Teach Us to Number Our Days

The psalmist (Moses) said, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalms 90:12, NKJV).

Moses prayed that God would instruct us how to make full use of the limited number of days of our lives. Let Him grant us wisdom that we may act and live wisely. Moses said this because life is only a short journey and we must make full use of it before it vanishes away.

James said, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).

I believe we don't ask ourselves this question often enough - What is your life? Even if we did ask we would be shocked with the answer. We tend to take life for granted - we just live on and believe that we are just here, we are going to do certain things today and tomorrow, with little or no purpose.

The fact is life is just a vapor, it is passing away quickly. Once it is passed away it will never return again. If you are to ask a 13 year-old teenager how old is he, the answer you are likely to get is - "I'm nearly 14". When you get to the age of 40 and above, you don't tell people what you are going to be next year; you begin to realize that your life is just a vapor.

We need to take heed to the fact that there are many different forces at work to blind you from realizing what your life is. There are all sorts of entertainment (Films, TV, Computer games, and Internet surfing) and other things that demand our precious time. People come away for holidays to forget. There is an atmosphere of forgetfulness that permeates the culture and keeps us from facing reality. Life goes at the same speed for everybody, it does not matter whether you are a king, a queen or a president or a janitor. You can't hold on to one minute. People lament if they lose a $50 bill, they get upset about it naturally. Have you ever thought if you lose 50 minutes of your time you'll never get them back again? But you can get another $50 bill. Time is beyond your control.

One appointment we all have to keep

As believers in Jesus Christ one day we are going to answer for the way we spend every minute of our time. There is one appointment that every human being is going to keep. You might say "death", but it isn't because there will be those alive when Jesus Christ comes again - they will not die naturally. The one appointment that we all (saints or sinners) are going to keep is the Judgment of God on our life - The Eternal Judgment. Please read my earlier postings - "Judgment of True Christians" and "Total Judgments of God". Eternal Judgment determines your destiny for eternity. Different judgment seats for the unbelievers and those who don't know God and don't submit to Him - this judgment is called the Great White Throne Judgment.

There is a different scene of judgment for those who have known Christ (born again Christians). This is called the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) which is not a judgment of condemnation (1 Cor. 3:12 - 15). He will either reward you or penalize you. If you fail to get your reward, your soul will be saved but you are just a naked soul. There are only two kinds of action or behavior: Either good or bad, nothing in between; either white or black; and either the light or the darkness. In my opinion if you are one of those people (there are many in the average Local Church today) who thinks how little do you have to do to be saved, then you are not saved. You have the wrong motive. That attitude is totally contrary to God.

Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matt. 12:30).

Clearly there are only two kinds of relationship or activity - gathering or scattering. What would God hold you accountable for scattering? For wasting your time, your talent, your gifts and your money. You'll have to give an account of every one of those things wasted.

The danger of passivity

I believe the greatest single frustration in the ministry is passivity of Church leaders and members. It is much easier to deal with opened opposition than it is with passivity.

Jesus spoke to His disciples, "Do you not say, 'there are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together" (John 4:35, 36, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jesus was talking about procrastination - about putting it off, not now, let us begin in another day. Satan will entice you and then let you go. But when he finally lets you go, it would be too late for you do what you ought to have done earlier! Satan does not have to prolong you for good; he just has to hold you long enough to keep you from doing things that matters most.

2. Notce the two things that Jesus mentioned - wages and fruit.

Wages - Wages are the things (money or kinds) you received for a job done. Jesus said if you reap you'll receive your wages. You may have to go through difficulties and trial; you may have to live in the bare minimum, but sooner or later He will adequately remunerate you.

Fruit - Your fruit (in this context) is not here on earth but in eternity. You will only see your fruit in eternity.

Why are we sitting here until we die?

There is an interesting picture in the Old Testament (2 Kings 6 and 7). The Northern Kingdom of Israel was attacked by a large army from Syria. Samaria, the capital city was being besieged and the people were just in the verge of total famine - "until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-forth of a kap of dove droppings for five shekels of silver" (2 Kings 6:25).

