Have you in your life felt that you have wasted time? Do you feel that you've got a year you wish you could take back? A moment you could take back? A decade you could take back? One interaction you could take back? Do you feel that you've wasted time in your past? Do you think that you're currently wasting time? Do you have current regrets of things that you're doing right now that you know or a waste. Things that you know maybe not be bad, but aren't leading you closer to the throne. Have you just woken up to realize that you've been spinning your wheels spiritually? That you've grown no closer to God, you're just there. Our title today is Reclaim Your Time. Reclaim Your Time from Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 through 17. So let's read those verses and then we'll dig into it. See then that you 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. See that you walk circumspectly or carefully. What is it that you really hunger for? What is it that you're really after in this life? What's your goal? What are you aiming at? Is it what we just sang in Wonderful Merciful Savior that you give the healing and grace our hearts are always hungering for? Is that really what you hunger for? For God's healing and grace? Or is your hunger financial? Or is your hunger just a better job? Or your hunger to have more adventure? Now none of those are bad. But what is your heart hungry for? What is it craving? What does your stomach do when it's hungry? It craves, it growls, it makes a noise and your mind says, I must have food. Is that where your soul is today? I must have Jesus. Is that your first priority? So verse 15 says, See that you walk circumspectly or carefully, not as fools, but as wise. Now there's two different type of fools here. One fool says there is no God. Another fool that gets addressed here is the fools that twist scripture. The fools that cherish money above God, as Paul describes later on in this chapter. They want to fill their coffers full of treasures. They're not as worried about the message as they are what they receive from the church, or what they receive from people. So there's two type of fools there, but neither fool has a kingdom mindset. Both fools, the one that says there is no God, and the one that says yes there is a God, but twist the scriptures of that God. Both fools are headed for destruction. Both fools are the blind leading the blind. Both fools have a mindset for me. They have a me mindset instead of a kingdom mindset. So Paul here says that you need to be redeeming the time because the days are evil. So you need to walk carefully. Walking. That's an action word. Your spiritual life from your awakening until the time that you are called home is an actual walk. Actively spiritually walking, it means to live, to make progress, to make a way, to make good use of your opportunities, to regulate your life, to conduct yourself in a certain manner. So he's saying you need to do all of these. You need to conduct yourself in a certain way because the days are evil. You need to make good use of your time because the days are evil. You need to regulate your own life because the days are evil. You need to make your way in progress in the spiritual walk because the days are evil. We have to be watching to do that. We must be observant. It says that you have to see. It says, see then that you walk. That's saying two things. One, make sure that you're walking. And in that walking, you need to be looking for trips, for snares, for traps that have been laid out. Now the fool is going to tell you that that is not a trap in your way, that it's just something that could benefit you. But there is a way that you can know what is right. Now man has a way that he walks that he thinks is right in his own way and it leads to destruction. But Psalm 119 verse 105 says that your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You have a guide in this spiritual walk. Yes, we say that the scripture is our guide. Sometimes it's hard to see clearly, isn't it? Sometimes it's hard to understand. Sometimes it's hard to make that right decision. But when we go back to the scripture, it is not going to tell you, you must do this, you must move to this place, you must go to this college. It says to seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. So what I'm telling you right now is you can't always just go to the scripture and it gives you a billboard or a sentence that says here is your action. But sometimes it does. It gives us rights and wrongs. It tells you what you must not do and what you should do. But you see there's times in our life where we have to shine the flashlight of the scripture on our path to see what is the best path for us to take. So we are to be carefully walking on this path with the light of the Word as our guide, with the light of the Word illuminating the road before us. And we need to cautiously, with watchfulness in every way, in every area of our life, give attention to where you are walking, who you are walking with, and what you are walking towards. We need to be watching for surprises, for dangers. They're out there. The snares of Satan are enticing. The things of the world can be enticing. Even things that may not be in and of themselves evil. Sports aren't bad. But can they take you away from God? I like to hike and I like to hunt. Sunday's a really good day to do that. Is it gonna take me away from the Lord? We all have our different desires and our different likes. Now, none of those are wrong. But if we're not shining the light of the gospel on hiking, if we're not shining the light of gospel on sports, if we're not shining the light of gospel in what our heart's desires are, then those things can become a snare of Satan that he uses something that is not in and of itself bad to trip you up. So we are to be watching carefully, observing for the dangers and the traps before us. We have to carefully move through this life. We have to guard our mind to do that. We have to be watchful over our own minds, our emotions, our hearts. Does this seem daunting to you? It shouldn't if you look at Colossians chapter 2 verse 6. A fallen creature who has been saved by grace, who the