One Thing

One Thing

A Psalm of David.

Psalm 27:1-6  The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

{2} When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 

{3} Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. {4} One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. {5} For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 

{6} And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

PRAYER

The passage we read in Ps. 27 contains many good things that we could land on and expound, but today I am going to zero in on one thing...  Literally, on “One thing...”

You will see those words at the beginning of v. 4➔  Ps. 27:4  One thing...

And that is what I am going to talk to you about on today...  

One Thing...

Now, you might think a message on One Thing would only have one point...  But that will not be the case...

At different times, and in different circumstances, there are different things that become the One Thing that needs to be focused on, or brought to light...

And at this time in David’s life the one thing that he focused on, the one thing that he desired above all others, was to➔  dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of (his) life... 

And though there is a great difference between the OT temple & the NT church, there are also some similarities and parallels...

The OT temple was the house of the Lord for that time... and the place where the Lord dwelt.

In the NT, the body of the believer is the temple of the Holy Ghost...

And the church - which is the body of saved believers - is called the house of God.  You can look that up sometime & see it in I Tim. 3:15.

The OT temple was a building...  The NT church is people...

That being said, the NT people of God, (born again Christians), usually meet in a church building...  But building or no building, when they meet together for worship, they are the local church.

When the OT saints met, they met in the house of God, when the NT saints meet, they meet as the house of God...  And again, though there are these differences, it is easy to see that there are similarities.

So as we look at this “One thing” that David desired, we can make easy application to us...  For as David, above all else, desired to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, we can see the similar importance of ourselves having a desire to dwell in church all of our lives.  So this first point is...

1. One Thing Have I Desired...

And in applying this to us, this is the desire to attend and be a part of a good, Bible believing Church all of our lives.

It is likely that I am talking to someone listening to this podcast, and for whatever reason, you don’t attend church. 

Let me say to you that it is God’s desire and directive for you to attend and be a part of a New Testament Bible believing, Bible practicing church. Heb. 11:25

This podcast is a supplement for what you get in church, not a replacement.

Each one of us who is a part of the That’s in the Bible Podcast attends and is a part of a local, New Testament Church.

Read the Bible and you will find local churches all over the New Testament.

You will find the churches of Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, & Judea in the Bible. (I Cor. 16:1, 19; II Cor. 8:1; Gal. 1:22)

You will also find in the New Testament, at least one church in each of the following places:

Galilee, Samaria, Corinth, Thessalonica, Babylon, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea.  (Acts 9:31; I Cor. 1:2; I Thess. 1:1; I Pet. 5:13, Rev. 2-3)  

Paul addresses some of his epistles to certain of these local churches...

John addresses the book of Revelation to the last 7 churches that I named, and Jesus acknowledges those 7 local churches as well.  (Rev. 1:4, 11, 20)

There are undoubtedly local churches in the New Testament and they have not been done away with in these latter New Testament times, though some have heretically taught that they have.  

It was God’s desire that such churches be planted, established and perpetuated till Jesus comes.  

The idea of a local church is that any believer, anywhere on this earth could have a church near him that he could become a part of.  

In Titus 1:5,  Paul left Titus in Crete so that he would ordain elders in every city, that these cities might have local churches where the believers could gather, grow and serve.  

If you are not a part of a local NT church, you should be, and that is the one thing you should desire right now.  

You should desire to become a part of one, and remain a part of a good church, all the days of your life.

If you are not going to church, you should find the best church in your area and become a part of it.

You need it...  If you’re married, your spouse needs it...  If you have children, they need it!

The church provides a community where you can fellowship with other people that love the Lord Jesus Christ & try to live by the Bible.  

It is refreshing, just to be in a place where folks are not hostile to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Biblical morality!

If you can’t find the ideal church in your area, find the best one you can, and go there.

If you have the right attitude, it will help you, and you will help it!

Not everyone that is listening has been in church all of their lives, but whatever your past, you can certainly strive to be in church all the rest of your life.

And let me say, regarding children growing up in church...  

What a boost is given to those who have the blessing of being in church from the start!  Some folks that attend our churches first came to church in their mother’s womb, even before they were born.

Then as a little baby, they came to church and grew up in the nursery... 

And then they went to Sunday School, and the main services and became a regular part of the church.

I reiterate, what a boost is given to those that have such an opportu-nity!

They already start their lives pointed in the direction of God, Jesus & the Bible, and are lifted up toward the Lord for easier reach... 

Of course, they must reach out and take the Lord for themselves, but He is put right in reach by early instruction if they are in a Bible believing church.

Sometimes people say, well if you take them to church all the time when they are kids, they won’t go when they are adults...

Are these people trying to imply that if we don’t take them to church as kids they will go to church when they are adults?  I mean, what’s your point?

Certainly every child has a free will and will need to decide for himself to stay in church when he is older...  But not taking him to church when he is younger so he can make up his own mind when he is older is the wisdom of fools!

Everyone will make up their own mind about these things when they get older, the parents job is to aim them in the right direction!

Prov. 22:6 says➔  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

And in the NT we are charged to bring up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

And while there are kids that have been raised in church that no longer go, there are plenty of others who were raised in church and still go, and enjoy it! 

And even the ones that don’t go any more, had the Bible & Jesus at their finger-tips, and were given every opportunity to know, love & serve the Lord...   And that’s how it should be!

We ought to make it easy to for them to find Jesus, not harder.

Many of you will likely recognize the name D.L. Moody.D.L. is short for Dwight Lyman, and Dwight Lyman Moody was a preacher that was greatly used of God in the mid to late 1800’s.  

Moody shook two continents for God, those being North America & Europe.

He brought many children to Christ in Chicago, IL where he started his labors for the Lord.  Then he saw many more saved in his Evangelistic Meetings across the Unites States & Europe.

Moody was raised in church.  J. Wilbur Chapman writes in his biographical work about Moody

Dwight had early advantages of Christian training, attending, as soon as he was old enough, the church in the village, where the Rev. Mr. Everett was pastor.

Later in life, after having served God for many years, Dwight Moody gave his own comments on his upbringing in church.  The following quote from Dwight Moody comes from p. 26, of The Life of D.L. Moody by His Son, William R. Moody.

“I remember blaming my mother for sending me to church on the Sabbath,” he once said.  “On one occasion the preacher had to send someone in the gallery to wake me up.  I thought it was hard to have to work in the field all the week, and then be obliged to go to church and hear a sermon I didn’t understand.  I thought I wouldn’t go to church any more when I got away from home; but I had got so in the habit of going I could not stay away.  After one or two Sabbaths, back again to the house of God I went.  There I first found Christ, and I have often said since: ‘Mother, I thank you for making me go to the house of God when I didn’t want to go.’ ”

D.L. Moody dwelt in the house of the Lord, all the days of his life by staying in church after he left home, and then continuing to attend church until the Lord called him home.

And what once was an obligation, turned into a desire...

I too, once attended church only because of obligation.

But there came a time in my life, when I needed help and wanted to be right with the Lord...  And then obligation changed to desire...  And that desire, led to my salvation...

And now for over 40 years, it has been my desire to dwell in the house of the Lord...  And it is my desire to continue to do that “all the days of my life...”

I hope that’s your desire too...  

And I hope that you are determined to do so; because this godless, distracted, self-centered, self-serving generation is drifting further & further away from any kind of mindset like that.

Now, in our text in Psalm 27, strangely enough, after David says➔  One thinghave I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after...  He actually lists three things...  

Now all of these 3 things obviously go together and work together, and wrapped together make one, much like the Father, Son & Holy Ghost do...  But notice what David said➔

Ps. 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

...to behold the beauty of the LORD...

In church you get to see how beautiful the Lord is...

While the world looks at Jesus and sees➔  ...no beauty that (they) should desire him...  a good Bible believing church gives you the clear vision to see that➔ he is altogether lovely.

In the world, we rub shoulders with those who do not see Jesus as beautiful...

But in the church we fellowship with those that love Him and together, we➔ see the king in his beauty...

Isn’t it good to dwell in a place where, when the Lord’s name is spoken, His name is blessed, and not used as a curse word?!

And then David said in dwelling in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, he also wanted➔  to inquire in his temple.

Church is a good place to get your questions answered. 

Don’t ever take it for granted that at a good church, you get to hear the supreme wisdom of all the ages, from the Holy Bible, inspired by the God of heaven.

The world is searching the ends of the earth, and under the earth, and into outer space trying to find the truth that you have in your lap when you are sitting in church hearing the Bible taught and preached.And by the way, when you go to church, go to all the services.  Go to Sunday School, and Sunday Morning Service, and Sunday Evening Service, and Wed. Night Service.

Ohhh the things you will miss if you miss any of those services...

In our Bible believing churches, you will miss the opportunity to learn the Bible.  

Some things we’ve gone through at our church on Wed. Nights over the last several years include the books of I & II Timothy.

A prolonged study on Joseph, as a type of Christ, spending much time in the later chapters of the book of Genesis.  

The entire book of Proverbs, the book of Galatians, and right now we are going through the book of Ecclesiastes, and we’re in chapter 10.

And in Sunday School, for the last few years we have been working our way through the book of Psalms and are in Psalm 107.

Then you get two different preaching messages, on Sun. Morning & Sun. Evening, to help you grow, get victory, and bear fruit as a Christian.

When it comes to a good church, miss a service... miss a lot!

Dr. Ruckman used to say, Some people have a talent for missing everything that God has for them.

Oh, how you will grow if you will plant yourself in the house of God, as part of a NT local church.➔ 

Ps. 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

And oh, how you will be blessed, if you will dwell in the house of God all the days of your life.➔ 

Ps. 84:4  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

Well that was one thing, #1  One Thing Have I Desired...  For the 2nd, look with me in Lk. ch. 10➔

Luke 10:38-42  Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 

{39} And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 

{40} But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 

{41} And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 

{42} But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

2. One Thing is Needful...

And that thing is to sit at Jesus feet, and hear His word...  

That is your personal fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Before the importance of even serving the Lord, is the importance of sitting at His feet and hearing His word.

It is in this time of personal fellowship of Bible reading & prayer, that you get the strength, and power, and wisdom to serve the Lord, and to serve Him effectually.

Jesus said that Mary had chosen that needful & good part...  Notice it in v. 42, she had chosen it...

Just like your church attendance, your personal fellowship with Jesus is a choice.  

And just like your church attendance, your personal fellowship with Jesus is a choice that needs to be prioritized.

Often the incidental things of life scream for our attention louder and more frantically than the things that are most important.

Ladies, it might be that the laundry, dirty dishes, or other housework, may scream louder than your Bible reading.  

And many a lady answers the call to housework before reading her Bible and then never gets to her Bible reading.

Your phone & text messages may scream louder than your Bible reading to the point where you just don’t get to your Bible...

Men, home maintenance, or the newspaper, or the ballgame, or a television show might scream louder than your Bible reading...  But one thing is needful!

And if you don’t get to your quiet time alone with God, more often than not, it is because of the choices you make.  

Choose Jesus...  Choose the Bible...  Choose prayer... FIRST... And then get to the other incidentals of life.  

Matt. 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Did you notice what happened to the person in our story who did not choose the one thing that was needful?➔

Luke 10:40-42  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. {41} And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

{42} But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

• She was wearing herself out serving the Lord... v. 40
• She questioned the Lord’s care for her... v. 40
• She was telling on her sister... v. 40
• She started telling the Lord what to do!➔  v. 40 ...bid her...
• She was full of care & troubled about many things... v. 41
• The Lord had to rebuke her... v. 42

All of this could have been avoided, by sitting with her sister at Jesus feet and enjoying the fellowship that she had neglected.

...one thing is needful...  

Therefore it is imperative that you keep that one thing in order in your life, giving it priority over lesser things.

All right, #3... Come to Mark ch. 10➔  

Mark 10:17-22  And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 

{18} And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 

{19} Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 

{20} And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 

{21} Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 

{22} And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

3. One Thing Thou Lackest...

Now this isn’t the plan of salvation, but in the case of the rich ruler here, his possessions were either keeping him from salvation, or keeping him from serving the Lord and receiving “the reward of the inheritance” spoken of in Col. 3:24.  

In either case, there was one thing lacking to get him to where he needed to be.  The man had something that he was cleaving to more than the Lord.

How about you?  What if the Lord assessed your life, would He find one thing lacking?

Now you might, like me, be thinking, He’d find more than one thing lacking!

But if He were to put His finger on one thing...  The most important thing that is lacking...  Do you know what that might be?

And if not, are you willing to ask Him?  Lord, what is that one thing lacking in my life?

Would you pray as David did?➔  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: {24} And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

There is likely one thing standing between you and your next level of spiritual growth  Identify that thing...  and correct it...  and grow!

And this will bring you to point # 4...  Phil. ch. 3➔  

Phil. 3:13-14  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, 

{14} I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

4. One Thing I Do... 

Here Paul, like David, says one thing, but lists more...  Paul lists two things, but he does so because they are to be done together➔

... this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

{14} I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

You cannot press toward that which is before you, if you are always looking back to that which is behind you.

Now this could be a sermon in itself, but let me just say here, that if you want to move forward, you need to deal with your past, get things right with God, and with people, and then forget about your failures & go forward to victory.  

You also need to forget about the past failures of others, so you can move forward...

And sometimes you need to forget about your past victories so you can move forward to new victories, instead of trying to live off your old ones in the past.

Go with me now to Eccl. ch. 3➔  

Eccl. 3:18-19  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 

{19} For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

5. One Thing Befalleth Us...

The thing of which Solomon is speaking, that befalls both man and beast...  is death.

One of the things that ensures us that this is not heaven...  is death.

No matter how good things get down here, they come to an end...  And then what?

The story is told about a young man getting ready to start his life who was asked by a Christian man, “What are you going to do with your life?”

*I’m going to college to get an education.  And what are you going to do after that?

*I’ll get a good paying job.  And what are you going to do after that?

*I suppose I’ll find a good women and get married.  And what about after that?

*We’ll buy a house and have children.  And what are you going to do after that?

*We’ll raise our children.  And what about after that?

*Our children will grow up and get married and give us grandchildren, and I’ll enjoy   my retirement.  And what about after that?

*I suppose I’ll get old and die...   And what about after that?

That’s the issue...  The issue is that you are not going to live in your mortal body forever...  So what about after that?!

Well, Heb. 9:27 says➔  ...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment...

As a matter of fact, judgment was a part of the context of Solomon’s statement in Eccl. ch. 3➔  

Eccl. 3:17➔  I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

And He will judge them in that order...  For first, the righteous will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.  (EXPOUND)

And at a later time, the wicked shall be judged at the great white throne judgment.  (EXPOUND)

Amos 4:12 says➔  ...prepare to meet thy God...

Are you ready for your judgment? Are you living with an eye to eternity?  Have you set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth?

A. - If you are saved, are you satisfied with what you would have to 

       present to Jesus, if the trumpet were to blow today?

Are you ready for the judgment seat of Christ?

And then, B. - Do you know that you are saved?

If not, then you need the last “one thing” of our message today...➔

John ch. 9

In John ch. 9 we’ll encounter a man who was blind from his birth, and that man encountered Jesus!

When he did, Jesus spit on the ground, made clay, anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and told the blind man to➔ Go, wash in the pool of Siloam...

And at the end of John 9:7, it says that➔  He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

What a great thing for the blind man and his family!

But then came the Pharisees.  And the Pharisees were all in an uproar because Jesus had done this thing on the Sabbath day.  And they started an inquisition.

They asked the guy how he had received his sight and he told them➔

A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

John 9:16  Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

Then they asked the man another question...  Then they doubted that the man had ever really been blind, so they called his parents and asked them some questions...  Then they called the man again➔ 

John 9:24-25  Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 

{25} He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

6. One Thing I Know...

And that is➔  

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see!

Ohhh listen, the Pharisees may not know it, the Pharisees may not believe it, the Pharisees may not like it!  

But I’ll tell you who knows, who believes, and who likes it...  the one who used to be blind!

As already attested in the words of Amazing Grace, this is an obvious picture of salvation.

Someone else that understood this wrote another song, which says

There are things I can't believe,
 There are things I won't receive
 For there's no proof they're so;
 Things I cannot understand,
 Things I cannot comprehend,
 But this one thing I know:
   
 I know He opened up my blinded eyes one day,
 I know His precious blood washed all my sins away,
 I know His peace, sweet peace, has filled my troubled soul.
 Yes, this one thing I know. 
   
There are things about the Lord 
That are written in His Word, 
And all of them are so.
It may quickly be discerned, 
There is much that I must learn 
But this one thing I know: 

I know He opened up my blinded eyes one day 
 I know His precious blood washed all my sins away 
 I know His peace, sweet peace, has filled my troubled soul 
 Yes, this one thing I know.

The question for you, is, Do you know it?

Have you had your spiritual eyes open by trusting Jesus Christ as your Saviour?

If you have, you’ve seen things you’ve never seen before!  

And if you have not, you could see things you’ve never seen before, by receiving Jesus as your Saviour and getting your sins forgiven, and the gift of eternal life.

Why don’t you do so today?!  

Why don’t you call upon the Lord Jesus Christ right now, put your faith in Him, and ask Him to save your soul?

1. One Thing Have I Desired...  Dwell in the house of the Lord...

2. One Thing is Needful...  Sit at Jesus’ feet & hear His word...

3. One Thing Thou Lackest...  What is that one thing?

4. One Thing I Do...  Forgetting those things which are behind &...

5. One Thing Befalleth Us...  Death...

6. One Thing I Know...  Whereas I was blind, now I see.