Our Commander In Chief Series

ILLUS: I talked to a man this past week who told me, “I don’t have much, but what I have I want to use to build the Kingdom of God”

• Have you given your family to Jesus? Does it belong to Him?

Psalm 127 says that children are a blessing from God. They belong to Him and we’re expected to protect them and raise them to glorify His name.

• Have you given your marriage to God? Does it belong to Him? Do you treat your husband/ wife in a way that Jesus would be pleased?

God tells us “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” (1Peter 3:7)

Even though this verse is addressed to husbands, the principle is the same for both husbands and wives. As a Christian your spouse belongs to God and if you mistreat them God will not listen to your prayers.

We need to take our allegiance to God seriously

You might say “well I go to church!”, and it’s nice for you to come to church.

You might say “I prayer and read my Bible,” and it’s nice for you to do those things.

You might say “I always listen carefully to Jeff’s sermons and I always pat him on the back and tell him what a great job he does” and you should.

But until you make Jesus the ruler of your life – your commander-in-chief - you’re just playing church. You’ve not seriously committed yourself to making Jesus your LORD.

Because once Jesus is in charge your life changes. It changes because your priorities change.

CLOSE: When a young man left home for his freshman year of college, his mother was concerned that he wouldn’t keep his dorm room in order. So when she visited him at Thanksgiving, she was not surprised to find his room in total disarray. Papers and books were scattered all over the place. But what shocked her the most were the obscene pictures hanging on the walls.

At Christmas time, she sent her son a box of presents, including a portrait of Jesus. He thanked her for the gifts but didn’t say anything about the picture. In the spring, when she visited the school again, her son was eager for her to come to his room. Upon entering, she found on the best wall space the picture of Christ. All the other pictures were gone. Wisely she said,

"Jack, there is something different about your room. Did you get a new rug?" "No."

"Is this new paper on the wall?" "No."

“When I was here before, it seemed to me you had more pictures than now." "Yes, I did, Mother, but those other pictures seemed out of place after that one of Jesus came into the room."