I Will Give My Time Series

Five Life Changing Resolutions

Part 3

I Will Give My Time

Ephesians 5:14-16

Scripture Reading

A LIFE OF RESOLUTIONS

Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century revivalist, sat down at age 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. Throughout his lifetime he would add to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions.

He put at the top of his list: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions…. Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week."

Edwards didn’t casually make New’s Year’s resolutions with an expectation of eventually breaking them. Each week he did a "self-check." He regularly summed up how he was doing and sought God’s help in the process.

Christ calls us to commit to actively work at becoming conformed to His image. This coming year resolve to be come a person committed to a godly transformation. If you faithfully do this, you will see your life begin to focus on the spiritual rather than on the passing, material world.

SOURCE: Jan Brown in ChristianityToday.com. Connection. Citation: http://www.christianitytoday.

This morning we’re going to learn about another resolution that can change your life. Let’s review our text;

Ephesians 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

I think we would all agree that time is very important subject. We use the word time in a variety of way in life. For instance we say,

…at all times - Definition: always

…at the appointed time - Definition: at an agreed upon time …behind the times - Definition: not fashionable, not up on current fashions

…to bide one's time - Definition: to wait

…from time to time - Definition: occasionally

…have the time of one's life - Definition: have a fantastic experience

…keep time - Definition: keep the beat in music

…live on borrowed time - Definition: live dangerously

…make time for something or someone - Definition: create a period of time especially for a thing or person

…out of time - Definition: not have any more time available …pressed for time - Definition: not have a lot of time to do something

…Time is money - Definition: Expression meaning that someone's time is important

…when the time is ripe - Definition: when it is the proper time

…ahead of time - Definition: before the agreed upon time

…all in good time - Definition: within a reasonable amount of time and

…at a set time

I. Our Waste of Time

One of my favorite John Wayne expressions is “we are burning daylight.”

It seems especially appropriate that the following statement was made in a “Time” magazine article;

If life seems more rushed than ever, you might be surprised to learn that we Americans don't have less leisure time than we did 40 years ago. We actually have more leisure time, and quite a bit more. What counts as leisure is up for argument, but under every definition the numbers have gone up. We get about 45 minutes a day of extra leisure.

Then why does it feel like we have so much less? It might be because we waste half of all our leisure time watching television. The average American adult devotes 2.5 hours a day to this hobby. And for every additional hour we get free, another 30 minutes goes into that tube. So if you want more free time, I recommend one thing: turn it off. This is easier said than done, especially during the World Series.

When I was growing up, my mom had one piece of advice for me, and she said it every single morning. 'Get out of the house!' It's good advice. Come join the 6.8 million who are in a book club, or the 196,000 who attend pro beach volleyball, or the 680,000 who go to tractor pulls every month. There's even 3 million people who enjoy a sport called 'muzzle loading,' which involves shooting a gun that looks 200 years old.

And at the end of the day, there's a thing in your kitchen called a stove. Turn it on and invite people over. Only 38% of Americans entertain friends or family at home at least once a year. What were the other 62% of us doing? Getting a free meal, I suppose. We can do better, America. If we're going to watch so much television, can't we at least invite friends over to watch?

a. Wasting time is senseless

Verse 17 tells us to “…be not unwise.” Deep down in our hearts we all know that we have just a certain amount of time to live. I remember earlier in life watching a daily slop opera (I mean soap opera) that started each program with this into: “Like sand in an hour glass, these are the days of our lives.” Do you remember that too? If you have ever seen an hour glass with the sand slowly running down through a narrow tube into the bottom then you have some idea of how time moves. When all the sand runs from top to bottom you flip it over and start again. The trouble with this metaphor is that where life is concerned we don’t get to flip the glass and start over! I read a survey with the following information: