How many of you, have ever said “I wish I had the time to do this or have done that?” Maybe you’ve said, “If I could only get back that time I wasted.” What is so ironic about that internal conversation is that taking the time to think about how you wish you would have taken time to accomplish something is in itself a waste of time, if you don’t reconcile a way of redeeming the waste. When I received Christ as my Saviour, got baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, as a young person I was still youthful, and began to do things that weren’t conducive to my spiritual walk. Then as I matured in Christ, I began to say in reflection back, “Oh if I could have those youthful days over again, I would serve the Lord in my youth and have the time to do this or that.” Some things you can’t recover. If you did things that lead to this or that decision, due to the environment and mind set you had, if you had the life to live over in the same environment, you’d make the exact same decision, because its due to certain constraints in your life, thereby repeating that episode all over again. That is why its so important that in order to bring our lives into some type of control and stop dwelling on the events and situations of our past understand this: there are things you can’t recover.

A. Virginity. Can’t be recovered.

B. A word that has been said. Whatever intent behind the word whether kind or evil cannot be taken back, and has no strings attached to them. The Word of God says that we will be given account of every idle word that comes out of our mouths.

C. An event after its over. Once its over its over. You can’t recover that.

D. Youth after you have grown older. Can anyone recover their youth? No, its gone. Oh if you’re 20. “I wish I was 15.” If you’re 30. “I wish I was in my 20s.” If you’re 40, you wish you could go back to your 30s. Oh how sweet to go back to those moments. But when you were living them, you did so frivolously. You can’t recover that.

E. Time after it has passed. Do you remember those things? We need to maintain that in our heart that if its already done, its done. It has been racked up in a list in Heaven, giving an account of everything you’ve done in your life. Summation is either everlating life or not, heaven or hell. You are going to give an account. If he knows the number of hairs on our head, then the very idle work or act you do is being registered to your name. Are you a time redeemer? Can you redeem your time?

If you remember these sayings, it might help you move past the past. But you can redeem time, but not in the state that time is viewed as, as in passing of occurrences, thoughts, movements, moments in existence. You can’t recover that form of time, but in the true sense of the word redeem. Redeem means to compensate for faults or a bad aspects of something; to save, rescue, vindicate, reclaim, regain, repossess or rescue. Simply trying to get back where you started. To reunite yourself with you. To reunite yourself with you. If we use the words I just mentioned in a sentence, it would sound something like this: Save means from me. You are your own worst enemy. That is redeeming. I need to be vindicated from my past. Sometimes your past becomes your future, it haunts you because you never forget the things in your past. Not forgiving you for what you’ve done has been a problem for the Saints and the world. I will reclaim my life. Whose life is it? Its yours. Do you want someone to keep your life from you? Regain. I must regain who I am. A lot of us are walking around today and they don’t know where they’re going or how to get to where they don’t know they’re going. Repossess. I need God or Jesus in my life so that I can repossess my soul. Some of us have given our souls to Satan, doing his work everyday. But I need to have the knowledge of the Kingdom to repossess my soul. Sometimes we do things unconsciously not realizing we’re giving ourselves to something evil, then afterward we try to build ourselves back up to regain who we are. You’re soul is who you are. Not your name. The name is the expression of someone’s outward expression of who you are. The Word of God tells us not to be afraid of someone who can destroy the body, but body and soul, then cast it into hell.

¹³ But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; ¹⁹ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; ²⁰ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Ephesians 5:13-20

Add the words I just spoke into verse 16.

¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶ Save the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶ Rescue the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶ Vindicate the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶  Reclaim the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶  Regain the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶ Repossess the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁶ Rescue the time, because the days are evil.

All these words are telling you to grab a hold of the time you have, to utilize for your walk in Salvation, and bring others along with you, so they can be inspired to follow Christ. This is the time that we’ve spent doing frivolous things, so we can regain, hold and repossess our own souls for the work of the Kingdom. God is not just saying that, He is not mocked, whatever a man sows that shall he reap. Reclaiming the time. I need to reclaim that time, reclaim my life, regain who I am, vindicate my past, and I need to save me from me. The days are evil. Its getting harder and harder to maintain who you are. If you get caught up in society, they’ll possess your soul and you’ll try your best to be running after your own soul. If you do the things of the world, then the world dictates to you how you should live. Without God in our lives we can’t repossess what was stolen from us. He will restore the years that the canker worm has stolen from you. Worms take little bites here and there that weaken the structure. Its the seeds that people place in your lives that slowly eat at you, and you don’t realize until it confronts you and you can’t combat it because you’re broken down inside, eating at your self-will for a period of time. Then you don’t have the strength to say no. You can’t always allow people to conduct your life. The Word of God gives you advice on how to live holy before God. Your soul is not like a car where when you get done, you go and give it to the junk yard and get a new one. A name doesn’t dictate who you are, but a name is what people see you as. That name isn’t who I am. Who I am is what God says I am. He is the possessor of my soul and He should be of your soul. Whatever He says to do you should do, not what you want to do because it was you who got yourself in the mess in the first place.

