Seize the moment.
Trite saying for a crazy world or biblical principle?
Colossians 4:5-6:
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.
September 11th 2001 will go down in History as a day of terror a day of shock and a day when the innocence of the world was damaged forever.
It was a moment when some Muslim men seized the moment to murder and maim innocent people. They made a deliberate choice and were prepared to face the consequences.
About 2000 years earlier a man called Jesus Christ seized the moment when he was arrested in Jerusalem to change the world forever for good.
Jesus mindful of this moment in a garden called
Gethsemene, realised the awesome moment this was in his life.
He prayed for God’s strength to take him through the few intense hours that were to follow and he prayed about a possible plan B.
Luke chapter 22; 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
When there was no plan B presenting Jesus Seized the moment and changed the known world forever.
Throughout history since many men and woman have seized the moment for God and grown the Kingdom of God on earth.
The reason we have enjoyed a reasonably secure century and a half of history in this nation is becauswe our society was founded on a Christian style of government.
In the past Christian men and woman have seized the moment to attempt to build a Christian based society.
Current moves threaten to plunge the world into a new dark age of moral decline and brutal dictatorships.
We live on a precipice of history and the future will ultimately depend on brave Christian men and woman who seize the moment for God.
Little acts of bravery in the Christian faith produce great growth and fruit.
You know we need to seize the moment and act straight away the way God wants us too in situations.
In the following reading we notice that Jesus seizes the moment three times.
Three times we hear the word immediately in this passage.
MT 14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
MT 14:25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It’s a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
MT 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."
MT 14:28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
MT 14:29 "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
MT 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
MT 14:32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
In this great passage we learn three situations in life where we need to seize the moment that God has put before us.
This morning I would like to encourage you to consider these three seize the moment opportunities that God will surely give you:-
The first moment that Jesus seizes in this reading is the opportunity to spend time with God.
We live in a high pace world – Jesus did too!
He has had a frenetic day and he chooses to take the time to be alone with God.
He seizes the moment.
The scripture says.
Be still and know that I am God.
We need to learn to prioritise our time with God.
What do we do first?
Check in with God or check our answer machine and our emails.
Thomas Carlyle once said:- “The final question which each one of us is compelled to answer is, “Wilt thou be a hero or a coward?” This question constantly confronts us in one form or another. Faith is always confronted with a choice.
Not to seek time with God is a form of cowardice.
The choice we face as a Christian is shall I choose to spend time with my God or will I give into the world.
No matter how popular or good the pursuit – if it is not what God would have you do you have just taken the path of a coward.
It was one of the Wesley’s wifes who, surrounded by children, would pull her apron over her head to spend time with her God.
If you don’t have time for God – yet dare to tackle life without your God then you are taking the cowards way.
Jesus “Immediately” arranged things to spend time with God.
We too need to seize the moment.
The second immediately we find where Jesus seizes the moment is:-
MT 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."
MT 14:28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
MT 14:29 "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Picture the scene – Jesus is walking on the water.
It is not a thing we are familiar with.
It is the kind of thing that would fill us with fear.
The disciples are totally phased out they think Jesus is a Ghost and are full of fear.
Jesus understands – he takes the opportunity to encourage the disciples.
He expresses love and compassion and comfort.
We too need to seize the moment to offer God’s love to others.
Sometimes we miss valuable opportunitioes and God puts them before us all the time.
We often need to make a quick decision.
God will give us moments but we need to seize them.
Phillip Yancey talks of Millard Fuller a millionaire entrepreneur from Alabama who was rich but miserable, his marriage on the rocks he headed to Georgia where he fell under the spell of Clarence Jordan and the Koinonia Community. Before long, Fuller gave away his personal fortune and founded an organisation on the simple premise that every person on the planet deserves a decent place to live. Today Habitat for Humanity enlists thousands of volunteers to build houses all over the world. Fuller once explained his work to a skeptical Jewish woman. “Ma’am we don’t try to evangelise. You don’t have to be a Christian to live in one of our houses or to help us build one But the fact is I do what I do, and so many of our volunteers do what they do., inj order to be obedient to Jesus.
(What’s so amazing about Grace, pge 267.)
This man seized the moment.
I once knew a man who had a theory – Everything comes to him who waits.
He lived his live by this maxim.
He died waiting.
He never seized the moment.
Jesus always is – seizing moments.
Orison Swett Marden said, “There’s no greater sight in the world than that of a person fired with a great purpose, dominated by one unwavering aim.”
Thirdly:
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him
MT 14:29 "Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
MT 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
MT 14:32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
In this part of our reading Jesus reaches out and helps a man sinking because of lack of faith and the result of him acting immediately to what God wanted of him people recognise that he is the son of God.
The one desperate desire of my life is for people to see that Jesus is the son of God.
What causes it here?
What is the immediate action that Jesus takes?
He reaches out his hand to one who lacks faith.
God today is looking for people who will obey him and reach out to people who are sinking for lack of faith.
It is easy to lift people up in their faith.
Sometimes all it requires is a word.
Everyone – including Christians need encouragement at some time or another.
John the Baptist was in prison and in his earthly dungeon doubts must have crept in.
In the end he sends his disciples off to Jesus and asks him
"Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
MT 11:4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Jesus encourages John and that encouragement allows John to maintain His important Christian witness.
We need to seize the moment.
We live in a world that is topsy turvey.
Good standards are often vanishing and bad standards are often held up.
God hasn’t changed.
We need to be a people who seize the moments that God gives us.
Colossians 4:5-6:
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.
Smith Wigglesmith was an English Plumber who was greatly used by God.
But at one stage of his life his faith slipped and his heart greew cold towards the Lord.
During 1884 in Bradford in England it was cold and Smith Wigglesworth was very busy and consequently became prosperous.
But as his fire grew dimmer his wife Polly grew birghter and her zeal for God and her prayer life never wavered.
One night she came home from church a little later than usual. When she entered the house Smith remarked, “I am the master of this house, and I am not going to have you coming home at so late an hour as this!”
Polly quietly replied, “I know that you are my husband but Christ is my master.”
Greatly annoyed Smith opened the back door and forced her out of the house, locking the door behind her. But he forgot to lock the front door. So Polly walked around the house and came through the front door. Laughing! In fact, she laughed so much that Smith finally surrendered and laughed with her. In his laughter, a revelation came into his heart and mind, so he decided to spend ten days in prayer and fasting to seek the Lord. In desparate and sincere repentance, he found his way to the road of restoration.
All because his wife polly seized the moment.
You see she released through her courage, one of the great Christians of the 20th century.
Can I encourage you that, as a Christian, God wants you to seize the moment.
It was Peter and John who seized the moment the day they walked into the temple and were confronted by a begging man.
May you be the kind of Christian who seizes the moments God gives you.
feel free to contact us
jgullick@xtra.co.nz
The following summary is usaeful for an overhead presentation of the three points:-
To be with God – no matter what!
MT 14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
To encourage others.
MT 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."
MT 14:28 "Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
MT 14:29 "Come," he said.
To reach out your hand to one who lacks faith.
MT 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
