Notes - 5th November 06

Bible passages:
Psalm 18:25-36
Matthew 6:25-34
Also Matthew 5:23-24, 7:3-5, 8:21-22 & 23:25-26

We all struggle constantly to maintain a 'balance' in our lives, with all the different demands and pressures on us. We find it hard to distinguish the essential, from the urgent, the vital, the desirable, the less important etc. As the old phrase puts it, often we 'major on the minors, and minor on the majors' in life.

Can you think of three things (maybe more?) in your life at this time where this is true of you?

Are you able to identify if these values are imposed upon you, outside of your control? Which are self-chosen by yourself? If there was just one of the priorities that you could change tonight, which one would it be? Why?

In your efforts to maintain a balance in your life with God, others and yourself, can you think of a 'picture' that best describes what you feel about your struggles (e.g. plate spinning; ball juggling; hat swapping; race running; tightrope walking etc). Do you think God wants you to feel like this in balancing your life?

In our penultimate study from the Purpose Driven Life, we review what we have learned about what God's 5 priorities are for your life:

1. WORSHIP: you were planned for God's pleasure; your purpose is to love God through worship

2. MINISTRY: you were shaped for serving; your purpose is to show love for others through ministry.

3. EVANGELISM: you were made for a mission; your purpose is to share God's message through evangelism.

4. FELLOWSHIP: you were formed for God's family; your purpose is to identify with his church.

5. DISCIPLESHIP: you were created to become like Jesus; your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship.

Which of these priorities come easier to you than others? Which are the hardest for you? What steps can you take to get the balance right in your life?

I want us to look at some of the 'first things first' sayings of Jesus in Matthew's gospel to help us. Over all that we look at, I would want to say at the outset: don't add needless worry or guilt to your already pressured life that definitely tips the balance downwards. Instead think of God's grace that raises the balance heavenwards.

(Read Matthew 5:23-24): FIRST be reconciled to your brother, then your bring your gift to God. Why do you think this order is so important? What happens if we try and put it the other way around?

(Read Matthew 6:33): FIRST the spiritual, then the material. How often are you anxious about the temporal? How much do you believe the promise that if we will put God's claims and seek to do his will first, then we need have no anxiety about anything else?

(Read Matthew 7:3-5): FIRST judge yourself, then your brother/sister. Why are we so blind to our own flaws and so quick to notice the failings in others? Look up Galatians 6:1 and notice the last part of the verse!

(Read Matthew 8:21-22): FIRST what Christ wants, then what I want. Why should we always be wary of our own excuses, however reasonable they seem, and always be ready to obey Christ's commands, however unreasonable they may seem? Is it 'me first', or 'Christ first' for you?

(Read Matthew 23:25-26): FIRST the inside, then the outside. The Christian life is to be an inwardly cleansed life, leading to an outwardly reformed life. What is the great danger if we turn that priority around?

Balance, in your life, rests on getting first things first, putting the important things at the centre, and not allowing lesser priorities to push them aside. What has God challenged you about, from our study, in order to establish balance in your life?

If you have time, read (Luke 14:25-35), or read it in your own time. How do Jesus' priorities run counter, not only to the world's priorites, but also our own natural inclinations? How are you prepared to respond to the challenge of Jesus words in this passage today?