“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Eph. 5:16: KW—08.09.09 #1 in a series
Intro:
A. Does any adult here have absolutely enough time in your day? (Raise your hands if you do).
1. Did any of you get 25 hours in any day this past week?
2. Most of the people I talk to believe that they would be more effective if they just had more time.
B. Foundational idea #1: “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I
myself should become disqualified.” 1 Cor. 9:27
1. We typically think of this verse as a response to the false doctrine of “once-saved, always saved.”
2. Note the phrase, “…I discipline my body and bring it into subjection…”
a. The Greek word translated “discipline,” upotiazw, means to strike under the eye, to beat black and blue.
b. The Greek word translated “subjection,” doulagwgw, means to lead into slavery, to make a slave or to treat
one as a slave.
c. They only person I can really discipline and bring into subjection (i.e., control) is me—Mike Benson.
d. The phrase “time management” is really a misnomer. (Time management isn’t really about time management
at all; it is about LIFE-management).
. I can’t slow time down, move it forward (e.g., waiting for vacation), or pause it.
. All I can do is manage myself and how I use the twenty-four hours granted me by God.
C. Foundational idea #2: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine…” 1 Tim. 4:16
1. It is easy to get caught up in the hectic demands of my day and leave the really important stuff undone. (Henry
David Thoreau said, “It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?”).
2. Occasionally I need to stop and evaluate myself and the use of my time.
a. “What am I doing?” “How am I doing?”
b. “Is this THE most effective use of my time?” “Then another of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, let me first go
and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” Mt. 8:21-22
1) There is a conflict in this passage about time (e.g., what activity should take precedence—follow Jesus or
make funeral arrangements)?
2) Normally a man was exempted from a whole string of important religious duties in the event of a loved
one’s death.
3) Burial was carried out the day the person died (cf. Acts 5:6, 10), but mourning customs followed throughout
the subsequent week.
4) BTW, Jesus was not suggesting that we leave the deceased bodies of our loved ones lying about the
countryside. (He was telling the man to let those who were spiritually dead to bury this loved one who was
physically dead).
5) Many of our daily decisions, including the use of our time, do not involve good or evil, right or wrong, but
rather what is good, better, and best.
D. I need to evaluate how I use my time and then learn how to control and manage myself. 4 truths:
1. God has given me 168 hours each week, 24 hours each day—no more, no less.
2. No one knows when time will stop. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father.” Mk. 13:32
3. Everyone lives now.
4. Becoming a Christian obligates me to view and use my time differently than the world does.
a. My goal is not to find more time, but to use my time more wisely.
b. If there is a leak in my bathtub, I want to patch it up. If there are leaks in my time, then I need to repair them.
I. My time is limited.
A. I have to come to grips with this reality. (I’m not going to get an additional hour today or any day). “I must work
the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” Jn. 9:4
1. Gen. 1:14 “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the
night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.”
2. Job 14:1-2 “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and
fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue.”
3. Job 7:6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.”
4. Job 9:25 “Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.”
5. Gen. 47:9 “And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty
years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life…”
6. David said in 1 Chron. 29:15, “Our days on earth are as a shadow…”
7. James 4:14 “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor
that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
B. Thought: What I do with my life and time will have an impact on my eternity—where there is no time.
II. My activities are typically either pressing or consequential.
A. Definitions:
1. Pressing means “demanding immediate attention or urgent” (e.g., emergency mode).
2. Consequential means “significant or important.”
a. Question: Are these definitions identical? No.
b. Why then do we treat them the same way? (We often treat those things which are pressing as though they
are consequential, don’t we)?
B. Test:
1. Is this activity consequential or pressing? (Note: Some things can be both consequential and pressing). Ex:
Joe Rhodes found a 5 ½ ft. rattlesnake in his backyard just a few feet away from where his grandsons were
picking up golf balls.
2. Examples:
. No milk for breakfast.
