Living Intentionally: Embracing a Clockwise Spiritual Journey

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
- Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV): "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."

#### Observation Questions
1. What does Ephesians 5:15-17 instruct us to be careful about in our daily lives?
2. According to the sermon, what does living a "calculated, clockwise life" mean? [44:19]
3. What are some of the enemy's tactics mentioned in the sermon that can lead us off course? [01:09:23]
4. How does the sermon describe the difference between knowledge and wisdom? [50:15]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why is it important to live intentionally and wisely, as described in Ephesians 5:15-17? How does this align with the concept of a "clockwise life"? [45:57]
2. How can distractions and a lack of focus cause us to drift away from God's path? What are some examples given in the sermon? [59:34]
3. What does immediate obedience to the Holy Spirit look like in practical terms, according to the sermon? [01:12:10]
4. How does the sermon suggest we can resist the enemy's tactics of guilt, distractions, and excuses? [01:09:23]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your daily routine. Are there areas where you feel you are not living intentionally or wisely? What changes can you make to align more closely with the concept of a "clockwise life"? [44:19]
2. Have you experienced drifting away from God's path due to distractions or a lack of focus? What steps can you take to stay aligned with God's word and maintain a strong connection through prayer and scripture? [59:34]
3. Think about a recent situation where you felt prompted by the Holy Spirit. Did you act immediately, or did you hesitate? How can you improve your obedience to the Holy Spirit's guidance in the future? [01:12:10]
4. Identify a tactic of the enemy (guilt, distraction, or excuses) that you struggle with the most. What specific actions can you take to overcome this tactic using the truth of God's word and the power of the Holy Spirit? [01:09:23]
5. The sermon calls for personal reflection and commitment to Christ. Have you fully committed your life to Christ, or are there areas where you are holding back? What steps can you take to surrender those areas to God? [01:15:15]
6. How can you make the most of every opportunity God gives you, not just for your benefit but for the kingdom's sake? Think of a specific opportunity you have right now and how you can act on it. [53:08]
7. Consider someone in your life who may be watching your actions as a believer. How can you be more intentional in your behavior to reflect Christ's love and truth to them? [48:46]

Day 1: Embrace Purposeful Progress
Living intentionally aligns our daily actions with God's will, fostering spiritual growth and purpose. Just as a clock moves steadily forward, we are called to progress in our faith journey, making deliberate choices that reflect our commitment to God. This approach helps us avoid the pitfalls of complacency and stagnation, ensuring that our time is used wisely for God's glory. By focusing on forward movement, we cultivate a life that is not only fulfilling but also pleasing to God, making the most of every opportunity He provides. [45:57]

Ephesians 5:15-17 (ESV): "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Reflection: What is one area in your life where you can start making more intentional choices to align with God's will?

Day 2: Guard Against Spiritual Drift
The subtle shift away from God's path often begins when we lose focus on His truths. It's crucial to maintain a strong connection with God through prayer and scripture, which serve as our spiritual compass. This connection helps us stay aligned with God's word and guides us back when we start to veer off the path. By recognizing the signs of spiritual drift, we can take corrective action early, ensuring that our journey with God remains steadfast and true. [59:34]

Hebrews 2:1 (ESV): "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."

Reflection: Identify a recent instance where you felt distracted from your spiritual goals. What steps can you take to realign with God's path?

Day 3: Overcome the Enemy's Deceptions
Understanding and identifying the tactics of the enemy, such as guilt and distractions, are essential for maintaining a forward-moving, spiritual life. By equipping ourselves with the truth of God's word and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can resist these attacks and continue progressing in our faith. Recognizing these tactics allows us to stand firm in our beliefs and not be swayed by the enemy's attempts to derail our spiritual journey. [01:09:23]

2 Corinthians 2:11 (ESV): "So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."

Reflection: What are some tactics the enemy has used to distract you from your spiritual growth, and how can you actively guard against them?

Day 4: Act on the Holy Spirit's Promptings
Immediate obedience to the Holy Spirit's guidance is crucial for living a life that reflects God's purpose. This often requires stepping out in faith, even when it's inconvenient or challenging. Trusting that God's plans are for our ultimate good allows us to move beyond our comfort zones and into a deeper relationship with Him. By responding promptly to the Holy Spirit, we demonstrate our trust and commitment to following God's lead. [01:12:10]

Galatians 5:25 (ESV): "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."

