Sermon Central
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Whose Profit Are You Seeking
Contributed by David Rogers on Apr 20, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: A sermon dealing with what are in it for. For what profit are we striving. Profit for ourselves or for others. Are we doing it to honor God or glorify ourselves.
Whose Profit Are You Seeking
Bro David Rogers
Pastor Bethlehem Baptist Church
Winona MS
Prayer
Introduction
Today we are all rushing about working for that next pay raise. But what is that pay raise really going to profit us? We often can’t see the big picture for striving for something greater. Maybe we should have the attitude of this father. The young man was feeling very proud of himself. As a brand-new college graduate he had taken the C.P.A. Exams & passed with flying colors. Now he was a full-fledged Certified Public Accountant.
His father had been an immigrant to the U.S., & now owned his own little business. Filled with self-importance, the young man began to criticize his father’s way of keeping books. He said, “Dad, you don’t even know how much profit you’ve made. Over here in this drawer is your accounts receivable. Over there are your receipts, & you keep all your money in the cash register. You don’t have any idea how much you’ve made.”
The father answered, “Son, when I came to this country the only thing I owned was a pair of pants. Now, your brother is a doctor, your sister is an art teacher, & you are a C.P.A. Your mother & I own our home. We have a car, & we own this little business. Now add that up, subtract the pants, & all the rest is profit.”
What a great lesson when you take everything away that this world has to offer what is left is all the profit. When spend to much time looking at the short view of things and we need to begin to have a long view. Our Lord and master has such a view and it stretches out into eternity. While the world offers only what Satan considers profit. Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst;
He promises honor and pays with disgrace;
He promises pleasure and pays with pain;
He promises profit and pays with loss;
He promises life and pays with death.
I.what as Christians are we to do?
1.We are to avoid the mistakes of the Israel?
1.We must remember that we drink from the same spiritual cup as Israel which flowed from the Rock which was Jesus Christ.
1.We are not to displease God by:
1.craving evil things
2.having or to worship idols
3.acting immorally
4.trying the Lord by rebelling or not serving or worshiping Him
5.grumbling
2.We are to know better because Israel is an example for us.
1.The events that Israel went through has been written down for our instruction.
1.It is a blue print that we are to follow as we build our spiritual foundation and shows us the pitfalls and traps we are to avoid.
3.The time is short and we are to jealously protect our service and worship of the Lord. We are not to allow the world to interfere with our relationship with our Father in any way.
4.By doing so we too become that loyal and faithful servant. The one who wants to do their masters bidding, his will. We want to tell people about the one who loves them so much that He was willing to die for them on the cross. To pay a debt that they owe but could never pay.
5.We are not to be prideful in our service because then we fail just as a prideful Israel fell. They to said we are God’s special people see us to bad you can’t have what we have.
1.We must remember that it is not us who overcomes temptation but it is God Working within us who overcomes the temptation.
1.We must also remember that we have nothing to be prideful over because God has done it all.
1.He has given us salvation, our homes, jobs, things, money, children everything we have He has lent to us to use for His glory and honor.
2.Therefor we have nothing in which to take pride in because God has done it all He is allowing us to be a part of it.
II.Why are to to do this?
1.Because we are a part of the body of Christ.
1.We have shared in His death, burial, and resurrection.
2.We have partaken of His salvation
3.He has purchased us by His blood on the cross.
4.Verse 21 says we can not drink from Christ’s cup and from the cup of demons nor can we eat at the Lord’s table and the demon’s table to.
1.God says we must chose. He is a jealous god and he does not share.
2.When we become caught up in the problems of the world to the point where we forget God or place Him 2nd or third or less in our lives we are provoking Him. He has said He is to be number 1 in our lives. Israel provoked Him and had to face the consequences of a jealous God. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to face a jealous God.
