John chapter 9. It's in my heart this morning to dwell
on a little two-word phrase that's found several times in Scripture.
And I want you to get these two words in your mind as we go here.
It's the words, one thing, one thing. We often use it in our
vocabulary as an emphatic statement. How many times have you said,
well, I'll tell you one thing. We do that, don't we? We do that to place emphasis,
not necessarily to discredit other things. but to place emphasis
on one thing as being superior, as being essential, as being
important, necessity. Well, there are a few one things
in Scripture that I want us to consider this morning, and I'll
ask you to turn with me as we go along. But we begin here in
John chapter 9. Most of you are somewhat familiar
with this great chapter. where the Lord Jesus has healed
this man who was born blind, blind from birth, and everybody
in town knew his story. They had passed by him sitting
on the street corner day after day, year after year, and they
hardly even noticed him. But now since Jesus has passed
by and touched him, he's the talk of the town. And the whole
town is stirred up over what Christ has done for this man.
And the Pharisees, who were the religious elite, they have called
this man on the carpet. And verse 24 says, 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. Well, they couldn't deny the
miracle. So they proceeded to instruct this man, don't be calling
attention to or giving any credit to this one called Jesus of Nazareth. Give God the praise because we
know that this man is a sinner. They knew nothing of the kind.
They wanted to believe he's a sinner. So they said, we know he is,
but they didn't know anything about him. Now note how the man
answered them. And here's the one thing of profession. Profession. Verse 25. He answered and said, whether
he be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, see there's
the one thing. One thing I know, that Whereas
I was blind, now I see." This man is so thrilled with what
the Lord's done for him, he says, I hadn't been trying to find
him a sinner or not a sinner, but I'll tell you this, one thing I know, that whereas
I was blind, now I see. Now he doesn't mean this is the
only thing in the world that he knew, but he's saying this
one thing, in light of all else that I know, is the only thing
that really makes any difference. Whereas I was blind, now I see. They wanted him to give God the
glory, but the God they wanted glorified could not possibly
be the Father of Jesus Christ. They had rejected Him as the
Son of God, and so they had rejected the God who claimed to be His
Father. Paul said, with one mind and
one mouth, we glorify God. What God? Even the Father. of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's who God is. Blessed,
Ephesians 1-3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly
places in Christ. Do you know the difference between
our God and other gods? The Muslim gods, the Hindu, many
other religions. even the Jews' God. Yes, even
the Jews' God. Here's the difference. Our God
is a Father. He has a Son, whom He gave to die for sinners,
and His name is Jesus Christ. He is God's good news. And apart from him there is no
good news. Apart from him there is no gospel. Apart from him God has nothing
to say to this world. So they're asking this man to
give praise to a God who is not the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it cannot be so. There was
a prominent preacher in our area. some years ago, made a big to-do
about being invited to Egypt to preach. And he made it clear, all the
restrictions and all, and that he was not allowed to use the
name of Jesus Christ. He was a preacher. Couldn't use
the name of Jesus Christ. He could have went as a Muslim.
He could have went as about any other religion. And he could
preach about this generic God that everybody has. But as the
pastor of a supposed to be Baptist church in our area, and supposed
to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he could not
go in good conscience. Because Paul said, this gospel
we preach, the gospel of God, it's concerning his son, Jesus
Christ. But guess what? The man went.
He went. So, it's sad. The gospel is concerning Christ.
Now, there is nothing so simple to say and yet so profound to
experience as the difference between light and darkness, blindness
and vision. This man said, there's a lot
I don't know. And of course he might have said
to those Pharisees, I'm sure you religious leaders would be
glad to tell me. But there's one thing you don't
have to tell me. I don't need your religious expertise
for this. This one thing I know. I've had
the light turned on. My eyes are open. I can see. Now it was a miracle physically,
The application is spiritual. If Christ has ever passed by
where you are and opened your eyes and put in your heart an interest
in Him, a thirst for Him, a trust in Him,
a hope in Him, I promise you, regardless of how much you've
stumbled back into the dark, Regardless of the mess you may
have made of your life, deep down in your soul there's a desire
to look to Him again and cry to Him again. There might
be somebody here this morning, it may have been a long, long
time, you may have almost lost hope of ever hearing His voice
again. or feeling the warmth of cleansing
and forgiveness again. But I want to say if you've ever
drank from the fountain one time, you'll never be satisfied until
you drink again. This one thing of perfection,
one thing I know, whereas I was blind, now I see. Do you know this? Has the light
been turned on in your heart? Are you looking to any other?
