The Question, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ, disciple of Christ to follow Christ you want to but I want to be this kind of question time alone will not will not see that's currently wire decisions and that's going very far how you spend your time seeing that's going to require a lot and it's been required now just because 10 years past doesn't mean roads. One going up today on this additional fellowship in the world across Canoga Park Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going past will go for now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world is careful how you live only foolishly wisely, but you need to make the most of your time and that term making the most of making the most of is one word in Greek. It's the word X garage so they say. What's that mean it means every other time it's in the New Testament translated redeem. In fact, you have been X all garage owed by the blood of Christ.

You have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, and so you could say here. Redeem your time would be the same thing. He says make the most of your time in the work time is not the word Colorado which would get chronograph from it doesn't. He's not talking about the hours, days, months is not talking about that he's talking about something else. He's talking about the word Kai Ross and it's your time, making the most of your time, making the most of your life. The word Kai Ross means allotted to an interesting word. Your allotted time. You need to make the most out of your allotted time. Now notice what he means by this he is not saying to us all born on me to feel guilty because I'm going to have to be one of these guys I'm in have to keep a day planner and see if I waste any time I got to be serving Jesus every moment of every day that's already means what he means is this. Don't waste your time by making foolish choices don't do that make the most of your time by making wise choices with your life, asking yourself the question, what is the wise thing to do and then he says notice making the most of your time, because the days are evil of Ephesians like what yeah the days are evil.

Holy place in the back to chapter 2 of Ephesians is for two verses chapter 2 in verses one and two, he says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins, and then he says this in which you formerly lived or formally walked according to the course of this world. He says according to the prince of the power of the air, he said of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. So he tells the Ephesians you know what you know why your world was so evil because it's controlled by the evil one. That's why he said that's the way it is and it was for them to live in Ephesus. If you would visit the ruins in Ephesus today. Their area still carved out near the temple sites where they have all kinds of failed leak images because it was part of their worship. In fact, if you been worshiping the temple in Ephesus. The two things that were most important for worship service was drunkenness and prostitution that was worship in Ephesus.

That's what these people were doing before they came to Christ and he says look, I know that the culture you grew up in has a sort of grip on you and you fight this temptation of going back to living the way you have.

Just like you and I nothing's really changed years and years ago I thing was little boy used to say things like, don't go looking for trouble. I don't think today you have to go looking for, I don't think you have to go looking for trouble. I think troubles everywhere. I think our culture is showing over and over again by all the ways you market culture that is sliding and exchanging any says that all the more reason that you be careful how you live that you be careful to make wise choices and not foolish ones that you make the most of the opportunity called your life, because the days in which you live. He said are evil.

There is no morally neutral climate in which we live. He said almost the same thing the Romans. In Romans 12 when he said don't let the world squeeze you into its mold that is so much easier to have happen and you think it is. The world can set our priorities in it since so many of our goals and ambitions.

So we said so then do not. In verse 17 B foolish to not be foolish, and then he says, but understand what the will of the Lord is now. That's not funny in English, but it's funny and great the word understanding Greek is an imperative mood.

That's right.

He's commanding now. Can you command someone to understand. Don't you wish you could if you could, I would've learned so much more in school. All the teacher order so that I command you understand this okay I'll do it if you command me you can't understand something by commandment, but that's what it is is an imperative mood.

He said you need to understand what is he mean by that pose a very bright man so you can't be think I command people to understand.

Now that's not what he means he means I want to use what I'm saying right now is a wake-up call for you, sir. Grabbing him by the collar. You know that's kind of what he's doing right now he's saying look, you need to face up. What do you know to be true in your heart, your Christian spirit of God and well as you see, admit to yourself because you know what God would have you to do is just trying to wake them up. By the way, that kind of work. Sometimes. Have you ever seen someone to talk to someone and said you know I think you need to be more careful about what you eat and the answer you normal responses.

