"Wise Walking In These Evil Days!" Ephesians 5:15-21

The Twentieth Sunday After Trinity                       13-October-2024

Sermon Text: Ephesians 5:15-21

Sermon Theme: “Wise Walking In Evil Days!” I. Watch Your Step!(vs.15) II. Careful Of Your Spending! (vs.16) III. Learn Wisdom!(vs.17). IV. Be Filled With The Spirit! (vs.18-20) V. Live Humbly. (Vs.21) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. The apocalypse of St. John closes with an invitation: Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” It is the echo of our King of Creation’s voice. On the sixth 24 hour day of the existence of all things visible and invisible in our universe, the Lord God made man inviting him to feast with Him at the Tree of Life. “Come!” He invited, “Eat and live!”

     Sadly, the rebellious angel Satan masquerading as a serpent, hissed another invitation. “Come!” he hissed, “eat of the forbidden fruit, become your own gods, seize power and knowledge to serve self, then you will really live.” We live the results of our first parents insurrection. We are conceived in Adam’s iniquity and brought forth in sin. Captive to death, fear, and Satan’s lies we deserve only to bound in the ropes of our sin and cast into the eternal outer darkness and isolation of hell. There we will gnash our teeth in eternal hatred of our Creator and weep in the lie that He didn’t do enough to save us. The lie that we have no sin. The lie that we don’t need the King’s wedding garment to cover the filthy stinking rags of our self-chosen good deeds. The lie that we aren’t fools.

    “Come!” Our Creator, Good Shepherd, Jesus calls His lost straying lambs Adam and his wife. “Where are you?” “What have you done?” “Come! I prepare the feast in My holy flesh born of the Virgin! I call you Home by sacrificing My innocent flesh to crush Satan’s head with My heel!” “His venomous fangs will embed themselves in My heel to stop his lies!” “Come! Hear the Truth! Incline your ear! Listen! Come hear that your soul may live! Live on My flesh and blood of the New Testament - given and shed for you to wash away all your sin, death, guilt, and shame!” Come to the wedding feast!”

      Come! Many are called, but few are chosen! Satan lies, our fallen world offers bread which cannot satisfy, our old sinful flesh is captive to sin and as a pig it loves to wallow in the muck of evil passions. We live in evil days. God the Holy Spirit warns, 2Ti 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: (2) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, (4) traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

     Come! Today Listen! Learn from the Holy Spirit through the pen of St. Paul: “Wise Walking In Evil Days!” I. Watch Your Step!(vs.15) II. Careful Of Your Spending! (vs.16) III. Learn Wisdom!(vs.17). IV. Be Filled With The Spirit! (vs.18-20) V. Live Humbly. (Vs.21)

I. “I.E.D’s”- Improvised Explosive Devices - are as old as guerilla warfare. The age of terrorism and our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan again reminded us that an innocent looking back pack, trash can, pile of rubble, or mound of dirt by the side of a road might be filled with death. In our airports we are warned to be wary of unattended bags and to report anything suspicious.

     Satan, the world, and our flesh disguises spiritually deadly explosives in innocent looking gifts. We have been studying through Paul’s letter to his congregation at Ephesus. Here God the Holy Spirit teaches us of our life in Christ’s Church. Next week we will be clothed for the battlefield as soldiers in the Church Militant with the armor of God. Today, we receive the warning order to always be vigilant. Listen and Live! (Vs.15)

     Come! The King invited, but fools were too busy with their farms and businesses to come. Our flesh reasons, didn’t God command us to labor in the sweat of our brow to yield food for our bodies. Aren’t we called to vocations, businesses to serve our neighbor! We’re too busy feeding and serving our neighbor to pause and come to the King’s feast! Other spiritual fools tire of Christ’s servants inviting them - they treat their pastors shamefully and killing them - or removing them from office to silence the King’s gracious invitation to “Come!”

     Watch your step! Don’t allow your sinful flesh, the evil world, Satan’s lies to twist God’s blessings into foolish excuses to do Christianity on your own apart from gathering weekly in a local congregation. Twice the warning is sung to us in the book of Psalms: Psa 14:1-3 The fool has said in his heart,"There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. (2) The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. (3) They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.” Watch your own fleshly spirituality pretending to find God in your feelings, your experience, your knowledge - All turned aside - me and you. Not one does good! Watch your step!