. An appointment for a blood test and biopsy to determine if I have bone cancer.
. A 10 page term paper due this coming Friday.
. Being 10 minutes late for a luncheon date with a friend.
. Being 30 minutes late for your child’s ballgame.
. Being 3 months late with your house payment.
. Being baptized.
. A sore throat.
. A child’s high fever.
. Playing a favorite game on Facebook. “And he said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place
and rest a while.’ For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” Mk. 6:31
. Attending Bible class.
. Putting out a fire on the stove.
. Checking the oil in your car.
. Finishing your taxes.
. Cleaning and picking up your house.
. Getting dinner on the table for company. “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village,
and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who
also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she
approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her
to help me.’ And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about
many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away
from her.’” Lk. 10:38-42
a. I don’t hear Jesus saying that preparing a meal and eating is unimportant.
b. I do hear Jesus making a distinction between what is consequential and what is pressing. (Martha got the
the two confused).
c. When I am guilty of making that which is pressing into something consequential, I need to go back and
study 1 Tim. 4:16—“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine…”
d. May I suggest that how I manage myself and my time is, in fact, a doctrinal issue. “Redeeming the time…”
Eph. 5:16
1) Redeeming the time refers to buying up the opportunity (as a wise purchaser who realizes the value
of certain merchandise and buys it before the option to make the purchase is no longer available). Ex:
Brian finding a great deal on muzzleloaders
2) We all relate to time in different ways: referees call time, prisoners serve time, musicians mark time,
historians record time, loafers kill time, statisticians keep time. (As a Christian I am to redeem time).
III. I need to learn to differentiate between the pressing and the consequential and act accordingly.
A. Example: laziness
1. Prov. 10:5 “He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.”
a. What happens if I am napping during the time when the crops are ripe and ready to be picked?
b. Not only is it shameful to sleep when I should be working, but it is consequential.
2. Prov. 19:15 “Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”
a. What happens if I choose to be lazy instead of going out and trying to find a job?
b. Laziness is consequential. “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not
work, neither shall he eat.” 2 Thess. 3:10
3. Prov. 20:4 “The sluggard will not plow because of winter; therefore he will beg during the harvest and have
nothing.”
a. What happens if I wait for comfortable temperatures before I start working in my vegetable garden?
b. A lot of people have learned that not working is consequential.
B. Example: preparing for famine
1. cf. Gen. 41
a. Joseph had been cast into prison because he had allegedly attempted to rape Potiphar’s wife. cf. Gen. 39
b. While in prison, he correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker. cf. Gen. 40
c. Two years later, Pharaoh also had dreams which could not be interpreted. cf. Gen. 41:1-8
. The butler then remembered Joseph. cf. Gen. 41:9-13
. Pharaoh called for Joseph and asked him to interpret the dreams. cf. Gen. 41:14-24
. Joseph interpreted the dreams and told Pharaoh what was going to transpire over the next fourteen
years. cf. Gen. 41:25ff
d. Question: Was preparing for the seven years of famine pressing or consequential?
2. There are often a number of things that are screaming for my immediate attention.
a. From both a practical as well as a spiritual perspective, if I am constantly doing the pressing things, I may
find myself very hungry come “famine time”!
. If I spend too much time talking with my friends, I may have to stay up all night to finish a paper for class.
(I might even fail the class because the paper was late or was rushed and not prepared thoughtfully).
. If I don’t put out that little flame under the eye of the stove while it is small today, I may be looking for a
new place to live tomorrow.
. If I spend hours learning to play a game on the internet, but my best friend steps into eternity in a lost
condition because I never learned how to teach him, was it worth the trade?
. If I’m too busy to spend quality and quantity time with my children when they are young, I might lose
them to the world when they go out on their own.
. If I did the pressing stuff and neglected taking my children to Bible study, I shouldn’t be surprised if they
fall away because the word was never really ingrained in their hearts.
