Hi everyone, welcome to Bible on the Beach. I'm Ryan. Today we'll be in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 through 20.
Today I want to help us look at what is wisdom. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
So what are we talking about exactly? Well, the fear of the Lord, in Proverbs, says is to avoid evil.
So when we're talking about wisdom, we're talking about knowledge that comes from God that allows us to make good decisions today
that don't short circuit our relationship with God and our relationship with other people.
The Bible teaches the great commandment and the great commission. It says,
Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself.
The great commission, go ye therefore into all the world, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
So wisdom is the ability for God to download to us godly decision making in the here and now, in the present moment.
This is what Paul helps us get at and look at today. Boy do we need wisdom, especially if we say we follow Jesus.
There's not a day that goes by now. It seems that I don't run into sort of and have to avoid actually sort of what I call kind of cool Christians,
which comically and sadly are typically neither cool nor very Christ like.
What I think is cool is humility and perseverance. This is what Jesus was trying to model to us when he was incarnated into the form of a human being.
The incarnation teaches us to come out of our high place, go to a low place. Humility, the incarnation teaches humility.
The crucifixion of Jesus teaches us perseverance, overcoming everything that life has to throw at us, including injustice.
So what I think is cool is humility and perseverance. I think people are very confused about what it means to be cool,
about what it means to have influence, especially in today's world. God's very clear about it.
You know what God thinks is cool? Being humble and persevering through life's difficulties.
This is what Jesus was trying to model for us. That, my friend, is true wisdom.
Now, it says here in verse Ephesians 5 verse 15, So let us be very careful how we live, not being like those with no understanding,
but live honorably with true wisdom, for we are living in evil times. Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for God's purposes.
So God teaches a linear view of history. History started at a point. History ends at a point.
And the point in between in which we live in our day and age is the test. And so God says you're in the here and the now.
And this whole life is a test to see if we'll be faithful to serving God. He says, Don't live foolishly,
for then you will have discernment to fully understand God's will.
So the first part of figuring God's will out is to quit living like a fool. Quit praying that God blesses your plans.
That's arrogant. Be humble and pray that you do God's will, that you have the humility to go and ask God, Lord, what should I do today?
Who should I be today? What should I do today?
He says, And don't get drunk with wine, which is rebellion, but be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now, earlier in Paul's writings, he tells Timothy, you know, take some wine for your stomach.
The Bible doesn't teach us to be against alcohol. The Bible teaches the abuse of alcohol.
The Bible teaches using our freedoms that obscure the early belief of baby believers.
So we don't exercise our freedom to drink, to make people stumble. We don't exercise our freedom to take a little alcohol for health reasons or perhaps moderate enjoyment.
We avoid both extremes of alcoholism and abstinence. I've you know, very few people teach this.
Does the Bible teach that you should avoid alcohol at all costs? No, it doesn't.
I mean, that's why Jesus turned water into wine in his first public miracle in the wedding in Cana.
Jesus wouldn't perform a miracle that violated his own word.
But we live in an extremist culture, typically in the church world. People teach, you know, alcoholism or abstinence.
The Bible teaches a radical middle here, and that is moderation and maturity.
A moderate person can enjoy that, provided it's in the right context and also doesn't use the license and the freedom that they have as they follow Jesus to inaccurately indulge in front of people who are new to the faith or weak in that area.
For example, you don't have a glass of wine in front of an alcoholic to the best of your ability because it's dishonoring to their vice.
And so just some common sense wisdom there. But again, if we're going to have wisdom in our life, we need to hear what God teaches to us about this.
He says, in your hearts will overflow with a joyful song to the Lord. You know, worship comes out of our heart.
You know, a lot of times when I tell Aubrey or either my wife and I tell her not to do something, we don't get great enjoyment out of it.
However, sometimes Aubrey will withhold love and affection because we've not given her what she wants.
Now, a lot of times people do this in worship. They hold grudges against God because God hasn't given them everything they want.
And God hasn't answered their prayers when they want them answered or life hasn't worked out the way that they wanted it to.
And so because of that, they withhold worship and won't participate in worship.
I got some news for you. Worship isn't for you. It's for God.
Now, as you open up your hearts and you worship God, does the Holy Spirit move and bless you for that sacrificial act?
Of course. That's been the power of the Holy Spirit moving since the beginning of the earliest followers of Jesus.
Now, he says here, keep speaking to each other with words of scripture, singing the Psalms with praises and spontaneous songs given by the Spirit.
Does God operate in spontaneity and worship? It just said it does in verse 19.
And then lastly, he says, always give thanks to our God for every person he brings into your life in the name of our Lord Jesus.
Wow. Always give thanks to Father God for every person he brings into your life in the name of our Lord Jesus.
Every person that comes into our life is a gift. Well, the Bible just said that. So what does that mean?
It means that we need to pray for the discernment to discover how to handle each situation and person we find ourselves interacting with each and every day.
Man, thanks so much for listening today. I love teaching the Bible. I hope it's encouraging to you.
So many bad voices in this world. We can use some encouragement. We can hear from God. We can be blessed.
We can fill our mind with good things. That's why I do this each and every day.
Love you. Thank you for tuning in. Until next time in Bible on the Beach, have a beautiful day.