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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ005116S
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00:24 Sand Castles are fun, there are few things more exciting
00:30 to a child than building their own sand castle on the beach. 00:34 What a wonderful way to fully enjoy the sun, 00:38 revel in the warm sand and get your hands dirty 00:41 and it doesn't take much to build your very own 00:45 classic sand castle masterpiece. 00:48 All you need is some damp sand, a small bucket, and spade, 00:53 and a vivid imagination then the beach becomes special. 00:59 A place of fantasy, imagination, and dreams built with a bucket 01:05 and spade. But there's another type of sand castle that is 01:10 much rarer, it requires far more skill, it's far more time 01:15 consuming requires more tools, and demands a lot more patience 01:20 and perseverance. But it's an artistic masterpiece and its 01:25 beauty is stunning. I'm referring to sand sculptures. 01:31 We can only marvel at the skill of these artists and when 01:35 it comes to sand sculpturing, Dennis Massoud is the king of the 01:39 castle. He's a master sandman, a world champion sand sculptor. 01:44 He's taking to the humble art of building a sand castle 01:48 to entirely new levels. Known worldwide as the Sandman. 01:55 Dennis Massoud produces exquisite masterpieces from sand, 02:00 dolphins, mermaids, horses, dragons, hands holding a baby, 02:05 and a pirate's treasure chest. 02:08 And he's taken on some incredible projects 02:11 like the Pontus project like here in Circular Quai, Sydney 02:15 where he built a life-size replica of a Quanta's jet plane 02:19 complete with pilot and passengers all made of sand. 02:25 Today at Noosa Beach in Australia's Sunshine Coast 02:29 Dennis is creating one of his more straight-forward 02:33 sand sculptures for us but one that carries a profound message, 02:37 a timely message. 02:49 Dennis Massoud or Sandman as he's known as a world champion 02:55 sand sculptor, his expertise, experience, and popularity 03:00 have taken him around the world nine times in recent years. 03:04 He's been offered an assignment to create the world's biggest 03:08 sand sculpture from 38,000 tons of sand with a base 100 meters 03:14 across and 38 meters high. 03:17 But today he's creating one of his smaller less complicated 03:22 masterpieces and he's going to make it from just plain 03:28 regular beach sand. The kind found on any beach in Australia. 03:34 Now, you might think that's normal for sand sculptors 03:38 but it isn't, you see, there's a little secret to the construction 03:43 material used by most sand artists. 03:46 Now regular old family sand castles are made with a circular 03:52 grains of sand found on the beach which quickly roll-off 03:55 each other once dry and cause the structure to collapse. 03:59 But sand artists will often use building sand or river sand 04:04 that is angular grains mixed with a fraction of silt 04:08 and clay to help bond the sand together. 04:11 But today, Dennis is using plain old Noosa Beach sand 04:17 to produce one of his famous sand creations, the clock. 04:22 He uses sand to capture the elusive resource of time 04:27 that we all have. Dennis literally depicts the sands 04:33 of time. Time is like ever shifting sand, 04:37 it never stands still. Some people understand the 04:42 importance of time, they master it and leave their mark 04:46 and are remembered for their actions and achievements. 04:49 Often that's what separates successful people from 04:53 ordinary ones. Knowing how to manage your time well. 04:59 You see, time is the most valuable asset in your life. 05:04 Even more valuable than money, if you lose money, 05:08 it can be replaced if you lose time it's gone forever. 05:14 so it's your most precious resource because you can 05:18 make more money but you can't make more time. 05:20 All of us get the same amount of time every week 05:25 168 hours. Often the difference between people who make their 05:31 lives count and those who don't is how they respect and manage 05:36 their time. And sometimes that can be a hard lesson to learn 05:40 it can even be a life-and-death issue as two of Australia's 05:45 famous earlier explorers discovered. 05:51 On the 20th of August 1816 Robert O'Hara Burke 05:55 and Irish-borne ex-army officer and policeman and William John 05:59 Wills a surveyor and meteorologist and their teams 06:03 set out for Melbourne with the the intention of crossing Australia 06:06 from south to north, a distance of 3,250 kilometers. 06:12 Both were inexperienced but they had an indomitable 06:16 spirits and determination. 