Time

The Secrets of The Secret Place

The Secret of Time

(At the start of service, physically put a tea bag in a hot cup of water. Let it sit until the illustration time later).

Close your eyes for me. I am going to say a word. When I say this word your mind will create a picture for you. That picture represents your understanding, belief, or value of this word. Whatever that picture is, do not change. Stay with the original picture. Do not change it. Are you ready? Are your minds clear?

Investment!

Yell out some of your pictures.

Did you picture money, stocks, 401K, real estate, bitcoin, or some other tangible property that gains value?

How about time?

(DIP TEA BAG)

Is “TIME” an investment?

The truth is you invest your “TIME” with more regularity than any other tangible thing you can touch.

Every second of every day you are investing your time. Always.

The question is what are you investing your “TIME” in?

Last week we discussed The Secret of Radiation Therapy. The main point was that the shame of sin is what keeps most people from spending substantial time in The Secret Place. The sacrifice of Jesus is what redeems us. Our time in The Secret Place is what builds our relationship with Father. When we spend significant time in Father’s presence everything changes. Last week The Holy Spirit challenged us to not fall for the temptation of distance; but instead draw near to Father!

In preparing for today's message I was curious how many references I made last week to the word “TIME”. I used the word “TIME” 110 times. I would totally understand if you are already weary and tired of the concept of time. Maybe I should have paced myself!

If you are already tired of “TIME” as a topic, I am sorry. Buckle up because that is exactly what we are talking about again this week, and for the next two months! “TIME”.

In light of the example earlier consider this question. What is the greatest commodity a person possesses?

The greatest commodity you possess is not your money, your talents, or your possessions. It is your time.

(DIP TEA BAG)

Money is one form of treasure, but time is an even greater treasure, because you can always earn more money—you can never earn another yesterday.

AN ILLUSTRATION

Without fail, everyday there are 86,400 seconds. Imagine that every morning God deposits 86,400 seconds into your account. At midnight, whatever you haven't invested is gone forever.

You cannot save them.

You cannot borrow more.

There is no program in which you bank your seconds for future sick leave, personal days, or vacation time. You cannot recover yesterday's balance.

Every person—rich or poor, young or old—receives the same daily deposit. The question isn't "How much time do I have?" The question is "...........WHO……………….. will receive the best of my time?"

(DIP TEA BAG)

STANDING FOR THE READING OF THE WORD

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38–42

Pastor: This is the Word of The Lord!

Congregation Response: Thanks be to God!

Before you are seated, fistbump your neighbor and say, “Few things are needed”

As I meditated on this scripture I saw a few things that grabbed my attention:

The disciples were mentioned once. They came with Jesus to the village. Where did they go? What were they doing? They seemed to disappear in the story. The main point is not about them. But it caught my attention.

Martha did a good thing and opened her home, hospitality. That is a noble thing to do.

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus with purpose. She spent her time listening and learning.

Martha was distracted, worried, and upset by good things.

(DIP TEA BAG)

Remember last week one of the points I made at the end of the message was that people who spend time with Father “gain more ever increasing glory”. This is the process of becoming more like Jesus. We spend time “WITH” Him and He changes us.

Let me ask you: Who in this story do you think received the “gain of ever increasing glory”?

(DIP TEA BAG)

Check out this next passage:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

John 12:1–3

As I meditated on this scripture I saw a few more things that grabbed my attention:

These passages are two different events (not the same story).

Martha, even after witnessing Jesus raise her brother from the dead, is still choosing the wrong thing, serving. Even seeing a dead person raised up doesn’t have the power to change hearts. Only time sitting with Jesus changes us.

(DIP TEA BAG)

Mary is not just sitting, listening, and learning, which is what she did last story. She is now acting! Mary does something most people believe to be crazy. She poured out a year's worth of wages on the feet of Jesus. In her sitting and spending time with Jesus Mary received ever increasing glory. Mary received wisdom. Mary was changed from the inside out. Mary gave up something that cost her significantly because she understood the greater value of Jesus. That understanding of value comes from “TIME SPENT”.

This leads us to this Sunday’s Secret of the Secret Place

The Secret of Time

“To find the potential of The Secret Place requires one pivotal element: TIME. Lots of it. The more exclusive time you give him, the more meaningful the relationship. The principle of second Corinthians 9:6 applies here, “he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. “ Sow more time to the secret place and you’ll enjoy a corresponding bounty.”

Bob Sorge - The Secrets of The Secret Place

ANNALOGY:

Imagine you are a mug of water and God is a tea bag.

(drop tea bag into the mug of water and pull it out after 5 seconds)

Many Christians spend just enough time with God to get spiritually wet but not long enough to be transformed.

Dipping rather than immersing.

Notice the water hardly changes from the quick dips.

The water hardly changes.

However, if you leave it in for a substantial amount of time, the water takes on the color, aroma, and flavor of the tea. (Pickup the other mug that has been soaking for the entire service. Compare the two cups).

The goal of The Secret Place time isn't simply to read a chapter or say a prayer.

The goal is to remain in God's presence until His thoughts become our thoughts, His peace becomes our peace, His priorities become our priorities, and His character shapes ours.

That's why Jesus didn't say, "Visit Me." He said, "Abide in Me."

Some of you right now are feeling anxiety, burden, guilt, and judgement of yourself because you don’t spend “enough” time in The Secret Place. Stop it!!!!!!!!!!

This is not a guilt trip message!!!!!!

This is a message of freedom!!!!

“These feelings are common feelings, but they are seriously misdirected. Feelings of guilt never motivated anyone to spend more time with God; in actuality, they discourage us and make us feel like failures. Rather than fuel our fire, guilt can potentially snuff out whatever flame we might have. Guilt is founded on lies”.

Bob Sorge - The Secrets of The Secret Place

“When circumstances or emotions successfully rob your Secret Place (time), don’t get guilty - get indignant! Get lovesick.”

Bob Sorge - The Secrets of The Secret Place

“God is your greatest fan. As your heavenly Father, He’s constantly coaxing and coaching you forward toward greater spiritual victory. When you neglect The Secret Place, He’s not disappointed in you, He’s disappointed for you. He knows the riches that could be yours, and His heart yearns when He sees you being deprived.”

Bob Sorge - The Secrets of The Secret Place

Just like last week, I don’t have three points, I just have one point to share this week. This one point will help set the stage for the topics we will be looking at the next few months.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SCHEDULE:

No one else can manage your time for you. That responsibility belongs to you and you alone. Every day you are faced with decisions about how you will invest the limited time God has given you.

There are two great challenges in life when it comes to time.

First, learning to say "no”.

Second, taking regular inventory of your time commitments and having to unwind things you have already committed to because it is no longer your best YES.

Everything is competing for your time. Your family wants your time. Your work wants your time. Your phone wants your time. Your hobbies want your time. Even good opportunities compete for your time. If you don't intentionally decide where your time will go, and regularly assess it for the best “YES”, something else will decide for you.

Testimony: A week ago Jenn and I were sitting down one evening looking at the schedule for the summer. As we were looking at it my anxiety started growing. Jenn’s anxiety started growing. Jenn looked at me and said, “We are going to need another month in between July and August to fit everything in.” The reality is we had to make some decisions that were going to disappoint people; family, friends, church. The reality is if we fit it all in we would have zero margin and zero margin is not healthy. When I have zero margin guess what typically gets sidelined………………my time with Father!

You have to make hard decisions to ensure that your margin of time is not compromised. This is a critical discipline you have to implement in order to keep balance and appropriate priorities in your life.

There will always be work to do. There will always be a hobby to enjoy and master. There will always be something that you “want to do”.

If you truly want a deeper spiritual relationship with Father and a transformed life it only happens in one place, spending time at the feet of Jesus in The Secret Place.

Relationships don't thrive on good intentions—they thrive on intentional time. If you never schedule time with your spouse, your children, or your closest friends, those relationships eventually weaken.

The same is true with God.

I think I have said this at least 10 times in other sermons and I will say it again, and again, and again, and I wont stop saying it until you kick me out of this pulpit! Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). He made time with His Father a priority.

1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

Ask The Holy Spirit to make Psalm 63:1 real and alive in you. Pray that The Secret Place would no longer be about obligation, but of hunger for the Almighty Father that drives you to it.

“To uncover the full joy of The Secret Place, there’s a threshold to cross. Until you cross that threshold, you may find that you have to push yourself to get alone with God. But once you cross the threshold, The Secret Place loses any sense of burden and instead carries a newfound sense of delight. With joy, you’ll gladly prioritize it even under the pressure of other competing demands.”

Bob Sorge - The Secrets of The Secret Place

If we look back at Martha & Mary we see Martha is continuing to invest her time with good intentions making sure Jesus and others are fed. But in all her investing she doesn’t receive the ever increasing glory that Mary receives. There is a threshold that Martha can’t seem to get past, the threshold of self effort.

Have you ever been there?

In the book Sit, Walk, Stand; Watchman Nee says,

“Wisdom is connected with time. Just as my fountain pen is now filled and ready to my hand for immediate use, so, by cooperating with the Lord, the wise provide God with what he wants; handy tools, instantly available to him.”

I love this phrase instantly available to Him. In order to become instantly available you have to push yourself to cross over the threshold to get alone with God. But once you cross over if becomes your joy to be instantly available to Him. The Secrete Place is no longer a burden, it become the place you commune with Father and receive assignments of service.

Mary invested her time at the feet of Jesus. In doing so she received a burning desire in her heart to anoint the feet of Jesus to prepare his way to the cross.

When we invest time sitting at the feet of Jesus we eventually cross over a new threshold of intimacy with Him in which we receive ever increasing glory and many times this manifests into “instantly available assignments” that bring life to you.

CLOSING (Worship Team Comes Up):

Last week I let you know that for the next few months we will be returning to The Secret Place Series, Part 2.

The main focus of Part 2 is “Making It Work”. We are going to spend time looking at some practical tools/methods that will help us engage with Father in The Secret Place. My prayer is that our hearts will grow to hunger for more and more time with Father. Less “world” and more of “Father”!

You may want some ideas today about how to redeem the time. Patience! For the next two months that is exactly what we will be talking about.

In order to prepare for the next few months I have some homework this week.

Listen to this message again.

Meditate on it.

Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you and speak to you about it.

Look at your time and make some hard decisions. Don’t find time. Make time!

If you want to redeem the time and find some new ways to invest your time with Father, make sure to come to church!

Shawn close in prayer after worship.