From Maxed To Margin - Scotty Gibbons

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Hello, and welcome to People's Church Online. We're so glad that you chose to join us today. We are in our Back to the Movies series, and we wanted to let you know that due to copyright, we are unable to archive this series or to stream it live on YouTube or on Facebook. If you would like to join us for Back to the Movies today, you can go to peoples.church slash live, where it will be streaming live only at 8.30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11.30 a.m. Central Standard Time. Again, go to peoples.church slash live to join us for our Back to the Movies series. For our YouTube and Facebook family, we wanted to provide you with a special service as well. So if you prefer, you can stay right here for a powerful service with a special message on how to keep busyness from wrecking your life. Thanks again for joining us at People's Church. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Hello, and welcome to People's Church Online. We're so glad that you chose to join us today. We are in our Back to the Movies series, and we wanted to let you know that due to copyright, we are unable to archive this series or to stream it live on YouTube or on Facebook. If you would like to join us for Back to the Movies today, you can go to peoples.church slash live, where it will be streaming live only at 8.30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11.30 a.m. Central Standard Time. Go to peoples.church slash live to join us for our Back to the Movies series. For our YouTube and Facebook family, we wanted to provide you with a special service as well. So if you prefer, you can stay right here for a powerful service with a special message on how to keep busyness from wrecking your life. Thanks again for joining us at People's Church. Back to the Movies "-MUSIC PLAYING- "-MUSIC PLAYING- Hello and welcome to People's Church Online. We're so glad that you chose to join us today.

We are in our Back to the Movies series and we wanted to let you know that due to copyright, we are unable to archive this series or to stream it live on YouTube or on Facebook. If you would like to join us for Back to the Movies today, you can go to peoples.church slash live where it will be streaming live only at 830 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1130 a.m. Central Standard Time. Again, go to peoples.church slash live to join us for our Back to the Movies series. For our YouTube and Facebook family, we wanted to provide you with a special service as well. So if you prefer, you can stay right here for a powerful service with a special message on how to keep busyness from wrecking your life. Thanks again for joining us at People's Church. We're so glad that you chose to join us today. We are in our Back to the Movies series and we wanted to let you know that due to copyright, we are unable to archive this series or to stream it live on YouTube or on Facebook. If you would like to join us for Back to the Movies today, you can go to peoples.church slash live where it will be streaming live only at 830 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1130 a.m. Central Standard Time. Again, go to peoples.church slash live to join us for our Back to the Movies series. For our YouTube and Facebook family, we wanted to provide you with a special service as well.

So if you prefer, you can stay right here for a powerful service with a special message on how to keep busyness from wrecking your life. Thanks again for joining us at People's Church. Bye. Hello, and welcome to People's Church Online. We're so glad that you chose to join us today. We are in our Back to the Movies series, and we wanted to let you know that due to copyright, we are unable to archive this series or to stream it live on YouTube or on Facebook. If you would like to join us for Back to the Movies today, you can go to peoples.church slash live, where it will be streaming live only at 830 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1130 a.m. Central Standard Time. Again, go to peoples.church slash live to join us for our Back to the Movies series. For our YouTube and Facebook family, we wanted to provide you with a special service as well. So, if you prefer, you can stay right here for a powerful service with a special message on how to keep busyness from wrecking your life. Thanks again for joining us at People's Church. Jesus came so lost people could be saved. This church is not a cruise ship where we lay by the pool. This is a battleship, and for 23 years, we've been on mission for Jesus. For 23 years, we've been worshiping Jesus, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, reaching lost people, baptizing people, helping people know God and grow in God, discover purpose and make a difference. We've been on the mission of Jesus. For one reason, to see more changed lives. Welcome to People's Church, everyone. Come on, will you stand to your feet? Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. There's a praise that we release. There's an anthem of the free. When you know what you've been rescued from, worship fills your lungs. It's the sound of the redeemed. Come on, church. Send in your hands if you've been forgiven, brought into the land of the living. There is freedom in this house. Lift your voice if he's been faithful. Shout it out. Tell him you're grateful. There is freedom in this house. It's a grave where we used to be. Before grace changed everything. If you know that you've been born again, come on, say amen. It's the sound of the redeemed. Lift your hands if you've been forgiven, brought into the land of the living. There is freedom in this house. Lift your voice if he's been faithful. Shout it out. Tell him you're grateful. There is freedom in this house. See the chains on the floor. Prison doors open wide. All our hope is restored. One was dead, brought back to life. See the chains on the floor. Prison doors open wide. All our hope is restored. One was dead, brought back to life.

