We Were Made to Thrive Acts 20:22-25
Some think being a Christian means living a life as boring as watching paint dry and I’ve known some pretty boring Christians but it’s because they haven’t experienced the Christian life the way God intended it.
God never intended for our spiritual life to be a hobby, like fishing/hunting/bowling and the Christian life is not some weekend event.
The Christian life, as designed by God, is to be an exciting and lifelong adventure!
Living for God can be the best life experience that any person can have and once we decide to live for God completely we can and will experience more excitement than we could ever imagine, no matter how hard life hits us.
The Psalmist writes in, [Psa 16:8 NKJV] “I have set the LORD always before me; LISTEN…Because [He is] at my right hand I shall not be moved.”
I like Johnny Cash’ version of the gospel song “I Shall not be Moved.”
“Glory hallelujah, I shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
I shall not be moved”
Can you say that this morning?
Today we will examine four Anchors of the Apostle Paul:
These four anchors held him in place as he served the Lord, with vigor and excitement. I believe these same four anchors will keep you and me in place, as well.
1. We must have a sense of purpose.
I don’t believe a person can survive without a purpose in life, a reason to get out of bed every morning. If I have no purpose I will just waste away sitting in my recliner. This sense of purpose seems to be missing in the lives of some believers today because they don’t know who they are, why they’re here, or where they’re going and many wander aimlessly with no real purpose in life.
We need to have some goals. We need to make some plans. We need to dream of the future! Dream of our future both in the here and now but also for the days to come, in the presence of our King. While we are waiting for that day, we need something bigger than our own wants or our own desires to live for because if we don’t, then life will be meaningless, at best.
Casting Crowns has a song called “Thrive” that talks about the life of a child of God being more than just surviving. Listen to just a little of the lyrics.
“Here in this worn and weary land. Where many a dream has died. Like a tree planted by the water. We never will run dry
So living water flowing through. God we thirst for more of You. Fill our hearts and flood our souls. With one desire
Just to know You and to make You known. We lift Your name on High. Shine like the sun make darkness run and hide.
LISTEN, We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives
It's time for us to more than just survive. We were made to thrive”
Can I ask you something? Are you simply surviving or are you like that tree planted by the water, thriving in the nourishing streams of living water? Is EBC in survival mode or are we ready as a body to be what God designed us to be and thrive?
I thought this past Wednesday, on my way to the office, how I’m so tired of just getting by in my walk with the Lord. I’m tired of barely keeping my head above the waters of life…I WANT MORE in my relationship with God and the truth is, God wants you and me to live, not just exist!
Paul lived with a higher purpose, so he could say of this world and its problems: In verse 24 of Acts chapter 20 "NONE of these things move me…" WHY? Because he has a sense of purpose…His life had meaning!
2. We must develop a sense of commitment…
There must be a sense of commitment to our relationship with Christ and to His church. Paul says in, [Rom 12:1 NIV] “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship.”
One day a woman was attending a Bible conference. She approached the speaker and with tears in her eyes, told him that she had no victory in her Christian life. She said she had tried many churches, and she just wasn’t’ receiving much at all from God. The speaker said, “You just answered your own question.” “What do you mean,” she asked. The speaker replied, “the goal is not getting more from God, but giving more to God.”
This is what Paul is telling us in Romans 12:1, so maybe we need to stop trying to get something out of church and start bringing something to God when we come to church.
It’s not, do I have all of God. The question is…does God have all of me?!
The Bible tells us in the second chapter of Colossians that the very moment a person receives Jesus Christ, that person has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge living in them in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Why do I feel like I don’t have all these things!? If you are like me, it could be that we spend too much time complaining about what we don’t have and not enough time shouting about what we do have… if there is no commitment to the relationship all we will have is an empty and meaningless life.
[Eph 1:3 NIV] “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
So the question is, does God have all of you?
Are you trying to manage your relationship with Christ, instead of giving Him control?
Does He have your praise?
Have you laid your life down as a dedicated sacrifice?
3. We must have a sense of declaration. Look at verse 25.
In verse 25 the word "preaching" is different from witnessing. The word here means "heralding¨ as from the king. In Bible days they didn’t have computers, fax machines, text messaging. Believe it or not, they didn’t even have the telephone.
If a king wanted to deliver an important message to another king, he would commission a "herald¨, what we would today call an "ambassador," or a messenger of the king! The United States has Ambassadors in just about every nation in the world and these men and women are the messengers of our president/nation.
Notice what Paul says in [2Co 5:20 NLT] “So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!’” You and I are messengers of Almighty God and we have a story that needs telling.
4. We must have a sense of duty. Look at verses 26-27.
In the Old Testament, a watchman on the wall would look out for the approaching enemy, and would sound the alarm, if he saw them approaching. But if he didn’t, and people died in the attack, he was said to have their blood on his hands, and he would have to answer for it.
[Eze 3:17-19 NIV] “17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and [LISTEN] I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”
Dr. Jerry Vines tells of being led to witness to a girl at a flower stand; but he didn’t say a word. A few days later he stopped there again and found this girl was working there. This time SHE spoke, and asked him to read "some literature¨ about something that would change his life. He took it, went home, and discovered the information was from a cult: the "unification movement" or "the Moonies" [followers of Sun Yung Moon].
See they had reached her the very same day he was led to speak to her but didn’t even try.
Dr. Vines said he cried out, "Oh God, I could have won her to the Son... If she dies and goes to hell, her blood will be on my hands!"
Think about the day you step over into heaven. Will there be anyone to greet you saying, I’m here because of you?
I also wonder if we looked across that great gulf and could get a glimpse into hell what we would see/hear. I wonder how many would cry out to you/me, I’m trapped here thanks to you!
People are dying every minute of every hour of every day, without Jesus, while the church focuses on chairs of pews. What color should the carpet be, which side should the piano set. Unnecessary temporal things have trapped us while the eternal escapes us. The truth is, their blood WILL be on our hands…
God help us to be like Paul in our purpose, commitment, dedication and our willingness to do our duty for the Kingdom.
