PUT JESUS FIRST IN YOUR BEHAVIOR PART 12
TEXT - HEBREWS 13:1-17
Introduction
This morning is our theme Sunday because it is the first Sunday of the month of December 1989.
Throughout this year we have been studying from the Book of Hebrews and looking at the ways Jesus is better or superior and why He deserves to be first in our life. It is a book that shows us what kind of perspective we ought to have regarding Jesus and how He should be first in our life.
I hope you have learned the importance of doing that this year. I pray that if He isn’t first in your life He will be your number one priority before the service is over today.
There is a book that we have in our church library that I would highly recommend to anyone. In fact, there was a film made on the basis of this book. The title of the book is, “In His Steps.”
It was written in the late 1800s, but it is a story that is very practical for us today.
It’s about a church who had this attitude that they were self-sufficient, that everything was going great, that they were the best church in town. In fact the pastor thought he was the greatest speaker there was. One day, all those ideas and attitudes were completely shattered by a person who wasn’t a member of their church, who was homeless, jobless, without family, without money, without suitable clothing.
He attended their church services and walked down the aisle after the pastor finished his message. The message was about following in the steps of Jesus. When the man got to the front of the church he asked the pastor, what it meant to follow Jesus. About an hour later, the man died. That left a tremendous impression on the pastor and the entire church. It got them thinking about whether or not they were following Jesus. So the pastor put before the entire church the following Sunday a challenge. That for the rest of the year they wouldn’t do anything without first asking themselves, “What would Jesus do?” That single question caused a tremendous change to occur in their lives, their church and their community.
I pray that this year our theme of “Putting Jesus First” has caused your life and our church to change.
If you can say that you have put Jesus first in your life, but you haven’t seen any changes occur in your life, I doubt if you have really put Jesus first.
Whenever you put Jesus first you are going to change. You will begin to do things differently. Your life will take on a new direction and a new purpose. You will begin to behave in a different way.
The title of my message this morning is “Put Jesus First In Your Behavior” and our text is in Hebrews 13:1-17.
This passage points out the kind of qualities that ought to characterize our behavior.
When you put Jesus first in your life you aren’t going to act like the world acts, you’re going to be different.
A worldly sort of man had a pet parrot that spoke. Everywhere the man went he took his parrot with him. One Saturday evening they went into a night club. When the music started and the people began to dance the parrot said, “Get down! Get down! Get down!” One day the man’s friend invited him to attend church on Sunday. The man accepted and as usual took his parrot with him. Everything was going fine up until the time the music started and the choir began singing. And you guess it... the parrot began saying, “Get down! Get down! Get down!” The owner was shocked. “Polly, be quiet, this isn’t a night club, this is church, you’re not supposed to do that here!” The parrot responded by saying, “Same people! Same people! Same people!”
The same people that were in night club on Saturday were the same people that were in church on Sunday!
When Jesus is first in your life, your behavior is going to change.
Four pastors were discussing various translations of the Bible and which one they liked the most. The first pastor liked the King James Version best because of its beautiful English. The second liked the New American Standard best because it was more literal and closer to the original Hebrew and Greek languages. The third Pastor liked The Living Bible best because of it’s up-to-date vocabulary. Finally, the fourth pastor said, “I like my mother’s translation best. She translated the Bible into real life and it was the most convincing translation I have ever seen.”
Here in our text I would like us to look at three ways your behavior will change when you have put Jesus first in your life.