One Thing (Part 2) - Jesus Christ and His Church

---

 

III. What is the "one thing" that should be the focus of our lives, thoughts, conversations, plans, and pursuits? 1. It has many facets, but it can be summed up by this one thing: devotion to God. 2. This "one thing" includes the following things. A. "One thing" #1: Devotion to Christ Himself (Php 3:13). i. The apostle Paul devoted all his energy to one thing: pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Php 3:13). ii. Paul forgot the things of his past (Php 3:13). iii. He considered them but dung that he could win Christ (Php 3:7-8). iv. Above all else, Paul wanted to know Jesus Christ (Php 3:10). v. We should be thus minded (Php 3:15). vi. Jesus Christ was the focus of Paul's preaching. a. He was determined to know nothing else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1Co 2:2). b. He did not preach the wisdom of men (1Co 2:4-5). c. He did not preach about himself, but about Christ Jesus the Lord (2Co 4:5). d. Paul only gloried in the cross of Christ (Gal 6:14). vii. Jesus is beautiful and is worthy of our admiration. a. He was not beautiful when He walked the earth (Isa 53:2). b. Comeliness n. - 1. Pleasing appearance; gracefulness or beauty of form; handsomeness. c. But in His glorified state, Jesus is fairer than all (Psa 45:1-2). d. Fair adj. - 1. Beautiful to the eye; of pleasing form or appearance; good-looking. e. 2000 years later, He still has the dew of His youth (Psa 110:3-4). viii. Jesus is our Lord and Master (Joh 13:13-14). a. He is the blessed and only potentate (1Ti 6:15-16). b. Potentate n. - 1. A person endowed with independent power; a prince, monarch, ruler. c. Therefore, we owe Him our obedience (Joh 14:15; 1Jo 2:3-5). ix. Jesus saved us from our sins (Mat 1:21; Rev 1:5). a. We therefore owe Him our worship and devotion. b. Jesus will be the object of our worship for all eternity in heaven because He redeemed us (Rev 5:9-14). x. The purpose of Jesus Christ giving us eternal life was so that we can know Him (Joh 17:3; 1Jo 5:20). a. Knowing the love of Christ passes all other knowledge (Eph 3:19). b. We should be like those Greeks who said "Sir, we would see Jesus" (Joh 12:21). xi. Don't waste your life in the pursuit of other knowledge to the neglect of the knowledge of the Son of God our Saviour. B. "One thing" #2: Devotion to Christ's church (Psa 27:4). i. David wrote Psalm 27. ii. David was a man after God's own heart (Act 13:22). iii. David desired one thing from the Lord. a. Desire v. - 1. trans. To have a strong wish for; to long for, covet, crave. b. To desire something is to apply the heart and mind toward it. iv. He sought after that one thing. a. Seek v. - 1. a. To go in search or quest of; to try to find, look for (either a particular object—person, thing, or place—whose whereabouts are unknown, or an indefinite object suitable for a particular purpose). b. To seek something is to apply the will toward it. v. The one thing that David longed for and looked for was the house of God (Psa 27:4). a. The house of God is the church of the living God (1Ti 3:15). b. The church of God is His kingdom on this earth (Mat 16:18-19; Luk 22:29-30). c. The church/kingdom must be sought for if it is to be found (Mat 7:7-8). (i) Once it's found, it must be valued more highly than anything else we have (Mat 13:44-46). (ii) This includes family, property, land, and anything else dear to us (Luk 18:29-30). vi. God's churches are amiable (Psa 84:1). vii. Amiable adj. - 1. a. Of persons: Friendly, amicable; kind (in action). Obs. 2. Worthy to be loved, lovable, lovely. viii. Our souls should long and faint for God's house (Psa 84:2). a. Long v. - II. 5. impers. with accus. me longs (longeth): I have a yearning desire; I long. 6. To have a yearning desire; to wish earnestly. Also, to be restless or impatient till (something is attained). b. Faint v. - 1. intr. To lose heart or courage, be afraid, become depressed, give way, flag. Now only arch. after Biblical uses. 2. To become faint, grow weak or feeble, decline. c. If you were ever kept away from a local church, would you be afraid and depressed? d. Would you grow weak, become feeble, and decline? e. I would. ix. Those that dwell in God's house are blessed (Psa 84:4). x. One day in God's church is better than a thousand days anywhere else (Psa 84:10). xi. God loves His house more than any other place on this earth, and so should we (Psa 87:2).