Main Thing

The Main thing the Main Thing

09-19-2021

Thank you for allowing me and Randi and some of the others to go down to Branson

What a great time it was

I remember sitting in one of the sessions thinking my cup is being filled up

As I thought and thought over what to preach this Sunday

God spoke to me at the conference and actually while we were praying over the session

The Main Thing the Main Thing

I am sure maybe you have heard this at some point in your life

Keeping the main thing the main thing

Making the main thing the main thing

It’s what we are to do in our lives right now

The Main Thing is to be the Main Thing in our lives today

Jesus even says that when asked

Matthew 22:36–40 NASB95

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

See the first and greatest commandment from the mouth of Jesus Himself

We are to love God with our entire being

Remember last week what are you sowing too

Where do we spend more of our own time

church our primary focus should be on the first and greatest commandment

When we do that the 2nd comes more naturally

our whole heart, not just part of it

Our whole soul, not just when it is convenient

Out whole mind, not just when we are not busy

When we keep parts of our heart away from God or separated from God then we cannot love God with our whole heart

And if we can’t love God with our whole heart, then we cannot expect to love others as ourselves, because when we aren’t doing the first one the second will be more difficult

When our soul is not in it 100%, we are simply going through the motions

That turns into a bunch of people being trained to share the Gospel but with no passion for the lost because our soul is not in it

When our minds are not focused on Jesus chaos ensues

You know what I am talking about

But when our minds are not focused on Jesus, our minds start to drift, and our minds start to go to the dark places and then church chaos ensues

And before we know we are drifting away from God because our minds were not focused on Jesus

Do you understand how the main thing should be the main thing

Church we must ensure that we are keeping the main thing the main thing in our own lives

When we do that as individuals then it spills over into our relationships and how we deal with people and that will spill over into the church

Revelation 2:4 NASB95

4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

The letter to the church of Ephesus

On the outside they had seemed like they were doing good

In all actuality they were doing some good things

But God had this against them

They had lost their first love

They had lost their excitement and wow

It as if they had been saved so long they forgot about being saved

They had been involved in church so long that they had forgotten about the power of God

So church let me encourage you this morning to return to your first love

Let us make and keep the main thing the main thing

Let us do what the scriptures call us to do

You may have been in church for sometime and sitting here this morning going ok, this is great

I know the greatest commandments

But how do I not lose my first love

I am so glad you have asked

If you don’t want to lose our first love

Then we need to do what the word of God says

to begin to do what it says we need to read it

Church if you and I expect to be used by God

If you and I expect to see God move in our lives then we must be reading His letter to us

This book shows us God’s character

It gives us guidance and instruction

Psalm 119:9 NASB95

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.

Church how can you and I expect to not lose our first love

We read out Bibles and then we do what it says

We remain obedient to the word of God

I know this seems basic right

If you have been in church for any amount of time

Then you may sit here this morning then say of course I know this

Then let me ask you this

Why does it seem like we struggle with this

Why do we struggle to make time with reading Gods word

We should not look like this world

We know that right

We are to do something about it

Romans 12:2 NASB95

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Church we renew our mind each and every morning

This is how we do not lose our first love

This is how we love the Lord with our entire being

See when we spend time with Jesus by praying and reading His word

We can’t help but allow the living word to wash over us and change us from the inside out

Church remember there is power in the Word of God

Hebrews 4:10 NASB95

10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

Church the word of God

This letter from God to us

This book that gives us instruction and guidance

This book that gives us insight into the heart, mind, and character of God

Is so sharp

Is so alive and active

This is how we church we keep the main thing the main thing

You may sit here this morning and think this isn’t much of a sermon

Or we already know this

Then why don’t we do it

Why is that we struggle to read our Bibles Regularly

Why is we can’t get people who are passionate to share the Gospel just once a month

Why is it that only a few people show up for prayer meetings once a month

I want to encourage you read your Bible and spend time in prayer just like Jesus

Mark 1:35 NASB95

35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

Jesus got up in the morning before the start of the day and before he did anything else

He went and spent time with the Father

Why do we think we can handle our days without spending time with the Father

Why do we think we are so busy to spend time with the creator of the universe, why do we think we are so busy to not spend time with our personal Savior

So church let me encourage you to keep the main thing the main thing

To start to make the main thing the main thing

To read our Bibles, to pray and cry out with a passion we read about in the Psalms

To be obedient to what we read, and not only read to gain knowledge but to read to change our hearts

To love God with our entire being, to love people with a love that only comes from the Father

To go out and share with the lost people of this world what our personal Savior has done for us with a passion that is so passionate that we cannot help but speak out loud

Church let us continue to do the things that we know we are to be doing this morning

To read out Bibles and to Pray

As we move into a time of invitation and the band comes forward

Let me invite you to the front if you have never repented and trusted in the Lord as your personal Savior

You can speak with someone who will open the Bible and show to you that God sent his only Son to die in your place to pay for your debt of sin

That by repenting of your sin and trusting in Jesus as your personal savior you can walk out of this place as a new creation

Or maybe you are here this morning and you have not kept the main thing the main thing

I would invite you to the altar this morning to repent and return to your first love this morning

God is a God of grace and mercy that is found when we repent

I would encourage you this morning to return to your first love

Or maybe you simply need to spend sometime at the altar this morning in prayer

Or maybe you want to come to the altar and Praise the Lord

We are simply asking you this morning to be obedient and respond to what God has said to you this morning