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We are together week in and week out
in our in our faith together
I think the
scripture that we've chosen for this morning is well
Is the same thing that a mother says to children
over and over and over again at least
my mom did and especially when I got to those
adolescent years
I remember my mother saying things like this
so be careful how you live
don't live like fools
but like those who are wise
make the most of every opportunity in these evil days well when you're an
adolescent it seems like
There is a little more opportunity
to doing evil than there was before
mothers and God are well
There are close to each other
it isn't surprising that God says be wise not foolish
and mothers are always saying be wise
Not foolish
when it comes to our real identity as Christians
we have a purpose
God has created us in his image
and he has places on this planet
with a purpose for a reason
and what is that purpose
well this morning I want to simply boil that down to two things
first of all the purpose of Christianity is so that
we could become committed
to Jesus Christ
so that we would begin to realize that the most important decision
that a person makes on this planet
is not who they marry not what job they
undertake
not where they decided to retire to
the single most important decision
that a person makes
is whether or not they're going to allowed Jesus Christ to be
the leader
of their life
and this is a life-changing
Destiny altering decision that's why it's the most important
what is the most important thing to you as you come this morning
what's the "A" number one priority
Peter says
you won't spend the rest of your life
chasing your own desires but you will be anxious to do the will of God
you see when we
Ask Jesus Christ to be the leader of our life when we desire to be
truly committed to him
more than being
anxious to so to speak to live our life according to our own agenda we realize
that the smartest
and the most selfish thing a person can do
The wisest thing we can do
is follow God's will for our life
allow Jesus Christ to be the leader of our life
that is the most important
decision
or commitment of life why because it not only has an impact now it does have an
impact on our eternity
we should be committed
to Jesus Christ because he values us that was my
message last week
I want to reprise it for just a moment
God is worthy to be the leader of our life because he has chosen us
we have been
created in his image
he died on the cross for our sins
he came to this planet
Christmas cross conversion
so that we would know the great benefits
The great experiences
eternal security
becomes in Jesus Christ
in Jesus Christ alone
he chose us
he chose those above everything else
any chose us not only now but he wants to be in a love relationship with
us for all eternity the Bible says
Jeremiah thirty one
three
I have loved you with an everlasting
love
That's a mother's love, isn't it?
we get it
you notice they don't say a father's love I think we're all too conditional as
fathers but those mothers
They know how to love a child unconditionally
if you're going to have kids are going to need at least a little bit of that if
not
a lot of that aren't you
because as we make our way into the world and into adulthood
we all make some mistakes
some of us some big ones
yet a mother's love breaks through
our shortcomings
our child's
failures and faults
as well as our own
No, God values us He love us now he loves us for all eternity
we should be committed to Jesus Christ because
his plan is the best plan for our life
Jeremiah twenty nine eleven
For I know the plans I have for you they are plans for good and not for disaster
to give you a future
and a hope
what is the best plan for our lives I don't know about you but I have not yet
right into the person that wakes up in the morning and says you know
I am going to pick the worst plan for me
sometimes in the moment we wake up that we choose the less than best
choice for a life for one reason or another
we wake up every day and we want to choose the very best option
The wise option
of all the options that are before us because well we want to make the most of
every opportunity don't we
And I know
some of us we are old enough we know we're on limited opportunities
and we want to make the most of every opportunity we have
what is the best way to do that
and simply the best way to do that is to live our life according to God's
wonderful plan for us
Now don't miss hear that
doesn't mean life going automatically be perfect
it doesn't mean that you're going to be automatically be perfect
it doesn't mean there aren't going to be the challenges and the difficulties and
the problems of life we as Christians face every one of those at times
In a royal flush
but we do not face the obstacles and odds of life
alone
we do not give up hope the Bible says why because we know that God has
something good for us up ahead
and that he walks with us through the valley to the shadows of death
as we face those difficulties and those problems and those circumstances in life
I'd love to just challenge people
why not just put it to the test
why not just put God's plan to the test in your own life
many people say well I you know I'm doing just fine and I always like to say
really
I know a few people in live that well everybody thinks they have it all
together
and from the
stand point and the messages and the images and the experiences that I talked
about
the other week
Boy, they fit the successful image
Attractive, talented
successful people even their kids
are great even the last one because that's usually one that's
the problem, right?