Lift your hands if you've been forgiven, brought into the land of the living. There is freedom in this house. Lift your voice if he's been faithful. Shout it out. Tell Him you're grateful. There is freedom in this house. Oh, there's freedom in this house. Yeah. Hallelujah. Oh, we thank you for your freedom. We thank you that we can call on you when we're in need. Oh Lord, that you do miracles. We trust in you. We have faith in you. You already see. Oh, Jesus I believe. Oh, we need a miracle. You are the miracle maker. God of the impossible. There is no power greater, exceeding, abundant, beyond what we could ask or think. We call on your name, Jesus. Oh, we call on your name above everything. By the power of your name. In awe for your glory. The sick are healed. The soul is filled. The battle has been won. On your promise I stand. And in faith I believe it. That what I pray in your name is already done. Oh, let your will be done. Oh, we need a miracle. You are the miracle maker. God of the impossible. There is no power greater, exceeding, abundant, beyond what we could ask or think. We call on your name, Jesus. Oh, we call it on the name of Jesus. The name that has power. The name where there is victory. Oh, in the waiting, you get the glory. And in the healing, you get the glory. In the breaking, you get the glory. In the breakthrough, you get the glory. In the waiting, you get the glory. In the healing, you get the glory. In the breaking, you get the glory. In the breakthrough, you get the glory. You get the glory. You get the glory. We need a miracle. You are a miracle maker. God of the impossible. There is no power greater. Exceeding. Confunding. Beyond what we could ask for. We call on your name. We need a miracle. You are a miracle maker. God of the impossible. There is no power greater. I'd like to invite our prayer team to come forward. We are a church that believes in prayer. No matter how big or how small your need is, it matters to God and we'd love to pray with you today.

So as we sing this next song, if you'd like someone to pray with you, you can step out of your seat. Let's believe God for a miracle today. My Savior, all in all, You're the one I hold on to, for the beauty of Your name, my soul will live to say, Jesus, I love You. Oh, You are the center of it all. My heart belongs to You, my Savior, all in all. You're the one I hold on to, for the beauty of Your name, my soul will live to say, Jesus, I love You. Oh, how I love You. Yeah. Oh, how I love You. Jesus, I love You. Oh, how I love You. Oh. Oh, how I love You. Jesus, I love You. In my whole life, for Your glory, my whole world, for You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. In my whole life, for Your glory, my whole world, for You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. And if my days tell a story, let it be for You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. In my whole life, for Your glory, my whole world, for You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. And if my days tell a story, let it be of You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. Oh, how I love You.

Oh, how I love You. Jesus, I love You. Oh, how I love You. Oh, how I love You. Jesus, I love You. In my whole life, for Your glory, my whole world, for You only, everything, for the honor of Your name. And if my days tell a story, let it be for You only, everything, for the honor of Your ♪ Let it be of You, everything for the honor of Your name ♪ name. ♪ Oh how I love You, oh how I love You, Jesus I love You, oh how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh how I love You, Jesus I love You, yes we love You Jesus, we love You God and we trust You as You are faithful ♪ ♪ ♪ Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine He's been my fourth man in the fight Time after time, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail He will never fail Perfect submission, all is at rest I know the author of tomorrow is on my steps So this is my story, this is my song I'm praising my risen King and Savior all the day long I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail He will never fail Oh we know You never fail God We lay our lives in Your hands We put our trust in You God I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust in God My Savior, the one who will never fail He will never fail, I trust in God My Savior, the one who will never fail He will never fail, oh He never fails We trust you with our jobs, we trust you with our finances, with every area of our life We trust you God, because you're faithful, and you never fail us We love you Lord, speak to our hearts today We want all that you have for us, in Jesus' name, Amen Amen, come on give Him praise one more time Amen, Amen We want all that you have for us, in Jesus' name, Amen We are in our series on Speed Kills We're talking about how we live in a culture that is like crazy, fast-paced society I'm just curious, this is a little crowd participation Okay, right out of the gate, I'm gonna make you work just a little bit I need to see, by a show of hands, how many of you would say As you described last week, you look back over your shoulder You kind of check out what you did And the word that comes to your mind is bored Because you didn't do anything Go ahead and wave at me If you say, yeah, last week, nobody's waving here at OKC I bet nobody's waving at any of our other campuses as well Let me ask a different question

As you look in the rear view mirror and you think about the last seven days-ish When you look at it, you would say, it was full There was a lot going on Wave at me now if you say that was the case Yes, hands are going up everywhere Because we live in a busy society, fast-paced culture A lot of stuff happening A lot of activity flying And I would even say, as a part of our culture That it's a bit of a badge of honor to be busy I mean, there just seems to be this mindset that The crazier your calendar, the more important that you are And yet, in this series, we're really making an intentional effort To slow down long enough To take a close enough, honest look At our pace, at our schedules And see if maybe, just maybe, God may want to say something to us About the way we're living our lives And we're looking at this going, well, I wonder if As I pause and look at it That the devil may have a plan for my schedule just like God does How many of you know that the devil wants you to be busy Because being too busy will break you? How many of you have learned that so far? That speed kills And God does not want us to break He wants us to be blessed That's why, this is a very, very, like, spiritual issue Like, for real Some of you may remember the quote that Pastor Herbert opened with

