4 Ways To Be More In '04

4 WAYS TO BE MORE IN ‘04

PHIL. 3:13-14

PS. 65:11—DAVID SAID, “THOU CROWNEST THE YEAR W/ THY GOODNESS”

THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GO FORWARD!

1 FIND SOME DISSATISFACTION

“I COUNT NOT MYSELF TO HAVE APPREHENDED”

CRUISE CONTROL/COASTING—RYDER TRUCK EVEN HAD IT!

REALLY RELAX AS YOU DRIVE (I WANT TO DIE JUST LIKE GRANDPA, IN MY SLEEP, NOT SCREAMING LIKE THE PASSENGERS HE WAS DRIVING!)

FOR A CHURCH TO GO BACKWARD, IT DOESN’T REQUIRE THE PEOPLE TO GO BACKWARD, JUST TO STAND STILL

HAVE YOU FOUND A COMFORT ZONE IN YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE?

WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT CONTENTMENT HERE

MATERIALISM—GODLINESS W/ CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN

SPIRITUALLY—DON’T EVER BE CONTENT, SATISFIED

HERE’S THE ATTITUDE TO HAVE:

HOWEVER MUCH I READ MY BIBLE IN 2003, IT WASN’T ENOUGH (PRAYED, GAVE, SERVED, WORSHIPPED)

[songwriter said, “I don’t know about you losers, but:] I’M PRESSING ON THE UPWARD WAY…NEW HEIGHTS I’M GAINING EV’RY DAY…HIGHER GROUND!

IN 2004 OUR GOD WILL WANT SOME TO ASSIST W/ CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES/TEACH…

TO SIT IN CLASS ANOTHER YEAR WOULD BE “CRUISE CONTROL” (IDLING)

(CHOIR, BUS, NURSERY, OUTREACH, WITNESS)

WHY DO WE GET SELF-SATISFIED? WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO OTHERS WHO ARE NOT MAKING GOOD PROGRESS. WE DEVELOP A FALSE SENSE OF SPIRITUALITY

Phil. 3:13—“BRETHREN, I COUNT NOT MYSELF TO HAVE APPREHENDED” (ARRIVED)

“COMPARING YOURSELF W/ OTHERS IS NOT WISE”

NO CRUISING, PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL

IF WE’RE NOT CAREFUL, WE CAN ALLOW OURSELVES TO GET TO THE POINT OF COMPLACENCY.

PASTOR POUNDED THE PULPIT… “COMPLACENCY AND IGNORANCE, THAT’S OUR PROBLEM, C. AND I. YOU SIR, ON THE FRONT ROW, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN C. AND I.? … “I DON’T KNOW AND I DON’T CARE”!

WHEN IS A CHURCH OFFICIALLY DEAD, WHEN CAN WE WRITE ICHABOD ON THE DOOR?

WHEN WE’VE LOOKED BACKWARD SO LONG WE CAN’T FIND IT WITHIN OURSELVES TO LOOK UP, AND LOOK AHEAD!

DISSATISFACTION…

2. FIND SOME DEVOTION

PHIL. 3:13—“BUT THIS ONE THING I DO…” (ONE OF THE MOST IMP’T PHRASES)

TO THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS RICH YOUNG RULER, JESUS SAID, “ONE THING THOU LACKEST”

TO BUSY MARTHA, WORKING IN THE KITCHEN, CRITICIZING HER SISTER MARY, JESUS SAID, “ONE THING IS NEEDFUL.”

JESUS HEALED THE BLIND MAN AND THE MAN SAID, “ONE THING I KNOW…I ONCE WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE”

PS. 27:4 DAVID SAID, “ONE THING I HAVE DESIRED OF THE LORD.”

