What occupies your time? (Pt 1 of 2)

Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. ~ 1 Timothy 4:14-16

I think this verse speaks to more people than you might think. People imagine their life should be occupied with family, work, and faith … but it is the order you put it in that testifies to others about the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

People get so caught up on what a person is doing for their occupation, that they forget that the money you make on Earth does not follow you to Heaven. If you are a work-a-holic, you could be one of the richest people on Earth, but you may be severely neglecting your family. Your true job on Earth is to further the ministry of the Lord … and every person has a different role.

In 1 Timothy 4:14-16, Timothy is talking about the fear of the ministry dying out because people are worried about offending someone. The truth is you can't stop what you are doing because you are worried about what someone else may think. It is your job as a Christian to serve the Lord in the capacity that he gives you. Be on guard; watch how you act and what you do. What people see is just as important, if not more so, than what people hear.

Let's first expound on watching your walk with Christ ... tomorrow I will talk about paying attention to the work you do with Christ.

Walk with Christ

I am sure you know the following people: they claim they are Christians and they attend church. The church they attend is based on their personal needs, and if they become upset with something the church does, they start looking for another church. No one wants to hear that something they do is not what God desires. More importantly, they don't want to hear that they need to do something that involves change and a leap of faith. Unfortunately, these people are not living the life described for Christians. You need to humble yourself and give up your wants and desires for that of the Lord. He died for us and rose again, and yet we choose to be selfish with our time.

Your walk with Christ will determine what God calls you to do. He has given you special talents that he wants you to use in your walk, but he cannot help you if you do not truly believe and follow him. There are five areas you want to watch when it comes to your walk with Christ.

• Speech
• Conduct
• Love
• Faith
• Purity

Speech

James 3:1-12 
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Ephesians 4:29 
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Conduct

2 Corinthians 1:12 
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.

Philippians 1:27 
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel

1 Timothy 4:11-13 
Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

Love

1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Faith

1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Purity

2 Corinthians 10:4-7
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. You are judging by appearances.[a] If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

Romans 13:12-14
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.


As you can see, your walk with Christ has a great affect on others. It will affect the work you do for Christ, which I will discuss further tomorrow. Understand that you are human and will have imperfections, but pray for growth and strength that will allow you to walk closer to Christ. As you grow and improve, you will lead others to the Heavenly Father.