Are you trusting any other than the Lord Jesus? I want to say
all the good you can do and all the bad you can quit doing will
never be enough to bring peace to your heart. Oh no. But to have the light turned
on by the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, turn with me to the
Gospel of Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. And we'll look
at another one. Luke chapter 10. Here we find the one thing of
preeminence or position before the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke chapter
10 and look at verse 38. Luke 10, 38. 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. And she had a sister called
Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about
much serving and came to him and said, Lord, does thou not
care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her, therefore,
that she help me." Now here we see two women, two sisters, two
positions. Martha is serving here in verse
40. She's running around getting
dinner ready, I guess. Martha is serving. In verse 39,
Mary is sitting. One is serving, one is sitting. One is working, One is waiting
at Jesus' feet. Now, when Martha complains to
the Lord about Mary's sitting, Christ responds with this one
thing. Look at verse 41. Jesus answered
and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled
about many things, but one thing is needful. See, there's the
one thing. One thing is needful, and Mary had chosen that good
part, which shall not be taken away from her. Our Lord is saying,
Martha, you might feel a lot of things are worthwhile and
important to be done, but I want to tell you something. One thing
is needful. You can let some of the other
things go. This place Mary has chosen is the one thing needful. To sit at my feet and hear my
word, and it shall not be taken away from her. To sit at Jesus'
feet, to have a hunger to hear from Him is a necessary thing,
a needful thing. One thing is needful. It's needful
in the lives of all God's children, including you and I, to hear from the Lord, to hear
from the Lord. A lot of people don't know anything
about that, how wonderful it is. I want to say to those of
you who are just, and I don't mean this critically, I'll just,
just like religious hobos, just float along through life, and
you go to church when it's convenient or whatever, You know, don't
cuss out loud and stuff like that. You're a good person. But
hey, this business of walking with the Lord is bigger than
most people know. Jesus Christ is more than a bumper
sticker. He's more than a t-shirt. He's
more than a past hero. He's more than a future bailout.
He is a present. comfort her and help in our lives. He is living in
the hearts of His people. We listen, we long for a word
from Him. And He would, He would, He would,
in the person of the Holy Spirit, lead in our lives, direct us
in our thinking, in our making choices, steer us from danger? The Lord. I can just read Martha's
lips here. I'd love to sit and listen myself,
but there's work to be done. Not Mary. One word from the Master is worth
more than all the work. You can read somebody else's
lips. Well, I'd like to go to church, but my weekend is so
short as it is. May I say one word from the lips
of the Master, spoken affectionately to your heart, is worth more
than all else you think you have to do. What's the difference
between Mary and Martha? Martha was a good woman. She's
busy preparing and providing, but she never had Mary's heart.
Mary's heart said, what my Lord has to say is more important
than all I have to do. My place before Him, my position
at His feet, every opportunity I have, this is the one thing
Needful most needful now. Let's look at another one number
three Philippians chapter 3 flip with me to Philippians chapter
3 Philippians chapter 3 and Here is the one thing of
progress progress in the life of a believer Philippians chapter
3 verse 13. The Apostle Paul says, Brethren,
I count myself not to have apprehended. In other words, I haven't arrived. I'm not perfect. I count not
myself to have apprehended. But this one thing I do. See, there's the one thing. The one thing of progress. This
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching
forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I press If you want to do a little
Greek word study, that word press in verse 14 is the same word
translated persecuting in verse 6. It means to apply pressure. What Paul is saying is, just
as I was an enemy of the Lord Jesus before, and I persecuted
the church, and I spit my life trying to stamp out this preaching
of Jesus Christ. I was firm in the Jews' religion. I pressed. Well, now he says
it's the other way around. Now that the Lord has changed
my heart, changed my life, I apply the same pressure. I press toward
the mark. for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. I thought that other was my last
word in the Jews religion. But now in Christ, I see that
this is my last word and I press toward it. I press. And he says, forgetting those
things which are behind. He's talking about running here
now in the in the terms of running a race. He's saying, I can't
run looking back. You can't run looking back or
you'll run into something and bust your head. I can't run looking
back. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Old things are passed away. Forgetting
those things which are behind. Now when Paul says forgetting
those things which are behind, he does not mean that he has
not plagued by unpleasant memories just as we are. A lot of folks
think the ideal of the Christian life is that if I could forget
all the bad that's ever happened, if I could not have any unpleasant
feeling about anybody, well, that ain't going to happen. That's
not going to happen. That is the ideal. But we're
not ideal. We have a sinful nature. So this does not mean that Paul
is not plagued by these things. This man had been walked on,
abused, lied on, beaten. This man had himself persecuted
the church. He says, it's a mess back there.
