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How to Live Wisely. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Eph. 5:15-16. If you only had 1 month to live what would you do?.
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How to Live Wisely • “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, • making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Eph. 5:15-16
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Eph. 5:15-16
What is wisdom? Wisdom is using the best means to accomplish the best outcome in any given situation.
What does wisdom look like? Unwise (Old Self) Wise (New Self) Created in the likeness of God (4:24) Righteous and holy (4:24) Speaks truth to others (4:25) Does not remain angry so as not to give Satan a foothold to disrupt our unity (4:26-27) Does not steal but does honest work (4:28) Shares with those in need (4:28) Uses words to build up and not tear down (4:29) Kind, tenderhearted, forgiving (4:32) Thankful (5:4) Tries to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (5:10) Exposes the unfruitful works of darkness (5:11) Understands the will of the Lord (5:17) Filled with the Holy Spirit (5:18) Singing and making melody to the Lord with their heart (5:19) Thankful in everything (5:20) Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (5:21) • Futile in thinking (4:16) • Darkened in understanding; ignorant (4:18) • Alienated from God (4:18) • Hard of heart and callous (4:18) • Given up to sensuality and greedy for impurity (4:19) • Corrupt through deceitful desires (4:22) • Bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor, slander, malice (4:31) • Sexually immoral, impure, covetous (5:3) • Filthy and crude language and joking (5:4) • Partakers in the unfruitful works of darkness (5:11) • Foolish (5:17) • Drunk (5:18)
The gospel is power Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
The Foundation Former World Trade Center Site in NYC
The Foundation Chapters 1-3 Foundation of the Freedom Tower(Former World Trade Center Site)
The Superstructure Chapters 4-6 “Freedom Tower”
Living wisely = Living out the Purposes of God • Rest in the Providence of God • Live in the Power of God • Trust in the Promises of God
Is God Sovereign? Eph. 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Rest in the Providence of God • Conclusion: God is sovereign over all things – including our transformation – and nothing can stop Him from accomplishing His purposes! • Therefore, rest in the Providence of God
How can we live in God’s Power? God’s power is evident in creation
How can we live in God’s power?The Resurrection Ephesians 1:19–20 “and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”
How can we live in God’s power? The Holy Spirit Eph.1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Live in the Power of God • Conclusion: God’s power is evidenced in creation, His victory over death at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and is experienced by us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
What has God promised us? • Eph. 2:1-7 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. • 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
You’ve never met a mere mortal... • Only God, His Word, and His People last forever – therefore, the wise person will invest in those things.
What has God Promised us? • That we will be like Christ! • Phil. 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. • 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
So What? • Conclusion: Because God is sovereign over all things and His power is unlimited and evident not only in creation and the overwhelming evidence of Christ’s resurrection but is experienced by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can trust completely in His precious and very great promises toward us. And therefore, we can live wisely by living for God’s purposes and not our own.
