The Bible About Things

Transcript

Rob McFarlane: 0:58

Today, I'm going to be talking about things. Yes, you heard that right. We're going to be talking about things. Specifically, we're going to look at what the Bible says about things. What things, you may ask? Well, some things will affect everything in our lives, and that's what we're going to be looking at. The Bible refers to things both in general terms but also specific certain things in our lives. We also see that the Bible uses things in reference to activities and to people. For example, in Isaiah 43, verse 18 and 19, God tells us that the old things will pass away and that he wants to do a new thing in our lives. Here he's talking about his activity in our lives. Listen to Isaiah 43, verse 18 and 19. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. We also see that the Bible uses the word thing about people in a positive sense. Jill and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary last weekend, and I can say that I have personally experienced the truth of Proverbs 18 verse 22 in my life. Listen to Proverbs 18 verse 22. It says, He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. I'm sure all the husbands can say amen to that one. I find that when I read my Bible, there are times that the Holy Spirit seems to highlight a certain word or phrase. And recently I started to notice how much we read about things when we spend time in God's Word. Let me share four thoughts about things from the Bible with us today. And I believe that you will see that there are some things that affect everything in our lives. Number one, let's talk about praying about things. Do you know God's phone number? We all know that perhaps from the movies or books you've read or examples you've seen or things you heard at school, that the emergency numbers are 999 or 911. When you're in trouble, call 999 or 911 and they'll connect you with an operator who will coordinate a response from the emergency services, like the police, the fire department, or perhaps an ambulance, depending on the situation that you're dealing with. You might think, wouldn't it be awesome to have a direct line to God as well? Well, friends, I have good news for you. You do have a direct line to God, and that direct line is called prayer. In times of trouble, we can call on him and he will answer us. God's phone number is 333. Yes, 333. And we get that from Jeremiah 33, verse 3. Let's read this wonderful promise together. Jeremiah 33, verse 3 says, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. We know that when we call on God, that he starts to move on our behalf. He may send help through people, he may change circumstances, or he may even perform a miracle. We don't always know how he'll do it, but we know that he promised if we call on him that he will answer us. Let's look at Philippians 4 verse 6. We're going to read it together, and I would like you to notice the word things in this verse. I'm reading it from the New King James Version of the Bible. Philippians 4 verse 6 says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Did you see the words nothing and everything? They talk about nothing and everything. Nothing is nothing and everything is everything. We're told in this verse to be anxious about nothing, and we're told to pray about everything. I encourage you today to make a decision to stop something and to start something in your life. Stop being anxious about things. Start praying about things. One more verse under my first point today, looking at praying about things, and let's look at Mark chapter 11, verse 24 together. This verse shows us the importance of praying in faith and with expectation. In the preceding verses, Mark 11, 22 and 23, we're told to have faith in God and we're told to speak to the mountains or problems in our lives, not just to talk about them. Then we see in Mark 11, verse 24, reading from the New King James Version, it tells us, therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. So my first point today is pray about things. Remember, church family, prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. Number two, we should seek God before things. So often people are looking for the gift and not seeking the giver. They want the provision but not the provider. They want healing, but do not want to seek the healer. This week I was listening to an interview with Beth Moore, who's a Bible teacher based in the USA. She said something in response to a question on how she has overcome hurts in her life. And let me quote her answer. She said, fall in love with the healer. Do not be infatuated with the healing. I think that's a great quote. And I want to encourage us to seek the giver, not just his gifts. Remember, he's our heavenly father, not our heavenly butler. Listen to Matthew 6, verse 33, where Jesus tells us that if we seek Him and His kingdom first, then all the things that we need will be given to us as well. Remember the context of His teaching in Matthew chapter 6 was how we should not worry about what we eat, what we will wear, and where we should live. Listen to Matthew 6, verse 33, in the English Standard Version of the Bible. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Are we seeking Jesus and his kingdom first? A wonderful example of seeking Jesus first is found in Luke chapter 10, taken from the response of two women who were friends of Jesus who hosted Jesus in their home, and their names were Mary and Martha. Now I've heard some people have tried to use this example to justify just being lazy. And if you do that, I want to ask you, please stop being silly because you are missing the whole point of this passage. Jesus was not saying we shouldn't serve and just sit there. In fact, Jesus himself modeled servant leadership. The point of this passage is that there should be times to serve and there should be times to seek. There are times that our worship and witness is mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, helping out, making a difference. But when it's time to worship, let's not be distracted by all the things that need to get done on our to-do list. Let's look at Luke chapter 10, verse 41 and 42 together. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. Friends, when it's time to worship, pray, or read your Bible, give Jesus your full attention. Don't be distracted or anxious or troubled about the many tasks that need to get done in your day. Let's not waste the opportunities to choose the good portion of our day that has eternal value, that will not be taken away from us. The opportunity to sit at Jesus' feet and to listen to Him. So my second point was to seek God before things. Church family, let's be those who seek the Giver and not just His gifts. Number three, we must think on positive things. We need to get rid of stinking thinking. What thoughts are you giving space in your head? Now, if I knocked on your door this afternoon and had a wheelbarrow full of manure, would you let me come in your house and empty it in your front room? No way. I'm sure that you wouldn't allow that at all. You wouldn't even let me through the front door. But so many times we let our enemy come right through the front door of our minds, perhaps through our eyes or our ears, and dump his stinking thinking in our minds. What are we watching? What are we reading? What are we listening to? Seriously, friends, sometimes we need to take stock. We need to think about what we are allowing into our minds. The Bible gives us a helpful checklist of the things that we should be thinking about. And let's look at Philippians 4 verse 8 together. I want to encourage you to use this as a checklist for the thoughts that you think upon, or perhaps what you watch, read, or listen to. Let me read Philippians 4 verse 8 from the New International Version. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Right there is an awesome checklist. The checklist is think about, watch, listen, read things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy. I want to say if you're struggling with negative thoughts, or perhaps have developed bad habits in what you let into your mind through your eyes and ears, then this week I encourage you to memorize and meditate on Philippians 4 and verse 8. Write it down on a card or perhaps on your phone and refer to it regularly until you get rid of that stinking thinking in your mind. Number 4. Finally, we must let go of old things to take hold of new things. For us to take hold of the new things that God wants to do in our lives, we must let go of old things. Listen to these verses again from Isaiah 43, verse 18 and 19. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Thank you, Jesus, that you want to do a new thing in our lives, in our families, in our relationships. You know, I personally think that God wants to use what the enemy meant for evil, for his glory and for our good. I believe that he wants to use the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic to bring positive changes in our lives and even the way that we do church. You know, it would be a terrible waste if we just went back to our old ways after all we have been through in the last seven months. We've all learned the value of family, the value of being a part of a local church, and we all miss corporate worship. When we do get back into corporate worship, for example, let's throw ourselves wholeheartedly into it. Let's dive in the deep end. Let's not become distracted by our phones or by looking out the window. What we need to do is we need to make the most of this opportunity to take a hold of new things. Here's another verse about letting go of old things to take hold of new things that God has for us. Let's look at Philippians chapter 3, verse 13 and 14. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Let's let go of the old and take a hold of the new. A final verse before we close in prayer. And this one is very interesting. If you consider that God is using the current challenges we face to bring positive change in our lives, listen to Hebrews chapter 12, verse 26 and 27. At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, yet once more will I shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. You know, I'm praying that during this global pandemic, this global shaking, that things in our lives that are not important are removed, and that things are really important come to the surface and take top priority. Thank God there are some things that cannot be shaken and remain no matter what. Things like God's steadfast love and his precious promises. So my final point was that we must let go of old things so we can take a hold of new things. Before we pray, a quick review. Today we've talked about four different thoughts about things in the Bible. Praying about things, seeking God before things, thinking on positive things, and letting go of old things to take a hold of new things. As we respond in prayer to today's sermon, let's take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us. I encourage you to ask Him, what is He saying to you through today's sermon? Let's bow our heads and let's pray together. Father God, thank you that you are so good to us. We want to be anxious about nothing and to pray about everything. We want to seek you first before anything else. Help us to seek you, the giver, not just your gifts. Help us to think on positive things. Help us to let go of the old and take hold of the new things that you want to do in our lives. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.