Good morning.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that each year almost all the major news magazines put out an issue with special pictorial sections recalling people and events that made the news during the previous year.  Many of the magazines also include articles by “EXPERTS” predicting what they expect to see happening in the years ahead.  Some even go so far as to make predictions covering 10, 20, or more years in the future.  In the past, a few of these predictions have proven amazingly accurate, while others couldn’t have been more wrong.

For example, back in 1967, experts predicted that by the turn of the century technology would have taken over so much of the work we do that the average American work week would be only 22 hours long, and that we would work only 27 weeks a year.  As a result, one of our biggest problems would be in deciding what to do with all of our free time.

Well, I don’t know about you, but that prediction certainly missed the mark as far as my life was concerned!  In fact, most of us seem to be very busy people.  We’re always in a hurry.  We walk fast, talk fast, and we even eat fast.

So, here we are at the last Sunday of 2008.  I wonder how we’ll do in the year to come?  Will we be as busy?  Will we make any better use of our time?  At the end of 2009, when the year is over, will we be looking back with joy, or with regret?  Will we be looking at the future with anticipation, or with dread?

Well, there is a passage of scripture that I believe can be of help to us as we look forward to 2009.  But it is only good if we will begin to listen to it.  The passage comes to us from Ephesians 5:15-17.  Now this is a passage that many people know, but few people truly apply it to their lives.

Listen to this passage.  Ephesians 5:15-17 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

I think that in this passage the Apostle Paul presents some important lessons that we need to consider as we approach 2009.

First, Our Time On This Earth Is Limited:

One of the first things that we need to understand is that we must be very careful how we live our lives, because our time on this earth is limited.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 39:4, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.”  And then again in Psalm 90:10 he says, “The length of our days is 70 years, or 80, if we have the strength...they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

The Psalmist also tells us to number our days so that we will develop a heart of wisdom.
A few years ago People Magazine published an article entitled, “Dead Ahead” telling about a new clock that keeps track of how much time you have left to live.  It calculates an average life span of 75 years for men, and 80 years for women.  So you program your gender, and age into the clock, and from then on it will tell you how much time you have left.

Now, that is an intriguing idea.  In fact, that’s what the Psalmist told us to do, to number our days.

So if I live to be 75 years old, I have a little over 50 years left to live.  That’s all, just 50 years left to live.  But wait a minute.  I don’t have a guarantee of even one day more to live, do I?

In fact, the Bible tells us not to count on tomorrow because tomorrow may not come for you or for me.  All we have is right now.  So, our time on this earth is valuable because it is very limited.

Secondly, Make The Most Of Every Opportunity:

Paul tells us that we must, “make the most of every opportunity,” and then he gives us the reason, “because the days are evil.”

Jesus said that Satan is a robber and a thief, and one of the things he tries to rob from us is our time because time is a very precious possession.
Just think of the time wasted in sinning.  Think of the time wasted in bars or on the computer on things you shouldn’t be on.  Think of the time wasted in gossiping or spreading rumors.  Or think about all the time wasted worrying about the consequences of the sins we have committed.  You see, Satan is a thief and a robber of your time.

But it’s not just sin that makes demands on our time.  Sometimes even good things can make demands.

Jesus went to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  He sat down to teach, and Mary was sitting at His feet just soaking in every word.  Meanwhile, Martha was out in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Now, you know the story.  Martha gets upset because Mary is not in the kitchen, too.  So she complains to Jesus in Luke 10:40 and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”

Then in verses 41-42 it goes on to say, “Martha, Martha,” Jesus answered.  “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Now, was Martha committing a sin by fixing a meal in the kitchen for Jesus?  No, of course not!  But here’s the problem.  She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn’t realize that God was right there in her living room.
That’s the same mistake that we make every day.  We get so caught up in the here and now that we fail to deal with the things that matter to eternity.  We focus on things that will fade away, rather than taking care of the one thing that will last forever and ever.

Richard Swenson, a medical doctor, wrote a book in which he discusses one of the major problems of our time, anxiety and stress.  He calls it, “Overload,” and he says that people are just plain overloaded.

1. We’re overloaded with commitments.  We’ve committed ourselves to go here and there, to take part in this activity and in that social function.  As a result, we soon begin meeting ourselves coming and going because we have overloaded ourselves in the area of commitments.

2. We’re also overloaded with possessions, he says.  Our closets are full, and our garages are overflowing.  We’ve gone into debt to pay for all of these things that we “simply must have.”  And now we’re so afraid that someone will steal them.  We are overloaded in the area of possessions.

3. Thirdly, he says that we have an overload in the area of work.  We get up early, fight traffic, and experience intolerable working conditions because we have to if we’re going to pay for all those possessions that we’ve accumulated.

4. There is also an information overload.  He said that as a doctor he has to read 220 articles a month just to keep up with all the changes in his profession.  And now, with the internet there’s an information superhighway.  But the problem is that we can’t possibly absorb it all.  So we feel an overload in this area, too.

Well, I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  There are so many demands on our time, so many good things that need to be done.  But there are just 8,760 hours in the year to come.  So, make the most of every opportunity.  Now, we if we do want to make the most of every opportunity, what are we to do?

