Destiny—what's My Future? Series

INTRODUCTION:

A Sunday School teacher asked his class, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?”

“NO!” the children all answered.

“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?”

Again, the answer was, “NO!”

Again the teacher asked, “Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my wife, would that get me into Heaven?”

Again, they all answered, "NO!"

“Well then how can I get into Heaven?”

A five-year-old boy shouted out, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!” Good insight for a five-year old!

Some of us might say, “We’re one step closer to heaven because life is murder!” The routine of life with its many activities sometimes drains the life right out of us. We need strength for daily living.

This morning we’re going to discover how knowing our destiny can give us renewed strength for living life.

•Ephesians 3:16-19 (MsgB)

[16] I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength— [17] that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, [18] you’ll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! [19] Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God will answer our prayer for strength. We have looked at four ways we can have our strength renewed. More than just keys or principles to live by, we have been looking at five one word answers to five basic questions. When answered properly these are five questions will rejuvenate our spirits through the power of God within us.

Here again are the five answers; IDENTITY, INTEGRITY, CAPACITY, TENACITY and DESTINY.

Identity answers the question “Who am I?” Your identity is not determined by what you do or how other people see you. The answer to the question “who am I?” is found in knowing WHOSE I AM. God establishes your identity! When you remember who you are in Christ, your identity strengthens you in your inner being.

Integrity answers the question “Whose am I?” or another way to put it “Who controls how I live my life?” Your God given identity as a child of God establishes your integrity—whose are you? I am God’s, therefore the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and I will live my life to please God and not myself. You cannot live a holy life—a life of integrity—apart from your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Integrity is not worked into us by what we do—integrity comes from within us because of who we are.

Capacity answers the question, “Why am I here?” For what purpose will I use the capacity or ability God has given to me? We can either choose to use our capacity to fulfill our own purpose or to achieve God’s highest purpose—to bring Him glory as we leave “God marks” in the lives of others. The imprint or impression we leave in the lives of others will be determined by whose capacity we use. We lack the strength or ability to glorify God on our own—we need to let God be the “hammer” to leave His impression.

Tenacity answers the question “What will I choose?” We have been given the power to choose. Our choice is critical, continual and convincing. With tenacity to follow Jesus we know “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength;” that’s real strength for daily living.

Destiny answers the question “What’s my future?” In other words, “What happens after I die?”

Death has a perfect ratio—1:1; one out of every one person born dies. It’s a fact of life; one day your life will come to end here on this earth. None of us can avoid it; death comes to us all. We can eat healthy, exercise, and do the right things to extend our lives but there is nothing that we can do to keep from dying.

One of the saddest things about life is many people have no clue as to what awaits them after they die. Many people today believe in one of three primary un-Biblical perspectives on death.

1. Reincarnation: This belief states that once your life ends you immediately start another life and you will climb the stairs to attain oneness with the universe.

2. Annihilation: This belief states that there is nothing beyond this life and once it is over there is no more existence.