Started out preparing this message
with Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18, and the Lord willing,
I will get to that in a while, but I just kept backing up to
passage preceding Ephesians 5, 18, and I couldn't get past verses
15 and 16. And I believe God's given me
a message that you need. I know it's a message that I've
needed. Ephesians chapter five, verse
15, the apostle Paul writing by divine inspiration has called
for us to awake, arise from the dead with the promise Christ
shall give the light. He calls for us to walk as light
and to walk in the light that God's given us in this world.
And then in verses 15 and 16, he tells us precisely what he
means by walking in the light. See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise. If we would walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise walking in the light. We must do so redeeming
the time because the days are evil. Redeeming the time, that's
my subject. Redeeming the time. I am, I suspect
like most of you, at our age given to much regret. for things I should have done
that I didn't do. Things I had opportunity to do
that I didn't do for whatever reason. Paul urges us here to
redeem the time because the days are evil. The words might be
translated this way, buying up the opportunity. Buying up the
opportunity. purchasing again something that
was lost. Obviously, Paul is referring
to the life that we had in this world, if you can call it life,
before God saved us in the days of our unregeneracy. We lived
to the lust of the flesh for our pleasure, for the world,
for the lust of our own flesh, and for nothing else. Now that
we've been saved by God's free grace, Paul says, buy up the
opportunity that you now have. Redeem the time God has put in
your hands. Listen to the words of our Lord
Jesus. He said, I must work the works of him that sent me whilst
it is day. The night cometh when no man
can work. Whatever it is that you would
do for God or for anyone else, you must do now. Don Fortner, whatever it is you
would do in this world for God or for anyone else must be done
now. C.T. Studd, I'll try to tell
you about him before I get done. a missionary to China, to India,
and then to Africa. He wrote these lines that are
very familiar to many. Some object to them, but I see
no reason for their objection. Too little lines I heard one
day, traveling along life's busy way. Too little lines bringing
conviction to my heart, and from my mind would not depart. Only one life will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will
last. Only one life, yes, only one.
Soon will its fleeting hours be done. Then in that day, my
Lord, to meet and stand before his judgment seat, only one life
will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will
last. We read in Revelation concerning
God's people, their works shall follow them. only one life will
soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will
last. In other words, the only thing
meaningful, the only thing profitable, the only thing beneficial to
anyone is that which is done for Christ. Everything else is
just a puff of smoke. Everything else is just vanity. Everything else is meaningless. And let me give you my message
by raising and answering three simple questions. First, what
does the Spirit of God here tell us to redeem? The answer is plainly
given, redeeming the time, buying the opportunity, seizing the
opportunity, He calls for you and I who are gods. Paul is talking here specifically
to believers, to men and women who have been born of God, to
men and women who have been taught of God, to men and women who
believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says to
the God's children, our time in this world should be bought
up for God, spent for God, redeemed for the glory of God. May God
grant that we may, as Zacharias spoke of John the Baptist, be
folks of whom it may be said, we being delivered out of the
hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness
and righteousness before him all the days of our lives. We must not serve God now and
then. But through all the days of our
lives, he that liveth, liveth unto God. He that liveth, liveth
unto God. God's glory is to be the utmost
end of our actions. Our worship, our work, even our
recreation should be for the honor of God. The Apostle Paul
wrote to the Galatians and said, the life that I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and
gave himself for me. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
us. He redeemed us. He bought us
with his precious blood for this specific purpose, that we might
live under God. Let me show you that. Turn to
2 Corinthians chapter four. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, I want
you to look at several passages of scripture that are very familiar,
but I want you to read them. 2 Corinthians chapter, I'm sorry,
chapter 5, verse 14. The love of Christ constraineth
us. The love of Christ has got hold of our hearts and pulls
us along. And this is how, because we thus
judge that if one died for all, Then we're all dead. That is
to say, when Christ died for us, we died in him. Verse 15,
and that he died for all. He died for every one of us.
That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him that died for them and rose again. That's the object. son of God,
David Coleman, in redeeming you. That's the object of God's darling
son, Don Fortner, in redeeming you, that you should live unto
Him who died for you and rose again. Turn over to II Peter,
I Peter chapter 4, I Peter chapter 4, verse 1, For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind, that is, with the very mind of Christ. For
he that suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. You and
I in Christ suffered in the flesh. When he died, we died in him.