Finally, We Need To Understand What The Lord’s Will Is:

Now, what do you think God’s will is for you in this coming year?  Do you think He wants your mind so saturated with worries and anxieties that you can’t think spiritual thoughts?  Do you think He wants your calendar so crowded that you don’t have time for the important things?  What do you think God’s will is for you in this New Year?

Let me make a couple of suggestions for you to consider.  First of all, establish your priorities.

I’m assuming that since you’re in church this morning that you believe God should be a part of your life.  But when you begin to establish priorities, you have to decide just where He stands in your life.  So ask yourself, “Who or what is most important in my life?”

And I’m hoping that your answer will be, “My relationship with God is most important to me.”  If so, then put that at the top of your list of priorities and say, “This will affect my decisions, my scheduling, my relationship with others, and my whole outlook on life.”

If you can say that, when Sunday rolls around neither rain nor shine nor football kickoffs will interfere with you being in church because He comes first in your life.

You also need to schedule some definite time each day to pray and to read His Word.  Pray for yourself and for your family and for people around you.  Pray for the church, and for the missionaries.  So make prayer and Bible study a priority.

You must also spend time with your family.  Every husband and wife here ought to have a date night with their spouse.  I’m serious.  You ought to have a date night with your spouse, a time when just the 2 of you get away and don’t have anything else to interfere.  No beepers, no telephones, no interruptions.  Maybe at a nice restaurant, or maybe at home.  Wherever it is, spend some time together.

Spend time with your children, too.  They’re growing up fast.  These are precious moments.  Don’t let them get away.  Make sure that you spend quality time with your children.  Make sure that your family is very high on the list of priorities.

Now, most of us have to work.  And I think Christians ought to be good workers.  When someone hires a Christian they ought to know they’re getting someone who will give them an honest days work, and won’t cheat them.  Because we’re Christians we have a responsibility to the Lord to honor Him even in our jobs here on earth.

So, first of all, we need to establish our priorities.

And then, we need to learn how to live today.  The 2 greatest enemies of time are regrets for things we did in the past, and anxiety about what will happen to us in the future.  Many of us are living either in the past or in the future.

In fact, many of us are engaged in the little game of, “I wish it were.”  “I wish it were next week,” or, “I wish it were next month,” or, something like that.

Gary Freeman tells about a girl who went to college and she just hated it.  But she told herself, “If I can ever get out of college and get married and have children, I know I’ll finally be able to enjoy life.”

So she stuck with it.  She went to classes every day and finally graduated from college.  Then she got married and had children.  But then she discovered that children are a lot of work.  So she told herself, “If I can just get these kids raised, then I’ll be able to relax and really enjoy life.”

But about the time the kids were entering high school her husband said, “Guess what?  We don’t have enough money to send our kids to college.  I guess you’ll have to get a job.”

Well, she didn’t want to, but she knew he was right and they needed the money, so she went to work.  And she hated it.  But she told herself, “If I can just get these kids out of college, and get all of the bills paid, then I can quit work and really enjoy life.”

Finally, the last child graduated from college, and all the bills were paid.  So she walked into her employer’s office and said, “I quit.”  He said, “Oh, you don’t want to quit now.  If you stay with us just another 8 years you’ll have a pension for the rest of your life.”

She thought, “Well, I don’t want to work another 8 years, but there’s all that money there, and I really can’t turn down the opportunity.”  So she worked for another 8 years.  Finally, she and her husband retired at the same time.  They sold their home and bought a little retirement cottage.

Then they sat down on the swing on their front porch and looked at the family picture album and dreamed about the good old days.

Someone said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re making plans to do something else.”

So, we need to understand what the Lord’s will is, we need to set our priorities, and we need to make the most of every day.

As we begin to wrap things up, the world certainly seems to be in a mess.  Financial institutions are crumbling all around us.  Layoffs seem to dominate the news.  Many people are watching their hard earned retirement income disappear before their eyes.  2009 doesn’t look to start out very promising at all.

That is the good thing about being a Christian.  Our retirement is not in the stock market, but in Heaven.  Our rock is not a bank, but the Rock of Ages.  Our confidence in the future is not based on the Federal Reserve, but on the promises from God.

As we begin a new year, we should look forward to the future and be mindful of what we have learned from the past.  The Bible tells us in II Corinthians 5:17 that, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”

These comforting and inspirational words remind us that with Christ, a person can become new inside.  With God’s help we can begin the new year with confidence that God’s healing power can restore marriages and relationships, as well as our bodies and our jobs.

God cares about us, and He wants us to be the best that we can be.  He created each of us and has gifted us with various skills and talents that we should use for our benefit and for the benefit of others.

Only God knows what the future holds for each of us, but we should resolve that for the new year we will always try to do what is pleasing to God.  Our future reward for doing God’s will is to hear Him say someday, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”

So, as we approach this New Year, we need to realize that our time on earth is limited, that we need to make the most of every opportunity, and that we need to understand what the Lord’s will is.

During the New Year may you have enough happiness to keep you sweet, enough trials to keep you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to keep you happy, enough failure to keep you humble, enough success to keep you eager, enough friends to give you comfort, enough wealth to meet your needs, enough enthusiasm to make you look forward to tomorrow, and enough determination to make each day better than the day before.

Let’s Pray!