How Much Time Do You Have?
Psalm 90 / Ephesians 5:15-17
INTRODUCTION: I’d like to ask you “How Much Time Do You Have?” (which is probably not what you’d like to hear a speaker ask at the start of a talk.) Do you realize that over the course of our lifetimes, each of us is expected to spend:
How do you view time? Strange question, isn’t it—time is so pervasive that we ignore it the way a goldfish might ignore water. But consciously or not, we all have a view of time. So what is time to you?
• Is it a resource or is it a problem?
• Does time represent a threat or an opportunity?
• Is it often running out on you, or are you just trying to kill it?
Psychologists tell us that the way you answer these questions reflects your personality and culture, but what about your theology? I’d like us to consider a brief theology of time: a biblical perspective towards time and our use of it:
[READ Psalm 90:1-6]
This psalm is a reflection on the transience of life. Moses tells us right away that
I. GOD IS ETERNAL, BUT PEOPLE ARE MORTAL (1-6, 9-10)
A. God is eternal (1-2)
1. He has been our shelter throughout every generation (1)
2. Before creation, from everlasting to everlasting (2)
3. His eternality gives us hope, as He is unrestricted by time
B. People are mortal (3-6, 9-10)
1. Moses compares us to dust, withering grass (3-6)
2. Moses gives us 70-80 years to live (9-10)
C. ILLUSTRATION: In the movie "Star Trek Generations" the villainous Dr. Soran sees time as a predator: "you can try to avoid it with doctors, medicines, new technologies ... but in the end, time will hunt you down, and make the kill!"
D. ILLUSTRATION: www.deathclock.com
1. My projected date of death is Saturday, Nov. 21, 2043
2. The most unnerving part? They show the seconds ticking down!
>>Facing “the reality of mortality” alters your perspective. We realize that
II. BECAUSE OUR TIME IS LIMITED, WE MUST USE IT WISELY (12)
So how do we do that? We’re going to take a detour into the New Testament. Keep your place marked at Psalm 90, and turn over to Ephesians 5:15-16 [READ]
A. Living wisely involves “redeeming” our time (Eph. 5:15-16)
1. “Be very careful how you live” (Greek “watch closely how you walk”) suggests a purpose and direction to life.
2. “Make the most of every opportunity” is an interpretation of the Greek phrase “redeeming the time.”
a. The Greek word translated “redeem” is a form of the word that means “buy” or “purchase.” It was used with reference to buying back a slave, and in the NT usually refers Christ’s purchasing our salvation.
b. The expression is a metaphorical way to speak of using time well. A good translation would be “buy up every opportunity.”
c. ILLUSTRATION: Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings": “All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that’s been given you.”
3. “Redeeming the time” is not referring primarily to the hours and minutes of the Christian’s day, but rather to the opportunities we have to serve God.
a. Which is good, b/c I’m horrible at time management. Ask my wife—no, on second thought, better not.
b. My multitasking—watching ESPN while doing laundry
c. No idea here of squeezing more activity into less time.
d. This verse does not mean “get more organized,” or “do more, faster,” but “submit your time to God’s agenda.”
B. Two ways we can use time unwisely—“unredeemed” time:
1. Laziness—no one considers this a virtue; Bible says it’s sin. Time is too important to fritter away. Time is life—nothing more, nothing less. The way you spend your hours and days is the way you spend your life.
2. Busyness—everyone considers this a virtue (give examples)
a. Americans are busier than we’ve ever been:
1) Technology makes us work more, not less
2) 33% of workers bring work home min. once/week.
c. Both in our work and in our play, we rush, we push, we strive, we accomplish. When we stop rushing & pushing & striving & accomplishing, we collapse in front of the TV. What gets squeezed out? Prayer.
d. Mark Littleton: “Are all the activities that scream for my time really essential? Am I missing the burning bush for trying to keep the lawn cut?”
e. APP: Life is not supposed to be a series of frenetic activities followed by down time. We need spiritual refreshment.
1) Freshman trying to make up for a disappointing fall
2) Senior trying to find work after graduation
3) Graduate student cramming for comprehensives
4) Parent trying to raise kids with your spouse
f. APPLICATION: If you’re too busy to pray, you’re too busy! Cut something out to make time to hang out with Jesus.
>>So if not laziness & not busyness, what does “redeeming the time” look like? 2 steps:
III. "REDEEMING THE TIME" MEANS DISCERNING AND DOING THE WILL OF GOD
A. Discerning the will of God (Eph. 5:17)
1. A wise use of time is to understand what the Lord wants you to do
2. Usually when Christians speak of discerning the will of the Lord, they have in mind God’s will regarding major decisions about a spouse or a career. This is not what v. 17 is about. The text is more concerned about God’s intent for the way we live each day:
a. Call for moral discernment and good decision-making.
b. Keeping life on target = pleasing Christ his purposes.
3. APPLICATION: Perhaps we would not have so much trouble finding God’s will for important decisions if we were more accustomed to following Christ on a daily basis. Wisdom through prayer.
4. 90% of God’s will is in the Bible anyway!
>>But to redeem the time means going beyond just discerning the will of God. It means ...
B. Doing the will of God (Ps. 90:17)
1. Susan Ertz: “Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.”
2. “Make our efforts successful” = “establish the work of our hands.” In other words, give it permanence. Frail, limited, and sinful as we are, God can transform what is weak into his own glory. This is a reversal of the imagery of dust and withering grass earlier in Ps. 90
3. Not only will God’s work be successful and endure, but, with His blessing, the work of our hands will as well.
4. APPLICATION: If you introduce somebody to Jesus, you can impact someone else’s eternity. And if you’re making an impact for eternity, you’ll have a different perspective on time.
5. ILLUSTRATION: 19th-century Harvard professor Louis Agassiz was once approached by the emissary of a learned society and invited to speak. Agassiz declined the invitation, saying that lectures of this kind took up too much time that should be devoted to research and writing. The man persisted, saying that the society was prepared to pay handsomely for the lecture. "That’s no inducement to me," Agassiz replied, "I can’t afford to waste my time making money.”
CONCLUSION: To "redeem" your time is to discern and do the will of God. If you do this, time will be your friend, not your adversary. And God will establish the work of your hands.
What was Captain Picard’s response to Soran to conclude "Star Trek Generations?" "Someone once told me that time was our adversary ... but I rather think of time as a friend, who goes with us on the journey--and teaches us to treasure every moment, for they’ll never come again."
