If we are going to be the SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUALS God wants us to be, we are going to have to have the same motives he had.
WHAT IS A MOTIVE? The dictionary describes it as “A conscious or unconscious need or drive that incites a person to some action or behavior.”
Illus: Someone has said, “The most motivated person on earth is a five foot, ten inch non swimmer in 6 feet of water”.
People today are motivated to do some strange things. Everyone is MOTIVATED by SOMETHING or SOMEONE.
Everything we do is motivated by SOMETHING or SOMEONE! But we always have to keep in mind that there is GOOD MOTIVATION and there is BAD MOTIVATION.
Illus: One afternoon, a wealthy lawyer was riding in the back of his limousine when he saw two men eating grass by the road side. He ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.
• “Why are you eating grass?” he asked one man.
• "We do not have any money for food," the poor man replied.
• "Oh, come along with me then!”
• "But sir, I have a wife with two children!”
• "Bring them along! And you, come with us also,” he said to the other man.
• "But sir, I have a wife with six children!" The second man answered.
• "Bring them as well."
They all climbed into the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limo. Once underway, one of the poor fellows said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."
The lawyer replied, "No problem, the grass at my home is about two feet tall. There will be plenty for all of you."
We have to always remember:
• All the things we DO
• All the things we WEAR
• All the things we SAY
Are done because we are motivated by something from within.
While many are motivated by the wrong kind of motives, there are many who are motivated by good motives.
Paul mentions some of the things that motivated him to be one of the greatest SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUALS to ever walk on this earth, other than the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not have time to list all the things that motivated Paul, but let’s look at two things that motivated him.
I. PAUL’S CONFIDENCE
Paul had great confidence in the God He served.
Sometimes we will hear someone talking about a successful person say, “I could do the same thing he or she has done if I had the advantages in life they had!”
But that is not true. You can take some folks and give them the same advantages and they will not do half as much with their life as someone else, because they do not have the motivation.
• A family can have two children that are raised in the same home with the same advantages. But one of them takes advantage of the things offered to them and makes something of their life and the other one does not.
• The same thing can be said in the family of God. People may go to the same church and have the same advantages, but some of them will take advantage of the opportunities offered to them and others will not.
WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE IN THESE FOLKS? One will take success only if it is dumped in their lap, and the other one is highly motivated to make something out of their life.
This is the way the apostle Paul was, he had great sufferings, but he was so motivated that he was determined not to let anything stop him. Success was not just dumped into his lap, he was motivated to BE THE SPIRITUAL individual he was.
Look at the sufferings of Paul in 2 Cor. 11:24-28. This fellow had some tremendous obstacles in his life. He said, “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”
Paul did not have many advantages, but he did have a lot of CONFIDENCE in the God he served, and he was MOTIVATED to not allow ANYTHING or ANYONE to stop him. HIS MOTIVATION caused him to live each day:
• Seeing with his PHYSICAL EYES
• Seeing with his SPIRITUAL EYES
With his PHYSICAL EYES, he could see a lot of hindrances that would have caused the average person to throw up their hands and quit. He was so motivated in spiritual matters that these sufferings he saw with his PHYSICAL EYES could not be compared with the GLORY he saw with his SPIRITUAL EYES.
Look at Romans 8:18, we read, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Paul had great confidence in the things he could see with his SPIRITUAL EYES. They were far greater than the things he could see with his PHYSICAL EYES. This motivated him to become the great SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUAL he was.
We have looked at PAUL’S CONFIDENCE. But also look at -
II. PAUL’S CONCERN
Look at 2 Cor. 5:9 13 “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.”
Paul was motivated out of a CONCERN to please Christ and be acceptable to Him. Look at verse 9, “…that …we may be accepted of him.”
The word “accepted” means “well pleasing, agreeable.” Paul wanted to be “well pleasing” to Christ. Notice, in these verses-
A. HIS REVERENCE
That is, HE REVERENCED GOD. Look at v11, “...Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord...”
