The Time of Your Life | Part 2

Do you ever feel like you don't have enough time?

Listen to Adrian Rogers. There's 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're doing something God did not intend for you to do.

Either it's something that you imposed upon yourself or you've allowed others to impose upon you. So what you must do is to get quiet before the Lord and let God speak to your heart. Welcome to Love Worth Finding. Pastor, teacher and author Adrian Rogers said yesterday, that's just a canceled check. Tomorrow, that's just a promissory note. Today is all of the cash that you have.

You'd better learn how to spend it wisely. In part one of this message, we learned that time is a provided and present opportunity. It's a gift from God that we dare not let pass by. How can we organize our days so that we're good stewards of our time? If you have your Bible, turn to Ephesians chapter five and look at 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've been going toward the wrong goal or if you've been sitting on the sidelines, either one, I want to show you from God's Word how to take time and use time and maximize your time for God's glory. Now there are three or four things I want you to notice with me.

First of all, time is a provided opportunity. Now what I mean by that is this. Look, if you will, in verse 14, wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest. Now we need to jolt some people awake. 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 chloroformed by these evil days and somehow we need to be jolted awake. God has provided for you an opportunity. You see, it is God who is the creator of time. God's great gift to you, number one is Jesus and number two is time.

Number one is Jesus. Number two is time. God has given you time to work, time to serve, time to love, time to laugh, time to 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 than 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 the 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, see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Now he speaks here of days. This is the day that the Lord hath made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it. There are two days that can steal the joy from today. There are two days that can steal the productivity from today. One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow.

Now we have a lot of folks who live in yesterday. The Bible warns us 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. Now Paul wasn't a man of many ambitions.

He narrowed everything to one focus. This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto 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 is yesterday as you carry along the load from yesterday. Something else that can take the joy 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.

Don't 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 it evil. It doesn't mean sin. It's 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 enough 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? Well, when you worry, you reach out into tomorrow and you take tomorrow's difficulty and bring it into today. Well, 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 shall your strength be. Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 25, As your days are, so shall your strength be. Well, what happens is this, that when you reach into tomorrow and you bring tomorrow's troubles real or imaginary and you cram them into today, you overload the circuit.

I mean 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've been fighting tomorrow's battles today and therefore we meet tomorrow out of breath. Somebody put it well this way when they said that worry pulls tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine.

And so true that is. You see, listen, time is a provided opportunity. Time is a present opportunity. Yesterday, that's just a canceled check. Tomorrow, that's just a promissory note. Today is all of the cash that you have.

You'd 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.

That's great folks. Listen, listen, yesterday is but a dream. Tomorrow is but a vision. Life is today and the Bible says in verse 15, see then that you walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time.

Now that brings me to a third thing I want to say. Not only is time a provided opportunity and not only is time a present opportunity but oh my dear friend, it is a precious, precious, precious opportunity. Look again, he says here that we are to redeem the opportunity. Redeeming, do you see it? Redeeming the time. What do you do when you redeem something?

You pay for it. 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. You see we need to see how valuable time is. To waste time is to waste life because time is the stuff that life is made out of. A person who is killing time is not killing time, he's 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 he takes is that person's time. Do you understand what I'm saying?

He just causes that person to die sooner. You see, time is life. Time is life.

How precious it is. When I give you my time, when you give me your time, you're giving me a piece of yourself. I give you time.

I give you something that even heaven can't give. In heaven, time makes no difference. You see, time is so valuable. Time is so important and therefore we need to redeem the time. Do you know what wisdom is? Wisdom is the art of spending time wisely. Listen, or 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. All right, now listen. Let me tell you how to redeem the time, all right?

We're talking about it being a precious time and a precious opportunity. Let me give you four principles 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.

When that finger points out at you, there are three pointing right back at me right now this morning. And I'm listening to what I've said and I've tried to run this through the grist of my own experience before I try to unload it on you. And I'm certainly not standing up here as a man who has achieved. I'm standing up here as a struggling pilgrim just like you, but giving you some things that I know, that I know, that I know are true from the Word of God. All right, now let me show you how to redeem the time.

I'm saying it's a precious opportunity. Principle number one, and there are four of 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 of the morning, that you begin your day with prayer. As the poet said, lean your arms upon the windowsill of heaven and gaze into the face of God. As you greet the day, begin 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 woodchopper is wasting time when he sharpens his axe.

I've said this before from this pulpit, and I honestly believe it. There's 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're doing something God did not intend for you to do.

Either it's 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 the priority principle.

I mean, after God speaks to you, then it's very obvious that you've got some priorities. You see, life would be simple if life were a choice between good and bad. Very frankly, most of the choices that I have to make are not choices between good and bad. They're choices between good and best.

Isn't that true? I mean, I don't have time to read good books, for I haven't read the best ones yet. I need to find out what God wants me to do. Most time management books tell you how to do more things, how you can play and work and how you can read and how you can do 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 do it. I mean, to get your priorities correct. Jesus, who 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 said to the Father, I have finished the work thou gavest me to do.

Now notice, it was the work that God gave Him to do. Now, there were many villages wanting Jesus to come and teach. There were many places that wanted Jesus to heal and so forth. But Jesus didn't do 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 thou gavest me to do. Do you know what our problems are, dear friend? We're 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?

Well, you say my quiet time with God. What's more urgent, your quiet time or a toilet that's overflowing? You say, that's more urgent. I've got to get that fixed.

Your wife calls you and says, Adrian! No matter what you're doing, you go in there and you've got, I mean, the thing's overflowing. Now that, my dear friend, is something that is urgent. And it's the urgent. So many times it keeps us from the important.

Isn't that true? I mean, in all of life, we have these things that somebody calls, you've just got to do this, you've just got to 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 danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important things. Third principle. Not only the prayer principle, not only the priority principle, but there's the promptness principle. This deals with the sin of procrastination. The Bible says in James chapter 4 and verse 17, Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not to him, it is sin. Sin is not just merely doing wrong, it is failing to do what you ought 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 this area of willpower.

Isn't that correct? I heard a good definition of willpower. I copied it down. I want you to listen to it. When you have a job to do, in this very hour, you supply the will, God supplies the power.

Isn't that great? When you have a job to do, begin this very hour, you supply the will, God supplies the power. My friend, that is willpower. When there's something you know you ought to do, do it and do it now. There's the promptness principle.

And last of all, there's the power principle. Most of us think, oh, boy, I'd just have it made if I knew exactly what God wants me to do. Oh, no, friend, you need the strength to do it. I've already talked to you about this willpower, which is really God's power. In verse 16, he says, redeem the time. That's the promptness principle. In verse 17, he says, be not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. That's the prayer principle.

Look in verse 18, and be not drunk with wine when in success, but 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 time a provided opportunity, and 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 an account for this day.

I must give an account one day for this sermon that I have preached. Time is such a strange commodity. You can't save it. You can't borrow it. You can't loan 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, you can call time out, but you can't call time out in life. Time can't be stored. You can put your money in the bank, but you can't put your time in the bank. Time can't be stretched.

You can add another cup of water to the soup, but there's no way that you can stretch time. Time can't 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've not added anything to your time. So in that sense, time can't even be shared.

Someone wrote these words. When as a child, I laughed and wept, time crept. When as a youth, I dreamed and talked, time walked. When I became a full-grown man, time ran. When older, still I daily grew, time flew. Soon I shall find in traveling on, time is gone.

My dear friend, time is a passing opportunity. What do you intend to do? Do you intend to be a sole winner? Win?

Do you intend to be a good steward? Win? Do you intend to make reconciliation with that estranged friend? Win? Do you intend to call your mama?

Win? Do you intend to write a letter to your daddy and tell him how much you love him and how much you thank 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 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 sixty diamond minutes.

No reward is offered, for they are lost forever. Oh my dear friend, if you could only see the preciousness of just one day. I've come to the end of my message, but listen to me now. Cut yourself loose from yesterday. Last year with its heartaches and its failures is gone. Forget those things which are behind.

Confess them to the Lord and bury them in the grave of God's forgetfulness. Tomorrow is a time nowhere but on the fool's calendar. Stop saying if I had the time. You do have the time.

Use it. And if you've not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, the Bible says, behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to be saved. 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.

Pray something like this from your heart. Oh 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 asked you to come into my heart. Forgive me of my sin. I claim you as the Lord of my life and my Savior. And I pray this in Jesus name.

Amen. If you prayed a prayer like that, we'd love to celebrate with you. Go to our 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 at lwf.org slash radio again, lwf.org slash radio. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, call us at one eight seven seven love God mentioned the title, the time of your life, you'll receive the entire message. This lesson is also part of a powerful series standing for light and truth for that complete collection. All 11 insightful messages. Call that number one eight seven seven love God, or go online to lwf.org slash radio.

You can also write us at love worth finding box 38 600 Memphis, Tennessee, three eight one eight three. Well, 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 and knowing that let's cut ourselves loose from yesterday's heartaches and failures and strain toward what's ahead. Make sure you join us tomorrow for more timeless truth right here on love worth finding. Well, we love hearing from our listeners and recently on our Facebook page, someone said, I began listening to pastor Adrian Rogers about five years ago.

His messages are so easy to understand, but still have that power to convict me of my sins. I pray that God continues to bless love worth finding because it really helped me in a time of need, but we are honored to share timeless resources to help you spend your days wisely in these evil and dark days to thank you for your generous support to the ministry right now. We want to send you a book standing for light and truth. This book gives insight and guidance to help live with integrity and shine God's light in a world growing dim. Request a copy of standing for light and truth. When you call with a gift right now, one eight seven seven love God is our number or give online at lwf.org slash radio. And again, thanks for your generous support of love worth finding.