Do You Value You Part?
I.
It’s imperative that you
value what God allows you to be part of, what God invites you into
A. 1 Samuel 2:13-14,28-God
designated a piece of the offering for them, but they despised it and because
of their despising it they lost it
1.
God
designated a portion for them
a. NLT-I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you the priest
b. NLV-Did I not give all the gifts made by fire of the people
of Israel to the family of your father?
c. NIV-I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings
presented by the Israelites
d. NOG-I gave your ancestors the right to keep portions of the
sacrifices that the people of Israel burned on the altar
e. NCV-I also let your family have part of the offerings
sacrificed
f.
GNT-I gave them the right
to keep a share of the sacrifices burned on the altar
2.
God
was allowing them to partake of sacrifices made to HIM (God shared the
sacrifice people made to Him with His priests)
a. Rather than being
thankful for what God had allowed them to have and partake of and honoring it
and esteeming it they despised it
1)
The
part God had given them and allowed them to partake of in their eyes
wasn’t good enough, it was precious, it wasn’t esteemed by them
b. This happens all the
time; God allows people to be a part of things and invites them in, but it’s
not big enough for them, it’s not “important” enough for them, they want
something higher, something greater and they despise and disesteem the part
that God has given them
1)
There’s
nothing wrong with desiring to get into the deeper things, the richer things,
the greater things of God, but you don’t do that by despising the things that
God has given and let you be a part of right now, in fact it’s the exact
opposite; To get into the greater things you need to esteem and honor what he’s
placed in your hands right now; if you do He will honor you with greater
c. 36-They despised the part
of the offering God gave them and as a result the lost it-Mark 4:24-25
1)
What
you don’t value and honor and treat with respect you are in danger of losing
B. Numbers 16:9-God had
given them an assignment, he has placed something in their hand, but it was a
light thing to them, they despised it
1.
Rather
than being thankful for the part they had and valuing it and esteeming it, they
despised it and were mad because they wanted Moses part
C. Acts 13:44-47-They got
jealous when they saw the big crowd they despised what the Lord has done
through them and how the Lord had used them
1.
They
weren’t thankful for what God had done for them and what He had done through
them meant nothing to them because they wanted this big crowd and this was
dishonorable to the Lord; While they are being jealous they are not
appreciating the things the Lord used them for
II.
Whatever God has put
before you to do, whatever God has put in your hand has to be big to you no
matter how naturally small it appears to be
A. The enemy is a belittler
and a despiser and he wants to get you to disesteem something you should be
esteeming; he wants you to think it’s small, it’s insignificant, it’s no big
deal
1.
This
is one of the main ways he cuts promotion off in your life because if you don’t
esteem what God has given you and treat it with disrespect then you won’t
receive more or be promoted to more (Romans 11:13-Magnify Your office)
B. So many times when it
comes to things in this natural life there’s something bigger going on that we
don’t see
1.
The
more carnal you are the less real spiritual things are to you and the tendency
is to look at everything only from a natural, fleshy, carnal perspective and to
the carnal/natural eye something that is very significant spiritually can look
very small naturally
2.
It’s
not real to you that God really put this in your hands and He is really
watching to see what you do and your promotion is really depending on it
C. It’s a strategy of the
enemy to make everything natural and about flesh in attempt to demean the
importance of something; The enemy wants you to only see it as natural because
natural is not as significant as spiritual
1.
Mark
6-He did this with Jesus in his hometown; He’s not sent from God (spiritual),
He’s Mary’s boy, the carpenter (natural)
2.
If
it really is from God and if God is really watching then it’s spiritual and
it’s more significant
3.
EX:
It’s just a service, it’s just the nursery, I’m just an usher
4.
Colossians
3:23-25-Don’t make everything about natural and about flesh because a lot of
this stuff that looks just natural is much bigger than it looks and has great
spiritual significance
D. There are billions of
people on the planet and God could be using somebody else, He could have
invited somebody else and if we stop appreciating it and valuing it then we
stop being qualified for it
III.
This attitude of
dishonor/despising is how you lose the stuff God has done and quit being used
for the stuff God had been using you for; What you despise (make light of,
dishonor, disrespect) you judge yourself unworthy to have and you will lose
A. Psalm 106:21-25, Numbers
14:7-It was God’s plan that they have the promise land but because they despised
it they lost it; However there were two who didn’t despise, but honored it and
they got to experience it
1.
Numbers
13:32-They said it’s a bad land, a bad place where we would all die; They said
it’s a land that will chew you up and spit you out and if you want to die then
go over there; It is serious business when you call evil what God calls good;
How much more disrespectful can you be? When they despised the land, they
judged themselves unworthy to have it
B. Esau despised his
birthright and lost it-Genesis 25:29-34, Hebrews 12:16
1.
Birthright
a. The ruling head of the
family, spiritual leader, priest of the family
b. The firstborn became head
of the family and thus succeeded to the charge of the family
c. He also, as head,
succeeded to a considerable amount of authority over the other members.
d. The Father’s blessing
e. Choice of the family
lands
f. Double portion of what
his father had to leave
g. Further, he generally
received the blessing, which placed him in close and favored
covenant-relationship with Yahweh.
2.
Esau
valued and honored food for his hungry belly more than his birthright; Jacob
saw the value of it and esteemed it
C. Matthew 10:11-14-If you
bless the house and they respect that blessing and honor you and what you
released over them it will stay on them, but if they despise it they will miss
out on it and it will return to you