Doing Things For the Right Reason
Mark 14:1-8
DATE: 14 Oct, 2007 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I. Introduction (Galatians 5:16,17)
A. We are going through a series of studies on Walking in the Spirit, instead of walking, living in the flesh – living according to our old habits and ways
B. The Christian leads a double life – one that is Physical, and is Spiritual
C. The two lives are against each other – they go in exactly opposite directions
D. I am focusing on the Christian’s OTHER Life– the Spiritual life that we have! That part of our life that makes our physical, and emotional burdens a whole lot easier to bear! That part of our life that has been empowered by the presence of God!
E. But HOW do you live Spiritually? The answer is heartily as if to the Lord (Col 3:23)
F. Illustration:
1. During football and even rugby season, hundreds of thousands of people fill stadiums to cheer on their favourite teams. It is amazing to watch people watch the game on their TV’s, but it is particularly amazing to watch people actually at a match!
2. It is NEVER easy to get parking, and it is not very often that the weather is dry and bright. When you do get into the stadium, you’ll often find yourself sitting among inconsiderate people blowing smoke in your face and spilling their drinks around you. You melt in the heat of the summer months and shiver in the cold of the later months. You’ll cheer yourself hoarse, hollering, screaming and behaving like some kind of psycho fanatic on drugs. You’ll pay too much money for a bag of crisps and drink watered down cokes. When you leave, you’ll walk miles to get back to your car and fight the most horrendous traffic known to mankind; yet, you’ll tell anyone, “I had a wonderful time!”
3. Have you ever stopped to think what could take place in church, if we were that enthusiastic for the things of God?
G. What Has God done for us (Rom 5:8)?
1. Loved us when we were ungodly
2. Died in our place
3. Defeated everything, absolutely everything that was against us
4. Made a heaven just for each of us!
5. Everything that God does is for us – not for the whales, the birds, the climate, the planets, the stars and galaxies – just us!
H. The question I want to deal with this morning, and answer is, Why do we do things as Christians? (2Cor 5:14,15)
1. Why do we go to church, read our Bibles, pray, witness to people, give our tithes, love our families, work our jobs, and try to do anything hard?
2. Many people have very selfish reasons why they do things – only about gain, and “what do I get out of it?” and make choices based only on whether they benefit.
3. I want to answer that question… that is HAS to be for a better reason than just what “I” get out of it. Yes, all those things bring a benefit to me, and even a physical benefit. But those benefits fade, and are not strong enough.
4. The best, and really the only reason why a Christian should do absolutely anything… are you listening?... is because of Jesus – because you want to please Him, and make Him happy with your life, and want to love Him, and want to do things as if you were doing them to Him alone!
5. Not many people do that!
6. This message is intended to change that!
I. What should a Believer Do Just for Jesus? What are the Right Reasons WHY I, and You should Do Things?
J. It is shown clearly in Mark 14:1-8
1. Just one day before the crucifixion
2. The religious were bound and determined to kill Jesus
3. But Jesus is eating with his disciples in Simon the EX-leper’s house
4. And an unknown woman enters quietly from the back carrying a very expensive alabaster box of perfume in her hands
5. She came behind the Lord Jesus, and instantly, without warning broke open the seal on the box, and poured it all out on Jesus
6. What a wonderful sight this must have been, and yet absolutely NO ONE except Jesus and the woman understood the event
7. Judas and the apostles are furious at the WASTE of the perfume!
8. Yet Jesus said, it was done just for him
K. Have you ever felt like most of what you do is wrong, and never works out right? Wouldn’t it be great if what you did, no matter how small or even messed up, it actually meant something in the big scheme of things? Well that’s what we are going to try and develop this morning!
L. There are some specific things that we can do like this woman, and there is a specific reason why we should do them all – for the glory of our precious Lord
II. Message – Doing Things for the Right Reason - Just for Jesus
A. Believe Heartily in Jesus (John 4:48) – Believe for the right reason!
1. Not because it is the religious thing to do, or because you have been forced, but because of Jesus Christ!
2. Don’t believe because of miracles, or the lack of miracles! Believe just because of Jesus!
3. Look unto Him, keeping your eyes always and only on Him in your Christian life! All others will fail you, and let you down! Jesus said, Follow Him!
4. A person’s eternal salvation is not in a prayer, or a priest, or a religion, or a good work, or a piece of bread - but in a PERSON named Jesus Christ, when He has been invited into your heart!
5. The first and most important thing you must do is focus all of your faith, in total, at Jesus Christ – like a laser points to just one small spot - just cast yourself on him in faith, trusting that He would save you as He promised. I trusted Him 27 years ago, and knew I was forgiven, and was born again!
