1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,560 Good morning everyone. 2 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:13,560 Happy New Year to you. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,480 I hope you've had a good week since Christmas. 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,400 We're about to celebrate the coming of the new year and tomorrow night we gather for 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:22,600 a party here at the church. 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:28,000 I hope you'll be a part of that and pick up a free ticket to come. 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:33,520 The question about it is available outside the doors. 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:40,680 In the fantasy that Tolkien wrote called Lord of the Rings there is a rather loathsome, 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:42,680 slimy creature whose name is Gollum. 10 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,440 Do you know who I mean? 11 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:50,000 Gollum seeks to recover a ring from the hobbits. 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:55,240 It was a ring that he had once actually possessed but lost. 13 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:01,760 It was found sometime later by a hobbit and Gollum seeks to recover this ring that is 14 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,880 called the Ring of Power. 15 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,560 There is one particular scene that stands out in my mind when Gollum is looking at the 16 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:10,560 ring. 17 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:16,960 You can see the greed and the lust and the desire in his eyes to get this ring back and 18 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:22,920 he calls the ring my precious, my precious. 19 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:23,920 You remember that? 20 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,440 It kind of gives you goosebumps to think about it. 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:34,400 This sad creature had sold himself to the evil within in order to recover that ring that 22 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,360 he thought was so valuable and precious. 23 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:44,680 You and I show what's precious to us too by what we're willing to exchange for it. 24 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:54,800 I think for example of Esau who was willing to exchange his birthright for a pot of stew 25 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,880 or on the more positive side of the ledger, I think of Moses who chose mistreatment with 26 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:05,800 the people of God over the pleasures of sin and who considered disgrace for the sake 27 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,920 of Messiah more precious than the treasures of Egypt. 28 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:11,000 Am I too loud? 29 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,120 I sound too loud to me. 30 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:14,120 Am I ringing? 31 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,280 Can we bring the sound down a little bit please? 32 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:17,280 Thank you. 33 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:22,400 I want to ask you, what is precious to you? 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:28,120 We know what is precious to Jesus, His people. 35 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:33,200 The Scriptures tell us that we were redeemed not with silver and gold and we think of those 36 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,760 as precious don't we? 37 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,040 But we have not been redeemed with silver and gold from the vain manner of life that 38 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:46,800 we inherited from our forefathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb 39 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,280 without blemish and without spot. 40 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:59,400 Jesus exchanged His own life's blood that He might purchase us and redeem us for Himself. 41 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:08,640 Does that tell you something about how precious you are in His sight? 42 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:13,800 Not only gold and silver are precious to human beings but we think of diamonds as precious. 43 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:20,280 If you're going to buy a diamond for someone you love, that diamond is precious and you 44 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:25,120 exchange a lot of money for that diamond, right? 45 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:30,680 If you have a picture that's precious to you, you might run back into your house that is 46 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,520 burning in order to recover it. 47 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:39,760 If you have a brother as is in the case of someone I know who is precious to you, you 48 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:45,520 would be willing to give your kidney to your brother in order for him to have a hope of 49 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,600 living longer. 50 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:54,480 We know what is precious to us by what we're willing to exchange for it. 51 00:03:54,480 --> 00:04:01,120 Now the theme I want to talk about today is one that deals with arguably the most precious 52 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,120 thing in your life. 53 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:09,800 It's something that we all possess and we have equal amounts of it every day. 54 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,320 Yet of course, it's time. 55 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,320 I want to read to you this morning a text from Psalm 39. 56 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:21,360 I'm going to use the new living translation for this reading and I invite you just to 57 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,840 listen and let these words soak into your heart. 58 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:34,040 These are the words of David and David here is praying as he says, Lord remind me how brief 59 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,680 my time on earth will be. 60 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:45,320 Remind me that my days are numbered and that my life is fleeing away. 61 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,880 My life is no longer than the width of my hand. 62 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,640 An entire lifetime is just a moment to you. 63 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:59,760 Human existence is but a breath. 64 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:07,720 We are merely moving shadows and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. 65 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,320 Now there's a great verse for Silicon Valley. 