Your time on earth is finite.
Anything finite requires management.
Your time is your life,
and your life is your time.

Foreword

Anything finite must be managed. Today's Abundant Life talk is on time management. Someone who cannot manage their time will say they have no time. Why? It's strange. How is it that everyone else has 24 hours, but you don't? Because time has not been managed. If someone tells you they have no time, it means that this matter is not important to them; they have allocated their time to more important matters. I have spoken about time management in sermons and Bible studies. I have also addressed it many times in the Abundant Life program. Today, I want to give you a concept: this concept is that time and life are inextricably linked. Every minute of time is your life.

What exactly is your life? Your life is time. If you have no time, you have no life. Your time on earth is fixed, and your time will eventually run out. The question is, this brief and fleeting time we have on earth plays a crucial role in matters of eternity. You must know that your time on earth is finite. Anything finite requires management. You must realize that this finite thing is called life. Your time is your life, and your life is your time. What do you use your time for?

Many people do not know how to manage their time, so they mess it up. When I returned to my hometown in July, I had a class reunion and we ate together. Sitting directly across from me was someone I hadn't seen in forty years, a primary school classmate from my graduation in 1976. She told me that she had been suffering from headaches since she was a young girl. For the past seven years, her parents had been bedridden, and she was worn out from taking care of them.

Looking at her, I felt a stirring in my spirit: she was full of ailments. After the meal, I felt compelled to grab her shoulder for a moment as I shook her hand. The next day, she wrote me a letter, saying, Old classmate, you are truly divine. While eating with you, my shoulder was in so much pain that it felt like it was about to fall off, but it got better as soon as you touched it. It was even better the next day.

I said, Of course I am divine; I am a man of God. She told me about her miserable experiences over the years. I said, Come over on Friday, and I will lead you in prayer to get rid of these headaches. Did it work? There was significant progress, though not yet a complete cure. But there was a substantial improvement; she had never felt so relaxed. I said, Can you attend the meetings regularly? She said, I don't have time.

Later, I realized that she always had time for class reunions but never for church meetings. Many people have a chaotic approach to time management. People must recognize how much time they have in a lifetime. If you live to be a hundred, you have 36,500 days. This number is not very large. If you live to be eighty, you have less than thirty thousand days. A person's lifetime is short; the concept of time must be established. When you are young, your time is your only resource. As you grow older, your time can be converted into money, property, and other things. How you use your time when you are young determines your future.

In the church, I say these things because I don't want people to misunderstand: I encourage everyone in the church to rise up and serve, not because God gains anything or I benefit from it. It is because when you invest your time in the right place, the returns are very abundant.

Today, we must understand that if you are in your twenties, your time is precious. If you are in your teens, your time is even more precious. Let me give you a calculation. As time goes on, your value increases from something with little value to something with great value, an exponential growth. In the process of initial accumulation, even a small difference can have a profound impact on the future trajectory. The returns can be two to three times greater, or five to ten times greater, just because of a slight difference in earlier years.

Let me illustrate: if a person does not study hard in primary school, they will go to a poor secondary school. If they continue to perform poorly in a poor secondary school, make bad friends, and then drop out, they will not be able to get into university and will end up working in a factory for a meager wage of one, two, or three thousand dollars a month. On the other hand, if someone studies diligently from a young age and develops their character, their primary school results will be high. They will find a good secondary school, then get into a good university, and receive scholarships. After graduation, their salary will be high because they will find it easy to get a job.

What will be the result? By the time they reach fifty, one will be penniless, while the other will be financially free. When did this start? It started when they were young. When people are young, they must realize that this will have a profound impact on their future. One year at the age of ten is worth ten years later. One year at the age of twenty is worth three years later. One year at the age of fifty is worth just one year. Basically, they should already be where they are supposed to be! So, managing your time and cherishing your time is managing your life. As the Chinese say, An inch of time is worth an inch of gold. The basic concept of time management must be established.

