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But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
This morning I would like to touch on 3 things that you and I should have as a priority in our life as a Christian.
Notice I didn’t say as a leader. Notice I didn’t say as a pastor, but as a Christian.
Ok let’s look.
- We should desire to know God.
As a Christian, you and I should have a desire to know God. We should have a desire to know who God is and to know God’s ways.
You may ask, how do I get to know God?
You and I get to know God the same way that we get to know a friend, a family member or a loved.
We get to know them by spending time with them and having a conversation with them.
Well, it is the same with God. You and I can get to know God more by spending time with Him and by having a conversation with Him.
We can spend time with God in prayer.
We can spend time with God is His Word.
- When we spend time in the word of God, we are getting to know God is.
- When we spend time in prayer, we are getting to know who God is.
As a Christian we should desire to spend time with God in prayer and His Word. This helps us to get to know God and allows God to speak to us.
The word of God tells us about the characteristics of God.
Here are just a few:
John 4:24
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Deuteronomy 32:4
The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Revelation 22:13
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Not only does spending time in the word allow us to get to know God, but also spending time in prayer allows us to get to know God.
When we spend time in prayer and having a conversation with God, this also allows us to get to know God.
As we mentioned earlier, we get to know someone by spending time with them and having a conversation with them.
That is the same way we get to know God. When you and I spend time in prayer, we are having a conversation with God.
In prayer is where we can speak to God and God can also speak to us.
Quote from Today in the Word, June 29, 1992.
Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”
As a Christian our priority should be to get to know the God we serve.
[Dan 11:32 KJV]
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits].
2. We should desire to be more like Christ.
The second thing that you and I should have as a priority in our life is to be more like Christ.
Did you know that the word Christian means to be Christlike?
So, when you and I tell someone that we are a born-again Christian, what we are saying is that we want to be more like Christ.
That is why it is important for you and I to get to know God first, then we can become more like Him.
How many know it is hard to be more like someone if you don’t know how they are?
As we find out more about who God is and His Characteristics, we should have a desire to be more like Him.
Let’s look at a few areas that you and I can be more like Christ.
- Character
They say character is who you and I are when no one is looking.
We should be people of integrity.
We should be a people of honesty.
We should be people of Godly character.
- Conversation
Colossians 4:6 NIV
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
We should be a people that shows we are Christian in our conversations.
Maybe before we become a Christian our conversation wasn’t very Christlike.
Maybe before Christ our conversations were full of lies.
Maybe before Christ our conversations were full of gossip.
Maybe before Christ our conversations where full of cussing.
But now we are aiming to be more like Christ in our conversations and things have changed.
The bible says let your conversation be seasoned with salt and full of grace.
I heard someone say that your conversation should be seasoned with salt just in case you need to eat your own words.
Example: Have you ever said something about someone and then come to find out it wasn’t true, or have you said something about someone in judgement and then you end up doing the same thing?
Ouch.
- Commitment
We should be people who want to be more like Christ in our commitments.
Jesus didn’t go halfway to the cross. He went all the way. He was committed.
If we give our word to do something, then you and I should try our best to follow through.
Why because we want to be more like Christ.
How many know God is a God of His Word?
I don’t know about you but before I became a Christian, I was hard for me to stay committed to something that took work.
Before I got saved, I couldn’t even keep a job. I didn’t like work. Hello
I remember applying for a job one time and I got the job, but when I went to work, I quit the first day. Why? Because it was work.
I wasn’t planning on working at work. Hello
It wasn’t until after I got saved that I was able to keep a job. As a matter of fact, I kept that job until I became full-time.
Dankie Here.
You and I should desire to be more like Christ in our commitments.
If we give someone our word, we should do our best to follow through.
Why? Because we want to be more like Christ.
I know we like to grow in our talents, skills, and gifts, but we should also we willing to grow in character, commitment and conversation.
Let’s go to the third and final area that should be a priority in our life as a Christian.
3.We should desire to do what God has called us to do.
The last area that should be a priority in our life as a Christian is to do what God has called us to do.
I think these priorities that I am sharing should be in the order that I am sharing them in.
- We should have a desire to know God.
- We should have a desire to be more like Christ.
- We should have a desire to do what God has called us to do.
Once we know God and become more like Christ, then we can do what God has called us to do the way God would have us to do it.
If we get it mixed up or out of order, we can want to do what God has called us to do but lack Godly character and not even know the God we are serving.
That is when we can run into challenges in the ministry such as I don’t feel appreciated by man.
I feel used.
We can even start mistreating people once we have a title and so forth and so on.
That is why it is important to know the God we are serving and to become more like Him as we do ministry.
Ok Let’s look at the last area and that is the desire to do what God has called us to do.
As a Born-Again Christian our desire should be to do what God has created and called us to do.
Jesus said in John 6:38 KJV
38 – For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
[Jhn 6:38 NIV] 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
Paul said in Acts 20:24 KJV
24- But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
[Act 20:24 NIV] 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.
As a born-again Christian you and I should have desire to do what God has called us to do.
It is great to come to church, but we should also have a desire to do what God has called and created us for.
God created you and I for a purpose and we should have a desire to fulfill that purpose.
Tell the person next to you “You have a calling”
Now I know when we hear calling most of us think of being a preacher or a missionary but calling goes beyond preaching.
Some of us are called to teach.
Some of us are called to run a business.
Some of us are called to be a father or Mother.
Some of us are called to be specialists in a certain area, such as media, law, graphics, sound, music, hospitality, event coordination, administration, and the list can go on.
God has not called us to impress people, but to make an impact.
Die Here het ons nie geroep om mense te beindruk nie, maar God het ons geroep om ‘n impak te maak.
What has God created you for?
What has God called you to do?
There is more in you.
I encourage you to go for it.
Be all that God has called you to be.
This morning I wanted to encourage us to have these 3 areas as a priority in our life.
- To know God.
- To be more like Christ.
- To do what God has called us to do.
Maybe you feel challenged in one of these areas I would like to open the altars.
- Maybe you feel challenged you to know God more by spending more time with God in your word in or in prayer.
- Maybe you feel challenged to become more like Christ in a certain area of your life.
- Maybe you feel challenged you to do what God has called you to do.