Howard Katz
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Notes: Redeeming the Time
Ephesians 5:14–21 (NKJV)
14Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
15See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:14–21 (NKJV)
14Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
“Awake, you who sleep” – There is one thing about being asleep. You don’t realize you’re asleep until someone wakes you up!
These verses in Ephesians are a wake up call.
“Arise from the dead” – When we are in a state of sleep we are unable to accomplish anything and when we are asleep spiritually we are not making any progress forward.
“Christ will give you light” – Once we wake up and turn our attention to Christ we begin to see and understand things that for a long time we failed to see.
When we begin to put Christ first in our lives we will begin to see this life and everything around us in a whole new light.
15See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
“walk circumspectly” – The English word circumspectly is a translation of two Greek words meaning, “how” and “accurately, carefully” and thus the idea of circumspectly is that we constantly evaluate how we live to make sure we are acting wisely and not foolishly.
16redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
“redeeming the time” – The Greek word for “redeeming” is ἐξαγοράζω exagorazō and it means “ransom, buy up, to rescues from loss (improve opportunity).
This life is filled with things that can waste and destroy the opportunities God gives us daily.
Verse 17-19 lists a number of different things we need to do to redeem the time so that our lives are fruitful.
17Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
We are to understand or comprehend the will of the Lord.
We do this by studying and meditating upon the Bible daily and discuss God’s Word with others in order to expand and deepen our insights and understanding.
18And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation” – The Greek word for dissipation is ἀσωτία asōtia and it means “recklessness, senseless deeds, behavior which shows lack of concern or thought for the consequences of an action.”
“but be filled with the Spirit” – The opposite of reckless living that leaves one empty and purposeless is being filled with God’s Spirit and His purposes for our lives.
19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Verses 19 and 20 exemplify the attitude that allows us to be continually filled with the Spirit.
Our hearts and mouths are to be continually filled with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Our hearts are to be continually making melody to the Lord.
We are to be continually giving thanks to God for all things.
21submitting to one another in the fear of God.
We are to honour one another and this is accomplished by always being conscious of the realty of God in our lives.
Colossians 4:5–6 (NKJV)
5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Ephesians 5 teaches about redeeming the time so our personal relationship with God is enriched and Colossians 4 teaches about redeeming the time so our lives can impact those around us for eternity.
Zechariah 4:9–10 (NKJV)
9“The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
“For who has despised the day of small things?” – Many times Believers are looking for some great event to change the course of their lives and transform them, but it is the small things God is doing that, if we will yield, will produce such a harvest we will not be able to contain it.
We are not to despise the small things that God is doing in our lives for they are the key to opening the door to experience God in ways we could never have imagined.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV)
9For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
The Lord is looking diligently throughout the whole earth for those whose hearts are loyal to Him and who are willing to seek Him before anything else.
With those who are fully loyal to Him, He will show Himself strong and do great exploits through them.
2 Timothy 1:6 (NKJV)
6Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
The Greek word “stir up” means “to kindle afresh, to rekindle a fire,” implying something that was once burning brightly has grown dim or perhaps has even gone out.
1 Timothy 4:13–16 (NKJV)
13Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
15Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
16Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
“do not neglect the gift that is in you” – The Greek word for neglect means “to be careless, disregard, pay no attention.” It is easy to take for granted what God has done for us and what He has given us.
“Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them” – The way we prevent ourselves from neglecting the gifts God has given us and taking for granted the things He has done for us is by keeping the reality of those things forefront in our minds and hearts.
Hebrews 6:12 (NKJV)
12that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Some people have faith but no patience so they quickly give up when God’s promises tarry.
Some people have patience, but no expectation that God has wonderful things planned for their lives.
How do we get out of our spiritual rut and move forward with the purposes God has for our lives?
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” – Put Christ first in your life.
Develop a daily time of prayer and study of His Word that is both substantial in terms of time and quality.
Learn to abide in Him throughout the day by staying in prayer and an attitude of thanksgiving.
Have someone who is spiritually mature, that you are accountable to, and who can speak into your life on a regular basis.
Every day enjoy all that God has done for you.
The Christian life is not a sprint but a long distance run.
How can we grow so that we can be fruitful and experience the marvelous things God has intended for our lives.
One step at a time and day by day and we will experience the grace of God in abundance in our lives.
How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Some are here who have never experienced the reality of know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and today you can.
Some are here who have received Christ but find themselves in a spiritual rut that they seem helpless to get out of, but today we can seek Him believing He will help us.
Some are here who have experienced God’s faithfulness to change their lives and they can give thanks today for what God has done and seek Him to continue that process.
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