What is Driving My Life?
Philippians 3:1-11
A friend sent us these motivational slogans:
* Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.
* Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.
* If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos ... then you probably haven’t completely understood the situation.
* Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.
* TEAMWORK ... means never having to take all the blame yourself.
* Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!
* Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.
* Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.
* You pretend to work, and we’ll pretend to pay you.
* This morning I am calling us to come to terms with a very personal question. While we “preacher-types” are told and taught to never use a question for the title of a message, today let’s center our time on one question.
* However, to answer this question in an authentic way means we must first, take just a few minutes and make sure that the foundation, upon which we will deal with this very issue, is solid. Without hesitation or reservation and based on the Word of God we must agree together that when Jesus Christ is truly in a life, He makes a difference in that life. It changes the way a person thinks (a renewed mind), the way a person feels (Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength), the way person talks (out of the heart the mouth speaks), and the way a person acts (old things are passed away). To authentically have Jesus in a life means a “radical life change,” anything less than this denotes that a person does not have the Spirit, thus does not know Jesus, has no relationship with God, and is lost. Church membership, longevity, goodness, or even position cannot overcome this lostness.
* The interesting thing about “lostness” is; we will not do anything about our relationship with God until we get “desperate.” Bro. Michael Catt, the senior pastor of the Sherwood Baptist church which produced “Fireproof”, “Facing the Giants”, and “Flywheel”; writes that “no one will deal with God until they are desperate.” This truth reminds us that until we come to the place of “repentance”, there is no salvation, no hope of heaven, and no relationship with God. And outside of a relationship with God, we are incomplete, flawed, and in need of repair. Only when we come to God through Jesus can our lives be made whole and put in good working order.
* So now we come to the question of the day: “What is driving My Life?” Would you think about this question, personalize it, and even answer it to yourself before God. What is the main theme, the main motivation, and thus makes you do and be what you are?
* This morning, let’s consider the words of Paul and see if we can determine what is and what should be driving our lives. I begin with;
I. The Possibilities – Before I can be honest enough with me to discover what truly drives my life, I must consider the possibilities of what “can” be found in the driver’s seat. Paul helps us get started with that though.
a. Is it my Pedigree – In other words, he speaks to his lineage and/or past. Paul writes that “if anyone could be served by their past, it is me. For I have done all that humankind requires me to do.” We find two thoughts worth our note in this: Many people depend on their heritage for their salvation and service while others depends only on their good work. Phrases like, “My dad and granddad were pastors or deacons,” or “A Watts has been Sunday School Director or deacon in this church for the past70 years,” or even “I have sit in this same pew for 48 years.” Here’s the truth, without meaning to be sacrilegious, I submit when God hears those phrases, if it were in His character He would roll His eyes!
* We either forget or choose to discount one huge truth; “apart from God, there is no good in us.” We can do nothing to earn the favor of God. So when we think our background and our past is what we must live up to and thus, becomes the motivation of our life, we have missed the boat.
b. Is it my Problems– Did you know that many people are driven by their troubles? Either their guilt from something they did, their fear of being caught, or perhaps even the fear of a painful memory. Others are driven by their anger. Have you ever seen (or been) that person who received unfair or unjust treatment and they never got over it? It began with fear, grew to resentment, and at full bloom became bitterness. And according to the Bible, bitterness is a root and roots must be dug out or they keep growing back. Let just take a quick look at each of these problems.
* Guilt – There are some people who spend their lives running from guilt and shame. Their memories control them and as a result, their fellowship is broken with God. Rick Warren tells us that while “we are products of our past, we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” God forgives and in the business of fresh starts and second chances.
* Fear – The causes of a life lived in fear are many. It may be a horrendous experience in your past. Let’s name a few of these things: A divorce may cause you to never want to be married and thus miss your opportunity for God’s design for you. An unfulfilled dream could trigger a desire to not launch out and thus, miss God’s wonderful plan for you. In other words, fear can paralyze you and keep you from being all God wants.
* Anger/Resentment/Bitterness– Let me deal with these three together because many times they “go together in a progressive pattern” if not rightly dealt with. When I get hurt, what do I do with that hurt? Too often we get angry and then “let the sun go down on our anger.” So the anger grows into resentment (in the mind) and then to bitterness (soul).
