WEBVTT 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:04.000 Would you like to make this year the best year 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.339 of your life, no matter what happens over the 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:09.140 next 12 months, to be able to look back and see 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:12.000 real positive change? Well, we're going to look 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.099 at how to get a grip on all those demands in 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:17.699 your life and make this year one you'll look 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.839 back on and say, thank you, Lord. Welcome to 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:25.460 this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip 00:00:25.460 --> 00:00:27.960 Ingram. The mission of this daily program is 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.600 to intentionally disciple Christians with the 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.359 insightful Bible teaching of Chip Ingram. Thanks 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.640 for joining us today as we dive into our popular 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:38.840 series, Balancing Life's Demands. For the next 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:40.859 handful of programs, Chip will speak directly 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:43.880 to those feeling overwhelmed, overscheduled, 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:46.840 and stressed out, and offer some biblical remedies 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:50.200 to live a life filled with joy, peace, and purpose. 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:53.179 I know this series will minister to you, so I 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:55.689 hope you'll join us for every part of it. So 00:00:55.689 --> 00:00:57.450 with that, let's get going. Here's Chip with 00:00:57.450 --> 00:01:00.810 his talk, The Peace and Power of a Prioritized 00:01:00.810 --> 00:01:03.990 Life. Well, as we get started, we're going to 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:06.870 talk about balancing life's demands, and we're 00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:09.090 going to talk about biblical priorities. We're 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:11.790 going to talk about aligning your life and your 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:14.950 priorities, doing what's important in a way that 00:01:14.950 --> 00:01:18.590 God says for two purposes. One, so that you fulfill 00:01:18.590 --> 00:01:21.310 His purposes and bring glory to Him. And second, 00:01:21.430 --> 00:01:23.730 because when you do that, it is good for you. 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:27.510 His highest and best is achieved and accomplished 00:01:27.510 --> 00:01:30.310 when there is an alignment of your priorities 00:01:30.310 --> 00:01:33.209 with the way he has designed you and designed 00:01:33.209 --> 00:01:36.530 life to work. And when your priorities get out 00:01:36.530 --> 00:01:39.489 of whack, when the balance gets out of whack, 00:01:39.689 --> 00:01:43.489 it produces some painful things in you, in relationships, 00:01:43.590 --> 00:01:46.870 and often significant damage. Just so this isn't 00:01:46.870 --> 00:01:52.730 theoretical, 1983, I was a full -blown workaholic. 00:01:54.769 --> 00:01:59.769 Early 30s. Driven, focused, and disciplined. 00:02:01.230 --> 00:02:04.230 I learned some of that from my dad. I won't give 00:02:04.230 --> 00:02:06.390 you all the family of origin histories and how 00:02:06.390 --> 00:02:09.430 children of alcoholics, you know, do stuff. But 00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:11.889 here's what I'll tell you. I just, I got focused 00:02:11.889 --> 00:02:14.990 early on about sports. I got, this is what you 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:16.949 do. You set a goal and you get focused. And I 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:20.389 was focused, I was disciplined, and I was driven. 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:23.930 And then I came to Christ, and it took me a while 00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:26.349 to get going, but once I got going, I got focused, 00:02:26.449 --> 00:02:30.469 I was disciplined, and I was driven. And then 00:02:30.469 --> 00:02:33.629 God called me into ministry, and so once I started 00:02:33.629 --> 00:02:35.229 with this church, about two or three years into 00:02:35.229 --> 00:02:38.889 it, I was focused, I was disciplined, and I was 00:02:38.889 --> 00:02:40.789 driven. And how in the world, in a church of 00:02:40.789 --> 00:02:43.189 35 to 50 people, you can work 80 hours a week, 00:02:43.250 --> 00:02:45.129 I don't know, but I figured out how to do it. 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:49.879 1983, I was sitting in a doctor's office and 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:53.159 my wife went with me and he evaluated everything. 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:56.659 He asked about my schedule. He asked what I did, 00:02:56.840 --> 00:02:59.340 why I did it. They had run some tests. There 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:02.139 were some problems with my liver. And he just 00:03:02.139 --> 00:03:05.060 said, you keep living like you live and you're 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:07.919 going to die young. And he said, your life is 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:11.099 out of balance and out of control. I'd never 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:14.319 heard the word workaholic, but I learned about 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:17.900 it about then. Now, because I had a couple core 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:21.060 values, one is I did not neglect my time with 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:24.199 God, and because of some real deep convictions, 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:27.900 I did not neglect my wife or my kids. That's 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:30.759 kind of a neat thing. So what happens is I got 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.800 up earlier and earlier and earlier, and sometimes 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:35.319 I had three or four hours in before they ever 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:37.680 woke up. And then, you know, I'd breakfast, take 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:39.479 them to school, do whatever, and then, man, I 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:42.599 busted it, and then I was out all kind of times, 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:44.460 and I was with them, and then they'd go to bed, 00:03:44.539 --> 00:03:48.560 and I'd work. And this drivenness, this need 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:52.419 to please people, this performance, the search 00:03:52.419 --> 00:03:55.379 for significance, the search for security, the 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:57.860 wondering how do you ever please God, how much 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:00.099 is enough? And I mean to tell you, what I want 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:02.620 you to hear is, it has been a very significant 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:05.300 journey and you don't have to be that way and 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:07.960 you can change and priorities can change and 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:12.319 you can be motivated and not driven. And you 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.659 can have good priorities and discipline without 00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:17.199 being... so focused that you're out of whack. 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:20.500 But I say that so you know, what I'm going to 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:23.680 talk about is not like theoretical. Fast forward 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:28.360 25 years, and I was in a time of re -evaluating, 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:30.560 God, where's my sweet spot? Where are my gifts? 