WES HUMBLE

Seize Your Days Ephesians 5:15-17

In March of 2000, the small town of Fruita, Colorado, received a unique new sculpture on a downtown corner. Lyle Nichols unveiled his four-foot masterpiece of Mike the headless chicken. It’s a reminder of what happened in Fruita sixty years earlier. Lloyd Olsen, a farmer, lopped off the head of one of his chickens in the 1940s. Wanting to preserve as much of the neck as possible for dinner, he laid his ax at the base of Mike’s skull. Rather than roll over and die, this chicken became a bizarre piece of history.

Olsen not only didn’t eat the bird, he actually started to care for it. Mike could go through the motions of pecking for the food but couldn’t get anything. When he tried to crow, only a gurgle came out. The farmer fed this strange chicken with an eyedropper, and after a week of survival, he took Mike to some scientists at the University of Utah. They theorized the chicken had enough brain stem left to live without his head. Mike made it into Life magazine and the Guinness Book of World Records. He also became quite an attraction until he choked to death on a kernel of corn in an Arizona motel eighteen months after surviving the chopping block.

I know some of you think I made this up but you can check out my research by logging on to: www.miketheheadlesschicken.org

Mike the headless chicken might describe some of us who move through the motions of life without the Head of Christ to guide us. We may have movement and life, but not much direction.

Every year we are inundated with the year in review specials.

CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all did video reminders of what the year was like.

Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report printed reviews of the year.

People Magazine did their supposedly 25 most intriguing people and Life Magazine always helps us remember the year in printed pictures.

MTV, VH 1 and CMT remember the year by naming the top videos of the year.

Many of the magazines also include articles by experts predicting what they expect to see happening in the years ahead. Some even go so far as to make predictions covering 10, 20, or more years in the future. In the past, a few of these predictions have proven amazingly accurate, while others couldn’t have been more wrong.

For example, back in 1967, experts predicted that by the turn of the century technology would have taken over so much of the work we do that the average American work week would be only 22 hours long, & that we would work only 27 weeks a year. As a result, one of our biggest problems would be in deciding what to do with all our leisure time.

I think we all know that didn’t happen for most of us.

The question that we must ask ourselves is not about last year and our hits and misses. The question must revolve around what we will do with the year that lies ahead of us.

The Bible is more than just a book of advice. It is God’s word and we need to understand that our lives must be lived according to the words found in the Bible.

You can choose to live without following God’s word. You certainly have that right. Let me ask you, how are you doing without God? How is your life shaping up? Are you anticipating the New Year and new opportunities?

I want to read a couple verses from the Bible. I think they will be very helpful for some of us to hear and read.

NIV: “Be very careful, then how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

The Message: “So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.”

1. Watch your step: Our earthly days are numbered.

A. First of all, we must be very careful how we live because our time on this earth is limited.

The Psalmist wrote, "Show me, O Lord, my life’s end & the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life" Psalm 39:4.

"We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty). Oh teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well." Psalm 90. (The Message)

Now, I realize that for some of us, 70 or 80 years sounds like a long, long time away. There are some who have passed that mark and can look back and on 70 and 80.

B. The Psalmist also tells us to number our days so that we will develop a heart of wisdom.

A few years ago People Magazine published an article entitled "Dead Ahead" telling about a new clock that keeps track of how much time you have left to live. It calculates an average life span of 75 years for men & 80 years for women. So you program your sex & age into the clock, & from then on it will tell you how much time you have left. It sold for $99.95.

I didn’t buy one. But it is an intriguing idea. In fact, that’s what the Psalmist told us to do - to number our days.

I did a little calculating and although I’m not great at math this is what I came up with.

I am almost 42 years old.

42 x 365 = 15,330 That’s the number of days I have lived on the earth.

75 - 42 = 33 Thirty-three is the number of years until I am seventy-five.

33 x 365 = 12045 That is the number of days I have left if I make the average.

The trouble with all this is we have no ability to guarantee how many days or even hours that we have left.

The Bible tells us not to count on tomorrow because tomorrow may not come for you or for me. All we have is right now. So our time on this earth is valuable because it is very limited.

