I heard a great sermon by Dr. Mark Milioni last night at the National Baptist Bible Fellowship International Meeting in Taylor, Michigan. I was able to introduce him and had a front row seat the entire sermon (so I couldn’t nap). Dr. Milioni is the President of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. He is a personal friend and was a fellow pastor at First Baptist in Albion, Michigan. When I first came to Michigan, people would get us mixed up because he was in Albion and I was in Adrian. Now that he is President of my college, I have a greater interest in what is happening there. He is really turning it around and has seen growth in students, finances, and spirit. If you get a chance, pray for him and his leadership at the college.
His message theme was ‘if it mattered to Jesus, it should matter to us.’ We often get caught up in things that really don’t matter in life. Or maybe we think it matters, but it really doesn’t. He introduced 4 things that really mattered to Jesus in His ministry. So these things should matter to us.
1. Great Faith.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry He was amazed at the people who exhibited ‘great faith.’ One woman begged Him to heal her daughter. When He tried to evade the request, she responded that even the ‘dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table.’ She was willing to take the scraps of blessing the Jews refused. Jesus commended her for her great faith.
Yet, the disciples exhibited little or no faith throughout His time with them. They showed no faith in Him during the storm at sea. You would think being with Jesus would cause them to trust Him more, but evidently it didn’t.
We should show great faith. Faith matters to Jesus. We should trust Him and trust others.
2. Lost Souls.
Jesus was always talking to people about life and eternity. He went through Samaria to meet a woman at the well who needed ‘living, eternal water.’ He stopped at a tree to talk to Zachaeus because He needed forgiveness and a relationship with Him. He shared the Parable of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son to show how much God cared for the lost.
If the lost matter to Jesus they should matter to us. Even on the cross Jesus was dying for the sins of the world, and He took time to show a crucified criminal how to have eternal life. Lost people matter to Jesus.
3. Time with the Father.
Jesus spent a lot of time with a lot of people. But He always carved out time with His Father. My guess is, if the disciples didn’t know where Jesus was, they could probably find Him praying. It seems He was always on a mountain or in a dessert place spending time with His Father.
If Jesus needed time with His Father, shouldn’t we. We sometimes thing we can do it all by ourself. But we will end up hitting a situation we can’t handle. We need Him. Even when we thinks we can do it ourself, we still need Him.
And sometimes we just need to spend time with Jesus. Mark talked about his time with his granddaughter, Sophie. I can really relate to that. I love spending time with my grandchildren. And they don’t have to do anything. I just like being with them. Sometimes we just need to go God and spend time with Him. When life gets tough, sometimes just spending time with God is like getting a big hug.
4. You.
You are important to Jesus. Even though He loves the world and even though He loves the nations, He loves you as an individual. You are important to Jesus. Every person is important to Jesus.
If every person is important to Jesus, every person should be important to us. We should value our friends and our acquaintances. We should make every person realize the value they have.
Great sermon Mark!
Visit BBC website: http://www.gobbc.edu/
See other articles: Making Jesus the Priority of your Life, How to Have a Quiet Time, How to Have a Powerful Life