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Make This Year Count Make Your Walk Count

(February 26, 2012)

This morning we begin a six week series. When the elders talked about the title for this series – we were close to naming it – Make Your Life Count. But we finally went with – Make This Year Count. The reason is this. We are a race of inveterate procrastinators. The vast majority of us do plan to make our life count – soon. We do plan to start reading the Bible more regularly and sharing our faith and serving the church – just as soon as I get past the hump in my life. Today, tomorrow, this week, this month – there is just so much going on – but I do plan on turning things around soon. In his book The Sixty Minute Father Rob Parsons gives a modern day parable. It concerns a group of hot shot advertising executives who were given an unusual task. They were to conceive a plan that would encourage fathers to spend less time with their children. The winning concept was this:

We tell fathers that their family needs them, and the time with their children is short and the door of childhood closes so fast and so finally. And we’ll tell them if they don’t give time now, then years later they’ll regret it with all their hearts.

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And we’ll tell them to make sure that they carve out quality time with their families. But, we’ll say that life is busy right now, so make plans for … tomorrow because … A SLOWER DAY IS COMING.1

Brilliant! Don’t deal with today. Just prepare for tomorrow when the slower day comes. But tomorrow never arrives. We live in today not tomorrow. You can only live today, not tomorrow. Proverbs 27:1:

Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

And the theme verse for this series. Ephesians 5:16:

Make the best use of the time, because the days are evil. That is why Jesus constantly says – Be ready today for who knows if tomorrow will come. So we decided to call this series – Make This Year Count. Not one of us knows if we will even see 2013 let alone 2050. Making Your Life Count starts now – making this year count. So we chose six areas that we want to ask you to seek the Lord for the strength to improve – this year – not when the kids are grown, not when I finish university, not when the mortgage is paid, not when I am retired – this year! The six areas are:

1 Rob Parsons, The Sixty Minute Father, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1995) pp. 52-53

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Make Your Walk Count Make Your Discipleship Count Make Your Family Count Make Your Money Count Make Your Witness Count Make Your Church Count

There is nothing on this list that we have not covered multiple times over the last few years. So why this series? Over the last few years – we have had some real highs. People coming to the Lord, people growing, discipleship. But unfortunately there have also been a number of marriages in trouble, some besetting sins, some spiritual malaise. And yet, there is not a child of God here who does not want a closer walk with the Lord, a stronger marriage, being the human instrument of leading people to Christ, seeing your children exceed you in zeal and love for the Lord, seeing this church become stronger and grow. So where do we start? We start with this:

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Make Your Walk Count Decide this day to make your walk with the Lord – Your Spiritual Life – Count. You are here for a purpose. You have eighty years – Make it count. You are not on a pleasure cruise waiting for heaven. You are here with a task to do. And that is your first and prime responsibility. This morning – I want to suggest that there are three areas that can help us to make our walk count. First:

My Duty Ever since John Piper published Desiring God in 1986 – Duty has been a word many Christians avoid. Duty got a bad name because Piper said this:

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Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth. This cannot be done by mere acts of duty. It can be done only when spontaneous affections arise in the heart. Consider the analogy of a wedding anniversary. Mine is on December 21. Suppose on this day, I bring home a dozen long-stemmed roses for Nöel. When she meets me at the door, I hold out the roses , and she says, “O Johnny, they’re beautiful, thank you,” and gives me a big hug. The suppose I hold up my hand and say matter-of-factly, “Don’t mention it; it’s my duty.” What happens? Is not the exercise of duty a noble thing? Do we not honour those we dutifully serve? Not much. Not if there’s no heart in it. Dutiful roses are a contradiction in terms. If I am not moved by a spontaneous affection for her as a person, the roses do not honour her. In fact, they belittle her. They are a very thin covering for the fact that she does not have the worth or beauty in my eyes to kindle affection. All I can muster is a calculated expression of marital duty ... If I take my wife out for the evening on our anniversary and she asks me, “Why do you do this?” the answer that honour her most is, “Because nothing makes me happier tonight than to be with you.” “It’s my duty,” is a dishonour. “It’s my joy,” is an honour. How shall we honour God in worship? By saying, “It’s my duty?” Or by saying, “It’s my joy?” Then I reply, “Nothing makes me happier than giving you roses because I love you.”2

