Psalm 90: I Don't Want To Waste My Time

Introduction

Snake in garage - Staci left me alone to save the house. Not how I wanted to spend my Friday afternoon.

Lots of days that don’t go as planned. BUT, a lot of time we GET to plan. Are we using the time God has given us well? Are you wasting your time, or are you using your time in a way that honors God?

Psalm 90 - helps us to think about time, who is ultimately in control of time, and how we should view and use our time.

An unexpected author - Moses! Oldest Psalm in the Bible. Why is there a psalm by Moses in the Book of Psalms? We’ll answer that shortly.

Moses knew what it was like for time to NOT go as planned. He was tasked with leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. The journey was supposed to take 11 days. Forty years later, Moses would die in the wilderness along with every person who came out of Egypt with the exception of their children and grandchildren. Wasted time on complaining and idolatry rather than using time to walk by faith.

Moses did NOT envision that he would spend his time leading a complaining group of people walking around in circles for 40 years!

How do we not WASTE the time God has given us? Three ways we can make the most of our time instead of wasting our time.

I need to know that God holds all time in His hands.

Why a psalm of Moses in the Book of Psalms? Starts book 4. Theme: “God is still King over all the world.” Book 3: “How could God abandon his king and his people?” God has not abandoned his people in exile. He’s at work to bring about His purpose.

Book 4 starts: Remember Moses. No deliverer greater in Israel’s history than Moses. The Exodus - nothing in the OT compares to what God did to use Moses to bring His people out of Egypt.

Israel’s greatest deliverer knew what it means to live outside of the land of promise. Moses felt like the people in exile. “This is not how life’s supposed to turn out. Wandering around the wilderness? This is not how I wanted to spend my time.” People in exile: “Exile in Babylon. This is not how life’s supposed to turn out. This is not how we want to spend our time.”

The exiles needed to sing the Psalm of Moses!

Psalm 90: When your time on earth is not what we thought it would be - we need to sing the psalm of Moses.

vs. 1 - “Lord you have been our dwelling place.” Wandering the wilderness looking for a home - complaining about God not being good enough. Not enough food, not enough water, etc. Yet God provided… wasn’t good enough. “Let’s go back to Egypt.” Not only complaining, but turned to idolatry! Worshipped a golden calf when Moses was on Mt. Sinai.

How much time did the Hebrews waste complaining about what they didn’t have instead and turning to idolatry instead of spending time worshipping the ONE they did have? And then the audacity to complain when the consequence of their rebellion was wandering in the wilderness?

“Lord, you are our dwelling place.” That’s what they missed - it’s what you miss. Life is about abiding in the ONE who created you and loves you. NOT about selfishly using our time to try to get what we want out of life.

Moses: “We can’t forget who you are - eternal.”

You and I waste a lot of time because we forget who GOD is - eternal - above time and holds every second of your existence in His hands.

God is eternal: Sovereign over all time and all history. He sees it more clearly and acts in it more decisively than you can ever act. He has ordained time. He is working in time to accomplish His purpose. All of time belongs to Him.

To eternal God - a thousand years are like a few hours of the night.

God is eternal, but you are not. You get a few short years - He will return you to dust (vs. 3).

The eternal God holds your life in His hands. He will eventually end your days on this earth (vs. 5-6).

This gets to the basic questions of life: Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? If God is eternal:

You find your reason for existing in His story. Life is not your story. It’s His story. It’s a waste of time to try to live your life outside of His story. What Hebrews did in the wilderness. AND, what they did in the Promised Land - what led them into exile. Using time to live for their desires. Why do you exist? Because in eternity past God determined to create a people who would live to worship Him. That’s the ONLY reason why you exist.

You find your purpose in His purpose. What am I to do? Live for His glory. Rom. 12:1-2. That’s it! Because of what the eternal God has done for you to bring a sinner like you into His family, you live your life in response to Him. You and I spend way too much time focusing on secondary questions: “Where should I live? What should my career be? What kind of house should I buy?” Primary question every day: “How can I use whatever God has given me in this moment to live for the glory of God?”

I need to make the most of the time God has given me.

vs. 7 - 11 not very encouraging. Moses thinking about his sinfulness and the sinfulness of his people. “You know who we are, and we know who you are and it terrifies us!” What did God see? He saw their complaining. He saw their idolatry. He saw their lack of belief.

Moses knew the terror of God. Ex. 19 - The fiery presence of God descending Mt. Sinai - touch the mountain and die. Or, 250 sons of Korah in Numbers 16 that the earth swallowed up because they had rebelled against Moses, God’s leader. God doesn’t play. He takes our rebellion seriously. He should be feared.

vs. 7-11 = Fear of God. Fear of God = I know that God knows everything about me - I don’t answer to others. I answer to Him.

As a Christian, I don’t FEAR punishment from God. I don’t FEAR that God will take away my salvation. But I do stand in AWE of Him. I know that my whole life is lived out before Him. He sees everything, so I take my sin seriously, and I take my obedience seriously. I am accountable to Him for the time He has given me. Fear of God like fearing an earthly father - He’ll do what he has to do to make sure I listen to his voice.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/uk-teen-car-thief-caught-hiding-giant-stuffed-teddy-bear-police - you can’t hide.

Moses - our iniquities are set before Him. He sees our secret sins. He brings judgment on those who reject Him.

My life is short (vs. 10) - How will I live my life? In the fear of God? You have 70-80 years - filled with sorrow and struggle. Even though filled with sorrow and struggle, will you walk in the fear of God?

Verses similar to Hebrews 4:12-13. Nothing hidden from God’s sight. He knows the intentions of the heart.

Who/what you fear most will determine how you spend your time. You worry more about what people see than what God sees. What do people think of me? How do they view me? Some of us are controlled by the fear of man rather than the fear of God.

When controlled by the fear of God - it affects the way you use your time.

vs. 12 - “Teach us to number our days...” Moses: help us to know that time is short, and we need to spend our time honoring you. THIS is what Israel failed to do in the days of Moses and in the days leading up to the exile.

Because I fear the Lord, I want to number my days. I want to use my time wisely. I don’t have time to waste.

How do we number our days? Use our time wisely demonstrating that we fear the Lord?

Remember that time is not yours to waste, but it belongs to God for you to steward. What are your biggest time wasters? How do your time wasters hinder your growth in the Lord?

Take responsibility for the time God has given you instead of making excuses for how you waste your time. I was too busy. I was too overwhelmed. When you stand before God and realize that you not invest enough time in getting to know Him on this earth, what will you say to Him? I was too busy?

Plan your time or you will waste your time. What’s your plan for your spiritual growth for the next six months? What’s your plan to disciple your children? What’s your plan for your own personal discipleship? You plan what’s most important to you…

Focus on attainable goals. I can read the Bible in a year. I can be in a discipleship group. I can lead family devotions. I can share the Gospel with five people over the next five months.

Don’t wait. Make the decision today to number your days.

I need to long for the ONE who makes time better.

vs. 13-17 - Moses intercedes for the Hebrews. “Have compassion on your servants.”

“Satisfy us in the mornings.” Instead of pouring out anger, pour out grace. “Our days are short, help us to find satisfaction in you, not this world.”

“Establish for us the work of our hands...” Help us to live for your purpose instead of us living for our own purpose.

Psalm 90 - A reminder that Israel had a great interceder - Moses. To people in exiled because of sin (which includes us) - “You need an interceder.”

Book of Psalms points us to our need for an interceder who will give us a better day. Jesus is our interceder. He is the ONE who has made a way for us to be satisfied with God’s faithful love and to live for the works that God has established for us. (Hebrews 7:25)

(Galatians 4:4-7) God perfectly working in time to bring about His plan to save us from our sins through the gift of His Son, Jesus, who used His time generously and perfectly. We will never use our time perfectly, but thank God Jesus did. The greatest use of Jesus’ time was to give His life away on a cross – to die for you and for me. We had all rebelled against the God who made us, but God loved us, and He sent His Son to rescue us from our sin – to save us. Jesus died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins that we deserved so that we could be forgiven of our rebellion and never punished. He rose three days later to prepare the way for us to have eternal life. Unbeliever: Give Him your life and find satisfaction in His faithful love. Believer: Are you wasting your time on you? Repent. Ask God to help you walk in the fear of the Lord so you might use your time well.

Jesus makes time better because:

He grows me in satisfaction. (Personal growth)

He grows me in usefulness. (Missional growth)

He’s preparing me for a better time. (Eternity)

This week:

I will repent of wasting time that God has gifted me.

I will make a plan for my personal growth and missional growth.

I will enjoy time by using it wisely for God’s glory.