WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:13.439 The term you're about to listen to is part of a series called Live App. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:21.280 In this series, we are looking for Christ-centered solutions to everyday problems. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:25.359 I hope the messages in this series are encouragement to you. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.559 Try to follow Christ every day. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:32.719 755. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:37.119 At 755 tomorrow morning, it all changes. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:39.759 Yeah, Will's excited in the back. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:40.320 I know. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:47.359 Will Colvin is more excited about the beginning of the school year than anyone I've ever met in my entire life. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:51.359 But I know that's not everyone's sentiment in the room. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:01:12.159 Uh because at 7.55 tomorrow morning, when that bell rings, uh, parents and students, you're gonna be exchanging um really that more relaxed, leisurely pace of a summer morning uh for something that is uh much quicker and more frenetic. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:23.760 And pretty quickly what happens in a person's life is that the frenzy of the morning, the frenzy of the school year, it begins to wear people down. 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:33.120 That's why, even during the very first week of school, some of you in this room will discover this fact. 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:35.599 You're always running late. 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:37.920 You're never on time. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.599 And you've seen it before and you've done it before. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:51.920 It started in your home on a school morning when everyone in your house decided just to sleep five minutes late. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.319 And you think to yourself, it's only five minutes. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:58.239 What's five minutes? 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:06.239 I can catch up, I'll make up that time somewhere else, I'll do something quicker, I'll be right back on time, no problem. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:28.479 But inevitably, here's what happens: that five minutes becomes six minutes because your child goes and they're gonna go brush their teeth, but they can't find their toothbrush, which sets everybody else back in your home a minute, and somehow they're looking for their toothbrush, they're pulling everything out, and then they remember, oh, I left my toothbrush in my closet, right? 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:30.639 You've had that moment before. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:48.319 And inevitably, those six minutes become seven minutes because you're standing in your kitchen, you're watching your kids go to their room to get dressed, and you're drinking your coffee, you're already uh dressed for work, you're drinking your coffee and you just spill it down the front of your shirt, and you're like, I've got to go change. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:03:24.400 And so that adds another minute, and then the seven minutes become eight minutes when you're ready to get out the door, and you're like, oh, I forgot to fill up all the water bottles for everyone to take, for me to take one to work and the kids to take one to school, and I need water bottles, and then you look at the sink and you realize, well, the water bottles are dirty water bottles at this moment, and so you have to wash three or four or five water bottles all by hand, and then those eight minutes become nine minutes because your kids are already dressed, and then one of them wanders up to you and says, Mom, did you forget there's a wildcat game tonight, and I have to wear my jersey? 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:27.199 I have to wear wildcat gear today. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:30.879 And you're like, Well, all the wildcat gear's dirty, so what do you do? 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:32.479 Well, you go to the dirty clothes. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.479 Come on, admit it, you do it. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:45.280 And you just rifle through all the dirty clothes and you find the least dirty uh t-shirt that has an El Dorado Wildcat on it. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:47.919 And you say, Here, put this on. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:55.759 And you just assume no one's gonna see like the fingerprints of Cheetos down the front. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:10.080 And then those nine minutes that you're behind become ten minutes because everyone gets in the car and everybody's buckled up, but then you realize, oh, I forgot my laptop and you have to run inside, or your child's like, oh, I forgot my lunch and I have to go inside. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:22.319 Finally, everyone gets in the car and you drive to the school and you screech through the drop-off line, you're ten minutes late, and your child hops out, their shoes are untied, they didn't have time to tie them. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:27.839 They're like jamming a pop-tart down their gullet because they didn't have time to eat breakfast. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:34.079 And you pull out of the parking lot and you're gonna head off to work, but then out of the corner of your eye, what do you see in the floorboard of your car? 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:47.519 You see the homework that they left, you see the lunchbox they forgot, and so you whip back around through the same drop-off line and you're like, here it is, and you rush inside and you drop it off at the office, and they're late for school, and now you're late for work. 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:51.120 You should have never scheduled that meeting first thing in the morning. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.639 It just feels like you're always running late. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:02.160 And on mornings like those, uh, mom and dad, it just feels like you've already had a 12-hour shift before the day's even begun, doesn't it? 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:10.319 And your child, when they're late for school, like they're they're sweaty and their face is flushed right when they arrive in that classroom. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:15.040 Now, that morning I just described may hit a little too close to home for some of you. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:17.680 Um you're like, I live that. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:19.519 I know what it's like. 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:25.439 Or some of you, you just want your weekday to run a little smoother, less shouting, less arguing. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:32.160 Um, so maybe you should consider some of these time-saving uh life hacks so that you're not running late in the morning. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:33.199 Here's one. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:40.800 Um, have you ever noticed that in the morning your kiddos or you, uh, as you're getting dressed in the morning, you lose track of time. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:46.160 You you forget how long it takes you to do certain things or should take you. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:54.720 And so instead of spending just a couple minutes brushing your teeth, you spend five minutes or uh five minutes too long preparing your eating breakfast. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.279 So here's an idea: create a playlist. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:06.240 Create a playlist and let a song on the playlist be for each of the activities that you have to complete in order to get out the door. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:12.560 So you know when that song's over, what you advance to the next step in getting ready that morning. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:14.000 Or another idea. 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:20.879 Uh, one of the things that takes a lot of time in the morning is arguing over what we're gonna wear, thinking about it. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:30.240 So maybe just take a time uh on the weekend before to set out and to plan out all the outfits and all the wildcat gear that you're gonna need for Friday night. 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:32.160 And then hang it up in their closet. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.519 Maybe use a like a sweater organizer or something like that. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:38.160 One final idea. 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:49.839 Maybe your family runs late uh because your kiddos, they can't keep track of their brush, their toothbrush, their deodorant, their face wash, like they never know where anything is. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.560 It's it had to have been a troll that like went through their bathroom every day. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:03.759 Well, maybe you just get a basket and you put it on uh their vanity top on the top of their bathroom counter and you just say, hey, this is where you put every single thing. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:16.319 And it doesn't necessarily look pretty, but it's at least in their eyesight and in their vision, so they're reminded that this visual cue of where to put things and where to pull from on a morning uh routine. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:23.600 So those life hacks, they have the potential actually to make your life a little easier by helping you what? 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:25.600 Be on time. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.480 But that may not be your problem when it comes to time. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:35.920 You may be the person who is always five minutes or ten minutes early. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:38.319 But you've still got a problem with time. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:44.800 Maybe your problem with time is that it just feels like you never have enough of it. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:47.920 You always wish there was more. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:08:01.279 Don't worry, I bet if you scour the internet long enough this afternoon, you'll find an article, you'll find a video on YouTube that's gonna show you how you can have more time, you can make more of your time, you can be more efficient and more productive. 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:12.959 But here's the thing: when it comes to these life hacks, do they actually solve our real problem when it comes to time? 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:17.600 Do they solve our real problem when it comes to time? 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:23.759 Is our real an actual problem that we aren't on time? 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:28.800 Is our real an actual problem that we don't have enough time? 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.840 Or are we actually only scratching the surface? 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:37.759 Listen to this quote by a guy named Charles Hummel. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:40.159 He wrote it 40, 50 years ago, and he said this. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:44.720 He said, Have you ever wished for a 30-hour day? 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:46.639 Has anyone ever made that wish before? 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.679 You wish you just had like six more hours on the average day? 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:50.720 Anybody? 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:56.879 A couple of the kids are willing to admit that, and the adults are like, I've never wanted more hours in the day. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:57.519 I have plenty. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:00.879 It's like, no, I've heard many of you say that before. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:08.000 And then he goes on, he said, but would that longer day really solve our problem? 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:15.600 Would we soon be just as frustrated as we are now with our 24-hour allotment? 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:20.159 We could hardly escape Parkinson's principle. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:26.879 Work expands to fill all the available time. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:29.039 Hear that principle again. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:33.360 Work expands to fill all the available time. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:42.399 And then he goes on to say, when we stop long enough to think about it, we realize that our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:52.080 It is basically, and hang on to this, it is basically a problem of priorities. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:02.399 Our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time, it is basically a problem of priorities. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:16.320 So when you get beneath the surface and get to the actual problem, your problem and my problem is not being on time or having enough time. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:21.840 Our problem is a prioritization of time. 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:27.759 How do we decide to use it on the front end? 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:32.639 Maybe that's why Moses in Psalm 90, verse 12, said this. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:34.879 Psalm 9012, just listen to these words. 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:42.720 It says, Teach us to use wisely all the time we have. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:48.639 Teach us to use wisely all the time we have. 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.639 With those words, here's what Moses reminds us of. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:01.759 That's why you have to prioritize how you use it. 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:16.480 You can't buy more time on Amazon, you can't borrow more time from a friend, you can't trade time, you can't transfer it from today to tomorrow or transfer it from this year to next year. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:22.159 So you must prioritize how you use it. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.399 Now notice this Moses in Psalm 90, verse 12, what does he do? 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:28.240 He cries out to God. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:37.759 He asks God for guidance on how to prioritize, how to use his time wisely on this earth. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:45.600 Moses asks God, because Moses knows that God is the giver of hours, the giver of days and of weeks and of years. 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:56.399 Moses understands that if God is the one who creates time, then God is the one who can show us how to rightly prioritize our time. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:06.000 That means our core problem when it comes to time cannot be addressed with a creative solution we find on the internet. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:22.080 So in week two of this series, we're calling life hacks, we're gonna find a Christ-centered solution to this core problem with regard to time, the prioritization of time. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:30.320 Because only God, listen, only God, only Jesus, can rightly order our priorities. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:37.120 As we seek to really understand this Christ-centered solution, here's what we're first gonna do. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:42.480 I want us to have an even better grasp on what our core problem is. 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:56.080 And one of the stories in Scripture that I think puts flesh and blood on the problem that you and I face, on this everyday problem, uh, is recorded in Luke chapter 10. 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:08.000 In Luke chapter 10, we're gonna read a story about Jesus who one day is on a travel, he's on his way to Jerusalem, and he visits the home of two sisters. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:12.080 A sister named Martha and her sister named Mary. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:16.159 And in Luke chapter 10, the story begins this way. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:34.320 Luke chapter 10, verse 38 says this as Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:40.559 Her sister Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he taught. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:47.120 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:56.320 She came to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:59.919 Tell her to come and to help me. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:04.240 Has anybody ever been in Martha's shoes before? 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:08.559 Anyone ever hosted a big dinner at your home? 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.360 It was a big dinner for a family birthday? 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:22.159 Or you're gonna have over your whole family for a holiday meal, your cousins and your kissing cousins, you're gonna have them all together under one roof. 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:31.360 And whenever you're preparing a meal uh for more than just your immediate family, you've got everybody coming together for a big dinner. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.720 There's a lot that you have to think about, right? 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.600 You have to, you kind of have to order how you prepare the menu. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:47.919 You have to think about uh what you need to buy at the grocery store, and you have to check it against what you already have in your cabinet. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:15:11.120 And then as the day arrives, not only you're preparing a meal in the kitchen, you're preparing uh place settings for people to sit, you're making sure you have enough chairs available, you're making sure that the table is clean, and then actually you prepare the meal, and there's you have to think about like what should I cook first and what can be heated last and what's gonna take the longest time to cook. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:16.639 There's all of these things that you have to think about when you prepare a big dinner. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:28.480 And all of us know, like, what's going through our mind the entire time we're preparing a big dinner for our family is is it gonna be ready on time? 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:29.600 Right? 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:39.279 And maybe you have someone in your family who always has you over, or maybe you're this person, sorry, who always has people over and people are like, she says it'll be 11. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:41.679 We know it's 1145, right? 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:44.320 You know that person in your family? 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:50.000 Or you think to yourself, um, you don't have enough time to prepare the food. 