The Practice of Creating and Using Margin.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Well, good morning. [0:02] Welcome to Village Church. [0:03] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve. [0:05] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:07] As always, I’m thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:12] Things are a little different today.

[0:14] We’re going to have a Jacuzzi party after the service. [0:17] No, just kidding. [0:18] We have baptisms today by God’s grace. [0:21] We’ll be celebrating that ordinance instead of communion today at the end of each service. [0:28] Just to let you in on some of you might be newer and still acclimating to the environment, [0:36] just how I preach.

[0:39] I seek to meddle in your life. [0:42] I just want to be upfront with that. [0:46] I’m comfortable with that. [0:49] I remember years ago I started, I was just like, man, I don’t know if I’m pushing too [0:54] hard, if I’m not pushing hard enough. [0:56] I got him by the name of Dr. Eric Mason, just laid that on me.

[1:00] He said, preaching is meddling. [1:01] If you’re not meddling, you’re not preaching.

[1:04] One of the things that I love to do is to understand that the Word of God is meant [1:11] throughout your life. [1:13] No matter how old you are or however young you are, the Word of God is always to be [1:18] a force of change in your life. [1:21] One of the things that I love about God’s Word is that no matter how long I read it, [1:26] no matter how much I study it, every time I go to the Word I am confronted with some

[1:32] aspect of my life that needs to change or at least needs to be challenged. [1:36] What I hope to do is to challenge the way that you both think and the way that you live [1:43] at every level, every week. [1:46] That is my goal. [1:48] If you are here seeking platitudes that will make you comfortable in the life that you [1:55] are living or that will just inspire you with what you’ve already got going on, that’s

[2:02] not what I’m going to give you ever.

[2:06] That’s not my goal. [2:08] I’ll just be very upfront with you that if that’s what you want, you’re never going [2:13] to find it here. [2:15] That’s never going to be my goal because I don’t believe that’s the goal of the [2:19] Christian life. [2:21] That’s opposed to what I believe the purpose of the Bible is.

[2:26] I believe that the reason that we gather is to be challenged in the way that we think [2:33] about our lives in light of who God is and the way that we live our lives in light of [2:37] who God is. [2:38] If you show me someone who over the past year has had no change in the way that they think [2:44] or the way that they live, I will show you someone that is not being a disciple. [2:49] I will show you someone that is not growing in their faith.

[2:53] We must always be seeking a change. [2:55] I say that specifically this morning because I’m going to be extra medley. [2:59] I’m just going to go a little bit over the line. [3:02] If you feel uncomfortable, hey, I’m uncomfortable with my life in the way that I’m talking [3:08] about this today. [3:08] I’m specifically going to be talking about the issue of creating and using margin in

[3:15] our lives. [3:17] We’re talking through the issue of preparing to plant and in that we’ve sought to be overly [3:23] practical. [3:25] I know some of you when we said we’re going to be talking about preparing to plant, it’s [3:30] like okay, so we’re going to talk about reading our Bibles every day and praying every day [3:34] and we haven’t gotten to that yet.

[3:35] So you’re probably questioning our spirituality and you’re like, oh, these guys are just [3:39] talking about doing stuff. [3:42] Yeah, we really are, but it’s not to the detriment of the spiritual disciplines. [3:47] If you don’t put the things that we’re talking about in these messages into practice, you [3:53] will not have the spiritual disciplines.

[3:56] So if you don’t understand the fact that you’ve got to create margin in your life to practice [4:01] the spiritual disciplines, then you don’t understand what the spiritual disciplines [4:05] are. [4:06] And so we’ve sought to be overly practical in the things that we’re talking about to [4:11] make you understand that it is the everyday decisions that we make with how we view our [4:18] relationships, with how we use our money and view our money, and how we view and use our

[4:24] time that plants churches. [4:27] And if we would all be more repentant in the way that we view those things and in not [4:34] just kind of be ready for when the Holy Spirit makes it overly obvious that you need to make [4:39] change, but instead be seeking in your life to find the places where you can change your [4:46] life under the power of the Holy Spirit, that that is the life of growth. [4:53] That is where the passion and power of planting churches is going to be found in your life.

[4:59] And so I want to talk about the issue of how you use margin, and specifically to put all [5:04] my cards on the table, and the fact that you have more margin to use to be and make disciples [5:13] in your life than you have ever thought about before. [5:18] Because the vast majority of the issues that I run into, and this is specifically with [5:24] men, is that men do not have any margin to give to more discipleship in their lives. [5:35] At least that’s what you think.

[5:37] That’s what you believe. [5:38] That’s what you practice. [5:40] And so I want to challenge that and say that actually the truth is that the way that you [5:47] are using your margin is completely up to you. [5:52] It’s 100% your choice, and you are choosing your way out of discipleship every single [6:02] day by the way you use your time, or you are choosing your way into discipleship.

[6:11] I think that some of us believe that God just gifts some people with the spiritual [6:18] gift of margin for discipleship. [6:21] That’s just some sort of special Holy Spirit gifting that some of us have. [6:24] I have yet to find margin as a gift of the Spirit in the Scriptures, because it’s not. [6:31] Margin is the one thing that every single one of us shares completely in common. [6:36] 24, 7, 365.

[6:42] You all get exactly the same amount. [6:48] How you use that though is what determines the amount of discipleship that you personally [6:56] will experience and the amount of making disciples that you will experience in your life. [7:02] There are people who will claim the name of Jesus who will never make a single disciple [7:07] in their life.

[7:11] My understanding from the Scriptures is that says something about your faith.

[7:20] So my hope is that every single person that’s a part of Village Church will catch a vision [7:27] that God has designed you to make disciples.

[7:34] Everybody seems to answer one particular question the same way, or at least 80% of people answer [7:42] about the same way in my life. [7:43] That’s not a scientific study.

[7:47] But what have you been up to? [7:48] Have you ever been asked that? [7:51] What have you been up to? [7:53] Busy. [7:54] Busy, busy, busy. [7:56] I’ve said it many times.

[7:58] And for the most part, many of you have said it. [8:01] Now there’s 10-20% of you that have never done anything. [8:05] And so you don’t say that. [8:08] You’re like, just hang it out. [8:10] And that’s a true answer. [8:12] But for most people, busy is what defines your life.

[8:17] And it’s not that anything has changed necessarily throughout the history of the world, but we [8:23] are busier than we have ever been in history to date. [8:28] We have more things that we do. [8:31] We work longer hours. [8:33] We commit to more things. [8:35] And we commit our children to more things than we have ever committed to in history.

[8:43] Because we believe that it is those commitments that will give us a life worth living. [8:49] But the fact of the matter is that the more people I talk to in my life, the more people [8:53] I get to know in my life, no one is telling me that they believe that they are mentally, [8:58] emotionally, and spiritually healthier because of how busy they are.

[9:07] You are stressed out of your mind. [9:09] You are frantic. [9:11] You feel the pressure of all of the expectations of your boss or your company if you run the [9:20] place, or your spouse, or your children, or your children’s teachers, or your children’s [9:27] coaches, or your children’s tutors that the coaches put you in touch with that you pay [9:31] hundreds of dollars out of the dreams that they will be a professional athlete.

[9:36] Truth bomb, they won’t.

[9:41] But we are busier than we have ever been because we believe it will give us the life [9:45] we have always been looking for, yet we are less healthy than we have ever been in almost [9:50] every category in life.

[9:55] Number one this morning, you fill your margin with what gives you meaning. [10:01] You fill your margin with what gives you meaning.

[10:05] If you show me the people you surround yourself with, the way you use your money, and what [10:10] you commit your time to, I will show you the trajectory that your life is on. [10:16] I will show you exactly where you are headed because those are the things that show us [10:21] that, and your time is something that is involved in each and every one of those categories. [10:28] Now if I have been using the word margin and you have no idea what that means, margin [10:32] is simply defined by the available space in your life.

[10:37] If you consider that your life is a circle, within that circle that sums up the totality [10:44] of your life, the margin is how much space you have within that circle. [10:50] What we are doing in our culture is we are pushing those limits closer and closer and [10:57] closer so that we can fill up our time more and more and more every moment. [11:05] So when you feel that stress that you cannot quite explain, when you feel that pressure [11:14] that you cannot quite put your finger on, the reason that you feel that is because

[11:18] you are reaching the edges of your margin.

[11:22] Because you have no more available space.

[11:25] If you have ever gotten that message on your phone that you have reached your limit and [11:30] you cannot download another app, and you really want to play that new edition of Bejeweled.

[11:39] It is like you have got to have it. [11:41] So you just scour, what apps can I delete, what have I not used?

