Two Questions that will Lead to a Meaningful Life

It is possible to invest one's entire life into meaningless things. Hence, perhaps, the easiest way for this to happen: spend your time, talent, treasure, and influence trying to make a name for yourself. With a philosophical tone, the writer of Ecclesiastes teaches that such actions become equivalent to trying to grab the wind. As a result, you’re left feeling empty-handed, exhausted, and disappointed. In other words, meaningless.

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. -Ecclesiastes 4:4 (NIV)

We’ve all heard it, “Keeping up with the Joneses…” It implies staying ahead of those around us; better cars, houses, jobs, education...But spending your life trying to get ahead of someone else results in living a meaningless life. Because ultimately, it’s always “someone else” that you must catch and surpass. Metaphorically, it’s like chasing after the wind. You’re not going to take hold of what you're chasing.

Thankfully, there is an alternative that can result in peace, fulfillment, and even significance. You can live your life doing good works. This decision will fill your life with purpose.

I once spoke to the Kansas City Chiefs during a chapel service. In prayer, preparing for my time with them, I felt many of the players had been taken advantage of in various ways. They were big, strong men, not easily intimidated. But, many of them had wanted to do good in their neighborhoods; however, greedy, manipulative people had taken advantage of their generosity. I sensed the result of these experiences was that some of them were backing away from charitable living, thus subtracting meaning from their wealth. I have no idea if my discernment was correct, but I felt so strongly about it that I borrowed the words of Mother Teresa to encourage them:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

-Mother Teresa

Even though the world is not always a nice place, we must be people who value doing good for others. God does not give us an “out” when it comes to doing good works. Unfortunately, there will always be people who take advantage of others' kindness and willingness to do good in the world. This can be discouraging but should never deter us from doing good. We should always choose to do good anyway.

If you haven’t already had the opportunity to watch last week's message, God Is...Light, I would invite you to do so. In that message, I shared how:

• We RECEIVE the light by BELIEVING God’s Word.

• We RELEASE the light by OBEYING God’s Word.

Are you releasing light into the World by doing the GOOD WORKS of God’s Word?

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. -Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

Obeying God’s Word -- doing good works -- allows us to shine spiritual light into the world around us! When you love God, you release light into the world. When you love people, you release light into the world. And the world ends up a brighter place for everyone! Without these actions, our faith is equivocally dead.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead… -James 2:26 (NKJV)

The summary, if you're not doing good works, your faith is dead. We should be clothing the naked, feeding the poor, caring for the prisoners, widows, and orphans. But, don’t get it twisted; we can not earn our salvation through good works. Instead, we are saved by the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is essential to understand that Heaven records our good works here on Earth. And, God has chosen the mechanism of our good works to introduce people to His light. So, activate your faith! And, keep D. L. Moody’s humorous but true statement in mind:

I’m glad we are not saved by our good works because I don’t want to sit in Heaven listening to people brag about how they got there.

– D. L. Moody

The New Testament is full of references on how important it is for Christians to do good. Paul speaks on this topic multiple times across seven of his New Testament letters. Here are three of his references:

They profess to know God, but in works, they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

-Titus 1:16 (NKJV)

That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

- Colossians 1:10 (NKJV)

That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

-2 Timothy 3:17 (NKJV)

The culmination of these three statements, always do good works to glorify the name of God. This approach to life is what brings true meaningfulness to our human existence.

In twenty-one years of pastoring followers of Jesus, I’ve come to learn that there are TWO QUESTIONS we can ask ourselves repetitively to make sure that our good works stay properly centered; making the main thing the main thing:

1- WHY am I doing it?

2- WHO am I doing it for?

Answering these questions honestly and correctly becomes increasingly crucial because when you start to obey God’s Word and shine light into the world, you are going to be the answer to someone's prayers! So, we must never forget that our good works should never glorify ourselves, but always glorify God. Otherwise, the light doesn’t shine. If the works become about bringing glory to you rather than God, personal burnout is assured. God won’t FUEL your empire, but he will FILL His Kingdom. Jesus told us so, “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you.” So, keep your heart and perspective in check, and know: 1) who you are doing it for, and 2) why you are doing it. Because everything we do is meaningless unless we are doing it for God and His glory!

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. -Ecclesiastes 4:4 (NIV)

Every gift, every particular skill, directly results from how God created you and blessed you. You were placed exactly where you are right now, for such a time as this, so that God could use your gifts, skills, and influence to do good works. You are blessed to be a blessing to others! Allow God’s involvement in your works, and great things will happen as a result! Let him use your time, talent, treasure, and influence!

