One Thing // A Life Rooted in Worship

Big Idea:

There is a peace, confidence, and security that comes when worship of God is our primary focus. 

Scriptures:

Psalm 27

Matthew 7:24-27

Questions:

1. What’s one area of life where you’ve recently felt either confident/secure or shaken/behind? What made the difference?
2. When you think about the idea of the most important “one thing” in your life, what comes to mind?
3. In Psalm 27:1–3 , David speaks with bold confidence: “Whom shall I fear?” What stands out to you about where his confidence comes from?
4. Verse 4 says, “One thing I ask… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord.” What do you think David means by this? What might it look like to live this way in our lives today?
5. The sermon suggests that we don’t set priorities based on efficiency but on affection. Do you agree? How do our loves shape our time, talent, and treasure?
6. David moves from confidence (vv.1–6) to a prayer for mercy (vv.7–9) . What does that shift teach us about faith when fear or anxiety resurfaces?
7. Verse 8 says, “Seek His face.” What does it practically mean to “seek God’s face” in everyday life?
8. In Matthew 7:24–27 , Jesus describes building on rock versus sand. How does this connect to Psalm 27’s vision of making God our “one thing”?
9. The sermon contends that many good things (family, career, health, wealth) make poor foundations. Why do you think good things can become unstable “ultimate things”?
10. How might prioritizing worship—centering your life on God—bring peace and confidence in seasons of uncertainty?
11. If you evaluated your current priorities honestly, what is competing most for first place in your life right now?
12. What is one intentional step you could take this week to put Jesus first in a practical way (time, prayer, obedience, calendar, generosity, reconciliation, etc.)?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to the Refinery Church Sermon Podcast. We're so glad you've joined us today. Our prayer is that this message will help you grow in your pursuit to love and follow Jesus for life. If you'd like to learn more about the refinery, find ways to get connected, share a prayer request, or explore resources to help you grow deeper in your walk with Christ, visit us online at refineryohio.com. Now let's dive into today's message.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

