Stewarding Time: Living for God's Glory

 

Summary

In today's message, we explored the profound concept of stewardship, particularly focusing on how we steward our time. As we embark on a journey of understanding our identity in Christ, it's crucial to recognize that our time is a gift from God, meant to be managed wisely for His glory. We began by reflecting on Genesis 1, where God created everything, including time, and appointed humanity as stewards of His creation. This foundational truth reminds us that everything we have, including our time, belongs to God.

Stewardship is the management of our time, talents, and resources for God's glory. We all have the same amount of time each day, and how we use it reflects our identity and priorities. Ephesians 5:15-17 urges us to live wisely, making the most of our time because the days are evil. This calls us to be intentional about how we spend our time, ensuring it aligns with God's purposes.

We identified five key areas where we spend our time: with God, with family, at work, in leisure, and in waste. Each area requires careful consideration to ensure we are not squandering the precious time God has given us. Jesus serves as our ultimate example of time stewardship. Despite the constant demands on His time, He never seemed rushed or overwhelmed. He understood His mission, owned it, and poured time into others, all while recognizing His human limitations.

To make the most of our time for God's glory, we must first know our mission, which is rooted in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We must own this mission, living it out daily. Understanding our limits is crucial, as even Jesus took time for solitude and prayer. Finally, we should invest time in others, recognizing that this has a far-reaching impact on God's kingdom.

As we reflect on our priorities, let us commit to being good stewards of the time, talents, and treasures God has entrusted to us, always seeking to glorify Him in all we do.

Key Takeaways:

1. Understanding Stewardship: Stewardship is the management of our time, talents, and resources for God's glory. Recognizing that everything we have belongs to God changes our perspective on how we use our time. We are called to be wise stewards, making the most of every moment for His purposes. [47:47]

2. The Gift of Time: Time is a gift from God, and we all have the same amount each day. How we use it reflects our identity and priorities. Ephesians 5:15-17 challenges us to live wisely, making the most of our time because the days are evil. This requires intentionality and alignment with God's will. [49:21]

3. Jesus as Our Example: Jesus exemplified perfect time stewardship. Despite constant demands, He was never rushed or overwhelmed. He understood His mission, owned it, and poured time into others, all while recognizing His human limitations. We can learn from His example to manage our time effectively. [56:23]

4. Knowing and Owning Our Mission: To make the most of our time for God's glory, we must first know our mission, rooted in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Owning this mission means living it out daily, ensuring our time is spent in alignment with God's purposes. [01:01:15]

5. Investing in Others: Pouring time into others has a far-reaching impact on God's kingdom. Jesus invested in His disciples, knowing that time spent with others would multiply His influence. We are called to do the same, recognizing that our investment in others can be world-changing. [01:09:01]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [44:20] - Created in God's Image
- [46:03] - Stewardship of Creation
- [47:47] - Defining Stewardship
- [49:21] - The Gift of Time
- [50:02] - God's Creation of Time
- [51:00] - Five Places We Spend Time
- [51:59] - Time with Family
- [52:45] - Leisure and Waste
- [53:25] - Ephesians 5: Making the Most of Time
- [54:30] - Tools for Time Management
- [56:23] - Jesus' Example of Time Stewardship
- [01:01:15] - Knowing and Owning Our Mission
- [01:04:53] - Understanding Our Limits
- [01:09:01] - Investing in Others
- [01:10:29] - Committing to God's Glory

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Genesis 1:26-31
2. Ephesians 5:15-17

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#### Observation Questions
1. According to Genesis 1:26-31, what responsibilities did God give to humanity in relation to His creation?
2. How does Ephesians 5:15-17 describe the way we should live our lives, particularly in relation to time? [53:25]
3. In the sermon, what are the five key areas identified where we spend our time? [51:00]
4. How did Jesus exemplify perfect time stewardship according to the sermon? [56:23]

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#### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean to be a steward of time, talents, and resources for God's glory, as described in the sermon? [47:47]
2. How can understanding our mission, as rooted in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, influence the way we manage our time? [01:01:15]
3. Why is it important to recognize our human limitations when managing our time, as Jesus did? [01:04:53]
4. How does investing time in others contribute to God's kingdom, according to the sermon? [01:09:01]

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#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current time management. Which of the five key areas (with God, family, work, leisure, waste) do you feel needs more intentionality? How can you make changes this week? [51:00]
2. Ephesians 5:15-17 urges us to live wisely. What practical steps can you take to ensure your daily activities align with God's purposes? [53:25]
3. Jesus never seemed rushed or overwhelmed despite constant demands. What practices can you adopt to manage your time more like Jesus? [56:23]
4. Consider your personal mission in life. How does it align with the Great Commandment and the Great Commission? What changes might you need to make to own this mission more fully? [01:01:15]
5. Identify one person in your life you can invest more time in this week. What specific actions will you take to pour into their life? [01:09:01]
6. Reflect on a time when you felt overwhelmed by your commitments. How can understanding your limits help you manage your time better in the future? [01:04:53]
7. What is one area of your life where you feel you are wasting time? What steps can you take to reduce this waste and use your time more effectively for God's glory? [52:45]

Devotional

Day 1: Stewardship as a Divine Responsibility
Stewardship is the management of our time, talents, and resources for God's glory. Recognizing that everything we have belongs to God changes our perspective on how we use our time. We are called to be wise stewards, making the most of every moment for His purposes. [47:47]

"For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7, ESV)

Reflection: Consider how you currently allocate your time. What is one specific area where you can be more intentional in aligning your time with God's purposes today?


