Imagine going to your doctor to talk about severe digestive
issues and having her obsess on a hangnail she saw on your hand! Silly, isn’t
it? You would object, “Dr. my hangnail
is an issue but it’s tiny compared to the main thing, being that I cannot eat
without pain!” What if you took your car
to the garage to have them find out why it is so hard to start in the morning
and when you returned found out that they had merely checked the pressure in
the tires? “Tires? They are not the problem!” you would tell the service advisor.
In our Christian life
we must guard against becoming focused on secondary issues as a reason for our
existence!
Congregations do not exist to
support church buildings.
Pastors are not called to be therapists
or morale boosters.
Worship gatherings are not a place
to be entertained.
Serving in ministry is not about
finding self-fulfillment.
Sermons are not good just because
they are interesting.
Prayer is not about ‘getting things
from God.’
We have one core purpose as Christians and as His Church –
to know Christ and to make Him known!
to know Christ and to make Him known!
Feeding the hungry is important, however we do it as an expression
of the love of Christ, not simply for humanitarian reasons. We must care for
orphans, defend those who are powerless, build community – but always with the desire
of making Christ visible. Preaching that
does not bring people to the Cross of Christ and invite them to know the
renewal of the Spirit may be helpful in creating better lives, but it misses
the point.
Paul’s declaration should be one we all make daily - "I want to know Christ and the power of
his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like
him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the
dead." (Philippians 3:10-11, NIV) You may be thinking that is rather a statement
of the obvious. It isn’t! We become
sidetracked into personal agendas, taken up with pet projects, and wrapped up
in our own religious mindset so easily. Paul
knew that. Just before that magnificent passage just quoted he wrote - "Yes, everything
else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as
garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count
on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous
through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends
on faith." (Philippians 3:8-9, NLT)
We can become ‘professional’ Christians, adept at saying the
right words, doing ‘right’ kinds of things, without really knowing Jesus. Our
word from the Word is a warning from the Lord Himself.
“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock." (Matthew 7:21-24, The Message)
“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock." (Matthew 7:21-24, The Message)
Make Christ- His Life, His Cross, His Resurrection - the core
of your life. Pray that all attitudes, plans, words, and actions will flow from
a heart fully devoted to the Savior, Lord, and King.
____________
Be The Centre
Jesus be the centre
Be my source be my
light
Jesus
Jesus be the centre
Be my hope be my song
Jesus
Jesus be my vision
Be my path be my guide
Jesus
Be the fire in my
heart
Be the wind in these
sails
Be the reason that I
live
Jesus Jesus
Michael Frye
© 1999 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) (Vineyard Music UK)
CCLI License # 810055
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