Last week, we began talking about how to be good stewards of our lives from Matthew 25.  Today, we are going to talk about to balance out the things of life.  “Your Life in the Balance.”

I Corinthians 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

Remember that the word “Steward” (oy-KON-ah-moss)  = “manager,” “superintendent,” “parental guardian,” treasurer,” “trustee.”   In other words, “one who protects through healthy & wise management of what another deems valuable.” 

Today, I want to talk to you about “Priorities vs. Pressures.”  I want to help you define Biblically what God-ordained priorities are & what are mad-made, self-imposed pressures.

In John 7 times it says Jesus knew his "hour" had come. He was patient, He was not stressed, He balanced his priorities. Why?

John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2   And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,  3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 

How could Jesus make it all happen.  Because Jesus saw the big picture.  He saw the end, He knew what He was supposed to be doing.

1 He knew he had come from God

2 He knew what his Father had given him to manage

3 He knew he was returning to his father

Those are the keys, from the "human" Jesus, on how to live a balanced life.  Randy Frazee, in his book, Making Room For Life, says that Jesus lived the same 168 hour week that we do.  That he had to fit everything in to the same 24 hours, just as we do.

I want to encourage you today to focus your mind on filling your day with fulfilling God’s priorities vs. becoming frustrated with consuming your day trying to tend to low-priority tasks that have very little eternal reward & very little earthly significance.

This encouragement is actually found in prayer form in Colossians 1.  As we talk about our “Life in the balance,” consider this verse:

Colossians 1:9-10 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Interestingly, the words “walk worthy” is taken from one Greek word (OX-ee-oh-ss) which was the word to describe something being “in equal weight to” something else.  For example, when two things would sit on a scale and the scales finally balanced out, they would declare that the two items were now “OX-ee-oh-ss” or “in equal weight to” each other.

Paul is encouraging believers here by saying that he is:

1)    Praying that we’ll grow in wisdom, knowledge (of the scriptures), and have discernment (“spiritual understanding”)

So that, (…now look at the words after “walk worthy,”),

2)    we would please Him…be fruitful in every good work…and increase in knowledge!

And HOW do we strike that perfect balance?  Answer:  “Walk in equal weight to” the Lord…obeying His words & setting His priorities in life!

You can find a list of Biblical Priorities in Ephesians 5:18-6:11 from which we will discuss how to MANAGE our lives in the weeks to come.  Today, however, we’re going to look at some major priorities that God wants us to grasp.

The following are God’s High Priorities for you according to God’s Word:

1. To Allow the Holy Spirit to Have Priority Over You!

Ephesians 5:18b  ...but be filled with the Spirit,

As wine controls a person’s thinking, heart, and actions, likewise, allow the Holy Spirit to have the same control (eg. They’ll listen to you and say, “Oh, that’s the Holy Spirit speaking!”).  When this happens, He will guide you to speak to someone about spiritual things, He will impress upon your heart to pray, read, talk, and meditate on truth.  He will encourage you to stay away from sin that can destroy your lives.  AND, to make sure you fulfill these other priorities (below).  This is the first and major priority of a believer’s life!

2. To Worship & Fellowship with Other Believers!

Ephesians 5:19-20  speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Another familiar passage is:

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

You see, it is here in this room where we collectively “rub-off” on each other & encourage each other to focus on, consider, ponder, mediate on things of Christ!  Positive things.  Spiritual things.  And, there is something about seeing it here AND seeing it together that makes for a long-lasting memory & impact on our hearts!

I remember seeing people affirm the truth of God’s Word as I preached and then seeing them come down to the alter and pray to get things right – a memory that will never leave me.  I have seen my own friends, family, and loved ones worship God in this place with all their hearts – and the sight of it has forever encouraged me to do the same!

There is something about worshiping & spending time together in this place with fellow believers!  You need that.  You can’t be strong without it…and it must be a priority for you.

Proverbs 27:17   As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

This world only dulls us.  But, coming here in this place we get sharpened again by the praise & worship, by hearing each other sing, by talking about spiritual issues, by praying with each other at the end of the services.  We sharpen each other!

3. To Meet The Needs Of Our Spouse

Ephesians 5:21-33  submitting to one another in the fear of God. ²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.   ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. ³⁰ For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ³¹ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ³³ Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Again, we’ll cover all these topics within this sermon series; but suffice it to say that the only way this works is for there to be mutual affection, submission, and appreciation for each other.

4. To Focus On Our Children

Ephesians 6:1-4  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: ³ “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”  ⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

We’ll cover these topics within this sermon series – but suffice it to say here that children will capture the “spirit” of the home just as much as they will capture the spoken word.  And, the way children will naturally & willingly honor their parents is if the parent has the right priorities in order!

Children will learn by observing you.  That is how you will ‘bring them up’ & ‘nurture’ them in the Lord.

One day, they will come to you to ask you ‘how they should do it’ and how I pray that their conversation begins with the words, “Hey Dad, when you made time for the Lord & going to church when we were young, how did you do it on the days when you were tired?” Etc…  Rather than, “I have no point of reference, so what in the world should I do?”

5.   To Work Hard, Work Honest, & Honor God in Your Work!

Ephesians 6:5-9  Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; ⁶ not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, ⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.  ⁹ And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Genesis 2:15  The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.

In fact, work will exist in the future kingdom of God in heaven.  The Bible speaks of crops that will require harvesting:

Revelation 22:2…On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month.

So, work in and of itself is not evil.  BUT, of course, any God-given blessing can be ABUSED and cause us to lose focus on the God-appointed priorities!

And we end where we started…

6. To Stay Close to God!

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” 

And you know that this passage goes on to discuss the Armor of God…

But what about the unpredictable insertions of life that get thrown at you unexpectedly that drag you away from all these nice priorities – I mean, life isn’t always nice, neat, and clean that allows us to fulfill these things every day, right?

True – life does throw unexpected curve balls at you that you absolutely have to tend to and possibly not meet these priorities (say, ‘family time’).  But, remember this, the more you demonstrate that you will live your life according to these priorities, the more your family will understand when you are forced to have to tend to one of these unexpected insertions in your life.

Sometimes these seasons of time are occasional & sometimes they are seasonal (e.g. like having to work two/three jobs), but these times are easier to take when the family knows that in whatever situations you face, you are striving to fulfill God’s Priorities – first!

If you love God, you pursue His priorities.

This is the essence of Matthew 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

So, what are your priorities this week? What is stressing you? Balancing it all starts with this:

Seeing your life with the end in mind.  Seeing your life as the big picture.

Imitate Jesus' balanced attitude:

-remember you've come from God

-he's given you what He wants you to manage so He'll give you the power

-you'll return to God one day to give your report