In our first week, and he was quoting Corrie Ten Boom And Corrie Ten Boom made this statement If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy That's a good word right there, I'm going to read it again Some of y'all just need to pray process that a little bit. You need to let it get down into your spirit. If the devil can't make you bad, he will make you busy. That's so true. The devil wants you to be busy because he wants you to break. God wants to bless you, but the devil wants to break you. I believe one of the simplest yet most overlooked keys to blessing, a lot of us as Christians we miss it, is how living with margin can safeguard us against a crash. That's why today I want to talk to you about going from maxed to margin. When I'm talking about margin, several different definitions, I read several articles or looked up even several definitions and this is the simplest way I could think of on how to describe margin. Margin is when what I have, margin is what I have beyond what I need. Margin is what I have beyond what I need. So if I need to drive to an event that's 30 minutes away, but I leave with 45 minutes to get there, I have 15 minutes of margin. If I have $50, but I have $40 in bills, I would have $10 of margin. Margin is what I have beyond what I need. And can I just tell you today that margin is your friend? Come on, some of y'all need to meet the friend of margin. You're like, I don't know margin. You need to meet margin. Margin is your friend. Have you ever been driving down the road and maybe you got distracted? You were driving. You try to be a safe driver. You're trying to be a good driver, but you got distracted. I won't say that you were looking at your cell phone. You're too spiritual for that, but let's just say you sneezed. Let's say there's a bug in the car. You saw a spider. Some of you freak out and you're about to have a wreck over a spider. But then you hear that noise when you start just drifting a little over to the side of the road, you start getting close and you hit the rumble strips. You ever hit the rumble strips before? I didn't know that's what they were called. I had to look it up. Rumble strips, that's what they're called. But you're just driving and when you kind of drift over, there's a like that. Man, that has scared me on so many times. I can't even tell you. Maybe you were dozing off. You didn't know. You just knew you're tired. Your eyes are burning

and you had a blink that got stuck. You blinked, but it didn't open back up. Then you hit the rumble strip. Oh, you wake up and in that moment you say, thank the Lord for some margin. I was on a mission trip one time to Mexico and the road that we were on, it didn't have any rumble strips. I got a picture. This is not the place where we were driving, but it's a picture that when I saw this, it reminded me of the road that we were on in Mexico. Now here's what was crazy about this is that it looks like it appears to be a single lane, but on this mission strip, there would be on a road about this narrow on a cliff similar to this one, oncoming cars from the opposite direction. And you know what was really interesting about this? Like this is no joke. I'm not making this up. I noticed on the vehicles, very few of them had like side mirrors because they just get a little too close. Lost another one. I mean, they just didn't even, didn't even try and replace them anymore. Like no use in it. And I would just say to put it mildly, I was a little bit uncomfortable with the speed with which our driver was driving. It was like no big deal to the brother that he didn't have any margin. Like he didn't need margin. I'm like, well, your side mirror thought you needed some margin. If you'd have asked it high speed plus no margin equals disaster. Let me say it a different way. Less margin leads to more wrecks. But did you know that that's how a lot of people live their lives? That's how a lot of people run their schedules. High speeds, no margin, not even stopping long enough to consider the fact that a crash is about to happen in their life. This really seems so simple yet it really is critical because margin isn't just a nice thought or a luxury or an accessory. I mean, when I think of the things that I need to say, God help me, God strengthen me, Lord protect me. I rarely find my Myself praying over margin. It just seems to be a bit of an ad on kind of like a nod to, yeah, I ought to. Yeah, we probably should. But I just want to suggest to you today that when there is no margin, there is no room for error. Like, is that really the way I want to live my life? Like I'm going to live in such a way as where there is zero room for error. Is there anybody else like me? Maybe those of you watching online can relate, but you tend to just push the

envelope just a little bit when it comes to filling up the car with gas. Anybody else? Come on. Don't leave me by myself. Anybody else? Now, here's what's interesting. I don't typically do that just day to day driving. I'm pretty consistent and responsible with filling up my tank with gas. But you know where the wheels fall off for me? Long trips. That's where I don't know what happens. I slip into something. I slip in like to this dry, to where I'm going and it was kind of getting low, half a tank, okay, quarter of a tank left. And I don't know why this is, but there's just something in me that does not want to stop. And it's like, if I wait, if I wait longer to stop to get gas, like if I wait another exit or two, I'm going to get where I'm going faster. That doesn't make any sense. But it's like, if I delay stopping, I'm going to get there sooner. And there's something else that I struggle with as I'm driving, no matter what exit, when I look at it running low on gas, but I'll look at it and I'll go, yeah, not that one. Have you ever done that before? Just judging a gas station. I mean, just judging it, looking at it going, no, there's cheaper gas. It's the next one. I'm going to stop. You don't know anything about the next one. You don't know the prices.

