Time Management from a Biblical Perspective

you good evening as you probably already noticed I'm not Kyle Goodwin I'll save all the jokes on that for later but as we are starting to do on the fifth Sunday of the month we're are trying to get more of them involved and have you know a time set aside so that those that are willing and able are able to come up here into a give a portion of God's Word so that's what I will attempt to do this evening how many of you have ever heard the term carpe diem pretty much all of us right which means seize the day but what does that really mean especially what does that mean to us as Christians what does that mean to us in our daily lives another way of thinking about this is redeem the time dr. Seuss was once quoted as saying how did it get so late so soon I may be something I'm saying before then into the night is over but it's interesting this the subject of time throughout throughout the Bible did you know that the word time appears 785 times in the Bible it's obvious that it's a common theme throughout the Bible time is something that we're bound by but God is not so tonight I want to consider some points about time management from a biblical perspective and where we'll get our text tonight is from Ephesians chapter 5 if you would turn over there visions 5 starting in verse 15 and it reads look carefully then how you walk not as unwise but as wise making the best use of the time because the days are evil therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery but be filled with the spirit addressing one another in Psalms hymns spiritual songs singing and making melody in the Lord with your heart but well I want to want to focus on this evening is verse 15 and 16 look carefully then how you walk not as unwise but as wise making the best use of the time you know when we consider the subject of time there's there's things we have to start out with the first thing we have to start out with is we need to have an awareness of the time that we are given and we have to understand the purpose of why we are here it is equally important to discern from what is important and what is urgent I think a lot of times in our lives we're so focused on what needs to be done right now that we lose sight of what's important that needs to be done you know we can be reactive instead of proactive and sometimes I wonder if this is a tool that the devil uses against us you know if he keeps us so busy or we think that we're so busy with the things that are what we think are important are really not important and it draws us away from what God thinks is important and what we should do Jesus had a clear understanding of his time if you would turn to John chapter 7 verse six jesus said to them my time has not yet come but your time is always here also over in Luke chapter two if you'll turn with me over there Luke chapter 2 in verse 41 we'll see here that Jesus knew from a very young age the age of 12 actually what his purpose was here sir in verse 41 now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover and when he was twelve years old they went up according to custom and when the feast was ended as they were returning the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem his parents did not know but supposing him to be in the group they went on the day's journey but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances and when they did not find him they returned to Jerusalem searching for him after three days they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers listening to them and asking him questions and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers and when his parents saw him they were astonished and his mother said to him son why have you treated us so behold your father and I've been searching for you in great distress and he said to them why were you looking for me did you not know that I must be my father's house and they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them and when and he went down with him and came to Nazareth Nazareth and was submissive to them and his mother mother cherished treasured up all these things in her heart and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man in another point that I wanted to consider this evening is that time is valuable I have a poem actually that I want to read on this subject imagine for a moment that there is a bank that credits your account each morning with eighty six thousand dollars eighty six thousand four hundred dollars it carries over no balance from day to day every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during that day what would you do draw out all of it of course each of us has such a bank its name is time every morning at credits you with 86400 seconds every night it writes off as lost whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose it carries over no balance it allows no overdraft each day it opens a new account for you each night it burns the remaining of the day if you fail to use the day's deposits the loss is yours there is no going back there is no drawing against tomorrow you must live in the present on today's deposits invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health happiness and success the clock is running make the most of today so we see time is valuable but what makes something valuable think about some of the things that are valuable in this world let's think about gold for instance or how about potable water drinking water or how about diamonds what do all these things have in common their rarity the rarity in this and the simple fact that they can't be easily produced in most cases they can be produced at all we just have a certain amount of it and once it's gone it's gone time is the same way except time may be worth more even than all of these unlike money and tangible items we cannot save up time to use later we have what little we have now and that is all we have been given we are not promised a future if you would turn with me to James chapter 4 starting in verse 13 come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such in such a town and spend a year there and will trade and make a profit yeah you do not know what tomorrow will bring what is your life for your mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes the third point I wanted to make this evening as our time is a stewardship of God he has entrusted us to manage it wisely again we see that in Ephesians 5 and verse 15 and 16 and we also know that every good and perfect thing comes from God we just manage it while it has been given to us and this does include our time stewardship can also be translated as managing we must manage our money we manage relationships we manage our household and we can manage our time being a good steward also means managing our time appropriately he would turn in Psalm chapter 90 Psalm 90 verse 12 so teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom are you seeing a common theme here with wisdom and time teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom in other words make the most of our time in the days that we are