* Did you know that the only a person can continue to hurt you with that problem is if you hold on to your anger? When you allow a root of bitterness into your life, not only will it become the driving force of your life, but it will also take a supernatural work to uproot it.
c. Is it my Potential – Some of us believe our own press. Teenagers- Be careful about accepting as God’s will what mom and dad or your best friend may tell you that “you need to do” with your life. To do this has the potential of putting you on a side track from which you may never return.
* Desire for Approval – This speaks to those who want to be accepted at “all costs.” They do their best to ‘get along.’ In fact, some spend their lives attempting to please parents whom they could never please or appease “friends” in order to have friends. I have heard it said that “those who follow the crowd will, most of the time, get lost in the crowd.” One key to missing God’s best for your life is to attempt to please everyone. In the end, you’ll please no one and certainly not yourself or God. The call for us is to seek HIS approval.
* Materialism – One writer put it this way, “the desire to acquire.” For many today, the desire is to have it all, hold it all, and die with it all. Now in our desire to be Biblical let’s not be dishonest with each other. The world’s wealth can bring a little “happiness” on earth. Certainly it seems to be better to have than to have not. However, is “happiness” what we are truly seeking? If it is, go after it but it is my belief that you will be sorely disappointed “IF” you ever find it. To chase things is like chasing the wind; ultimately you’ll reap a whirlwind. The happiness which this world offers is short lived at best and while the cost is ultimate and the payoff is found to be lacking.
* Michael Jackson’s death has stayed in the news for almost two weeks. Surely the death of a celebrity is always sad. But if you are driven by the desire for approval and/or materialism, Michael Jackson should be a poster boy for you to realize that this world cannot bring joy. God is the only giver of authentic joy.
* I have taken a really long time to deal with some possibilities of what might be driving our lives. The reason I took so long was to “break up the fallow ground.” Quite like, we have seen ourselves in one or more of these.
II. The Practicalities – From a practical standpoint, verse 10 reveals to us the Apostle Paul’s motivation, purpose, impetus, and driving force for his life. What’s more, is that the actions, events, plans, and practices of Paul’s everyday life proved that “knowing Christ and doing His will” was the single most important thing in the life of Paul.
* We can ‘say’ that “God gets our first and our best”, but do our actions square up with our words. Let’s get real personal about this and see how serious this is. Read this truth.
* TRUTH: Whatever drives your life is the revealed or real purpose of your life. You may “want to” have a specific purpose for our lives, but what does an examination reveal about us? If we take the sum of our schedules, our expenditures, our decision, and even our attitudes, we discover what it is that drives us. The sad part is that most of us may need to discover the driving force in our lives because we never decided what would drive us, rather we just “allowed” it to happen.
* Consider this: We live in a world of “purpose statements” and for the most part, it is good to have a purpose statement. But purpose statements are only as good as they are accurate & controlling. Knowing what controls you gives you many blessings;
a. It simplifies my life. – When you know what it is that you want to drive your life (that is, your purpose), then questions are easily answered. When faced with a choice, you ask yourself, “does this fit within the framework of what I believe my life to be?” If the answer is yes, then do it and if not decline it. Paul’s goal was to know Christ and all the things which came with it. (Read verse 10) Paul’s desire was to know Christ and to accomplish that he was willing to do whatever it took. Notice;
b. It motivates my life. – In verse 11 it says, that I will somehow “reach, attain, arrive at” the resurrection. Nothing motivates a person like knowing where he is going and what he is doing. If you are in a car “TRYING” to find a new location, you drive very slowly watching the landmarks, and then you stop and ask someone who gives you crystal clear directions. What happens? NOW, knowing where you’re going, you take off! Knowing where you are going motivates you to get there.
c. It directs your life. – Knowing where you are headed not only motivates you to get there, but indicates the path you need to take. This is true on a vacation. When you are sure about where you are headed and what you are looking to do then you know what road to take and what decision to make. In life, when you have a true statement and concept of purpose then you have a roadmap for life. The issue is “who” draws up your map.
d. It prepares your life.- Allow me to stun some of us. “Life on earth is only a preparation for life in heaven.” In other words, life in time prepares you for life in eternity. Even better to understand that in this life each one of us must decide what will drive our life. God is calling us. And the bottom line is this, when it’s all said and done…will you be able to say that you have been driven, like Paul was, to know and serve Jesus.
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