. If I am constantly running around with my friends, but I neglect the emotional and physical needs of
my mate, I shouldn’t be surprised when he or she starts talking about divorce.
. If I’m too busy with work or pleasure to be immersed and involve myself in the work of the Lord, I will
be lost. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a
man give in exchange for his soul?” Mt. 16:26
b. Are you willing to take a few moments now and make an honest appraisal of your time?
Concl:
A. How have you done this week? Did you carry out pressing stuff or consequential stuff?
1. Did you do the stuff that really mattered or were you running around in emergency mode doing the pressing
things?
2. What do you need to do with the time you have RIGHT NOW?
. Rethink what you’ll do with your afternoon?
. Publicly repent and ask for prayers? Be immersed?
B. Illust: A read of an old Norwegian who had kept very careful notes of his life in a series of notebooks he kept on the
shelf of his business. On his eightieth birthday he went to the store and pulled the books from the shelf and began
to compute his life. He was surprised to find that he had spent five of his eighty years waiting on customers. He
had spent six months tying neckties, three months scolding children who had been running around the store, and
eight days telling his dogs to lie down and be quiet.
1. Some stuff is pressing; some stuff is consequential.
2. We need to learn to distinguish between the two and then act accordingly.
C. “Does anybody really know what time it is?” (Lyrics)
As I was walking down the street one day
A man came up to me and asked me
What the time was that was on my watch, yeah
And I said
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
If so I can’t imagine why
We’ve all got time enough to cry
And I was walking down the street one day
A pretty lady looked at me and said
Her diamond watch had stopped cold dead
And I said
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
If so I can’t imagine why
We’ve all got time enough to cry
And I was walking down the street one day
Being pushed and shoved by people trying to beat the clock
Oh, oh, I just don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, oh
And I said, yes, I said
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
If so I can’t imagine why
We’ve all got time enough to die
Everybody’s working
I don’t care about time
I don’t care
D. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Col. 3:1-2
“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Eph. 5:16: KW—08.09.09
Intro:
A. Do you have enough time in your day?
B. Foundational idea #1: 1 Cor. 9:27
1. Definitions:
a. “Discipline” means:
b. “Subjection” means:
2. The only person I can really discipline and bring into subjection is:
C. Foundational idea #2: 1 Tim. 4:6
1. What is the danger of getting caught up in the hectic demands of the day?
2. What was the man’s problem? Mt. 8:21-22
D. I need to evaluated how I use my time and then learn how to manage myself. 4 truths:
1.
2.
3.
4.
I. My time is .
A. Verses: Gen. 1:14; Job 14:1-2; 7:6; 9:25; Gen. 47:9; 1 Chron. 29:15; Jas. 4:14
B. What I do with my life and time will have an impact on .
II. My activities are typically either or .
A. Definitions:
1. Pressing means:
2. Consequential means:
B. Are these definitions the same?
C. Test:
. No milk for breakfast
. An appointment for a blood test and biopsy
. A 10 page term paper due this coming Friday
. Being 10 minutes late for a luncheon date with a friend
. Being 30 minutes late for your child’s ballgame
. Being 3 months late with your house payment
. Being baptized
. A sore throat
. A child’s high fever
. Playing a game on Facebook
. Attending Bible class
. Putting out a fire on the stove
. Checking oil in your car
. Finishing your taxes
. Cleaning and picking up your house
. Getting dinner on the table for company
a. What was Martha’s problem? Lk. 10:38-42
b. Eph. 5:16
III. I need to learn to between the pressing and the consequential and .
A. Prov. 10:5; 19:15; 20:4
B. Gen. 41
Concl:
“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Eph. 5:16: KW—08.09.09 #2 in a series
Intro:
A. Illust: General Stonewall Jackson was involved in his famous 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley of
Virginia. It was necessary for the general to get his army across a river one night, so he gave orders to the engineers
to make a way for the artillery and wagons to go over. He also called his wagon-master, who was a blacksmith, to
headquarters and gave him instructions to get the wagon train across the river as fast as possible. The engineers
went to work in their usual manner to devise a bridge. The blacksmith, knowing only that something was to be done
in the most practical way, gathered a force and with logs and rocks and fence rails improvised a bridge of his own.
