Lifestyle Principles Sermon V: Prioritize The Main Thing Series

PRIORITIZE THE MAIN THING WE PRAY FOR BY DOING THE MAIN THING WE WOULD DIE FOR

At a recent “note burning ceremony” the church’s pastor commended the parishioners, then commented on the meaning of the special occasion, reminding people that, whereas the burning of a note of indebtedness calls for rejoicing, achieving debt-free status must be looked upon as a new beginning not an ending of the task assigned to the Church by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What IS the main thing Jesus taught His followers to pray for as we face the challenge of living the Christian life? “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”! God’s Will for us is salvation . . . sanctification . . . glorification.

Because God loves us, salvation from “the sin that so easily besets us” was made available to us by the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus. Sanctification occurs as we grow in our relationship to Christ the Lord. Glorification awaits all who are faithful unto death! “What a day of rejoicing that will be!”

Since we pray for the doing of God’s Will – that sinners be saved, then sanctified on their way to being glorified – what, therefore, should we Christians consider to be our top priority? Would it not be to “know Him whom to know is life eternal”?

We come to know Him as did His early disciples who saw Who He was . . . heard what He said . . . sought to understand Him . . . left all to follow Him . . . committed their way unto Him . . . lived for Him . . . told others about Him . . . beheld His resurrection and thus were willing to die for the sake of the Gospel.

Folks, there’s so much at stake concerning the task assigned to the Church of Christ! We dare not make: “the burning of a note of indebtedness” the end of our mission . . . the building of walls in which to house our place of worship the end of our work for the Lord . . . steeples, stained glass windows and all the rest our crowning achievement.

Our challenge is to prioritize the main thing we pray for by doing the main thing we would die for! The beloved Apostle John put it this way:

“What we are telling you about is that which was from the beginning, that which was heard, that which we saw, that which we gazed upon, which our hands touched. It is about the Word of life that we are telling you. And the Word appeared to us, and we saw it, and testify to it; and we are now bringing you the Word of this eternal life!” (I John 1:1-4)

Although building walls for a place of worship was (is) a task not to be taken lightly inasmuch as it serves a specific purpose, the completion of the structure must be seen for what it is: a means to an end, or, the prelude to a greater work. Now . . . So that God’s people clearly understood this principle - that finishing the walls was (is) but a prelude to something fa greater - Nehemiah turned his attention and theirs away from the wall to the Word – Nehemiah 6:1-3 and 6:15-16 . . .

Turning attention away from the wall to the Word occurred on two fronts – those outside the wall and those inside the wall . . . from the perspective of enemies of God and from the perspective of people of God - those who hated the Word and those who loved the Word. To God’s enemies, there had to be a resounding “No”!

Unless God’s servants say “No” to the “demands” or “suggestions” of those who reject the Lord and ridicule people who love the Lord, attention is going to be directed by them toward outward and inward issues rather than directed upward to things that are nobler, things that are higher – confusing folks instead of creating solutions . . . demoralizing rather than uplifting.

How proud we ought to be of Nehemiah for recognizing a sinister plot to do him harm . . . withstanding pressure to engage in ‘conversation’ that would delay, distract from, do harm to the main thing which God sent him back to Jerusalem to accomplish – restoration of faith in God . . . pride in country . . . family. So:

“Why should I go down to you?” “Why should I stoop to your level?” “Why should I leave a work that is going so well and near completion?” Well, well, well. Precisely the point! Near completion! The enemy has tried everything else to stop progress; so NOW let us talk, talk, talk; who knows, maybe we can talk it to death!