Living Life to its Fullest

Introduction

Motivational statements this morning about life.

Believe you can and you're halfway there. Theodore Roosevelt

If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney

I didn't get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it. Estée Lauder

Let me make a statement and I would ask everyone to respond, but especially our Senior Adults this morning. Show of hands if you agree with this statement and do not raise your hands if you disagree. Answer as you are convicted.

“It takes the whole of life to learn how to live.”

Show of hands if you agree with that statement.

Look around the room. What I want you to be aware of is the number of Seniors that answered that question in the affirmative.

I would love to say that statement was coined by me, but one well before my time made that statement. Believe it or not, a contemporary of Nero, the leader of Rome during the time of Jesus and the birth of the early church. History notes that he knew Paul the Apostle. His name was Seneca. He was Nero’s chief known adviser and counselor who coined that thought.

A sad commentary to realize that one of the brightest minds of the day, Seneca, a stoic philosopher, stated that it took the entirety of his life to learn how to live (and note: to live as the world lives which means eternal death and separation from God).

We note that God gave Solomon more knowledge as Scriptures state of “all the men of the East and of Egypt.”

1 Kings 4:29-30 “29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.”

Let me share the bookends of his wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 1:1-4 “1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? 4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.”

Vanity means emptiness. Its empty, fleeting, temporal.

He writes through all of Ecclesiastes those things he thought would bring happiness and he closes the book with this conclusion:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”

Let’s move to the New Testament this morning.

Matthew 11:11 “11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Around one of the most loved and most memorized verses we find in the Bible,

John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John the Baptist writes the greatest counsel in living life to its fullest.

“He must increase, I must decrease.” “He must increase, I must decrease.” Therein lies the secret to living the abundant life Jesus’ offers us.

Turn in your Bibles this morning to John 3:22-36.

Scripture Reading

John 3:22–36 NKJV

22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Prayer

Message

At some point in time Jesus and His disciples left Jerusalem and were circulating in the countryside of Judea and a Jew had spotted Jesus’ disciples baptizing in similarity to John the Baptist’s disciples, a baptism of repentance. You read the note that at this time John had not been imprisoned. This scene is early in the ministry of Jesus.

Let’s take just a moment and clarify an understanding of the Synoptic gospels vs. John’s gospel. The synoptic Gospels, (Matthew, Mark & Luke) write with more of a chronological order while John writes with a theological order or topical order in mind. So, time frames of scenes fall differently in the synoptics than in John. Furthermore, while Luke for example portrays Jesus in His humanity as the Son of Man; John portrays Jesus as the Son of God. John teaches through the seven miracles, the “I am” statements. The theme: Jesus is God and He is the only way to salvation.

So, “after these things” does not mean chronologically but a change of a theological teaching or a support to the message being conveyed.

Our focus is beyond the baptism discussion and to focus on John’s response to the Jew making inquiry about ceremonial washing or purification. The question the Jew asked was really an attempt to find answers to overcome the vanity of vanity Solomon discussed. A Jew never measured up or felt fulfilled due to all the laws and the fact they never felt whole or complete. Purification was a temporal cleansing of soul at best and the questions rendered his hunger for real satisfaction in life.

At the hub of the discussion, the pinnacle of thought in rebuttal to the Jew’s words, John the Baptist stated these words:

“He must increase and I must decrease.” Our objective this morning as we build toward the taking of communion is to reflect. Communion is a time of reflection. Reflect this morning on your life. Communion is reflecting on Jesus’ life and what He did for you.

Reflect on Jesus’ life in conjunction with your life. Do you like what you see? Do you like where your life is going? Is your life properly aligned with His life? These are the many questions we ponder today.

John’s life statement for us, the crest of the mountain of our lives is “He must increase, I must decrease,” how does that come about? How do we flesh that out in daily life? How is that fleshed out in the life of a Christian?

Firstly, embedded in John’s response to the Jew about purification we gain an insight.

John shares:

Live Understanding Life is a Gift V. 27

John 3:27 “27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.”

Listen to what the ESV states:

“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” The source of everything we are and everything we will ever be is from God above.

Life is not something you Possess

Oh dear brother and sister this morning when we come to understand that you do not possess life, life possesses you. The Lord gave you life. Life is a gift.

Life is a Present

If you can overcome this wage of war that life is a gift vs. this concept of gain in this life. It is the same battle of the mind of grace vs. works. There is a battle raging within our soul that drives to gain in this life. We fight a mindset that we get out of life what we put into life verging on the taking of control over our own destinies. And so that battle of pushing, shoving, manipulating and orchestrating life under the premise that your actions have something to do with how your life has turned out and a total disregard for the providential hand of God at work in your life.

Now let me clarify something here. Do I believe that one person’s life will turn out like another’s by total happenstance and that whether or not you make efforts or the lack thereof life would and could turn out the same? Absolutely not. God offers promises all through His Word of the blessings that come when we live a life under the dictates of God’s Word by honoring Him with our lives.

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

When we change the mindset that our lives are not ours to possess, but life is a present from the Lord we change the total stewardship of that gift. You do not own your spouse, they are a gift from the Lord. You do not own your children, they are a gift of God for His service. Your grandchildren, your employment, your home; do you get it, your very life is a gift and treat it as such from the Lord.

How many of you have received a gift that you cherish? The gift is sentimental and you protect it at all cost? The meaning of the gift is usually in direct correlation to the quality of the relationship. The love one bestowed toward you is usually a deciding factor as to how sentimental and how meaningful the gift is.

God Himself gave you life. He gave you every aspect of your life from your family, your friends, your gifts, your talents, your livelihood and if that is not enough, He gave you His one and only begotten Son. Is there any greater reason for us to value this life as a gift that God gave us?

Live with a Goal in Mind V. 28

John 3:28 “28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’”

John the Baptist had a clear understanding of the mission the Lord had called him to fulfill. John’s mission was prophetic in nature.

Malachi 3:1 “1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.”

You will remember that the angel spoke to Zacharias in the altar of incense.

Luke 1:13-17 “13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.””

You will remember that Mary visited Elizabeth after the angel visited Mary.

Luke 1:41 “41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

John the Baptist had a clear mission for his life and he lived out that mission to the “voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord.”

John 1:23 “23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.””

Oh dearly beloved, do you want your life to have purpose? Meaning? Do you want to feel as if you are making a difference? Find what it is that God has purposed for your life and do it.

Live with Gladness of Heart VV. 29-30

John shared the analogy of the bride/bridegroom relationship. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, the true bride relationship had not been consummated. We, the church, believers of Christ Jesus are called the bride and Jesus is the bridegroom. John found fulfillment being a friend to the bridegroom and promoting the marriage, the buildup in the celebration of consummating the marriage.

There are two very definitive reasons that joy should be ours in our relationship to Christ. Most importantly, when we accepted Him as Lord and Savior of our lives we experienced agape love in that Jesus loved us sin and all unconditionally.

Chris Tomlin wrote the song, Amazing Love. The lyrics go like this:

I'm forgiven, because you were forsaken, I'm accepted, you were condemned I'm alive and well, your spirit is within me Because you died and rose again. Amazing love how can it be That you my King should die for me Amazing love, I know its true And its my joy to honor you, in all I do to honor you

We have an assurance that we are His and His love is eternal. Amen.

But secondly, we as well are the role of the friend to the bridegroom. Joy is unspeakable when the Lord uses you to win another bride to the bridegroom. There is no greater satisfaction that to lead one to Christ.

“Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.”

We can experience complete joy know Jesus loves us for who we are and saves us in spite of ourselves. We can experience complete joy when we share our relationship of Jesus with another. Amen.

Live a God Surrendered Life vv. 30-36

John 3:30 “30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John shared these words in Matthew 3:11 “11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Dearly beloved, when we allow Jesus to increase and we decrease in our lives the greatest of life change comes about.

John 3:31 “31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.”

We discussed in our beginning time together that most agree that we live most of our lives figuring out how to live. The other paramount discovery is that the more I live life, the more I realize I have no control over what comes about in this life.

John 3:31 affirms the fact that our heavenly Father is above all things and has control over all things. That should give you peace knowing there is one above you that has control of everything that is above your comprehension or your capacity and has your best interest at stake in the process.

Colossians 1:17-18 “17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

Ill. Jane’s Dad-Principal at Lanier and Superintendent of Montgomery Schools

He was the final word.

There are times it is important to be elementary so that everyone here in the room understands. Children, there is not one thing happening at school that the Lord is not aware of or can help you overcome. Youth, there is not a single relationship issue you are involved with that God can’t handle. Young couple, there is not a single marital issue Jesus has not confronted in counseling. Small business man, there is not a single struggle with employees or challenges in the workplace that the Lord has not dealt with. Dear Retiree, there is not a single fear of loneliness or health crisis that God can’t offer comfort in. Do you get it? God is over every issue, every trial, every roadblock, every fear this world can throw at you. Say amen.

John 3:33 “33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.”

And what is truth?

John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Let’s pray.