We are to carefully watch our steps. Prioritize what we do with our lives.

The poet and novelist, Annie Dillard says, “How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life.”

2. Weigh your opportunities. Exercise good judgment.

Paul tells us that we must make "the most of every opportunity." and he gives a reason, “these are desperate times.”

Jesus said that Satan is a robber & a thief, & one of the things he tries to rob from us is our time because time is a very precious possession.

Just think of the time wasted in sinning. Think of the time wasted in bars or in gambling casinos or in shallow affairs. Think of the time wasted in gossiping or spreading rumors. Or think about all the time wasted worrying about the consequences of the sins we have committed.

But it is not just sin that makes demands on our time. Sometimes even good things can make demands.

Jesus went to the home of Mary & Martha & Lazarus. He sat down to teach, & Mary was sitting at His feet just soaking in every word. Meanwhile, Martha was out in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Now, you know the story. Martha gets upset because Mary is not in the kitchen, too. So she complains to Jesus, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" [Luke 10:40]

"Martha, Martha," Jesus answered, "You are worried & upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, & it will not be taken away from her" [Luke 10:41-42].

Now was Martha committing a sin by fixing a meal in the kitchen? No, of course not! But here’s the problem. She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn’t realize that God was in her living room.

That’s the same mistake that you & I make every day. We get so caught up in the here & now that we fail to deal with the eternal, the things that will last forever & ever.

Richard Swenson, a medical doctor, wrote a book in which he discusses one of the major maladies of our time - anxiety & stress. He calls it "overload," & says that people are just plain overloaded.

1. We’re overloaded with commitments. We’ve committed ourselves to go here & there, to take part in this activity & that social function. As a result we soon begin meeting ourselves coming & going because we have overloaded ourselves in the area of commitments.

2. We’re also overloaded with possessions, he says. Our closets are full, & our garages are overflowing. We’ve gone into debt to pay for all of these things that we "simply must have." And now we’re so afraid that someone will steal them. We are overloaded in the area of possessions.

3. Thirdly, we have an overload in the area of work. We get up early, fight traffic, & experience intolerable working conditions because we have to if we’re going to pay for all those possessions that we’ve accumulated.

4. There is also an information overload. He said that as a doctor he has to read 220 articles a month just to keep up with all the changes in his profession. And now with the Internet there’s an information superhighway. But the problem is that we can’t possibly absorb it all. So we feel an overload in this area, too.

Hopefully you get the picture. There are so many demands on our time, so many good things that need to be done. But there are just 8,760 hours in this year, & we’ve already used 106 or 107 of them. If we want to make the most of every opportunity, what are we to do?Patrick Morley is a well-known author and leader of Christian businessmen. His impact today can be largely credited to a decision he made years ago. His business was finally starting to take off. For the first time he was getting offers and invitations to be a part of the business community’s in-crowd. He said yes to about everything that came his way. Time with his young children was going into remission as he gave more and more attention to shallow relationships that were established for the sole purpose of financial gain. Although he was oblivious to what was happening, his wife, Patsy, had a clear understanding. When he told her, “We’ve arrived!” she added, “Yes, but at the wrong place.” Morley then began to realize the folly of his pursuits. One night as he was reviewing his bulging calendar, he thought of a way to prioritize his days. He pondered to his wife, “Why not prioritize everything we do on the basis of who’s going to be crying at our funeral?” Morley says, “This simple question saved our family.” Ask who’s going to cry at my funeral, and you’ll be using an excellent tool for the prioritization of your time.

God’s Vitamin “C” for the Spirit, Kathy and Larry Miller, Starburst Publishers, 1996, p. 23

We have been talking a lot about ministry and ministry opportunities in the last few weeks. Exercise good judgement by weighing the opportunities to serve God and others.

3. Want what God wants: Embrace what God is doing.

“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.”

One of the best ways to make this year meaningful for you is to embrace what God wants to do.

Too often we find ourselves praying for God to bless what we are doing when we should be praying for God to lead us to what He is doing.

I want to address this briefly in two areas.