Lord has picked up, but yet I still seem to keep tripping and falling and tripping and falling. How am I to walk carefully watching? Well, Colossians chapter 2 verse 6 says, As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him by the very same power that He opened your dead eyes to see a high and risen Savior. That's the power that you walk in. The same Lord, the same God, the same Holy Spirit that first pricked your heart and caused you to see your sin. That is the same power in which you walk. You are not walking carefully alone. That's why you have the Scripture. That's why you have the light of the Word to illuminate your path. You are not on this path alone. Christ Jesus has sent His Spirit to be with you always, even to the end of the ages. He is walking with you. So don't think that you have to walk carefully on your own. You have God by your side. It reminds me of the book study that some of us are still in, some of y'all have finished. Gentle and Lowly, the story where the father is carrying his son down in the pool, or he was holding his father's hand, and he's holding on to it, and he starts to feel like he's sinking, so he just holds tighter to his father's hand, realizing that I'm holding on so tight that I'm not sinking now, but the whole time, his father was really holding him up. That's God with you right now. You cling tight because God has a grip on you. But you don't let go. Knowing full well that though you may stumble, you will never be cast away. Though you may fall, He will be there to pick you up because He has never let you go. That's the power that you walk in. So don't be intimidated by saying, I must walk carefully. Take joy in it, because the Holy Spirit walks with you in this. Why? We're supposed to be redeeming the time. That's the purpose of this careful, cautious walk, is to redeem our time. So time is the focus of these three verses. Redeeming our time, or reclaiming it, means to buy up, to ransom, to rescue from loss. Do you have lost time in your life? You can't go back and get it. Are you wasting time now? You can stop and reclaim that time. Are you looking towards the future of what your goals are going to be? What your aspirations are in life? The path you want to take for yourself? The path you want your family to go down? You can reclaim that time now. Take back what was lost with your time. John Gill says it denotes a careful and diligent use of your time, an improvement of your time to the best advantage. It shows that it is valuable and precious. Your time is valuable and precious, and it's not to be trifled with or squandered away or lost because it can never be recalled and it can never be prolonged. You can't take back your past. And you can't make the future last on. Time is precious. What are you doing with your time? How are you using your time? Has the world taken a grip of it? Has your job taken a grip of it? Duties of parenting, taking the grip of your time, of your walk with God. Don't waste the time that you have. Don't waste it. Take it back. Colossians 4, 5. It says, walk in wisdom towards outsiders, redeeming the time. This means make good use of your time with all men so that you can show forth the light of Christ in you. Don't waste the time or the interactions you have with those that are non-believers. How many times can I count? More than I can count. The wasted opportunities I've had with non-believers. Reclaim that time with your interactions with people. Don't waste your time. So let's look at our time, what we're supposed to be reclaiming, what we're supposed to take back. You must be active. You must be active in determining what you do with your time. I'm not gonna be able to make you do what you do every day with your time. My children can't make me do what I do every day with my time. You are personally responsible for your time. Each and every one of us has to be active in determining where we go. Don't be content to just sit and wait. Be an active Christian, but you must be active in it. Part of this is deciding what is a must for you. What must I do? We're motivated by what we determine is a must in our lives. That's what motivates us. What is a must for me? What must I be? What must I have? Where must I go? And my decisions will be made from what I determine is a must in my life. So then I have to ask myself, is Christ truly my all in all? Is He a must for me? Is my walk with Him a must? Do I see it as a necessity for me? Are you the type of believer that has one foot in the door and one outside the door? Or is Christ your all in all? Is He a must for you? Wherever your heart is, that's where your time will go. Whatever your heart loves will capture your time. Ask yourself a few questions with your time. Are you so hurried in life that you can't even take a moment to relax and reflect? Do you have time to actually relax and reflect? Do you have time to get away? To have time with the Lord? Even Jesus saw the importance of getting away, resetting, reflecting. In Mark chapter 6 verses 30 through 32, he told his apostles we need to go away because they had been surrounded by crowds for so many days. We must go away and rest. Of course the crowds followed him, but Jesus was showing them the importance of resting. Is it job first over church, over time with your family, over time with the Lord? Is it sports first over church, over your family, over time with the Lord? Do your standards ebb and flow with your situations in life? Are you wasting your time worrying about the things that you have no control over? So how do you make the most of that time? I'm just too busy. You know what you have to do? You have to fight for your time. You have to reclaim what was lost. I don't have time to have my time with the Lord. I've only got time, I've got five minutes in the morning, that's all I have. Then you know what you need to do? You need to reclaim time, and you either need to push something away, that's not as necessary. Or maybe you have to get up earlier. You go to bed earlier. There's practical ways that you can do this. But sometimes you have to look. Do you have to look at what is good things in your life? And you have to say, but are they the best things in my life? Are you focusing on what's good and pushing away what is best with your time? There are good things out there, but are they what's best for you with your walk with the Lord? Are they what are going to draw you closer to God or will just the good things suffice? You have to fight to take that back. You're going to have to say no to some things so you can say yes to what you need for your walk with God. It can be very practical not taking a job that would negatively impact your family time or your own spiritual walk. Limit your use of technology. Technology is good. I use it all the time. I'm using it right now. Technology is good. But is that what takes up your time? Do you get addicted to Facebook and Instagram and all of those? You know what you can do? You can actually put a timer on your phone that'll shut Facebook off for you. Limit yourself. Get practical with it. Reclaim your time. Because it's easy to get lost in mindless things. Reclaim your time. But you have to take action to do that. You yourself must be determined to reclaim your time. I can't reclaim it for you. You must do it. That is for you to do. Ask God for wisdom to make the right choices with your time. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him. James 1 verse 5. That's where you need the wisdom of what is good and what is best. Because sometimes it's hard to see. You need to go to the Lord and say, God, I know this is a good thing. I know that this person may have a struggle. But is helping them at this time in my life going to draw me further away from you? Or is it going to draw me closer to you? Is there someone else that could better help them right now? There's a lot of good ministries out there in our community. But you don't have time to do all of them. And they're good ministries. But you can't do them all to the neglect of your own spiritual walk. So then you have to say, Lord, give me wisdom as what I say no to so that I can say yes to what is best for my walk with you. Schedule time in your calendar. I live by my calendar at work. It dictates my time for me at work. Do you know you can do the same thing in your personal life? Schedule time in your calendar. I'm going to give you some personal examples because my family struggled with this over the last couple of years. We started getting away from family devotions for many reasons. One, I started preaching sermons instead of doing devotions at bedtime. We realized that wasn't a good idea. So then we try to read this very deep book because I wanted to reach my teenagers. But I've got a two year old screaming over here. You know what I did? I gave up. I just gave up because that was easier. It was easier not to hear them cry, not to get stressed out trying to make a two-year-old sit down at bedtime while I read Charles Spurgeon. I love Spurgeon, but my two-year-old doesn't know what I'm talking about. But I did the wrong thing. I quit. I just stopped. I threw my hands up in the air. I don't have time for this. So then that led to not having time for myself. Because I was able to easily give up this one that was the best, and I was able to give up another best thing. And I started having less and less time for my personal devotions. And I felt myself grow cold. Because that's what happens when we don't make the best use of our time in walking with God. I felt myself growing cold. My mind went to a dark place. Someone helped me wake up. And I realized that I had lost my time. But no one else could make me take it back. I had to do this myself through the power of the Holy Spirit walking in that same power and that same encouragement and that same joy of when I first had my eyes opened. It's like David cried out, Lord, restore to me that joy of my salvation. And then you go back and you reclaim that time. My only option I had for my personal walk was I had to start getting up an hour earlier every morning. Then I had to start getting up an hour and a half earlier every morning. But you know what happens on those days that I don't do that? I feel dark. I feel at odds with the house. I feel at odds with my wife. I feel at odds with my children. And I feel at odds with God. Because I didn't take the time to spend with Him. But I had to take that hour and that hour and a half back. Well, then I got guilty. I felt guilty when I should have because family devotions had just gone by the wayside. And I thank God for a godly wife because I had tried everything I could think of to try to do some devotions and it never worked. And finally, she looked. She said, the one time you've got everybody in this house sitting down and quiet is at the supper table. Put the devotion book on the table. Why didn't I think of it? I mean, it was a pretty easy fix. I just didn't think it. I thought it had to be this very formal, very structured. Everybody's families are different. You do what is best for your family, but you must do the best thing with it. So what we do now is we sit down to eat and if Kami or I is done eating first and we start to see people wiggling, one of us grabs that devotion book and we read it. You know what happens now? If I say, well, you're excused from the table because they don't get up unless they're excused. Got that one right with them. If I say you're excused, somebody inevitably goes, no, no, no, no. We haven't read. Now my kids are keeping me on my toes and they're helping me reclaim the time. Because they love it. And so should I. It shouldn't be a burden on me to teach my children. It shouldn't be a nuisance on us to teach our children. It should be our priority. Reclaim that time with your children. And when we started doing that, I started realizing there is so much time in my evening that I am just wasting. So now I have an alarm set Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night for eight o'clock. On Tuesday night and Thursday night, I spend time with Ty and Elena. They listen to Albert Mueller's The Briefing every day. They get to count it as school credit for current events. And we talk about current events from a biblical perspective every Tuesday and Thursday. And we have had some amazing talks about what's going on in our current world from a biblical