We continued our new series called “Beyond Scarcity” at Gateway Church in Austin.
Our time is one of the most valuable gifts we can give, and God calls us to steward it well. Jesus offers to teach us a new approach to managing time in the Kingdom of God; we can learn how to steward time like he did.
Discussion Questions:
Video of Message from Gateway South Austin:
Audio of Message from Gateway South Austin:
Message Notes from Justin McCarty:
Questions to Consider…
As we begin today, I’d like to start by walking through some diagnostics – a few questions that might help us assess where we are when it comes to our proficiency at using time. You game? Need participation – raise of hands when you’re in agreement; feel free to shout an answer.
- How many of us felt like we had enough time this past week?
- How many minutes did you have this past week? (Answer: 10,080)
- How many of us feel confident that we maximized those 10,080 minutes? Quick thought: experts tell us you need 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. If we do some multiplication with those minutes, we should be able to ask
- 10 year olds – passed 87,000 hrs of life – do you feel like you’ve mastered the use of time?
- 25 year olds – you’ve now clocked 219,000 hrs – how’s it going? Anyone?
- 40 year olds – 350,400 hrs – That’s 35x what you need for mastery. Any?
- 58+ – over 500,000 hrs – surely, you’re nailing the use of time right? Any takers?
- How many of you feel like you timed your birth pretty well?
- How many of us can generate more time as needed? No?
Hmmm, let me get this straight: Most of us don’t feel like we had enough time this week, but we all had the same exact amount; We’ve all had more than enough time to master the use of it, but few us feel like we’ve done so; we can’t control it, can’t generate more – but we’re constantly using it. [Add survey stats on Time from Week 1]
We all sound like a tangle of contradictions! I think we could all use some help, some real guidance and direction – me included!
An invitation to life in the Kingdom and a reorientation to time
There’s some great news! Jesus of Nazareth is taking students! Whether you feel overwhelmed by not having enough, fruitless with what you do have, or anxious about the lack of time as you get older – why not learn from him how to use this precious resource?
In Matthew 4:17, Jesus inaugurated his ministry with these unforgettable words: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) –
If we strip away the religious framework and two millennia of accumulated baggage, what he was essentially saying was: “Rethink your life, the rule of God is now available. Trust me and I’ll show you how to step into it.” He invited people to become his disciples in learning how to live in the kingdom of God. Spend time with him, adopt how he sees life, act on what he says, make him your highest authority on life and follow accordingly – and your life will be enveloped into God’s kingdom, right here, right now. The Kingdom of heaven is not something you experience only when you die, but when you choose to follow Jesus you become part of this invisible Kingdom right now! In this Kingdom, Jesus reigns! And we are invited to bring more of heaven to earth right now! We can experience more of God’s presence, peace, joy, love, and goodness right now and bring Him wherever we go!
All of this includes our understanding of and approach to time. If you would be a disciple of Jesus, he will teach you how to use time, if you let him. As a master of life, Jesus seemed to use his brief time on earth pretty well with some spectacular results. Why not spend some time with him and learn?
How did Jesus use time?
Jesus’ starting place in understanding time flowed from his understanding of God that is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures. He was a Jew and was immersed in the scriptures, teachings, and traditions of his people from childhood. Things like Deuteronomy 10:14 – “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” (Deuteronomy 10:14 NIV), Psalm 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it…” (Psalm 24:1 NIV). Jesus lived and believed that authority and ownership of God extended to every thing, or in the words of Psalm 145:3 – Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. (Psalm 145:13 NIV)
Jesus lived from the Kingdom of God, where God was the rightful ruler and owner of everything, including time. To Jesus, time didn’t belong to anyone, it was simply on loan. God, the one whom Jesus called “Father” was the sole proprietor and owner of time.
This understanding led Jesus to focus on God as the priority of his life. He exemplified the ancient Shema from Deuteronomy 6 – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV).
If you were hanging around Jesus, you would have felt how this focus of loving God was the overriding focus of his life. He experienced a rich, interactive life with God – he talked about God as “Father,” he raved about God’s competence (he’s paying attention to everything from sparrows down to the numbers of hairs on your head) and his goodness (he loves people with graciousness; sun rises on good and evil people – doesn’t treat us like we deserve).
Jesus cultivated a rich relationship with God through times of solitude and silence. As one of Jesus’ disciples, you would notice how he disappeared at times; sometimes he was up early in the morning just to spend time alone with God; other times he would spend all night alone, praying. We may not always know what they were talking about, but we realize that there was a bond and a love between them that was intense and powerful.
