Get A Life In Christ

GET A LIFE IN CHRIST

·         Popular catch phrase- GET A LIFE!!!!

·          The only life to get. The only real ,true and authentic life to have. The only one that will really make anyone happy   is the life we live in Jesus Christ.

o   2 Corinthians 3:6 “ the spirit of Christ gives life.”

o   This life we are given in Christ is amazing. BUT  if we aren’t careful we can get sidetracked and loose the joy, the peace, the happiness that Jesus gives.

o   Much of the scriptures are written to show us and keep us on the right road. The road to Christ.

  There are lots of ways this world that tries to derail us from following this life in Christ. In Colossians 3 we see some of them listed. 

o   In Luke 12:15, Jesus warns us of one of the attitudes, that if we give room in our hearts, will hinder us on our journey with the lord. GREED.  

o   Jesus wasn’t telling us to watch for it in others, but in ourselves.

o   In this verse Jesus is giving us a direct, unequivocal command to guard against covetousness or Greed – the longing for something we don’t have, especially for what belongs to someone else.

TAKE CARE or BEWARE stern warning about this vice. which we understand from  read Paul’s letters is what some led some of the early converts  away from true fellowship with God in Christ because it turns into a form of Idolatry.

We are being cautioned about the danger of thinking that possessions and the pursuit of more-and more- is what life is all about. (not even when one has abundance does his life consist of his possessions) few verses further Jesus said,  “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. There is the eternal, spiritual side of life that is meant to worship God and belonging for God.

  You see According to this verse and the following parable, covetousness, or greed, is based on the foolish belief that what matters in life is how much one has with little or no thought of others or of God.

o   This very same attitude we see in the farmer we see in the world and shamefully in the church.

o   Friends our lives in Christ are to be different than what the world around us is telling us to be.

o    It may be money (as is the case here), or status, power, intelligence, beauty, even spiritual blessings; it is possible to covet anything that can be acquired.

o   The idea is that having that thing will make us content. But biblically, only God can—and will—satisfy our real needs, as Jesus goes on to show (12:22–31).

  To covet, to be greedy is to be discontented with what God brings our way.

o   Yet our consumer-oriented culture excels at stoking the fires of discontent.

o   In subtle yet powerful ways, we come to believe that whatever we have, it’s not enough. We need more, we need bigger, we need better.

o   ( work  mate we call mister Gadget, all the latest toys )

  So more than ever, we need to pay attention to Jesus’ warning: Watch out for greed!  Watch out for it In our own hearts.

  Let me tell you a story to illustrate:

An elderly Quaker who, to teach his neighbours a lesson, put up a sign on a vacant piece of property he owned that read, “I will give this lot to anyone who is really satisfied.”A wealthy farmer read it as he rode by and said to himself, “Since my Quaker friend is going to give this piece of land away, I might as well have it as anyone else. I am rich and have all I need, so I am well able to qualify.” He went up to the Quaker’s door and, when the aged man appeared, the farmer explained why he had come.“And art thou really satisfied?” asked the owner of the lot.“I surely am,” was the farmer’s reply. “I have all I need, and I am well satisfied.”“Friend,” said the other, “if thou art satisfied, then what dost thou want with my lot?” The question revealed the covetousness that was hidden in the man’s heart.

  Do we covet. Is there a hint of greed in our hearts.

o   If we are caught up in thinking that possessions will make us happy or will satisfy us we will never experience what a real life is all about.

o    (We will  be  just like the farmer in Jesus parable.) For you see the real joy and peace the happiness comes only from God and our right relationship with Him.

o   What is sad is that  many people miss this truth about life.

  Paul wraps up all the vices that we are to overcome by encouraging us to “Set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

  SO “GET A LIFE”

   The one that God has meant for you to have since the beginning of time and live it to the full in Jesus Christ the Lord.