Have a Clear Mission
YOLO Part 1
Philippians 3:10-14
Today we are starting a brand-new message series: YOLO (You only live once.)
Some people use YOLO to inspire courage and bravery.
Others use YOLO to justify doing something idiotic and embarrassing.
It is true that we only live once.
However, what does this imply?
I heard some people using this philosophy to justify their reckless lifestyle or doing some idiotic behavior.
But as Christians, how should we use our one and only life?
Should we do whatever we want to do?
Should we just relax and chill?
The Bible is very clear on this.
We only live once.
Therefore, we must invest our one and only life meaningfully.
We must use our lives to make some eternal differences.
In order to do that, the first thing that we must do is this: We must live with a clear mission.
But what is a mission?
For Christians, a mission is a commission that God gave to each one of us.
A mission is our fundamental purpose for our existence.
A mission is the reason why God has created and called us.
A mission is the reason why we live.
And without knowing our mission, we cannot live our one and only life meaningfully.
This is why in the passage that we read today, the Apostle Paul told us that we must realize these three truths regarding our mission.
I. We must find our God-given mission (vv. 10-11).
A pastor once preached a sermon from Philippians 3, and he told people that we must live to fulfill our God-given mission.
After the worship, he talked with a person and asked him whether he is running to fulfill his mission in life.
Then he said this: “Since I do not know what my mission is, I cannot run toward it.”
I visit churches and ask people, “Do you believe that you have a mission from God?”
They all say, “Amen!”
I ask another question, “Do you know what your God-give mission is?”
Then everyone becomes very quiet.
If we do not know what our mission in life is, it is impossible to fulfill that mission.
This is why in order to live a life that fulfills our God-given mission, we must know what that mission is.
Verses 10-11 say this.
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul had a clear idea why he was living.
Paul knew his mission.
That was to know Jesus, so that he can be like Him.
He wanted to know the power of His resurrection and participate in His suffering, so that eventually he can be resurrected and live eternally with Jesus in heaven.
That was his ultimate goal in life.
And this gave him a clear direction in life.
But the problem is this: So many Christians do not know what their God-given mission is.
And because they do not know what their God-given mission is, they cannot fulfill it.
But how can we find our God-given mission?
Is there a formula?
I came up with this diagram to show how we can find our mission in life.
In order to find our God-given mission, we must consider these three things:
First, the Bible.
We must find our mission passage from the Bible.
As you read the Bible, you may come across a passage that inspires you, challenges you, or moves you.
Perhaps God is giving you that passage as your mission passage.
We must find our mission passage from the Bible.
Second, God’s design.
The Bible tells us that God designed us with His mission in mind.
Check your spiritual gifts, natural talents, and personality.
That will give you a very good hint what your mission is.
Third, our core values.
Through our past experiences, we formed some values that we feel passionate about.
These values drive us.
These values energize us.
These values give life to us.
We must find these values that are embedded in us.
Where we see the Bible, God’s design, and our core values intersect, we find our mission.
If we do not know what our God-given mission in life is, we must find it.
This is the first thing that we must do.
We must find our God-given mission.
II. We must fulfill our God-given mission with passion (v. 12).
Verse 12 says this.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Paul knew that he did not accomplished his God-given mission yet.
Therefore, he pressed on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him.
Check these words that Paul used in this passage.
He was so passionately possessed to fulfill his God-given mission in his life.
And this is the kind of life that we too must live.
We must be passionately driven to fulfill the God-given mission in our lives.
We must not just walk but run to fulfill our God-given mission.
Are you running to fulfill your God-given mission?
We sometimes see people running to get some stuff.
During the Black Friday Sale, people line up even before stores open their doors.
As soon as they open the doors, they run to grab the items on sale.
We must live with such passion, not to buy items for sale, but to fulfill our God-given mission.
We must be driven to fulfill our mission in life.
When we drive a car, we guide, control, and direct it down the street.
When we drive a golf ball, we guide, control, and direct it down the fairway… hopefully.
We are driven by something.
Some are driven by guilt.
Some are driven by fear or worry.
Some are driven by insecurity.
Some are driven by anger or hatred.
Some are driven by their past.
Some are driven by money.
Some are driven by ambition.
Some are driven by pride.
Some are driven by their parents or spouses.
However, as long as we are alive, we have a God-given mission for our lives, and we must be driven to fulfill our mission passionately.
We must not merely exist, but we must live for something that is greater than ourselves.
