Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28; Genesis 1:26-31
Theme: How Do I Live – LIFE?
What is the best way for me to live my life?
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Let’s start off this morning with some very important questions –
What is the purpose of humanity; of human beings?
Why are we here?
What are we to do?
Who are we to be?
How are we to live the best life possible?
Now, if we had about 500 years to spend together, we might be able to get some good answers to those questions. And then again it might take another 500 years to see if we were right and as far as I know no one has ever lived to be 1,000 years old. At least no human has lived to be 1,000 years old.
Okay, I know someone may be thinking that since Enoch nor Elijah “never died” then we could say that they have lived over 1,000 years but we would also have to say that most of that time has been with God in Heaven. That puts them in another category.
If you were raised a Buddhist or hold to Buddhist theology then the purpose of life on this earth is to escape samsara (s?m-sär'?) – the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
If you were raised a Hindu or hold to Hindu theology, then the purpose of life is to experience:
+Kama (wish, desire, love and sensual pleasure),
+Artha (wealth, prosperity, glory)
+Dharma (righteousness, duty, morality, virtue, ethics), encompassing notions such as ahimsa (non-violence) and satya (truth) and
+Moksha (liberation, i.e. liberation from Sa?sara, the cycle of reincarnation.
If you were raised with a postmodern ideology, then you understand that we only have one life to live (or at least that is the current view) and that life in itself is like winning the lottery. The odds against our existence are beyond comprehension. We don’t know why we exist or why we are here. Life is statistically inconceivable. We are in fact the biggest winners of the lottery because – well we are alive. (From the thoughts of Mike Brooks)
If you were raised Jewish the goal of life is to embody the Torah, the living Word of the Living God Almighty and experience life as a Jew, the Chosen People of God.
If you were raised in the Reformed Tradition like our Presbyterian friends, then you were raised with this statement:
“What is the chief end of man? (humanity) The answer is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”
So, what is the purpose of humanity and how do we as humans do our best to live out that purpose?
If we wanted, we could spend the next year seeking to answer those questions. We could look at all kinds of scriptures and other things and develop a list of reasons that in and of themselves would be excellent.
But this morning, I would like to share with you just a few simple things that I believe that the Bible wants us to understand about our existence and how we can best live out what it means to be a human being.
I. True Life begins with God; God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
God is the starting point.
Genesis 1:26 is very simple and direct. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit came to an understanding that they were going to create this creature called a human. We were created following them as a pattern. We were to be created after their image and their likeness.
In other words, at our very core, we were created to have their abilities, their mindset, their values, virtues, and vision.
We are not the result of a cosmic accident.
We are not merely the end of an evolutionary experiment.
From our very beginning we were made to be unlike anything else that had already been made. We come from this earth and yet at the same time we are mixed with the very breath of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
We breathe the same air and eat the same food as the rest of earth’s creation but the way we move, the way we think and the way we interact with everything is different.
The Bible calls us God’s Masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).
We are not here by accident. We are here by design.
We are here on purpose. Each one of us has been given life by the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
Perhaps David says it best when he wrote the following words in Psalm 139
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.” 1-3
For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it quite well.” – 13-14
None of us are some cosmic accident. We are here because of God’s mercy, love and grace.
II. True Life Involves Enjoying a Redeeming Relationship with the LORD.
The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY is a relational being. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He doesn’t merely create. He creates to have a relationship with all His creations.
God is not distant or disinterested in any of His creations. He sees both the sparrows, the ants on the ground along with the trees of the fields and the angels in heaven.
He walks with Enoch and enjoys His walk with Enoch.
He talks with Moses out of the fire and shares with Moses His personal name – the name of Yahweh.
He is the God Who Sees (El Roi), He is the LORD who Provides (Yahweh Yireh), the Lord who Heals (Yahweh Rophe) and the LORD who is Our Shepherd (Yahweh Roi).
He is the God who loves us so much that even though we all have sinned and come short of the glory He has given us, He sent His Only Son Jesus to die for us, to rescue us and redeem us.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
He is the God who is there to take away all our worries, concerns, and burdens.
“Come to me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28
He is the God who prays for us as we see in John 15-17 and Romans 8:27-28 reminds us:
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
The more that you understand the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and the more you interact with Him and experience Him, the more you come to understand that God not only created us, but He is also on our side. He is not against us. He is for us.
