Speaker(s): Thomas Schaller, Steven Scibelli
Sermon 12331
6:30 PM on 7/3/2022

P. Scibelli –

See how we pass that baton? It’s amazing. Could you put up on – is anybody back there? I can’t see. Ephesians 5:14,
my Bible is actually too small to read until I get my new glasses and I don’t even know if I’ll be
able to do it then. Is it there? Vs. 14. Okay.

I want to do a few verses here. Wow. Sleeping and being dead. Give me another verse. Vs. 15.
That word means you walk with precision. You walk precisely. I think P. Schaller said it today.
You walk circumspectly means like walking on a bar, like something they use in the Olympics.
What do they call those things? Huh? Yeah, you’re walking and below is cut grass and you’re
walking barefoot. Walk circumspectly. AKRIBOS is the word.

Give me the next verse. Vs. 16. Amen. I think he mentioned that verse this morning. I thought
about this verse this afternoon. Sometimes they have these really old coins and old bills in
countries in different parts of Africa. I go in there and say, can I exchange this? They say, sorry.
That stuff is old. We don’t use that anymore so I can’t redeem it. I get frustrated. It’s just money
anyway, but the Word of God is telling us to redeem the time.

The word actually reflects the market. Going into the market place, the agora, and buying
something and then bringing it out. Going into the market, the market of this life and
purchasing something and taking it out with you. Redeeming the time cause the days are evil.
Not only are the days evil, man is evil. He has an old sin nature. Not only are the days evil and
man is evil, but the world is evil. Obviously we also know the days are evil, man is evil, the
world is evil – that’s Galatians 1:4 – but the devil is evil.

So, we are living in an atmosphere of evil but don’t fear. Okay. Hello? Is that good news
tonight? Don’t fear cause God is with us. He wants us to redeem the time, to buy it back the
time. Sometimes I get my calculator and I try to figure out how many hours I have left to live.
And then isn’t that ridiculous? I mean come on. You could be gone tonight. It’s like I don’t know
some games I play with calculators. When you’re on airplanes you have nothing to do for 18
hours, you come up with all kinds of ideas of things to do. But he says redeem the time.
Redeeming the time. How important this is.

It’s so easy for us to maybe not see the importance of time. I think as you get older, right? We
know it and there’s some people that know it. As you get older, like you kind of think more
about the days you are living in. When you are 20, 30 years old, you say ahh! I got all this long
life to live. We have an eternal life to live, but you start to think about how we use our days and
even our hours. I recognize we have 168 hours in every week. And if you work 40 of them and
sleep 56 of them, that’s a lot of time. That’s a lot of time. You say, oh, yeah but driving and
cooking and all of that. But it’s amazing how it’s so easy for me to waste time.

To waste time and maybe just do something. That’s not for me to get introspective and analytical in your mind thinking about the time. But he says redeem the time because the days are evil. To walk
circumspectly. To walk precisely. To walk with God.
I think that could be one of the great tools of the enemy. Okay, I can’t stop you. I tried to stop
you from getting saved, but now that you are saved, I think I just go away and leave you alone
for the rest of your life. No, that doesn’t happen. He would like for us #1 not to find a good
church. And then we have a good church. Amen. Then he would like for us if we have a good
church to waste time. Just not to use my time accurately and precisely and correctly.
Redeeming the time because the days are evil. And so, the redemption of the time that we
have on this earth. This is so important.

Colosssians 4:5 says the same thing. To redeem, redeeming the time. How do we redeem the time? He
gives you a number of things here. I wrote this down today. How I can redeem the time and
what does that mean, redeeming the time? #1. I want to walk wisely. I want to have a walk
that’s based on wisdom. That means I’m listening to the Word. I’m studying the Word. I’m
hearing the Word. And then I’m not just hearing it with my ear but I’m walking in the Word with
my life. I redeem the time by walking in wisdom. Walking in wisdom. Something personal.
Something precise. Walking in wisdom. That’s how I redeem the time.

#2. I redeem the time by receiving the will of God. Living in the will of God. What’s God’s will for
my life? By the way, we know there’s automatics in the will of God, okay. Study your Bible.
Receive the Word. Love one another. Be Spirit filled. All these things. There’s automatics that
we know about. Foundational automatics in God’s will. Be in a church. Give the gospel. I want
to know every single day what is God’s will for my life. What does that actually mean?
I was going one time to the conference. It might have even been France. I’m not so sure, P.
Jean. I was going there and I think P. Steve, were you with me there at that time? I think he was
with me. I got to the airport. I had my ticket. I had my luggage. I packed everything.