[11:48] Sometimes our life gets like that. [11:53] We have no more space. [11:54] We cannot fill it up anymore. [11:57] Yet when you reach that moment, what I want you to understand is that you need to kind [12:03] of be honest with yourself and look around and begin to ask the question, what can I delete? [12:11] Because the reason that you have reached the edges of your margin is because you have

[12:16] filled your life with everything that you thought or you think or you will continue [12:22] to think is going to give your life meaning. [12:25] And my question is, have you found it? [12:30] Have you found that which you believe is going to give you meaning? [12:34] Because how you use your margin serves as an indicator of what you really value in your life.

[12:42] And so if I were to ask you, how are you using your margin?

[12:48] What would I find means the most to you? [12:51] And are those investments ever going to pay off? [12:57] Because you need to think beneath your margin to why you have filled your margins with [13:03] so many commitments and so much busyness.

[13:09] Why?

[13:11] Why are you filling every moment? [13:13] Because some of you, I believe that you are afraid that if you slow down, you die.

[13:21] Because every opportunity you have to slow down, you fill it up with one more thing.

[13:27] Which eventually just becomes one more excuse.

[13:32] But there is another side too. [13:34] There is those of you that live perpetually afraid of ever being tired.

[13:39] And so if I was to look at the margin of your life, you are just the dot in the middle [13:43] and there is not much going on, is there?

[13:47] You don’t commit to anything because you are afraid something better might come up [13:52] after you have committed to that thing. [13:55] And so you have just got that FOMO life where you have just a genuine fear of missing out. [14:00] And so you never commit to anything because you are afraid of being tired [14:04] or you are afraid of the best thing that could come next. [14:08] And so nothing ever comes next.

[14:11] This is the millennial conundrum. [14:13] You want to go big or go home, so you say no to everything that isn’t big enough. [14:20] But here is the key. [14:21] Nothing big enough is ever going to come around and you are going to get old and fat [14:26] and just have done nothing.

[14:32] Done nothing.

[14:34] Some of you need to get some margin. [14:37] Some of you have too much margin. [14:40] But the question isn’t today. [14:42] I don’t want to deal with how to slow down or how to speed up. [14:46] That is not where I am going. [14:48] Because that is not going to play in church.

[14:52] What I want to deal with is what is a Christian view of margin.

[14:57] Because that is what your world view actually tells you.

[15:04] And I believe how you use your margin shows me everything I need to know [15:07] with what your world view actually means. [15:10] How should a Christian think about margin in their lives in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

[15:19] And how should a Christian use their margin in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? [15:27] And what is the way that you use your margin teaching those around you about the Gospel? [15:37] Because I think that is what we usually don’t think about. [15:39] We usually think about our margin in completely selfish ways. [15:44] But the way that you use your margin is teaching everyone in your life [15:49] a story about what you actually believe gives people the most meaning in life.

[15:56] Well in Colossians 1 and 3, I want to kind of bridge the gap between two chapters this morning. [16:02] I believe the Apostle Paul lays out meaning for the Christian life. [16:06] And this meaning that the Apostle Paul is going to lay out is going to tell us everything that we need to know [16:11] about how we should use margin in our lives. [16:15] And in chapter 1, we see this amazing diatribe about the deity of who Jesus is. [16:21] But he prefaces it starting in verse 9 with how our lifestyle feeds into our view of who Jesus is.

[16:30] Here’s what Paul writes.

[16:59] And so Paul prays for the people of this church in regards to their knowledge of God’s name. [17:06] The fruit of their work for God, growing in their knowledge about God, wisdom in making choices in life, [17:16] and enduring in a lifestyle of glorifying God. [17:21] In all of those things, the Apostle is praying about how they will use the margin of their life to have a life worth living. [17:33] That’s what Paul is praying for. [17:34] Because in every one of those things Paul is praying about, understand they were going to have to make margin for.

[17:44] What are you using your margin for? [17:47] And how is it feeding into your growth in these areas?

[17:52] Because usually what we do is, we take an already busy life, an already committed life, [17:59] to whatever your level of commitment, to whatever it is that you love and whatever it is that you want to do, [18:04] or whatever it is that you feel compelled to do without Jesus, [18:09] and you try to add Jesus to an already full schedule.

[18:15] And then when you do that, you’re confused as to why the Christian life isn’t giving you peace.

