Seek FIRST His Kingdom

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

What do you do – first thing in the morning – at home? Most of us have some routine in the morning. Some items might be brushing our teeth – taking our vitamins – taking a shower/bath – dressing for the day – combing our hair – putting on our face (for the women) – eating our first meal of the day.

What do you do – first thing in the morning – at work? Most of us have some routine when we get to work. Checking overnight communications – email – text – calls/messages – preparing for meetings – preparing for customers – getting the stock in order – cleaning the workplace from any mess left by the previous shift. In my part-time job – I set up the coffee station (even though I am not a coffee drinker) – setting and printing the tee-sheet for the day – printing scorecards for games that day – printing the tee-sheet with bag storage – counting the cash drawer – checking the bathrooms (men’s and women’s) – prepare some pop corn for the members – and if time allows – helping to set up carts for the morning (I work in the pro-shop at The Golf Club at South River.

Traditional Faith

Matthew 28:18–20

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Today’s presenting scripture has been called the the Great Commission. It is often seen as the marching orders for the Christian Church. It will be a part of our sermon on Easter morning this year.

We are called to go and make disciples of or for Jesus Christ (whichever makes the most sense to you – lol). In the early years of the Methodist movement – making disciples – followers of Christ – seemed to be the main focus. Revivals and Camp Meetings were all the rage and altar calls were common place in Methodist worship – as pastors challenged parishioners to be transformed after the likeness of Christ. I typically have an altar call each week to challenge those in attendance to faith – or to a deeper faith – or simply to pray about something that has been a challenge for them. Even online – we challenge people at the end of our services.

Early Methodists were called to holiness – they were part of the holiness movement in the United States. We were taught to study the Word of God (the Bible) and to strive to live our lives after what it taught. We were even encouraged to avoid some of the ills of our society. The way it was explained to me (as a third generation Methodist pastor) – Methodists were encouraged to abstain from alcohol – from playing cards – from dancing – even from playing pool. The reason – again as it was explained to me – was because these social activities were often associated with bars and night clubs – with gambling and behavior and places that were not appropriate for folks striving to follow after Christ. We were encouraged to avoid even the appearance of evil or sin (we actually called behavior contrary to God’s will – sin in those days).  We were encouraged to keep Sunday set aside for the Lord. In my home growing up – Sunday was a day for worship and Sunday School in the morning – a family lunch – a nap time – youth group – and worship in the evening. Sunday was a day set aside for being with God and with other Christians.

I Have Fought the Good Fight

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

One of the things I do as a pastor – is to encourage the Saints of Christ in their final days. I have done more funerals than I’d like to count – losing some dear friends along the way. Along with being blessed and called upon to help folks in their last days or hours – I’m also called to encourage and guide the rest of us. We do not know when those last days and hours will come for us. We need to be ready – for it could come at any time.

I came to believe in Jesus Christ as a 12 year old. Oh – I was raised in a Christian home and would have told you – before 12 – that I was a Christian – but my faith was based upon my parent’s faith and my upbringing in the church. It wasn’t until a revival – the summer when I was 12 years old (57 years ago) – that my faith became personal and mine. I went to the altar and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I asked the evangelist to pray over me after the service – because I felt a tug on my heart to do so.

Do We Put Limits on Our Faith?

Mark 2:11

“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

How convinced are we of the things that we believe? I mean – where are our limits on our faith? We all have limits to our faith – don’t we? For instance – few would argue that God calls us to pray – even continuously – yet how many minutes a day do we pray? Is our limit 5 minutes or 10 minutes or even an hour? If we wish to grow spiritually – we might need to push that limit some – and spend more time in prayer. Christ’s example – He often prayed all night long! He would pray – for long periods of time – before making a decision or taking on a challenge. When is the last time we spent significant time in prayer? Luke 5:16 – But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Few would argue that the Bible calls us to tithe (giving 10% of our income to the Lord’s work) or to give sacrificially to God’s work – yet – how much do we give? (Sunday’s sermon was on this topic and can be heard here.) Is the measure of our giving a limit we need to push back – in order to grow spiritually? Tithing is the one area where God says test me. Malachi 3:10 – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

How convinced are we in the things that we believe? Where are our limits to our faith? Men tend to have more faith in their sense of direction than they should. I mean – some men won’t even stop and ask directions – even though the family is getting restless and needing a break and they’ve been searching for what seems like hours. They just know they know where this place is –  and it will just be around the corner (the same corner that has gone around before).

The Commands of God

Mark 7:8

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.

The main problem in society today – and in the church – is holding to human traditions and thinking – rather than the commands and teachings of God. One of my favorite sayings goes like this – The church is supposed to change society – the society is not to change the church. Another one goes like this – The Bible was written to change us – stop trying to change the Bible to fit our worldview.

The Bible warns us about this approach. Colossians 2:8 – See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. We’re told that the Bible is God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 – ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God  may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Before anyone says – Paul was referring to the Old Testament – I agree – that would have been his thought and understanding – but – God is greater than Paul and since the Bible is the Inspired Word of God – God knew what Paul was writing referred to all of Scripture (IMHO).