Seize the Day
Recently I was praying for a particular event to move forward on our calendar and was interacting with several people...texting back and forth. Then I was asking myself —how should I answer this text? And I thought about how would my daughter answer it? I was thinking about her because she is a beautiful follower of Christ, a successful business woman, an excellent communicator, and she is always on point to “seize the day.” What does it mean to ‘seize the day’? I felt the Spirit’s nudge—“to make the best of every opportunity or situation.”
So today, I want us to discover how to “seize the day”. This goes hand in hand with the Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance which was given to St. Paul. St. Paul in turn gave these directions to the church at Ephesus teaching them to live by the Holy Spirit’s power in Ephesians 5:15-20.
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Five take aways for seizing the day—
• Live like those who are wise.
• Make the most of every opportunity.
• Understand what the Lord wants you to do.
• Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
• Give thanks to God for everything.
Our first ambition is to be wise—desiring to understand the ways of the Lord reflects a right heart that seeks to honor and display deep respect to God. This is true wisdom.
Job 28:28
“The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.”
Proverbs 1:7
“The fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge.”
Wisdom helps us to know how to act and how to speak to people in all kinds of different situations. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about wisdom and about foolishness. The Proverbs teach us to gain wisdom through observation, through experiences—like when we learn from our mistakes, through instruction in righteousness, and from divine revelation.
Heaven knows we need divine wisdom in our day especially with all the various communications like social media, messaging, texting, emailing, twittering... goodness knows we need wisdom! With God’s kind of wisdom, we will avoid problems and have the skill to know how to handle problems when they arise. Certainly, God desires to help us navigate through life skillfully and righteously.
Do you need wisdom? James 1:5 says ask God for wisdom and He will give it to you! Praise the Lord!
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.”
Secondly, “make the most of every opportunity.”
Paul says “make the most of every opportunity” the second time in Colossians 4:5. Literally, this means “buy up the time”...like those who buy a product that’s offered at a good price. This phrase illustrates the idea of women at a sale snatching up bargains. We can pray that God helps us to snatch up opportunities to make the most of our time!
Let’s make the most of our time by serving God wherever we may be. Let’s make the most of our time by representing His Kingdom righteously. Let’s make the most of our time by seeking and looking for a way, a small window or door of opportunity to share our faith in Christ with another.
Jesus told us many things about living in the last days. Basically, He told us it’s going to be rough... but be encouraged and do not be overwhelmed! He is with us and cares deeply about our lives. He will lead us and guide us in a perfect path! He promises to give us rest in green meadows and He promises to lead us beside peaceful streams. Most importantly...”seize the day” by continuing to be faithful and devoted to Jesus. He will guide you along the right path that will bring honor to His name.
Thirdly, “understand what the Lord wants you to do”. We should be guided by knowing God's Word so we will instinctively know His will. In times of uncertainty we can ask God for guidance. There are many times, I’ve asked the Lord how to respond to a person or how to pray for a person. Sometimes I will ask Him to help them make the right decision or for them to choose the right path.
James 1:6-8 instructs us to seek God and pray if we do not know what to do—
“But when you ask Him be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waiver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
When we ask...we must ask with expectation. We must believe He will answer us...God wants us to trust in Him alone...and He expects us to wait patiently for His direction. When the Lord leads us to make a particular decision, it will always result in experiencing His perfect peace that surpasses all human understanding.
While I was preparing this message, I came upon an amazing, true story of a Scotsman named Eric Liddell. Eric excelled in “seizing the day”. But for this individual, the day on his mind was Sunday, a day to rest and honor God by exclusively worshipping Him.
During the Paris Olympics in 1924, Eric Liddell, was a celebrated spinner, and expected to win the gold medal in the 100 meter race. However, he discovered that the time trials for this event were held on a Sunday, which he believed to be the holiest day of the week, a special day, God in the Ten Commandments, commanded for all peoples and nations to worship Him and to enter His rest.
Even though Eric had relentlessly trained and his country had invested in him, he refused to run. His decision resulted in a backlash with immense pressure from politicians, teammates, and even some of his family members. “God will understand,” they said. “Your country is counting on you! Do it just this one time!” But he said, “No, I cannot do it—even once.”
Liddell found out he could run in another race, a 400 meter race on another day that did not conflict with his beliefs in honoring God on Sunday. But Eric did not perform well at the timed trials and his teammates wondered whether he would be able to achieve a medal for Scotland. Eric believed the results were in God’s hands. Just prior to running the final, he was handed a slip of paper from an American with a profound message on it: “Those who honor me, I will honor.”
When the gun sounded to begin the 400 meter race, Eric ran like he was being carried by the wind; he broke the standing record and finished first!
Eric Liddell is a fine example of someone who could “seize the day”. Maybe you have heard of him...his life was portrayed in the Christian film “Chariots of Fire”. Born the son of Christian missionaries, he gave up running to become a missionary to China.
Eric’s story follows the model in Paul’s sermon to the Ephesians—to live like those who are wise, to make the most of every opportunity, and Eric certainly knew what the Lord wanted him to do. The Holy Spirit enabled him with supernatural power to win the race. I can only imagine the countless times his story has been told bringing God much honor and thanksgiving.
May we be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit so we can live a life of giving thanks! And may we, like Eric, live by faith and leave a faith legacy that brings God Glory and Praise!
Let us prepare for our Holy Communion celebration today with prayer. And as we partake of communion, let us remember the passion and sacrifice of our Lord, and offer ourselves afresh as a living sacrifice for Him.
“Father God, we come before Your Presence to partake of the blessed sacrament of Holy Communion. Please show us if there is anything in our lives that we need to change so You can fill us to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. Instill in us a fresh passion for living for You. We want to see Your Glory Lord! We want to be a reflection of Your Glory as Your ambassadors on this earth.
Lord, seize us...take hold of us...shape and conform us to Your will and to Your ways! May Your Holy Spirit descend from Heaven and overshadow us! Bring a fresh anointing of Your Holy oil and fire upon this congregation in the precious name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth we pray.”
AMEN