New Hope Notes
Making The Most Of Our Time
A Season Of Gifts
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
January 4, 2004 - W0401
Time is a major component of life. Through timeÖ
? Crops grow
? Children mature
? Friendships blossom
? Wounds heal
There are different ways of dealing with time. Like the wind, you can let it just pass you by and tousle your hair, or you can harness it, like with a windmill, and channel it to produce good results. In fact, much of your success in life will be determined by how you use your time. Each day, each of us is given 86,400 seconds of time. How well are you harnessing your time?
EVERYONE HAS TIME. ITíS HOW WE USE IT THAT WILL DETERMINE OUR SUCCESS.
While we are on this earth, we should be striving to convert time into life or the things life is made of. Time is the most valuable thing someone can spend and you cannot kill time without somehow injuring eternity. In fact, every span of our life has a purpose. Thatís why we should seek to understand what that purpose is and how we can convert this time to fulfill that purpose. Are you going to just let it pass you by or will you harness it?
"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16). This passage reminds us that time can easily be squandered so you are left with nothing. So here are some suggestions on how to make the most of our time. The first point to remember is toÖ
1. KNOW GOD'S WILL FOR THIS YEAR. NOT TO, MAY CAUSE US TO LIVE FOOLISHLY.
Ephesians 5:17 says, "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
To make the most of your time, you need to know what God's will is for you in this season. It's like having a coupon for a free ticket to anywhere you want to go. Yet unless you know where you want to go, you will not be able to convert that coupon for the ticket to get you there. The same thing is true for time. Unless we know what our purpose is or where we're headed, it is nearly impossible to convert the time we're given into a direction or activity that will get us to where we want to go.
On the other hand, if we know where we want to go, God gives us the coupon [time] that we can exchange to get us there. Oftentimes, it's not a matter of adding activities to our schedules to get us to where we want to go, but rather to cut out or prune activities from our lives that are not fruitful. John 15:2 says, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
So in order to do this, the first thing we must do isÖ
? TAKE TIME TO PLAN.
"The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).
In other words, if you fail to plan, you may be planning to fail! To avoid this, start by setting goals. Goals are points of obedience and improvement. Therefore, set goals for yourself this year and work toward accomplishing them. Some of the most popular and worthy goals people set each year include:
? Daily devotionals
? Working on relationships
A suggestion to help you achieve your goals is to break down your goal into smaller, interim goals that you can spread out over the year. Then write it in your calendar. By doing this, you have set up a system to periodically check on your goal progress and hold yourself accountable to manageable steps that are going to help you achieve your larger, annual goal.
Statistics suggest that about 20% new knowledge enters the world/work force each year. If that is true, it suggests that our knowledge should increase by 20% each year just to keep up. Keeping that in mind we can presume that if no new knowledge is acquired for five years, we will become virtually obsolete!
How much should you improve? Well, set a goal for 1% each day. Improve the way you greet people. Perhaps you can improve your appearance. Or simply smile at one more person each day. If you can improve yourself by 1% each day, in a year, you will have improved 365%!
Write a list of your goals or the things you want to improve and check them off as you go. Take the time to plan. The next thing you can do isÖ
2. RENEW YOUR HEART BACK TO GOD.
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).
In this day and age, we are all so busy. And as mentioned earlier, it's not a matter of how much more we do but rather what we choose to do that will really help us to make the most of our time. In the same way, it's not a matter of how much we do but with what heart we do things that can make a kingdom difference.
So, another way we can make the most of our time is to put more heart into what we do and that will improve life. And here are three ways to build more heart for what you already do. FirstÖ
? Ask God to fill you with His spirit daily!
Pray everyday, "Fill me afresh with your spirit today." Ask Him daily to renew your heart so you can convert the time He has given you to fulfill the purposes that He has for your life each day. Another way to build more heart is toÖ
? Develop a spirit of encouragement.
"Öspeaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). (Isaiah 50:4). Stir one another up with encouragement and hearts will remain supple and fashionable for God's purposes. And finallyÖ
? Develop a spirit of gratefulness.
"Öalways giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father" (Ephesians 5:20). God probably loves gratefulness more than just about anything else. Learn to be grateful and to say something to someone each day to express your gratefulness and share your gratefulness with someone else.
So we can make the most of our time by first knowing Godís will for our lives. Then we should renew our hearts back to Him. Just ask God to fill you with His spirit and help you develop a spirit of encouragement and gratefulness. And finallyÖ
3. PRIORITIZE RELATIONSHIPS IN FAMILY.
The Bible emphasizes the importance of good family relationships in ensuring that we make the most of our lives. The Bible tells us as married couplesÖ"Wives, be subject to your own husbandsÖHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the churchÖ" (Ephesians 5:22, 25).
So often in this day and age, husbands and wives stop courting one another once they are married. Now if you think about it, if there was more courting going on within marriages, there would be far fewer marriages ending up it courts. And the Bible also has a word for childrenÖ"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" (Ephesians 6:1).
God commands us to prioritize our family relationships and to invest our hearts in them. When we do that, we are harnessing our time and converting it into what is important in life.
As we stand on the brink of this new year, 2004, thinking about what the future holds, we can make most of the time God has given us by converting it to life by doing three simple things:
1. Knowing God's will for our life and taking time to plan and set goals of obedience and improvement.
2. Renewing our hearts back to God by asking him for fill us with His spirit daily, encouraging one another and expressing our gratefulness for His many blessings.
3. Prioritizing our relationships in our families to make the most of our lives and those of others.
Things to Consider for 2004
? What is God's purpose for your life this year? What is He calling you to do?
? What goals will you set this year and what plans can you implement to help you achieve them?
? How will you build more heart for what God has planned for you?
? How can you be an encourager and what can you do to express gratefulness?
? What relationships will you work on this year and how will you demonstrate their importance in your life?
Mahalo to our faithful volunteer writer,