Sermon Central
-
"Jesus Teaches About Priorities"
Contributed by Ray Scott on Nov 25, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: The Bible is so vast ... we can’t possibly memorize it all. Let’s not use this as an excuse for not living righteous lives. Jesus gives us ONE VERSE as a guide to live by.
“Jesus Teaches About Priorities”
INTRODUCTION: We CONTINUE in our SERIES on “Lessons Jesus Taught”. We have seen what Jesus taught about: the Holy Spirit, Prayer, the Tongue, Thanksgiving, Repentance. This morning, we will see what Jesus teaches about “Priorities”.
Everybody needs a GUIDE to live by. At one point, in the lives of God’s people, there was no God-appointed man to GUIDE His people. Judges 17:6 – “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Everybody set up their own laws … determined for themselves what was right/wrong … good/bad. What an awful, chaotic world it would be, if there was no GUIDE … no LAWS … no RULES.
We have LAWS in this country to regulate our standard of conduct. We have RULES and REGULATIONS to guide us … IRS … school policies … safety regulations … speed limits. We have DIRECTIONS to help us put things together. We have the BIBLE to guide us morally, ethically & spiritually.
The BIBLE is our STANDARD. If we lived by it, there wouldn’t be a need for the 1000’s of volumes of laws that we now have. There would be no back-logs in the courts. There would be no crowded jails. If CHRISTIANS lived by the Bible, our Christian life would be so much easier.
BUT … the Bible is so VAST … 30,442 verses … 845,000 words. Have you MEMORIZED it yet? You’ve memorized your Social Security number … maybe your tag … or D.L. number. What about the BIBLE?
I don’t expect you to memorize the whole Bible. BUT … IF you had just 1 VERSE that you could use to GUIDE you through every situation, it might help you to set your PRIORITIES in life … to determine right from wrong … to solve our tendency to stray away from God.
I think I’ve found the verse. THOUGH … there are probably others you might choose.
1 Cor. 10:31 – “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. [6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Philip. 1:21 – “For to me to live is Christ,”
The verse I have chosen today is a verse to live by. You don’t have to know the WHOLE Bible. If we would just concentrate on this 1 VERSE, we would find the help we need to GUIDE us through life.
This verse is found in Matthew 6:33 – all turn
Most of our problems in life comes from our not setting PRIORITIES. We need a GUIDE … a GOAL … a PURPOSE. We find it in this 1 VERSE. ABOVE ALL ELSE, we are to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.
Let’s take a closer look at this 1 VERSE.
“seek” = ‘to search for … strive for … strongly desire’.
ABOVE ALL ELSE in our life, Jesus says that this is to be #1 … top priority … our main goal … what we are to strive for every day. EVERYTHING we do is to relate to this goal. Every DECISION we make: WHERE I go … WHAT I do … HOW I do it … WHEN I do it … WHY I do what I do. ALL THESE THINGS are to be FILTERED through this 1 VERSE.
I. THE PRIORITY – “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God”
“Kingdom of God” – What is it that we are “seeking” for? The “Kingdom of God” is not tangible … not physical … it has no borders. It’s not something you can see on a map … or physically travel through. There are no speed limits or gas stations or Cracker Barrel’s there.
Romans 14:17 – “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” It isn’t visible or verbal … it’s SPIRITUAL in nature. 1 Cor. 4:20 – “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”
SO … we are to “seek” something that we can’t see, hear, or feel … something intangible & invisible. SO … what does the “Kingdom of God” mean? PLAIN & SIMPLE … it is GOD’S RULE over your life. If you choose to live in God’s Kingdom, you must live under the authority of the KING.
Not everybody can enter into the “Kingdom of God”. Nicodemus found this out – John 3:1-6 – all turn.
If you are Born-Again, the KING has a rightful authority over your life. He purchased you with His blood. Acts 20:28 - “the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” The moment that you trusted Jesus as your Savior, you became a citizen of the “Kingdom of God”. That gave Him the right to rule & reign over your life.
