We're turning to the book of Ephesians and the chapter 5. The book of Ephesians and the chapter number 5, and we'll begin our reading at verse 1 of Ephesians chapter 5 today. Let's hear God's word. Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children. and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh sins, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. giving thanks always for all things unto God, and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Well, we'll end our reading there at the end of verse 21, and let's just briefly pray and seek the Lord. Heavenly Father, bless us now as we meet around thy precious word. Fill this preacher with thy spirit, every home with the spirit of God, We cry to thee, and may our hearts be challenged and blessed, for we offer prayer in and through the Saviour's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Time. Many of us have a lot more of it on our hands these days. With the spread of COVID-19 and the movement restrictions placed upon us by our government, we find ourselves with a lot more time available to us than we normally do. Now people have been using that time to do the many things that have been put on the back burner because they didn't have the time to do them. Never have the interior of our homes been cleaner than they are today. Cupboard contents have been trailed out into the open. Best before dates have been examined. Cooking utensils, long given up for lost, have been rediscovered. And grime has been exposed that has shocked even the most proud housewife. Others have been up in their attics trying to decipher what needs to be kept and what needs to be thrown away once and for all. Some people have taken to decorating their home, stripping wallpaper, painting walls, applying gloss to the rooms that have been long abandoned. Children and teenagers' bedrooms have been decluttered, wardrobe contents have gone through, have I worn this in the last year test? Books have been neatly realigned, toys have been packed away, and others have been bought to replace them. And then there are others, and they have taken themselves out into the open air. I've heard of individuals cleaning out their garages, requiring skips to dispose of unneeded items that years of hoarding have accumulated. Some have ventured out into the garden and up to a few weeks ago grew more weeds than they did flowers. Others have been climbing ladders and cleaning out guttering and washing down fancy boards. Garden fences have a fresh coat of paint applied while backyards have been power washed and some hydrochloric acid applied. Farmers have been out mending roofs, fixing fences, repairing gates, spreading slurry, rolling fields, and sowing fertilizer. And then there are others, and they have been using their spare time to take up new activities, or just to catch up with those activities that there was no time for in the past. Young people are spending more time on social media, connecting with their circle of friends, using WhatsApp, Facebook, or Zoom. Computer gaming is being employed by some to relieve the boredom of being in the house day after day. Others have submersed themselves into that book that was gifted to them at Christmas. Some have taken up knitting, others crafting, jigsaws, fishing, crosswords, baking, walking, carpentry, board games, playing a musical instrument. Everybody is trying to fill up the time and keep themselves busy during these days of lockdown. However, whilst most of these things are beneficial, I want to ask every Christian listening today, have you been redeeming your time? Have you been redeeming your time wisely in those activities that are beneficial to your spiritual well-being? The Apostle Paul here in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15 and 16 exhorts his readership to walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. The redeeming of the time that Paul is speaking of here is not referring to redemption that we think of when we think about the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. No, this redeeming of time is speaking of us making the best use of our time. Making the best use of our time. The word itself means to rescue or to recover from waste. to rescue or to recover from waste. Paul is alerting us, making us aware that time can be wasted, time can be waste it and thereby and therefore there is the need to rescue or to recover from waste our very time. What the apostle Paul is simply saying is that we are to buy up the time or we're to take advantage of the time that God gives to us. And Paul gives us a very good reason in verse number 16 as to the reason why we are to redeem, to buy up, to recover from waste our time. The reason is because the days are evil. It is because the days are evil that soon our days will be no more. God will soon call an end to time. He will pull down the curtain upon this world, and time will then be no more. And therefore, in light of evil days and the soon end of such days, while we have opportunity, as believers we are to redeem our time. We are to employ our days in those activities that carry eternal weight and eternal reward. And so today, I want to take up that thought and I want to preach on the subject matter of redeeming the time. Redeeming the time. And I want to suggest to you a number of ways that you can redeem your time in these days while you have some extra time on your hands during this COVID-19 lockdown. Christian, with the spare time that you have been given, why not redeem that time and repent of sin? Repent of sin. Now the natural response to that suggestion is that, that I as a Christian have nothing to repent of. Another response might be, I thought that I had repented of my sin when I first trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation. However, I remind you that we as Christians, we sin in thought, in word and in deed every day. Writing to the saints of God, the apostle John said in 1 John 1 in the verse 8, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Written to believers. I reminded you a few weeks ago, those who normally join with us here in the house of God, of that statement that is attributed to Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer. The first of his 95 theses that he kneeled to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church there in Germany read as follows. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, repent, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. The entire life of believers to be one of repentance. Christian, do you honestly have no sins to repent of? Is that what you're telling me today? That you have got no sins to repent of? What about the sin of pride? What a sin it is. What about the pride that is associated with moral self-righteousness? Or the pride associated with personal self-righteousness? Or what about the pride that is associated with theological self-righteousness? What about the pride of achievement? The pride of an independent spirit? Or what about the sin of selfishness? Being concerned about me, my and mine, to the detriment and to the forgetting of others. We can be selfish about our own interests in conversation. about money, about time. We can demonstrate selfishness by simply being inconsiderate to others. What about the sin of intemperance? This is the sin that deals with our lack of self-control. What about our lack of self-control when it comes to our money or personal finances? What about the lack of self-control when it comes to our temper? What about the lack of self-control when it comes to our consumption of food? What about the sin of anger? And thinking about those sins of irritability, resentment, bitterness. What about the sins of the tongue? What about the sins committed by the lying tongue, or the flattering tongue, or the pride tongue, or the backbiting tongue, or the gossiping tongue, or the slandering tongue, or the teal-bearing tongue, or the cursing tongue, or the silent tongue? What about the sins of judgmentalism, of envy, jealousy, worldliness. What about the sins of slothfulness and laziness and idleness in the work of God? What about the sin of prayerlessness? What about the sin of fearfulness? What about the sin of covetousness? What about the sin of unbelief? Child of God, if we were honest with ourselves, There are a multitude of sins that we need to repent of and God calls us to do that. I'm thinking of those frequently quoted words but sadly frequently unheeded words found there in 2nd Chronicles chapter 7 verse 13 and 14. If I shut up heaven and there be no rain, Or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Here is the answer to our present situation that we find ourselves in. God's people humbling themselves, praying, seeking God's face, repenting of their sin, turning from their wicked ways. When we do that, we are promised that God will hear from heaven, He will forgive our sin, and He will heal our land. Too many preachers want to paper over the cracks. Too many preachers want to turn a blind eye to sin in these days, sin in the church of Jesus Christ, but not this preacher. I call every Christian listening to this service today to self-examination. Every father, every mother, every son, every daughter must come before God and ask Him to show them the particular sin that has caused God to have a controversy with His people. and when he shows you your sin, then repent of it. Seek cleansing for it in the blood of Jesus Christ and may then fellowship be restored to God through and by the work of Jesus Christ. For us upon the cross of Jesus Christ. These are days when we need to repent of our sin. We ought to be redeeming our time by repenting of our sin. In the second place, why not redeem the time and read the Bible that has been much neglected? Redeem the time and read the Bible that has been much neglected. One of the most profitable activities the Christian could be doing in these days is reading God's Word. J.C. Ryle said by reading that book, we may learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do. Ryle said on another occasion, happy is the man who possesses the Bible. Happier still is he who reads it. Happiest of all is he who not only reads it, but obeys it and makes it the rule of his faith and his practice. Whilst the Bible is the primary instrument by which sinners are converted to God. The Bible is the invaluable tool. when it comes to the progression and the growth of a person after they have been converted. You see, the word of God is the chief means by which believers are built up and established in the faith. By reading and by heeding the scriptures, the Christian is cleansed. Psalm 119 verse 9 and 11, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, By taking heed thereto according to thy word, Thy word have I hid in my heart, That I might not sin against thee. By reading and heeding the scriptures, the Christian secondly is sanctified. John 17 verse 17, Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. Thirdly, by reading and heeding the scriptures, the Christian is instructed in righteousness and furnished on to all good works. 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 and 17. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished on to all good works. Sadly for some, the Bible has become a neglected book. Mr. Spurgeon lamented that such was the case in his day. In a sermon he preached on the 18th of March, 1855 in Exeter Hall, he said these words, there is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write damnation with your fingers. Strong words indeed. You know, there may be people listening to this message today, and the Bible has never been in your hand from last Lord's day to now. It has sat on a bedside table. It has lain on the back seat of your car. It has rested on some bookshelf. Hasn't been lifted. hasn't been read since last Lord's Day. Just think. Just think of the comfort. Think of the promises. Think of the counsel. Think of the direction. Think of the assurance that you have missed from your failure of reading God's precious Word. However, God has given you this window of time to take up God's Word again and to make it your delight and make it your joy. With the time now available to you, why not get into God's Word? Read it, study it, but most importantly, start to obey it. You budding preachers, Get to your sermon preparation. Sunday school teachers, get ahead in your Sunday school preparation. Youth leaders, start to prepare for the new season that will soon come. Father, get into the Word and teach your children its truths. Redeem the time God has given you in the reading and the studying of the Scriptures. Let's get into the Bible. Let's get into the book. and let's obey it, and let's live it out in our lives in these days. And when you come to read it, and when you come to study it, do so with open eyes, with open ears, and with an open heart. Read it reverently. Read it intelligently. read it