Building A Margin In Your Life!!! Shalom Brothers and Sisters, life today is like living in the fast lane, we are always hustling and bustling from one place to another, rushing around to get everything done in a short period of time. Because of this we sometimes don’t have time for family and friends, but what is more important than that is that many today don’t have time for God/Yahweh!!! My friends, brothers and sisters, God/Yahweh is and should be of the most importance in our lives, nothing else should really matter, because what benefits are we going to gain from things that are only temporary? God/Yahweh is permanent and so is His Word!!! So it is time to slow down and to have time: Building A Margin In Your Life!!! The passage from the Word of God/Yahweh for today is Mark 16:15 that reads; “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”” Today I would like for us to join in Prayer: “Father/Abba, we are gathered today in Your House. To be given from Your Word the Bible, more understanding as to what you want for us to know. We get this through the Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh to pass on to Your children and ours, helping them to grow stronger in faith in Your Word. Thank you Father/Abba, for this gift!!! Be with me in Spirit/Ruach as You are with everyone gathered here today. In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ/Yeshua.” Amen!!! A Margin!!! What is a margin? A margin is a gap, space or time period… As we read in our passage today we are to spread the Good News to all. But, a lot of people even as Believers are on overload and headed for a crash. Consider these statistics as an example among U.S. citizens: People now sleep 2 1/2 less hours each night compared to people from one hundred years ago… The average workweek is longer now than it was in the 1960s… The average office worker has 36 hours of work piled up on his or her desk. It takes three hours a week just to sort through it and find out what we need… That spend eight months of our lives opening junk mail, two years of our lives playing phone tag with people who are too busy to answer, and five years waiting for people who are trying to do too much and are late for meetings… You see they are a piled-on, stretched-to-the limit society; chronically rushed, chronically late, chronically exhausted, but this is also everywhere by using the statistic’s from America was only for example in a bigger scale. Many of us feel like Job did when he said in Job 3:26; “I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” Overload comes when we have too much activity in our lives, too much change, too many choices, too much work, too much debt, and too much media exposure. (Example): It was once said; “The conditions of modern day living devour margin. If youre homeless we direct you to a shelter. If youre penniless we offer you food stamps. If youre breathless we connect you to oxygen. But if youre margin less we give you one more thing to do. Margin less is being thirty minutes late to the doctors office because you were twenty minutes late getting out of the hairdresser because you were ten minutes late dropping the children off at school because the car ran out of gas two blocks from a gas station and you forgot your purse. Thats margin less.” You see we all need a margin in your life. When youre not hurrying and worrying all the time, you have time to think. Time to relax. Time to enjoy life. Time to be still and know that God/Yahweh is God/Yahweh, we read in Psalm 46:10; “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”” Now let me give you three benefits to enable you to have a margin in your life: In Ecclesiastes 4:6 it says; “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” Margin is the space between your load and your limit. Your load should never be heavier than your limit. But the truth is most of us are far more overloaded than we can handle; we have no margin for error in our lives. Again it was once said; “Margin less is not having time to finish the book youre reading on stress. Margin is having the time to read it twice. Margin less is our culture. Margin is counterculture, having some space in your life and schedule. Margin less is the disease of our decade and what is margin? It is the cure.” Here are the three immediate benefits youll receive by building margin into your life: (1) Better health!!! Unrelenting stress harms our bodies. We all know that, yet we let it continue day after day after day. Many times the only time we get margin in our lives is when the heart attack almost happens, or does happen, or the blood pressure skyrockets. Why do we wait until our health plummets before we make this decision? Why not realize that we need to build some margin into our lives now? The truth is, your body needs downtime in order to heal… (2) Stronger relationships!!! Lack of margin is one big reason for the collapse of families today. When we dont make relationships a priority and make time for each other, our relationships suffer. The truth is relationships take time, and margin provides that time to sit and talk, to listen and enjoy one another, and to provide the comfort that we each need… (3) Usefulness in ministry!!! When youre overloaded by activity, you can only think of yourself. Youre in survival mode, just trying to make it through another day. But being available to God/Yahweh for his use makes all the difference in this world. When you have no margin in your life and God/Yahweh taps you on the shoulder, saying; “Id like you to do this for Me,” and your first response isnt joy. Your first response is; “Oh no! Another thing to do!!! Sorry, God/Yahweh, Id like to do that, but Im just too busy.” … WHAT? We end up resenting the great opportunities God/Yahweh brings into our lives. But when you have margin, youre available for God/Yahweh to use. You dont have to live on overload. You dont have to live in survival mode. Begin today to build a buffer around your schedule, then enjoy the benefits of margin and see what God/Yahweh does next!!!! Now again I would like to give you three steps to decrease the stress in your schedule and help increase your margin building: In Proverbs 10:27 we read; “The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.” Do you ever get to the end of your day and think; “Did I accomplish anything?” Where does all the time go? If you dont master your schedule, it will master you!!! Here are three suggestions from the Bible for reducing the stress of your schedule and increasing the margin: (1) Line up your priorities!!! Obviously, you dont have time to do everything, so you must make choices. You must decide whats really important and what isnt. Take some time to consider the direction of your life. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:24; “A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” And in Proverbs 12:11; “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” Also in Proverbs 16:9 we read; “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” . (2) Lighten up your attitude!!! Do you really have to do everything on your to-do list? No one is holding a gun to your head; a lot of your stress is SELF-imposed. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 12:25; “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” And in Proverbs 14:30 it says; “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Then in Proverbs 17:22 we can read; “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (3) Look up to God/Yahweh!!! Stress is always a warning light that youve taken your focus off God/Yahweh and are looking at your problems from your limited viewpoint. I believe the single greatest cause of stress is this: We take ourselves too seriously and we dont take God/Yahweh seriously enough!!! So, how can we manage margin our lives? It is all about TIME!!! Jesus/Yeshua gave us many examples of this in the Bible. For example in Mark 6:31 He told us; “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.”” Jesus/Yeshua experienced enormous stress and pressure, yet it didnt seem to disturb His peace of mind. In spite of opposition, constant demands, and little privacy, His life reflected a calm sense of balance… What was His secret? (1) Identification: Know who you are, as seen written in John 8:12; “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” Eighteen times Jesus/Yeshua publicly defined Himself. There was no doubt in His mind as to who He was. If you are unsure of your identity, youll allow others to pressure you into their molds. Trying to be someone youre not causes stress!!! (2) Dedication: Know who you want to please, as we read now in John 5:30; “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” You cant please everyone. Even God/Yahweh cant!!! Just about the time you get crowd ‘A’ happy, crowd ‘B’ will be upset with you. Jesus/Yeshua never let the fear of rejection manipulate Him. No one can pressure you without your permission!!! (3) Organization: Set clear goals, as we read in John 8:14; “Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.”” Note here: Jesus/Yeshua said; “I know where I came from and where I am going.” Preparation prevents pressure but procrastination produces it. You work by either priorities or pressures!!! (4) Concentration: Focus on one thing at a time, as we see in Luke 4:42-44; “At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” You cant chase two rabbits at the same time!!! Jesus/Yeshua knew how to handle interruptions without being distracted from His primary goal!!! (5) Delegation: Dont try to do everything yourself, read in Mark 3:14; “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” We get tense when we feel it all depends on us. Jesus/Yeshua enlisted twelve disciples. Dont allow the fear that others may not do as good a job as you, or that they may do a better job than you, to keep you from asking for help!!! (6) Meditation: Make a habit of prayer, told in Mark 1:35; “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.” No matter how busy Jesus/Yeshua got, He found time to get alone to pray every day. A daily quiet time is a great stress decompression chamber. Use this time to talk to God/Yahweh about your pressures and problems, evaluate your priorities, and discover the rules for successful living by reading the Word of God/Yahweh!!! (7) Relaxation: Take time to enjoy life, read in Mark 6:30-31; “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 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.”” Balance is the key to stress management. Work must be balanced with fun and worship!!! So, having a margin in lifestyle will give you to have a less stressful, better balanced and relaxed life. All under the guidance of God/Yahweh, Christ Jesus/Yeshua and the Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh!!! If this is what you want in your life, then start today to: Building A Margin In Your Life!!! Let us also end the message today in Prayer: “O Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua and Father/Abba our God/Yahweh Almighty, help us to have a less stressful life. Help us to slow down and not be like everyone else in the world. We are your children, let us act and do what you require and ask of us to do. Let us build our life like Christ/Yeshua lived His life, free from fear, stress and pressure. We too can have this, just help us to have a margin in our life, in our time period. Help us schedule our life according to Your Word the Bible, and live according to Your laws and Commands written there for us to follow. By doing this we will have a peaceful and happier life, shining in Your light and having the body of Christ/Yeshua in us always, shielded by the Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh that You pour on us… Let us praise You Adonia, giving You Glory at all times and always in the name and shed blood of Jesus/Yeshua… Hallelujah, Amen!!!” Be Blessed brothers and sisters with a margin in your life to give to God/Yahweh and remember always that Jesus/Yeshua is Lord, Jesus/Yeshua is Lord, Jesus/Yeshua is Lord… Hallelujah, Amen!!! PastorJeff Walker
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 08:25:23 +0000