Reflection: Can you recall a time when you hesitated to follow the Holy Spirit's prompt? What can you do to ensure a more immediate response in the future?

Day 5: Commit Fully to Christ's Path
A genuine commitment to Christ involves more than just belief; it requires an active surrender of one's life to His guidance and direction. This commitment lays the foundation for a life filled with purpose, direction, and fulfillment according to God's eternal plan. By fully committing to Christ, we open ourselves to the transformative power of His love and grace, leading to a life that is rich in spiritual rewards. [01:15:15]

Luke 9:23-24 (ESV): "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'"

Reflection: What does taking up your cross daily to follow Jesus look like in your practical day-to-day life?

Amen. Amen.

I know today can be a tough day for some, and that's why I like to play that video, because it really kind of takes everybody's situation into consideration. It says it all. But I'm going to pray right now. I'm going to pray for us. I'm going to pray for the service, but I also want you to help me pray for the diapers and wipes that we have collected for the Pregnancy Care Center. We do that every year because we are for our neighbors, and they do a great job, so we want to partner with them and help them.

So could you stretch your hands out right now as I pray?

Father, thank you that people have brought in these diapers and wipes, and we pray over each and every one of them, Lord God, so that when they receive these, there's something that happens in that household. If they don't know you, somehow through the love of these gifts and supplies, that they would realize that there are people that care about them, God. I thank you for each and every family that receives them. If they don't know you, Jesus, somehow, someway, let this be a token for good that they might be able to come to know who you are, Jesus. We give you this gift, and we pray over each and every one of them, Lord God, and we give you all the praise for that in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, we like to pray around here, so I'm going to pray one more time for the service now, for the teaching, because I'm going to pray for you to receive, but I need you to pray for me that it comes out the way the Lord wants it to, right?

So thank you, Father, that today as I deliver the word that you put on my heart for this day, Lord, I thank you that it goes deep into the hearts of the people that are here, that I would say the things that you want me to say, Lord, that I would be anointed to speak your word. I thank you, Lord, that I would be anointed to speak your word. Lord, I step aside and let Holy Spirit, I let you say what you want to say, God, and that when we're done, that you would be glorified, God, the saints would be edified, and the enemy would be terrified in Jesus' name. Amen.

So first of all, it's been a minute, but you know, I took the whole month of April to be my birthday month, so thank you for all the birthday wishes and gifts and things. It really means a lot to me. You guys honor us so well, and I appreciate that.

All right. Raise your hand if you're wearing a watch. Most everybody. Raise your hand if you're wearing a digital watch. A lot of younger people. Raise your hand if you're wearing an analog watch. Raise your hand if you don't even know what an analog watch is. Okay. See? Don't worry, you're not alone. One in six people in the USA can't read an analog watch. One small study even showed that 75% of six to 12-year-olds don't even know what an old-time clock is.

And if I was going to show a video of some kids trying to read the clock, it was crazy. If you have a minute, go to YouTube and put in "young kids reading an analog clock," and you'll just be amused for a while.

So PT is not the only one that trains with Al. I go as well on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he's usually pretty nice. Today he's the armor bearer for me, so you know what? He's super extra specially nice today, and I appreciate that. But he did share a few clock jokes with me, so I want to throw them out to you and see what you think.

What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back four seconds.

Okay. I tried to make a belt out of watches, but it was a waste of time.

So you know what I'm gonna do? Al, I need that instead. Okay. Thanks. Flavor, flame. I would put it on, but I think I would mess up my hair and my microphone.

So this is an analog watch. And for those of you that are really techy, you know you can change your digital watch to an analog watch. I mean, you're, yeah, digital. Hello. Anyway, where are you? There. See? I can make it an analog. I can make it have hands.

But this clock, hands move to the right, right? They move forward. That's clockwise. If it goes backwards, it's counterclockwise.

We got a gift for our cabin. It's weird because it's... I should have... well, we can't get up there, so... anyway, the clock is backwards, but it tells time forward, and it's really odd because your brain, it's like, what is happening? It's weird.

But anyway, forward is clockwise, backwards is counterclockwise, and I'm going to borrow that term for the teaching today to talk about living a clockwise life. I didn't say cuckoo life; it's not a cuckoo clock; it's a clockwise life.

Ephesians, the book of Ephesians, the letter was written by Paul. Um, yeah, too bad I can't hang that. Maybe I could do this, put this on. Put this... okay, maybe I could. It'll stay there.

Ephesians was written by Paul while he was in prison, and he had a really great relationship with them. He spent two years in Ephesus with them. But you know, he wanted to equip, empower, and mature believers. Once they became a believer, he was like, "All right, now this is how you need to live your life. You need to do these certain things and stop doing other things."

And so it's really, the whole book is like a prescription to live our life. Obviously, the whole Bible is that, but Ephesians... Did you see the movie "Overcomer" with Priscilla Shirer? That was an amazing movie about the girl who was the runner, and it was the whole thing about how she found her identity in Christ from Ephesians and lived her life that way.

So today, though, I'm going to look at the top of your notes. You're going to see Ephesians 5:15-17, and I'm going to read that. Why don't we all read it together?

"Be careful how you live; don't live like fools, but live like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."

I mean, doesn't that sound like a great way to live your life?

Okay, so you're going to remember that in Jesus' name. So I'm going to make the points real easy today because they come from the scripture.

So number one: be careful how we live.

Now, in different translations, in the New King James, it says, "Be careful how you walk," because we have a walk with the Lord, right? Be careful where you go, what you do, how you do it, who you hang with. Be careful how you live.

If we want to live a calculated clockwise life, then we have to be careful of how we're living.

So clocks have amazing mechanics inside of them. Have you ever looked inside of a clock? They're calculated and they're precise. The Swiss-made watch—remember when that came out? That was so precise. I mean, you could just... that thing was so calibrated you could never have a problem with that watch.

So when I was a kid, I used to, um, I don't know where it came from, somebody showed me this, and we'd get some greeting cards that were a stack of the same cards, and then you would cut out, uh, it was like a scene of something, and you would cut out the pieces so that you could make a look of it. So the back page would be flat, and then you'd cut out, let's say, a mountain, and then it would come out a little bit, and then you'd cut out the lion that was in front of the mountain, so it kept getting right.

So we would do that with little, um, nightstand clocks. So I would take that clock apart because now the back of my clock was going to be this amazing scene. So I'd take the clock apart and get it all done and put it all back together, and a few pieces were left, and I was like, "Hey, I guess it's not important to have those pieces; it's working."

Well, guess what? After a little while, the time was not precise. The time was not right. It was no longer right.

So it's very calculated, and we have to be calculated too because guess what? You have to be aware of who's watching your life. People watch us, especially if they know you're a Christian. Now all of a sudden they're like, "Oh, I'm gonna see how she acts in that situation. Oh, I thought you were supposed to be a Christian. Why are you acting like that?"

And let me tell you something: your kids might not listen to you, but they're certainly going to watch what you're doing. And you know when you're out in public and the kid does a star exclamation point period at sign, you're like, "Where did you learn that?" It must have been from school. I don't know. You can figure that one out where that came from.

But the next thing that that verse says is not to live like fools but like those who are wise.

Now, how does a fool live? I mean, they just do whatever they want, when they want, how they want. The Bible talks about foolish behavior over 100 times. I mean, just if you don't know, then look that up and see, "Wow, what is that all about?" That's crazy.

So are you wise or are you foolish? That's something you have to figure out yourself. Where are you getting your info from? Where are you getting your choices that you make?

We have to be careful because we have to deal with the consequences. We have to be careful because we have to deal with the consequences. We have to deal with the consequences of however you're going to live your life. Is that true?

Okay, so I think that everybody would agree that we should be careful. We should be careful. But do we actually live like this?

So there's a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is information. Knowledge is transactional. I'm gonna give you some information, and then it's just... there's nothing to it; it's just factual knowledge.

But wisdom is taking that knowledge and doing something with it. It's transformational. So now I just don't know it, but I do something with it. Does that make sense?