It gives me a picture of the spiritually famished Church today. All you can get is the donkey's head of liberal modernistic theology and man-made rules. Instead of the visitation of the Holy Spirit (dove) you only get a measure of droppings of the dove! You can laugh, but it is a very sad picture.

At the gate of Samaria sat four leprous men who were not allowed in because they were unclean. They said to one another "Why are we sitting here until we die" (2 Kings 7:3)? Does that describe some of us? We are not lepers, but we are just the same, sitting (inside or outside the Church) until we die!

The leprous men decided to do something. They reasoned that they had nothing to lose; if they enter the city they will die there - either be killed or because of famine. If they sit here they would also die. But if they would surrender to the Syrians they may be allowed to live. But what they didn't know was that God created great noise of chariots and of a great army. The Syrians were so frightened that they run away in such a hurry that they left everything behind. So the leprous men had more than what they could eat and took away their spoils.

The moral of this picture is very simple - If you are not satisfy, go forth and do something and God will surely satisfy you! Don't just sit there and perish.

Progress in the Christian life

All progress in the Christian life is by faith. If you are not willing to go forward in faith you cannot go forward. Christians are like bicycles. You can't steer a bicycle unless it is moving. God cannot guide you unless you are moving. As long as you are stationary you can't ask God to guide you - you have to begin to move in faith.

Basically our priorities are what determine our life. You say you have no time to pray, but you have time to eat. You have time to eat because it is your priority. Jesus said there is only one top priority for Christians:

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33, emphasis added).

You cannot have righteousness apart from the Kingdom of God.

Paul said, "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

Many of us have a false picture of being a Christian. We wear a little tag showing that we are born again; we are baptized in the Holy Spirit and we speak in tongues. But what have we done about our Christianity?

John said, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12, KJV, emphasis added).

Notice we only become sons of God when we begin to exercise the power He has given to us. Christianity is never static. If we fail to exercise the power and authority given to us we will not be sons of God!

Solomon said, "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto a perfect day" (Prov. 4:18, NKJV).

If you are walking in the path way of righteousness (or just) the light is going to be brighter today than yesterday and brighter tomorrow than it is today. If it is not true of you, you have better check if you are on the path of righteousness.

Walk with sacrifice

Whenever we walk in faith, we also walk with sacrifice. Christianity is a life of sacrifice.

2 Samuel 6 describes how David brought the Ark back to Jerusalem.

"And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep" (2 Sam. 6:13).

The above gives us a picture of the Christian life. It is impossible to follow Jesus without sacrifice. That is how far you can go, six paces, if you do not offer any sacrifice - a long way from your destination. What are we going to sacrifice? The answer is obvious; you have to sacrifice your time, your inconveniences, your money and your entertainment.

In my opinion committed Christians should enjoy celebration and not entertainment. Entertainment basically means you sit there watching other people do something. The longer you do it, the further you get from reality. Celebration means you are in it, you get involved, you are a part of it, and you are on the stage dancing, singing and making joyful noise to the Lord!

The most important ministries in the Local Church

The preaching of the Word is important but not the most important. You can hear a good sermon and be blessed by what you heard, but as long as you just sit there, remain passive and do nothing about what you heard, you'll soon forget.

I believe the most important ministries in any Local Church are:

1. Prayer and intercession

Any believer can pray and ask for God's mercy (supplication), but intercession is a ministry gift. There is nothing more important in the Kingdom of God than prayer and intercession. I don't think the Local Church and individual members can accomplish significant things for Christ without prayer. As we approach the end of time, forces of evil are becoming so much stronger and so much bolder. If we think we can do away with prayer and intercession and spiritual warfare in the Local Church and still please God, we are deceiving ourselves.

2. Mission outreach

Paul gives an answer to the problem of bringing the gospel to the lost:

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they ar sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring food news!'" (Romans 10:14, 15, NIV).

Here Paul reiterates the need for mission of the Church. The mission of Christ was in behalf of those who had rejected God the Father. The rejected Father sent the Son and the Son sent His Church. That is the basis for the world mission of the Church. It is the mandate of Christ that those who have not heard do hear. They cannot hear without a preacher, and there cannot be a preacher without a "sending". The mandate of Christ is that the gospel be preached in every land and nation, to every tribe and tongue, to every living person.