06:19 After three months of travel, Burke decided to leave a 06:24 Supply Camp at the Dig Tree on Coopers Creek 06:27 and go on with just four men himself, Wills, King, and Gray 06:32 to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria. He left Brahe in charge of the 06:37 support team at Cooper's Creek and told him to wait 06:40 at the camp for three months for their return 06:43 Brahe waited over four months. Against all odds on the 9th 06:50 of 1861. The team made it all the way to the Flinders River 06:54 in the Gulf of Carpentaria. but now they had to get back 06:59 to the support team at Coopers Creek, they were very low on 07:03 supplies and realized that making it back was going to be 07:07 nearly impossible. The return trip was grueling, 07:12 Gray died of exhaustion and Burke, Wills, and King 07:17 staggered back to the base camp at Coopers Creek on the 07:20 21st of April, 1861. Unfortunately, Brahe had left 07:26 for Melbourne that very same day nine hours before. 07:31 They missed rescue by just nine hours, just nine hours 07:37 that means the difference between life and death. 07:40 Bitterly disappointed at missing Brahe and the support 07:44 team their spirit was broken, they had been so agonizingly 07:50 close to rescue, missed by just hours, so near yet so far. 07:56 Depressed and with their hopes dashed Burke, Wills, and King 08:02 made the fatal decision to walk southwest in search of help. 08:07 Within a few weeks both Burke and Wills were dead 08:11 crippled with exhaustion they died of starvation. 08:15 Their tragic end reminds us of the importance of time 08:20 how critical minutes, hours, and days can be 08:24 The old saying is true. 08:31 And our very existence our success and happiness in life 08:36 is determined by how we handle or take care of our time. 08:44 There's a wise old riddle that goes like this... 09:04 Of course, the answer is time. 09:08 Now, there is a fascinating reality about life, 09:11 all of us get the same amount of time each day, 1,440 minutes, 09:18 we get the same amount of time each week 168 hours, 09:23 it comes to us in equal amounts no matter who we are. 09:27 If you are extremely wealthy, you can't buy more time 09:32 if you're a famous scientist, you can't create more. 09:36 No matter who you are rich or poor, black or white, 09:40 male or female, it doesn't matter we all get the same 09:44 amount of time. Sometimes it seems to go fast or slow 09:50 when an actual fact time passes at the same speed for all of us. 09:55 Now, if you're anything like me it seems that time just 10:02 races by, there's never enough time in the day. 10:05 But since we all get the same 24 hours, 10:08 why is it that some people achieve so much more than others? 10:13 The answer lies in good time management. 10:18 Our use of time will determine the quality, joy, and influence 10:25 of our lives. You see, the difference between people who 10:29 make their lives count and those who don't is how they manage 10:34 their time. 10:35 So, what does all this really mean? 10:38 What is time management? 10:40 Well, it refers to how you choose to spend your waking 10:45 hours to achieve as much as possible and accomplish your 10:49 goals and get the most out of life. 10:52 With the right time management skills life becomes easy 10:57 because good time management let's you work smarter, 11:01 not harder. You get more things done in less time 11:05 even when time is tight and pressures are high. 11:09 So, in managing our time one of the first things we need to do 11:15 is recognize the importance and value of time 11:20 it's a precious and limited resource. 11:22 As we've noticed it's arguably our most precious resource 11:28 it cannot be stolen, slowed down, or be held back, 11:32 all portions of time are valuable. 11:36 To realize the value of one year ask a student who has 11:41 failed a final exam. To realize the value of one month 11:45 ask the parents of a premature baby. 11:48 To realize the value of one week, ask the producer of a 11:52 weekly television program. 11:54 They realize the value of one hour, ask two lovers 11:59 waiting to meet each other. 12:00 To realize the value of nine hours remember Burke and Wills? 12:06 To realize the value of one minute ask someone who's 12:10 just missed a train or plane. 12:12 To realize the value of one second, ask someone who's 12:17 just survived a fatal accident. 12:19 To realize the value of a millisecond ask someone who 12:23 won a silver medal at the Olympics. 12:26 A second point in managing our time is to recognize 12:31 that time is a resource to be cared for. 12:35 Please listen to the words of the Bible in Psalms 90 and 12:39 verse 12... 12:47 Notice that time management must be taught, 12:51 most of us are ordinarily naturally good at it 12:54 we naturally waste time. We naturally fritter it away 12:59 on things that don't really matter. 13:01 We must learn how to use our time wisely. 13:06 We need to consider some basic principles that will help us 13:11 start getting a better grasp on our calendar and daily 13:14 schedule so we can make the most of our time. 13:17 We can start by keeping a diary that will help us list our daily 13:23 and weekly schedule. A diary can help us in two ways, 13:27 it helps us plan our day and it also shows us over the week 13:32 how we are spending our time. 13:34 A diary can help in determining our priorities and workin' out 13:40 what's really urgent when budgeting our time. 13:43 Now, a third point in managing our time is be intentional 13:49 in investing our time. 13:51 Time cannot be saved but it can be invested. 13:57 Consider the hours of one week and what amount of time is left 14:02 after sleep, work, meals, and self-care and personal needs. 14:08 Let's say we roughly spend eight hours a day sleeping, 14:11 eight hours working, that's five days a week. 14:15 two hours a day eating, two hours a day on person needs 14:20 and chores. Now that leaves us about 44 hours a week including 14:25 our weekends. That's approximately four hours a day 14:30 during the week and eight hours a day on weekends 14:34 that's your time, Free time. 14:37 How we spend that time, those 44 hours every week reveals 14:42 a lot about our priorities and our goals in life. 14:46 How you spend that time shows what's really important to you, 14:51 what matters most in your life. 14:54 Knowing what is important, working that out 14:58 counts for so much, it means everything that will determine 15:03 your level of happiness and fulfillment in life. 15:06 And may I suggest that the best way to spend a good portion 15:12 of those, 44 hours is on your relationships. 15:16 Building relationships with friends, family, and God. 15:21 The Bible actually provides an order of priorities for our 15:26 relationships, it recommends God First, Family Second, 15:31 and then friends and acquaintances. 15:34 And because relationships take time, God invites us to spend 15:39 quality time with Him each week. He recommends a weekly 15:44 appointment and even specifies the time. 15:47 You see, building relationships takes time and if we want to be 15:53 happy and content, we need to make our relationships a priority 15:57 and that will require an intentional investment of 16:01 our time. Our fourth point in managing our time is to 16:07 manage our time wisely. 16:09 To illustrate this, imagine a jar that's to be filled with 16:14 rocks, pebbles, sand, and water. The rocks represent the big 16:20 issues of life, the other elements represent peripheral 16:24 matters. Now if the sand, water, pebbles and debris are poured 16:30 first, into the jar, they're be no room to fit in the rocks. 16:35 The most important things in life, the highest priorities 16:39 can easily be crowded out by the non-essentials if we focus 16:44 on them first and foremost. 16:46 We live in a world where things and positions are often promoted 16:51 the great priority. We're programmed to associate 16:55 happiness with having possessions. 16:57 In our culture, it's easy to get addicted to material things 17:03 we're bombarded with advertisements, 17:06 marketing strategies and gimmicks that are designed 17:09 to tell us that things, fast cars, designer clothes, 17:14 expensive mansions, watches, furniture, smartphones, 17:18 and so on are the important priorities in life 17:22 and once you have these things, these material possessions 17:26 then you'll be happy. 17:28 But Jesus wants us to experience genuine happiness so he warned 17:35 against this idea that possessions will bring 17:38 happiness. Here's His warning in Luke chapter 12 verse 15. 17:55 Happiness and fulfillment aren't found in things, 17:59 all possessions are temporary by nature, 18:02 they look shiny and new in the store, but immediately 18:06 as soon as the package is opened they begin to perish, spoil 18:11 or fail. There's always something new right around 18:15 the corner, you'll never have enough. 18:18 Now, let's be clear, it's not wrong to have things 18:22 we all need them but if they become our priority 18:26 over God and relationships, then we need to re-focus. 18:32 Here's something else that is important, having a purpose 18:36 it's vital to have a clear purpose in life. 18:39 When we get so caught up in chasing material things 18:44 it can distract us from living a life that is purposeful 18:48 and meaningful. Instead of focusing on relationships 18:52 and building life skills that bring meaning to our lives 18:55 we instead choose to focus on material gain. 18:59 Steve Jobs summed this up perfectly with his quote... 19:16 In the end, our material possessions will cease to matter 19:21 anymore, and all that we will be remember for is our 19:25 relationships, how we made others feel and what good things 19:30 we brought to the world and ultimately 19:33 our relationship with God. 19:35 Now back to managing our time, it's important to plan. 19:42 The old saying is true, he who fails to plan, plans to fail. 19:48 We discussed earlier how its good to draw up a daily plan 19:53 and the weekly schedule as these strategies will enable us 19:57 to make the most of our time. 20:00 We come now to the fifth point in managing time. 20:05 Enjoy time. Using our time wisely is an important 20:12 responsibility but it shouldn't be a burden, 20:15 time is a gift to enjoy. When we look at the life and example 20:20 of Jesus, we are reminded of this, He had the greatest 20:24 most important mission and responsibility of any person 20:28 who has ever lived but he didn't live His life according 20:32 to a full and rigid schedule. He lived a balanced life 20:36 and made sure he included time to enjoy it. 20:40 He had time for children. Here's what the Bible says in 20:44 Mark chapter 10: and verses 13 to 16... 