[18:23] I mean, you look at what Jesus said. [18:26] He said, you come to me, all you who, you know, you’re heavy laden, you’re burdened and you’re tired, I will give you rest. [18:34] And you say, it doesn’t really feel like that. [18:36] I don’t feel like the Christian life is giving me more rest. [18:38] I feel like it’s added something else to my to-do list. [18:42] Because what you’ve done is, is instead of giving the totality of your margin to the Lord of the margin,

[18:50] you’ve said, Jesus, I will add you to my margin where I am still Lord.

[18:57] And Jesus wants every part of your margin, and he is going to tell you to sacrifice much in order to experience all of this. [19:09] So everything that you’ve ever had going on apart from Jesus, if you put your faith in Jesus, [19:15] everything you had going on before him, hold like this with an open hand. [19:23] And be understanding that the life of a disciple is one in which you’re walking through life with everything that you’re committed to with an open hand. [19:32] And you will literally start removing things as you follow and grow in Jesus. [19:38] If you show me your life before Christ, and every one of your commitments before Christ still lays in that hand five years after you started following Jesus,

[19:47] you’ve not been following Jesus.

[19:51] You’ve not.

[19:53] Because Jesus was very clear that the first thing you will find out in following him is the following him demands sacrifice.

[20:03] And you’re trying to have it all. [20:05] The key to understanding following Jesus is that you cannot have it all. [20:11] So how does he hope they will do this? [20:13] Well, that’s where we bridge over to Colossians 3. [20:16] I believe Colossians 3 serves as a commentary on Colossians 1. [20:20] In Colossians 3 verse 1, the apostle writes this.

[20:23] He says, if then, and I love the fact that he starts with an if statement. [20:27] He says, if you’ve been raised with Christ, and understand that every time the apostle puts an if statement, he’s leaving room that maybe you haven’t.

[20:36] He says, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. [20:45] Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. [20:52] So he is telling us that you need to be more consumed with the things of heaven than you are the things of earth. [21:01] So it’s beginning to make me think that those things that are only going to be of earthly gain, Jesus is going to tell me to lessen my grip on those things. [21:12] Have you ever heard the statement that you’re too heavenly minded to be any earthly good? [21:17] That statement is stupid, never say it to me.

[21:21] Because it denies this verse.

[21:24] Because this verse tells us that the only people that are ever any earthly good are those who are heavenly minded.

[21:32] And the apostle is telling you, stop worrying about how the earthly commitments, pleasures, and materials of this world will give you meaning. [21:43] And start asking, how does Jesus give me meaning? [21:48] Because when you fill your life with the things of this world, that is what you will reap, things of this world. [21:58] If you hope to have the life of God and to reap the pleasures of God, you will need to turn your investments and your margin over to a heavenly mindset, because that is where Jesus is.

[22:17] The truth is that you spend too much of your time making your decisions based on the wisdom of the earth, because you think things will pay off. [22:27] That is why as a parent, when your child tells you, I want to study the Bible in college, you reply, but you won’t make any money studying the Bible.

[22:38] Because you are filled with earthly wisdom without heavenly wisdom. [22:46] And because you don’t believe God can feed your children. He believes you can.

[22:54] Some of you all started squirming. Did I meddle too much?

[23:01] I’m just giving you a paucity, so get mad at him. [23:05] Paul is prepared, isn’t he?

[23:09] Number two, if Jesus is my God, he defines my margins. [23:16] If Jesus is my God, he defines my margins. [23:21] And if he doesn’t define your margins, then he isn’t your God. [23:26] That’s why Paul said if. [23:29] That’s why he said if. [23:30] For the follower of Jesus, for the follower of Jesus, he is life.

[23:38] You see, Paul’s prayer begs the question of why we should commit to this above every other thing demanding our attention. [23:49] It amazes me as I get older that the amount of things, not just saying Steve, pay attention. [23:56] But demanding my attention with the mindset of if you don’t pay attention, you will not have a life worth living. [24:07] If you don’t pay attention to me, you will not have the life you’ve always wanted. [24:13] If you don’t pay attention to this urgent earthly thing, you will die. [24:21] So will your entire family.

