Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Some words have distinct meanings.
One word meant something to Reginald Heber.
He spent time at the University of Oxford as a teacher and student.
While there, he developed a poetic bent.
In the cathedral, he witnessed light flowing through ornate stained-glass windows and bouncing off the gold-gilded ceilings creating a sparkle.
It was like the angels were there.
No wonder his creative juices started flowing, and he wrote:
Holy, holy, holy
Lord God almighty
Early in the morning my song shall rise to thee
Holy.
holy, holy
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity
Holy, holy, holy
All the saints adore Thee
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea
All the cherubim and seraphim are falling down before Thee
Which wert and art and evermore shalt be
We recognize that song because of its majesty.
The repeated triad of holy drives home the point that God is different and distinct.
God’s church is to be holy.
It is a word that belongs in church.
But what makes it that way?
There are many answers, many we have already touched on.
But in this lesson, I want us to focus on a central idea that makes God’s church unique and holy.
The church seeks the wisdom to follow God’s will, not man’s.
So, let’s dig into today’s lesson to find out what makes the church God’s church.
Discussion
A Walk in Wisdom
Paul, again, begins this lesson with the same refrain using the common word “to walk.”
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,” (Ephesians 5:15, ESV)
He says to pay close attention to your daily spiritual walk.
It is the latest in the instructions on living in God’s church.
He has told the Ephesians:
Walk worthy of the calling Do not walk as the Gentiles do Walk in love Walk as children of light.
He adds another element to Christian living in this passage—walking as wise, not unwise.
What exactly is wisdom and its reverse?
Wisdom is the application of acquired knowledge.
The smart person knows what to do.
The wise person knows when to act and when to refrain.
Milan Kundera, the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, has said that “The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything.
The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything.”
A wise man knows what is appropriate to the situation where he finds himself.
He can run when running is required but walk when that is necessary.
Wisdom says the right words to those grieving and keeps his comments to himself to prevent an argument.
But what kind of wisdom does Paul counsel?
Use of Time
The first has to do with the time we use in our lives.
“making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:16, ESV)
Paul’s language is vivid.
He goes to the agora or the Greek market in Ephesus.
It is there where you exchange your money for the goods you need.
This is the term for “making best use.”
It is buying from the market.
Time is like money but only more precious.
We can always make more money, but all men, from Jeff Bezos to the curbside beggar, are given 24 hours in a day.
When it is gone, you cannot save it or extend it.
It is a gift with an expiration date.
This passage says to notice your opportunities.
The term “season” in Greek is one of two words to describe time.
Chronos measures hours, minutes, and seconds.
It is what we mean when we ask, “what time is it?”
The other is kairos, the general time, the appropriate time.
The tree has a time for dropping its leaves.
It is when it is the right moment, the season.
We plant in one season and harvest in another.
This is the right time when the opportunity presents itself.
Paul says you need to take your opportunities seriously because “the days are evil.”
Reviewing the context, he observes that most people use up their life doing evil things.
Christians order their lives for another purpose, the purpose of serving God rather than self.
They use the falling sand in the hourglass for eternity rather than today.
We all need to take notice of how we spend our lives.
Wise people know the gift time truly is and invest it in the timeless rather than the temporary.
The wise man knows the value of time.
Benjamin Franklin observed, “doth thou love life?
Then waste not time for that is the stuff of life.”
Seeking God’s Will
In verse 17, Paul continues to detail wise living for a Christian.
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17, ESV)
Many seek the will of God for their lives.
But are looking for something different than what Paul points to.
Many want God to make every decision for them.
I have known people who wish God would tell them what cereal to eat for breakfast and which pants to wear for the day.
They want to know God’s specific will for their lives.
When Paul says “understand” he means to use your reasoning power.
That is not the reflection of spiritual maturity.
Wisdom is seeing the big pieces in life and putting them together.
One of God’s great gifts is the gift to the mind.
As with any gift, he expects us to use it.
We gain all kinds of knowledge from God’s word.
How do we make sense of it?
We are curious creatures who seek comfort in the familiar.
Tragically, most don’t want to “understand the will of God.” Instead, they want to be told what they already want.
Many want the sermons and classes to confirm their prejudices.
They want comfort over conformity and satisfaction over security.
Can we read the Bible and look at it with open minds to determine what God wants for his church and us?
Remember, God’s plan is more extensive than my own individual desires.
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