No, what you need to get at least a moderate amount of exercise all while you know I think you are to quit smoking maybe shouldn't drink so much coal then they see a doctor and then you see them for five months later you see your looking what happened. Doctor told me that if I kept this up I want to be dead in the year. Yeah, you see what happened now there motivated. You see, now there motivated and silly face the consequences. They were motivated. It's always know what Paul is trying to say look I want you not to experience all the consequences of the bad choices of your life.

I want you live wisely.

You see, I want to ask the question what is the wise thing for me to do in virtually every single situation as I thought about this notice.

He said if you do that you understand what the will of the Lord is that word could mean desire or wish just as easily, and I think that's what he is saying.

That's what the Lord wishes for you. That's what the Lord desires for you.

He desires that you were careful about the way you live that you live wisely, not forcefully, you see that you make the most of your time. That's what he is saying don't be foolish as I thought about this. I thought about how do we apply that question.

What is the wise thing to do and I believe that there's really sort of three perspectives are three perspectives I think you should think about the next time you're making a choice and doing the wise thing number one is this in light of your past experiences.

What is the wise thing to do. I let me explain it in light of your past experiences.

What is the wise thing to do. You see all of us have our own unique history. I want to think about your past experiences. Let me illustrate that you get in the mail. A brand-new credit card just been issued to you now. Just last year, after 15 years of paying off $18,000 in credit card debt.

You finally got yourself clear and now you got a new card in the mail you see now that doesn't mean a new card is bad for anybody else but in your situation. Considering that you put yourself under accrued amount of debt in your life.

What is the wise thing for you to do on the basis of your past experience. You see that's that's the question you have to ask yourself.

I see this all the time. I'm astounded by people who go into one bad relationship after another bad relationship and and it's amazing as soon as one bad relationship starts, stops the jumping to the next one illustration is sort of like you know somebody comes and says hey I just got a tell you something, Pastor. I just find the lady of my dreams and him were going to be married nicely what you thought about this a while. Yes, she's the ice and I you know well I should been married four times before and he would say yeah but you know how bad they all wore, but were you there in all four of those and always perplexed like what I saw, how about this, then let's list.

Think about it this way in the basis of your past experiences so far. Based on your past experiences, your lousy at picking ladies, the mayor that be the best thing we could say about this.

So, in light of that, do you think you should be really cautious here, you should take a lot of care here. You see, that happens were vulnerable as we get older were vulnerable, we lose a spouse, but we've never been lonely in our adult life and so immediately want to jump into a relationship as fast as we can. Be careful. You see, be careful what is the wise thing for me to do second me not only in light of our past experiences, but in the light of your present circumstances. What is the wise thing to do and I what I mean by that is what's going on with you today. Your Jesus taught us in the sermon on the mount that each day will have plenty of trouble on its own and we all face that we all understand that the be true, but you cannot allow today's pressures were today's fears or today's circumstances to drive you to make a choice or a decision that tomorrow you'll regret. Think about it this way. At least this is true for me. Most of the apologies that we have ever made her due to the fact that we overreacted in the moment most of the apologies that you've ever made is because you overreacted in the moment. I remember reading this years ago when you're really mad when you're really mad. Do nothing at solid advice. By the way, is that hard. Yeah, because see right now you at least I can tell who's really mad at each other. You can hide that pretty well in church, but the whole idea of it is in a situation like this is pretty benign. So yeah, yeah, that makes good sense. But then you get in the car and then there's were we going to eat afterwords and then all of a sudden it starts in, and you'll find out that the doing nothing is harder than you think you see when you really mad. I don't want to do nothing. I want to do something that you end up regretting we think of a typical marital conflict analogy always uses a typical marital conflict as you basically take Sarah to pea shooters and somebody does something shoot appeal because you're upset and then they shoot one back. The one I shot back in the eye and so consequently then you start San Juan porn at the club and then they pull out a club and you pull out a guy maple out a gun you bought again and they bought a Canon now you got your nuclear warheads ready to go. They got their nuclear work and then words like always and never in anger is falling everywhere and in the end you look across the room with the person you love.

