Sunday Recap @ da Chapel
Pastor Joshua Goodin
Romans 13:11-14 (NRSV)
“The Time is Now”
*In ten years, what has changed in your life? Are you stronger as a Christian? Are you in the same financial situation? Is your emotional and mental health the same? Do you still solve problems and situations the same way? Look internally and evaluate yourself if after ten years are you still stuck where you were then. Be honest with yourself that you play a part in your destiny. If things aren’t happening what are you doing to make sure they happen? If you are the same as you were ten years ago, you have been a terrible steward over time. Stop playing around saying I’ll do it later or I’ll fix it later. What if later never comes? The older you get, you realize it’s not that deep. Your peace, your joy, your happiness is too fragile for you to waste it on meaningless arguments and disagreements.
*If you’re going to have an understanding of what time it is, the first thing you have to do is wake up. You spend a lot of time sleeping or daydreaming. You have to have an understanding that there are some places and destinations that you are supposed to grow to spiritually. At some point, you have to grow to a place of maturity in your spiritual walk where you know how to have a dialogue with God. Maybe that’s why you don’t get your prayers answered because you’re praying pacified baby prayers expecting God to do grown-up things. You keep trying to act like a child, but you want adult benefits. Sometimes you rush to get to a certain place only to wish you were back at a younger stage in life. Wake up, because there is a difference between rushing and recognizing.
*You have to have an understanding of who Christ is. Is your relationship with Christ growing on a daily basis or are you stagnated in your growth with Christ? When you go through storms and tribulations in life what’s the first outlet that you turn to? Sometimes you run to outlets that are not healthy for you because you feel like it will take the ease off and you have time. An unhealthy outlet is easy to become addicted to. Some things and people you turned to that you thought you had control over, that ultimately had control over you. It’s problematic because God is a jealous God and anything you turn to before he is an idol and God has to remove it. It’s hard for you to let go because that thing or person has become a lord over your life.
*You don’t realize how you have changed in negative ways over the years. When you recognize there are some character flaws in you, they become areas of concern that you’re supposed to pray about. When was the last time you looked at the negative flaws in your life and asked the Lord to help you to stop being mean, stop reacting and getting upset the way you used to, stop letting your first instinct be to get into a fight when someone says something you don’t like? There are some areas in your life that you need God to sharpen and develop, but you realize in order for these areas to change you have to start praying about them. Pray for the negative character flaws in your life. Stop wasting time allowing people’s miserable lives to dictate how you carry yourself. When you become aware of a problem and do nothing to fix the problem you are negligent. If there is a small leak coming from the ceiling the water will begin to drip. Stop waiting until you see it crack and it tears at the foundation to fix it. If you open up your ears after you shut the water off you will hear the drip. You’re waiting for the physical manifestation of your problem when God is allowing you to hear the drip.
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