The
Main Thing
Warning
When Focusing on the Main Thing
When
we focus on externals we may be right but also wrong
Apologizing
does not always mean that
You’re
wrong and the other person is right.
It
means that you value your relationship more than your ego.
Warning
When Focusing on the Main Thing
When
we focus on externals we may be right, but also wrong
The Sermon on the Mount in the first 4
verses tell us not to make our self the main thing.
To help us, Jesus tells us to take this matter to
prayer.
Prayer should always recognize the
relationship of who we are talking to…
“Our Father”
But He should never be so familiar to us
that we fail to realize He is “Holy” and sits
in heaven above us and our circumstances.
Jesus always kept the main thing the main thing.
Jesus said…
“If
you have seen me you have seen the Father”
or
“I
and the Father are one”.
The main character is God,
God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Although they are three, they are one
with one purpose and that purpose is
the main thing, the “Kingdom of God”.
Our prayers should always focus
on what God wants, what God’s will is.
That is why Jesus says pray…
“Thy
Kingdom come thy will be
done
in earth as it is in heaven”.
Jesus kept the main thing the Kingdom.
Jesus started His ministry preaching the
Kingdom and ended His earthy ministry
speaking of the Kingdom.
All through His earthy ministry He told us…
“The Kingdom of God”
“The
Kingdom of heaven in near”.
Romans 14:17 gives us a simple
definition of the Kingdom.
God’s Kingdom centers around relationship
with God and love for others.
Eating and drinking are essential to
living but they are not the main thing.
The main thing is the Kingdom of God.
The main thing is righteousness,
peace and joy in the Spirit.
The main thing is not external matters.
In Matthew 23, Jesus gives us
examples of missing the main thing.
Philippians 3:4 ff…
Paul talks of the main thing in his life and a
time when he made the main thing the wrong thing.
He also tells us when he made the main thing the
right thing and how he struggled but continued
to press toward the high call of the main thing.
Romans 14:17 says…
the Kingdom
of God is Righteousness
Romans 14:18…
shows us how
we can be right but wrong,
“when
we prove we are right and some-
one
is wrong destroying the relationship”
You can be right about the way something
should be done, but wrong in the way you handle it.
This is a problem in marriage, family
and in every relationship we have.
Romans 14 reminds us not to be a stumbling block to
those who don’t see the right thing the way you do.
Jesus did not come into the world to
condemn the world but to save it.
Kingdom relationships are to produce righteousness,
but
our righteousness should also produce peace and joy.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us
that helps us discern how to keep the main
thing God and His Kingdom the main thing.
We should never forget the
main thing is not about externals.
The main thing is about
loving God and loving others.
So when you pray to your Father in
heaven and ask for His Kingdom to come.
When you look to Him for your daily needs.
Don’t forget to see your need for forgiveness
and in light of that, forgive others.
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Matthew 6:14
Warning when focusing on the main thing…
When we focus on externals
we may be right, but also wrong.
Scripture
Reading
Matthew 6:5-15
5 “And when you pray, do not
be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on
the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received
their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close
the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees
what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And
when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be
heard because of their many words. 8 Do
not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you
should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]
14 For if you forgive other
people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But
if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your
sins.
Romans 14:17-21
17 For the kingdom of God is
not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this
way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make
every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do
not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is
wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine
or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
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