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What Matters Most In Our Lives

INTRODUCTION

What is most important? Is it money? Is it relationships? Is it a successful career? If we don’t know the answer to this question, we will miss out on The Good Life that God truly intends for us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We will lose our way. We will make wrong choices and end up in bad situations or places where we don’t really want to be.

What is most important is to love God with our whole being. This is the key to The Good Life that God promises. But how do we love God? There are four primary ways revealed in the Ten Commandments.

FOUR PRIMARY WAYS

  1. By recognizing Him (Deut 5:6-7; Exodus 32:4; Deut 6:4; Mark 12:29; 1 Timothy 2:3-4). – It’s so easy for us to be tempted to have other “gods” besides the Lord. We tend to look at money, careers, relationships, ministry, and even ourselves to meet the needs of our soul. Sadly we end up disappointed and unfulfilled because these “gods” cannot truly save us. Only God is our Savior and we need to recognize Him always.
  2. By relating with Him (Deut 5:8-10; Deut 6:4-5). – God is not an inanimate object or thing (i.e., an idol). God is a Person, and He wants us to relate with Him on a personal level. Often, we just use God as a means to an end rather than relating with Him personally. We want to control God, and this is the reason why we have the tendency to create idols. Whenever we think of God as a thing or force to manage, we commit idolatry. We must stop this.
  3. By representing Him (Deut 5:11; Deut 4:5-6; Deut 4:20). – God created mankind to represent Him (i.e., to be His image). We misuse His name when we misrepresent Him. By our words and deeds, we represent or misrepresent God who created us according to His image. That’s why His goal is to transform us and restore us to His glory through faith in Jesus Christ and by His Holy Spirit so that we can represent Him again in the right way.
  4. By remaining in Him (Deut 5:12-15). – To produce the right kinds of good works that glorify God, we must remain in Him. We cannot bear good fruit apart from Him. That’s why God taught His people regular spiritual disciplines like the weekly Sabbath, as well as other physical activities, to help them remain in Him. When we forget to remain in Him, we start doing things on our own. We lose our connection, and so we also lose the power of His presence.

CONCLUSION

  1. What matters most is loving God above all.
  2. You cannot do any of the other commandments apart from this.
  3. Examine your way of life starting today.

DISCUSSION

  1. Of the four primary ways, which one do you need to focus on based on what is going on in your life recently?
  2. What would happen if you focus on it starting today?
  3. What would you do practically to start focusing on it?

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