There are only a few people ... that are proficient ....in doing more than one thing ... at a time.
And it is a proven fact ... that women ... are far better at multi-tasking...... then those ....in that other group. (Pause)
In fact, ... most people ....... never become proficient ... in more than one trade ......or occupation.
They may be a ..."Jack of all" ... but usually... only a ... "master of ... one." (Pause)
In the movie .... City Slickers ... the actor Billy Crystal ... and a group of his executive friends from the city...... decide it is time to take ...... an adventure vacation.
The character Mitch ... played by Billy Crystal ...has problems at work ....... problems in his marriage ...... he is having ...... a crisis of the ... mid-life.
Now...This adventure that they decided to take, ...was a cattle drive ... out in the ... wild west.
The guide for this adventure ... is an old cowhand named Curly.
Near the end of the movie, ...... having gone to the edge of death ....... The old Cowhand Curly shares with Mitch this insight: (Put on the cowboy hat move page to left)
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Curly: [holds up one finger] This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and the rest don't mean squat.
Mitch: That's Great .... But, what is the ... "one thing?"
Curly: Curly smiles ...That's what You've ... got to figure out.
And .... That's what I want to speak on today: ........(1 Finger) "One thing." (Put down cowboy hat)
Now you would think .... "One Thing" ... shouldn't take .... too long ...to speak about!
Paul speaks to this ... one thing in his letter to the Philippians: Hear God's Word. BIBLE "Beloved, ...I do not consider that I have made it my own; ......but this one thing I do: ...forgetting what lies behind ...and straining forward ...to what lies ahead, 14........ I press on.... toward the goal .... for the prize of the heavenly call of God ...... in Christ Jesus." END (Philippians 3:12-14)
(Slow)....... This One Thing I Do ... "Forgetting what lies behind.... I strain ... to what lies ... ahead."
In essence ... Paul is telling us .... Forget the Past ... Overcome the Past.
And strain on ... strain toward that ... which lies ahead.
Beloved ... when the past comes knocking at your door ... don't answer ... It has nothing new to say.
As my Grandmother would say: ... The past has passed, .... so, you must ... get past it. REPEAT
Paul is convinced ... that his past ... is not worth ...taking time away from the ... present .... or from the future.
God's word is clear: When you accept Jesus as Savior and Lord ... You are a New Creation.
Hear me on this ... "You are a new Creation ... in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away, ...behold, ... all things... are become ... new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Defeat and discouragement ... come from what?
Dwelling on ... what has already occurred ... dwelling on the past..
It may be a distant Past ... or a recent past ... But defeat and discouragement come from ... dwelling on ... the past.
You cannot .... (Slow) You cannot ... No matter how hard you try ... live yesterday .... over again.
The author ... Peter Marshall put it this way, ... "Never let the past be so dear ......as to limit .... the future."
Beloved ... The past has passed, .... so, ... you must get ... past it.
The Question... you may be asking is: ... How?
How does one ......overcome the Past?
Paul put it this way, " Forgetting what lies behind.
Did you hear that?...... Forgetting ...what lies behind ... and straining forward.
Straining forward ... to what ...... to what ... lies ...ahead"
You must bury the old self ...... the old life... You must forget .... what lies behind.
You can learn from it ... and become stronger from it ... but in the end ... we ... you and I ... must bury it.
Remember our Lord's strong words, BIBLE No one, ......having put their hand to the plough, ...and looking back, ....is fit... for the kingdom ...of God. (Pause). END (Luke 9:62)
We see this phrase ... "One Thing" ... again in the in the Scriptures.
The Jewish leaders were speaking with ... the young man ... whom Jesus ... healed from blindness:
They questioned him ... about this Nazarene .... called Jesus.
Hear God's word. BIBLE " The healed man answered, ... "I do not know whether he (Jesus) is a sinner. One thing I .... know, ...... that though I was blind, .... now I see." END (John 9:25)
Every Person individually ... must settle: ... On This .... "One Thing."
Beloved ... Doubt ....is a hindrance.
And Doubt ... is one of the primary reasons .... for Christian failure.
And Doubt ... can come from 2 sources:
(1 Finger) Doubt can come From God ...To provoke one to salvation.
(2 Fingers) Or ... from Satan ...To paralyze ... the life and service .... of a believer.
The evangelist Billy Sunday always made his message clear and simple, ... He said....
"With Christ, you are saved; ......without Him ... you are lost." REPEAT
In Marks Gospel .... when Jesus encounters the Rich Young Man .... we see again .... this phrase ... "One Thing"
BIBLE "And Jesus, ...looking at him, .... loved him, ...and said to him, .... "You lack... one thing: ...Go, .... sell all that you have ....and give to the poor, ...and you will have treasure in heaven; ....and come, ...follow me." END (Mark 10:21 ESV)
This rich young man ... had come to Jesus wanting to know ... (Slow) how to receive eternal life.
Jesus pointed him ... to the Ten Commandments.
The man stated that .... He was readily obeying the laws of God ...and had been doing so .... all his life.
Then Jesus said, ...... "you lack.... one thing."
Jesus pointed out to him ... that he loved something more ... than he loved God.
In order to be a follower of Christ ...one must be willing to transfer ownership ......of all possessions .... Of all things ... to the lordship .... of Jesus.
Everything that I have ... everything that you have ... must belong to Him.
My time ... must be spent ... in ways .... In ways ...that please him.
My finances .... must be used ....in ways .... that glorify him.
I must NOT put my trust ... in money... or in things.
My family ... must be given .... to the Lordship of Christ.
My abilities ... must be laid down .... for His use ....and for His glory.
I must keep my eyes focused on Jesus... The author ....and the finisher ... of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). (Long Pause)
I enjoy playing golf ... and my dad began to teach me ... when I was about 5 or 6 years old.
One year .... When I was a Junior in High School ...... I had a terrible slice.
A slice .... is when the ball ... cuts dramatically ......to the right ...... after you strike it.
I tried everything ... to get rid of ... that slice.
Slowing down the swing, ... bringing the club more on the inside.
I even turned my body ....at odd angles .... hoping that the ball .... would somehow... go straight.
But nothing ... seemed to work.
Then one day, ... my father watched me ... while I was practicing.
He told me ......that As I was swinging down on the ball, .... I was lifting my head ... Which in turn ... lifted my body ... and moved my eyes.
And when I did it, ... my focus was moved from the ball ... to where I hoped ...... it would go.
In order to be consistent ... I needed to focus... to Fix my eyes on the ball ...throughout .... the whole swing.
As I observe other golfers ... as they strike the ball ...... I cannot help ....... but watch to see.
Is their head locked, ......are they in the correct stance ... are their eyes fixed ... on the ball? (Pause)
Beloved.... Are your eyes fixed on Jesus... are you focused ...on your relationship ... with Him?
It matters not...... how religious you are.
If you have not given .... everything to Him ...then like the rich young man, ......you still lack one thing......
(Slow) A total commitment ... to Christ. (Pause)
In our Gospel Text today Jesus and the Twelve ... come to the home of, ... Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. (Luke 10:38-42)
Martha quickly .... went to the kitchen... trying to get a meal ready ...for all the visitors.
On the other hand, ... Her sister Mary .... went to sit at the feet of Jesus ......listening to His teaching.
Martha ...overcome with the stress of preparing the meal ...... complained to Jesus ......that Mary ......was not helping.
Jesus recognized...... that there was much work to be done, Yet!
Hear God's Word. ......BIBLE "But the Lord answered her, ...... "Martha, Martha, ......you are anxious and troubled ... about many things, 42 ...... but one thing is necessary............Mary has chosen the good portion, ......which will not be taken away from her." END (Luke 10:38-42)
Beloved ... "One thing was needed ... and Mary ...understood .... that one thing."
Mary Chose the one thing .......to be with Jesus... to focus on ... Jesus. (Long Pause)
So ... How relevant is this ...... for us ...today?
We think ...we are living in the busiest time in history, ......and maybe .... we are.
Yet ... We need to be ... we must be ... focused .... on the ... "One Thing",
We must be focused ... On Jesus
Beloved.... (Slow) We need to slow down ... to Quite ourselves ... we must take ... a time out......we must not choose Busyness .... Over Jesus. (Long Pause)
So ... How do we get ... to the point in our life ... where Christ is ... the one thing?
Due to our sinful nature .......it is so easy ......to become distracted ... by earthly things.
So naturally, ... we tend .... not to think about putting God ....and spiritually matters .... ahead of things .... Or ahead of ... self.
Like Martha ... many of us ... are trying to juggle .... a multitude of things ... in our life.
We have our family. ....... We have our work.
We have schooling. ......We have friends. .... We have hobbies.
And, oh yes, ......we have our personal relationship ... with the one ... we call ... Lord.
Beloved, ... we need .... We must.... focus on the.... one thing ... that is truly needed, ...we need to be focused ... on Jesus.
Then ... and only then .... will the rest ... of life ......fall into place.
To help us understand this ......I would like to tie our text today ......with a picture ...that is given to us ....in Revelation 3:20.
In that passage of Scripture, ... we see this picture of Jesus:, ... BIBLE "...... I stand at the door and knock. ...If anyone hears my voice ...and opens the door, .... I will come into them.... and eat with them, ....and they with me." END (Revelation 3:20)
These words were given to whom...... believers or nonbelievers?
Beloved ...These words were spoken ....to those who already had a relationship with Jesus ... who knew Jesus ....as their Savior and Lord.
These words were spoken ... to men and women who had opened their heart ... and allowed Jesus to be the Lord ... of their life.
These words were spoken ... to the church ... gathered in the great city of ... Laodicea!
These words were spoken to Believers .... Followers of the Christ, ...... who had their priorities ... (Slow) all mixed up.
They had lost focus ... on the one thing.
They had lost their focus ... on the one ... who was standing ... at the door.
They had taken their eyes ... off Jesus.
Beloved ... in this passage ...we are reminded .... that Jesus knocks on our door.
And He knocks each ......and every day.
How will you respond?
How will you react?
BIBLE "But this one thing I do: ...forgetting what lies behind ...and straining forward ...to what lies ahead, 14........ I press on.... toward the goal .... for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." END (Pick up Cowboy Hat)
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger]
Curly: This.
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger]
Curly: This.
Curly: One thing...... Just one thing. (Pause)
Beloved ... we have a Loving God ... that has not hidden from this world ... that one thing.
Hear God's word from Acts: BIBLE " and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven ... by which we must be saved." END (Acts 4:12)
And His Name is:
(Sing)
Jesus ... Jesus ...Jesus
Let all Heaven and Earth proclaim,
Kings and Kingdoms ... will all pass away
But there's something about that name.
Amen and Amen!
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