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.860 And so I found myself in a room with eight or 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.519 nine other guys, all who were very, very successful, 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:39.500 all very wealthy, very powerful, had kind of 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:41.500 been there, done that with various levels of 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:44.790 spiritual maturity for 26 hours evaluating. How 00:04:44.790 --> 00:04:48.189 should I spend the second half of my life? Most 00:04:48.189 --> 00:04:50.649 of us would say they have what people look for. 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:52.550 I mean, they kind of have it made. They've got 00:04:52.550 --> 00:04:56.550 the houses, the cars, the money, the businesses. 00:04:57.430 --> 00:05:01.189 And yet there was, for some, major damage, lost 00:05:01.189 --> 00:05:05.110 families, lost kids, and pain. And now... They've 00:05:05.110 --> 00:05:07.509 come to know Christ, and how do I do it different? 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:10.149 For others, it was they were really pretty spiritually 00:05:10.149 --> 00:05:13.149 mature, but their focus was so in their business 00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:15.810 and so in things, and they were so, it was like, 00:05:15.889 --> 00:05:17.689 you know what? I've got more money than I'll 00:05:17.689 --> 00:05:19.689 ever need for the rest of my life. How can I 00:05:19.689 --> 00:05:22.269 leverage my life for more God's kingdom and use 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:24.290 my gifts rather than this rat race that I'm living 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:26.870 in? And then some had a pretty balanced life, 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:28.790 and it was, you know, I'm doing this for the 00:05:28.790 --> 00:05:31.490 kingdom of God. How do I leverage it? What are 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:33.930 my gifts? What's the unique purpose God has called 00:05:33.930 --> 00:05:36.350 me to? What's that Ephesians 2 .10, that good 00:05:36.350 --> 00:05:38.670 work that God's called me to, that he's prepared? 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:41.410 And so they take you through a process for 26 00:05:41.410 --> 00:05:44.449 hours. And so I only share that to let you know, 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:46.870 you know, whether you're young in the Lord or 00:05:46.870 --> 00:05:49.589 old in the Lord, whether you have had a long 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:51.870 history with God or you're relatively new in 00:05:51.870 --> 00:05:54.230 Christ, whether you're like super successful 00:05:54.230 --> 00:05:57.290 and really need to reevaluate or you're in crisis 00:05:57.290 --> 00:06:00.420 and overwhelmed, You know what? Everyone needs 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:04.019 to stop and look and evaluate at your priorities. 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:07.360 Is your life in balance? Is it being lived the 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:09.899 way God wants it to for his glory and your good? 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:12.579 And so to do that, here's the format that we're 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:14.699 going to use. I'm going to give a little diagnosis. 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:16.879 I'm going to give you six warning signs. You 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:19.540 see those of misplaced priorities. So I'm just 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:21.420 going to go through boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. 00:06:21.500 --> 00:06:23.699 And you're going to say, hey, you know, I think 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:26.459 my priorities are here. Good, good, good. Better 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:29.730 check that one. Second then, After the diagnosis, 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:31.310 I'm gonna give a little definition. What are 00:06:31.310 --> 00:06:33.589 God's priorities for our lives? I mean, how do 00:06:33.589 --> 00:06:35.790 they fit together? I mean, what does God expect? 00:06:35.930 --> 00:06:38.250 What are the right priorities? And then third, 00:06:38.370 --> 00:06:40.209 I wanna just get you started. I'm gonna give 00:06:40.209 --> 00:06:43.490 you two tools. Two tools to start getting a handle. 00:06:43.610 --> 00:06:45.990 When you hear these two tools, listen carefully, 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:48.310 everyone. When you hear these two tools, don't 00:06:48.310 --> 00:06:50.189 feel like, I gotta have that down tomorrow. You're 00:06:50.189 --> 00:06:52.220 not gonna get it down tomorrow. You're gonna 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:54.300 recognize God will give you a tool for this hand 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:57.160 and a tool for that hand. And now you will start 00:06:57.160 --> 00:06:59.720 on a journey using these two tools to bring, 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:02.040 they're the beginning steps of bringing your 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.839 priorities under the submission of God to get 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.240 them in line for his glory and your good, okay? 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:09.759 So let's jump in together and let me give you 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:13.980 the six symptoms of misplaced priorities. The 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:16.420 first symptom is busyness. You can write that 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:22.810 word in. Busyness, but barren of fruit. If your 00:07:22.810 --> 00:07:25.230 life is characterized where you're hurrying all 00:07:25.230 --> 00:07:30.250 the time, you're rushing, you're driven, you 00:07:30.250 --> 00:07:34.170 eat on the run. If I went into your desk and 00:07:34.170 --> 00:07:36.910 if you have an office or your dresser and there's 00:07:36.910 --> 00:07:39.670 much piles of many things and then over underneath 00:07:39.670 --> 00:07:41.829 of it, there's piles on the floor. And if we 00:07:41.829 --> 00:07:43.370 went in the garage, we wouldn't even want to 00:07:43.370 --> 00:07:46.370 go there. If I went to your office at work, there 00:07:46.370 --> 00:07:50.839 is stuff, stuff everywhere. And you're going 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:53.040 to get to it, but you're just putting it in stacks 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.459 now because there's just too many balls to juggle. 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.100 People who love you are saying things kindly 00:07:59.100 --> 00:08:01.259 and lovingly. Some of them you're married to. 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:03.720 Others are business associates. Others are people 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:05.199 that just say it casually when you say, hey, 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:07.100 let's get together and say, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:08:07.259 --> 00:08:09.240 And you've been saying that for like 18 months. 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:13.540 They're saying, slow down. If you're a fairly 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:15.680 young follower or maybe you remarried and now 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:17.120 you have some kids and you have some smaller 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.879 kids, five or six or under, they hang. on your 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:22.100 knee with their arms around you as you're leaving 00:08:22.100 --> 00:08:25.000 out the door. That's a symptom that you're doing 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:28.639 too much and that you're too busy. Busyness. 