Sermon by Mike Smith Let God teach you how to get your life in balance!

1. [Balance]

2. God Wants Us To Live Balanced Lives [Balance] Ecclesiastes 3:1; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Proverbs 28:2 The whole world is based on this principle of balance. All through your life, everything you look at focuses on equilibrium/principle of balance. We have the tendency to work on our public life and let our personal life slide.

3. Problems When Your Personal Life Is Not Balanced [Balance] Two Things Happen: Frustration A lot of people live their lives like the plate juggler. By the time one thing seems to get in balance another thing (plate) starts to fall off. Fatigue You get tired! Like a car tire out of balance life becomes a bumpy ride. When your life is imbalanced you wear out quicker like a tire.

4. What Does The Bible Have To Say About Being Balanced? [Balance] We need to do as Jesus did! Luke 2:52 There are 5 areas in your personal life you need to keep in balance. We Need To Have Mental Balance Romans 12:2 What you think about affects your life. Prov. 23:7 How do you have balance? You screen the things that come into your mind. You maintain balance by choosing what you’re going to think about. John 8:31-32

5. [Balance] 2. We Need To Have Physical Balance 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 When we don’t take care of our bodies it affects everything else! Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? It’s never too late to change. You can change if you want to!

6. 3. We Need To Have Spiritual Balance [Balance] 2 Peter 3:18 It is an important part of your personal life! We must Grow in the Grace of our Lord Grace is “the spiritual condition of one being governed by the power of divine grace” (Thayer). Romans 8:29 tells us how. We need to be conforming ourselves to the likeness of Christ! We must grow in the Knowledge of Christ! We should be growing in this knowledge daily (Colossians 1:9; 2 Peter 1:2-3; Eph. 3:4).

7. 4. We Need To Have Emotional Balance [Balance] Galatians 5:22-23 Here we have a picture of a perfect emotionally balanced person. It’s a picture of Jesus. Jesus was all of these things wrapped up into one. Are you an emotionally balanced person? Do you have these 9 qualities: Love, Joy, Peace, Long-Suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance?

8. 5. We Need To Have Social Balance [Balance] This is about your relationships. Romans 12:16 (ESV) “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight”. We need to live in harmony with one another! Balance = “When all of the parts are in harmony”. When all of your relationships are in harmony, there is social balance. We need to live a well-rounded (Balanced) life.

9. Balanced Living Proverbs 14:8, 15 How do you get started in balancing your life? Step #1 Take Inventory 2 Corinthians 13:5 -- Look at yourself Consider the Prodigal son… Luke 15:17 Ask yourself about your balance? Mental (Am I mentally sharper than I was 5 yrs. ago?) 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Tim. 4:13, 16 Physical (Am I always feeling tired, lack of energy)? Spiritual (Is my first reaction to a problem to pray)? Emotional (Do I worry a lot? Do I get depressed easily?). Social (Who can I count on as a genuine friend?) Proverbs 18:24 See also Proverbs 11:14; 3:5-6 [Balance]

10. Step #2 Write Down A Plan Of Action [Balance] We plan every other area of our lives except our personal lives. Why? Balance does not come by accident! You have to work at it. You need to plan, set goals, say specifically what you are going to do. Ephesians 5:15 (YLT) “See, then, how exactly (accurately, diligently) ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise” One of the things that makes balance in your life is habits. You need to break the bad ones and develop new good habits to replace the bad ones.

11. Step #3 Establish Christ At The Center Of Your Life! [Balance] Don’t compartmentalize your spiritual life!!! Just like a wheel has to have a hub, your life has to have something to center on. You will always be out of balance until you get something – one thing that your life centers on. Like a wheel, spokes and hub – when you put Christ in the center of your life, the power comes through that and goes out all these other areas and gives you balance. Matthew 6:33; Phil. 4:13 How do you put a life that is falling apart back together? What holds it together? Would you like to know the glue that would put your life together? Colossians 1:15-17; John 14:7-9

12. Do You Truly Want Balance In Your Life? [Balance] If your life is falling apart, it’s because Jesus Christ is not in the center to hold all things together. Put Him in the center and watch Him pull it back together! Start putting Jesus in the center by… Hearing Jesus - Matthew 17:5 Believing Jesus – John 8:24 Jesus says, Repent of your sin – Luke 13:3, 5 Jesus says to Confess Him – Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus says, get Baptized and obey all His commands – Matthew 28:18-20