Ephesians 5:15-21 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Pastor Herk continues: Shortcuts have consequences and can be dangerous. Abraham and Sarah found out the hard way that taking shortcuts will only get us into trouble Genesis 16:1-2a, Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” Ishmael, whose mother is Hagar, is identified as the father of the Arabs, and from his half-brother Isaac whose mother is Sarah, the Jewish nation was established.
The Word of God is telling us what we are supposed to do and how we are to act (understand what the Lord’s will is). Yet, the secular world is “dog-eat-dog” and it doesn’t matter who you step on while going up the ladder of success. I remember when I was coaching little League baseball, and there was this other coach who always wanted an “edge on the competition”. So, instead of teaching the ballplayers the fundamentals of fielding, catching, throwing, hitting and running, he teach his players to steal the games with trick plays. It was a shortcut to win by bending the rules. This “have an edge” philosophy carries over into social life.
How do we watch out for shortcuts in our spiritual journey with Jesus? (1) Be wise by making the most of every opportunity. The Greek word for “making the most of” is “exagorazō“, which means to redeem by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off. It is a metaphor of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death. To buy up for one's self, for one's use, to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own. Take advantage of the opportunity while it is available and make the most of it.
The Greek word for “opportunity” is “kairos”, meaning a measure of time, a larger or smaller portion of time, hence: a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, the decisive epoch waited for. Opportune or seasonable time, The right time, A limited period of time. Or to what time brings, the state of the times, the things and events of time. It represents the “best” time to do something. The old axiom goes: Opportunity knocks but once. Make the most of opportunities because the days are evil. This contrasts and distinguishes between this fallen age of evil and the coming age when God’s people will experience the full measure of their salvation. Ephesians 2:1-2 tells us,“ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” The approach to living in these evil days, is not to join and and live like the rest of the God-rejecting world system.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention as followers of Christ.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on avoiding shortcut to God in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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