The Game of Life: You Get To Pick!

Trivia question for you this morning. How many of you have ever heard of the board game manufacturing company known as Milton Bradley?

OK, well how many of you know what was the very first board game that Milton Bradley, himself, invented and then started producing in 1860?

Game of Life In 1860, a lithographer named Milton Bradley decided to invent a board game where people by playing it would learn life lessons. They would learn about the risks and the rewards in life and decisions and consequences. It was originally called “The Checkered Game of Life.” It was a checkered board game and started at birth moving along through the various stages of life. With each step there was an opportunity and with each opportunity a cost associated with it or a potential reward. It was designed to teach people about life. 100 years later in 1960, the Milton Bradley Company issued a redesigned game with little tiny people and cars and a spinner. That’s the game that most of us remember playing at one time or another.

In 1860, a lithographer named Milton Bradley decided to invent a board game where people by playing it would learn life lessons. They would learn about the risks and the rewards in life and decisions and consequences. It was originally called “The Checkered Game of Life.” It was a checkered board game and started at birth moving along through the various stages of life. With each step there was an opportunity and with each opportunity a cost associated with it or a potential reward. It was designed to teach people about life. 100 years later in 1960, the Milton Bradley Company issued a redesigned game with little tiny people and cars and a spinner. That’s the game that most of us remember playing at one time or another.

It was an absolute classic and still is today! How many of you have ever played THE GAME OF LIFE?

My family has had this game for years and in fact, it is still played from time to time!

Show the game and explain how it works.

Did you know that this fan favorite was created in 1860 by Milton Bradley and was actually the first board game evermade by this very popular game manufacturing company?

Show the game and explain how it works.

Well, the passage that I am pulling from this morning, mentions something that comes only from God Himself, through Jesus Christ.

In looking at this, we will see a sort of parody, in which we learn that we are “playing” LIFE every day and we get to make and choose the decisions of how we move through this board. And just as the board-game shows us, as we move around the board and especially at the end, the decisions that we made determine the rewards and the consequences that we will experience!

Life, our lives, are made up of daily decisions and choices. And with these choices come good and bad consequences, right?

I read that we can make as many 27-35,000 decisions per day!

That’s pretty mind blowing, isn’t it?

Many of those are miniscule and many are large and impacting!

It is said that we will make as many as 226 decisions per day, just on food alone!

Think about this, if the average life expectancy age in the US, is 78.7 years old and if we average making 35,000 decisions/day, then that means that in your life, you make well over ONE BILLION decisions in your life!

You get to determine, large and in part, the life that you will live, based on your decisions!

Well, within the New Testament, there are three different words used to mention, or refer to LIFE. These three words are, Bios, Psyche and Zoe.

So, there are three different levels of LIFE that we exist in here on earth.

Kind of like, we exist here on earth as triune beings. That is, body, soul and spirit, well we also exist at three different levels of life.

The first one is, BIOS (bee-ose). This is dealing with the physiological aspect of mankind; our actual bodies. Everything that pertains to homeostasis and the functioning of our bodies. This is where we get our word, “biology” from.

It is also encompasses, the things by which LIFE is sustained, resources, wealth, goods and all of the other things related to the physical.

The next type of LIFE mentioned in the NT is, PSYCHE (sue-kae). This type refers to breath, or more specifically, “the breath of life”. This mentioning of LIFE is dealing with the “soul” of a person. It is LIFE as we personally and individually know it, at the deepest level.

This is our soul, our heart, that is to say, our thoughts and will and emotions.

From this word, we get our word, “psychology”.

And the last word that is mentioned in the NT, that pertains to LIFE, is the biggest and the most important of the three, from the Christian perspective. It is the word, ZOE (zoe-wee).

Zoe, refers to TRUE and genuine LIFE. This is spiritual LIFE. This is the absolute “fullness” of life; both essential and ethical.

This LIFE, is inherent to and can only come from God!

It is not from, or pertaining to a created thing, but rather, it is a blessing from our Heavenly Father!

We will get more into how one comes to know this LIFE in a minute.

So, these are the three states of LIFE that we find primarily mentioned within the NT.

Turn with me please in your Bibles to John’s gospel, chapter 10.

I am going to start reading with verses 1-16. (READ)

Now, I taught on this passage some time back, in which I spent more time elaborating upon the role of Jesus as the “Door” and as the “Good Shepherd”.

If you remember, there were 7 declarative statements, or, 7 “I AM” statements that Jesus made about Himself, that are found only within John’s gospel record. (The bread of life, the light of world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way the truth and the life and the true vine.)

READ PAGE WITH NOTES ON THIS PASSAGE (PAGE 1)

So, this, ZOE, is the true form of LIFE that we must choose through our belief in Jesus.

ZOE is the greatest of the three types of LIFE and the very reason that Jesus was sent by God, His Father, so that we could have it.

,

John 5:26 ESV

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

Pair that up with , where it says, “and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name”, and you have the model of where we get our ABUNDANT LIFE CALLED, ZOE!

John 20:30–31 NLT

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

John 20:31 NLT

But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

From God the Father, through His Son, Jesus and to us, through our faith and belief in Him.

You have now seen the three types of LIFE that the gospels and epistles make mention of: bios, psyche and zoe. And of these three, to truly have life eternal (the abundant life), you must CHOOSE to walk in zoe!

There is a popular pop song out of the 70’s by Meatloaf, called, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”.

Let me say this, when it comes to TRUE LIFE, eternal life, this song title is horribly wrong!

You and I naturally and without any effort on our own, are living in and under the first two ; bios and psyche. (IF YOU ARE ALIVE RIGHT NOW, RAISE YOUR HANDS!)

So, you have bios covered and if you think for yourself, have emotions and a will, again, RAISE YOUR HANDS.

So, these two are both in place, by virtue of your natural life.

However, the third and most important one, ZOE, is not forced upon you, it is not automatically activated in your life, just because you show up for church, or attend a Bible study group! Without it active in your life, you are much like the TV show, The Walking Dead. You have no true life in you and you are spiritually dead on your feet!

Too many people become fixed upon preserving the other two lives, while all the while thinking that they are operating within the life of ZOE.

In , a situation occurs where a man petitions Jesus with this request, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” At this, Jesus responds, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

Luke 12:15 NLT

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

As soon as Jesus says this, He turns to the people and says, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life (zoe) does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

He then tells the parable of the rich man who spent his life coveting and desiring to build his riches in an effort to increase his psyche (temporal life).

When he feels comfortable and complete in his earthly amenities, then God says to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Jesus finishes by saying, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Instead seek God and His kingdom and these things will be added to you.”

In other words, your zoe life, is not enhanced in any way by your desire for, or increase in earthly gain. All you are doing is feeding your temporal lives and diminishing your eternal one.

In the end, you may forfeit your zoe (eternal life) without realizing that you were losing it.

Again in , Jesus said,

Luke 9:24 NLT

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

In this statement, Jesus is speaking of our “psyche” (temporal) lives.

We must be very careful to not desire a greater earthly life, while our eternal life is dying, or remains non-existent.

Many people’s desire for this life is much like the way in which native hunters in Africa trap a monkey to capture it. (TELL OF HOW THEY CAPTURE THE MONKEY WITH THE COCONUT AND HOLE IN IT.)

Just like the monkey, we want to hold onto what we have found, even though it will not allow us freedom and true life!

We grab and hold, all the while, our escape, our ZOE is slipping away!

This very situation is the reason why people refuse to let go of their earthly possessions for the kingdom and entrust them to God. The fear of loss and the zeal to acquire more, will drive many believers to decrease, or even stop tithing and giving to God and His kingdom and in effect, their lack of trust in God is hurting their eternal reward!

Some years back, the company with the brown trucks and brown uniforms - UPS, went public on the stock market for the first time in its 92 year history. The Chairman and CEO then, Jim Kelly said, “We’ve discussed the benefits of private ownership for a long time, but this is something we had to do to enable us to position ourselves and enhance and improve our global footprint.” We too, as a church have a footprint that needs expanding. We need givers and investors in the abundant life to see that the next generation also receives God’s good gifts.

One other main point that I want to emphasize in talking about the abundant life, the eternal life, the ZOE life, is that there is a dependency that we have upon the Good Shepherd to ensure that we stay close to Him and do not wander off, as sheep have the tendency to do!

How many sheep do we have in the room today?

Sheep are not stupid, as many people have made them out to be. In fact, modern studies have shown that they have some pretty impressive skills with memory and recognition.

They can remember and recognize over 50 individual faces for over 2 years; longer than many humans can.

They develop and retain friends in the flock, which will stick together in case of danger and fight for one another and they have even have been shown to display sadness when their friends are sent to slaughter.

Sheep are very destructive, in that they devour the forage wherever they graze and this is one of the reasons that the shepherd must know when to lead them other places.

Sheep are stubborn animals and must be made to move to new and productive pastures; they must be led by the shepherd. Without the shepherd’s guidance, they will devour everything and then wander into dangerous areas. This is why the psalmist said, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant”, or Isaiah says it this way, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way.”

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

And this is why Jesus repeated, several times in a statement and an analogy that He used to reference us to sheep and Himself being the Good Shepherd.

READ BIBLICAL NOTES MARKED 2.

Our being able to hear the Shepherd’s voice is crucial for our protection and to ensure that we, as sheep, do not wander, or become led away.

You know, the shepherd doesn’t just show up one day and go out and speak to the sheep for several hours and then expect them to fall into line and stay safe.

He must be with them at all times, walking amongst them and letting them hear his voice and sense his closeness, so as to keep them calm and secure and safe.

If the sheep do not see and hear the shepherd leading them, then over time, they will wander off. Especially if other voices and faces have become familiar to them, that they may begin to gravitate towards!

This is the point that I am making with you about hearing our Shepherd’s voice. We, just as sheep, must become VERY, VERY, VERY in tune with our master’s voice, so as to keep us from wandering away.

Just because you have entered in to the ZOE life, does not mean that you are not prone to wander back towards other FAMILIAR and comfortable feeding grounds!

This is exactly why Jesus uses the analogy of sheep and the shepherd within the confines of His abundant LIFE promise!

No matter what the shepherd says to the sheep, if they do not hear his voice, constantly, they will tend to wander away!

It is very possible for you and I to wander, at any time in our walk with the Lord, from His guidance and protection, if we do not stay ever attuned to His voice and and follow Him!

WE MUST KNOW HIS VOICE AND BE ABLE TO HEAR AND FOLLOW HIM!

How do you hear His voice?

This is the question that most people, especially most new Christians ask. “How can I hear someone, who I can’t see, or touch or audible hear?”

The thing that we must keep in mind is what Jesus reminds us of in :23-24, “But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

You must learn to use your spiritual eyes and ears to hear and follow Him!

Our Shepherd’s voice is actually the same voice that He followed and was guided by; Holy Spirit.

How does Holy Spirit speak to us then?

Probably one of the easiest ways to hear His voice, is go straight to the source of His vocabulary; HIS WRITTEN WORD........THE BIBLE!

MENTION A FRIEND (GLENN), WHO’S PARENTS MET AND FELL IN LOVE BEFORE THEY EVER MET, BECAUSE OF THEIR CORRESPONDENCE VIA LETTERS. THEY LITERALLY KNEW EACH OTHER BY VIRTUE OF THEIR WRITTEN WORDS!

The Bible tells us this about God’s word, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Holy Spirit spoke it and men penned it out. So, when you are reading the Bible, you are actually listening to God speak through His Holy Spirit!

Then, once you have begun to read and store His word in your heart, Holy Spirit activates it and reminds you of it, so that you will hear what He wants your mind’s eye focused on.

We know this, because of what Jesus said in , “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Once you begin to hear Him using the written word to activate your thoughts, then you will begin to flow with His voice, to the point that you will become attuned to Him in every circumstance and be able to speak to anyone about your ZOE life.

tells us, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

When the time comes and someone questions your faith, if you are hearing your Shepherd’s voice, then you will be told what to say to that person, just as Jesus promised us in ,

Luke 12:12 NLT

for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

Luke 12:11–12 NLT

“And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

Holy Spirit can speak to you in the form of dreams and visions and ideas, he can place words and thoughts that stick in your mind. What we must be able to do is recognize that they are from Him and not the enemy!

This brings me to a final point about our walking in this ZOE life and our dependency upon our Shepherd and His voice for guidance; we must have discernment to know where the the voices come from and who they belong to.

Our enemy, the devil and his legions, are constantly speaking lies into our lives in order to deceive and if possible lead us astray.

The devil approached Eve in the garden and spoke to her and deceived her into sin. The devil, in arrogance and rebellion, openly spoke to Jesus in an attempt to lead Him astray and he most definitely, through the work of his generals and minions, will come and lie and deceive you and I in an attempt to lead us, as sheep, astray and away from the Good Shepherd’s protection!

You and I are commanded to test the spirits that we are hearing these messages from, tells us,

1 John 4:1 NLT

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

And again in Paul says this to us,

1 Thessalonians 5:21–22 NLT

but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.

When a thought or word, or image keeps coming into your head, pray and ask Holy Spirit to reveal its source. See if it is lines up with the Word of God.

The Lord will NEVER contradict Himself and anything that you feel led to do, will never go against what the Bible says to us.

This is why it is so important to KNOW the word and have an intimate walk with the Holy Spirit; He will use the word in your heart as a plumb line for whatever thought you have lingering inside of your mind!

says, “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

As child of God and one who is living in God’s abundant life, here on earth, we have been given the authority over all of the enemy’s power!

Listen to what the Bible says about our position, as it first states who Jesus is and where He has been placed. ,

Ephesians 1:20–22 NLT

that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

Ephesians 1:19–22 NLT

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

Then after saying this, Paul continues in chapter 2 by saying this to us, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

We are seated with Christ in the third heaven, spiritually and by virtue of our position, we have been given His authority over the realms that dwell beneath us!

Jesus made sure that He spoke this to His disciples, before He commissioned them in , “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

EVERYONE SAY, “ALL AUTHORITY HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME”

Matthew 28:18 NLT

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

MENTION OF KRIS VALLOTON TEACHING ABOUT SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT AND OF HOW SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY WERE BIPOLAR OR SOMETHING BECAUSE OF ALL THAT THEY WERE HEARING.

Spiritual discernment is a gift that we can either have through Holy Spirit, or that we are to ask for to help us hear Shepherd’s voice. ,

1 Corinthians 12:10 NLT

He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

We are to ask Holy Spirit to reveal, to give us spiritual discernment and also we are to grow in maturity and be able to discern more and more, as the author of Hebrews tells us in ,

Hebrews 5:14 ESV

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

How many of you want to thrive in your ZOE life? How many of you want to start operating in your God given authority and take back what the enemy is taking from you and your families?

If you would like to begin to receive discernment from Holy Spirit and recognize the attacks of the enemy, then I want you to come down here this morning and we are going to ask Him for this, just as Paul said that we are to earnestly desire the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Do you believe that this morning? Then come down here and ask Him for what He has set in place for your life in His abundant LIFE!