You think boy regret this one. I do how did this happen, you see, in light of my present circumstances.

My emotions my state of mind.

All those things and so when you going to ask the question what is the wise thing to do. You have to look at in the light of your past experiences.

In light of your present circumstances. And lastly, in light of your future hopes and dreams. What is the wise thing to do in light of your future hopes and dreams. It could be general or could be extremely detailed. You see, where would you like to be in 10 years. As you look down where would you like to be in 10 years.

It's kind of astounding stuff you know they've done this kind of thing with teenagers a lot and what they've done is they've asked teenagers to write essays on who was the kind of person they would like to marry in the kind of life they would like to have 10 years down the road 15 years down the road and when they write it out. It's amazing how different the perspective of what they want is basically compared to the people that they're with right now. It's astounding thing you see in the reason why is so astounding is no that's what I want on the rowboat. You know the whole problem of it is the decisions you make today they get coming to focus in the future. The future will focus the decisions you make today for example, if you spend too much money now. It'll be clear to you later it if you drink too much alcohol.

Now it will become clear later if you have too many nights out, it'll be clear later if you go in and out of too many relationships. It'll become clear later if you missed too many classes you become clear later.

You see, you end up with the future of regret.

That's what happens.

You see, you have to stop deceiving yourselves again all these defense mechanisms that we use. I'm not doing anything wrong. People do this all the time. I'm not hurting anyone.

There's no law against this. Nobody's going to find out. Those are all bad ways. The self talk. You see, the reaping and sowing principle is ironclad so specifically in light of where you would want to be 10 years from now financially what is the wise thing for me to do today.

You see, now I know that is an easy to see because you have eyes you see in you see things in our culture all the time 0% financing zero in Ohio.

That's like stealing and I got I have that is as good 0% financing week.

Do you need that needed its 0% financing.

Or how about this one.

Bad credit no credit right then matter that the matter this Pontiac is for you know I have a whole experience behind me that I couldn't get out from under. And now I can get more debt. You see, you have to be so careful with that, in light of where you want to be financially 10 years from now what is the wise thing to do. How about this in light of the kind of Christian, you want to be 10 years and think of the kind of Christian, you want to be the kind a disciple of Christ or follow Christ you want to be that I want to be this kind of Christian time alone will not produce that it will not see that's going to require decisions on your part.

That's going to require how you spend your time. You see that's going to require a lot of you and it's going require now just because 10 years pass doesn't mean you've grown spiritually. One day you see that's the whole point I have to make choices now. What is the wise choice now and it's certainly beneficial Bill Hibel Susan Singer Pastor Willow Creek in Chicago years ago I heard him say I will how much discipline is so important in the Christian life, and he defined discipline in the way that I think applies almost everything he said to him. Discipline is simply this delayed gratification. That's a discipline as you see you discipline yourself and you don't get the gratification right now, but you get it down the road in every area of your life, including spiritually so the question is what is the wise thing to do in light of my past experiences in light of my present circumstances, and in light of my future hopes and dreams see you and I have something in common were very capable of doing really stupid things.

God knows it and so he simply said before you do the next one.

Ask yourself the question, what is the wise thing to do. That question can change your life for spring father. This is one of those subjects that we study it from afar, it seems so self-explanatory, so easy to understand. It seems to be poignant. It seems to be exactly what we need in our life. And yet, father women, we find ourselves making decisions and choices with relationships and with careers and with finances all those cover kind of areas. Then it gets very cloudy. Father I pray that in the future for each and every one of us who know you, through Jesus Christ, that we face our next choice.

Our next decision. Whatever it is that we take the time and allow your spirit to convict us that we would and the promptness that we would ask the question what is the wise thing to do here father if we do that it would be for your glory.

But it would be for our good. You intend for us to have a life that is filled with joy and peace whole meaning, purpose father were only going to read if we make life as we pray in Jesus.

Pastor Brueggemann on the radio ministry fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online that website you will find on today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio program, had Fellowship in the Word.

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