Consider ceasing your pursuit of an uncatchable wind and lean into finding true meaning within your life. If you want your life to have meaning and be radiant, you will need to chase the right wind. We do this by loving God, loving people, and building only one name, the name above all names, the name of Jesus Christ.

Think about this Scriptural statement, “The name above every other name….” We know “that name” is Jesus. Will you allow this Heavenly proclamation to be fulfilled in your life? Will you place His name above your name? Don’t ever let the mentality of Babel’s builders take hold of your purpose: And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” -Genesis 11:4 (NKJV)

Instead, live out the mandate of Hebrews’ commission:

To make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight, through JESUS CHRIST, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. -Hebrews 13:21 (NKJV)

I invite you to view the message I shared on this subject, Chasing After The Wind.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

God Is...LIGHT

Despite your best efforts to maintain your passion, do you ever feel overwhelmingly fatigued or worn out in a way that goes beyond one day but rather is a description of your season in life?

In, How to Dwell Securely, Ralph Andrus shares that in 1879, Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb. Twenty-two years later, in 1901, one of these new creations was installed and turned on in the Livermore, CA, fire department. Amazingly, it’s still there, and still on! By today’s standards, it should have burned out 852 times by now. The bulb, with a thick carbon filament, was made by the Shelby Electric Company, which did not become one of the giants of the nation for an obvious reason. Instead, the Shelby Company made light bulbs to last, and nobody ever reordered.

By Rjaerial - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94821149

Unlike the Centennial Bulb (pictured above), we as people often burn out, and the more driven we are, the more susceptible we are! This phrase, “I feel so burned out…” is often uttered among people who want to perform and achieve great things in life. But, unfortunately, the desire and aspiration for more can lead to feeling dim on the inside quite quickly. I’ve learned -- the hard way -- that there are a few questions one needs to ask personally when dealing with symptoms of burnout.

• Does my life feel meaningful or meaningless?

• Am I complaining about things I used to pray for?

If you answered “Yes” to one or both of those questions, let me encourage you:

Never let the meaningful things become meaningless, or the blessing of God’s answered prayers become the source of your complaints.

Allowing either of those two things to happen is a step in the direction of burnout.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. - 1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

I’ve noticed that sunny days can have a positive effect on people. We all love sunny days at the beach or on the lake. Bright, sunny days make us feel alive and vibrant. Rays of light make us feel alive! Just like the sun affects us in the physical, the SON, Jesus, has that effect in the spiritual. When He starts to bring light into your life, He lights up all the meaningful and beneficial things. His light highlights all of the things for which we should be grateful. We start to see the answers to our prayers manifest and all the things that we should be celebrating!

We can celebrate the fact that God is light! And He does NOT burn out!

If the world around you feels dark or dim, I challenge you to open your Bible and turn the light on. Because that’s what happens when you open your Bible -- you turn the light on! And, just like the light bulb above, the Word of God never goes out!

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.- Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)

God gives us opportunities to see in the dark, but it is up to us to use the light. Closing the Bible in your life is the equivalent of putting a bushel over the light of God (Ref. Jesus’ famous Sermon on The Mount). Each of us must be incredibly intentional about having a daily relationship with the Word of God so that illumination can reveal.

Jesus is the Word of God and the Light of the World. We are to abide in Jesus, and it is impossible to abide in Jesus without obeying His commands, but it is also impossible to obey His commands if we do not know them. Therefore, the only way to learn Jesus’s commands is by reading the Word of God! It’s essential to come to this understanding because:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” -John 8:12 (NKJV)

Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “You are the light of the world…” -Matthew 5:2, 14 (NKJV)

Did you catch it?

You are the light of the world. You receive the light by believing the Word, and you release the light by obeying the Word. When you obey the Word of God, it makes a positive impact not only on your life but also on the world! You light up the darkness that is in the world. The enemy hates it when you begin to abide in Jesus and light up the world; his mission is to keep people in the dark.

...the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. -2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)

Turn the light on in your life and the lives of others by:

• Loving God & Others

God’s light can REVEAL what His love will HEAL.

• Serving God & Others

When you do the WORK of the WORD, you light up the WORLD.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

I leave you with three statements to think about when it comes to LIGHT:

1. Light tells darkness how far it can come. Darkness does NOT overpower light.

2. Light helps find that which is lost. If you feel like you have lost something, look for it in the Word of God, there is no better place to search. Allow God to light up your world and restore that which you’ve lost.

3. Light always wins. Because God is Light and God doesn’t lose. If you want to win, you must seek the light and let it in.

Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. -1 John 2:8 (NKJV)

I invite you to view this message, GOD IS...LIGHT, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/TJv0FJ2lbhc

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

God Is...LIFE

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. -1 John 4:4–6 (NKJV)

John makes it abundantly clear in this passage of Scripture that there are two types of spirits at work on Earth, a spirit of truth and a spirit of error. In this short epistle, 1 John, he also reveals some essential things that God is...