66 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:16,800 All our busy rushing ends in nothing. 67 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,280 We heap up wealth for someone else to spend. 68 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:27,640 And so what does he say at the conclusion of these thoughts about life? 69 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:32,400 And so Lord, where do I put my hope? 70 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,960 Where do I put my hope? 71 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,800 My only hope is in you. 72 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:45,000 A good prayer for all of us as we start the new year. 73 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,800 I invite you to pray with me right now as we begin to talk about the most precious thing 74 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,680 in your life. 75 00:05:53,680 --> 00:06:00,240 Father we echo the words of David, words inspired by your spirit. 76 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:10,200 We too sense how quickly life passes that it's very brief even at its longest. 77 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:17,360 We find so little indeed nothing really that we can put our trust in in this world. 78 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,800 Our trust is in you, the eternal God. 79 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:26,760 And as we come to your word this morning I pray that you will open our hearts to understand 80 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:33,040 something more about time, to see how precious it is and how we might invest it for eternity. 81 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:38,240 And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 82 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:45,560 Time is most precious because that's what life is made of. 83 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:53,320 Just a little minute, sixty seconds in it forced upon me, didn't ask it, didn't choose 84 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,600 it, yet it's up to me to use it. 85 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,800 Must give account if I abuse it. 86 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:08,200 Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it. 87 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:14,680 The Bible has a great deal to say about time and why it is so precious. 88 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:20,960 In the first place time is precious because opportunity is given with its passage. 89 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,960 I invite you to turn in your Bible or just look at your note sheet if you will because 90 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:28,000 I think I've written the text out for you. 91 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,080 Ephesians chapter 5. 92 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,960 Ephesians chapter 5. 93 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,920 We're going to pick up the reading in verse 15. 94 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:41,760 Paul says, Be very careful then how you live. 95 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:49,560 Not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are 96 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:50,560 evil. 97 00:07:50,560 --> 00:08:00,320 Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. 98 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:02,800 Opportunity is given with the passage of time. 99 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,240 That's one of the reasons it's precious. 100 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,600 The opportunities that it presents to you and me, these young people are going to go 101 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:15,960 to Ethiopia this week to serve Christ there for a period of time. 102 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:22,560 They are investing that time and seizing the opportunity to stretch themselves but also 103 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:26,760 to be a blessing to others who are in great need. 104 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:34,400 Four of the saddest words you will ever hear are the words, If only I had. 105 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,080 If only I had. 106 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:43,240 They are sad because they speak of missed opportunity. 107 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,640 If only I had written that letter. 108 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,840 If only I had told her that I loved her. 109 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:55,720 If only I had gone to see him one more time. 110 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,800 If only I had. 111 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,840 I'm sure we all have stories about this and one that is written in my life that I'll never 112 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,080 forget is about a friend of mine whose name was Ron. 113 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,560 I was a freshman in high school when Ron was a junior. 114 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:13,160 That means he was an upperclassman. 115 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:18,160 And even in a small rural high school like I went to, there was a class distinction, 116 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:19,640 believe me. 117 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:27,960 At noontime, freshmen were left to wander around the steps of the school while the upperclassmen, 118 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,080 because they were old enough and who had cars, could go sit in their car and listen to the 119 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,440 radio. 120 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:41,400 And so Ron, this junior befriended me. 121 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,280 And on numerous occasions he invited me to come to his car and to sit with him and to 122 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:46,720 listen to the radio. 123 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:52,480 Now I know in the age of iPods and cell phones, that sounds pretty boring doesn't it? 124 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:56,960 But believe me back then it was a pretty big deal. 125 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:03,440 Summer came, the end of our school year, and I didn't see Ron the whole summer long. 126 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,840 The night before school was to begin that fall. 127 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:08,840 I was in church. 128 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:14,960 And as I came to my seat, I can still remember the scene, I was sitting down and one of our 129 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:19,600 schoolmates came over to me and said, did you hear about Ron? 130 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,480 I said no, what happened? 