Making Every Day Matter

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's devotional, Moments in the Word. But first, here's the message, Making Every Day Matter. The Scripture tells us that we are to redeem the time every day. That is, we are to seize every day.

To take it by the throat. And to live it to the fullest. Don't forget about today. With all of our thoughts about tomorrow.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow but don't forget to think about tomorrow. today because this is God's day. Yes, this is the day the Lord has made. Not some day, not yesterday, but this day. Not just special days or holy days or holidays, but this day. This day that God has given every one of us to enjoy and experience to the fullest. Finding your purpose and passion in life is what makes this day a great day every day.

Finding out what God made you to do, what He has called you to do. That is how we discover the joy of every day. Too many people are just trying to get through today to figure out tomorrow. Studies indicate that people go to work every Monday and don't want to be there. Their job is a duty, a way to make money, a way simply to get by.

They're just drawing their breath and putting in their time. But they're not enjoying life. They're not enjoying their job. Their job is not a joy, it's just a job.

Why? Because so often we're not doing what God has called us to do, what God has really put in our hearts to do. Look in your Bibles at Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians the third chapter and verses 23 and 24. The secret to making this day and every day matter is found in these verses. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. You are serving the Lord Christ. Whatever you do, this is not the whatever attitude of indifference that we see in our culture so often today, just whatever regarding life. But whatever you do, if you're a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker, whatever you do in life, do it heartily. That is with all your heart, with everything you've got.

And why do you do it? Because it's for the Lord. It's not for men, but it is for God. The Apostle Paul said, I make it my aim to please Him. And when it is your aim, your ambition above all else and above all others to please Him that whatever you do in words and deeds, that you do it unto the Lord, then your life takes on a dimension, your day takes on a dimension that you never thought possible with heart.

That is with passion and the whatever here, whatever you do in word or in deed, the whatever is ultimately and perfectly the will of God for your life. This is the kind of life that sizzles with fire. This is the kind of life that burns with enthusiasm, that gives itself in faith and hope and joy.

Author Jack London describes a life like this. When speaking of his own life he said, I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow than a sleepy permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I will use my time. That's exactly what the Scripture says when we're told redeem the time, buy it up, seize it, walk carefully, circumspectly, straightforwardly, live with all of your heart. Will you pursue God's will for your life? That's the question. Will you do the will of God from your heart?

That's the question we all need to ask ourselves. God has something great working for you if you will reach out and receive it and do it. Jesus said, we must work the works of the Father for the hour is coming when no man will work. It's the kind of attitude which says whatever we do, we are all in all the time. So whatever you do in word or in deed, do it heartily. I like that word, heartily. We all know what halfheartedly means. So what does heartily mean? It means with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your life, no restraints, no retreat, no regrets.

If you want to make everyday matter in your life, you need to discover what really moves you, what really motivates you, challenges you and calls you to do what you do. And can I say that no other person can hear your call or do your calling. I remember as a small boy when my grandfather would read the stories of the Bible to me I was always fascinated by the story of young Samuel who was living with Eli the priest. And Samuel was in bed and he heard a voice speaking to him saying, Samuel, Samuel, calling his name. So he went in thinking Eli was calling him, requesting him for something and Eli said, I didn't call you, go back to sleep. And again the voice came, Samuel, Samuel. And he goes in and checks with Eli. No, I didn't call you.

A third time it happens. Samuel, Samuel, the unmistakable call of his name. This time when he went back in to check with Eli, Eli said, the next time you hear that voice you say, speak Lord for your servant is listening. I was always caught up in the idea that somehow God could speak to me, that God could speak to us, that God could call my name, Jack, Jack.

And if I would listen, that God would show me what I could do with my life. The thing about God's calling in your life is that it is always sustainable. This passion, this purpose that God gives us, it's not a hiccup and a jump. It's like the call of Samuel.

It came persistently and consistently. We all have spikes of emotional fervor in our lives. We all have bursts of inspiration. We get challenged to do something. We get motivated. We get fired up to go do something. Maybe you hear someone speak about exercise and you say, okay, I'm going to get in shape and you go invest in a treadmill or something and you go and you put it in your house and you get after it for about two or three weeks until it gets difficult and now you know what's happened.

You're hanging your clothes on that thing. We've all had experiences where we get all excited, all pumped up about something and we jump in but we jump out about as quick as we jump in. Now I'm not talking about these just short bursts of passion but a sustainable, strengthening passion. What I'm talking about is an everyday passion.

