Romans 14
What Matters?
Disputing over things that don’t matter
Will always keep you from the things that do matter
Don’t be the person looking for the things that are wrong
Be looking for the things that are right
Don’t be looking for the things that are lacking
Look for the things that bring completeness and wholeness
Don’t let disapproval get in the way of a smile
For the joy of the Lord is your strength and gives strength to others
So, what matters?
Living the Kingdom of God life consistently, every day, with everyone
What Matters?
Paul spends the whole chapter of Romans 14
showing us what “Disputable Matters”are.
Accept him whose faith is weak,
without passing judgment on disputable matters.
Romans 14:1
Paul talks about the way we live and die.
What we eat and drink.
How we treat each day.
In the end, you and I will kneel before the Lord
and we will confess the truth to God.
It won’t be a matter of what
someone else did or did not do.
The blame game will
not be played on that day.
Because each one of us will
give an account of ourselves to God.
I think in that Day of Judgment
we will know as He knows.
We will see the things that are not right in our life
and nothing anyone else did will matter…
Because we are bowing before
the All Righteous One.
When we give an account,
will each day of our lives including the meals we ate?
Will they be harmonizing together in thanks giving?
A gratefulness for all God’s provision
small and great?
Will that Day of Judgment be
a day of celebration in humble appreciation
for the relationships God’s love
has used to united us with others?
What will really matter as we explain
how we lived each day and how we died?
After Paul tells us what does not matter,
he does tell us what does matter…
Here is the answer
from THE MESSAGE Bible…
God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together,
and completes it with joy. 18 Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ.
Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone:
pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
Romans14:17-18
Paul describes three things
as he tells us “What matters”.
#1 You don’t want to get wrong,
it is “right living”.
What matters is God setting
things right in your life.
Whatever span of days you live
are they lived the right way?
Are those days filled with saying the right words
and doing the right things?
Are those days spent in the right places?
#2 Involves every part of your
being to be complete or whole.
You and I are made up of spirit, soul and body.
There is not one part of you
God does not want to sanctify
or set apart for fullness.
The Hebrews defines peace as…
harmony, wholeness, completeness,
prosperity, welfare and tranquility
This is holiness, wholeness.
What matters is that your body, soul and spirit
are in this place of harmony…
You are whole and complete.
The Prince of Peace is ruling in every part of your being.
#3 This one cannot be found
without the first two…
It is “Joy”
You matter.
Your joy and the joy of those around you matters.
Joy is a choice.
Sometimes we need strong encouragement
to allow joy to fill us.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again I will say, rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 NKJV
Joy is all about thanksgiving,
having a grateful heart.
Joy is to be spread and
it takes little effort to share it.
Joy is visible on the face of the grateful.
It is seen in the smile.
Ungrateful people don’t smile.
But grateful people beam from ear to ear.
What matters is your happiness.
That is why God has given you and I
everything we need for life and godliness.
Therefore, in every circumstance…
We can give thanks and we should
because this is the will of God.
Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Disputing over things that don’t matter…
Will always keep you
from the things that do matter.
Don’t be the person looking
for the things that are wrong…
Be looking for the things that are right.
Don’t be looking for the things that are lacking…
Look for the things that bring
completeness and wholeness.
Don’t let disapproval get in the way of a smile…
For the joy of the Lord is your strength
and gives strength to others.
So, what matters?
Living the Kingdom of God life
consistently every day, with everyone.
Scripture Reading
Romans 14:17-23 MSG
17 God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. 18 Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
19 So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; 20 don't drag them down by finding fault. You're certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God's work among you, are you? I said it before and I'll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. 21 When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.
22 Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. 23 But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe — some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them — then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
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