So it's just a good day. But one of the things that we could all relate to is that just there's a lot of stuff in life to juggle, right? Between work and family, like trying to get to all the different things, the different places, the goals, the ambitions, all those various elements that we have. There's a lot, and sometimes navigating life is tricky. Sometimes it's pretty easy, like I feel like I'm crushing it. Like I'll get to the end of the workday and I'm like, I think I got like pretty much everything done. I'm gonna give myself a couple days off, right? And then there's other days I'm like, I don't know that I did anything beneficial whatsoever today. There's times like I feel like in complete control where I get to call the shots of what's going on. And then like my kids wake up and I realize that's not the case. Um and I just feel like I'm trying to keep pace with what life is and how to kind of navigate those things. We need a solid foundation if we're gonna accomplish anything of significance. In the midst of everything that needs to be done, like, how do we focus? How do we prioritize what's most important? So think about it from a work vantage point, regardless of what kind of work you're in. If you were to go into work and there was no focus, there was no prioritization, there was no clarity on what the objective was to get completed, how do you do your job? Especially if you're a part of a team. We don't know what we're trying to do, we don't know where we're trying to get, we don't know how all the pieces fit. Like your organization, if that were to describe it at all, you're probably not gonna be employed there long. Because if the organization's not gonna last, you need clarity. Uh think about it from your finances. Do you have clarity on what is your priority? Uh there's no limit to the amount of things we can spend money on, but there is a limit to money. Uh just the other day, my youngest son texted me. He said, Dad, I thought about it pretty hard. And I want to spend X number of dollars on this one thing. He's been saving for like two and a half weeks now for this one huge thing he's wanted to buy. And he's spent three times in that two and a half weeks, I think, as he's been saving meticulously. Um but since he thought about it pretty hard, I mean, right? Thought about it pretty hard. Consider your calendar. What's a non-negotiable for you? What gets the priority when you're trying to map out your plan individually, your plan as a family, your plan as an organization professionally? Like, what is it's like, yeah, we're not doing that because we've got this? Or no, we I'm definitely not doing that. Somebody calls and says, hey, I got tickets to, or hey, would you like to go to, or hey, you know, do you have time space for? Like, what is it where it's just like, if this is on the calendar, it doesn't get moved. When we prioritize well, we've got more solid footing. We feel more confident in like what we're trying to accomplish, what we're trying to do. So consider a few simple examples. You don't plan well when to leave for an appointment, a meeting, a practice, a game. Maybe it was church this morning. You're like, oh yeah, if I get up 10 minutes before we need to leave, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. And then you're in the car and you're like stressing and sweating. You ever done this on like the way to a meeting? My middle son the other day, he uh had a football conditioning and we were trying to organize a couple of different pieces, and um, I get in the car, I'm like, oh, I just realized I forgot this. Do you care if I go back? And he goes, No, I'm gonna be late, I'm already gonna panic, so no big deal. But he said it so casually, I felt like it was okay. But have you ever done this? Like you're you're running like, but you knew what time it was. The meeting's at nine, the meetings at ten, the meeting, the meeting's always at ten. And you get in the car and you know you're not gonna make it on how you feel. How do you feel in that moment? You get angry at the red light? Oh, I can't believe it. This light always turns red. Well, if it always turns red, go a different way. Or leave five minutes earlier. But we get frustrated at those things because why? We didn't prioritize. You don't budget well for the money you have coming in. You get to the end of the month and the money's gone, but the bills aren't. How do you feel? You get to the end of the month and the money's out, or the money's all allocated, but then somebody calls with an opportunity. Hey, you want to go to dinner, you want to go to a movie, you want to go to the concert, you want to go to the game, and you know it's gonna cost more than you've got budgeted, how do you prioritize? How do you feel in that moment? You've got a large presentation to prepare, you have a paper to write, you've got a test, an exam, a certification, something. It's going down tomorrow and it's the day before, and you've just decided to start working on it. How do you feel? Oh, I do my best work procrastinating. That's actually never true. But it's great you can convince yourself of that. How do you feel in those moments? When we fail to prioritize well in these things, it inevitably shakes us. If you're running late, like you're frustrated, you're aggravated, you're on edge, you're trying to get in, and you're not settled, and yet you made all the decisions to lead up to that point. And these are small examples. Small examples of time and small examples of money, and there's bigger things in life as well. But when we do this, when we fail to prioritize, we lack peace. This month, we're kind of focusing this idea on this one thing. I love something John Maxwell says. He speaks about it in a different way. He says, one is too small a number to achieve anything of significance. Now, what he's talking about is in the realm of relationships, like in the realm of community. Like one is not enough, like you need more. And we believe in living in community. We think it's something that you should work at. It really matters. It's not always easy. But one is too small a number when you think about community. Community requires more than one person, yet, in many other ways in our lives, one small thing can make all the difference. You think about a one-second race in the Olympics. It's like, how'd you do? I only finished one second behind first place. So you got what, like ninth? It's the difference between gold in the podium and opportunities to speak and make money and do all those things, and no one even knows your name. Think