“One Thing”
I’ve brought with me this morning six individuals: A rich young ruler, a healed blind man, David, Martha and Mary, and Paul. What do they all have in common? They all have come to preach you a sermon this morning!
Consider my dilemma this morning. Unlike your Senior Pastor, Dave, I’ve only got one shot at you. What should be preached with only one opportunity? I can’t really talk about a lot of things. I probably should talk only about one thing.
And when you think about life, aren’t there too many things? Too many things with your family…too many things in your other relationships…too many things around the house…too many things at work…too many challenges…too many responsibilities…too many things to do…too many things to be…And in our spiritual lives, don’t you feel sometimes there are too many things…too many things to do…too many things to be…how many sermons have you heard in the last year with three points, exhorting us to all sorts of applications…no shortage of spiritual input…Too many things.
Did you know that the Bible talks about “one thing”? It’s what links together the six individuals I mentioned.
One of the challenges of life and the spiritual life is priorities. According to Webster’s dictionary, a priority is “something which we give precedence by assigning a degree of importance to it.” One person has observed, “Most people have not settled the issue of what their priorities should be. Among those who do know, too few live according to these priorities.” Someone has once said, “One of the most difficult things to get people to do is do things in the order of their importance.” Wrong or unwise priorities lead to failure and in some cases to moral failures. Priorities involve focus and concentration which unleashes great power.
We’ve been studying the Psalms and I have challenged us to memorize a key verse (Psalm 40:3): “And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord”-Repeat it with me. You should be singing the song that God has given you and when you sing it, it will change you and impact people around you! But let me ask you
Will you hear, learn and remember the song God has given you?
Will you sing the song?
Will you sing the song joyfully?
Will the song cause you to…
Praise God in a new way?
Know God in a new way?
Fear God in a new way?
Trust God in a new way?
That’s my pray for us this morning! Are you with me?
Psalm 100 is a Psalm that take you back to basics:
What we should do every day no matter what
Why we should do it
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“A Time to Be Silent”
“Come and listen…” Did you come this morning to listen to God? But before you can listen, truly listen, you need to be silent. Did you come this morning to be silent before God? Listen to God’s words. Turn to Ecclesiastes 3; verse 1 and a part of 7: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…(verse 7) A time to be silent.”
What if you came to church this morning and the sermon was without words? In obedience to the Book of James, Chapter 1, verse 22, let’s be doers of the Word this morning and “Be silent; silent before God”
Well, how was that? What did you do during that time? Some of you might have dozed off. Some of you might have become distracted, preoccupied with a particular thought, thinking about any of a number of things. Some of you felt uncomfortable, restless.
Do you know what Scripture says about silence?
1. Silence is in part what God deserves from his people
(Habakkuk 2:20) “‘But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.’”
(Zephaniah 1:7) “‘Be silent before the Lord God!’” Hush! Listen! (Zechariah 2:13) “‘Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord….’” Hush! Listen! 2. Silence is in part God’s desire for you
(Psalm 23:2) “…..He leads me beside quiet waters.” Hush! Listen! [Repeat]
3. Silence is an appropriate response to God
After Job’s rather vigorous vocal debate with God, he finally got it and his final response was one of shutting up. (Job 42:3, 5, 6) “I was talking about things I did not understand…I had heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” I suspect this episode was without further word.
4. Silence is linked to God’s blessing
(Lamentations 3:25-26) “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he wait silently…”
(Job 13:5) “‘O that you would be completely silent, and that it would become your wisdom!’”
(Proverbs 10:19b) “He who restrains his lips is wise.”
(Isaiah 41:1) “‘Listen to Me in silence, and let the peoples gain new strength….”
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Brent is a family man, married to Sherrie since 1976 and father of two adult children, Jason and Kristin. While he has practiced business/corporate law in the Chicagoland area since 1976 and currently serves as Vice President, General Counsel of Heritage-Crystal Clean, a publicly-traded company based in Elgin, Illinois. He has journeyed on a parallel ministry path for over thirty-five years. Brent has served his local and other churches and through the Christian Legal Society and Peacemaker Ministries. He has sustained his "love affair" with "children of all ages", serving for six years as Chairman of a Christian Elementary and Junior High School, leading for ten years a college/career Bible Study in his home, teaching Business Law for four years as an Adjunct Professor at Judson University and teaching in churches for over thirty-five years in classes ranging from Junior High through Senior Adults. Brent is a free lance writer for Standard Publishing. He has served as a church moderator for over twenty years. His ministries have been sustained and expanded through God's grace and the exercise of the spiritual gifts of teaching, administration and encouragement. Brent strongly believes that God continues to call him to these ministries.