Take heed, therefore, carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
In forgiving and loving comes the blessing, in giving and receiving comes the prize. Never underestimate the power of giving, it has great reward. Give and it shall be given to you for the measure with which you measure is given back to you.
Under the inspiration of My Spirit, my apostle Paul wrote to you what I had taught him to do for the years he wasted in wrong believing which resulted in sinful living, which is wasted time:
Take heed, therefore, carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17.
Take heed—look at, examine—with extreme accuracy (The word which is translated “carefully” in the above quoted passage, in the original language of Greek in which it was written, is akribós (ἀκριβῶς): which means with exactness, extremely accurate, researched down to the finest detail, knowing all the facts) how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise.
And why do I direct you to do this? To redeem the time.
What does it mean to “redeem the time?” The word which is translated “redeem” here, in the original language of Greek in which it was written, is “eksagorázō (ἐξαγοράζω),” which is from ek, which means, “completely out from” which intensifies agorázō, which means to “buy at the marketplace, purchase” so it is taking full advantage of, fully seizing, a buying-opportunity, thus making the most of the present opportunity (recognizing its future gain).
So then do not be foolish but understand what My Will is. And that is basically how you redeem time. The word translated “time” is the Greek word “kairós (καιρός,),” which means “time, season,” seeing time as opportunity of which you must take full advantage of.
What is My Will for your time? Go back to the beginning and you will see that wasted time is time spent being unfruitful—the unfruitful seasons of your life. You redeem unfruitful years by being fruitful. Bearing much fruit redeems much time. Paul bore much fruit and his fruit has endured.
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:5-8.
From the beginning I gave two commandments, which were empowerment blessings: Be very fruitful and take dominion over the earth. Let us break this down and then let Me show you what it means today in your life.
What does it mean to be fruitful? It is not just being busy. My Son likens it to a branch abiding in a vine and bearing fruit from what it receives from the vine. The Spirit gives life, but the flesh is useless. So being fruitful comes from the spirit. Fruitful activity bears fruit, the fruit of the spirit. Attaching to the vine of Christ by remaining, abiding, continuing in My Word and letting My Word remain, abide, and continue in you, produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your spirit and this becomes the fruit of your life that produces good works.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-23.
A fruitful life shows these characteristics: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, these will make you fruitful at all your put your hand to so that I can prosper the work of your hands.
But the works of the flesh are not fruitful. By flesh I do not merely mean your body, because your body does the work of the spirit as well in its outward manifestation of producing fruit on earth, I mean the mind set on the things of this world as if there were no God and no eternity. The life of living only according to what you see, hear, and touch, following ungodly philosophies that glorify man without God, advocating immoral and undisciplined lifestyles, and treating people as if evolved from animals. It is a life of making god your belly and your lusts what lead you. The flesh is proud, easily offended, easily angered, and a complainer. The mindset of the flesh puts itself above everyone else and is angered when another appears more successful than itself. The mind set on the flesh is death, because your flesh will die, so it tries to grab everything now before the grave. It is the voice that says, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” The flesh is greedy and selfish and never says “enough.”
And these are the works of the flesh:
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21.
These things are unfruitful and will cause you to lose your destiny. You owe no debt to your flesh. In the end, it will leave you and then your spirit and soul, which are eternal, will be judged according to the deeds you did in the body.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10.
Do you see why I tell you to redeem the time?
And the second commandment at the beginning when I formed and bless man was the empowerment to take dominion over the earth, over the works of My hands. What does taking dominion mean? It means to keep things in order.
When things are out of order there is no authority being taken or enforced and the result is chaos, violence, strife, jealousy and every evil work.
After Joshua and all who knew him had died, though the people were established in the Promised Land by faith in Me, they forgot Me in the sense that they no longer read or did My Word. It was a very dark period of evil in the history of Israel and the roadways and towns became unsafe and overrun by bandits and murderers. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25. No Word, no self-control, and no order, sin is lawlessness. My Word is the law of liberty that sets you free of all that would hinder your fruitfulness.
The highest order to run a Kingdom upon is love. Love gives order to chaos and light in the darkness. Love never harms the neighbor but love tolerates no evil.
Now I warn you of this many times in the Bible and you would do well to take it to heart: Bad company corrupts good morals. You will become like those you fellowship with. Who you spend time with changes you to be like them if you do not separate yourself unto Me.
Your words were found and I devoured them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, nor did I exult. Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone. Jeremiah 15:16-17.
Love unbelievers and the doubters to salvation but do not intermingle with them in their conversation. They will try to pull you into their gossip, complaining, judgments about others, lusts, unbelief, questioning, and malicious speech. Do not go there with them, even to placate or just to keep on their “good” side, your conversation should be in Heaven, not of the dirt of the earth where the devil crawls and feeds.
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15:32-34.
Touch pitch and you blacken your hand; associate with the proud and you learn their ways. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What do Christ and the devil have in common? Nothing. And you should not either.
The same two commandments I gave you from the beginning I give in a fresh new way now in the New Covenant:
This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1 John 3:23-24.
- “Be very fruitful” is the equivalent of “Believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ.” Do you see? In His Name you do the works He did and greater. He is the vine and you are the branches, by attaching to Him by believing in His Name you become fruitful, producing the same fruit produced in His life. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed of the devil. With faith in His Name you raise the dead, raise the cripple to walk, make blind eyes to see, and bring people to be born again from above. Peter and John raised up the man crippled from birth to walk, leap and jump instantly at the Name of Jesus used skillfully with faith.
- “Take dominion” is the equivalent of “Love one another, just as He commanded.” I am love and I have absolute dominion over My Kingdom which is one of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Love exercises control over self and over those under its care, whereas the flesh is totally out of control of self and those entrusted to it, such as children in the household, students in a school, and people governed. Love has to do with order and peace with all functioning at their maximum potential. Love exhorts, edifies, and encourages. Love does not tolerate evil. It casts it out of self and others and then tramples it underfoot. Love rules with a firm hand of blessing that snatches you out of evil. You overcome evil with good. A home of chaos is not a blessing to the children or parents. Discipline in My Word is what cleanses and frees you. Where there is no love there is wicked and vile behavior. Pure love does not harm others but makes them better by raising up to higher levels. It brings light where there is darkness and a world of order, fruitfulness, and beauty out of chaos. Just read the first chapter of the Bible and you will see how Love ordered the entire universe from darkness and chaos to light, order, and peace. I work all things together for good according to My love and purpose. And that is dominion.
I love you. Be fruitful, increase, take dominion, and subdue all evil under your feet. I have made you to be a blessing and to take dominion of your spirit, soul, and body. Redeem the time because these days are evil. Say: Marana tha!