The Wise Use Of Time, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.

Job is saying the time and allocated the newest set. He said God sets the limit not asked what we live in a day and age. Oh yes, we can absolutely we can we can determine that, as noted, really A common aspect of your life. Your allocated amount says make the most of your time joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastoral number now is once again he shows us how God's word are there is any person phantom in our life that is our constant companion and on days like this one. He taps us on the shoulder to remind us of his presence yesterday Velma and I were going to lunch and she said to me yet. Remember Mother's Day last year and she started with the church service and then describe the entire day and uncharacteristically. I actually remembered everything that she described but my most profound thought as I was sitting there was while it's been a year everything like that.

Something that goes by that fast. You see, it was as though time had given a nudge to me and that's kinda what happens every holiday including Mother's Day. I have felt that nudge before the smell of roasting turkey nudge a Christmas card from distant friends, especially if there's a photo in it. You know it's included to get a photo of Jimmy someone so from the whatchamacallit family and just started talking and asking questions like how many kids they have been and pointer.

They look old and that amazing how your friends from your how to get over the miles. Time is constantly reminding us of his presence. Some of those reminders are almost cruel this past Friday I spent the entire day fishing. I had a wonderful time and then I spent all day Saturday recovering from fishing.

There was a time when I could play football on Friday night and feel fine on Saturday but time he's reminding me. And although time seems cruel at a certain level. I'm very happy still. My companion see you can run out of money and you still have time left. You can run out of friends and you'll still have life despair but once you run out of time this life is over. Call Sandberg said. Time is the coin of your life is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Please be careful lest you let other people spend it for you open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5. A passage we looked at earlier in this series I'm doing a series of sermons called living a foolproof life and were dealing with the subject of wisdom in the very first week we talked about the question.

The most important question you can ask is you make any choice or decision in your life.

Is this the wife's thing to do and then we added to that by saying, is this the wife's thing to do in light of my past experiences, and in light of my present circumstances, and in light of my future hopes and dreams. The last time we dealt with the unwise people of our world. The Bible calls them either naïve or fools or scoffers in each one of them on the basis of the poor decisions that they make end up reaping what they so we never really getting out of life what God's intention was for them. So here in Ephesians 5 what we were once before. Notice what Paul writes in verse 15 pieces therefore be careful how you walk and that's just a metaphor for living pieces. Therefore be careful how you live not as unwise but as wise pieces that you have to be careful, you can end up living your life one way or the other. You either gonna live the way of wisdom. Are you going to live the way of the naïve, the for the stop. You really going to make wise choices with your life. Are you gonna make unwise choices and you need to be careful and then he addresses this issue. The issue of time, he says, making the most of your time to stop there for a moment, because it's so profound.

Making the most of your time.

Notice he isn't talking about time in the abstract, making the most of time and always talking about making the most of your time. You see that work time is not the word Karmanos.

It doesn't mean the hours of the days of the week. She's not talking about that with the words used here is the word Kairos and Kairos means your allotted your allocated make the most of your allotted or allocated time to make the most of my time.

Hold your place here will come back in a little while, but I want to go to Job chapter 14 Job chapter 14 and he may say something that's disturbing to, but is probably something you need to hear Job chapter 14 and Job gives a general description of life and verses one and two recess man who was born of a woman is short-lived and full of turmoil, like a flower. He comes forth anywhere there's. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain here today gone tomorrow type of thing. But then he says this in verse five he says since his days are determined, the number of his months is with you.

God and his limits you have said so that he cannot pass.

You see that Job is saying. The time is been allocated to you is set by God. He said God sets the limits and you cannot pass them all. Boy we live in a day and age. Oh yes, we can absolutely we can we can determine that God says no you can't. You really can't determine that aspect of your life. Your allocated amount he says make the most of your time. John MacArthur writes this about that verse. He says God has set boundaries to our lives an opportunity for service exists only within those boundaries.

It is significant that the Bible occasionally speaks of such times when God shortens the boundary, but virtually never does he ever say that he lengthens boundary amazing that your time making the most of your time, see that you have an effect on you that the making of any time, but your time. Notice how godly men of responded to this me to Psalm 90 just a few pages to your right.

Psalm 90 in an unusual Psalm. It's a prayer of Moses.

Moses doesn't usually show up in the Psalms, but this is one of the Psalms attributed to him, and it's a prayer and Moses says in verse 10 of Psalm 90 he gives a generality of life, the kind of still holds its place. Moses assessed for the days of our life. They contain 70 years or if due to strength 80 years pretty much the same. It's changed a little but average lifespan is not a whole lot different than that you get 70 years, and if you have enough strength to get 80 and then he says in verse 12 he said so teach us to number our days. Why that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

Now, by the way, he doesn't mean that you know you need to have a calendar since the day you're born wine to three 18,406 eight doesn't mean that he means teach us to have an appreciation for our days.

ECT said the implication is pretty clear.

One of the first steps if you're going to be a wise person, especially when it comes to wisdom with time as you understand it, it is limited and you have an allocated amount of time she that's of Moses as David takes it a little bit further. Go to Psalm 39 with me for a moment. Psalm 39 David says, Lord, I want to be reminded of this all the time. He says in verse four of Psalm 39, he says, Lord, make me to know my end. I don't think you send what I want to know how I'm going to die. I don't think that's what he means. He said, Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days. He says let me know how 20 and see it. I am he says behold, you have made my days as hand, breasts, he said, in my lifetime as nothing in your site. Surely every man at his best, is a mere breath while David gets the hand with this one of the smallest measurements of the Jews would use you again major summit measured by the width of hands. He says you know compared to you. My life is nothing.

It's just like breath.

You see, in light of eternity.

Even if you live 70, 80, 90 years in light of eternity is nothing David says you know what I need to know I need to understand that I need to come to grips with how temporal my life is in the problem with this is as a truth in a group like you is there are some of you that are so young that your response to it is who cares. I got so much time in front of me. It's just I can't even imagine how much time I have in front of me and then there are others I can tell you should buy the tops of your head and you look at it very differently got you, you wake up in the morning and you say thank you Jesus for another day. It's a different thing you see is a very different thing. But those people in the second category was sorely tell the people in the first category. This you won't believe how fast your time passes because it does, it's going to pass and so the first thing you have to do is come to grips with the idea that you have an allocated amount of time just for you. Now go back to Ephesians 5 with me.

Ephesians 5 therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise and then he says, making the most of your time, making the most we talked about this in the very first sermon, making the most is the word X garage so I garage a means to purchase something to buy or redeem it garage so is a word to use wood for Jesus Christ who redeemed us by his death on the cross X garage owes another word was used to describe Jesus Christ admit this simply X all garage a means to purchase and then to set free and so we can easily use the term for making the most of your time is to redeem your time. But there's one other aspect in that little phrase and I'll be technical for a moment, because it's so important and that is that phrase is in the middle voice, and in Greek grammar. If you use the middle voice. It means that only you can make the most of your time. You have to making the most of your time. Only you can make the most of your time. This isn't something that someone else can do for you.

This is something that you can only do for yourself, making the most of your time is all over Scripture passages like that in Galatians 6, Paul says so then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.

You see, the idea is I cannot create more time for me but I can redeem the time that God has given me is it's a very important thing to understand.

It's not that I can find time.

It's what I do with what I have time.

Only I can make the most of my time is interesting because I don't know about you but I struggle even understanding that to a degree that may explain why I go with me to James chapter 4 James chapter 4, and James gives us a warning and at first it doesn't seem merited. But then he describes it in a better way.

In verse 13 of chapter 4 of James. James is come now, you say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and will spend a year there and will engage in business and will make a profit will make a lot of money. He said yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. Not at first it looks like he's saying we should plan ahead producing a moment. That's not the case. He said yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow and then he gives a general description of life again. He says you are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then you vanish away. That's it. You know, I don't mind the idea that I'm just going to be here for a little while, in light of eternity, especially knowing where I'm going, but the idea vanishing away is a little sobering but that's what happens see if I said to you.

How many of you know if you have apparently died used to remember your parents would also yes and how many of your grandparents and and how many of you remember your grandparents and a lot of us, if not most of us would say well yes a little bit now about how my great-grandparents would eat maybe couple of us might say I know that and and what about your great great grandpa and then you go to great great great and you know what they're completely forgotten, they vanished that will happen to you now happen to me you vanish away.

That's kind of a sobering thought, to say the least.

But notice what he says about this idea. He says instead you want to say if the Lord wills. He says we will live and we would do this or that. In other words, James picks up on this idea that the time it's allocated to me this brief time when I'm a vapor are missed here is given to me by God. If the Lord wills he'll give it to me and here's something I know for sure about that. I don't understand it and I don't think I could possibly ever understand. But I have to trust God.

Let me illustrated how many times has someone died who you love the new and the first thought you had in your mind is, they died too early to see they died too early they died too soon. I mean, Lord, if you were looking for people to take off this planet. I could give you list the people that I am not sure who would miss them. You see that's hard for us. When I went to Dallas seminary. I was in the very first chapel that we had and it was wonderful to hear thousand men singing in all that I was sitting on the end of a now by myself and I we were singing along and then I looked across the down there is a guy sitting right on the end of the other, and certain the hired servant nodded and kept singing and when chapel ended that we started talking said you want to go to lunch and we did and that his name was Jim and he and I became a best friends from seminary. He was the guy that you know we shared a lot.

I mean we both staggered through baby Hebrew together. You know both of us showing tremendous interest, but almost no ability when it came to understanding basic Hebrew grammar, but we made it and we both felt the same way we both felt that God had brought us that school to train us that we were called by God. We both should go window church ministry, a pulpit, and pastor congregations we went with tremendous you know conviction about that. We were so happy for each other and so the Lord led Jim to Vermont and he led me to Louisiana. Jim was originally from Missouri and I was in Pennsylvania and then and then the Lord gave Jim a few years in Vermont and then he got cancer and then he went home to be with Jesus and I got decades in Louisiana and I don't know why you see, if I don't see how I would have merited more time and Jim see you never understand that it's okay, see I can't possibly understand that the God hasn't asked me to do that when he is asked me to do is to make the most of the allotted time that I have that's what is ask you to do and he's asked me to do exactly the same thing.

The time that I can make the most of it is now time. That's what James tells me you want to make the most of sometime make the most of now time because I'm all I really know I have. You see, that's what James is saying Ben Franklin said lost time is never found again was exactly right. Once you lose it, you've lost it. Now you might be thinking about this time I find unknown this this is one of those make me feel guilty kind of sermons and that I've got a boy I waste so much time aiming you know this is really going to be bad and you know what I'm going to end up on have to get into the Bible more than I've ever done before. And then I probably get a minute have to get out of the mission more than I did when have to witness the people were.

I probably have to go to form mission trip sometime in the I know this kind that I don't have to give up my hobbies. No more naps. I would have to give all this I meant to give his all because I have to make the most of my time.

You can be further from the truth that is not not pastoral. Give her the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you dislike of the sum of the method one more time. Remember the good a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online event website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. Yes, all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting a monthly with just the 100 support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word.

4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is of the sermon, the pastor will delivered during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website@bcnola.org that SBC and oh LA not owe Argie in our website you will find hundreds pastoral sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sermon series are looking for a concert by title. Once you find the message you're looking for an online work you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own. And remember all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is SBC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt and Jason Denhardt. Thank you for listening to fellowship in order