This morning, we’re continuing this series of messages on Life Worth Living. The series is based on the promise made by Jesus in John 10:10 that says this:
John 10:10b
My purpose is to give life in all its fullness
This series is designed to help us reach the point where we are living life to fullest, giving some practical theological insight and methods to do so. But you know, just following a list of instructions just doesn’t always cut it. It is like trying to start a new diet o exercise routine – easy to start but not so easy to maintain.
Why is that? Why can’t we simply just follow a routine and experience lifelong change?
[Allow Response]
All of these reasons really can be simplified into this: In order for any lasting change is to happen, we have to change our attitude, change our heart about it as well. It has to become part of the fabric that makes us up.
I believe the same is true in leading a full life. The problem is that most people do not know what it means to live a full life. Their concept of a life worth living is not aligned very well with God’s intentions.
Who wants to make a stab at what God means by a full life? [Allow responses]
What keeps us from that? [Allow responses]
While there may well be a myriad of right responses, I think the crux of the problem comes down to this one thing – sin.
What is sin? In simplest terms, it is missing the mark. Think of that in sports and you may think of missing the bullseye, or sinking that putt, or many other examples, but think of it even deeper. Imagine that missing those marks had deathly consequences – that your life depended on making that shot. Then we may be getting a better idea of the gravity here.
Sin is falling short of the glory of God, falling short of being the perfect creation that God intended. It is what separates us from God. It leads us not to a life worth living, but death and eternal separation.
Who here has heard the term, ‘original sin’?
Original sin stems from one of the stories we find back in Genesis. Look with me at this story which you’ll find in Genesis 2:4b – 3:7
Chapter 2
4b When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." 18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Chapter 3
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
What was the sin, in this story?
The sin was that the man and woman were trying to be god. They shifted their focus from listening to and obeying God to trying to be in control. That my friends, is the root of sin.
Think about the problems in the world. If you get right down to it, the root of most all the problems in the world comes from people who either have and abuse their control of those who desire to have someone else’s control.
But it can be more personal than that
- Narcissism – thinking more highly of yourself than you are.
- Here is something that shocked me though; in a recent CNN poll 66% of college students believe their generation is the most narcissistic and self-absorbed
- We can see that just by browsing around on MySpace, Facebook. What is the point of these sites? It’s suppose to be networking, but most all the pages scream “Look at ME!”
- Not just Generation Y though – Consider all the cosmetics, material possessions, credit, the bling… All this stuff feeds our “All about me” attitudes
Folks, we are missing the mark. We are deep in sin.
There is hope though
Another promise that Jesus made when he was talking to his followers about leaving – he said
John 14:15-17
15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth.
We can start working on hitting the mark by “Getting Me Out of the Way.”
We can start accomplishing this by:
Setting some Godly GOALS
1. Get God’s input – Pray. Pray about what it is that God is calling you to do or not do. Pray about this a great deal. Pay special attention to those things that may move you out of your comfort zone and has some biblical and theological backing. In other words, can you imagine Jesus saying this to you?
2. Own it – Once you have a clear idea of what God is asking of you, Own it. Don’t just say this is God’s idea, make it yours as well.
3. Apply it – This is where you need to start figuring out how to make it a part of your normal routine.
4. Live it – Once you understand how it can be a part of your life, live it out day in and day out.
5. Seek God’s input again. – Keep in constant communication with God to hone and perfect your new attitude and actions. Also, be open to God setting some other new goals for you.
By understanding our place in the world, knowing who we are and whose we are, we are able to take off a tremendous amount of weight from out shoulders. We don’t have to try to live up to be more than we were called to be. We can just be ourselves, God’s precious children. That’s a life worth living.
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