I was reading some history from way back in 1271 A.D. (That is a long time ago!) I read there were two brothers by the name of Mateao and Nicoli Polo. They went to visit China, in 1271 A.D. and met the ruler, by the name of Kublai Kahn. While they were there, they spoke to him about their Christian faith. Kublai Kahn told them he was convinced, by what they had told him, they should go back home and bring one hundred pastors back to China, with them. Those one hundred pastors could speak to all the people in China about Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Those two brothers went back home. Kublai Kahn told them they should come back, immediately. However, they didn’t come back. When someone did come back, it was about thirty years later, and was with only a couple missionaries.

Christian historians consider that one of the major missed opportunities in the history of the world. What would have happened, if a hundred missionaries had gone back to China in 1271 A.D. and spread the Christian faith? It is a missed opportunity, never to be had back again.

I was reading the other day about a pastor who went to visit someone who was in the hospital. He was a young man who was dying. He had fallen away from his faith. When he went to the hospital, the young man’s family told the pastor, "Oh, you probably better not bring up issues of faith, the first time you meet with him, because it might turn him off."

So, the pastor went in and met with this young man. He talked about sports, politics, and the weather. He figured the next day he would come back and talk about spiritual things. So, he left without talking to him about spiritual things. During the night, that young man died. And that was a lost opportunity, never to be had back again.

Our scripture reading, for today, says this, to you and me. It says,

"Be very careful, then,

how you live –

not as unwise

but as wise,

making the most of every opportunity."

And then, it explains why.

"Because the days are evil."

There is a battle going on, as we speak.

The battle is for your heart, your soul,

a battle for the hearts and souls of the children who live in your home,

a battle for the heart and soul of your husband, your wife.

There is a battle for the heart and soul of the person who lives next door to you.

The Bible tells us

"the days are evil."

Consider what comes into your home, the constant, incessant battle, and how evil the days are. The devil is relentless in his pursuit of the souls of the people who live in your household. The devil has wrapped his fingers around the things that are most attractive to the people in our households. What is it that attracts our children? TV, movies, songs on the radio, computer games, video games, and the computer. And what has Satan wrapped his fingers and tentacles around? He has sunk his fingers so deeply into all of those things. And whether it be you, or your children, or your spouse, or the people who live next door,

"the days are evil."

Consider how Satan, relentlessly, through those things, tries to teach the world that ‘sin is acceptable, sin is ok, sin is inviting.’ He tries to wear us down day, by day, by day, so that in the end he can win the battle and steal away your soul, your neighbor’s soul, your son’s soul, your daughter’s soul, your husband’s soul, your wife’s soul.

"The days are evil."

We are blind, if we don’t believe that, and we don’t see that. And so, our scripture passage tells us to make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

You and I need to understand that we are literally fighting a spiritual battle

for life and death,

for ourselves,

for the people in our household,

and for the people who live next door to us.

Have you

made the most of every opportunity?

Are you,

with all seriousness,

fighting that spiritual battle?

In our scripture reading for today, the actual Greek words for, "making the most of every opportunity", if you translate them literally in Greek, they actually say, "purchase the time."

If you could go twenty years into the future and look back into your life, right now as a parent, what do you think twenty years from now? You would look back and say, "Boy, if only I could live that time over. If only I could just buy those hours, those moments back. If only I could just purchase those, and then go back and undo what I did."

If I were a husband or a wife, looking back twenty years on my life, I might say, "If only I could purchase that hour, that moment, that day, if only I could purchase it back again, and do it over. What would I do differently?"

Our scripture reading says, "Purchase the time." Use your moments, your days, as very, very precious gifts that God has given to you. How many parents look back into their lives and wish that they could purchase the time? How many parents, once their kids grow up, look back and think to themselves, "Now, look at what has happened. I was so busy with life, that my children never learned the basics of the Bible. My children don’t know who Moses was and why he was significant in the Bible. My children don’t know Bible history. They don’t know who Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were, and why they were significant. They don’t know who Samuel and Eli were. They don’t know about the history of the early New Testament Church from scripture. They don’t know those things. They can’t learn from the past mistakes of people in the Bible, nor can they learn from what happened in scripture and how those people were strengthened in their faith, because I never took the time to teach them, or see to it that they were taught Bible history. And now, it is too late to undo that."

Scripture says,

"Purchase the time."

Treat it today, right now, as if it is a critical opportunity. How many parents look back and say, "If only I could have those days back. I was so wrapped up in issues of lifestyle, lifestyle choices. I wanted a certain kind of house. I wanted a certain kind of car. I wanted certain kinds of clothes. I wanted certain kinds of entertainment. I spent my time, extra hours at work so that I could have those things. As a result, I did not spend as much time with my children as I should have. They spent their time in front of the TV, or the computer. And what came into their hearts and into their minds? We did not spend the time around the table the way we should, with family devotions, or building ourselves up in our Christian faith. And I did not spend the money I could have, on Christian education, because other things, other lifestyle decisions were more important to me. And now how I wish I could undo the time and make the most of the opportunity that I have."

How many spouses look back twenty years ago and think to themselves, "If only, if only I could purchase those days and those hours, again. If only I could go back and sacrificially live a Christian life for my husband or my wife. If only, instead of coming home from work and sitting down in front of the TV, I could do the dishes for my spouse. I could fold the clothes. I could sit down and talk with them about their day and let them know I love them. If only we could go back twenty years ago and study God’s Word together, in our homes, and pray together in our homes. Things may be so much different than they are today."

Oh, the mistakes.

We cannot go back and undo the past.

And all of us, here in this room, are convicted by our past.

We have missed so many opportunities, opportunities in our homes to have God’s Word in the center of our home, to speak about God, when we sit down, when we walk along the way, when we lay down, and when we get up (as scripture tells us).

We have missed so many opportunities to live our Christian faith at home.

We have missed so many opportunities, so many opportunities to tell our neighbor about Jesus.

We can’t go back and undo that. We stand convicted. We stand convicted of an improper use of time.

"The days are evil."

What has come into our lives, or our children’s lives, or our neighbor’s lives, because we have missed those opportunities?

And, what do we do? The only thing we can do is go to our Savior. The only thing we can do is go to our Savior, in repentance, in repentance over our misused parenthood, our misused spouse hood, our misused opportunity as neighbors.

One of the best illustrations I have ever heard about what Jesus does in our lives is from a pastor friend of mine. In his Confirmation Class he gives the students two big, pieces of paper - two big, blank, pieces of paper, which he tapes up on the wall. Then he says, "I want you to go up to one of those pieces of paper and write your name across the top of that piece of paper."

And so, they write their name on the top of that paper.

Next he says, "I want you to write down every sin that you can think of, that you have committed, that troubles you, or bothers you. And, nobody is going to look at that piece of paper, except you."

He says, tentatively, they start to write. Pretty soon they are writing down all kinds of things in little letters that no one can read, because they don’t want anyone else to see them.

Then he says, "On the other piece of paper, I want you to write the name of Jesus."

And so, they write the name Jesus across that piece of paper.

"Now on that piece of paper, I want you to write down every sin that Jesus ever committed."

And they all stand there, because Jesus lived a holy, perfect, spotless life.

Then, he tells them, "I want you to look at your piece of paper. You deserve to go to Hell. You deserve to go to Hell, because of what is on your piece of paper. But, here is what I want you to do. I want you to take a scissors, and then I want you to leave your name up there, but cut off all of your sins that you wrote down."

So, they take a scissors, and cut off all the sins that they committed.

Next, he says, "I want you to go to Jesus’ piece of paper. Leave His name up there, but I want you to cut off His perfect life."

After they do that, all that is up there is their name and Jesus’ name.

Finally, he says, "Now what I want you to do is switch the lists. Put Jesus perfect life under your name and put your sins under Jesus’ name. That is what the Bible teaches."

God made Him, who had no sin, (Who is that? That is Jesus), God made Him, who had no sin, to be sin for us.

He took our list of sins, every missed opportunity, every wrong decision, every chance that we have blown, as a sin against God, He took all of our sins, as His own.

God made Him,

who had no sin,

to be sin for us.

As a result, our Savior, having taken our sins, suffered our punishment. He went to the cross. He paid for your sins. He paid for your sins and they are blotted out, (as scripture tells us). God will remember them no more. Your history, your past history, (yesterday, and 20 years ago), it is erased. God does not see it anymore, in Christ.

In fact, what does He see? God made Him who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. God has given Jesus’ holy life to you as a free gift. And God sees you as if you have lived a holy, perfect life, yesterday and twenty years ago, for Jesus’ sake.

As a result, you are heaven-bound, heaven-bound, by grace, by mercy, for what Jesus has done! That is the motivation, Brothers and Sisters, to cause us to go forward, from this day forward and say, "Because of what my Savior has done for me, from today forward, I want to live, not as unwise, but as wise. I want to make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

As Christian parents, knowing what our Savior has done for us and for our children, let us make the most of every opportunity. We can never, ever have God’s Word in our children’s lives too much. Let us find the opportunity

to bring our children to church,

to bring our children to Sunday School,

to bring our children to catechism,

to bring our children to Christian Day School,

and especially to sit down around our tables in our homes, and have discussions about Jesus our Savior, and His Word in our homes.

Let us devote ourselves to making the most of every opportunity.

As husbands and wives, let us devote ourselves to making the most of every opportunity. Let us commit ourselves to making the most of every opportunity, for the sake of what our Savior has done for us and for our loved ones, because the days are evil. Let us commit our lives to living out sacrificial lives of love for our husband, or our wife.

"I can’t make my wife go to Heaven, or my husband go to Heaven, but I can put everything at their disposal, to make it possible.

I am going to lay down the Word of God in front of them, in my home.

We are going to go to church.

We are going to use God’s Word.

We are going to use opportunities to study the Bible, so that we grow in our faith, in Christ, as our Savior."

Let’s make the most of every opportunity.

Let’s make the most of every opportunity with our neighbors. The days are evil. They are being influenced by so many things, and could easily be Hell-bound. Let us make the most of every opportunity to talk to them about our Christian faith in Jesus, as our Savior. If we don’t do it, who will? No one else might.

Let us make the most of every opportunity.

Our scripture reading uses this example. It says,

"Do not get drunk on wine,

which leads to debauchery."

Is getting drunk making the most of every opportunity? Is it? What happens when you get drunk? You make bad choices, bad decisions. That is what debauchery is. And, you don’t make good decisions on how to treat your husband, your wife, your children, or your neighbor. You don’t make good decisions about having God’s Word in your home. You sin. You wake up the next day tired, and unable to perform at work, and make the most of every opportunity God has given you. And so, our scripture reading says,

"Don’t get drunk on wine,

which leads to debauchery.

Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Speak to one another

with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

giving thanks to God the Father for everything,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

That is an example of making the most of every opportunity! Singing the hymns, the psalms of God, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord!

Why do we sing hymns, here at church? We are speaking to one another. We are making the most of every opportunity!

Hymns are God’s Word,

put to music.

When we sang the hymns, earlier this morning, were you making the most of every opportunity? Were you listening to those words? Were you listening to your fellow Christian sing them to you? Were you being built up in your faith? And, were you witnessing your faith to those around you?

I have a friend who grew up in a home, where every evening at supper time, they had family devotions. First, they would read a section of scripture. Next, they would talk about that section of scripture. They would then say Martin Luther’s evening prayer. And then, they would sing a hymn.

My friend grew up in a neighborhood where all the kids loved to play baseball. One day, when it was summertime, all the kids were playing baseball, before supper. The neighborhood parents started to call the kids in, to come to eat. And so, the kids agreed they would get back together at my friend’s house, after supper, to play some more baseball.

As supper was ending, my friend and his family were sitting around the kitchen table. They were having their devotion, saying Martin Luther’s evening prayer, and singing a hymn together, that they had learned in Christ. Some of the kids were already done eating and were making their way to my friend’s house. Since it happened to be summertime, the screen door was open to their home. As the first kid who got there stood on the front porch, he could hear through the screen door, the whole family singing a hymn!

Another friend came walking up the sidewalk, yelling, "Hey, Freddie!"

Freddie said, "Shhh! They are having church in there." They’re having church in there!

There was a family who was making the most of every opportunity!

"Be very careful, then, how you live,

not as unwise,

but as wise,

making the most of every opportunity,

because the days are evil."

Amen.