We Seek To Honor God in All We Do
Matthew 6:24-33
* We are in the fourth week of our five week series on the HBC Core Beliefs. Have you noticed that every belief builds on the foundation of the prior belief. If the first one (The Bible is our guide book) does not become personalized, then you will never believe that God loves us and has a plan for us. If that truth never becomes a personal reality then you will not believe that all people really matter to God. If that never become a reality for you then you will live a live which has as its goal to “seek (or try) to honor God in everything you do. And if we don’t buy into this, then the local church has very little reason for existing.
* Yet as a body, these guiding principles serve as a roadmap for us, both collectively and individually. To complete the mission God has for us and find abundant life, as HIS people, we would do well to make all 5 of these beliefs our personal & collective roadmap for living and life.
* Let’s begin with this question: For those of us who claim to know Jesus in a personal way, are really honoring God in everything we do? There is an old hymn that says, “While passing through this world of sin and others your life shall view, be clean and pure without, within, let others see Jesus in you.” This is what it means to honor God. In the teachings of Jesus we can discover at least 3 actions which control our lives in this matter.
1. The Decision I must Make – The need to make decisions could be viewed as “Bible Study 101.” Look at the text and hear Jesus say, “No one can serve two masters.” If we could learn this one truth, decide about it, and live it out then we would truly honor God. The Biblical illustrations for this being true are many. Consider a few.
* We look in the book of Joshua as he is passing off the scene & hear him proclaim, “Choose you today whom you will serve.” In other words, “make a choice!” Or in 1 Kings we hear Elijah on Mt. Carmel shout, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If God be God, serve Him, if Baal is God, serve Him.” He is shouting, “Decide!” This message is augmented by the words of James (in the New Testament) when he says, “A double-minded person is unstable in all His ways.” Let’s wrap a ribbon about this and tie it together.
* What does it mean to be “double minded?” It means we have 2 masters, bosses, or leaders, who have opposing points of view & we are attempting to please both of them. With two differing guidelines, we find ourselves indecisive and unable to make a decision because we are trying to please or satisfy both masters.
* This is why Jesus lays for the truth that “no one can serve two masters.” To attempt to do so will make you double minded, indecisive, and unstable and that kind of life will never honor God.
* To honor God in all we do means we must make several decisions; the first one is that we must decide what we do with Jesus. When we were in sin, God sent Jesus to die that we might have life. Paul told the Philippians jailer to, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Today the message is still the same for us. It’s THE most important decision we ever have to make. But make no mistake, it’s not the LAST decision you & I will make, in fact, it may be the first, right decision. At this point, we decide who’s we are, what we are, and who we are.
* When we make the decision to follow Christ, we come to understand the terms which Jesus was conveying in our text. Notice the contrast in terms for the person trying to straddle the fence; love and hate, devoted and despise. Every person in this room has to decide who our master really is, who our Lord is, and what our priorities are? Who is it that we love?
* Life is all about decisions. We make decisions every day. It could be that during the week we spend so much time and energy making decisions that when it gets to Sunday we have already decided to not decide ANYTHING. The result is; the most important decision in life is ignored, put off, and wrong. When we decide not to decide for our Lord, we make a decision which for the enemy and the prince of the darkness.
* Let’s personalize this decision this morning;
2. The Direction I must Take – If we are to do our best to honor God with our lives, our lives will have a specific direction to it which will be polar opposite of the direction life was headed before Jesus. Let us take the very words of Jesus and discover our direction we must take.
a. Seek – What does “seek” really mean? It means we “aim at”, “strive for”, or go after by meditating, thinking, or reasoning. This literally means that we place something at the TOP of our list to “FIND”. When a person seeks a new job, they are up every day, putting in applications, and trying to get interviews. To seek after something means that with all you have you desire something. Think about the “desires which drive YOU. What are they? Can you name them? Are they money, popularity, status, prestige, or any of a dozen other earthly things? It is a question worth answering in your mind and heart, “What is it that I am seeking?” At the end of the day, when this earthly life is over—what is it that I desire? Stephen Covey tells us “to begin with the end in mind.” If we do this then our seeking becomes simple. We seek that which helps us to achieve our goal.
b. First – We are familiar with the concept of “first.” This past week we were in Florida for a few days continuing our family business and one of my friends mentioned that their High School football team had a 3-7 season last year. My response was, “that is uncharacteristic” to which he responded, “And unacceptable”. We know what being first is all about. The deal is this; while we know, recognize, and understand what it means and takes to be first in the world of sports and business is not something which we have transferred to seeking God. God says, “You find me only when you seek me” and Jesus says, “Choose your direction by seeking FIRST”, not second or sometimes but first. How long has it been since you have honestly evaluated the top priority in your life? What is it that comes out on top? Are you aware that God said, “Have none other ahead of me?” Consider what is first in your life, your schedule, your money, your family, or the Lord? For our lives to honor God in all we do, we must not only “seek” but “seek first.” Look at the object of our seeking!!
c. The Kingdom of God – Honestly most of us don’t give much thought to the “Kingdom of God” because in this day of “Democratic Rule”, we have literally lost the concept of “Kingdom.” However, this was a very cultural and understandable concept for the listeners of Jesus. They knew about Kingdoms. Their Jewish history reminded them of many Kingdoms with Kings of all flavors. In fact, they understood that “IF” a good King was on the throng, then life would be good. However, if a “bad” King was on the throng, then life was horrendous. All through the Old Testament & throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus, the people were looking for, longing for, & hoping for the Kingdom of God. Here’s why; God would be a good King who would make life better for His people.
* Most of us don’t realize that when Jesus burst onto the scene He was preaching “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Yet, this explains the question from the disciples in Acts 1 about “when the Kingdom was be restored to Israel” as they were still thinking in terms of Kingdoms like the Kings of Old. Yet the Kingdom of God which we should seek is very unique.
* However, if we are to seek the Kingdom, we need to know what the Kingdom is. As far as I am concerned one of the spiritual experts of the day is Dr. Gene Mimms. He has committed many years to the study of the Kingdom of God, has written 2 books (Kingdom Principles for Church Growth and The Kingdom Focused Church), and is now applying what he’s learned to revitalize and grow a truly Kingdom Focused Church just south of Nashville. In essence, he teaches us that the real throne-room for the Kingdom of God is found in the hearts of believers.
* Furthermore, the Kingdom is present wherever the rule and reign of God is present in people’s lives through the presence of Jesus Christ. God will is for us to know Him in such a way that we realize His purpose for our live, both now and in eternity.
* Just one practical thought; all of us live in someone’s kingdom. The leader of your kingdom is the one who rules your life. If could be your parents, your siblings, your mate, your children, or others. It could even be YOU. My fear today is that we so much like to believe we are self-made, that we are living in our own little Kingdoms. Some would say, “But I still love the Lord” to which I would simply remind you, “No one can serve 2 masters.”
d. His Righteousness – Think about those two words, “His Righteousness”. What kind of righteousness would this be? I submit it would be holy, perfect, without spot or blemish, total purity. Part of the 21st century mindset seems to be, “I can’t measure up to this high standard, so what’s the use.” Consider that fact that “having to be without any faults” is a relative new concept. That was not the thinking in the days of Jesus. John Mark was probably crushed when he realized how he abandoned the good news. Peter repeatedly fell on his fact. Paul ascribes himself as the chief of sinners. James goes so far as to end his book with this truth; confess your sin to one another. Why would he tell us to do something which is so embarrassing? So your brothers can kick you out, talk ugly about your problems? No, so they can pray for you.
* If we set our sights low—we will attain little. If we set our sights on HIS righteousness, we might not get there—but we will show people that we’re trying and what our God is all about.
3. The Distraction I must Shake – While we might not like to admit it, the reason we don’t honor God with all that we are can be boiled down to distractions. These distractions take up our time, use up our resources, and zap up our energies. Additionally they are not necessarily bad until they become priority in our lives. Jesus names only one category.
a. All these things – How about “eat”, “drink”, and “clothes.” Does this mean we are supposed to stop our work, sit on the pew every day, and simply expect God to magically provide our needs? NO! God never tells us to be lazy, sit around, and expect others to take care of us. In fact, in Thessalonica there were some who tried this, and Paul said, “IF they don’t work, they don’t eat”. Here is the key; God has designed each person to fulfill a purpose in this life. He has gifted every person to do “something” and he expects us to do it. He expects us to do it to His glory. When we do our best and honor Him, He will prov
