Balancing Life's Demands - Warning: Discipline Can Be Hazardous To Your Health, Part 2

You ever feel stuck in your spiritual life.

I mean you're trying hard and you are doing all the right things as God wears them how or where is the presence where is the love and you just can't figure out what's wrong. I've been there today shares anxiety.

Learn to help you. Thanks for listening to this edition of living only with children Living on the Edges of international discipleship industry featuring the daily Bible teaching of Dave Drew were the middle of our series islands and wife just a minute to fix up for he left off last time by assuring you're not going to miss what he has to say before we begin the Libyan try using message notes while you listen. The containers outline Scripture references and much more to download these message notes just go to the broadcast tab that LivingontheEdge.org app listeners Fill in part two of his talk from Matthew chapter 5 Pierce chip. He said you've heard it said love your neighbor and hate your enemies, but I tell you, love your enemies, and then listeners pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven.

And the idea of sons, especially in Hebrew culture.

It has family likenesses. The idea you'll be like your father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good he sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you. You know what reward is that I mean don't tax collectors and sinners do that and so he he makes this point. He says I want you to demonstrate to the Romans, mercy and grace in the now. He says what you did your enemies, you don't get what they deserve. Grace is giving people something they don't deserve mercy is withholding what people do deserve and so when your enemies do he says I want you to withhold what you would more normally give them and want you to overcome evil with good. You'll never be more like your heavenly father than when you love people who have wounded and hurt and abused and betrayed you and did you see I mean he is turning the paradigm of what it means to be an authentic follower of Yahweh completely upside down. This is a righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees because this righteousness is a matter of the heart.

This righteousness is require supernatural help. This righteousness is not a religious system of rigid personal discipline of doing the right things and we can do it ourselves go to church. I'm on the missions committee.

You know I am in a small group I give X amount of dollars. You know I got my little checklist boom boom boom boom boom I am doing right. I must be right with God, and it develops two things.

Number one, a very tired and weary Christian with not much joy and usually a self-righteous person who looks down on other people who are doing as much. Jesus was the most winsome human being on the face of the earth in his life of love and grace and mercy and truth and strength encourage cost prostitutes and sinners and people to be drawn to him like bees to honey and it cost people who generally want to know God. To see the father as he really is because people who were religious and self-righteous and controlling to want to kill, and sometimes I ask myself if I lived in that day. I wonder which one of those groups I would be. I tend to read the New Testament like I'm always one of the disciples, try reading it sometime like you when the Pharisees my righteousness, your righteousness must exceed that and so here's the summary. Jesus condemns X righteousness, spiritual activities, when it does not flow from internal relationship with God. True spirituality is always an issue of the heart.

God's love is never dependent upon your performance. If there's one thing if we could be set free. God's love is not dependent on your performance. I remember early on I was helping out with the school and part of trying to negotiate some tuition for my kids was coaching the basketball team. As I pastored this little church and I had a group of you know, one of his big bands 15 passenger vans. I have a whole team and we had about an hour and 1/2 away, play the game came back near the highlight for some of the guys was stopping at McDonald's and on the way home regardless of the game, and so I've got about 10 or 12. These guys were eating McDonald's and there was a a a very, very old lady there and she wants these young men bow and pray in a conversation started in just a little prompting from God wasn't trying to be ultra-spiritual, but in conversation with this lady and I ask her about her spiritual route all gas and younger spiritual and you know I love God and this and that is will tell me little bit about which you explain to me that all these guys here I'm thinking this is a good window of opportunity, would you explain to me how do you develop a close relationship with God because she had a lot of jewelry and things would tell you that she's very religious and she does all yes yes and she was from the old country. I don't know what old country. She was from that little bit of an accent but she was from the old country. She says you need to understand that there is this great God and between me and this great God is this huge boulder of granite every day I get up and God gives me a little hammer and he gives me a chance and I chisel a tiny piece of that boulder away and I do it with the good work here.

I do it with the prayer here in another prayer here in another good work and I mean the ladies like 90 and assemble how's it coming on the boulder, like you have a lot of time to work on this one. You know it's you. Also, well I'm not through yet but I just pray and hope desperately someday and she began to share a little bit of her life. I will tell you it is one of the simply saddest experiences ever cheating a lot of the Bible. She quoted lots of versus she was a modern-day.

