What Is Driving My Life - #1 Series

What is Driving My Life?

Philippians 3:1-11

A friend sent us these motivational slogans:

* Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.

* Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

* If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos ... then you probably haven’t completely understood the situation.

* Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

* TEAMWORK ... means never having to take all the blame yourself.

* Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!

* Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

* Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.

* You pretend to work, and we’ll pretend to pay you.

* This morning I am calling us to come to terms with a very personal question. While we “preacher-types” are told and taught to never use a question for the title of a message, today let’s center our time on one question.

* However, to answer this question in an authentic way means we must first, take just a few minutes and make sure that the foundation, upon which we will deal with this very issue, is solid. Without hesitation or reservation and based on the Word of God we must agree together that when Jesus Christ is truly in a life, He makes a difference in that life. It changes the way a person thinks (a renewed mind), the way a person feels (Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength), the way person talks (out of the heart the mouth speaks), and the way a person acts (old things are passed away). To authentically have Jesus in a life means a “radical life change,” anything less than this denotes that a person does not have the Spirit, thus does not know Jesus, has no relationship with God, and is lost. Church membership, longevity, goodness, or even position cannot overcome this lostness.

* The interesting thing about “lostness” is; we will not do anything about our relationship with God until we get “desperate.” Bro. Michael Catt, the senior pastor of the Sherwood Baptist church which produced “Fireproof”, “Facing the Giants”, and “Flywheel”; writes that “no one will deal with God until they are desperate.” This truth reminds us that until we come to the place of “repentance”, there is no salvation, no hope of heaven, and no relationship with God. And outside of a relationship with God, we are incomplete, flawed, and in need of repair. Only when we come to God through Jesus can our lives be made whole and put in good working order.

* So now we come to the question of the day: “What is driving My Life?” Would you think about this question, personalize it, and even answer it to yourself before God. What is the main theme, the main motivation, and thus makes you do and be what you are?

* This morning, let’s consider the words of Paul and see if we can determine what is and what should be driving our lives. I begin with;

I. The Possibilities – Before I can be honest enough with me to discover what truly drives my life, I must consider the possibilities of what “can” be found in the driver’s seat. Paul helps us get started with that though.

a. Is it my Pedigree – In other words, he speaks to his lineage and/or past. Paul writes that “if anyone could be served by their past, it is me. For I have done all that humankind requires me to do.” We find two thoughts worth our note in this: Many people depend on their heritage for their salvation and service while others depends only on their good work. Phrases like, “My dad and granddad were pastors or deacons,” or “A Watts has been Sunday School Director or deacon in this church for the past70 years,” or even “I have sit in this same pew for 48 years.” Here’s the truth, without meaning to be sacrilegious, I submit when God hears those phrases, if it were in His character He would roll His eyes!

* We either forget or choose to discount one huge truth; “apart from God, there is no good in us.” We can do nothing to earn the favor of God. So when we think our background and our past is what we must live up to and thus, becomes the motivation of our life, we have missed the boat.

b. Is it my Problems– Did you know that many people are driven by their troubles? Either their guilt from something they did, their fear of being caught, or perhaps even the fear of a painful memory. Others are driven by their anger. Have you ever seen (or been) that person who received unfair or unjust treatment and they never got over it? It began with fear, grew to resentment, and at full bloom became bitterness. And according to the Bible, bitterness is a root and roots must be dug out or they keep growing back. Let just take a quick look at each of these problems.