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:32.820 I call it the activity trap. Dawson Trotman, 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:35.440 the founder of The Navigator said, emotion is 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:39.480 no substitute for action and action is no substitute 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:43.399 for productivity. Sometimes we get very, very 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:47.100 active, very, very busy. I believe it's the new 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:51.149 worldliness. We are important because we're busy. 00:08:51.250 --> 00:08:53.690 We're on the move. I got to do this. I got to 00:08:53.690 --> 00:08:56.909 do that. I'm involved in this. Second is emotional 00:08:56.909 --> 00:09:01.899 stress and pressure, anxiety. People whose priorities 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:05.779 are out of whack have symptoms like a uptightness. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.740 They sometimes have chest pains, migraine headaches, 00:09:08.940 --> 00:09:12.279 trouble sleeping. You have this uneasy feeling. 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:14.840 You feel restless a lot. It's hard to sit still. 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:17.500 You wish you could get your mind to slow down. 00:09:17.700 --> 00:09:21.980 Sometimes you find yourself going, I just need 00:09:21.980 --> 00:09:25.460 to take a deep breath. Because the RPMs inside 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:27.820 your head, you're multitasking about everything 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:31.620 all the time. There's no windows of real rest. 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:35.179 You're indecisive. Sometimes it's hard to make 00:09:35.179 --> 00:09:37.600 a decision. If the truth is known, you're not 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.700 very happy. You get fulfillment and little windows 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:42.580 of when you accomplish things and you love to 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:44.960 check things off. Did that, did that, did that, 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:47.220 did that. But when the things are done and when 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:49.679 you're alone and when the media is off, there's 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:54.399 this dis -ease, this sense that I'm not really 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:58.000 very happy. I don't have a lot of joy. For some, 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.500 it ends up in burnout. Others break down and 00:10:00.500 --> 00:10:04.440 others blow up. And the anger issues flare up 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:07.559 and then lots of big apologies follow. Often 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:10.259 it comes out in conflict with family, irritability. 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:14.799 When there's this emotional stress and anxiety, 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:17.980 often it's characterized with a lack of intimacy 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:20.039 and connectedness with your family and especially 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:23.299 in your marriage. You're busy, and it's gonna 00:10:23.299 --> 00:10:25.220 change. It's gonna change soon. As soon as this 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:27.379 big deal's over, as soon as soccer season's over, 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.399 as soon as this happens, as soon as that happens, 00:10:29.460 --> 00:10:32.000 it's gonna change. And you're sensing this drift 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.600 in relationships. And you keep telling yourself, 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:39.679 well, it's temporary. The third is what I call 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:44.259 low -grade nagging guilt. You feel bad about 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:47.740 yourself. Again, it's not just the restless feeling, 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.340 but it's not fulfilled. There's a lot of things 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:52.740 that you know you're supposed to do. In fact, 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:55.559 you did them in the past. You actually tell other 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:57.940 people they should do them, but you don't do 00:10:57.940 --> 00:11:01.039 them anymore. But you know enough verses and 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:03.500 you have enough background spiritually that you 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:06.659 fake it well, but you hate this feeling of this 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:09.179 duplicity, this level of hypocrisy. Now, you 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:12.820 know no one has it all together. But right now 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:14.539 is not the way it used to be. And you keep telling 00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:16.820 yourself, you know what, those times in the morning 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:18.419 that I had or those pretty kind of significant 00:11:18.419 --> 00:11:21.440 times in prayer, I'll get back to that. But right 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:25.059 now, and you just have this low -grade nagging 00:11:25.059 --> 00:11:29.960 guilt. Relationships become superficial. Little 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:34.120 time for celebration. Daily pressures push aside 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:38.500 the need to stop, envision, plan, think about 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:42.799 the future. The fourth is financial debt, financial 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:46.299 problems. When priorities really start unwinding, 00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:48.820 you realize, you know, we were really committed 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:50.960 to giving the first portion. We, you know, we 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:52.399 meant to do that, but then we had this little 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.759 hiccup and then this happened and then that happened. 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:56.399 We had a little hospital situation over here 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:58.240 and the company we thought was going to do a 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:00.919 little bit better and that didn't work out. And 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:04.100 so the debt begins to pile up. The giving begins 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:07.759 to deteriorate. And by the way, God speaks through 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.809 your money. Jot down just in your notes, Habakkuk 00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:15.129 1 verses 1 to 10. God speaks to the prophet. 00:12:15.230 --> 00:12:17.730 Here's a paraphrase of those 10 verses. Because 00:12:17.730 --> 00:12:19.970 they were building their own homes and their 00:12:19.970 --> 00:12:22.490 paneled houses and neglected the house of the 00:12:22.490 --> 00:12:26.529 Lord, God put holes in their purses. They made 00:12:26.529 --> 00:12:29.870 money, but it seemed to evaporate. God was lovingly 00:12:29.870 --> 00:12:32.929 trying to get their attention. You can't figure 00:12:32.929 --> 00:12:34.629 it out. You know, we're making this much money. 00:12:34.690 --> 00:12:36.789 We're making more money than we ever have, but 00:12:36.789 --> 00:12:41.240 it just seems like... Oh, it seems like God puts 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:47.139 holes in our finances. That's because he loves 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:52.559 you. He's trying to get your attention. The fifth 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.100 symptom of misplaced priorities is prayerlessness 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:58.620 or leakage in the devotional life. If the truth 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:00.759 is known and you hope the truth doesn't get known. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:03.960 But your deepest times in prayer are in the car 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.840 by yourself. Most of your prayers are very quick. 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:09.279 Mostly the best times are with other people. 