Go All in With Your Time

Over the next three weeks we’re going to focus on missions and specifically the themes that the whole church is being challenged with. Last week Pastor Sanders challenged us on being All In With Our Heart.

This really is the basis for the rest of our discussion over the next couple of weeks. If your heart is not surrendered and committed to God, then these next themes are going to be really difficult to swallow.

And today especially. We’ll deal with a subject that teenagers innately struggle with — TIME.

Here’s why I think this topic is difficult for teenagers to grasp.

You have experienced relatively little time in your life so far.

You assume that you have your whole life ahead of you.

There are so many things trying to steal your time.

But today the challenge is simple — Go All In With Your Time.

Can we pray? And as I pray, ask the Lord that he’ll challenge you and convict of your use of time and that you’d surrender it all to him.

TIME IS A GIFT FROM GOD.

Psalm 118:24 KJV 1900

24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Acts 17:25 KJV 1900

25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

Scripture is clear. Our time, our life, is a gift from God. It doesn’t belong to us, but rather is something to be stewarded for him. We’ll come back to this point towards the end of the lesson.

Every day you wake up is a gift.

Your very breath comes from God—He owns it all.

Our time doesn’t belong to us; it is given to be stewarded for Him.

APPLICATION

Recognize that each day is God’s gift. Ask Him how to use it well.

TIME IS FLEETING.

James 4:14 KJV 1900

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Time is something you’re always losing and never gaining.

We’ve already lost the moments we’ve spent in this very lesson—they’re gone.

Time never stops. You can’t pause it.

*toothpaste illustration.

APPLICATION

Don’t assume you’ll always have “later” to do what God asks. Act now.

TIME IS SHORT.

Psalm 90:12 KJV 1900

12 So teach us to number our days, That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

*note card illustration. Each person has a set number of days, minutes, hours. None of us know.

Maybe like me, you’ve been confronted by death over the past week with the murders of Iryna Zarutska (23) and Charlie Kirk (31). Hear me. Your life is short. Even if you live till your 90, in the grand scheme of things your life is short. You only get one life.

If life is short, then every moment matters.

Life is brief—whether 23 years, 31 years, or even 90 years, compared to eternity, it’s short.

Because life is short, every moment matters.

APPLICATION

Evaluate where your time goes. Is most of it spent on things that fade away, or things that last for eternity?

INVEST YOUR TIME WISELY.

Ephesians 5:15–16 KJV 1900

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

*beads illustration from my office.

Wisdom is choosing to invest your time in what matters most.

You don’t drift into using time wisely—you must choose.

APPLICATION

Set aside time daily or weekly for prayer, serving, encouraging others, and sharing your faith. Ask yourself: How can I use my time to make a difference for Christ today?

PRAYER PROMPTS

Thanksgiving – Thank God for the gift of time and life itself.

Confession – Ask God’s forgiveness for wasting time on things that don’t matter for eternity.

Commitment – Pray that God would help us redeem our time, invest it in His mission, and see opportunities to share Christ each day.