Living Life With God

Introduction: Biggie Smalls and His Dream

One of the greatest things about living life with God is knowing He never disappoints.

Take a listen to these words. Maybe they sound familiar to you.

It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine

Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hangin' pictures on my wall

Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl

I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped

Smokin' weed in Bambu, sippin' on Private Stock

Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack

With the hat to match

Remember Rappin' Duke?

You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far

Now I'm in the limelight 'cause I rhyme tight

Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade

Born sinner, the opposite of a winner

Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner

Peace to Ron G, Brucie B, Kid Capri Flex, Lovebug Starski

I'm blowin' up like you thought I would

Call the crib, same number, same hood

It's all good (it's all good)

And if you don't know, now you know

Anyone remember these words?

These are the lyrics of one of the most famous hip hop songs of all time, written by one of the most famous hip hop rappers of all time. This song was featured on an album entitled Ready to Die by Christopher Wallace, otherwise known as Biggie Smalls.

This song captures the personal struggles he endured and the supposed escape from the life of hustle he experienced as a young man. From the song, it is very clear that he saw hip hop as a way of escaping the misery of trying to make it from day to day in Brooklyn, New York.

In fact, he opened up the song with a sort of tribute to those who doubted him and those who understood the struggle.

Yeah, this album is dedicated

To all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin'

To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of

Called the police on me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughter (it's all good)

And all [of you] in the struggle

You know what I'm sayin'? It's all good

It is very clear, Biggie Smalls was fed up with the life he was living and this new found success in hip hop was a fulfilled hope that took him farther than he ever imagined he could go.

This song was released in 1994. Just three short years later, Biggie was shot and killed at age 24 in a drive-by shooting that spawn from a supposed East Coast-West Coast feud.

All the joy Biggie experienced in 1993 of making it to the top was quickly wiped out by the very thing that brought him the perceived success he always longed for.

Point: Very few things in life can live up to the fulfillment one expects before receiving it.

When we are born we enter a rat-race of pursuit, which never seems to reward us for our efforts. We simply engage in a cyclical attempt to fulfill life with things that only lead to more emptiness.

This is what Solomon discovered in Ecclesiastes 1:8

Ecclesiastes 1:8 NLT

8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 NLT

11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

Premise: We find our deepest fulfillment in our pursuit of God.

The End of Idols: Acts 17

This is the point Paul is trying to share with the Athenians. Athens was as a hyper-religious society—filled with altars and idols. They worshipped in a transactional way. The idea of worship was discovering as best as possible what the gods wanted so we can get what we want by satisfying their desire. There was no relationship. Worship was a business agreement.

**Demonstration: Describe the religious context of Rome’s pantheon of gods.**

We treat ambition and the accomplishments of goals as a sort of deposit into the idols of our life that do not have the ability to grant us what we’re looking for.

Career- extra certification

Money- extra job

Fitness- more reps at the gym

Fame- connecting and networking

Education- one more degree

Relationships- another partner

Epicureans sought to discover the path to true happiness.

Stoics tried to determine the best path to contentment and self-sufficiency.

**Elaborate on the context**

As a result they both tried to fulfill these quests through religious pursuit.

Paul’s message proclaimed the following:

Fulfillment and happiness cannot be found through religion.

Fulfillment and happiness cannot be found through the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.

Principle 1: Fulfillment and true happiness is found through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Gospel in Acts 17

Paul’s argument in Acts 17 is true happiness and joy cannot be found until we connect with the Creator God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Sin has separated us from the one who created us.

Everything inherently enjoyable in life is now stained because of this separation from God.

Jesus has come to reconcile us to our Creator-Father.

Through death on the cross and His resurrection from grave, we are afforded an opportunity to dwell with God.

We are to live a life in pursuit of Him.

Life is, therefore, a pursuit of God; not things.

How do we seek God? In faith.

Hebrews 11:6 “6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

Acts 17:27–29 “27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.”

Paul’s idea of seeking God is antithetical to the Romans he’s preaching to. The pursuit of gods in the ancient world was never to find god. Rather, it was to receive the things the gods bring or give. However, Paul sets this idea upside down and argues true happiness and fulfillment is discovered when I seek God over things.

Principle 2: Fulfillment and true happiness comes to those who seek God.

Paul argues that the true reward comes from God when we seek Him, not simply what He gives. Life is meant to be spent pursuing more and more of God. Yet, we have spent most of our time and life pursuing things, which only leads to more unhappiness.