The Number One Way to Live a Life Void of Meaning

Dr. Larry Petton tells the story, “A well-known author once told this story of an account he had with seagulls: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river, feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. “I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

How sad that even though the bird had plenty of time to fly away, it paid the ultimate price because it delayed. Now think of this story in terms of the Christian life. When we become overly enthralled with the things of this world, we lose sight of what lies ahead, and we can be brought down as we “fish” for the things of lesser meaning than our overall well-being.

That story and scenario are a perfect visual for what happened in Samson’s life. As Scripture gives us an overview of the life of Samson from his birth to his death, things start with the realization that Samson’s conception was a blessing from God as a result of his mother's prayers. His parents declared over their home that their child would be in a covenant with God upon his first breath. As part of this covenant, Samson was never to be in a relationship with a woman not of his faith. However, Samson disobeys and enters into an intimate relationship with a pagan woman named Delilah.

Pagans were the enemy of God. And, that truth quickly proves itself in Delilah’s life as she is bribed with money to help Samson’s enemies bring him to destruction. She is paid to find out where the source of Samson’s power originated. Samson misleads Delilah, playfully telling her a lie about how he can be defeated…and even though several red flags are raised...he is so overcome by lust that he can’t see them.

Lust can make us blind – and if may be so bold, stupid – because it distorts our ability to discern what is happening. That’s why people wreck their whole world for a one-night stand or lose everything they’ve worked for to get just one more hit from a drug. Lust desires a feeling that one does not presently have, and if the fire in one’s flesh becomes intense enough, one of the first things it consumes is our rationale.

I encourage you to be ready in advance for such setups from the enemy. Invite the Holy Spirit to gift you with the discerning of spirits. Because throughout your life, you are going to meet the same spirits repeatedly. Names and faces will change, but personalities will stay the same, and you need to be aware of many of these ill-intentioned personalities at hello!

A secondary element of the covenant between God and Samson also indicates that he was never to allow his hair to be cut. But after he betrayed this commitment with confession to Delilah, she had the seven locks of his hair shaved while he was asleep. When he woke up surrounded by Philistine soldiers, he wrongly anticipated that God would bail him out again. Samson thought he was above the rules. He reached a place in his spiritual journey where he evidently thought the conditions of the covenant were not required for him. He was too strong, famous, and powerful to have to abide by regulations that would have applied to anyone else in covenant with God.

What happens next is devastating:

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. -Judges 16:20 (NKJV)

Those might be the saddest words in the Old Testament. To think that a man who was used so profoundly could become so distant from God that he lost any sense of God’s departing presence. So deceived was he that he didn’t even realize when God was fully removed from his life.

The enemy soldiers took him captive. He was then enslaved and mocked endlessly. They made him perform, like a jester, for their amusement.

The number one way to live a meaningless life is to become a performer. Performing for others in your career, church, home, and marriage has no meaning. Acting and performing for others is empty and done in vain. We see this all the time in modern-day Christianity. Meaning gets lost because we ignore the covenant of God. Haven’t you seen the performance-oriented, concert-style venue with a speaker offering a motivational talk with only a slight God slant? All performance, little meaning, and yet we wonder why true transformation isn’t taking place.

If you want to lead a meaningful life, you don’t just go to a small group, lead a prayer group, or throw money in a bucket to perform – it must have meaning. Your serving must come from the foundation of a powerful prayer life. Let it bubble up from a personal and intimate relationship with God.

You can not – WE can not – settle for performance.

Scripture shows Samson’s hair grows back, but he is found performing for the enemy. Why is he unable to break free? Why is he settling for just being a performer? I believe this verse answers the question.

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza…they set him to grinding grain in the prison. -Judges 16:21 (NIV)

The first thing the enemy did was take out his eyes because they knew if his strength came back, it wouldn’t matter as long as he couldn’t see what he was swinging at. Solomon hath wisely shared:

Where there is no vision, the people perish… -Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Thankfully, Samson eventually prays the second prayer of his life and cries out to God, asking God to make the enemy pay for every day he had spent without vision:

Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance… for my two eyes!” -Judges 16:28 (NKJV)

Maybe you lack vision, as you are distracted by life's current events. Right now, ask God to give you a vision for your family, allowing you to see the unseen and know the unknown. Ask Him for wisdom in areas where you have lacked it. Ask for a God idea, not just a good idea.

