SUNDAY MARCH 7TH, 2021

MEMORY VERSE: - “Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, wither thou goeth” (Ecclsiasist 9:10).

INTRODUCTION: -God has entrusted to each and every one of us with the same amount of time – 24 hours each day to use as wise stewards. But today, a lot of men and women are over booked, over scheduled and over committed, not having enough time to use to do His good pleasure for us on earth. God demands our stewardship not only of our tithe and talent but also our time. Imagine, you have a bank account being credited, each morning with N86, 400 that allows no carried over balancing from day to day. You are allowed to keep no cash in the account, and every evening whatever part of the amount you failed to spend during the day is cancelled, what would you do? You, would of course, draw out every cent every day, and use it to your advantage. Well, you have such a bank, and it is called TIME!

Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds and every night it rules off as lost whatever of it you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance; it allows no overdraft or loan. Each day, it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day’s deposit, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.

God gives each of us enough time daily to accomplish His purpose for us. If we don’t have enough time, it is not that God has not given us enough but that we need to redeem time.

1) Time Is Precious, Redeem It Now

When people say, they are buying time, it is really a wrong usage because time cannot be bought, and the supposed buyer is only wasting it. A time lost or wasted cannot be bought back. Just as you cannot bring back yesterday to re-live it all over again. Neither can you hold back the hand of the clock, but you can strive to regain lost grounds. To do this, you must:

a) Learn to translate every event that happens in your life into a positive one and stop being a slave to your past. Leave you past (whether it is shame or glory, failure or success, bitter or sweet). Strategize for your future and live a better life (Phil.3:13 – 15).

b) Ask Questions: Whenever you get confused or at a crossed-road, ask questions. If you don’t ask questions, you will never learn. After-all, a man who asks for direction does not miss road.

c) Make a Move: Take a step of faith no matter how little. After all a journey of a thousand kilometers begins with a step. If you don’t move, you remain stagnant. If you don’t move, God will not move for you. It is only the man that refuses to take a step that remains on a spot. Every river that flows is pure and habitable for aquatic life but stagnant water stinks and unsuitable for life (Exd.14: ).

d) Believe in Yourself: If you don’t believe in yourself you cannot believe in God, neither can you achieve your life’s dream (Isa.7:9). So get Professional and tell yourself daily “I CAN” (Phil.4:19).

e) Don’t Be Afraid of Taking risks: The fact is if you don’t experience the worst situations, you cannot experience the best corners of your life. A man who is afraid of seeing the night can never see the breaking of a new day (Gen.8:22). So feel good during the dark times and make efforts to get the best results. Your efforts may sometimes fail, but never fail to make efforts. Great things sometimes came late. So always believe in yourself and in your dreams and you will definitely excel.

One extra effort towards your dream sometimes makes all the difference. The only difference for ordinary and extra-ordinary is the word “extra”. Just that extra effort can make you extra-ordinary. Champions are not different from you, they only hold on a little longer.

f) Inside you lay the power to achieve anything your heart desires and around you are limitless opportunities. So, stand up and make that move to your next level.

g) Remember, every second counts for everyone that would excel. If you can do it tomorrow why not do it now. Procrastination is a thief of time, so don’t postpone till tomorrow what you can do today (Eccl.9:10).

Whatever you conceive you can achieve. Just as God has time and pressure to effect change in the nature, you also use your time wisely and judiciously. Be consistent and unrelenting and you will surely achieve your goals.

1. Is it possible to regain lost time?

2. What are the steps to take to regain lost ground?