redeem
the time
by
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“See
then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph.
5:15-16)
There
is an old saying, ‘TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN’! How true. And
time is no respecter of persons either. The years pile up
whether we want them to or not, and when our time comes to
say goodbye to loved ones and friends and to this old
planet, we will have to go.
Some
even leave without saying goodbye, because time is very
short at the best and sometimes it can be very
uncompromising, firm and even cruel.
TIME
MARCHES ON!
The
Capitalist with all his money cannot stop it. The Communist
with all his hatred for God cannot detain it. The minister
of the Gospel with all his faith in God cannot hinder time
from passing. It is true the rich can live better, dress
nicer, buy cosmetics to cover wrinkles, wear wigs to cover
bald pates, color gray hair, and have face-lifts to appear
younger, but the aging process continues. One
day it is all over!
The
Communist dies and has to meet God. The preacher also has to
keep his appointment with death, even though he can claim
God’s promises (together with all Christians) for healing,
health and peace. Yet, the day will come that he must honor
God’s Word: “It is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment”. (Heb. 9:27)
In
writing to the Church, St. Paul warns: “Awake thou that
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as
fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are
evil”. (Eph. 5:14-16)
WHY
MUST WE REDEEM THE TIME? Because the days are evil. In other
words, let us not allow “that wicked one” to destroy our
testimony, defeat our purposes or steal our crown! (Rev elation
3:11)
It
is important that we make our calling and election sure (2
Peter 1:10) and “lay aside every weight and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us”. (Heb rews
12:1)
To
‘redeem the time’ means to put every available moment to
best use. Do what is most
spiritually profitable with our time.
The
Bible tells us “not to be slothful in business”. (Rom.
12:11) May we be good stewards of the kingdom of God, using
every available opportunity to further His work in reaching
lost souls for Christ. If we waste our time, we are wasting
our life and if we waste our money on unprofitable things,
we are also wasting our time and not redeeming it!
BE
NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING
Often,
Christians become discouraged and begin listening to Satan,
the tempter & accuser of the brethren. He may drop
negative thoughts into your mind, especially in the area of
service. He may suggest that you are doing too much for God,
spending too much time helping the unfortunate, or that you
are giving too much money to the Church and
to God!
Perhaps
your husband, wife or neighbor
may give you the odd dig that you are going overboard for
God and the Church. DON’T LET THEM GET TO YOU! The Bible
says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in
due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have
therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith”.
(Gal. 6:9-10)
Here,
Paul is referring to our commitment to God and our
commitment to those who labor
in spiritual things among us and their material needs. We
must not become tired of doing GOOD, for if we do not faint,
we shall reap in due season!
LET
US WALK IN WISDOM
St.
Paul exhorts us to walk circumspectly, which means to
conduct ourselves in an orderly fashion; in the fear of the
Lord, and not go through life carelessly in a haphazard way.
There
is only one way to Heaven! Let us not miss it! Jesus is that
way to Heaven! There is only one book that is truly the Word
of God - the Holy Bible. Let us be sure to read it. There is
only one way to please God and that is to receive His Son,
Jesus Christ, into our hearts as personal Saviour and then
obey His words in all things. that is the only way to Heavn.
By
shunning evil, doing good and serving God with gladness, we
are walking circumspectly. A good question to ask ourselves
often is this, “Will what I am planning to do, or am
now doing, please God?”
By
receiving Christ as our personal Saviour, our lives are
changed and “… we walk in the newness of life”. Since
we walk by faith and “not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), our
experience is totally spiritual as we reach out to God for
guidance and direction.
St.
Paul admonishes us in Gal. 5:16 to: “…walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh”.
We
are also exhorted to “… walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called” (Eph. 4:1), and to walk in love
as Christ hath loved us (Eph. 5:2). In order to be true
followers of Jesus Christ, we ought to abide in Him, we
should walk as He walked (1 John 2:6), and in spirit and
truth (2 John 4, 3 John 3).
The
Bible says: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin”. (1 John
1:7)
WITH
ETERNITY IN MIND
Everything
we do in this life should be done with ‘Eternity in
Mind’. As Christians, we should be concerned about our
spiritual welfare, state and eternal destiny. We should be
vitally concerned about other believers, standing ready to
lend a helping hand as well as reaching out to the lost with
Christ’s message of hope and peace. The Bible says, “Walk
in wisdom toward them that are without (the unsaved),
redeeming the time”. (Col. 4:5)
TIME
IS SHORT! We must do all we can to reach the lost while we
have an opportunity. Jesus said, “I must work the works
of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when
no man can work”. (John 9:4)
To
redeem the time means to seize every opportunity without
allowing any to slip out of our hands. It means to “make
hay while the sun shines” and to labour unceasingly in
prayers, Bible study, witnessing and giving, while doors are
still open!
Thank
God for all the open doors into which to take the Gospel,
open channels or freeways by which we may publish the
Gospel.
By
the medium of television and radio we can reach millions of
people across Canada and other nations regularly. Our
literature is being used to win souls across the world,
together with our massive overseas crusades!
THE
COSTS FOR THESE OUTREACHES ARE HIGH, but we are alerting
millions of people of their need to repent of their sins and
give their lives to Jesus. Multitudes more need to hear the
Full Gospel confirmed by miracles, signs & wonders.
I
urge you to pray for all these outreaches for the kingdom of
God. Please help us lift the financial burden for these
mammoth undertakings in Jesus’ Blessed Name. Remember, “only
one life, ‘twill soon be past - only what’s done for
Christ will last.”
THE
CHURCH MUST AWAKEN OUT OF LETHARGY
St.
Paul admonishes the church to awaken out of sleep, receive
new life and power from Christ and to rise to challenges of
the hour. The Word of God warns, “How long wilt thou
sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?”
(Prov. 6:9) We are admonished to take an example from the
little ant, “which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
provideth his meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in
the harvest”. (Proverbs 6:6-8)
We
have the Bible for our guide, the Holy Spirit to oversee our
lives, and to help us when we err and to comfort us
constantly. We also have Jesus Christ as our ruler, the Head
of the Church! The scripture admonishes us not to be as
fools, but be wise in our approach to life.
Unfortunately,
many people are acting foolishly by living for the world,
the flesh and the devil and giving no thought about their
souls, salvation or eternity. No time for God, the Bible
or the Church.
WHAT
FOOLS! St. Paul tells of some who rejected the Creator, our
wonderful Heavenly Father, and worshipped the creature
instead of the creator, “professing themselves to be
wise they became fools” (Rom. 1:22-25).
HOW
SAD, BUT HOW TRUE! Then there are Christians who truly
believe in Christ and have experienced a quickening by the
Holy Spirit but yet have no spiritual hunger, no desire
to read the Bible or attend prayer services! They have no
burden for the lost or to give missionary
offerings to reach the heathen for Jesus. They are totally
contented with their experience and have no time for
a deeper walk with God or a message that stirs them
emotionally to do more for God.
I
PITY SUCH PEOPLE! They attend church once a week, pay their
tithes and live respectable lives, but have not experienced
Jesus in a life changing way and have not been filled with
the fire of God!
St.
Paul then says, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is”. (Eph.
5:17)
THE
WILL OF GOD
We
know the will of God for the Christian is to live a pure,
holy and consecrated Spirit-filled life, to abstain from
evil and to do good. It is to be ‘sold-out’ to God and
become a burning and shining light spreading the good news
of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world!
My
friend, if you do not have a burden for lost souls, fall to
your knees and ask God to give you a hunger for His Word, a
desire to pray regularly and tell others about Jesus before
it is everlastingly too late!
The
Bible warns: “And I saw a great white throne, and Him
that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them.
“And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the
book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works.
“And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it: and death and
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works. And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire.”
(Rev. 20:11-15)
Dearly
beloved in Christ: “Let us redeem the time for the days
are evil”.
NOW
IS THE ACCEPTED TIME
I
began this short message by stating, “Time waits for no
man” and that “Father time marches on”. I
admonish you to put your time to the best available use.
Budget your time wisely, for you only have a limited amount.
Here
are the words of King David: “Lord make me to know mine
end and the measure of my days. What it is: That I may know
how frail I am. Behold Thou hast made my days as an
handbreadth: and mine age is as nothing before Thee: Verily
every man at his best state is altogether Vanity”.
(Psalm 39:4-5)
Again
he writes, “My times are in Thy (God’s) hands…”
(Psalm 31:15) And finally the king confesses: “Remember
how short my time is” (Psalm 89:7).
St.
Peter warns of not being frivolous with our life but be
sober and watch unto prayer (1 Peter 4:7) and have a healthy
respect and fear of God as we live out this short life. (1
Peter 1:17) The Bible warns: “For the time is
come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and it is
first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey
not the Gospel of God”. (1 Peter 4:17)
St.
Paul gives the same warning: “And that knowing the time
that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is
our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far
spent the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
“Let
us walk honestly as in the day: not in strife and envying.
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision
for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof”. (Rom.
13:11-14)
WE
MUST ALL STAND BEFORE GOD!
One
day we will all have to give an account of ourselves to God
(Rom. 1:12). Listen to me sinner, backslider, lukewarm
Christian: Now is the time to repent of your sins and turn
from your wicked ways. Now is the time to forsake your sins
and be converted, for time is very short and your soul is
worth more than the entire world (Mark 8:36-37).
