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The One Thing
Matthew 19:16-26 (The Message):
“Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’
“Jesus said, ‘Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.’
“The man asked, ‘What in particular?"’
“Jesus said, ‘Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.’
“The young man said, ‘I've done all that. What's left?’ <
‘If you want to give it all you've got,’ Jesus replied, ‘go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.’
“That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crest-fallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go.
“As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, ‘Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God's kingdom? Let me tell you, it's easier to gallop a camel through a needle's eye than for the rich to enter God's kingdom.’
“The disciples were staggered. ‘Then who has any chance at all?’
“Jesus looked hard at them and said, ‘No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.’The One Thing
In a scene from the movie City Slickers the cagey old cowboy teaches three wanna be cowboys a lesson on the meaning of life. In the evening during a cattle drive, the dudes, three city slickers, sit around a campfire with their rugged and antisocial trail guide. They recognize that the survival of the herd and their own well being depends on the cowboy’s skill, judgment, and efforts to contend with the unpredictable elements of the environment.
Billy Crystal, playing one of the city boys, turns to the old wrinkled cowhand. “You seem to be at peace with yourself and confident that there isn’t anything you can’t handle. How can I get where you are at?”
The old cowhand thinks for a moment and replies, “It’s just one thing.”
Billy Crystal inquires, “What is that?” referring to the single finger the old cowboy points in the air.
“That’s the secret!” the old cowboy says, peering into Crystal’s eyes.
Billy Crystal inquires further. “What’s the one thing?”
Still holding up one finger, the cowboy advises, “Well that’s up to you. But to have a sense of purpose and develop confidence in their capabilities, a person must pursue—just one thing.”
Our job is to figure out what that “one thing” actually is. For the rich young ruler who came to Jesus, it was his possessions, or more likely the status that came with those possessions. But if we are honest with ourselves, we all have one thing that is really central to our lives that we really could not part with.
The point of the movie is about coming to the place where you know what your life is about. For Billy Crystal’s character, it turns out to be his love for his family. If you had to strip your life down to the most important thing, what would be your “one thing”?
- What does the movie City Slickers and the story of the Rich Young Ruler have in common?
- What “one thing” gets in your way of making Jesus first?
- Is it hopeless? Can we ever learn to let go and make Jesus first? Explain.
See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 91.
Highlight the sentence that states, “Let the purpose be sincere . . .”
Philippians 3:13,14 (Contemporary English Version) :
“My friends, I don't feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.”
‘One thing I do.’ Paul allowed nothing to divert him from the one great purpose of his life. . . . In the busy activities of life, he never lost sight of his one great purpose--to press on toward the prize of his high calling” (This Day with God, p. 374).
Here’s What I Think
Kelly loves to read novels, and she sometimes loses track of time. In many ways it is a way for her to escape. Her mother noticed that her time with reading was increasing and commented, “Kelly, you have been reading a lot lately. Why don’t you try taking a break and doing something different?”
Kelly stiffened and replied, “Maybe later.” But she did think about how much time she was spending on her hobby and how little time she spent with God. Still, her books were more enjoyable than “quiet time with God.” That hadn’t been true in her life before, and she wondered how she might return to a more meaningful relationship with God.
If she came to you about “getting focused,” how would you encourage her to focus her life on the “one thing” in a way that was helpful and joyful?
Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up-front and honest. Say what you think. The lines below are provided as an alternative to posting or to record your thoughts to share with your class later.
Today’s Reading is long. It contains stories from several different places in the Bible. These stories show different ways to fast. When you have finished with “Today’s Reading” there will be lines for you to make a list of the different ways the Bible discusses fasting.
Matthew 6:16,17 (Contemporary English Version) :
“When you go without eating,] don't try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward. Instead, comb your hair and wash your face.”
Luke 5:32-34 (New King James Version)
“‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’
Then they said to Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?’
And He said to them, ‘Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?’ ”
Isaiah 58: 1-5, (The Message):
“‘Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what's wrong with their lives,face my family Jacob with their sins!
They're busy, busy, busy at worship,
and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people—
law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, “What's the right thing to do?”
and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
“Why do we fast and you don't look our way?
Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?”
‘Well, here's why:
‘The bottom line on your “fast days” is profit.
You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
won't get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after:
a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
a fast day that I, God, would like?”
Daniel 1:11-16 (The Message)
“But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: ‘Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see.’
“The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables.”
Daniel 6:17-19 (New King James Version) :
“Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
“Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.”
- How should we fast?
- Does fasting always mean that we don’t eat?
- What is the purpose of fasting?
- What should we be able to accomplish from fasting?
See Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing pp. 91, 92.
Highlight the sentence that begins, “When we make any reserve . . .”
Psalm 27:4 (The Message)
“I'm asking God for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I'll contemplate his beauty;
I'll study at his feet.”
So What?
There is a postcard that shows the final exam in a dog training exercise. Approximately 15 German shepherds are lined up in a sitting position along an open walkway. Walking before the line of brave candidates is a black and white cat sauntering along the line of dogs, seemingly unaffected by the dangerous scenario that could easily shorten its life. Imagine the focus, the discipline, the single-mindedness of those canines.
Fasting isn’t required for your ticket to heaven. Fasters do not earn more points on their spiritual scorecard of more jewels in their crown. In truth, fasting is for those who struggle with staying focused. It is for those who desperately wrestle with keeping God a priority in their lives. Some people can’t work with clutter; they have to clean their room or their office in order to be able to work effectively.
Fasting is about clearing the clutter from your spiritual life. Fast from TV if it gets in the way of your walk with God. Take a day or two away from the Internet if you spend more time chatting than you do in conversation with the Savior. Take a break from sports or shopping or junk food. Find something that has a way of getting in the way—even if it is a good thing—and abstain from it while putting your focus on Christ. Most of all, fasting is about our hearts being bent on seeking the “One Thing.”
- Is being focused a universal problem or do just a few people struggle with being focused?
- Can you become focused on God all by yourself?
Match the phrase with the text.
- “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.”
- “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus . . .”
- “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this . . .”
- “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young . . .”
- “When you fast, do not look somber . . .”
A. Philippians 4:8, 9 (NIV)
B. James 1:27 (NIV)
C. Hebrews 3:1 (NIV)
D. Matthew 6:16-18
E. 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing p. 92.
Highlight the sentence that states, “The invitation of mercy is still full of love . . .”
“The ‘one thing’ that Martha needed was a calm, devotional spirit, a deeper anxiety for knowledge concerning the future, immortal life, and the graces necessary for spiritual advancement. She needed less anxiety for the things which pass away, and more for those things which endure forever. Jesus would teach His children to seize every opportunity of gaining that knowledge which will make them wise unto salvation. The cause of Christ needs careful, energetic workers. There is a wide field for the Marthas, with their zeal in active religious work. But let them first sit with Mary at the feet of Jesus. Let diligence, promptness, and energy be sanctified by the grace of Christ; then the life will be an unconquerable power for good.
“The reason why the youth, and even those of mature years, are so easily led into temptation and sin, is that they do not study the word of God and meditate upon it as they should. The lack of firm, decided will power, which is manifest in life and character, results from neglect of the sacred instruction of God's Word. They do not by earnest effort direct the mind to that which would inspire pure, holy thought and divert it from that which is impure and untrue. There are few who choose the better part, who sit at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, to learn of the divine Teacher. Few treasure His words in the heart and practice them in the life.” (Conflict and Courage, p. 304).
What Does This Have to Do With Me?
If you were to think about the “one thing” that Jesus was about, what would that be? It was always related to trying to shape the perceptions people had about God. But sometimes the one thing for Jesus was simply putting an end to someone’s pain. There are times when Jesus was passionate about fasting and He did it all day long. Other times Jesus had one thing in mind and that was to get away and just be alone with the Father.
But of all the “one things” in the heart of Christ, securing eternity for you was the number one object. Nothing, absolutely nothing, got in the way of His making a way for you to be with Him eternally. Max Lucado said it well when he noted that God could bear your sin more easily that He could bear the thought of being without you for eternity.
Single-minded? Focused? You better believe it! And if Jesus were filling out the student lesson this week, your name would be listed as the “one thing.” Make no mistake about what you mean to God. As you do that, Jesus will teach you step-by-step what it means to make Him the “one thing” in your life.
See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing p. 93.
Highlight the sentence that states, “No soul is ever finally deserted of God . . .”
Genesis 22 (Contemporary English Version) :
“Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him.
“Abraham answered, ‘Here I am, LORD.’
“The LORD said, ‘Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar.’ So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go.
“Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. He told his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back.’
“Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, Isaac said, ‘Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?’
‘My son,’ Abraham answered, ‘God will provide the lamb.’
“The two of them walked on, and when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. But the LORD's angel shouted from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’
‘Here I am!’ he answered.
‘Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!’ the angel said. ‘Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.’
“Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.
“Abraham named that place ‘The LORD Will Provide.’ And even now people say, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’ LORD's angel called out from heaven a second time:
“You were willing to offer the LORD your only son, and so he makes you this solemn promise, ‘I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live. You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth.’ "
- How much did Abraham surrender to God?
- Did God test him?
- Does God sometimes test us in order to teach us and bring us closer to Him?
- Will God testing us help us learn to focus on Him?
Bottom of Form
How Does It Work?
Think of three areas of your life in which you could fast this week. For each area, identify the one thing you want to focus on (prayer life with God, the ability to serve others, Bible study, quiet communion, self-control, and put it on the line under the number 1. This is the “one thing” you want to be about for that period of time. You will also notice the other spaces around number 1—these are for the things that get in the way or that you might want to refrain from as you focus on the “one thing”.
1
1
1