Radical
I have just finished reading the book Radical by David Platt, pastor of Brook Hills Church in Birmingham. I had breakfast Friday morning with my pastor and we shared our hearts - he shared why he's been in a bit of a funk over the past few months and what God was stirring in him. He was sort of struggling with how to even articulate his thoughts with me. Much of what stirs Keith has been stirring in me for some time and I too haven't been able to put my arms around all I feel God is doing. So I shared a lot of what I got out of this book and it was exactly the things that were stirring in Keith. He's called a meeting of the Board of the church for a day of retreat to dig into this. God is calling Christ Community to "Break through". Break through to the other side and to "more". A deeper, more passionate, more devoted walk with God. To get there, we're going to have to tear down some walls. Some strongholds (personally and corporately) need to be broken. Families need to be fixed. Finances need to be fixed. Freedom from bondage needs to take place.
I can't sleep and it is 1:30 on Saturday morning (now its 2:45). I need the sleep but this is moving me and I need to get it down. These are some of the things I am wrestling with and then some comments from the book....
The church is under attack. I've been able to share a few times with the men in our church and we've talked about some of this. Marriages in our church are in trouble. Marriage all over America is under attack. Satan's attempted "death blow" to the church is taking place in our homes. If Christian marriages fail or are full of contempt or seething anger, our witnesses fall apart.
Money is a huge issue. We are a nation of consumers and consumerism has invaded God's church. Joel Osteen tells us that God wants to prosper us financially - that Jesus' death was about lifting you and I out of mediocrity - that "because of the price He paid, we have a right to live in total victory not just a good family, good job and good health but victory over our finances as well. He has paid the price that we may be totally free...free from poverty and lack..." God's church is consumed with consumerism. The "American dream" is "God's dream". Really? Is that really why God gave up his Son to suffer a horrific death...so I can be wealthy?
Manhood is under attack in the church. I've written about this numerous times but we have a generation of men in their 30's and 40's that are ill-equipped to lead their homes as a Christian. In many cases, their wives have stepped up into that void and not only do these women work in corporate jobs, they serve on local boards, lead the PTA, attend three bible studies a week and "know" the bible a lot better than their husbands. And so what does the man do? Shrink back.
This isn't politically correct but it has been on my heart for years - we have a generation of young black men in America and especially in the South who have no future. They are aimless. They don't stand a chance. They have no hope. The church has done a poor job of making our own backyard a mission field.
Lastly, this notion of "fully alive" or in John 10:10 that "He came to give us abundant life". It is one thing to accept Christ but something quite different to be radically alive in our walk with Christ. To be completely "sold out" on Jesus. To not fear the condemnation from our father or brother or wife or co-worker if we just totally throw ourselves into Jesus. To be willing to spend 5 hours on a Friday night in prayer and the Word. To be willing to sell everything we have and give up the "American dream" to pursue and follow God wherever He may lead us. A guy told me one time that instead of practicing a lucrative medical practice, he chose to give away his medical talents. He opened a free medical practice in Augusta. People told him he was crazy. His father is a successful real estate developer. He was raised in a "money" family. His uncle is a local physician. He could have just fallen into line and had the big house, beach place and boat. People told him "you'll be poor" and his answer always has been "Yeah, only for about 80 years and in the framework of eternity, that's nothing."
As David Platt says, "Am I willing to hear the Word...even if it convicts me. Am I willing to obey the Word...even if it costs me?"
So these things have been stirring in me - some of them connected and some of them not and I picked up the book Radical. Wow. Oh my.
"It is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor. But we don't want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away. "Jesus wouldn't really tell us to not bury our father or say good-bye to our family (Abraham). Jesus didn't literally mean to sell all we have and give it to the poor. What Jesus really meant was....And this is where we need to pause. Because we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away all that we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are."
Oh my.
He then talks about a trip he took to Hyderabad, India. He says that Bonhoeffer said "the first call every Christian experiences is the call to abandon the attachments of this world" and that as we spend our time pursuing the American dream, literally billions of people will remain in the dark to the Gospel. On a hill in Hyderabad, "God gripped my heart and flooded my mind with two resounding words, "Wake up". Wake up and realize that there are infinitely more important things in your life than football and your 401(k). Wake up and realize there are real battles to be fought, so different from the superficial, meaningless battles you focus on. Wake up to the countless multitudes who are destined for a Christ-less eternity."
