44. How To Upsize My Impact
Episode 44
Downsizing for the month of June 2021. This series has paralleled my life. Today we ask the question: why downsize? My most important reason: I’m downsizing my stuff to upsize my impact. We must get rid of the stuff that keeps us from fully following the Lord.
Today I want to share two scriptures with you that paint this picture for me.
Colossians 3:7-10, 12-16
Hebrews 12:12-13
Downsize our stuff will free up our minds and energy to serve Jesus in new ways. I can either manage my stuff or make an eternal impact. I know which choice I'm going to make!
Show Notes
We’ve talked about downsizing for the month of June 2021. This series has paralleled my life.
So today we ask the question: why downsize?
I’ve been proclaiming the same sentence all month: I’m downsizing my stuff to upsize my impact.
Today I want to share two scriptures with you that paint this picture for me.
Colossians 3:7-10
In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away:
anger,
wrath,
malice,
slander, and
obscene talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another,
seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Colossians 3:10-16
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ... Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
compassionate hearts,
kindness,
humility,
meekness,
and patience,
bearing with one another and,
if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Hebrews 12:12-13
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Decisive actions, but they can be difficult as we get older. I’ve talked about this before.
Downsizing our stuff will free up our minds and energy to serve Jesus in new ways.
Am I going to be managing my stuff or making an eternal impact?
Downsize my heart stuff too.
Time to forgive.
Time to lay down anger
Time to lift weary hands in praise
Time to trust Lord with stories that seem to be getting worse and worse.
Our impact for Jesus is directly related to more of our hearts and souls having room for Him.
Even more important: if you are hiding a secret sin, hoping no one will find out, it is time to confess! Bring it in the light! Let Jesus cleanse, forgive, redeem, and restore.
Just like we are getting rid of our junk, give away all that keeps you from coming clean.
Fear
Your reputation
What others will say
I have so much to say about this, but for now, I point you to the article I wrote about Ravi Zacharias. Getting rid of baggage enables us to walk in effectiveness now and also after we die, when EVERY secret will be revealed.
Let’s use our empty nest years to the glory of God.
To the building of His Kingdom.
To the goal that we would decrease and He would increase.