Isaiah 41:10 puts it this way:
“Don’t fear, because I (the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY) am with you; don’t be afraid for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand.”
Far too many people have the wrong impressions of God. They see Him as controlling, arrogant, demanding, and unloving. He is everything but those things. He is holy, loving, compassionate, slow to anger and merciful. He doesn’t abandon us. He rescues us and redeems us.
He creates us. He wants us to experience Him through the infilling of His Holy Spirit – His Presence, His Fullness, His Essence so that we can do the one thing that He created us to do:
III. True Life is Life Lived to Its Fullest – God’s Abundant Life
You want to know how to make God happy?
Live the life that He created you for and died for you to experience. The Life that Jesus tells us is the Abundant Life.
One of the things that we must remember each and every day of our lives is that when God thinks of us – He doesn’t think of us as these pitiful horrible human things that one day just stumbled out of the mud, turned into some type of ape creature that eventually evolved into a human being.
No, God created us as human beings from the very beginning. We are the highest creations on His good earth.
When God thinks of us, He sees us as His Masterpiece or as the Apostle Paul puts it in Ephesians 5:22-33 as His Bride.
Now, take a moment and think about that – any husband wants what is best for His bride and He is willing to sacrifice and die for her. That is how God sees all of us who have accepted Him as Savior and LORD.
Think for a moment of Galatians 5:22-23; the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and understand that all those things – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are things God wants us to possess that will then enable us to live the life that He wants us to live.
Even the prayer that Jesus taught all of us to say; tells us to pray for our world to be like Heaven – “Your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
That is what God wants and that is also what we are to want; for our lives to mirror a life in heaven.
Look around – is there anything more beautiful than
+The mountains, the oceans, the valleys, and the plains.
+The skies – the morning sun and the full moon.
+The trees when they are blooming in the spring and then in the fall when they burst out in their full color.
+The sound of the gentle rain as it falls on the leaves or on a tin roof.
+The majesty of the snow as it falls and covers the landscape all clean and white.
+The sound of the laughter of children as they play.
+Watching a family share life together.
+Watching a young couple as they fall in love with one another.
+Watching an older couple as they continue to share life together.
+Watching nature – the birds, the squirrels and the deer on a cool morning.
+Hearing a rooster crow reminding everyone that it is time to get up.
+Seeing the mist of the fog as it rises and falls over a body of water.
+Listening to the sound of a song that can uplift your soul.
+The taste of a cup of coffee, tea or bottled water.
+The companionship of a good dog who loves you as they look at you with those big, wonderful eyes.
We could spend all day sharing all the good things that this life that God has given us can and should experience. We could share all the wonders that we can see, the sounds we can hear and the smells that we can smell.
And is there anything more precious than another human being that you can share life with either as a spouse or a friend or just an acquaintance.
I think far too many people live life lower than what they have to or lower than what God wants them to live. I think they look at this life as something unpleasant and painful.
It is true that at times we all experience times of pain, of things being unpleasant, sad a bit lonely.
But then we must do as David did when he wrote about a time in his life that he was in the deep miry clay of life:
“I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps” (Psalm 40:1–2, NKJV).
The other week, Rebekah and I had the privilege of working with the St. Patrick Catholic Church Food Pantry.
The lady that was in charge of the Pantry made this statement about how she lived her life; especially when it came to knowing what to do. She said she listened and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Listening and following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
That thought caught my attention. What a wonderful way to live life. Allowing God’s Holy Spirit to speak to you and give you guidance in all the things that you need to do.
To me, that lady got it. She understood how to live life. She understood that:
+Everything begins with God.
+Real life is Experiencing and Enjoying God – having a personal relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
+Real Life is then Living It – being infilled with God’s Holy Spirit, listening to God’s Holy Spirit and being Led by God’s Holy Spirit.
Earlier we read the Apostle’s Paul words to the people of Thessalonica.
Listen again to his words as we come to a close this morning:
This is from the Message:
The Way He Wants You to Live
12-13 And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!
13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
19-22 Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.
23-24 May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!
Paul’s words are good words for all of us to hear.
This morning listen or join in as we sing that song – Breathe – by Hillsong
Let us allow the Holy Spirit to breath on us, in us and through us this morning and for the rest of our lives.
This is God’s Word for us today:
Holy Communion -
