LESSON 4 - LIVING OUT YOUR PRIORITIES
We all live according to a schedule. The difference between people is that some plan their schedule and for others their schedule plans them. If you don’t plan your time, someone else will. Everyone in the world get 24 hours to spend each day. God has charged you to make the most of your time. However, to use your time wisely, you must first know what is important to you (priorities) and the way in which to live your life according to your priorities (objectives and goals).
The purpose of this study is to help you as a Christian to:
1. Declare your priorities.
2. Set up your life in light of your priorities.
3. Budget your time according to your priorities.
I. USE OF TIME
Time is the most valuable resource you have available to you. How you use it will determine the direction, impact, and effectiveness of your walk with the Lord and your ministry to others.
A. What perspective did the psalmist have on his time on the earth in the following verses?
1. Psalm 144:4
2. Psalm 39:4-5
B. Read Ephesians 5:13-18
1. How are you to walk through life as a Christian? (v. 15)
2. How can you walk as a wise man? (v. 16)
3. Why should you make the most of your time? (v. 16)
4. What is the opposite of being foolish with your time? (v. 17)
5. What is God’s will for every Christian? (v. 18)
C. What will happen as you conduct your time with wisdom? (Colossians 4:5)
II. SCRIPTURAL PRIORITIES
The way in which you use your time will reflect your priorities. That which you put first in importance is revealed by what you do, not by what you claim to do.
A. Read Matthew 6:33, Psalm 119:10, and Matthew 28:19-20.
1. What two things are you to be most concerned about as a Christian?
2. Does the way in which you use your time reflect these two priorities?
B. Jesus’ purpose was to glorify the Father. How did He do this? (John 17:4)
C. What were the main priorities in Jesus’ life? (John 17:25-26)
D. What excuses are often given to keep people from living out their priorities?
E. What is it going to cost you to live out your priorities?
III. EVALUATING YOUR PRIORITIES
It has been said, “Priorities are what you do…everything else is just talk.” When something is important to us, it becomes a priority and we do it. When something isn’t really important to us, we will not do it. Even if we tell people how important something is, when it comes down to it, priorities are about action.
This week I want you to take inventory of your time. Here’s how it works. I want you to take 6 sheets of paper (or 6 pages of a word doc on a computer) and at the top of each one, write a different day of the week. (Monday – Saturday) Draw lines on the sheet of paper separating the sheet into four boxes. In the top left box write the word “GOD”. In the top right box write “FAMILY / LOVE ONES”. In the bottom left box write “WORK/MINISTRY”. And in the bottom right box write “SELF”. Each day record how you spend your time. If you go to work from 8-5, simply record that time in the correct box. Do the same for all the other boxes. There’s an example on the Daily Activities Page. Click below to return to the Landing Page for week 4.
I pray God will use this to show us how to best use our time for his glory.