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.600 You have a hard time concentrating by yourself 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.919 because it's been a very long time since you 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:17.480 had an extended, honest, repentant, tearful, 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:20.039 cleaning of the slate with you and God. And you're 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.200 gonna get to it. And you really are. And you've 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.179 been there before, but just not right now. There's 00:13:25.179 --> 00:13:27.100 just too much on your plate. There's too much 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:34.789 to jungle. God, I mean, you mean to. But the 00:13:34.789 --> 00:13:38.950 superficiality is with God. Down deep, you don't 00:13:38.950 --> 00:13:42.350 feel very close to him. You're on a spiritual 00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:45.649 kind of up and down roller coaster. You have 00:13:45.649 --> 00:13:47.509 an experience at church or maybe a little something 00:13:47.509 --> 00:13:53.289 here. And then it's very up, down, emotional. 00:13:54.529 --> 00:13:58.789 And you realize just there's leakage. There's 00:13:58.789 --> 00:14:02.629 just too many balls. There's just too much. You 00:14:02.629 --> 00:14:07.250 feel under pressure. The final one is escapism 00:14:07.250 --> 00:14:10.490 behavior. We do it in a lot of different ways, 00:14:10.529 --> 00:14:12.269 some thrill -seeking behavior, at least when 00:14:12.269 --> 00:14:14.610 you're younger. You know, there's just nothing 00:14:14.610 --> 00:14:16.490 like a good bungee jump to make you feel better 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:19.830 about life very temporarily or going fast in 00:14:19.830 --> 00:14:23.809 a car. As you get older, it's impulsive buying, 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:27.129 vacations you can't afford. For others, you're 00:14:27.129 --> 00:14:28.909 so daggone tired that you've got to take a pill 00:14:28.909 --> 00:14:30.669 to put yourself to sleep, and it takes a couple 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:32.950 pills to get you going. and you've never been 00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:34.629 a real heavy drinker, but you're finding yourself 00:14:34.629 --> 00:14:36.230 drinking a little bit more than in the past. 00:14:37.330 --> 00:14:39.629 You eat when you're not hungry, but it makes 00:14:39.629 --> 00:14:42.289 you feel better just a little while. And for 00:14:42.289 --> 00:14:44.190 us good Christians, it's just a lot of excessive 00:14:44.190 --> 00:14:48.789 TV and a lot of time on email and a lot of time 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:51.350 doing things that make us feel like we're accomplishing 00:14:51.350 --> 00:14:53.269 something because down deep we don't know where 00:14:53.269 --> 00:14:56.769 we're going, and our North Star feels like it's 00:14:56.769 --> 00:14:59.809 moved, and you don't know is there any way out. 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:03.960 And I wish that did not describe an awful lot 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:06.299 of believers' lives, but I will tell you, as 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:08.720 we get thousands upon thousands of emails, I 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:13.379 hear it over and over and over and over. In conclusion, 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:15.679 these symptoms are always in our minds. They're 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.039 temporary. They're just small concessions. I 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:19.860 mean, like one or two of those things, it doesn't 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:22.080 mean you're like out to lunch and you don't love 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:23.940 God anymore. You're ready for a divorce next 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:26.059 week. They all start as just a little thing and 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:27.879 you're gonna fix them next week. And as soon 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:31.059 as this season's over, when this, you know, But 00:15:31.059 --> 00:15:34.220 here's what I want you to hear. They all begin 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:39.779 a process. The big falls always start with little 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:42.940 things like this. And one or two that you juggle 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:46.779 and then pretty soon there's three or four. He 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:48.600 who is faithful in a very little thing will be 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:50.799 faithful also in much. And he who is unrighteous 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:53.539 in a very little thing, Luke 16, 10, will be 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:57.299 unrighteous also in much. And we're gonna get 00:15:57.299 --> 00:15:59.159 reconnected as a couple when, and the family 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:00.659 will start some of that devotional stuff again, 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:02.059 and we'll get our finances in order, and I'll 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:04.539 be able to give like I used to. And I know we 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:06.639 need to have a budget, but I mean, those credit 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:08.759 cards, hey, you know what? Everyone has a window 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.039 like this, but it's real temporary because, and 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:18.320 yeah, it's not a life or death deal. But 2 Samuel 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.299 11, verses one and two says, at the time when 00:16:21.299 --> 00:16:27.750 kings went out to battle, Priority issue. After 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:32.289 great success, at the time when kings went out 00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:36.350 to battle, when a king did what a good king's 00:16:36.350 --> 00:16:40.169 supposed to do, David decided he'd stay home. 00:16:41.250 --> 00:16:45.350 And then Bathsheba and Uriah get penned in his 00:16:45.350 --> 00:16:48.330 autobiography. And that's the way it happens 00:16:48.330 --> 00:16:50.870 with good people, people who make great moral, 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:55.629 financial failures. Families split, divide, churches 00:16:55.629 --> 00:16:59.649 get killed, kids wonder what happened. They don't 00:16:59.649 --> 00:17:02.190 wake up and go, you know something, I get this 00:17:02.190 --> 00:17:04.230 great marriage, I love my wife, I love my husband, 00:17:04.309 --> 00:17:06.369 I got a couple kids, I got one grandchild, whatever 00:17:06.369 --> 00:17:08.930 it is. You know what? I just think I'll take 00:17:08.930 --> 00:17:12.869 about 200 grand from the company. That CFO and 00:17:12.869 --> 00:17:14.490 I are good buddies, and I think together we could 00:17:14.490 --> 00:17:16.009 embezzle a little money and just have a lot of 00:17:16.009 --> 00:17:19.210 fun. I mean, no one wakes up and does that. Or 00:17:19.210 --> 00:17:21.029 that's Thursday. You know Saturday? I think I'll 00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:23.180 have an affair. What if I'm going to put that 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:24.859 on my calendar just so I don't forget? I'm just 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:28.240 going, that's not how it ever happens. These 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.140 symptoms start to weave into your life and you 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:33.819 get vulnerable and you get hurt and you just 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:36.640 want some relief and you never think it's possible 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.039 for someone who loves God the way you love God 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:41.099 for any of that to ever happen. But the right 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:43.180 place at the right time in a weak moment with 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:47.359 these things happening, bang. And all of a sudden, 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:49.740 you're the feature film in your own nightmare. 