Finding My PLACE at Sugar Creek
Part 2 – Leave A Legacy
Ephesians 5:15-17
August 14, 2022
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor
INTRODUCTION
A. Proverbs 10:7 Good people will be remembered as a blessing.
B. Ephesians 5:15-17 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.
1. DECIDE TO LIVE WISELY. (Ephesians 5:15)
A. Ephesians 5:15 Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise.
B. Ecclesiastes 1:3-8 What does person gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.”
C. “Start discovering something that is buried within; something that’s been there all along. I think God encodes in each of us a DNA. There’s a physical DNA that determines whether we’re blond or brunette, male or female. But there’s also a spiritual DNA that’s in every person. It a sense of destiny or calling or specific mission in life, a purpose in life that’s ours and ours alone.” (Half-Time, Bob Buford)
2. FIND A PLACE TO SERVE AS A PART OF YOUR LIFE’S purpose. (Ephesians 5:17)
A. Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
B. How do you find the particular place God has in mind for you?
1.Determine your primary loyalty.
2. Discover how God made you.
3. Explore ministries that put your spiritual gifts, talents, and passions to work.
C. When determining your particular area of service to God and others remember that:
1. We can’t do everything.
2. We shouldn’t do everything.
3. GET STARTED NOW. (Ephesians 5:16)
A. Ephesians 5:16 Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.
B. How do you make the most of the opportunities around you?
1. Live in the now.
Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten…
2. Do your best for God.
a. Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…
b. You aren’t a fill in. You aren’t a volunteer. You aren’t just doing this on the side. You are a partner in ministry and you are doing it for God. Give Him your best.
c. It is time to change the question. The question was, “What is this church going to do for me?” It is time to change the question to, “What am I going to do for God through this church?”
3. Strive to always improve your serve.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.