Motive for Our Actions?
God is very picky about motives behind our actions.
*Your greatest moment begins with the greatest decision.
Though God loves us while we’re yet sinners, His Love relentlessly guides us toward wholeness in HIM.
” I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. 20 I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the LORD.” Hosea 2:19-20
***We see in these verses a compassionate and merciful God lovingly restoring His relationship with His people. This relationship is in the Image of a loving marriage full of righteousness, justice, love, compassion, and faithfulness. He restores His covenant with Israel and they respond, “You are my God.”
**This is a great illustration of how God pursues us.
*Instead of allowing us to face the consequence of our sin, death, God took Action and sent us a Savior!!!
* All we have to do is acknowledge Him and say, “You are my God.”(Verse 23)
***The Proper Foundation***
1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.
“If the Lord does not build a house,
then those who build it work in vain.
If the Lord does not guard a city,
then the watchman stands guard in vain.”. Psalm 127:1
*We might work hard in this life, but that’s not what’s going to determine success!
** The important thing is that God must be “With US” in our projects.
***If God is not a part of your life, all your work is in vain.
Seek God, recognize him in everything you do; give Him ALL Glory and Praise; then you’ll see His Blessing.
Imagine spending years building an expensive home with the finest materials and craftsmanship. It is a work of art, and the project is almost complete. As the day arrives to move in, a building inspector arrives and hands you a notice that condemns your beautiful home because it doesn’t meet code.
Many Christian believers who invest years in their occupation will one day stand before the Lord and realize THEY were building the house, NOT the Lord.
God is very picky about motives behind the actions.
* Before we act, we must ask why?
*Why are we doing what we are doing? *Has God called us to this task?
* Or is the real motive purely financial? Or control? Or prestige? Or power?
* We must build with calculation!
*We must build with an end in view. *What we build with will be revealed on the Day of the Lord.
“If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).
“See Christ clearly and love Christ deeply.”
*The substructure doesn’t change, the substructure is Christ.
* The Superstructure, that is built on top of the Substructure, has room to change as long as it keeps to its Foundation.
**Build carefully today and reap bountifully tomorrow.
David learned this principle by the end of his life. Throughout his life he had learned that God always tested him to find out what was in his Heart, and what his Motive was in his Actions.
David instructed his son to “…acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts” (1 Chron. 28:9a)
*When YOU possess something, you are held accountable for it. If you let go of it–relinquish it to God–then HE is responsible for it!
* This applies to everything–your life, your kids, your family, your house, your work, your business etc.
The dryness in a Christian’s life comes when we substitute other things for the living water that only Jesus can give. Anytime a Christian begins to “Thirst Again”, it is not a reflection on the living water that Jesus gives, but rather an indication that we have been drinking from some other source.
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).
…”Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50).
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 30:17)
*You know you are healed, when you can Thank God for the pains of the Past!
*When we are tested with life’s trials and “going through the fire” our foundation is laid bare. Will we forget Jesus or cling to Him as our foundation?
Time to lay out a decision to be made?
*How can I glorify God in my goals and resolutions?
*What kind of “return” will you get with your investments.
*For everything we build, Christ must be the foundation.
*We will be rewarded according to the works that we have done on earth. (Matthew 10:40).
Friends, we have choices. We can choose to be of the world or of Christ. If we choose to be of Christ we must be fully His, for God wants all or nothing.
Thank You God for sending us Your Son.
Jesus Christ is the only sure foundation that will last for eternity. Help me daily to build on the SURE foundation. JESUS!
Help us also to build upon the work of those who have gone before us.
Jesus is the best foundation. He will never give way or let us down.
It is not the messenger (church) that’s most important; it’s the Message (The Bible). Let my faith grow with the Truths of the Bible and the Message of Jesus as foundation, my Lord. Amen.