Don’t
allow the devil to rob you of Eternal Life by causing you to
procrastinate and put off the decision to accept Christ and
to yield fully to Him!
The
scripture says, “…Behold now is the accepted time;
behold now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2;
Isaiah 49:8; Ps. 69:13) The Bible warns that there will be a
time to die, for each of us (Eccl. 3:2). Do not gamble with
your eternal soul, but give your life to Christ today! Jesus
stands at your heart’s door and knocks (Rev. 3:20). Let
Him come in today!
One
day, the angel of God will come down from Heaven. He will
place one foot upon the sea and the other one upon the dry
land, raise his hand to heaven and swear by Him that liveth
forever that “time shall be no more”, it will be
too late for every sinner! (Rev. 10:6)
And
it will be too late for every backslider and lukewarm
Christian! It’ll be too late for all of us to do more for
Christ or be a blessing to our fellowman!
TIME
IS RUNNING OUT
My
friend, time is running out - for the Church, for the World
and for the Devil. One
day, it’ll all be over for all of us. Let us fight the
good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life and reach the
masses of lost souls with the glorious Gospel of Christ
before it’s too late. The Bible says, “Therefore
rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil is come
down unto you having great wrath, because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time”. (Rev. 12:12)
The
devil is working overtime trying to corrupt, deceive,
destroy, kill and steal and do as much damage to God’s
kingdom as he can NOW, because he knows his time is very
limited (e.g. Notice how the Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, New
Agers and other cultists and false teachers are frantically
going all out because they can sense it too).
Why
do not we, the true servants of God, triple and
quadruple our efforts to reach multitudes more with the
Gospel before it is too late? Ask yourself this question and
then be ready to do something about it!
I AM
DOING ALL I CAN
I
have again promised God that I will pull all the stops and
press forward at “full speed ahead” to reach this
generation for Jesus, before the devil gets to them through atheism,
secular humanism, false cults and unbelief!
In
the month of June 1957, I experienced God in a real way, in
a motel in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and He saved my
never-dying-soul. The very next day in the home of my
spirit-filled Lutheran parents, I received the mighty Baptism
of the Holy Ghost. I have never looked back since!
Oh,
it’s true that I have failed God many times, for I am but
a man, and like Paul I have not yet reached the state of
perfection but also like Paul I press on “toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus”. (Phil. 3:12-14)
Ever
since 1957, I have tried with all my heart and mind to walk
in Christ’s will and way and to obey Him completely. My
heart is just as set to do that today as it was then, or in
1961 when I released our first radio broadcast, or in 1963
when I entered the full-time ministry for Christ!
My
heart has burned for Jesus, as I have by His grace ,
power blazed a trail of revivals and awakenings across the
world. I know that at times, I have been misunderstood and
criticized by some good and some not so good people. A few
have, possibly because of jealousy, put a totally wrong
construction on what I have tried to do for Jesus all these
years.
I’m
glad that “God keeps the books”! He knows my
heart and He alone knows the results. And I’m prepared to
let it rest there! I alone know His call on my life and I
alone had to answer that call, and I alone am answerable to
God for what I have done with my life and how I have
responded to His call!
MANY
THOUSANDS OF LOYAL SUPPORTERS
For
the few detractors that I have had, we have many thousands
of loyal friends, supporters and prayer partners who believe
one hundred per cent in what I am doing and have done! It is
this army of God’s people, hard working, spiritual men and
women who have been the thrust behind this ministry in
helping me to reach millions with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and His Full Salvation. Hallelujah!
My
dear friend, it is people just like you who are reading this
short message - ordinary people like you who have helped put
Christ on TV, radio, massive crusades and literature by
sending His servant, with the message of Jesus and His love,
power and grace to multitudes for 37 years!
Thousands
of people sacrifice and give and pray for the whitened
harvest fields, because they are redeeming and budgeting
their time wisely. Praise the Lord!
Sir
Winston Churchill said, “Give me the tools and I’ll
finish the job” and he did! Please, beloved friend,
give me the tools and I’ll do my best to finish the job
God has asked me to do!
As
I write these words (2:00 AM), I feel divinely led to ask
for 365 of my friends who will sacrifice, do with a little
less and who will dedicate a special gift of $1,000 or more
to this ministry within the next 12 months.
I
am asking God for 365 prayer partners who will do this - one
for every day of the year! Some of course can give more and
many others can give less. If God is speaking to your heart,
will you please respond by writing and telling me about it
today? Thank you so very, very much!
Remember,
‘Only
one life, it will soon be past and Only what’s done for
Christ will last’!
Write me today and pray for me every day. Also, please send
us your prayer requests so that we can pray for you! Amen.
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