So we have to be sure that the information that we're getting, we're using it in a way that's full of wisdom. And we're asking the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us. Because I'm not making those choices myself. I need the Holy Spirit to help me.

So you can know something, but if you don't put it into action, then what good is it? Nothing good comes of it.

Like, okay, most of you drive the speed limit. Let me see. That should be everybody because it is a law. It's knowledge. You know that it's 70 on the highway, on the turnpike, right?

Okay, 70. Wow. You guys thought it was 95? 95, didn't you?

But guess what? If you are going 95 when it's 70, you're gonna get a little prize to take home, a little certificate to take home, and then pay a fine.

So it's not just enough to know it. It's to put it into practice. That's wisdom.

Now, if you're going to South Florida on the turnpike, I know your excuse. You're gonna be like, "Everybody's going 95. I'm just trying to keep up with the traffic because I don't want to get in a wreck."

Yeah, but tell that to the police. The police officer, he's like, "I don't care. You know, that's what the speed limit is."

Anyway, so be wise. Put that knowledge into action.

So when we apply that knowledge, right, we can gain from our experiences. Because listen, if you're gonna go through experiences and you don't gain any knowledge or wisdom, then what's the point? Really, what's the point?

A wise person does now what they're gonna be pleased with, and they're gonna be pleased with later. I don't always want to do the right thing, but I gotta think about the now and the future. I gotta think about how is this gonna affect my life? How's it gonna affect my family? How's it gonna affect my choices that I make, the people that are around me, the ones that are listening, the ones that are watching me?

So even if it means you have to sacrifice now for future benefit, so be careful.

Number two, it goes a little bit deeper now about making the most of every opportunity.

So number two: make the most of every opportunity. See how easy this is? We just read the Word and we got the life principles.

Make the most of every opportunity. So 2,000 years ago, over 2,000 years ago, you know, the Bible referred to the days as evil. I don't know, are they more evil or less now? I mean, it's crazy. You just gotta spend a few minutes watching the news or seeing what's going on around the world.

But what is every day? What does everybody have that we can make the most out of every opportunity? What does everybody have?

We all have time. We all have the same amount of time. We all have 24 hours. We all have 1,440 minutes a day.

And of all the resources that God gives us, that is the best and the most, the greatest of them all: time. We can't manipulate it. We can't bring it back. We can't do it, change it. Once we use it, it's spent.

Have you ever thought about that? How did you spend your time? You spent it like money, and it's gone. You spent it. You can't bring it back. You can't duplicate it.

You know, some of you people that are always late, I don't see anybody here. It must be next service. But all the late people, you've tried this. I know you have. I'm just gonna move the clock forward about five minutes. All around the house, we'll move it forward. Then we'll be on time.

But guess what you do? You walk around going, "Minus five. I got time. I got time." You're trying to manipulate the clock. And it doesn't work.

It doesn't work. So we have to make the most out of the time that we have because we're not promised another minute.

So how do we make the most out of our life? Honestly, it's really not that difficult, but regardless of our age, we want to invest our life in a way that when we die, we've given it all. We've made the most of every opportunity. We've done the best with the air that we breathe that God has given us, with the food we've eaten, with the space we've taken up, with the life that we've lived.

How are you taking and making the most out of every opportunity? God wants our whole life. Sometimes people are like, "Yeah, I'll give you, God, I'll give you about 75, 90%. You know, that's a good amount. That's like a B to an A in grades. I'll give you that much."

He's like, "No, I want it all. I don't even want 99.9%. I want 100% of your life." He wants it all.

Romans 6:13 says, "Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life."

I mean, think about it. Think what Jesus did for us. How can we walk around the world kind of, you know, wandering around, forgetting who God is and what he did for us, sending Jesus? He died on the cross so that we could have eternal life.

We gotta keep our minds focused on that and make every opportunity to share that with people. Our life does not belong to us. It belongs to God. He bought our life.

If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, said, "I'm a follower. I submit my life to Jesus." He paid his life as a ransom for many. So he bought us, and we belong to him.

And then there's the last part of verse 17, which tells us not to act thoughtlessly. Not to act thoughtlessly. This is telling me that number three, we have to understand what the Lord wants us to do.