Her theology was the righteousness of the Pharisees and that's a vivid picture, but I think at least subconsciously. There's a lot of us think that way will I miss my quiet time. 11 pray in a couple days. All you know I am given X percent but I'll begin the next percent and in what we and there's this unconscious so I feel okay and I'm doing okay. And God love me when I perform perform perform and when I don't know what to learn a second, our spiritual activities or to going to chip you just told us many given all the sessions about how important it is and be discipline. All this and you just messing with my mind and groaned not to know Jesus. Everything we talked about so far is absolutely true. Absolutely of a necessity but it's the difference between doing those things to walk into the house and meet with the person and get focused on the driveway is the spiritual activities and just sort of a quick FYI in case it's never got clear because I live in America and I went to church though it be not a good one. I never heard so just let me take two minutes before we go on I want to explain the good news of the gospel is this, God loves you and there is no way, no effort, no good work no means you can ever have. To earn his favor, and there is no boulder between you. It's a chasm it's impossible to cross from the eternity past, in the mind head of the triune God. They predetermine that the son of God would come to the earth and take on human flesh being fully man and fully God and fully man, he would have the ability to die fully God, he would live a perfect life and his sacrifice would have infinite value and after revealing by his life. In his words and his teaching, the very character of God, truth and grace.

It was preordained from the foundation of the world that the son of God would be unjustly accused of many crimes and he would hang upon across and he would hang upon the cross, not for one single thing that he did but for the sins of all men for all time.

And as he hung upon that cross, he would be the offering for you and for me and all the sins of all people of all time would be absorbed by him. He would become sin a sin offering on our behalf. And because God is holy and God is just, he would because he can't see sin for the first time and this was the agony he would take his just wrath and pour it on the son of God, so there would be separation and Jesus would receive that it will.

I said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me because in that window in moment of time for first time and all eternity. Your sin and my sin was paid for completely by him, and he gave his life and he now offers a gift to every human being on the face of the earth that is free for by grace you are saved through faith. That's not of yourself. It's a gift of God not of works least.

Any man should boast. And then three days later, not by dream, not by profit, not by religion, not by something in the sky he would rise from the dead, and for over 40 days have personal interaction with 500 eyewitnesses documented and just to throw a little icing on the cake. God had a number of other people be raised from the dead and they went around to talk about what was happening in space, time, history, and the offer and the message of Christianity is not be a nice person go to church cleanup your morals and be a little bit you know kinder and nicer than other people.

The messages we are lost in our sin were separated eternally from God. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except by me. Jesus would say, and he makes an offer to you to every single person whosoever would believe in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Eternal life isn't something that happens after you die.

It is a quality of life with a chasm is closed, your sin is atoned or covered for you are taken out of this kingdom of darkness ripped out of it by faith through his grace planted in the kingdom of his beloved son in the kingdom of light.

The spirit of God enters your physical body your sealed with the spirit deposited spiritual gifts in you and his purposes now is Christ lives his life out through you hats the gospel the righteousness of Christ and living the Christian life is not hard and it's not about trying hard. It's impossible. When Paul explains it in the book of Romans, you will tell us the first three chapters of the problem. Chapters 4 and five is a solution in chapter 6, seven, eight, or how the supernatural righteousness is achieved, it achieves first by reckoning that you die with him.

You rose to walk in newness of life that there is a battle of the flesh and the spirit chapter 7 but praise God there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. It's the spirit of God that manifest the buried life and presence of Jesus inside you, and he lives his life through you before God manifesting through your personality in your life, righteousness, and the life and the love of God. That's what it means to be a Christian and that's what Jesus came and that's what he was explaining your righteousness must exclude exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees and so he condemns external righteousness if it doesn't flow from internal relationship with God. So you got good now let's look at the second issue he addresses as you might say will avoid what a second. You know that's wonderful grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, grace I feels really good. But what about all those teachings. We went over about spiritual activities and disciplines aren't they command army commanded to pray commanded to give only command the fast. Yes Jesus solution was not to stop spiritual activities but to ensure that we do them out of grace and relationship, not performance and obligation. It was that we would do them out of devotion and see them as what they are there just a driveway there just a conduit to get to where you really want to go giving praying and fasting media fast Scripture memory accountability groups. None of that is the deal there just the driveway to get you where Christ can make his home and have freedom and manifest his life in your heart.

That's what Paul prays in Ephesians 3, the Christ would take up residence that he would dwell in the word welder means he would feel comfortable and be at home in you. That's about what the whole Christian life. One word abide what you need to abide. I don't know. I mean, Scripture gives us some basics but whatever you need to stay connected to Jesus. Just stay connected to Jesus and let his life flow through you and if you really want to get simple and what we know is that there are certain practices that help us abide there not an end in themselves. They help us abide in chapter 5 Jesus corrects our belief are misguided beliefs about performance orientation, self effort, guilt, manipulation, obligation and duty now in chapter 6, he's going to correct our behavior. He's gonna teach us will how do we do the right thing right, but how we do it in the right way and so I get either quick overview here of the first part of chapter 6 and what I would want you to notice here is that what he's doing here. He's going to say now in our pursuit of seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness. There is also the danger of deception. In Matthew six he will give three most common practices of the Christians, the followers, the religious leaders of that day and what he will do his will show you now what your righteousness needs to exceed that of the Pharisees. Let me show you how to use those practices that do something to your heart and your relationship rather than tries to impress people. So here's his application, chapter 6, verse 1B fit. Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do, you have no reward from your father in heaven. So when you give to the needy. Do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and on the streets to be honored by men. I tell you the truth they have received their reward in full.

But when you give to the needy.

Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret than your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. He's not saying here that if anyone ever finds out what you give.

It's a problem. What he's saying is, if your motive when you give is to make sure people find out what you give. Yet a problem any saying you can have a reward plan a people think you're hot stuff.

God's unimpressed Plan B. God thinks you're hot stuff, and in secret once reward you. And people know about you got the key here is our motive. The key issue is our motive, giving guards your devotion.

Your heart just always follows your treasure so if you want your motives and your devotion to stay true to God and not an idol. What did Jesus say when Jesus said this while things as is only really two God's me and Mammon mean what's Mammon's materialism and and he says you know you can't serve both and so giving is it like all this obligation on my gosh you made up this 10% thing all got that seminar there into this with proportional giving mine. I'm doing 10%. It took me forever now, 12, 15, 22 books I would only were these people were coming from and it will Pay my taxes okay PG&E bill gas bill mortgage bill Jesus Bill Connolly said you missed giving is my opportunity to remind you that I own everything in your breath. As for me, and what you have that you don't receive in your heart is a very precious thing to me and so I instituted this practice, but every time you receive some things you take a portion of it and actually I'm quite generous since it's all mine and I just ask for a portion of it, not because I needed I can do anything that I'm asking for a portion sort of this reminder for you to take your little claws because you always want to hang on the stuff and let go and love other people because I'm the most generous being in all the universe I love so much.

I gave my son and so I want to teach you how to love and what you can give without loving but you can never love without giving.

And so it's it's it's it's a practice not to sell gossamer living progress. I still get 10% or about 12.5 12.5 I'm a young third son, my income now and oh it's God has more and more my heart and I give cheerfully give us a son says oh God, thank you and in you all of this.

All this is still to bless me to richly enjoy. Thank you Mark. I encourage you to give from the heart first, then, by the way, what many of you don't do pay yourself safe. Second, and then live on the rest.

The next practice he he goes to the motive again, the key issue in prayer and when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray how they do it standing in the synagogues on the street corners wife to be seen by men. I tell you the truth. They perceive their reward in full.

But when you pray, go into your room. It's the idea of the inner room, close the door, pray to your father who who was seen you in secret than your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And he goes on to talk about when you pray and how to pray and right way to pray not babbling and he gives us what's now no the Lord's prayer but he gives us in prayer. What it's again motive and it guards your discernment. A lot of the issues you have are discernment issues. What should I do, I just don't know.

You know what no one does. But God and he has an agenda for you and we always want someone to tell us what we ought to do with what percentage should we give and should I do this or should I do that or guessing what God wants to tell you he wants to tell you but you got to sit still and I pray in the car on the key printed car. I practice the presence of God.

I've click little prayers here have short ones over here but I have to stop go into my inner room shut off the world sit before him and get clear and often I pray through the Lord's prayer, so that it's not just needs her. It's not just worship. It's our father's relationship, who art in heaven, holy. This is who God is, I want your kingdom to come, your agenda, not mine. I'm going to ask for my needs. I'm going to deal with relational issues, and forgive anybody bring to my mind I'm to ask you to guard me from temptation. You know what's coming today and what your kingdom in your power and your glory is so he says I want you to pray, not because if you go calyx I did 15 minutes on spiritual I did 20 I did 25 I referred our everyday I'm not sure God has a clock or watch their thinking is looking at the heart and the honesty and the openness and we say Lord speak your servant is listening. Where you're the Mary Lord, be it unto me according to your word. Lord, if you'll show me I'll do I need to know because either the real goal of all those issues you have your agendas you want to know, like me, so you can do this and do that know what to do. You know what God's agenda is hanging out with you enjoying you and the more you rub up and enjoy him it's it's you won't even notice it happening the sky like when Moses was hanging out with God a lot member that like 40 days no food or drink talking when he came down what was what was a healer, what remedies glowing. Why, because you always become like the people you hang out with and you learn to hang out with God you just mean it's not like some mechanical deal.