Yes.
He goes on and talks about his experiences with the underground churches in China and in Muslim controlled nations -- people that sneak out together early in the morning to worship God in secret. 60 people crammed in a room with a light and their Bibles. No plasma TV's on the wall, no cushioned seats, no praise band, no cool video clips to sell the point of the message, no time limit so we can get to the club by 12:30 for lunch -- just people starving for God's Word. People so hungry, they will meet for 3-4 hours to just read the Bible and pray. "I want to know him. I want to experience him. I want to be a part of a people who delight in him like the Asians who have nothing but him. And I want to be a part of a people who are risking it all for him."
That taste. Oh, to have a taste of that in America where we care more about how comfortable the chairs are in church -- or -- we complain that the nursery workers who tend to our kids for an hour aren't organized like we think they should be. I too hunger for that passion. I crave an abundant, abandoning faith. I crave being in places where God has to show up. I'm sick of the prosperity/comfort Christianity. I want to be uncomfortable. I want risk in my faith.
I'll end this long post with this last image he talked about. I used this Friday with the FCA kids. We all stand alone on a beach with a wall of water 1,000 feet high coming at us 100 miles per hour. That water is our sin. We own it. No one helped us get it. It's ours. And we can't run from it. We stand alone on that beach with no one to turn to. As we stand there that crushing wall of sin comes at us like a freight train. We can't outrun it. Our time is up. We must face and own our sin. In that moment, we don't just "accept" Jesus. Jesus doesn't need me to accept him. He isn't a facebook friend I decide to add after an emotional weekend retreat and then I go back to my nice, comfortable, American consumerism life. No, in that moment, I BEG for a Savior. I cry out. I fall to my needs at the horror of my life's work and the depravity of my soul. Without a Savior, I'm doomed.
And Jesus takes that wall of water and we are lifted up presented to God in Christ's glory -- none of our own doing. In that, we praise him, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The one that is and is to come. With all creation I sing, praise to the King of Kings, you are my everything and I will adore you."
How on earth we've taken that picture of salvation and turned that into a "Jesus wants to make me rich" theology is beyond me. In the context of that wall of water crushing down on me and my salvation through Christ, my 401(k) no longer matters. 1 billion people on this earth have not heard the name of Jesus. That matters. The Gospel needs to be shared and Jesus doesn't do it by himself. We came to Christ through others who shared their faith with us. So too for us...we are to go. Go share the Gospel to all corners of this earth. And if that means we "give up" all that is the American dream...so be it. Go. He commands...Go.
Soar!
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
How good is good enough?
(from a sermon by Andy Stanley)
Surely there is more than one way to get to Heaven. Jesus said the only way to the Father was through the Son. But surely, there must be more than one way.
Oprah says there is. She says that in our goodness we can all “get there” and while one might call it “God” the next might call it “the light” but either way, we can all get there in any way we choose through our “loving, kindness and generosity”
What idea supports this belief that “good” people go to heaven?
Good Buddhists, good Muslims, good Jews – the common denominator is not our belief system or how we pray or worship…it is that we are good people.
Good dad, good person doing good deeds.
We like this way of thinking. Why? Because we’re all good.
1. It is a fair system – good things happen to good people
2. You’ll make the cut – because after all, you’re good.
3. This system motivates you to be good
4. It is a very consistent view of a good God – good God, good Heaven filled with good people. It is logical, practical and makes common sense.
But there some major problems with this system
1. There is no clear standard of good and bad so we can check our progress.
No scale. No test scores. Doesn’t God owe us a clear hurdle to get over? So we pull the bible out “Love your neighbor as yourself, love the Lord, be kind, be obedient..” It’s all in there…I’m living according to the Good book. Good God, good Heaven, good people.
The problem is even if we were all living by our own internal scale and gauge – there is no consensus. We have no earthly idea of what “good” is.
2. We don’t know where the cut is
50% 70% 85% what do I have to score to get in?
When does the counting start? At age 6, 16 or 40?