PAUL SAID, THIS ONE THING I DO…A STATEMENT OF DEVOTION

HIS CHRISTIANITY WAS NOT A SIDELINE, NOT A COMPARTMENT OF HIS LIFE

A WHEEL HAS MANY SPOKES, AND SO DO WE IN OUR LIVES:

WORK LIFE, SCHOOL LIFE, HOBBIES, FAMILY LIFE, CHURCH LIFE

THE SPOKES HAVE NOTHING TO DO W/ EACH OTHER

WHEN JESUS IS JUST ANOTHER SPOKE IN THE WHEEL OF YOUR LIFE--YOUR CHURCH LIFE DOESN’T SHOW UP AT WORK, ON THE BASKETBALL COURT, …TO VIEW YOUR FAMILY LIFE AT HOME YOU’D NEVER DREAM YOU ALSO HAD THAT CHURCH LIFE.

JESUS DOESN’T WANT TO BE A SPOKE AT ALL, HE WANTS TO BE THE HUB OF THE WHEEL OUT OF WHICH ALL THE SPOKES GROW AND CONNECT

CHRISTIANITY SHOULDN’T BE A COMPARTMENT OF OUR LIFE, IT SHOULD BE OUR LIFE!

WE NEED TO TRADE SOME COMMITMENTS OF THIS WORLD FOR COMMITMENT TO OUR LORD.

WE’RE TOO BUSY THESE DAYS, IT’S MCDONALD’S EVERY MONDAY, TEE-BALL TUESDAY, WORK OUT ON WEDNESDAY, TAE-BO THURSDAY, FISHING FRIDAY, YARD-SALEING SATURDAY,… NO WONDER WE’RE SLEEPING ON SUNDAY!

WE NEED TO LEARN TO SAY NO…BE LESS DEVOTED, THAT WE MAY BECOME MORE DEVOTED WHERE IT COUNTS

ONLY ONE LIFE, ‘TWILL SOON BE PAST, ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST!

WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I LAUGHED AND WEPT,

AND TIME CREPT

WHEN AS A YOUTH, I DREAMED AND TALKED,

TIME WALKED

WHEN I BECAME A FULL GROWN MAN,

TIME RAN

WHEN OLDER STILL I DAILY GREW,

TIME FLEW

SOON I SHALL BE TRAVELING ON

TIME GONE!

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN AMATEUR AND A PROFESSIONAL:

AMATEUR DOES THINGS FROM TIME TO TIME…IN SPURTS

PROFESSIONAL DEVOTES FULL TIME…IT’S HIS LIFE’S WORK

YOU’LL NEVER BE EFFECTIVE FOR THE LORD BY ATTENDING CHURCH IN SPURTS

SUNDAY MORNING CHRISTIAN WILL GO BACKWARD IN THEIR SPIRITUAL LIFE WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND SADLY, WILL NEVER REALIZE IT.

[PRAYING IN SPURTS, BIBLE READING IN SPURTS, GIVING IN SPURTS]

LET’S BECOME A CHURCH OF DEVOTION, WITH A PROFESSIONAL MINDSET, 24/7, FULL-TIME JOB…THIS ONE THING I DO.

DISSATISFACTION, DEVOTION…

3. FIND SOME DIRECTION

V. 14, “FORGETTING THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE BEHIND…”

KIMBERLY AND I SERVED IN A CHURCH IN SAVANNAH, GA…NEARBY IN VALDOSTA WAS A TRACK AND FIELD PRODIGY, SET RECORDS FRESHMAN, SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR YEARS, WAS A SHOE IN FOR BIG SCHOLARSHIPS AND THE OLYMPICS ONE DAY…HIS SENIOR YEAR, WAS BLOWING AWAY THE ENTIRE FIELD…ROUNDING THE FOURTH TURN HE WAS AHEAD BY 20 YARDS, TURNED AROUND AND LOOKED OVER HIS SHOULDER, TRIPPED, AND LOST!

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE MONTH JANUARY GOT IT’S NAME FROM CAESAR, WHO NAMED THE MONTH FOR THE ROMAN GOD JANUS, THE TWO-FACED GOD…ONE FACE LOOKING BACKWARD, AND ONE FORWARD.