Participants: Floyd Bresee
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000368
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00:31 Hi, I'm Pastor Floyd Bresee and I've been
00:36 thinking, it seems to me there'd be a lot more 00:40 Christians if Christians were a lot more 00:43 Christ like. Let's pray about it, 00:49 Loving Father, in this time we spend together 00:54 today please teach us something that will help 00:58 us become more Christ like Christians. We pray 01:02 in Jesus name, amen. 01:06 Our focus today will be on a four letter 01:09 word TIME, we're going to talk about the 01:14 use of our time, please open your Bible to 01:18 Ephesians and chapter 5, I'll be using the new 01:23 international version. You heard of the song 01:26 that says some enchanted evening, 01:28 you may see a stranger, you may see a 01:32 stranger across a crowded room. 01:36 They have met, but their eyes just did. 01:39 They exchange smiles as spark leaps clear 01:42 across the room, pluses quicken, love at 01:46 first sight. Beautiful, romantic, sells 01:53 millions of magazines and thousands of novels 01:56 and hundreds of television programs. 01:59 Its just one problem, it doesn't quite so. 02:03 People in the Lord suppose to know say 02:06 there is no such thing as love at first sight, 02:10 that it can be an attraction at 02:12 first sight. You have seen someone that 02:14 conforms to your ideal to the image that 02:17 you intend to fall in love with. 02:19 Attraction can be instantaneous but 02:22 love takes time. You hold your new born 02:27 baby in your arms, you look down on God's 02:33 precious gift to you and you reach your finger 02:38 down and her chubby little hand grasps 02:41 your finger and you say to yourself, we'll 02:45 always be close, we'll always be best friends. 02:51 Not automatically so, not unless you spend 02:55 time together because love takes time. 03:00 You have some mountain top spiritual experience; 03:04 maybe it was that your baptism or a revival 03:07 meeting perhaps something that 03:09 you viewed on 3ABN and you say oh! 03:12 Now I got it I will always love Jesus. 03:17 Not necessarily so, now please make no 03:21 mistake about it we can be saved in a moment 03:25 but love takes time and that's our lesson today. 03:30 Love takes time, there are no shortcuts, 03:35 no exceptions, it always takes time. 03:40 And I want to apply this principle to three 03:44 relationships. Your relationship with your 03:47 spouse, with your child and with your Lord. 03:53 Let's start off with the spouse. Your love 03:56 relationship with your spouse will grow only 04:00 if you spend time together. There are 04:04 over a million U.S. couples who divorce 04:08 every year and millions more are emotionally 04:13 separated then they just staying together 04:17 out of some kind of necessity or loyalty 04:20 but love isn't working. We would prevent this 04:25 problem if we would just take Ephesians 04:27 5:25 seriously. Husbands, love your 04:33 wives just as Christ loved the church and 04:38 gave himself up for it. Just as Christ loved 04:44 the church and how did Christ love the church. 04:50 Christ shows his love for his church by 04:53 taking time, time to come down here and 04:57 redeem her, time to intercede for her 05:01 presently in the heavenly couch time to 05:03 forgive her sins, time to build those mansions 05:08 that the Bible promises, time to come back 05:12 a second time and take his church home 05:15 that where I'm Jesus said there he may be 05:19 also. So, if we love our spouses the way Jesus 05:23 loves the church we'll spend time. 05:28 All kinds of time, time talking together, 05:32 we get so busy that we never sit down 05:35 and just talk. Not about bills or about people 05:40 or about problems, do you ever sit down 05:44 and talk about the state of the union. 05:48 Your spouse's self esteem desperately 05:51 needs to know that you think she is 05:54 worth listening to. A wife who wants to talk 05:59 and a husband who will not listen there 06:03 is not going to be a very close love 06:07 connection. I want to speak for a moment 06:09 to you fellow clams we blame us men mostly 06:14 for this are refusing to open up and talk to 06:19 our loved ones. Its not a sign of macho 06:23 strength, most likely its either a sign of 06:26 indifference we don't really care or fear. 06:30 If we really open up our feeling, open up 06:32 our emotions, if we're really vulnerable even 06:35 with our spouses maybe they would make fun of 06:39 us and they wouldn't understand and they 06:41 wouldn't love us as much anymore. 06:45 And those of you who may be married to 06:47 a clam, remember a clam shuts up because 06:54 it needs to protect its soft insides and it 06:59 maybe that your clam as soon as he really 07:04 learns that you can be trusted with his inmost 07:09 feelings may be he would choose to be open 07:13 if he just knew that opening up would be 07:17 understood, appreciating and he would 07:21 not be hurt. But clams really understand we 07:26 know ourselves only as an outcome of disclosing 07:31 ourselves to another person and she keep 07:35 it all inside and never let it out, never 07:39 share your deepest needs and problems and 07:42 wishes and hurts. You'll never totally 07:47 know yourself, we learn to know ourselves 07:49 best by sharing ourselves with another 07:52 person, so much for the clams. 07:56 I would like to talk a little bit to the 07:59 magpies. We bribes the ladies most for this, 08:06 please magpies, those who talk, talk, talk, 08:10 talk, talking together includes listening. 08:14 The truth is that magpies produce clams. 08:19 Fibber McGee said, Mollie and I had words 08:22 but I never go to use mine. Spend time 08:28 talking together and your relationship with 08:32 your spouse will grow if you spend time 08:34 working together. The pioneer family was 08:38 forced your family to work together. 08:40 They had to work together that has been 08:42 a great deal of time working together 08:44 in order to survive, together they attended 08:46 the animals, together they went to the fields 08:49 and together they dug in the garden and they 08:51 planted and they weed, an they watered and 08:53 they picked in a can. Anybody remember 08:55 getting blisters from opening peas. 09:04 No it's different, most mornings he goes north 09:10 and she goes south and one of the kids goes 09:13 east and the other goes west and life 09:16 allows very little time together. One solution, 09:22 try working together when you're at home, 09:26 bath with the kids together, do the yard 09:29 work together, wash the dishes together, 09:31 make the bed together. My father was of a 09:34 generation that didn't much believe in 09:37 house work. I was so optical about him 09:42 late in life he decided, he became a true 09:45 evangelist for the fact no one should make 09:47 a double bed alone, its simple is not efficient. 09:52 Work together, work together especially on 09:56 a tough task, paint the house and when the job 10:02 is finished and you got paint in your hair 10:06 and on your hands and on your cloths and 10:09 hopefully some on the house. You stand back 10:12 when you have successfully completed 10:15 together a difficult task and its wonderfully 10:18 binding. We're too busy to spend time 10:25 together listen working together at home 10:28 doesn't take any extra time, all that because 10:32 its work that has to be done anyway. 10:34 Try working together, your relationship with 10:38 your spouse will grow if you spend time 10:40 playing together. Before you were married 10:45 probably virtually all of your time together 10:49 were spent playing, having fun together 10:53 and soon as we're married we just get too 10:56 busy and surrounded by life. No wonder brides 10:59 become so quickly disillusion. Well as she 11:03 married you to be a sweetheart not to be 11:05 a housekeeper. Play together, find something 11:09 you enjoy or just having fun together. 11:12 Play is very flattering choice because we 11:16 show what we, we really like most by what 11:20 we do when we don't have to do anything. 11:22 When we have a chance to choose 11:24 somethings are forced upon us our work 11:27 and our choice but spare time how do you 11:29 spend the how, I will flatter your spouse if 11:32 you prefer to spend some time just 11:36 playing together. And by all means 11:39 spend some time praying together. 11:43 Try this when you have your family worship 11:47 turn to your spouse, what can I pray for, 11:50 for you today, spend time praying together. 11:57 Young people tend to think that marriage 12:00 begins with a prince kissing an angel and 12:04 ends with a bald man sitting across 12:07 the kitchen table from a fat woman. 12:11 Such skeptics fail to understand two things, 12:15 number one there are many bald princes 12:19 and slightly overweight angels and secondly 12:23 if they've spent time together they share 12:27 a closeness that those hairy princes and 12:30 skinny angels cannot comprehend. Please 12:34 don't become disillusion with marriage. 12:38 A Christian marriage, people who believe 12:41 in love, who believe in love with all their 12:44 hearts should just keep getting better 12:51 and better and better in their love 12:54 relationship with their spouse. Because if your 12:56 love won't work at home it won't work anywhere, 13:00 but love takes time. There are no shortcuts, 13:05 there is no exception, love always takes time. 13:11 Now lets talk about your relationship 13:13 with your child. Your love relationship with 13:16 your child will grow only if you spend time 13:19 together. Turn with me if you will to the 13:23 book of Mark and Mark the tenth chapter notice 13:29 with me verses 13 and 14, People were bringing 13:33 little children to Jesus to have him touch them, 13:36 but the disciples rebuked them. When 13:38 Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said 13:41 to them, "Let the little children come to me, 13:43 and do not hinder them, for the kingdom 13:45 of God belongs to such as these." 13:49 Parents you got to spend time with your 13:53 child if you're not going hinder them. 13:55 Jesus said the worse thing that we could 13:58 do is to hinder a child. Are you hindering 14:02 your child's coming to Jesus? 14:06 Parents are models, you heard the song 14:09 cat in the cradle the boy comes to his 14:12 father says, dad let's do something together 14:16 and the father says yes, yes later on son 14:19 later on and again the boy comes, and again 14:22 the boy comes, and again and again father 14:24 says later on. Then one day the father 14:29 grows old and the son grows up and father 14:33 comes to the son and he says lets 14:35 do something together and the son says, 14:37 sure later on dad, later on. It's a frightening 14:41 thing about parenting, children are more likely 14:45 to become what we are then what we want 14:48 them to be. Now there's modeling which parents 14:52 do takes time, proverb says that a child left 14:56 to himself disgraces his parent. And if your 15:00 child is pattering more after the terminator 15:02 than after dad, may be its because he has 15:05 seen more of the former then the later. 15:09 They asked 300 seventh and eighth grade boys 15:12 to keep record for two weeks of how much time 15:15 their dad spent along with them and when 15:18 all the statistics were in, the average father 15:22 in this group spent seven and half minutes 15:24 per week with his son, take time. 15:30 Take time to tell your child what God has 15:33 done for you. Deuteronomy and 15:37 the 6th chapter and verses 5-9, 15:43 Deuteronomy, 6th chapter and verses 5-9, 15:52 Love the Lord, your God with all your heart 15:55 and with all your soul and with all your 15:57 strength. 6 These commandments that I 16:00 give you today are to be on your hearts. 16:02 7 Impress them on your children. Talk 16:03 about them when you sit at home when you 16:06 walk along the road, when you lie 16:07 down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as 16:10 symbols on your hands and bind them on your 16:13 foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames 16:15 of your houses and on your gates. 16:20 What does this mean, on your hands 16:25 by what you do show how Christ love effects, 16:30 what you do and forehead how the love 16:36 of Christ and your relationship to Him 16:38 changes and effects how you think. 16:43 That door frames and the gates our text 16:45 mentions create a loving God fearing 16:49 home environment. Take time to forgive them 16:54 mistakes, you know well the story of the 16:58 Prodigal Son which is recorded in Luke 17:01 the 15th chapter, notice with me the 20th verse, 17:05 speaking now of the Prodigal, So he got up 17:09 and went to his father. "But while he was still 17:13 a long way off, his father saw him and 17:16 was filled with compassion for him; 17:18 he ran to his son, threw his arms 17:21 around him and kissed him. 17:28 No wonder the boy came home, because 17:32 he was led by a compassion father. 17:36 If you have a prodigal son or daughter be 17:41 sure they know that they'll be received 17:43 with compassion. May be they have drugged 17:48 the family name through the mud, 17:52 maybe they bring home habits you don't approve 17:54 of but you can still have compassion. 17:58 And if you have trouble having compassion 18:01 for a rebelling child remember how much 18:05 compassion Christ had for you when he forgave 18:09 you of your sins. But a warning to young 18:14 parents take time early in life. One mother 18:20 said I wish I'll half as wonderful as my 18:23 daughter thought I was when she was small 18:25 and half as stupid as she thinks I'm now that 18:29 she is in her teens. Well father was 18:33 dashing out the door on his way to the car 18:36 in the driveway he was in a hurry but here was 18:39 his son over his with his ball glove on and he 18:43 was throwing the ball into his hand and, 18:48 meaning to be a good father, the boy dashed 18:50 over patted his son and he said I love you son, 18:55 boy replied, dad, I don't want you to love 18:58 me I want you to play ball with me and 19:03 if we don't spend time with our children they 19:06 have a like to question if we love them. 19:09 Your love relationship with your child will 19:12 grow only if you take time. Now let's 19:17 talk about our relationship with 19:18 Christ, your relationship with 19:20 Christ will grow only if you spend time 19:23 together. Being a Christian is somewhat 19:26 like riding a bicycle in either you move forward 19:30 or you fall off. Have you ever tried to ride 19:34 a bicycle without its moving, virtually 19:37 impossible you got to move forward to 19:41 keep it going and we got to move forward 19:44 in our Christian experience to keep 19:45 it going and the way we forward is by spending 19:49 time with Christ. I suggest it's very 19:54 important that we learn to love Him by 19:57 spending time with Him and not just doing 20:01 things for Him. Remember the fast relating 20:04 story in Luke the 10th chapter, Jesus 20:08 and his disciples were visiting Mary and 20:10 Martha in their home and Martha was 20:13 real busy serving and Mary just sat there 20:16 at the feet of Jesus. Martha said to Jesus 20:19 tell Mary to get here and help me, Jesus said 20:24 Martha, Mary has children what is better. 