You don't know how far it is, but you're like, I'm going to stop at the next one, not this one. And what happens is you pass station, station, pass another one, and then you've been there before, haven't you? You hit that dry spell. It's just like forever, nothing. And you're kind of shifting in. I should have, I should have stopped at that last one. You know, I should have, I should have stopped. It's the worst too. My wife, Casey, you know, told me like, you ought to go ahead and stop. Now I'm going to stop at the next one. And then he hits that stretch. Then the light comes on. Y'all know what I'm talking, your blood pressure starts climbing. You're looking at the light and you start doing math, all kinds of miles per hour, miles per gallon. Carry your wine, turn off the air conditioning, tell your kids, hold your breath, hold your breath, be real still, quit moving. It's just unnecessary stress. Didn't have to do it to myself, but I, I did it. I did that recently on a trip. Like I literally did that. I'm like, when am I going to learn? It's amazing how often I live my life as if I think life is going to go exactly according to my plan. No bumps, no surprises, no unexpected circumstances. No, no, it's going to go just like I planned it today. Yet when I do that, I'm making Satan's job way too easy. He loves to catch us with our guard down.

He's the master of the sucker punch. He, he wants us to live stressed out, burden, high blood pressure, heart attacks, homes filled with stress and tensions, marriages that are red lining. He's having way too much success without having to make us bad. He just needs to make us busy. He wants to break us, but God wants to bless us. And did you know that sometimes the deciding factor in determining whether or not we're living life broken or blessed simply comes down to our pace. It just doesn't even sound super spiritual, does it? It just sounds too easy, too practical, too simple. Yet it's true. I want to show you from scripture. We're going to look specific at the life of Moses. Uh, Moses had a little bit going on. Uh, he had just led Israel out of Egypt and across the red sea. I don't know what you did last week, but that's what Moses had done. He was serving over the, as the leader over a million people. Like I got six kids, I'm pulling my hair out. He, he had over a million people he was responsible for. He was their spokesperson. He was God's prophet. And now he's trying to serve as the judge for the people. And his father-in-law comes into the story, Exodus chapter 18. He comes onto the scene. As they exchange some pleasantries, they're kind of celebrating how God had just delivered Israel and how God was using Moses. But just early in this exchange, Jethro looks at it and he realizes Moses had a margin problem. Let's look at it in verse 13. It says, the next day, somebody say, the next day, the next day, Moses took his

seat to serve as judge for the people. And they stood around him from morning till evening. Catch that because scripture could have just said he was there to serve as judge for the people, but it distinguishes here. It makes a little note here to catch. They stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw that Moses was doing for the people, he said, what this, what is this you're doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge? Why do you alone sit as judge while all these people stand around you here it is again, look at it from, what does it say? Morning till evening. Anytime you're studying scripture, pay attention to things like that. Like, like pay attention to the wording. If you see something repeated in scripture, it's there because God is emphasizing it because he's communicating something to us. So what he's drawing to our attention, it's not just that Moses was out doing something, but what he was doing was taxing. It was, it was dominating his time. It was a heavy load. And so Jethro sees this. He says, what is this that you're doing? Look at Moses response in verse 15, because he knew Moses knew that Jethro, the father-in-law had a little bit of edge to his question. He thought that's a loaded question. And so look at his answer in verse 15. Moses answered him because the people. Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Do you feel a little bit of, come on. Do you pick up on a little defensive tone right there from Moses?

Do you get a little bit of that? The father-in-law is like, what's this going on? People stand around you from morning to leave. They said, right. You're the only one who can judge and come on. You know, if your father-in-law comes at you like that, you know, it's just human nature, but you think I'm an idiot. Is that what you say? You think I don't know how to run my, you think the Moses had a little bit. I mean, he's Moses, but he had a little bit of that, the people. You think I want it? You think I add to the people. When they have the dispute is brought to me and I decide between the parties to inform them of God's decrees and instructions. Now, what I love about this story is that Moses shows this humanity. Jethro is like, what's going on with all this? And he doesn't say, well, man, I'm just not good at time management. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say, I struggle with saying, no, I just, it's a problem. I'm, I'm overcommitted. He doesn't say anything like that. He says the people is not, I didn't ask what they get these people. But as you, as, as you see, as we work our way through this text, you see that Moses courageously overcame his defensiveness and actually was open because Jethro, it didn't take him five minutes to look at this and go, this is not good. And typically when you're the one in the thick of it, you can't see it. So it's not even a good thing. I'm a little bit discouraged. Just trying to preach today, because I know I'm preaching to thousands of people. As I'm talking about this, you're like, Oh, I know somebody who needs this.

And you're not even thinking about the fact that the Holy spirit might be talking to you and we're like, well, I think about it is in my situation. Cause all of us feel like we're the exception. Jethro looks at Moses and says, man, this isn't so good. I want to show you because God's going to hold this story up for us. It's kind of like a mirror today. Would you take a long, hard look into this and see if maybe God is speaking something to us? So what do we do if we want to go from living at a pace of busyness, at least a brokenness to make sure that we're living with margins so that we can be blessed. Here's the first thing. Number one, be real about your margin. I'd be real about it. Not defensive, not justifying it, not explaining it away. But being real. I love the way Jethro points this out to Moses chapter 18, verse 17. So Moses says these people, and then verse 17, Jethro replied, what you are doing is not good. I mean, he doesn't even beat around the bush. He's like, you know, I was thinking, you know, what if maybe, you know, I've been concerned about you. What? He goes, Hey man, that's dumb. That's what he basically is just saying to Moses like, man, what you are doing. Don't talk about the people. Talk about what you're doing, Moses. What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.