131 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:24,960 He drowned today. 132 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:30,400 He went swimming in the pond north of town where he lived. 133 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:35,000 And he jumped into the water and he dove into the water. 134 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,800 And when he did, he didn't realize how shallow the pond was at that point. 135 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:46,600 And his head got into the mud and he choked to death on the mud. 136 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:52,400 I remember those four words came to my mind because Ron was not a believer. 137 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:57,440 He didn't know Jesus and I did. 138 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:04,600 And I have said to myself many times in the year since, if only I had taken the time to 139 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:12,400 say a word to Ron about my faith. 140 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:17,000 Time is precious my friend because opportunity is bound up in time. 141 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:22,200 Years ago the advertising firm of J. Walter Thompson in Chicago placed an ad in the newspaper 142 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:27,360 and it simply said, you have 24 hours to live. 143 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:32,760 And then in small print below that it said, today that is. 144 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,920 And then it went on to deliver its message. 145 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:41,720 The point is that we all have exactly 24 hours a day to live. 146 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:47,640 How can we use it more wisely in 2008? 147 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:53,480 One way is by taking advantage of the opportunities that God gives us. 148 00:11:53,480 --> 00:12:00,120 Let me suggest some other ways that you might be able to take good advantage of your time. 149 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,960 These are simple time management kinds of ideas that many of you have heard in seminars. 150 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:09,800 But I wonder how many of us take time to implement what we hear. 151 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:16,280 First of all, think about your day, the night before, and set realistic goals for your most 152 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,600 important responsibilities. 153 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:26,040 You can use your time more wisely by considering the day ahead on the night before. 154 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:27,280 What do you need to accomplish? 155 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:31,160 What are the most important things that you need to do and set some goals? 156 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,240 Then number two, prioritize your goals. 157 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,480 Once you have them listed, two, three, five of them, whatever they are, the things you 158 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:41,400 have to get done the next day, what's the most important thing to do? 159 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,640 What's the second most important thing to do? 160 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,400 Number three, eliminate time wasters. 161 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,600 The things in your life that kill time. 162 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,920 By the way, killing time is the same as murdering it, right? 163 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,080 When you have lost an hour, there's nothing you can do to get it back. 164 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:00,800 It's gone. 165 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:06,960 Number four, use a daily and weekly and monthly calendar for close and long-range goals. 166 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:14,800 In other words, pace yourself, set yourself some goals that are out there a ways. 167 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:22,120 And let me encourage you to plan your time in such a way that others don't eat it up. 168 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:27,880 It's possible for us to set goals for ourselves and the things that we want to get done and 169 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:28,880 need to get done. 170 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,360 And then when others call and say, well, can you do this or do you have time for that? 171 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:37,720 We can look at our calendar and honestly say, no, I have something else planned. 172 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:43,440 Did you know that it's okay to say no to some things? 173 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,280 Number five, use time for its purpose. 174 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:50,280 In other words, work when it's work time, play when it's play time, rest when it's rest 175 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,080 time, use time for the purpose. 176 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,160 And if you put these kinds of principles into practice, you will make better use of your 177 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,840 time in 2008. 178 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:05,640 What all of us need to do is to learn to tell the difference between the urgent and the 179 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:07,560 important. 180 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:13,240 If you let urgent matters consume your time, you will never make progress on anything that's 181 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:14,920 important. 182 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:21,080 The fact is that we all have to deal with both urgent and important matters. 183 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,640 Dwight Eisenhower, President of the United States, made the statement that the urgent 184 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:29,920 problems are seldom the important ones. 185 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:35,560 Since we have to deal with both urgent and important issues in life, we need to be able 186 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:39,120 to tell the difference and put them in the correct order. 187 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,960 Want to encourage you to get ahold of a book if you've not seen it before. 188 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,280 It's called Freedom from the Tyranny of the Urgent. 189 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,360 It's written by Charles Hummel and published by Intervarsity Press. 190 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,440 It will help you as you think through how to tell the difference between the urgent and 191 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,000 the important and to do the things that really count. 