It is easy to get caught up with what is in it for me in life and in church. However, as mature believers, we should be cautious against Christian consumerism, and instead ask ourselves what we can fulfil regarding what God has entrusted to us as believers and as a church.
Luke 4:40-43 (NKJV) When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
Because the crowd had been greatly blessed by the ministry of Jesus, they had personalised the ministry of Jesus. Never had they seen such a loving, compassionate, and impartial person who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Jesus’ popularity surged when they witnessed His miraculous works, and hearing the demons say, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” must have been the peak of their excitement. However, it is human tendency to keep what is good to ourselves and never seem to have enough of everything that is good. Therefore, the crowd tried to keep Jesus from leaving them because they had developed a consumer mentality that their own needs had yet to be met.
Likewise, we have been blessed because we have responded to the good news of the Gospel; we are saved and have a wonderful relationship with God. Because we will have many needs in our lives that require Jesus’ attention, if we are not careful, we might be preoccupied with our need of Him and develop a consumer mentality because we want God to answer all our prayers and meet all our needs.
But Jesus is different from many people who like to bask in the limelight and enjoy the attention of crowd. He was not looking for the popularity vote, but had a very different agenda that saw beyond the physical needs of the people, because He wanted the people to be saved and come into the Kingdom of God.
Sermon Series: It’s Urgent and a Top Priority
提防基督教消费主义
基督徒很容易陷入这样一种思维：在生活和教会中基督教于我有何益处呢？ 但是，作为成熟的信徒，我们应该提防基督教消费主义，并且扪心自问：我们要如何实现神给我们和教会的托付。
路加福音4：40-43 日落的时候，凡有病人的，不论害什么病，都带到耶稣那里。耶稣按手在他们各人身上，医好他们。又有鬼从好些人身上出来，喊着说：“你是 神的儿子！”耶稣斥责他们，不许他们说话，因为他们知道他是基督. 天亮的时候，耶稣出来，走到旷野地方。众人去找他，到了他那里，要留住他，不要他离开他们。但耶稣对他们说：“我也必须在别城传 神国的福音，因我奉差原是为此。”
因为耶稣的侍奉，众人都得到了极大的祝福，他们都各自体验到了耶稣的事工。 他们从未见过这样一个充满爱心，同情心和无私的人，祂周游四方行善事，医治一切被鬼压制的人。当人们亲眼看到祂所行的神迹，亲耳听见鬼魔说：“你是基督，神的儿子！”，这应该是他们狂热的巅峰，一时之间耶稣的人气暴涨。然而，人类总是倾向于留住对自己有益的东西，对美好事物的欲求永远没个够。因此，人群试图阻止耶稣离开他们，因为他们已经形成了一种消费者心态，他们的需求尚未得到满足。
同样，我们也很蒙福，因为我们对福音的好消息做出了回应。 我们得救了，并与上帝建立了美好的关系。 因为我们在生活中会有许多需求需要耶稣的眷顾，所以如果我们不小心，我们可能会一门心思地想着对祂的需求，从而培养出一种消费心态，因为我们希望上帝回应我们所有的祈祷并满足我们所有的需求。
但耶稣与那些喜欢沐浴在镁光灯下享受万众瞩目之人不同。祂所寻求的不是人气投票，祂的议程超乎人的物质需求，因为祂要人人都得救，并进入上帝的国度。
讲章系列：这是紧迫和当务之急的
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