The message centers on a simple but weighty truth: the most valuable commodity you possess is time, because unlike money, possessions, or opportunities, you cannot get time back once it is spent. From Ephesians 5:15–17, the pastor emphasizes Paul’s warning to believers to walk “circumspectly” (carefully, accurately, diligently)—not drifting through life as a fool, but living with wisdom and urgency because “the days are evil.” The sermon frames this as part of a broader series about “where to put God,” and specifically answers: Where do we put Jesus in our time? The pastor argues that many Christians underestimate how spiritual their time management is, even though time is one of the clearest indicators of what truly rules the heart. Because life is fragile and uncertain, believers should not settle into comfort or routine, but should treat every day with intentionality—recognizing that wasted time often becomes wasted spiritual growth, wasted joy, and wasted purpose.

Before pressing into chapter 5, the pastor briefly walks through the flow of Ephesians to show how Paul builds the foundation for this call. In chapters 1–3, Paul establishes doctrine—especially the reality that believers have been redeemed through Christ’s blood, forgiven, and sealed by grace. The pastor stresses that this salvation is not earned, deserved, or achieved by effort; it is God’s gift, and the Christian life must be shaped by gratitude for that gift rather than boredom, resentment, or spiritual apathy. He expresses frustration at the contradiction of Christians who gladly receive salvation and heaven, yet resist the cost of living beyond themselves—particularly when it requires pouring into others, serving, or sacrificing comfort. Ephesians presents Christ not only as Savior, but as head over the church, and the pastor clarifies that the church is not merely a building or a service—it is God’s people, called out and meant to assemble. While believers are individually part of Christ’s body, the pastor warns against using that truth as an excuse to avoid gathering; a “called-out assembly” must actually assemble, and persistent absence from church life often leads to diminished joy and spiritual weakness.

The sermon also highlights Ephesians 2 to remind listeners that the Christian life begins with God making the spiritually dead alive. The pastor contrasts the former life—walking according to the course of the world, shaped by its priorities, speech, and values—with the new life rooted in God’s mercy and love. He pushes against the popular idea of “I’m just being me,” describing it as deceptive when it really means becoming a copy of the world rather than living as the unique person God created. Trying to keep one foot in the world and one foot in Christ produces an unstable life: you’ll never become the best version of yourself in worldly terms, and you’ll also never become the best version of yourself in Christ. In Ephesians 3, Paul’s prayer becomes a key link: believers are meant to be rooted and grounded in love, strengthened by God, and brought into a deeper comprehension of Christ’s love—something that “passes knowledge.” The pastor frames this as God’s grace not only saving us, but continuing to enrich and shape us, moving us toward spiritual maturity and a life that reflects Christ.

That doctrinal foundation leads to the practical challenge of chapters 4–6: if grace is real, it must produce a changed walk. The pastor pauses on Ephesians 4:1 where Paul calls himself “a prisoner of the Lord,” explaining that this is not a miserable, forced kind of bondage, but a joyful indebtedness—like someone who recognizes they’ve been rescued and therefore wants to respond with genuine gratitude. He uses an illustration of rescuing someone from drowning: a rescued person isn’t annoyed by their rescuer; they naturally want to show appreciation, because they recognize what was done for them. In the same way, the believer’s “debt” to God is not a bitter obligation but a glad surrender: “I owe my life to You.”From there, the pastor emphasizes that God’s gifts to the church (roles of service and ministry) are not about status or power, but about serving and building up others. He shares an example of a woman seeking a church where she could serve because she recognized her suffering had turned her inward—consuming her time with self-focus—when she needed to pour into others. This becomes an important bridge into the sermon’s main idea: your time reveals what you’re living for, and one of the clearest ways to honor grace is to invest your time in God’s will and in serving people.

With that groundwork laid, the pastor returns to Ephesians 5 and the call to redeem the time. He explains that “redeeming” carries the idea of buying something out of the marketplace—a purchase that is final, with no returns. Since no one can literally purchase more hours in the day, redeeming time means making the most of the time you have right now, refusing to waste it on what ultimately leads nowhere. He points to biblical examples of wasted years being redeemed through purposeful living: Paul himself had spent significant time chasing religious pride and opposing Christ, yet after conversion he treated his remaining time as precious and mission-filled. Likewise, Solomon pursued vanity—pleasures, accomplishments, indulgence—and concluded it was empty; at the end, he urged people to remember their Creator early, because delayed obedience becomes stolen opportunity. The pastor’s core warning is that it is dangerously easy to live passively—letting life happen day to day—only to look back later with regret, imagining that past years were “the good old days” or dreaming that joy will finally arrive in the future. He argues that those patterns repeat unless Jesus is put first in your time, because a life without spiritual direction consistently wastes the present while romanticizing either the past or the future.

From this, the sermon organizes the application into three main emphases about where Jesus belongs in your time. First, put Jesus over your walk. The call to walk circumspectly is a call to daily intentionality—allowing Christ to “audit” your life and guide your steps. The pastor notes that what you focus on first often sets the direction of your day; without spiritual motivation and purpose, your time becomes scattered, and you become frustrated because you cannot account for where your life is going. He connects this to wisdom: believers should live with the awareness that time is fragile—like a vapor—and tomorrow is not guaranteed. Therefore, the only time you truly possess is the present moment, and obedience must begin now, not “someday.”

Second, put Jesus into how you redeem (buy back) your time. Redeeming time is not about undoing the past, but about refusing to continue wasting what remains. The pastor ties this to understanding “the will of the Lord” (Ephesians 5:17). God’s grace in salvation also includes God’s purpose for your life: believers are being formed into Christ’s image, and living within that will gives life “perfect purpose,” even if life is not “perfect” in comfort. This purpose reshapes failures and wrong choices into testimony—turning a mess into a message—because God can use even a redeemed past to strengthen others with hope. In that sense, redeeming time includes recognizing the opportunities God places in front of you and choosing to invest in what matters spiritually, relationally, and eternally rather than what simply consumes attention.

Third, put Jesus in control of your time through spiritual filling and energy. The pastor highlights Ephesians 5:18–21: rather than being controlled by wine or excess, believers are to be filled with the Spirit, and that filling produces visible outcomes in how time is spent. When the Spirit leads, the believer naturally uses time to give God glory—through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs—along with thankfulness, and a posture of submission to one another in the fear of God. The pastor connects this to the home and relationships: Spirit-led time changes how husbands and wives treat each other, how service and humility operate in marriage, and how family roles function. He carefully explains that biblical submission is not mere demanding authority; it is rooted in love and grace. A husband cannot biblically demand submission while refusing Christlike love, because Christ’s model is sacrificial—He gave Himself. Where love is present, submission becomes something freely expressed rather than forced, and the home becomes an arena where time is invested in honor, care, and spiritual responsibility rather than selfishness and conflict.

In closing, the pastor presses the heart question: What are you doing with your time? Are you treating grace as something you accept without response—serving only when convenient—or do you recognize a joyful indebtedness to Christ that moves you to yield your time, align with God’s will, and serve others? The sermon ends with a prayer that the church would be strengthened to love, serve, give, fellowship, and sharpen one another, and that families would be strengthened to walk worthy of the calling God has given. Ultimately, the message calls believers to stop drifting, stop postponing obedience, and start living with purposeful urgency—because time cannot be regained, but it can be redeemed by placing Jesus first in how you walk, how you choose, and how you spend your energy.