• 2 months ago
Transcript
00:00I'm swamped.
00:03I've said it.
00:04You've said it.
00:05We've all said it at one overwhelmed point or another.
00:09The Bible tells us that Jesus' disciples were once swamped in a different way.
00:15As they sailed across the Sea of Galilee, a squall came down on the lake so that the
00:19boat was being swamped and they were in great danger.
00:23Luke 8 verse 23.
00:26You know the rest of the story.
00:28Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters.
00:32The storm subsided and all was calm.
00:35Luke 8 verse 24.
00:37This passage perfectly illustrates the core premise of this reading plan, namely that
00:43the solution to the disciples being swamped by the wind and waves is the exact same solution
00:48to our being swamped by our to-do lists and hurried schedules.
00:53The solution is found in Jesus Christ.
00:56How?
00:57In two ways.
00:59First, Jesus offers you peace before you do anything.
01:03Nearly every time-management guru says that the path to peace and productivity is found
01:07in implementing their system.
01:10This is what we might call workspace productivity.
01:14As Christ followers, we start with the opposite premise in what we might call grace-based
01:19productivity, which says that through Jesus Christ, we already have peace and we do time-management
01:26exercises X, Y, or Z as a response of worship.
01:31Here is the second way that Jesus is the solution to our time-management problems.
01:36Jesus shows us how God would manage his time.
01:39Now, of course the Gospels do not show Jesus walking around with a to-do list, calendar,
01:45or smart watch.
01:47But they do show him having to prioritize where he spent his time, dealing with distractions
01:51at work, fighting for solitude, and seeking to be busy without being hurried.
01:57Suffice it to say that when we read the Gospels for the biographies they are, we can see at
02:02least seven timeless time-management principles modeled by Jesus Christ, the most purposeful,
02:08present, and productive person who ever lived.
02:12Here is the first principle one.
02:15Start with the Word.
02:17To redeem our time in the model of our Redeemer, we must first know the author of time, his
02:21purposes for the world, and what he has called us to do with the time he has given us.
02:27We see Jesus practicing this principle in Mark 1.
02:3135 When, very early in the morning, he went off
02:35to a solitary place, where he prayed, throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus prioritizing time
02:42with the Father above everything else, including sleep.
02:46See Luke 6 verse 12.
02:48We must do the same.
02:50But let's be honest, making quiet times a meaningful habit can be hard.