So if you're not gonna act thoughtlessly, you gotta know what he wants. Otherwise, you'll just write your own rules and do your own thing.

We can't live a calculated clockwise life if we're gonna go through each day not paying attention to what's going on, to what's happening around us, to the people that God has put in our life.

Are we aware of what's happening around us? There are people everywhere. God will give you every opportunity to minister to somebody.

And I know some of you are like, "Oh, what do you mean minister? I don't have a degree. I don't know. I don't know how to do that."

No, it's your life. If you're a believer, your life can speak volumes to somebody. You know, you're in the grocery store and you see somebody having a hard time, and they're pulling things back because they don't have enough money, and they got the credits and all that, and they're like, "Oh my gosh, you can't."

And you hear the Holy Spirit say, "You need to go pay for their stuff." And you're like, "Devil, was that you?"

No, it's the Holy Spirit giving you an opportunity to show love. So when you go up and you say, "I've got it. I've got it for you. Don't worry."

"Oh, no, no, I couldn't."

"Yes, go ahead."

"Well, why would you do such a thing?"

"You know, God has blessed me, and I have the opportunity to bless you. So that's what I'm gonna do."

Make every opportunity. Take every opportunity to do what the Lord wants us to do. Because if we don't, then we're gonna not hear what the Holy Spirit is saying because we're so involved in it.

We're so involved in our own stuff. We gotta recognize what's really important and respond accordingly.

In verse 17, don't act thoughtlessly.

Anybody ever act thoughtlessly? I know I have. And then you go, "What was I thinking?" Apparently not anything good.

A thoughtless life is careless. It's distracted. It's just random living. It's counterclockwise. It's going the wrong way. Counterclockwise.

But a thoughtful life is careful. It's accurate. It's attentive. And it's intentional. Clockwise. Moving forward. Moving forward.

And we have a great danger on this journey that we call life with God is when we're trying to live this clockwise life, that we wanna make the most of our opportunities and our time, we wanna grow in wisdom so that we can make the right choices, that we can speak life to people, that we can share the good news, but there's a problem, and it's called drift.

Drift. If we're not paying attention to what God wants us to do, we're gonna drift away from the truth of the scripture. And that's pretty easy to do—that careless living.

So, Hebrews 2:1 says, "So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard or we may drift from it."

Now, drift is not a hard, calculated decision. That's a shift. I'm going this way. I'm gonna tell myself, "Nope, I'm not gonna go that way."

You know what a shift is? A shift is repentance. "Hey, I better not go that way anymore. I'm gonna go this way."

But a drift is, "Well, I'm just gonna go a little bit off" in a choice that you made. It's unconsciously moving, sometimes consciously, but you're like, "It's just a little bit off."

And I've shared this with you guys before. I worked with blind people, and one of the things I got to do was teach them how to cross a street with traffic. Whether they had a cane or they had a dog. Dogs help them a lot more, obviously, than the cane.

But I got to teach them how to cross, use the traffic as the hearing, which way the traffic is going, listening to the patterns.

But the most important thing was called squaring up on the curb. They had to take their cane and square it up. So if I'm up here and this carpet is the curb, and if I'm not squared up, and I got to go there, guess what's gonna happen? I'm just off a little bit.

Look, I'm only off a little bit. I'm gonna wind up way over there in the middle of traffic. So I have to be intentional in keeping that straight and not drifting, right? Not drifting.

So a lot of times you don't realize it's happening.

Now let me just give you a parenthesis. If you've got people in your life that love you, that encourage you, that want to help you, that notice you're drifting, and they come to you and say, "Hey, I love you. I've noticed though you got some stuff going on, and it's just, I don't know, I feel like I need to talk to you about it because you're drifting."

Please open your heart to hear that. It's called the blind spot. And guess what? If it's a blind spot, you don't see it. But the people around you see it.

And you have to trust them enough to say, "Okay, help me. Help me see what I'm doing so I can get back on track."

If we're not making the most of every opportunity to share the love of Christ, we're going to drift away from what God wants us to do.

I mean, that's number one. If you say, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with my life." Well, start with sharing Jesus, what your life was like before, how he brought you out of that darkness into his glorious light.

And hey, you can share that. You're an expert.

