SUPPLEMENTAL SCRIPTURES
- 1 Chronicles 29:15
- Matthew 6:24; 13:22
- Acts 13:46
- Colossians 4:5
Years ago, Will Rogers advised, “Buy land because they’re not making any more of it.” Another thing “they” are not making any more of is the number of hours in a day. God has given to every man a measure of time to be used as man chooses. Today, as always, the wise man uses his time for spiritual gain.
QUESTIONS
- Complete the following statements from Scripture:
Psalm 89:47 — Remember how ________________. (4 words)
Hosea 10:12 — It is time ________________. (4 words)
Luke 19:44 — Because thou knewest ________________________. (6 words)
Romans 13:11 — Now it is high time ____________________ (5 words)
1 Corinthians 7:29 — But this I say, brethren ________________. (4 words)
Revelation 1:3 — Keep those things which are written therein:_________________________ . (6 words) - Which of the above Scriptures point out the importance of using our time for spiritual betterment, and why?
- Using your dictionary, define the 6th and 13th words of the key verse. Then rewrite the verse using these definitions.
- Listed in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 are twenty-eight things that there are times for in life. Which two from the twenty-eight things are generally done by the disposition of God? Explain how they differ from the list of other activities regarding our use of time.
- What is our responsibility with regard to how we use our time?
- List ways that you use your time for spiritual gain.
- Referring to the Luke 14 portion of our text, all of those invited to the great supper made excuses why they couldn’t go. Three specific excuses are recorded. What do you think was the true reason each excused himself from going to the great supper?
- What are we telling the Lord when we say we don’t have time to be involved in His work?
- What Scripture in today’s text is the key as to how we should make future plans for our time? What are the benefits of applying this thought to our daily plans?
THOUGHT PROVOKER: If you knew that your time was down to the last sixty minutes, how would you spend it?
THEME THOUGHTS
The purpose of this quarter is to focus on the meaning of complete consecration. Keeping this in mind, we started this quarter with a lesson on the heart, “for out of it are the issues of life.” We continued with various members of the physical body, showing that each member can be consecrated and can be used in the service of the Lord. In order to be totally committed to Christ, we should not only consecrate the parts of our physical body, but also our will, time, money, relationships, and future. As you study these lessons, you will find that in many cases they overlap. For instance, the lesson which deals with the tongue relates closely to the lesson on the heart, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” We are not suggesting that each part can be consecrated as a segment, or in a certain progression, but rather endeavoring to stress that total commitment to Christ involves all of these aspects. Consecration begins with salvation when one dedicates his life to God, but total commitment to Him involves day-to-day decisions. You might say that we have taken one lesson on total consecration and divided it into thirteen sections in order to give an in-depth coverage.