Sermon Notes 6-26-2016

Does God Care!

  

So today as we finish up our “Does God care” series we look at different aspects of your lives, and ask the question, “Does God Care”?

We will look at 7 different aspects of our lives

1.    My Job

2.    My Kids

3.    My Marriage

4.    My friends

5.    My church

6.    If I belong to a church

7.    And My money

So let’s jump right in!!

My Job!

Does care where you work? How you work or if you work?? Let’s take a look!

Does God care if I work?

1 Thessalonians 4:10–12 (NLT)

¹⁰Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.

¹¹Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.

¹²Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.

·      Through work we serve people. Most work is part of a huge network of interconnected jobs, industries, goods and services that work together to meet people's physical needs. Other jobs meet people's aesthetic and spiritual needs as well.

·      Through work we meet our own needs. Work allows us to exercise the gifts and abilities God gives each person, whether paid or unpaid. God expects adults to provide for themselves and not mooch off others. Scripture says, "If one will not work, neither let him eat!"

·      Through work we meet our family's needs. God expects the heads of households to provide for their families. He says, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

·      Through work we earn money to give to others. In both the Old and New Testaments, God tells us to be generous in meeting the needs of the poor and those who minister to us spiritually.

·      Through work we love God. One of God's love languages is obedience. When we work, we are obeying His two great commandments to love Him and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We love God by obeying Him from the heart. We love our neighbor as we serve other people through our work.

We bring glory to God by working industriously, demonstrating what He is like, and serving others by cooperating with God to meet their needs. In serving others, we serve God. And that's why our work matters to God.

Does God care where you work?

Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

³³Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

·      Our Jobs should always bring God Glory

·      Our Jobs should never be in a industry that brings shame to God

·      So we should seek a career that will not bring shame to your church or God himself

John 15:5–6 (NLT)

⁵“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

⁶Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.

·      Our Job should not interfere with our walk or relationship with Jesus

·      We should have regular time for prayer

·      For fellowship

·      And to regularly attend worship

Does God care how I work??

Ephesians 6:5–8 (NLT)

⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.

⁶Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.

⁷Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

⁸Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

·      We represent God in all we do

·      So we should always work hard, and earn our wage

·      God provides you with work, so do it to your full potential

All work and no play makes Jake a dull boy!

Ecclesiastes 5:18–19 (The Message)

¹⁸After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot.

¹⁹Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift!

·      Don’t let work become your identity

·      Enjoy time away

·      Enjoy your family

·      Enjoy your friends

·      Because life is short!

Does God Care about my kids?

Psalm 127:3 (NLT)

³Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

·      God gives us children to be a blessing

·      And we should see them that way

·      Even in the church we should be doing everything we can to raise them up right

·      And he gave parents a great responsibility!!

Deuteronomy 6:7 (NLT)

⁷Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

·      We are given the great responsibility to raise our children up right

·      And be a good example for them

·      This is where you might not like me today!

o   If it’s not important to you, it won’t be to them!

Jesus loves Kids!

Matthew 18:4–5 (NLT)

⁴So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁵“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

Does God care about my Marriage!!

God designed it!

Matthew 19:4–6 (NLT)

⁴“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’

⁵And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’

⁶Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

·      God designed marriage to show the out side world what a relationship with Christ is like

·      So yes he cares deeply about your marriage

·      And he gave us very detailed instruction throughout his word

o   Don’t marry an unbeliever

o   The marriage structure

o   And the problem is, we don’t follow it!!!!!

Does God care about your friends??

1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV)

³³Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 13:20 (ESV)

²⁰Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 18:24 (ESV)

²⁴A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (NLT)

⁹Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,

¹⁰or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

¹¹Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

·      Enough said??!!

·      God cares about who you walk with

·      And not to go back to your old ways!!

Does God care about the church and if you belong to one??

Matthew 18:19–20 (NLT)

¹⁹“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

²⁰For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

·      I could talk about this for days!

·      Yes, God loves the church

·      Not the building, the church, where his children gather to regularly worship and praise him

And God wants you involved and working in his family

Ephesians 4:11–12 (NLT)

¹¹Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

¹²Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

·      You need others to walk with

·      To learn from

1 Peter 5:1–4 (NLT)

¹And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:

²Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

³Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.

⁴And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

·      Nowhere in the new testament does it ever refer to being alone

·      We are designed to be together

·      We need each other to grow

·      And we need each other to grow the kingdom

·      We are all parts of the body of Christ!

Does God care about my money! (hint, it’s not yours, its his)

It’s not your money, it’s his!

Matthew 25:14 (ESV)

¹⁴“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

·      He entrust us with his gifts and property to steward while he is away

The way you spend your money says a lot about your heart

Matthew 6:21 (ESV)

²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

²³Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

·      How we use our money

·      What we spend our money on

·      Says a lot about where your heart is

·      So yes God is very concerned with your money

What about debt?

·      It’s wrong not to repay it

Psalm 37:21 (NLT)

²¹The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.

·      It’s wrong to put yourself in a bad situation

Proverbs 11:15 (The Message)

¹⁵Whoever makes deals with strangers is sure to get burned; if you keep a cool head, you’ll avoid rash bargains.

What about giving Back to God??

“God doesn’t need my money,” a friend once said to me, “but I need to give it.”

God doesn’t need it

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He can pull enough money from the mouth of a fish to pay the taxes owed by two men. He can make limited resources unlimited, and call into being that which is not. God and His work here on earth do not need my money.

But I need to give it.

I need to give to remind myself everything I have comes from Him. My life, my abilities, and my creativity are all gifts freely given to me by God.

I need to remember to seek first the kingdom of God, then all the other parts of my life, including my finances, will fall into their proper order.

I need to remember it’s not all about me. There are people who are less fortunate than I who can use my help.

I need to give so I can personally experience the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

I need to give because where my treasure is, there will my heart be also. If I am only marginally invested in my church, its missionaries, its food pantry, and its benevolence fund, then I also will be only marginally involved in their work. If I have invested much, I will pray for the ministries, work with them, promote them, and love them.

I need to give because I am naturally selfish. If left to my own inclinations, I will tend to invest my best time, energy, and resources in bettering myself, not promoting God’s kingdom.

I need to give because God’s work is the only work that lasts for eternity. When I give to God, I am investing in someone else’s eternal destiny. I can’t think of a better return for my money.

I need to give because I want more faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. When I give, I exercise faith. Like a muscle, faith grows when exercised, so if I exercise faith by giving, my faith muscle grows bigger and stronger.

I need to give to acknowledge that my job is not my provider; God is.

I need to give to remind myself that I serve God, not the other way around.

And finally,

I need to give because I owe a debt I could never repay. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16).

Proverbs 13:7 (The Message)

⁷A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.