Finishing the Race: Living with purpose (Part 3)
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Finishing the Race, Part 3
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Week 1: Knowing our purpose...
Reduces frustration
Increases motivation
Enables a more focused life
Prepares us to face God
We were reminded that God planned works for us to complete before He calls us home. We were put on this earth to make it a better place, to live with significance, and to make meaningful contributions.
Week 2: God shaped our lives through...
Spiritual Gifts
Heart
Abilities
Personality
Experiences
Two weeks ago we looked at the importance of living with significance.
Each of are a masterpiece, a poetic composition created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance long before we were born.
Everything that shapes our lives is used by God ensure we run a good race. Even those things we inflict upon ourselves!
We reviewed the historical purpose of this church envisioned by the first military chaplains who organized this church: The original intent was to create a hub where military personnel of all faiths could worship, honor those who died at the Battle of Kwajalein, and perpetuate a sense of unity and peace to all Americans.
As the years passed, the church got on the wrong track and began running in the wrong lane. We saw the importance of running in the lane God determined for us to ensure we run the race He designed for each of us and for this church!
We examined what the Lord has called us to do?
1. To invest our lives in His plan, His mission!
2. To extend our ministries by living with significance.
3. To remember we were strategically placed by God to fulfill His purpose.
Week 3
Week 3
TODAY, we will look at the importance of running the race according to the Lord’s rules…
OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO
1 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—2 then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. 3 Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. 4 Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Vs1-2 Emphasize a Biblical truth: UNITY NURTURES JOY
Vs1-2 Emphasize a Biblical truth: UNITY NURTURES JOY
Trouble has a way of finding us—if we hang around long enough it seems to catch us when we least expect it…Sometimes, when we are experiencing a good day, people rob us of our joy. When Paul received a generous gift from the Philippian church, he was elated that they cared so much. But then, bad news was shared about divisions within the church, and those attacking the church from without. Members were disagreeing and arguing, and false teachers were attacking the church.Paul knew what some believers today do not know—that that there is a difference between unity and uniformity. True spiritual unity comes from within—it is a matter of the heart. Uniformity is the result of pressure from without. When there is unity people do things because they want to, while uniformity forces people to do things because they have too.
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
TRANSITION: Keeping the difference in mind—look at verses 1-2
Vs1-2 UNITY NURTURES JOY
What is Paul saying? If want joy, you have to dwell together in unity!
If I’m going to accomplish my mission, I must not only strengthen my skills, abilities, gifts, talents, and relationships; I must help other strengthen theirs!
What is Paul saying? If want joy, you have to dwell together in unity!
What is Paul saying? If want joy, you have to dwell together in unity!
One way I can keep this in focus is to not be concerned who gets the credit!
Ronald Reagan is often given credit for saying, “It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit!” And Harry Truman wouldn’t care that Reagan got he credit—even though Truman said it first!
I personally know the individuals who started the Scuba programs at the Georgia Aquarium and Disney Epcot Aquarium for wounded Soldiers. And the wheelchair basketball program for wounded Soldiers, but none of them get the credit, others took it, and each person who should get the credit doesn’t care because Soldiers are being helped.
I’ve known individuals in churches who put great ideas and others took the credit—but they didn’t care because new ministries began that brought people to Christ.
If you want a joyful church, then nurture unity—and don’t care who gets the credit!
Paul opens this section by appealing to their relationship “in Christ.” He calls them to work toward unity and love, not division and rivalry.
The passage carries the thought of living in harmony, so we can focus on our mission! Disagreements often reveal the true heart of a church… most often disagreements come when one or more people are selfish, and selfishness is caused by pride.
Pride is the focus on one’s self, arrogant thinking, thinking others should see us as important.
In the business world, we all it ontological arrogance—the belief that my opinion is not only the best one—it’s the only one! Prideful, arrogant, selfish people have NO JOY!
When we begin thinking too highly of ourselves—we hamper God’s work in our lives!
ILLUSTRATION:
Over 40 years ago, my daughter climbed up on my lap one evening when I preparing a sermon. I admit, I thought far too highly of myself!
