How often have you heard someone say, “ I don’t have time?” Maybe you have said it many times, also. It is a common expression among all of us. My friends, why don’t we have time? Have you thought about this? Let’s consider “time” for a moment. Time is something that we all have, at the same time. No one has anymore time at the same time, than someone else. So what is our beef about time?

How Do We Use Time
Time Is that not the real question we need to answer? What am I doing with the time I have? When we think about it there is twenty four hours in a day. What have we planned to do with that twenty four hours? Before we go any further, let’s stop and think a moment. Am I going to use all of it for myself? That is, am I going to sleep, eat, work and use the rest of this twenty four hours that are left to do what I want? Do you see where I am going with this? You know I am heading to the One who gives you the twenty four hours. Is He going to be left out? No time for prayer, no time for Bible reading or study, no time to share the Lord with someone. Yes, I understand we all have needs at home to be taken care of. Cleaning the house, the yard, getting some rest, or some other worthy project. But the point I want to make for all of us is about using our time wisely. We are challenged in the scriptures to do this.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16

Wickedness and evil in our world today, steals away a lot of our precious time. There is also much idleness, slothfulness, and foolishness going on. If you REALLY thought about this I believe you would agree, there are many wasted hours. And PLEASE remember my friend, once they are gone, THAT”S IT! They are gone! Even in many churches today there is a lot going on that is of no spiritual value. This is all taking up people’s time. But for those of us who claim Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must use our time for useful purposes. God is the one who gives all time and he is only going to give so much of it. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Here the wisdom writer tells us what we can experience during our life time. There is a purpose for time. God is working out his program in time, in your life and mine.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11

Heaven or Hell: Time Has A Purpose
We are all limited to time. It constrains us. It holds us and it binds us. It has its arms around us to control us. We cannot stretch it or extend it. Every day has the same amount of time. Every hour has the same amount of minutes, and every minute has the same amount of seconds. Time cannot be reclaimed. Think about this, folks! One of the most important things we can do with our time is to be certain about our eternal destiny. We do this by accepting the Lord Jesus as our Savior. We should witness to others so they can know of the eternal hope they can have in salvation. And, to know that in eternity there are only two places to reside; Heaven or Hell. Luke chapter sixteen tells us of a man who knew his time here on earth had passed forever. When he opened up his eyes he also realized he was in Hell. He now wanted someone to go tell his brothers of his hopeless state. How that being “religious,” and not using any of their time to get saved, they too, would open up their eyes in Hell as he had, when they leave this world. Unless before they died they accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:23-31

When God placed man on the earth he had a plan. His plan was to show man how good he was so that man would love him, praise him, and live with him forever in eternity. In eternity folks, not Hell! But; DID THAT EVER BACK FIRE! Instead of man praising, loving and serving him, man went away from God in the beginning and still does today. God is treated as if he is insignificant or not needed. People have been educated and trained to assume they can work out their problems and make their lives comfortable without the help of God, “ if there even is a god.” There is the attitude that if I do need God, then I will seek his help. I will get someone in the church to pray for me and things will work out. Maybe I will go to church and when my problem is resolved, then I will drop out; AGAIN! How many times have I seen this in my church life. People having no respect for God or considering this is where the blessings of life come from. “This is my life and I will do as I please and it is nobody’s business but mine,” seems to be the bottom line. Well, this loving God I am talking about will only give so much time and then your time will end. And, if you have not taken time to get right with Jesus Christ, the rest of your time, which is eternity, will be in hell fire!

Why We Have Time Here
Time here in this world is given to each of us to see who wants to live in heaven and enjoy God’s blessings for eternity. Or, to see who just wants to endure the trials of this life to enjoy a few brief joys here before they die. In other words, for a few days in this life doing what they want is more important than living in heaven forever. Yes, that is the way people reason. Maybe even someone reading these thoughts right now. They believe that time here is for, “me to be happy,” not to prepare for a glorious life that will never end. But the truth is our life here is where we are being tested to see if we believe the Lord, or if we believe the Devil. The Devil says, there is no God, no after life, no judgment day, no hell in fire and brimstone. The Devil says everyone is as good as the church crowd, or just any religion will do, if there is a god. The Devil says God will not let you go to hell and if you work hard and do the best you can you will be alright and go to heaven, if there is a heaven. But; WE NEED TO REMEMBER WHAT JESUS SAID;

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44

So the question today is, who are we serving with our time? Who are we obeying? Who are we living for? If we are living for self, we are serving the Devil’s purposes and our time here is wasted.

Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. Ecclesiastes 2:17-18

How many have labored long and hard and left their possessions to someone who wasted them away? MANY! How many have labored long and hard and taken anything with them? NO ONE! When this lifetime is over, we leave everything behind. What satisfaction is there in the grave over what one has accomplished materially? People leave vast amounts of money, or valuable real estate, or personal property to be used for the glory of their name or for some secular cause, when if they had known the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they could have helped the work of Christ. It is so sad that people are deceived and have no sense of the time in which they live.

LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
Psalms 39:4

As I was riding down the road one day, I kept seeing cemeteries. Some were rather large, and some were small. I thought to myself, a lot of people have been here and lived in this old world. Now their labor here is over and they struggle no more. I wondered, how many are at rest now and how many are suffering the torments of hell? Probably, most. Yet, they were all called to repent of their sin and trust Jesus Christ as their savior, but in this they failed. They failed because they did not see their limited time here as important enough to be prepared for the time of their death. How many years have you been here, my friend? You have had plenty of time to get ready to meet your Maker. Now you really do not have any excuse if you suddenly died and went to hell. You could blame no one but yourself. But what about children? Do you have children? Are you teaching them that time is precious and there are priorities in life, the most important one being trusting Jesus as their Savior? When your time is gone, will it have been well spent? Will you have regrets? Do not forget what God says;

“At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’’ Indeed, the “right time’’ is now.
TODAY is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2 LB

Time Will Come For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 2 Timothy 4:3

The foretold apostasy has come and its lack of truth is effecting the world. The church at large has lost its power and few are being influenced by its message today. Little warning is being proclaimed about the danger of sin. The message today is God loves you and we are all the children of God. Many others are proclaiming that if you give God a certain amount of money he will bless you, while others are saying, you need this bottle of oil or this hankie with the sweat of some preacher. Phooey, phooey, on all this misleading and unscriptural preaching! Let’s be honest folks. Unless a person is sorry for their sins and asks the Lord to forgive them, their sin still condemns them. If they truly believe in Jesus and trust him as their savior, it will change their lives forever. The scriptures have predicted it would be this way before the return of Christ for his true church.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude 1:4

How did this happen? People did not take time to live for the Lord, but people had time to do what they wanted to do. Every excuse possible is made as to why people will not repent of their sin and serve the Lord. Jesus tells us of such people;

And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Luke 14:15-20

“I don’t have time,” they all said. Now eternity awaits them and they have plenty of time! Where will they spend it, and where will you spend eternity? Heaven or hell, it’s up to you folks, because one day time as we know it now will be all gone. My friends, as we begin our new year let’s work hard to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to help those who don’t know him to get saved. We can do this by witnessing to them, praying for them, and by the way we live our lives.

Father thank you for taking Your time to send us the Savior to die and pay for our sins on the cross. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Preacher