[Biblemat] S> One Thing
ZekeFlores1 at cs.com
ZekeFlores1 at cs.com
Wed May 9 12:44:28 CDT 2007
Here's a lesson I hope you can use.
Zeke Flores
Kiber Street church of Christ
Angleton, TX
*****************************************************************************
One Thing
Matt 6:33
Intro Perhaps the single most outstanding characteristic of
successful people is their singleness of purpose.
A. We see the principle at work in people who refuse to give up.
Note these quotes:
1. "The man who wins may have been counted out
several times, but he didn't hear the referee."
2. "Many of life's failures are men who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up."
3. "Most folks want to succeed, but some want to
succeed so much that they're willing to work for it."
4. The keyword is "FOCUS"
B. For the people who want to succeed, the goal is not
merely something in their life, it IS their life!
1. It's not a side issue or something that will happen
on its own.
2. Success in anything requires effort, courage, and
perseverance.
C. The Bible speaks of "one thing," sometimes positively
and sometimes negatively.
1. What God says about it will help us to focus on the
most important and far-reaching ambition for any one
of His people: Spiritual success.
I. There Must Be One Thing Desired
A. How bad do you want it?
1. Psalm 27:4
2. Do you feel spiritual hunger gnaw at your soul as
physical hunger gnaws at your body?
a. Psalm 42:1-2
B. Spiritual reality must take priority over even physical reality.
1. Matt 6:31-34
2. Trouble, opposition, and obstacles will arise for certain,
but for the one who has focus, the rewards will be
incredible!
a. James 1:12
II. Consider If There Might Be One Thing Lacking
A. Jesus knew how to get to the heart of a matter.
1. Mark 10:17-22
2. Why was the young man sad? He obviously had
a lot going for him.
a. He was eager - came running
b. He was devout - knelt before Jesus
c. He was religious - kept the commandments
d. Jesus loved him
3. Yet he lacked one thing: Love for Jesus more than world
B. This is potentially our greatest downfall.
1. There must be a point where we can say that all
things fall into line BELOW the Lord.
a. Matt 6:24
b. An African preacher was talking about following
one path, and one path only. It was night, and
a crowd of natives sat around the campfire.
A native dog passed between the fire and the
listeners. "Look at that dog! How many legs has
it?" asked the preacher. "Four," came the reply.
"Yes, four indeed," retorted the preacher, "but
have you ever seen the four legs of a dog trying
to follow more than one path at a time? No, no!
The four all go together; yet people with only two
legs try to follow two paths: Christ and the world,
God and mammon."
2. Perhaps we place too inordinate an amount of trust in
things that will ultimately be burned up. If so, consider
what that allegiance means.
a. James 4:1-4
b. The whole point is that if God is THE Focus,
certainly we will have the best friend of all.
III. Consider That There Is One Thing Necessary
A. Again, note how Jesus gets to the essence of the matter.
1. Luke 10:38-42
2. Can you picture Martha, apron on & spatula in hand,
complaining about somebody who chose to listen
to Jesus over helping with dinner?
3. Jesus gets to the point - "Martha, you're distracted!"
B. The same can be said of too many professed followers
of Jesus today - TOO DISTRACTED!
1. Distractions abound
a. Business, recreation, household duties, even family.
2. We must be like the good soldier and the resolute
athlete and dedicate ourselves to pleasing Him who
is worthy.
a. 2 Tim 2:4-5
b. Thomas Guthrie used to say: "If you find yourself
loving any pleasure better than your prayers,
any book better than the Bible,
any house better than the house of God,
any table better than the Lord's table,
any person better than Christ,
any indulgence better than the hope of heaven:
take alarm."
IV. Consider Then, That There Is Only One Thing To Do
A. If we truly believe that the Lord deserves our utmost
dedication, then there is only one thing left to do:
1. Phil 3:13-14
a. Sir Henry Shackleton, South Pole explorer in early
20th century advertised for men to serve in his
expedition: "Men wanted for hazardous journey.
Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete
darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful."
The response was overwhelming. He said, "It seemed
as though all the men in Great Britain were determined
to accompany us."
b. His ad appealed to the heroic and determined
nature in every one of us but it is up to us to dig down,
turn it up, and persevere!
c. Remember always that the future for the Christian
is bright and always lies ahead.
Conc. The Christian is called to a life of resoluteness, dedication, and
devotion.
A. He is called to put one God and one purpose above all else.
B. (Illustration: City Slickers scene - "One Thing")
C. Come to the One, the ONLY One who can help.
D. INV
If you've seen the movie City Slickers, you probably remember a scene
between Billy Crystal, who played a city slicker out West on a vacation, and
Jack Palance, who played a crusty old cowboy. Here's how their conversation
went:
Palance: "How old are you? Thirty-eight?"
Crystal: "Thirty-nine."
Palance: "Yeah. You all come out here about the same age. Same problems. You
spend fifty weeks a year getting knots in your rope, then you think two weeks
up here will untie them for you. None of you get it. (Long pause) Do you know
what the secret of life is?"
Crystal: "No, what?"
Palance: "It's this." (Holds up his index finger)
Crystal: "Your Finger?"
Palance: "One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and everything else
don't mean nothing."
Crystal: "That's great, but what's the one thing?"
Palance: "That's what you've got to figure out."
Paul wrote, "One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward
to what lies ahead..." Phil 3:14
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