“All that we have is a gift from God, to be stewarded for Him and His glory… that’s everything… period… is not owned by us but on loan from Heaven…
• I believe having that perspective is life changing…
James 4:14
• We have such a short window in life, we have so little time…
• Time is not like a bank account – you have no idea how much of it you have… You can’t argue with it, you can’t add a single minute… you can’t speed it up, slow it down, or pause it… a minute is only ever a minute, gone when it’s gone…
In my mind I think of time as equal to life… I have a finite number of beats to this heart… and then time is done for me… then Heaven.
So given this view of the finite nature of time; how should we spend this thing that we can never get back?
We’re to steward our time in the light of God’s desires and glory…
• We’re to give our finite to the infinite and trust Him with it…
• So let us not “Kill Time,” let us redeem it for His glory…
John 9:4-5
• Jesus was acutely aware that He only had a limited time on this earth in a physical way… we only have so much time and energy… Let us spend our time for the Lord, engaged in His ministry…
We next need to understand that not all time is the same, and that there is a time for everything…
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
• So, when change creeps into your life… a comfortable time shifts to uncomfortable… trust God in the timing and seasons of your life… trust God with your time…
Stewarding your time well is not just doing the hard things…
John 15:10-11
• Rightly stewarding of our time involves building into our lives things that bring us Joy & things that give us energy… Broken relationship with God sucks the joy from our lives… God desires that we would know joy…
• If it doesn’t violate the desires of God and gives you joy, enjoy it… Stewardship of our lives is not simply hard responsibility…
Mark 2:27-28
God wasn’t tired on the seventh day… Stewarding time and energy includes sabbath… following and honoring His example…
• “go fast or go long… without sabbath you burn out…” God’s calling us to build in rest so we can be more effective when we are going… and spend some time with Him…
Finally, part of stewarding our time well is guarding our hearts when our time is controlling us and not God… What does that look like?
• When we view our time selfishly…
• When we feel so pressed for time that we cannot wait in God’s presence… being too busy for God…
• When obsession concerning time causes us to violate God’s desires for our time…
A major part of our time is spent at work… We’re to steward our work in the light of God’s desires…
Genesis 2:15; 3:17
The curse didn’t create work, it only made it burdensome…
Colossians 3:12-17
This kind of life isn’t only about church life, but all our life, Including our workplace…
• This character needs to be seen in our places of work…
Colossians 3:22-24
Our work validates the gospel we preach in the eyes of others…
Our work changes as our seasons in life change, but work is vital to a healthy Christian life…
• In retirement we need to remain engaged… the idea of doing everything is unto the Lord…
But a word of caution, in your stewardship of work, guard your heart from being given over to workaholism…
To spend our time for His glory will cost us something…
Matthew 19:29
• But the reward of our work and our time well spent is worth it… Every moment of time is a gift from the Lord… let us steward them well…”