Sermon Central
-
Difficulty's That People Have When Doing Their Best To Live For God
Contributed by Ed Pruitt on Jun 17, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money
Difficulty’s That People Have When Doing Their Best To Live For God
Sunday March 11, 2001
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Let’s bow our heads.
I want to talk this morning on the troubles that people have trying to keep their relationship with God intact!
You know that scripture says it all!
You cannot serve two masters. You cannot give 100% of your self to either and that what’s necessary if you want to live for the Lord.
We have the same principle in our marriages today.
In the marriage ceremony the minister includes in the vows to both the bride and the groom these words.
“And forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, or him, so long as you both shall live. “
Supposing at that time that the man says ok I love the woman that I am marrying but I also love, Mary, Susie, Debbie and Sandra!
Now I intend to be loyal to my new wife and make her a good husband, but I don’t want to cut my ties with these other women.
I want to be free to continue my relationship with them as well!
Now you say that that type of marriage will never work.
Why?
A happy marriage is based on the fundamental that each one gives themselves completely and entirely to each other.
You cannot be married to two people at the same time!
Likewise, Jesus says that we have to make an absolute decision between God and mammon.
How many of you this morning are doing the same thing to God that the man was trying to do to his new wife?
You know that when we get saved we are getting married to Christ!
How many of you are trying to hold on to the past things in your lives and wondering why you aren’t going forward with your Christian experience?
If we choose God, He has got to be the first and foremost thought in our lives.
We cannot be a person that comes to church on Sunday and praises God and worships Him and then as soon as we get up on Monday morning cuss the first person that pulls out in front of us.
Or the first person that does something that we don’t like.
We have no time off from our serving of God!
We cannot serve God part time.
The principal here is that one must make a definite and complete decision upon whom they are going to serve.
I am sure that there is no one that displeases God more that a person that cannot make a total decision for Him!
You can read in the book of revelation
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!
16 But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!
That scripture tells us right there what God thinks of a person that can’t make up His mind!
I’ll spit you out of my mouth!
This indeed strong language for the person that cannot determine which side they are on,
“the Lord says He will vomit them up!”
God has no use for someone that has to think for a while whether on not they want to serve Him.
Would you like it if the tables were turned?
What if every time we went to God in prayer to ask Him for help, He said well let me think on this for a while.
I don’t know if I feel like doing anything for you!
I am too busy, I got other things that I want to do!
I ask you this morning, what would that do to our faith?
The trouble with people today is that they want God when they want God, and the rest of the time they do what they want to do when they want to do it!
It won’t work!
God tell us in His scripture that He will do for us if we are living according to His will, and all that we have to do is ask!
God has to be first in our lives ALL of the time!
Not just when we feel we need Him!
Now let’s look at what Paul had to say about going forward for God.
If you will turn in your bibles to,
9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
