Balance, Part 3: Sermon + Notes

Nine questions to determine if you are out of balance

Are you frequently getting angry with others? Or, are you becoming impatient with others. Especially those you love? 

Do you have trouble sleeping because thoughts are racing through your head?

Are you always trying to prove your worth to others? Are you always trying to please others? 

Do you focus too much energy and spend too much time trying to get things to be just perfect? 

Would you describe yourself as “way too busy”? 

Do you ever wake up and just wish the day was already over? 

Do you beat yourself up over past mistakes and failures? 

Do you drink or eat or take pills or shop or whatever to escape from reality? 

Do you feel unfulfilled? 

If you answered “yes” to just a few of these, then there is a pretty good chance your life is out of balance. 

Eight ways to develop more balance in life

1. If your life is out of balance it won’t get back into balance on accident.

When you fail to plan you are planning to fail 

2. Put God first 

Read Matthew 6:33

We are created to live in a relationship with God 

Do you want to be proactive and develop it now or try to develop it when you need it? 

3. Don’t conform to the patterns of the world 

Read Romans 12:2

Be a little weird. Be a little different. Don’t worry about being normal because normal isn’t working! 

4. Say “no” to mediocre things and pretty good things and good things so that you can say “yes” to the best 

Read Luke 10:38-42

5. Determine your values and vision 

6. Develop and display – Character and Integrity 

Romans 5:3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. 

Tough times will come. 

Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. 

Tough times simultaneously develop and reveal our character. 

Character – Who you are when nobody is looking 

Integrity – Who you are when you are under stress 

Our lack of character and integrity make our life out of balance.

Read Psalm 51

7. Develop and display a life of gratitude and thanksgiving 

8. Forgiveness

Read Romans 5 

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.