A. This church.

The leadership of this church believes that God has called us to be the kind of church that we are. We do not do the things we do because it is trendy or the church up the road somewhere is doing it. We are constantly trying to understand what it means to share the gospel of Christ with the culture that we live in. We have firmly come to believe that you cannot effectively share the message unless you are willing to make sacrifices out of the way we have always done things.

Church people have succumbed to one of the most tragic deceptions in the history of the church. For years we have come to believe that church was about us. About what we want and what we like. What makes us happy and comfortable.

What church is about is taking the message that Christ commanded us to spread and presenting it in a way that connects to the culture that we live in.

When I evaluate the wasted hours and people power that is exerted every week across this nation under the name church it is heartbreaking. This is not about us being perfect or having it all figured out as a church. This is about simply finding out what God is doing and what He wants to do being the church that is willing to give up our trinkets and toys to go where God is going. I call on you to embrace what God is doing here. You don’t have to like everything. I don’t even like everything we do but it is not about me. Embrace this incredibly unique opportunity that God has given our church and lets see what God will do.

B. Your life: God is calling you. He has called every one of us to follow Him.

I believe that God is calling some of you to step up to greater involvement in some ministry. I believe that God is calling some of you to full-time ministry and you are trying to understand what that means for you.

The two greatest enemies of time are regrets for things we did in the past, & anxiety about what will happen to us in the future. Many of us are living either in the past or in the future.

In fact, many of us are engaged in the little game of, "I wish it were." "I wish it were next week," or "I wish it were next month," or "something." Kids go to school & say, "Boy, I wish this day were over."

Gary Freeman tells about a girl who went to college & she just hated it. But she told herself, "If I can ever get out of college & get married & have children, I know I’ll finally be able to enjoy life."

So she stuck with it. She went to classes every day & finally graduated from college. Then she got married & had children, & discovered that children are a lot of work. So she told herself, "If I can just get these kids raised, then I’ll be able to relax & really enjoy life."

But about the time the kids were entering high school her husband said, "Guess what? We don’t have enough money to send our kids to college. I guess you’ll have to get a job."

Well, she didn’t want to, but she knew he was right & they needed the money, so she went to work. And she hated it. But she told herself, "If I can just get these kids out of college, & get all of the bills paid, then I can quit work & really enjoy life."

Finally, the last child graduated from college, & all the bills were paid. So she walked into her employer’s office & said, "I quit." He said, "Oh, you don’t want to quit now. If you stay with us just another 8 years you’ll have a pension for the rest of your life."

She thought, "Well, I don’t want to work another 8 years, but there’s all that money there, & I really can’t turn down the opportunity." So she worked for another 8 years. Finally, she & her husband retired at the same time. They sold their home & bought a little retirement cottage.

Then they sat down on the swing on their front porch & looked at the family picture album & dreamed about the good old days.

Someone said, "Life is what happens to you while you’re making plans to do something else.

I found a great passage of scripture in Romans 13. Listen to these verses from The Message Bible:

“But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!”

We will someday have the opportunity to present our lives before God. We will have the chance to show Him what we have done with the time we were given on earth.

There is an odd tendency in humans to think that we can worm our way out of the consequences of our actions. I’ve heard that husbands often do this with their wives when they have done something they shouldn’t have. People do it to law enforcement officers when they try to squirm out of a speeding ticket.

John Ortberg in his book, “If you Want to Walk on Water you have to get out of the Boat”, tells a story that happened between him and his son.

“Some years ago, our son, who was about eight at the time, was having a generally squirrelly day. He was headed for trouble. I warned him that if he didn’t settle down soon, he would face serious consequences involving the availability of Mr. Nintendo. Then came a spill of Exxon Valdez proportions. “Okay,” I said, “you know the consequences.” This eight-year-old boy pulled a dollar bill out of his pocket, waved it in front of my nose and suggested slyly, “Maybe Mr. Washington can change your mind.”

There is one before whom we will all stand. He is loving, holy gracious, and just, but he intends for us to understand that we really will give account to him of our lives.

I encourage you this year to: Watch your steps. Weigh your opportunities. Want what God wants.

2003/01/05

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