THE WISDOM OF THE SCRIPTURE
April 4, 1999 PM
Sermon Outline
DONT WASTE TIME!
Eph 5:15-17 & Col 4:5
INTRO: Dad would occasionally say to me, Son, youre sitting on the stool of do nothing, whittling on the stick of do less. Or mom would say, Son quit staring into space and get busy. Both of them recognized that I could be a great time waster ... especially if it involved something that interfered with my agenda. I am not the only person ever afflicted with that disease, however, I would, at this point in my life, like to reclaim all of my wasted time! But, too bad; it cannot be done. The wisdom of the scriptures is simple: dont waste time.
I. DO WE HAVE TIME TO WASTE?
A. We may think we do ...
1. Ive got plenty of time
2. Oh, Ill get around to it one of these days
3. Ill do it in a minute
4. then, I never seem to have enough time
B. Fact: there is a termination point to your life
1. Heb 9:27 it is appointed unto men once to die
2. the moment of conception sets off a biological clock
3. while none knows the span of years that clock will cover, it has a stop point
4. a true wasting of time robs you - you steal from yourself one of your most precious assets
II. WE DONT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ...
A. Making decisions affecting our souls
1. question: Mt 16:26 we need to take care of this
2. if we die out of Christ, we will spend eternity in hell
3. since no person knows with certainty the events of the next moment, one should not waste time here
4. 2 Cor 6:2 says it well
B. Strengthening our marriages
1. at Eph 5:29 is nourish - marriage is a living thing affected by time ... and its passing
2. as with a garden which needs constant nourishing and care, so must a marriage have it
3. neglect the living garden, and it will not prosper
4. husbands and wives must give each other consideration and attention now ... not one of these days
C. Instructing, guiding our children
1. Eph 6:4 is nurture ... doesnt happen accidently
2. times passing affects children, too - The Sculptor
3. if we waste precious time, the time too soon comes when you may not have opportunity to bless their lives
4. the needs of your children arenow
D. Encouraging another
1. either one who is hurting or one who is in some struggle
2. Gal 6:2 its when theres a burden hat help is needed
3. I need to write a note to ... -I ought to take ______ a pot of stew ... ought tos get lost in our time wasting (should haves??)
4. somewhere I read a poem which was entitled Do It Now ... dont we all need to think about that
III. MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME?
A. Consider 1 Tim 1:12,13 with Eph 5:15-17
1. I have often wondered if the fact of the 1 Tim 1 passage did not bear on the advice of Ephesians passage
2. those empty, wasted years - time wasted
3. sad thing ... any wasted time and effects of that waste cannot be retrieved - regrets aplenty
B. But each of us can stop wasting precious time
1. certainly Eph 5:17 gives us needed advice for now
2. we can begin filling each day with those things which are good, needful, helpful
3. Prov 27:1
CLOSE: Will I ever waste time again? Very likely. But I need to make every effort to do now those things which are affected adversely by my wasting time!
Cecil A. Hutson
04 April 1999