Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Ephesians 5:8-20 (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What was your life like before Christ? Regardless of how you articulate it, you were in darkness. When the light of Jesus shined in your heart and you trusted Him to do for you what you were unable to do, you became light in the Lord. Paul teaches us in this passage to “live as children of light.” We are new creatures and we have a new life. He teaches us to be very careful how we live and make the most of every opportunity. How do we live as children of light? He has called us to be bearers of the light and to take the message of His love to all the world. Every day 151, 000 people will die, (size of a city) every hour6400 will die, (size of a town) every minute 105 will die and every second two people will die. There are thousands in our county, millions in our nation and billions in our world who will die without Christ. We must share the light of Jesus with them. This is why we exist! This is why He has put us here and this is the mission of our church. We exist so that those far from God may draw near to Him through the power of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 49:6 (NIV) “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." Isaiah 60:1-3 (NLT) 60 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. 2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. 3 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. Who is someone in your life that needs to hear His life changing message? Share His light today!! We have His power, we are His people, and sharing the light is His plan. It has been well said that every person on earth is either a missionary or a mission field. Have you ever thought about the last words Jesus ever said before he ascended into heaven? Did you know that the last words Jesus ever uttered while he was on this earth were these: "to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) When Jesus left this earth He had missions on his mind. Jesus came as a missionary from heaven that he might make us missionaries for heaven. If the population of the world could be compressed into a community of 100 people, 75 of them would be uneducated, underclothed, and underfed, 37 would live under present or former communist domination, 25 would belong to the Roman or Eastern Catholic Church, 15 would be Moslems, 11 would be Hindus, 15 more would either be Confucianists or Buddhists, and only 8 would be true Christians. Our God is a God with a missionary heart who has sent us into this world as missionary servants with a missionary message that we might fulfill the mission of The Great Commission. It is my prayer you will get a missionary heart, that you will give to missionary work, and that you will go to a missionary field, whether it be home or abroad.