REDEEMING THE TIME

Eph 5:14-17 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the
days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Col 4:5-6 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway
with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

I. MAN’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED.

A. We have a limited time on this earth.
1. Job 14:1-5
1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that
he cannot pass;

B. Seeing it is but a short time, we should be able to fully devote ourselves to God.
1. 1 Peter 1:15-19
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the
time of your sojourning here in fear:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

II. THERE IS AN APPROPRIATE TIME FOR EVERYTHING.

A. Everything has its time.
1. Eccl 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time
there for every purpose and for every work.

B. We must realize there is a time to consider the fate of our souls.

1. Jer 8:7-9 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the
crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of
the LORD. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain
made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken:
lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?

2. Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye,
and believe the gospel.

3. 2 Cor 6:1-2 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace
of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I
succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
 C. There is a time to wake up.
1. Luke 15:15-18 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into
his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat:
and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and
will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

2. Rom 13:11-14 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for
now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let
us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly,
as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and
envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof.

III. WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO DELAY SOME IMPORTANT THINGS.

A. The Lord commands us all to consider our ways.
1. Hag 1:1-9
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the
LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of
Josedech, the high priest, saying,
2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the
LORD's house should be built.
3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with
holes.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be
glorified, saith the LORD.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the
LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

2. Luke 12:54-57 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west,
straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say,
There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the
earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not
what is right?

IV. THE TIME INVESTED IN GOD’S SERVICE WILL BE REPAID MANY TIMES OVER.
A. Jesus Christ fully expects us to tell the good news.
1. 1 Tim 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

B. Our reward will vastly outweigh any problems caused by our service to Christ.
1. Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
 2. Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down , and shaken
together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete
withal it shall be measured to you again.

3. 1 Tim 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that
they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for
themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

V. THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN THERE WILL BE NO MORE TIME.

A. We are now in the last time.
1. Heb 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things, by whom also he made the worlds;

2. 1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

B. And then these last days will come to an end.

1. Dan 12:1-3 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the
children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation
even to that same time : and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

2. Rev 10:5-6 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to
heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein
are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that
there should be time no longer:

Invitation: Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess Christ as the Son of God, Be Immersed
for the remission of sins, and then grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ,
remaining faithful until death.

If you are a Christian and have sinned publicly, then you are invited to
remove your separation from God by public repentance so that prayers can be
offered with you and for you.