Between midnight and day he awakened General Jackson and said, “General, we have got all the wagons and artillery
across.” The astonished general asked, “Where are the engineers?” The blacksmith replied, “They’re over there in a
tent still drawing pictures and planning a bridge.”
1. To borrow from last week’s message, sometimes I’m working on pressing matters (i.e., urgent), when I should be
working on consequential matters (i.e., important).
a. Sometimes I am drawing up plans and blueprints when I ought to be building bridges.
b. That’s why we’re asking the question in this series, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
2. In last Sunday’s lesson we started talking about not so much time management, but life management.
a. The truth is, I can’t slow time down (e.g., when I’m doing something I really enjoy), I can’t move fast forward it
(e.g., when facing hardship), nor can I put it on pause if I need to think. (Time moves on whether I want it to
or not).
b. I’m not in control of time; I am in control of myself. “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest,
when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Cor. 9:27
1) Subjection means “to treat one as a slave.”
2) Question: “Am I a slave to Jesus and His priorities for my life, or am I a slave to my ever urgent schedule?”
a) Occasionally I need to evaluate how I use my time and then manage myself. “Take heed to yourself and
to the doctrine…” 1 Tim. 4:16
b) I need to ask myself, “How am I doing?” “Is this THE MOST effective use of my time?”
B. Observations from last week’s message:
1. My time is limited. (James said it is like a vapor; vapors typically don’t hang around very long). Jas. 4:14
2. Most of my activities are typically either pressing or consequential. Jesus told Martha, “…Martha, Martha, you are
worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed…” Lk. 10:41b-42a
a. Martha was so caught up in the preparations of a meal for the preacher, that she overlooked the fact that the
Bread of Life—the Son of God was sitting right there in her living room.
b. Many times we confuse pressing stuff with consequential stuff.
3. I need to learn to differentiate between the pressing and the consequential and act accordingly. (If Joseph had
waited seven years before he had started on preparations for famine, a lot of people would have starved to
death).
C. On a personal note, I have been somewhat concerned about this past week’s impending schedule:
1. Schedule:
. Regular Monday staff meeting, plus other individual meetings
. Daily email devotional—KneEmail
. Bi-weekly Article for Forthright website
. Preparation for: a) New Christian’s class on Wed. at 6:00, b) two sermons and Powerpoint, c) Sunday AM Bible
class, 2 lessons and Ppt for SEC on Saturday in Birmingham, Thursday Shepherd’s class, counseling, and
visitation, email
a. Unexpected things: benevolence, email requests, phone calls, unscheduled meetings, etc.
b. We had company at the house and Lanore’s birthday was Thursday.
2. I thought, “How can I do everything that needs to be accomplished?” “How can I live with the limitations of
time?”
D. Both God and I are involved in this equation of “time”management:
I. God has given me time. “This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psm. 118:24
. The Lord is in charge of time; in fact, He transcends time. (He created lights in the sky for signs and seasons, days
and years). cf. Gen. 1:14
. I am responsible for how I use the time God has granted me. “Redeeming the time…” Eph. 5:16
A. Time has built in/inherent limitations. “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they
are eighty years…” Psm. 90:10
1. With few exceptions, most people live to be in their seventies or eighties at best.
2. At some intervals during that life there are things that have to be done (i.e., sleep, eat, etc.). (As much as I may
want to, I can’t do everything and so it is futile to try).
B. Even Jesus was limited by time while He was on earth. “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day
the night is coming when no one can work.” Jn. 9:4 (Ponder that for just a moment—“Jesus was limited…”).
1. God the Son is eternal. “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Jn. 8:58
a. Notice he did not say, “I was,” but “I AM” denoting eternality.
b. His Jewish listeners could only interpret His statement as blasphemy.
