MORE TO THIS LIFE: What is the point? 7-16-23

MORE TO THIS LIFE: What is the point? 7-16-23

INTRODUCTION

God is doing a new thing!

There has got to be more to this life!

The ontological question - What am I?  The inevitable question about God

The existential question - Who am I?  How should we exist?

Whose are we?

Why are we here?

What is your choice?

What is the point?

We only have one life to live!  Our lives make up the body life of Christ!

I.  AWAKE

A pastor in a small church was greatly annoyed by one of his elderly members who fell asleep during his sermons every Sunday. After the service one day, the pastor said to the old man’s grandson who always sat with his grandfather, “If you can keep the old man awake, I’ll pay you a dollar a week.” This worked for two weeks; the aged man was very alert and listened to the sermons attentively. On the third Sunday, however, there he was, up to his old tricks again, sound asleep in the pew. After the service the pastor called the boy over and said, “I am disappointed in you. Didn’t I promise you a dollar a week to keep your grandfather awake?” “Yes,” replied the boy, “but Grandpa gives me five dollars not to disturb him.”

Lynn Malone

A.  Wake up!

‬ “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬

Paul Harvey told a story about a lady who was overweight and blamed it on the traffic on the city street.  She would go to bed at night and the traffic outside her window would keep her awake.  So, rather than lay there awake, she’d get up and eat.  Her reason for being overweight wasn’t

her overeating or a physical problem she had, but rather the traffic.

Rick Young

B.  Shine on!

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

C.  Live right!

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‬

II.  ARISE

A.  Shine

““Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭60‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory” is a traditional children hymn whose authorship is unknown.

Chorus:
Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory!
Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory!
Rise and shine and (clap once) give God your glory, glory!
(Raise hands to shoulder level and sway back and forth.)
Children of the Lord.

B.  Stand up for Jesus

Author: George Duffield (1858)

Tune: WEBB

Published in 1739 hymnals

Stand up, stand up for Jesus

ye soldiers of the cross;

lift high his royal banner,

it must not suffer loss.

From vict'ry unto vict'ry

his army he shall lead

till ev'ry foe is vanquished

and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

the trumpet call obey;

forth to the mighty conflict

in this his glorious day.

Ye that are men now serve him

against unnumbered foes;

let courage rise with danger

and strength to strength oppose.

““Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?”

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭MSG‬‬

III.  ATTAIN 

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

‭‭ Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul Brand writing about what it means to be in the image of God in his book “In His Image”:

"We will not explore the psychological and mental attributes in each one of us that might reflect the image of God. Instead, we will center on a community, that group of God’s people who are called, more than two dozen times in the New Testament, Christ’s body.

"All of us joined to Him are an extension of the Incarnation. God reproduces and lives out His image in millions of ordinary people like us. It is a supreme mystery. We are called to bear that image as a Body because any one of us taken individually would present an incomplete image, one partly false and always distorted, like a single glass chip hacked from a mirror. But collectively, in all our diversity, we can come together as a community of believers to restore the image of God in the world."

A.  Service

B.  Unity

C.  Maturity

D.  The whole measure of the fullness of Christ

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬

Serving enables us to become all that we are intended to be!  All of us serving!

One of Aesop’s Fables

One day it occurred to the members of the body that they were doing all the work and that the belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting and after a long discussion decided to strike work until the belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So for a day or two the hands refused to take the food, the mouth refused to receive it and the teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two members began to find that they themselves were not in very active condition. The hands could hardly move, the mouth was all parched and dry, while the legs were unable to support the rest. Thus they found that even the belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the body and that all must work together or the body would go to pieces.

CONCLUSION

Awake!  Arise!  Attain!  Shine!  

“Shine, Jesus, Shine” by Graham Kendrick

Shine, Jesus, shine

Fill this land with the Father's glory

Blaze, Spirit, blaze

Set our hearts on fire

Flow, river, flow

Flood the nations with grace and mercy

Send forth your word

Lord, and let there be light

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.