6. If you trust in ANY THING or ANY ONE ELSE, you will remain lost, and will die in your sins!
7. So, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and thou shalt be saved!
B. Bow Only to Jesus (Matthew 4:8-10)
1. Worship only Jesus – not angels, dead relatives, statues
2. Bowing down to any statue is actually a worship of Satan, not of anyone else
3. Sing unto only Him – no performances! Don’t worry about anyone else! Shout unto God! Worship Him only!
4. Pray only to Him – don’t try and talk to anyone else – that’s communicating with familiar spirits – which are demons!
C. Bless Because of Jesus (Matthew 25:40-46)
1. Be a blessing to absolutely everyone
2. WHY? Because you are actually doing it to the Lord Jesus!
3. Some people help out the down and outers, but they do it out of pity for them, instead of out of love for the Lord!
4. Bless people like you would be blessing the Lord Jesus if he were in front of you!
5. When was the last time that someone was treated like royalty by you, and they didn’t deserve it? There you go then – you were wrong then! If you are a child of God, you can do this, and as a matter of fact, you must!
6. Our homes should be changed today, transformed by this message
7. No more fighting, arguing, yelling, slamming, hurting each other
8. ARE YOU LISTENING? Love people like they are the love of your life!
9. How is that going to happen? Only with God’s help! AND with Christ in view – quite looking at your husband, or your wife, or your problematic people in your life, and start seeing the Lord!
10. We learned a few weeks ago that arguments and fights are really the DEVIL working behind the scenes and to quite fighting flesh and blood
11. Well, start to see the Lord Jesus again, and do things unto Him!
a. When you hug your wife, hug her like you will Jesus one day
b. When you listen to your children, listen like they were twelve years old in the Temple talking!
c. When you clean house, and work around the house, do it for the Lord Jesus!
12. You say, I get tired of trying to bless when I want to fight and curse and strangle. That’s because you are NOT thinking spiritually – you are missing the real person that you can bless through them!!!
13. Try it this week – all week! Limit your view to just Jesus Christ!
D. Bend Because of Jesus – Obey, Yield (1Peter 2:13,14) – Quit being stubborn, period!
1. We live in a wicked generation – and Christians are very like it
2. People are unbending to ANY authority – especially:
a. Parents – we love their money, but not their advice
b. Pastors – we love their teaching, but not their rebuke, and correction
c. Older people – we do humble ourselves in their presence – they have earned the right of being listened to instead of all of us young’uns spouting off our opinions!
3. If you have a problem with being quiet, and soft, and yielding to the God-given authority of this pastor, then you are fighting Jesus Christ and not me! If you are fighting ANY authority over your life, you are resisting God (Rom 13:1.2)
4. When the world wants to strike, and riot, and revolt, we had better hold our tongue and submit to them as we would to the Lord (King of kings)!
5. When we want to get mad at the preacher, or at an elder, or at a Garda, or at our TD, we had better soften up, and quit gossiping against them! It is against the Lord Jesus!
E. Be Busy For Jesus (Ephesians 6:5-8) – it goes for employers too (Ephesians 6:9) – working harder than anyone else around!
1. When at work, work for the Lord Jesus, not just your boss!
2. That means, treat your employer like you would Jesus Christ - seriously! Don’t get mad at me!
3. Don’t only work when being watched (that’s why a lot of workplaces have CCTV’s now)
4. That goes for Employers/Masters
a. You have a Master over you too
b. You need to treat your employees like Jesus was working for you! Humbling isn’t it?
5. Do you ladies have a lot of housework? Clean for the Lord!
6. Do any of you mow gardens? Mow as if it is the Lord’s garden
7. Do any of you cook? Cook your best as if feeding the Lord Jesus!
F. Why Worry About This?
1. Because what you do and don’t do to others, affects the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:4,5; Matthew 18:4-6)
2. Because only things done just for the Lord, count for eternity – everything else is a waste of your time!
G. People who surrender to this concept will be told by well meaning relatives and friends that they are wasting their lives. Nate Saint (a missionary pilot who was murdered by cannibals in Ecuador back in 1956 wrote in response: "And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives . . . and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."
H. David Brainerd, the 18th century missionary to North American Indians, declared: "As long as I see anything to be done for God, life is worth living; but O, how vain and unworthy it is to live for any lower end!"
III. Conclusion
A. What has God done for us – for each of us? Everything!
B. What are we doing just for Him? Anything at all?
C. Why are you going to go out of here this morning different? Why are you going to
1. Believe on Jesus Christ?
2. Bow only to Him? Worship only Him, instead of self, or modern idols?
3. Become a blessing to others instead of always a burden?
4. Start bending to the authorities in your life?
5. Start battling on your knees in your private closet?
6. Get busy, serving and working harder than anyone else on the job?
7. because you love the Lord Jesus! At least you should! He is doing everything for us out of love! How can we do any less?
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland