Fresh Perspective

"Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have a clear direction and purpose in life, while others seem lost and aimless?

I think we all know people that always seem more confident in their life journey than others.

They always seem to know what they are going to do, and when the are going to do it. Seemingly without a hint of doubt or indecision.

Others however seem to wander through life never fully sure of where they are going…One minute people like this seem to have it all together and the next they are full of fear…

fear of the state of the world, fear of making the wrong choice, fear of what others think or just an over all fear of everything.

It has been my experience that the people who seem to have the most confidence in their future have a perspective on life that has little to do with material outcomes and more to do with the hope they have in the one who created the world.

I am not saying these people do not have times of doubt, indecision or difficulty but I am saying their understanding of who Jesus is and who they are in Christ seem to move through these difficult times in much healthier manners than those who strive to get their worth from their own personal life objective.

Introduction/Transition:

Today, we'll explore how our spiritual perspective shapes our life objective and how we can pursue a meaningful and fulfilling life in light of our eternal hope.

Why it Matters:

Focusing solely on life objectives or material objectives without a spiritual perspective leaves us without a solid foundation to handle all of life's surprise questions and unforeseen obstacles.

1 Peter 1:3-9, reminds us of our need to focus on our living hope and inheritance in Christ instead of the chaos that surrounds us or rewards we can earn in the world.

Worldly Chaos and Personal Rewards are temporary…Hope in Jesus is Eternal.

1 Peter 1:3-9 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,

5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Peter encourages us to rejoice in our faith, even when it is tested by fire, because this testing strengthens our faith and leads to praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed in our circumstance.

When we embrace the perspective that God can use our times of difficulty to grow we allow Holy Spirit shape our life objective as we seek to live in light of our eternal hope and inheritance….rather than getting bogged down by the temporary events in our life.

By developing our spiritual perspective and our eternal hope, we can resist the temptation to pursue temporary pleasures or to be swayed by the circumstances of the moment.

We can remain steadfast in our faith and pursue our life objective of living in a way that honors God and reflects our hope in Jesus Christ.

Imagine you are standing at the base of a mountain, and you want to climb to the top. You have two options for reaching the summit: you can take a winding path that circles the mountain, or you can take a direct route up the face of the mountain.

If you are focused solely on achieving external success and recognition,(Life Objectives) you may choose the winding path because it offers more opportunities to network, make connections, and gain exposure. On this path, your life objective is to accumulate as much wealth, power, and influence as possible, and you are willing to take the long route to get there.

But if your perspective is focused on personal growth, service to others, and alignment with a higher purpose, (Spiritual Perspective) you may choose the direct route up the face of the mountain.

On this path, your life objective is to overcome challenges, develop resilience, and cultivate spiritual depth and insight. You are willing to take risks and endure hardship to reach the summit because you believe it will bring you closer to your true self and your connection to the triune God.

In both cases, the perspective we adopt shapes our life objective and the path we take to achieve it.

If we are going to move forward with Holy Spirit leading.

We must align our Life Objectives with our Spiritual Perspective and Prioritize our Eternal Hope over Temporary Ambitions

So many people do the opposite…and this is where the struggle begins….

A man was visiting a patent in a hospital…the patient was blind, his kidney’s were failing and he was about to have his legs amputated due to complications from diabetes.

The patient and this man had met by accident and formed a friendship. Even thought the man had originally began this relationship to be a blessing to the patient the patient had taken on the role of comforter and mentor to the man as the man was struggling with the loss of his job as a basket all coach due to unforeseen circumstances.

He was then demoted and all of this change was causing a lot of stress on his marriage and life in general.

In the course of one of their conversations the patient asked the man….Who Are You? Confused the man tried to side step the conversation by saying with a smile “I am a human being on planet earth.”but the patient persisted.

No seriously if someone were to ask you who you are what would you say….the Man fumbled around a moment and said “ I guess I would say I was a basketball coach”.

The patient asked “what are you if that goes away?” The man continued by saying that he was a father and a husband.

The patient continued by “saying that is fantastic thing but heaven forbid what if that all went away who are you?”

Frustrated the man finally said “I am a Christian a follower of Jesus Christ.” To which the patient said, “It’s curious to me that being a Christian is the last thing you said.”

Offended the man said so are you saying I am not a good Christian? In response the patent said…when we first met as you were leaving you said you would pray for me….Let me ask you a question….did you? Did you pray for me?

The man bowed his head in disappointment and quietly said,,, no, no, No I didn’t pray for you.

This story is a clear example of one getting their identity from their life objective instead of a Spiritual perspective.

It is impossible for us to find clarity For our life objectives if we are not asking Holy Spirit to lead us to them.

WE ARE EITHER BEING LEAD BY GOD TO OUR LIFE OBJECTIVE OR WE ARE LETTING OUR LIFE OBJECTIVE LEAD US.

If we are not engaged in actively seeking Holy Spirit’s direction we will always be wandering at best or stuck at the worst.

The To-Do: The best way to Start this engagment is to:

Schedule Daily prayer and reflection to maintain your spiritual perspective and prioritize your eternal hope.

If we do not schedule it…we will always allow less productive activity to push it out. It’s just that simple…

Most of us who seem to struggle with God’s will for our lives limit our pursuit of God’s presence to Sunday mornings at 10:30…

Then when we don’t get the answer we need we grab a straws hoping thins will work out.

This leads to more unrest in our life…so much so we never fully feel at peace with any direction we choose.

The Why: However:

When we prioritize developing our spiritual perspective and eternal hope, we can navigate life's challenges with faith and purpose instead of fear and indecision.

Closing:

As we continue on our life journey, may we always prioritize our spiritual perspective and eternal hope, trusting in God's guidance and grace By scheduling daily time to seek Holy Spirits direction for our life objectives.

Our Spiritual Perspective Will Determine our Life Objective.

Communion:

As we prepare to come to the table let us ponder this thought.

"Through the sacrament of communion, we are reminded of our spiritual perspective and guided towards our life objectives."