The word “terror” in the Greek means “godly fear, reverence.” Paul had a healthy fear of the LORD. In fact, he called this fear the “terror of the Lord...”
When we reverence and fear God as we should, we will not live as the lost world lives.
Illus: There are many different things people fear in life.
• Mysophobia is fear of "dirt."
• Hydrophobia is fear of "water."
• Nyclophobia is the fear of "darkness."
• Acrophobia is fear of "high places."
• Taxophobia is fear of “being buried alive."
• Necrophobia is fear of “the dead."
• Claustrophobia is fear of "confined places."
Today people fear many things.
Illus: Let me tell you a true story that took place in ATLANTIC CITY, NJ. A woman won a bucketful of quarters at a slot machine. She took a break from the slot machine for dinner with her husband in the hotel dining room. But first she wanted to stash the quarters in her room. "I'll be right back and we'll go to eat." She told her husband she wanted to take the bucket full of coins to their hotel room before they went to eat.
As she was about to walk into the elevator she noticed there were only two men already aboard. Both of them looked like she had seen them on a wanted poster some where. One of them was big... very big... an intimidating figure. The other one was average in size.
The woman froze. Should she get on the elevators with these two men. Her face was flushed. She couldn't just stand there, so with a mighty effort she stepped forward onto the elevator.
Avoiding eye contact, she turned and faced the elevator doors as they closed. A second passed, and then another second, and then another. Her fear increased! The elevator didn't move. Panic consumed her.
One of the fellows said politely, “Hit the floor!” The bucket of quarters flew upwards as she threw out her arms and collapsed on the elevator carpet. A shower of coins rained down on her.
Trying to hold back a belly-laugh one of them said, "Ma'am, if you'll just tell us what floor you're going to, we'll push the button." They reached down to help her up. Confused, she struggled to her feet.
The average sized man said, "When I told my man here to hit the floor, I meant that he should hit the elevator floor button for our floor. I didn't mean for you to hit the floor, ma'am." She was too humiliated to speak.
The 3 of them gathered up the quarters and refilled her bucket. When the elevator arrived at her floor they insisted on walking her to her room. At her door they bid her a good evening. As she slipped into her room she could hear them roaring with laughter while they walked back to the elevator. The woman brushed herself off. She pulled herself together and went downstairs for dinner with her husband.
The next morning flowers were delivered to her room - a dozen red roses. Attached to EACH rose was a crisp one hundred dollar bill. The card said: "Thanks for the best laugh we've had in years." It was signed, Eddie Murphy and Michael Jordan.
We have people today who fear all kinds of things, but they do NOT HAVE ANY FEAR OF GOD WHATSOEVER!
One of the reasons the apostle Paul was a great servant of God, was because he said in verse 11, “...Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord...”
When it comes to Paul preaching, notice what he says in 1 Cor. 9:16, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” Paul said the reason he was preaching was because, “…Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.”
Listen, if we are going to be SPIRITUAL, we are going to have to have a REVERENCE and FEAR OF GOD!
People who fear God do not live like those who don’t fear God.
Illus: Suppose you had Claustrophobia. That is, you can not tolerate being in tight places. Now if anybody tried to put you in a box, they would have a time, because that phobia within you would greatly resist.
If we fear the Lord, the devil will have a time trying to get us to sin because we fear the Lord too much to do such a thing.
To be SPIRITUAL, we have to have a healthy fear of God. This is one of the things that MOTIVATED Paul to be the great Christian he was.
B. HIS REALIZATION
HE REALIZED GOD’S JUDGMENT AWAITS ALL. Look at v10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Paul knew that all believers will one day be judged at the Judgment seat of Christ.
Many Christians live their life as if they do not know that one day they are going to have to stand before God Almighty and give account of the way they used their life. God’s Word says we will give account for the GOOD and BAD!
At the judgment Seat of Christ, we are going to be TRAPPED, there is no getting away.
Illus: A police officer in a small town stopped a motorist who was speeding down Main Street. This police officer would not let anyone off of the hook.