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:54.399 How am I gonna make it all in the midst of everything that's going on in life? 00:15:54.639 --> 00:16:06.159 Like these big family dinners, they're they're a fun experience, but there's also a little bit of anxiety and worry, and you feel a little overwhelmed. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:17.440 I always remember when my great-grandmother, I just thought of this, my great-grandmother always made our our family meals at the holidays. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:22.399 So she would spend like half a week, right, for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.799 And do you know what happened when we all sat down to eat? 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:28.720 She never ate. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:30.240 She never ate. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:32.559 She's like, I don't really want to eat right now. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:33.840 I'm just tired. 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:37.600 I've spent all week doing this, I'm done, I'm good. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:38.879 Right? 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:40.080 Like we do all these things. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:53.360 We've been in Martha's shoes where we feel this anxiety growing, and it just so happens that on this day she's preparing this big dinner, and then something else gets added into the mix. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:58.639 There's like this unexpected, someone's at the door. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.440 And she welcomes Jesus into her home. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.759 She gets Jesus squared away. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:09.119 Hey, here's a place to sit. 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:10.960 Can I get you something to drink? 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.440 Anything else I can get for you? 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:18.960 She gets Jesus squared away, Martha does, and then what does she do? 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:21.119 She goes about her day. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.039 She gets him squared away and she goes about her day. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.279 That big dinner's not going to prepare itself, is it? 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:39.119 So she's chopping and she's cooking and she's cleaning, all the while her sister Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:49.200 Mary stops what she's doing so that she can listen to everything that Jesus is gonna say. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:56.160 Now eventually uh Martha gets really peeved at her sister. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:07.440 She's like, I mean, she's got two feet, she's got two hands, she can read a recipe, right? 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:14.000 Like she's like rushing around the kitchen, rushing around the home, and her sister's just sitting there. 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:15.279 And what does she do? 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:20.720 She goes to Jesus, hey Jesus, I know you're talking, but I have something I can ask you. 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:21.759 Jesus. 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:25.599 Yeah. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:28.799 Could you like tell her to help me? 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.359 Tell her, like, I'm really stressed out. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:38.480 Tell her the food's not gonna be ready on time, Jesus. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:41.440 Please, just Jesus. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:42.880 Help me. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.160 I feel I feel like she's taking advantage of me, Jesus. 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:57.119 And Jesus looked at Martha and said this. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.519 My dear Martha. 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:01.039 I like that. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:02.400 My dear Martha. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:04.160 I love you, Martha. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:05.839 I care about you, Martha. 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:07.839 I value you, Martha. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:14.000 You are worried and upset over all these details. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:19.839 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.359 Mary has discovered it. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.319 And it will not be taken away from her. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:33.119 You cannot overstate the importance of Jesus' assessment at that moment. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:47.279 Because in that moment, Jesus' reply summarizes us how this problem with the prioritization of time manifests itself on a daily basis. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.680 Because you and I, I think here's our problem. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.720 You and I, we are like Martha, right? 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:58.799 We choose all the details. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:07.519 We choose what is urgent over what is important. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.119 All the details are urgent. 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:15.279 The meal needs to be cooked, the meal needs to be prepared. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:23.039 We choose that urgency of that moment over the one thing that is important. 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:27.200 Or you could say it this way. 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:33.680 Often in life, I choose the immediate over the ultimate. 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:41.839 I choose the optional over the essential. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:50.640 Or I choose what's a waste over what is wise. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:59.279 I'm a guy, like on my phone, I'm I'm sort of driven by my to-do list and my reminder list. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:06.160 And in my reminder list, like that's how I kind of organize my day. 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:14.559 And I don't know about you, but there's this temptation because my reminder list, I am so like accomplishment. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.519 I want to accomplish a task, whether it's great or small. 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:19.839 I hate having loose ends in life. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.319 I hate leaving things undone. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:36.319 And I just love it if I can like click the little uh the button beside it where it then disappears off the list, like, I did it, give me a gold star to get that urgent task out of the way. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.359 It's easy for me to choose what's urgent. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:53.440 But I can't confuse what is urgent in my life for what is important in my life. 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.759 To not start the day with the urgency of. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:12.240 The reminder and instead start it with what's important time with Jesus, like that Sister Mary experienced in that moment. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:18.240 Or maybe for the high school students and junior high students, you begin your morning. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:34.400 Listen, you begin your morning, and the first thing you do is you wake up, your alarm goes off, and the first thing you do is you just grab your phone and you look at it, and then you click the Instagram and then you scroll it, and then you clap the TikTok and you scroll it. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:42.640 Who's liked something? 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:43.759 Who's posted something? 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:47.119 Who's shown me something that I haven't seen before? 00:22:48.799 --> 00:23:04.960 Well, listen, we cannot confuse the immediate kind of gratification that we get when we watch a new video or we share an experience on social media with a friend so I can talk about it with them when we get to school. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:13.680 We can't confuse that immediate gratification for the one thing, Jesus Christ, who gives us ultimate satisfaction. 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:22.079 You see, you're you don't maybe don't work in the kitchen very often, teenagers, junior high kiddos, but listen, you've got all the details in life too. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:24.400 They just look a lot different. 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:29.039 Think about all the details. 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.799 All the details. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:47.759 And we're going into this new school year, and you're just making a choice, and you're gonna fill your family's calendar with every after-school activity that you can, Monday through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:54.559 And the reason we do it is for there are so many reasons. 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:56.799 There are so many reasons we do that. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:02.240 We do it because I enjoyed that activity and I want my child to enjoy that activity. 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:07.519 Uh we do it because our child expresses interest in that activity, and that's not bad. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.680 That is not bad at all, right? 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:11.279 It's not bad. 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:13.440 It's not bad. 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:22.319 Or sometimes we um sign our kids up because we see like that's what other parents do with their kids, right? 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:28.000 And I don't want my child to feel left out or get left behind if they're not doing X, Y, and Z. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:37.599 And we're so aware of that because our friends post pictures on Instagram and Facebook, and we're like, I know what every one of my friend's kids do every single day of the week. 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:44.720 And I guess my kid, they're not having a great life if they're not doing all of those things every single day of the week. 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:48.640 But I want you to hear this. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:53.759 As we kind of, we're gonna drill down some real practical ways, but hear this first. 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.440 Every after-school activity is an optional activity. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:02.799 After school activities are optional activities. 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:09.599 And we have to be people, moms and dads with kids in our home. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:17.440 Listen, we have to be people who don't confuse what is optional for what is essential. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:28.880 We cannot confuse the optional after school activity that happens Monday through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the essential relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:40.799 And then, you know, um many of us, if we're being honest, we uh organize our day around things that are a total waste of time. 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:42.160 Right? 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:50.079 We waste our time watching mind-numbing amounts of television, binging on Netflix, hanging out on YouTube. 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:52.799 We waste our time gossiping about other people. 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:56.079 Not only is it a sin to gossip, it's a waste of time to gossip. 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:59.759 We waste our time trying to solve problems that aren't ours. 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:05.200 We try, we waste time trying to diagnose the motivations of people who do certain things. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:08.400 We just talk about and talk about and talk about things. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:13.039 We waste time in so many ways. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:20.480 And we confuse those wastes of time for the one thing that is truly a wise use of our time. 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:29.519 You see, you and I to varying degrees, we face the same problem as Martha. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:39.920 We prioritize our time around the urgent, the immediate, the optional, and even things that are a waste. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:47.680 So thankfully, Martha, she's got a sister named Mary. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:52.880 And Mary knows the Christ-centered solution. 00:26:53.119 --> 00:27:05.839 I love this phrase, I love the translation, the New Living Translation, when Jesus says, Mary knows, Mary knows there is only one thing worth being concerned about. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:10.240 Some of y'all need to hear that this morning, don't we? 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:22.640 Mary knows what there's only one thing worth being concerned about, and it's not all the details, all the options, all the things that are a waste. 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:31.119 That's why in the midst of her day, Mary has one priority. 00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:34.160 Jesus comes and she stops what she's doing. 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:39.680 She listens to what he says, she sits at his feet. 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:45.119 Because she in that moment, what is what does Mary choose in that moment? 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:52.079 Mary chooses in that moment what is important, what is ultimate, what is essential, and what is wise. 00:27:54.480 --> 00:28:02.319 So to follow the example of Mary means that you and I have to prioritize Jesus. 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:10.079 Prioritize hearing his words, listening to his voice. 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:16.240 Because Jesus, hear it again, Jesus is the one thing worth being concerned about. 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:23.599 Not all of the details that we often react to. 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:30.799 And really, here's the thing, to truly apply, right? 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:41.759 To truly apply kind of what we see occurring in Luke 10 to our lives so that we can address this prioritization of time. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:53.839 Because it's not enough to say Jesus is my priority, right? 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:58.400 It's really easy for those words to be empty. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:05.440 Or for us to even use kind of church words and say, Jesus is my Lord. 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:08.559 It's really easy for words to be empty. 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:12.000 So we're gonna have to really be intentional. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:18.640 By that I mean to solve this problem, you and I, we have to be proactive and not reactive. 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:22.559 We have to be proactive and not reactive. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:36.160 Because Satan is gonna do everything in his power to keep you from actually making Jesus the priority of your life and the priority of your family's life and the priority of our church. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:40.799 He's gonna get us caught up in all the details. 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:48.319 Here's a couple of ways you can be proactive. 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:50.240 Here's a couple ways you can be proactive. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:53.599 Two, I think, easy practical steps that you can do. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:55.119 You can do them this afternoon. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:30:00.400 I would encourage you, do them this afternoon, especially if your family is about to enter into the school year. 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:10.400 This afternoon, if you don't already have one, establish a daily and weekly rhythm for your family where Jesus is the priority. 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:25.359 Start with a blank calendar, Monday through Friday, and put on that calendar, on the daily, where and when you will meet with Jesus, just like Sister Mary did. 00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:35.359 And then on the weekly, where and when will my family meet and listen to Jesus? 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:43.039 Where and when will my family meet and listen to Jesus? 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:49.359 Start with the blank count, like take all the other options out, right? 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.039 Let them truly be options. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:59.839 Put those things on your calendar. 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:04.720 And then imagine a world, okay, and this is revolutionary. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:24.640 Imagine a world and imagine a way of life where you put the on the daily, where and when I'm gonna meet with Jesus, and on the weekly, where and when my family's gonna meet and listen to Jesus, like when we're going to church, like really church or family worship time in our home, when that's gonna occur. 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:34.559 And what if, what if you put those things on the calendar and you let everything in your life be a slave to those two things? 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:43.440 What if you did that? 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:50.400 What if we tr that that's what it means to truly see every those other things as non-essentials? 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:55.519 I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this, and I've got other time. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.599 We'll do other things. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:06.799 So establish a daily and weekly rhythm for you and your family. 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:15.119 And then the second thing I would encourage you to do is this: evaluate your calendar and your commitments. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.279 Evaluate your calendar and your commitments. 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:34.240 Um, so what is on your calendar and what is a commitment that may prevent Jesus from being the priority when it comes to your time? 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:39.680 That's what you're trying to ask as you look over that calendar in the commitments. 00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:43.759 Look at it on a month or two months or three months out, right? 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:46.079 Because we schedule things way out. 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:50.799 And here's the thing: here's, let's be real honest. 