Day 2: Time as a Sacred Gift
Time is a gift from God, and we all have the same amount each day. How we use it reflects our identity and priorities. Ephesians 5:15-17 challenges us to live wisely, making the most of our time because the days are evil. This requires intentionality and alignment with God's will. [49:21]

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one daily habit that does not align with your priorities in Christ. How can you adjust this habit to better reflect your identity in Him?


Day 3: Jesus' Model of Time Management
Jesus exemplified perfect time stewardship. Despite constant demands, He was never rushed or overwhelmed. He understood His mission, owned it, and poured time into others, all while recognizing His human limitations. We can learn from His example to manage our time effectively. [56:23]

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." (Mark 1:35, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on your daily schedule. How can you incorporate moments of solitude and prayer to better manage your time like Jesus did?


Day 4: Embracing Our Mission
To make the most of our time for God's glory, we must first know our mission, rooted in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Owning this mission means living it out daily, ensuring our time is spent in alignment with God's purposes. [01:01:15]

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." (Philippians 1:27, ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific way you can live out the Great Commission in your daily life this week?


Day 5: Investing in Relationships
Pouring time into others has a far-reaching impact on God's kingdom. Jesus invested in His disciples, knowing that time spent with others would multiply His influence. We are called to do the same, recognizing that our investment in others can be world-changing. [01:09:01]

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: Think of one person in your life who could benefit from your time and encouragement. How can you intentionally invest in their life this week?

Quotes

"Here's the reality of the world that, that we live in, that you and I live. The Bible tells us God has made everything, and that everything is the Lord's. And then, and then God, God says, He, He decrees, He declares, He, He appoints, humanity, you and I, made in His image, to be the stewards of His creation, so, so, so that all, all you have, all that I have, actually belongs to God. There's nothing that exists that is not His. He has placed us as, as stewards over, over all of creation, all of earth, everything that we know, and so that we can work it and keep it, so that everything you have, and, and all that, that, that you are, has, has been given to you by God for the glory of God." [00:46:43] (53 seconds)


"And a steward will be held accountable to how he does that, how he works and keeps that. So we're stewards, but what does that mean to be stewards? Or what is stewardship? And if you came in this morning and you're used to me preaching, you saw the notes and you knew I was preaching before I ever got up here because I like to have the note sheets that we can write on. Pastor Lauren actually had some note sheet coloring sheets for the kids, so it's kind of like being in children's church when I get to preach. You get a little thing to draw on. But what is stewardship? Stewardship is simply the management of time, talents, and resources for the glory of God." [00:47:47] (43 seconds)


"Now today we're going to focus on the time aspect. The time aspect of stewardship. And as we kind of move toward a discussion on the stewardship of time, if you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn to Ephesians chapter 5 and hold that place there. We're going to be looking at verses 15 and 17 there in just a moment. But time is an interesting fact of life. We all have the same amount of time. We all have 365 days a year, unless it's a leap year. We all have 168 hours in a week. We all have seven, eight days in a week. We all have 24 hours in a day. We all have 60 minutes an hour, 60 minutes in every second." [00:48:40] (40 seconds)


"And when you see yourself as a steward of something that belongs to someone else, then all of life begins to look a little bit different. And that includes your time. For the follower of Jesus, every day is a gift. It's a treasure from God to be used for his glory. And the most basic fact about time is that God invented it. God created time. The time is completely his idea. And when he made this physical world, God created the sun and the moon to distinguish night from day." [00:49:33] (38 seconds)


"Five places where we spend our time. Number one is God. And this is just the time that we spend with God doing the things that draw us closer to him. This may be time spent in scripture or prayer or at church or in devotion, doing spiritual practices, serving others, serving your church. There's a lot that can go on there. Number two, where we spend our time is family. Now, this is the time with your family. And whether it's eating meals, together, playing in the snow together, having fun together, playing games, going on vacation, taking your spouse out for a date, teaching your children to ride a bike, anything else that your family does that likes to do together." [00:51:00] (48 seconds)


"So now to Ephesians chapter five, verses 15 through 17 reads, Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time. Because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Making the most of your time. And with our definitions, stewardship is simply the management of our time, our talents, our treasures, or our resources for the glory of God. So the question then becomes, how can we make the most of our time for the glory of God?" [00:53:48] (42 seconds)