You just become more and more like as of the third area, Jesus says about this internal righteousness.

He talks about fasting and and we picked that up in verse 16 when you fast, don't look somber. The hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men there fasting. I tell you the truth, they received their reward in full. But when you fast put on oil on your head and wash your face so that won't be obvious to men that your fasting but only to your father who is unseen in your father who sees what is done in secret and he will reward you. Fasting is a motive again and it provides perspective. It allows you to disengage from all the stuff and spend that time with God and and try a day or two occasionally. So when this hunger pains come you Tina drink a lot of water and you say God I want to be reminded to be reminded that all the busyness and all the pool and all the demand you just went back and up and I will tell you as you do that you get perspective, your your spiritual sensitivity goes up when you fast, and finally the summary of of this is pretty clear. Spiritual disciplines are essential.

Okay spiritual disciplines are essential but become dangerous when they become a means to gain the reward of man rather than deepen our relationship with God to make his is an amazing just the heart behind Jesus teaching here. Do you need a personal discipline. Yeah, you need to get your priorities right absolutely do need to him and get a handle on your time and your money.

Yes, you need to look at the six things are misplaced priorities and say I need to address it, but you need to do all that with a the righteousness that's exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees have a final application here. It's that secrecy is God's method of keeping our motives pure and this is in a legalistic own. No one knows if someone finds out you doing this or that someone thought I was fasting big deal.

That's not the issue. The issue is if you have a signed, by the way, did you know I'm spiritual not fasting today. Yeah that's what's been prohibited. Seemed like God lets me do all, really silly dumb things and looking back now to help other people like us but it took me a long time to walk into really want to be a follower of Jesus and then when I did. I can remember the day I woke up and thought I am a modern day Pharisee.

I came up with the group was really into Scripture memory so I mean I memorized hundreds and hundreds of verses and then I went to chapters and I went memorizing whole books and what was I spiritual and I remember bumping into someone who could know me about four years earlier in really good relationship liked her God really use her. She was not a believer we passed into common common area outside where the school wasn't and I said hi how you doing and she said something and I said something she said something I quoted a verse, you know, appropriately being the spiritual guy that I am I got all these verses got you some people got to know how holy are so me know by bank's problem. Verse was bad so I'm so she she makes some comment and I quote a verse and in the spirit of God speaks to this gal and she looked to casino chip.

I knew you about four years ago and you were really neat guy and she said you know you just kinda, I do know what the right word is, but you are easy-going you are fun to be around you know I did know much about Christianity, but I remember thinking, I'm not sure where you're coming from but you seem to have a song on your heart you treated people in a way I thought you and if I ever wanted to be a Christian and that Trevor would so much was about. I think I like to be one like you she said chipping. I just kinda watch things in right now you just the Bible spouting person that you know what every time I talk with you.

I always leave feeling less of a person guilty and what I realizes I don't like to talk with you.

I don't like to be around you and I'm obviously aware that her lack of spiritualities.

She's unable to discern the higher things of God. And you know what I wish I was joking when I walked away. I remember thinking, slick, and if she does have the spirit as the verse came to me.

Those who you know don't know the Lord, the spirit of Christ is not a man that he can understand the things of the spirit of God. For the spiritually discerned, and if they don't have enough and I got almost back to where I was to be in the spirit of God said you Bible quoting hypocrite all you have is a righteousness. The Pharisees and you are a driven focus discipline guy and all you did is change uniforms from thinking basketball or impressing people were getting good grades are making money would make you somebody and all you did is exchange it for religious close and during that time I had a guy give me a 3 x 5 card after being at a little training program for three months and course I thought I was doing great as I was got my stuff done. I had more verses memorized. I did all supposed to do and all he did was give me a card with these two verses and I thought maybe there's a message or Luke 1615, it says Jesus says you are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your heart that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. And just in case I didn't get his point. He had Galatians 110 MI trying to win the approval of men.

Paul would right word of God.

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ, and I would like is your little application is go in your notes page or two back and then just gaze at those little tester pop quiz and look at objectives and look at priorities look at schedule and look at discipline look at accountability and now let's look at these through the lens of how are you doing as those are simply means to know and love God and deepen your relationship because personal discipline is a very very spiritually hazardous endeavor.

