Playing the Game?

Luke 18:10-14

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extotioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.



We see this so often in this day in age, even in our church houses. Dress nice, carry the big Bible, say a prayer no one understands, and act as in a "Holier than thou" way. It is very easy to be judgmental and look at someone and say "well if I was them.... I wouldn't have done this and that and they don't read their Bible or they don't pray... etc." much like the Pharisee did in this passage. We should be more like the publican here, acting as if we were dogs and not above God while in prayer and in our every day life.

We are all different, and we are only ourself. Thus, we should only worry about ourself, when it comes to our spiritual life that is. We are to pray for each other (James 5:16), we are to encourage others (as Paul did in Hebrews 12), and we are to care for each other (Matthew 22:39), however we are not to judge others. Only one "person" (and I use quotes because He's not just man) has a right to judge us, and it is He, who is without sin. He came down to this Earth, he experienced what we do every day (Ecclesiastes 1:9). If we live our lives and holding ourselves accountable for our own spirituality, instead of everyone elses, we would be growing more and more as a Christian.

Finally let's look at verse 14. I think the best story (or rather, stories) in the Bible to illustrate it is Martha and Mary with Jesus. Every time we see these three, Mary is at the feet of Jesus, listening, washing his feet with oil, or praying. Martha, on the other hand, right in Jesus's feet, telling Him what he should be doing, much like a pharisee would do. God honours the humble. In 1 Samuel 3:10, Samuel is being called by the Lord, but he doesn't know it. He thinks it's his brother Eli messing with him or something. Finally, Eli realizes it's the Lord calling him, and he tells Samuel next time he hears his name called, to answer to the Lord. Samuel hears his name again, and he says "Speak, for thy servant heareth". That should always be our response in anything God wants us to do for him.

"The world has yet to see what God can do with one man fully surrendered unto him."

Don't just play the game.

A Servant's Heart

Joshua 24:15 – And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the god’s of the Ammorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

A servant is described in Webster’s Dictionary as one who lives to serve. I ask you now, do you live to serve the Lord? He lived to save you. Would live to serve him? I believe we could really learn from Joshua here. He was in a scene much like today. There was temptation with other religions and false gods around, which is very alive today. However, Joshua didn’t let it get to him. He took a stand, and that’s what Christians today need to do. Many Chrisitans are simply beginning to lose their faith as time goes on however.

Let’s look at a servants actions. Think about what you do, think, or say during the day. Would Jesus Christ be pleased if he was down here on Earth right now if you were to act on it? Hey it doesn’t matter whether he’s here or not. Jesus knows every single thing that you do either way, so you can’t hide dirty laundry any where. What about forgetting to read our Bible, or praying? Surely we’ve never done that, right? I’m just as guilty as you! What about when the Lord knocks on our heart to witness to someone who is lost and looking for a road map? They might not accept your directions of the path to the savior, but you are still called to witness to others, man or woman. Not everyone is called to be a missionary or pastor, but we are all called to be preachers of the Word of God (2 Tim. 4:2). Forgetting to pray, read the Bible, going to church and witnessing are all tactics that the Devil will use to get you to back slide. He doesn’t just come to you and say “HEY! Let’s forget this Christian thing and do something else…” No. He wants you to forget anything you can about praying, or reading the Bible, or anything of that sort before he starts working on you. Then he knows he has the upside. I’ll give you an example. There’s this guy that I know. He used to be a saved born again Christian, but one day, he decided to quit reading his Bible. Well, now he’s an Athiest. All because he quit reading it one day and started listening to athiests around him. He didn't have his shield up in the battle. You have to get fed with the word of God daily! Spiritual food, just like physical food, has to be eaten every day, otherwise, your not going to live as a Christian. Surely you haven’t decided to watch that TV show instead of reading the Bible in the last 20 minutes you have before bed time, or decided you were too tired to pray? Don’t skip church. You won’t get fed from a guy who spends 3 hours on his hair or doesn't tell you that your sin is bad and your going to Hell unless you trust Jesus as your personal savior (Joel Osteen), or experience any kind of revival with a “Praise-a-thon” with Benny Henn.

Take a stand. Matthes 6:24 says No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Joshua said “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. Sadly, many Christians are failing to do that today as over 10% of Christian America has dropped the faith since the recession started. Subject yourself to Jesus Christ with all fear. Ephesians 6:5 - Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. 1st Peter 2:18 says Servants, be subject to your maters with all fear; not only the good and gentle, but also to the froward. Think about Rosa Parks, a great Civil Rights figure of the 1950's and 60's. She took a stand one day, and many joined her to help abolish segregation and radical racism in the United States today. Because of her (and many others such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.), things are different today than they would have been had they not protested segregation and racism. Christians around the World (most likely not the US), are being persecuted for their beliefs, yet they still worship. I fear that America is losing the hunger they once had for God.

Finally let's look at the rewards of serving. Colossians 3:24 says Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. Once you make a conscious decision to get saved and start serving the Lord, you have already collected one reward, eternal life. You didn't do anything to get it, it was just handed to you because you trusted the Lord. There are other rewards with this for serving. There are 5 crowns to be earned as well.

Crown of Glory and Rejoicing - The two highest crowns awarded to Christians for their faithfulness in seeking the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rejoicing: Be a soul winner (i.e., Motivate other Christians to win the Crown of Life by leading them to Christ).

Glory: Tend, lead and nourish the flock (i.e., Exercise spiritual gifts in building up and edifying the body of Christ). This requires a knowledge of the Scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

Crown of Life - Earned through salvation.
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Incorruptible Crown - Running your race as a Christian. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Put off fleshly desires and appetites of the body. Turn from the things of the world.
1 Cor 9:24-27
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Crown of Righteousness - Mature in the Word. Put on the fruits of the Spirit consistently. Keep the faith. Love His appearing.

1st Timothy 5:18 - The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Are You Sitting at the Feet of Jesus?

That's the question I impose on you today. Where are you right now? With so much going on the world, it's easy to get sidetracked. From wars, to rumors of wars, to falling economies, our eyes tend to look around, instead of to the one who has all the answers. That's Jesus Christ.

We'll be reading from the text of Luke 10:38-42

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Now here in the text we see Jesus coming into a village, looking for a place to stay, and Martha took him into her house. However, what she didn't do, was listen to Jesus once He came in, and I fear that's where many Christians are today in their walk with Christ, me included. We let everything start to come in before Christ and do whatever we want to do, when we want to, but when we start to get in trouble, and start panicking, we try to jump back on the bandwagon. That's where we are today as Christians. I don't mean to preach at you, I know your perfect like the great little angel you are, but some of us might start growing those devil horns if we're not careful.

I'd like to say first off that whatever this world has to offer, is just complete and utter garbage compared to what Christ can give you. Don't let what the world cares about affect you. Today they all love Hollywood, Fame, Money (the root of all evil of course), and false teachings to cover up the Bible (such as Evolution, the Big Bang theory, etcetera). However, Jesus Christ can do one thing nothing else this world can do. He can save you from going to Hell if you trust him as your personal savior (John 3:16 - For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but hath everlasting life). This way, he makes you a new creature in him. What a blessing and privilege we never deserved!

My second point is to focus on the prize, like Mary did. The prize, of course, is Jesus Christ. He's the most important thing in any Christian's life (or at least he should be, next to family, church family, etcetera). Never give the Devil an inch to work with. He can take that inch and make it a few more inches, then a foot, then a yard, and then the next thing you know, your backed into a corner. The Devil is sneaky about getting you to backslide. He just says, take 1/4 step back. Another. Another. Another. Then it's take 4 steps back, and then your way back there while others are moving on ahead. Make sure your focusing on the prize, and not what the Devil offers in this world.

Now let's learn from the title of this blog post. Are you sitting at the feet of Jesus? Of course, you can't literally go sit down at the feet of Jesus today, but you do have a book of truth that he has given you. The Bible is your first orders from head quarters. It's your spiritual food, which you need that if your going to survive spiritually. Think about this. What would happen if you didn't eat for a few days. You'd starve wouldn't you? Same thing applies here. Christians every where (including myself) are starving themselves, and their walk with God. Some of it may be hard to swallow, but just chew it up a little bit at a time, and you'll learn a lot from it. If you don't quite understand what your reading, pray for God's guidance and understanding, and that he'll show you what is meant in the text your reading.

Choose the good part is my last point. Whenever you go to make a decision on anything major in your life, make sure your in the will of God and that you are serving the right master. (Hint: If it involves sin, it is not the right master!) Don't let others pull you away from the good part. Stand strong in your faith in Jesus Christ. Think about what he went through just to save you. He was beaten, crucified, spit on, cussed at, had his beard plucked, whipped with whips (that had sharp, jagged rocks on the ends). He went through some cruel stuff that we take for granted every day. This is a privilege and honor, yet we act like it's nothing!

To close I'd like to share a few quotes.

Remember, it's the perfection of the smallest detail to make the big things happen. -- Calvin Johnson

If you sacrifice early, you'll win late -- Charles Hayley

Your true priorities are the things for which you'll undertake any effort, meet any challenge, or make any necessary sacrifice in order to achieve or maintain. They are commitments to action. -- LSU College

There's two options regarding commitment; you're either in or out. There's no such thing as in-between. -- Pat Riley

There are 6 W's that fit with this message.
Work Will Win When Wishing/Waiting Won't.

I would just like to encourage you, it's never too late to come sit at the fit of Jesus. Maybe you have been straying a little off course, or you just haven't been walking daily by the savior's side or maybe you don't know Jesus as your savior. It's never too late.