but knowing them well I can tell you they would be the first to say it looks
really good from the outside but we too as a family
we've got some
some cracks
we've got some difficulties we have some pain
and loss in our life too
and because we have what looks to be that the perfect successful family that
actually is just a
veneer
for the reality of who we really are
and if we could step back and be a little objective well
you know we could use a little more than what we've got
maybe things are not all that bad as you come this morning but what wouldn't it be
great to take your life to a higher key
and God's plan is always the best plan
even in the face of adversity
and difficulty
no I'm not saying it's always easy
but what I'm saying is that we will get from where we are to where God wants
us to be
why don't we choose to be committed to Jesus
I think it's a couple things one it's our short term values
we want what we want and we want it in the moment don't we?
and we don't read the Bible are really believe the Bible but we've heard
that we may have to give up a little bit of
this short-term values that we have to gained something
better on the long haul
short-term values
payoffs
in the moment
we think that's what is
best for us
and you know sometimes even though we know we should push away from the
table we just got a have desert
What did my mom say you know a moment On the lips forever on the hips
and yes I believe one of the
most important dietary exercises
to do is to push away
pushed away from the table
but some days I just like you I want to chocolate chip cookie and I want it now
Short term values
we let short-term values
and reinforcements override
what we know is a better wiser choice
for the future
the other reason that
the other reason we don't commit ourselves to Jesus is because were a
little afraid he doesn't want us
I was at a a meeting over the weekend
one of the people sharing says you know I became a Christian and I carried my
Bible with me all the time she said literally
but I'd never read it
I'd never read it
because I was afraid
of what God would say to me
about me
if I actually read it
she assumed that the message of the Bible was not one of
love and encouragement but one of
condemnation
that if she read it
God would begin to say look how bad you are
and she said one of the great joy is that began to read the Bible and instead
of hearing how bad that I was
I heard a message of love that
showed and painted for me
a picture of me that was so good
so awesome
and she said I wish I would have read it earlier
what a great message
God came to this planet so we would know that he loves us
He came to heal us
he came to infuse
our lives and to help us to make the wisest choices
in all of life
part of being a Christian part of our purpose is to be committed to Christ
and that commitment
shows itself in desire to be a fully devoted follower
of Jesus Christ
if Christianity
is about simply asking Jesus to be the leader of our life
then as we go through our days
well who are we follow
are we following the images and the messages and the experiences out
there
or are we following Jesus Christ
and our goal really is in our commitment to Jesus Christ is to become a fully
devoted follower his
what does that devotion look like
number one it looks like daily devotion
honor the Lord for the glory of his name worship the Lord and splendor of the
holiness
does that mean I got to come to this church everyday
No, you've noticed as you've looked around outside you see a lot a splendor
of God's holiness don't you
and that's the point that
that it's about what you do every day in allowing
Jesus to be able leader of your life and acknowledging
that you're following him not the other way around
that we want to follow him
we want to worship him in all that we say and all that we do
and to do that it takes a little intentionality on our part
people do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth
of God
God has spoken here and guess what it's a very hopeful message
a very hopeful message
we need to spend a little time orienting ourselves everyday
making sure that were still following Jesus
as he leads
so we spend a little time reading in the word not just carrying it around
but actually reading it
and then we spend some time in conversation with God we talked to him
we listen
that's daily devotion
reading his word and having the time of prayer is a way that gets us oriented
and it reminds us that
No, Jesus is in the lead and I'm following him
and we get a few practical insights on how to do that in a given day
Full devotion shows itself in giving
second Corinthians
since you excel in so many ways have you noticed we live in a community of
excellence
virtually to a person when you look around at a place like Sequim you've
got people who have excelled in life haven't they
smart we're talented
We're highly educated
we are successful people
we know how to excel and virtually every
every field is represented excellence in every field
is represented in Sequim
just pick a subject matter and they is somebody
who did something profound exceptional in that area living in this town
so this is a good word to us isn't it
the word the Paul has
To the Corinthians
since you excel in so many ways in your faith in your gifted speakers your
knowledge during enthusiasm
and your love for us I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving
and I know we talk about time, talent treasure and touch
I do want you know that what Paul is Talking about is money
he is calling on us to be gracious with our money
just listened to a speaker at the conference I was at
he was talking about giving money
and he said what's interesting with Christians
is money is not about money
giving money is about
dedication
about followship
he said when a person does it give money as a Christian that's a spiritual
