Sermon - desiring God
- Carnal nature is what each of us was born into.
- Labeling it like that makes it sound like it truly is, bad.
- Then we go into the atmosphere of the church. Sin would be the least thing we
desire. Well, it should be!
- Now we take in account of our nature.
- I watched an animated move called the ice age, & a question is asked about
buzzards, “I wonder what they’re thinking”.
- The buzzards then break out into song singing (food glorious food we’re
anxious to try it.
- The only thing they crave is food, it’s in their nature.
James 1:14-18
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Prayer
- Inside of us is a desire that started with Adam,
Romans 5:12
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
- The desire to rebel against God began
- The hunger to feed our own selfish desire was founded.
- The very attitude of coveting overcame mankind.
- So sin isn’t just the ugly untouchable things. It’s also when you place yourself
above someone else.
- I was talking to a fellow that doesn’t attend church anymore, & the reason he
gave was, “it’s nothing more than a beauty pageant anymore”.
- The stares of, oh I can’t believe she wore that.
- Then It gravitates to I did this & that, & So & So doesn’t do anything.
* This is our carnal nature showing itself!
- We are mimicking Lucifer desiring to be as great as God.
- It’s the mentality that I’m greater than all this, or these that brought Lucifer down.
- Whether we want to call it that, or not, it’s very much a religion of self worship.
- This is a sin we tend to dismiss because it comes in peaceably.
Q- The question is, what, or how does this benefit me?
Q- That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
Q- Who Do we serve God, or ourselves?
- It doesn’t sound as good now!
- It’s a thought, & it’s brought on by something we need, want, or desire.
* There’s a whole lot of stuff that entices us. Some worse than others*
- However, One thing will reveal to us whether it’s good or bad, & yes you also have
to listen to this one thing too.
- Jesus gives to us a way to get out of the carnal mindset.
- By His Word!
- God’s Word to Adam & Eve,
Genesis 3:2-3
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
- God says, You can’t do this.
- This action will not benefit you at all.
- This May look good, or pleasing, but it will kill you in the end
- If we can look at God’s Word & say I will glorify God By doing this, then that’s a
good thing.
Q- Does a beauty contest, or a works contest glorify God?
- Well Yeah, then everyone will see how much I do for God!
- Wrong!!! That’s not for God! That’s you receiving rewards.
- These kind of rewards won’t last!
Matthew 6:2
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
- Here’s the example from Jesus,
Q- What happens when Satan comes along & says; You’re hungry, turn these stones to
bread that you might eat?
Matthew 4:4
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Q- What If it goes like this, you’re hungry, you’ll be fine to steal these loaves of bread?
Q- That sounds totally different, doesn’t it?
- You need this! If you don’t get this you’re going to die!
Q- Can you imagine how Jesus felt after fasting for forty days?
- Our carnal nature overrides the nature that says, why don’t you ask them first.
- Oh, That would be beneath me. I couldn’t ask them. They’d never give it to
me anyway.
- Let’s read our last scripture for this morning Matthew 4:8-10.
- Satan is offering something to Jesus that, in a lot of ways, he is offering us.
- Satan’s offering something we desire.
Matthew 4:8-10
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
- The worship of self is growing ever deeper in this day.
- We live in a culture that is actively finding ways to brand, & sell themselves.
- That’s not what the church is meant to be.
- We’re called to be in the marketing department for the greatest event that ever
took place.
- Let me close with a story that will sum up this message, & then I want to ask
you all,
Q- Who Do you want to please, God or yourself?
> In God We Trust. (http://varietyreading.carlsguides.com/christian-stories/pennies.php)
A few months ago, my husband and I were invited to spend the weekend at his employer's home. I was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than our house. The first day and evening went well, and I was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live.
My husband's employer was quite generous as a host and took us to the finest restaurants. I knew I would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so I was enjoying myself. As the three of us were about to enter an exclusive restaurant one evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of us. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. I wondered if I was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped and a few cigarette butts.
Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure.
How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at me. Finally, I could stand it no longer. I causally mentioned that my daughter once had a coin collection and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.
A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for us to see. I had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?
"Look at it." he said. "Read what it says."
I read the words, "United States of America."
"No, not that; read further."
"One cent?"
"No, keep reading."
"In God we Trust?"
"Yes!"
"And?"
"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin, I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray. I stop to see if my trust is in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God, that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!
When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I can not change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message. It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And God is patient.
Q- As I close I ask would you put off yourself & put on Christ?
Q- Would we be committed to Christ & His calling?
