Making the Most of the Moment

TEXT: Ephesians 5:16

TOPIC: Making the Most of the Moment

Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC

January 2, 2022

(Developed from the Series “Re-Energize Your Life” by Pastor Rick Warren)

Someone has said, “Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is the only cash you have. So, spend it wisely.”

As we begin a New Year, I want to introduce you to a new sermon series entitled “Re-Energize Your Life.” This is a series I am still exploring and working through as we move into 2022. I received this idea and much of the resources from Pastor Rick Warren who serves the Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California.

I want us to begin this new series by looking at EIGHT WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE PRESENT.

1. Do It Now!

The Bible says the best time to manage your time is right now – not tomorrow, not next week, not next year: “Make the most of every opportunity you have.”(Ephesians 5:16 TLB)

If you had a bank account and every morning someone put $86,400 into it, but you had to spend it all by the end of the day or what was left would be lost—what would you do? Would you try to spend it? Or would you just let it go to waste? (I know some people who wouldn’t have a problem going through that much money every day!)

But the point is, God gives us all 86,400 seconds every day! And you have to use those 86,400 seconds today or they are gone forever.

What have been putting off that you can get done now? Again, today is all we have. Today is all we are promised. That’s why it is called the present. The present is God’s gift to us.

PROVERBS 27:1 (GNT) tells us “Never boast about tomorrow because you don’t know what will happen between now and then.”

T/S—The second way we make the most of the moment or the present is to eliminate time wasters.

2. Eliminate TimeWasters.

Listen to what 1 Corinthians 10:23 from the Phillips Bible Version has to say about eliminating time wasters in our lives.

“I may do anything, but everything is not useful. Yes, I may do anything but everything is not constructive”

In this verse, the Apostle Paul is saying that many things in life are not necessarily wrong, but they’re also not necessary. You’ve got to eliminate the time wasters.

It’s amazing how creative we get when we have a job to do that we don’t want to do. Procrastination becomes our best friend! We may begin to major on the minor and minor on the major!!

Is there anything you have been doing that isn’t necessary? What is stealing the seconds God gives you each day?

3. Prioritize what’s important.

“Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT).

If you want to manage your time well, you’ve got to do what God wants you to do. You have just enough time to do God’s will.

If you do not have enough time right now, it means one of several things is going on:

· You’re doing something God never intended for you to do.

· You’re not doing what God intended you to do.

· You’re doing the right thing in the wrong way.

God would not give you a purpose in life and then not give you the time to do it. So if you don’t have enough time to do everything you need to do, it means God doesn’t expect you to do it all.

It may be that the stress in your schedule is self-imposed. In the end, time management isn’t about getting more done. It’s about getting God’s agenda done. Instead of trying to get everything done on your to-do list, focus on getting the most important things done.

Ask yourself:

· What is the most important thing you need to get done this week?

· This month?

· This year?

You have exactly enough time to do God’s will for your life—and not a minute more.

4. Put similar taskstogether.

Rather than trying to stuff meetings, study time, errands, housecleaning, and all of your other tasks into one day, do them all on separate days.

I find myself often trying to do too many things in one day! But it’s far better if we re-arrange our schedule by putting similar things together?

Think of your week as seven different opportunities to accomplish the things you need to do. Then write out your “To Do” List according to the different days of the week.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

5. Managetechnology use.

We all now live in a time when technology can dominate our time, our schedules and our lives! Whether it’s your mobile phone, computer, e-mail, social media, or apps you use, you’ve got to make sure they are your servant—not the other way around.

If you’re like me, you get more e-mails than you could ever possibly answer or even read! Is your inbox always overloaded? What do you need to change so that your inbox doesn’t run your life? What is one thing you can do right now to better manage your use of technology?

6. Write it down.

Success is the management of ideas. Everybody gets good ideas. The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is what they do with those ideas.

We all need a system to help us write down and categorize our ideas. It doesn’t matter whether you use your mobile device, laptop or day timer, you need a place where you can save and find this information.

“The difference between accomplishing a task and not doing it often begins by simply writing it down!”

7. Use your ‘loose change’ wisely.

We all have little pockets of time that come up every now and then. Maybe it’s during a commute or as you’re waiting in line or sitting at a Doctor’s office or the DMV.

Using that time effectively can make a huge difference toward accomplishing your goals each day. If you have a long commute, record what you’re thinking on a voice recorder.

(I used to do that all the time.) Listen to a book on tape, a helpful podcast or spend the time in prayer. Every minute counts.

8. Choose RelationshipsOver Tasks

The greatest use of time is love and the greatest expression of love is time and the greatest time to love is now. When you choose relationships—particularly with your loved ones—over tasks, you are living out the Great Commandment.

Years from now, people won’t remember your accomplishments; they’ll remember that you put others first.

And I’ve never heard a death-bed confession that said, “I wished I’d spent more time at the office or on the job!” (Professor at SWBTS, Oscar Thompson said, “The most important word in the human language is “relationship!” What relationship(s) needs your attention? What tasks need to drop down on your list so that your love relationships can move up to the top?

“Our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.” 1 JOHN 3:18 (GNT)