Perhaps one of the worst errors in the Western church is the misuse of time.

I have been continually amazed that the church in the East has the ability to mobilize a large number of people on short notice. The first time I traveled to Romania, I preached in a major city on Sunday but had no place to preach Monday evening. On Monday morning, the pastor of the church where I had preached phoned a pastor in a nearby town and arranged for me to preach that evening. I thought no one would come on such short notice. The church was packed. People stood outside and around the windows, listening to God's Word.

Affluence and materialism have stolen from us that most precious commodity. Much of our lives are wasted before the television set.

Television in communist countries is controlled by the government. In Eastern Europe, it speaks much of the time from a completely false view and, therefore, the church has not been captivated by it.

Many believers in the West are too busy either climbing the ladder of material success or reclining in the easy chair of home entertainment. We must be disturbed enough by the Holy Spirit to move out of our comfort zones. We must awaken if we are to reach this generation for Christ.

Two realities will arouse us: the threat of death and the imminent return of Christ. Most of us feel that we have plenty of time left. We have surrounded ourselves with a false sense of security.

None of us can presuppose that we have even one more day to live. And we'll have to give an account of our lives when we die. Many of us will be embarrassed to say, "Well, I watched countless hours of TV." Others will say, "Lord, I made hundreds of thousands of dollars." God will say, "What did you do of eternal value?"

Ken Leeburg, the attorney in Germany I mentioned previously, was the best friend I ever had. He wasn't only my jogging partner, but he also dreamed with me of reaching the world for Christ. We spent hours praying and talking together.

Ken was a picture of health. He was 36 years old and had a beautiful family. I was shocked when he was killed in a freak automobile accident. Questions ran through my mind. Here was a man who loved God. He had a vision for the world. He was an outstanding Christian, a great husband and father. Why did he have to die?

It doesn't matter if we live to be 36 or 100, life is short. We'll all die and give an account of our lives. After Ken's death, I determined that the sum total of my life would be given to things of eternal value.

The Scripture exhorts us to redeem "the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). There's an urgency about the gospel. The eternal destiny of mankind hangs in the balance.

Many Christian acts I do on earth I will also din in heaven. I pray. I will pray in heaven. I sing. I will sing in heaven. I serve God. I will serve God in heaven. There's one thing I won't be able to do in heaven: bring the lost to Jesus. It will be too late. My heart must be set aflame for the lost now. We must all be about our Father's business.

The other truth that should drive us out of our easy chairs is that Jesus is coming again. The last night of an evangelistic meeting in Romania, a young person gave a note to one of our team members. Hundreds were gathered around our van, and we wept as we pulled away from those precious people. A teenager reached in with the note, "Please, read it." It simply said, "Jesus is coming soon!"

Christians in the West spend a lot of time debating the theological ramifications of His coming. In the East, they live in anticipation of it.

We need to learn to long for the coming of Jesus. Anticipate His coming, not by debate but by practice. We need to be on the streets, in the workplace, and throughout the neighborhoods calling people to Jesus. We need to live as though Jesus would come today.

Some may argue that Paul and the early Christians anticipated the coming of Christ, and He didn't come in their generation.

Yet Paul and other early Christians shook the Roman Empire for the glory of God. Perhaps if we anticipated the imminent return of Christ, we would shake Western civilization for His glory!

Awake, Christian! Life is short! Christ is coming! Redeem the time!