You need to be disciplined.

Your discipline always be just a driveway means never God wants to be right back with patient series balancing life's demand does it feel like life is pulling you in thousand different directions. Are you exhausted trying to juggle your job kids marriage and everything else you're responsible for. Do you wish there was a way to relieve that stress and tension on your shoulders.

Live life with a little more joy with a series trip reveals what a balanced life really looks like and how you can rearrange your priorities around what matters most. Here how you can experience the joy filled and satisfying life. God desires for you to have.

For more information about this series go to LivingontheEdge.org or call us a triple late. 333-6003. Additionally, all the resources for balancing life's demands are discounted and the MP3s are always free. Again, go to LivingontheEdge.org or call AAA 333-6003 for all the details. Listeners tap special offers will before we go any further. Chip is something you'd like to say you know every time the calendar turns over, people make plans to get in shape or start eating right, right.

I mean, we want to start the new year.

Well let me challenge you to get in shape spiritually. I mean, it's not just as important, I think it's even more important. Yes, reading the Bible, praying maybe memorizing up the key passage here there all that's important. But here's my experience, people start well but they don't stay with it. That's because we often do it alone. If there's one thing we've learned from those that actually lose weight. Those who actually stay in shape all those different things that you hear advertised.

The key is community. God designed it long before was popular. It's called a small group right now. What we want you to know is that if you will start a small group or join a small group working to put all of our resources on sale to help you.

Are you ready balanced life's demands walk with God. Get your priorities where they need to be and stick with that. This year, so that your life becomes more and more like Jesus fixture will we have a growing library of small group resources on a wide range of topics in there so easy to use chip provides the teaching, then you'll have time to discuss what you've heard alongside her helpful study guides.

We even offer some insights for leaders to leave their groups well. So if you're not a small group, you are you aren't sure what to study.

Next, let me encourage you to check out our resources as chipset for limited time we've discounted all of our small group resources so you can get into community starting today to learn more, go to LivingontheEdge.org or call us a triple late. 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003 or LivingontheEdge.org app listeners tap special offers. As we close today's program. We've talked about priorities. We talked about your motivation. I just gave you a review of the role of prayer and fasting and giving and here's what I want to tell you it's about relationship. I have been through seasons of my life where I literally memorized hundreds hundreds of verses and never missed a day praying in an apartment then is how do you get the balance because the fact is, is that I need to read the Bible at times when I don't feel like it. I need to pray when I don't feel like it and have kinds of breakthrough, but I have to avoid this this idea that doing those things makes me right with God or somehow I'm performing what I found is I have literally taken in my journey with the Lord. This approach I want my heart connected to you more than anything else.

So what I'm going to do when I meet with you is what will connect my heart. Yesterday I did not read the Bible at all. I listen to about 35 minutes of worship music and I sang out loud and I enjoyed God on the day before I read my Bible little. I sat quietly I just listen to God as I had lots of questions the day before that my normal approaches. I read the Bible. I pray I have a little program but what what I've come to is what do I need to keep my heart tender with my father and we had family in and you know it's kind interrupted my time and some of us get really uptight because you know I'm gonna miss my time and I had a little grin daughter come down the stairs just about the time I was ready to open my Bible and what I realized was the greatest thing I can do is put that little girl on my lap and play with her and talk to her and love her because God always values obedience over sacrifice. God's always looking for that which connects your heart that which loves him and loves others and data look different for different people. I think sometimes especially some of those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

You know, we just get our checklist and we unconsciously you know do so much of this and so much of that in the balances.

I do need to keep on track but I need to give myself permission as I'm on track to have freedom there and there's been other times of just felt dry and I just said unite by read the whole book of Esther the other day why don't usually read that much. I just needed it.

I just needed my mind to get soaked in Scripture. So what what I want you here is let your heart be open to the Lord, have a structured plan that you follow and then inside of that have liberty and get what you need, just like you would in any relationship so that at the very core of why you meet with God and what you do you want to ask and answer the question, what is it look like to give love and receive love from your heavenly father and other people and you know what, if you do that, I think your priorities will be right. God wants him just before we close. Would you pray for those who are feeling challenged to respond to chips encouragement right now. There's always a spiritual battle when we feel prompted to draw near to God, thanks for taking minutes to do that and if there's a way we can pray for you. Would you let us know. Call AAA 333-6003 or email chip@livingontheedge.org would love to hear from you on selects time for everyone here. This is the same. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge