The Time of Your Life | Part 2

You feel like you don't have enough time to listen to Adrian Rogers there's another time and every day to do everything that God wants you to do race. It's an insult to God, so you don't have enough if you don't have enough time you doing something God did not intend for you either something that you imposed upon yourself, or you will out of so what you must do is to get quiet before the Lord and let God speak to your welcome to the pastor, teacher and author Adrian Rogers said yesterday that's just a canceled check tomorrow. That's just a promissory note today is all the cash that you have, you better learn how to spend wisely. In part one of this message. We learned that time is are provided in present opportunity. It's a gift from God that we dare not let pass by. How can we organize our days so that we are good stewards of our time. If you have your Bible turn to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 14 as Adrian Rogers gives the powerful conclusion of the time of your life. I want to talk to you today about the time of your life if you been going toward the wrong goal argue been sitting on the sideline 01 I want to show you from God's word.

How to take time and use time and maximize your time for God's glory.

Another three or four things I want to know this would mean first of all time is a provided opportunity. Know what I mean by that is this what you will, in verse 14. Wherefore he saith, all Lake vowel that sleeps. Now we need to jolt some people wake.

There is a day of opportunity that you dare not let pass by.

We need to awaken from our stupor. Some of us have been chloroform by these evil days and somehow we need to be jolted away.

God has provided for you an opportunity. You see, it is God who is the create tour of time, God's great gift to you. Number one is Jesus a number two is time. Number one is Jesus. Number two is time God is giving you time to work.

Time to serve time to love time to laugh time the labor but like any gift how you use it is really up to you and we need to see every day. This day and every day as a gift from God. Don't go around saying well. Thus and such a person has more time and I have that's wrong. We all have the same amount of time. Everybody has 24 hours in the day. The difference between people is not that some people have more time than other people. The difference in people is how people use time that God has given them. So I want you to see this time as a provided opportunity, something that God has given you, and something that God wants you to awaken to. But secondly, I want you to see this time, not only as a provided opportunity, but a present opportunity. Something that is here right now.

Notice in verse 15 C, then, that you wall circumspectly, not as fools but as wives redeeming the time, because days are evil may speak here of days. This is the day that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in their two days that can steal the joy from today. There two days that can steal the productivity from today.

One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow. However, a lot of folks who live in yesterday. The Bible warns against that the apostle Paul said in Philippians chapter 3, beginning in verse 13 brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.

That is, I don't think I have arrived. I don't think I'm already perfect, but this one thing I do I Paul was a man of many ambitions. He narrowed everything to one focus there's one thing I do for getting those things which are behind and reaching all those things which are before I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul said I forget those things which are behind one thing that can take the joy out of today's yesterday as you carry along the load from yesterday. Something else that can take the toy out of today is tomorrow.

Matthew chapter 6 and verse 34 Jesus said, take no thought, therefore, for the morrow for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

And then Jesus said something very interesting. He said sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Though worry about tomorrow. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Now think with me. What did he mean by that.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. That is, that God in the crucible of his wisdom, and in the ecology of his grace has ordered some trouble for you today and every day of your life. The Bible calls that evil doesn't mean sin is like an evil smell. It means something bad. All of us have difficulties we all need difficulties, we have been blessed with difficulties.

God gives us another difficulties to cause us to come to him. But then God gives us enough grace to meet those difficulties every day. Now what happens when you worry what when you worry you reach out into tomorrow and you take tomorrow's difficulty and bring it into today. We'll God didn't give you grace for tomorrow's difficulty sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. And so God says in his word as your days are so show your strength be. Deuteronomy chapter 33 in verse 25 as your days are so show your strength me. What happens is this that when you reach into tomorrow and you bring tomorrow's troubles at a real or imaginary and you cram them into today you overload the circuit I made you upset God's divine ecology. You see, worry doesn't take the sorrow out of tomorrow. It takes the strength out of today and then when you meet tomorrow you meet tomorrow out of breath because you're already overloaded from today and you already are run down when you meet tomorrow worry, therefore, does not make us ready for the future. It really makes us unready and we been fighting tomorrow's battles today and therefore we meet tomorrow out of breath. Somebody put it well.

This way when I said that worry fools tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine and so prove that is missing. Listen. Time is a provided opportunity. Time is a present opportunity yesterday. That's just the canceled check tomorrow.

That's just a promissory note today is all of the cash that you have, you better learn how to spend it wisely.

Thousands of years ago. A wise man said this look well to this one day for it and it alone is life.