2. But Jesus the Son of Man was bound by the limitations of time.
a. He couldn’t heal and help everybody. “And He said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place
and rest a while.’ For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” Mk. 6:31
b. Jesus in the flesh (cf. Jn. 1:14) needed to:
1) Eat.
2) Rest, sleep. “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the
waves. But He was asleep.” Mt. 8:24
c. If Jesus was limited in time while He was on the earth, then I surely am!
1) And again, to borrow from last week, I have to come to grips with that reality.
2) Lance Armstrong said, “Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just
one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and
purpose.”
II. God has given me talents and abilities.
A. I can’t do everything, but I can do some things. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country,
who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and
to another one, to each according to his ability…” Mt. 25:14-15a
B. He has given me the ability to do certain things very well (i.e., in an excellent way). “His lord said to him, ‘Well
done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things…” Mt. 25:21a
1. Examples:
a. If you car broke down, you wouldn’t want to call Mike Benson. (I don’t have the talent to do much more
than change a flat tire).
b. If you needed medical attention for an emergency, you wouldn’t want to call me. (I don’t have the talent,
training, or skill to do much more than apply a band aid).
2. But if you were looking for someone who knows something about, for example, conflict management or art
and photography, you might come to me.
a. I’m not trying to boast or be arrogant; I’m simply saying God has given me certain talents that I have chosen
to develop.
b. God has given all of us talents. Ex: Write, cook, create and decorate, manage, teach, organize, etc.
1) What we do with our time and talents is critical!
2) If I want to hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” from God at the Judgment Day, I
have to use what He has given me in an advantageous fashion. “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good
and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things… Enter into the joy of your lord.” Mt. 25:21
III. God has promised me wisdom.
A. Promise: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will
be given him.” Jas. 1:5
1. Note that James did not say, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him study philosophy or let him meditate…”
a. Knowledge (i.e., the possession of facts) is gained through study.
b. But wisdom, understanding, and insight is a gift of God as is salvation. “For the wages of sin is death, but
the (free) gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:23
2. Do you need wisdom in terms of how match your talents with your time?
B. Watch the phrase, “…who gives to all liberally and without reproach…”
1. Liberally, aplws, means “simply, unreservedly, freely.” Ex:
a. When someone has made a request of you, have you gotten involved reluctantly, grudgingly, or made
objections?
b. The phrase “without reproach” suggests that God not only gives generously, but He does so without
complaining, “You’re always asking for something from Me!”
2. God will grant me wisdom as I listen to Him in His word and go to Him in prayer, but it is my responsibility to
use the gift He has offered.
IV. I need to know my priorities.
A. Daniel 3:1ff
1. Details:
. The year in which the events of Daniel 3 take place is not given in Scripture. (Tradition says it was around
the 18th year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign).
. The king had a great image of gold constructed—probably in his likeness. v. 1 (It was most likely created to
give glory to both Nebuchadnezzar as well as the god Marduk).
. Government officials held a royal dedication ceremony. vv. 2-3
. A decree was made when then certain music was played, everyone was to bow down in homage. vv. 4-7
. Anyone who disobeyed this new law was to be cast into a fiery furnace. v. 6
. Certain Chaldeans came to accuse Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-Nego. vv. 8-12 (This may have been
because these Jews as foreigners had prestigious positions in the Babylonian kingdom, and Jehovah
had also received a place of prominence). cf. 1:6-7
. Nebuchadnezzar gave the three men an ultimatum—bow or burn! vv. 14-15
2. “Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to
answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we
do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’” Dan. 3:16-18
a. These three men understood that if God favored them then they would be delivered from the furnace; if
Jehovah chose not to miraculously intervene, they would be dispatched into God’s eternal care.
b. The flame of their faith exceeded the heat of the furnace! (Note: Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-Nego knew
their priorities!)
