If time is our most precious resource, then surely, we should manage it well. Who better to learn from than the God who made time?
Sermon Transcript:
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I enjoy watching a good sci-fi.
One of the first sci-fi movies I remember watching, in the early 1970’s, (on a little black and white television) was the 1960 movie, based on a book written by HG Wells, called The Time Machine starring the most handsome Australian actor Robert Taylor. Does anyone remember this movie? Does anyone remember Robert Taylor?
Here’s the movie poster.
Followed by a picture of the very debonair Robert Taylor sitting in a rather unsophisticated looking time machine.
The story is set in Victorian England and follows an inventor who constructs a machine that enables him to travel into the distant future. Once there, he discovers that mankind’s descendants have divided into two people groups, the passive, childlike, and vegetarian Eloi and the underground-dwelling Morlocks, who feed on the Eloi – so they’re obviously carnivorous 😊.
It was quite a scary movie for its day, but it made me think excitedly, as a 9-year-old, about time and time travel.
You see it seemed that time moved so slowly back then, (summers were long and very hot) and it felt like I was never going to grow up. And the thought of hopping into a time machine to take a little peep into my future afforded me some imaginative thinking on those long afternoons.
But here I am, 50 years later (half a century is another way of putting it) and it feels like time is whizzing by as if I’m living in a time machine. – I would like things to slow down now please!
Robert Taylor has long gone, he’s dead, just like the analog black and white television! When I first watched this movie, there were no microwave ovens, houses weren’t insulated, let alone air conditioned, and automatic cars were a luxury- many people had the gear shift stick. And if wood wasn’t chopped for the Braemar there would be no hot water for the shower that night! And Kentucky Fried Chicken was a once a year treat in which you sucked each bone dry. And you could buy a very large block of Cadbury chocolate for 18 cents. And my mum had a twin tub washing machine. And there was no such thing as a mobile phone, or I pad or tablet. We had to go outside to play in the bush to build a cubby house (Cubby houses weren’t ready made like they are now).
Things have changed a lot since then, but it only seems like yesterday.
Where has the time gone? Never to return.
I cannot get those years back! No matter how hard I try! They’re gone, gone, gone.
Time machines don’t exist.
I’ve learnt through time that time is indeed a priceless resource because you never really know how long you’re going to get. And you can never get too much; even when you‘ve had more than your fair share it never seems like you’ve had enough.
TIME! Tick tock tick tock tick tock
That’s the old sound of time! Time used to have a sound! Even that’s changed because it’s digital now – the seconds spin silently as our bodies age rapidly.
If time is such an important resource, then surely, surely, we should manage it.
Crucial resources should be managed right? That’s good economics.
And surely the Bible would have some sound advice on this important matter.
Well, I’m happy to say it does! And this is exactly what this short sermon is about.
So, buckle up people, we need to listen to what God says about time management because although God is timeless and infinite, a concept our mortal minds cannot fully fathom.
It makes good sense to give attention to what our Immortal Maker says about time and eternity. For He made time…
HE MADE TIME for us! He doesn’t need time, but we do. He made time for us.
Eternity has no beginning or end.
“In the beginning was God”
God was before time began.
We can only think in beginnings and endings and what is in between,
but He is timeless. He is eternal.
GOD was not made. And He doesn’t grow old. He was and is and shall ever be… GOD… the most ancient of days and the eternally wise GOD…
God is the maker and keeper of time, but He is not limited by it or bound to it…. for He is GOD… GOD…. GOD…
The Great Invisible Spirit who inhabits everywhere.
So, what does this eternally wise God tell us about time management?
Because we the church really need to know because time is such an important personal resource.
I have only three points that I’m going to share today, they are not long points, but they are extremely important to everyone who has time on their hands (and that just so happens to be all living people, because if you’re dead, you’ve run out of time – nothin’ like stating the obvious) so listen up everyone!
Number one on what does God say about time management in the bible
1. Live Daily with Eternity in Mind and Heart
Live Daily with Eternity in Mind and Heart
No one knows the number of his or her days on earth. No one but God! We’ve all made it to 2023 but we may not make it to 2024 -there’s no guarantee.
In Ephesians 5:15-17 NRSV it says,
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Psalm 90:12 says
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
(don’t take the days you have for granted)
Ecc 3:11 NLT says
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
The Bible continuously tells us to make the most of the time we have on earth, living daily with eternity in mind, so that we have an impact on the church, God’s kingdom, and to also share Jesus in our daily lives. That should be our primary goal. The world puts a priority on acquiring and achieving while the Christian’s priority should be on living for the glory of God as a witness and testimony to God’s goodness and saving grace. Always seeking God’s will for how we fill our valuable time.
C. S. Lewis understood God’s plan for every Christian’s time management, he said:
“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”
So, live daily with eternity in mind and heart. This earth is not your home, don’t get so tied to it that you can’t move on, you can’t let it go. Keep your real home (eternity with God) in your mind at all times and this will dictate your actions.
Point number 2
2. Don’t Procrastinate
Don’t Procrastinate
Prov 27:1 NLT
Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.
Prov 6:4 NLT
Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
Prov 14:23
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
James 4:17 NLT
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Wow, James even calls procrastination a sin and emphasizes that while it’s good to have long-term plans and goals, always have a backup plan!
James 4:13-14 NLT
Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
Prov 13:4
Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.
When we know there’s something we need to accomplish, the Bible instructs us to make plans to do it, in a timely way, and not at the last minute or it might never get done or won’t be our best effort.
Do not procrastinate on spiritual matters. When God tells you to do something, do it! Procrastination is not just the thief of time but it’s the enemy of accomplishment.
Procrastination is not just the thief of time but it’s the enemy of accomplishment.
And number three
3. Balance Work and Rest
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Refreshing rest and exercise are essential for good health, we all know that, so we don’t want to neglect scheduling these into our lives.
God Himself became our example in this right at the beginning of time.
Genesis 2:2-3
By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.
Psalm 127:2 NLT says,
It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Proverbs 23:4 NLT says,
Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.
As with everything in the Bible, God isn’t trying to make our life harder, he wants us to live stress-free while meeting our obligations without worry and frustration. Making plans, having a backup plan, organization, and managing our time wisely can help us prepare for each new day’s knowns and unknowns.
God created balance and he didn’t mean for it to be elusive. The Bible is an instruction manual on balanced living. Spending time in God’s Word and with Him is the answer to achieving God-ordained time management. Our days and our time do not belong to us; they belong to God!
That’s the bottom line. Our time belongs to God so, don’t won’t waste it.
As Christians we don’t ‘kill time’. I’m sure you’ve heard that saying, “I’m just killing time”.
No no no. We as Christians don’t kill time. People on drugs kill time, this is Satan’s purpose for them, it is so sad. But for Christians time is important, time is precious, time is a gift, use it wisely with eternity in mind.
And I close with these 2 beautiful verses –
Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Psalm 31:14-15
But I am trusting You, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!” My future is in your hands.
Let us pray
Thank You Lord that you’ve seen us through another year, and I hope we’ve served You well. I thank you for this new year – 2023. A brand-new year with new possibilities, new surprises and new opportunities to glorify You with our energy, actions and speech.
Help us LORD to constantly keep in mind our eternity spent with You and may this thought, of utmost importance, guide our every action. Keep us LORD from procrastination, let us not withhold good when it is due, don’t let us put off until tomorrow when it is within our power to do it today. And show us how to be a people who know how to rest in You, free from stress and filled with Your peace which transcends all understanding.
LORD, we thank you for Your instruction may we follow it today knowing that the consequences for our obedience will bring blessing upon blessing upon blessing, so many blessings that we can’t count to our lives.
Amen