00:01So last night I took my wife to the Colorado State University Symphony
00:06Orchestra and the conductor said something during the event that inspired
00:13me to do this he said time we cannot escape it yet it controls everything we
00:22do how true that is you know time is in fact one of the strangest gifts God has
00:30ever given to humanity we cannot see it we cannot touch it we cannot slow it down
00:39and we cannot run ahead of it and yet every decision we make every dream we
00:48pursue every regret we carry every prayer we whisper is shaped by this
00:56invisible current we call time and time governs our mornings and our nights it
01:04measures our childhood and our aging it records our victories and our failures we
01:12cannot escape it but the deeper truth the truth that faith reveals is that time
01:20does not belong to us time belongs to God from the very first moment like light
01:28broke into the darkness of creation time began its quiet march forward the Sun
01:35rose the stars turned seasons began their slow dance and since that moment every
01:45second of history has been unfolding under the watchful sovereignty of our God we
01:53live inside of time God stands above it and that means something powerful for
02:02every one of us sitting here today come a little closer my friend because if God
02:10stands above time then he also stands above our past our present and our futures and
02:20that that changes everything many people feel trapped by time they look backward and see
02:29mistakes they wish they wish they could undo words they wish they had never spoken
02:36opportunities they wish they had taken relationships they wish they had protected and some people carry the
02:47heavy weight of the past like chains around their heart they believe their story has already been written
02:54they believe time has already decided who they are allowed to become but God God does not see your past
03:05the way you see your past the past may live inside your memory but it does not control your identity
03:14scripture reminds us that God makes all things new not some things all things and that
03:24that means your past is not the prison that you think it is it's the soil from which God can
03:33grow something greater then there are others who are not trapped by the past they're paralyzed by the future they
03:44worry about tomorrow they lay in bed they analyze it they fear it they try to control it they imagine
03:53every possible scenario
03:54they could go wrong what if I fail what if I fail what if I lose everything what if the
04:03door never opens what if the door never opens what if the opportunity never comes but listen carefully to this
04:14truth the future does not belong to fear the future belongs to God Jesus once said something so
04:24it's so simple that many people overlook how profound it actually was he said do not worry about tomorrow for
04:36tomorrow will worry about itself in other words tomorrow is not your responsibility faithfulness today is your responsibility and time
04:51often feels like an enemy because
04:54as we believe we believe we believe we are racing against it we say things like I'm running out of
05:00time well I'm too old to start that I should be further along by now I should have accomplished more
05:08by this age I should have figured life out already my friends God is not nervous about your clock God
05:21does not rush
05:22He does not panic God does not operate on the frantic urgency that so many people live under when you
05:32read through the life of Jesus you begin to notice something remarkable Jesus was never in a hurry crowds were
05:42pressing in people were desperate for healing leaders were plotting against him
05:49and still Jesus walked he paused he noticed people others ignored he spoke slowly and deliberately because Jesus our Jesus
06:05understood something we often forget God's timing is never late and it's never early it's always perfect I want you
06:17to come with me and think
06:19think about the story of the story of Joseph in the Old Testament Joseph had dreams placed inside his heart
06:26by God dreams of influence dreams of leadership dreams of purpose but those dreams did not unfold quickly Joseph was
06:39betrayed by his own brothers sold into slavery thrown into prison
06:45years and years well years past years that must have felt like wasted time years where it looked like God
06:57had forgotten him but God did not forgotten Joseph and God has not forgotten you God was preparing Joseph because
07:09sometimes what feels like delay is actually preparation
07:14God is shaping your character God is shaping your character God is strengthening your faith God is aligning circumstances you
07:23cannot yet see and if Joseph had stepped into power too early he would not have been ready for it
07:32the waiting was not punishment the waiting was preparation and the same thing is often happening in our own lives
07:42as well you know we pray for
07:44we pray for open doors but God is preparing us to walk through them we pray for opportunity but God
07:53God is building the strength we will need to carry it we pray for change but God is transforming us
08:02on the inside first you see time is not always the enemy sometimes time is the workshop where God quietly
08:12builds the person
08:13you are meant to become you are meant to become and here is one of the most powerful truths that
08:20you can hold on to every second that passes is another opportunity to begin again right now not tomorrow and
08:32not next year but friends right now you cannot rewrite yesterday but you can choose who you will be today
08:42you can choose
08:43you can choose forgiveness you can choose courage you can choose faith you can choose to step forward even when
08:52you are uncertain about what lies ahead you know too many people postpone their lives they say someday I will
09:02pursue my calling someday I will repair that relationship someday I will trust God more deeply but someday is one
09:12of the most dangerous
09:13words in the most dangerous words in the human vocabulary because someday often becomes never the present moment is where
09:22your life is actually happening right now right here this breath this heartbeat this opportunity you know the apostle Paul
09:37once wrote something that echoes
09:38across centuries across centuries with incredible urgency he said now is the day of salvation not later not Sunday now
09:51because every moment we are given is the sacred gift a gift to grow a gift to love a gift
10:01to move closer to God and you may not control how much time you have but you absolutely
10:08absolutely control how you use it some people spend their time complaining some spend it worrying some spend it comparing
10:19themselves to everyone else you know a very wealthy man once said something to me that made sense to me
10:27about time he said Doug a homeless person and a billionaire get the same 24 hours every single day they're
10:38both human beings
10:38they both have had circumstances occur in their lives but it isn't how each uses the 24 hours that they're
10:46given that is dictating the results they're currently getting in their lives and you know some people use that 24
10:55hours that time that they're given to build something meaningful they build faith they build kindness they build courage
11:06you see they build lives that leave a mark long after their years have passed and that is one of
11:14the most beautiful mysteries of time even though our lives are temporary we what we do with our time can
11:25echo into eternity a word of encouragement can change someone's life an act of forgiveness
11:34forgiveness it can heal generations it can heal generations and a moment of faith can redirect an entire future you
11:43see small moments quiet moments faithful moments these are the building blocks of a life that matters time will continue
11:54moving forward whether we are ready or not the clock will keep ticking
12:00the sun the sun it's gonna rise again tomorrow and the seasons will change
12:07but inside that unstoppable flow of time God has given you something extraordinary he's given you a choice you can
12:18choose how you live you could choose what you believe you can choose whether fear controls your story or faith
12:28shapes it
12:29so do not fear time honor it use it fill it with purpose fill it with faith because sometimes when
12:41you want to change your life all you have to do is change your life fill yours with the kind
12:49of courage that trust God even when the road ahead is unclear because one day you're going to look back
12:56across the years of your life
12:58the most important question will not be how much time you had the question will be how faithfully you use
13:07the time you were given and when a life is lived in faith in love and in trust with God
13:15guiding every step something extraordinary happens time itself becomes part of your testimony a testimony that says
13:26God was this God was with me in every season God was guiding me even when I did not understand
13:36God was shaping my story second by second moment by moment and in the end every moment was leading me
13:48exactly where I was meant to be
13:53truth
13:55my name is Douglas Vandergraaf and I believe in Jesus Christ
14:00God bless you my friends
14:02every single one of you
14:06bye bye
Comments