Priorities Aligned with God

Isaiah 6:1-8 Matthew 9:9

Available: Scheduling my priorities to fit the desires of God and others

Most of us aren’t trying to disobey God.

We’re just busy.

And being busy has a way of becoming the boss.

We don’t wake up and say, “I want to drift from God today.”

But we do wake up and say, “Man, I have a lot to do.”

And if we aren’t careful, that becomes our whole life.

So we give God what’s left.

We give people what’s left.

And we call it normal.

But the Lord Jesus did not live that way.

He lived with clear direction.

The Bible says,

Luke 2:49 KJV

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

I must be about my Father’s business…That was not a slogan.

That was a priority.

And here’s the thing.

God is not asking you to do everything.

God is asking you to do what He assigns.

Availability is not a life with no limits.

Availability is a life aligned with the Lord.

Tonight we are not talking about energy.

We are talking about surrender.

We are not talking about your personality.

We are talking about obedience.

Available means I schedule my priorities to fit the desires of God and others.

We have two pictures given in Scripture in these two passages.

Isaiah hears God’s question of who will go…and says, “Here am I; send me.”

Matthew hears Jesus say, “Follow me,” and he gets up and obeys.

Two different men, but the same heart.

Availability.

Let’s start with Isaiah.

Because availability begins with surrender.

If God does not have me, my schedule never will.

I. Availability Begins With Surrender

Now watch how Isaiah describes it.

He doesn’t start with his own plans.

He starts with God’s voice.

Availability begins the moment God asks the question.

And the question is simple.

Whom shall I send?

And who will go?

A. God Still Asks the Question

Isaiah 6:8 says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

God is not asking because He lacks ability.

God is asking because He seeks to use willing servants.

The question is not, “Can God do it?”, of course He can.

The question is, “Who will obey?”

That is how God has always worked with His people.

He calls.

He sends.

He uses.

Jesus said the same kind of thing.

Matthew 9:37–38 KJV

37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

The need is not the problem.

The shortage of willing workers is the problem.

And notice something else.

God’s question comes after Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

In other words, a big view of God comes before a life of obedience.

How I view God is going to change how I obey Him!

If my view of God is small, my yes to God will be small.

The more clearly I see God, the more willingly I can say yes.

A lot of people want God’s direction like GPS.

They want the next turn.

But they do not want the destination.

God’s call starts with the destination.

His glory.

His will.

His work.

Then He gives the steps.

B. The Right Answer Is a Person, Not a Plan

Isaiah answers, “Here am I; send me.”

He didn’t start with the schedule, or plan.

He didn’t ask… “ok, where are we going?”

He started with just being available,

That is a surrender heart.

He is offering himself before he knows the assignment.

That is what availability is.

It is not saying, “Lord, here is what I can fit in.”

It is saying, “Lord, here is my life.”

Romans 12:1 says,

Romans 12:1 KJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Availability is not a one-time feeling.

It is a daily presentation.

This is where we get stuck.

We offer God a list.

We do not offer God ourselves.

We offer Him certain hours.

We do not offer Him the right to rearrange them.

Oswald Chambers said, “The greatest crisis we face is the surrender of our will.”

That is the point here.

Isaiah is surrendering his will.

Availability starts when I stop negotiating with God.

If God only gets what I already planned to give, He is not Lord over my time.

C. The Call Comes After Cleansing

Isaiah 6 shows the order.

He sees the Lord.

He confesses sin.

He is cleansed.

Then he is sent.

Isaiah 6:5–7 (the seeing, the confessing, the cleansing) comes before the sending of Isaiah 6:8.

That matters.

A dirty conscience makes a reluctant servant.

Guilt makes people hide.

Shame makes people avoid.

But cleansing produces readiness.

When you know you are forgiven, you can serve without pretending.

1 John 1:9 KJV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession is not just about feeling better.

It is about getting ready to obey.

A clean heart makes a ready servant.

If I keep sin close, I will keep God’s call at a distance.

Isaiah shows availability as surrender.

But now Matthew shows availability as response.

It moves from “Here am I” to “I’m getting up.”

And that is where we learn that availability has feet.

Matthew 9:1-9, let’s start in verse 1…because I want to show Jesus’ authority.

II. Availability Responds Without Delay

Matthew’s story is so helpful because Jesus doesn’t call him in the midst of a quiet church service.

Jesus calls him in the middle of a normal workday.

So notice where Jesus finds him.

And notice how simple the call is.

“Follow me.

A. Jesus Calls in the Middle of Real Life

9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

He was at work.

He was in routine.

He was in normal life.

Jesus does not only call people in church services.

He calls people in the middle of the day.

He calls people when they are busy.

He calls people when they are comfortable.

This is why excuses are so tempting.

We say, “Later.”

We say, “When life slows down.”

We say, “When the kids are older.”

We say, “When I have more time.”

But Matthew’s story says Jesus calls now.

Proverbs 27:1 KJV

1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Obedience delayed is often obedience denied.

If you ever had a smoke alarm go off, you do not say, “I’ll check it out later.”

You stop and You act.

Because danger doesn’t wait.

God’s voice is not danger, but it is urgent.

When God speaks, you respond.

B. The Next Words Matter

Matthew 9:9 says, “And he arose, and followed him.”

That sentence is simple, but it’s heavy.

It shows a changed priority.

He did not talk it to death.

He did not schedule it for next month.

He got up.

James 1:22 KJV

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Hearing is not the goal.

Obedience is the goal.

Here is a simple truth.

Availability is not proven by what I intend.

Availability is proven by what I do next.

That is why Hebrews warns about letting truth slip.

Hebrews 2:1 KJV

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

Truth slips when I hear and do nothing.

Availability is proven by my next step, not my strongest emotion.

If Jesus is calling, the most spiritual action is getting up.

C. Following Jesus Resets the Calendar

Matthew’s old schedule served money and reputation.

Now his schedule served Christ.

That is what following does.

It reorders your whole life.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 KJV

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

When Jesus is first, everything else finds its place.

And Jesus made it plain.

You cannot have two masters.

Matthew 6:24 KJV

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Something rules your schedule.

Either Christ does, or something else does.

Now listen, this is not about quitting your job.

Matthew quit his job because his job was bound up in the old life.

But the principle is for all of us.

Whatever Jesus cannot touch in your life has become an idol.

If Jesus cannot adjust my time, my time is on the throne.

Have you seen that illustration of a jar that needs to be filled rocks, gravel, sand, and water.

If you put the sand and water in first, the rocks do not fit.

But if you put the rocks in first, the smaller things fit around them.

The problem for many of us is not that we have too much.

It is that we put the wrong things in first.

Following Jesus means Jesus gets first placement, not leftover space.

If I give Jesus my leftovers, I will live on leftovers spiritually.

So Isaiah shows surrender.

Matthew shows immediate response.

Now we bring it into the weekly routine.

Because availability is not only for big callings.

It is for Tuesday.

It is for a hard conversation.

It is for an open Bible.

It is for a need in the church.

III. Availability Is Planned, Not Accidental

Here is the first step which makes everything else possible.

You need to decide what matters most before the week decides for you.

Because if you don’t choose your priorities, something else will choose them for you.

So let’s start with the basic question.

What comes first?

A. Decide What Matters Most

If I do not choose my priorities, something else will choose them for me.

If I do not decide what matters, my phone will decide.

My job will decide.

My appetites will decide.

My fears will decide.

Ephesians 5:15–16 says,

Ephesians 5:15–16 KJV

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Time is not neutral.

Time is a stewardship.

So here is the simple starting point.

Choose God first.

Not in theory.

In real time.

In actual decisions.

Availability begins with one clear decision.

God is first.

B. Make Room for People on Purpose

Availability is not only vertical.

It is also horizontal.

God’s desires include how I treat people.

It includes loving my neighbor.

It includes serving the body of Christ.

Jesus was available to people.

He stopped for the needy.

He listened.

He responded.

He did not treat people as interruptions.

Philippians 2:4 KJV

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

If my schedule only serves me, it is not aligned with Christ.

A lot of marriages and a lot of families are not broken because of one big sin.

They are strained because of repeated unavailability.

A spouse feels unheard.

A child feels postponed.

A church member feels forgotten.

Availability is one of the simplest forms of love.

It sneaks up on me too!

I can get so focused on all that needs to get done that I lose site of what is in front of me.

If my schedule has no room for people, my priorities are out of line.

Availability is love expressed with time.

C. Say No, So You Can Say Yes

You cannot say yes to everything.

If you try, your yes becomes weak.

And your spirit becomes tired.

Matthew could not follow Jesus and keep his old life unchanged.

He had to leave something behind.

Hebrews 12:1 says,

Hebrews 12:1 KJV

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Some things are not sinful, they are just heavy.

They keep me from doing what matters.

This is where people feel guilt.

They say, “I can’t do everything.”

And the answer is, “You are not supposed to.”

You are supposed to do what God assigns.

Not what you think you should be doing.

Not what you see other people doing.

Susanna Wesley the mother of Charles and John Wesley.

She didn’t just talk about spiritual priorities.

She lived them when life was crowded and hard.

She raised and discipled 10 children to adulthood in a busy home, with limited resources, and constant pressure.

Including the death of 9 other children.

And two of those children, John and Charles, became men God used in a major way.

She said,

“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things, that is sin to you.”

When Susanna Wesley talks about what dulls your love for God and pulls you away from spiritual things, she’s speaking as someone who learned how to guard the heart and the schedule in real life, not in theory.

What is stealing your attention from God?

What is numbing your desire to serve?

That is not just a schedule issue.

That is a spiritual issue.

Some of my best spiritual decisions are simple no’s.

Every “no” to lesser things protects a yes to what God wants.

D. Build Simple Habits That Protect Availability

Start the week with one honest prayer.

“Lord, what do You want from me this week?”

Then write it down.

Then put it on the calendar.

This is not trying to impress God.

This is treating God’s will as real.

This is giving earnest heed.

Hebrews 2:1 KJV

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

This is putting first things first.

Matthew 6:33 KJV

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Make room for the Word.

Make room for prayer.

Make room for serving.

Make room for people.

And here is a small habit that helps.

When you hear something clear from the Lord, act on it quickly.

John 14:21 connects love to keeping Christ’s commandments.

John 14:21 KJV

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

The fastest way to stay attentive is quick obedience.

Think about a door hinge that squeaks.

If you ignore it, it often gets worse.

If you take two minutes and oil it, it stays smooth.

A lot of spiritual stiffness is like that.

Small neglect becomes big resistance.

Small obedience keeps the heart soft.

If it matters to God, it belongs on my schedule.

If I wait until I have time, I will never have time.

Availability grows when I protect it with simple habits.

Conclusion

Isaiah teaches me that availability begins with surrender.

“Here am I; send me.”

Matthew teaches me availability responds without delay.

“He arose, and followed him.”

Both teach the same truth.

When priorities align with God, availability becomes normal.

Where are you unavailable right now?

Where has busyness become a shield?

Where has comfort become a master?

Where has fear kept you from saying yes?

God still asks, “Who will go?”

Jesus still says, “Follow me.”

And your answer will not be proven by what you feel in this moment.

Your answer will be proven by what you do next.

Put God first this week.

Not as an idea, but as a choice.

Move something if you need to.

Drop something if you need to.

Ask for help if you need to.

But do not keep telling the Lord no with your schedule.

Pray and ask the Lord…

Lord, align my priorities with Yours.

Give me a willing heart like Isaiah.

Give me quick obedience like Matthew.

Help me be available.

Not just in intention.

But in my time.