Certain Hope for Uncertain Times
10/28/2001 - How to Build a Life That Lasts
Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt totally outnumbered? Like it was you against the world? That's not a very good feeling is it? This past week I felt that way. On Monday night I was invited to go to Giants Stadium to watch the Philadelphia Eagles play the New York Giants. Don't get me wrong. I was thrilled to go. But you gotta' know something, that for a loyal Eagles fan like me, going into Giants Stadium is like sneaking behind enemy lines. Of course, free tickets, free parking, skybox seats, and a free "all you can eat" buffet have a way of giving you courage.
Fortunately, I wasn't completely alone. In our little group of four, three of us were Eagles fans. So on the trip up we were actually in the majority. But once we got to the stadium we were quickly outnumbered, like 75,997 to 3! I mean it seemed like everybody had on Giants paraphernalia, hats, shirts, jackets, pennants, towels, signs, some zealots were even painted in red and blue. I mean it made we sick. But that didn't stop us from wearing our Eagles hats and T-shirts right into the Stadium. At one point, a woman said to me, "I can't believe you're wearing that Eagles hat in here. You must be crazy. Get ready to take some abuse."
And boy, did we take abuse. I don't know if you saw the game. But the Eagles basically didn't show up for the first 58 minutes. It was totally embarrassing. The Giants just had their way going up and down the field all night. Except they had one problem, they couldn't get the ball into the end zone. So even though the Eagles looked like plucked chickens at halftime the score was only 9-0. The Yankees were scoring more runs in their baseball that night than the Giants were points. The Eagles finally managed to kick a field in the third quarter which made the score 9-3. And then with less two minutes to go the Eagles suddenly decided to play football. And with 1:52 seconds left they scored the only touchdown of the game and went on to win by one point, 10-9!
Have you ever seen 76,000 people all go into shock at once? Well, make that 75,997, because three of us were going nuts! And when we turned around the whole skybox had emptied out. The Giants fans were not happy. And now I was scared to wear that Eagles hat out the car. But I did and everything was okay and we finally made it home alive at three o'clock in the morning!
But being outnumbered is not a good feeling? And sometimes, when the stakes are a lot higher than a football game, it can get downright dangerous. The apostle Paul always found himself outnumbered. He was always in Giants territory. He was always behind enemy lines and getting beat up for what he believed. And yet because he didn't cave in he built a life that lasted. Two thousand years later his words are still changing our lives and the lives of countless others all over the world. That's a life that lasts. And this morning we're going to look at what it takes to build one.
Today we continue our series called Certain Hope for Uncertain Times. It's taking us through the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians. Two weeks ago we talked about "How to be Certain of Your Faith." Last week we looked at "How to Handle the Unfairness of Life." And today we want to learn "How to Build a Life That Lasts."
If you have your Bible meet me at 1 Thessalonians 2. Look at verses 1-2, You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
When Paul and Silas limped into Thessalonica they were bloody and bruised from their last church plant in the city of Philippi. The story of that experience is found in Acts 16. It would have been very easy for these two guys to say, "Bag this. It just ain't worth it. Everywhere we go we get hassled. Everywhere we go we're cursed at, stoned, arrested, whipped, beaten, and thrown into prison. We can't take it anymore." It would've been easy for Paul to say, "Forget this! I quit! I'm going back to tent making. I'm going back to retail. The hours stink, but at least I won't beat up selling tents."
But he didn't. He kept going. What was it that kept Paul going? If it wasn't the treatment he received, if it wasn't the pay or the popularity, if it wasn't the perks or the benefits, what kept him sharing Christ? Maybe there was something shady going on, something deceptive? Maybe Paul was getting money under the table? That's what some critics thought. Look at verses 3-6,
For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed-God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for human praise, not from you or anyone else.
Paul says, "Our motives are pure. This isn't about us. It's about God and his message." Rumors were flying that Paul was a criminal. That he had been in prison, had a police record, and was on the run from law. Some were saying that Paul's teaching was impure. The word is actually immoral. They were saying that all Paul's talk about love was really about erotic, sensual love. And that the Love Feast that the Christians practiced, what we call communion, was really a drunken orgy in disguise. Others were saying that Paul was into flattery. He was a people pleaser, preaching a watered down message, saying that salvation is by faith alone and not by works, just to make it easy for people, just to be well liked. And the legalists, who had spent their whole life trying to keep a long list of rules to please God, didn't like that. Some were saying that Paul was cashing in somehow on his ministry. Greed was his motive. "This guy is trying to turn a quick buck." People just couldn't figure out what made Paul tick and why he would continue to preach Christ and get the tar beat out of him.
So Paul says, "Let me tell you what keeps me going. What keeps me going is a radical commitment to the truth of the gospel message and an intense desire to please God." Do you want to build a life that lasts? Then start by building it on the truth of the Word of God. Building a life that lasts begins by building it on the right message.
This week I officiated at the funeral of a 91 year-old woman named Marjorie. Marjorie was the mother of a good friend of mine who passed away last Saturday. And of course, funerals always give us a good chance to reflect on what's really important in life. Someday we'll all have one, unless Jesus comes back first. And it was so wonderful to know that Marjorie was a believer in Jesus Christ and was finally home with the Lord she loved so much. Her life lasted past the grave because she had built it on the right message. And Marjorie is more alive right now than she's ever been.
I've been to funerals of people who didn't build their life on the right message and they are morbid, hopeless affairs. But in many ways the funeral of a believer is like a celebration, because they're finally home where they've always longed to be.
At the service I shared the words of Jesus who said at the funeral of his friend, Lazarus, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Jesus said. (John 11:25-26)
Do you believe this? As believers in Jesus Christ our bodies will someday die, unless Jesus comes first, but our spirits will live forever. But that promise is only for those who believe in Jesus. There is eternal death waiting for all those who don't. Are you building your life on the right message?
