God's Spiritual Market Target

Matthew 9:35 – 10:8 “God’s Spiritual Market Target” preached by Ron Smith
Do you poop out at parties? Has your get up done got up and went? Where is your whim, wigger and why-tally-tea? Can we treat our spiritual well-being the same way as Lucille Ball's wonder tonic? What does God really want from us? Micah says to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our Lord. Jesus came to shepherd and befriend each one of us, in spite of our failure to be just, merciful and humble. It's not about me. It's about You, God! In post-modern advertising lingo that's God's spiritual market target. God wants to be much more than a mere commodity for spiritual vitality. He wants to take the lead as your friend – to be the “You focus” of your life, even though the world's marketing strategy tries to keep you “me focused.” God is still targeting the world with His love (John 3:16). His Holy Spirit continues to work through the church as God goes everywhere preaching and teaching and healing. And crowds of people are still gathering with great need (although not always inside church walls). Like Jesus we are called to have compassion for them, because people around the world are still harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36). We are called to surrender our love to God and to others.
The harvest is plentiful, but there are not enough people to do the work (or at least we're not as peppy as we could be). The mission of Jesus was (and still is) carried out by His disciples who were given authority to act in Jesus' name (Matthew 10:1, 5-8). In order to be His disciples we should encourage and support each other in the community of Christ to live a “You” life in a “Me” world. Three Simple Rules of John Wesley provide one place to start: Do no harm. Do good, Stay in love with God. But this is not an invitation to return to legalism.

God has placed in front of us a constant choice of Life and Good or Death and Evil. Love God, your God. Walk in His ways. Keep His commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live - live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God (

Deuteronomy 30:15-16). But like the apostle Paul, I keep failing to keep all the rules and please God. If you're like me, then you'll have to quit being a “law man,” in order to be God’s man and God's woman. Christ’s life shows us how and enables us to do it. We must identify completely with Him. We must be crucified with Christ. Ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that you and I appear righteous before each other or that we carry the best opinion about each other. And we are no longer driven to impress God, either. Christ lives in you and Christ lives in me. Our lives are not “our own,” but we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and me and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:19-20).

When w

e give up our life for Christ's sake, God promises to free us from the bondage of the law. The love of Christ enables us to do this, because through Him – once God became human, He stayed with us in human form. He humbl

ed Himself even unto death - like us. He didn’t claim special privileges. He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death - by the worst kind of death – crucifixion. And because of that obedience, God lifted Christ high and honored H

im far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father (Philippians 2:8-11). How will you show Him your love and devotion in the future? 

 

Here’s what I want to do, and what God promises to help each of us to do: We should take our everyday, ordinary life - our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and our walk-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Let's embrace what God is doing for you and me as the best thing we can do for Him. Let's not become well-adjusted to our culture (conformed to this world) so as to automatically fit into it. But instead, let's target our individual attention on God. Then you and I will be changed from the inside out. We have to keep recognizi

ng what God wants from you and me so that we can quickly respond to it. Don't let worldly circumstances drag us down to its level of immaturity. Let God bring the best out of each one of us (Romans 12:1-2) – Amen! We are tempted to live for ourselves and forget the source of all things—including ourselves. We “do harm” when we conform to a “Me” world and forget that the most important thing is to live for the Divine “You”. God is ready to renew our minds in a polluted “me” world by “doing good” and living out our personal sacrifices instead of allowing the world to squeeze us into its mold. God doesn't just want our generosity. God wants our whole selves. God wants our love and our lives. Jesus wants us to be so devoted in love that our response to Him daily is “as you wish”.

Let us join the angels at God’s throne and praise the Lord with Psalm 150 as obedient instruments to the glory of God - in true worship to the One who wants to be the “You” focus of our lives.