about the difference between what one great idea can do to alter the course of a career. Some people have literally made their career off one great idea that they were continued to speak with, or one great skill. One made or missed shot can be the difference in a championship game. Anybody see the game the other night? If Wimby would have made one more shot, the whole series looks different. You ever try to sell a house? You know the difference between zero offers and one offer? It's a lot. You imagine going through a really difficult time, you're in a tough place. How much of a difference does it make when just one friend gives you a call? One can make all the difference in the world. And so in this series, we want to look at five passages of scripture that lean into this idea of one thing. And we'll look at the ideas of worship and generosity, discipleship, and evangelism. And this morning I'd like to begin by looking at Psalm 27. If you're not familiar with the Bible, we're about midway through the Bible. Psalms is the largest book in the Bible. It's in the Old Testament, 39 books in the Old Testament. If you don't have your Bible, or if you don't have a Bible, we'll happily give you one. It's the exact same one I use. You can just stop by the connection hub and they'll give you one. And as we read this, it's a Psalm of David. And David, in the first half of the Psalm, has this tremendous sense of confidence we'll read about in just a moment. But then halfway through, you'll see this pivot, some anxiety, some fear, some doubt. And isn't that how life works? Sometimes, again, we feel like we've got it all together, we're balancing everything the way we need, and then at other times, not so much. And this is what it reads in Psalm 27, beginning in verse 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, like that's strong language. I don't know if you've ever had anything like try to devour you. If you've ever vacationed in certain parts and there's gators there, they will try to devour you. When they try to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, again, you've not experienced an army trying to besiege you, nor have I. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. And when David writes these, these are things he's experienced and experiencing. Though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. Now, before we go on to the next part, I just want to sit here for just a minute. Imagine living with this kind of perspective. We get frustrated sometimes if the light doesn't change fast enough, let alone enemies trying to devour us. We get mad because the market takes a turn or the weather's not what we thought or somebody didn't come through in the way we expect. And he's talking about war. What gives you a sense in living where you say, man, even if people come against me, they're the ones that are going to stumble. I don't have to worry about them. Yeah, if an army comes after me, like I've got no fear in my heart. If war breaks out literally all around me, I'm still confident. What makes the difference? The psalmist goes on, David goes on. He says, One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Now, what this translates to is not like I just want to go live at the church. Like, we don't want you living here. That's not the way it translated there either. But this one thing that's most important to me is that I organize all of my life around who you are, God, and who you say that I am. To gaze on the beauty of the Lord. Verse 5, for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling, he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. When we've mismanaged our time, when we've mismanaged our money, when we've mismanaged priorities, like we get shaken, we get frustrated, the smallest things aggravate us. When we don't plan well for the things that we need to take care of, we blame other people, it's everyone else's fault. Like I've got a bad deal, I didn't get a fair shake, like all these things, it's just too much for us. We have to deal with the ramifications of the choices we've made. And as I said, like at the beginning of the message, there's a lot in life that we do actually have to navigate. Like you're you're navigating family and relationships, social relationships. You're navigating career and how it's working and it's taking off like crazy, or it's struggling and it's not going anywhere, or you just recently were let go. I mean, like you have to navigate that in some way, shape, or form. You navigate your health. And some of you are in peak health, and others, man, the the the news has been kind of dicey and you're trying to figure out those pieces. We navigate cultural situations and settings. We navigate financial security, like all these things matter, but they can't all be number one. My family's my number one thing. It is always. Work never gets in the way. Well, sometimes. Sometimes work's number one. But family's like a close second, and it works only number one so that family can be taken care of. So it's like family's one. What about when your health goes sour? How are you then? Well, then health is number one, because then I gotta take care of my health so that I can take care of my family so I can do my work. And it's like, what about just your recreation, your yourself? You ever just bail on the family to go, I don't know, hit a white ball around like something or crochet? I don't I don't know. That was the best example I could come up with in a moment. Well, yes, sometimes like my personal like hobbies are number one, but then it's everything can't be number one. So what are we to do? Because like all these things matter. Psalm 27 gives us a way forward. The psalmist seeks one thing above all else: abiding in relationship with God. That's it. What's your number one thing, David? Like what's most important to you in life? Like you're you're running a kingdom, you are dealing with actual war, you've got family stuff going on, and David dealt with some messed up family stuff. What do you do? My one thing? The one thing I seek. I want to abide in relationship with God. You see, that kind of life drives away fear. Fear, anxiety, they still rear their heads, but they have no place in the heart. When our confidence is in God, he steadies us in a way and he makes a way through things that would have once undone us. Abiding in relationship with God gives a sense of joy and gladness. Abiding in relationship with God helps us navigate challenges and circumstances and obstacles. When God is our first priority, everything else falls into place.