In one sense Piper is absolutely right – Worship cannot be done by mere acts of duty. However, the word duty not only means doing something because you have to – it also refers to doing something because it is what you are meant to do. A soldier in a war has a duty to do which he cannot ignore. There is a sense in which every one of us does have a duty to perform. God left us here for a reason. If you are going to make your life count – you have to know why He left you here – what your duty is. In Luke 19 – as Jesus approached Jerusalem – He told a parable. Luke 19 verses 12-13:

He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’”

2 John Piper, Desiring God, (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1986), pp. 72-73.

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The question is – who are the servants, what is the mina they were given and what is the business they were to engage in? When you read the parable – it becomes clear that the servants are Christians – those who have declared their allegiance to the King. The mina is the gospel – the truth that Jesus is God come in human flesh, who died and rose to pay the penalty of sin. He will come again to establish the new heavens and new earth – the one way of salvation for men. Their business – is the business of proclaiming this gospel to a lost world. This parable is similar – but should not be confused with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Here in Luke each servant is given the same deposit – the gospel. In Matthew 25 they are given different deposits – five talents, two talents and one talent. The talents in Matthew 25 are talking about abilities, talents, the different giftings we have. It is clear that different believers have different talents bestowed on them. Intellectual, physical, educational, financial. Some are gifted communicators, writers, orators. Some have greater physical gifts and training to serve the kingdom. Some have more opportunities to study, prepare and train. Others have more financial gifts and privileges. Clearly a brilliant, gifted, wealthy, well trained Christian in a western country has been entrusted with more than a less intellectually gifted, physically impaired, poor, untrained Christian in a developing country. The Lord knows this. The question in Matthew 25 is not what talents you have, but what you do with what you are given. The reward is the same for the faithful ones who used their privileges well. The parable in Luke 19 is not talking about our faithfulness with our different abilities and gifts – but asks us what we did with the gospel entrusted to us as a stewardship to save others. Every Christian has the same deposit of the gospel. The question is – what are you doing with it. There are things you should do with your life. If you are married – treasure your husband or wife. Raise a godly seed. Supply the needs of your family. Help the needy. Campaign for justice.

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But never let these good things obscure the fact that you are here for a purpose. The last night of His life – the Upper Room Discourse. Not one word about marriage and family and social justice. Jesus said – your task is to take the glory of God – the gospel into the world. The last moments before He ascended into heaven – Jesus addressed the disciples. Not one word about marriage and family and social justice. Jesus said:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

That is your duty. You are here to make disciples of the nations. When your parents, your friend, your colleague – shared the good news of Christ with you – and your eyes were opened – and you trusted Him – you became this generations guardians of the greatest treasure known to man. You have the knowledge of the only way to know and enjoy God. The only way to escape hell. You have a duty to use your talents to proclaim the gospel. That does not mean you can neglect your family and work responsibilities. No – far from it. But it does mean that you have a purpose in this world – to know Him and make Him known – and to neglect that is to waste your life. Verses 14-15:

When He returned having received the kingdom. He ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

Jesus will ask every one of us – what did you do with your life? Verses16-19:

The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came,

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saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

These servants were faithful – they did their duty well. Unfortunately, the parable doesn’t end there. After these faithful servants – one more came. Verses 20-21:

Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’

This man was someone who called himself a follower of Christ – said he accepted the gospel – but did nothing with it. He did not make his life count. It is not that he openly opposed his master – it is just that he failed to do the task given to him. A whole lifetime to share Christ – to make disciples – and he did nothing with the gospel. Verses 22-23:

He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

We will be held accountable. Verses 24-26:

And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.

