Satisfaction In Life And How It's Tied To Teamwork Series

Together we make a difference. That’s what we’ve been focusing on these last several weeks. Say “Together we make a difference” with me.

That’s the series we’re in. And it’s so critical to a worthwhile life. To be a part of the teams that God designed me to be a part of is one of the important factors that determine whether or not I am able to fulfill God’s purpose for my life.

As we’ve already established, teamwork is vitally important to God. He designed each and every one of us so that we are equipped to be members of teams. Today we’re going see that the Bible teaches that not only are none of us is as SUCCESSFUL on our own as when we cooperate with others, but also, none of us is as SATISFIED on our own as we are when we cooperate with others. There’s something fulfilling about being able to make teamwork work.

Living a satisfying life is important to all of us. Every one of us longs for satisfaction in life – and God also wants that for us.

One of the stakes God has in us leading a satisfying life is: if you’re satisfied doing the right things, you’ll be less likely to do the dumb, wrong things that you’re tempted to do.

One caveat: God doesn’t want my satisfaction at any price. God wants me to be satisfied and fulfilled but that isn’t actually supposed to be my primary goal in life.

This is a real paradox.

God wants me to be fulfilled but He doesn’t want that to be my primary goal in life. Actually, fulfillment, or getting satisfaction out of life, is a by-product of doing what does matter most. If I will do what matters most in my life, fulfillment will follow.

Today we’re going to see what matters most. We’re going to discover the three things God uses to enable us to make teamwork work.

We’re going to see the three ways that God says I need to adapt my thinking if I’m going to enjoy the satisfaction that teamwork offers.

We’re going to talk today about “Satisfaction in Life and How It’s Tied to Teamwork.”

1. Teamwork satisfaction comes from changing the way I think about God.

Look at what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul the Apostle to write to the Christ followers in Rome.

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)

The process of teamwork satisfaction begins when I give my body to God because of all He has done for me. Furthermore, I let Him transform me into a new person by changing the way I think.

The Old Testament believers brought animal sacrifices to the Temple and the lives of those animals were given as an act of worship, and the animal blood was spilled as a foreboding of the coming sacrifice of Jesus who shed His blood for our sins on the cross. But New Testament believers are taught to bring a different sacrifice to worship God. This sacrifice has two qualifications. It is to be “living” and it is to be “holy.”

We have to let this truth “transform” us. The Greek word for “transform” is where we get our English word “metamorphosis.” About the best example of metamorphosis is a cocoon. The larvae is deposited inside a protective coating and all the while a change is taking place until one day a beautiful butterfly emerges. God says that what needs to happen in us. We need to be transformed from the inside out.

This is a change in the way we think because first of all “living sacrifice” is an oxymoron, where two words are used together and they produce a seemingly self-contradictory affect.

Like, “Pretty ugly;” or “working vacation;” or “jumbo shrimp.”

A “living sacrifice?” Sacrifices used in worship were usually killed. But since Christ rose from the dead true worship of God calls for the worshipper to offer up his body while it still has life and breath. God doesn’t want you to worship Him only after you die. He doesn’t want you to save worship for eternity. He wants you to start worshipping Him by yielding your body to Him right now.

Secondly my body is not only to be a “living” sacrifice. It is to be a “holy” sacrifice. The word holy has to do with setting your body apart for the specific purpose of God using it. Before a person comes to Christ he or she sometimes uses his or her body for selfish and even sinful purposes. It may be that the mouth is used to say hateful and hurtful things. But then, after a person makes a faith commitment to Christ, he or she grows and starts using their mouth to encourage people or to share the Good News about Christ, etc.