Do some sins count more against me than others?
Many people think Christianity is unfair because some people won’t hear the Gospel
You know what….so is the “good people system”.
It is like a teacher starting the school year saying, “There is one test at the end of the year and it is pass/fail. You’re dismissed.” And you say, “Wait…are there no notes to take?” Nope. “Is there anything we can read?” Nope. “Is there anyone who has gone before us that we can talk to?” Nope.
“You mean you are going to test us on material you’ve never covered, never explained to us, never taught us and we’re supposed to figure out what it takes to pass?”
Yep. Class dismissed.
The same is true of the “good” system – you have made up the rules. You’ve decided what is good. After all, you are good.
Here is what the Bible says…
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Rom 3:23
“There is not one righteous. Not even one.” Rom 3:10
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law – rather through the Law, we have become conscious of sin.” Rom 3:20
Oh, OK …”I’ll keep the 10 commandments…that’s good and if I do, I’ll get into Heaven.”
Did you know that in that whole part of the Bible when God gives Moses the 10 Commandments and Moses brings them down to the people…there is not one mention of the word “Heaven” or “Eternal Life”?
Oh, OK….”I’ll just do my best to do what is right. I have this innate sense of what is right. That’s what God will look at.”
Major wars have been fought over what two sides thought was “right”
150 years ago, many Americans thought slavery was “right” and they even would quote scripture to back their argument.
The Nazis thought what they were doing to the Jews was “right”
We chased the Indians off their land because we came here to pursue religious freedom and we thought we were “right”
3. It makes a liar of Jesus
Jesus taught that “bad” people go to Heaven and “good” people don’t. The good people washed a certain way, ate certain foods, kept all the rules. Jesus walked around forgiving the people who didn’t keep the rules.
Jesus taught that “good” people don’t go to Heaven. Forgiven ones do. Go read Luke 23:32-43 -- read how Jesus dealt with the criminal on the cross next to him.
Jesus taught – everyone is welcome, everyone gets in the same way and everyone can meet the requirement. The requirement is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Whoever “really tries hard”?
Whoever is “really good”?
Whoever “keeps the 10 commandments”?
NO. Whoever believes in Christ.
Being a Christian is all about placing all my trust in what Christ has already done. He said on the Cross… “It is finished”. It’s done. I can’t add to it. It’s not about me being good.
ALL that is needed has already been done on my behalf.
Christianity isn’t about being good. It is about understanding I am forgiven.
(from a sermon by Andy Stanley)
Surely there is more than one way to get to Heaven. Jesus said the only way to the Father was through the Son. But surely, there must be more than one way.
Oprah says there is. She says that in our goodness we can all “get there” and while one might call it “God” the next might call it “the light” but either way, we can all get there in any way we choose through our “loving, kindness and generosity”
What idea supports this belief that “good” people go to heaven?
Good Buddhists, good Muslims, good Jews – the common denominator is not our belief system or how we pray or worship…it is that we are good people.
Good dad, good person doing good deeds.
We like this way of thinking. Why? Because we’re all good.
1. It is a fair system – good things happen to good people
2. You’ll make the cut – because after all, you’re good.
3. This system motivates you to be good
4. It is a very consistent view of a good God – good God, good Heaven filled with good people. It is logical, practical and makes common sense.
But there some major problems with this system
1. There is no clear standard of good and bad so we can check our progress.
No scale. No test scores. Doesn’t God owe us a clear hurdle to get over? So we pull the bible out “Love your neighbor as yourself, love the Lord, be kind, be obedient..” It’s all in there…I’m living according to the Good book. Good God, good Heaven, good people.
The problem is even if we were all living by our own internal scale and gauge – there is no consensus. We have no earthly idea of what “good” is.
2. We don’t know where the cut is
50% 70% 85% what do I have to score to get in?
When does the counting start? At age 6, 16 or 40?
Do some sins count more against me than others?
Many people think Christianity is unfair because some people won’t hear the Gospel
You know what….so is the “good people system”.
It is like a teacher starting the school year saying, “There is one test at the end of the year and it is pass/fail. You’re dismissed.” And you say, “Wait…are there no notes to take?” Nope. “Is there anything we can read?” Nope. “Is there anyone who has gone before us that we can talk to?” Nope.