192 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:02,320 The point that I want to quickly make is this, that most of the opportunities make most rather 193 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,720 of the opportunities that you have in your life. 194 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,800 Paul says, make the most of them, the days are evil. 195 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,840 Time passes quickly. 196 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:18,000 And so take the time to give some word of thanks, to write an expression of love, to 197 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:24,760 do a deed of kindness, to forgive a wrong, to restore a relationship, to share your story, 198 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:30,520 to tell someone about Jesus, to speak encouragement to a little child. 199 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,480 Do the things that are important. 200 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,720 Don't put them off. 201 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:44,320 Each human being has exactly 168 hours per week to deal with. 202 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:48,280 This cannot invent new minutes. 203 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:53,080 Even the very super rich cannot buy more time. 204 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:59,040 Queen Elizabeth I of England, when she died in, I think it was 1630, who was at that time 205 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:04,360 the richest and most powerful woman in the world, whispered these final words on her 206 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:11,480 deathbed, all my possessions for a moment of time. 207 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:15,480 But she couldn't buy it. 208 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,480 Time is precious because opportunity is given in its passage. 209 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:25,800 But secondly, time is precious because example is left in its message. 210 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:27,960 Example is left in its message. 211 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:34,600 Philippians chapter 1, Paul says, for to me to live as Christ and to die is what? 212 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:35,720 Gain. 213 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:40,560 If I am to go on living in the body, that will mean fruitful labor for me. 214 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:41,880 But what shall I choose? 215 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:43,440 I do not know. 216 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,120 I am torn between two. 217 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:51,360 I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. 218 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:57,440 But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body convinced of this. 219 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:02,880 I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in 220 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:03,880 the faith. 221 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:10,160 Then in chapter 3, he continues and says, join with others in following my example, brothers. 222 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:15,480 And take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 223 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:20,960 Chapter 4, verse 9, he says, whatever you have learned and received and heard from me 224 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,480 or seen in me, put into practice. 225 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:26,480 What is Paul saying here? 226 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,280 He's saying, I am here living my life out. 227 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,040 I am spending time in this world for the sake of you, Philippians. 228 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:34,480 I am leaving a pattern. 229 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,960 I'm leaving an example. 230 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,800 Now live it out, follow it. 231 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:42,560 That's the lesson for you and me too. 232 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:50,320 Time is precious because we leave a message for others to follow. 233 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:54,600 That's an important reality because your life has a message whether it's intentional or 234 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,840 not. 235 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:03,200 Someone is reading the example of your life whether you know it or not. 236 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:09,960 Or it is extremely important to leave a message that will help others and will bring the knowledge 237 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,640 of God to their lives. 238 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,640 I was speaking to a man one time about his need for Christ. 239 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,760 He was out in our community. 240 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:24,600 He knew a member of our church and he asked me. 241 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:29,280 He said, does so and so go to your church? 242 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,240 And I said, well, yes, he does. 243 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:42,400 And he said to me, if he's a Christian, then I don't need it. 244 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:48,120 And I wonder if anyone has ever said that about me. 245 00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:52,880 Here's the marvelous thing about life, about God's grace. 246 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:59,600 It's this, that if I don't like the message that my life has been giving, if it's not 247 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:04,280 what I wish it were, then I can still change it. 248 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:06,720 I can still change it. 249 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:14,520 One evangelist said, no matter what a man's life may have been, his future is spotless. 250 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:20,920 What example is the message of your life leaving to those coming behind you? 251 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,400 I remember I was at a crucial point in my life at one time. 252 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,040 As I walked in my house, there was a bank just down the street from where we lived and 253 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:32,640 there was a sign out in front that someone had put up that day on their billboard. 254 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:37,840 And it said, today is the first day of the rest of your life. 255 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,000 What a great statement. 256 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,720 As we approach a new year and you look into the past in the rear view mirror, maybe you 257 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,320 don't like what you've seen in 2007. 