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WEEKLY
Volume 1 Number 26
26 November 2006
Ye Walk Circumspectly
(Message delivered by Pr Hien Nguyen at the Sunday
Worship Service,
2 pm, Nov 19, 06)
Text: Eph
5:15-21
Nowadays, we can see the
decline in standards of personal morality, sexual morality, social or
public morality, and even “Christian” morality. Certain immoral
behaviours that were regarded as serious sins fifty years ago are now
becoming more popular as a norm. People used to be strongly against
homosexuality, but now some churches even ordain homosexual bishops or
priests to officiate homosexual marriage ceremonies. It is now a norm
for young people to live together before marriage. The rate of crime,
divorce, abortion, and immorality is increasing. Worldliness enters into
the church, and many churches are no more places of worship but of
entertainment with worldly music and shows. This is only one of the
signs of the last days (2 Tim 3:1-5). Our Lord is coming soon!
The rejection of God and His
Word is the core reason for increasing immorality in the world and in
the church today. God is light and holy and His Word is light and holy.
When people reject God and His Word, they are walking in darkness of
sins and do not know where they are going. May God help us to live a
godly life wisely and carefully according to His will and Word.
Walk Circumspectly as Wise
The Bible text for today is
Eph 5:15-21. Verse 15 says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise.” This is a command in the present
tense, literally, it means “Keep on seeing/ considering how
circumspectly/ exactly you are walking/ conducting your life.”
Why? Because those who live in darkness of sins, fornication,
uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, jesting (coarse
joking), and womanising shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (5:3-5),
God commands us to keep on considering how circumspectly, carefully,
accurately and exactly we are conducting our life according to God’s
will (vv 15-17). Doing this is wise and failing to do this is foolish
before God (v 15). Then if you and I are not carefully living exactly
according to God’s will and God’s Word, we are not wise but foolish!
The term “wise” here refers to
ability to apply with skill what we know. To know what is right or good
is not enough but how to perform it properly does count. And it is good
for us to realise that we lack this wisdom from above so that we may ask
the Lord for it, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him,” and “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 1:5;
3:17-18).
Then you and I should wisely
conduct our lives exactly according to God’s will and God’s Word,
redeeming the time, understanding God’s will and be filled with/
controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Redeeming the Time
Verse 16 says, “Redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.” What does it mean to
redeem the time, and why? It means to buy, to buy back, to buy up, to
make good use of time and opportunity. If we have foolishly wasted our
time and opportunities in the past, then let us now use them
meaningfully and wisely according to God’s will, because our Lord Jesus
Christ is coming again soon. The days are evil. Troubles, afflictions
and persecutions may happen to us at any time. Moses prayed, “So
teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”
(Ps 90:12). A person who is suffering from a fatal illness will
treasure and count his days, even his hours and minutes. My dear
friends, we should have the same attitude as maybe today is the last day
of our life and maybe today our Lord will come. Then let us treasure our
days and our time and opportunities to live for the Lord and serve Him
so that when He comes or when we give up our last breath, we shall not
be regretful! We should be careful and wise when we pick up a newspaper
or watch TV. As our time is precious, we only read or watch what is
really important and useful. Many people do not know what to do with
their time and are wasting their time or even killing their time by
watching TV and videos, listening to worldly music, doing
window-shopping, chatting with friends, surfing the internet without any
purpose, and so forth. May the Lord help us and keep us as a living and
holy sacrifice unto Him moment by moment, day by day until He comes. If
you and I are not making good use of our time and opportunities, we are
unwise!
Understanding God’s Will
Verse 17 says, “Wherefore
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord
is.” This is another command in the present tense. “Stop
becoming foolish.” How? By understanding the will of the Lord and
doing it accordingly. If we do not understand nor do God’s will, we are
foolish in God’s sight. How can we understand God’s will? The Holy
Spirit illuminates our hearts and helps us see, understand and know
God’s will through God’s written Word, the Holy Bible, through God’s
living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and through God’s faithful, mature
and godly servants, and all are based on God’s Word alone.
