Trivial Pursuit - The Consequence Of Ignoring God's Will Series

Trivial Pursuit

Mark 8:36-37

We are continuing our series on Games that People Play. Now most of you probably have played today’s game Trivial Pursuit or one of its many spin-offs. The original Trivial Pursuit came out in 1981, which makes it relatively young compared to the classics, and yet it’s a game that Time magazine called the “Biggest phenomenon in game history.”

Now (if you’ve been living in a cave) the object of the game was to answer questions in each of 6 categories such as Geography, Sports, History, Science, Entertainment & Literature. And most of the questions could be classified as being pretty obscure. However it was Trivial Pursuit that reminded us of some of the following information. For example, did you know that:

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks, otherwise it will digest itself.

40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

Every person has a unique tongue print. (Say "aaah")

Most lipstick contains fish scales. Yum.

Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.

Roses MAY be red, but violets ARE, indeed, violet.

Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

Most dust particles in your house are actually dead skin.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. (Maybe that’s why they swim back and forth across the fish bowl all day. Every trip is a new adventure! Hey, I wonder what’s over there!.... Hey! I wonder what’s over THERE!)"

Well, here’s the big question, is the accumulation of all that knowledge really a useful thing?

READ TEXT – “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?” - I have always read that from a material standpoint but it can certainly have an application in the realm of knowledge.

You see its one thing to be educated, to have knowledge, it is quite another to have wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. Wisdom is knowing what to do with all of that trivial information that is floating around in our brains.

And unfortunately we live in a society that is filled with knowledge and yet lacking greatly in wisdom.

We have a lot of intelligent people that are living their lives in very trivial ways. People that get to the end of their life and look back and think, what in the world did I just spend my life on. I accumulated a lot of information or a lot of stuff or even a lot of friends, but what did it gain me?

You see, I think that true wisdom is to know what God wants me to do with my life and then to do it. And if you want to come to the end of your life and not consider it a trivial pursuit, then I think it is essential that you start figuring out just what it is that God desires for you. What is his will for your life?

He is the architect of our life, he wrote the owners manual, he is the creator of our existence and it stands to reason that he knows best what I should be trying to accomplish in my life. And discovering His will is the key to avoiding a trivial pursuit through this life.

Now, today were going to look at 4 directives from God in regards to his will. Before we read our text however, let me remind you of three things when dealing with the Will of God.

#1 God is much more interested in shaping your character then he is in just directing the affairs of your life.

#2 God is much more interested in developing a relationship with you than he is in just being the “vending machine” God that dispenses information such as what job to take or who to marry.

#3 When dealing with God’s will we need to remember that much more important than discovering God’s will is doing God’s will.

With that in mind let’s look at four items we know to be in the will of God.

READ 1 Thess. 4:1-5

#1 - It is God’s will that we live PURE & HOLY lives.

The NIV says sanctified, and sanctified, like Holy means set apart. When something in the Bible was anointed it was set apart for use by God or for God. When we become holy in our lives we are setting our lives apart to be used by God and to be used for God. This is a gradual process.

We sing the song, “Holiness, it’s what I long for. Holiness is what I need.” Well Holiness is what God desires for your life as well. Holiness is the term used for our actions and thoughts, the things we do and think and say and read and participate in and we are encouraged that it is God’s will that we grow in holiness.