Are you listening yesterday is only a dream, and tomorrow is but a vision. Yet each day lived well makes yesterday a dream of happiness and tomorrow a vision of hope great folks, listen, listen yesterday is but a dream. Tomorrow is motivation.

Life is today and the Bible says in verse 15. See then that you wall circumspectly, not as fools but as wives redeeming the time, now that brings me to 1/3 thing I want to say.

Not only is time a provided opportunity and not only is time a present opportunity, but all my dear friend it is a precious, precious, precious opportunity what you can. He says here that we are to read deem the opportunity redeeming decedent redeeming the time, what are you going to redeem something you pay for. I mean, dear friend. There is something you must give in exchange if you would live up to the opportunities that God has given you see, we need to see how valuable time is to waste time is to waistline because time is the stuff that life is made out of a person who is killing time is not killing time is killing himself. He is committing suicide by degrees, a murderer in the truest sense, doesn't take someone's life. That person is going to die anyway what it takes is that person's time and Stella and saying you just cause that person to die soon. You see, time is life time is why how precious it is when I give you my time when you give me your time you're giving me a piece of yourself. When I give you time. I give you something that even heaven can't give an heaven time makes no difference. You see, time is so valuable time is so important and therefore we need to redeem the time being, what wisdom is.

Wisdom is the art of spending time wisely. Listen are the art of living is spending time wisely put this verse down Psalm 90 and verse 12 so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom by malice.

Let me tell you how to redeem the time all right with Ahmed being a precious time and a precious opportunity. Let me give you four principles as as to how to take any day and by the way folks if I ever preached a sermon to myself I'm doing it this morning that finger points added to the three point had taken me right now. This morning, and I'm listening what I've said and I tried to run this through the grist of my own experience before I try to unload it on you and I'm certain outstanding appears a man who has achieved time standing up. He is a struggling pilgrim just like you would give you some things that I know that I know that I know are true from the word of God right now. Let me let me show you how to redeem the time on saying it's a precious opportunity. Principle number one and therefore these principle number one is what I want to call the prayer principle how important that you let prayer be the key that unlocks the door the morning that you begin your day with prayer as the poet said Lane your arms up on the windowsill of heaven and gaze into the face of God as you greet the day began the day with prayer spend enough time every day in the morning to get God's will for your life. Prayer must be in the morning.

You see it's not a waste of time to wait on God any more than a a wood choppers wasting time when he sharpens his acts. I've said this before from this pulpit and I honestly believe there is enough time in every day to do everything that God wants you to do and to do it gracefully.

It's an insult to God to say you don't have enough time if you don't have enough time you doing something God did not intend for you to either something that you imposed upon yourself, or you've allowed others to impose upon you. So what you must do in prayer every morning. The principle of prayer is to get quiet before the Lord and let God speak to your heart.

Now after the prayer principle. There comes a priority. Principle, I mean after God speaks to you, then, is very obvious that you got some priority you see life would be simple if life were choice between good and bad. Very frankly, most of the choices that I have to make another choice is between good and bad their choices between good and best in that room.

I mean I don't have time to read good books for I am read the best one yet. I need to find out what God wants me to most time management books tell you how to do more things. How you can play in and work and how you can read and how you get all of all those things are fine.

They all have their place but you see my dear friend what you do is far more important than how you I need to get your priorities correct. Jesus lived only to the age of 33 in his humanity here on earth said when he bowed his head. It is finished and the Lord Jesus that I have to the father, I have finished the work vowel Davis meted.

Now notice it was the work that God gave him to do. Now there were many villages warning Jesus to come and teach. There are many places that wanted Jesus to heal and so forth. But Jesus didn't know everything.

Jesus didn't go everywhere. Sometimes when the crowds were clamoring after Jesus.

He just got alone, but he could say at the end of his ministry. I have finished the work God gavest me to do you know what our problems are different.

We are constantly having a battle between the important and the urgent now. What is more important the plumbing in your house or your quiet time with God. What you say my quiet time with God. What's more urgent your quiet time or toilets overflowing as as mortgage. I get to get that picture why colleges and what you're doing, you go and then you got. I mean the things overflow now that my dear friend is something that is and is the urgent so many times it keeps us from the importantly Metro coming in and all of life we have these things, and somebody calls you just gotta do this you just gotta do that it takes such incredible willpower such an incredible prioritizing of priorities to see the difference between the urgent and the important your greatest dangers, letting the urgent things crowd out the important third principle, not only the prayer principle not only the priority principle but there's the promise principle.

This deals with the sin of procrastination. The Bible says in James chapter 4 in verse 17 therefore to him that North to do good, and with it not, to him it is sin. Sin is not just merely doing wrong.

