God of Fun – 4 – Your Schedule is a Killjoy

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Welcome

Excited – brand new series starting next week:

REST MODE ACTIVATED

Life gets loud.

Schedules get crowded.

Souls get tired.

Jesus did not create us to live fried, frantic, running on empty.

Join us – remember how to…
Slow down.

Hear God.

Recover

Live from peace instead of pressure.

Great series to invite someone.

TODAY – Glad you are here – last week of God of Fun.

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I need to confess something to you.

I FEEL GUILTY WHEN I’M NOT WORKING

I am a workaholic.

Trouble saying no.

Trouble shutting it down.

Trouble not feeling guilty.

Even when not working – don’t always feel rested.

Feel guilty.

Sitting with family – mind still working.

Day off – feel behind.

Trying enjoy moment – mind building list.

Messages.

People.

Projects.

Next thing.

Strange part: a lot of it is good.

Work hard.

Care.

Serve.

Be faithful.

Good things become unhealthy when they never let us rest.

Sometimes I do not work because work needs done.

Sometimes I work because I feel guilty when I stop.

If I feel guilty when I am not working, work has become more than work.

It has become my master.

Not preaching as someone who has mastered this.

Preaching as someone needs Jesus to speak to my schedule.

Jesus speak to my guilt.

Jesus teach me how to make room.

Am I the only one?

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I do not think I am the only one.

THE PRESSURE TO ALWAYS BE “ON”

We live in a world where busyness feels normal.

Expected.

Admired.

Almost required.

How are you?

Busy.

How’s life?

Busy.

How was your week?

Busy.

Everybody understands.

Because everybody busy.

Work follows us home.

Phones follow us everywhere.

Responsibilities never feel finished.

Even free time can feel guilty.

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THE PRESSURE IS REAL STATS

This is not just a feeling.

It shows up in real numbers.

Gallup says:

• Only 34% of employees worldwide are thriving in their overall lives.
• 40% experienced significant stress the previous day.
• 30% of women and 25% of men say they very often or always feel burned out at work.
• Burnout grows where there is unmanageable workload and unreasonable time pressure.
  

Unmanageable workload means:

Too many tasks.

Excessive hours.

Work that feels endless.

Work that feels difficult to do well.

Unreasonable time pressure means:

Deadlines stack up.

One missed deadline pushes everything else behind.

Always trying to catch up.

That sounds like the world we live in.

Earlier in this series – urgent and important.

Today just a reminder:

Schedules are where urgent usually wins.

If joy never gets scheduled – joy keeps getting sacrificed.

If worship never gets protected – worship keeps getting bumped.

If family connection never gets planned – family gets leftovers.

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That is why I have titled today’s message:

YOUR SCHEDULE IS A KILLJOY

Not because schedules are bad.

Calendars help.

Plans matter.

But unsurrendered schedules can crowd joy out of our lives.

Let’s see what God has to say about this problem.

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JESUS CLEARS SPACE FOR HIS PEOPLE – Mark 6

Jesus has something to say to busy people.

Mark 6.

Disciples doing ministry.

Serving.

Helping.

Teaching.

Meeting needs.

Not laziness.

Not rebellion.

Not sin.

Good work.

But listen.

Mark 6:31 NIV
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Mark 6:32 NIV
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

“So many people were coming and going.”

Sounds like life.

Coming and going.

Coming and going.

Coming and going.

Work coming and going.

Kids…

Email & text messages…

Bills…

Responsibilities…

In all that coming and going, they did not even have chance to eat.

Jesus sees it.

Jesus does not shame them.

Does not say push harder.

Does not say ignore limits.

Does not say keep grinding.

Jesus clears space for them.

Come with me.  By yourselves.  Quiet place.

Jesus helped them make space.

Not space for laziness.

Not space for selfishness.

Space with Him.

Space to breathe.

Space to receive.

Jesus does not just call us to work. Jesus calls us to make room.

Here is the cool part.

After this, they feed thousands.

More ministry happens because they made space…

Not less.

Making space did not ruin the mission.

It prepared them for greater impact.

Sometimes we think:

If I slow down, everything will fall apart.

But in Mark 6, Jesus shows us something better:

Space with Him is not wasted time.

It prepares us for what is next.

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GOD PUTS JOY ON THE CALENDAR – Deuteronomy 16

This is not an isolated verse.

God gives rhythms.

Feasts.

Festivals.

Worship.

Remembrance.

Celebration.

Joy.

Deuteronomy 16.

God commands celebration.

Deuteronomy 16:13-15 NIV
Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles… Be joyful at your festival… and your joy will be complete.

God tells His people:

Stop the normal schedule.

Gather together.

Eat.

Remember.

Worship.

Celebrate.

Be joyful.

God put joy on the calendar.

Not vague idea.

Not “be happier sometime.”

Commanded celebration.

Why?

Because God knows joy gets crowded out.

If celebration is not scheduled – work takes over.

If worship is not scheduled – worry takes over.

If joy is not scheduled – the schedule fills up anyway.

If family connection is not scheduled – logistics take over.

If friendship is not scheduled – isolation takes over.

God commanded celebration because He knew our schedules would become killjoys.

Clear proof God is not against fun.

God told people to make room for joy.

Not optional decoration.

Not something extra.

Not only if everything else is finished.

Celebrate.

Be joyful.

Joy needs rhythm.

This challenges me.

I schedule work.

Meetings.

Appointments.

Responsibilities.

Do I schedule joy?

Worship?

Unhurried time with Jesus?

Time to enjoy people God placed in my life?

If not, those things get crowded out.

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BUSY BUT STILL EMPTY – Haggai 1

Haggai gives us another picture.

God’s people were active.

Working.

Building.

Trying to get ahead.

Taking care of their own houses.

But something was off.

Haggai 1:5-6 NIV
“Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

God tells His people to think carefully about their lives.

Planting much – harvesting little.

Eating – not satisfied.

Drinking – still thirsty.

Earning wages – disappears like a bag with holes.

Written thousands of years ago… feels relevent!

Describes us – busy but empty.

Active but unsatisfied.

Working but not full.

God says:

Give careful thought to your ways.

Not just work harder.

Not just do more.

Look at your life…   Priorities… Schedule.

Sometimes issue is not more time.

It is misdirected time.

We can be busy building our own lives and still feel empty.

Because joy does not come from a full schedule.

Joy comes from a surrendered life.

“Give careful thought to your ways” (your schedule)

When God gets crowded out – joy gets crowded out.

When worship gets crowded out – peace gets crowded out.

When people get crowded out – connection gets crowded out.

God is not asking for a busier life.

He is asking for a better ordered life.

A life where He is first.

A life where joy has room.

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MAKE ROOM THIS WEEK

Do not try to fix your whole life today.

Start small.

Start honest.

Start this week.

1. LOOK AT YOUR CALENDAR

Before this week is over, open your calendar.

Ask:

What is getting the best of me?

What keeps getting leftovers?

Where is God getting crowded out?

Where is joy getting crowded out?

2. FIND ONE THING TO SAY NO TO

Not everything is yours to carry.

One unnecessary commitment.

One habit that eats time.

One thing said yes to out of guilt.

One thing that does not belong in this season.

Make one small no.

Make room for a better yes.

3. SCHEDULE ONE JOY-GIVING MOMENT

Actually put it on the calendar.

Not someday.

Not “when things slow down.”

This week.

No-phone meal.

Time with Jesus.

Coffee with a friend.

Family game night.

Quiet morning.

Something fun with your kids.

4. PROTECT IT

When something tries to steal it, do not immediately surrender it.

Protect it like it matters.

Because it does.

5. Make It! (The memories won’t make themselves)

Strong relationship won’t make itself.

The vacation won’t make itself.

Prayer time won’t make itself.

Friendship won’t make itself.

Joy won’t make itself.

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WHAT COULD LIFE LOOK LIKE?

Think about what your life could look like if you made room.

What would your week look like if God got first place instead of leftovers?

What would your home feel like if joy had a place on the calendar?

What would your soul feel like if you stopped saying yes out of guilt?

What would your friendships look like if they stopped living in “we should get together sometime”?

This does not require a perfect life.

It requires one surrendered step.

Not ten changes.

One change.

Not someday.

This week.

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CALL TO ACTION – MAKE ROOM FOR JOY

1. MAKE A MOVE TOWARD PRAYER

Bring your schedule to Jesus.

Your calendar.

Your pace.

Your pressure.

Your guilt.

Your need to say yes.

Your fear of slowing down.

Jesus, I have been busy but empty.

Help me make room for what matters.

2. START A CONVERSATION

Use the connection card.

I want to follow Jesus.

I need prayer.

I want to be baptized.

I need help taking my next step.

I need to get connected.

Do not let this just be a sermon.

Start a conversation.

3. MAKE ONE CHANGE THIS WEEK

Put one joy-giving moment on the calendar.

Not someday.

This week.

Make one change.

Put joy on the calendar.

Protect it.

Because God created joy, but we have to make room to receive it.