unknown 13:53

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

If family's your first priority, it's too much on your family. You never have family difficulties? Well, no, they do. So then your number one just gets shot, like it's gone. Well, career, that's the one thing I can control. Because sometimes you do this, you can't control things at home, so you go to work because those are the things that I can order. You can always control things at work? No, you can't. So what happens when that gets shaken? You get shaken, you get frustrated, you get upset. Well, I carry my stress from family to my work, I carry my stress from work to my family. It's just a great relationship we have. Mismanaged priorities bring fear in our lives. There's not enough time, there's not enough room, there's not enough space, there's not enough money, there's simply not enough, everything won't fit. Because my family needs this and my work needs this, and I just need this for myself, but then there's these cultural expectations, there's these social expects. Everybody is asking for something from me, and so everything can't win all the time, but it feels like it has to win all the time. Have you ever felt that way? You say, No, I keep a perfect life balance. Never wrestled with that. God bless you. Rightly ordered worship brings peace in our lives. Opportunities and accomplishments they can be celebrated, challenges and difficulties, they can be navigated. Look with me again to verse 4. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord. I've just got to keep my eyes on you, as we sung just moments ago. And to seek him in his temple. You see, because in our lives we don't set our priorities based on efficiencies. You don't. We don't set our lives the priorities based on effectiveness, we really don't. We set our priorities in life based upon our affections. What captures our heart will capture our time. What captures our heart will capture our resources. What captures our heart will capture our focus. Day before vacation. Because you got to. When it's Monday, it's like, ah, Tuesday tomorrow. I'll be fine. I'll catch up then. What captures our heart will shape what we submit our lives to. So who or what do I most love? That's your priority. That's fundamentally what you worship. Who or what do I most love? Who or what does my family most order our lives around? Who or what does my organization most order its life around? Where does that love for, where does love for that thing or where does love for that person lead ultimately? Who, what is most worthy of our love? God invites us to love him because he first chose to love us. And David, the author of the Psalm, he says, listen, if I orient my life around this one thing, if I orient my life around the love of God, then I can be the king I need to be, then I can be the father, then I can be the husband, I can do all these other things. Worship isn't about religious duty, it's about centering us on what we most love. What you most love is what you prioritize. It's not what we say, it's what we do. We just look at our lives. Somebody follows you around, tracks you around, sees how you organize your calendar, sees how you organize your finance, sees how you organize the things you say, and we can tell you, you could tell me, what we actually love. I love my job. You complain about it all the time. Oh, I love my job. Like you call in sick whenever humanly possible. Well, I love my job. No, you don't. You like to get paid. Oh, I love my family. Really? You complain about your family all the time. When's the last time you made time for family day and you didn't you bounced off of something else? The psalm continues to move, though. David models for us what we're to do in fear and anxiety well up because they're inevitable. It's essential in life to figure out how do we navigate hard circumstances because life isn't stagnant. So it says this in verse 7. Hear my voice when I call. Be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, seek his face. This is what my heart says. That's what I what I know I'm supposed to do. Your face, Lord, that's what I'm gonna seek. I'm gonna make this conscious choice. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God, my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Like, even if, like literally the most crazy thing, like the people that brought me into this world, even if they bounced on me, God, I know you are there for me. Verse 13. I remain confident of this, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. David's heart tells him to seek God's face, and that's where peace is found. It's not found in the perfect family. You know why, right? Because there's no such thing. No, no, our family has it together all the time. You not seen our social media? Man, it's curated perfectly. There is no such thing as a perfect family. So if your perfect family is your one thing, that weight will crush your family. Oh, my kids are my world. Why would you do that to them? Your kids should be a very important part of your world. But if your kids are your world, like you understand, like we want them to move out someday. And then what happens when they have their kids? Like it's a it's a misaligned priorities. Great personal image. That's not where peace is found, because your image