21:23 Yes, Jesus had time for children and He also had time for friends. 21:29 The Bible tells us that He often went to Bethany for example 21:34 to spend time with His friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. 21:39 Jesus also appreciated nature and spent a lot of time in 21:44 the great outdoors, He also regularly accepted invitations 21:49 to share meals with a variety of different people. 21:52 Here's what the Bible says in Luke chapter 19 verses 5 to 7. 22:20 In His busy schedule Jesus made time to socialize 22:25 and spend time visiting people and establishing friendships. 22:29 We too would do well in our busy schedules to make time 22:35 to enjoy life, socialize, and have fun with family and friends. 22:41 We should also regard time as a friend, the Bible encourages 22:48 us to take time to rest, to be quiet and to be still. 22:53 Life isn't designed to be a constant slot, 22:58 a well-balanced use of time involves rest and relaxation, 23:03 we are to live and enjoy a day at a time. 23:08 It's wise to find time to enjoy the present and savor the 23:13 challenges and opportunities of each day as it comes. 23:17 You know, when I was young, I learned to play the piano 23:22 and I learned that a sheet of music contains rests or pauses 23:28 there is no music in a rest but a rest is part of a 23:33 musical piece. 23:34 Times of quiet and rest are part of the rhythm of life 23:40 God advises us to set aside a full day every week to rest 23:46 and worship. And that could be one of the most enjoyable ways 23:51 to relax and enjoy time. Enjoying time involves creating 23:56 memories, planning special experiences and leaving space 24:01 rests in our busy lives. 24:04 Enjoying time is more conducive to better health, 24:09 better relationships and a more productive life, 24:12 it's an important part of managing our time wisely. 24:18 When I consider time, the sands of time, and Dennis's 24:24 sand sculptured plot and I look at the world around us 24:27 as it moves from crisis to crisis I'm reminded 24:32 that a time will come on God's great clock, 24:35 and it seems that hour is about to strike. 24:39 The Bible tells us that the end will come but the end 24:45 will also bring a new beginning. 24:48 When Jesus Christ comes again it will be the end of this world's 24:52 system of evil, pain, and suffering and the beginning 24:56 of God's eternal kingdom and His reign throughout the earth. 25:01 But before that hour strikes, our world is in crisis after 25:07 crisis we're experiencing it. God's great prophetic timepiece 25:14 is ticking and it is soon to strike midnight. 25:18 Today is your day of salvation here's what God's word the Bible 25:26 says in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 2. 25:49 Today you can accept Jesus Christ your savior, 25:53 you can put your faith, your trust and your confidence in Him. 25:58 He will provide a solid foundation for your life 26:02 far more solid than the shifting sands of time. 26:06 He will change your dimension of time and put you into 26:10 eternity with Him. 26:13 If you would like to know more about God's great 26:18 prophetic time clock and where we are living in the stream of 26:21 time, then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have for all 26:26 our Incredible Journey viewers today, it's a popular booklet 26:30 A King, A Dream, and You. This booklet is our gift to you 26:36 and it's absolutely free, there are no costs or obligations 26:41 whatsoever. So make the most of this wonderful opportunity 26:45 to receive the free gift we have for you today. 26:50 Here's the information you need. 26:53 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia or 020.422.2042 in 27:03 New Zealand or visit our website at TIJ.tv or simply 27:09 scan the QR Code on your screen and we'll send you 27:12 today's free offer totally free of charge and with no 27:15 obligation. Write to us at GPO Box 274 Sydney NSW 2001 27:23 Australia, or PO Box 76673 Manukau Auckland 27:28 2241 New Zealand. Don't delay call or text us now. 27:33 Be sure to join us again next week when we will share 27:38 another of life's journeys together, until then 27:42 let's put our faith, trust, and confidence in the 27:46 great God who made and controls time. 27:49 Let's pray. 27:51 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for the precious 27:55 gift of time. Lord, teach us to number our days 27:59 that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 28:01 Help us to get our priorities right so that we invest 28:05 sufficient time in our relationships with our friends, 28:09 our families, and most importantly our God. 28:13 We ask these things in Jesus' name. 28:16 Amen! |
Revised 2023-12-19