[24:25] That doesn’t lessen as I get older. [24:28] It increases. [24:31] And that’s why the life of scripture is so vital, because the life of scripture serves as a counter argument to every demand that this world makes of me. [24:42] And it demands that I live a life that is different than this world is demanding. [24:48] And so as you get older, you will not become more normal in the world’s sense with the way that you make decisions, because I believe this crazy thing. [24:59] I believe that as you grow in faith, in other words, as you get older as a believer, you should get closer to Jesus.

[25:09] So I believe that the trajectory of the Christian life is that the point A is coming to faith in Jesus, that the point B is not directly across. [25:19] It is up. And that your allegiance to him, your commitment to him, your knowledge of him, your fruit for him, your discernment from him and your choices about him will grow and grow and grow. [25:35] And the grip that the demands of this world have on you will lessen, not in a mystical way. [25:45] Because it doesn’t just happen by accident. [25:48] You will make those grips lessen, because you will believe the lives of this world less and you will believe the word of God in your life more. [25:56] And so what Paul is urging the reader to do in Colossians 1 and in Colossians 3 is to reorient your life around Jesus and say no to other things that are demanding your attention so that you can grow in Jesus.

[26:13] Because everything you say yes to in this life, do you know this? Everything you say yes to in this life involves you saying no to something else.

[26:24] When my wife said yes to me on our wedding day, she said no to every other man on this earth. [26:30] Lucky guy.

[26:34] And vice versa. I said no to every other woman. [26:39] And so that decision limited my options in a glorious way, but it limited my options nonetheless.

[26:50] When you chose the house or the apartment, dorm room, shack on the corner, I don’t know where all of you live. [26:58] You said no to the house next door. And so you don’t own your neighbor’s house. Did you know that? I hope you know that.

[27:07] Because some of y’all in the HOA, y’all act like you own your neighbor’s house.

[27:13] He didn’t plant fescue. I don’t know if Bermuda’s allowed in this HOA.

[27:20] Get a life! What’s wrong with you people?

[27:27] But everything you say yes to is a no to something else. So understand that everything you commit to with your time, you’re using margin that you cannot get back. [27:42] Because you cannot make more margin in your life. [27:46] Note what the apostle says about Jesus in Colossians 1, starting in verse 15. [27:52] He says, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of, or I like the CSB because it says the firstborn over all creation. [28:01] For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, [28:08] all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

[28:15] He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [28:22] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

[28:37] Here’s what Paul means. Jesus is really, really, really important and really, really, really powerful and really, really, really authoritative. Jesus is really, really, really God.

[28:52] Sometimes we get lost in the theological milieu of this passage, and we don’t take the application out of it where he says that Jesus is God of the church, Jesus is God of the earth, Jesus is God of heaven, Jesus is God of everything. [29:07] So every decision you make about any of those categories, you might want to pass through Jesus first.

[29:14] Because Jesus is the God of your margin, and it matters what he says you should do with your margin more than what any other voice says you should do with the margin of your life. [29:27] But sometimes we read this passage and we don’t take that application. [29:32] And so instead of showing how important Jesus is with your commitments, we often show how valuable this world is through our commitments.

[29:45] You see, the way that he ends that section in verses 19 and 20 is vital to understanding how the rest of it interacts with our lives. [29:52] He is saying we have made bad decisions. He’s saying none of us have used our margin the way that God designed us to use our margin. [30:05] But he ends in verses 19 through 20 saying you can recover God’s vision for your margins because Jesus gave his life for your mistakes. [30:17] He took the penalty for your sin and your decisions that made commitments that made Jesus look less valuable and this world look more valuable. [30:30] That was sin. And that sent Jesus to the cross. And he died for that. [30:38] The text says that he bled for that to make peace with the burden that we put on ourselves so that we can recover what was once lost.

[30:53] Be thankful for the grace. Be grateful for the mercy. And be striving for recovery.

[31:01] Because Jesus made peace so that you could start making better decisions. So that you could start using your margins appropriately. [31:10] How do I know that? Colossians 3. Colossians 3, 17. The apostle writes, he says, whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

[31:30] Note what it doesn’t say. Because there’s a way of interpreting this verse and you put it on like a softball jersey and it’s like your softball king’s motto that we’re playing softball in word and deed for the glory of Jesus. [31:43] We just throw it on anything and everything. Note that it doesn’t say whatever you want to do.

