“Maximizing your Time”
Ephesians 5:15-20
I. The Truth about “Time”
Truth #1 - You can’t rush or stop time.
Geoffrey Chaucer - “Time and tide wait for no man.”
Seneca - “We are always complaining that our days are few and acting as though there would be no end of them.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “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.” (NLT)
Point: Be WISE in how you use your time.
Truth #2 - You can’t recoup time.
Will Rogers - “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
Point: Time is NOT a renewable asset.
Exodus 21:19 - “The assailant must pay for time lost because of the injury and must pay for the medical expenses. (NLT)
Truth #3 - Time does not heal all wounds.
Ephesians 5:15,16 – “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Note: “Evil” = oppressive... where we get our English word “onerous”
George Whitefield - “Suffering times are a Christian's best-improving times.”
II. Steps for Maximizing your Time
Step #1 - Take time for God.
Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Ephesians 5:18-20 - “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Key Life Habit: Worship.
Eugene Peterson – “Busyness is the enemy of spirituality. It is essentially laziness. It is doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing. It is filling our time with our own actions instead of paying attention to God’s actions.”
Step #2 - Take time for Reflection.
Ephesians 5:17 – “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Key Life Habit: Meditation and Study.
Step #3 - Take time for yourself.
1 Timothy 4:7 - “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness.” (NLT)
Key Life Habit: Daily discipline.
Jim Elliot - “One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.”
Questions for Consideration...
1. The bulk of my time each day is spent to...
2. How does this draw me closer to God? How CAN it draw me closer to God? If it does NOT draw me closer to God, what are the options?
3. I find it most difficult to take time for God...for reflection...for myself. (pick one) How would it be to my advantage to take the time to get better in this area? How can I start taking the time?
4. Which “Key Life Habit” can I work on to better maximize my time? I will begin practicing this daily habit (when) and (where).
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