"THE BELIEVERS WALK"
Intro. In verse 2 he tells them to walk in love. In telling them the things they are not to do, they are the things that the world today often classifies as love. Fornication, and sexual impurity. He next exhorts in vs. 8 to walk as children of light. In telling them the things they were not to do, they were the things that the world of their day called enlightenment, Paul declares "It is a shame to speak of those things that are done in secret." It is a reference to the initiation rites into the so called mysteries which were often done in dark caves and were not to be revealed upon the threat of death. Paul calls them the unfruitful works of darkness. In verse 15 He exhorts to walk circumspectly.
I. WALK CIRCUMSPECTLY. THE GREEK WORD IS AKRIBOOS.
A. In Matthew's gospel when the wise men came to Herod seeking the birthplace of the King, he told them to search diligently for the child. In Luke's gospel in the introduction he declared "Having had a perfect understanding." (Since I have carefully examined)
Acts 18:25 declares that Appolos spake and taught diligently about Jesus. Another translation declares he taught about Jesus accurately.
1. Walk diligently; perfectly; carefully; accurately.
2. All of these words help us to understand the word circumspectly.
B. To walk circumspectly is to be wise and not a fool.
1. Redeem the time. The fool kills time. Paul described your former life before Christ as meandering according to the course of this world.
a. God put us on the earth that we might come to know Him and come into a special relationship with Him.
b. How foolish to spend my life in other pursuits and only pursue a relationship with Him when I am on my death bed.
2. Know the will of the Lord. The wise man will seek to know the will of the Lord, for this is the most important knowledge I can ever attain. The fool stumbles blindly through life never knowing rarely caring why he exists.
3. Be filled with the Spirit. The foolish world is filled with wine that clouds their minds on eternal issues, the wise man is filled with the Spirit which sharpens his mind.
C. If we are wise, children of the light we will walk circumspectly which means we will,
1. Walk diligently, I will seek to redeem the time.
a. A very common excuse today is I couldn't find the time.
b. They used to sing a song, "Time for business, time for pleasure, time for going on in sin, Have you any time for Jesus, He is waiting to come in."
c. Paul exhorts them to redeem the time. Or more accurately buy up the time the idea is pay the ransom.
d. There are many things that we do today that are a waste of time. They have no eternal value.
e. I wonder how many accumulated hours were spent yesterday watching the USC vs UCLA game. If the team you were rooting for lost, don't you feel today like it was a waste of time.
f. How many important things did you not do this week for a lack of time?
g. We have only one life, and it will soon be past; And only what's done for Christ will last.
h. Why are we to redeem the time? "Because the days are evil." Which means the Lord is coming soon. "Evil days shall wax worse and worse."
i. It is not like the fellow who said, "God put me on earth to do so many things, and I am so far behind, that I am never going to die." You will die and leave a lot undone.
2. I will walk accurately, knowing what the will of the Lord is. I want my life to precisely follow God's plan and purpose.
a. It is not wise to leave God out of your planning.
b. It is not wise to lean to your own understanding.
c. It is wise to acknowledge Him in everything asking Him to direct our path that we might walk in His ways.
3. I will walk perfectly which means I will not be drunk with excessive wine.
a. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
b. A man who is under the influence cannot walk perfectly. He staggers and stumbles.
II. HOW TO WALK CIRCUMSPECTLY.
A. Be filled with the Spirit.
1. Paul told the Galatian churches that if we would walk in the Spirit we would not fulfill the lusts of our flesh.
2. God promised Ezekiel concerning Israel in the last days. "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes."
B. Speak to yourself in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
1. Psalms, usually considered one of David's compositions. I love our singing of the Psalms.
2. Hymn, Greek humnois songs of praise directed to God. We call singing out of our hymnal.
3. Song, Greek o-de, it is qualified by the word spiritual. They are songs that are intended to glorify God and edify man.
PSA 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
PSA 105:2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
PSA 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
1. We read that Jesus sang a Hymn with His disciples at the passover supper before going to the Garden of Gethsemene.
2. Paul and Silas were singing praises to God at midnight as they were fastened to the stocks in the jail at Phillipi.
3. Paul admonished the Colossians,
COL 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
4. James wrote:
JAM 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
5. Have you ever done that? Have you ever just sung to the Lord when you were alone with just Him?
a. It's amazing what tunes go almost unconsciously through our minds.
b. The other day I found myself just sort of whistling, and when I stopped to think what I was whistling it was some song that went back to my Jr. High days, Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. I thought where did that come from? and how foolish.
c. I love it when I catch myself sort of subconsciously singing or whistling songs of praise.
6. Songs of praise can turn the darkest night into day.
7. It can turn sorrow into joy.
8. Defeat into victory.
III. GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS UNTO GOD AND THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
A. Giving thanks when? Always
B. Giving thanks for how many things? All
C. Giving thanks to whom? God the Father.
D. By whom do we have access to Him? Our Lord Jesus Christ.
E. It is God's will that I am always giving thanks.
1. David said, "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth."
2. Writing to the church in Corinth Paul said, "I thank my God always on your behalf."
F. It is God's will that I give thanks for everything.
1TH 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1. I can only do this if I know,
a. I love God and am called according to his purpose for then I know that all things are working together for good.
b. That God is in control of the circumstances of my life.
c. That God loves me.
d. That God's thoughts toward me are for peace not evil.
JER 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
2. This is God's will for your life.
G. We are to give thanks to God.
1. Writing to the Colossians Paul said,
COL 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
2. It is God who has loved us and bestowed on us the bountiful blessings thus our thanksgiving is offered to Him.
H. Our only access to God is through His Son Jesus Christ.
1. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father, but by Me."
2. Elsewhere in this letter to the Ephesians Paul said, "For through Him, by the Spirit, we have access to the Father,"
3. Paul wrote to the Colossians,
COL 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
4. The writer of the book of Hebrews said,
HEB 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to his name.
I. Let us not get so busy in the preparation to celebrate Thanksgiving that we forget to always give thanks for all things to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. In fact let's get a running start on the day, and let's begin today to give thanks unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. I am sure God will not mind if we don't wait till Thanksgiving to give thanks.
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
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