The Ultimate Ride: Balancing The Things Of Life
For the past few weeks, we have been talking about the Ultimate Ride: Transforming your Life and Family. We’ve talked about the wrong way to do things and we’ve talked about the right way to do things. We’ve used cars on this stage to illustrate the various ways to do the right things.
Today, we continue in this series as we discuss how we really put into practice the things we’ve talked about. A few weeks ago, I shared with you how the priorities in life should look. God first, then your family, then everything else. It sounds great. None of us would disagree with that point. But, how do we get there? How do we make that happen?
That’s what we talk about here today. In order to bring us to that point, I want to bring out something a little bit different than what we’re used to in this series.
You see, to make our lives look like what we’ve talked about, we must have balance, power and momentum.
Balancing Out The Things Of Life – A LIFE THAT IMITATES CHRIST
Eph. 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
1. It Takes Great Care
Balancing the things of life doesn’t come easy. It takes work. It takes hard work. And we must focus on it constantly.
Eph. 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
a. In Your Spiritual Life - Chapter 6 – The Breastplate of Righteousness (Right Living)
b. In A Practical Sense
2. It Takes Great Wisdom
Imitating Christ starts with seeking His wisdom. We must look to the book to find His knowledge to balance out the direction of our lives.
Eph 5:15b . . . not as fools but as wise,
Eph. 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
3. It Takes Great Love
a. We must be focused on unconditional love. We talked about this a few weeks ago.
Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
4. It Takes Great Time
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
When we redeem the time, when things are in balance, this is what we will realize in our lives. The priorities are in their proper place.
a. Relationship to God
Eph. 5:18b . . . but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
b. Relationship to our Spouse
Eph. 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
c. Relationship to our Children
Eph. 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
d. Relatonship to work
Eph. 6:5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
5. It Takes Great Prayer
Eph. 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Conclusion
Balancing out the things of life is far more difficult than we comprehend. It is far more involved than we are capable of handling on our own. We must tap into the power that comes from God. That power is what sustains us. That power is what will help us to do the right things . . . to transform our families into what God intended them to be.
And . . . that power comes from the cross!
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