So it's human nature to focus on ourselves. It's easy. Babies, you don't have to teach a baby how to go, "Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine." They don't want to share. They want it all for themselves.

That's human nature. Want to get my needs met. I want to do what I want to do. Even in a marriage, even in a relationship, we're supposed to prefer one another. But most of the time we're like, "You know, it'd be really nice if you'd pay attention to me and do this for me."

And me, me, me, me. I mean, I do it sometimes. Not a lot. Here and there. But I do. Because it's easy to be selfish about that.

Listen, Jesus summed up the whole Old Testament with these two amazing scriptures: the great commandment, the great commission.

The great commandment, Matthew 22:36-40, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."

And then in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, teaching them to do everything I have commanded you."

Now that is how we're supposed to live our life. That's where we got our mission statement from. We said it earlier, right? And that we love God, we love people, we make disciples.

We're going out, we're making an impact, we're bringing hope, we're sharing Jesus, we're doing all these things because we are representatives of Jesus. Your life is not your own.

So the question remains, what is it that God wants each of us to do? He wants us to be like Him. That's what Christian means—little Christ.

Don't take it out of context or blow it out. She thinks we're little gods. No, I didn't say that. We are Christians, meaning we're representing Jesus, and we're to be more and more like Him from glory to glory to glory.

We do something, we make a mistake, we ask for forgiveness, we repent, we grow because we're using wisdom, and then we grow, and then we grow, and then we grow from glory to glory, and we get more and more and more like Him.

And then, you know what? One day, you're gonna be going to heaven and answer for all the things. Me too, I'm not... I mean, I'm going too. We're all gonna answer for our life.

So He wants us to be like Him, living a calculated, intentional, clockwise life.

Now look at 2 Corinthians in your notes, chapter 3, verse 18. "And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed in His glorious image."

We all have a specific role, but you know what? The best way to know Jesus is just spend time with Him.

The more time you spend with Him, the more you're gonna know Him. The Bible says, "My sheep know my voice."

Spend time with God so that you know when you hear a little thing about, "Go do this," you know it's not of God because it doesn't sound like Him. Just like your friend tells you, "Well, so and so said this," and you're like, "Well, I know her. She doesn't talk like that."

So as you spend time with God, you know Him, and He knows you because you're spending time.

So sharing the good news is so important. Good news is good news about who Jesus is and their eternity.

Ephesians 4:15 says, "Grow in every way more and more like Christ." That is one of our tenants as a believer. We need to be growing all the time. Growing, growing, growing.

We have growth track that hopefully you have gone through or going through or will be going through because that kind of gives you a basis for who we are, where we came from, where we're going, how you can be part of this body of believers, finding your place, finding your gifts, finding your talents, serving.

Don't we have the most amazing servants here in this house? I applaud you guys. You are over the top amazing.

So we want to grow to be more like Jesus. That's when we become spiritually healthy and we become wise because we're making the most of every opportunity that God has given us.

And listen, sharing—this is in your notes—sharing the love of God with others is part of our spiritual journey. If you're not sharing, you're not caring.

Come on, people are going to spend eternity in hell if we don't share the good news of Jesus. Think about that. Right now, God is dropping some names in your life that you have a relationship with that they don't know Jesus. You can take this opportunity to share.

So make sure you're moving forward. You're moving in a clockwise direction.

But know this: the enemy will fight you along the way. Whoever told you, "Give your life to Jesus and you'll never have another issue, another problem," nope, they were making it up because they wanted to put a notch in their belt, got another one.

Yeah, so when I go to heaven, I can say, "God, I led all these people to Jesus." No, it's not about that. The enemy will fight you. Even Jesus said, "You're going to have trouble, but don't worry, I've come to bring you life and life more abundantly."

And you're a victor; you're an overcomer. You're going to make it. But the devil likes to remind us of our mistakes, constantly wanting us to look backwards.

The enemy's counterclockwise attack. We're almost done. He has a counterclockwise attack. You're trying to live your life clockwise. You're moving forward. You're moving forward.

And then all of a sudden, something happens, and he throws some guilt on you. You don't really think that what you did was right. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt.

Why is he doing that? Because he's trying to keep you off track. And guilt doesn't lead to repentance. Guilt leads to anger and frustration and all kinds of crazy things.

