Life Is a Temporary Assignment (Day 06)

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me 
that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. 
 Psalm 39:4 (NET) 

 I am here on earth for just a little while. 

 Psalm 119:19 (TEV) 

Life on earth is a temporary assignment. 
The Bible is full of metaphors that teach about the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. Life is described as a mist, a fast runner, a breath, and a wisp of smoke. The Bible says, "For we were born but yesterday.... Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow."'

To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more."

Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You're just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, "I am but a foreigner here on earth," and Peter explained, "If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth."

In California, where I live, many people have moved from other parts of the world to work here, but they keep their citizenship with their home country. They are required to carry a visitor registration card (called a "green card"), which allows them to work here even though they aren't citizens. Christians should carry spiritual green cards to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven. God says his children are to think differently about life from the way unbelievers do. "All they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives." Real believers understand that there is far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet.

Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with the temptations of this world, God calls it spiritual adultery. The Bible says, "you're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.'

Imagine if you were asked by your country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You would probably have to learn a new language and adapt to some customs and cultural differences in order to be polite and to accomplish your mission. As an ambassador you would not be able to isolate yourself from the enemy. To fulfill your mission, you would have to have contact and relate to them.

But suppose you became so comfortable with this foreign country that you fell in love with it, preferring it to your homeland. Your loyalty and commitment would change. Your role as an ambassador would be compromised. Instead of representing your home country, you would start acting like the enemy. You'd be a traitor.

The Bible says, "We are Christ's ambassadors."
Sadly, many Christians have betrayed their King and his kingdom. They have foolishly concluded that because they live on earth, it's their home. It is not. The Bible is clear: "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul."8 God warns us to not get too attached to what's around us because it is temporary. We're told, "Those infrequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.”

Compared with other centuries, life has never been easier for much of the Western world. We are constantly entertained, amused, and catered to. With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences available today, it's easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about. Only as we remember that life is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives. We are preparing for something even better. "The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever"

The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story.

Your identity is in eternity, and 

your homeland is heaven. 

In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life-longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth- is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn't allowed to fly. You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God has planned for you.

Realizing that life on earth is just a temporary assignment should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your decisions. As C. S. Lewis observed, "All that is not eternal is eternally useless." The Bible says, "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.

Paul was faithful, yet he ended up in prison. John the Baptist was faithful, but he was beheaded. Millions of faithful people have been martyred, have lost everything, or have come to the end of life with nothing to show for it. But the end of life is not the end!

In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity. The Bible says this about God's Hall of Fame: "All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth.... they were waiting for a better country-a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them. "14 Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner.

An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States. Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners, and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God. Then God gently reminded him, "But my child, you're not home yet."

You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, "Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn't going to last?"

When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won't leave home-you’ll go home.

Earth is not our final home;

we were created for

something much better.

DAY SIX

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: This world is not my home.

Verse to Remember: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

 Question to Consider: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

Seeing Life from Gods View (Day 05)

James 4:14

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Ni hindi ninyo alam kung ano ang mangyayari sa inyo sa araw ng bukas! Sapagkat ang buhay ninyo'y parang aso---sandaling lumilitaw at pagdaka'y nawawala.

We don’t see things as they are,

We see them as we are.

Anais Nin 

We have our own presuppositions in life. We have different maps, perception, values.

The principles you lived by creates the world you lived in.

How you define life determines your destiny.

Your perspective will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships.

One of the best ways to understand other people is to ask them, ‘How do you see your life?

 You will discover that there are as many different answers to that question as there are people.

I've been told life is:

v  A circus,

v  A minefield,

v  A roller coaster,

v  A puzzle,

v  A symphony,

v  A journey,

v  A dance.

v  People have said, “Life is a carousel:

Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down, and sometimes you just go round and round”

v  Or “life is a ten-speed bicycle with gears we never use”

v  Or “life is a game of cards: You have to play the hand you are dealt.”                    