In Matthew 3:17, God the Father is so enamored with Jesus that he interrupted Jesus’ baptism with a supernatural display: “At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17 NIV)
As a result of this understanding of God’s ownership of everything and his rich life with the Father, you would have noticed another striking thing about Jesus’ use of time: Jesus was never in a hurry. Jesus’ life was quite full and sometimes he did move on a clock (“the time has come” he would say), but he never seemed hurried – he moved through life relaxed. He didn’t really struggle with the ownership of his time nor was he insistent on getting his way all the time. In fact, he said:
“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” (John 5:19-20 NIV).
Interestingly, time seemed “power packed” with an extraordinary effectiveness with Jesus. Hang out with him for an afternoon, and while he seemed relaxed, his life was a non-stop flow of purpose and power. His ability to cut through confusion with brilliantly simple wisdom was unparalleled; he once fed 5,000 people with one meal; one day could be so packed with miracles and healings that you’d forget it was just one 24 hour span! Jesus’ use of time was extraordinarily effective because he lived in cooperative partnership with God.
But perhaps the most striking thing about Jesus – this man who had such favor with God, such power and effectiveness – was how He used time to continuously and generously serve others. Whether it was throwing his arm around a leper, befriending the outcasts like prostitutes and tax collectors, or healing people who would literally interrupt him on the street or barge into his house, Jesus gave his time freely to those in need. He saw people with inherent dignity and value because they were made by his Father, and he gave them the value of time and attention. He would help people in whatever way was most needed. People were always his priority, no matter what was going on.
Alright, would-be disciples, so what do we learn about Jesus’ approach to time by hanging out with him for a bit?
- He approached time as a steward; God was the owner.
- He prioritized time with God and it supplied his sense of significance and satisfaction.
- He moved through life relaxed, unhurried.
- He experienced multiplied power and effectiveness through the use of his time because of a cooperative partnership with God.
- He served people freely and generously, worked toward their good in whatever ways were accessible to him.
What questions does Jesus’ approach to time provoke for us?
We started with some questions, so let me pose a few more in light of what Jesus is teaching us about time. Perhaps one of these may serve as an access point for you to re-examine your relationship with time.
Who is the owner of time in my life?
If “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,” that would include time. He made it up, it belongs to him. When you think about “How I want to spend my time” – we may already be on the wrong track. I didn’t create it, can’t make more of it, can’t control it. Biblically, the best approach to time is that of a steward. A steward manages resources, but they do so on behalf of the owner. They seek to understand the priorities and purposes of the owner, and then use the resources accordingly.
When you approach time, do you approach it as a steward or an owner? What if time is a resource that’s been allocated to you for the purposes of another?
What’s challenging is that a steward is charged with responsibility, but they do not have ultimate control. The owner sets the priorities and purpose; the steward is held to account for how they manage it under those guidelines. Is your relationship with time an issue of confused ownership? What changes if every moment belongs first to God – you’re just learning from Jesus how to spend it?
What priorities are revealed in how I spend time?
Our time is always a trail that will reveal to us what matters most in our lives. We give our lives to what we prioritize. Ever think about that phrase, “pay attention”? We literally give value – we pay – what we prioritize or give our attention to.
I once heard someone say that we all sleep about 8 hours a day and we all work 8 hours a day, it’s what we do with the other 8 hours a day that will determine our impact in this world. There are a few things I love about this idea and a couple I would adjust. Some of you are thinking, I wish I got 8 hours of sleep and only worked 8 hours a day! Perhaps, those are two areas to begin working on adjusting. I like the reminder of how we could better use those 8 hours of the day we aren’t working or sleeping. If we calculated how much time we wasted on social media, tv, sports, or screens of any time, we might be amazed at how much time we would gain back if we chose to limit screen time for ourselves (not just our kids if you are a parent). At the same time, this idea diminishes the way we can maximize our time bringing more of heaven to earth at work. We can maximize all 24 hours of my day with God guiding us! We can love God and love people at work, in our free time, and in our sleep!
Being a disciple of Jesus is about reprioritizing him as the focus and priority of my life. This is often poorly understood, because coming to faith in Christ often plays out as “I will now involve Jesus in my life.” He becomes an add-on to the things we already prioritize, which is why we find it hard to “pay attention” to him – we already overspent on other things. But that’s never what Jesus advocated – he urged us not to involve him in our lives, but rebuild our lives around him. If we restart with him at the center and add things in around him, we will find it much easier to “pay attention” to him.
