Striving for Present Life

Introduction

Greeting

Welcome hybrid family, can we take a few minutes to greet someone and tell them they are loved by God, Please no Holy kiss just side hugs are premited in hybrid Church im joking. Thank you, lets grab a seat and as you already know we finished our series on carrying the cross and we will be starting a new series soon.

Story

i recent had a conversation with a friend, were you feel both encouraged and challeneged by the conversation becuase it makes you examine your life. Then we came across a scripture that just highlighted everything that was said and i just felt it was just a conversation for us but i think its a conversation we need to have in the church.

Why

Majority of us dont live our daily lifes in the present, we are emotion living in the past think about that brings us shame and depression or future which brings us fear and uncertainity. Were thinking about the good old days or the good days to come but I belive God is calling us to be present. we hear this echoe from jesus as he teachs his disciples to be present.

Matthew 6:34 NIV

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Transition

Not only jesus but the apostle paul reminds the church how they should there daily lifes.

Strive for Peace

Pauls Story

Many of us know the story of The apostle paul, but i want to remind us becuase it really helps hightlight the letter and this specific verse. The apostle paul wasnt always a apostle he was a young man somewhere in his mid 20s who studied under galibelo who was a highly estemed teacher, Young saul heard about christiaity, He asked and recieved legal rights by the high priests to persected the church, but on his way through the damacus road he had encounter the risen jesus, Then jesus commisions him to be a apostle to Jews and non jews and even kings.. He goes away for about 3,5 years to verify by the scriptures if christianity is true and he starts going to city to city preaching the gospel and planting churchs. In acts 17 he went to Thessalonians where he visited a local synologue and persuaded them about Jesus from the scripture and many jews and non jews became believers but only a month in there was a group that become jealous persected him so he had to leave this newly converted christian community which made paul worried. But, Paul never traveled alone he usually had his co-workers like salias titus, but he sent back timothy to check on them because he was worried that the same group who persected him would persected them and timothy comes back and reports good things like they love another but timothy aslo reported some issues they had questions about the return of christ and how they should conduct there lifes as he wait for the return of christ and paul gives him clear instructions.

1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 NIV

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Teaching

The apostle pauls tell the church to make it there ambition, that word ambition means to eagerly stirve and sometimes in the God reign there are things you need to trust and rest for and another times there are thing you need to contend and fight for. He calls us to a have a holy ambition, whats so amazing is what he says next he says make it your ambition to live a quiet life. That statement quiet life means a life of peace, calm and restrain towards life. Paul understands that we need restrains in our life becuase peace has a cost. The word peace as a theme means haramony, if i can repharse paul he calls us to strive eagerly to live a life of haramony. Imagine a band with a conducter and as the conducter leads and the bands follows and they togther make a beauitful sound but 10 seconds later another band comes and they play there own song and they have there own conducter and all of sudden that room went from a song that had harmony is making chaotic song. I think in the same way we are constantly not experiencing a peaceful life because there are listening to many conducters in the rooms of our hearts. We need to learn to practice soltuide and hear what our father is saying to us. When you look at the life and ministry of jesus christ, he would often go to places of soltuide and he would connect with his father. Im currentky reading a book on prayer and it a teaching on the lords prayer and how when jesus called God father it wasnt just a status of intimicay that jesus shared with God but Jesus was actually learning to appriencte the father on earth as he is in heaven. Jesus would often would say i only do what i see what my father do and i only say what my fathers says. When we seek times of solitude to be with our father not just to share pettions but to appriencte him whereever we are as him ambasaders on earth as he is in heaven then we unlock a life of peace and fruitfullness.

Phone Use Story

How many of our morning are filled with chaos, becuase somehow our hands reachs for our phones without our permission and we fill our minds with all the problems in the world and all the drama that is going on in everybody elses life. I was recently talking with the lead team and we live in a generation where we hate silent. Just imagine driving someone you barely you know and driving silently things get awkward, We need something or someone to etertain us because we cant seat with queit.

Application

We have to strive for peace in the mist of Troubles, trouble is promised but how we respond to them really shape the direction, i think when your at work and your having a diffcult co-workers go to the washroom and ask your father how would you have me handle this situation, give me wisdom to take the right steps. Your having a disagreement with family. Go for a walk and ask your father what is happenng beneath the surface that im not seeing how do you want me to respond to this sitation. Maybe you have no more love to give and feel weaken to love or serve anybody and take a quick 5 seconds and turn your pams to heaven ask your father to fill your heart with his love and so that you can love like him. Leading a quiet life is continue striving to cut out the noise that is unnessecry to focus on what is essential, to craft moments of soltidue to connect with our father and in doing we experince peace.

Transition

Paul continues to say strive for simplicity.

Strive for Simplicity

My Fathers Story

I knew this person personally who would consistnetly just watch and feed himslef the news and poltics and i saw how his health, his home and his work were affect, one day we went to lunch and as we were talking he told me his friend took the tv out of his home. He saw how it was affecting his daily life. He took that advice and he run with it and in matters of months thing changed for him.

Teaching

Paul then adds to living a quiet life minding your own business, i love how paul tells us to remember not never issue and cause is something we need to involved in and not every business is our business but rather we need to simplficy and ask what does God ask of me, what is he wanting me to cut of our my life, what is a distraction that take me way from doing Gods will. Everything is not important and simplification is the intentional decision that forces us to identify what is actually important and not get involved in affairs that dont matter , movemnets that Gods breath isnt involved and drama that adds no value. We need to discern with God he want our attention. Jesus when he was 12 knew he came to do his fathers business and God has common things he wants us all to do but there are diiferent things he call us all to do as well and actaully identifing them. This isnt easy but we need to strive for simplicity and remove affairs that we arent called to involved in so that that we can give our all to the things he has called us too.

Application

I encourages us later tonight if you have time or in your time with the lord ask him what are the things that you think is important he wants you to focus on and write them down. What are the things that need to be removed that are weigh and dostractions and How will you practcially to live out?

Transition

Lastly, God calls us to strive for finicaily independants, he goes on to say work with your own hands so that you dont depend on others. He calls us to strive for finicial indepentances.

Strive for Independents

Teaching

In Genesis God gave us a model to follow, he worked and rested so that we too can work and rest and all of us have to learn to find the balance between work and rest. Many people overwork not knowing the hidden costs like relationships in our marraige, family, church and even God but we cant just rest becuase poverity waits him who is unwilling to work. God calls us to work but for man for God, and learn to rest becuase he is our ultimate provider. We need to stirve to be at finicailly indepedenat because and paul says when we live in this way outsiders will see our lifes and we will win there respect. We should aim to be people who can support others who are in need, people who can support a family, a people who can give to the poor, When our lifes is a marked with peace, simplicity and finicial indpendences people will respect you and will open there hearts to hear the gospel.

Application

Plan your Work and Rest

Transition

I pray we all would live lifes that strive for peace, simplicity and indepenadant so that we can win the respect of outsiders who look at our lifes and see the power of the Gospel and the power of the spirit in our lifes.

Conclusion

If its okay, i would like to give us 5 minutes to be still and pray before our father, ask him to help us be present and shape our lifes in his will.