can be shattered. You ever make a poor choice, you ever get frustrated, you ever get upset, lose your cool. Image can be lost. Confidence in personal assets, that's where peace is found. As long as I have enough stuff, no, it's not. Stuff can be lost. And haven't you seen this? What about a great career? If I could just have a great career, that's where my peace would be found. If I just had everything held together in just the right way through a career, then I'd be good. It's not. Because we've seen people literally climb the top of every respective field in the world and come crashing down. So there's no peace to be found there. Physical health, man. If I just have my health, I'm okay. But your health is only somewhat within your control. About 50%, maybe? Diet and exercise. The other 50%, look to mom and dad and grandma, grandpa and be like, oh man. Or be like, yes, thanks for the good genes. Peace is found in relationship with God. Peace is something that not that we just stumble upon by accident, but we intentionally seek out. When we seek God in all things, God gives shape to all the things that make up our lives. Career, family, health, wealth, position, significance, education, experiences. When we seek God in all those things, all that other stuff, God orders it and makes it make sense. But if you try and just keep everything else balancing, what gets the top spot? He goes on in the Psalm again, he's like, even if mom and dad were to forsake me, like, I know you won it. You are the one non-negotiable in my life. You're the one thing that's unchanging. You're the one thing I can count on no matter what. In Psalm 27, David describes this heart fixed on God, and then hundreds of years later, Jesus would actually articulate what this would look like for a life fixed on God. Both are secure to manage whatever may happen in life. David says, Listen, war comes, enemies come, whatever, whatever I'm not shaken because this is what happens. Even if like literally my family forsook me, God, you are with me. And again, hundreds of years later, this is what Jesus would say in Matthew chapter 7. Again, we're in the New Testament. First book of the New Testament, Matthew, first gospel, reads this way, chapter 7, verses 24 through 27. If you grew up in church, you might know a little song that you can sing along with the text. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, Jesus' words, and puts them into practice. If you just hear them but you don't put them into practice, it doesn't add value. If you hear these words of mine and you put them into practice, you're like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Even if I'm surrounded by enemies who are seeking to devour me, even if I'm in a nation at war, even if everything seems turbulent and chaotic, like I'm good, I'm okay, David says. Hundreds of years later, Jesus would say, Listen, if you build your life right, no matter what comes against you, you'll stand secure. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, the same rain, the same streams rise, the same wind beats against the house, but the second house falls with a great crash. Because it was poorly built. The focus wasn't right, the prioritization wasn't set well. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, it's not just some kind of poetic language about engaging religious activities or services. It's about how one is intended to frame their life. Because the storms will come in life, hardships will come in life. If your family's your entire world, I guarantee you, your world's going to get shaken terribly. If your work is your entire world and that's your identity, your identity is going to be fragmented, fractured, and possibly completely destroyed. If your health is your entire world, like you know, nobody's got out of here alive that we're aware of except a couple of examples from the Old Testament. Why would we put all of our focus, all of our energy into one thing that can't hold the weight? Psalm 27 presents a person whose heart is set on seeking God above all else, and in Matthew 7, Jesus shows us what that pursuit actually looks like. It's a matter of hearing God's word and then ordering one's life according to it. In other words, if we prioritize a relationship with God above all else, then everything in life gets ordered by that relationship. So how do I lean into healthy relationships? What's it look like to love my spouse or to love my neighbor well? How do I parent well or pour into the next generation? How do I live into my vocation when everything's going great, when everything's falling apart, or when my vocation seems to all of a sudden be changing and my passion has waned? How do I manage my finances, those things that I'm entrusted with? Honestly, I have more than I probably should, or I have less than I probably should, or I don't know how much I even should have. How do I deal with the health challenge I'm facing? Like, God, how do I deal with this now? How do I navigate the adversity that I'm facing in my life? How do I plan for the future? How do I deal with the difficulties that I see in our culture? How do I face my own sin? How do I face my own brokenness? Like these are all questions that we're always trying to deal with, and there's all these things in life. And if we'll frame it around this understanding of who God is and who God calls us to be, there's this quiet confidence that even if like the worst thing would ever happen, I know God is with me. It's a range of elements in life that we navigate. If we'll fix our life, our eyes on God, then we can build a life on the solid foundation of His Word. We can build a life on the solid foundation of God's love for us, his unchanging, first-moving love. That one decision, that one thing, will impact every other thing that we do. God will lead us to order our lives well, and we'll find that there's a place for everything. That my family and my work don't have to compete. There's a way that I can honor both. The health challenges that I'm trying to deal with, it's not some terrible thing, it's not something that should overwhelm me. It's like this is just this is the part of the life that God has entrusted me to live, and He is with me in the midst of it. There's this security in setting our priorities well. But if our priorities are always bouncing, well, my family is the most important, this thing, and then it's my work, and then it's my hobby, because sometimes just be honest, it is your hobby. Like we've put our family to the side for our hobby before. We're trying to raise our kids, man. But you know, I want my kids just I want them to know God. Really? Because it seems like you really want them to be really good at that sport. Like you invest more money than you should. Or you seem to really care about their grades, and it seems to be more of an impact on you than it is on them. It doesn't seem like it's about learning. It seems like I want to be able to have a bumper sticker to say my kid is this smart. Like what's most important in your home? What's most important in your family? What's the one thing that's going to anchor him? Jesus says it's him. And if we'll choose him, all the other stuff gets sorted out. But if we'll choose to chase all the other things, life gets challenging. Because our desire goes from wealth to health, to achieving a dream, to some ambition, to work, to a relationship. And it can be hard to keep it all straight. Relationships, they change. I mean, they just do. Family, they go through challenges. Wealth, it easily comes and it easily goes. Health is somewhat within control, but again, it's largely outside of our control. Dreams and ambitions, they change. Dreams and ambitions, they fade. Dreams and ambitions, they're realized, and you get there and you're like, this is all it was. This is what I gave my life to. This is what I sacrificed my family for. This is what I gave everything to get. This is it. All these things can be good, but none of them are good to be our one thing. None of them can serve as a solid foundation. They simply won't hold under the pressure. But a life fixed on God will. Everyone's gonna face challenges, everyone's gonna face hardships, but the person whose gaze is fixed upon God finds a way to weather everything. The sunny days, the cloudy days, the rainy days. You see, there's a peace, a confidence, and a security that comes when worship of God is our primary focus. Lord, I want to actively worship you. Before I make a buck, I want to honor you. Lord, I want to know how to love my wife. I want to know how to love my kids by you. I want to know how to honor and love and care for my neighbors by knowing, fixing my eyes on you. God, I want to know how to deal with the hell things that come in my life by knowing and honoring you. Ben's gonna come out and lead us in a song of response, to kind of be a prayerful consideration. What do you run to in your life first and foremost? The invitation would be, man, I God says, just run to the Father. Again and again and again. Just run to the Father. We can run to the accomplishments, we can run to the achievements, we can run to the pursuit of health, we can run to the pursuit of, it's just a season. Once I get through this, then yes, I know I'll prioritize God again. No, you won't. Because there'll be another season. God says, listen, I'll be there with you in every season. When everything's going great, I'm there with you. When things seem to be falling apart, I'm with you. I'm a foundation you can build upon. Would you stand with me? The challenge this week would be to allow nothing to compete with God for first place in your life. Daily, make the choice to put Jesus first. Every day, God, I want you. I'm running to you, I'm chasing after you, I'm pursuing you. And if you afford me some of these things, that would be great. Like I have dreams, I have desires, I have ambitions, but none of them take precedent over you. When things compete in my life for first place over you, Lord, make it clear, because they will. But I'm telling you, if you chase those things, at least according to Jesus, it won't work. It'll be a sandy foundation, and you'll wonder why I can't get all the pieces to balance. And God'll say, because it was never meant to. Just seek after me. I'll make everything else order right.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Thank you so much for listening to today's podcast. If you're ready to take a next step in your faith, please reach out to us through our website, refineryohio.com, or you can email us at office at refineryohio.com. We hope you have a blessed day.