If I asked how you picture life, what image ~would come to your mind?

That image is your life metaphor. (figure of speech, symbol)

v  It's the view of life that you hold, consciously or unconsciously, in your mind.

v  It's your description of how life works and what you expect from it.

People often express their life metaphors through clothes, jewelry, cars, hairstyles, bumper stickers, even tattoos.

Your unspoken life metaphor influences your life more than you realize.

It determines your expectations, your values, your relationships, your goals, and your priorities.

For instance:

1. If you think life is a party, your primary value in life will be having fun.
2. If you see life as a race, you will value speed and will probably be in a hurry much of the time.
3. If you view life as a marathon, you will value endurance.
4. If you see life as a battle or a game, winning will be very important to you.

What is your view of life?

You may be basing your life on a faulty life metaphor.

To fulfill the purposes God made you for, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life.

The Bible says & Rom 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye  may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God's view of life:

Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment.

These ideas are the foundation of purpose-driven living. We will look at the first two in this message and the third one in the next.

I.                  Life on earth is a Test.

This life metaphor is seen in stories throughout the Bible.

God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty.

Words like trials, temptations, refining, and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible.

v  God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his son Isaac.

v  God tested Jacob when he had to work extra years to earn Rachel as his wife.

v  Adam and Eve failed their test in the Garden of Eden,

v  And David failed his tests from God on several occasions.

v  But the Bible also gives us many examples of people who passed a great test, such as Joseph, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel.

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.

You are always being tested. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather!

He even watches the simplest actions such as when you open a door for others, when you pick up a piece of trash, or when you're polite toward a clerk or waitress.

We don't know all the tests God will give you, but we can predict some of them, based on the Bible.

You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies.

In our own life, we should have noticed that God tests our faith through problems, tests my hope by how I handle possessions, and tests my love through people.

A very important test is how you act when you can't feel God's presence in your life.

Sometimes God intentionally draws back, and we don't sense his closeness.

A king named Hezekiah experienced this test.

The Bible says in & 2 Chron.32:31, “Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.”     maging sa pakikitungo sa mga sugo ng hari ng Babilonia na dumating sa kanya upang magsiyasat sa nakitang tanda sa lupain. Sa pakikiharap niya'y hindi siya pinangunahan ng Diyos upang subukin siya.

Hezekiah had enjoyed a close fellowship with God, but at a crucial point in his life God left him alone to test his character, to reveal a weakness, and to prepare him for more responsibility.

When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.

Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development.

Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.

Some tests seem overwhelming, while others you don't even notice. But all of them have eternal implications.

The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them.

The Bible says in & 1 Cor. 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with  the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 

  Every time you pass a test, God notices and makes plans to reward you in eternity.

James says in & James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Mapalad ang taong nananatiling tapat, sa kabila ng mga pagsubok; sapagkat matapos siyang subukin, tatanggap siya ng putong. Ito'y ang buhay na ipinangako ng Panginoon sa mga umiibig sa kanya.

II.               Life on earth is a Trust.

This is the second biblical metaphor of life.

Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management.

We are stewards of whatever God gives us.

This concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth.

The Bible says in & Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”

We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans the earth to us while we're here.  We are allowed to use it for 60, 70, 80 years.

It was God's property before you arrived, and God will loan it to someone else after you die. You just get to enjoy it for a while.

When God created Adam and Eve, he entrusted the care of his creation to them and appointed them trustees of his property.

The Bible says in & Gen. 1:28, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” 

The first job God gave humans was to manage and take care of God's ‘stuff’ on earth.

This role has never been cancelled. It is a part of our purpose today.

Everything we enjoy is to be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands.

The Bible says in & 1 Cor 4:7, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” 

Ano ang kahigtan ninyo sa iba? Hindi ba lahat ng nasa inyo'y kaloob ng Diyos? Kung gayon, bakit ninyo ipinagyayabang na waring hindi kaloob sa inyo?