The Holy Spirit made it very clear. Don’t get on the plane. I said I’m going home. I’m going back to Linda.
I’m going back to my house. It was the will of God for me to not fly even though I was the
conference speaker. God, it was very clear to me, no. No. And there’s been very clear yeses.
When I thought no, God said yes. And when I thought yes, God said no.
Redeeming the time means really operating in God’s will. What is God’s will for my life? And it’s
interesting that the Word of God says the will of God – THELEMA – every time you see and MA
at the end of a Greek word it means the results of God. So, living in God’s will for my life. What
does that mean? I had everything all figured out. My wife and I and my family we were on the
way to Italy to be missionaries. 1984.

After graduating from Bible school and getting ordained.
Italy. We had actually rented a house in Milan. Imagine how large I would be right now if I lived
in Italy with all that pizza and all that food and what not. Although, it’s not as good as
everybody thinks it is. It wasn’t God’s will. God’s will was where? Africa.

I never prayed about it. P. Stevens said to me one time would you pray; would you think about
it or pray about Africa. I said, no. I’m not praying about it and I’m not thinking about it. No. Not
Africa. I worked in the inner city my whole life and I’m not going to Africa. You know what? If I
spent 20 years in Italy, I wouldn’t be redeeming the time. I would be wasting the time. Wasting
the time. So, it’s knowing what the will of God is. This is important. Redeeming the time.
What is God’s will? Operating in God’s Word with God’s wisdom, knowing God’s will and then
we all have an opportunity every day to be Spirit filled. To be filled with the Spirit. See right
after that verse 5:14, 15, 16 comes be filled continuously with the Holy Spirit. How can I redeem
the time if I’m not Spirit filled?

That means I come before God. It could be every moment of
every day and say, God, search me and, know me. I want to confess my sin. I want to agree with
you what’s going on and what I’m doing. Is it your will or is it something else? That’s how I
redeem the time. God’s wisdom, God’s Word, God’s will, being Spirit filled. These are so
important.

And then he says in Colossians 4:6 speaking a word of grace. That’s part of redeeming the time. The
words that we speak to each other they are words of grace. Seasoned with salt. Redeeming the
time. How much time I wonder in Christianity and in my own life could be just wasted. Just
wasted. I used to be able to sit – even when I was saved for the first few years – sit for hours
watching a football game. Please don’t take that wrong. If you are a Ravens fan, I don’t mean
you. But I can’t sit and watch things anymore for a long period of time. I get bored with it. I say
what am I doing right now? Am I redeeming the time?

I even used to think when I was growing up that sleep was a waste of time. Every night my
mother would come in when I was 6, 7, 8, 9 years old and she would say, are you sleeping,
Steven? I would be under the blankets with a flashlight reading. Reading comic books.
Superman. Aquaman. All those different comic books. Yeah, I’m sleeping, ma! I used to think,
what am I missing when I’m sleeping? I’ve come to realize that he gives his beloved what?
Sleep. He gives his beloved sleep. That verse corrected me.

Let’s be a people that as we look at the summer sometimes we think about the heat. We think
about the summer. We think about doing this and doing that. It’s very important for all of us
whether it’s summer, winter, fall or spring to be people who do what? Do what? Redeem the
time. Go into the market place and buy it back. Using it for God. Walking with God. Praying.
Thinking with God. Reading my Bible. Being around the Body of Christ. Being at church services
as much as possible. Redeeming the time. Why? I got an evil old sin nature. The world is evil.
The devil is evil. Evil is everywhere. Okay. Evil is everywhere but I redeem the time because
what’s out there is evil. (Prayer).

P. Schaller –

It’s very touching that group, huh? International students have blessed our church
this past year and through the years. It’s funny how when you see somebody on stage and you
say, I know their father. I know their mother, you know? And that’s like I know their
grandfather. I know their grandmother. That’s real.

So, I just want to share a testimony from Mark 10:30. I think I’ll use the Scriptures P. Scibelli used
also but let’s go to Mark. 10:30. This is all about God. My intention of sharing the testimony is to
glorify God. It’s all about God and his goodness to us. We had a beautiful service at 9:00. Oleg
shared and P. Scibelli shared. We had communion. I shared a bit and then at the 11:00, it was
Psalm 32. That message is resonating with me in my heart. I’m not doing it tonight but if you
want to hear a good message, that was Psalm 32. Just because of what it says. It was a really good
morning. We have been blessed so much, haven’t we? We’ve been blessed. Convention. All our
friends and what God has done and is doing.

Mark. 10:30. This is in the context of our wedding anniversary. My wife and I got married today
46 years ago! Yeah. And we were in the lawn in Lenox and beautiful sunny day. Dr. Stevens
married us. Bruce Brown was my best man, P. Bruce Brown. I remember that. The year before, I
went with the team to Finland. And I remember very clearly getting on the plane and
wondering, you know. Let’s just go. We’re going to Finland. I have no idea exactly how this is
going to work, but.

Read 10:30 with me. No, vs. 29. No, vs. 28. Now, let’s give Peter some credit here. He had a
fishing business. Whether big or small, we don’t know. He was a simple fisherman. We know he
had a mother-in-law. Undoubtedly, a wife. He left. He left real valuable stuff. He left his
community. He left the fishing. He left. And he said we have done that and we have followed
you. Then Jesus says, vs. 29-30. We love reading and I don’t know who could make this promise
but God. How could anybody have long life unless God gave it to them? How could anybody
have houses and a hundred fold the fishing business that you would have if you did not follow
Jesus? You do not follow Jesus and you have your boat and you have some fish and family, but
if you follow Jesus what will you get?

Again, I want to emphasize just to glorify God. My granddaughter was standing there on the
stage tonight and you know that. Where did she come from? I wasn’t married when I went to
Finland. I didn’t know and we don’t know. Can you organize your life? I like that message when
you go on the street and ask somebody. Ask a young person, 18 years old, can you organize
your life? Do you know where you will be when you are 25 or 30? Do you know how to make
decisions? Do you know what will happen to you? Yes, I have it all planned out. Yes. Many
people say no, I don’t. I cannot.

I do not know what will happen to me. Right. None of us do. None of us do. How many
missionaries – wasn’t there that brother Borden? Yeah, he died going to the mission field. Wasn’t it a tree? Was it a tree? No, he died of a fever or something. There was another story. A
guy going to the mission field and he was on a boat going up the river and there were people up
on the river, up the river in the village waving, so excited the missionary is coming. And a tree
on the bank of the river fell on the boat and killed the missionary. Wow. I didn’t think it worked
like that. The guy went to heaven. I don’t know. How can we figure this out?
But we are able to stand in front of everybody and just say there are so many people that can
say their life enlarged. Our life has enlarged itself. Our life, our hearts have gotten bigger, 2 Corinthians
6:12. Instead of a raisin, a grape. Shrinking into a raisin it expands into a balloon. The hearts of
believers. When we lose our life and Jesus comes into our life and we share the message and
people come and this is what he said, vs. 30. Yeah.

So, I remember Dr. Stevens preaching on this verse. This is why I turned to it. I remember it. I
remember where I was sitting. I remember as a young man making a decision in my heart. Can I
trust Christ with my life and just say, just say in my heart I’m doing it God. I’m trusting you God.
I believe this. You said it. Let’s see. I will trust you. The good news about us being alive and
being able to say these things from the Bible is that it’s not from us. This is from God. This is
what God says to us that if we lose our life, we gain it.

And this is a way of redeeming the time, isn’t it? By exchanging our life for his and him saying I
will give you – I was always fascinated when Dr. Steven would get a phone call. This is back in
the 70s. He would get a phone call from somewhere abroad. I would think wow. Somebody
from India or for from at that time El Salvador would call. And how in his heart he cared. It was
like mission. Let’s go into all the world.

At the time, we were in so few places but it was an increase that was coming from God. Jesus
said if you will follow me, you will not lack. I will give you stuff. I will give you mothers. I’ll give
you sisters, brothers. I’ll give you lands, buildings. I’ll give you an audience. I’ll give you an
audience with Caesar or with King Agrippa. I’ll put you in the Sports Power people. Bill Alexson
and the MBA players and the stadium in Hungary. So many things that happened where we had
an audience with people.

The president of Hungary came to our apartment. In the 1990’s the president of the country
came to our school and in the apartment upstairs we had a dinner for him and his wife. He was
the president of the country. What? I’m just a little guy from Rome, New York. I could have
never figured – I could have never done it. and then flying to Finland that first year, 1975, as a
single guy and now 47 years later flying there and my granddaughter is married a Fin who I
know his mom and dad and to think that she, they will be married and missionaries in Finland.
You know, that’s very cool.

And my wife and I just look at each other sometimes and we just say there’s no words to
explain what has happened in our lives. We’re broken by it. We’re shocked. We’re amazed.
Because it’s not about our family. it’s about God and his family. And these Finnish friends that
we’ve known for these decades have been the most amazing people. Wow. You couldn’t have
more loyal people, serious people, trustworthy people, you know. It’s amazing. God gave us
friends. Brothers and sisters.

Then we lived in Sweden. Same thing. For a short time in Sweden and then we moved to Lenox.
Then we were 9 years with Dr. Stevens in Lenox. Same thing. Then we moved to Hungary and
the same. I will give you sisters and brothers.

Then we traveled in the former Soviet Republic and went to – you know the names of all the
places cause we say them: Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. All these –
stans right? Except Afghanistan. We didn’t go there. We didn’t go to Pakistan. No, we didn’t go
there. Hindustan, India. Yes.

But you know those people – sometimes I say to brothers, where did P. Gromov come from?
Where did he come from? Where did Satellite come from? Where did Mike Plunkett come
from, you know. Where did Tim Flint and Janet, where did they come from? These people.
Where did they come from? They came from this, didn’t they? It’s the grace of God that has
come into our hearts and this is our life. This is our family. That’s why it’s hard to drive us out of
here even though the City of Baltimore tried. It’s hard to leave. Build a deck or meet on the
sidewalk. It’s hard for us to stop. Cause we have no interest.

Somebody said, do you have plan B? There is no plan B. It’s Mark 10:30. It’s plan A all the way.
It’s like give it up and trust and Jesus will fill us and teach us and give to us. Where did we get
the building in Hungary where we had Eurocon? We own that building. But where did that
come from? It came from God because of Mark 10:30. How come I had this Hungarian woman,
Marketta. She would meet me at the airport with like a little cold drink or something. You
know, meet us at the airport and she would give us a cold drink. She was so sweet. Where did
she come from? She was my mother and so on. This is Mark 10:30.

How about money? One time I went to India and I realized I had no money. I actually had $7. I
was ready at the customs. I knew they were going to ask me – this was like not the credit card
time but I just didn’t think about it because I’m always taken care of. I’m taking care of.
Somebody will meet me at the airport and take me where I go. And this kind of thing. So, I’m
going to have to tell the customs guy I don’t have any money. You came to India and you don’t
have any money? I was ready for that. I thought, this is crazy. This is Mark 10:30. This is a
mentality of living. I’m not saying we are to be irresponsible. I’m just saying we get used to
living in a certain life where we actually have seen God’s goodness pick us up at an airport. Put
us on a train. Help us go to sleep somewhere. Have a pulpit.

I remember in Poland in the Communist days we rented a house. It was like we stayed in this
big house. There were 25 of us I think. I just – they said where do you want to sleep? I said I can
sleep here at the pulpit. I can sleep on the platform. That’s okay. The women were sleeping
upstairs and the guys were sleeping downstairs. I just woke up in the morning and kind of rub
my face a little bit, and just turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 4! We slept and preached and slept and
ate and slept and preached and that’s how we lived. We have so many stories.

You can never pay to get the program that we have had. We have had such an amazing
program called life. Swimming in rivers and lakes and oceans. Sleeping in different places. Being
in places of danger. Being protected by God. Being provided for by God. Living the life of like
somebody who has everything but having nothing. But you actually end up having everything
and you go home and say Mark 10:30. Jesus did it. Long life maybe is going to be given to us.
Who knows but much happens when we put Jesus at the center of everything. It’s ridiculous to
cheat yourself by not having Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega. He is everything. He is
everything. He will do it.

Maybe you are worried about your life somehow. How it's going to end up. How it’s going to
go. It isn’t happening the way you thought it would or any number of these things. Don’t worry
about it. It doesn’t matter. It’s not about you and me. You will have great reward in heaven.
You are honoring your heavenly Father. You are walking in the Spirit. You are redeeming the
time. If you share one good message with one lonely person and help them in life, you are
benefiting the kingdom of God that is on the earth. It’s not far from anyone of us. It is in our
heart and in our mouth. The little thing I do when I bring a cup of water to somebody in the
name of a disciple has value. Our heavenly Father knows it.

Our seventy years on earth is short. Use your time. Redeem it and enjoy the ride. God is with
you. It’s beautiful. I lived some years – my wife and I made an agreement with Dr. Stevens in
how we would do Hungary. My family was living here in America. I was going back and forth. I
was commuting to work, going to Hungary on the airplane and staying there one time four
months without seeing my wife. Justin was with me at that time, at that year. He had one year
with me in Hungary. He was 15 years old I think. We were praying and my wife was amazing
because she’ s like behind me, behind me in what we are doing. Preaching.

And if I had a little whine in my voice, a little whining. I’m over in Hungary. I’m on the phone.
We would find a broken phone where we could make an international call for free. There would
be a line of our team members at that phone making phone calls. I would go there to that
phone and I would just say, Lisa, I love you. I miss you. Then I would say, are the muffins in the
oven? I can smell them. I want one of them. And she’s say, how many souls have you won
today? Well, that’s a good question. Well, what are you doing over there? Get with the
program. Stop your whining. There’s no muffins for you.

My wife is so gentle, so precious. You got to know her to know what I mean. We joke a lot but
she is amazing. She loves Jesus. She loves what we are doing. We met in Bible college. It was a
meeting from God. It was amazing, 46 years ago. I always tell her I would never be doing what I
am doing without you. You are behind me. You support me. You love me. You cared for me. You
have helped me. We have been fruitful by the grace of God and Mark 10:30 and I just praise
God for that.

That’s my testimony. My name is Tom Schaller! And I endorse this message! Okay. Okay. Would
you pray with me, please. And I endorse this message!

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