As Amy watched for awhile, she suddenly said, “Daddy, who gives you your sermons?”
I responded, “Honey, God gives them to me.” I sat there thinking about my answer and enjoying my little girl watch as I continued to prepare.
Then she said, “Daddy, if God gives you your sermons, why do you scratch out so much?”
There can be no joy in the life of the Christian who puts himself above others. The emphasis of this letter is to promote unity grounded in the joy that comes from walking with Christ. How can I run the race, if I am dragging the dead weight of disunity, selfishness, arrogance, and pride?
I encourage you to spend some time in Philippians this week and reflect on God’s purpose for your life and think about how you can help someone to succeed...
You see, the Lord Jesus Christ longs for us to succeed in fulfilling our purpose! And there are FOUR things I must do to succeed:
1. I NEED TO INSPIRE OTHERS
1. I NEED TO INSPIRE OTHERS
How can I inspire others? Scripture gives us some guidance...
Jesus...
15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Paul...
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
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Paul says, I modeled for you; you imitated me in the Christian life and now you pass it on to others and you become a model to other people, other Christians.
The translation leaves out some key concepts! The language implies, do nothing from factional motives [don’t be contentiousness, don’t cause strife, stop being selfish, conceited, and arrogant; stop and think! Consider others as more important than yourself!
I’m Messed Up! Can I be a Model?
ILLUSTRATION: Emphasizes ALL of us had models
As a baby growing up, everything you learned you learned by imitation. You watched your mother or father or brother or sister or somebody model something; then you did it! That’s how you learned to talk, walk, and behave!
. They did it and then you did it. That’s how you learned to talk. You learned everything in your early years by modeling.
There’s only one problem with that. As a child you didn’t get to choose your models. You had no choice. You tended to imitate whoever was near you.
As a child you had no choice!
That’s ok if you had good models! You probably grew up with healthy self-esteem, feeling good about yourself; you grew up with some strong values.
But maybe you grew up with workaholic parents. And did you grow up to be a workaholic? Or maybe you grew up with anger being expressed in your home in inappropriate ways and you grew up learning to blow up or stuff it. Or maybe you grew up with negativity and so you tend to be a negative person.
While some people grew up with successful models in their lives, many others – probably a majority of others – grow up with scars. You didn’t have perfect models. And then you picked up more imperfections from the friends you chose.
The good news is this: you can change your model. Now that you’re an adult you can choose what you’re going to model your life after.
READ:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
gal 5:23
ASK AGAIN: Can I be a good model?
Being a good model starts with right attitude grounded in the fruit of the Spirit!
What is the difference between a “crotchety” old person and a “crotchety” young person? ANSWER: Years! One is old and one is young. If you are a crotchety old coot, it’s because you were a crotchety young brat!
Let’s take the fruit test…ask yourself:
"As I look back on my Christian Life, I have left a trail of: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?
"As I look back on my Christian Life, I have left a trail of: loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.
loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.
You want to be a good model? Then choose good models to model!
2. I NEED TO ADVISE OTHERS WISELY
2. I NEED TO ADVISE OTHERS WISELY
PROV 19
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
All of us need mentors, coaches who give us perspective!
They help us see from the outside because we rarely see it all.
We see with a limited focus:
ILLUSTRATION: Glasses...
We need somebody else to say, “Have you thought about…? What about this…? or What about that…”
22 Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed.
How can I be a good mentor?
How can I be a good mentor?
Raise questions that promote critical thinking
Provide feedback that leads to solutions—a good mentor DOES NOT tell you what to do, they lead you to discover the solution!
5 It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.
3. I NEED TO LOOK AND PRAY FOR A STRUGGLING BELIEVER
3. I NEED TO LOOK AND PRAY FOR A STRUGGLING BELIEVER
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9 Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. 10 If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it’s just too bad, because there is no one to help him.
Everybody needs partners. Even Jesus, who was perfect, called out assistants—12 of them! (Disciples)
Paul had eight co-workers and everywhere he went he took these guys with him.
Models, mentors, partners—people who are going in the same direction as you.
The truth is God has designed an organization to give you the partners you need. It’s called the church. The church was designed to help you fulfill your life mission. You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, but you cannot be all you can be without tying into a fellowship of believers! You can’t make it on your own. You need partners and the best place to find them is at church.
and saying, “That’s going to be my family. That’s going to be my fellowship. That’s going to be my team. I’m going to enlist in that particular platoon of God’s army. I’m going to go with them.” You can’t make it on your own. You need partners and the best place to find them is at church.
That’s why you cannot become all that God wants you to be without tying into a local church and saying, “That’s going to be my family. That’s going to be my fellowship. That’s going to be my team. I’m going to enlist in that particular platoon of God’s army. I’m going to go with them.” You can’t make it on your own. You need partners and the best place to find them is at church.
5 In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.
The Message
Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?
Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?
4. BE A FRIEND THAT PROVIDES SUPPORT
4. BE A FRIEND THAT PROVIDES SUPPORT
Emotional Support
17 A friend loves you all the time, and a brother helps in time of trouble.
If you ever got in trouble and your friend said, I’m not going to take sides? They weren’t a friend. Believe me, friends take sides!
Even when you’re wrong, they’re there for you in the time of trouble. A friend walks in when everybody else walks out.
When your friend needs emotional support—be THAT friend to them!
Intellectual Support
They make you think.
They stimulate you.
They don’t dumb down you.
They encourage you to be creative.
Do your friends do that?
Emerson once said, “A true friend is someone who makes you do what you can do.”
They see your potential they make you do what you can do. They bring out the best in you.
How do you bring out the BEST in people? B-Believe in them, E-Encourage them, S-Support them, T-Trust them.
Are you doing that with children/grad-children/wife/husband/employees. Are you bringing out the BEST in them?
Besides the emphasis of being unselfish, Paul underscores the importance of humility. Humility is often misunderstood. The original word comes from the Greek and means, “the wild horse brought under control by a bit and bridle.” Shorter definition is: “strength under the control of the master!”When the Master is in control—others are always more important. When others ARE NOT MORE important—be assured, Jesus IS NOT in control of or lives! When the Master is in control—we are interested in others. When we ARE NOT interested in others—be assured, Jesus IS NOT in control of our lives!
QUESTION: What would happen in places we worked, if we accepted others were more important, and we were so genuinely interested in them, we changed our definition of success?
20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
WHAT IF WE DEFINED SUCCESS AS: helping someone else to succeed, so as to, multiply our value!
Spiritual Support
Do we want paradise, not just in the climate, the ocean, the sun, the great weather? Do we want our homes to be paradise, our workplace to paradise, our relationships to be paradise?Then let your unity nurture joy, don’t think too highly of yourself, be humble—let the Master have control, and multiply your value by helping others to succeed!
A friend gives spiritual support. They draw you closer to Jesus, not further away.
CONCLUSION
1. How do we run a good race? We run according to the rules established by God.
2. What are the rules?
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
All of us need good friends who build good character!
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can reach out to bad friends when you are still weak!
Stay in our lane…run the race the Lord marked out for us!Promote unity…Be unselfish…Be humble…Be interested in others…Remember who Jesus is and remember what He did…He stooped down to us, He came as a servant wrapped in human flesh, died and rose—not just so we could live eternally, but that we might influence those around us to realize—the race of life CANNOT BE RUN WELL, UNTIL JESUS IS RUNNING BESIDE YOU!
I know this is going to be difficult for some of you but I need to say it, if you’re serious about living a Purpose Driven Life, there maybe some relationships in your life right now you need to end!
You need to just cut off some friendships. Why?
Because the Bible warns about being closely linked, teamed up in a very close friendship, with people who have conflicting values...
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
33 Do not be fooled. “Bad companions ruin good character.”
ILLUSTRATION
1 Cor 15
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can reach out to poisonous friends when you you are still weak!
15 Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands?
I know this is going to be difficult for some of you but I need to say it, if you’re serious about living a Purpose Driven Life, there maybe some relationships in your life right now you need to end!
I’m running, running—I don’t want to say, “Hey Jesus! Come on, catch up, I’m over here!”
“Don’t be teamed with those who don’t love the Lord. How can light live with darkness? How can a Christian be a partner with one who doesn’t believe?” I’m not saying you shouldn’t have any non-Christian friends. How are you going to tell them the good news of God’s love if you don’t befriend them. But your friends, your closest friends, your confidants, the people you tell your hurts to and the people you spend the most time with better be headed in the same direction you are or they’re pulling you down. They’re limiting your life mission. When you’re trying to pull somebody up and they’re trying to pull you down, who’s going to win? It’s always easier to pull somebody down than it is to pull them up. You have to be careful about the kind of friends your kids have. You have to be careful about the kind of friends you have. They influence you. “Bad company corrupts good character.” Nothing sabotages a life mission as quickly as wrong relationships.
I’m running, running—I don’t want to say, “Hey Jesus! Wait till I catch up!”
I’m not saying you shouldn’t have any non-Christian friends. How are you going to tell them the good news of God’s love if you don’t befriend them.
Because the Bible warns about being closely linked, teamed up in a very close friendship, with people who have conflicting values. “Don’t be teamed with those who don’t love the Lord. How can light live with darkness? How can a Christian be a partner with one who doesn’t believe?” I’m not saying you shouldn’t have any non-Christian friends. How are you going to tell them the good news of God’s love if you don’t befriend them. But your friends, your closest friends, your confidants, the people you tell your hurts to and the people you spend the most time with better be headed in the same direction you are or they’re pulling you down. They’re limiting your life mission. When you’re trying to pull somebody up and they’re trying to pull you down, who’s going to win? It’s always easier to pull somebody down than it is to pull them up. You have to be careful about the kind of friends your kids have. You have to be careful about the kind of friends you have. They influence you. “Bad company corrupts good character.” Nothing sabotages a life mission as quickly as wrong relationships.
I’m running, running—I WANT to say, “Hey Jesus! It’s great to have You beside me—it sure helps me keep the right pace!”
But your friends, your closest friends, your confidants, the people you tell your hurts to and the people you spend the most time with better be headed in the same direction you are or they’re pulling you down. They’re limiting your life mission!
You have to be careful about the kind of friends you have because FRIENDS INFLUENCE FRIENDS! Nothing sabotages a life mission as quickly as wrong relationships.
. They influence you. “Bad company corrupts good character.” Nothing sabotages a life mission as quickly as wrong relationships.
Practical Application
Practical Application
One day you’ll have to explain that to God. “I really didn’t do all I should have with my life because I was afraid of the person that was a good friend.” Or “I was living with somebody and I knew it was wrong because we weren’t married and I just didn’t have the courage to say, `Let’s get married or break up.’” Or “I had this boss and he kept asking me to do the wrong thing and I knew my family was getting shifted out but I really wanted to please this boss.” So I set all the other values out in my life. Don’t do it.
This week ask yourself some tough questions about your friends.
Are my friends helping my life mission or are they hindering it?
Are they building my values or are they tearing down my values? Do they cause me to grow closer to God or do they cause me to grow away from God? Any friend that draws you away from G d is no friend. They’re not doing you any service. Your life is too important to waste. There’s one relationship that has to take priority above every other one. That’s your relationship to God.
Are my friends building my values or are they tearing down my values?
Do my friends cause me to grow closer to God or do they cause me to grow away from God?
Your life is too important to waste. Any friend who draws you away from your relationship with God IS NOT your friend.
15 I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
11 Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!
ro 5:
Jesus said to His disciples, “I don’t call you servants anymore, I call you friends.” Imagine that! God wants to be my friend. God wants to be your friend. And you’re going to turn that down for something else of inferior value.
“We rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God. All because of what Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins – making us friends of God.” Circle “friends”. Isn’t that an amazing verse? God says I want you to be My friend. Jesus said to His disciples, “I don’t call you servants anymore, I call you friends.” Imagine that! God wants to be my friend. God wants to be your friend. And you’re going to turn that down for something else of inferior value.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can reach out to poisonous friends when you you are still weak!
I know this is going to be difficult for some of you but I need to say it, if you’re serious about living a Purpose Driven Life, there maybe some relationships in your life right now you need to end!