Giving God Our Leftovers

The wise use of allotted time is a doctrine few are familiar with today. Jonathan Edwards has a brilliant treatise on the wise use of allotted time. I believe, friends, that this present generation of Christians squanders more time carelessly than any generation preceding it.

The time we waste on the internet, on television, on sports and entertainment, hobbies and recreation proves our utter ignorance of God's holy Bible. We don't know our Bibles as we should because we seldom read them for any length of time. John Song, the great Chinese evangelist that God used to shake China, read his entire Bible through 44 times in 193 days.

After that, he was a walking Bible. We must be honest with ourselves before God. We simply do not have a deep familiarity with the entire Word of God, and because of that, because of that lack, we don't know God as we should.

Afford us by spending time with Him and in His Word and on our knees that we develop an intimate knowledge of the Almighty that can only be gained through lives of sacrifice unto Him and things of eternal worth. There are few EM bounds in America today because there are few believers who are willing to rise at 3 a.m. and spend four hours with God in prayer to develop a skill in any occupation. It takes time and immense study to acquire a degree of success.

Why do the things of this world command all the best hours of our time? And if we do set aside time for Bible study and prayer, we are most likely giving God our leftovers. And that's the title of my message today, friends—giving God our leftovers. And my text can be found in the book of Ephesians in chapter 5. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends.

We will look at verse 16. I will read us this scripture. Afterward is an indictment against many of us who ignore its admonition, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

There is a question I'd like to ask you, friends. Are the days in which we live evil? Are they? I've been around a long time and I've never seen such a blatant evil in society as in our day. Cities host nude bike marathons and no one blushes.

Our addiction to television has ruined us and has desensitized us to sin. We can sit and watch the worst filth and perversion, and it no longer shames us. Many rather delight in it.

Our society today calls evil good and good evil. And we have a generation of young people that belong to churches and sing about Jesus on Sunday morning, but during the week they see nothing wrong with swearing, and drinking, and doing drugs, and sleeping around. They have no guilt or remorse about their sins, any more than a swine would regret wallowing in his filth.

So indeed the days are evil. And how do we spend our free time? Do we turn off the TV and go to our closet to get on our faces before God and weep and pray over our lost loved ones and friends? Or do we excuse ourselves by saying television relaxes us after a hectic day? So we sit there in front of that one-eyed devil and give our time to the cause of entertainment and relaxation, while people slip into eternity and fall into the reality of hell during our favorite reality TV show. Why aren't we on our knees more? Why aren't we crying out to God more in intercession and prayer for the crying sins of this nation? Why aren't we on our faces, begging God to send revival to our violent-filled community? Why aren't we engaged in desperate prayer and anguish over the sad spiritual condition of our churches? Why aren't we giving our free time to pray for the lost teenagers that we know? Why don't we just get rid of our televisions altogether and do what God's word commands and redeem the time that we have still allotted to us? The best thing I ever did, friends, was get rid of my television years ago and give that time to God.

To give that time to God on my knees and in my Bible. There's a big price to pay because most people, when they find out I don't have a TV, they look at me like I'm some kind of oddball and I'm talking about church people. I know some preachers who would have more power and influence in the pulpit if they spent less time glued to their TV watching their favorite sporting event.

Can you imagine, friend, David Brainerd wasting his time on recreation and pleasure? We never would have heard of him. Same for D.L. Moody. The same for George Whitefield.

How can we steal from God? What is due him by giving him our leftovers after we give the world our best? What excuse will we give the Lord of Glory when we stand before him at the Bema seat and he reviews how we spent our time while we were here on earth as believers? Did we give God our best in regard to our time or did we merely give him our leftovers? There's a poem I wrote years ago that sums up this theme of living for eternity. Let me finish this message with the reading of this poem. And on that day when you review the moments of my life, my thoughts, my deeds, every word I spoke since knowing you, and all is placed into the fire for testing and review.

Will what remains be gold and silver or ashes heaped with hay? The day will declare to what degree I live my life for you. Let us pray, friends, for the conviction of the Spirit of the Lord to overhaul how we spend our time that is allotted to us. Oh, let us pray.