For example, followers of Jesus are urged to spend focused time with God every day – we imitate Jesus, who regularly spent that time in solitude and silence with the Father. If he needed – sometimes all night long – we probably could use some too. But many of us find it really hard to either make that time or to “pay attention” in prayer or in reading God’s word. Some of us say we want to spend an eternity with God, but to be quite honest, spending 15 minutes with him alone feels like an imposition. What makes us think we are really ready to be in a place where God is completely unavoidable forever if we struggle to give time to him now? If he is worth spending forever with, surely he’s worth your time now, too. I have found that spending time with God at the beginning of my day helps me be more productive throughout they day.
Your calendar, your schedule is telling you what you prioritize. If we follow Jesus and learn how he uses time, we’ve got to wrestle with what is immovable on our calendars. What gets put first? Last? Edged out? No one else will or can do this work for us – our time is telling us what we prioritize.
Where am I operating on my own versus in a cooperative partnership with God?
Jesus was able to accomplish a lot in a relatively short amount of time – but he wasn’t working on his own. Can you imagine God working with you – in your job? Raising a family? Studying at school? Driving in traffic? What if all these things could be accomplished with God’s help?
“Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” (Galatians 6:7-8 NRSV)
Sowing to the flesh is another way of describing acting in your own power. The power of your “flesh” is the human contribution to life – what your power can accomplish without any supernatural aid. Sowing to the Spirit would be acting in reliance on what God’s Spirit can accomplish. If we rely on our own natural powers, we should expect “corruption” – things will disintegrate. If we rely on God’s Spirit – well, that’s life and peace. That’s wholeness and integrity. This only works if we let God set the agenda.
Living in the Philippines, Frank Laubach served as both a missionary and the founding dean of Union College in Manila. After setting up the college, he relocated to a more remote area to work with the local indigenous people, teaching them how to read and write. It’s estimated that he was responsible for helping more than 45,000 people in the area become literate – approximately 50% of the population! How did he accomplish all of this? He developed a practice of active cooperation with God – practicing conscious contact with God, turning his thoughts back and again to God, inviting him into whatever he was doing. Here’s how he described his experience, despite difficult conditions:
“This concentration upon God is strenuous, but everything else has ceased to be so. I think more clearly, I forget less frequently. Things which I did with a strain before, I now do easily and with no effort whatever. I feel simply carried along each hour, doing my part in a plan which is far beyond myself. This sense of cooperation with God in little things is what so astonishes me, for I never have felt it this way before. I need something, and turn round to find it waiting for me. I must work, to be sure, but there is God working along with me.”
– Frank Laubach
Frank went on to pioneer a literacy program that is estimated to have helped over 60 million people learn to read and write in their own native languages. What might you and God be able to accomplish together?
How am I serving others with the time given to me?
Ultimately, our greatest use of time isn’t just to spend it on ourselves – Jesus invites us to learn from him how to give to others. I don’t think it means that all of our time is meant to be given away to others – but it’s re-examining the assumption that if I spend my time on me (what I want to do), I will be satisfied. We often start from the assumption that satisfying my own desires first will lead to my greatest happiness. But Jesus said, rather famously, that if you get everything you want, you can still lose your soul – it doesn’t ensure satisfaction. Instead, as we give ourselves and our time, first to God and then to the good of others, we begin to realize the true value of time.
“So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10 NRSV)
Who are you working for the good of? “Don’t grow weary… don’t give up.” It’s a God-honoring use of your time. It’s a way of “sowing to the Spirit” and stepping into that cooperative partnership with God. If you don’t really have people come to mind, we would love to introduce you to folks right here in this church that could sure use your help – they are your “family of faith” – and God may be inviting you to seize the opportunity to serve them.
Reflection
This is a lot to digest, I know. Those questions can kind of swirl around – what all am I supposed to do with this? Let’s learn from Jesus. We’re going to create a moment of relative silence for you to listen to what God might be prompting you to reflect on. I’ll put up each of these questions and you can simply take a few moments to say,
“God, which one of these should I be paying close attention to? What do you have for me?” Think of it as a way of “sowing to the Spirit.”
- Who is the owner of time in my life?
- What priorities are revealed in how I spend time?
- Where am I operating on my own versus in a cooperative partnership with God?
- How am I serving others with the time given to me?
I realize some of us may not be well practiced at this – and that’s okay. We only improve when we practice. Let’s choose to give our time – literally the next 60 seconds – to God. We’re all going to spend the next 60 seconds on something – why not on listening to and seeking God about how to use the rest of the time you’ve got coming your way?
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, we’re here to learn from you. Please help me discern what I need to pay attention to. Help me learn from you how to use time well. I want to step into the abundance of time that you’re giving me and make the most of every opportunity you give me to do good.”