August 25, 2019 / / / I Choose / / / Week 4-IMPORTANT OVER URGENT.
We are shaped by many factors: our genetics, experiences, relationships, perceptions, and beliefs, to name a few, but our CHOICES matter far more than we realize.
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Title: "IMPORTANT OVER URGENT"
Speaker: Jim Hammond
Series: I Choose
Reflect:
No matter what, time gets filled with something.
What fills your time shapes your life.
QUESTION:
What important matters are you neglecting?
HOW TO CHOOSE THE IMPORTANT OVER THE URGENT
1. Maintain Margin
Mark 1:45 (NIV)
… Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Mark 3:20
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.
Mark 4:35-39
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
REFLECT:
We have an enemy who will do all he can to keep you so exhausted and distracted you fail to do anything really important!
Mark 1:29-34
As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Mark 1:35
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
2. Choose a TIME and PLACE daily appointment with GOD.
Mark 1:36-37
Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
3. PRIORITIZE: Ask God to help you.
Mark 1:38
Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
4. Do FIRST What Matters MOST.
5. Be PROACTIVE
6. SCHEDULE the Important Stuff
•Use your calendar
•Create artificial deadlines
Reflect:
The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule,
but to schedule your priorities
John 17:4
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
Dear Jesus,
You lived a short life here on earth yet accomplished the most important work of all. Thank You for valuing people so much. Thank you for valuing me. I want to live more like you. I want to think more long-term and people-first. Help me to refocus on what matters most. Amen.
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