Sunday, January 15, 2006

sermon notes: RELAX

From God to Cptn. Harwell to me
Daytona Beach, Fla.

Defeating Stress - Part 2

God's Antidote to Busyness

Psalm 23:2

God's way to
RELAX

The pace at which we live, the busyness of it all is so fast and crazy.

Are you a workaholic? Ask yourself the following questions:

1 - Are you always in a hurry?
2 - Is your to do list long?
3 - Do you use your days off to catch up with work?
4 - Do people often tell you to slow down?
5 - Do you feel guilty when you take time to relax?
6 - Do you have to get sick to take time off?

That's not the life God wants us to live.

Good News version of Psalm 23:2:

It is senseless...God wants His loved ones to get His rest.

The book The 24 Hour Life by Martin ?
It talks about how most accidents, tragic accidents occus because of a lack of rest.
Without rest we can hit tragedy easier than if we took time to RELAX.

What happens to us when we ignore God's intention for us to rest?

When you're burning the candle at both ends, you're not as bright as you think you are.

23 He leads me beside quiet...HE'S interested in your rest.

He doesn't want you to work ALL of the time.

If we're under intense pressure, he has the antidote.

REALIZE your worth.

We confuse our work with our work.
What do you do? That is a question that most people ask us when they first meet us. We get our worth -- we think -- from our work BUT the Bible doesn't teach us that at all.

James 1:18 - NIV - We are the first fruits. He has created us. WE are the most important of all God's creation.

If you were made by God, you're worth it. You're valuable. You're worth it.

If God likes me, and I like me and you don't like me...Who's problem is it?

You don't have to prove your worth.

ENJOY

Ecclesiastes 3

Can you be so preoccupied in getting more that we don't enjoy what we have?
We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like.

Ecclesiastes 4:6

The greatest things in life aren't THINGS.

No one says, I wish I spent more time in the office. DON'T WORRY ABOUT MORE.


LIMIT your labor.

Make a conscious decision to make time for other things besides work.

Schedule time for ourselves, for God, for family.

Ecclesiastes 10:15

REFOCUS , REPRIORITIZE

Good news version...Only someone too stupid to find their way home would...

If theh bow is never unstrung, it loses its power.

Exodus 20 -- 7th day is for rest

1 day off is the rule. It's the 4th commandment. It made the big 10!

God takes rest very seriously.

Bible calls it a "sabbath" which means "day of rest."
Mark says that the Sabbath was made for man.

What should you do?

REST YOUR BODY.
RECHARGE YOUR EMOTIONS.
REVISIT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.
REFOCUS YOUR SPIRIT.

Worship brings it all into perspective. Observe the day of rest.

ADJUST your values.

You want to change your thinking about what's important.
It takes a transformation of ourselves.

Ecclesiastes 4:4
...they envy the things their neighbors have...

You've got to STOP feeling like you need more.
Some things are more important in life.

John Trent wrote an article called A Father's Heart
He observed a family on a cruise. A little boy was expressing to his mom that his father was on the cruise and asked the question -- Doesn't he want to be with me?
Having a dad physically present but emotionally not there is not being present to what's really important.

People throw away valuable relationships because they allow WORK or selfish interests take all of their time. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul? his relationships? his friends? his family?
We need to set the right values for others.

EXCHANGE my pressure for God's peace.


(more notes to come...still not finished typing them)

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