Luke 16:13-18 – Wasting Time

It is useless to attempt to serve God with a divided heart. This seems pretty obvious, but thousands are constantly trying to do this very thing that Christ calls impossible. They are trying to be friends of the world and friends of God at the same time. They realise that they need some kind of religion, but they love the world and the sins of the world too much to be true Christians. So they are constantly unhappy and uncomfortable. They know too much about the things of God to be happy in the world, and they have too much of the world in their hearts to be happy with God. They are wasting their time trying to do the impossible. If you want to be a happy Christian, take these words to heart. The more we give ourselves to Christ, the more we live for Him and not for ourselves, the more we will have the peace and joy of faith. If it’s worthwhile to serve God at all, let us do it wholeheartedly. Our eternal life is at stake, for if we can’t make up our minds to give up everything for Christ, we can’t expect Christ to claim us at the last day. He wants all or nothing.

The value man gives things is very different from the value God gives them. The very things for which most people live their lives – money, careers, popularity, pleasure, God calls foolishness when seen on their own, and He warns us to beware of loving them too much. Prayer, Bible-reading, holy living, repentance, faith, grace, and worship are things most people don’t care about. But these are the very things God urges us to pay attention to. Whose estimate is right? Who will be the Judge of our thoughts, words, and actions? It doesn’t matter what men or women think of what we do – it matters if God values what we are doing. Anything else is a waste of time.

Questions
1. How can we be a happy Christian?
2. Why is it impossible to serve two things?

Prayer Points
1. Pray that we would serve Christ wholeheartedly.
2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
3. Pray for family matters.