And he says, I don't claim to have arrived at the goal. Don't
misunderstand me. But he says, I'll tell you one
thing. This one thing I do. Forgetting those things which
are behind. Reaching forth unto those things
which are before. Did he totally forget his past?
No. I hadn't been able to do it either.
You had neither. But what Paul is saying is, I
don't live back there. I don't live back there. I refuse
to live back there. Oh, Paul had a memory all right. He couldn't just erase the past
from his mind, neither can we. But he means I refuse to live
back there. I talk to people. who are almost in a coma spiritually,
and it's because of something in the past. Something happened or something
someone did. And they take the position, I
can't live today because I deny that it is today. I refuse to
leave yesterday. I'm going to stay back there.
I'm going to whine about that. I'm going to feel sorry for myself
as the victim back there. I'm going to live back there. And I've heard this excuse. Boy,
after the way that church treated me and my family, I hadn't just
heard that about this church. I've heard it about every church
I've ever heard of. from somebody. After the way that church treated
me and my family, I just don't know if I'll ever go back or
not. Paul says, I refuse to live back there. Just refuse to live
back there. I want to say this morning, in
that respect, I'm no different from you and I speak from personal
experience. No matter how bad you've had
it, by somebody in the past. For your own sake, please, you'd
better forgive them, leave it behind, and come on up here to
today where we're at. Don't live back there. Catch
up. This is April 21, 2013. Don't
tell me what happened to you in 2005 or 1992 84 and you could quote the date
and time, uh-uh. Come on up here. Look ahead. Forgetting those
things which are behind and press toward those things which are
before. Say, oh, if I could just forget
my past. Listen, in Christ You don't have
a past. Need to get a hold of that. That
little phrase, in Christ, in Christ. So often in the New Testament,
it says it all. It says it all. In Christ. And by the way, in
Christ is not related to time. It's an eternal thing. You didn't get in Christ since
you've been in this world. A lot of people don't understand
that. A lot of people don't like that. But the Scripture tells
us clearly that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. God sees us in Him. And how God sees us is what matters. Then today, let me hurriedly
give you a fourth one. One time. One thing. One thing. Psalm 27.
Turn with me to Psalm 27. And we'll promise not to be over
another 30 or 40 minutes here. Psalm 27. And I call this the one thing
of passion. The one thing of passion or the
ruling passion in David's life. Look with me at Psalm 27 verse
4. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. There it is. 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. I don't know of any Bible character
whose life was filled with any greater variety of passions than
was the life of David. We meet him in his youth We follow
him into adulthood, and we read of him in old age, and finally
read that he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and
honor. We see David a son, a servant,
a shepherd, a soldier, and a Savior. We find him working, warring,
weeping, and worshiping. We see David at times rejected,
at times respected, at times ruling, and at times running. I'm telling you, he's a great variety of passions. But
through it all, he is responding to his God. And this text says,
one thing have I desired of the Lord. I told him in our Bible
class I've forgotten most of the proper English breakdown
that I ever learned. I do understand here the future
tense is used side by side with the perfect tense. The word desired
with the suffix ed, it can mean only past tense, but it's used
here of a continuing action. He's saying I have desired I
do yet desire, and I shall continue desire, past, present, and future. One continual desire. One thing
have I desired, do desire, and shall desire of the Lord. That will I seek after, continue
to seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. He's
not talking about a building here, the temple had not yet
been built in David's time. But by house of the Lord is meant
presence of the Lord. He's saying I would dwell, my
desire is to be in the presence of the Lord all the days of my
life. To behold the beauty of the Lord,
that's worship. And he says this is the one thing
I've never gotten over. This is the one thing I've never
gotten tired of. This is the one thing that's
never left me in all my experiences and all my ups and downs, joys
and sorrows, tragedies and triumphs. This is the one thing I've never
seen drop off somewhere by the wayside. And the one thing is
this, I've desired and the desire hadn't changed to be in the presence
of the Lord. to worship Him, to fellowship
with Him, to commune with Him, to be committed to Him. This
was the ruling passion in David's life. Better still, this was
David's life, as reflected throughout the Psalms. Now, this morning,
may I say to you, those of you who are committed to a life of
pleasure, You say, well, I've never been
addressed like that before. Well, you're being addressed that way
right now. To those of you who are committed to a life of pleasure,
I want to say to you, it is very short-lived. If you're only 16, you'll bat
your eye and you'll be 50. If you're 30, you won't turn
around, you'll be 60. I'm telling you, the years Fly
by. And if you are committed to this,
it is very short-lived. It won't last long. Commitment to people might give
you approval. It won't give you life. Commitment to many worthy causes
might give you a lift. It won't give you a life. Commitment to a career, and you
ought to be committed to a career, to a degree. But commitment to
a career may give you a good living. It won't give you a life. David knew that. Only commitment
to Christ will give you a life. I read the comments of two great
old writers concerning this verse. I want to give them to you. This
verse, one thing have I desired of the Lord. The first one was a man named
W.S. Plummer. He says this, the meaning of
David's words is this, I have desired one thing preeminently. I have desired it so much that
in comparison I have desired nothing else." Great statement. Another writer, Joseph Carroll,
he says it more fully. He said, David's desire is an
ardent longing that runs out of the past and into the future.
It is not a momentary thing. Intimate, spiritual intercourse
with God is the consuming desire of his heart. And it is this
which dominated David all his days. Is that not surprising? David is a man's man, a soldier's
soldier, a king's king. And what does he want the most?
The one thing he wants. The one thing he desires. To
behold the beauty of the Lord. To dwell in the presence of the
Lord. Everything else is relatively incidental. Being a great leader,
a great king, a great preacher, a great psalmist, only one thing
really matters, intimate fellowship with God. To be a true worshiper
of God is his ruling passion, and this is the secret of David's
life. Now you and I understand that
David was chosen by God for his role in life. And that brings
me to say a couple of things about his passion that are very
important for you and for me. Number one, passion is not active,
but passive. By that I mean it's not something
we pursue, it's something that pursues us. I have people tell
me, you know, when I get older, I'm going to seek the Lord. You
know, when I get ready to die, I'm going to get serious about
the Lord. What makes you think that your thinking is going to
be any different then than it is right now? I want to say it
won't unless God takes the initiative. It is a miracle of God. than
an old person ever becomes a believer. But it's no less the miracle
of God if a young person ever becomes a believer. I'm saying
it's God's initiative, this thing of passion. It's not something
we pursue. It's something that pursues us.
It's like falling in love. It's not active. It's passive. These young folks, you don't
meet somebody and say, I'm going to fall in love with that person.
Oh no, it just happens. It just happens. It invades us. It overtakes us. It's passive. Not something we make happen,
but something that happens to us. Not something that we overtake
by pursuit, but something that pursues and overtakes us. Well, God had put this passion
in David as a lad, which God's doing. Of course, the Bible says
what the Lord does, he does it forever. David didn't start it. He can't stop it. He loves worship
because he can't help it. God put it in him. And I know
a few folks like that. They're going to be in church.
Anywhere anybody is saying praise to God, anywhere the word of
God is being taught or preached, and they have the opportunity
to go, they're going to be there come hell or high water. That's
a blessed thing. That's a blessed thing. And you
don't do that for yourself. God does that for you. Wow. But now others this morning have
started and stopped, started and stopped. gotten up and fallen down so
many times. Well, it's not in you to stay
up. I know that. But I'm saying to you in spite
of the mess you've made of life, if God has ever or does ever
put this passion in you to know Him, love Him, worship Him, If
He's ever put that in your heart, you'll never get over it. You'll
never get over it. You can suppress it. You can
ignore it. You can fall out with the church
and cuss the preacher from here to China. But you'll have to do what Simon
Peter done. You'll have to go out somewhere and weep bitterly.