What puts you in the game with all your heart every single day? The key here is that it is from the heart. What you do if it's the will of God for your life and not everything on your calendar, on your day timer is the will of God for your life. But if what you're doing is for His glory to do His will then you know you would do what you do for nothing. You really wouldn't do it for the check. You would do it for nothing.

Sure it requires sacrifice. To sustain your passion it does require effort and blood and sweat and tears and discipline and doing the hard work behind the scenes when no one is watching but it doesn't matter to you whether anybody is watching or not because you do what you do because God has called you to do. And at the end of the day when all is said and done you can look back on your life from eternity's vantage point and realize that you didn't waste your years. You didn't give up on any day but you lived your life to the fullest. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, Making Every Day Matter. When you set aside daily time to connect with God, He'll give you the ability to live a godly life and fulfill His plans for you in the coming year. And we'd like to help you walk even more closely with the Lord in the year ahead by sending you Pastor Graham's 180 day devotional, Moments in the Word. It's our way to thank you for your gift today to help proclaim the gospel to more people around the world through PowerPoint. So call now to get your copy of Moments in the Word when you give. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit JackGraham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily e-mail devotional.

Our website again is JackGraham.org. Now let's get back to today's message, Making Every Day Matter. How do you keep going when you're tired or when you're discouraged or when you face obstacles or when your dreams are turned upside down? If you will seize God every day of your life, filled with His Spirit, holding on to Him, reaching out, walking with Him every day knowing that you are in His grace and in His grip, that He is the source of your strength and the producer of your passion, then you will sustain, you will sacrifice, you will do whatever it takes to live your life with a plan, with a purpose that only comes from Him. I'm thinking about what Jesus said is the great commandment and also the great commission. Jesus said the great commandment in Matthew 22 is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, your strength and your neighbor as yourself. And then in the great commission that He gave to all believers in Matthew 28, He said go into all the world and make disciples. So what is the calling of every Christian? How do you make every day matter?

It is by loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, loving others and telling others how they can do the same by sharing with them the gospel of Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day that we could have abundant and eternal life. But I heard about an older gentleman who was talking about his life and thinking about his days and he said, you know when I was a young man I wanted to change the world. Then I realized I wasn't going to be able to change the world.

So I thought okay I'll change the nation. And after failed efforts he said I realized I couldn't change the nation so he said okay well I'll change my town. And he worked hard to change his town but he couldn't change his town. And then he said because I couldn't change my world, I couldn't change my nation, I couldn't change my town, I decided to try to change my family. And he found out he couldn't even change his family. And he said looking back he said now I realize the only thing I could really change was me. And he said if you know if I could have only changed me then I could have changed my family. And together my family and I could have changed our town. And then we could have changed our nation and the world.

I could have changed the world. You see it does start every day by getting up, starting the day early with God, chasing after Him and His will for our lives, praying and planning to do the will of God, getting on His schedule and agenda for our lives and doing it again and again and again. And here's what I've discovered about life. Here's how you have a great, great life. Have a great day because you see if you could have a great day today by serving and following Christ shining for Him then you can get up tomorrow and do it all over again. And you could have another great day and so on. And if you string enough days together for God then you will discover greatness in your life and you will fulfill your dreams for your life. I've discovered that stringing enough days together doing the will of God makes for a great, great future and a great life. And I've discovered the people that make the biggest difference in the world are the kind of people who do this day after day.

In fact they would rather fail doing something they love than succeed in doing something they hate with all your heart. Someone recommended to me a little book written by a fellow by the name of Kevin Carroll called The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. What in the world would be the rules of the red rubber ball? Well Kevin Carroll grew up in Pennsylvania, a young African American. He was abandoned by his parents.

He grew up in the home of the family of his grandparents. Kevin says in those days as a very young boy he felt lost until the day he discovered the playground. And the day he discovered the playground is when he discovered how much he loved a ball, any kind of a ball, symbolized by the red rubber ball.

He said, but I love ball, sports. So my obsession as a young boy and then as a teenager became the red rubber ball. Whatever ball it was, I was kicking it, I was chasing it, I was running with it. It became the passion of my life.

I didn't make myself play, I just played. I think back when I was a little kid a little white ball became my obsession, a baseball. Whether it was a rubber ball or a real ball I spent a lot of my days chasing it, trying to hit it, trying to catch it. When I couldn't get others to join me I would go to my garage door and hour after hour I would just throw that ball up against the garage door and I learned how to field ground balls, throwing the ball again and again and again like that, chasing that ball. And the great thing about playing a game by yourself, you can win every time when you're playing yourself. But hour after hour it became an obsession with me and it became exciting to me.

