Scripture Readings:
Psalm 90:12 12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
In any given day you have 86.400 seconds, 1440 minutes, 24 hours. How do you use your time? In Ephesians 5:16 the Bible urges us to "Redeem the time." It is a good motto for us all.
Even the young sometimes die, so we are not sure how many days we have. But we know thar our earthly time will come to an end. It always has, for everyone. For Methuselah, for Moses, for Jesus, for Lazarus, for all the people we meet in the Bible, and it will for anyone that you now know, including yourself.
The country band Alabama put out a song a number of years ago which has this chorus or refrain, describing quite well a common lifestyle of our generation:
I'm in a hurry to get things done
I rush and rush until life's no fun.
All I really gotta do is live and die,
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why.
Time is our most precious resource. It is perishable and irreplaceable.1 God in his grace has given us all the same amount — 24 hours per day. The quality, joy, and impact of our lives are directly related to how wisely we use the time we have.
This does not mean that we have to hurry or hustle through life. In our nation, too many people are stressed-out, over-committed, and spread too thinly. Are you one of those people?
Folks, note that the Bible never says that Jesus rushed anywhere. He was usually busy, but found time to pray a lot. His total ministry was accomplished in three short years, but he found time to play with children, to investigate a fig tree, to take a nap during a boat ride, to rest at noon-time beside a well, and to attend a wedding reception.
The Bible does not say, "If you hurry, you can catch up with God." It does say, "Be still (or cease your striving) and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) Jesus did not say, "Join up with me and I will work you eighteen hours per day." Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
2. Time is very short, which is another thing that renders it very precious.
3. Time ought to be esteemed by us very precious, because we are uncertain of its continuance.
4. Time is very precious, because when it is past, it cannot be recovered.
In our culture there are those who spend a great part of their time in idleness, or in doing nothing that turns to any virtuous account There are also people who spend their time in wickedness
There are those who spend way too much of their time only in worldly pursuits, neglecting their spiritual values for themselves, and for others.
Let us to consider the importance of time since it is what each of our hours and days and weeks and months and years are made of.
How important is time?
Time is so important the Bible commands us to “redeem the time.” Twice we are told to redeem the time: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Col. 4:5).
Each year that goes by, each of us have less ‘time’ to ‘redeem.’ But, to be sure, many of us have, in all probability, the prospect of many years yet to live. But for all of us, redeem the time is a good motto to guide us..
But we never know. Young people die, too. And death can come in a split second. So we need to redeem the time we have.
What is time?
When Augustine was asked, “What is time?” he replied, “If no one asks me, I know; if I want to explain it to someone who does ask me, I do not know.”
Another has said with tongue-in-cheek, “Time is that which keeps everything from happening at once.”
What is time? Let me define time in two ways.
A. It is A Divine Gift
Someone has said, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present!” Time is among many things a gift. Each day that we live is a gift. Since we began and close each day with no promise of another, each day we are given is a gift.
Every day of life is a gift. Understanding that God is the giver of life, and that the length of our days are in His hands, we realize that time is a gift from God.
Time is something that is given to us by God. We work hard to expand and extend our time, but ultimately the number of our days is determined by God. Therefore, each day and every day is a gift from God.
B. It is A Daily Grant
With the gift of time comes responsibility. Each day has been given to us by God as a grant or trust. Time is something we are entrusted with. As the receivers of time, we are stewards of God’s gift.
James 4.14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
Proverbs 27:1 “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
A. Time Will SWIFTY Pass
O, the swiftness with which it passes. If there is one thing that is characteristic of time it is its speed. The seconds fly by so fast. The minutes continue without interruption. Life is like a fleeting shadow.
The Bible is constantly speaking to us of the swiftness of time’s passing.
Psalms 39:4,5 “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.”
B. Time Will SURELY End
Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
Time is a precious matter. Time is a passing matter.
The moment a man is born, he begins to die. Death could come at any moment by disease, disaster, or decay. Man is not here to stay, but he is here to die
But never forget this truth: This world is not my home. I am just a passing through. We should stand in awe of the time. God created time and gives it to us as stewards. We need to order our time according to God's purposes and values and unapologetically subject everything that falls outside of this to the back burner.
A. There Is PROGRESS We Should Make
Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
The apostle Paul was a firm believer in forward progress. In the book of Philippians, Paul vividly explained that he left the past in the past, and pressed. Like Paul, we must not focus on the failures of the past; nor can we afford to focus on the fears of the future. We must simply keep pressing forward for Christ.
Forward progress in this life requires two things of us: FOCUS and FAITH. Concerning the matter of focus, Paul said, "...this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before," (Phil.3: 13b). Paul’s focus was always forward. It doesn’t matter how long you have been saved and how spiritual mature a person may be, there is always room for further growth and development. Spiritual growth is not for a time in your Christian life. It is for the total of your Christian life. It is not for a while, but for the whole.
Peter said, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." It doesn’t matter how much you know about the Lord, there is always far more to learn. The truth is, there is more than you can learn in a lifetime. Spiritual growth means you are always learning and always growing.
Not only should we be a people of focus, but we must also be a people of faith. We should be touching lives everyday with the gospel. However, we can cannot make a difference unless we establish relationships with people.
To redeem the time that is divinely and daily given to us is to manage time so that it is personally and eternally profitable. Benjamin Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Rather than squandering time, we are to use our time on things that matter most.
Men can mark time, waste time, and kill time. Only a Christian who walks in wisdom can redeem time. In order to redeem the time, let me suggest two steps to take. When the Bible calls for us to redeem the time, it is calling for us to get our priorities right. Believers are to take advantage of every spiritual opportunity because we know that the night is coming when no one can work. There is an open window in time for the gospel. We must seize the moment!
The word “redeem” that is used in our text is a word from the market place. You go down to your supermarket and look for bargains because you know they will not last long; they are passing away. Therefore, you make the most of them and buy them up. This is exactly the word he employs here. Buy up the opportunities which are created constantly by the evil days. Redeeming the time means that we buy up and seize the opportunities that are presented us.
If you are saved you should live for God and serve Him now. If you are too busy to serve God, then you are just too busy. An anonymous writer has said, “One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time.”
Do It Now
If you have work to do—do it now.
If you have a witness to give—give it now.
If you have a soul to win—win him now.
If you have an obligation to discharge—discharge it now.
If you have a debt to pay—pay it noire.
If you have a wrong to right—right it now.
If you have a confession to make—make it now.
If you have a preparation to make--make it now.
If you have children to train—train them now.
Remember, time is passing and you are passing out of time.
We are a procrastinating lot. It is always what we are going to do tomorrow that entices us, but it is only what we do today that counts.—Gospel Herald.
If you have a witness to give—give it now.
If you have a soul to win—win him now.
If you have an obligation to discharge—discharge it now.
If you have a debt to pay—pay it noire.
If you have a wrong to right—right it now.
If you have a confession to make—make it now.
If you have a preparation to make--make it now.
If you have children to train—train them now.
Remember, time is passing and you are passing out of time.
We are a procrastinating lot. It is always what we are going to do tomorrow that entices us, but it is only what we do today that counts.—Gospel Herald.
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