Sermons
How Do We Know What Our Priorities Are?
How Do We Know What Our Priorities Are?
Introduction: There are things that are more important than others. The kingdom of God and His righteousness are more important than food, drink, and clothing (Matt. 6:33). Food which endures to everlasting life is more important that the food which perishes (John 6:27). Jesus tells us that we are not to love anyone more than we love Him (Matt. 10:37). In coming to Christ and being His disciples, we must deny ourselves and forsake all that we have for Him (Matt. 16:24; Luke 14:33).
What is most important to you? What are your priorities in life? Being honest in our answer to these questions is not easy. The temptation is to answer in terms of what we know SHOULD BE most important, and not what is in fact most important to us. “The Lord and His kingdom are most important to me,” we may say because we know that is what we ought to say, and if we say it enough, we may convince ourselves that that is true, when it may not be true.
If we think we are moving more or less in the direction of “first things first,” we may think that gives us the right to say that the things of the Lord are our top priorities. We may say it like this, “I plan to pray and study my Bible more just as soon as I can get my schedule under control.” Since our intentions are good, we think our priorities are where they ought to be and the Lord is pleased.
The lesson today is designed to test what truly is important to us. We want to answer the question, “How do we know what our priorities are?”
I. Our Priorities are Determined by Our PRACTICE, Not by Our Words or Our Theories.
A. Matt. 19:16-22 This rich young ruler would have probably said that the things of God were his
highest priority.
1. He was interested to know what he must do to have eternal life.
2. He said he had kept the commandments from his youth.
3. He wanted to know what he lacked to have eternal life.
4. But when the Lord told him to “go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me," the young man “went away sorrowful, for he had
great possessions.”
5. What this young man may have said about his values indicated one thing, but his ACTIONS
indicated another.
B. We need to understand, the Lord does not judge what our priorities are by listening to our theories
but by looking at our PRACTICE.
1. Matt. 21:28-32 Who did the will of his father? Was it the one who said the right words, OR
the one who repented and DID what the father said?
2. James 2:14-26 Who has saving faith -- the one who says he has faith, OR the one who
SHOWS his faith by his WORKS? (note v. 18)
3. Matt. 7:21-23 Who will enter the kingdom of heaven -- the one who says Jesus is Lord, OR
the one who DOES the will of the Father?
C. How do I know what my priorities are? I know by looking at what I am IN FACT DOING with my
life.
1. We need to muster up the courage to look at ourselves concerning what means most to us as to
actual FACT (by what we DO). We know what God sees in us is actual fact. We need to see
what God sees.
This means we need to ask ourselves some BLUNT QUESTIONS as to what our priorities are.
II. Some BLUNT QUESTIONS as to What Our Priorities Are
A. What do others say our priorities are?
1. Others may not know us as well as we know ourselves, but they are often more objective about
what they do know.
2. Our neighbor next door could probably sum up in a word or two what we are really about.
3. Perhaps more than anyone, our children and our spouse are able to cut through our words and
tell what actually matters most to us in the rough and tumble of daily living.
a. Ask them to help you in your honest quest as to what your true priorities are.
4. Acts 8:20-23 Peter helped Simon
5. Gal. 2:11-14 Paul helped Peter
6. 1 Cor. 3:3-4 Paul helped the Corinthians
7. Be willing to listen to others.
a. Prov. 15:5, 10
b. Prov. 27:5-6
c. James 3:17 We must be “easy to be entreated” (ASV), “willing to yield.” (NKJV)
B. What do we think about?
1. Our true priorities are the things our minds are drawn to when they are in neutral. When
activities and obligations do not require us to be thinking about anything in particular our
thoughts are attracted like filings to a magnet to our real enthusiasms.
2. Psalm 1:1-2; 119:97 Who is the one who truly loves God and put Him first in his life?
He is the one who meditates on God’s word throughout the day.