II. Half-pots grow as people vie for a chance to win riches. What are you doing with the riches you have? Not your bank account! Every day you are blessed with 86,400 seconds of life from God your Father. No human being can buy another second of life or redeem their soul from hell. A billionaires riches cannot remove the burden from his conscience. If we deduct eight hours of sleep from that pot of riches - it still leaves us with 57,600 seconds, or 960 minutes. How do you spend the riches of granted you daily by the King of Heaven? (Vs.16)

   We are easily distracted. Families gather, couples go out to eat....to stare down at their screens...seldom looking into each others eyes and taking the time to really listen. We run from one recreation to another, too busy to take the time to visit friends and family - then comes the funeral - we say nice things about the corpse that we never took the time to say to them while they lived.

    Redeem the time! Evil distracts. Evil turns us in on ourselves as we stare at screens for another hit of dopamine - put the screens away - listen. Listen to your Creator - He talks to you through His written Word - listen - talk to Him in prayer. If you spend just 1% of the gift of time daily He blesses you with - about 14 minutes in His Word and prayer - you could read through the entire Bible in one year. Use God’s blessing of technology - set a timer to alert you to take time to meditate on a Psalm, the Catechism, and breathe it back to God in prayer. It is good discipline with your morning and bedtime prayers. For instance you could redeem the time having your alarm alert you at 9:00a.m., Noon, and 3p.m. - to pause, rejoice, and pray. Redeem the time - weekly come to the King’s feast to have your conscience washed clean with Christ’s forgiving blood - to hear His voice clothing you with rich wedding garments as you feast at His table - now preparing for the eternal feast!

Don’t deceive yourself rejecting His invitation to come now - and lying that you want to spend eternity with Jesus who draws near to you here and now.

III. Wise fools is what man is apart from his Creator. A fool loves to multiple his own words to drown out the words and wisdom of our Creator. The wisest man in the ancient world wrote, Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” King Solomon sought the meaning of life in manmade wisdom, riches, honors, excessive lust, drink - it left him empty - “meaningless, meaningless, life is meaningless.”he confessed. Then as he draws the book of Ecclesiastes to its conclusion he teaches the young to remember their Creator in the days of their youth. Our bodies grow old, fail us, and we will die. How does he summarize his discovery? Ecc 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. (14) For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

    Learn true wisdom in these evil days! Know Him who is The Way, The Truth, The Life - Jesus Christ - the only path to the Father and the eternal heavenly wedding feast of the Lamb in eternity! (Vs.18) Don’t be a fool! Understand the will of the Lord! He wills that all men be saved and come to know Jesus by the Holy Spirit calling us through the written Word of the Holy Bible. Never trust your gut, or your wisdom - listen to Him speak to you in His Word. Read your daily devotions out loud - listen to Him! Pray out loud! Hear Him in His Word as He speaks to you to strengthen you by His Spirit through His Word.

IV. Let God the Holy Spirit fill you with His songs of victory! (Vs. 18) Drinking to excess, using drugs to quiet our conscience only leads to greater sin and burdens. A drunk, a drug addict always needs more and more deadening attempting to quiet conscience. It is a lie that leads to greater sin - a dissolute - a meaningless life lived only for selfish lusts.

     Come to the great feast! (Vs.18b-19) Every Sunday the Holy Spirit fills you with His Word. Sing forth Psalms - they teach you to rejoice, to pray, to lament, to bear one another’s burdens. Where the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is preached - we can’t but sing. Where Jesus is present the God/Man to save us we burst forth with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven to sing of God’s love for us in His Son saving us by His Spirit! Sing in Church! Sing at Home! Sing as you go about your daily tasks! Music belongs to the Church - not the world - take it back and sing to each other in hymns. Hymns of Moses, Miriam, David. Hymns of Bach, Luther, Newton, Starke, and the like. Sing the spiritual songs of the liturgy - Mary’s Song, Zacharias’ Song, Heaven’s Holy Angel’s Song at Jesus’ birth, Simeon’s Song, the Song of the Tax Collector, the Song of Easter! Let them echo in your heart as you make melody in the temple of your heart to the Lord - dwelling in you!

     Sing to the Triune God! (Vs19 b - 20) Give thanks for all things! When you lose all to a hurricane sing! When death approaches sing! By the Holy Spirit to God the Father for you bear the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is forever your baptismal birthright! Sing!

V. Rejoice to live following King Jesus! (Vs.21) He humbles Himself to serve us sinners! He prepares the feast for us by submitting Himself to the Father’s loving will to make us alive by His Spirit. Dear Christian, Satan vies for power and pride - not you! Humbly submit to one another! How does the Church in your home look? Col 3:18-21 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (19) Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. (20) Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. (21) Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” Daily we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus be our guest!” We learn this from St. John’s apocalypse, Rev 22:20-21 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (21) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.