20:28 Jesus was teaching us that there is a time 20:30 for sitting and there is a time for serving 20:33 but the time for sitting should always come 20:37 before the time for serving. Never sit 20:40 out to do the work of the Lord until 20:43 you have spent time with the Lord of the work. 20:48 We must spend time with him daily, if you 20:52 eat only once a week eventually you 20:55 starved to death and Jesus promised I'm 20:59 with you always, He longs to spend all of 21:02 His time with us. How much time do you 21:05 spend with him between weekends? 21:09 Now how do we go about spending time with 21:13 Christ? Well by a meaningful daily 21:16 devotional life, now everybody has to 21:20 approach their private time with Jesus in 21:23 a different way but there are three short 21:25 weapons that we should remember. 21:27 Three parts to successful devotional 21:30 experience, one is to lead, secondly to 21:35 apply and thirdly to pray. You begin with 21:40 reading a Bible is the best, you find the 21:44 Bible boring try a new version, start 21:48 with the gospel of John. Concentrate 21:50 on the life with Jesus, Matthew 5,6 and 7 21:53 they are sermon on the mount. So, after 21:58 you have began to read now apply, notice 22:03 Jeremiah the 15 chapter and the 16th verse, 22:09 Jeremiah 15:16, When your words came, 22:13 I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's 22:18 delight, now whatever does that mean, when 22:25 we eat something we internalize it and what 22:29 Jeremiah is saying as it when we internalize God 22:32 speaking to us then our worship become a joy 22:35 and if you haven't been enjoying your worship 22:38 you not been internalizing it. 22:39 You haven't been applying it directly 22:41 to your life as you live it. Worship cannot 22:44 be measured by the clock, it cannot be 22:46 measured by the page, read until a light 22:49 comes on, read until you feel the Holy Spirit 22:51 is speaking you name. Here is something 22:53 that'll work for me here is something 22:55 that applies to my life, don't worry so much 22:58 about the clock, don't worry so much about 23:01 reading by the yard or finishing a certain 23:05 amount of reading. Its reading until the 23:08 Holy Spirit speaks and so we read and then 23:11 we apply. And thirdly pray, and in your 23:18 prayer whatever else you pray include 23:22 four things, I'm a sinner, I'm sorry, 23:26 I'm yours and I'm available. I'm a sinner, 23:33 I'm sorry, I'm yours and I'm available. 23:38 Where can you use me today, actually 23:44 taking time saves time. You say I'm too busy, 23:51 taking time to be with the Lord, time for your 23:54 daily devotions saves time. Thought I was 23:59 splitting work, he had a terrible lot of work 24:03 that had to be done and he was cutting wood 24:06 with a gold axe, a neighbor came along 24:08 and said why don't you stop and sharpen 24:10 your axe to which the man said I hardly have 24:13 time to get all the wood cut as it is much less 24:16 take time to sharpen an axe. But by sharpening 24:19 the axe the work would have gotten done 24:22 sooner, by sharpening our relationship 24:25 with God and with our world and our service 24:29 for our master by taking time in private 24:33 devotions the less of the day goes sharper. 24:37 So, love takes time, love with your spouse, 24:44 love with your child, love with your Lord. 24:49 Love takes time. The air force academy has 24:55 a most interesting tradition. Their mascot 24:57 is a falcon and they have this tradition 25:00 when they have a football game. 25:02 The handler brings the falcon out on his arm 25:08 and he removes the hood and the falcon blinks 25:13 for a little bit and the handler releases 25:17 him and he spread those great wings and 25:20 he begins to fly higher and higher soaring 25:23 higher and higher until he becomes just 25:25 a spec in the blue. And then the handler 25:32 begins to throw around in a circle the rover 25:37 on the end of a thong and that's the signal 25:40 for the falcon to return, he folds his 25:44 winds and he plummets at 200 miles an hour 25:47 and is recaptured. But why, why does he 25:53 come back, he was free, he was in his own 25:56 element its because of his relationship 26:00 with its handler. And that handler must 26:03 spend time with him every single day to miss 26:07 one day can undo months of work. That's the way 26:13 it is in our relationship with our 26:15 Lord, it requires time together, daily time 26:21 together. Love takes time there are no 26:25 shortcuts, there are no exceptions 26:28 love always take time. Lets pray. 26:34 Loving Father, may we each resolve 26:38 today never to miss a day spending time 26:43 with our spouse, with our child, with our 26:47 Lord. And as we spend this moment 26:50 with you just now fill us I pray with your 26:53 love and send us out to our world to love others 26:58 as You have loved us we pray, 27:01 in Jesus name, amen. So love takes time, 27:10 there are no shortcuts there are no exceptions. 27:17 Are you a little bit behind in the amount 27:20 of time you spend with your family with your 27:24 Lord. Won't you make a new beginning and 27:28 make a resolution just now. By the grace of God 27:33 I'm going to spend some time with my family, 27:37 I'm going to spend time with my Lord and I'm 27:40 going to do it on a regular basis. Love 27:45 takes time, there are no shortcuts, 27:48 there are no exceptions. 27:50 Love always takes time. |
Revised 2014-12-17