[31:52] That whatever you do at the beginning of the passage is qualified by Colossians 3, 1-2 and Colossians 1, 15-20. [32:01] It’s qualified by setting your mind on that which is above. Making decisions based on showing the preeminence of Jesus above absolutely everything else in your life. [32:16] And we must in all of our considerations ask how our margins show the, as Colossians 1 puts it, the preeminence of Jesus in our lives. [32:30] With full regard that Jesus died because we didn’t show his preeminence in our lives. [32:39] But now that we have a new life in Christ, we live to recover the preeminence of Jesus in our lives. [32:50] So when we think in word or deed, am I showing the preeminence of Jesus in my life?

[32:59] Let us not have the audacity to just put on every decision that we make that the fallout is just obviously going to be that it was done in the name of Jesus. [33:12] We can’t do that. Because not everything that we commit to doing shows his preeminence. [33:21] Some of it detracts from his preeminence because it takes you away from the life of discipleship. [33:30] Your margins must be recovered. Because Jesus is the Lord of your margins. [33:37] Or he is no Lord at all.

[33:44] We have to deal with that sobering truth. [33:48] That our margins show where our faith for our lives actually lies.

[33:56] So number three, create and use margin for discipleship. [34:04] Create and use margin for discipleship.

[34:10] You can create margin. You must create margin.

[34:16] You’ve got the same 724, 365 that you are ever going to have. You’re never going to get more.

[34:26] But how you use it is where your creative license falls into place. Because God made us as creative beings. [34:36] So we have decisions to make. We have choices that will define our lives. [34:42] And you need to begin to create more margin in your life for things that show who Jesus actually is. [34:50] Look at what Paul did with his margin. Starting in Colossians 1, 24. [34:56] He said, I rejoice in my sufferings. That’s crazy.

[35:01] I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. See Paul wanted to give of himself because he loved other people.

[35:08] And in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Why? [35:14] For the sake of his body, that is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the word of God fully known. [35:26] The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. [35:32] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [35:41] Him we proclaim. Him we proclaim. [35:47] But I want to pass over that. Because some of you will be tempted to look at this passage and say, well I’m not the apostle Paul.

[35:56] That’s not God’s calling on you. Sometimes the pronouns are pretty important. [36:02] And Paul uses one in which he includes everyone. [36:06] He says, him we proclaim, warning everyone, teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ. [36:18] For this I toil, struggling with all God’s energy that God powerfully works within me.

[36:29] See what the apostle is doing in that text, he’s showing what you need to use your life for.

[36:37] And when he says that I am filling my life up with what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, he’s not making a statement about the gospel. [36:46] He’s not saying that anything that Jesus did for us is lacking and needs something added to it. [36:51] What he is saying is, is that there are aspects of my life that God is going to ask me to give over to him that I am not aware of yet. [36:59] And so I am on a trajectory of growing and how much I give over to the afflictions that God will bring into my life. [37:08] Because when I suffer in this life, I need to be sure that I am ready to suffer for the sake of the gospel. [37:16] So that no matter what comes into my life, no matter what barriers I face, no matter what adversaries I face, no matter what commitments are begging that I pour into them,

[37:26] I keep my eyes straight, my vision clear, my love pure, my life built, so that nothing will discourage me from giving everything to the gospel of Jesus [37:43] to make disciples who make disciples.

[37:52] The surprise of discouragement in following Jesus can kill you and make you want to quit.

[38:08] Because many of you are not prepared.

[38:13] Because you have not done what the apostle calls you to do in this passage. [38:17] You have not made war on your margins.

[38:23] Make war on your margins.

[38:28] Because you have given him just this little corner closet.

[38:34] Of margin. [38:36] And so when discouragement comes, you are not ready. [38:38] Because you have not been filling yourself up with the readiness. [38:41] You have not been filling yourself up by putting your yes on the table for God, no on the table for everything that would take you away from God. [38:48] And so when the suffering comes, when the discouragement comes, when the adversary comes, when people discourage you, when things hurt you, [38:55] you immediately just retreat and say, was it worth it all?

[39:01] Because you have not created margin to be prepared. [39:06] You create margin. [39:08] Margin is driven by choice. [39:11] Every single day you are creating a future that you are walking into that is going to determine how you live for Jesus. [39:23] And for many of us, the margin that we have created for Jesus is not sufficient for the calling that Jesus is going to put on all of our lives. [39:33] Why would Paul say warning everyone if it was easy?