I believe that we live our lives at one of these three levels.
The first level is the survival level.
It is the lowest level.
And many people live in the survival mode.
They try to get by in life.
They are not really living but they are merely existing.
They put in their time, collect their checks, and live for the weekends and vacations.
They do not really have goals and passion for life.
They just exist.
If you find yourself frequently fantasizing about escaping to your favorite vacation spot, you are in this mode.
This is a sure sign that you are in this mode.
The second level is the success level.
This is a little higher level than the survival level.
Perhaps many of us are in this level.
The fact that we live in this part of the world means that we are at least partially at this level.
Most people in the world would love to have our problems.
We worry about paying our mortgage, car, and tuition.
Many people in the world worry about having food for their children.
Many people in the world would love to have our problems.
At the success level, we live a comfortable lifestyle.
We have achieved a certain level of success, and our needs are met.
We have a home.
We have possessions.
We have prestige.
We have pleasures in our lives—Starbuck’s coffee, cinnamon rolls, and frozen yogurts.
We are at the success level.
But many people tell me this: “I do not understand it. If I am so successful, why do I feel so unfulfilled? Why is there still an emptiness in my heart? Why do I feel that something is missing?”
The answer is because material success never ultimately satisfies.
It takes more than success to find passion in life.
The third level is the significance level.
It is the ultimate level.
Significance is when we know why we are here on earth.
People at this level have found their mission in life.
They know that they are making eternal differences.
They know that they are doing something eternally significant.
And they live each and every day with passion to fulfill their God-given mission in life.
The tragedy is that many people have no idea what their mission in life is.
Therefore, they do not live with passion.
The secret of passion, energy and enthusiasm is to discover our God-given mission.
Why?
It is because having a clear mission gives us the reason to live.
When we discover why God has placed us in this world, our passion level goes up drastically.
The word “enthusiasm” comes from two Greek words: “en” and “theos.”
“En” in Greek is the word “in” and “theos” is the word “God.”
Therefore, when we are “in God,” en theos, we can have enthusiasm.
When we get in the center of God’s mission for our lives, we cannot help but be enthusiastic.
This is why Paul lived his life with passion.
This is how we can move from survival to success to significance.
We must find our God-given mission, and fulfill our God-given mission with passion.
III. We must concentrate on our God-given mission (v. 13-14).
Verses 13-14 say this.
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Some people minor in major things, and they major in minor things.
It is because either they do not know what their mission in life is or they cannot focus on their mission.
Paul had a clear mission in his life and he pressed on toward the goal that God called him for.
He lived a mission-driven life and he fully concentrated on his God-given mission.
This gave Paul power in his life.
When we concentrate light, it increases its power.
When we take a light and concentrate it, it becomes a laser beam.
It can cut through metal.
Just like this, there is nothing as powerful as a concentrated life.
However, too many people try to do too many things.
They are scattered and distracted.
Most of them are not doing bad things or evil things.
Their schedules are filled with good things.
Yet their schedule is filled with too many good things that they do not have time for the most important thing.
That is a tragedy.
That is a wasted life.
There is nothing worse than a wasted life that was filled with good things but not what we were created to do.
We can miss our mission.
We have so many choices to make every day.
However, if we do not know our mission in life, daily decisions become very complicated.
Why?
It is because we have no focal point.
One of my professors, Bill Hull said, “We have calendars. We have schedules. But what we really need is a compass in life.”
We know how to fill our calendars.
We know how to fill our schedules.
However, if we cannot focus on our God-given mission, our calendars and schedules do not really matter.
A clear mission gives a focus.
It gives us a track to run.
We must concentrate on our God-given mission.
Conclusion
Many people think that their problem is overworking.
However, I do not think that that is the real problem.
The real problem is not so much overworking, but overworking on meaningless work.
People do not know why they are doing what they are doing, and that gives a sense of aimlessness.
Purpose and passion always go together.
If we do not have a clear mission in life, we are not going to have passion, and we are going to lose our focus.
If we do not have a mission, why get out of bed in the morning?
To eat breakfast?
To drink coffee?
To go to washroom?
We must have a better reason to get up in the morning.
God will audit how we lived our one and only life one day.
That is the big final.
God will evaluate how we have spent our one and only life.
It will be extremely embarrassing to some people.
They will have to admit that they never took time to discover their mission.
Or they were too busy doing other good things that they could not fulfill their God-given mission.
We will continue our series YOLO next week and talk about managing our time wisely.
