One Thing
Introduction
- Personal anecdote about books
- So many books
- So many Christian books
- So many things to learn
- One thing ...
- 3:13
- The one thing that Jesus commended Mary for - Luke 10
- It is the same one thing that the Psalmist desires - Ps 27:4
- The pursuit of God - the enjoyment of the presence of Jesus Christ
- Quote from Sinclair Ferguson
- The Christian is a person of one thing
- A pursuit of God
- A single-minded obsession
- The one thing - the one Person
- Anything apart from this one thing is vanity and a waste
- Those who pursue worldly goals are cheated
- Quote from Knowing God by Jim Packer & JC Ryle
- Three aspects to this one thing
- A purposeful life
- A prioritised life
- A prized life
A Purposeful Life
- Everything for the Christian is for the Lord
- Examples
- Do our actions honour or dishonour the Lord?
- Everything must be judged by this single criteria
- Is it helping me or hindering me towards heaven?
- Quote
- Even menial tasks can be done to the glory of God
- All should be done for the Lord
- Drudgery can be divine
- Everything is to the Lord
- We have a linear existence (from A to B)
- We are going to heaven
- Everything is tending to this goal
- This must govern what we do
- Are we neglectful of the fact that there will be an end?
- What is the consequence of our sin?
- What we sow now, we will reap in the future
- James 1
A Prioritised Life
- In pursuit of the goal there must be a certain structure
- Things must be left behind so we can move forward
- Paul has finally seen things how they are
- v5-6 – his 'credentials'
- v9 - they are 'down the toilet', they are rubbish, they are dung
- We must prioritise our lives
- We must put this into practice
- Not by withdrawing from the world
- Examples
- We do not pursue communion with Christ by separating ourselves
- "We are in the world but not of the world"
- We must put aside all distractions
- Heb 12:1-2
- Example of driving
- Paul knew he had to put aside all distractions - nothing else mattered to him
- v3 - he takes no confidence in the flesh
- He rejects legalism
- He rejects good works as a means of getting to heaven
- 4:6 - put aside anxieties and worries
- We must leave the past behind - v13
- Jesus says we must not look back
- We are able to draw a line behind our sins
- God has forgiven them
- They are removed from us as far as the East is from the West
- Our achievements - we are leaving these behind
- They are nothing compared to the excellence of Jesus Christ
- We leave our 'what might have beens'
- We cannot dwell on the past
- God is able to restore the years that the locusts have taken
- Paul is reaching/straining forward
- "We must workout our salvation with fear and trembling"
- "Gird up your loins"
- God is zealous for His own glory
A Prized Life
- We enjoy prizes
- There are rewards in heaven but the prize itself is heaven
- Not a reward
- It is the faithfulness of God that really keeps us
- Do you feel as though you are wrestling towards heaven?
- v14 - have we attained the prize yet?
- No
Closing Prayer