B. When I know my priorities, my schedule begins to fall into place. (It is one thing to say and sing that I love God;
another thing entirely to put that into practice in my daily walk)!
1. God has given me time, talents, and wisdom; assuming I know what is paramount in my life, THEN I can begin
to decide what to do and what not to do each day.
2. “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” Col. 4:5
Concl:
A. When was the last time you heard yourself say the following words…? “Not tonight.” “Later.” “I’m too tired!” or
“I’m too busy.”
B. Example: The seven-year-old boy asked his father, “Daddy, could you build me a fort?” Daddy said that he could.
The child’s every waking moment was filled with the excitement and anticipation of working on his own fort.
The child was nearly bursting with enthusiasm as his father came home from work the next day. “Tonight, Daddy,
can we build the fort?” “Not tonight, son, I’m just too tired.”
On the second night daddy postponed once more saying, “Tonight I have a report to do. It must be finished by
tomorrow.” On the third night, daddy’s explanation was a bit longer, “Son, your mother and I have made a promise
to go to a party. Do you understand promises?” Indeed, the child did understand about promises. These were
filled with other statements to postpone the building, but still the child persisted.
On a Friday morning, the child heard his daddy say, “Tonight you hurry right home from school and we’ll build the
fort.” The excitement the little boy felt was indescribable. Not one thing was gained from his day’s experience in
school because all he could think about was the moment he would be working with his dad on that special fort.
The bell rang signaling the end of the day. The boy leaped from his desk, bolted out the front door, and maybe he
reasoned like this: “I can run all the way home; it’s only seven blocks.” With a head full of dreams and happiness, the
boy ran as fast as he could, not at all aware of the too familiar world passing by. As he entered the busy road, he
looked neither left nor right. A truck appeared out of nowhere and the two collided. An ambulance took the lad to
the hospital emergency room where the first evaluation contained only one word…“Coma.” Dad received the call
and drove recklessly to the hospital. He pushed past people to enter his son’s room and stood for what seemed like
an eternity at the foot of his child’s bed. The father watched as his little boy opened his eyes and a smile appeared.
He listened then as the child said, “Daddy, we won’t have to build that fort tonight after all,” and then he died.
I believe that the little boy is okay, but Dad is not okay. Dad is thinner now and he’s quieter. Dad loses his hair in
circular patches and when it grows back, it grows back without color. He wonders where to turn from relief from
the guilt and the pain. To whom can he say, “I wish I had never postponed those requests?” We may lose daddy,
too. (Jim Kern, Build the Fort Today, 42-43)
B. Brethren, are there any “fort projects” you need to attend to?
1. God has given you this day.
2. God has given you talents.
3. God has promised you wisdom.
4. What is your priority?
a. Some here need to repent of sin; others need to be immersed for the remission of sins.
b. What will you do with the next ten minutes God has granted you? “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It
Is…?” “Does Anybody Really Care…?”
“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Jn. 9:4: KW—08.09.09 #2 in a series
Intro:
A. Illust: General Stonewall Jackson
B. Review
1. My time is .
2. My activities are typically either or .
3. I need to learn to between the pressing and the consequential and act
.
C. “How can I do everything I want and need to do?”
I. God has given me . Psm. 118:24
. Who is in charge of time? Gen. 1:14
. What is my responsibility to that truth? Eph. 5:16
A. Time has built in . Psm. 90:10
B. Even was limited by time! Jn. 9:4; 8:58; Mk. 6:31; Mt. 8:24
II. God has given me . Mt. 25:14-15
A. I can’t do , but I can do very well. Mt. 25:21a
B. What we do with our time and talents is ! Mt. 25:21
III. God has promised me . Jas. 1:5
A. Where exactly does this come from?
B. Explain the phrase, “…Who gives to all liberally and without reproach…” in your own words.
IV. I need to know my . Dan. 3
A. Who were the main characters in this true story? What were the circumstances?
B. When I know my priorities, my begins to .
Concl:
A. “Not tonight.” “Later.”
B. “Fort projects…”
–Mike Benson
More than 100 times in the Bible we find information about our neighbors.
