This is the second class ("Time Management") in the second series of classes of the Women’s Foundation Series.

This series is geared toward women and will discuss how prioritizing, scheduling, time management, thought life, personal dress, speech and purity relate to our walk with God.

I. Welcome

II. Review

III. Time Management

A. Priorities Influence Schedules

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

1. First of all, opportunities related to ____________________ priority areas take precedence!

2. Second, ____________________ will take precedence as well!

Luke 10:25-37 25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

3. We need to remember that need does not necessitate a "____________________."

Mark 1:35-39 35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” 39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

B. Jesus’ Priorities and Schedule

1. We must frequently take stock of our priorities and reshuffle and ____________________ them.

2. Jesus did ____________________ do everything that He could have done.

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 17:4 I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

C. Eternal Perspective

1. It is important to have the view of ____________________ that God has.

2 Peter 3:8-14 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

2. As the events of our lives unfold, God is working his ____________________ plan.

3. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has set ____________________ on every human’s heart.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

4. It’s very humbling to realize that all of the good that we do with our time on earth has already been orchestrated and ____________________ by God.

D. Ordering Our Days

1. He wants us to live with the weight of the ____________________ of making our time on earth count, even if our lives are very short in comparison to eternity.

James 4:14 says that “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Psalm 90:10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away.

Psalm 39:4-5 “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

2. ____________________ allows us to think through many good options to pick that which is the best use of our limited time on earth.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

3. We are told to ____________________ the time we have because of the evil of the days in which we live.

C.S. Lewis states “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

4. It is very helpful to remember that not only our death will imminently arrive, but also the return of Christ is ____________________.

John 9:4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

5. Believers who have a big view of eternity and a realistic view of the brevity of life often seem to live with an almost electric sense of ____________________.

E. Stewardship of Time

1. God has a particular ____________________ for laziness, idleness, and slothfulness and warns against the consequences of laziness.

2. God wants us to be industrious and ____________________, seeing what needs to be done and working hard to accomplish it.

Prov 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. 9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”— 11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.

Prov 12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.

Prov 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.

Prov 18:9 He also who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys.

Prov 20:4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

Prov 21:25 The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

Prov 26:14 As the door turns on its hinges, So does the sluggard on his bed.

3. There is absolutely no space in God’s economy for laziness, idleness, or ____________________. (Matt 25:14-30).

II Cor 5:9-10 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

I Corinthians 3:10-14 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

4. The deeds done in our bodies while we are alive will be ____________________ in Heaven.

F. Planning and Schedules

Luke 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

James 4:13-17 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Psalm 31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand;

1. God would like us to wisely ______________ our use of time.

I Cor 14:40 But all things should be done decently and in order.

2. It is helpful to plan our time out in ____________________, instead of letting our tasks become tyrants over us.

3. Stay aware of what must be done in every day, so you can focus on the ____________________ within your day.

4. ____________________ what you do with your day.

IV. Application Questions

V. Application to Real Life

A. It is important to consider when a decision is the “best” decision for your family and not just a “good” decision.

B. We can ____________________ the items on our calendar with good questions:

· How does this impact my high priority relationships?

· Will this impact the time I had set aside for building my relationship with God? Can I / should I adjust my time with God to help meet this need, or should this need be met by someone else?

· How will this impact the time I normally spend with my husband, children, or parents? Do I really need to spend this amount of time carting my kids around to activities that are not promoting eternally significant goals or improving our family’s life?

· Does this event affect my ability to carry out previously scheduled serving opportunities in church?

· Will this event allow me to have time developing my pre-existing relationships with unbelievers? Will this event allow me to meet and be able to focus on new friendships with unbelievers?

· If I do not complete this task, what will happen?

o If the answer is “nothing” then I may not need to do that thing.

o If the world will fall apart if this thing does not get done, then have I properly scheduled time to complete the task? Am I trying to cram a majorly important task into leftover time? Have I been realistic in the amount of time I have scheduled to complete this task well but not perfectionistically?

· Would it be better to let someone else do this thing or is this a thing that only I can / should do? ((time with husband/kids, etc)) Is this something that could be delegated to someone else so that I can focus on what only I can do (Exodus 18:13-22)?

C. Learn to identify the things that ONLY ____________________ can do:

· Spending devotional time with God, studying His word for yourself, memorizing Scripture, fasting, repenting, etc

· Being intimate with your husband, having a face-to-face conversation, helping him with responsibilities he has delegated to you, working out to stay physically fit, eating healthy food

· Tucking your children into bed, discipling your children, honoring your parents

· Fulfilling a serving opportunity that you signed up for, continuing a conversation that you started with an elderly member of your church

· Letting your light shine with the neighbors that live next to your house, submitting to your boss

· Is this event spending time without being eternally effective or meaningful?

· Is this something I should say no to? Is this something I should say yes to?

· Is this task/event important or just urgent?

· Am I adequately planning for wise rest, physical activity, maintenance of my health, and an overall BALANCE to my life?

D. When writing your daily schedule start with the ____________________ things and work your way down to the little things:

· Time/Relationship with God (biggest responsibility)

· Time/Relationship with spouse (next biggest responsibility)

· Time/ Relationship with kids / parents (depending upon your season of life)

· Relationships/Responsibilities to believers

· Relationships/Responsibilities to unbelievers

· The work that God has given me to accomplish today/this week/this month (job outside the home, tasks within the home)

· Any other responsibilities/commitments

&midd