MORE TO THIS LIFE: Why are we here? 7-9-23

MORE TO THIS LIFE: Why are we here? 7-9-23

 

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?

 

The necessity of conviction

 

The Gospel in Mark

               1.  Jesus

               2.  Messiah/Christ 

               3.  The son of God

               4.  Lord Jesus - Mark 16:19

 

I.  COWORKER

 

“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

                             1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NIV

 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

                           Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

II.  COMMITTED

 

Four masked men came in with assault rifles screaming at the preacher and members during the worship service. They said that anyone who would deny their faith could leave safely, but the pastor had to stay and face the outcome.

 

Silence fill the church, and finally, one after another people, began to rise from their seats and move to the exit. The church was now less than half full. The gunmen check one last time to see if anyone wanted to leave. Some people were sobbing, some praying, and some looking steadfastly at the cross with eyes filled with tears. They were ready for what was to come.

 

The men slowly lowered their rifles. The leader who gave the instructions gave one last command. "Preach on preacher! Here are your real members." The men left quickly without anyone knowing who they were. The stunned people looked at each other and all of those empty seats.

                              Don Jones

 

               A.  Fully committed

 

When the explorer, Cortez, landed in Mexico with his 500 men, he did a wise thing; he burned the ships. His men realized that they must be committed to staying and to succeeding here because there was no turning back.

 

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

                             1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV

 

“This is it guys!” he shouted as the Piper bounced onto the beach. They’re on their way!”

 

Lunch over, the men busied themselves fixing up a miniature “jungle” and model house in the sand, with the intention of demonstrating to the savages how to build an airstrip, should they be interested enough to want the white men to come and live among them. Then the five missionaries sang together, as they had so often done spontaneously and joyously.

 

Committing themselves and all their carefully laid plans to Him who had so unmistakably brought them thus far, they waited for the Aucas.

 

Before four-thirty that afternoon the quiet waters of the Curaray flowed over the bodies of the five comrades, slain by the men they had come to win for Christ, whose banner they had borne. The world called it a nightmare of tragedy. The world did not recognize the truth of Jim Elliot’s credo: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

                              Elisabeth Elliot, "Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot"

 

  B.  Perseverance

 

“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”

                              Charles H. Spurgeon

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

                              Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

 

          C.  Finishing well

 

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

                             2 Timothy 4:6-8 NIV

 

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Derek Redmond of Great Britain was considered a favorite contender for a medal. It was the evening of August 3, 1992 as Redmond was pitted against seven others in a semi-final in the 400 meters. Redmond knelt poised, waiting for the race to start. As the gun went off, his body was translated into a human locomotion, feverishly charging against the other runners.

 

As Redmond prepared to round the curve after the halfway mark, however, he suddenly heard a pop. It was his right hamstring. Redmond soon found himself trapped by the searing pain of his leg.

The other runners finished the race as he desperately continued his painful trek to the finish line. He waved off the stretchers, however, determined to finish the race.

 

From the stands, his father had been watching. He pushed his way past security guards to meet his son on the track. He then reached his weeping son. "Look, you don't have to do this."

Redmond then replied: "Yes I do."

 

His father then said: "Well, if you're going to finish this race, we'll finish it together."

With his arm locked around his son, Jim Redmond helped his son to the finish line to the sounds of a cheering stadium.

 

We have to remember that God is like that in the race we are running. Sometimes we may get injured in the race, but God is always there ready to come out of the stands, put His arm around us, and help us to the finish line.

                              Bud Greenspan, 100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History, p. 136. 

 

III.  CONTENT

 

Two old friends met each other on the street one day. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has happened to you, my old friend?”

 

The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”

 

“That’s a lot of money,” said his friend.

 

“But you see,” the sad man continued, “two weeks ago, a cousin I never knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.”

 

The friend replied, “That sounds like you have been very blessed.”

 

“You don’t understand!” the sad fellow interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her.”

 

The friend was really confused and said, “Then, why are you so sad?”

 

“This week I didn’t get anything!”

 

“These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

                              1 Timothy 6:2c-8 NIV

              

               A.  Are you content with who you are?

               B.  Are you content with your life?

               C.  Are you content with God’s plan?

               D.  Are you content with your Lord?

 

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 

 

"How was the trip?"

 

"It was great, Dad."

 

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

 

"Oh yeah," said the son.

 

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to

protect us, they have friends to protect them."

 

The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

 

Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing?

 

CONCLUSION

 

Do you know your calling?  Do you have a commitment to God’s plan?  Do you enjoy the contentment that comes with God’s provision?

 

Charles Spurgeon said, "You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled."

 

I say, “If you are not content with where God has you, you would not be satisfied anywhere.”

 

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.