Jethro did not mince words. I love how he's so brutally honest. And what I really love is how Moses is no longer getting defensive. Jethro says this isn't good for you and it's not even best for the people. Can I ask you today if you'd be willing to take an honest audit of your life, but be courageous enough with yourself to refuse to deceive yourself? We all like to make excuses. We all feel like we're the exception. When I'm talking about margin, you're looking at your life and you're thinking, do you think I want to be this busy? Like most of us say, no, we don't want to. Now, I'd like, how many of you say you would like to spend more time with God? If you could be honest, I'm not setting you up. Don't be like, man, I'm not raising. No, you'd like to spend more time with God. We'd like to. We'd like to spend more time with family. We'd like to spend more. You have more leisure time to read. You would like to garden, whatever it is. You could think of some things you'd be like, I would like to do that. And you know what's interesting is when we get a day off, none of those things make it to that. It's just weird. There's no way around it. We have to understand when margin decreases, stress increases. Years ago, I was in a season of my life that was really, really busy and it wasn't healthy. I say that like it's only happened once in my life. That was one of about 57 seasons of my life like that. As a matter of fact, when I was working on this message, it was quite bothersome because it's a real bummer when you're about to preach something and you're going, I need to repent. Like every few minutes you have to repent. But that was me with this message because I was just looking at it going, man, I've got to grow there. I have to do better there. So when I'm telling this story, it's not like one time, one time I struggled with margin. No, I struggle with it on an ongoing basis. But there was a season to where life was just full. And I was not able to see it because I was in the thick of it.

And everything that I'm doing is important, right? If I didn't need to do this, I wouldn't be doing this, right? So I'm in the midst of it and I was on the phone and I was talking to another pastor. And as I talked to him, as I was talking to him, I was listening to me. It was kind of weird. Like as I was talking to him, I was listening to the words. Like the words that were in my mind that I was saying to him were not the words that were coming out of my mouth. It was weird. Like I'm talking to him and I think that I'm saying something to him. But as I'm listening to him, I'm like, that's not what I'm saying to him. I'm confusing you right now, right? And I was confused in that moment because I was saying something to him like, yeah, that sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. But what came out of my mouth was... And so then I tried to explain it. And so what I wanted to say was, hey, what I was trying to say was, and instead it came out... What in the world is going on? And that dude started... He thought, this brother's got a demon. Like there's something. He's just like weirding out right now. But I didn't know what to do or what to say. And so I just kind of sat there for a second. The guy's like, are you okay? And I was like, yeah, I'll call you back. And I just hung up. Then I went and I got my wife, Casey, and I was trying to explain. I was like, yeah, it's just can't really talk. So she's like, I'm taking you to the hospital.

So we get in the car. And she told me that as we're driving to the hospital, the whole way to the hospital, all I kept saying over and over is nothing is wrong, which is hilarious because obviously something is wrong. And I'm going, there's nothing. I'm fine. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. She's like, no, there's something. I'm fine. There's nothing, nothing wrong. I'm okay. She's like, okay, I'm fine. She's like, okay, I got it. It was so weird. I was starting to think of it. And all I can think of is I'm fine. There are a lot of people who live like that. Like Jethro's on the outside going, bro, this is not good. And we want to be like, well, I have to. I must. I have no choice. And we can't even see it. Our lives are out of control. Listen, in that moment, it wasn't that I was living in sin. I wasn't cheating on my wife. I wasn't abusing my kids. I was simply living with a high speed and low margin. When I got to the hospital, they said that I was experiencing a TIA stroke.

And I'm trying to convince everybody I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. What I'm doing is important. I'm doing the Lord's work as if God is the one to blame for my lack of margin. I get it that there are people who are listening right now who love God and hate the devil. They worship God and can't wait to go to heaven, but the truth is they aren't living with any margin in their lives, and the result is that they're allowing their pace to rob their peace. This is a very spiritual point because it's not just affecting you, it's affecting those around you. It's not just impacting you, it's affecting those that look to you or depend on you. We're living stress, living overwhelmed. You can't sleep at night because the stress is so high. Can't spend time with your kids because the pace is so great. Can't work on your message, on your marriage because you're so worn out from your day. Can't be generous the way you want to, the way God has called you to, because you're so strapped financially. You can't serve the church because your schedule is out of control. When margin is low, stress is high. A lot of us, we look at the dashboard of our life and that gaslight just keeps blinking, blinking, blinking. God's going, pull over. We're like, I got this. There's nothing wrong. There's no, I'm fine. There's nothing, a warning, warning, gaslight and our blood pressure keeps rising while we're convincing ourselves and trying to lie to others. There's nothing wrong. Listen, you don't need to know Greek. You don't need to know Hebrew. You don't even need a nine week Bible study.

Some of you need to quit rebuking the devil. If you want to move from stress to bless, you need to stop and look at your pace. That's as complicated as it gets. Somebody look at it and go, am I doing too much? Yes. Now what? Jethro looked at Moses and he said, this is not good. There's a second thing. Number two is this, determine what you should do versus what you could do. This is a really practical point that I think could be helpful. Determine what you should do versus what you could do. Exodus 18 verse 19, listen now to me and I will give you some advice, Jethro said, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people, men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring the very difficult case to you. The simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter because they will share it with you. It's practical wisdom. Moses looked at it and he said, but I could, well, here's what I do. If I got up at 5am, what I could do is, you know what? If I didn't go to bed till midnight, what I'd be able to do is, and he's just seeing things, he's like, you know what? I think I can do that. The people have needs. They're asking me for help.

I think that I can do it. Listen, you have to understand there were a lot of things that Moses could have done. A lot of things people wanted him to do, but just because you could does not mean that you should. Just because others want you to do it does not mean that you ought to do it. I don't know how you were raised, but I was raised that when you fix your meal and you sit down to eat, my parents tell me, don't you get up until you finish your plate. Anybody else raised like that? You just load it up. I don't like that. I don't want any more of that. I'm good. No, no, no, no, no, no. Sit back down. Don't you get up till you finish your plate. That sounds like a responsible thing, you know, to finish your plate, but what happens is that I've gone through all of my life and I still have not. Something hadn't clicked. It still hasn't to where I still have not mastered the reality of my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Anybody else struggle with that? And here's the problem with finishing my plate is I have become the master of stacking that puppy up. Like if there's just a little sliver of the plate left, that means I didn't put enough. And so I have to, I have to fill that in right there. It's like, oh, there's a little space right there. Another scoop. And then I've even learned that you can stack some food on top of food. Not all the kinds. It's got to be the right kind, but I can stack it.

And now I have a plate the size of Mount Rushmore. And now all of a sudden you're halfway through it all, man, but I've been taught you got to finish your plate. It's a matter of stewardship, see? See, now it's responsibility. Now I don't want to dishonor my mom and my dad. Now I got to eat this because it's the right thing to do. And that's a problem because that's the way I live my life. There's a little room, fill it up. There's a little space, fill it up. Now you got to be true to that commitment. You got to come through. You got to do it. You got to finish it. And now it's a matter of not just what should I be doing, but I'm framing it up off of what I think I could pull off. That's a terrible way to live. Ephesians chapter five, verse 15 says, be very careful. Somebody say very careful. Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Listen, God wants you to walk in wisdom so that you can live in blessing. Could versus should. There are some things, there are some moments, there are some opportunities you could do, but that doesn't mean that you should do.

And oftentimes we land at the wrong answer because we're asking the wrong questions. How do you know if it's a could do or a should do? Let me give you a couple of wrong questions. These are not the ones you want to ask. Here's the first one. Do we want to do it? Now that sounds like a legitimate question before I do something. Do I want to do it? I'm not saying that's a terrible question. I'm saying it's the wrong place to start because when I begin with do we want to do it, do we want to buy it, do we want to eat it, my answer is usually yes, I think that I do. Then that could be okay, but valuing margin, having priorities helps me to think beyond that question. Just because we want it doesn't mean we need it. A lot of people think just because the new iPhone comes out they're supposed to buy it. And they thank the Lord all the way to the store. Jehovah Jireh, Lord, without faith it's impossible to please you. By faith there will be money in my account, Lord. By faith, Lord, thank you for providing this credit card. I'm about to put this iPhone on, no business spending the money, but if their question was do I want it, I do. And God loves to bless me,

so we're gonna go right over to the store and we're gonna get it. Some people when it comes to buy a new car they can look at what kind of loan they can get and they think because they could get a loan for $20,000 that means they can buy a car for $20,000. Instead of going just because I want that does not mean that I need that, I could get a less expensive car. God wants us to walk in wisdom so we can live in blessing. Here's another bad question. You wanna write this one down too. Here's a bad question you're trying to figure out. Could you do something or should you do something? Is it good or bad? Now come on, that seems like a legitimate question right there, doesn't it? I mean if it's good it must be okay. If it's bad then it's not okay. But hear me today friends, just because something is good does not mean that it's right. When it comes to living at a pace that brings God's peace and his blessing you don't just sit around and say I'm only going to do things that are good. Going to work and providing for your family is a good thing but putting in so many hours that you're missing time with your family is a bad thing. Putting my kids in sports and music and other activities