And this is the reason that he no longer, that we who live by
him, no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh,
to the lust of men, but to the will of God. We died with Christ
at Calvary, suffering all the wrath of God in the person of
our substitute, that we should no longer live to the lust of
men, but to the will of God. Now turn back to 1 Corinthians.
Corinthians chapter 6. The Apostle Paul tells us that
we are washed and sanctified and justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. In verse 19 he says,
What? know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? which you have
of God and you're not of own, you're not your own. God the
Holy Ghost came in the marvelous work of regeneration and took
up permanent residence in you so that your very body, this
very being is the temple of God. you're not your bought with a
price therefore glorify God I'm sorry says you're not your own
for your bought with a price therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit which are God's look at chapter 10
1st Corinthians 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31 Several years ago, Brother Bruce
Crabtree, I had him read Scripture at the opening of one of our
conferences. And he said, I'm going to read just one verse
of Scripture tonight. I don't know that I ever recall
any other specific passage of Scripture that anyone ever read
in a public reading of Scripture at the time it was read, except
that one reading. And here it is. Whether therefore
you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of
God. I hope that weighs as heavily
on you as God causes it now to weigh on me. And I pray that
it will weigh on my heart more heavily every breath I draw until
I've drawn my last breath on this earth. Whatever you do,
whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God. Paul put it another way in Colossians
3, just listen. Whatsoever you do in word or
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to
God and the Father by Him. night and day, in labor and in
leisure, in religious activity and in recreation. Use your time
for the glory of God. Buy up every opportunity to worship
for God's glory. Buy up the time of your employment
for God's glory. Buy up the time in your home
for God's glory. buy up the time of leisure and
recreation for God's glory. When Paul admonishes us to be
redeeming the time, he's telling us to buy up every opportunity
and every season before us. But there's a special opportunities
that we have of receiving and doing good. And we must specifically
buy them up. We should buy up every opportunity
of receiving good from God. How many times the Lord God comes
and approaches our souls in a special way. And he says, seek you the
Lord while he may be found. Call you upon him while he is
near. Our Savior said, while you have the light, believe in
the light, that you may be children of the light. The Lord God says,
turn at my reproof. Behold, I'll pour out my spirit
unto you. It's dangerous, foolish. for you and I to let any word
from God go unnoticed. Any inclination of God's spirit
given in our hearts, we must not repel. We should be sensitive
to the times when God speaks to us and buy up the opportunity
of receiving good from us. When he draws, let us run after
him. When he knocks, God give me grace
to open to you. When the waters are stirred,
O Spirit of God, put me in the water that I may be healed. God does, as it were, sometimes
call us by name, speaking to our particular case, our certain
condition. And we must buy up the opportunity.
If we don't, it'll be our great loss. We should buy up every
opportunity to receive good from God and to receive good from
men. Far too often we miss opportunities
of serving God simply because we refuse to buy up the opportunity. Multitudes have opportunity to
hear the gospel of God's grace, to worship with God's people,
and to benefit from it and choose the wind. Many times we're influenced by
the spirit of God to do a certain thing and we put it off and then
the opportunity is gone. When God speaks to us, We ought
to respond as the psalmist, when thou saidst, seek ye my face,
my heart said unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek. When Paul went from place to
place, as God moved upon his heart, doing the will of God,
he gives us an example to follow. God's work must be done by the
person chosen of God to do that specific work. It must be done
in the place where God puts it. And it must be done in God's
time. Mordecai said to Esther, when
she was reluctant to go to the king for fear, he said, who knoweth
whether thou art come into the kingdom for such a time as this? What an opportunity. What an
opportunity for a woman to deliver the nation of God's people. What
an opportunity, who knows? But that God put you in the kingdom
at just this time, just this opportunity. Mark read to us
the other night about David and Goliath. David went out to meet
Goliath, that giant. And here's David and all the
armies of Israel trembling before that one man. And David said,
I'll go out and do battle with him. And his brother, rebuked him. He rebuked him. Isn't that stupid? Stupid. Just like me. Just like me. He rebuked him. He said, you
just want to show yourself. And David's response was, is
there not a cause? Is there not a cause? Is there
not a cause why somebody should go out and do battle with this
man? God's honor's at stake. Is there not a cause? If we would
do good to the souls of men, it must be while we have opportunity.
The wise man said a word spoken in due season, how good it is. Just the right word at just the
right time. And if you miss the opportunity,
the same word is of no benefit. Just the right word at just the
right time. I try to be a good correspondent. I have become more slack in days
of email than I used to be. I write few letters by hand anymore,
but I still try to correspond with everybody who writes to
me about anything. I can't tell you how many times
over the years I've had someone write back to me and say, I don't
know how you knew what I needed, but your letter, your note came
just at the right time. It's just what I needed then. A word spoken in season. Oh, how sweet it is. Now turn
to first Corinthians chapter seven. Here's the second question. Why must we redeem the time? Why must we buy up the opportunity? Look at 1 Corinthians 7 verse
29. This I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth that
both they that have wives be as though they had none, and
they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice
as though they rejoiced not. and they that buy as though they
possess not, and they that use this world as not abusing it,
for the fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have
you without carefulness." What a strange word. Paul says the
fashion of this world is passing away. All of those things that
we think are important, all of those things that so greatly
stir us, all those things that agitate us, all those things
that weigh so heavily upon us, all those things that concern
us so greatly, it's passing away. But I would have you without
carefulness. without carefulness concerning
these very things. Certainly Paul does not mean
for us, the Spirit of God does not mean for us to neglect responsibilities,
not by any means. What he does mean for us is that
we not allow earthly responsibilities to cause us to neglect the things
of God. As believers, you and I need
to be constantly reminded the time is short. We have but a
very short time in this world. The whole of a man's life is
just short, like ships going across the sea, like a vapor,
just a vapor rising in the morning, burned off as soon as the sun
comes up. Just like on a cold day, you breathe, you see your
breath and it's cold. You can't see it anymore. That's
how quick it goes by. My days are swifter, Job said,
than a weaver's shuttle, swifter than a post. They flee away,
they're passed away as the swift ships, as an eagle that hasteth
to the prey. So we should redeem the time.
days are short and there are multitudes who are lost. We have already lost much opportunity
to minister to men, much opportunity to minister to eternity bound
souls. The days that we have left to
us, let us use them in the service of our Redeemer because we only
have a short time. You and I have a certain number
of Sundays, a certain number of Tuesdays that are left. You
will hear just a certain number of sermons. I will preach just
a certain number of sermons. I'll write just so much, and
it's determined beforehand. Your years and days and my years
and days are numbered, probably for some of us, We've already
celebrated our last birthday. Your grave is marked and mine
is. The time is short and in a little while, I'll stand before
your coffin and speak concerning you and your life or you will
stand before mine and talk about me and my life. Since time is
short, let us be warned and alarmed. We have but a short time in this
world. How shall it be spent? The time for serving God is short,
very short. We can't afford to lose our time,
senseless talk and idle gossip and domestic scandals. We can't
afford to lose our time debating fine points of religious controversy. We can't afford to lose our time
with the many trivialities that entertain men or frustrate men.
Let us be admonished to singleness of purpose. Spend out the days
of your life for the glory of Christ. Seek opportunity to serve
Him, to do good to His people, to do good to the immortal souls
around you, those you influence. For preachers especially, redeem
the time, buy up the opportunity, buy up the opportunity. Paul
told Timothy, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth. Would to God I could get the ear of every preacher, every
young preacher and every old preacher who's interested in
the things of God and the glory of God. Push everything else
aside. Push everything else aside and
give yourself in the totality of your life to the preaching
of the gospel. and time in this world, the time
of suffering and sorrow and heartache, that too is short. We must not
only redeem our time because of its shortness, we must redeem
the time because the days are evil. These are evil days. Men and women are tempted on
every side to live only for the pleasures of life. Let us not
follow their guide. These are days of horrible ungodliness,
irreverence, wickedness. Let us buy up the opportunity
to make known the glory and grace of our God. These are times when
the foundations of society are crumbling everywhere, everywhere. I just said to Shelby last night,
I read an article earlier this morning, very early this morning,
on Christless conservatism. And most of us here, I expect,
politically are conservative. One of the great dangers of conservative
civic things is that these days there are a good many sodomites
who join the ranks. And in doing so, seem to make
it all right, acceptable. We see sodomy everywhere. We
see fornication everywhere, adultery everywhere. Well, everybody,
that's just the way things are. It's more acceptable today. Not
to God, it's not. Not to God, it's not. And all
of those things are destructive to the very fabric of society. These are adult people, they'll
do what they want to. Folks who murder are adults too. You don't
let them do what they want to. It's destructive to society.
It is our business as God's people to proclaim the gospel of God's
grace and folks who believe the gospel of God's grace live accordingly. These are times when many women
are perishing for lack of knowledge. So let us dispense the knowledge
of God. These are times of sinful, godless
rebellion and anarchy. Our business is to declare to
men the claims of Jesus Christ, the Lord and King, and demand
that men and women bow to Christ the King. One third question. How? How can I redeem the time? Paul tells us to redeem the time,
to buy up the opportunity before us, to ransom the season we have. But how can this be done? Let
me give you just two brief words of instruction, and I pray they
will be burned into your heart by the Spirit of God. If we would
redeem the time, we must live in the constant realization of
the brevity of life. In Psalm 90, verse 12, The psalmist gives this prayer
to God. I pray it all the time. So teach
us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Bobby, that is not a prayer,
God teach me to number my days so I'll learn to be smart. That's
not it. It is not teach me to number
my days so that I'll learn how to deal with men wisely. That's
not what he's talking about. Teach me, my God, to number my
days, so that I may apply my heart relentlessly to Christ,
who is wisdom, to Christ, who is the wisdom of God, that I
may apply my heart to Him, who is the revelation of God. Our
time is not ours, not if we're God's. Our time is not ours to
dispose of as we will. A believer is a man or a woman
who has given himself up entirely to God. That includes our time. For me to live is Christ. That is, my life belongs to the
Son of God. We have no time that can't be
serviceable to God, our Savior, morning and evening. We should
ask ourselves, what can be done for Christ? And when we come
to the end of the day, we ought to be concerned, what have I
done this day for my God? What have I done this day to
benefit the souls of men? What have I done for those who
needed my help today? Second, since time is so short,
so precious, if we would redeem the time, We must live in this
world as much as possible with prudence. And I say that with serious thought. We must
live as much as possible with prudence. Exercising right care
for things God's committed to our hands. You have a job, you
have care and responsibility. You have a husband, you have
care and responsibility. You have a wife, you have care
and responsibility. You have children, you have care
and responsibility. You have property, you have care
and responsibility. But as much as we can with prudence
do so, we must live detached from those things. We read in
1 Corinthians 7 that those who have wives be as though they
had none. marriage is honorable in all,
and the bed undefiled. A man is to love his wife as
Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it, and a woman is
to love her husband as, or to reverence her husband as the
Church reverences Christ. That's responsibility. And yet,
there is a sense in which the man who's married must be as
though he weren't, and the woman who's married as though she weren't. What does that mean? What does
that mean? This dear lady is my wife, and
I love her. And she knows it, and you know
it. But my love for her can never, can never, can never, can never
interfere with worshiping and serving God. Can never interfere
with doing the will of God. Can never interfere with where
I go, what I do in the cause of Christ. It can't do it. It
can't do it. Can't do it. When I first came
to Danville, I called Shelby that afternoon. I may have told
you this, may not have. She can verify it. I said, honey,
we had a good worship service this morning. We were meeting
over in the KU building. I said, for the first time in
my life, I've met a congregation of people who desperately need
a pastor and just as much want one. And if they call me to come
to Danville, Kentucky, we're on our way. We're moving. I didn't
go home and discuss it with her and ask her her advice or what
she thought about it. We're moving to Danville. How
come? This is what God has for us.
This is where God would give us. This is where God would put
us. Well, how are you going to take
care of your family? What's going to happen to her? What's going
to happen to her job, her career? That's totally insignificant.
Absolutely, totally insignificant. How are you going to educate
your daughter? That's totally insignificant. Doesn't matter.
as though you had no wife. Be as though you had no husband.
You do the will of God. Brother Walter Groover nearly
50 years ago quit his job in Houston, Texas and took his wife
and children and moved to Mexico and started preaching the gospel
of God's grace. And you know what he didn't do?
You know what he didn't do? He didn't do something that Almost
every missionary I've ever met did. He never went on deputation. He never went around raising
money. He never did, not one time. And you know what? Somehow or another, his whole
family was fed and clothed and housed and educated and got through
pretty good. And you get along pretty good.
How come God takes care of his own? and you won't hazard anything
by doing God's will. It will not happen. It remaineth
that those that have wise be as though they had none. David
Brainerd, missionary to the American Indians, Jonathan Edwards' son-in-law,
He spoke of a believing woman who was resigned to God in the
most tender areas. Somebody asked her, what if God
would take away your husband? How do you think you could bear
that? She replied, he belongs to God, not to me. God may do
with him just what he pleases. And when she, in her old age,
longed to die, she grew old quickly, She was asked what would become
of her young son. She said, God will take care
of him. He belongs to God, not to me. Samuel Rutherford said, don't
build your nest in any of the trees of this forest. God's marked them all to be burned.
So don't build your nest here. We must learn to look to, lean
upon, and trust Christ alone. And as with the cares of this
world, we must learn to live detached from the pains and sorrows
and adversities of this world. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
4 for just a second. 2 Corinthians 4. There are always some who weep. No sooner does one cheek dry
up until tears fall on the other. No sooner is one way to take
away her veil than another puts one on. But we're moving rapidly
to a world where there'll be no tears for God's people. 2
Corinthians chapter 4 verse 15. All things are for your sakes. All things are for your sakes. I just told you about Lily and
her difficulties. Oh, what difficulties she and
her parents got to deal with next 20 years. How come? Because it's good for
them. Because it's good for them. If God's good for you, David,
you're going through what you're going through in your family
because it's good for you. I would never dream of doing
it, but God loves you infinitely more than I can. It's good for
you and for your sakes. That the abundant grace might
through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
For which cause we faint not, that is because we know this,
we just keep on plugging away. But though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction. What a word. Our light affliction. Our light affliction. The other
day I pulled out a pair of pajamas, Shelby had hung up and I was
sitting in my easy chair and I saw something on the lapel
there, got stuck in there. I didn't know it when I put them
on. I didn't pay any attention to it. It was insignificant.
You know what it was? It was a little bitty feather.
That's all. Probably out of one of the pillows.
Just a little feather. And I pulled it off. Didn't even know I pulled
it off. Just laid it down there. Shepherd said, what's that? I said, it's
a feather. Got it out of my pajamas. That's just exactly what Paul
refers to our afflictions as. Our featherweight afflictions. Our featherweight afflictions.
which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God and
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. opportunity. Seek in all things
to honor God, to serve the good of His kingdom, to serve the
souls of men, to serve one another. Seek His will and do it, and
keep your heart in the love of Christ in the anticipation of
heaven. C.T. Studd, was converted when
he was 16 years old. He attended Cambridge University
and became a world famous, as much world famous as you could
be in those days. World famous for his abilities
as a cricket player. If you don't know what cricket
is, you don't, my British folks might be upset with me, but you
won't miss much. It's a boring game, unless you're British.
But he was world famous for it. And he graduated at the top of
his class in Cambridge. And soon after he graduated,
he applied to Hudson Taylor as a missionary to China, and went
to China as a missionary. His father was an exceptionally
wealthy man. And Stud's brother had already
died, and his entire fortune was left to Stud. And Stud gave
everything away. He'd just gone to China as a
missionary, gave it all away, every penny, every penny. Gave
it away, convinced that God provides for his own in the service of
his kingdom. And he served in China for 10
years. And then he went to India and
labored there for seven years. And then he went to Africa with
his family, his wife and his four daughters, and spent the
rest of his adult life in Africa, nearly 20 years. And he died
in Africa. Someone asked him why he chose
such a life, why he would go to China, to Africa, to India,
when he could be somewhere else. He said, some folks want to live
within the sound of the chapel bell. I want to run a rescue
within a yard of hell. And the reason he gave is this.
If Jesus Christ be God, and he died for me, that no sacrifice
can be too great for me to make for him." And he wrote those
words I read to you earlier. Maybe they'll be a little more
meaningful now. Two little lines I heard one day, traveling along
life's busy way. bringing conviction to my heart
and from my mind would not depart. Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will
last. Only one life, yes, only one,
soon will in its fleeting hours be done. Then in that day, my
Lord to meet, and stand before His judgment seat, only one life
will soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last, nothing
else. Not all your property, not all
your money, not all your name, not all your reputation, not
all your possessions, only what's done for Christ means anything. My God, will you teach me what I preach to this assembly
and teach it to this assembly for Christ's sake. Amen.