Brothers and sisters – the Lord left us here on earth for a reason – to know Him and to make Him known. He gave us talents and resources. If we use everything He entrusted to us simply for our benefit – bigger house for me – better car for me – more pleasure for me – we have failed in our duty. 2 Kings chapter 7 describes the time when Ben-hadad the king of Aram had besieged the king of Israel in Samaria. The war had isolated Samaria causing an incredible famine. This was no ordinary famine, the people were on the brink of starvation. A donkey’s head brought the price of 40 ounces of silver. A pint of dove’s dung cost two

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and a half ounces of silver. Things had become so desperate that a woman even boiled and ate her own child. When you are reduced to eating a donkey’s head, dove dung and even children; the situation is absolutely desperate. Death is imminent. At the gate of the city were four lepers who were about to perish from starvation. They began to consider their situation and their logic went like this, “We have only got two options. The first is to sit here and starve to death. Our second alternative is to go over to the Arameans and throw ourselves on their mercy. The worst they can do is put us out of our misery quickly and who knows they may even take pity on us and feed us.” What they didn’t know is that God had already been at work. He had caused the army of the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses and a great army. The Arameans fearing for their lives fled leaving every possession they had. So when the lepers entered the camp they couldn’t believe their eyes. Horses, donkeys, silver, gold and FOOD. These were lepers, outcasts, the bottom of the social heap. They probably didn’t owe anyone in the city a thing. The temptation would have been to keep their mouths shut, gather everything of value and live the rest of their lives in luxury. But, listen to what they said to one another:

We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now, therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.

We are NOT doing right. This is a day of GOOD NEWS, HOW CAN WE KEEP SILENT? Let us go and TELL others. We have a duty. The thought that God chose us, called us, gave us a duty and will come back and ask us how we did should motivate us to make our life count. We need to burn into our brains that we are here for a purpose and that is to be the driving force of our lives. But we need more. To help get my second point across – I need a volunteer. Lisa – you look like you can handle this. Lisa – I am giving you a task – to clean up this mess on the floor.

No problem Dad. (Lisa gets out the vacuum – doesn’t plug it in – but tries vigorously to vacuum up the mess)

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Lisa – if you want to do the job – you need to plug it in.

Ah – that’s the secret. (Lisa plugs in the vacuum and cleans up the mess) So many of us are just like Lisa. We have good intentions – but no power to carry out our duty. That should not be the case for any Christian. We have power beyond imagination available for us to make this year count. On the last night of His life – Jesus said this – I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. Jesus sent us – the Helper – the Holy Spirit – to empower us. Then in Acts 1:8 Jesus said:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

This word power is the Greek word dunamis. Jesus gave us our duty – but He also gave us power – His Spirit. He told us – without Me you can do nothing. So – the point is this – If you want to Make Your Walk Count – you need:

Dunamis You need power.

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Over the next five weeks we are going to talk about discipleship and family and evangelism and money and service – but – in your own strength you cannot make this year count in these areas. But Jesus did make the power to walk worthy available. The problem is that we don’t tap into that power enough. Paul knew this. Turn with me to Ephesians 1 verses 15–16:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Paul is praying for the saints. This is such a wonderful prayer – so different to how we often pray. One wag said the way most Christians pray is like this:

God bless me, my wife Jean, My son John, his wife Joan, Us four, no more. Amen.

Us four, no more. Amen! Unfortunately that does about sum up the extent of the prayer lives of many of us. NOT Paul. Paul prays for the saints. He prays that they would understand who they are – their task and how to achieve it. He prays three things for the saints. FIRST – in verse 18 He prays that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened. So often we live our lives oblivious to the task we have.