Years ago, you gave a vaction to us we went to Puerto Princesa and Pastor And Mrs. Quiratman let us use their beautiful home in the very heart of the city.

 It was an experience we could never have afforded, and we enjoyed it immensely. We were told, ‘Use it just like it's yours,’ so we did!

We slept in their own bedroom, ate the food in the refrigerator, used the bath towels and dishes, and even jumped on the beds in fun!

But we knew all along that it wasn't really ours, so we took special care of everything. We enjoyed the benefits of using the home without owning it.

Our culture says, ‘If you don't own it, you won't take care of it.

But Christians live by a higher standard: ‘Because God owns it, I must take the best care of it that I can.’

The Bible says in & 1 Cor 4:2, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”    

Jesus often referred to life as a trust and told many stories to illustrate this responsibility toward God.

In the story of the talents, a businessman entrusts his wealth to the care of his servants while he's away.

When he returns, he evaluates each servant's responsibility and rewards them accordingly.

The owner says in &Matt 25:21, “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”  

At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you.

That means everything you do, even simple daily chores, has eternal implications.

If you treat everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity.

1. First, you will be given God's affirmation: He will say, ‘Good job! Well done!’
2. Next, you will receive a promotion and be given greater responsibility in eternity: ‘I will put you in charge of many things.’
3. Then you will be honored with a celebration: ‘Come and share your Master's happiness.’

Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God. God uses finances to teach us to trust him, and for many people, money is the greatest test of all. God watches how we use money to test how trustworthy we are.

The Bible says in & Luke 16:11, “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

This is a very important truth. God says there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my spiritual life.

How I manage my money (worldly wealth') determines how much God can trust me with spiritual blessings ('true riches').

Let me ask you:

v  Is the way you manage your money preventing God from doing more in your life?

v  Can you be trusted with spiritual riches?

Jesus said in & Luke 12:48, “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much

required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

  Life is a test and a trust, and the more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.

DAY FIVE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: Life is a test and a trust.

Verse to Remember: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much…”  Luke 16:10a.

Question to Consider: What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?

Made to last forever (Day 04)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Iniangkop niya ang lahat ng bagay sa kapanahunan. Ang tao'y binigyan niya ng pagnanasang alamin ang bukas ngunit hindi binigyan ng pagkaunawa sa ginawa ng Diyos mula sa pasimula hanggang sa wakas.

Surely God would not have  created such a being as man to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.

Abraham Lincoln

This life is not all there is.

     I. Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production.

You will spend far more time on the other side of death—in eternity—than you will here.

1. Earth is the staging area, the preschool, the tryout for your life in eternity.  This is where you learn you’re ABC’s, your 123’s.
2. It is the practice workout before the actual game; the warm-up lap before the race begins. (Just a round robin, hindi mo ginagawa ang best mo sa practice at warm up. sa tunay na laro.)
3. This life is preparation for the next.

At most, you will live a hundred years on earth, but you will spend forever in eternity. Your time on earth is, as Sir Thomas Browne said, “but a small parenthesis in eternity.” You were made to last forever.

The Bible says in & Ecc 3:11, “He He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” 

II.               You have an inborn instinct that longs for immortality.

Ecclesiastes 3:11  Iniangkop niya ang lahat ng bagay sa kapanahunan. Ang tao'y binigyan niya ng pagnanasang alamin ang bukas ngunit hindi binigyan ng pagkaunawa sa ginawa ng Diyos mula sa pasimula hanggang sa wakas.

This is because God designed you, in his image, to live for eternity. Even though we know everyone eventually dies, death always seems unnatural and unfair.

We want to live forever that is why we try all the things to extend our lives by exercising, by joining yoga’s by believing anything but God’s word.

The reason we feel we should live forever is that God wired our brains with that desire!

One day your heart will stop beating. That will be the end of your body and your time on earth, but it will not be the end of you.

Your earthly body is just a temporary residence for your spirit.

The Bible calls your earthly body a “tent,” but refers to your future body as a “house.”

