The passage of time

Sunday 30th December 2007 –

This morning I just want to spend 15-20mins or so talking to you about where my thoughts have been over the last week or so and this falls into two areas 1 – the passage of time or our awareness of it & 2 – How we, as individuals fit in to the bigger picture.

Well, as you would expect, New Year is generally a time when the church reflects on what has happened over the last year, takes stock of where we are now and a time that we look forward to the future and in many respects a time where we look for something different or new. It’s a time where most of us think about going back to work or start to plan our next holiday. But do we make the most of this time?

As I started to prepare for today I asked myself, if you hadn’t been preparing for today how much time would you have spent in reflection and how important is New Year or the celebration of it? And my honest answer is not very.

Our calendar is purely a means by which we can maintain order and structure in our lives. In fact time as we know it or at least the recording of days and months, over the years, has been changed to match the seasons, the moon and certain Christian events. Fascinating fact of the day up to 45BC our calendar used to start in March. Time is just there, whether we like it or not or whether we think about it or not it just goes on.

The fact that God created the heavens and earth in six days is no more or less of an amazing fact than if he had done it in three or ten. The time it tuck him is irrelevant that fact that he did it is what counts.  Passing from 2007 to 2008 is no different than passing from Sunday to Monday or Monday to Tuesday, it’s what we do with our time that counts.

A big problem that I find we have is getting so caught up in the routine of life that we often take time for granted. Why is it that we consider New Year to be the only time when we take stock and reflect? How many of you, only really consider how important time is at events like Birthdays or Christmas when you hear the inevitable statement: this year has flown by. Now I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing to reflect at this time of year, it’s an ideal opportunity, we’re all together and looking towards a New Year, but it’s not the only time we have.

In Psalm 90 Moses asks this of God: Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. I think that we need to be more aware of time and not let the familiarity of life cloud our judgment of the passage it and limit us to only thinking about the future of the church and our roll in that on the Sunday before New Years Eve. The request by Moses suggests to me that the gift of time is an important one and one that we should take more seriously and use it more wisely.

So, let’s look back at what has been going in the five towns: We’ve seen the development of the evangelistic team, Impact, g-force, community day, community work, Quality speakers and teaching at FFP, prayer meetings, house groups, Andy and Gab concert + other events support by the worship team new members and a baptism service and I’m sure lots of other things that I can’t remember.

As you can see there is a lot going on and I don’t know about you but that looks to me like a pretty healthy and expanding church, would you agree? We have developed areas of ministry and there is plenty of scope to take even more ground. I look around at what’s going on and the gifted people/resources that God has blessed us with and I just think of what a privilege it is to be serving God in this area as part of this church and what a lot we have to be thankful for as we look to 2008.

So what about 2008?

And that started me off considering one of the common problem caused by time and the society that we live in. Our impatience and often inability to stick at what we’re doing. We live in an instant world where we get what we want in half the time and it’s great, most of the time. I come in from work flick the kettle on and in 1min 30 there is a delicious meal for two courtesy of Bachelors.

But does this instant world and our desire for instant results distract us from seeing the bigger picture and ultimately God’s purpose for our lives? Do we get so involved with familiar routines of life that we miss the true purpose behind what we’re doing? Or worse still. Do we get so frustrated with the results, that we start to ask God whether we were right to be doing it in the first place and ask for something new?

I personally don’t think that we need something new right now. I think that we should be focusing our attention on getting better at what God has already given us to do and be faithful servant even if we don’t get results as fast as we’d have liked.

Turn with me to Hebrews 11. This is an amazing passage but verse 39 really stands out to me. These men and women stuck at the task in hand even though they didn’t receive the promise. They had all died before Jesus came. We are in a privileged position; we know Christ and the purpose to our being.

How do we strengthen our position in 2008?

When I sat and thought about this my head was all over the place so I went back to basics

The simple truth is that as Christians we are to become more like Christ and in so doing show him to the world. Our call was to ‘go in to the entire world and make disciples of all nations’. We do that by listening to God and using the resources that we’ve got to do what he asks.

As I was developing my thoughts, looking back over the year and considering how to move on in 2008, I asked myself, where do you fit in to all this? How do we as individuals use our time and resources for the benefit of the overall plan?

After all we are one body with many parts. If I’m a foot how well am I doing at being a foot or if you’re a hand how well are you doing?

With that in mind I would like to close my time considering the area of – Recognising your purpose and in this consider not just what the “Church” has been doing or where the “Church” is going, but where you as an individual fit in to that?

Sometimes we get so busy with day to day life that we fail to see our importance in God’s plan. You often hear the phrase ‘I can’t see it for looking’ or ‘you can’t see the wood for the trees’ and sometimes we’re so close to a situation that we fail to see how we fit in.

This week I decided to examine myself, so I shut myself away with just my bible, my computer and the faint sound of Gemma banging pots in the Kitchen and asked myself some questions, questions that may be useful for us to consider more often.

What sort of involvement have you had with any of the areas of ministry that we looked at (list & expand)?

 How many times have you really thought and prayed about the direction and future of the church and your roll in that? And how well have you used your gifts and time? I also looked at me as a person and what makes me tick.

Luke 12:33-34 Jesus was challenging his disciples to consider where their focus was. He is talking about where their everyday thoughts were and what was most precious to them.

Bear in mind that we have already received the promise through the grace of God, what goals and riches that this earth offer can compare to that? Where are your treasures, where are you investing your time, energy and gifts?

When I looked at myself and considered my roll, there wasn’t just one thing that leapt out. To see my treasure I had to look at the bigger picture and go back from as far as I could remember to now. It was only then that I could see God’s plan in my life.

I could see that the person that I am, my character, my natural gifts and abilities, the desires of my heart and everything about me that makes me, me, all generally point in the right direction.

now I’m not saying that I’ve got it all worked out,  and there are practical things that we will all have to change and adjust, such as seeking God, praying, serving more.

But if your treasure and your heart are in the right place, if everything that makes you tick is focused on God and if you regularly take time strip away the trappings of day to day life and consider just how important your contribution is, then as a church looking forward to 2008, I think that we will be far more affective.