The ‘One Thing’: Seeking God with All Your Heart in 2021

REFLECTION QUOTES

“Never let a single day pass over your head without a visit to the garden of Gethsemane, and the cross on Calvary…. [W]hen you come to Christ, you may come boldly. There is no fee required; there is no preparation necessary. You may come just as you are…. Run into his arms, poor sinner.”

~Charles Spurgeon, New Year’s Day 1860

“Because [God in Christ] loves me and He accepts me, I do not have to do things just to build up my résumé. I do not have to do things to make me look good. I can do things for the joy of doing them. I can help people to help people – not so I can feel better about myself, not so I can fill up the emptiness.”

~Timothy J. Keller, pastor in Manhattan

“Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat-out denial of the gospel of grace.”

~Brennan Manning (1934-2013), Franciscan priest and author

“This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace unto sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange, our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s; and the righteousness of Christ is not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied himself of his righteousness that he might clothe us in it, and fill us with it: and he has taken our evils upon himself that he might deliver us from them.”

~Martin Luther (1483-1546), German pastor-reformer

“We must never rest until everything inside us worships God.”

~A.W. Tozer (1897-1963), pastor and author

SERMON PASSAGE

selected passages(NASB)

2 Chronicles 16

9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.

2 Chronicles 25

1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, only not wholeheartedly.

2 Chronicles 12

13 So King Rehoboam became powerful in Jerusalem and reigned there. For Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 14 But he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

Luke 18

18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” 22 Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” 26 Those who heard Him said, “And so who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”