It is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I am reminded of being an intern in Fayetteville, NC and we asked our boss, Evangelist Pat Schatzline, for a day off since it was MLK day. He simply said “No” because we had an upcoming trip but he looked at my friend Mike Pavlik (Being half black and half white) and said, “Mike gets a half day off” and we lost it laughing! BUT as an intern and even now as a pastor I have to check my motives….did I pray because I was told to or because I wanted to?

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds [Lives]. 1 Corinthians 3:10

We are good at lying but you cannot get past God! We can lie about wanting to be holy or wanting to play by the rules but we often don’t. We can try out BEST to lie to God, but someday as Christians we will have to give an account for everything we did. In regards to “Building” this scripture is talking about your life. Who is building upon your foundation? The World, You, or God? Here is a great statement: “Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that you can simply pray a simple prayer then you can go and live the way you want. Jesus died on the cross so that we will become followers of Jesus, not followers of ourselves.”

Here are 5 questions that Perry Noble gives to help us examine our motives: [modified by me]

1. Why are you at United Student Ministries? What is your motivation for coming? Do you come for some girl or guy to pursue a dating relationship? Do you come for the delicious pizza? (I don’t blame you either) or do you come to experience God and help others to experience Him?

2. Am I seeking to obey Jesus or negotiating with Him? What is the motive for your prayers and actions? God doesn’t care if you are good. God will tell you to stop doing something, but we often say, I won’t stop doing that (Purity) but I will read my Bible more

3. Am I looking at God’s Word as a command or as a suggestion? God never asks anyone to do anyone, He commands. Think about it. Do you read the Word and say. “That isn’t for me.” or do you read the Word and think “Man! I really should be doing that, eh, another time”?

4. Am I living in sin with no sorrow or no desire to get out of it? Is there something in your life that is sinful and you are not sorry for it? Then you probably don’t know Jesus, because the Holy Spirit will convict us. Can we call sin sin?

“Not carrying the one in a math problem is a mistake, having an affair is not a mistake it is a SIN”

5. Am I giving God my very best? Can you honestly stand before God and say I gave my very best? I am not looking for perfect people but I am looking for people that will give God their BEST instead of their LEFT OVERS?

I am challenged to check my motives, not just in compromise to sin, but to everything I do. What is my motive for getting students in every week to United? Salvation or Numbers? What is my motive for working as much as I do? Advance the Kingdom or look good? Go ahead – look over these 5 questions and challenge your motives today. If you need some checking, you can start tonight at Monday Night Prayer @ 7pm.