The Bible says in & 2 Cor.5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Talos natin na kapag nasira ang toldang tinatahanan natin ngayon, ang ating katawang-lupa, tayo'y may tahanan sa langit, hindi nasisira, isang tahanang ginawa ng Diyos, hindi ng tao.

While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two: heaven or hell.

Your relationship to God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity.

If you learn to love and trust God’s Son, Jesus, you will be invited to spend the rest of eternity with him.

On the other hand, if you reject his love, forgiveness, and salvation, you will spend eternity apart from God forever.

C. S. Lewis said, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right then, have it your way.’”

Tragically, many people will have to endure eternity without God because they chose to live without him here on earth.

When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently.

III.           You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance.

Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention.

The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

When you live in light of eternity, your values change.

1. You use your time and money more wisely.
2. You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun.
3. Your priorities are reordered.

Keeping up with trends, fashions, and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore.

Paul said in & Phil 3:7, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”  Ngunit dahil kay Cristo, ang mga bagay na maaari kong ibilang na pakinabang ay inari kong kalugihan.

 If your time on earth were all there is to your life:

1. I would suggest you start living it up immediately.
2. You could forget being good and ethical, and you wouldn’t have to worry about any consequences of your actions.
3. You could indulge yourself in total self- centeredness because your actions would have no long-term repercussions.

But—and this makes all the difference—

v  Death is not the end of you!

v  Death is not your termination, but your transition into eternity, so there are eternal consequences to everything you do on earth.

Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity.

4. The most damaging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking.

To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart.

There’s far more to life than just here and now! Today is the visible tip of the iceberg. Eternity is all the rest you don’t see underneath the surface.

What is it going to be like in eternity with God?

Frankly, the capacity of our brains cannot handle the wonder and greatness of heaven. It would be like trying to describe the Internet to an ant. It’s futile.

Words have not been invented that could possibly convey the experience of eternity.

The Bible says in & 1 Cor.2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 

Ganito ang sinasabi ng Kasulatan, "Hindi pa nakikita ng mata, ni naririnig ng tainga, hindi pa rin sumasagi sa isip ng tao, ang inihanda ng Diyos sa mga umiibig sa kanya."

However, God has given us glimpses of eternity in his Word.

We know that right now God is preparing an eternal home for us.

v  In heaven we will be reunited with loved ones who are believers, released from all pain and suffering, rewarded for our faithfulness on earth, and reassigned to do work that we will enjoy doing.

We won’t lie around on clouds with halos playing harps!

v  We will enjoy unbroken fellowship with God, and he will enjoy us for an unlimited, endless forever.

One day Jesus will say & Matt 25:34, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”

C. S. Lewis captured the concept of eternity on the last page of the Chronicles of Narnia, his seven-book children’s fiction series: “For us this is the end of all the stories.... But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world ... had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

God has a purpose for your life on earth, but it doesn’t end here.

His plan involves far more than the few decades you will spend on this planet. It’s more than “the opportunity of a lifetime”; God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime.

The Bible says in & Psalm 33:11, “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.” Ngunit ang mga panukala ng Diyos, ay mamamalagi't walang pagkatapos.

v  The only time most people think about eternity is at funerals, and then it’s often shallow, sentimental thinking, based on ignorance.

You may feel it’s morbid to think about death, but actually it’s unhealthy to live in denial of death and not consider what is inevitable.

Only a fool would go through life unprepared for what we all know will eventually happen. You need to think more about eternity, not less.

v  Just as the nine months you spent in your mother’s womb were not an end in themselves but preparation for life, so this life is preparation for the next.

If you have a relationship with God through Jesus, you don’t need to fear death. Why?

v  It is the door to eternity.

v  It will be the last hour of your time on earth, but it won’t be the last of you.

v  Rather than being the end of your life, it will be your birthday into eternal life.

