Sermon Tone Analysis

*Don’t Waste Your Life*

*Ephesians 5:15-17*

* *

There is a bumper sticker that says, “Life is too precious to waste”.

But how do you do that?

How do you prevent wasting your life?

Well, the Bible says this in Ephesians, 5:15-17…, “Be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise.

Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.

Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

Now notice, the word “careful”.

It says, “be careful how you live”.

Now the opposite of careful is what, careless?

It says, don’t be careless.

Literally the Greek means “don’t stumble through life; don’t just drift through life”.

You need to know what you’re here for, know your purpose; it says, “make the most of every opportunity, be wise” and “try to understand what God wants you to do”.

If I would ask you to be honest, how many of you would say, you really would like to know what God wants you to do with your life?

How many would say it?

I think most of us.

Well, you’re in luck…because starting next week, we’re going to look, intently, for 40 Days at what God wants you to do with your life.

It says “don’t be foolish, be wise.

Know what God wants you to do with your life”.

We’re going to look at the five purposes that God has created you for.

Today, I want us to think about 3 important questions of life.

*Question #1: What does God want from my life?

*

*            *What does that mean?

What does that take?

What does that involve and why should I do it?

We’re going to look at these today.

1.

What does God want from you?

Well, when you read through the whole Bible, you can summarize it in a couple of words.

*He wants** my whole life.*

He wants my entire life.

There is not a single verse in the Bible, not one, that says you can be a Christian and live your life any old way you want to.

It’s just not there.

God wants all of you.

He doesn’t want 10% of you, He doesn’t want 99% of you, He wants all of you.

Now God is very clear about this; there’s no mystery in it.

Look at Romans 6:13, ”Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life.

And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God”.

Circle the word “completely” and circle the word “whole body”.

It should be all of you.

C.S. Lewis once said, “The only thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important”.

If it’s really true, then it deserves everything you’ve got.

If it’s not true, you shouldn’t be here right now.

It’s either all, or nothing.

It’s either true, and that should determine the rest of your life, or you should just go do whatever you want.

There’re still a lot of people trying to sit on the fence.

They say, “Well, I don’t know what God wants me to do”.

Well, look at the next verse: ”This is what the Lord your God wants you to do:  Respect the Lord and do what He has told you to do.

Love Him.

Serve the Lord your God with your whole being.”

There’s that word “whole being” again.

A lot of people try to say, “Well, I’ll serve God in my spare time”.

It’s like I have this pie – I have my social life, and I have my career life, and I have my sex life, you know I have my family life and over here my retirement life and over here I have my spiritual life - as if your spiritual life is one part of the pie.

Wrong.

God’s the whole pie.

He wants the whole pie to be under His control.

He doesn’t want you to say, “God, I’ll give you 10% of my life”.

He wants it all, your whole being.

There’s a myth that says that you can do it all, you can have it all, but you can’t.

You have to give it all to God.  Look at the next verse; ”No one can serve two masters.

Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money”.

Look at the word “cannot”.

He doesn’t say you “should not” serve God and money – He says you “cannot” serve God and money, it’s impossible.

What’s He talking about?

He’s saying it is impossible to have 2 first priorities in your life.

You’re always going to have a No.1, and everything else is going to be 2,3,4 and 5.

There are a lot of things besides money that can certainly push God out of First Place in your life.

Work can push God out of First Place; play, sports, hobbies can push God out of First Place, friends can push God out of First Place in your life, school work can push God out of First Place in your life, dating can push God out of First Place in your life, even your own family can push God out of First Place in your life.

God’s saying you can’t serve God and something else at the same time.

He said, ‘I want it all; I want to be totally in charge of your life”.

So really the question here is “what’s going to be First Place in you?”

Is what’s going to be the No. 1 goal in your life building your career?

Is the No. 1 goal in your life raising your family?

Is the No. 1 goal of your life going to be saving for retirement?

Is the No. 1 goal of your life going to be maintaining your good health?

You see, all of those things are good.

In fact, God created them.

And God approves of every one of those things, except in First Place.

God says, “You will have no other gods before me”.

And whatever is in First Place in your life is your god called an idol.

And God says, “that’s wrong”.

He says, “ I want to be No. 1 in your life.

One time Jesus told an event that happened in His life.

He was walking down the streets of Jerusalem and a man walked up and Jesus said, “Follow me” and the guy said, “Okay, I will follow you.

But Lord, let me, first, go take care of some things I’ve got to take care of”.

Now, that little phrase there – “Lord, let me first” is a contradiction.

You can’t say “Lord” and “me first” at the same time.

If you’re saying “me first”, He’s not your Lord.

He’s not in charge.

He’s not No. 1.  So, you have to decide who’s going to be Lord in your life – you, or God?

Is it going to be God first, or me first?

Let me ask you a very personal question – where are you saying to God, “me first”?

You know, even Christians do this.

Where are you saying, “God, I’ll live for you, but let me first find somebody to marry.

God, I’ll live for you, but let me first finish my school.

God, I'll really serve you, but let me first get the kids out of the house.

God, I’m really going be on fire for you, I’m going to do it all, but let me first achieve financial independence.

Let me first pay off my mortgage.

Let me first build my career.