just making more social media posts? Or is there real life to be lived under the glory and banner of Christ and to further his kingdom and to live for his glory and to, like I said, touch grass, see your family eye to eye, be more involved in your local church, be in each other's homes.

I'm convinced that, frankly, Americans, for the most part, it's not that we don't have time to do stuff, it's that we just don't redeem it. We don't make time for things. We don't make the best use of time.

Our sleep patterns are off. We don't take care of our bodies. Our brains are broken from entertainment, right? You understand that our minds were not made to just be entertained to death. I'll talk more about that in the next point.

But the whole idea here is to resolve. Resolve, making the best use of the time. Because the days are evil. Now, resolve to redeem the time because the days are evil. Whatever your eschatology may be, let me just say this, lazy concern from Christians about the use of the time that God has given us isn't going to improve society.

So I don't, you know, you may be pre-meal, post-meal, maybe like me, crazy all-meal, but no matter your eschatology, the point stands that being lazy and not caring about your time is not going to be any help to anybody, not to your community, not to your church, not to your family.

So the first point is reflection. I'm gonna give a careful look at my walk, that I'm walking not as unwise but as wise. And the second point is resolve. I'm going to make the best use of the time because the days are evil.

And I don't know how that applies to you. Maybe you need to listen to audio books while you're driving to work. Maybe you need to give up social media or this particular television show. It cracks me up sometimes how engrossed we can be to television shows.

Not that they're always, I shouldn't even say television shows, should I just say like streaming? Not that they're always wrong to watch, I'm not saying that, but just the amount of time we spend on that.

So consider these things and resolve to make the best use of the time. And then thirdly, so reflection, resolve.

Refusing Foolishness and Seeking the Lord's Will

Thirdly, refuse. Refuse.

Verse 17 says, "'Therefore do not be foolish, "'but understand what the will of the Lord is.'". So the exhortation is refuse to be a fool. Now I just talked about TV shows and I'm gonna quote from one.

There's one man on one TV show named Dwight K. Schrute. He said,.

Whenever I'm about to do something, I think, would an idiot do that? And if they would, I do not do that thing.

Don't be an idiot. That's the idea.

Don't be a fool.

Refuse to be foolish. Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So here's a definition for the Greek word understand. To employ one's capacity for understanding and thus to arrive at insight.

So the Lord expects us to employ our minds to understanding, to understand, to think. And I told you I was gonna come back to this, but this idea of just mind numbing entertainment that we just 24 seven YouTube shorts, TikTok videos, Facebook reels, the newest show, the newest preview of the newest movie, on and on and on and on.

We are just constantly inundating our minds with entertainment and our minds are beautiful. Our minds are beautiful in the sense that we ought to, that we ought to understand how they will adapt to our environment.

They will adjust in reading. If you say, well, I'm not a good reader. Well, if you start reading, your mind will adjust, but it will also adjust to TikTok videos. It will dumb down itself as it were. It will, Twitter will rewire the way that you think into 180 characters instead of more depth.

So the idea here is that we should understand. God gave us our minds to think. It's our duty to understand his will. And how are we gonna do that? His word. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

How are you gonna understand the will of the Lord? The scriptures. But it's not just reading the Bible. It's seeking to understand the Lord's will as you read it. So God's word says this, and therefore I ought to change this or that habit.

I ought to do this or that thing. Each one of you listeners, there's probably at least one habit in your life to change or add to your weekly time with the Lord. Don't be foolish. Understand what the will of the Lord is.

And that comes back into your time, talking about redeeming the time, taking full use of Sundays as the Christian Sabbath, gathering with God's people, resting from worldly cares and labors. These are all things that we ought to be considering.

And again, not just around the time of the new year, but in our lives, even today, whenever this episode comes out, to think about how to make the best use of the time and to even consider sometimes the things that we make to be such a big deal, sometimes they aren't as big a deal.

If Johnny's homework doesn't get exactly done like you want, it's gonna be okay. If he makes an 88 instead of a 97, it's gonna be okay. I understand, yes, we wanna do things with excellence, but I'm just saying, sometimes we stress out about the most trivial things and we don't see the bigger picture.

And so one of the exhortations from this episode is, hey, just see the bigger picture. God has only given us so many moments in this time period, this age of Christ's reign. And once those moments are gone, you're not gonna get them back.

I've been reflecting on that this year, thinking about the ages of my children and my daughters just recently turned 14 and 12. My son recently turned 18. I'm about to turn 40. It just goes by. If you're not careful, you're just gonna live with regret.

And all of us, we have areas of our life that we need to repent of in this matter. I would say this too, it doesn't matter what kind of life goals you have or how disciplined you are with your time. You get up every morning at four o 'clock and you work out for two hours and then you read for two hours.

None of that matters if you don't know Christ. You understand that the reason we exist, that we were made is to enjoy God and glorify Him forever. And that our Lord Jesus Christ entered into our time as it were, that He took on human flesh, that He lived obediently under the law, perfect in every way, fulfilling it in every way, burying our sins in His body on the tree under the wrath of God, dying late in a borrowed tomb, on the third day rising again from the dead.

And it doesn't matter what you do with your time if you're not trusting in that, if you haven't repented of your sin and put your faith in Christ. Maybe somebody listening to this, the reason you can't get your time together and you can't redeem it is because you've not been redeemed.

The exhortation to you is to not to look at your life because your life will only lead you to more misery and ruin and your life's in shambles. The exhortation to you is not look carefully how you walk, but to look to Christ, look to Christ, repent of sin and believe the gospel.

Well, I hope that this short episode has been edifying to you in some way, been helpful to you in some way. You'd consider how to redeem the time that you would reflect, look carefully how you walk, that you would resolve, you'd make the best use of the time, you'd redeem the time and refuse, refuse to be a fool.

A fool looks at what God's word says and says, I'm gonna do contrary. A fool listens to podcasts like this and says, well, yeah, I know that I should be doing these things, but I'm not going to do them.

Don't be a fool, refuse. Reflect, resolve, refuse. I hope this is helpful in your journey. Whatever time this podcast comes out, whatever time of the year it is in 2026, I hope that this is a blessing and help to you.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Real Church Podcast. We'll catch you guys next week.

If you really believe the church is the building, the church is the house, the church is what God's doing. This is his work. If we really believe what Ephesians says, we are the poimos, the masterpiece of God.

How are you gonna respond?