The principle of using your time well: Therefore understand... The will of the LORD

Understanding God's will through circumstances

Looking at our situation for God's will is not always clear. It takes wisdom and sometimes wisdom from the possible around us.

Understanding God's will through His word

The spirit of God ministers to us through one another in the following ways:

Spirit of Jesus creating faith by ministering the word. The office of pastor or a lay counselor who talks through how the word applies to the personal circumstance.

Spirit of Jesus creating hope by meeting nerds with deeds.

Spirit of Jesus creating love by building the new community.

Goals of the church as seen in the Word of God

Be friends to one another
Be family to one another
Be servants to one another

The principle of using your time well: Making the best use of the time

Paul's command

Time is an asset to be used wisely. It is to be invested wisely for God's kingdom.

Time is something to be used. We are to use it to gain interest. Jesus tells us He expects a return on our use of time. God gives us gifts, one of which is time. We are to use them.

We need different kinds of relationship. We need mentors. We also need people who feed you. And you also need people that you are serving and giving to. This is how the community should work.

Here's a framework to look at different areas in our lives.

Urgent/important: problem
Urgent/unimportant: popularity
Not urgent/important: purpose
Not urgent/unimportant: pleasure

What is important but not urgent in your life?
Consider the different roles in your life: husband, father, son, homeowner, neighbor, church member, worker, small group member, friend, brother... Focus on purpose rather than problems. In your schedule, set it up to address twice the amount of purpose areas for problem areas. Eliminate popularity areas in your life.

The principle of using your time well: Look carefully then how you walk

Busyness, unchecked, can rob you of relationships and your health. It can distract us from things that are important.

First have a clear idea of God's will for you.

You need time with God. Prayer/quiet time
You need time for physical stewardship. Exercise, sleep, family time, recreation.
Find five to fifteen people you can shepherd. This includes family relationships!

Define your key roles for the next week and month.

Take on the purposes in bite sized pieces. Don't try to tackle all of them at once. Just take on those things that are important for the coming week and month.

Select goals for an entire week

Schedule them all as time blocks or appointments for the entire week

Daily adapt your schedule by adding unanticipated events.

Start saying no to things. If there are too many, you may not be prioritizing properly. God's will cannot be larger than the amount of time you are given. God will not ask for than the number of hours in a day/week/month/year. Cross things off your list without guilt!

The problem of using your time well: "Not as unwise, but wise"

The gospel according to Abraham: Covenant Faithfulness

Genesis 17:1-27 ESV

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham,  for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year." When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

This passage is the formalizing of the covenant between God and Abraham.

The call of the covenant

God promises all these things at first. Then, now, we see Abraham's part of this agreement. God calls Abraham to walk before me and be blamelessly before Him. This really means God wants Abraham to reorient his entire life around God. A life fully dedicated to God.

In those times, there are often these king-vassal agreements. The king sets the terms and the vassal must agree. There is no negotiating. The greater king has the full right to demand everything. God is the king of kings. He has every right to demand this. But God approaches this differently. He promises to make a great multitude of nations of Abraham. Kings will come from him. The promises of God grow more expansive over time. Not only this, but He promises to be a personal God to these people. God wants a relationship like marriage. Close and intimate love relationship like no other. Marriage is an illustration of what God wants with His people. God yearns to be with His people.

The sign of the covenant

God gives a physical tangible sign of His promises. But why circumcision? It was a reminder to Abraham that God had marked His people. It also reminded Abraham that God promised much to his descendants. Not only this, but to reject this, was to reject God. It is the equivalent of rejecting a proposal. The ring is a sign to marriage... To reject it, means that they are not bound. That is why rejecting this sign is so serious. Not only this, but these say something of the heart of God. God is a romantic. He leaves love notes for His people. And He is a reassuring father. He loves us no matter what we have done.

The fulfillment of the covenant

What is the sign for us today, if it is no longer circumcision?