People try to bring up excesses for how their life is going in the wrong direction. We blame everyone except ourselves. We don’t want to face who we really are. Redeeming who and what you really are is to ask the Lord to save you from you. I need to reclaim who I am and what I am because the world has told me I was “this,” but they don’t know the real you because they aren’t directors of souls like God, they only direct the outward person. They hope that directing the outward person will cause the inward person to follow along. You look at people who are recovering from drugs or alcohol. They profess they are not alcoholics or drug addicts. The act doesn’t justify who you are. You allow the possessor to control who you are. We allow the wrong thing to take control of us, guiding us doing things that we shouldn’t do. Its appealing to your flesh, not to your soul, common sense, or who you are. People adjust their life to the things they like; To possess or gain what that thing brings to their emotional standpoint in their walk. Some in the Church will say “I like going out to hear prophetic sayings from other pastors.” Why? “Because I need someone to tell me what I should be and where I should go.” Satan will tell you anything your flesh desires, to cause your heart to waver. We need to get a grip on who we are, redeem who we are, because these days are evil. There are little things catching you up easily. The normal superficial things we see; arguments, anger, places we like to go, things we like to watch, books we like to read…these are superficial things, but it goes deeper. The superficial things are keeping what is really going on with you camouflaged. We need to redeem ourselves from ourselves, be vindicated of our past, reclaim our lives, regain who we are, and we need God in our lives so we can repossess our souls. Satan knows how to work you externally, but not via your soul. He doesn’t know how to get to your soul because its off limits to him, but he can get you by the things you are influenced by. If he jacks you up externally, your soul will suffer. The Lord said “cast your cares on Me because I care for you.” He says there is no need to worry. But when Satan gets us to worry or get angry, it disturbs our soul, and we can’t get righteousness to flow in us because we’re upset. Satan knows what button to push in our lives to get us to come out of Christ.

¹² Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12 -14

They are things that are called baggage. We don’t forget the baggage, but we carry it forward in our lives, and wonder why we keep suffering from the same things in the past. Anything that you tie to yourself that is behind you will always hold you back. Past sins, desires, lifestyles or people. You can’t keep living in the past because everything there smells. David said, I was young but now I’m old. But one thing I do remember is that never have I seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. When you were young leave what you did in the past there, and don’t bring it to your future. Many are caught living in their past. Wondering why they never got over that old relationship, constantly bringing it to the front in the new relationship. Forgetting those things behind me. This is the process of redeeming the time. You are a redeemer because you forget those things behind you, thus reclaiming you. How many want to reclaim who you are? I need to be vindicated of my past, because its holding me back like an anchor on a ship, and I can’t move forward. A person who continues to allow the anchor of their past to hold them down, will never have a bright future. If you are in a place today you’re hard pressed to get out of, just look at your past.

How long halt you between 2 opinions. Some of us get saved, and baptized in the name of Jesus, and we tell ourselves that we’re now going to walk in the light; in whatever God brings our way and use it for our walk. As soon as we start walking, Satan brings all the people up from our past. That is why the first word for the definition of redeem is “save.” We are our own worst enemy and need to saved from ourselves.

¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; ¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Ephesians 6:13-16

Even though the days are evil, we have the whole armor that we may be able to withstand in those evil days, having done all we can do, stand! Hold your ground, you are a Child of God, and have been made the head and not the tail. These are the evil days. Stand for what you believe. The armor needed is already with you. Guard your loins with truth, a breastplate of righteousness to guard your heart, and have peace on your feet. The little darts of Satan are those who belittle and put you down that cause you to question who you are. But if you have faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, then you will stand, unmovable, always abounding in the love of God.