Know Your Why

Know Your Why Luke 4:42-44 God has called each of you into the passionate mission of calling people from darkness and into Christ's light. When you became a Christian and confessed Jesus as Savior, you took on a new nature. Your old sinful nature was traded in for your new nature of righteousness in Christ. With this new nature, you became a child of God, a disciple, and you entered ministry. You entered ministry because Jesus said that every believer is to "Go and make disciples" (Mark 16:15), which includes you. So folks, you have a mission. Now, some people are confused about what their mission is. They're looking for passion, something exciting that makes them want to get out of bed in the morning, but they can't find it. Others think that once they confess Christ as Savior, it's over, and they can go about doing whatever it was they did before learning about Jesus. But for everyone who loves Jesus, we not only have to listen to His Word, but we have to serve as He served. This means that the Christian life is one of passion. It's a passionate love for others, as Christ has for us. And this passion will be expressed because if you're passionate about something, you're going to talk about it. Your words and actions reveal whatever your passion is. If you go day after day, week after week, month after month, even year after year without representing Christ, then your fruitless faith and useless lack of passion are revealed because what you say and do demonstrate your passion. When you find your purpose, you'll find your passion. This world is filled with people looking for meaning and purpose: something lasting, something real, something true. So, have you found your purpose, and what is your life's passion? Are you passionately in love with Jesus Christ? Do you want to deepen your relationship with Christ? If you want the answer to any of these questions, then you better Know Your Why. Knowing Your Why is greatly illustrated in the famous PBS TV show, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I'm sure most all of us know all about Mr. Rogers. But let me share with you some facts you may not have known about the late Fred Rogers. His favorite number is 143 because it took one letter to say "I," four to say "love," and three to say "you." I love you, 143. Love for his neighbor, as described in the Scriptures and seen in Christ, was the cornerstone of his show. When interviewed about the purpose of his show, Mr. Rogers replied, "You set out to be helpful." In 1969, PBS was struggling to stay on the air because PBS was a new concept. And with a declining budget, the newly aired Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was struggling to stay on. So Mr. Rogers went before the U.S. Senate, talked for six minutes, and stunned the Senators. Everyone loved Mr. Rogers and his show, and the U.S. Senate gave PBS $20 million to continue airing. And the rest is history. Mr. Rogers wanted to equip children with the tools to navigate life's most difficult moments. His mission as a disciple of Christ was to reach and equip children. That was his purpose and his passion. Remember, he said, "You set out to be helpful." He knew his "why," it was to help. And with his "why" answered, Mr. Rogers could also answer the "how," which was to equip children with the right tools to navigate life's most difficult situations. You see, when you know your why, it's more impactful because you're walking towards your purpose. And working your "why" answers the "how" you're going to accomplish your mission. Purpose, passion, how, why, we see all of these words answered in Jesus. Jesus knew His purpose, which He said in John 6:38 was to "come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me." Jesus knew His passion, which was displayed upon the cross. And in today's Scripture, besides His purpose and passion, you'll see the why and the how of Jesus' earthly ministry. I want you to look at verse 43 because within that verse, you'll find Jesus' purpose, passion, how, and why all rolled up into one sentence when Jesus said, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent." Jesus knew His mission and His purpose because He served from His why. In Luke 4, we read about how Jesus was extremely busy teaching, correcting, and performing miracles. Jesus was, in fact, so busy that He had to frequently go "out to an isolated place," as verse 42 says. All of us need breaks and time for relaxation. These times of rest Jesus used to spend quiet time with God the Father in prayer. All throughout the four Gospels, you'll read about how Jesus often went away by Himself to pray. Alone time with God was important for Jesus, and it should be even more important for us. But here in verse 42, even though Jesus intentionally got up early to be alone, "The crowds searched everywhere for Him," and they eventually found Him. And what did Jesus do? He didn't get mad. He didn't tell them to leave. He didn't stay quiet or become stand-off-ish. Because while the crowds "begged Him not to leave," Jesus knew His purpose because He knew His why. Jesus knew His mission, and His purpose was clear. And because of this, Jesus knew what to say. Now, how many of you know that it's not always easy to say what needs to be said? You can't live to be a people pleaser because you can't make everybody happy, no matter how hard you try. Jesus shows us this, because as much as He preached, as many miracles as He performed, some people still wouldn't believe. Jesus' purpose was to do the will of His Father, and to do that, He couldn't stay in just one place. That's why Jesus said, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns also" (purpose), "because that is WHY I was sent." Jesus knew His purpose and worked from His "why." But when it comes to us, well, we don't always know our "why," and we can get lost in finding our purpose. It's like a man who was on a diet who drove by a donut shop every morning on his way to work. One day he prayed, "Lord, it's up to You if you want me to have any of those delicious donuts in there. If it's Your will for me to have a donut, create a parking space for me." And sure enough, on his 8th trip around the block, there was his parking space! You see, he didn't know his why, he just knew his want, and his want turned into justifying his why. And even though his why was falsely justified, his plan of how became the action of driving around until his passion for a sweet treat was fulfilled. Folks, that's the danger of looking at your why's from only a worldly viewpoint. False passions can compromise your whys, leading only to emptiness, even if you're filled with a donut. You must find your why in God because only in your Creator will you find your true life purpose. John Wesley found his life's purpose and worked from his why when he famously said, "I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field." Like John Wesley, like Mr. Rogers, know your purpose, and work from your why, because that's where true passion lives. It must not have been easy for Jesus to say that He had to leave and go to other towns. Being a leader sometimes involves saying the hard things, but with love, and leading by leaving to reach others. Jesus knew that when He left, He could reach more people and eventually reach the cross. The cross was Jesus's purpose and passion. Why? Because it led to forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. That's why right before Jesus ascended into heaven He said, "It is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." Advocate, Comforter, Counselor, all Names for the Holy Spirit, who leads and guides you to serve passionately within your life's purpose, for Christ's glory. Work from your why, because that's where the passion is. That's where the drive is. Your why defines your purpose. It creates action. "Why" is missional. It's intentional. It's action. So don't be MIA; rather, be missional, intentional, and purposeful with your actions. Living a life of purpose and knowing your why is to be Christ-Focused and Service-Oriented. Like Mr. Rogers, "set out to be helpful" because you have something to offer! But if you never work from your why, then all you'll ever do is drive around finding donuts that never satisfy. You, as a person, must know your why, and we, as a church, must know our why. And if we don't find our why soon, we will run out of gas while driving around the block looking for that parking space. So instead of looking for that parking space, let's create one. Ask yourself, how is God using Rocky Springs UMC. Why is Rocky Springs here? And let's work from that why. You know, as a kid, I loved watching my grandpa play checkers. He was a master at that game. It was during WWII that my grandpa really learned how to play checkers. One day, I remember him asking me to play. At first, it looked easy. I captured one, then another of his checkers. But then, suddenly, he took one checker and hopped and skipped right across the entire board to the border and yelled, "King Me!" With that king, my grandpa proceeded to whop my butt and wipe me clear of the board. That day I had my first lesson in what long-range vision was. Nobody really minds losing a few checkers if he's headed for king territory. Know your purpose, you'll find it in Christ, and work you're why, because to have long-range vision, to really find meaning and make an impact, you must work from your why. Jesus had a clear purpose. He knew His why, and "He continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea." Today, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for you (Romans 8:34), and His Holy Spirit lives within you. Brothers and sisters, there are no hopeless situations in life; only people who have grown hopeless about them. So always ask yourself, and ask others as well, "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?" That answer is found when you Know Your Why. AMEN 2