258 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:52,320 Maybe there are things you wish had been different or you had done differently. 259 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,680 My friend, as you head to a new year, it's spotless. 260 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:57,080 You can write it differently. 261 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,120 Today is the first day of the rest of your life. 262 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:08,000 You can leave behind what has passed and enter a new day so that like Abel of old, when you 263 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,120 have died, you may still speak. 264 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:18,520 You remember that man of God, that son of Adam and Eve, who was killed by his brother. 265 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:24,000 He lived by faith, but he did not live long in this world. 266 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:31,240 And yet the writer of Hebrews says, he still speaks even though he is dead. 267 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:33,240 Why? 268 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:40,320 Because in that short lifespan, he left an example of pleasing God by faith. 269 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,480 Life is precious. 270 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:47,760 It's precious because there's an example that is left in its message. 271 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:53,680 It's an example that is being left to your children and your grandchildren. 272 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,440 It's precious. 273 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:01,160 Third reason that life is precious is because destiny is fixed. 274 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,920 Destiny is fixed in its stoppage. 275 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,720 In Luke chapter 16, Jesus relates an account. 276 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,840 He doesn't say this is a story, this is a parable. 277 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:17,280 The language he uses indicates that this was a real man who lived. 278 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,560 There was a rich man, he said, who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury 279 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,120 every day. 280 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:31,920 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and longing to eat what 281 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,040 fell from the rich man's table. 282 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,320 Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 283 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:45,640 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. 284 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,160 The rich man also died and was buried. 285 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:55,840 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by 286 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,460 his side. 287 00:21:57,460 --> 00:22:04,760 So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his 288 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:11,960 finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire. 289 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:19,000 But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, 290 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,720 while Lazarus received bad things. 291 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,160 But now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 292 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:31,480 And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed so that those 293 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:39,440 who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. 294 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:44,920 My friend, these are sobering words from the mouth of Jesus. 295 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:52,360 And anyone who reads them and thinks about them ought to have some fear in his heart 296 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:56,840 because Jesus taught that there is an afterlife. 297 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:04,040 And he taught that hell is one possibility and that hell is a real place where he says 298 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:11,200 eternal destiny is fixed beyond all hope. 299 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,820 Notice what he says regarding hell in this brief story. 300 00:23:15,820 --> 00:23:18,880 He says it's the place of fire. 301 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,760 Other people say, well, is that real fire? 302 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,440 Well, ask the man who was there. 303 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,360 He calls it fire. 304 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:31,320 He says it's a place of torment. 305 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,360 It is a place of consciousness. 306 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:37,520 It is a place of separation. 307 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,280 It is a place of regret. 308 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:45,240 It is a place of hopelessness. 309 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:53,400 The Bible teaches a great deal about hell and its reality. 310 00:23:53,400 --> 00:24:00,280 Time is precious, my friend, because destiny is fixed in its passage, in its stoppage, 311 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:01,280 rather. 312 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:09,480 Once it is stopped, destiny is determined for eternity. 313 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:18,400 The greatest poem of the Middle Ages was written in the 14th century by a man named Dante. 314 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:24,840 The poem was later designated, and is so-called today, as the divine comedy. 315 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:34,320 In Canto III of the First Division, a part of the divine comedy entitled Inferno, Dante 316 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:42,640 and his guide, who happens to be the poet Virgil, pass through the door of hell. 317 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:52,040 Of the lentil of the door, Dante says that he reads these words. 318 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:57,280 Through me, the way to the city of eternal woe. 319 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:01,880 Through me, the way into eternal pain. 320 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:08,320 Through me, the way among the lost below. 321 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:12,120 Righteousness did my maker on high constrain. 322 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:16,640 Me did divine authority up rear. 323 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:22,480 Me, supreme wisdom and primal love, sustained. 