Almost a month ago, a single lottery ticket was sold in Florida and was quickly selectyed as the winner of the $1.58 billion prize. The winning ticket represents the second-largest lottery reward in the U.S. history. For reference, the biggest lottery jackpot reached $2.04 billion last November. Calculating such enormous sums, whether one point five billion or two billion, can be challenging. Currently, interest rates are quite reasonable. Just a few days ago, I heard that the Bank of Canada decided to maintain its key interest rate at around five percent. Out of curiosity, if we were to deposit the principle or initial amount of the mega-million-dollar prize in the bank with a five percent interest rate for one year, the generated income from this investment would be approximately $100 million. If we divide this fund over 365 days, it comes to roughly $274,000 per day. Further breaking down that daily interest income into 24 hours, it becomes around $11,400 per hour. Can you imagine? The hourly profit from keeping two billion dollars in the bank is over eleven thousand dollars. This is more than seven hundred times the minimum wage here in Ontario, which is $15.50 per hour. It is clear that time is indeed money for those who possess millions of dollars. These staggering figures may seem discouraging. However, let us take a moment to reflect on what we are all granted by the Lord each day. God provides each of us with the same amount of time. A day consists of 24 hours for everyone, and an hour is 60 minutes for both the rich and the poor. The only difference lies in how that time is used.

In our primary text for today, the Apostle Paul begins with a familiar phrase, “Be careful.” We often use these words to offer advice to one another. For example, as parents we tell our children to “Be careful of the cars when you cross the road. Be careful of strangers. Be careful in the water when you swim.” This morning, Paul advises us to, “be very careful” about how we live wisely (Ephesians 5:15). He also encourages us to “make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

I must admit that at times, I find myself uncertain about how to spend my time. Occasionally, I simply pass the time until I have special activities or events. I act as though I have more time than I need. Jonathan Edwards, one of America’s influential preachers once said: “Yet time is a thousand times more precious than money. When it is gone, it cannot be purchased for money. It cannot be redeemed by silver or gold.” Do you know why? Time is not money; it is life itself. When we recognize this truth, we can be thankful regardless of our circumstances because we have time, because we are still breathing. We can be confident that we are among the richest people in the world.

After emphasizing the importance of time through the Word of God, Paul suddenly changes his tone and mentions to his audience that “the days are evil.” This statement might seem paradoxical, as we have been taught that time is precious and a gift. What does his comment in this passage mean for us? In the following chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian believers, he describes that the world we live in as the battleground between God and evil. Whether we realize it or not, a spiritual war between the two forces has been going on since the Fall of humanity. The heart we consider most valuable can be influenced either by the spirit of evil or the spirit of God. According to the Bible, the devil consistently tempts God’s people to walk in the power of darkness. That is why we sometimes misuse or waste our time. I often hear people, including myself, express regret about how they have spent their time. If they are given a second chance at life, they wish to make every moment count.

In our Psalm reading for today, the Psalmist speaks of “the brevity of life” and compares our shortened existence to “the new grass of the morning” (Psalm 90:5-6). Just as new grass can sprout and flourish in the morning and fade and wither away in the evening, our lives pass by quickly (Psalm 90:6). Someone pictures the speed of our lifespan in the following expression: “Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.” I remember when I was a child, my birthday seemed to take a long time. But as I have grown older, time appears to fly by. In my twenties, I felt like I was aging at a pace of twenty kilometers per hour. Then, in my thirties, it was like 30 kilometers per hour, and so on. In just over four years, I will feel like I am speeding over at a fast sixty kilometers per hour.

Here we are today, on the first Sunday of fall of 2023, and I wonder how each of us intends to spend the rest of the year. Will we make the best use of our time? When the year is over, will we look back and say, “I used my God-given time wisely for His glory?” The key question is how can we achieve that? How can we make the most of every opportunity and glorify God with our precious present time? We can learn essential lessons from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of time.

In our Gospel text for today, Jesus got up early in the morning while everyone was in a deep sleep. He could have slept in since he had very busy and demanding ministries on the previous day. However, Jesus went off to a quiet place and stayed there for a while by himself. During that time, Jesus prayed to God about how he should use his time. Jesus believed that God is the Lord of time.

Due to modern technology, many inventions have been introduced and have helped us save time. Think about doing laundry by hand and drying clothes during winter. Without a laundry machine and a dryer, it takes a lot of time and effort and would be inconvenient. Nowadays, we can easily and quickly get a lot of information when we type in or google certain words on the internet search engine. Because of this convenient culture, we should have more time for the Lord our God, our loved ones, and ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I’m in a rush. Someone has named it as “hurry sickness.” It is a kind of unavoidable disease generated from our fast society.

Like Jesus, setting aside the time to be with God is important in our journey of faith. During a devotional time, we can talk to God about anything and listen to what God wants us to do. We can have a daily conversation with Christ in prayer, anytime and anywhere. When and where to do, it does not matter to God. The thing is whether we put God in everything we do or not. It is a matter of whether we acknowledge God as the true source, not just of our time, but also of our strength, money, wisdom, talent, and more. Regardless of our present challenging situation, the Lord, our Wonderful Counsellor wants us to put Him first in our priorities and ask the Master of time management, Jesus Christ, about how to spend our God-given time wisely.

While Jesus was praying to God, His disciples were looking for Him here and there. Once they finally found him in a remote place, they loudly said to Jesus: “Lord, what are you doing here? Everyone is looking for you!” They did not understand why Jesus was there and used much time in prayer amid the busyness. Without prayer, they had already planned what to do that day. How did Jesus respond to His disciples’ request? He confidently said to them, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come” (Mark 1:38). Jesus’ response disappointed the disciples because His plan, purpose, and priority seemed different than theirs. During his devotional time, Jesus prioritized his time and planned the schedules based on God’s will. Jesus remembered His essential ministries: not just healing the sick, but also preaching the Good News and teaching the Kingdom of God. Even if he was asked to do many things by the people, He was not moved by them, but by God only. Think about this. The Bible never mentions anywhere that Jesus is in a hurry. He might have been busy all the time due to many people’s petitions, but He found time to do important things with the people around Him. Jesus made time to spend with little children. Jesus had time to enjoy eating fellowship with His loved ones. Jesus had time to attend ceremonies for his friends. Jesus had time to go on a picnic with the disciples and even took breaks during boat rides to rest by taking a nap. Through His time of quietness with God, Jesus was able to focus on the purpose of His ministries and had eventually finished all of them without delay.

While reflecting on this portion of the message, I was reminded of a story I have shared previously. It is about a girl who went to college… Someone once said, “There is not enough time for all things, but there is enough time for the most important things.” Once again, when we begin every day with God, we need to ask ourselves: “Who or what is most important in my life?” Many times, we know what God’s will is in our lives. However, sometimes we tend to make excuses about even essential things that should be done. As Christians, our answer should be: “My relationship with Jesus Christ is most important to me.” Our family and the loved ones around us are crucial in our lives. Taking care of our health, in spirit and body, is critical. Let us pray that God may help us do the things that matter to the Lord, our loved ones, and ourselves without delay.

In conclusion, the Psalmist recorded the normal span of people’s lives as about 70 years, or 80 if they were fortunate in those days. Today, we may live for a longer period than those years, as we are approaching a life expectancy of even 100 years or reaching three-digit life spans. Coming into this world follows a clear chronical order in terms of our birth date, but there is no specific period for our return to God. Even though we desire a long life, there is no guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow. The wisest person on earth, King Solomon said, “In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9). No matter how much we plan and prioritize, the time we have for tomorrow is uncertain, and our human understanding of the future is limited. The late John Ten Hove often expressed his insight with a statement like the following: “If it is God will, I will be happy to see you at the church this Sunday.” I like that! The Apostle James also stated: “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). The Bible teaches us that all the plans we have in life are in God’s hands. He is the one to see the entire picture of our life.

Once again, the crucial question we need to ask is not, “When are we called to be with the Lord?” but “How are we supposed to make the best use of the time?” Today, the Word of God, through the Psalmist, encourages us to pray the following prayer: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). This statement is not a mathematical count of how many days we have left to live, but rather a request for God’s help in using our time wisely.

Friends, let us pray to the Lord, “Teach us to make the most of the time we are given effectively. May we not only use our time but also contribute all we have, accomplishing all the purposes You have set out for our community, our church, our family, our loved ones, and ourselves.” This can our prayer for this morning and every moment.

*In this sermon I have used some materials and thoughts from various sermons based on the texts, Psalm 90:1-12; Mark 1:35-39; Ephesians 5:8-17.