constantly, read it consecutively, read it prayerfully, read it submissively, and read it entirely from Genesis to Malachi and Matthew to the Revelation. May God enable us to re-engage in this much neglected activity of reading the Word of God so that we might again become men and women and young people of the book again. Men and women and young people of the book. In the third place, why not redeem the time and reconnect with God in prayer? Reconnect with God in prayer. While reading the scriptures is God's way of speaking to us, prayer is our way of speaking to him. I often wonder to myself, have I really prayed today? I ask myself as I prepare for this message, when was the last time I really prayed? I say prayers, no doubt about that. But when did I really pray last? When did I pray in prayer? Could it be that in many of our lives, there has been a declension in our prayer lives? Could it be said of us, as it was said of Job, there in Job 15, in the verse number four, yea, thou castest off fear and restrainest prayer before God. Has there been a restraining of prayer before God in our lives? You know, we restrain prayer. We restrain prayer when we don't pray. That's most obvious to us. But we also can restrain prayer when we are not fully engaged in it because of the tiredness of the body and of the mind or because of outside distractions. We're not really praying. Prayer is being restrained. Prayer can also be restrained when our hearts are not in its proper state. When we come to pray, there's unconfessed sin. There's a difference between a brother or a sister and myself, and so the heart is not in its rightful and in its proper place, and thereby prayer is restrained. There is a restraining of prayer. Prayer can be restrained when we rush into God's presence without considering what we're actually doing or whom we are addressing in prayer. Andrew Kennedy Hutchison Boyd, a 19th century Church of Scotland minister, I believe he ministered in St. Andrews, he said this, be sure of this, that at the root of all our failures, our errors, our follies, our hasty words, our wrong deeds, our weak faith, our cold devotion, our decreasing grace, there is the neglect of prayer. At the root of all our failures, there is the neglect of prayer. However, these are days And this great neglect in our Christian lives can be remedied. These days of isolation can become days of supplication. These days of isolation can be days of supplication. Prayer can rise again from that heart of yours, child of God. God can kindle again the sacred flame of prayer within that soul of yours. And so let us search our hearts as to the cause of our prayerlessness and seek to repent of it And let us pray until God pours upon us the spirit of grace and of supplications again into our lives. Thank God these days can be redeemed by reconnecting with God in prayer. Fourthly, there is another thing that you could do to redeem your time. You could reestablish the family altar that has been broken down. You could reestablish the family altar that has been broken down. Now those who normally frequent the services here in Portland alone will be aware that just prior to the suspension of our public worship services, I preached three messages on the subject of family worship. I'm not going to repeat or rehash all that was said in those messages because they can be accessed. on and via the church's page on sermonaudio.com. However, it must be repeated that the family altar has been much neglected by believers in this generation. Whereas in previous generations, it was common practice for the family to gather for worship daily in the home, our lives have become so busy. in the 21st century that the worship of God in the family home setting is by and large a thing of the past. And can I say that has been to the detriment of the spiritual well-being of our homes and the church of Jesus Christ. However, I'm convinced that no better time has there been for the reestablishment of the worship of God in our homes than at this present time. Surely this time, when public worship cannot take place, this time is the most ideal time for family worship in our homes to be revived. You may ask, well, what happens in family worship? Well, simply, it is whenever the head of the home gathers the family together, wife, And children, if there are any children, and they read the scriptures, they offer prayer and praise to God. It is as basic and it is as simple as that. I wonder, has the family altar been broken down? Well then, like the altar on Carmel's mountain in Elijah's day, the altar of family worship needs to be rebuilt in your home. Maybe you've never had family worship in your home. Well, then I would encourage you to start that today and to procrastinate no longer. To all husbands and fathers listening to this message, it's time that we play the man for our people. It is time that we fulfill the responsibilities that God has placed upon us as the heads of our homes. And so resolve now wherever you are, that this will be the day when worship of God is reestablished or recommenced in your home. Redeem the time fifthly, and renounce all worldliness that has crept into your life and home. That's the fifth thing. Renounce all worldliness that has crept into your life and home. Maybe you doubt the world has crept into your life or home. Maybe you doubt that. If so, then go to your wardrobe. Go to your wardrobe and see the immodest dress lengths. See the low necklines. See the worldly cuts. See the body hugging garments that hang on its reels and rest in its drawers and then, and then ask, have I become worldly? If you doubt whether the world has crept into your life or home, then go to your dressing table and see the makeup powder and the lipstick and the nail varnish that crams your makeup bags and your vanity cases. If you doubt whether worldliness has crept into your home, go to your DVD collection and see the many 18 certificate movies that make up your DVD collection, and then ask, has the world come into my home and into my life? If you doubt it, then look at your music compilation on your smartphone and see how many worldly artists are found there. Go to your library of books and see the percentage of Christian books compared to the percentage of worldly novels and fictional books that are in your library. Go to your computer cache and see how much time you have spent researching matters relating to the Bible and compare that time to the time you spent surfing the net about trivial things and then, then say that the world has not come into your home and life and yet let me say that these are only but the outward signs of a worldliness that has crept into your heart, and into your life, and into your home. If truth be told, there are too many professing Christians who are having a secret love affair with the world. A secret love affair with the world. You may not show it outwardly, But ye love the pleasures, and ye love the possessions, and ye love the possessions, and ye love the ploddits of this world. How then we could all do with being reminded of the words of the apostle John when he said in 1 John 2 verse 15 to 17, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, And the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of this world, and the world passeth away, and the lusts are off, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Let us redeem the time and renounce the worldliness of our hearts. Let's tell the Lord that we love this world too much, and consequently we love him too little. Let us pray that God will help us to overcome the world and its charms, so that we might, from this day forward, live for the world that is to come. Two last thoughts, very quickly. Christian, redeem your time and redeem the time, and rededicate your life to the service of God. You know, there is no service like the service of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Thomas Watson, the Puritan, said, none ever complained of serving God. It was their comfort and their crown on their deathbed. However, there are those who have never involved themselves in the service for God in their Christian lives, while there are others who have served God in the past but that service has ceased for some reason or another. Well, then let me encourage you to rededicate your life to the service of God. As Paul reminds us there in Romans 12, verse one, in light of God's mercies towards us, we are to present our bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. Service flows out of love for Christ. When we understand what Christ has done for us, then as debtors to him, we happily commit ourselves to serve him in some capacity. And so when we gather again, I trust you'll gather to serve God and not to sit on the pew. Let this time be a time when you rededicate your life to the service of God. Finally, child of God, redeem the time and repair the broken relationships with fellow Christians. Repair the broken relationships with fellow Christians. Divisions within the church of Jesus Christ over non-essentials are not befitting the gospel of peace. Full stop. Thomas Manton said, divisions in the church always breeds atheism in the world. Listen to these words of admonition from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, found there in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. And so whatever the petty argument was about, whether it was some oversight by the minister, whether your flowers weren't placed at the Harvest Thanksgiving service where you thought they should have been placed, whether your sandwiches or your buns or your cake were not given prominence at the last church tea, whatever the ultimate... It is time to repair the relationship that has been broken down because of some silly petty argument. When the Church of Jesus Christ reconvenes for public worship, it should meet unified, unified with no divisions, no divisions. Richard Baxter said concerning differences within the church, in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity. What a good and what good counsel for us to heed. I tell you, brother, sister, if you have something between you and another brother or sister, this is the time. You need to redeem the time and see to that relationship. Mend it. Mend it again. To understand that life at best is very brief. And to understand that your division may be the very thing that is hindering the blessing. And so we are to redeem the time. How? What are we to do? I've got all of this time in my hands, preacher, and I don't know what to do. Well, I trust that God has spoken to your heart on what you need to do. What do I need to do? Repent of sin. Read the Bible, reconnect with God in prayer, reestablish the family altar, renounce all worldliness, rededicate your life to God's service, repair the broken relationship with fellow Christians. And folks, if we take ourselves to do these things, we will not have much spare time in our hands. And so let us redeem the time and let us use the time wisely that God has given to us. May the Lord bless his word to your heart for Christ's sake. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Let's pray. Can I say that The internet, it just stopped there just at the end. You didn't miss really anything that we had to say. We were just concluding and bringing the thoughts together. And so we're very thankful that we were able to broadcast the whole service through. And so continue to pray that this will be maintained and that we'll be able to keep up the broadcast throughout the service. I believe it may be due to time, and it may be that our services just need to be a little bit shorter. That may be the reason, I'm just not so sure. But we'll try and preach as we normally do. So let's seek the Lord together, let's pray, and let's call on the Lord. Our loving Father, we do submit the service into thy care and thy word. challenge our hearts by the Spirit, work, dear God, in our own lives personally. Lord, touch us, we pray. May we redeem the time. May we not waste it. All of this time now available to us, for a vast majority of us, we understand that there are those who are still working. But for many, Lord, we have been brought aside, time is available to us. Oh, let us use it wisely. Let us redeem the time. And when we return to the house of God, may we then, dear God, be ready, ready for service, prepared for the blessing that will accompany the gathering of the saints. Answer prayer, bless thy word, and may we, Lord, know thy blessing upon us on thy day. May we honor thy day in all things. And may even as the gospel goes forth tonight, it be used to the salvation of the lost. Answer prayer. We offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. Thank you for watching. May the Lord bless you. And we'll meet again, God willing, at six o'clock tonight. And we encourage you to join us even on that occasion. May the Lord bless. Understand that you're... Patterson, bring the Bible.