What's In The Suitcases of Your Life?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>What's In The Suitcases of Your Life?</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id456.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Becoming Generous"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id460.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Planning Your Life and Living According "><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"What's In The Suitcases of Your Life?"  Psalm 39:1-13</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, June 13, 2004</B></div> <bR> <div>      We have discussed how generous God has been to us, and how we should become generous people, towards him and towards others.  2 Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." The basis for planning my life and budgeting my time and money is so I can give my life back to him, because of his generosity towards me.</div> <div>      But what if we are squeezed in time and money? What if all our resources are being consumed on own life and existence and there is nothing left to offer? How do we budget or plan our finances and calendars and tasks in order to fulfill God's plan for us (e.g., generosity; keeping in mind that our basic purpose is to love God, worship God, serve God and be like God, especially in relationship with others)? How do we arrange our lives so we have time for work, relationships and rest? Time flies; money leaks and drifts away. God-given opportunities pass. What do I have to show for it? Going with "the flow" will lead to having nothing and doing nothing of significance. Life must be planned and budgeted, because there are too many ways to waste your life.</div> <div> <B>     </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Good planning begins with perspective, and Psalm 39:1-13 includes a prayer for perspective on life. If we are going to effectively plan and prioritize our lives and finances, so we can make the most of our resources, we must remember that we are travelers on earth, not permanent residents (vs. 12); but we are at home with God, secure and satisfied in our relationship with him.</FONT></div> <div>      David was experiencing the discipline of God, possibly in a prolonged illness. He was probably an older man when he wrote this. David confesses to a mounting sense of frustration (vss. 1-3), and when he can no longer keep quiet, he asks God to help him understand the brevity of life (vss. 4-6). Summers are short in upstate New York, and before you know it, winter returns - that is like life as a whole! Verse 6 says we "bustle about;" I think of the Christmas bustle to buy toys that will be enjoyed for 4 hours then sold in on Ebay. Life is short, and what we work so hard to achieve is only temporary and does not satisfy our souls. In verses 7-13, David asked God to remove the discipline and restore the fellowship so David could enjoy whatever life he had left. He recognized that life passes so quickly and he did not want it to pass under the discipline of God because of his own poor choices. </div> <div>      The basic lesson from this psalm can be summed up like this: <B>life is too short to do anything but live for God.</B> Sin, living for anything but God, creates separation, frustration and dissatisfaction. Enjoyment of life is a gift from God, and you must honor God to fully enjoy life and make the most of it. Recently, a man-made lake in the St. Louis area, surrounded by beautiful homes, vanished in just days. Things you think will be there forever can be gone in no time. From God's perspective, life is that short, and we do well to build our lives on the solid foundation of doing the will of God.</div> <bR> <div>      Here are three implications of this lesson:</div> <div> <I>1. Choosing priorities must center around your relationship with God. </I></div> <div>      Luke 16:13 says, "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." You cannot serve God and money, God and possessions, God and the praise of people. You must choose to serve God and you must base  your everyday choices about time and money on serving God. (Are you in a relationship with God?)</div> <bR> <div> <I>2. Life is short, and there is only so much you can fit into your life.</I></div> <div>      Shortly after our trip home from Moldova, I had one of those weird dreams. We were traveling, waiting in an airport, and I was surrounded by big bag after big bag of my own luggage, which I had to drag with me where ever I went. I couldn't find the things I needed, because there was so much stuff, and I didn't have the freedom to even get up and find a bite to eat. It's interesting, the more stuff we are carting around through life, the more we our freedom and flexibility is restricted. We are travelers on a journey, and there is only so much we can fit in to our lives! Every possession, every expenditure of money, every task, every expenditure of time, fills up our life's "luggage," the stuff of our lives. You can only stuff so many useful possessions into your life - after that it is burdensome and wasteful. You can only stuff so many tasks and activities into your calendar. </div> <div>      What do we have weighing us down, keeping us from maximum effectiveness (and satisfaction and joy)? Is what you are carrying around in your life, your possessions, your pursuits, your obligations, your expenses, your activities, helping or hindering you in your journey on earth and in your relationship with God? It may be time to unload some of the unnecessary baggage.</div> <bR> <div> <I>3. Our choices today limit our choices tomorrow.</I></div> <div>      We can choose much of what our lives are made of, what we do, what we spend our time and money on. But our choices today limit our array of choices tomorrow. For example, if I fail to plan and choose and prioritize in preparation for retirement, my options at retirement will be very limited. Of, if I spend $20 on a CD, that is 20 less dollars I have to take my wife out to dinner, to to give to the missionary our small group supports. </div> <div>      Maybe today you are reaping the consequences, the squeeze, because of earlier choices. Maybe you are living in the past, paying off debt for things you no longer benefit from. Begin today to make better choices, in keeping with God's priorities for your life. Begin to free yourself from your debts, and from tasks and activities that no longer fit your new God-honoring priorities.</div> <bR> <div>      The challenge: Keep track of your expenses (for one month) and your use of time (for one week). And we will talk about making changes, so you have the time for God priorities, and so you can balance the core elements of life, like work, relationships and rest.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Questions for Thought and Discussion:</B></div> <div> 1. Consider the following lyrics from Michael Card: Every heart needs to be set free, from possessions that hold it so tight / 'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own, It's the power to do what is right. / Jesus, our only possession, giving becomes our delight / We can't imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind ("Things We Leave Behind," Michael Card, <I>Poiema</I>). Our consumerist mentality causes us to want more and more, and we stockpile possessions we no longer need, want, or use. Do you have possessions that have weighed you down with the obligations associated with them, possessions that have kept you from being "free"? What are they and what are you going to do about them?</div> <bR> <div> 2. What do you think you will find when you keep track of your expenses and your use of time? What do you <I>wish </I>would be found - what would you <I>want </I>for such an evaluation to reveal? What changes do you need to make starting today?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>