given time can be a powerful tool and a huge detriment I'm sorry time could be a powerful tool or a huge detriment for those of you who are familiar with sports in football you see that all the time you know there's a time clock and if you're a head and your head by a lot and the time is few that could be to your advantage if there's still a lot of time and you're behind that can be to your advantage we can use a small amount of time over an extended period of time to achieve goals this would be a way that it would be to our advantage working out to get stronger to lose weight you know it wouldn't be advantageous for us to spend 12 hours every Saturday working out and no time during the week other than that there wouldn't be much gain in that but if you work out thirty minutes a day for you know six weeks you'll see some results there it doesn't always take a lot of time but it takes a concerted effort and it takes constant effort you could think about time as an investment if you deposit a small amount a day over a long period of time you can a treat achieve great things you see this all the time in sports and other activities gymnasts sprinters professional golfers you know not to embarrass their but one time Megan and I decided that she was going to learn how to play golf so we would have something we could share and play together in right and so we got her set of clubs and we went out to the driving range she took about three swings and said I don't like this and I said you know it's gonna take a little more time to get good at this she ended up missing you know the first three swings but you know time is something that anything we want to get good at anything we want to achieve we need to spend constant time in small increments over an extended amount of time in order to make that happen the flip side of that is however time can be an enemy to us as well the rich man and Lazarus is a good example of that let's turn to Luke 16 for that Luke 16 starting in verse 19 there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day and at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus covered with sores who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table moreover even the dogs came to lick his sores the poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham's side the rich man also died and was buried and in Hades being in torment he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side and he called out father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am in anguish in this flame by Abraham said child remember that your life time received your good things and Lazarus in like manner bad things but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish and besides all this between us and you is a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there to us and he said there then I beg you father to send him to my father's house for I have five brothers so that he may warn them lest they also come into the place of torment but Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them and he said no father Abraham but if someone goes to them from the dead they will repent he said to them if they do not hear Moses and the prophets neither will they be convinced by someone by convinced if someone should rise from the dead so the classic story in the Bible of someone who has come to the end of their time and just wants a little bit more let's hope that's not us procrastination won't work when it concerns our spiritual strength you know and when I was in college I frequently was a procrastinator when it came to writing papers and things and I always said it's because I'm a perfectionist and I knew it was going to take so much time and I just kept putting it off putting it off and finally I just had to do it so it forced me to to actually get it done but in reality I was just putting it off and not wanting to actually achieve the goal but you know our spiritual our spiritual beings our spiritual life we can't cram we can't just whip something together there at the end you know this is going to take again that investment of time that small increments of time daily throughout our lives in order to achieve the goal that we want to achieve it's an endurance race and it takes it takes hard work time itself is neutral it can be used either destructively or constructively more and more I let me back up this is a quote from Martin Luther King jr. time itself is neutral it can be used either destructively or constructively more and more I feel that the people of ill-will have used time much more effectively than have the people of goodwill we will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of good people human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to work and be co-workers with God and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation we must use time creatively in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right now how true is that in our lives today are we guilty of that as Christians today are we you know silent when we should be speaking up it takes hard work it takes courage but it's something that we need to make the best use of our time because it is so fleeting no neglect is another thing about time that's that's cumulative as well neglected is easy but it's also costly this will lead people away from God slowly over time so you might ask yourself why is this discussion important why why is the subject of time in the Bible of time management such an important discussion well this time has been given to us by God you know it's no different than the money or the the physical blessings that he's blessed us with this is something that he has given to us to use wisely and we're to be good stewards of what God has given us you can look no fartin if you have to look no further than the parable of the talents to see this example in the Bible and we also know that God gives all that is good and perfect including the very breath of life found in James 1 16 through 18 we must be ready for time to run out if you would turn to Matthew 24 starting verse 44 therefore you must also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect who then is the faithful and the wise servant whom his master has said over his household to give them the food at the proper time again we see this word wise with associated with time and being ready you know I think of the the parable of the virgins as another classic example of being ready for the time hopefully we are found doing what is good and what He wills when he comes again but we all know that death comes to us all in job 14 5 another quote that I came across when I was doing my study on this is uh from Stephen King time takes it all whether you want it to or not now choose that so another aspect of time is opportunities that we are given who will make the most of them us or the devil if you would turn to Luke chapter 4 Luke chapter 4 and verse 13 and when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time we see here that the devil is constantly searching and looking for an opportune time the time that he can tempt us to pull us away from what God would have us do on the flip side we also see opportunities throughout the Bible the one that I think thought of immediately was the Ethiopian eunuch he made the most of his opportunity when he saw water he asked what hinders me from being baptized and he was baptized right then and there he made that the best use of his time and he made the best of that opportunity that he was given if you would turn with me to Luke chapter 8 just a few pages over to Luke chapter 8 starting in verse four and when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him he said in a parable a sore went out to sow his seed and as he sowed some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot and the birds of the air devoured it and some fell on the rock and and as it grew it withered away because it had no moisture and some fell among thorns and thorns grew up and it mate and it choked it and some fell in good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold as he said these things he called out who has ears to hear let him hear and in verse nine and when his disciples asked him what this parable meant he said to you has it to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God but for others they are in parables so that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand now the parable is this the seed is the word of God the one along the path are those who have heard then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts so they may not believe and be saved and the ones on the rock are those who when they hear the word receive it with joy but they have no root they believed for a while and in time of testing fall away and as for what fell among the thorns they are those who hear but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and their fruit does not mature as for that in the good soil they are those who hearing the word hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience one of the questions I posed this evening to you tonight is which seed will you be which soil will you be planted in and will you produce a hundredfold no time is valuable and it's precious as right now and Joshua 24 14 through 15 he says choose you this day whom you will serve no it's it's there's no better time than right now to start making those small investments that are needed to accomplish the goals that you want to accomplish you can start small by hearing believing repenting and being baptized and for those who have already done so you can start making small deposits it's time to add up to a life investing in your future the time to do this is now so and all we are promised is right now got another poem that one I wanted to read I thought it's very powerful and I think I don't I don't know what came first there's a song about this and there's also this poem but it reads like this I I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend he referred to the dates on the tombstone from beginning to the end he noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears but he said what mattered most of all was a - between those years for that - represents all the time that they spent alive on earth and now only those who love them know what that little line is worth for it matters not how much we own the cars the house the cash what matters is how we live in love and how we spend our - so think about this long and hard are the things you'd like to change for you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged if we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real and always try to understand the way other people feel and be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before if we treat each other with respect and more often we're smile remembering that the special - might only last a little while so when your eulogy is being read with your life's actions to rehash would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your - you know God doesn't see time the same way that we do and is not bound by like we're bound by it we see that in second Peter 3 verse 8 through 18 if you would please turn with me there 2nd Peter chapter 3 starting in verse 8 the do know do not overlook this one fact beloved that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance but the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with the roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed since all these things are thus to be dissolved what sort of people ought you to be in the lives of holiness and godliness waiting for the hastening in the coming of the day of God because which of the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn but according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells I don't know about you but I want to be with righteousness dwells and that's going to take time management it's going to take us having a concerted effort toward that goal we see in 1st Corinthians 10:31 that we need to make them met the most of every moment by glorifying God but we only have a limited amount of time you know have you ever looked back on a period of time and said what did I do with all the time that that I was given you know like I referred to before it's usually when you have a deadline that you need to meet and you're you've procrastinated and and all of a sudden it's come and do and now you're thinking man what did I do with all the time that I had well I challenge us this evening not to look back on our lives and think the same thing especially not when it concerns our spirituality and our relationship with God so I challenge us to think today on our lives and decide where do we need to start depositing small increments of time to effect positive change for a follower of Christ it doesn't mean to spend your day living as hard as you can rather for wisdom you should use your time to its fullest one more quote that I have this evening by JRR tolkien I wish it need not have been I wish it need not have happened in my time and so do all who have lived to see such times but that is not for them to decide all we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us so I challenge all this this evening to reflect on that the time that we've been given up to this point and the time that hopefully will be given in the future even though it's not guaranteed what will you do with that time how will you use it wisely you know can you challenge yourself to start taking small increments of your day and start depositing it towards your future if there are those here this evening who you know have never obeyed the gospel have never repented of what they have done wrong and never been baptized now is a good time for that if there are those here this evening who already have done all those things but need to make their life right now is a good time for that and like we said this evening the only time we've been guaranteed is what we have right now let's make the best use of that time while we stand and see

Channel: Kaysville Church of Christ

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Length: 28min 15sec (1695 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 05 2015