Walk Circumspectly - Phil Mills

Paul’s word in Ephesians 5 calls God’s people to “awake” because some are not merely tired, but spiritually asleep. Christ’s cry is not gentle background noise. Christ looks at a people living half awake and half asleep, with one foot in the church and the rest saturated in the world, and says, “Arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

The image of sleep shows how dangerous spiritual stupor really is. The sleepy student in the warm classroom wanted to stay awake, even pinching himself and asking questions, but still drifted off without knowing it. Ephesians 5 presses that same danger onto the soul. A person may be trying to look alert, sitting in the front row, doing religious things, and still be dead to what God is doing in the time that is here.

Matthew 24 stands behind the warning with wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, persecution, and fearful sights. Romans 13 says it is “high time to awake out of sleep,” because salvation is nearer than when believers first believed. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. The armor of light belongs on people who see the time and refuse to keep living as if darkness were normal.

Colossians 2 names the deadness plainly. Trespasses and sins make a person dead, and that deadness can look like a living corpse, animated but not alive. Philippians 4 gives the practical test: what fills the mind through the week? The music, the scrolling, the work worries, the empty entertainment, and the neglected Word all reveal whether the mind is being saturated with what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.

Christ does not only command awakening. Christ gives light. His word “arise” carries life to the soul that receives it, just as His word gave life to the dead. The path back is simple, and that is why it is such a wonder that it is so often left undone: time with God before bed, time with Jesus in the morning, and a repeated turning of the mind back to Christ through the day.

Paul then says to walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. Proverbs says the fool trusts in his own heart. The lost crew that ignored their instruments and the Pathfinder that rolled down the hill both show the same thing: human wisdom can feel confident and still be deadly wrong. God’s mercy calls His people away from their own ideas and into the wisdom of His Word, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Spiritual sleep can look religious [56:45] The warning does not only reach the openly careless life. The text exposes the person who sits in church, hears truth, and then returns to the same deadening patterns as soon as the moment passes. A soul can be “animated but not alive,” moving through religious rhythms while the heart remains numb to Christ’s nearness. [56:45]
• 2. The times call for awakening [50:10] Romans 13 does not let believers treat world conditions as random noise. Wars, disasters, hunger, disease, and persecution become a summons to know the time and wake from sleep. The nearness of salvation is meant to sharpen the conscience, not feed fear or speculation. [50:10]
• 3. The mind reveals the heart [55:07] Philippians 4 asks for more than a passing devotional thought. The mind’s ordinary diet, its music, scrolling, worries, and habits, shows whether darkness is dulling the soul or truth is making it awake. Spiritual life is not formed mainly by intentions, but by what the heart repeatedly meditates on. [55:07]
• 4. Christ’s command carries life [58:35] “Arise” is not merely an order shouted at the dead. Christ’s word gives what it commands, and the soul that receives it receives deliverance from darkness. The call to awaken rests on grace, because Jesus does not mock the dead, He raises them. [58:35]
• 5. Human wisdom can destroy quietly [01:02:34] Proverbs names the fool as the one who trusts his own heart. The danger is not always rebellion that feels wicked, but confidence that feels reasonable while ignoring God’s instruments. Wisdom begins when God’s Word is trusted above instinct, preference, and self-assurance.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:15] - Prayer and Opening
• [39:43] - Returning to Ephesians 5
• [40:40] - Walk Circumspectly
• [41:38] - Awake From Sleep
• [45:44] - Signs of the Times
• [49:24] - Knowing the Time
• [52:12] - Dead in Trespasses
• [54:21] - Meditate on These Things
• [57:51] - Christ Gives Light
• [59:45] - Choosing Time With God
• [61:52] - Fools and Wisdom
• [63:00] - Trusting the Instruments
• [66:59] - The Pathfinder Lesson
• [71:08] - Appeal to Awaken

Bible Reading

Ephesians 5:14
“Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’” [41:38]

Romans 13:11-12
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” [49:33]

Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” [55:07]

Colossians 2:13
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” [52:27]

Proverbs 28:26
“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” [01:02:34]

Observation questions

1. In Ephesians 5:14, what four actions or conditions are named in the verse, and what does Christ promise at the end of it? [41:38]
2. In Romans 13:11-12, what reasons are given for waking up now rather than later, and what are believers told to cast off and put on? [49:33]
3. In Philippians 4:8, what kinds of things are believers told to think about, and what repeated word helps show the kind of mental focus Paul is calling for? [54:21]
4. What pictures were used to describe spiritual sleep: trying to stay awake in class, living with one foot in the church and the rest in the world, and being “animated but not alive”? [56:45]

Interpretation questions

1. If Paul says a person can be asleep and even “dead” while still outwardly active, what does that suggest about the danger of a merely religious life? [52:53]
2. Romans 13 says believers should “know the time.” How should signs of trouble in the world lead to spiritual seriousness without leading into panic or empty speculation? [50:10]
3. Philippians 4:8 ties spiritual life to what fills the mind. What does that suggest about the connection between ordinary habits and spiritual wakefulness? [55:07]
4. Proverbs 28:26 says trusting one’s own mind is foolish. Why can self-confidence feel reasonable and still lead a person away from wisdom? [01:03:00]

Application questions

1. Where does spiritual sleep most often show up in life right now? Is it in distraction, entertainment, worry, spiritual laziness, secret sin, or simply drifting through the week without much thought of Christ? [53:26]
2. If an honest review were done of the mind this past week, what would it show was most often being fed into it? What has had the strongest influence lately: God’s Word, prayer, music, work pressure, social media, fear, or something else? [55:14]
3. Christ’s call is not only to wake up, but to arise and receive light. What would it look like this week to respond to that call in a simple and real way? [57:51]
4. Time with God before bed and time with Jesus in the morning are simple choices, but often resisted. What usually gets in the way of those moments, and what small change could help protect that time this week? [59:45]
5. When the mind drifts during the day, what helps bring it back to Christ? Are there certain Scriptures, prayers, songs, or habits that make that turning easier? [01:00:18]
6. Walking wisely means not trusting personal instincts above God’s Word. Where is there a temptation right now to say, “It looks fine to me,” instead of slowing down and listening to God? [01:07:54]
7. Redeeming the time means the days are evil and should not be wasted. What is one part of life right now that needs to be used more carefully and intentionally for the Lord? [01:11:08]