“You mean you are going to test us on material you’ve never covered, never explained to us, never taught us and we’re supposed to figure out what it takes to pass?”
Yep. Class dismissed.
The same is true of the “good” system – you have made up the rules. You’ve decided what is good. After all, you are good.
Here is what the Bible says…
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Rom 3:23
“There is not one righteous. Not even one.” Rom 3:10
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law – rather through the Law, we have become conscious of sin.” Rom 3:20
Oh, OK …”I’ll keep the 10 commandments…that’s good and if I do, I’ll get into Heaven.”
Did you know that in that whole part of the Bible when God gives Moses the 10 Commandments and Moses brings them down to the people…there is not one mention of the word “Heaven” or “Eternal Life”?
Oh, OK….”I’ll just do my best to do what is right. I have this innate sense of what is right. That’s what God will look at.”
Major wars have been fought over what two sides thought was “right”
150 years ago, many Americans thought slavery was “right” and they even would quote scripture to back their argument.
The Nazis thought what they were doing to the Jews was “right”
We chased the Indians off their land because we came here to pursue religious freedom and we thought we were “right”
3. It makes a liar of Jesus
Jesus taught that “bad” people go to Heaven and “good” people don’t. The good people washed a certain way, ate certain foods, kept all the rules. Jesus walked around forgiving the people who didn’t keep the rules.
Jesus taught that “good” people don’t go to Heaven. Forgiven ones do. Go read Luke 23:32-43 -- read how Jesus dealt with the criminal on the cross next to him.
Jesus taught – everyone is welcome, everyone gets in the same way and everyone can meet the requirement. The requirement is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Whoever “really tries hard”?
Whoever is “really good”?
Whoever “keeps the 10 commandments”?
NO. Whoever believes in Christ.
Being a Christian is all about placing all my trust in what Christ has already done. He said on the Cross… “It is finished”. It’s done. I can’t add to it. It’s not about me being good.
ALL that is needed has already been done on my behalf.
Christianity isn’t about being good. It is about understanding I am forgiven.
FCA Talk 6 – Why we need a coach
What if the football coach showed up the first day of summer practice and said "Y'all are talented - you figure it out. We'll be back for the first game and see how you do."
What if the basketball coach took 5 very talented players and just turned them loose? Let them run and gun. What if the coach never came to practice...just gave them what they wanted, let them just play, let them just have fun? No conditioning. No position coaching. No free-throw practices. Just "run and gun boys...you're talented...figure it out"
Would that work? Does it work in life? Is that mindset working in America where we just want to do what makes us feel good. We don't want the consequences...we just want to do things and buy things that make us feel good.
At the start of the movie, Coach Carter takes a part-time, low-paying job coaching the basketball team at his old high school. Of course, the boys are wild, cocky and unruly. Plus, they had a dismal 4 and 22 record!
80% of the boys in that high school wind up in jail. Only 50% graduate and 6% go to college.
Isn’t this a picture of the world and man? Isn’t this a picture of our culture today? We are cocky, wild and unruly. We want what we want. Life is all about what we can grab and our record of success is abysmal. Marriages ending in divorce, addition to cocaine or booze or meth, addiction to sex, a culture drenched in pornography and reckless living. We are a people who know the rules, know what is right/wrong and yet, we still chase after what makes us feel good despite the cost.
Coach Carter sets out to coach the boys = the fundamentals, the plays, the discipline, getting them into shape and he sets strict rules for the team:
• 2.3 GPA minimum (higher than the required 2.0 GPA)
• No skipping of classes
• Must sit in the front row in class
• Must wear jackets and ties on game days.
The natural reaction? Three players walk out of practice.
Isn’t that our reaction to God? He sets some rules for us. He gives us some guidelines for life, i.e. don’t be drunk with wine, don’t cheat on your wife with another woman, don’t covet what your neighbor has. And isn’t our reaction to just walk out on that?
God gives us the Bible (the Word) it is our playbook for life – plays for offense and defense. James 1-2
So Coach Carter puts in these rules, focuses on discipline, focuses on respect and the team starts winning games.
Cruz, who had walked out in the first session, fights like crazy to get back onto the team. And after impressing the Coach, he's allowed back on.
It soon becomes apparent that all that has changed is the boys' ability to win. They taunt opponents, skip class, and get bad grades.
So, the boys start to win because they follow their coach – God starts to bless us. And as soon as we get some blessings, we turn our backs on God and want to Quarterback our lives…we’re in control now God, thanks for getting us here….
So Carter goes crazy himself.
• He locks them out of the gym (in the midst of an undefeated season!)
• He forfeits some games
• He makes the players get tutoring, instead of basketball practice
This leads to Cruz quitting (again). He goes back to dealing drugs full-time. But the untimely death of Cruz' drug-dealing cousin shakes some sense into him. He focuses on basketball full-time, leaving the life of crime behind.
Just like Cruz, we rebel. If we can’t have life the way we want life, we rebel. Depsite all God has done for us in the past, we still take control of the wheel and it takes a brush with death to wake Cruz and us up!
The players' parents want the basketball to continue, and get the school board to approve it!
But the boys prove that they've learned something - they’ve been coached --, by going to basketball practice, AND GETTING TUTORED ON THE BASKETBALL COURT!
A good number of the players ended up going to college - a rarity for kids from their school.
Coach Carter is a great picture of why we need Christ. We cannot do this life alone. If left to our own devices, we'll train-wreck life every single time. We need a coach. We need to surrender our "I know what I'm doing" rebellious attitude and we need to come under His guidance. We need a coach.
What if the football coach showed up the first day of summer practice and said "Y'all are talented - you figure it out. We'll be back for the first game and see how you do."
What if the basketball coach took 5 very talented players and just turned them loose? Let them run and gun. What if the coach never came to practice...just gave them what they wanted, let them just play, let them just have fun? No conditioning. No position coaching. No free-throw practices. Just "run and gun boys...you're talented...figure it out"
Would that work? Does it work in life? Is that mindset working in America where we just want to do what makes us feel good. We don't want the consequences...we just want to do things and buy things that make us feel good.
At the start of the movie, Coach Carter takes a part-time, low-paying job coaching the basketball team at his old high school. Of course, the boys are wild, cocky and unruly. Plus, they had a dismal 4 and 22 record!
80% of the boys in that high school wind up in jail. Only 50% graduate and 6% go to college.
Isn’t this a picture of the world and man? Isn’t this a picture of our culture today? We are cocky, wild and unruly. We want what we want. Life is all about what we can grab and our record of success is abysmal. Marriages ending in divorce, addition to cocaine or booze or meth, addiction to sex, a culture drenched in pornography and reckless living. We are a people who know the rules, know what is right/wrong and yet, we still chase after what makes us feel good despite the cost.
Coach Carter sets out to coach the boys = the fundamentals, the plays, the discipline, getting them into shape and he sets strict rules for the team:
• 2.3 GPA minimum (higher than the required 2.0 GPA)
• No skipping of classes
• Must sit in the front row in class
• Must wear jackets and ties on game days.
The natural reaction? Three players walk out of practice.
Isn’t that our reaction to God? He sets some rules for us. He gives us some guidelines for life, i.e. don’t be drunk with wine, don’t cheat on your wife with another woman, don’t covet what your neighbor has. And isn’t our reaction to just walk out on that?
God gives us the Bible (the Word) it is our playbook for life – plays for offense and defense. James 1-2
So Coach Carter puts in these rules, focuses on discipline, focuses on respect and the team starts winning games.
Cruz, who had walked out in the first session, fights like crazy to get back onto the team. And after impressing the Coach, he's allowed back on.
It soon becomes apparent that all that has changed is the boys' ability to win. They taunt opponents, skip class, and get bad grades.
So, the boys start to win because they follow their coach – God starts to bless us. And as soon as we get some blessings, we turn our backs on God and want to Quarterback our lives…we’re in control now God, thanks for getting us here….
So Carter goes crazy himself.
• He locks them out of the gym (in the midst of an undefeated season!)
• He forfeits some games
• He makes the players get tutoring, instead of basketball practice
This leads to Cruz quitting (again). He goes back to dealing drugs full-time. But the untimely death of Cruz' drug-dealing cousin shakes some sense into him. He focuses on basketball full-time, leaving the life of crime behind.
Just like Cruz, we rebel. If we can’t have life the way we want life, we rebel. Depsite all God has done for us in the past, we still take control of the wheel and it takes a brush with death to wake Cruz and us up!
The players' parents want the basketball to continue, and get the school board to approve it!
But the boys prove that they've learned something - they’ve been coached --, by going to basketball practice, AND GETTING TUTORED ON THE BASKETBALL COURT!
A good number of the players ended up going to college - a rarity for kids from their school.
Coach Carter is a great picture of why we need Christ. We cannot do this life alone. If left to our own devices, we'll train-wreck life every single time. We need a coach. We need to surrender our "I know what I'm doing" rebellious attitude and we need to come under His guidance. We need a coach.
TIME
How much time do you have left?
At 15-17 years old, you don’t think about your death and you shouldn’t.
But at 46, the end starts to be more of a thought.
It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting right where you were and in a flash, 30 years has gone by. In another flash, I’ll be my father’s age – 76 years old with the end very near.
For some of you, you are seniors.
High school never seemed like it would end and in a flash, it has.
Some of you are now thinking about college and you’re scared. But trust me, those 4 years will be gone quickly and in just a few years, you’ll be working.
In a flash = you will be going to work 5 days a week. High school will be a distant memory and college will be over.
Even now as you reflect, doesn’t kindergarten seem a long time ago but yet also something you wish you could go back to? Wasn’t life a heck of a lot easier as a 5 year old?
So we’re going to talk about time and where your story fits into the timeline of life
Moses – born a Hebrew was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. He became the Prince of Egypt. He discovered his heritage and killed an Egyptian while defending a Jewish slave. He flees Egypt and goes to the middle of nowhere. He becomes a shepherd. He spends 40 years essentially doing nothing. All day long every day, over and over, tending sheep.
But God has a plan for him and sends him to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaves.
Moses wrote Psalm 90. It gives us a great picture of how we are to view time. We are to view our lives in the context of God.
As a teenager, you think life is all about you. And for the most part, it is. Your whole world tends to revolve around you. You are focused on you. When you walk into a room, you immediately think “What does everyone think of me”.
But at some point in the natural progression of your life, you’ll begin to learn life isn’t all about you and you’ll start to ask “So then, what’s the point?”
As Moses says in this Psalm, “From everlasting to everlasting – it is God”.
God turns people back into dust saying, “Return to dust you mortals”. No matter how cool, how popular, how rich, how famous you are…at the end God will say to you, “Return to dust”
“A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by – or like a watch (3 hour shift) in the night.”
If we think in 3 hour terms while God thinks in 1,000 year terms, how long is your life in God’s perspective.
It’s like the government debt clock showing how fast money is spent.
You work your entire life and save money and when you die, you’re estate owes the government $400,000 in taxes – before your family can even write the check, the government has spent the $400,000
All you’ve worked to accumulate – your whole life’s work – spent in 5 seconds.
That is you life….PFFFHT….gone….in an instant, your life is gone. “Like grass – new in the morning, withered at night.”
The point of all this isn’t “Your life doesn’t matter”, the point is that our life is so common, so quick, snap of a finger and over – that it is futile to try to create something meaningful on your own.
Our only hope for purpose and meaning is to inject what time we do have into something much larger than “my” story – to inject it into what God is doing, his grand scheme.
"Seek and you shall find". All other things can be sought and NOT found --money, pleasure, power, fame, health, peace, security or worldly success. Only God is guaranteed.
Man chases after pleasure and money and power and fame and no matter how hard we chase after it, we never reach it. You can never reach pleasure. You can taste it but you can never own it, possess it. Fame and power are always short-lived. Money – you can spend you whole life accumulating money but there is always going to be someone else who has more than you do. You can’t ever “win” the money game. No amount of money ever truly satisfies man.
Have you ever thought, “If only I get that new iPad or that new BMW – if I get that, I’ll be totally happy” How long does that last?
You can chase these things all you want but you will never find happiness in them.
So if we realize that our time is limited and that in reality, we are quite small, it changes the focus of our life.
Look at President Obama – he was elected with this huge mandate. He was hip and cool. He was young and vibrant. He spoke passionately about hope and change. America got drunk on his charisma.
The power of America was shifted to him and he made a fatal error we are all so prone to make, he began to think all of this was about him. His legacy. His mandate to re-arrange society and fix all of our problems. He started to focus not on the economy or on jobs but on passing a piece of landmark legislation – something that he would go down in history for having done. And so they passed healthcare reform.
The American people didn’t like it. 60% of the voters didn’t trust it but he pushed it through. He thought he knew best and knew what we needed and he failed to listen to the people that put in office.
He was handed power and the people trusted him. He took that power for granted and assumed it was all about him and he just suffered the worst Congressional defeat in more than 60 years. He no longer possesses the power he did.
When we make it all about us – what we can accomplish, what awards we can win, what promotions we can get, what attention we gather…it never turns out well. 2 things will always happen – 1) we’ll run out of time before we “get there” and 2) history will never speak highly of us.
This is what happens to most dictators – Kim Jung Ill in Korea, Hitler, Hugo Chavez in Columbia – when it shifts from being about the people to being about their legacy, their place in history, it always goes off course.
Moses – of all people given his role in history – could have turned this thing and made it all about him. After all he parted the Red Sea. But Moses knew…
“Our days may come to be 70-80 years if our strength endures; yet the best of them are trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.” PS 90:10-11
In other words, if we could truly see the power of God, we’d give him all the honor he is due. Moses got closer to God than anyone ever has and it turned his hair white.
If we could be in God’s presence for just 1 second, we’d drop all this crap of “It’s all about me” and we’d gladly give him our 70-80 years to serve him however he saw fit.
When Moses asked God what the people were to call him, God said, “I am”. When they came to arrest Jesus, they asked him if he was Jesus and he said, “I am” and the Bible says those standing there fell down - overpowered by God’s word.
“Teach us to number our days” PS 90:12
How many days until your birthday? Until Christmas? Until you get to go on that trip or attend that concert? If you have ever counted days, this is what this verse is saying.
We should realize that our days in this life are numbered. There is a beginning and an end.
Embrace these days and know God gave them to you and they aren’t about you. We live to reflect God’s glory….not ours.
There is a grander story at work
I have a small but important role
The story isn’t about me
My glory is quickly going away.
I want to maximize my days in God’s story
It is about you Lord….not me.
Use me.
Show me where to live beyond self – to put down my desires so I can love and help others.
How much time do you have left?
At 15-17 years old, you don’t think about your death and you shouldn’t.
But at 46, the end starts to be more of a thought.
It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting right where you were and in a flash, 30 years has gone by. In another flash, I’ll be my father’s age – 76 years old with the end very near.
For some of you, you are seniors.
High school never seemed like it would end and in a flash, it has.
Some of you are now thinking about college and you’re scared. But trust me, those 4 years will be gone quickly and in just a few years, you’ll be working.
In a flash = you will be going to work 5 days a week. High school will be a distant memory and college will be over.
Even now as you reflect, doesn’t kindergarten seem a long time ago but yet also something you wish you could go back to? Wasn’t life a heck of a lot easier as a 5 year old?
So we’re going to talk about time and where your story fits into the timeline of life
Moses – born a Hebrew was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. He became the Prince of Egypt. He discovered his heritage and killed an Egyptian while defending a Jewish slave. He flees Egypt and goes to the middle of nowhere. He becomes a shepherd. He spends 40 years essentially doing nothing. All day long every day, over and over, tending sheep.
But God has a plan for him and sends him to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaves.
Moses wrote Psalm 90. It gives us a great picture of how we are to view time. We are to view our lives in the context of God.
As a teenager, you think life is all about you. And for the most part, it is. Your whole world tends to revolve around you. You are focused on you. When you walk into a room, you immediately think “What does everyone think of me”.
But at some point in the natural progression of your life, you’ll begin to learn life isn’t all about you and you’ll start to ask “So then, what’s the point?”
As Moses says in this Psalm, “From everlasting to everlasting – it is God”.
God turns people back into dust saying, “Return to dust you mortals”. No matter how cool, how popular, how rich, how famous you are…at the end God will say to you, “Return to dust”
“A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by – or like a watch (3 hour shift) in the night.”
If we think in 3 hour terms while God thinks in 1,000 year terms, how long is your life in God’s perspective.
It’s like the government debt clock showing how fast money is spent.
You work your entire life and save money and when you die, you’re estate owes the government $400,000 in taxes – before your family can even write the check, the government has spent the $400,000
All you’ve worked to accumulate – your whole life’s work – spent in 5 seconds.
That is you life….PFFFHT….gone….in an instant, your life is gone. “Like grass – new in the morning, withered at night.”
The point of all this isn’t “Your life doesn’t matter”, the point is that our life is so common, so quick, snap of a finger and over – that it is futile to try to create something meaningful on your own.
Our only hope for purpose and meaning is to inject what time we do have into something much larger than “my” story – to inject it into what God is doing, his grand scheme.
"Seek and you shall find". All other things can be sought and NOT found --money, pleasure, power, fame, health, peace, security or worldly success. Only God is guaranteed.
Man chases after pleasure and money and power and fame and no matter how hard we chase after it, we never reach it. You can never reach pleasure. You can taste it but you can never own it, possess it. Fame and power are always short-lived. Money – you can spend you whole life accumulating money but there is always going to be someone else who has more than you do. You can’t ever “win” the money game. No amount of money ever truly satisfies man.
Have you ever thought, “If only I get that new iPad or that new BMW – if I get that, I’ll be totally happy” How long does that last?
You can chase these things all you want but you will never find happiness in them.
So if we realize that our time is limited and that in reality, we are quite small, it changes the focus of our life.
Look at President Obama – he was elected with this huge mandate. He was hip and cool. He was young and vibrant. He spoke passionately about hope and change. America got drunk on his charisma.
The power of America was shifted to him and he made a fatal error we are all so prone to make, he began to think all of this was about him. His legacy. His mandate to re-arrange society and fix all of our problems. He started to focus not on the economy or on jobs but on passing a piece of landmark legislation – something that he would go down in history for having done. And so they passed healthcare reform.
The American people didn’t like it. 60% of the voters didn’t trust it but he pushed it through. He thought he knew best and knew what we needed and he failed to listen to the people that put in office.
He was handed power and the people trusted him. He took that power for granted and assumed it was all about him and he just suffered the worst Congressional defeat in more than 60 years. He no longer possesses the power he did.
When we make it all about us – what we can accomplish, what awards we can win, what promotions we can get, what attention we gather…it never turns out well. 2 things will always happen – 1) we’ll run out of time before we “get there” and 2) history will never speak highly of us.
This is what happens to most dictators – Kim Jung Ill in Korea, Hitler, Hugo Chavez in Columbia – when it shifts from being about the people to being about their legacy, their place in history, it always goes off course.
Moses – of all people given his role in history – could have turned this thing and made it all about him. After all he parted the Red Sea. But Moses knew…
“Our days may come to be 70-80 years if our strength endures; yet the best of them are trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.” PS 90:10-11
In other words, if we could truly see the power of God, we’d give him all the honor he is due. Moses got closer to God than anyone ever has and it turned his hair white.
If we could be in God’s presence for just 1 second, we’d drop all this crap of “It’s all about me” and we’d gladly give him our 70-80 years to serve him however he saw fit.
When Moses asked God what the people were to call him, God said, “I am”. When they came to arrest Jesus, they asked him if he was Jesus and he said, “I am” and the Bible says those standing there fell down - overpowered by God’s word.
“Teach us to number our days” PS 90:12
How many days until your birthday? Until Christmas? Until you get to go on that trip or attend that concert? If you have ever counted days, this is what this verse is saying.
We should realize that our days in this life are numbered. There is a beginning and an end.
Embrace these days and know God gave them to you and they aren’t about you. We live to reflect God’s glory….not ours.
There is a grander story at work
I have a small but important role
The story isn’t about me
My glory is quickly going away.
I want to maximize my days in God’s story
It is about you Lord….not me.
Use me.
Show me where to live beyond self – to put down my desires so I can love and help others.
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