Sermon Tone Analysis

A green card

In California, many people have moved from other parts of the world to work here, but they keep their citizenship with their home country.

They are required to carry a visitor registration card (called a “green card”), which allows them to work here even though they aren’t citizens.

Christians should carry spiritual green cards to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven.

God says his children are to think differently about life from the way unbelievers do.

James 4:4

Since this life is so temporary we should

Avoid getting too comfortable

2 Corinithians 5:20

The Last Samauri

Compared with other centuries, life has never been easier for much of the Western world.

We are constantly entertained, amused, and catered to.

With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences available today, it’s easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about.

Only as we remember that life is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives.

We

1 Corinthians 7:

The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world.

11 It also explains why some of God’s promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair.

In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life — longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity.

We’re not completely happy here because we’re not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for water.

An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn’t allowed to fly.

You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more.

You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God has planned for you.

Realizing that life on earth is just a temporary assignment should radically alter your values.

Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your decisions.

As C. S. Lewis observed, “All that is not eternal is eternally useless.”

Warren, Rick.

The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (pp.

52-53).

Zondervan.

Kindle Edition.

Paul was faithful, yet he ended up in prison.

John the Baptist was faithful, but he was beheaded.

Millions of faithful people have been martyred, have lost everything, or have come to the end of life with nothing to show for it.

But the end of life is not the end!

In God’s eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity.

An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States.

Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners, and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed.

Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God.

Then God gently reminded him, “But my child, you’re not home yet.”

At death you won’t leave home — you’ll go home.

Q.

How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

The pressure increases relentlessly