can be a wonderful thing. It's good for their development. I'm glad that they have passions and interests but not if it destroys all of our margin. Is it good is not always the right question to ask. And you know something I figured out, any other parents figure this out? When I sign my kids up, this is something I figured out. There's an activity, there's a sport. When I sign my kids up, you know what happened? I just signed me up. Anybody else figure that one out? Like I didn't want to take ballet, what am I sitting right here for? But when I sign them up, I just signed me up. Oh now you need me to take you to practice? You can't walk to go swimming? I've got to take you? Oh and then you want me to pick you up too? Oh okay. Oh you want me to sit here because you got a performance so you're going to play the thing I've been hearing, you play it. play all week long. And now you want me to come here and sit for two hours since there's a lot of kids, I don't like any of them, but just so I can hear you play for five minutes. When I signed them up, I signed me up. And when my margin goes down, my stress goes up.

Man, whenever we're making decisions as a family, we have to look at it and say, we have to pay attention to the fact that this is a group activity. This is affecting all of us. So it's not a matter of, is this good? I started noticing too, earlier on signing up our kids for things like every instructor, every teacher, they saw greatness in my kid. Every, everything we signed, you know, you try it out the first practice and then they sign you up for membership, you know, like pay for it. But at first when they're like, I see a lot of potential. I'm like, man, you listen, you want a membership. I see what you're trying to do to me right now. You see potential. I'm looking like, no man, I don't see it. I don't see that much potential. But they're like, they're really good at piano. I'm like, cool, we have one at home. They're like, no, they're really gifted. They can be great in Taekwondo. I'm like, they just want the uniform. I know what this is all about. I'm not falling for this. And in all seriousness, there are things that the kids are good at, they're passionate about, and they enjoy. That doesn't mean it's bad, but it doesn't mean it's right.

We have to look at that and think, should we do it? Or is it just a could do? Last thing that I would just say on that is, what about can I do it? Sometimes we think because we can, we should. My personality is a get the most out of life, so to speak, or stretch the dollar, lick the plate, leave it all on the field, you know, whatever it would be. But I also have to live with my own stress level going up. And I realize that when stress walks in, peace walks out. We have to be honest, we have to be realistic. Let me give you the third thing, and I'm gonna close. Third thing that we see in the life of Moses and here in Exodus chapter 18, is not only that we're supposed to be real, not only are we supposed to say, is this something we should do, but third and finally, then we have to be willing to make the changes. Make the changes. Exodus chapter 18, verse 23 says, if, somebody say if. Come on, shout if. If you do this, if you do it, and God so commands. God has a plan for your pace. If you do this, and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain and all these people will go home satisfied.

There's an if there. But I love Moses' heart. Verse 24, Moses listened to his father-in-law and he did everything he said. This was for Moses' own health. It was for the sake of the people. Not only did he take an honest look, he wasn't just listening. He actually did everything that they talked about. See, for me and my pace, for you and yours, we can't afford just to say amen. It doesn't work if we just look at it and nod, go yeah, things are busy. I wish we could slow it down. It doesn't work if we just say, man, I wish things would change. We have to be willing to actually do something about it. How I courageously respond to doing something will affect me and it will affect others. My marriage is impacted by my pace and my peace. My kids are impacted by my level of stress and my lack of margin. You don't even realize it, but you're coming home grumpy, irritable, your kids don't even wanna be around you. Like man, you just beat me down. No, no, no, no, no, I'm trying to give you courage to make a change, because it's so hard to see it when you're in the thick of it. My ability to love people and care for people is impacted by the way I manage my time.

Don't just think about it. Don't just talk about it. You gotta do something about it. Your personal peace is at stake. Your health is on the line. Ultimately, God's plan for your life, his blessing that he wants for your life, it is at stake. I'm not trying to over-spiritualize this. I promise I'm not. I'm really not. The goal of this series, though, is not a self-help series. You know, I'm just trying to help you be a little better time manager. It's not the goal. goal of the series? Just trying to get everybody to take a deep breath, slow down. It's not the goal of the series. Our goal is never, as preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is never to make someone a more successful sinner. Our goal is never to make someone a better time management saint. Just trying to help you with your finances. It's not the goal. This is a very spiritual issue. This is tied to kingdom purpose. The goal is not for you to have more margin so you can fill it up with more cares of this world. It's so that you can be who God has created you to be, so that you can do what God has created you to do. God has a plan for your life. I'm not saying that you should be lazy. Our goal is not peace and quiet. Listen, our goal is to be busy, but busy about what matters. To do what counts for eternity. Not serving or giving or living out of guilt or duty. We don't serve or give out of pressure. We live, give, and serve out of abundance. Listen, we live life with margin so that we can live on mission. Too often when God is whispering to our heart, go encourage that person. I'm so busy. I don't even hear it. When God says, go give generously, bless somebody. I would if I could, but I'm so strapped. I can't. Not living with margin. Can't do what God has called. Go and serve the church. I can't.

My schedule is so out of control. I can't give another moment. I've got to step back and say, God, speak to me and help me to live with margin so I can live on mission. I don't know what the Lord may be speaking to your heart today, but I want you to know this is a message of encouragement. God wants you to be blessed, not broken. He wants you to live in peace, not stress. And you're just a next step or two away from experiencing the blessing that he has for you, but it will require a courageous step. Your most important step is always your next one. What's your next step? For you, it may be getting together with a friend or with people in your small group. Say, hey, I'm going on the record. I want to say, here's what's going to change. I'm going to start leaving five minutes earlier than I typically would when I go to drive somewhere. So that when, not if, but when I get somebody going 10 miles under the speed limit, I don't lose my salvation. Five minutes. Some of us, like, the most stressful time in our life is just getting from one point to the next. What could change that? Prayer? Greek? Hebrew? Like, exorcism? Like, what's it going to take? Leave five minutes earlier. That's all I have to do. Stress will go down. Peace will come up. Maybe it's you getting together as a family and saying, hey, here's some things that we're going to do. A lot of things we could do. Here's what we're going to commit that we should do. Here's what we're going to do. Just talk about it. Hey, I'm going to get in bed 30 minutes earlier. If I did that, though, I'd have to stop watching TV 30 minutes earlier. Right. You got this. I believe in you. Just get more sleep. So many wake up exhausted and tired. Oh, God, strengthen me. He's like, go to bed on time. Just go to bed. Challenge you to start your day tomorrow. We all, I just challenge all of us to do this. Start your day with five minutes. Just quiet in the presence of God. Some of you overachievers, go ahead and go 10, go 15. But I'm just asking everybody, five minutes tomorrow. Quiet before you go rushing. God, I give you my day today. I need your help today. Your word says right here to be still and know that you're my God. So God, before I start my day, clear my head, give it to you. Thanks for being with me. Thanks for walking with me. I know life's about to come at you 90 miles an hour the rest of the day, but five minutes just to start it. I don't know what your next step is, but all of us have a next step as we. Pray right now. Would you allow God to show you something?

Would you have the courage to say, God, I'm in? Come on, let's bow our heads and close our eyes right now. God, I thank you that you're patient with us, that your grace is still amazing. And I just pray for all of my friends today that you would help us to walk according to your plan and your purpose to not make excuses or blame others for the stress in our lives or the chaotic pace. I pray that you would help us Lord, help us to be honest and open and responsive about what you're dealing with in our hearts. Help us to make those courageous changes. Even the ones that seem to be so small, help us to do it with heads still bowed and eyes still closed. I want to pray for one more group of people today. I want to pray for everybody in this room today who the reality is Jesus Christ is not Lord of your life. I just want to make sure that you understand today that the goal is not for you to have more margin as if that alone will bring you peace. I want you to know that peace is only found in a relationship with the prince of peace, Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. And I want you to know today that no matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, no matter how many mistakes you've made, God loves you. He cares about you. And today you are one sincere prayer away from having your life totally and completely changed from the inside out. When you just acknowledge God, I'm a sinner who needs a savior. I'm broken and I cannot fix me by myself. And you acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your heart. You ask him to come in and rule and reign to be your priority. You're everything today. If you will do that, you will walk out of this place knowing I'm right with God.

So I'm going to pray with the heads bowed and eyes closed. If you just say, Scotty, when you're talking, the Holy spirit is speaking to me and you just know that he's stirring your heart. You know, that's for you. You're not right with God, but you want to be, you need to commit or recommit your life to Christ. You'd say, Scotty, when you pray, include me in that final prayer. When I count to three, I just want you to lift your hand all over the room. Say, yeah, that's me. One, two, three. Come on all over the room. Those watching online just by an uplifted hand. You're saying, I'm not right with God, but I want to be awesome. Let's all pray this prayer together. If you raise your hand, you're committing your life to Christ. Mean this with all of your heart. Dear God, thank you for your grace and your mercy. Today I surrender my life to you. I ask you to be the king of my heart, the Lord of my life. From this moment on, I have decided I will follow Jesus. In Jesus name we pray. And everybody said, amen. Can we put our hands together right now and just thank the Lord for touching hearts and saving souls. You stand to your feet please all over the room today. Come on. Are you glad you came to church today? Come on. Are you glad you came to God's house today? Are you glad that you know the Prince of Peace? Are you glad to know that he's carrying the weight of the world and you don't have to? Are you thankful for that? Come on, put your hands together. And let's just thank the Lord. Thank you God for being with us. Church, I want you to walk in peace. I want you to walk in joy. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. I want you to know the righteous are as bold as a lion. I want you to step into this week walking with a favor of the Lord on your life. I pray that the Lord would bless you, that he would protect you,

that he'd smile on you and be gracious to you, that he would show you his favor and give you his peace. Here at People's Church, we're not just a group of people that come together. We're not only friends, we are family. I want you to shout that with me. We're what? We're family! God bless you. See you back next week. You get the glory. You get the glory. You get the glory. You get the glory. We need a miracle. You are.