Sermon - Things We Need... Alignment - Littleby Baptist Church - February 14, 2021
As a follower of Christ, our Hope is in our Lord Jesus and we need to stay focused on Him. You could say, if we are focused on Him we would be Aligned with Christ in every aspect of our lives and in everything we do. It would be great if on day one of following Jesus that we would understand what we need to do and that it would become easier day by day. The reality is, as life throws things our way it is hard to maintain the Things We Need… Alignment with our Lord and Savior.
I wish I could say as a Pastor that staying Aligned with Jesus is easy for me, but I struggle with it just as much as the next person. There are times I feel like the Things We Need… Alignment comes easy and there are times that that I am beyond thankful that God meets us where we are.
Back in 2012, my family and I lived in a town of about 10,000 people in Iowa. We had moved there for my job and we happened upon a church that was in need of a Pastor. After filling in for the interim Pastor for a few weeks, they asked me to step in. It was a small church with wonderful people. We loved our time there, but the day job threw things out of whack.
At work things started out great, but things eventually became overwhelming. The job became increasingly demanding and was impacting the time I had for the people and things that really mattered to me. My job had forced its way into a higher position or priority in my life. The job was interfering in ways that I never thought would be possible. My Things We Need… Alignment was being distorted.
Looking back, I wish I could say with confidence that God was still my number one priority during those days. To be honest, I cannot be 100% certain that is the case. I was serving a great church, leading our Men’s Bible Study, providing for my family, but work was interfering with everything.
It started by missing dinner with my family every once in a while, but it did not take long for a late dinner by myself to become the norm. Even when I was home, late-night hour-long phone calls interfered with family time and sermon preparation. There were also many Wednesday nights that after our Men’s groups I would head back to the office to try to dig out of the hole.
Work had become a priority, maybe even the top priory, and it impacted my Things We Need… Alignment with my Savior.
Wanting to make sure I stayed Aligned with my God, I spent some time looking at what the Bible has to say about what our priorities really should be. If our priorities are correct, our Things We Need… Alignment will be to.
“2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.” – Exodus 20:2-6
In Moses day, the worship of other gods and idols was common practice in Egypt and the surrounding areas. These Commandments were part of God’s plan to make His people different from the rest of the world. They were to be set apart, Holy, in that they were to only worship the One True God. The Commandments were also one of the ways that God was teaching His people to leave the wicked practices behind. When they heard these words, they really did not need any explanation. They were to no longer worship the Egyptian gods such as Ra or Seth. The budding nation of Israel had One God who was to receive all of their worship from that day forward.
Chances are if you are sitting here today, you are not actively worshipping gods or bending down before an idol from other religions. The struggle is gods or idols are not always as obvious as they once were. There are a lot of things in this fallen world that become gods or idols in our lives. They may not be based on a religion of any sort, but they are still an idol. With my time in Iowa, there is no doubt my job became an idol. It became something that demanded my attention and led me to take my focus off of my God.
For me it was my job, but for some it could be the pursuit of money out of need or an abundance. For some it is the things money can buy such as expensive cars, boats, motorcycles, or traveling around the world. It could simply be someone being more committed to their favorite TV show then they are going to church or studying God’s Word. Then there is the list that makes most people shutter, drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, or porn.
Any of these items mentioned here and many more can easily become idols or gods in our lives. Things like these will lead us to lose focus of what is truly important. When these things become priorities for us, the Things We Need… Alignment is no longer focused on our God. As our focus shifts from the King of Kings to the things of this world, we begin to lose our way.
“15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.” – John 15:1-8
In these verses Jesus is telling us that He is the Vine, and we are the branches. For us to be healthy or fruitful in our Faith, we need to remain attached to Him.
Said another way, we need the Things We Need… Alignment to be connected to our Lord and Savior. When we are Aligned with Jesus our Faith grows stronger as we walk with Him. When we are tied into the Vine, we are being fed, we are growing, and the Holy Spirit is at work in us. If we not connected to the Vine, we end up following the world, sin grows, and Hope is lost.
Each of us, need Jesus and to be grafted into the Family of God. We need to stay Aligned with our God.
“3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.” – Colossians 3:1-5
As followers of Jesus, we are no longer those lost people who are trapped by our earthly nature. We are children of God. We have been given New Life. We will spend an eternity with our Lord in Glory. As followers of Jesus, we are to be in Alignment with our God.
Paul is instructing the Colossian church to ‘put to death’ the things that are part of their old earthly natures. He lists a few examples, but that list is far from complete. If they were used to practicing any of the religions they grew up with, they needed to set those aside. If they had religious idols, they needed to get rid of them. If they let anything get between them and God, they needed to cast it away.
Those statements apply to each one of us. If we are allowing anything to interfere with growing in our Faith as a New Creation through Jesus, we need to put it to death. Some of these things are very obvious like alcohol, drugs, sexual immorality, hatred, coveting, etc… Some may seem minor like foul language, telling lies, gossiping, gluttony, or skipping Christian fellowship. Then there are those things that creep into our lives and seem like we are doing the ‘right’ thing. Letting ministry or supporting the family become an idol that pushes its way into the center of your life. Allowing your children’s sporting events to take priority over your time with God.
As followers of Jesus, if we are to be in Alignment with our King, we cannot only give Him part of our lives, we need to give Him every single bit.
The job was a problem for me. I was trying to do the right thing and provide for my family, but it was truly becoming an idol that was pulling me down. In addition to the job, we were hoping to put down roots in that small Iowa town. I did not want to force my family to move again, which was also becoming an idol for me.
Thankfully, God sent a persistent recruiter who pestered me for several weeks about a potential job in Missouri. I was not looking, did not want to move my family, did not want to leave the church, and did not want to make the time to talk to this guy. When I look back, moving was part of God’s Plan for me and my family. When I interviewed with the man who was to be my new boss, he was a pastor’s kid and we just connected. I believe that was God’s way of giving me Peace with the situation.
When I turned to God, when I once again became Aligned with Him, He helped me find the path I was to walk.
“4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-7
We are to Love our God with all of our Heart, Soul, and Strength. We are to Love our God with everything we have. We cannot hold anything back. If we are loving our God with all that we have, He will be front and center of everything we do. He will be at the forefront of our thoughts.
Verse six was telling the people that they needed to keep the Word of God in their hearts. For us, that means we need to be spending time in God’s Word. We need to make a habit out of reading the Bible. Start with one chapter a day and increase from there. Verse seven states that we need to share the Word with our children and others. As a Follower of Christ, we need to be sharing the Truth of the Gospel with others. Does not mean every conversation has to be an attempt to convert someone, but we should be letting the Word that has entered our hearts come out of our mouths during the different conversations we have.
“8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:8-9
We are to bind and write the Word the Word. The point here is that we as Followers of Jesus need to have things that help us to remember who God is and what He has done for us. These are not idols that we worship, but a favorite worship song or hymn might remind us of the Peace our Lord has given is. A key Bible verse on a plaque in your office might remind you that God helped you through a tough time. I carry a prayer book that reminds me to talk to my God, but also contains many reminders of how God has answered prayer.
The Things We Need… Alignment comes from remaining connected to our God, Loving Him with everything we are, keeping the Word of God central in our lives, and stepping away from the sin in our lives.
Do not let the things of this world keep you from your God. Spend time in His Word, surround yourself with reminders of how Awesome our God is, and stay focused on Him!
Blessings,
Robert
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