There are things that we need to pay attention to when we live as Christians. There are things that we need to take interest in when we live as God’s children. There are things that we need to take care of when we live as God’s people.
Thankfully, we Christians have more to pay attention to, take interest in and take care of than unbelievers(non-Christians). Don’t you think so? We have more to do than unbelievers. We live busier lives than they do. As Christians, we have a lot to do and live busy lives, but the Bible teaches us that we must still live in a peaceful and orderly manner.
2 Thessalonians 3:11 says, “For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.”
Some people are likely to become just too busy, doing many things at a time, kind of messed up. Or some people are lazy and idle, doing nothing. Their work becomes interfering with everyone else’s business (work). In fact, they are not living in a peaceful and orderly manner.
So, how can you live in a peaceful and orderly manner in the midst of a busy life? What should we Christians pay attention to, what should we take interest in, and what should we take care of in our lives?
Today, I would like to talk about four things we should take care of in order to live in a peaceful and orderly manner.
- First of all, we must take care of our own lives.
Jesus teaches us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So, we must know how to love ourselves. Then, we can love the people around us. If we cannot love ourselves, it is not easy to love the people around us as ourselves.
If so, how do we love ourselves?
We must take good care of our spirits, our souls, and our bodies.
First of all, we should take care of our spirits. For the benefit of our spirits, what we need to do is… We need to read the Bible, read Christian books, pray, fast, praise, evangelize, have fellowship, serve, and worship.
Secondly, we should take care of our souls. For the benefit of our souls, what we need to do is… We need to take classes, read books, read newspapers and magazines, watch YouTube, and search information on Google.
And lastly, we should take care of our bodies. For the benefit of our bodies, what we need to do is… We need to work out, go on a diet, and take nutritional supplements.
All of these are acts of loving ourselves. Do you love yourselves? Do you take good care of your spirits, your souls and your bodies?
2, Secondly, we should take care of the people around us, including our family members.
The Bible says, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.(Philippians 2:4)
The Bible also teaches us. It says, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has deniedr the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”(1 Timothy 5:*)
The Bible tells us to care for other people, too. It tells us to pay attention to the lives of others. It tells us to care about our neighbors as much as we care about our own lives.
But it is not easy to care for other people. We are likely to become too preoccupied with our own things. If so, what are the obstacles that prevent us from taking interest in the affairs of others? They are our selfish ambition, our conceit, and our tendency to be self-absorbed. These factors hinder us from caring for the affairs of others.
The apostle Paul does not say that it is wrong for us to look after our own interests, but he warns us against looking after only our own interests.
Most of us spend 24 hours a day just on our own interests. Interests here can be things, spiritual or academical, and certain social or political issues.
We are automatically oriented toward our own affairs. We are too obsessed with our own matters. As a result, it is difficult to be interested in others’ affairs unless we make a conscious effort to do so. So, we must consciously practice being interested in the lives of others.
3, Thirdly, we should take care of our community of faith,
When we take a look at the book of Haggai, we can notice that we should look out for our church. Here is the historical background of the book of Haggai.
The Jews disobeyed God. So, God sent them into exile in Babylon. This was 586 B.C. They lived in Babylon. King Cyrus defeated Babylon in 539 B.C. He was the king of Persia. In 538 B.C., Cyrus sent the Jews back to Judah. He told them that they should build their temple again. The Jews went back home. In 536 B.C., they began to rebuild the temple. They made an altar and foundations of the temple. Two years later, they stopped. It was because enemies tried to do everything possible to frighten the Jews and to make them stop building the temple. For 18 years, they built their own houses. They didn’t finish rebuilding the temple of God. So, God sent a prophet called Haggai. In 520 B.C., Haggai told the Jews that they must build the temple. He told them that this time they must finish it.
The Jews were busy building their own houses. They cared only about their own families. They were preoccupied with the problems of their children. They did not care about what would happen to the temple they had left unfinished. They worked hard to earn money. But it was always not enough. No matter how much they earned, it was not enough. The money flowed out like a leaky bag. There was not enough food to eat. There was not enough water to drink. God told the Jews to examine their lives carefully. He told them to reflect on the way they had lived.
Once again, we Christians should take good care of our church, our community of faith. What I am saying is that if we take good care of our church, everything in our life will be in place. Amen!
4, Lastly, we should take care of the work of God.
Jesus came to this earth and did God’s work. God’s work was Jesus’ work, and Jesus’ work was God’s work. God’s work and Jesus’ work are the same. Then, what is God’s work? In John 6:29, Jesus says what God’s work is. God’s work is to believe in the One whom God has sent. Who is the One whom God has sent? It is Jesus. Believing in Jesus is God’s work. In other words, God’s work is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers.
We should care about God’s work. We should pay attention to God’s work. We should take good care of God’s work. In fact, we should pursue God’s work while living here on this earth.
Philippians 2:21 says, “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.”
In general, people think about their own benefit and not about what Jesus Christ wants. People don’t care about what matters to Jesus Christ, the work of Christ. Do you know what the work of Christ is… It is to save lost souls.
What I am saying is that I want you to pay special attention to the work of God in order for you to live in an orderly manner in the midst of a busy life. I want you to put the work of Christ at the center of your life.
I wanna finish my sermon here.
I hope that you all take good care of your own lives. I hope you take good care of your families. I hope you take good care of the people around you. I hope you take good care of your church. Above all, I hope you take good care of the work of God, the work of Christ.
Let us pray.
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