One of my favorite family traditions that me and Lauren started shortly after we got married is call “The Great Pizza Challenge”. The challenge is we each get $20 and we have have a set amount of time to go out and buy the ingredients to make the perfect pizza. I like this challenge because you have to make difficult decisions, do you spend a little extra on the perfect crust and cut corners on the sauce? And speaking of corners, is the perfect pizza square or round? There are so many different ideas, secret weapons, and strategies. Another aspect of the challenge is, with a limited budget, you don’t have the flexibility to just pick up a pack of cheese, you’ve got to go to the deli and know exactly how much of each product you need. Products left on the side represent money wasted in the challenge, and with such a small budget, you don’t have any room for waste. That being said, you better not run out of something that is important!
Life can be like our Pizza challenge. There are a lot of variables, a lot of strategies, life-styles, so on and so forth. We can have trouble managing the resources that we have been given. In other words we might live our lives ‘out of balance’. I want to make a bold statement. Pursuing Jesus is the answer to an out of balanced life. I wish there was an ingredient in our Pizza challenge that would just make everything come together perfectly. In life our answer for balance is simply Jesus.
As you seek Jesus, He will meet every need that you have. In Philippians 4:19-20, Paul writes these words:
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.
God can meet your needs because God is the source that will never run out.
This series has been all about seeking God. A couple weeks ago in the kickoff to this series we talked about how God is the creator and the originator of everything. We kicked it all the way back to Genesis 1:1 where God created the heavens and the earth. Then we followed that message up by talking about how those who are pure in heart will find Jesus. We focused on placing our hope in Jesus and not in our own resources, otherwise known as idols.
Tonight I want to talk about what happens when we seek God by looking at the Psalm that we opened up in the previous message, Psalm 24
3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
Let me ask you a question, How many of you have ever avoided someone because you knew that you weren’t in right standing with that person. Maybe your parents have asked you to do something like clean your room, or take out the trash. Maybe one of your teachers assigned you some homework that you didn’t turn in and so you do your best to avoid contact with them because you know, you’re not in right standing with them.
Verse 5 says, They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. This Psalm teaches us that when we have a pure heart, we are in right standing with God. We can approach God boldly, confidently, and without hesitation. The beginning of the verse says, They will receive the Lord’s blessing This doesn’t mean that we will get everything that we want.
Last weekend we took our kids to Dollywood and Brooklyn wanted to get some Ice Cream, it was getting late and we were just a couple hours away from bedtime. Here’s the reality, if I would have given her a bunch of sugar an hour before she was supposed to go to sleep it would have been terrible for her! So I made a deal with her and she got some Mayfield’s, Strawberry ice cream first thing in the morning.
The fact is, God is a good father.
He’s a way better dad than I am, I make so many mistakes being a dad, but God never does. He always does things to take care of His children. In life there are lots of disappointments. I’m sure Brooklyn was incredibly disappointed because she didn’t get Dip’n’Dots at Dollywood. Although it was disappointing, it was definitely the best thing for her. When something doesn’t go our way in life, when we don’t get exactly what we want. It’s not that God hates us, it’s that God has other plans for us.
In fact, that night Brooklyn had everything she really needed. She had warm clothes to sleep in, a bed to sleep on, any medicine she needed. Because I aim to be a good father, just like my heavenly father. Being a good father doesn’t mean giving your children everything they want, it means giving them what is best for them, even if they do not know what is best for them. We’re not perfect, but God is.
So what should we do with this information?
Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us to, Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
When we seek God, He promises us that all of our needs will be met.