"But when I was a teenager, it became a big deal to wear a bracelet all the time, and it had like four letters on it, and it was WWJD. I know that's still a thing some of you remember. Some of you still wear that, but it was simply, what would Jesus do? That's a great place for us to start to look at how we should be managing and stewarding our time. So looking at Jesus in all four gospels, the writers present us with this picture of Jesus under constant pressures as he was pursued by his friends and enemies alike." [00:55:07] (34 seconds)


"His every word was monitored, every action was analyzed, every gesture was commented upon. It makes you feel like you're on social media. It makes you feel like you're on social media. It makes you feel like you're on social media. Essentially, Jesus had no private life to speak of. Could you imagine Jesus in today's world? Would he even carry a phone with him? Would he have an iPad, another device that he would have on him? Would he use an iPhone, or would he use an Android? I mean, we would all be angry if he used an Android, because when we try to text him with our iPhone, it doesn't work. Would he fly? Would he... Would he drive? Would he take the train?" [00:56:23] (39 seconds)


"How fast would he respond when someone texted him or emailed him? How would he handle the huge number of relationships that the modern world, that modern technology has made possible for us how would he maintain that would he be on facebook would he would he take a selfie and say to everyone hey you know what share this and you'll be blessed that would be a fast way to get it done how would he how would he fit into a time where a word that is spoken can be flashed across the world in a matter of seconds and be on the nightly news although his everyday world was much smaller it would appear that he lived with very much the same sort of intrusions and and demands that that on our on his time that we are so familiar with but one never gets the feeling that when studying the life of christ that he he was ever hurried he was he never seemed to be rushed he never" [00:56:56] (66 seconds)


"he was never taken by surprise not only was jesus adept at handling his public time without a without an appointment secretary he also managed adequate amount of time alone for the purpose of prayer and for being with the few that he had gathered around him for the the purpose of discipleship this is this is all made possible because he had had stewarded his time wisely but how did he do it what caused him to be such an organized person how did jesus make the most of his time for the glory of god and the first thing that we see jesus doing is that that he he clearly understood what his mission was so how can we make the most of our time for the glory of god the first thing is know your mission we have to know our mission back to ephesians 5 verse 17 says so do not be foolish but understand what the will of god is and what the will of god is and what the will of god is the will of the lord is jesus clearly understood his mission he had he had an overwhelming task to perform and he measured his use of time against that sense of mission this is apparent during his his final walk toward jerusalem where where he would be crucified as as as he approached jericho luke luke wrote in chapter 18 his his ears picked up the voice of a blind man and he stopped and and much to the disappointment of jesus he was able to hear the voice of a blind man of both his friends and critics like why are you stopping here we don't have time for this jesus and they were irritated they were irritated that jesus seemed just so unconcerned about getting to jerusalem because it's still seven hours away we still got a long trip ahead of us and and that they were going to be late to get there for what their purposes were they were headed there for the passover celebration we're going to be late jesus we don't have time for this and yes they had a point if the purpose of christ was merely to reach jerusalem in time for a religious celebration in time for the passover but what we soon learn is that what that was not jesus main mission touching broken people like the blind man was a more significant matter to jesus important enough for jesus to invest his time and not long after this encounter jesus stops once again and and this time it's under a branch of a tree to call down zacchaeus a well -known tax collector it was and it was jesus idea to kind of get together and have this conversation and meet at zacchaeus's house and once again the the crowds around jesus they get they get a little a little anxious a little aggravated and and and first because the trip to jerusalem has been interrupted again come on jesus what are we doing i'm not going to we got to get there you're misusing your time but also zacchaeus is a is a tax collector and" [00:57:56] (0 seconds)


"from where jesus was standing the time it is well spent for it it fit the criteria of his time and he's just wasting his time and he's just wasting his time his mission luke 19 10 reads the son of man has come to seek and save that which is lost that was jesus mission so how can we make the most the most of our time for the glory of god it's no our mission and well pastor bj what's our mission um a couple of things there um you can take the great command um love your love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and and and and and and and and and and and and and love your neighbor as yourself or you can take the great commission and and therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit and and teaching them to obey everything i have commanded you you can take grace church's mission statement encouraging our community toward wholeness in jesus and we're going to dive into that mission statement in a few weeks a little bit deeper um but we as believers are we're called by god to fulfill the mission statement and we're going to dive into that and we're going to build these missions this and and now within the scope of fulfilling these missions you may have a i call it a sub mission sub dash mission this may be a calling to be a teacher a police officer uh to build a church start a start a new ministry um be a pastor stop and help someone but but all of these sub missions they kind of fall under our main missions as believers the second how we can make the most of our time for the glory of god is to to own your mission own your mission the disciples had a difficult time understanding jesus mission and jesus had to constantly kind of confront them with specifics the specific facts about his mission yeah you see they they kind of sort of knew what jesus mission was but they didn't know what jesus mission was they didn't know what jesus mission was they didn't know but it's so much easier to know what your mission is than to actually own it until the disciples own the mission until until they took the great command the great commission and they put that into practice they would never understand how and and with what criteria jesus organized his time how jesus made the most of his time you see knowing your mission is good good." [01:01:15] (152 seconds)


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Transcript
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