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2 Peter 1:5-11; But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

When a businessman sets out to start a business, he does not plan to open shop for only 1 year and then closes it down. Neither does one enter into a marriage and plans to end it in 5 years’ time. No one in their right frame of mind will start a new venture in life or career with the plan to let it last for a short period of time and then calls it quit. When we plan, we plan to build. When we build, we build to last.

The bible says that if we take God’s words and put it into our lives, we will not fall or stumble easily. However, if our lives are not productive, then we need to access ourselves and ask whether we are focusing on the right thing. If the focus is wrong, it is important to take a step back and ask God what is really important in order to refocus ourselves back on the things that are productive, fruitful and crucial. Simply put, we need to focus on the right thing and we need to change.

The bible has lots to say about being focus. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the things (i.e. food, clothes) we need will be added unto what we already have. Jesus was teaching the disciples not to focus on what they should eat and wear but to seek first the things of God and His righteousness. This refers to the right kind of mindset and values we hold in our lives. As we seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness, Christ’s mindset and His values will be part of our lives, too. Hence, it is critical we focus our mind on spiritual things for our lives to have a turnaround. For example, if you are a businessman, it is better to focus on giving your best to serving the customers rather than on the competitions, watch what they do and retaliate.

The bible illustrates an example of a rich young man who approached Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do in order to be saved – Matthew 19:16-22. He obeyed the Ten Commandments from his youth days but he knew not what else was missing for him to attain eternal life. When he was told to sell all he has, give to the poor and follow Jesus, the young man walked away sad. He was unable to give up his earthly possessions. For this rich young man, he focused on the commandments for the sake of obeying it. He did not understand the spirit behind the Ten Commandments. To him, the commandments were just a set of law to obey. He failed to understand that the spirit of the commandments is to love God and people. If the young ruler understands the spirit behind the commandments, he would have gladly given up everything to love the poor and follow Jesus. He focused on the need to obey the law of the commandments and not the spirit behind the commandments. This does not last for eternity. Instead, we are to focus on things that will last for eternity whether we are in business, working for others, studying, and etc.

What then should we do in order to ensure that everything we do, we build it to last for eternity? The disciples heard Jesus’ reply to the rich young man. Jesus knew their thoughts and their lack of understanding – Matthew 12:25. He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. Desolation means brought to nothing. The devil is not afraid of many people going to church but he knows that he can break the church into fragments and divide the people of God up. When the church of God is divided and fighting among themselves, they cannot be united as one. They cannot build anything as one united force that will last for eternity. Neither can the church as an individual build anything to last for eternity if the heart is divided between things of God and things of the world.

Does this mean an end for the church of God? No. In the church, there must be something that bind all the families of God together and not be divided. It is the place of agreement. The place of agreement is the place of power. God knows the strategies of Satan and He has a plan in mind for the families of God. Through the bible, the word of God, we learn about values taught by God in the Ten Commandments (Old Testament, Exodus 20:1-17) and the two great commandments mentioned by Jesus (New Testament, Luke 22:35-40).

Please go to Sermon Alive to look at Part 2 to Part 6.