We must realize the strength that God gave us is not meant for performance; it is intended to impact the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and push back the powers of darkness, putting the enemy in his place. God’s got something MORE for you than simply performing for the amusement and pleasure of others. Never settle for a lifestyle of hypocritical performance – that approach will only lead to a downward spiral in your life and a life without meaning.

Samson’s life reveals we must live prayerful lives, seeking God for discernment, because being a performer never leads to meaningfulness. All the while, we must have the vision to keep moving forward. Walking out these things in our own lives will lead to a meaningful life, a life well-lived:

1. Pray for the gift of the DISCERNING of spirits.

2. Refuse to settle for PERFORMANCE.

3. Never live a day without VISION.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/yQcFRq9R8Dk

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.
   

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WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

This Is Why They Don’t Like You

Earlier this week, we talked about five blessings to pray and seek God for in 2022. We believe that God will bless our children, finances, relationships, emotions, and influence in 2022! We are ready to be blessed by God so we can be a blessing to others! We know that these blessings will lead to a life of meaning and purpose, not only right here right now but for generations to come!

Let’s continue to look at Psalm 112, but from a new point of view, emphasizing how not only does God promise us these five blessings, but that He promises them for generations to come. These are blessings that last beyond a lifetime!

Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes

triumphantly. They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

-Psalm 112: 1-10 (NLT)

These blessings continue for generations to come. Because you didn’t enter into casual Christianity but decided to be a Spirit-empowered, life-giving, need-meeting, Jesus-connected, devil-stomping Christian, your legacy lives on through God’s blessings. Choosing to live a life of meaning and purpose carries on beyond your lifetime!

Have you thought about the legacy you are leaving?

Don’t just live for today; think about tomorrow. Don’t just go through the motions of mundane life. Take time to stop and pray for God to bless your children because they are our future. Pray for God to bless your finances, so you can give generously and be a blessing. Pray for God to bless your relationships so that you can step into a place of actual influence. Pray for God to bless your influence so that you can carry out the purpose He has for you. Finally, pray for God to bless your emotions so that you are stabilized in the Spirit of God, speaking and living out His Word. This is how you live a meaningful life and leave a legacy!

All of this sounds wonderful! We all want to live a life of meaning and purpose. We all want to leave a legacy. But here’s a disclaimer from God, when you have all of these blessings in your life, the wicked will see you and be infuriated!

The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted. - Psalm 112:10

If you're going to invite these blessings into your life, then know that the enemy will be infuriated and will try to curse what God is blessing, and He may use the people around you to do it.

People will hate you because they ain’t you!

They won’t understand the outpouring of God’s love and favor over your children. They won’t understand how your finances continue to multiply. They’ll be jealous of your relationships and your influence, and they won’t understand how you always keep your composure despite their hate.

But be comforted by the truth; the enemy will not succeed! There will be a hedge of protection around your blessings, placed there by God Himself. It's time to start living a life of meaning and purpose, and build a legacy that impacts generations to come!

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/FcrRhAeDqPY

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

Five Blessings to Ask God for That Will Change Your Life Forever

Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

-Psalm 112: 1-10 (NLT)

A voice in my life, Pastor Larry Stockstill, recently encouraged all graduates of Pastors University, his training institute for ministers to believe God for the promised blessings of Psalm 112 to be made manifest in their lives in 2022.

As I took his instruction and prayed through the passage, not only did his counsel ring true but, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I also received some personal insights from the text. What follows is a conglomeration of Pastor Larry’s revelation intermingled with my thoughts – his insight being the better and more prominent portion of this post.

Five blessings to ask and seek God for in 2022!

1) A Blessing Upon Your CHILDREN

Many challenges can arise when raising children. As a result, bringing your kids up in the right way requires some type of blueprint. It won’t happen by accident. For example, when it’s time to build a house, no one brings all the construction materials, throws them down in a pile, and lets people do whatever they want with the two-by-fours, sheetrock, or trusses. Instead, there is always a process and a plan – a blueprint and a vision – for the outcome. This principle is the same for our children because the Bible gives us an incredible promise, raise your child in the way they should go, and in the end, they shall not depart from it!

Do you have a blueprint for your family? It is essential to pray and ask God for dreams, visions, and clarity for how to raise your children. Then, you can be a part of putting that child on the right path, at the right place, at the right time, and with the right people! But this requires the right plan.

If you are not yet a parent and you're reading this, know that it’s never too early to start praying over your future children. If your kids are already grown, it’s never too late to start praying for them or too early to begin praying blessings upon your future grandchildren.

Their children will be successful everywhere… - Psalm 112:2

We are believing for a blessing upon our children in 2022! Our kids will be raised and trained in the way that they shall go. No weapon formed against them will prosper because they will be successful everywhere. Not just because you are a great parent, but because you introduced them to a great God who will place a hedge of protection around them. As parents, we should be praying God’s favor over their lives. I challenge you to lay your hand upon your children and pray the blessing of God over them every day.

Pray that they will be blessed in the city and the field. Pray that they will be blessed coming and going. Pray that they are the head and not the tail. Pray that any enemy that raises his hand against them will be smitten by the Lord our God. Pray blessing upon your children!

2) A Blessing Upon Your FINANCES

They themselves will be wealthy… -Psalm 112:3

You can believe God for a blessing upon your finances. Our God does not know lack, and you are made in His image. God’s vision for you is not that you would always be pressed down and overwhelmed, but instead that you would reach a place in your life where you could be a blessing to others. Many people never get blessed financially because God knows they only want more for themselves; a bigger house, a nicer car, more of this, and more of that. They have no intention of being a blessing to other people.

Contentment does not reside in THINGS. Therefore, there is only one way to experience contentment, and that is knowing your God has all that you need, and all of your needs will be supplied according to His riches and glory.

“The man who had God for his treasure has all things in one.”

- A.W. Tozer

Here are three types of generosity you must make sure you are living out in your life if you want God to bless your finances:

• Tithing: The first 10% of your income goes to God and is released to your local church for the work of ministry. (Ref. Malachi 3:8-10)

• Offerings: Something you purpose in your heart as you respond cheerfully to God’s direction. This type of gift is to be submitted for the work of public ministry, and God loves it! In fact, he promises the more you give offerings, the more He will provide for you so that He can provide through you. (Ref. Malachi 3:8-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

• Alms: Give to the poor and the needy generously. And, don’t tell anybody what, when, where, or how you gave. When it comes to this form of generosity, according to Jesus, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing – just help people in need with no desire for public recognition or strings attached. The result is riches in Heaven! (Ref. Matthew 6:3-4)

When you walk out these three types of giving, the enemy will never be able to attack your finances successfully. You will always live a blessed life. It is a three-fold cord that can not easily be broken!

If any of that sounds like too great of a commitment, you are welcome to embrace the practice of Acts 2:42-47, where the early Church Christians went above and beyond, tithes, offerings, and the giving of alms as they literally sold possessions to meet needs.

3) A Blessing Upon Your RELATIONSHIPS

They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. - Psalm 112:4

It’s doubtful the Lord will bless you financially without blessing you relationally, because according to John Maxwell’s evaluation of the Stanford Research Institute’s 1996 assessment, the money made in any endeavor is determined only 12.5% by knowledge, and 87.5% by your ability to deal with people. In other words, you’re only as good financially as you are relationally!

If you see the relationships in your life in turmoil, maybe it’s a good time to do a self-evaluation and see if you are living generously, compassionately, and righteously so God can take your relationships to a new level and bring more people into your network.

4) A Blessing Upon Your EMOTIONS

They are confident and fearless… -Psalm 112:8

There’s a great deal of fear in our world today. But when you confidently place your trust in the Lord to bless your emotions, you become fearless and confident – to the point you don’t even fear bad news.

The toxic emotions of the world are not the emotions God intended you to have or live by. He wants to put a blessing upon your emotions so that you can stand next to the gates of Hell and decree Hell shall not prevail against me. I am confident, and I am fearless, not because of my might but because of the Spirit of God available in the name of Jesus!

5) A Blessing Upon Your INFLUENCE

They will have influence and honor. -Psalm 112:9

You may not feel like you have a lot of influence, but when you start inviting God to bless your influence, you might be surprised how God uses you to bring His purpose to pass. You might have more influence in your community, workplace, or small group than you think, especially if you ask for this blessing and have a desire to bring real change to the world. But, never forget, a drip can start a flood.

Believe God to bless your children. Believe God to bless your finances. Believe God to bless your relationships. Believe God to bless your emotions. And believe God to bless your influence. So let 2022 be the year that you ask & seek God for these blessings in your life because these blessings lead to a life of meaning and purpose!

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/FcrRhAeDqPY

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES