What's It All About?

In the radio series and novel “The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy”, a group of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings demand to learn the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything from the supercomputer Deep Thought, specially built for this purpose. It takes Deep Thought 7+1⁄2 million years to compute and check the answer, which turns out to be 42.

A taxi driver once had Atheist British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) in the back of his cab. Since Russell was the most famous philosopher of his day, the cabbie asked him: "What's it all about?" Russell, however, could not answer.

Lyrics to 1960’s song Alfie

What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live? What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?

Humanity, has struggled to come with an answers, outside of God since time began. However all of it is futile because ultimate truth, comes only from the Ultimate truth giver - The Lord himself.

You see outside of a saving knowledge and relationship with the Word - The Lord Jesus Christ, humanity is forever doomed to scrabble around in the darkness, never getting to the real truth of what it’s all about.

But that’s okay.

I mean that in the sense, that we ought not to be surprised when we have the latest, hot of the press, pinnacle of human thinking and reasoning for why we are here, what we are here for and where we are going?

We shouldn’t be surprised or angered because the truth is that blind, lost, sin separated, unregenerate humans can never get to the truth of What its really all about!

They literally don’t have it in them..

However, the redeemed of the Lord, the body of Christ, the born again believer, has no such excuse!

We have the Spirit of God and the Word of God, and the Lord has revealed in His word what it really is all about!

Unfortunately, The christian age we live in like never before, is one where there are very few believers that really understand what it’s all about.....

What is it all about? Well firstly we have to grasp. It’s not about us!

It’s Not About Us

They say the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. I want to counter that and say this:

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing humanity it was all about them!

Here we have it, the fall, where it all went wrong… when our first parents bought the lie that it was all about them..

Gen 3:5 “5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

you shall be as Gods.... God is keeping something from you, you deserve more, you deserve better…look after number 1, think of yourself...... Its all about you..

Now that voice still speaks to our sinful hearts today, it has gone away, and the tactic hasn't changed, because it works so well

The people of God however should, as I said earlier, know better!

We are told what to expect from the world in 1 John 2:15-17

1 John 2:15–17 KJV 1900

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

We are warned!

Verse 15 we are warned about the love of the world 1 John 2:15 “

We are to have no love for the world

Verse 16 we are warned about the lure of the world 1 John 2:16

lust of the flesh

lust of the eyes

pride of life

Verse 17 we are warned about the length of the world 1 John 2:17 “

This world will pass away

but there is an eternity ahead

So, we are warned by John, and we can see the effect of not heeding the warning in the example of our first parents, in the garden all those years ago.

Turning back to Genesis 3:6 again, notice

Genesis 3:6 KJV 1900

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

The Lust of the flesh at play

“Good for Food”

The Lust of the Eyes at play

“pleasant to the eyes”

The pride of life at play

“to make one wise”

The result of all this leads to seperation from God

You see when we make it all about us, we push God out, its not God that moves its us...

How do we combat this intrinsic habitual behaviour of the human heart to make things all about us?

We don’t follow the example of our first parents, that is for sure..

We follow our Lord’s example when he walked as one of us

Turn to Matthew Chapter 4, where we have a re-run of the garden

The Lust of the flesh at play

Matt 4:3 “3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”

The pride of life at play

Matt 4:5-6 “5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

The Lust of the Eyes at play

Mat 4:8-9 “8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

The same three temptations from the Garden wrapped up in a different package, this time the Lord shows the way..

His response

Matt 4:4 “4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Matt 4:7 “7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Matt 4:10 “10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

What is Jesus teaching us… We have to die to self...

In passing this test, Jesus then was able to go on and pass the ultimate test

Matthew 26:37–39 KJV 1900

37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Jesus, willing to die to self in the wilderness, meant he was willing to die for others in the garden

This is essential truth, taught by the master

It’s not all about us!! It is however about the Local Church

It's About The Local Church

A seashore is a better place than the street because you need lots of room. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Birds seldom get too close. If there are no snags it can be very peaceful. But if it breaks loose, you won't get another chance.

Without any context to frame the sentences, this paragraph doesn't make any sense. Now let me read it again, but this time let me provide some context—a one-word frame or interpretive key. The one word is kite. Now see if it makes sense:

The context helps the paragraph make sense.

As believers today our context is the Local Church, its the key to our service as believers, and the need for the understanding of the local Church cannot be downplayed...

Unfortunately, the Local Church has taken a battering from all sides through the ages, and especially so in the post modern world that we live in..

A world where truth is subjective

A world where you tube is where believers take instruction from

A world where people embark in Church hopping, moving from one to another never contributing, always criticising !

A world where we have lone ranger christians left right and centre, out on their own, doing Church by themselves..

A world where para-church organisations take from the Local Church rather than supporting it..

The Local Church has been under attack from its own, and that cannot be right..

The Church is the body of Christ

When Christ entered our world, He took on a physical body “prepared” for Him (Hebrews 10:5; Philippians 2:7).

Hebrews 10:5 KJV 1900

5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

After His bodily ascension, Christ continues His work in the world through those He has redeemed—the Church now demonstrates the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly. In this way, the Church functions as “the Body of Christ.”

The Church its universal sense is made up of every believer that ever lived.

In a visible sense, its the Local Church, those assemblies of born again believers who meet in some particular location on a regular basis.

Our Context in the Church Age, is a local Church context.....

It is about the Local Church..

Now, God has a divine plan for the way His church should function. He desires that we exercise our spiritual gifts to serve one another as members of the body of Christ.

Turn with me to Romans 12:3-5

Romans 12:3–5 KJV 1900

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

We are warned here of pride

And all of us are capable of having the spirit of pride.

A young man had been hired to work for a large supermarket chain. On his first day of work, he reported to the manager at one of the stores.

The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, handed him a brush and said, “Your first job will be to sweep out the store.”

Indignant at being assigned what he considered to be menial service, the young man replied, “But, I’m a university graduate.”

“I’m sorry,” the manager said. “I didn’t know that. Here, give me the broom, and I’ll show you how.”

Pride causes us to have an inaccurately high estimation of ourselves.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Do not desire to be the principal man in the church. Be lowly. Be humble. The best man in the church is the man who is willing to be a doormat for all to wipe their boots on, the brother who does not mind what happens to him at all, so long as God is glorified.”

Paul continues in verse 3 , “…but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

It is God who has given us the ability to do the things we do. He is the distributor of the faith and ability to exercise our gifts in service..

Imagine a church in which members possess diverse gifts and use them to serve one another in love.

How can we, as a body of believers, live up to God’s wonderful plan for His church?

First, we need to humbly recognise that our gifts are from God.

Second, we ought to realise that our gifts are unique and meant to be used to serve one another.

“What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out anything” (D. L. Moody, Moody’s Anecdotes and Illustrations, 79).

Folks, It’s not about us.. and when we release that we will quickly see that it is about the local Church.

It’s not about us, It is about the Local Church and finally and most importantly it’s about the Lord

It's About The Lord

What’s it all about? It’s not about us....

It’s about the Local Church - The body of Christ… but body is no use without the head… and ultimately folks it’s about the Lord...

As Paul said in Phil 3:7-10.

Philippians 3:7–10 KJV 1900

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

It’s all about Christ - Paul knew it

Heaven knows it

Revelation 5:11–13 KJV 1900

11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Paul knew it, heaven knows it… and we should know it too.

It’s all about Him, the great and glorious risen Saviour....The Lord Jesus Christ...

And it is Jesus that should be at the very centre of everything we do, and everything we are, that’s His place. He should be preeminent in all things

preeminent (more important or powerful than all others:) in all things...

When the wife of missionary Adoniram Judson told him that a newspaper article likened him to some of the apostles, Judson replied, “I do not want to be like a Paul or any mere man. I want to be like Christ. I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints. Oh, to be more like Christ!”

Is Christ magnified or minimised in your sight this morning?

Is Christ everything to you? does he receive your worship and praise, nit just on Sunday but each and every day?

Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required.

In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, "Are you sure I will never sing again?"

The surgeon found it difficult to answer his question. He simply shook his head no.

The patient then asked if he could sit up for a moment. "I've had many good times singing the praises of God," he said. "And now you tell me I can never sing again. I have one song that will be my last. It will be of gratitude and praise to God."

There in the doctor's presence the man sang softly the words of Isaac Watts' hymn,"I'll praise my Maker while I've breath,/ And when my voice is lost in death,/ Praise shall employ my nobler power;/ My days of praise shall ne'er be past,/ While life, and thought, and being last,/ Or immortality endures."

Its all about the Lord!

Folks when we think about the question what’s it all about.

The world doesn't have an answer. But we do!

Folks it not about us!

The Great Call of the Great Commission.

It’s About the Local Church!

The Great Champions of the Great Commission.

It’s about the Lord!

The Great Christ of the Great Commission.

When we get this, we can truly get on with what we are here for- the Lords work, as the Lord people, in the last days..