00:17:53.189 --> 00:17:55.910 those are the symptoms. And it raises a very 00:17:55.910 --> 00:17:59.089 important question then. If those are the symptoms, 00:17:59.289 --> 00:18:02.930 then what are the right priorities? I mean, God, 00:18:03.109 --> 00:18:07.609 help! What are the right priorities? And I like 00:18:07.609 --> 00:18:10.130 to say that I would like you to turn in your 00:18:10.130 --> 00:18:15.190 Bibles to 1st Priorities 1 -9. But I don't have 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:18.130 that, you know. But there's two books that were 00:18:18.130 --> 00:18:19.690 written about the same time. They're called the 00:18:19.690 --> 00:18:21.710 Twin Epistles, and I put a chart. in your notes. 00:18:22.069 --> 00:18:24.970 In the twin epistles, one is written to say, 00:18:25.170 --> 00:18:29.390 church, first three chapters, this is what Christ 00:18:29.390 --> 00:18:32.269 has done for you. Last three chapters of Ephesians, 00:18:32.369 --> 00:18:35.410 this is how to live it out. Colossians, church, 00:18:35.750 --> 00:18:39.349 this is the preeminence of who Jesus is. And 00:18:39.349 --> 00:18:42.289 this is how he wants you to live. Last two chapters, 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:44.930 and this is how you live it out. Written about 00:18:44.930 --> 00:18:48.210 the same time. Now, what I want you to see, sometimes 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:51.799 the structure of a book, can tell you as much 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:54.759 as the content. And so the first half of both 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:59.180 those books are all doctrine. This is who Jesus 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:01.440 is. This is your relationship with him. This 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.339 is who you are in Christ. This is your adoptance. 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.480 This is your inheritance. This is what you actually 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:08.200 possess. And then if you look at those charts, 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:11.460 when they start talking about how to live it 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:13.599 out, chapter four opens. I love chapter four, 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:17.019 verse one. I, Paul, a prisoner of the Lord. What's 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:21.220 he say? urge you, command you to walk in a manner 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:23.900 worthy of your calling. And that word for worthy, 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.539 it's we get our English word axis. And it's this 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:31.259 idea of for three chapters, I've told you all 00:19:31.259 --> 00:19:34.539 that you possess, beliefs. Now let your behavior 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:38.440 bring it into balance so that your beliefs and 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:42.079 your behavior tell the same story. And the whole 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:45.019 rest of the book is how you do that. And it's 00:19:45.019 --> 00:19:47.190 really interesting. And this is why small groups 00:19:47.190 --> 00:19:50.589 are so important. He doesn't tell you right after 00:19:50.589 --> 00:19:54.009 that to go to church, read your Bible, or he 00:19:54.009 --> 00:19:58.369 starts with relational issues. Then he says, 00:19:58.390 --> 00:20:03.390 with all gentleness and humility, bearing with 00:20:03.390 --> 00:20:07.710 one another, with patience, making every effort 00:20:07.710 --> 00:20:11.029 to maintain the bond that you already have of 00:20:11.029 --> 00:20:14.869 peace. You're listening to Living on the Edge. 00:20:15.089 --> 00:20:17.410 Before we hear the rest of Chip's message, let 00:20:17.410 --> 00:20:19.809 me remind you that we are a listener -supported 00:20:19.809 --> 00:20:23.190 ministry. Your regular gifts help us create programs 00:20:23.190 --> 00:20:26.369 like this one, develop new resources, and encourage 00:20:26.369 --> 00:20:29.470 pastors globally. Prayerfully consider becoming 00:20:29.470 --> 00:20:32.990 a monthly partner today. Then go to livingontheedge 00:20:32.990 --> 00:20:36.230 .org to give a gift. Thanks so much for your 00:20:36.230 --> 00:20:39.869 support. We'll hear again as Chip. And so what 00:20:39.869 --> 00:20:42.849 I want you to see is When he opens up each of 00:20:42.849 --> 00:20:44.910 those chapters, notice the topic, Colossians 00:20:44.910 --> 00:20:50.630 3, how it starts. How it starts, you have God, 00:20:50.829 --> 00:20:57.650 mate, family, work, ministry. And it's not in 00:20:57.650 --> 00:20:59.789 here, but implied elsewhere is you have kind 00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:02.849 of recreation. You know, there's a need to get 00:21:02.849 --> 00:21:05.430 recharged. And so I think it's just interesting 00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:07.529 as you go through those passages, it's okay. 00:21:08.089 --> 00:21:09.549 You know, Ephesians 5, we're going to learn that, 00:21:09.569 --> 00:21:11.349 hey, I need to be filled with the Spirit, my 00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:13.029 relationship with God. It goes right there to 00:21:13.029 --> 00:21:15.829 my marriage, to my children, to my work, and 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:19.130 then to my ministry. And by the way, everyone's 00:21:19.130 --> 00:21:21.950 in full -time ministry. Some people are called 00:21:21.950 --> 00:21:25.390 in a vocational way, and what we do is we pay 00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:28.089 their time so they can study the Word to give 00:21:28.089 --> 00:21:30.150 us what we can't get on our own. But you are 00:21:30.150 --> 00:21:33.480 a priest. You're an ordained. full -time minister 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.200 of the gospel, posing as housewives, soccer moms, 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:40.079 computer operators, business owners, lawyers, 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:44.440 doctors, and nurses, and grandmas. And God has 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:47.220 you as in Ephesians 4, the leaders of the church 00:21:47.220 --> 00:21:48.799 equip the church to do the work of the ministry. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.700 All of us are ministers until the church fulfills 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:56.559 our calling. And so these priorities are for 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.140 all of us. Now, the problem, I think, when we 00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:01.460 look at priorities, however, is we tend to view 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:04.019 them linearly. You know what I mean? Like in 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:05.940 a straight line. And so here's how I used to 00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:07.700 think about priorities. Problem is it didn't 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:10.980 work. God is first in my life. Good. I love you, 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.859 God. Okay, my wife is second. Teresa, okay, I 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:14.819 love you. God, Teresa, God, Teresa. I got that 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:16.759 one down. Okay, hold on. What's it going to say? 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:19.240 Family, family, kids, kids. Okay, God, Teresa, 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:21.359 kids. That's good. Okay, now what comes after 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:22.720 that? Ministry? No, no, no. It doesn't say it. 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:26.000 What's it say? Work. Work? Yeah, because that's 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:27.559 your first ministry. That's where you spend 60, 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:30.740 70 % of your time. Okay. And then it would be 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:32.500 like, well, wait a second. Teresa's sick, but 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:34.259 Teresa, I would love to help you. I know you're 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:37.259 vomiting on the couch, but God's more important. 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:39.279 So I'm going to have my quiet time. See you later, 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:43.480 honey. Or you have a crisis at work. The plant 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:46.359 blows up. Yeah, I'll be there in a couple days. 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:48.380 I'm getting refreshed with my wife. Yes, we're 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:50.539 in Maui. Uh -huh. Having a great time. Yeah. 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:54.490 Well, you don't understand. See, it's God. See, 00:22:54.509 --> 00:22:57.410 they don't work that way. Life's very confusing. 00:22:57.509 --> 00:22:59.349 It's very demanding. You're pulled in different 00:22:59.349 --> 00:23:02.690 ways. And so I put a picture. This is kind of 00:23:02.690 --> 00:23:04.670 a picture that's really, really helped me with 00:23:04.670 --> 00:23:08.309 priorities. It's a fountain, okay? It's a multi 00:23:08.309 --> 00:23:11.190 -tiered fountain. And here's what I want you 00:23:11.190 --> 00:23:14.269 to, you know, let me read one verse and jot this 00:23:14.269 --> 00:23:17.829 passage because it's really powerful. Jesus is 00:23:17.829 --> 00:23:20.529 speaking to the woman at the well. And I'm in 00:23:20.529 --> 00:23:24.259 John 4. I'll read both 13 for context and 14. 00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:26.400 And he says to the woman at the well, everyone 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:28.960 who drinks the water, this water will be thirsty 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:32.779 again. But whoever drinks the water I give him 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:36.660 will never thirst again. Indeed, the water that 00:23:36.660 --> 00:23:40.119 I give him will become in him a spring of water 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:44.559 welling up to eternal life. Welling up to eternal 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:48.369 life. You might jot down Proverbs 4 .23. Solomon 00:23:48.369 --> 00:23:51.210 would say the same thing. Watch over your heart 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:53.970 with all diligence for from it flow the issues 00:23:53.970 --> 00:23:57.210 of life. And so what I want you to see is I want 00:23:57.210 --> 00:23:59.690 you to imagine, you know, that top rung where 00:23:59.690 --> 00:24:02.910 it has God. I would like you to imagine there's 00:24:02.910 --> 00:24:06.349 little slits in it, little Vs. And some of you 00:24:06.349 --> 00:24:08.089 will get this. I learned this when I was a kid. 00:24:08.769 --> 00:24:11.329 Does anybody remember before ice makers what 00:24:11.329 --> 00:24:15.130 an ice cube tray was? This is a great group. 00:24:16.809 --> 00:24:19.809 Those of you like under some age that are thinking, 00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:22.450 ice cube tray, never heard of that. Well, let 00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:25.190 me give you a little lesson in sociology, you 00:24:25.190 --> 00:24:27.250 know. People would take these plastic little 00:24:27.250 --> 00:24:30.609 trays and they had all these little square boxes 00:24:30.609 --> 00:24:32.509 and you would fill them, but then you would, 00:24:32.589 --> 00:24:34.970 it was real hard and you usually spilled them, 00:24:34.990 --> 00:24:36.069 especially when you tried to get them in the 00:24:36.069 --> 00:24:39.509 refrigerator. So some brilliant person made little 00:24:39.509 --> 00:24:42.750 plastic trays and they put a little V between 00:24:42.750 --> 00:24:46.579 all the little boxes. You could put it under 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:48.500 the water and when this one got filled, it would 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:50.240 fill this one and this one and this one and this 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:55.160 one and it wouldn't spill. And then you would 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:58.619 put it in and it was great. I want you to imagine 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:03.740 a fountain and each one of these, God, your mate, 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:08.380 your family, your work, your ministry, is I want 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:10.259 you to imagine they have those little slits. 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:14.960 And here's how priorities actually work. Living 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.180 in you is the spirit of God. In John 6, he would 00:25:18.180 --> 00:25:21.299 say, the word that I speak to you is spirit and 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:24.440 it is truth. And dwelling in you is the same 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:27.160 power that raised Christ from the dead. And what 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:30.240 our priorities are really all about is what do 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.660 you need in your relationship with Jesus and 00:25:33.660 --> 00:25:36.500 the Father and the Spirit so that you're full 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:39.519 of him, so that there is connection and abiding, 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:42.920 so it can overflow into your relationship with 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:45.660 your mate. And he'll show you what's it look 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:47.539 like, how much time. It's different for every 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:50.059 couple. I mean, my poor wife, she married this 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:53.000 super high need guy. I mean, I've seen couples 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.160 that, you know, they have a couple of good talks 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.440 a week, man, they're both doing great. Poor Teresa. 00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:58.660 I mean, I come home, I gotta have 15 minutes. 00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:00.319 I gotta tell you what's going on with my day. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.740 You know, how are you doing? What's going on? 00:26:01.859 --> 00:26:04.140 I gotta have like one date a week, like two or 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:05.960 three times a year. I wanna get away from everybody. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:11.180 I mean, I'm like really high need. But that's... 00:26:11.930 --> 00:26:15.450 to be filled up for our kids. I mean, even in 00:26:15.450 --> 00:26:18.130 all those young years, we'd eat and I'd tell 00:26:18.130 --> 00:26:21.769 the kids, I love you, scram. And I'm gonna spend 00:26:21.769 --> 00:26:23.630 some time. We'd sit and have coffee at the table 00:26:23.630 --> 00:26:27.490 or take a little walk. But just listen, what 00:26:27.490 --> 00:26:30.269 do you need? And is it 15 minutes in the morning 00:26:30.269 --> 00:26:31.849 and practice the presence of God? Is it hour 00:26:31.849 --> 00:26:34.369 in the morning? I don't know what you need, but 00:26:34.369 --> 00:26:37.470 I know it's the word, it's prayer, it's the community 00:26:37.470 --> 00:26:41.059 of believers and it's application. And you, walk 00:26:41.059 --> 00:26:43.859 and abide with Christ. And then the overflow 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:46.220 of that is you treat your mate empowered by the 00:26:46.220 --> 00:26:48.680 Holy Spirit. And then that overflows to your 00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.720 kids. And that overflows to a high capacity, 00:26:52.099 --> 00:26:54.359 nurtured, loved husband or wife who walks through 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:57.160 the door and goes to work. And then your work 00:26:57.160 --> 00:26:59.519 is done in the power of the Spirit with the support 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:01.599 of those relationships. And people wish they 00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:04.700 had a boss like you or an employee like you because 00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:07.710 of who shows up. And then your work is a testimony 00:27:07.710 --> 00:27:10.470 and then your ministry in local church or kingdom 00:27:10.470 --> 00:27:13.829 expansion. Do you see the difference? And so 00:27:13.829 --> 00:27:16.789 it's a fluid thing. And it's the spirit of God 00:27:16.789 --> 00:27:19.170 leading and showing you in this situation on 00:27:19.170 --> 00:27:21.329 this day. Now, you develop certain structures 00:27:21.329 --> 00:27:23.269 we're gonna talk about. I mean, there's certain 00:27:23.269 --> 00:27:24.970 things I need to do with my time on a regular 00:27:24.970 --> 00:27:27.170 basis. Certain things I need to do, develop that 00:27:27.170 --> 00:27:29.789 with my wife, with my God, with my kids, in my 00:27:29.789 --> 00:27:33.049 work. And we'll talk about those. But don't think 00:27:33.049 --> 00:27:34.730 of them as just literal. It never works that 00:27:34.730 --> 00:27:39.269 way. Just a linear one, two, three, four. Think 00:27:39.269 --> 00:27:43.450 about it as what do you need in every relationship 00:27:43.450 --> 00:27:48.470 so that the Spirit of God can allow love that 00:27:48.470 --> 00:27:50.769 you possess in your relationship with Jesus to 00:27:50.769 --> 00:27:53.869 come out of you into that relationship. And so 00:27:53.869 --> 00:27:56.130 you, especially if you're married, with your 00:27:56.130 --> 00:27:59.250 wife or husband, love in such a way that that 00:27:59.250 --> 00:28:03.599 flows into the life of your kids. And you know 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.299 what? If it's not happening here, don't export 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:08.400 it. See, what people do is they get the flow 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:10.680 in their relationship with God and maybe, but 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:12.940 often not with their mate. And then, you know, 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.500 since you get a lot more strokes at work, then 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:17.160 they take all that energy and take it to work. 00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:21.940 Or what a lot of women tend to do is they may 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:24.569 have it with God. And pretty soon there's all 00:28:24.569 --> 00:28:26.250 these needs and there's such fulfillment. Mommy, 00:28:26.450 --> 00:28:28.190 I love you and I need you and you helped my knee 00:28:28.190 --> 00:28:29.490 and you did this and you helped me with my homework. 00:28:29.589 --> 00:28:31.470 You're the most wonderful person. And that nurturing. 00:28:31.549 --> 00:28:35.170 And pretty soon, her second priority becomes 00:28:35.170 --> 00:28:39.829 the kids. And so he goes to work. She loves the 00:28:39.829 --> 00:28:42.809 kids. And they reconnect after 25 years of marriage. 00:28:42.910 --> 00:28:45.470 And that's why, other than the first five years 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:48.269 of marriage, the most dangerous zone of divorce 00:28:48.269 --> 00:28:52.309 is about 20 to 25 or 25 to 70. 27 years, depending 00:28:52.309 --> 00:28:56.009 on when your kids leave the nest. Priorities 00:28:56.009 --> 00:28:58.890 are about walking in the Spirit, and you can 00:28:58.890 --> 00:29:01.769 see a clear structure, but you don't necessarily 00:29:01.769 --> 00:29:08.089 do them one, two, three, four. Dwight Eisenhower 00:29:08.089 --> 00:29:11.049 made an interesting comment as president. He 00:29:11.049 --> 00:29:14.750 said, the urgent is rarely important, and the 00:29:14.750 --> 00:29:19.400 important is rarely urgent. The things that matter 00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:22.599 most, the things that will just take you down 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:25.180 the road and help you become the person you long 00:29:25.180 --> 00:29:27.599 to be, there's no gun to your head that says, 00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:30.140 develop a deep, intimate relationship with God. 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:33.819 Study his word. When there's 15 emails or 150 00:29:33.819 --> 00:29:38.819 emails to answer. Well, how do you get a hold 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:42.079 of them? I mean, how do you get a grip on it? 00:29:42.579 --> 00:29:45.500 We've looked at six ways that say, you know what? 00:29:46.009 --> 00:29:48.549 These are indicators. These are like six lights 00:29:48.549 --> 00:29:51.970 on the dashboard of your life telling you what's 00:29:51.970 --> 00:29:54.549 going on in your soul. And you know what? If 00:29:54.549 --> 00:29:56.650 you got two or three of those flashing, God's 00:29:56.650 --> 00:29:59.710 saying, hey, time out. And by the way, something 00:29:59.710 --> 00:30:02.630 I want you to hear, it will require, this is 00:30:02.630 --> 00:30:05.549 not one of those issues that you say, oh, I heard 00:30:05.549 --> 00:30:07.549 from God. I'm gonna start tomorrow and everything 00:30:07.549 --> 00:30:10.089 will be fine. You didn't get your priorities 00:30:10.089 --> 00:30:12.650 where they are that affects so many relationships 00:30:12.650 --> 00:30:16.009 like overnight. they don't change overnight. 00:30:17.349 --> 00:30:21.089 Someone has said, significant, lasting change 00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:25.950 never occurs without serious, prolonged thinking. 00:30:27.410 --> 00:30:31.430 The issue is not tweaking something. I'm not 00:30:31.430 --> 00:30:33.730 an expert, but I can just tell you, this is a 00:30:33.730 --> 00:30:36.950 smart group of people. If tweaking your priorities 00:30:36.950 --> 00:30:40.029 worked, they would already be fixed. Because 00:30:40.029 --> 00:30:42.569 you're smart people. I'm telling you, for many 00:30:42.569 --> 00:30:44.650 of you, what you have to realize is, what is 00:30:44.650 --> 00:30:47.289 my purpose? Why am I here? What season am I in? 00:30:47.470 --> 00:30:49.809 And it's not tweaking. It's saying, I've got 00:30:49.809 --> 00:30:51.750 all these things on my plate. That doesn't belong 00:30:51.750 --> 00:30:53.869 on my plate. That's not God's will. That's expectations. 00:30:54.289 --> 00:30:56.450 That doesn't belong on my plate. That was for 00:30:56.450 --> 00:30:58.609 the last season, but now this doesn't belong 00:30:58.609 --> 00:31:01.109 on my plate. Wait, this does, but I've got to 00:31:01.109 --> 00:31:03.250 make room. But that's really good, and I've always 00:31:03.250 --> 00:31:04.710 done it, and I love it, and people give me so 00:31:04.710 --> 00:31:09.240 many. Lordship, okay, Lord, this does. So it'll 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:13.740 take time to think, to ponder. Priorities and 00:31:13.740 --> 00:31:16.599 balancing your life really have to do with getting 00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:20.059 really clear on who you are, what God wants you 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:23.180 to do, and then getting a sense of holy urgency 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:30.039 and realizing life is passing. And you're gonna 00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:37.400 die. And I'm gonna die. And this unconscious 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:41.319 human, thought that we had that, you know, I'm 00:31:41.319 --> 00:31:43.960 going to kind of work on that next week. And 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:47.900 so we spend our life responding to details and 00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:51.160 data and feeling good about, I answered 75 of 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:54.839 the 150 emails. I returned all the calls. I did 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:58.920 my list. Is it the right list? Are you doing 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:02.480 the right thing? You know, you got to stop. I 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:04.500 mean, that's why coaches, I mean. They just call 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:06.720 time out. The momentum's going this way. They 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:08.599 scored three times in a row. Hey, I don't know 00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:10.220 what we're doing, but it's not the right thing. 00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:15.279 And some of us, we have those misplaced priorities, 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:17.720 and some of you have four or five of those symptoms. 