Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Okay, here is one of my un-favorite sentences, "I guess we have to go to the emergency room!" I'm glad the emergency room is there, but I hate to go there. I remember one time our son had a mild stomach disorder and we knew it had to be checked out. Actually, we went late at night when it really gets busy. I guess it was rush hour for sure that day we were there. We had already waited for a while and finally they noticed us. They began to give some attention to our son, and then suddenly all the doctors and nurses vanished. I'll tell you why. There was a word that had been sounded across that emergency room - "STAT" - and everybody came running to an accident victim. It was a severe situation. It was life or death. "Stat" means it's time to drop everything.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stat Living."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians 5, and I'll begin reading at verse 15, "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Some of these words about how you live come out a little differently in the King James when it talks about "walking circumspectly." In other words, you're looking around looking at everything carefully, and it says if you are doing that you'll live smart. You'll be wise, you won't be unwise. What does it mean to live wisely? It's buying up the time, redeeming the time, and making the most of every opportunity. Why? Because the days are evil. You can tell how smart a person is by how they use their time. There's no time to waste. That's the attitude of a truly wise person. Why? Because the days are evil. That word "evil" in the original Greek language of the New Testament means sick and in poor rotting condition. We are living in a sick and dying world. If you'll look around, if you're wise, you'll be able to see that the people around you are dying people unless they know Jesus. Your school is an emergency room, your workplace, your neighborhood - it's an emergency room, and people are terminal there without Christ.
If you've ever heard that Gospel song "People Need the Lord," you ought to put some names in there. I think it's time we say, "Jimmy needs the Lord. Jennifer needs the Lord. Sue needs the Lord. My boss needs the Lord." Put names in there. I think when you look at the Biblical predictions, it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of time left on God's clock. Besides, God gives you only 70 years to live a life that will count for a hundred million years. You might not even have the 70, so you can't waste a day. Our attitude is to be one of living urgently. Not making everyone else tense around us, but having a sense of the importance of every day. "Numbering our days," as the Bible says, "to apply our heart to wisdom." So each conversation needs to count for something; each opportunity, each relationship. Buying up the time is what the Greeks said, like a shopper who would grab the last item on sale.
I remember a lady who said to me, "Ron, I have to make up for a lot of lost time." She said, "I wasted 30 years on soap operas." But now she wants to buy up the time. She's thinking wisely. It's time to evaluate. What are the time wasters in your life? This is war, man. You can't mess around with trivial pursuits when the bullets are flying. God is looking at your world, the people around you; and He's yelling, "Stat!" throughout the emergency room. It's life or death! It requires an immediate response. It's time to live not casually, but urgently.