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.359 Like we, if we want to make Jesus the priority, right? 00:32:53.440 --> 00:33:02.480 Well, we're putting him in these places where I meet with him like Mary does individually on the daily, personal devotional time, and on the daily and on the weekly, my family. 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:08.319 We have a time when we come to church and we gather with God's people to hear and to listen to the voice of Jesus. 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:16.319 That means if that's the priority, there may be things that you've said yes to that you have to back out of and cancel. 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:30.319 It may mean, it may mean, not it definitely means, it may mean your child stops an activity. 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:36.400 Doesn't participate on a team, quits a team. 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:44.480 We get 24 hours in a day, and your kids are gonna sleep eight to ten of them. 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:46.880 Okay, some don't sleep eight to ten. 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:50.079 Um you want them to sleep eight to ten. 00:33:53.440 --> 00:34:14.880 So, but for others, maybe empty nesters and retirees, when you look at your uh calendar and commitments, it it may it may cause you and require you to put a cap on the number of days that you're going to hunt and fish and vacation and golf or travel to Fayetteville to go see the Razorbacks. 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:16.960 It just may. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:39.039 Because what what we're trying to do is we're trying to build if Jesus is a priority, a Jesus-centric kind of schedule for our lives and for our family, and so we're gonna put Jesus on the daily and Jesus on the weekly, and then I've but I've got a lot of time, right? 00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:42.960 Like we're not here for 12 hours on Sunday. 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:44.639 Okay? 00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:48.559 You're not meeting with Jesus for 12 hours on the daily either. 00:34:48.719 --> 00:34:53.920 So there's still time in your day to have optional activities. 00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:59.119 There's plenty of time, you just can't do it all. 00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:08.079 And there are certain times when you can't have an optional activity, when you can't meet an urgent demand. 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:21.440 So, how do you know if your calendar and commitments are getting in that way, getting in the way of that priority? 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:27.840 I'm not gonna give you a number, but I would say this. 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:38.400 It's getting in the way, if it's a significant barrier to your family gathering with God's people. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:47.440 If it's a significant barrier to your family gathering with God's people, you may need to back out. 00:35:49.360 --> 00:35:51.519 And you may just need to learn to say no. 00:35:53.440 --> 00:36:02.639 And I'll be honest, I think some of us, listen, we are far too optimistic about how much time we have. 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:07.039 And we just need some margin in our lives. 00:36:08.159 --> 00:36:09.920 We just can't do it all. 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:28.000 For the sake of your health as a person, for the sake of the health of your family and health of our church, I hope we'll all apply this Christ-centered solution to our lives. 00:36:29.920 --> 00:36:36.079 Because Jesus and Jesus alone is worthy to be the priority. 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:43.199 Worthy and worthy alone to be the priority of our life. 00:36:44.400 --> 00:37:12.559 And you make Jesus that priority, you take the first step in learning what that means on a practical daily basis when you put your faith in him, when you trust in him, when you confess your sins and ask him to save you, to be forgiven by his blood shed on the cross, and to be raised in a new way of life through the power of his resurrection. 00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:24.320 You see, it's only by the power of the cross and the power of the resurrection that we can live this new way of life where Jesus is the top priority and the lone sole priority of our lives. 00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:47.119 And maybe among every kind of biblical life hack we're gonna talk about throughout this series, for our young families, for families who have children in your home, this is the most counter-cultural life hack we're gonna talk about. 00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:48.480 It just is. 00:37:49.679 --> 00:37:57.199 And it's gonna take some intentionality on your part to be proactive and not reactive. 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:04.159 To say, Jesus here and Jesus here, and then we can work in some optional things with our time. 00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:13.280 But we're not just gonna crowd our week with everything that's optional and crowd, because inevitably here's what we do: we crowd Jesus out. 00:38:13.519 --> 00:38:15.599 We crowd him out of our lives. 00:38:17.760 --> 00:38:20.159 Let's stand together and pray. 00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:24.400 Almighty God. 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:42.400 As I was preparing for this sermon, God, you were just really speaking to me about the priorities of my own life, my own family. 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:51.599 Lord, thank you for helping me reevaluate and see some things differently. 00:38:54.639 --> 00:39:00.000 That new vision of life was life-giving, was convicting. 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:01.440 Thank you. 00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:33.679 And Lord, I pray um that the message that was shared this morning, God, I just pray that there's not a spirit of shame or guilt in this place, but just a spirit of um conviction, of repentance, even freedom and hope that there's a better way to live our life and to use our time. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:38.320 Because as Moses prayed, God, you will teach us to use our time wisely. 00:39:42.400 --> 00:39:47.360 Thank you, Jesus, for coming. 00:39:49.840 --> 00:39:58.159 That you can be the top priority in our life, and we don't have to live for anything else that will disappoint us and even take life from us. 00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:00.639 In your name we pray. 00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:01.519 Amen.