The eyes of God
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010Second Chronicles is perhaps one of the most neglected of the inspired writings among otherwise good Bible students. I must admit that my yearly trek through the genealogies in 1 and 2 Chronicles takes some patience. Much of what we read in the Chronicles are a repeat of the material in 1 and 2 Kings with but little difference. It is interesting, therefore, that on my journey through the Chronicles this year that my eyes happened to light upon a little phrase that I have read a number of times, though only in passing. But first, some background information. It was the 36th year of the reign of Asa, king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Asa was instrumental in maintaining pure worship before God. He removed his own mother from being queen because she had made an idol unto false gods (1 Chron. 15:16). In addition, he brought into the house of God the things that his father Abijah had restored to the temple. When the 16th chapter opens we learn that Baasha, king of the Northern Kingdom, rose up against Judah. Rather than depend upon God for protection, Asa turned to Benhadad, the king of Syria, and sought an alliance with that idolatrous nation. The union was successful and Benhadad retreated from his aggression. Asa may have won the battle, but he lost what might have otherwise been a blessing from God in the final overthrow and defeat of Syria itself. Hanani the prophet was sent to Asa: “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand.” Hanani then makes this interesting statement: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect before him. Herein has thou done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (16:9). Please note these lessons from this record.
First, God has searching eyes. Here it is said that He is looking for those “whose heart is perfect toward him.” Jeremiah was once instructed to “run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it” (Jer. 5:1). Those must have been trying times when a righteous man was hard to find. Wickedness was rampant. Both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms were, for the most part, corrupt. How easy it would have been for God to simply turn His back. Instead, God was searching. Like the prodigal son whose father must have never ceased to look, our Father in heaven keeps searching for one more soul that is “perfect toward him.”
Second, God has far reaching eyes. His eyes are said to run “to and fro throughout the whole earth.” There is no hamlet, no small village, no isolated corner of this globe that can escape the penetrating look of the eyes of God. “And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). One wonders by the timing of Hanani’s statement from God whether or not Asa may have attempted to make this “league” with Benhadad in secret. Men may perpetrate and perform their crimes in the dark of night where they THINK they can escape detection. Law makers and politicians may receive a bribe “under the table” in an effort to conceal their wicked deeds. But our God sees all, and all will answer to the Almighty for their ungodly deeds.
Third, God has urgent eyes. It is said that His eyes “run.” Time is of the essence. “The King’s business requires haste” (1 Sam. 21:8). We must preach the word, “be urgent in season out of season.” But what it is that makes the search so urgent? It is the limited time constraint that faces you and me. Life is but a vapor. There is no certainty of tomorrow. God knows this. And I, for one, am happy that He does not linger in searching for those of perfect heart.
Fourth, God has revealing eyes. He was to “shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect.” I, for one, am glad that God is a revealing God and that He WANTS to make himself known. How grateful we should be that not only has He made “one of every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,” but that God’s desire is that we “should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27). Some years ago it was declared that “God is dead.” No, God is not dead. He is alive, and He has made Himself known. For those who miss Him, the fault is solely theirs for God is looking for them, and He is ready and willing to show Himself to those who earnestly seek after Him (Heb. 11:6).
Finally, God has demanding eyes. While His love is unconditional, His blessings are for a limited few. He is strong in behalf of “them whose heart is perfect toward him.” The context of those words helps me understand what God means by a “heart that is perfect toward him.” Asa failed to trust God. He doubted the power of God to fulfill the promises given. While Asa may have proven himself noteworthy by seeking to eradicate idolatry and return to true worship of Jehovah, he failed in this one area. He failed to seek God’s advice, and then to follow it when it came to him. God demands that we bow in submission in every single aspect and area of our life. Failure to do so will be catastrophic.
–by Tom Wacaster
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