Basic Concept of Time Management One: Know What to Do and What Not to Do

The basic concept of time management is, first, knowing what to do and what not to do. What to do and what not to do is key. Some of us certainly had times when we were young when we were unscholarly, spending all day watching TV or doing unproductive things, reading romance novels. In the end, the older we get, the more unsuccessful we become. Time management is about knowing what to do and what not to do; in fact, what not to do is more critical. So, you must know that what to do and what not to do determines your future. If you regret something today, regret what you did, not what you didn't do. Some young adults in their twenties are still spending their parents' money, and they are troubled because others not much older earn a lot of money. What is the relationship? It has to do with what they do and don't do. This requires management. To see if a person is smart, look at where they spend their time. With the story I told you earlier, when I encouraged my classmate to believe in the Lord, did he think I was going to gain something? It just means I have more pastoral work.

It's not that she hasn't experienced God; she has experienced quite a bit, but she has no time. What has she been doing? Class reunions, class reunions, class reunions... Class reunions have almost become the main axis of her life. Each class reunion costs a few hundred dollars. I don't understand what she is doing. What you do and don't do represents a person's wisdom and intelligence. With everything you do, know what the return is. Today, if you come before God and believe in the Lord, the return is very abundant. Don't think that, as a pastor, I am building a glorious church with you, helping me build a glorious church. If you want to help me, just get more grace. When we come before God, we are receiving benefits before God. It’s just that the way we receive benefits is different from the people of the world. What is the benefit of receiving God’s benefits? That is to become a blessing to this generation, and in the end, it is still us who receive it.

First, decide what to do and what not to do. Today, let's reflect on what you have done in the past years, months, and days, and then say definitively: I will no longer do this thing. You say, Pastor, I can't control it. Don't lie to me! What does it mean to not be able to control it? What does it mean to be able to control it? I never believe it! Not being able to control it means not controlling it, not managing it. Therefore, it is very difficult to release the spirit of the dragon. Why is it not easy? Because your thoughts and intentions think like it. If you don't think like it, you will quickly come out of it. Think about it, what is the return of doing something?

One sister burned a lot of money this year, about a million. If you used one million to buy a house for rent five years ago, you should be living very well today. Even if you don’t work, you can still live well, because people don’t know what to do and what not to do, so we do blindly. The result of doing blindly is today’s entanglement.

Today I teach you to start learning to be a smart person, knowing that your time is your most precious resource. If you don’t manage your time, your most precious resources will be consumed, and in the end you will accomplish nothing. Then I’m really sorry, you come before God in the end and say: Why is this happening? God will say: Sorry. A person must decide what to do or not to do based on the reward. If this thing has no reward, don’t do it. For example, we get anxious, heartbroken, sad, entangled, and frustrated when we see something. What is the reward? There is nothing! It just takes time. Therefore, if the devil successfully makes you entangled and frustrated for a day, it has eaten up a day of your time; if it successfully makes you entangled and frustrated for a month, it has eaten up a month of your time; if it successfully makes you entangled and frustrated for three or five years, and then you learn to escape, then that is really not a solution to the problem.

One sister wrote a passage in Moments: sleeping temporarily forgets the entanglement and frustration. You forgot, it's okay? You forgot, but the entanglement and frustration didn't forget you! Temporary escape is not the key to solving the problem. The key is to manage our time, because our time is very precious. Therefore, brothers and sisters must learn to be shrewd people and not trouble themselves with useless things. For example, I don’t do anything, I sleep. Sleeping doesn’t solve the problem! Therefore, we must pay close attention to the allocation of time. Some people say that sleeping is a kind of relief. I see that drug abuse is even more of a relief! That doesn’t solve the problem! Where time is spent, what should be done, and what should not be done can solve practical problems more effectively. Today, each district pastor will collect a report from the brothers and sisters in your pastoral area on what you do with your time. Statistics, make a percentage, which thing has how much return. This is the first basic concept of time management.

Basic Concept of Time Management Two: The Order of Doing Things

What to do first and what to do later is a great knowledge! Some people don’t know that the effect of doing things first and later is different. For example, if we play chess and one person wins and the other loses, why? Because the order in which we move our chess pieces is different. The order in which we move our chess pieces determines who wins and who loses. Today, you have many things to do in your life. Can you arrange a correct order? This is called time management. Arranging the correct order is doing the most important things, and doing important and unimportant things in a different order. What I talked about in the last week and the week before last week’s Living in Abundance was: what to do? how to do it? when to do? to what extent to do it? Time management is the same. You must decide the order of doing things.