324 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,920 Before I was, no things created were. 325 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:33,040 Save the eternal, and I, eternal abide. 326 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:39,880 Relinquish all hope, ye who enter here. 327 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:46,000 Hell is not a pleasant thought. 328 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:50,200 Hell is something we'd rather not talk about or think about. 329 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,960 But hell is a reality. 330 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,920 There are those who scoff about hell. 331 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,680 Some time ago there was an old man who brought forward his strongest arguments against the 332 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:06,440 Bible, and he declared to his family, I am 70 years old, and I've never seen such a 333 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,640 place as hell. 334 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:14,320 After all that's been said about it, this old grandson looked up at him and said, but 335 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:22,040 granddaddy, have you been dead yet? 336 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,520 Some troops were on an American troopship in World War II. 337 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:30,240 The chaplain was talking to them, and one of the men said, chaplain, do you believe in 338 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:32,680 hell? 339 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:38,200 The chaplain said, I do not. 340 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:43,080 The soldier said, well then, will you please resign? 341 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,720 For if there is no hell, we do not need you. 342 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:52,320 And if there is a hell, we do not wish to be led astray. 343 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:55,040 Wise words. 344 00:26:55,040 --> 00:27:00,560 One atheist cried out, I would rather lie on a stove and broil for a million years than 345 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:06,520 go into the eternity before me with the eternal horrors that hang over my soul. 346 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:16,160 I have given my immortality for gold, and its weight sinks me into an endless, hopeless, 347 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:21,800 helpless hell. 348 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,600 Time is precious, my friend. 349 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,600 You are still living. 350 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:33,200 You have the opportunity yet to fix your destiny other than hell by receiving Jesus 351 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,680 Christ as your Lord and Savior. 352 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,920 While you still breathe, while you are able to utter with your voice, while you are able 353 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:46,480 to think with your mind and call out to God, you may still call upon Him for salvation, 354 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:53,520 and He will come to you, for whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 355 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:59,000 And there is great reason to call upon Him for that gift. 356 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:04,280 Time is precious because destiny is fixed with its stoppage. 357 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:11,760 But finally, time is precious because reward is determined in its usage. 358 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:18,880 Second Corinthians chapter 5, Paul says, Therefore we are always confident and know that as long 359 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:24,000 as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. 360 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,680 We live by faith, not by sight. 361 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:33,600 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the 362 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,840 Lord. 363 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:42,320 So we make it our goal to please Him, who the Lord, whether we are at home in the body 364 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:49,000 or away from it, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one 365 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:56,840 may receive what is due Him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 366 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:02,280 Paul is writing here to believers, to those whose destiny has by the grace of God been 367 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:08,080 changed from hell to heaven, who have the assurance that one day when we leave this 368 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:14,720 world and we're absent from our bodies, we're going to go and be at home with the Lord. 369 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:20,440 Paul says to us who have that hope that we are going to stand before the judgment seat 370 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:28,040 of Christ and their received reward for what we have done in our bodies. 371 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:35,480 For every follower of Jesus Christ, life is a privileged stewardship. 372 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,320 It is a trust for which we are accountable to God. 373 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:40,920 It is not a matter of salvation. 374 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:48,440 It's a matter of reward here that we earn by the use of our time. 375 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:53,080 Someone says, well, isn't that a terrible motive for serving Christ that you're going 376 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,040 to get rewarded for it? 377 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,040 I challenge that. 378 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,760 No, it is not a terrible motive. 379 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:04,520 In fact, it is a motive that God Himself gives us here. 380 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,360 He says there is a time coming when we're going to stand and be rewarded. 381 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:14,080 Before we are to labor that we may be rewarded well. 382 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:18,680 William James, the author says, the greatest use of life is to spend it on something that 383 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:22,880 outlasts it. 384 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,080 Reward is eternal. 385 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:30,720 It will outlast the brief days that you and I have in this world. 386 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:37,160 Reward is not determined by how you measure up to others, but rather how well you use the 387 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:45,680 gifts and the opportunities that God gives to you for who you are in your lifetime. 388 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:54,040 Time is precious because your reward in heaven is determined by the way that you use it. 389 00:30:54,040 --> 00:31:01,120 The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to say just when the hands 390 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:06,560 will stop at late or early hour. 391 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:13,840 Now is the time, the only time we own to do God's precious will. 392 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:22,000 Do not wait until tomorrow, for the clock may then be still. 393 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:28,440 Someone has said each moment is the meeting place of two eternities. 394 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:32,280 Think about that. 395 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:36,520 Each moment is the meeting place of two eternities. 396 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:44,520 What you are doing now with this moment and the next and the next will affect your eternity 397 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:46,640 to come. 398 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:52,960 And so as we enter 2008, time needs to be precious to us. 399 00:31:52,960 --> 00:32:01,160 It's the very stuff that life is made of, and life is such a wonderful gift from God. 400 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:07,240 But maybe as we come to 2008 that there is a turning point that you need to arrive at. 401 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:12,960 Or there is a commitment that you need to make so that your life will be better lived 402 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,240 in the next year. 403 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,280 So that you will take greater advantage of the opportunities that God brings into your 404 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:26,040 life so that your life will shape a message that will leave an example that you'll be 405 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:34,160 proud of so that your eternal reward will be greater. 406 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:40,880 Or so that you will be assured of heaven in the time to come. 407 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:48,360 Bill and Gloria Gaither have such a marvelous gift of writing. 408 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:56,240 Years ago they wrote a poem about time that captures to me so well what I'm trying to 409 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,640 say to you this morning. 410 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:04,880 Hold tight to the sounds of the music of living. 411 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:09,320 Happy songs from the laughter of children at play. 412 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:18,200 Take my hand as we run through the sweet fragrant meadows making memories of what was today. 413 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:22,240 You hear that tiny voice? 414 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:30,680 It's not, it's my not so tiny daughter who's still calling for me to stop and listen what 415 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:33,280 she has to say. 416 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:42,240 And my little son running there down the hillside may never be quite like today. 417 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:51,280 We have this moment to hold in our hands and to touch as it slips through our fingers like 418 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:53,680 sand. 419 00:33:53,680 --> 00:34:06,840 Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come, but we have this moment today. 420 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:11,600 We have this moment to hold in our hands. 421 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:19,680 And yet it slips through our fingers like sand. 422 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:24,160 Only a tiny minute, but eternity is in it. 423 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:29,400 And the decisions that some of us make at this moment as we stand in the threshold of 424 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:37,760 a whole new year, yet untouched, yet spotless, could make a difference for all eternity. 425 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:42,040 What is God calling you to do? 426 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:48,120 What is the response that you need to make to the Lord this morning so that you show 427 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:55,840 by what you exchange for it that your life is precious? 428 00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:00,600 You have no choice but to exchange it for something. 429 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:09,320 You must give up your time for some use, for some purpose. 430 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,280 Will you let it be God's purpose? 431 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:17,680 The very best use of time is to lay it before God. 432 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:23,480 For the more that we try to hang on to it, the more it slips through our fingers. 433 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:29,240 But if we will lay it out before God in an act of surrender to Him and present our life, 434 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:41,840 our time to Him to direct and to use, to form, to bless as it pleases Him, then we keep it 435 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,640 forever. 436 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:50,400 Let's pray. 437 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:59,240 Whether in this tender moment, I pray that you will help each of us to understand how 438 00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:04,560 quickly life is passing. 439 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:11,680 And to pray as Moses did of old, that you would teach us to number our days so that 440 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:15,360 we may have a heart of wisdom. 441 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:21,080 Of all, I pray that we will lay our lives into your hands, not seek to direct them or 442 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:30,520 use them for ourselves, and to allow you to have your way with us, to realize that life 443 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,880 is a stewardship to live it that way. 444 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:46,000 I pray, Father, that in 2008 we'll exchange life for what counts, for what matters for 445 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,840 all of eternity. 446 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:54,320 Help us in this closing moment of the message to come to that point of decision and commitment 447 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,320 before you. 448 00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:02,400 It's in Jesus' name that I pray. 449 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:05,000 Amen.