TEXT: PSALM 118:24

Our theme for the year is Choose Life. Acts 5:20 says, ". . . give the people this message of life!" (NLT). That’s what I’m endeavouring to do. I’m here to give you God’s message of life. It’s not my message of life - it’s His. "The glory of God is man fully alive" Irenaeus. Jesus says, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness" John 10:10 (NLT).

Now when Jesus says His purpose is to "give life in all its fullness," He’s not talking about life after death. This text is not meant to be interpreted in a future context. Christ’s offer of fullness of life is a present reality. He has so much more for you now. He has abundant life for you now. You can be made whole and set free now. This is the good news. Christ can bring you fully alive now. Listen to what the psalmist says: "Yet I am confident that I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living" Psalm 27:13 (NLT).

Isn’t that a great text? You will see the Lord’s goodness now. You will see His goodness in this life. Now how will this happen? How do you get to see the Lord’s goodness here in the land of the living? Hopefully this message will help you take another step closer to the answer . . .

Answer these questions:
Would you describe your life as "The tyranny of the urgent?"
Are you frazzled, fizzled, fried or frantic?
Do you get upset when someone keeps you waiting?
Is busyness squeezing the life out of you?
Are you overworked and underpaid?
Is time losing its shape?
Do you feel like Bill Murray in the film Groundhog Day?
Does shopping, employment, cleaning the home and entertainment, blur the boundaries between one season and another?
Is your diary the defining template of your life?
Do you wonder where the years go to?
Are you losing your days to smallness?
Do you need an extra day in the week?
Are you worried about tomorrow?
Is your life patched together by obligations and shredded by interruptions?

Listen. Part of knowing fullness of life is knowing fullness of time. You will never know abundant life if time is your enemy - a hostile place from which you’re trying to flee. To know fullness of life you need to know that time is a meeting place - a point of rendezvous with God. Which raises a question. How can people like us, busy people in a busy world, make time a meeting place with God?

Here are two suggestions for experiencing the fullness of time:

1. Receive the day.
The poet Philip Larkin says that "Days are where we live." To receive fullness of life, you need to know how best to live each day. Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it" (NLT).

"This is the day the Lord has made . . ."

How many of you are worried about yesterday? "This is the day the Lord has made . . ." How many of you are worried about tomorrow? "This is the day the Lord has made . . ." You will never know fullness of life if you let the bitter aftertaste of yesterday keep you from tasting the day that’s on your tongue. You will never know fullness of life if you let anxiety about tomorrow gnaw away at the experience of today. "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not" Matthew 6:27 (NLT). To know fullness of life you must give your full attention to today. You must free yourself from the bondage of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Now how do you do that?

How do you free yourself from the bondage of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow? Here’s the practical answer: You free yourself from the bondage of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow by setting aside a part of each day to worship God.

Listen. The swells of yesterday and the rip tide of tomorrow will wash you away if you don’t put down an anchor today. Now why do I say that? Because when you make it your practice to meet with God every day, you get to see the day through the lens of grace. And when you start seeing the day through the lens of grace your perspective changes - you begin to see, and know that you are seen.

Now that’s well and good. But how do you make time for God when you don’t have enough time? By saying no to say yes. You will only receive the day if you say no to the things that rob the day away. You must choose what not to do. You must identify the impediments and idols that are shutting God out of your life. May I humbly suggest that a good place to start is the television. How many hours a day do you spend looking at the tube? How many times a day do you click the remote control? Then there’s the computer. How many hours a day do you spend on MSN? How much time do you spend surfing the net? Here’s the bottom line: There are daily structures that bind us and daily structures that free us. Set yourself free. Eliminate the dozens of unnecessary activities that the thief uses to steal, kill and destroy your life. And once you’ve said no, say yes. Adopt a daily pattern of Bible reading, prayer and singing praises to God.

2. Keep the Sabbath.
Slaves can’t skip a day of work, but free people can. Are you a slave or are you free? To receive fullness of life, you must keep the Sabbath free. Dorothy Bass says, "To keep Sabbath is to exercise one’s freedom, to declare oneself to be neither a tool to be employed - an employee - nor a beast to be burdened. To keep Sabbath is also to remember one’s freedom and to recall the One from whom that freedom came, the One from whom it still comes."

The fourth commandment in the Ten Commandments says, "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you" Deuteronomy 5:12 (NLT). To know fullness of life you must obey God’s commands. 1 John 3:24 says, "Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them" (NLT). Do you want to live in fellowship with God? Keep His commands. Do you want fullness of life? "Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy."

Now why does God tell us to observe the Sabbath? There are several good reasons: It testifies to the way in which the death and resurrection of Christ has transformed the totality of our lives. The meaning of the rest of the week is derived from the first day of the week. It announces the justice and unending dominion of God. It’s a testimony to the fact that God works continually in our midst and we’re continually reliant on Him. It awakens us to the parts of ourselves that cannot be nourished by possessions. It’s a time of refreshment to invigorate us for ministry during the rest of the week. It nourishes an alternative vision of how our lives should be. And because it’s a gift from God: A day to practice the freedom God intends for all people - to practice life outside the frantic pace set by financial markets, round the clock shopping and entertainment venues.

Listen. We were not designed to work non stop. We are not supermen and women. Our bodies, minds, and spirits need to be recharged every seven days. If we ignore this reality, we begin to rot from the inside out. People are physically sick because they don’t take a day of rest. People are mentally weary because they don’t observe the Lord’s Day. And people are emotionally dead because they don’t set aside one day in seven. Did you know that devout Jews remove their watches on the Sabbath? While it’s a legalistic sort of thing, it makes good sense. Watches link us to the commercial world, to the schedules and responsibilities of our day to day lives. We get beaten by the clock all week, why should we let it beat us down on the Sabbath? Maybe we should take our watches off as well. The action would certainly remind us that the Sabbath should be measured by a different sort of time - by times of worship, refreshing, and resting in the Lord.

That said, you wouldn’t be here today if you weren’t committed to sheltering one day of the week for rest and worship. One day of the week . . . God tells us to observe the Sabbath day. He doesn’t say, "Observe a few hours on Sunday and keep them holy." He doesn’t say, "Attend church on Sunday morning and get on with the weeks work on Sunday night." The Sabbath is a twenty-four-hour period. It’s a day and a night. To know fullness of life you must keep a twenty-four-hour period in the week holy.

But how do you do that? How do you shelter one day in the week from an economy and society that demands too much from people? Most of the time it’s simply done by the choices we make. It gets down to priorities and values. We choose to keep the Sabbath holy and find ways to do it.

There you have it. If you want your life renewed, if you want a deeper relationship with God, and if you want to experience the fullness of time; you must learn to receive the day and keep the Sabbath. Each day a day goes by. Psalm 90:12 is a fitting prayer: "Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom" (NLT). One point of entry into fullness of life is learning how to number our days - learning how to make the most of our time. Don’t let the urgent crowd out the important. Don’t let work crowd out worship. Don’t let family crowd out faith. Receive the day and keep the Sabbath. For "Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them" 1 John 3:24 (NLT). Now that’s fullness of life!

Prayer:
Father, too often I allow urgency to dictate my schedule, and I’m asking You to help me establish priorities in my work. I confess my weakness of procrastination and lack of organization. My desire is to live purposefully and worthily and accurately as a wise, sensible, intelligent person.

You have given me a seven-day week - six days to work and the seventh day to rest. I desire to make the most of the time You’ve given me. Help me plan my day, and stay focused on my assignments.

In the name of Jesus, I demolish and smash warped philosophies concerning time management, tear down barriers erected against the truth of God, and fit every loose thought, emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. I clear my mind of every obstruction and build a life of obedience into maturity.

Father, You are in charge of my work and my plans. I plan the way I want to live, but You alone make me able to live it. Help me to organize my efforts, schedule my activities and budget my time.

Jesus, You want me to relax. It pleases You when I am not preoccupied with getting, so I can respond to God’s giving. I know You, Father God, and how You work. I steep my life in God-reality, God-initiative and God-provisions.

By the grace given me, I will not worry about missing out, and my everyday human concerns will be met. I purpose in my heart to seek first of all Your kingdom, Lord, and Your righteousness, and then all these things taken together will be given me besides.

Father, Your Word is my compass, and it helps me see my life as complete in Christ. I cast all my cares, worries and concerns over on You, that I might be well-balanced, vigilant and cautious at all times.

I tune my ears to the word of wisdom and set my heart on a life of understanding. I make insight my priority.

Father, You sent Jesus that I might have life and have it more abundantly. Help me remember that my relationship with You and with others are more important than anything else. Amen. [Germaine Copeland - Prayers that Avail Much].

L. Murray, 2006