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Paul is asking for God to give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge about God and the reality of living as redeemed men and women. To have the windows of our minds opened so we can wake up to the spiritual reality. To understand the power available to those who are in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Paul prays that believers would understand this. SECOND – verse 18. The second thing Paul prays for is that we would know what are the riches of the glory of the inheritance in the saints. As children of God we have a glorious inheritance – now and eternally Have you ever thought much about the future? For those that do not know Christ, the only inheritance they have to look forward to is death and hell. However, for those whose trust is in the Lord, we have a glorious hope. We have the inheritance of eternal life. The Lord created you to be those who sing His praises eternally. But we also have an inheritance now. If God would send His Son to die on that cruel cross – don’t you think He will provide the power to live victoriously? THIRD – The third thing that Paul prays for is in verse 19, That we may know what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. The average Christian lives a life that is barely discernable from those who don’t know Christ. But, this is not how it is meant to be. God commanded you to live a holy life and He provided the power to live that holy life. In this verse, the Apostle outdoes himself. He wants us to understand the enormous power available to us so badly that he groups four different words for power together to get his point across. These are the four words: 1. �������� – Here translated ‘power.’ It’s the word we get dynamite from. 2. ���������� – Here translated ‘working.’ It’s the word we get energy from. 3. ������� – Here translated ‘great.’ 4. ������� – Here translated ‘might.’ One word wasn’t enough for Paul, he wanted to drill it into our thick skulls so he used four words to tell us that the inexhaustible power of God is available to us to walk as Christians. We can live as children of the King – holy and making Him known. But Paul knows just telling us this is not enough. You know your heart. You know the black snake that lurks within. You know your propensity to sin. You know that humanly speaking – to live godly in Christ Jesus is

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absolutely impossible. As impossible as a leopard changing its spots or an Ethiopian the colour of his skin. You know you procrastinate and are afraid and are selfish. God know that to do your duty requires a divine miracle. The Scriptures ask us to believe many things. They ask us to believe in God – yet none of us has seen God. They ask us to believe in a heavenly future – yet none of us has walked the streets of the New Jerusalem. They ask us to believe truth after truth with the eyes of faith. And Paul knows that when he prays that believers would know the surpassing greatness of God’s power to those who believe – that at first glance, this is just one more thing placed in basket of unverifiable beliefs. Or is it? No! Not at all. God has given us tokens of His power. Verifiable, quantifiable tokens of His power. Miracles that we can examine to prove the surpassing greatness of God’s power to those who believe. There are many miracles that Paul could have used. He chose three. THE FIRST MIRACLE THAT PROVES THE POWER OF GOD IS THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. Verses 19-23:

I want you to know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

The greatest display of the power of God available to the believer is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. It proves the deity of Christ. It proves that death has been conquered and we will rise again. It proves that our faith is anchored in truth. But, in this passage – Paul uses the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a very practical way.

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The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the Father – God has made that same power available to you and to me to live victorious lives in this world. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available for us to live holy lives. It is the power of his resurrection that enabled Paul to live for Christ and it enables you and me to live for Christ. Every one of us has days and weeks when we feel defeated. The Christian life seems a remote fantasy. Our sin, our desires, our fears – they seem to sweep over us and grab us around the throat. Days when we want to give up. Days when Christianity seems as powerless as any man-centred religion. Our sin seems to be the real source of power. It seems hopeless. It is a battle that we cannot win. Our resolve seems to ebb away and our hope with it. And that is just when we are to remember the resurrection. To remember the power of God. He took the body of Christ – cold, stiffened with rigor mortis, beginning to undergo decay – and He raised Christ to life. And not just to the life He had – when He raised Him from the dead, He seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Now that is power. We can split the atom and put a man on the moon – but these pale into absolute insignificance when we compare that to raising Christ from the dead. The empty tomb is perhaps the greatest display of power in all history. Paul says – I want you to know that this same power that raised Jesus is there to help you proclaim Christ – and live holy – and have great families – and use your money wisely. But that is not all. THE SECOND MIRACLE THAT PROVES THE POWER OF GOD IS THE POWER THAT RAISED US FROM THE DEAD SPIRITUALLY. This is found in chapter 2 verses 1-10. You were dead. Remember that the wages of sin is death. You were dead and without hope. You had no way of rectifying the lost state you were in. You couldn’t do a thing. Corpses cannot help themselves. They can’t even twitch. Sin had you dead and buried. You were helpless – unable to do a thing. But, God could and did.

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We were spiritually dead and God raised us from our spiritual death and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. Only divine intervention could rouse your sin riddled carcass. God raised your spiritual corpse – not to live in sin, BUT verse 10 – for the good works prepared by God from before the world began. God planned for you to live for Him and to proclaim Him and He provided the power to do so. It took immense power to turn you from the idols of the world to Christ – and God does not just leave us. That same power is there to help us live lives that count. THE THIRD MIRACLE THAT PROVES THE POWER OF GOD IS THE POWER THAT BROKE DOWN THE BARRIER BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. Chapter 2 verses 11-22. We have just spent months looking at Romans and the Jew Gentile divisions there. We have a great example this week in the Federal Labor party of how easily divisions form. The Jew Gentile division is seated much deeper. But by the power of God – this was overcome in Christ. So what is Paul’s point? It is verse 19. He prays that you would know the immeasurable greatness of the power of God to you who believe. It is an argument from the greater to the lesser. If God is able to raise Christ from the dead – and you from the spiritually dead and unite Jew and Gentile – if God can do the absolutely impossible – shouldn’t we trust that He can empower our living bodies to live lives that count for eternity? We are the redeemed. We are the people Christ died for. We are those chosen in eternity past to live in the eternity to come giving glory to the Lord. We are those raised from the spiritual dead. We are those united to Christ. We are those indwelt by the Spirit of the living God. We are a people of power. Our problem is that too often we are like Lisa – trying to do spiritual tasks without divine power. So at the end of Ephesians, Paul tells us how to plug into that power. Chapter 6:12:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

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The battle is a spiritual struggle and the answer is spiritual. We put on the armour of God daily. Prayer, the word – the other spiritual disciplines. Without them we go into the battle naked. With them – we go fully prepared. I talk to many who struggle. They long to live lives that matter. To be holy. To have strong marriages. To share Christ. But they fail again and again. Here is why – no power – no dunamis. Prayer, the Word, fellowship, accountability – this is who you plug into the power of God. If you know Christ – you can live a victorious life. Tap into the power – the dunamis – to live for God. Pray, read, meditate, fellowship – abide in Christ and draw on His power. Thirdly, if you want to Make Your Walk Count – you need:

Delight Duty – knowing your task – Dunamis – tapping into the power – they are crucial. But you need one more thing. Remember John Piper’s roses for Noel analogy. Here is where it comes in. You live a life that counts when it is a delight to live for the Lord. If it is all discipline and will power – you don’t last too long. If it is joyful and a delight – it lasts your whole life.

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John 15. Jesus has given the disciples the great task of living for Him and proclaiming Him. He has promised to send the Helper. He tells them to abide in Him else they can do nothing. Then in verse 11 He says this:

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

These tasks are not to lead to us being crushed and struggling – but to joy – in fact Christlike joy to the full. Do you want that? I want that – I want it with every fibre of my being. And it is a joy that lasts. It is not connected to the vagaries of this world. Struggling with sin. Struggling with your marriage or money. Struggling with people or work. These cannot rob you of joy – if you are abiding in Christ. He is the vine. He is the source of joy. He is the source of all true fruit. When you are connected to Christ – abiding in Christ – then there is a joy that comes that makes serving Him and living for Him a joy. When you know who you are and why you are here – when you plug into His power – when you delight in Him – then you don’t have to struggle to live for Him – it comes naturally. Brothers and sisters – we are here for a purpose. We have a duty. God did not leave us alone – we have the Helper – we have power – dunamis. And when we do it for Him – it becomes a delight. Over the next few weeks we will look at some of the areas we all struggle in. But this sermon is the key. Without it – you will be like Lisa trying to vacuum the mess without any power. With the power comes a life well spent. May He open our eyes to His power and help us to make this year count for Him.