Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.Therefore, don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
6 sermons cite this verse
… let me just tell you something, that's not how God wants you to see it. His will for your life is not fuzzy. In fact, and I love this, we started this series here, Ephesians 5.17. God's word says, therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. God wouldn't tell you that wisdom is knowing his will and foolishness or being unwise is not knowing God's will if it was something that he left us hanging in, right? Do you see what I'm saying? God's not saying, hey, know my will, but then messing with you by making it really hard to figure out his will, you know? Definitely. Well, and I love that we even read this week about this is God's will for your life to do it. Like so many people will say, oh, Lord, Lord, do this, do this. I've done this for you. I've done this for you. But what the Bible said in Matthew 7 that we read this week is those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven. …
… In fact, in Ephesians chapter 5, he says, therefore, do not, someone say do not, be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So check this out. If today you don't know God's will, that's not wise. Why? You can't very well do something that you don't understand. You can't very well do something if you don't understand what it is that you're supposed to be doing. Now, I understand that even a broken clock is wrong most of the time, but it gets it right a couple times a day, right? A broken clock is right at 3 p.m. It's right at 3 a.m. as long as it's broken at 3 o'clock. But we don't want to accidentally stumble upon God's will sometimes. We want to be clear about what it is so we can seek it out, so that every single day when our feet hit the floor, we can be a heat-seeking missile towards the target that He has in heart. Anybody want that? Like, you want God's will? I want God's will. …
Ephesians chapter 5, verse 15 to 20. I was asked to work on this text, and you'll see why when we get to verse 18 and 19, 20. It's about music, it's about singing, but that's not all there is here. Look carefully, therefore, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery but be filled with the spirit addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ So, Father, I ask now for me and all of us that there would be granted the fullness of the Holy Spirit. this is a great miracle it's a gift and it is a precious thing that we long for now and over and over again in our lives because we want to purchase the time in these evil days don't want anything to be wasted or slip by. …
… your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Here we have the comparison between wisdom and foolishness. This is a very, very prominent subject in Scripture. In fact, this may be the simplest way to understand the difference between the children of God and the children of the devil. The children of God are wise, the children of the devil are foolish. It's that simple. All real wisdom resides with those who know God, and with those who do not know God, they are bound in folly and foolishness. This is the way to understand the difference between a believer and a nonbeliever. One possesses wisdom from God, the other is a fool. So let's start with the negative aspect of it, and maybe ask the question, what is a fool? And the definition is obvious to everyone. We can use synonyms to explain the definition of fool. We think of it as someone who is ignorant, that is, someone who doesn't know truth, doesn't know reality. …
… Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. so the first thing he's saying is be careful how you're living you know how a lot of times you wake up and you just start living right you just wake up and you do the same thing right you get up you know i i try to when i remember like the first words out of my mouth i try to just say holy holy holy is the lord god almighty who was and is and is to come because i think about how those angels have been doing that all night while i was sleeping and i just want to join with them because it helps remind me that this is not about me. …
… Verse 17. So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Contrast number two. Don't be foolish, understand the Lord's will. Here's contrast number three in verse 18. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. On the third contrast, we get three commands where he shows us how to be filled with the Spirit. Look with me, if you will, beginning in verse 19. Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Now, it's safe to say, if a person is a worshipful person, because that's what we're talking about there. If a person is a worshipful person, that would be an indication that they're submitted to the Spirit of God. That they're filled with the Spirit of God. If a person is not a worshipful person, there's probably an indication that that person is not filled with the Spirit and is not yielding to the Spirit of God. …