If God's ever laid hold on you, He ain't gonna let go. He don't
let go. No. This passion will be there until
you stop and turn and trust. Until then, you're just existing. You're not living. Just existing. Remember the Lord
Jesus. He never said, I've come that
you might have existence. He said, I've come that you might
have life. Like these young folks say to
us past 50, Dad, get a life. Get a life. Honey, I've got it
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't say I've come that
you might have existence, but I've come that you might have
life and have it more abundantly. Oh, yes. Now, this passion that
was in David is often invaded by other passions. David had
some problems. Passions of physical lust. He
had several wives, concubines. You remember the story with Michael,
daughter of Saul. You remember the story with Bathsheba,
wife of Uriah. You remember the story of Abigail,
wife of Nabal, and on and on and on. But all these passions
were temporal, were temporal. They would come and go, not without
a great deal of hurt and suffering, shame, but they were part of
his life. And then there was the passion
for success, security. a passion to number the army
of Israel. David wanted to do that, even
though the Lord said not to. He wanted to be able to say,
we're so many thousands strong. He wanted to do that. Well, deep
down in his heart, he knew that the thousands weren't his strength.
God was. He knew that, but he disobeyed. It was a passion
that overtook him to number the people, and both he and they
suffered for it. So I'm not denying other passions
in David's life. I'm saying the chief one was
God. God. Fleshly passions run their
course. They never canceled out. They
never defeated. The ruling passion placed in
David's heart by God. You remember the story of David
in his youth, he was bold to march into the valley, face the
Philistine giant named Goliath. Not in his own name, not in his
own strength, but he declared openly, I come in the name of
the Lord. David was a warrior, a man of blood, He even cried to God to help
him destroy his enemies. At the same time, he never laid
a finger on God's anointed, who was his bitter enemy, Saul. You see the difference? When Absalom, his own son, revolted,
David had to hang his head and leave the throne. Remember, the
name of Shimei stood upon the hill and cursed him as he left
town. One of David's faithful men said,
let me handle that fella. I'll take his head off. And David
said, no, leave him alone. It might not just be him. It could be the Lord doing it. Let him curse. Let him curse. See, he saw God in everything. In a little bit, here came Zadok.
the high priest carrying the ark. And David said, oh no, take
it back. The ark belongs here at Jerusalem.
He said, if the Lord be pleased to bring me back, I'll be back. He always saw it as all being
in God's hands. Wouldn't that be a good way to
live? To see God. in control of the
good and the bad, God working His will. Finally, this passion
put in David to love and worship the Lord is only a reflection
of God's own passion to redeem sinners. He put in David's heart some of what was in his own heart. And God's own heart is revealed
in Christ, the greater David. God had a little David and kept
him little, but he had a greater David, Christ our Lord. David was a man after God's own
heart Christ was God's own heart. Acts 13.22, and when he had removed
him, talking about Saul, he raised up David to be their king. To
whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the
son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill
all my will. I've heard a lot of people try
to use that verse and say that David never did anything wrong,
he never did anything except the will of God. Well that statement
is a reference to the greater David, who really fulfilled all
God's will. The greater David, the Lord Jesus
Christ. So this passion God put in David,
this passion God puts in his people is really Christ in us. And He pulls us year after year. Pulls us on. This passion never
dies. Why? Because it's Christ Himself
living in us. Pulling us home to God. I'm glad I know Him this morning.
I thank God for the one thing of profession. Whereas I was
blind, now I see. I thank God for the one thing,
a position at His feet, to sit at His feet and hear His voice,
obey His word. I thank God for the one thing,
a progress, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching
forth unto those things which are before. And I thank God for
the one thing of passion that I may dwell in the presence of
the Lord forever. These four characters said this,
I'll tell you one thing. What do you got to say today?
I want to say it with them. I'll tell you one thing. Thank
God. for His coming my way, leading
me to profess Him as my Lord and Redeemer. Thank Him for coming
my way, putting in me to want to get off somewhere and sit
at His feet and to hear a word from Him. Thank God for this
one thing He put in me to want to make some progress as a believer,
to want to do something right before I leave this world. And
thank God, finally and most of all, for the passion He put in
my heart to want to be in His presence. Bless His holy name. All right, stand with me.