Over the next three weeks are going to discuss three of John’s revelations of God. The first, God is life. John loved to talk about life, eternal life, life in and through Jesus. So he recorded for us in his Gospel, Jesus’ famous quote, “The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus comes to give life and life more abundantly (Ref. John 10:10).

John also teaches us three things about the reality that God is LIFE:

1. The LIFE was Manifested. (1 John 1:2)

Jesus, the Son of God, was manifested, made present on Earth as the life of God.

2. The LIFE is to be Experienced. (1 John 1:2)

We have the opportunity to experience Him, and it is a life that is above and beyond anything you could ever expect or imagine.

3. The LIFE should be Shared. (1 John 1:3)

We are to be in fellowship with others and with God.

God is life, and he manifested this life through the work of His Son, Jesus. As an original disciple of Jesus, John experienced His Master in the physical, and we are invited to experience the life of Jesus in the spiritual. Then, share it with others! We are called to fellowship, experiencing worship and word in community. God did not design us to do life alone!

In the context of 1 John, John brings about such encouragements as God is Life because he recognizes something is happening with new Christians. When he is writing his letter, he observes the arrival of second and third generations of Christians within the Church. Noticing the young Christians are compromising their faith and falling prey to the ideology of the world, he is extremely troubled. After all, John had been with Jesus personally. He was a member of Jesus’s inner circle. He had seen Jesus in ways no one else could testify to, and he had faced significant persecution for his life’s mission to spread the Good News of Jesus.

A question lies underneath everything John seems to have to save within these five chapters:

Are you a Child of God or a Counterfeit Christian?

On one occasion, the statement is direct:

In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest…-1 John 3:10 NKJV

1 John 4:4–6 told us there's a spirit of truth, and there’s a spirit of error. People of the spirit of truth are children of God, but people of the spirit of error are the devil’s children. Children of the devil may pose as children of God, but they are not. They are not truly saved, and therefore they are counterfeit Christians. This truth is one of the reasons that Jesus called Pharisees by this term, “children of the devil” in John 8:44.

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. - John 8:44

It didn’t matter that the Pharisees prayed eloquent prayers, dressed in their Sunday-best, or were regarded as highly religious authorities… Jesus said they were counterfeit. You can go through a form of godliness and deny the power thereof. You can pose as something on Sunday but be exposed on Monday for who you really are. Jesus and John both pointed out in their ministries that God is not a fan of hypocrisy. He is looking for His true children.

How do you know if you are a true child of God?

John addressed this question as well; in the Gospel of John, he says, “Marvel not that you must be born again.” We must all have a born-again experience. Call on the name of Jesus by and through accessibility He has made available through the outpouring of His blood. Then go public with the reality of your birth through water baptism by letting everyone know that you are made new, that you have been born again! You are a Jesus-follower! (If you have recently dedicated your life to service of Jesus and would like to take your next steps in God, contact us: info@3trees.com)

Speaking of being Born Again, John lists some marks for a Child of God with a born-again experience. John states that you will experience these attributes in your life:

1. You believe Jesus is ‘The One’ -1 John 5:1

2. You love each other -1 John 4:7

3. You do what’s right -1 John 2:29

4. You avoid sinful habits -1 John 3:9

5. You might be hated by the world -1 John 3:13

6. You overcome the world -1 John 5:4

What an incredible promise, we will overcome the world! This news is excellent because John also informed us:

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. -1 John 5:19-20 (NKJV)

The reason:

…And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. -1 John 4:3 NKJV

As a result, John warned:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits, whether they are of God... -1 John 4:1

We must heed one of the main reasons that John wrote this book:

13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. -1 John 5:13, 12 (NKJV)

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God -1 John 4:15 KJV

Confess His name!

Sometimes all you need to do is say the name, Jesus.

Jesus… every knee shall bow.

Jesus...every tongue shall confess.

Jesus...every demon must flee.

Jesus...the code word for The Way, The Truth, and THE LIFE!

Speak his name...Jesus!

Sometimes you don’t know how or what to pray. You can’t figure out what the next step should be. But when you start to confess the name of Jesus over your life the gates of Hell will not prevail against you!

You are of God…and have overcome them because He who is in you is GREATER than he who is in the world. - 1 John 4:4

May we each choose to be children of the spirit of truth so that we may be children of God, not counterfeit Christians. May we live THE LIFE God intended us to live as we overflow with the attributes of born-again Christians!

I invite you to view this message, God Is...LIFE, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/pTHSoFD_D40

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES