“How to Live until you Die”
Ephesians 5:15-17
FROM TIME TO TIME I LISTEN TO COUNTRY MUSIC! I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT COUNTRY MUSIC CAN BE VERY PROFOUND IN ITS MESSAGE!
FOR EXAMPLE...LISTEN TO THE TITLE’S OF A FEW COUNTRY MUSIC SONGS:
- His Teeth Was Stained, But His Heart Was Pure
- How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away?
- I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim’s Gettin’ Better
- Mama Get A Hammer (There’s A Fly On Papa’s Head)
- My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him
- You’re The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly
I ONCE HEARD A COUNTRY SONG THAT SAID... “I JUST WANT TO LIVE UNTIL I DIE”
WHEN I HEARD THAT SONG I LAUGHT OUT LOUD BUT THEN I BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT IT.... “I WANT TO LIVE UNTIL I DIE” AND IT DAWNED ON ME SO DO I.
I WANT TO EXPERIENCE LIFE...ENJOY LIFE....LIVE EACH & EVERY DAY TO ITS FULLEST!
UNFORTUNATELY MANY JUST ENDURE LIFE:
• SOME DREAD LIFE
• MANY JUST ENDURE LIFE GO W/ THE FLOW
• OTHERS TRY TO ESCAPE LIFE
BUT WHY NOT LIVE LIFE...... UNTIL YOU DIE?
THIS MORNING I WANT TO ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS....
• HOW DO YOU APPROACH LIFE
• WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE
• DO YOU DREAD...ENDURE....ESCAPE or LIVE LIFE
THE REASON I ASK IS THAT PAUL TELLS US IN EPHESIANS 5 TO BE VERY CAREFUL HOW WE LIVE.....
Ephesians 5:15-17
15Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
IN 2004, WHY NOT LIVE LIFE..... ENJOY LIFE....EXPERIENCE LIFE...WHY NOT LIVE EACH DAY TO ITS FULLEST!
WHY DON’T YOU LIVE UNTIL YOU DIE?
IN ORDER TO DO THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND!
I. LIFE IS VERY SHORT: v-15
Be very careful, then, how you live
PAUL CERTAINLY UNDERSTOOD THE BREVITY OF LIFE! THEREFORE HE LIVED IN SUCH A WAY THAT HIS LIFE WOULD COUNT FOR SOMETHING!
IN OTHER WORDS..... HE DID’NT WASTE LIFE BUT EMBRACED LIFE & IN THE PROCESS MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR GOD’S GLORY!
MY FRIEND, LISTEN TO ME...LIFE IS VERY,VERY SHORT!
The Psalmist wrote, Psalm 39:4
"Show me, O Lord, my life’s end & the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life"
Psalm 90:10
"The length of our days is 70 years - or 80, if we have the strength...they quickly pass, & we fly away"
QUOTE: Benjamin Franklin “Don’t waste time, it the stuff of which life is made”
ILLUSTRATION: A man went to his doctor to find out why he had been having such severe headaches. The doctor ran some tests and after a few hours called the man into his office. "I have terrible news," he told the patient. "Your condition is terminal." "Oh, no!? the man cried. "How long do I have?" "Ten ..." began the doctor. "Ten what?" the patient interrupted. "Days? Months? Years?" "Nine," continued the doctor, "eight, seven, six ..."
LIFE IS VERY SHORT....Some folks save it, others make it, most waste it, several kill it, and a few actually are on it.
Many try to manage it and end up losing it. Time is a taker. Once past, it never returns. How it’s spent determines the satisfaction & significance of life.
MY FRIEND, GET OFF THE COUCH...TURN OFF THE TV....PUT THE NEWS PAPER DOWN & LIVE LIFE....LIVE UNTIL YOU DIE! Life is very short!!!
II. MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY: v-16
making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
AS YOU READ GOD’S WORD YOU’LL DISCOVER THAT PAUL MADE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY!
• HE PREACHED THE GOSPEL
• PLANTED CHURCHES
• MINISTER TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS
HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY HE MADE A DIFFERNECE....HE LIVED W/ NO REGERTS!!!
SCRIPTURE TELLS US TO DO THE SAME:
James 4:13-14
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
MY FRIEND, TOMORROW IS NOT GUARANTEED.... SATAN IS A THIEF....ONE OF THE THINGS HE TRIES TO STEEL FROM US IS TIME BECAUSE TIME IS VERY PERCIOUS!
ILLSTRATION: Dr. Richard Swenson, wrote a book & in it he talks about the problem of overload. He says that people deal with anxiety & stress due to “overload”.
1. We’re overloaded with commitments.
2. We’re also overloaded with possessions,
3. We’re overloaded at work.
4. There is also an information overload.
POINT IS THAT LIFE CAN BE VERY OVERWHELMING! THEREFORE, IN THAT LIFE IS SHORT DON’T SPEND YOU TIME ON WHATS GOOD BUT WHATS BEST!
MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY!!!
III. UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LORD’S WILL IS: v-17
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE SAYING “IT’S NOT HOW YOU START BUT HOW YOU FINISH THAT COUNTS”?
PAUL STARTED POORLY...BUT HE FINISHED STRONG....
2 Timothy 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing
PAUL DISCOVERED THE WILL OF THE LORD FOR HIS LIFE & BEGAN TO LIVE IT OUT...IN THE PROCESS HE MADE A HUGE INPACT IN THIS WORLD & ON MANKIND!
THROUGHOUT GOD’S WORD HE REVEALS HIS WILL TO US:
Mark 3:35
Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother."
1 Thessalonians 4:3
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified...
1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
THAT BRINGS ME TO A QUESTION...WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU LIFE?
IN 2004 DO YOU THINK GOD’S WILL FOR YOU IS ...
- ANXIETY.....DEPRESSION......FEAR.....STRESS
- PERHAPS TO BE SPIRITUALLY DISCOURAGED...DORMANT...DEFEATED
- PHYSICAL EXHAUSTED & SPENT
NO!!! GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
THEREFORE, DISCOVER WHAT THE WILL OF THE LORD IS....
ILLUSTRATION: A man was searching for God’s will for his life....
* so he opened his Bible & pointed to the verse, “Judas went out and hanged himself.”
Not a very good life verse and he tried again. This time he put his finger on “Go and do thou likewise.” The third time he came up with, “Whatsoever thou doest, do quickly.”
HOW DO WE DISCOVER GOD’S WILL?
1. IN OUR OUITE TIME God’s word & prayer
2. THE OPPORTUNITIES AROUND US – what doors God is opening & closing.
3. GODLY COUNSEL- The Godly people in your life that give counsel & prayer.
QUOTE: It’s been said, "Life is what happens to you while you’re making plans to do something else."
Romans 13:11-12
"The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness & put on the armor of light."