viewpoint. And then I realized I've got a teenage boy over here and a preteen boy. And I remember a book I read. And I had Ty read called Faults for Young Men by J.C. Ryle. It's an amazing book. So every Monday and Wednesday night, I think I've got these right, I spend time with Teddy and Liam. We read through a section of that book. And you know what? If we don't read the whole chapter, it's okay. We read a paragraph and get into deep conversations about it. But I had to be active in doing that. It didn't just happen. I had to make myself do it. I had to reclaim my time with my family because I had lost time with my family. I had wasted time with my family and I have regrets that I lost precious time of teaching with my children because it was an inconvenience to me. Shame on me. Reclaim your time with your family. Reclaim your time for you to walk with the Lord. Is He what you hunger for? Is He what you thirst for? Or is Downton Abbey what you thirst for? Is hockey, basketball, football, hunting, track, piano? Take your pick. What are you thirsting for? That's what your priorities will be. All of those other I just mentioned are okay. But are they what you thirst for? Is that what your heart's desire is? Because your heart will dictate your time. Ask yourself some questions. I call it the calendar of life. That's what I've started calling my calendar. It's the calendar of life. And I've had to start asking myself these questions before I decide I'm going to do something or can't do something. Before I add it to my calendar of life. Is it wise in view of my personal walk with God? Is what I'm about to do or take on wise in view of my personal walk with God? Is it wise in view of my family's walk with God? Now I can, I travel some for work and I enjoy it because I have more time in the hotel for devotions. But if I'm traveling every week, I'm not gonna have that time with my family. I mentioned it Wednesday night, there's some positions at work that I've had to say no to that would have been better for me as a career, but they'd have me on the road three weeks out of the month. Well, then I've just lost all that time that I'm trying to reclaim with my family. So it may be good, but is it best? Is it wise in view of my current stage of life? Now we're all in different stages. Some have young children, some have older children, some have no children. Is it wise in view of this stage of life that I'm in? I have to say no to some things so that I can spend time with my family. Mike has to say no to some things so that he can spend time with his family. You may have to do the same. Is it wise in view of the health of my marriage? Marriages go through struggles and tempestuous times. Is it wise for me to take this on when my wife and I are at odds? It may be a good thing, but is it the best thing for my marriage? Is it wise in view of my emotional and spiritual state? Do I have the time I need to take care of my own emotional and spiritual state? Do I have time to take on blank and still have time to be with God and feed my soul? We can get caught up in doing all the good things and neglect all the best things. Why is that so important for us? Because the days are evil. These days are evil. We Christians have a common enemy. who from the beginning of time has been trying to steal your love for the Lord. And the easiest way for him to do that with the church is to take your time. To make you foolish with your time and make you grow cold with God. We have a spiritual enemy. And he attacks us on our spiritual side and our emotional side and our heart. And our heart dictates where we go. That's why we have to be cautious in this walk with our time. Making the best use of our time. That's one aspect of putting on God's armor. Making the best use of your time is putting on God's armor. Before He tells you what that armor is in 1 Peter 5, He says, be sober, be serious of spirit, be alert or vigilant because your adversary the devil prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour. But resist and stand firm in your faith. And you do that by Ephesians 6, putting on that armor. Because our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the forces of darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore put on that armor of God. And one way that you do that is with your time, by being vigilant, by being guarded. We're going to stop there, but I want you to take a homework assignment down and read 2 Timothy 2, verses 14-23. Paul gives Timothy some extremely practical things that he needs to be doing in his ministry with his time. He needs to be studying. He needs to show himself approved. He needs to flee. And he needs to run too. Read those verses and just see practical things that Paul tells Timothy to do because Timothy's to be a minister. So therefore he must be wise with his time. That studying takes time. So Timothy has to make sure that he's doing the best with his time. So read those passages tonight. Let's close with this just knowing that live cautiously. Take back the time from the world. Take back your time. This world is evil. The vices of this world have hooks in it that are deep and sharp and do not want to let you go. They will cause you to keep your eye off of your guard. Be wise in wisdom, not in the wisdom of the world, and understand and know that God's will for your life is to walk in Him in the same assurance and power by which you believe. That's why he says in Ephesians 4 For this reason it says, Awake you that sleeps and arise from the dead and Christ shall shine upon you. See then that you walk cautiously because He has awoken you from the dead. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that You be with us in this tempestuous walk of life. Lord, we know that there are struggles. We know that we all have different priorities in our homes and in our jobs and in our lives. But Lord, may all of our hunger be for you. Lord, teach us in wisdom to be able to say no to good things so that we can say yes to the best things for us. May we hunger for you. May our hearts yearn for you. said that Lord we will spend time searching for you to be with you. And it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.