[39:39] I was talking to my daughter last night. [39:41] That is always interesting. [39:44] So filled with knowledge. [39:45] She was telling me what she wanted to do. [39:46] She was trying to avoid bedtime and I am the sucker. [39:49] I will just talk to her forever.

[39:52] She was telling me what she wanted to do when she grew up. [39:54] She was like, do you know what I want to do? [39:56] I said no. [39:57] And I was ready for some amazing spiritual talk with a five year old. [40:01] Which by the way, if you ever want to be disappointed, prepare yourself for an amazing spiritual talk with a five year old.

[40:09] My daughter said, I want to be a doorman.

[40:16] I was like, what? [40:18] In my mind I was like, how does she even know what that is? [40:21] A doorman?

[40:23] I said, a doorman? [40:25] Where did you learn about that? [40:26] She said, this is on some YouTube video, some kids video, Blippi or something. [40:31] If you haven’t watched Blippi, you are probably happier than I am.

[40:38] But I said, why do you want to be a doorman? [40:42] And she said, because, Tat, it is so easy.

[40:51] You just have a key and you open the door. [40:55] And you are done.

[40:59] And so I tried to Jesus joker. [41:02] And I was like, but honey, you need to do hard things. [41:07] The hard things are worth it. [41:08] And she just looked at me and she said, why would I ever want to do anything that is hard?

[41:19] But that is five year old logic. [41:21] So why is your 45 year old brain using the same logic?

[41:27] Growing in Christ is understanding that God is going to bring you through hard things. [41:36] And he is going to require of you hard things.

[41:40] So you need to be prepared to have faith for the hard things.

[41:45] By creating a margin that is given to Jesus to grow. [41:52] Friend, verse 25, the apostle talks about the supernatural power that is going to give him the strength to do what he needs to do. [42:04] And so my question for you is, are you struggling to create margin to show the worth of Jesus? [42:10] Or are you struggling against Jesus to show the worth of other things?

[42:21] When you create this margin, you will have to use it. [42:26] And in Colossians 3, he tells us how to think through that. [42:30] In verse 23, he says, whatever you do, again, he repeats this, work hardily. [42:38] So if you want the easy life, sorry.

[42:43] Work hardly as for the Lord, not for men. [42:47] Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward, you are serving the Lord Christ. [42:56] See, Paul’s life was for the Lord, not for men. [42:59] And what he means by that is that Paul wasn’t interested in investing in things that only had earthly pursuit and gain. [43:08] He wanted the life of God. [43:10] He was desperate for it.

[43:13] The apostle wanted to walk into the future that God had for him. [43:17] And whatever that would cost him, he would pay it gladly because of the return that God promised him. [43:28] Because he believed what verse 24 said, that he would receive an inheritance as a reward. [43:37] And it was only through serving Jesus that he would get that inheritance. [43:40] The gain that Paul sought was to be and make disciples so that he could plant churches that planted churches. [43:47] The reward?

[43:51] Jesus.

[43:54] Because Paul could not imagine having anything in his life more valuable than the life of Jesus.

[44:05] What is of value to you?

[44:12] What are you gauging your commitments by?

[44:17] What are you spending your margin on?

[44:22] Friend, of real sense, what are you exhausting yourself for?

[44:31] See, the apostle wasn’t opposed to being tired. [44:33] He says in Colossians 1, he said, for this I toil. [44:37] And in the original language, what that means is I work myself into exhaustion. [44:43] For what? For the apostle. [44:45] He said, I toil for the gospel. [44:48] I exhaust myself for it because there’s nothing better than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[44:56] The only source of the life that the apostle says is worth living is Jesus.

[45:04] What will you create and use margin for in your life?

[45:12] It’s not up to anyone else. [45:16] It’s up to you. [45:19] Don’t make excuses.

[45:21] Don’t kick the can down the road. [45:25] Don’t wait any longer.

[45:30] The reaction that many of you need to have to this message is you need to immediately uncommit from at least 20% of the things that you are committed to.

[45:46] I’m just going to be real with you because you’re strangling your discipleship.

[45:53] You’re strangling it. [45:54] You’re wasting your time. [45:57] You will never see gain from most of the things that you’re committed to.

[46:03] Never.

[46:06] And then you aren’t just freeing up time to sit, by the way. [46:10] Some of you need to learn to rest, but many of you are very well rested.

[46:17] You need to put your action where you say your faith is and follow Jesus with your time rather than being the Lord of your own time.