This one thing I do text

“This one thing I do”
by Mark Cowperthwaite
November 5,2008

Philippians  3:13-15    What are you living for?
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended( laid hold of it yet): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. ”

People always ask when they meet you- What do you do? I guess they want to hear how I make a living. I hope that I am known to do one thing... press on toward my calling in Christ Jesus.

Time-
DAILY Bible, prayer, instruction (parents) Deut 11:18-20
If we don’t have time for God, what needs to go? Certainly there are priorities, but the list of possibilities is long. The gym, sports, karate, hunting, TV, computer...
What you do should not be dishonoring to God- TV, computer, books, testimony, dress (Modesty, causing a brother to stumble)
    
Do you have trouble with your kids, your marriage, money? Look to the Word of God, and earnestly pray, desiring God’s will more than your own. Are you following the road map set forth in Scripture, or doing it your way hoping God will bless it?

You are not your own, you are bought with a price!(1 Cor. 6:18-20) I don’t promise roses every day, but with our eyes fixed on the prize, our Savior, and eternity with God, the troubles of the world pale in comparison.

What would your friends say if asked “Does (your name here) give their life entirely to God, and live as Jesus would have them live?”
What would your coworkers, family, people you don’t like say?
What would God say?

Faith- the power of God, we must be plugged in to use it.
Disciples, who knew Jesus personally, didn’t have the faith to cast out a demon in Matthew 17.  John 11 tells us that Mary and Martha said “our brother would not have died if you had come!”  They thought Jesus was powerless, because Lazarus had died. He showed them that NOTHING is impossible, including raising from the dead. Phil 4:13

The church is plagued by sickness, marriage trouble, disobedient children, pornography, pride, lust for power, and sin of all kinds. It all stems from lack of properly directed faith(in God alone). Jesus said “what you ask in faith believing and not doubting, will be given” Mark 11:22-24
Do you think God can heal your body? I know He healed mine. Only when I committed my all to Him, preparing for ministry, knowing what He called me to do, praying without doubt, did God heal my body. What is out of God’s control? Why did it take me so long to surrender to His will? That is the question.

Can God heal your marriage? He will if you ask Him. If you let Him!
Can God fix the disobedient child? We hear people say that kids don’t come with an instruction manual- they do!  The Bible is God’s instruction manual for children, business, everything. Joshua 1:8, Deut 11:18-20

Can God keep you from pornography? I have seen it in my own life and those of many others God has put in my path to encourage me. It is ONLY by His power, not our own.

Do we believe that we can move mountains? Cast out demons? Walk up to an unregenerate sinner and by the power of God through the Gospel show someone the way to eternal life in heaven? If we rely on our own power, we will fail. If we rely on our own riches, talent, good looks (HA!), we will fail.

With GOD all things are possible. Without God, we are nothing, nothing exists apart from the will of God. If God decided to suspend gravity, it would go away. If God saw fit to take oxygen out of the air, we would all be helpless to fix it. We exist because God allows it and wills it. Take that into consideration before finding fault with how He chooses to handle things, what He instructs us to do, and what His Word calls us to live for..
    
(Let the toe stepping on commence) Elected officials will never bring about change for God. Banning abortion, the atrocity that it is, will not bring about change. It is only when our nation bows on its knees before a Holy God that we will see change.

If I am wrong, please show me out of Scripture, but I can’t seem to find a verse that says we should be involved in politics. Jesus didn’t run for president, Paul submitted himself to the council, Peter wasn’t spending his time or money to get so-and-so elected. They preached the gospel, they lived for God. They dedicated their lives to the work of the Lord.



Ephesians 2:19"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Our business is not to get into politics, but to spread the Word of God. The government will not save us, nor are we citizens of this earth, but of heaven. If God wills that the United States be overthrown or destroyed, then it will happen.
    
Our loyalty should be only to God. We are to honor the authority over us (including speed limits), and obey those God has put over us. Only when we must decide between God’s authority and man’s authority are we told as Peter said in Acts 5:29 “we must obey God rather than man”

Witness-
Do you tell people about God? Do you mention heaven or hell? Jesus certainly did! Do you honestly think you can love someone and then not tell them that without Christ and His salvation, they will spend eternity in hell, in judgement, in eternal death? “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, JUDGEMENT!” Heb 9:27

What kind of person sees a blind man walking toward the edge of a cliff and doesn’t grab him by the arm, rescuing him from death? An unsaved person is blind to the truth of the consequence, or the cliff itself until we tell them. It is our obligation to tell them.
    
You may offend him, but if he sees the reason for your assault, he will thank you. This is not a lifestyle choice, but a life or death decision for eternity! Today may be your friend’s last day on earth. Don’t wait for them to ask, go tell them!
    
When was the last time you brought up the subject of salvation to an unsaved person?
What are you afraid of? (Common objections, none of which are valid: not know what to say, can’t answer a question, not an outgoing person...)
I can do all things through CHRIST who gives me strength.

Jesus told us to tell people, and He won’t command us to do something and then not give us the strength to do it. We have to rely on Him, not ourselves, our strength, our ability to speak, but HIM ONLY!

Exodus 3:11-14
“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Think about Moses, he actually tried to talk God out of using him through his excuses. Do we do the same thing? Too often, we do.
1 Cor. 2:1-6 “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Paul said he was not eloquent, weak, fearful, and trembling. If Paul knew how little ability he had, yet chose to allow God to use him, what is keeping us from boldly proclaiming Jesus?

 We rely on human reasoning rather than obey God. If God tells you to do something and you don’t do it, you are disobeying Him. There is no other way to look at it. Obey or disobey, make your choice and repent if you have been disobedient in the past. You can’t fix yesterday, but you can do more today.

Jeremiah 20:9"If I say I will not remember Him, or speak anymore in His name, then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it”
This is how we should feel about the privilege we have of proclaiming our Lord and Savior to those who don’t know Him. When your heart is full and the Holy Spirit keeps filling you up, it will overflow, you cannot bind it up. You have to give it out, spreading the good news everywhere you go. Our testimony, our behavior is a direct result of what is in our hearts.

How do we get full? Psalm 1: 1-2 ,James 1:25.,Job 23:10-12 hold fast to His path, word of His mouth more than my food, sleep, fun.....

Give Him control of your life, stop taking it back. Take up your cross daily, (Living sacrifice crawls off the altar) WHY? Lack of faith in God to keep you, but He promises He will never leave us or forsake us. His promise is better than that of any man.
    
If we are full of the world, we will act like the world. James 4:3-8
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
    
If we are full of ourselves, we will talk about ourselves. But if, as we should be, we are filled to overflowing with the love of God toward people that need His salvation (which only comes through the Holy Spirit) we will be spilling out our love and desire for our Savior everywhere we go.

What are our motives in prayer? Do we seek to bring people to salvation through Christ, or do we want to make ourselves feel better. Do we pray for things according to God’s will or that we get what we want. We see in this passage that if our motives are wrong, our prayers will not be answered. If we desire out of our own lusts, and seek what the world has, we are double minded and need to repent.
    
Read 2 Cor 5:15-21
15 “And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf”-  All from God, reconciled us through Christ, given US the ministry of reconciliation, we are made new, dead to sin(v.17, Rom 6, Rom8)

Not counting  their trespasses(using them OR numbering them)- don’t only witness to nice people(truckers, prostitutes, homeless) Jesus died for all sins and committed to us the work (says it again, must be important) of  ambassadors, making an appeal through US, we BEG you to be reconciled to God. This is not the “friendship evangelism” approach, not some weak attempt at bringing up spiritual things over the course of a 5 year relationship, but a forthright, bold, brazen attempt to show the love of God, not worrying about offending someone.

 If you care about someone, you cannot just sit and watch them go to hell for the sake of your comfort. This is a challenge, and does not come naturally, but only through fervent prayer, desiring that the Lord give us His heart, His desires, according to His will revealed in His Word. If we rely on our own wisdom, rather than that of countless evangelists throughout time that followed the example of God’s Word, then we are blinding ourselves to the truth. We don’t need to make up a way, just do what Jesus instructs us in Mark 16:15

We cannot depend on past victories- we tend to put up our memories of what we did for Christ years ago like shrines on the wall. (Borrowed example from Brother Yun- “Living Water”) The nets used to fish for men have been dry cleaned, pressed, and put up to remind us of what we have done in the past. Some sort of trophy, pictures of our big game. Why do we tend to think that we are done serving God. If you aren’t dead, you aren’t finished on this earth. God left you here to serve Him, every day until He calls us home, we are to be about our Father’s business.  What are you doing today, tomorrow? If it is for yourself, not for God, give it up. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then you will have whatever else you need. God does not promise temporal treasure, but heavenly blessings.

“We used to... remember when we... “Get out of the past and do something today. I keep hearing “ we used to have Gospel meetings” and “remember when that evangelist came and we went out in the streets and knocked on doors  to talk to people” and “this church has been a rock in our community for decades” Get out of the past and see what God wants you to do today and then DO IT!

Only what’s done for Christ will last- personal victories are meaningless, the power and strength we use only comes from God. He uses those who know they are weak... “when I am weak, then I am strong” sounds opposed to human reasoning. It is, we are not talking about human reasoning, but God’s reasoning. He wants us to live for Him, by His strength, and according to His will.

Phil 4:13 I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength” Everything....includes EVERYTHING!!! that is according to His will and His purposes, not the Maserati, the vacation home, or anything this world offers. You may get those things, but Jesus did not promote the “prosperity gospel” but rather persecution, suffering, and being ostracized. Read Matt 10,Acts 5:40-42,Rom. 8:17,2 Tim. 1:8,Phil. 3:10,Col. 1:24, 1 Pet.4:12-19

Do you do things in such a way as to bring attention to yourself or to the Lord? False humility is pride, just in disguise.  It is sin, and we tend to think that if we act humble on the outside, that pride is OK, as long as nobody sees it. God sees.
    
He is our only strength, our only hope, and the one who deserves our worship, praise, OUR LIVES!  The song says “all to Jesus I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow...”

Will you surrender today? It will cost you, but the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus is worth it. Can we sing the song honestly, and live it out each day? We can through the power of God in Christ Jesus.

I Surrender All
All to Jesus, I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
All to Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus, I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.



“This one thing I do”  Philippians 3:13-15
Mark Cowperthwaite

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if  I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

1. Time
    A. Daily reading and prayer
    B. Ministry to family and others
    C. God’s standard
2. Faith
    A. Healed marriage, family, sin in your life
    B. All things are possible
    C. God is in control
3. Witness
    A. Salvation from death
    B. Rely on God for strength
    C. Filled with the Spirit
Conclusion
    Keep moving forward
    Press on toward the calling of God
    I can do all things through Christ, not myself Philippians 4:13
    Only what is done for Christ will last for eternity
    
Surrender yourselves therefore to God...
We want to be where God wants us to be
When God wants us there
Doing what He wants us to do.

All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I will ever
love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.
I surrender all, all to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender ALL