THE RUTHLESS ELIMINATION OF HURRY
BUSYNESS
BUSYNESS
HOW ARE YOU DOING?
“THE PROBLEM ISN’T WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT TO DO; ITS WHEN YOU HAVE TOO MUCH TO DO AND THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP THE QUOTA UP IS TO HURRY.” – JOHN MARK COMER
“YOU MUST RUTHLESSLY ELIMINATE HURRY FROM YOUR LIFE.” – DALLAS WILLARD
“THERE IS NOTHING ELSE. HURRY IS THE GREAT ENEMY OF SPIRITUAL LIFE IN OUR DAY. YOU MUST RUTHLESSLY ELIMINATE HURRY FROM YOUR LIFE.” – DALLAS WILLARD
HURRY IS NOT JUST A DIS-ORDERED SCHEDULE. HURRY IS A DIS-ORDERED HEART.
“IF THE DEVIL CAN’T MAKE YOU SIN, HE’LL MAKE YOU BUSY.” – CORRIE TEN BOOM
“HURRY IS NOT OF THE DEVIL; HURRY IS THE DEVIL.” – CARL JUNG
BOTH SIN AND BUSYNESS HAVE THE SAME EFFECT – THEY CUT OFF YOUR CONNECTION TO GOD, PEOPLE AND YOUR OWN SOUL
“Today a number of historical circumstances are blindly flowing together and accidentally conspiring to produce a climate within which it is difficult not just to think about God or to pray, but simply to have any interior depth whatsoever…We, for every kind of reason, good and bad, are distracting ourselves into spiritual oblivion. It is not that we have anything against God, depth and spirit, we would like these, it is just that we are habitually to preoccupied to have any of these show up on our radar screens. We are more busy than bad, more distracted than nonspiritual, and more interested in the movie theater, the sports stadium, and the shopping mall and the fantasy life they produce in us than we are in church. Pathological busyness, distraction, and restlessness are major roadblocks today within our spiritual lives.” – Ronald Rolheiser
“For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.” John Ortberg
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT
LOVE
“You must love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:36-39 NLT
HURRY AND LOVE ARE INCOMPATIBLE
LOVE
“HURRY AND LOVE ARE OIL AND WATER: THEY SIMPLY DO NOT MIX.” – JOHN MARK COMER
“Love is patient and kind.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT
“God walks “slowly” because He is love. If he is not love He would have gone much faster. Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It is “slow” yet it is lord over all other speeds since it is the speed of love.” – Kosuke Koyama
“But in the upside-down Kingdom, our value system is turned on it’s head: hurry is of the devil; slow is of Jesus, because Jesus is what love looks like in flesh and blood” – John Mark Comer
“As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her.” So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him.” Matthew 9:18-19 NLT
“Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up b Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.” Matthew 9:20-22 NLT
JESUS’ UNHURRY ALLOWED FOR AN INTERRUPTION, WHICH LED TO AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOVE, WHICH ENDED IN A MIRACLE
HURRY SICKNESS
A HURRIED LIFE OF SPEED IS THE NEW NORMAL IN OUR SOCIETY, AND IT’S TOXIC
“The thief’s (devil) purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.” John 10:10 NLT
TAKE HOME:
SLOW DOWN
TAKE TIME TO PAUSE
WHAT YOU GIVE YOUR ATTENTION TO CONSISTENTLY IS THE PERSON YOU BECOME
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Matthew 16:25 NLT
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:18-20 NLT
QUESTIONS THAT DETERMINE WHOSE WAY WE ARE CHOOSING
Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time. They went to Balaam and delivered this message to him: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me. I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!” But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God. Numbers 22:15-18 NLT
1. DO WE PREFER GOD’S WILL OR THE WORLDS WEALTH?
MONEY PROMISES THINGS ONLY GOD CAN DELIVER
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! Ecclesiastes 5:10 NLT
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10 NLT
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?… Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:24-27;33 NLT
I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:24-26 NLT
So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along… This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff. Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam. “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!” “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.” Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.” But the angel of the Lord told Balaam, “Go with these men, but say only what I tell you to say.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s officials….Balak asked Balaam. “Didn’t you believe me when I said I would reward you richly?” Balaam replied, “Look, now I have come, but I have no power to say whatever I want. I will speak only the message that God puts in my mouth.” Numbers 22:21-22;27-35;37-38 NLT
2. DO WE UNDERSTAND GOD IS EVER-PRESENT IN OUR LIVES?
YOUR EMOTIONS HAVE “THEIR” BEST INTEREST AT HEART, NOT YOUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART!
YOU MUST LIVE UP TO YOUR CALLING AND RESIST LIVING DOWN TO YOUR COMPROMISE!
For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. Proverbs 5:21 NLT
The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT
King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, “I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times. Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.” Balaam told Balak, “Don’t you remember what I told your messengers? I said, ‘Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord.’ I told you that I could say only what the Lord says! Numbers 24:10-13 NLT
3. ARE WE WILLING TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE OVER THE POPULAR CHOICE?
DOING THE RIGHT THING IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT THING
For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. John 12:43 NLT
IF YOU LIVE FOR PEOPLE'S PRAISE THEN YOU WILL DIE BY THEIR CRITICISM
If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. John 15:18-19 NLT
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT
Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Galatians 1:10 NLT
HOW TO CHOOSE GOD’S WAY?
STAY SUBMITTED AND COMMITTED TO THE WILL OF GOD!
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalms 16:11 NLT
Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. Genesis 37:3-4 NLT
1. GRASP THAT PERSPECTIVE IMPACTS YOUR FUTURE
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 NLT
The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Genesis 39:2 NLT
But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Genesis 39:21 NLT
Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT
2. DON’T FIGHT THE PROCESS
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:4 NLT
GOD CARES MORE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER THAN YOUR COMFORT.
“My child, don’t make light of the lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? Hebrews 12:5-7 NLT
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. 1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT
3. DECIDE TO FULLY TRUST
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:6-8
YOUR ATTITUDE IS THE KEY THAT ACTIVATES GOD MOVING IN YOUR LIFE.
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 NLT
4. UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OF TEMPTATION
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. James 1:14-15 NLT
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12 NLT
The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. Galatians 5:17 NLT
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:24-25 NLT