Balancing the Christian Life

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BALANCING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Proverbs 16:1 AV
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
I like it when a preacher preaches and then just surprises me with a twist at the end that pulls it all together and the truth is communicated. I enjoy it when a preacher is able to spend time building up a foundation and then revealing a truth.
The preaching I really like though, and you may have noticed it from my preaching style, is when a preacher gives me the title of the message, the passage of Scripture, and the main thesis right up front and then nails it down through the sermon. That is what I hope to do tonight.
The title of the message is Balance in the Christian life.
Man, with purpose, must plan, schedule and do all he can to maintain balance in his life before the Lord – while trusting God to supply the need.
You and I must do all that we can get our lives where they need to be but when it comes right down to it, we are going to need the hand of God to work in our lives if we hope to see God give us balance.

I. Having a Balanced Life is usually going to be a Fight

This is not a fight that is usually won in one battle. While some do have an organized life to others – there are none that have complete control in the area of balance. It is, rather, and ongoing side.

A. Complete victory cannot be achieved until there is an annihilation of the enemy

Annihilation can come by utter surrender are by being killed off.
In World War II, it look like the Japanese were possibly going to have to be subjugated city by city, and island by island because there were not going to surrender unconditionally, we thank the Lord that after two atomic bombs they did, because it saved countless lives and ruin on both sides.
But to have victory there must be annihilation for complete unconditional surrender by the enemy.

B. The enemy is sin and Satan

C. The enemy lives with in us

Inside of you there is an enemy. It is your sin; it is not going away until you get a new body. As longs as you are in that old body you are going to have to battle that sin, fight a fight with it daily. Now you can achieve victory – but it is a daily victory that is achieved and that is going to be a battle that must be fought our entire lives.
But there is another battle you will always fight in this life and that is on the outside, the world and its influences and it is an ever-changing battle. Just in raising my kids, times have changed immensely from when Hannah was a toddler.
If I have to fight the flesh daily that also tells me that I am always going to have to battle for balance as well.

II. The Need for Priorities

You need to realize what your priorities are.
· Well, when we think of priorities, we think of the common lists,
God, family, ministry, career, friends, self.
I don’t think that is the way that God meant for us to build our priority list.
I believe that His priority list that He wants (In other words, what God expects from His children) starts, ends, and is totally encompassed with Him.
Matthew 6:33 AV
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
So looking at that, I need to make sure that priorities include the things that God has given me and expects of me.

III. Classification of Priorities

A. My faith
B. My family
C. My fellowship
D. My fellows
My community and country
I was going to call these something different, but it didn’t work out.
I was goin to say my creature, clan, church and community, but that creature didn’t work.
My priorities should not be:
My career, my fame, my riches, my hobbies, my entertainment. Do those things matter - to a degree.

IV. The Priorities I Need to Balance

A. Have Personal Walk with God

daily devotion time
God made you and individual soul. You need to be devoted to Him.
2 Timothy 3:15 AV
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 17:21 AV
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

B. Have a Family Devoted to God

1. Make sure you have a family devotion time

God created the first family, your family needs to be devote to Him.
We need to make it something we do together and make sure it is a priority in the rest of my family to do on their own.

2. Make sure you and your family are in church

3. Raising and Teaching the children

4. Caring for your family

5. Providing for your Family

I must make sure that I am supporting myself through working for a living, sometimes only the husband, sometimes both husband and wife, sometimes the kids as well.

C. Faithfulness to God’s church in your life

The church belongs to the Lord, He gave Himself for it, I need to be faithful to it.
We live in a generation where the definition of the church is changing and even a generation that, as professing believers question the necessity of a local church.
1 Timothy 3:15 AV
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Some priorities I need to have concerning church

1. My membership

2. Attendance

3. My ministry

within in the church

4. Being a Giver

5. Being a witness

This is involve fulfilling the Great Commission, both here and around the world.

6. Bearing burdens and loving the brethren

· We must care for our families equally, we have been commanded to provide for them.

D. Fulfilling my obligations as a citizen

As long as they contradict those things that have to do with my my walk with God, caring for my family, and caring for my church - I need to fulfill those obligations.
It is a biblical madate.
Titus 3:1 AV
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Read Romans 13:1-7 and see if I’m wrong about obeying the government.
Listen, we live in republic, and this is for another sermon, but there is a great balance there as well as responsible citizenry.
1 Timothy 4:16 AV
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Take heed to yourself, your family and your God.
But all of that is part of my Christian life to various degrees in each of our lives.
Then we ask, God how do I do it all?
When we look at this list, it actually seems quite daunting.
t becomes quite unbelievable that I could ever accomplish it.
· The truth is, we have all failed, I have come way short on this seemingly inexhaustible list, but these things that are my responsibility as a believer.

V. Trust in God to help you

Now that I have worked to balance my life – I am going to trust God to adjust the rest
2 Corinthians 9:8 AV
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

VI. Maintain Balance

1 Corinthians 9:25 AV
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
A lot of people have used this verse to justify drinking or some kind of selfish lifestyle - but it is referring to the service of God. If I’m going to serve God, I need to serve him balanced.
What happens when I’m not in balance in of these areas:
A. My faith
B. My family
C. My fellowship
D. My fellows
If you are only about being personally faithful and your walk with God, you neglect others, and often your own family.
If you are only about being faithful before God, then you neglect things God expects of you and usually church, at often the government.
If you are only faithful to church, you will lose your family and neglect your personal walk for your public walk and always be fighting the powers that be in government.
If we are only faithful concerning our country then we will end up blindly following it and forget about the other things.
NO, GOD EXPECTS US TO BALANCE THEM ALL. WE CAN BALANCE IT ALL WITH GOD’S HELP.
Maybe you are like me, there are times when you feel like you have wasted things; that you are not all that God wants you to be, that you have failed your family, failed your spouse, you children, your parents, and your church. You know the problem is you – even though you tried to plan with purpose to have the right balances in life – you know that the problem is you.
You feel like you have at your wits end and you have done all in this balancing act of life to keep God first and you get discourage as you look around at others that care not for God, who spend their monies on things indiscriminately and we barely are making ends meet. We call out to God in having done all that we can, and we ask Him to bless our faith – let me tell you – he does.
BALANCING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
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