God promises a son to Abraham through Sarai at the ages, respectively, of one hundred and ninety. An impossible promise.  Through Jesus, a descendent of Abraham, another impossible circumstance. Born of a virgin and God.  So now households are no longer circumcised. They are now baptized. There is no longer blood, because we are covered by the blood of Christ. Communion reminds us that God is near. The Holy spirit testifies that we are children of God.

The Gospel according to Abraham: The story of Hagar: The LORD had seen me

Genesis 16:1-16 ESV

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.  And Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!" But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." The angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." The angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." And the angel of the Lord said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen." So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."  Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Rev. Dan Whang

Hagar finds incredible hope after much trial, hurt, and trouble. This story reads like a soap to me.

This is ten years after Abram received a promise from God. Sarai told her husband that God had prevented her from having children. She had given up on God keeping His promise. Abram puts up no resistance. He goes along with her leading.

Hagar was a servant of Sarai. Sarai gave her servant to Abram. When Hagar conceived, her status excelled Sarai. In this time, women were valued by their ability to bear children. So Hagar becomes greater. When Sarai experiences this, she takes it out on Abram. And in response, Abram takes a even more passive position. He lets Sarai have her way. Sarai takes out her frustration on Hagar, very likely in the form of physical abuse. So Hagar does the only thing she can, she runs away and gets away from this ugly situation.

When it's clear that God is causing us to wait, the best thing to do is to keep waiting.

Hagar had run away and was on her way back towards Egypt. This is when the Lord catches up with her. It was likely that this story was told to the Israelites while they were fleeing from the Egyptians after for hundred years of oppression. Some may have even thought that Hagar was getting her just desserts. So the rest of this story is much of a shock, God does not deal with her as they would have expected.

God brings Hagar back into the promise of Abram. It is a crazy situation there, but God casts her lot with Abram. Not only that, but God gives a promise of numerous descendants to Hagar as well. They are an echo of the promise given to Abram. God draws her attention from past pain to the hopeful future. It is not comforting, but rather a bracing promise. A foreign slave, an Egyptian receives the words of God.

The gospel according to Abraham: Faith and prosperity

Genesis 13:1-18 ESV

So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord . And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.  Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord , like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord  destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord . The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord .

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Abram retraces his steps after his failures. This symbolizes repentance. He is going back to where it all started. He is going back and seeking God's face.

Abram is a rich man. He had plenty of wealth on the form of livestock. So did Lot. So much so that they had to separate.

Prosperity can be both a test and temptation.

When things are tough, our character is tested. We are under pressure. And when that happens, our true character is revealed. The same happens in times of prosperity and easy going.  We can be tempted to forget God and walk away from Him.

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 ESV

"And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord , who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Proverbs 30:8-9 ESV

Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord ?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Mark 10:25 ESV

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

We, as citizens of the US, are far richer than most of the people in the world. In this country, we are in a culture of materialism. We have things that people can only dream of. Or there is a time of success at work or at your studies, even this is a form of prosperity.  We are tempted to forget God.

We often hear for prayer when we go through tough times. Job layoffs, exam failures, and singleness are frequent prayer requests. But what about temptations of prosperity? We never hear of prayers for those who are doing well in life. But we should pray.

Lot chose to walk by sight and not faith.

Lot chose only by sight. It looks good, but it is close to wicked people. It looks like the garden of Eden, but with one significant difference. God is not there. Lot desires earthly, created things rather than the Creator.

We think that money gives us a sense of security and control. But it is a false promise. The security is fleeting. Whether we look for security in wealth, material possession, relationships, and created things, we can only find disappointment.

Real prosperity leads to radical generosity.

Abram failed the first prosperity test, but he passed the second one. He gives Lot first choice.  The younger cousin is allowed to choose first. It is counter cultural. Lot can only benefit. Abram gives this choice to Lot. Abram chooses to seek out Good rather than wealth.

Hebrews 11:9-10 ESV

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Abram decides that material gain is not the ultimate. Seeking God is. The mark of true faith is one who lowers their standard of living... to raise their standard of giving. Giving up HD TV so they can give more. We cover the idolatry of material security with an excuse of wisdom or stewardship.

"I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity.” - David Livingston