The
Hidden Key to Control Your Time and Your Life
Christ
Rules! Gospel of Mark Series (Part 4)
A
Sermon by Jim Hammond from Mark 1:21-38
Focus:
Christ
led a very busy life during his public ministry.
He never neglected what was important, to do what was urgent.
He demonstrated how to do this, giving us the hidden key to a
life of significance.
I.
How to Gain Control of your Time and Your Life
A.
Go to where the Key Is Hidden—the solitary place of Prayer (1:35)
B.
This Key (Prayer) REVEALS what is Important
C.
This Key IS the biggest potato
D.
Choose the Big Potatoes First (1:36-38)
E.
Then Act on the Small Stuff
Example:
Christ Rules!
The Chairman of the Civil Service Appellate Tribunal gave a great
example of avoiding the "Tyranny of the Urgent". The Civil Service has their own court system, a complete
separate court system than the rest of the country, for complaints in
the Civil Service department. The
highest court of this civil Service court system is the Appellate
Tribunal. 3 men sit on that tribunal and one is the chairman.
The Chairman is the top man of these three.
They hear all of the cases of the hundreds of thousands of cases
with civil servants. This
Chairman found himself in a situation where they had a backlog of cases
of more than a year and a half. And
it was increasing every week. And
this man was a Christian.
He was getting more behind every week.
I don't know how you would respond if you found yourself in this
position. Perhaps you would try to get the government to fund more money
to hire more clerks. Perhaps,
you would call the staff together and you would say "We are a year
and a half behind and getting further behind by the week, I want all of
you to put in 10 hour days until we get caught up."
This Chairman didn't do that.
He knew God's law. He did arise early. He
got up earlier than everyone else.
He did go into the office an hour before everyone else. But he went into his office to pray. Then he went into his fellow judges office and prayed for the
work they would be doing that day, and to every work station in the
department and pray for increased productivity, he prayed over the
secretaries work station. In
eleven months they were current in their case load and were keeping
current in the case load. Now
the man who told me this was an attorney and he knew this was
significant. In fact he was
convinced in the supernatural nature of what happened.
It was the operation of God's law not man's law that was at work.
Focus:
Christ
led a very busy life during his public ministry.
He never neglected what was important, to do what was urgent.
He demonstrated how to do this, giving us the hidden key to a
life of significance.
Are you ready
for the hidden key? First
let me give it to you in one verse.
But I’ll warn you up front, you won’t be impressed until you
see how it was lived out in context.
Here is the hidden key:
(Mark 1:35 NIV)
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus
got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he
prayed."
I.
How to Gain Control of your Time and Your Life
Read
Context: A Day in the Life
of Jesus on the day of Rest (1:21-34)
(Mark 1:21-34 NIV)
"They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus
went into the synagogue and began to teach. {22} The people were amazed
at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as
the teachers of the law. {23} Just then a man in their synagogue who was
possessed by an evil spirit cried out, {24} "What do you want with
us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you
are--the Holy One of God!" {25} "Be quiet!" said Jesus
sternly. "Come out of him!" {26} The evil spirit shook the man
violently and came out of him with a shriek. {27} The people were all so
amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new
teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and
they obey him." {28} News about him spread quickly over the whole
region of Galilee. {29} As soon as they left the synagogue, they went
with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. {30} Simon's
mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.
{31} So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left
her and she began to wait on them. {32} That evening after sunset the
people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. {33} The whole
town gathered at the door, {34} and Jesus healed many who had various
diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons
speak because they knew who he was."
What a busy
day:
·
He Spoke,
·
He cast out a demon
from a man who attended. (That
would sure wake you up in church wouldn't it?)
·
Healed Simon's Mother
in Law
·
That Evening word got
out, Crowds came to see Jesus, wanting to be ministered to, "whole
town", "all the sick and demon possessed".
·
Jesus was Exhausted:
Public speaking is exhausting.
When you combine public speaking with casting out demons and
healing sick people late into the night you have one exhausted person.
I would have
been tempted to sleep in the next morning.
I wouldn’t have been surprised at all if I read that the
disciples woke Jesus up to tell him the crowds were back.
But they didn’t. Jesus
was already up. He had been
up since before dawn.
The
Busy Servant Theme in Mark
Christ the
tireless servant is a prominent theme in Mark. Jesus life is portrayed
as full of good deeds. He
is so sought after His prayer time was interrupted, 1:35-37.
He is constantly shown as a man who needs to seek time out in a
solitary place. "As a
result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in
lonely places. Yet the
people still came to him from everywhere." (1:45--emphasis
again on the wilderness theme of dependence upon God).
In Chapter 2 Jesus comes home, the people quickly find out and
crowd the house. Jesus
sometimes had no time to eat, 3:20. Because he yielded to
perpetual calls for service, his friends said he was unbalanced, 3:21.
He leaves the crowd and is so tired he falls asleep and a storm
that is bad enough to scare tough fishermen doesn't wake him, 4:37-38.
He was pursued by the crowd when he sought rest, 6:31-34
(three references to a remote, quiet, and solitary place, [wilderness
theme] just before the miraculous bread giving sets us up to see the
parallel to the wilderness giving of Manna).
Here again he hadn't had a chance to eat. Afterward, He leaves to
go to the mountainside to pray.
As soon as he gets across the lake the crowds press again.
Later, He tries to keep a solitude purposely trying to keep his
presence secret but has his solitude intruded upon, 7:24.
9:30 shows another time he wanted a private time to teach his
disciples. His Servant role
is modeled, and the role of the servant leader is explicitly taught
(9:35; 10:42- 45).
(Mark 1:45 NIV)
"Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the
news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed
outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from
everywhere."
(Mark 3:20 NIV)
"Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so
that he and his disciples were not even able to eat."
(Mark 4:37-38
NIV) "A furious squall
came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly
swamped. {38} Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The
disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we
drown?""
(Mark 6:31-34
NIV) "Then, because so
many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance
to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet
place and get some rest." {32} So they went away by themselves in a
boat to a solitary place. {33} But many who saw them leaving recognized
them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
{34} When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching
them many things."(Mark 7:24 NIV)
"Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He
entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not
keep his presence secret."
(Mark 9:30 NIV)
"They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did
not want anyone to know where they were,"
{45} For even the Son of Man did not come to
be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.""
A.
Go to where the Key Is Hidden—the solitary place of Prayer (1:35)
Jesus
Got up Early, before light (the next
day)
Some of you aren't morning people.
The alarm goes off and you say "Good Lord, morning."
When you begin to meet the Lord though on a regular basis, your alarm
will go off and you will be saying "Good Morning Lord" I love
you. What are you up to
today? Can I be a part of
it? Jesus knew that time
alone in prayer would do him greater good than a couple more hours of
bodily rest.
The one who faced hunger by
saying "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God", also knew that man's rest does not
come by sleep alone. There
must be rest in the Father. I
am absolutely convinced from my own experience that things go much
better when I pray. Are you
convinced of this?
Notice
where Jesus goes to pray
The Deserted
Place. Literally the
wilderness place. He turns
from the crowds acclaim, returning to a place which recalls his
determination to fulfill the mission for which he has come into the
world. He purposes to go
back to the place of dependence through prayer and a determination to
remain under the role of suffering servant rather than Glorified Messiah
is at each point.
B.
This Key (Prayer) REVEALS what is Important
Prayer helps us keep God’s perspective in view.
It is a reaffirmation of “Not my will but Your will be done”.
God’s priorities are what we are pressing into when we pray.
Prayer is more than handing God our shopping list.
It is seeking his heart. Humbling
ourselves, emptying our selves, so that we can be filled with the
presence of God again. In that process God often clarifies our own heart.
He reveals to us what is really important.
He gives his insight to those who humble themselves before him
and seek him.
Learn There the Difference
between what is urgent and what is important
What is urgent is that the crowds are pressing in
demanding.
What is urgent is the urgency of sleep.
But what is important is prayer.
What is important is His mission.
If you want a life of significance then live for
that which lasts. Jesus
made some decisions to work for that which is eternal.
As good as it is to help people, Jesus knew that helping them
enter the kingdom for eternity was more significant than helping them
feel comfortable and healthy for now.
Object lesson:
Jar, Potatoes, Pecans, Rice.
A large jar half filled with rice, 1/3 filled with pecans or
walnuts (with the shells), then overflowing with potatoes, stacked up
above the mouth of the Jar.
A look at a busy day is much like looking
at a busy life. How you
fill your day, is a microcosmic picture of what you do with your whole
life.
Stats:
American adults watch television five times more
than they read. Studies from the University of Maryland and the
California Air Resource Board reveal that 18- to 64-year-olds spend, on
average, their minutes each day:
Sleeping...461
Working...211
Watching
TV...121
Doing
Housework...101
Traveling...78
Eating...69
Socializing...48
Recreation...31
Caring
for children...28
Dressing...28
Washing,
grooming...25
Reading...24
Conversing...24
Thinking
or relaxing...9
Significantly,
perhaps, worship and devotional activities did not appear in the
studies.
For
those of you who've asked that question, a recent poll by Priority
Management, Inc., has the answer. In
a lifetime, the average American will spend:
--Six
months sitting at stoplights
--Eight
months opening junk mail
--One
year looking for misplaced objects
--Two
years unsuccessfully returning phone calls
--Five
years waiting in line.
Have you ever wished you had more time?
Do you really think a thirty-hour day would help?
Surely this extra time would relieve the tremendous pressure
under which we live. Our lives leave a trail of unfinished business, Unanswered
letters, unvisited friends, unread books, unfinished projects.
Jesus only had 24 hours in each of His days.
Jesus who had the weight of the world on his shoulders
accomplished everything he needed to accomplish in his short lifetime
because He always sorted out the important things and did them.
We must learn from him.
C.
This Key IS the biggest potato
D.
Choose the Big Potatoes First (1:36-38)
Identify
your Big Potatoes
Jesus
knew his purpose and stuck with it
Choose
the Important over the Urgent
Jesus
Neglected the Urgent before he Neglected the Important
He Came to Preach
E.
Then Act on the Small Stuff
Jesus never
separated words and actions. Notice
Jesus gets up from his knees. Prayer
doesn't do the work for us it ‘preprayers” us to do the work
God wants us to do. It is
not done because it is stated.
One can buy the best possible books best possible desk, and
chair, and office equipment, then lay your head down on that desk and
sleep. One can buy a health
club membership and never exercise.
One who can preach but cannot reach is a lot like that.
Jesus’
solitude makes Him A Servant. There
is a connection between prayer and Action!
P.T. Forsyth
said “The worst sin is prayerlessness.”
We usually think of murder, or adultery, or stealing as among the
worst sins. But the root of
all sin is self-sufficiency—independence from God our creator. When we fail to pray we are saying , we do not need God.
Doing Christian Service alone apart from God and prayer is not
Doing Christian Service.
- Prayer
Opens the TRUTHS OF THE BIBLE about GOD, and OURSELVES and helps us
link these truths to our life.
Recap.
(Mark 1:35 NIV)
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus
got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he
prayed."
CHALLENGE/INVITATION:
This week, or today, or some time soon, will you consider taking
your bible, and a notebook and pencil, and leaving the house, and going
off to a solitary place for a while. Maybe you could go off to mingus mountain and overlook the
valley and pray. Maybe you
will go off to Oak Creek Canyon and sit by the murmuring water, maybe to
Peck’s lake, or to some little known spot of quietness and reflection.
1)
Will you do this?
2)
Then will you do something even more important than that.
Make sure your time with God is the big potato of EVERYDAY,
FIT EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND GOD, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Reported in American Demographics, July, 1990. "To
Verify," Leadership.
Reported in U.S. News
& World Report, 1/20/89. Leadership,
Vol. 10, no. 3.
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