Someone did an experiment, written in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He did what experiment? He had some big stones, some small stones, some sand, and a glass of water. He poured the water in first, then the sand, then the small stones, and then the big stones. He did not put them in. Later, he reversed it, put the big stones in first, then the small stones, then the sand, and then poured the water in, and all of them were put in. He did the experiment and the results were shocking! That is to say, the order in which you do things determines the success or failure of things. This is a very important concept of time management.

Such time management solves a problem: you put them all in, and nothing is delayed, because the order in which you put them is correct. Brother WJ is doing logistics optimization. Optimization is time optimization, integrating the same resources and doubling efficiency. In other words, how to use our time is a great knowledge. We must know that the order of doing things is very important. Optimization is time optimization, because time is the most important resource in our life.

How to optimize? Start by doing the most rewarding things. There is a book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which talks about managing your cash flow, working to save money, and using money to make money. What are the most rewarding things to do? Development, creation, upgrading yourself, investing in these things. If you invest, be aware of whether you have created something, improved something, and what the greatest reward is. Start thinking about what can improve your value, and start professional planning. Invest in your personal growth. If we improve a little every day, our value will be very high in the future.

The reports required in the church, recording small videos, are to help you plan your time and build your capabilities. I often think about what I should do. One of my colleagues needed to take an MBA exam, which sounded very tempting. After hearing about it, I bought a whole set of books and started studying. When he returned home, I had already finished reading these books. One time when I asked him to eat, I found that he gave very poor answers to the knowledge he had studied. I calculated that this certificate cost him more than 200,000. When he returned, I had been promoted from junior management to senior management. Finally, after calculating, I saved more than 200,000.

Today, I am shocked by one thing. Brothers and sisters among us, we need to change the bad habit of only learning things that must be learned through classes. In other words, I once led sisters XY and PL to inspect other churches. One pastor said that what you learned in seminary is not applicable, and what you can use is not learned. I don't agree with the model of learning in school, but I agree with learning things in practice.

Learning Through Practice

My method of learning is quite simple. I learn by solving a problem, I learn more by solving two, and even more by solving three... That is why, when I started my own church later, I must say that the church I built is better than many others. I am not trying to praise my own wares; I am speaking from the heart.

Why is that? Because I did not learn how to build a church in a school; I explored in practice, constantly discussed, thought, and observed. I believe the return on investment of such time is very high. So today, as brothers and sisters begin to learn, you might say, Pastor, my learning ability is not strong. Even if it is not strong, you must start cultivating it now, investing your time in improving your learning ability. If you do not improve it, what will you do in the future? You must improve it no matter what!

That is to say, some people think that getting a degree, their first degree, is the end of it for their entire life, and they no longer need to go to school because they have a diploma to enter society. When asked if they have a degree, they say yes. Regardless of what kind of degree it is, they then start floundering, learning in reality, and that is where you get the highest return.

Why is your ability improving so significantly? Because your ability cannot be significantly improved in school. Everyone in the workplace will conclude this pattern: what you learn in school is useless. You might wonder, if what you learn in school is useless, why do people still go to school? I will tell you why: school is to train your learning ability. If you go to the workplace and still do not know how to learn, but in school, you do not train your learning ability but your listening ability, that is very tragic, very tragic indeed.

Investing Time in Enhancing Abilities

Invest in developing, creating, and enhancing your abilities. If you consistently invest in these things, and if your method of investment, which is how you allocate your time, is constantly updated and transformed, you will be outstanding.

But there is one thing: invest in things that have a profound impact on the future. Today, I am telling you why we encourage everyone to create short videos and manage their own social media. This will have a profound impact on your future. Do not think I am talking nonsense. Brothers and sisters must start learning to invest in their own social media. The other day, JX took a taxi and chatted with the driver, who was actually an amateur influencer making one million a year.

