How does God help us live inside the continuous tension between hurrying up and slowing down?
Time is ever moving, it doesn’t stop, and by putting margin in our lives, we are able to set aside time to pursue and invest in the things we hold most important. Now, the world is broken, and we are broken people, so we tend to put margin in our lives for social media, TV, drinking, friendships, love, drugs, etc.; things that we believe will give life and satisfy.
“We are to look carefully how we walk, and we are to use wisdom because the days are evil; because the world is broken.” – Brian Frost
In Ephesians 5, Paul is calling believers to put margin in their lives for Christ, rather than pitiful pleasures created by man. When we don’t margin time for Christ, we tend to speed up out of a sense of urgency, and we escape to the broken cisterns of the world (Jeremiah 2). But, margining time for the Lord, slows us down to experience the grace and peace found in Him.
When sufferings come, when turbulence bumps our life around, we are able to face upward, and not shake our fist at heaven, but rather realize that the turbulence is for our benefit, for our sharpening, for our equipping, and ultimately for the good of the Kingdom. Through the convictions of the Holy Spirit, which warn and remind us of the path we ought to be traveling, we can prioritize Christ in the margining of our time here on Earth.
When we margin time for Christ, our lives imitate the character of Christ; this then spurns others, who may be riding the rumble strip or who have hit the guard rail, to reorient their priorities, margin time for Christ, and redirect their path.
“It’s not about organizing a self-absorbed life, but to live a life in imitation of Christ; who came to Earth to serve.” – Brian Frost
SERMON NOTES
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God urges us to recognize the brokenness in the world. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
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Ephesians 5:1-2 — Jesus is the only hope.
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God urges us to understand His will for our life. (Ephesians 5:17)
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Proverbs 3:5-6 — When you look through the scriptures looking for the will of the Lord, instead of thinking “What should I do?” rather think “What should I become?”
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2 Timothy 3:16-17— God reveals His will in His word. There’s not a thing that you go through in this life that the Bible can’t help with.
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Ephesians 1:13 — God reveals His will by His Spirit.
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John 16:8 — When you sin, Christ convicts you. When we do the right thing, Christ convicts you in righteousness; He’s confirming you. When you think about the end, standing before the Lord, Christ convicts us of our lives.
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God urges us to redeem our time doing His will. (Ephesians 5:16)
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James 4:14 — Redeem the opportunities. God has not only given us days and informed priorities, but He has given us time to redeem opportunities.
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INTROSPECTIVE QUESTIONS
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Are you creating margins of time in your life? If so, what are you creating margin for?
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Are you being diligent to seek the Lord’s direction amidst the busyness of life?
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It can be sobering and dark to think of the brokenness of the world, but to dwell on its reality is necessary for understanding the true essence of the gospel. We are totally depraved, totally corrupt, totally broken, and yet, Christ took our brokenness upon himself in order to place His righteousness on us.
What grace!
This great exchange not only secures our eternity with Christ but places a new lens on our perspective of the world. Now, a sense of urgency has been added to the mix. With the time that has been given to us on Earth, we, those who have experienced the grace of Christ, ought to create margins of our time in such a way that the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) is prioritized; that we would long for opportunities with the masses of souls we pass daily, who still have the wrath of God placed upon them, to grow in relationship with them in the ultimate hope and trust that Christ would work through us to bring them into the fold of grace, too.
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