What IS Worth It?
Foundation Statement: If God’s not
worth it, then what is worth it? Who is worth it? What have you deemed worthy
of your everything, your anything, your anywhere, your
anytime?
I.
To honor someone,
something above the Lord simply means you would do stuff for them that you
would not do for the Lord; It means what you are willing to do for others you
are not willing to do for the Lord
A. 1 Samuel 2:15-16,29-Who do you honor above the Lord?
1.
How
did he honor his sons above the Lord? He allowed them to take the best of the
offerings and this reveals, that to Eli God was not worth the best part of the
offering, but his sons were and what he was willing to do for his sons, he was
not willing to do for the Lord
a. MSG-Why do you treat your sons better than me, turning them
loose to get fat on these offerings and ignoring me?
b. VOICE-Why do you honor your sons more than me?
c. To His sons they were
worth it, but God was not and what they were willing to do for themselves they
weren’t willing to do for the Lord
2.
Oh
somebody was worth this best part, it just wasn’t the Lord
a. It wasn’t that nobody was
getting this part, somebody was getting it, just not the Lord
b. To them God wasn’t worth
the best, but somebody else was
3.
What’s
more important to Eli, the Lord or his sons? So he honors his sons above the
Lord; What’s more important to Eli’s sons, the Lord or
themselves? So they honor themselves above the Lord
a. Where’s God’s Honor? For
Eli God’s honor is with his sons, For Eli’s sons God’s honor is with themselves
B. Luke 14:16-20-Where are
you? Where were you? That’s where your honor is
1.
A great supper-Things esteemed highly
for their importance
a. The dinner is ready, they
had been invited and yet they are not there
b. Where are they? Wherever they are they have deemed more
worthy/important than this dinner
2.
One
honored his land above the Lord, one honored his oxen above the Lord, one
honored his wife above the Lord
a. What’s more important to
him his land or the Lord, to him his oxen or the Lord, to him his wife or the
Lord?
b. Where’s God’s honor? The
Honor God should be getting, where is it at? It’s with the first guy’s land,
it’s with the second guy’s oxen, it’s with the third guy’s wife
3.
Oh they had time for
something, just not for the Lord; Something was worth their time, it’s just not
the Lord
a. One had time for his
land, but no time for the Lord; One for his oxen, but no time for the Lord; One
for his wife, but no time for the Lord
b. The piece of land was
worth his time God was not; His oxen were worth his time, God was not; His wife
is worth his time, God was not
C. Malachi 1:6-Where’s God’s
honor?
1.
6-Where is my honor?
“Where is it,” means that it is somewhere, it’s just not with the Lord; They
are honoring something just not the Lord
a. Something is important to you, something means something to
you, something gets your best, something gets your time, something gets your
energy, something gets your effort, there’s something you’re sacrificing for,
there’s something you’re being uncomfortable for, there’s something you’re
being inconvenienced for and whatever that something is that’s where your honor
is
b. MY honor-That means it belongs to Him and yet they are giving
it to someone/something else
2.
7-The
insinuation is that you have good bread, but you’re giving me polluted bread
and you’re saying the table of the Lord is not worthless, not worth it, not
worth the good bread; Well then who is worth the good bread? Whoever is worth
the good bread they honor above God
a. God’s honor is with
whoever is getting this good bread – Find
the good bread and you’ll find their honor
3.
8-When
it came time to offer a sacrifice to the Lord they brought the lame, the sick
and the blind; now they had flock that weren’t lame, sick, or blind; but to
them God was not worth the good cattle; Well then who was worth it? Whoever is
worth the good cattle they honor above the Lord and God’s honor is with whoever
is getting this good cattle – Find
the good cattle and you’ll find their honor
4.
Oh something is big
enough, something is important enough for the good bread and the good
sacrifice, just not the Lord
D. If I can find the thing
that you are on time for, the thing that you’re prepared for, the thing that
you give your time and attention to, the thing you give your energy and
excellence to, the thing that you make sacrifices for, they thing that you’ll
be uncomfortable for the I can locate your honor, I can locate what IS
worth it to you
1.
Where’s the honor that
should be going to God? Go find the good bread, go find the good cattle and
you’ll find that honor
II. What some are willing to do for others they are not willing
to do for God: ***This dishonor of the highest order – The serious thing
here is that you are doing it for something, for someone, but you will not do
it for the Lord; It’s not that you’re not willing to do it, because you are
willing to do it for something you’re just not willing to do it for Him;*** What you are saying is God, “You are not worth it, but
this other thing is.”
A. If God’s not worth it,
then who is worth it? If God’s not worth it, then what is worth it? What do you
honor above the Lord, who do you honor above the Lord?
And what does what you value say about you?
1.
What
is important to you says a lot about you, what you treasure says a lot about
you and reveals the location and condition of your heart
B. There’s something you’d
give your best to, there’s something you’d be on time for, there’s something
you’d wake up early for, there’s something you’d stay up late for; There’s
something you’d give up your Saturday for, there’s something you’d spend money
on, there’s something you give your time to, your energy too, your effort to;
And whatever you won’t do for the Lord that you are willing to do for
something/someone else reveals that you honor that/them above HIM
1.
When
you are willing to do things for your job, your kids, for money, that you won’t
do for God it shows more honor for them than Him-Matt10:37
2.
Some
will do anything for their family, for money, for their career, but do very
little when it comes to the Lord and His things
3.
Oh you’ll give your time
and your money and your energy for some stuff, but not for the Lord; for him
you don’t want to be inconvenienced
C. Is God worthy of your
best? Is God worth you being on time? Is God worth you waking up early, staying
up late? Is God worth you giving up your Saturday? Is God worth your money? Is
God worth your time? Is God worth your energy? Is God worth your effort?
III.
Genesis 22:12-One of the
main ways God knows that we honor Him is that we withhold nothing from Him; You
are an everything, anything, anywhere, anytime person of honor who withholds
nothing from the Lord
A. Abraham was an
everything, anything, anywhere, anytime man-Genesis 22:1-2
1.
Here I am-Anytime
2.
Take now your son-Anything
3.
Get thee into the land of
Moriah-Anywhere
4.
Offer him there for a
burnt offering-Everything
B. Seeing that you have not
withheld is a statement of honor (Fear-Reverence,
Honor, respect, Withheld-Keep for
yourself, Reserve, keep from)
1.
Dishonor
withholds because you’re not worth it, Honor does not withhold because you are
worth it
2.
When you withhold your
time, your money, your energy, your excellence, your effort that is dishonor
that is withholding
C. God knew Abraham honored
Him because HE SAW NOT
because HE HEARD
1.
God knew Abraham honored
Him because he saw and what He saw was Abraham NOT withholding
2.
God
didn’t know Abraham honored him because Abraham sang songs and told God how
much he honored Him
3.
How would God know that
you honor Him above everything else; you withhold nothing from Him
D. When what is most
precious to you becomes available to the Lord, that’s when God will know that
you honor Him
1.
The
thing most precious to Abraham, he didn’t not keep from the Lord
a. “I know I’m the biggest
thing going in your life because the thing that was most precious to you, you
did not withhold from me.”
2.
Is
God worth the thing most precious to you? Would you not withhold it from Him?