We do thank God so much that
He has loved us and given us His Word perfectly inspired and perfectly
preserved for us today so that our faith, our saving knowledge, our
beliefs, our doctrines and our practices are built on the firm, sure and
unshakeable foundation of His Word. Then we are to read, study, and
meditate God’s Word with a humble, teachable, submissive and prayerful
heart so that we may understand God’s will. Through the Bible we know
that God expects us to live a holy and godly life in love, peace, faith,
goodness, righteousness and truth. God also expects us to imitate Him
and follow Him through the perfect example of His only begotten Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Then before we do anything, it is wise for us to
check whether it is according to God’s will, God’s Word and whether our
Lord Jesus would do it. Failing to do this is foolish before God! An
illustration is smoking. Some brethren might have accepted the Lord
Jesus Christ as their Saviour but they have not given up on their
smoking. They argue, “Smoking is not a sin. If you can show me that the
Bible forbids smoking, I will stop smoking.” Although there is no exact
Bible verse forbidding smoking, the Holy Spirit helps us to understand
God’s will through other verses and through our Lord Jesus Christ’s
example. It is our responsibility to prove, test, or discern “what is
acceptable unto the Lord” (v 10) by asking a few questions: Is it
according to God’s Word and does it magnify God’s Word? (Josh 1:8; Ps
119:9; 138:2); Does it glorify God? Does it edify others? (1 Cor 10:23,
31); Would the Lord Jesus do that? (Col 3:17); Is it good and
profitable? Does it enslave us? (1 Cor 6:12); and so forth. By answering
those questions, we understand that God does not approve smoking at all
as it enslaves us and is harmful to our body, which is the temple of the
Holy Spirit, as a result, we break the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt
not kill” (Ex 20:13). Furthermore, it does not edify others nor
glorify God and the Lord Jesus Christ would never do that.
God has also established His
church, the body of Christ, with a purpose that each member needs each
other, helps and edifies each other, and all submit to the Head, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and grow up into Him in all things (1 Cor 12; Eph 4).
Therefore, we cannot be proud and think that with the Bible in our hands
we do not need God’s people because God does use His godly and faithful
servants to teach younger believers in faith, “And the things that
thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to
faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim
2:2). It is wise to consult faithful and godly servants of God when we
are not sure of God’s will, and as long as the advice, counselling and
teaching are biblical, we are to submit to one another in the fear of
God (v 21).
Being Filled with the Holy
Spirit
The next command in the
present tense is “be filled with the Spirit” (v 18), or
literally, keep on being filled with/ controlled by the Holy Spirit, not
only on Sunday or during devotion time, but always and perpetually. A
drunkard is controlled and under the influence of alcohol, which causes
him to lose his self-control, easily fall into temptations, and give
himself up to immoral behaviour. On the contrary, when we are controlled
by the Holy Spirit, He will produce in us His good and spiritual fruit
of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance/self-control, righteousness and truth” (Gal
5:22-23; Eph 5:9).
Charismatic leaders today
arrogantly claim that they may ask or tell the
Holy Spirit to do what they desire, even to heal the sick or perform
miracles. The truth is not so, we can never control the Holy Spirit nor
ask Him to do what we desire.
On the contrary, we are to submit ourselves to the
Holy Spirit and His will (1 Cor 12:11). The Holy Spirit is the Author of
God’s Word the Bible, so when we say that we are submissive to the Holy
Spirit we must be submissive to His Word as well. Many are deceiving
themselves by thinking that they are spiritual and filled with the Holy
Spirit while their lives are contrary to God’s Word! My dear friends, it
is foolish to be controlled by our sinful nature, Satan or anything in
this world. Then are you and I always controlled by the Holy Spirit and
His Word with our full submission?
Singing Praises to the Lord and Giving Thanks
Always
Under the control of the Holy
Spirit, we shall not speak in tongues, but shall speak to one another in
“psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ” (v 19-20).
Truly, it is the kingdom of heaven in our heart when our heart is tuned
to the Lord in singing and praising Him with thanksgiving wherever we
are and whatever we are doing. Then are we doing that now and always in
our heart?
Conclusion
My dear friends, by living in sin against the Lord,
His will and His Word, we shall never inherit the Kingdom of God. It is
unwise not to keep on considering how we are to conduct our lives
carefully, accurately and exactly according to God’s will! It is also
unwise if we do not understand God’s will nor make good use of our time
and opportunity as much as we can to live for the Lord! May God
graciously help us to live wisely and carefully each day as the last day
of our lives and to keep on submitting ourselves to the control of the
Holy Spirit and God’s Word so that we may bear the fruit of the Holy
Spirit, glorifying God with our singing to Him, praising and thanking
Him from the heart. Amen.
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