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:21.400 And instead of stopping and saying, whoa, I got 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:26.119 to really reevaluate, we go faster. I'll multitask 00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:32.609 more. This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, 00:32:32.650 --> 00:32:34.690 and you've been listening to part one of Chip's 00:32:34.690 --> 00:32:37.450 message, The Peace and Power of a Prioritized 00:32:37.450 --> 00:32:40.670 Life, from our series, Balancing Life's Demands. 00:32:41.009 --> 00:32:43.150 Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful 00:32:43.150 --> 00:32:46.380 application for us to think about. Are you overwhelmed 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:49.359 by the pressure to do more, have more, and achieve 00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:52.099 more? In this 10 -part series, Chip provides 00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:55.140 practical biblical steps to help you move your 00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:58.160 life from chaos to contentment. Discover how 00:32:58.160 --> 00:33:00.660 to align your priorities around God's vision 00:33:00.660 --> 00:33:03.380 for your life and the discipline to not only 00:33:03.380 --> 00:33:05.759 put first things first, but keep them there. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:08.240 You're not going to want to miss a single program 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:11.599 of this series. Well, Chip's back in studio with 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:13.960 me now, and Chip, with summertime ending and 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:16.599 fall routine settling back in, this is a time 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:18.500 when a lot of people rethink their schedules 00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:21.299 and priorities. So why do you think it's so difficult 00:33:21.299 --> 00:33:23.819 for us to balance the many demands on our lives? 00:33:24.359 --> 00:33:27.519 Well, I think it's always been hard, and we live 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:30.400 in a world that a great majority of people are 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:34.609 overwhelmed. overcommitted and exhausted unless 00:33:34.609 --> 00:33:38.809 you identify where you're at, Dave. Unless you 00:33:38.809 --> 00:33:41.950 begin to think about who do I want to become 00:33:41.950 --> 00:33:45.690 and what's a strategy and a plan that aligns 00:33:45.690 --> 00:33:49.039 with our calendar and our schedules. but it really 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:51.920 got to get a hold of some key things like your 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:56.440 time, your energy, your money, and rethink those 00:33:56.440 --> 00:34:01.160 first so that what gets played out in terms of 00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:04.539 our family, our calendars, and our work just 00:34:04.539 --> 00:34:07.920 doesn't multiply the way it is. I mean, I am 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:11.440 guilty of trying to accomplish more in a week, 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:15.199 more in a day, more in a year than I can. As 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:19.389 people listened, To this message, I think they 00:34:19.389 --> 00:34:21.489 heard a number of symptoms. They'll think, oh 00:34:21.489 --> 00:34:24.829 my, how could anyone ever know about these things? 00:34:25.010 --> 00:34:28.289 Well, it's because I've lived them. And what 00:34:28.289 --> 00:34:31.110 I long for people to do is be able to break out 00:34:31.110 --> 00:34:34.730 of this cycle. I still struggle, but I've really 00:34:34.730 --> 00:34:37.769 broken out of it in major ways. And I have to 00:34:37.769 --> 00:34:40.809 recalibrate. Sometimes it's every six or eight 00:34:40.809 --> 00:34:44.809 months. Sometimes it's a big recalibration. like 00:34:44.809 --> 00:34:46.849 I did just about two, three months ago, where 00:34:46.849 --> 00:34:49.889 I just said, I have to rethink my whole calendar 00:34:49.889 --> 00:34:52.769 and my whole focus for the next year. And so 00:34:52.769 --> 00:34:56.710 we want to give people God's word on how to do 00:34:56.710 --> 00:34:59.329 that. Thanks for that setup, Chip. Well, I hope 00:34:59.329 --> 00:35:01.889 you'll join us for this entire series. And because 00:35:01.889 --> 00:35:04.690 this teaching is so applicable for every believer, 00:35:04.869 --> 00:35:07.110 let me encourage you to invite a few friends 00:35:07.110 --> 00:35:09.670 to listen with you, either through the Chip Ingram 00:35:09.670 --> 00:35:12.869 app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Well, 00:35:12.889 --> 00:35:15.190 with that, here again is Chip. You know, the 00:35:15.190 --> 00:35:18.909 older I get, I realize that life is lived in 00:35:18.909 --> 00:35:21.630 seasons. You know, there's different seasons 00:35:21.630 --> 00:35:23.789 and there's different priorities in different 00:35:23.789 --> 00:35:27.010 seasons. Whether you're kind of like young and 00:35:27.010 --> 00:35:28.849 a student, there's a set of priorities. And, 00:35:28.889 --> 00:35:31.969 you know, life changes for many. You get married, 00:35:32.090 --> 00:35:34.889 you have kids, empty nester, grandparents. Some 00:35:34.889 --> 00:35:38.570 of you are grandparents raising kids again. Physical 00:35:38.570 --> 00:35:43.179 limitations, job and career changes. Every season 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:47.199 of life demands that we stop, begin to ask ourselves, 00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:51.480 Lord, what season am I in? And are the priorities 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:54.420 that I have right now the priorities that you 00:35:54.420 --> 00:35:56.860 want me to have? We're going to go on a journey 00:35:56.860 --> 00:35:59.760 about balancing life's demands. And let's face 00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:02.159 it, most of us, and at least everybody I know, 00:36:02.340 --> 00:36:04.960 we try to take on too much. We're really busy. 00:36:05.059 --> 00:36:08.079 We feel overwhelmed. This series is about helping 00:36:08.079 --> 00:36:12.130 you balance and align your life. But I just want 00:36:12.130 --> 00:36:15.590 to warn you, it takes courage to evaluate, what 00:36:15.590 --> 00:36:17.829 am I going to let go of? Because it almost always 00:36:17.829 --> 00:36:20.590 means that someone gets a little bit disappointed. 00:36:20.889 --> 00:36:24.170 But here's the good news. Your life is given 00:36:24.170 --> 00:36:26.489 to you by God. He's got a set of priorities. 00:36:26.750 --> 00:36:29.329 He wants you to richly enjoy it. And when you're 00:36:29.329 --> 00:36:31.849 doing what he wants you to do, it's not just 00:36:31.849 --> 00:36:34.530 good for you. It's best for everyone around you. 00:36:34.650 --> 00:36:37.010 Hope you'll stay with us for this entire series. 00:36:37.090 --> 00:36:38.469 I think it's going to be a great time together. 00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:40.940 Looking forward to learning more from this teaching 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:43.679 chip. As we wrap up, I want to thank those of 00:36:43.679 --> 00:36:45.860 you who make this program possible through your 00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:48.670 generous financial support. Your gifts help us 00:36:48.670 --> 00:36:51.369 create programs, purchase airtime, and develop 00:36:51.369 --> 00:36:53.889 additional resources to help Christians live 00:36:53.889 --> 00:36:56.150 like Christians. Now, if you've been blessed 00:36:56.150 --> 00:36:58.329 by the ministry of Living on the Edge, would 00:36:58.329 --> 00:37:00.769 you consider sending a gift today? You can do 00:37:00.769 --> 00:37:04.469 that by visiting livingontheedge .org or by calling 00:37:04.469 --> 00:37:12.230 888 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 -6003 or visit 00:37:12.230 --> 00:37:16.489 livingontheedge .org. App listeners, tap donate. 00:37:16.989 --> 00:37:19.190 We want you to know how much we appreciate your 00:37:19.190 --> 00:37:22.150 support. Well, join us next time as Chip continues 00:37:22.150 --> 00:37:25.650 his series, Balancing Life's Demands. Until then, 00:37:25.670 --> 00:37:27.750 I'm Dave Drewy, thanking you for listening to 00:37:27.750 --> 00:37:29.889 this edition of Living on the Edge.