There are a lot of messages that you can build your life on. There's the message that says that this life is all there is, so live it up. "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die." "You only go around once in life so grab for all the gusto you can." There's the message that says you can be your own God. "If you believe it you can achieve it." "You can be whatever you want to be in life." Is that really true? There's the message that says this world owes you something. "You deserve a break today." There's the message that says life is all about getting stuff. "He who dies with the most toys wins." There's the message that says, "You gotta look out for #1." You gotta take care of yourself because nobody else is going to take care of you.
You can build your life on anyone of those messages or a host of other lies just like them and your life's not going to last past the grave. You know why? Because it's all about you. Live it up. Be your own God. Get what you deserve. Look out for #1.
Building a life that lasts begins with believing the right message, the gospel, the message of Jesus. But it's not only about believing the right message, it's about building on the right motives.
People couldn't figure Paul out. What's up with this guy? He puts himself at risk everywhere he goes. He doesn't back down. He's willing to take a beating for what he believes. We don't get it. You know the thoughts that sometimes go through your head when somebody does something nice for you, especially at great cost, sometimes you think, "Okay, what's the catch? Why did they do this? What's in it for them?" That's what some people thought of Paul. He was accused of having all sorts of mixed motives. "But as God is my witness," he says in verse 4, "my main motivation is to please God."
People who build lives that last think a lot about pleasing God. In fact, pleasing God becomes even more important to them than pleasing their boss, or pleasing their teachers, or pleasing their friends, or pleasing their parents, or pleasing their spouse, or pleasing their kids, or even pleasing themselves. Pleasing God is a driving force in their life.
Later in the letter Paul will say in 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Finally, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact your are living.
The Bible tells us that at the end our life we're all going to be judged, every single one of us. For believers that event is called the Judgment Seat of Christ. And some of the things we do here will be burned up like wood, hay and straw, consumed by fire, worthless, self-serving kinds of things. And other things we do will last like gold, silver and precious stones, they'll be rewarded. The impact that we've made on other people's lives, the praise that those things have brought to God, the way his kingdom was advanced.
And one criterion will be the motives that have fueled our actions. Why we do what we do is very important to God. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of people's hearts. At that time each will receive praise from God.
We're not to pass judgment on other people's motives. You can't judge my motives and I can't judge yours. That's the Lord's responsibility. But I can examine my own motives and you can examine yours. What does pleasing God look like for you at work? With that boss that you struggle with or that co-worker that just gets on your nerves? What does pleasing God look like at school? And how you study and how you treat your friends and enemies? What does pleasing God look like in that relationship you're in that you know is just not right? What does pleasing God look like in your home? In the way your treat your spouse? Your kids? Your parents? Your dog? God has something to say about all these things.
Are you living your life to please God? That's what it takes to build a life that lasts. Building it on the right message, building it on the right motives, and then building it on the right mission.
Paul goes on to share his deep love for the people reading this letter. Look at verses 6-12, As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7 but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Paul loved these people. He really did. And that has a lot to do with building a life that lasts. Building it on the right mission means building our lives into people. When I was in high school I heard somebody say something that looking back on it now, really helped to direct my life. The person said, "There are only two things in this world that will last forever. Everything else will burn up. And those two things are people and the Word of God. And if you really want to build a life that lasts make people and God's Word top priorities in your life." That made a real impact on me and has stuck with me to this day. People and the Word of God are the only two things that will last forever.
The apostle Paul knew that. Those two priorities defined his life. But they didn't always. Before he came to faith in Jesus Christ, Paul hated people. The only person he loved was himself. He was totally into himself and into his education and his career and his status and who he knew who knew him. He was stuck on himself and hated everybody else, especially Christians. For a while he made a career out of arresting Christians and beating them and watching them die. That's he got his jollies. To the Christian community of his day Paul was Osama Bin Laden.
But then he met Jesus. And God radically changed his life. And this bad guy and bully became a mommy and daddy to people he used to hate. Don't tell Paul the gospel isn't powerful. It turned Paul into a people lover. And only God can put that love in our hearts. He was like a mother caring for her little children. Getting up, like Jennifer does, in the middle of the night to comfort our children when they've had a nightmare or to give them medicine when they're sick or to cover them when they're cold. He laid his life down for them. He was like a father cheering on his kids, like I've been doing all weekend for my son, Jordan, at his fall baseball tournament. "Come on Jordan. You can do it. Get a hit. Throw him out. Shake it off." Paul cheered these Christians on.
You want to build a life that lasts, invest it in people. Start with your own family. Build community in your own home first. And then let that love spill over into your neighborhood and into your school and onto those you work with. This is how people get won to Christ, because they see the love in our lives.
This week I was talking to a woman in our church, who with her husband, just started a small group to reach some of their neighbors who, after September 11, have shown some real spiritual interest. They have them into their home for a meal and then a discussion about Jesus. And this couple is so excited and the woman said to me, "Shouldn't we be excited? Isn't this the mission?" I said, "You're absolutely right. That is the mission."
God's mission, Paul's mission, our mission is to help seekers become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. And that starts by loving them and praying for them and inviting them and gathering them and sometimes feeding them and sharing with them the love that Jesus has for them.
Paul loved the Thessalonians and they knew it. And they responded to his love and to his message. Look at verses 13-16, And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
Paul closes by saying, "Don't be alarmed at your suffering. Other churches are going through it too. It comes from people who displease God and are hostile to everyone. But God will repay them in the end." The funeral I attended this week was a good thing for me. It reminded me that there is an end coming and when that end comes I want to be sure that I built my life on the things that last. Are you?