English evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770) learned that it was more important to please God than to please men. Knowing that he was doing what was honoring to the Lord kept him from discouragement when his enemies falsely accused him.
At one point in his ministry, Whitefield received a vicious letter accusing him of wrongdoing. His reply was brief and courteous: “I thank you heartily for your letter. As for what you and my other enemies are saying against me, I know worse things about myself than you will ever say about me. With love in Christ, George Whitefield.”
He didn’t try to defend himself. He was much more concerned about pleasing the Lord.
In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”
That sounds like our world today, doesn’t it? We have plenty of worship but not of God. We worship our sports heroes. We worship movie stars and famous people.
At one time the most popular TV show in history was “American Idol.” The show’s goal is to make someone famous. The young contestants who range from the age of 15 to 28 years of age will say that their whole goal in life is to become “famous.”
Some people also believe that it is okay to lie, cheat, steal and even kill to become famous.
Where is God in all of this? What has happened to God? Has He gotten smaller? Has God changed? Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
God has not changed. But we have changed God. We have put ourselves before God. We have become a nation of self-serving, self-seeking people.
What happened to Matthew 6:33? “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Christian, God has not called us to become famous. The desire to become famous is not a God-given trait. The desire to become famous is a result of the original sin of pride.
Pride is seeking what we want rather than what God knows is best for us. It is the root of all selfishness and sinfulness. 1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
What then is the proper attitude for the Christian to have? Micah 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”
Watch sermons and read sermon texts and other articles online at tomahawkmbc.com. Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons on WSIP FM 98.9 every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Watch his sermons on his Facebook page. Find him on Rumble, Bitchute and Brighteon video platforms.