So he's going to throw that guilt on you. He's going to throw distractions your way.

Well, let me get you distracted from what you're supposed to do. Man, you're on fire. You're listening to God. You're spending time with him. You heard him tell you. You heard him tell you something.

And then all these distractions that if you're not careful, what? You're going to drift because you're distracted because you're not keeping your eyes on the prize.

The enemy has one thing that he wants to do. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy. That's what he does. That's what he's good at. He's going to keep doing it forever and ever and ever.

But we have the victory in Jesus that greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. We don't have to listen to that.

And then the enemy will throw excuses. Excuses.

"Well, I really want to, but, well, you know, I'm not sure if I could do that." Or "It's not my fault. It's his fault. It's her fault."

Excuse, excuse, excuse.

Remember the story in the New Testament about the guy who was going to have a wedding or a party, and he invited everybody.

"Well, I can't do that because, I can't do it because, I can't do it because."

Just be really careful that you're not using excuses to keep you from what God wants you to do because the enemy keeps bringing up the past, keeps throwing things in your face, and we're supposed to be moving forward.

And you know what? In a car, you don't drive looking in the rearview mirror the whole time. You just don't.

Every once in a while, you peer up there to see where you've been to know where you're going, right? But you drive out of the windshield. You keep going forward. You keep going forward.

Jesus doesn't look at who we once were. He sees the potential. He sees the potential in who we can become. And he wants you to see you in the same way.

So what is our clockwise response? What do we do then if the enemy's throwing all this stuff at us?

We have to learn from the past. Learn from the past. Learn from the hurt. Learn from the trials. Learn from the stuff. Learn from the pain. Learn from all those things that have happened because if you don't learn, you're going to go through it over and over and over.

And Philippians 3:13 says, "But I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead."

I keep looking forward because I can't look backwards.

And then do something with what you've learned. Don't waste a trial. Don't waste a hurt. Don't waste the thing that happened. Learn from it. Grow from it. Get stronger from it.

Remember James said, "Hey, count it all joy because when you come out on the other side, you're going to be better. You're going to be stronger."

So in the midst of the situation, please don't pray for God to take it away.

Let that sit for a second. Don't pray for it to go away because you're not going to learn anything.

But in the midst of it, "God, help me get through this in a way that glorifies you and I can learn something and I can grow from it and I can help somebody else in the future."

Okay, and then the second thing is what's the clockwise response?

Take action. Take action. Do something.

James 1:22 says, "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says."

When you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you, be obedient. I've said this before. I don't think that people have a hard time hearing the Holy Spirit. I think we have a hard time obeying the Holy Spirit.

I think we can hear Him loud and clear. But we go, "I don't want to. Not right now. I'm not sure that was you."

Excuse, guilt, distractions. Just be obedient.

I mean, when you go with God, you can't go wrong. Why would God lead you down a wrong path just to go, "Ha, I fooled you?"

No, He loves us so much. He's got such a great plan and a great purpose.

But just take some action. This is how we can stay focused on living a calculated, clockwise life. Consistently. Moving forward. Moving forward.

It's not enough to merely count our days, but we must make our days count. Amen. Make your days count.

So I pray today that you got something out of this, that you can see an area in your life maybe where you need to get a little more focused, be a little more careful of how you're living, make the most out of every opportunity, not just when it's convenient, and understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Amen. Would you bow your heads as I pray and end this time together?

Father, thank you for this day. Thank you that your word went forth and sunk deep into the hearts of those that are here. Lord God, I know your word won't return void, so I pray right now, God, that those that need to hear your direction today would take it to heart, Father.

Make some adjustments in their life and do some of the things that they heard about today. Use that prescription from Ephesians 5:15-17, Lord.

Now if you're, today maybe you need a little adjustment. You're already a believer. You've given your life to Jesus, but you've drifted a little bit. You're kind of off course a little bit. Would you raise your hand just so I can pray for you right now? You're saying, "I need to get more focused. I need to get back on the path."

Anybody?

Okay. Thank you for being so honest. Thank you, thank you. God sees your hand. You know what? That's amazing right there that you would raise your hand and say, "That's me."

Because God sees that hand. He knows your heart. And you're saying, admitting, "I need some help."

So Father, I pray for those that raised their hand to get back on track, to get back on the path that you've designed for them, to listen to the people in their life that are trying to help them when they're veering any.

But Lord, give them opportunities, Father, to just focus in on who you are and know that they want to make their days count because you're leading, guiding, and directing them.

Now, if you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, if you've never said, "You know what? I can't do this myself." Maybe you've gone to church your whole life, but you never surrendered your life to Jesus.

What do I mean by that? I mean that, you know, you're not the controller anymore. You're not the CEO anymore. You're not driving the car anymore. You're saying, "God, I want to go in the vehicle, but I want you to drive. I'll get in the back seat. You drive. You take me where I'm supposed to go. I'm giving up control. I'm surrendering my life to Jesus."

If you're here today, I want to pray with you before you leave. If you want to surrender your life to Jesus, would you raise your hand so I can pray with you anywhere here in the building? Anywhere? Maybe at home?

It's the greatest decision you'll ever make because not only does it give you a hope for today, a way to live your life today, but it gives you a hope for the future. You have your eternity secured with Jesus forever and ever and ever.

So even if you didn't raise your hand, I'm going to pray for your surrender today. Just let's all pray this together.

And if you do pray this and you mean it in your heart and you didn't raise your hand, that's okay. Or even if you are a believer and you've been one for a while and you're kind of a little bit off track a little bit, we have what we call First Step.

We have a packet of information that helps you on your journey. We'd love for you to get one of those. Just make your way over there before we end the service today.

But let's all say this:

Father, thank you that you love us. You have a good plan and a good purpose for each and every one of us.

I want to surrender my life to you so that you can lead, guide, and direct me to make the most of every opportunity to do the things that you want me to do.

I thank you that you forgive me of my sin and you give me eternal life.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

All right. Well, hope that worked for you. Thank you. You guys are awesome.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "A wise person does now what they're gonna be pleased with, and they're gonna be pleased with later. I don't always want to do the right thing, but I gotta think about the now and the future. I gotta think about how is this gonna affect my life? How's it gonna affect my family?" [52:31](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



2. "We all have the same amount of time. We all have 24 hours. We all have 1,440 minutes a day. And of all the resources that God gives us, that is the best and the most, the greatest of them all, time. We can't manipulate it. We can't bring it back. Once we use it, it's spent." [53:52](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



3. "If you're a believer, your life can speak volumes to somebody. You know, you're in the grocery store and you see somebody having a hard time and they're pulling things back because they don't have enough money and they got the credits and all that and they're like, oh my gosh, you can't. And you hear the Holy Spirit say, you need to go pay for their stuff." [57:55](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



4. "How are you taking and making the most out of every opportunity? God wants our whole life. Sometimes people are like, yeah, I'll give you, God, I'll give you about 75, 90%. You know, that's a good amount. He's like, no, I want it all. I don't even want 99.9%. I want 100% of your life." [55:26](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



### Quotes for Members

1. "We can't live a calculated clockwise life if we're gonna go through each day not paying attention to what's going on, to what's happening around us, to the people that God has put in our life. Are we aware of what's happening around us?" [56:59](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



2. "A thoughtless life is careless. It's distracted. It's just random living. It's counterclockwise. It's going the wrong way. Counterclockwise. But a thoughtful life is careful. It's accurate. It's attentive. And it's intentional. Clockwise. Moving forward." [59:06](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



3. "James 1.22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. When you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you, be obedient. I've said this before. I don't think that people have a hard time hearing the Holy Spirit. I think we have a hard time obeying the Holy Spirit." [01:12:10](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



4. "If we're not paying attention to what God wants us to do, we're gonna drift away from the truth of the scripture. And that's pretty easy to do. That careless living. So, Hebrews 2 and 1 says, so we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard or we may drift from it." [59:34](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)



5. "The enemy's counterclockwise attack. You're trying to live your life clockwise. You're moving forward. And then all of a sudden, something happens and he throws some guilt on you. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt. Why is he doing that? Because he's trying to keep you off track." [01:07:50](Make raw clip | Make vertical clip | Make vertical captioned clip)