Why do we do this? Because it has a profound impact on the future and will almost become a critical skill. As for our full-time colleagues in the church, I encourage them to cultivate their information management skills and administrative management skills, which will have a very profound impact on their future. You might say, Pastor, I do not have time, because you are investing all your time in operations – routine operations, operations without development, and this is a kind of curse. So today, we must start learning to squeeze out time no matter what, to invest in development, creation, and enhancement.

Sometimes I encourage our brothers and sisters to rise up and serve, especially in shepherding. Why? Because this investment is very worthwhile, but many people do not know it. Sometimes I feel very emotional, even regretful. What do I regret? It is that they do not know this is a treasure. I always regret that they do not learn how to shepherd.

I tell some people, including those in management positions in the workplace, that if our full-time colleagues in the church are very good at shepherding in the future, your management will be very good. But if you apply workplace management to the church, I am telling you, it will not work; it will fail. Why? Because in the church, people need to contribute, people need to serve, people need to be managed. I am telling you, this is a very high-end ability, but if you apply factory management to the church, it will fail.

Our sister HM, who used to manage a large group of people, asked Brother HF, Why does this not work when I bring it to the church? Of course, it does not work because that is a very low-level thing. But if you apply church shepherding to your workplace, it will absolutely work. Believe it or not, it is up to you.

If your leadership ability is poor, I will teach you to train your leadership through shepherding. It is precisely because your leadership is poor that your shepherding is poor, and because your shepherding is poor, your leadership is poor. You will also be a person with poor leadership when you get to your job. Why not practice? I have already told you that if you ruin that person, I can only say, God, I am sorry. I will not blame you. Who have I ever blamed? Isn't that right? But the question is, have you used your time on these enhancements, creations, and developments?

Participating More in Shepherding

Many people are foolish, really foolish, and it is frustrating to watch. They never know how to shepherd. It is not that the church needs you to shepherd; it is that you need shepherding. It is not that God needs you; it is that you need God. It is not that the church needs you; it is that you need the church. These concepts must be established. Get out of routine operations. You must know that participating in shepherding in the church is a very rich reward.

XF has been constantly growing in the church, and when she goes back, she talks about these things with her family, which shocks them greatly. So today, brothers and sisters must begin to know how to allocate your time. The entire church will greatly shape people's abilities.

We must often make plans, not only make plans but also make strategic plans, make proposals, do reviews, think, and make adjustments. I know that many people do not have time to make plans, do not have time to make strategic plans, and do not have time to do reviews, etc., and they just keep going around and around... eventually ending up in a pit. So brothers and sisters, today we must constantly learn to plan, strategize, propose, review, think, and adjust. Is this time worthwhile? This time is not only worthwhile but also necessary!

Why are you not doing well? It is because you are not doing these things. The church teaches you how to plan, strategize, and propose. Our ministry leaders' meeting every Friday only discusses one thing: strategy. Is our strategy in place? Do we have a better strategy? We are constantly improving. Why do we do this? Because I need to train our ministry leaders to be people with planning abilities. If they can plan, review, think, and then constantly adjust, their work will be very effective.

We must develop such habits. Then, what do we look at when developing such habits? We look at whether the ability you invest in hits the target. If it does not hit the target, quickly adjust. Many people do things without hitting the target, many people do things without results, many people just mess around. Is your time worth spending on this matter?

In the past year, we have invested a lot of time in planning the overall development of the church. Because of planning, we are constantly improving. So how should you plan for yourself? I think this time is worthwhile!

Cultivate the Habit of Viewing Time Management with an Investment Perspective

God wants us to manage – to manage the beasts of the earth, everything on earth. God created everything and entrusted it to us for management. This management includes time management. When should we do what? There is no such thing as sowing in autumn and harvesting in spring. So we must clarify a concept: we must do what needs to be done at the right time. This is management. Just like investment, if you do not manage your finances well, your finances will disappear. You think it is good, but the results are not good. Why? Because you do not know how to manage. We must learn that God requires us to manage.

For our full-time colleagues in the church, I have such an expectation: in the future, if some managers come to our church, you can still shepherd, because you are not so old-fashioned that you only know how to read the Bible and know nothing else. That will not do.