3. Matt. 5:6 Those who hunger and thirst for food and drink will think about food and drink.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will think about the righteousness of God.
C. What do we talk about?
1. The conversations we engage in arise out of the things that are in our hearts. Matt. 12:33-35
a. We usually talk about those things that are on our minds, things in which we are interested.
2. If we have to admit that we rarely talk about the Lord except in connection with the Bible
classes and assemblies of the local church, that ought to tell us something.
a. And even if we do sometimes talk about the things of God, if our acquaintances would have
to say that our conversation gravitates more naturally and enthusiastically toward other
things, then there is serious doubt whether our ultimate priorities are really of the kingdom
of God.
3. What we talk about speaks loudly regarding our values.
D. How do we spend our time?
1. We probably don’t have as much spare time as we would like, but all of us have some and the
way we spend it displays our priorities.
2. The Christian realizes the value of time and the importance of using it well. James 4:14;
Psalm 90:12; Eph. 5:16; John 9:4
3. How we spend our time speaks loudly regarding what is important to us.
a. Example: There are families who vacation by traveling to gospel meeting, or to Bible
lectureships in distance states. Judging from the use of time that was theirs to do with as
they please, one would tend to believe such folks if they said they loved the Lord more
than anything. On the other hand, there are folks who all their working lives complained
that they did not have as much time as they wanted to do the Lord’s work, and then spent
all of their retirement years in personal leisure with perhaps less time devoted to the Lord
and His work than before.
b. Example: There are those who say they do not have time to do personal work, but they find
the time to go fishing, got to a football game, or play golf. People usually do what they
want to do.
c. But someone might say, “I don’t enjoy reading and studying. It’s hard for me to do that.”
ILL. A mother probably doesn’t enjoy tending to a sick child in the middle of the night,
but she does it because that child is important to her.
I don’t enjoy the process of reading and studying, but I do enjoy learning God’s word.
We do what we have to do to accomplish what is important to us.
E. How do we spend our money?
1. How we spend our money says a lot about what our commitments are. 2 Cor. 8:1-5
a. The reason the Macedonians gave beyond their ability was because they first gave
themselves to the Lord.
2. Example: Suppose a Bible class teacher recommended a $40 reference book that would help us
in our Bible study, but we said we could not afford it. But suppose at the same time, we spend
that much to attend one football game, or we spend that much a week eating out, or we spend
that much or more on decorative home furnishings. Could anyone then take seriously our
claim that the Lord’s cause is our uppermost concern.
F. What gives when we face a conflict of priorities?
1. Be assured, conflicts will arise that will test what is most important to us.
a. Jesus warns us these conflicts will occur and instructs us what to do when they do occur.
Matt. 10:34-36;
A) ILL. The Lord commands me to do something, but my children want me to do
something different. The choice I make reflects where my priority is.
b. Gal. 5:16-17 I desire one thing, but the Spirit instructs me to do something different.
The choice I make says a lot about what is most important to me.
2. Of the many conflicts involving priorities, perhaps none are more annoying than what we might
call scheduling conflicts. Unable to be at two places at the same time. We very often have to
give up one activity for another. When that happens, if we subordinate the things of the Lord
to worldly activities, then we show where our priorities really are.
a. Example: In the matter of sports, if we can manage it such that our softball league and the
services of the church do not conflict, that is all well and good, but it says relatively little
about our priorities. When the occasional conflict does arise, that is when we make a
statement about our priorities. Do we play ball, or do we worship God with the saints?
b. Indeed, it is when priorities collide that we learn the most about ourselves, our values, and
whether the Lord reigns within us or not.
Conclusion: How do I know in all honesty what my priorities are? It is by looking at what I am in fact doing with my life – what I think about, what I talk about, how I spend my time, how I spend my money, and what gives when conflicts arise. Where my priorities are, there will my energy and enthusiasm be also.
(This outline is based on an article written by Gary Henry entitled “How Do I Know What My Priorities Are?”)
