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Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN Main Theme: This stewardship series concerns itself with the motivation behind our “living to give” Christian lifestyle. It’s a matter of the heart! When you are in love with Jesus, when God is number one, when His Spirit lives in your heart… you will recognize that your time, talents, and treasures are gifts that are to be used for HIS glory! Today we look at the precious gift of time! It is non-renewable, and we can not save it, manage it, or make it – but we can “redeem it” which means to make the most of each opportunity God gives us! With His help we can invest our time in 1) God, 2) our families, 3) our church, 4) the world, and 5) ourselves. With the Spirit leading the way, we are called to use our time discerning and doing the will of God! 1) HAVE TO’S - WANT TO’S! There are no “have to’s” when you are in love! A young man does not HAVE TO buy his girl flowers, or force himself to hang out with her, or miss her when separated! But the fact is, life is full of “want to’s” when you are in love! You want to be with that loved one, make them happy, see them smile! You want to share the good and the bad times with them. That’s love – filled not with “have to’s” but with “Want to’s” – it’s a matter of the heart! 2) A MATTER OF THE HEART! How ironic that some church goers have taken the most precious of loving relationships – the one with God, and treated it… differently. Everything you are and have is suddenly and coldly covered with rules – “have to” rules. You have to give so much of your time, talent, and treasures to be a good Christian. But love, especially Godly love, isn’t about “have to’s” …it’s about “want to’s”! If we give of ourselves, it’s only special to God when we do it willingly, wantingly, and freely of our own will! Had God desired it any other way, He’d have made us programmed puppets or robots. No, true love (as God designed it), is a product of free will – and we give of ourselves because we’re mysteriously in love with someone that we hold up above ourselves! Giving is a matter of the heart!
3) INVESTING TIME!
Today, we’ll explore one of our most precious gifts –
our time, as a “matter of
the heart!” Question: Can we love God or others according
to His will, without investing our
time in those relationships? Hardly! Can we love
a church family, without investing our
time in the family’s lives and ministries?
Nope! But some try. Ironically, we all want our
life to mean something! We want to
invest our life in
something big…something that will last!
And in the shadow of the
cross, we discovered that there is nothing greater
than following Christ, and living for God’s glory! Without
God’s love in our lives, many of us are living only for our
own glory. And too many of us have
looked back in hindsight to discover what a waste
that was! Fact is, there is nothing greater to
invest in than God’s
work! Nothing bigger than God’s glory!
Nothing bigger than God’s approval. When we receive the sacred
gifts of faith, hope, and unconditional love–
we begin
to invest our time
in loving and serving Him back. Because we have to?
No, because we want to! 5) ALWAYS FIND TIME! Of course, being born “self-centered” in a “self-centered world”, inevitably causes us confusion, which leads to excuses! (Excuses not to follow, serve, or get closer to Christ). “I’d like to pray more often, I’d like to attend church regularly, I’d like to read the bible, join a small group, or get involved in the ministries of the church… BUT I just can’t find the TIME!” HOGWASH! Face the facts… 1) You will always find time to do the things that you want to do! In college I worked three jobs, took full class loads, and complained about not having enough time to study. And yet, did I still happen to find some time to chase Charlotte? Of course! We always find time to do the things that we want to do! 6) 12 MINUTES! If we truly want to get closer to the God we claim to love – He’s there in the scriptures! 12 minutes a day! That’s how long it takes to read the whole bible in one year. Ironically we have plenty of time for grooming ourselves, talking on the phone, or watching television, but why can’t we find a mere 12 minutes to get closer to God? Is this a crisis of “time management”? Or is this a crisis of the heart? Because the truth is: 1) We always find time to do the things that we want to do! And yet, the average Christian only spends 7-10 minutes a day in prayer. Someone explain to me why we spend more time grooming, playing on the computer, or watching television than spending time with our loving Creator – the one we claim is more important than life itself! If Revelation 3:20 is true, then Jesus is daily longing to spend time with us: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” How do we respond to His knock every day? Do we tell our Lord and Savior we’re too busy to spend time with Him, talk to Him, or worship Him? “Sorry Jesus, we don’t have 12 minutes a day to let you in!” I wonder if Jesus weeps, knowing: We will always find time to do the things that we want to do! It’s a matter of the heart! 7) 24 HOURS! Notice too; 2) You have the same 24 hours in your day as everyone else! We all get an equal amount of time; 86,400 seconds a day. You have NOT been short changed! Others do NOT have more than you do! Even Jesus received the same amount of time, 24 hours per day! The only difference between us… is how we choose to spend it. Jesus simply managed to keep his priorities straight, and did you notice…He was never rushed! Well, God has a plan for our life too, so if we have our priorities straight, then we too should never be rushed! Too busy? Then ask: “Am I living as Christ intended me to live?” God has given you all the time you need to accomplish what He put you on this earth for! 24 hours a day is all you need. Everyone gets the same! It is enough! 8) MAKE, BUY, OR SAVE? The cartoon character Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes once said, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I’m so far behind I’ll never die.” Cute – but wrong! You cannot postpone time, and… 3) You cannot make, save, or buy time. Scripture tells us that “Time” is NOT a renewable resource! Unlike money, if you loose it, you cannot earn more later on. Whatever time slips by is lost forever, never to be returned to us again! Despite Jim Croce’s sweet song desiring to put “time in a bottle” – time can’t be saved! A rich man can buy no more extra time than a poor man – because time can’t be bought. In fact, each of us were born with the calendar ticking, our days are numbered, and none of us know if we will see tomorrow. Moses wrote Psalm 90, and in it He states, (verse 10) “The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; yet… they quickly pass, and we fly away.” He goes on to say, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Moses knew it is a lie that “you have all the time in the world!” We cannot make, save, or buy time! An unknown amount of time is “ticking by” – and we need to make the best use of the time we have left. Moses chose to spend all His time following and valuing God! What will you do with the time you have left? Make no mistake about it: We cannot make, save, or buy time! 10) DISCERN AND DO! Well, if you cannot make, save, or buy it, then what CAN you do with time? Invest it! Invest it according to God’s plan! Wisdom is just that: using time to discern and do God’s will! Some one has figured out that after sleeping, eating, grooming, working, and traveling, there is only 5 hours of discretionary time left in the day. That author suggested he could follow you during that 5 hours and tell you what your priorities in life were – and whether God was THE priority. But I disagree, because if “stewardship” is everything you do and say in life – all 24 hours a day belong to Him. When you work, you should work as to give Glory to God! When you travel in the car – what a great time to talk to Him, or listen to Bible tapes! When you are showering and brushing your teeth every morning – what a great time to ask Him to help prioritize your day! When you sit near someone on the bus, or in the cafeteria, or during a break – that may be an opportunity to lovingly care for someone in a Christ-like way! 5 hours of discretionary time? Hardly – every minute of every day can reflect a deep walk with Jesus if we want it! It’s possible to use every second of every hour of every day to discern and do God’s will! This isn’t a “have to” – it’s a matter of the heart! 11) BETTER! Sometimes we are so busy “being busy”, we claim we don’t have time for God, our families, our church, our mission to the world, or for ourselves! Remember when Martha got so upset with Mary for sitting at Jesus’ feet while she worked to fix food for the hungry troops! Jesus said, (Luke 10:41-42) “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” That which is better is getting closer to Christ so we can discern and do the will of God. Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our “responsibilities” that we end up like Martha – missing that one thing that is so much better in life! God is waiting for you to spend time with Him! Psalm 46:10 should be etched in our hearts: “Be still, and know that I am God!” He is suggesting that we stop trying to use up our precious time trying to chase after a lifestyle designed by ourselves or someone else. The Master plan is better! The Master plan leads us to Christ – and being Spirit-filled! Does that describe how you are using your time? Folks, it’s simple, without the Holy Spirit living in your heart, your life is impossible to live according to God’s will. If you are too busy to pray, too busy to sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary, if you are too busy to follow and serve Christ daily – then you are too busy! Have you asked God to help you change those things that prevent you from something better? That which is better comes from hanging out with Jesus! 12) PRIORITIES! When a Christian starts hanging out and listening to Christ – inviting Him in to come live in their heart and rule over it: here are the priorities Jesus enables us grasp and act upon. First priority…
These 5 priorities are not laws, or rules, or “have to’s” – the giving of our time to God and His people are all a matter of the heart! 13) REDEEMING TIME! Now, if time is a gift that cannot be made, saved, or purchased… shouldn’t I be preaching on time management this morning? Time Management is the buzzword of our generation, isn’t it? However, as Stephen Covey puts it in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “Time Management” is really a misnomer–the challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves. The Bible also speaks not of managing time; it speaks of “redeeming” it. The King James version says “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) The NIV says “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is.” It is clear, we are not to manage time by squeezing more activity into less time. This verse does not mean “get more organized,” or “do more, faster,” but “submit your time to God’s agenda.” We are to redeem the time; that is, making the most of every opportunity that comes our way to serve God! 14) DASH! Someday, our tomb stone will state our name and give the date of our birth, and death! We do not know when that last day may be, (though heaven knows – it is written in the book of life), but what is most important is the little “dash” in between those two dates. For it stands for the thing we call life! What will your dash stand for? A life spent regretting the past, and worrying about the future? Or a life spent focused on God’s will for each and every day, discerning and doing His will? Elizabeth Dole, once wrote: “Life is not just a few years to spend on self-indulgence and career advancement. It is a privilege, a responsibility, and a stewardship to be lived according to a much higher calling.” Rather than managing time, will our “dash” indicate that we recognized God would give us a chance to serve Him every day, and that we made the best of each opportunity? 