• The young man said, but "But officer, I can explain."
• The officer said, “I do not want to hear it, just be quiet, I'm going to let you cool off in jail until the chief gets back!"
• The young man said, “But officer, I just wanted to say...."
• Again the officer said, “I said keep quiet! Now you're going to jail!"
• A few hours later, the officer checked on his prisoner and said, "Lucky for you that the chief's at his daughter's wedding. He'll be in a good mood when he gets back."
• The young man said, “I do not think so!”
• The officer said, “Why do you say that!
• He said “Because I'm the groom."
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, God is not going to let anyone off the hook. It does not matter WHO YOU ARE or WHO YOU KNOW, God is going to judge you for how you lived your life.
The Word of God says, 1 Cor. 3:13, “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”
Look at the Greek word “appear” in v10. It means more than “stand” or “show up.” It carries the idea of being REVEALED. “For we shall all be shown as we are” is the meaning.
A lot of folks today have pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, but Paul recognized that no one is going to pull the wool over God’s eyes. They will be seen for what they really are.
Today, many are hiding their sins behind clever words.
• Stealing is misappropriation of funds
• Adultery is having an improper relationship
• Lying is misrepresentation of the truth
• Homosexuality (sodomy) is now an alternate lifestyle
• Gambling is now amusement
• Cursing is now adult language
We need to quit playing games with sin and confess sin as sin! But it is not enough to just CONFESS SIN, we must REPENT OF SIN.
Illus: There are a lot of our good Catholic friends who will go to Mass and confess their sins, but next week they are doing the same thing all over again. They go to confession for the wrong reason.
Illus: There once was a young Irish woman who went to confession. Upon entering the confessional she said, "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned."
• The priest said, "Confess your sins and be forgiven."
• The young woman said, "Last night I told three different men that I truly loved them and would like to marry them one day."
• The priest thought long and hard and then said, "Take seven lemons and squeeze them into a glass and then drink it."
• The young woman asked, "Will this cleanse me of my sins?"
• The priest said "NO, but it will wipe the smile off your face."
IIlus: Did you hear about the man and the woman that were having an affair? They were at her house, and unknown to the both of them, her 9 year old son was hiding in the closet. Her husband comes home unexpectedly, so she puts the man in the closet with the little boy.
• The little boy says, "Dark in here."
• The man says, "Yes it is."
• Boy- "I have a baseball."
• Man- "That's nice."
• Boy- "Want to buy it?"
• Man- "No, thanks."
• Boy- "My dad's outside."
• Man- "OK, how much?"
• Boy- "$250."
In the next few weeks, it happens again that the boy and the man are in the closet together.
• Boy- "Dark in here."
• Man- "Yes, it is."
• Boy- "I have a baseball glove."
• The man remembering the last time, asks the boy, "How much?"
• Boy- "$750."
• Man- "Fine."
A few days later, the father says to the boy, "Grab your glove. Let's go outside and toss the baseball back and forth." The boy says, "I can't. I sold them."
The father asks, "How much did you sell them for?" The son said, "$1,000."
The father says, "That's terrible to overcharge your friends like that. That is way more than those two things cost. I'm going to take you to church and make you confess."
They go to church and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth and he closes the door.
• The boy says, "Dark in here."
• The priest says, "Don't start that stuff again! How much do you want this time?"
Listen, you do not need to confess your sins to any man, but you do need to confess them to God. We all are going to give account to God for the GOOD and the BAD we have done.
There will be no cover-ups at the Judgment Seat of Christ; our character and works will be revealed. If we are going to be the SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUALS God wants us to be, we need to recognized that we can not hide our sins from God Almighty.
Knowing that we will stand before Christ in judgment, and desiring to please Him, should motivate us to serve Him.
Conclusion:
We have looked at two of the things that motivated Paul to be the great servant he was.
I. PAUL’S CONFIDENCE
II. PAUL’S CONCERN
