Sermonette:  Free Space...a sermonette about freeing up your life

by Chris Cumming

Have you ever been engaged in a game of Monopoly in the later stages of the game when you are low on cash and your opponents have hotels on all their properties?

Do you remember sometimes rolling the dice, picking up your token, counting out the squares, going passed those red hotels and landing on Free Parking?  Whew!…what a feeling.

One of the best feelings in the world is having free space.  Free space can take many forms depending on what we are talking about in your life.

If we are talking about clutter, having half or more of your garage empty is a good feeling.

If we are talking about time, having a free hour before bedtime or a whole afternoon free on Sunday makes you feel good all over.

If we are talking about your monthly budget, having $300 to $400 left over after everything is paid generates a feeling like you won the lottery.

Therefore, my encouragement for you is to create Free Space in all areas of your life, including possessions, time and finances.  Create Free Space.

Problems arise when we allow ourselves to have too many possessions, schedules that have no spare moments available or budgets that demand 100% or more of our income.  Fact is many Americans financially spend 120% of their paycheck each month.  They live beyond their means.

The problems arising from living with no free space are legion.  The resultant stress can affect our health, our mental fitness, our emotional stability AND our very spiritual lives.

Christ knew this.  One place He brings this to light is Matthew 19, beginning in verse 16…
 

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
 

Notice what the commentary says…
 

[Go and sell that thou hast ...] The young man declared that he had kept the law. That law required, among other things, that he should love his neighbor as himself. It required, also, that he should love the Lord his God supremely; that is, more than all other objects. If he had that true love to God and man-if he loved his Maker and fellow-creatures more than he did his property, he would be willing to give up his wealth to the service of God and of man. Jesus commanded him to do this, therefore, to test his character, and to show him that he had not kept the law as he pretended, and thus to show him that he needed a better righteousness than his own.

--Barnes  

 

Another commentary says…
 

To be complete, to have the business finished, and all hindrances to thy salvation removed, go and sell that thou hast-go and dispose of thy possessions, to which it is evident his heart was too much attached,

--Clarke

God is not necessarily telling all firstfruits to sell all they have and live in the streets.  He is commanding us to have Free Space in our lives.

He is saying that if our lives are filled with concern and indulgence in houses full of possessions, schedules filled with worldly concerns and budgets overwrought with debt, these things become natural idols and we cut ourselves off from being able to serve our fellow man, God, and our brothers and sisters in the church.

I want you to imagine having $400 a month in Free Space money.  That is, you have reduced your overhead each month or brought yourself from a high standard of living to a medium one.  Imagine what that money could do for you, your family and in your service to God.

The doors of opportunity open wide.  In a few months, you now have $1,200 to $1,600 saved up.  On the one hand, you could buy that 35-inch high-definition TV for cash and save a mountain of interest debt or you could buy that same TV for your local church.  You could send money with that sympathy card to the new widow in the church.  You could increase your offerings for the Holy Days or with your tithes.

You can also create Free Space in your Feast Budget.  Freeing up some of your funds can be used to share with those less able to afford things in this posh resort location.

Remember Feast 2005 when I gave the sermonette, “The Twenty-Dollar Tip” which had as its premise the idea of giving twenty dollars to deserving restaurant servers and others in the Tahoe area?  One of the admonitions of that sermonette was to thank God for the prosperity and the opportunity to be able to give twenty-dollar tips and the automatic blessings that come in doing so.

If your Feast budget has Free Space, you are able to do this.  If your Feast budget has Free Space, you can purchase an additional gift for the raffle. The opportunities for your Free Space money are many.

The greatest benefit from Free Space will be a newfound sense of freedom you may never have experienced.  The stress in your life will melt away and your pathway to Salvation will be filled with joy.

 

So go and begin finding abundant Free Space in your life.

Further reading:
 

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