15) BY AND FOR GOD! Friends, we were designed by God – for God, not for ourselves. Our life was meant to bring glory to God! And this thing called life, this tiny little blip in the midst of eternity, is a gift that comes to us because of something called time! …created to discover IF we would receive God’s unconditional love and willingly love Him back! Time was designed by God and for God! We can waste it foolishly on ourselves, or we can use it wisely as an expression of love to our Savior! Our days are numbered, and the seconds pass by, never to be seen again. But that should not cause us concern; we should open our eyes to see what daily opportunity God gives us to get closer to Him, and to serve Him! It may be our last day. Or… a day followed by many others, but as they say, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift.... That is why it’s called the present!!” We are designed by God – for God, and the time that counts is now! 16) LOVE! Christ is here this morning, to remind you that this day, this present time, is a divine gift! This day has a purpose! It has been designed so that you may love and serve God - now! How will you spend it? Christ comes to live in your heart, to fill you with the Holy Spirit, and to do what you cannot; discern and act upon the will of God! He shares with us this truth: you cannot love someone without investing time in that relationship. And that not only includes HIM, but also your family, church, and the world. Do you desire time with Him and others? He says He placed you here with all the time you need to fulfill the plan He has for your life. Will you? Remember, there are no “have to’s” with Jesus. Love is based on “want to’s” – and He gives you the freedom to determine what you will do with the time you have received. It is not a “renewable resource”, and your days are numbered, but time is a wonderful and yet temporary resource by which, (when led by the Spirit), you are enabled to respond to God’s love… with love! 17) GIFT OF TIME! Friends, you can look at each partner in any relationship and see how much they love one another by the amount of time they invest in each other! Jesus invested every second to faithfully serve the Father and save us from ourselves and the horrible ending sinners deserve! I’m not here to tell you that you “have to” respond at all as stewards. And the gift of time is not about rules; it is a matter of the heart. The Holy Spirit simply calls us to look up at the cross, and see that Jesus’ entire 33 year existence was sacrificially invested to love and save you and me from the powers of sin, Satan., and death... So ask yourself – why (in the light of His amazing grace) wouldn’t you “want to” use the precious gift of time to discern and do the life-giving will of God? After all, life is full of “want to’s” when the relationship is based on true love! Praise God! AMEN!
Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that we too often claim to love you but we do not spend our time acting upon that claim. We find comfort in declaring you are number one in our life, but the way we serve our needs first proves our priorities are messed up! Forgive us – and help us to make our desires of discerning and acting upon your will a reality. Lord, we admit that every second of every day holds the potential of getting closer to you – but we waste so much of it chasing after selfish dreams and goals. We are always rushing, busy being busy, and more wrapped up in our worldly responsibilities than knowing you. Forgive us for not going where you go, serving those you serve, and loving those you love. Forgive us for using the gift of time for merely chasing careers, money, possessions, fame, or power – and open our eyes to what is better: a closer relationship with you! And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.) (Silence) Lord, our days are counting down! Lest we waste them, help us to daily discern and do your will, setting Godly priorities and making the most of every opportunity to serve you and give you glory. Live in our hearts, and guide us in the better, life-giving stewardship of our gift of time! In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN Assurance of Forgiveness: Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, the creator of the gift of time, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and remember: You will always find time to do the things that you want to do! The Lord is knocking at the door of your heart – so if you want to - open it and He will bless you and guide you in the joyful and faithful use of the gift of time! Praise God! AMEN Opening prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we spent another busy week in a hurry-up world – and wondered where the time went. The seconds turned into minutes, the minutes into hours, the hours into days – and now we find ourselves back here again, thankful but not sure we spent the time given us wisely or faithfully. We seem to have bulging schedules, crammed calendars, and feel tired from being too busy and over-loaded with activity. It doesn’t quite feel balanced or holy. But if this is to change, we know we need to get closer to you. To be good stewards of our time, talents, and treasures, we need wisdom and guidance only you can give. So we open our hearts this morning and plead for you to heal our wounds, wash away our sins, and increasingly mold us into faithful followers who reflect your love and light into a dark and broken world. Teach us to discern your will for our daily lives, and empower us to act upon it. As we strive to be more Christ-like, help us to set more Godly priorities, and enable us to love and sacrifice for others as you have loved and sacrificed for us! In Jesus Name We Pray! AMEN! |
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