I mean my mother had to call me in after dark and nobody had to get me up to go play. And the point that Kevin Carroll makes in the rules of the red rubber ball is that what you do in life should be like chasing that red rubber ball. He went on to make a career of it. He joined the Air Force so that he could play soccer in Germany. He ultimately became an athletic trainer. He became the first African American athletic trainer in the National Basketball Association with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Now most recently he has worked for Nike as a motivational and inspiring speaker to the entire corporation of Nike. He's still chasing his red rubber ball and that red rubber ball you see is what is inescapable in your life. It's what's irresistible in your life. It's the dreams that you dream and the desires that you have. It's what you think about.

It's what you talk about. It's what you dream about. Most often our dreams began as small children. God put some things in our hearts that we are to do and somehow some ways, in some ways we get away from the child-like play of what God has called us to do and we get all grown up and we get all so serious and all so somber about what we are doing. And some of us need to have another day of discovery when we rediscover the red rubber ball because you see for the Christian the red rubber ball is the will of God. It's what we ought to be chasing as we follow Him all of our lives.

And if you will stay open to God, if you will listen to Him, God's plan will guide you and He can break through the crust of years and the rust of the years and you can get excited about life again. Your calling, your purpose in life. Someone put it this way, purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world's needs.

That's where real fulfillment is, isn't it? Finding out what God wants and what the world needs and then doing it. Somehow we've gotten the idea that the will of God and the work that we do is mutually exclusive. Or that what we want to do is different from what God wills us to do. No, Psalm 37 verse 4 says, delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your hearts. I can tell you that God put a dream, a desire in my heart as a teenager to preach the Gospel, to share Christ, to pastor a church.

And I'm so thankful that I get to live the dream every day, the desire that He's put in my heart. Be a person of passion, pour out your life. The people in the world who have made the biggest difference, who have left the most lasting legacy are people who know that every day matters. And if I'm killing time, I'm killing my life.

If I'm wasting time, I'm wasting my opportunity. Whatever you do, do it all in the name and for the glory of Jesus Christ. If you're a teacher, pour out your life. Pour out your heart in instructing those students and influencing them. If you're an electrician or a carpenter, when you build something, when you put something together, when you wire something, do it that you may please Him. Do it with excellence and quality to honor Him.

If you're a lawyer, be bold as a lion. Be passionate in your life's calling in order to seek justice for those you serve. If you're a parent, give your life unreservedly to your children. That's your calling.

That's what gets you up every day. Let that be the passion of your life. If you're serving God in some way, don't do it halfheartedly. Do it wholeheartedly. Give yourself totally day. Before you know it, not only will your day matter, but your life will matter. May God help us to do it in Jesus' name.

You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, Making Every Day Matter. Looking ahead to a new year can fill you with expectation, but it can also fill you with desperation. What if things get worse?

What if the world gets crazier? What if you don't have the strength to face what comes your way? It's through spending daily time in God's word that we find the strength, peace, and hope we need. And we want to help you do that by sending you Pastor Graham's 180-day devotional Moments in the Word.

Moments in the Word is our special thanks for your gift this month. So call to request your copy today. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit JackGraham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily e-mail devotional.

Our website again is JackGraham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? One of the keys to making every day count as a follower of Jesus is found in the words He spoke in Matthew 6-34. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. As we talked in today's program a lot of people can't do this because they are too focused on yesterday or tomorrow or themselves. Some people all they think about is yesterday, the past. You know if you drive your car looking through the rear view mirror constantly you are going to have an accident.

And you are going to have accidents in life if you keep looking over your shoulder at the past, regretting or fuming over what happened yesterday. Yet other people can't live for the Lord because they are too busy focusing on themselves. All they care about is me, my and mine.

They care about having fun, being entertained, what is pleasurable for me. And in the meantime they are just getting by in life and certainly not living for Christ and the power of God. Still other people all they focus on is the future.

They worry about everything that might happen or could happen or will happen next. People like this are too busy planning tomorrow that they can't live today. So today I want to challenge you to be the kind of person that Jesus talks about. A person who lives for today.

Live for right now. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Be the kind of person who wakes up every day and says this is God's day and I am going to live it. I like what my friend John Maxwell says, Today is the most important day of my life. Yesterday with its successes and victories, struggles and failures is gone forever. The past is past, done, finished. I cannot relive it. I cannot go back and change it. But I will learn from it and improve my today. Today, this moment, right now, it is God's gift to me and it is all I have. Live for Christ today. See you next time.