problem not a financial problem
Our giving is a spiritual issue
it's not about the money
but it is
about our spirit
and notice what
Jesus says about
Giving, giving is mentioned two thousand one hundred and sixty two times in the
new testament
and the vast majority of the time when it's used
it's talking about money
here's a good idea
Give and it will be given to you
for with the measure you use it will be the measure measured back to you
whatever measure you use that's the one that's going to be used to measure
back to you we know that that's pretty true most of the time don't we
if we're stingy people are stingy to us
if we're generous people are generous to us
there's exceptions to that but we know that
we know that beyond whatever it is that we give to someone else we usually
get back a lot more in return
and our daily devotion to Jesus Christ one of the practical expressions of that
is what measure are you going to use when it comes to your money
are you going to use a little measure
or are you going to use a large measure
and here's my challenge for you today we are a large measure community we are not
a little measure community
we have excelled in every other
area of life
challenge today is whether we're excelling
excelling in
measuring out in a big way
as a sign of our commitment and our devotion to Jesus Christ
Devotion is also about being together life's better together
isn't it
It sure is
you are a member of God's very own family and you belong in God's
household with every other Christian
there are thirty one mandates in the New Testament
that you cannot carry out
on your own as a Christian
you must be around other Christians
because Christianity is a family
I say that
Christianity's team everybody needs to take their place on the team
we were not created to live all by ourselves
to live all by ourselves
God created us in the community that he experiences
and the God had Father, Son and Holy Spirit
and he invites us into that
let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and
good deeds I don't know about you but the people around me are the ones that
encourage me to be a better lover to do more
with life
and then as we gather together we serve other people
we serve one another but we serve beyond
and that's part of our devotion
you know your world small when your life is all about you and yours
me and mine
and that is part of the circle of life but that
is a small measured life
the big measured life is when we begin to see not only me and mine but us and
we and them
and we can serve in a stingy way or we can serve in a generous way
and we need to serve because it's not all about taking in
we also have to give out in life don't we
because when we give out we usually even get more which enables us to give even
more
see the positive cycle that happens
and then finally
devotion is about sharing
the good news about Jesus Christ with others
therefore go and make disciples of all nations
baptising and teaching them
to obey everything that I have commanded you
our devotion
really demands that we want to cut other people in on the grace that we're
experiencing in Jesus Christ
the good thing that we're experiencing individually
and corporately
it is a little bit like this if we break today and
you go up to the corner
let's say there's a guy up there a crazy guy
he's out there he's handing out
hundred-dollar bills
one
per person
and if you encountered him what would you do well the first thing you do
you take your own hundred dollars I know you would so would I
not much effort just take it put it in my pocket
what is the next thing that you would do
if
I would get on my phone I'd start calling everybody I know hey there's
this idiot down on the corner
He is giving away hundred-dollar bills
well I don't care what you are doing get off the couch
leave the restaurant get down here
he's given away hundred-dollar bills
that might be such a crazy thing you might even do something you've
Never even done before
you might feel compelled to go into the Wal-Mart
Stand at the entrance
And yell to people you don't even know look
There is an idiot handing out hundred dollar bills
Come get one
I know you get my point
allowing Jesus Christ to be the leader of your life
is priceless
and we understand the priceless nature
of our relationship with Jesus Christ and
Our ultimate
purpose in life
is to become a fully devoted follower of his
and we can all do it takes some daily devotion
it takes some generous giving
it takes some positive loving, encouraging fellowship together
it takes a thinking about other people and not just ourselves
the greatest expression of which
is our desire that they too
would come to understand
both immediate and eternal blessings and benefits
Of asking Jesus Christ to be the leader
of their life
you have, we have a purpose everyday
and just like the words of a mother you know
you have a choice today
you can live foolishly or you could live wisely and
I believe the wisest choice any person can make
is to have Jesus Christ be the leader of their own I think the wisest choice a
Christian makes everyday
is to be devoted
and committed to being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ
because when we are that wise I guarantee you
you will make the most
of every opportunity
Let us pray
Lord we want to make the most of every opportunity
Lord we do
want you to be the leader of our life
and Lord we get it
that commitment shows itself every day
as we aspire to be fully devoted followers of yours and we know we are
not fully devoted but we're more devoted today than we used to be
and Lord we look forward
to the further transformation
the future wonderful things that you want to do in us and through us
Lord we're thankful that you give us great purpose and meaning in life
we thank you for that
and we pray in your name
Amen.