It is failing to do what you want to do.

Did you know that procrastination and disobedience are different shades of the same sin. Procrastination and disobedience are different kinds of the same sin in my life what I want to do is to cultivate the habit of instant obedience. Now, where most of us fail is in is in this area. Willpower not correct prior to a good definition of willpower. I copied it down. I want to listen to when you have a job to do began this very hour. You supply the will.

God supplies the power in that great when you have a job to do began this very hour. You supply the will of God supplies the power my friend that is willpower when there's something you know you want to do, do it and do it now. There is the promise principle and last of all, there's the power principle is the power principle. Most of us think. Although I just haven't made up. I knew exactly what God wants me to do all know when you need the strength to I'm already talking about this willpower, which is really God's power in the verse 16 he says redeem the time, that's the promise principle in verse 17 says be not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is less the prayer principle look in verse 18 and be not drunk with wine. When success would be filled with the spirit that's the power principle. You see, the power principle is to do God's will in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Most of us don't need to learn to work harder. We need to learn to work with more power.

We need to learn to work with more effectiveness. Now let me move on to the final thing I want to say. Not only is is is time a provided opportunity. Not only is it a present opportunity and not only is it a precious opportunity but my dear friend listen to me and listen carefully. It is a passing opportunity. The days are evil. Time is passing away. This day is passing. I must give account for this day, I must give account one day for the sermon that I preach time is such a strange commodity. You can't save it. You can borrow it.

You can't blown it. You can't leave it you can't take it you can't give it all you can do is use it or lose it. Time can't be stopped in a football game called timeout the skin called timeout in life.

Time can be stored.

You can put your money in the bank, which you can put your time in the bank. Time can be stretched. You can add another cup of water to the soup, but there's no way that you can stretch time.

Time can be shared. I can give you my books.

I can give you my money I can give you my automobile. But I can't give you my time. I can give you a part of my time, but when I give you my time in that sense I'm not added anything to your time so that's it. Time can even be shared. Someone wrote these words when as a child I laughed and went on correct when as a youth I dreamed and talk time wall when I became a full-grown man time ran when older still. I daily grew time flew soon.

I shall find him traveling on time is gone. My different time is a passing opportunity what you intend to do the intend to be a soul winner.

When you intend to be a good steward when you intend to make reconciliation with that estranged friend when they intend to call your mama when they intend to write a letter to your daddy and telling them what you love them and how much you think God for the sacrifices that he's made for you all these years. When are you going to do it.

When are you going to do it. Time cannot be stopped. It cannot be stage stored. It cannot be saved, it cannot be shared.

We are to redeem the time for the days are evil. It was Horace Mann who wrote these words he said lost somewhere between sunrise and sunset two golden hours studded with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered for their lost forever.

All my different if you could only see the preciousness of just one day I come to the end of my message but listen to me now get yourself loose from yesterday last year with his heartaches and his failures is gone.

Forget those things which are behind, confessing to the Lord and bury them in the grave of God's forgetfulness tomorrow is a time nowhere but all the fools calendar stop saying if I had the time you do have the time. Use an if you've not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.

Bible says behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to be saying indeed. Today is the day of salvation and maybe right now you would like to put your full hope and trust in what Jesus did for you pay something like this from your heart of God in heaven. I know I'm a sinner. I need your forgiveness.

You are holy, I'm not. That's why Jesus came on a rescue mission for me. I've placed my full hope and trust in him and what he did for me on the cross.

I ask you to come into my heart, forgive me of my sin. I claim he was the Lord of my life and my Savior. I pray this in Jesus name, amen.

If you prayed a prayer like that. We love to celebrate with you anywhere discover Jesus page at the website you'll find answers that you may need about your faith. There's a response section.

You can tell us about this good news that you've received today we want to welcome you to God's family can't wait to hear from you again, go to the discover Jesus page@lwf.org/radio again LWF.org/radio after like to order a copy of today's message. Call us at 1877 love God mentioned the title the time of your life, you'll receive the entire message. This lesson is also part of the powerful series standing for light and truth, for that complete collection all 11 insightful messages.

Call that number 1877 love God or go online to LWF.org/radio. You can also write us at love worth finding box 38, 600 Memphis, TN 38183 thanks for studying with us in God's word today. Remember these words from Adrian Rogers time is a strange commodity all you can do is use it or lose it. We will give an account for every passing day, knowing that cut ourselves loose from yesterday's heartaches and failures constraint toward make sure you join us tomorrow more timeless truths right on the love worth.

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