The Bible says in & Heb 13:14, “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”  

Sapagkat hindi rito sa lupa ang palagiang bayan natin, at ang hinahanap nati'y ang bayang masusumpungan sa panahong darating.

Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye, but the consequences of it will last forever.

The deeds of this life are the destiny of the next.

We should be, as what  & 2 Cor. 5:6 “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:” Kaya't laging malakas ang aking loob. Alam ko na habang tayo'y nasa tahanang ito, ang ating katawan, hindi mapapasaatin ang tahanang galing sa Panginoon.

 

Years ago a popular slogan encouraged people to live each day as “the first day of the rest of your life.”

Actually, it would be wiser to live each day as if it were the last day of your life.

What are you going to do with the rest of your life?

Matthew Henry said, “It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day.”

DAY FOUR

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  There is more to life than just here and now.

Verse to Remember:  “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but

he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”  I John 2:17

Question to Consider:  Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thin I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?

What drives your life? (Day 03)

Ecclesiastes, 4.4  Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

4   Nakita ko ring ang tao'y nagpupunyagi upang mahigtan ang kapwa. Wala rin itong kabuluhan at nauuwi sa wala.

The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder –a waif, a nothing a no man.

Thomas Carlyle

Everyone’s life is driven by something.

Most dictionaries define the verb drive as “to guide, to control, or to direct.”

Whether you are driving a car, a nail, or a golf ball, you are guiding, controlling, and directing it at that moment.

What is the driving force in your life?

v  Right now you may be driven by a problem, a pressure, or a deadline.

v  You may be driven by a painful memory, a haunting fear, or an unconscious belief.

v  There are hundreds of circumstances, values, and emotions that can drive your life.

v  Some were driven by idealism…

The truth is most people don't plan on messing up.  Most people don't plan on a divorce.  Or alcoholism.  Or just missing what they could have become.  Or any number of other things, crises that come into our lives. 

We don't plan those things.  They come by default.  Because we weren't paying attention.  You will go through life and you will live your life either by design or by default. 

You can either live it intentionally based on what God wants you to do or you can just do it by default and kind of muddle through.  Know what's been driving you.

I. Here are five of the most common ones:

1.     Many people are driven by guilt.

v  They spend their entire lives running from regrets and hiding their shame. Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories.

v  They allow their past to control their future.

v  They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success. 

When Cain sinned, his guilt disconnected him from God’s presence, and God said in & Gen.4:12, “When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.”  --.  Bungkalin mo man ang lupang ito upang tamnan, hindi ka mag-aani; wala kang matatahanan at magiging lagalag ka sa daigdig."

That describes most people today—wandering through life without a purpose.

We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.

God’s purpose is not limited by your past.

1. He turned a murderer named Moses into a leader
2. and a coward named Gideon into a courageous hero,
3. And he can do amazing things with the rest of your life, too.
4. God specializes in giving people a fresh start.

The Bible says in & Psalm 32:1, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”  -- Mapalad ang tao na pinatawad na yaong kasalanan, at nalimot na rin ang kanyang nagawang mga pagsalansang;

2.     Many people are driven by resentment and anger.

They hold on to hurts and never get over them. Instead of releasing their pain through forgiveness, they rehearse it over and over in their minds.

Some resentment-driven people “clam up” and internalize their anger, while others “blow up” and explode it onto others. Both responses are unhealthy and unhelpful.

Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. 

While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past.

Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.

Your past is past! Nothing will change it.

You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and then let it go.

The Bible says in & Job 4:2, “For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.”  --

3.     Many people are driven by fear.

Their fears may be a result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, growing up in a high-control home, or even genetic predisposition.

Regardless of the cause, fear-driven people often miss great opportunities because they’re afraid to venture out.

Instead they play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo.

Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be.

You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love.

The Bible says in & 1 Tim 1:7   For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Sapagkat hindi espiritu ng kaduwagan ang ibinigay sa atin ng Diyos kundi espiritu ng kapangyarihan, pag-ibig, at pagpipigil sa sarili.

4.     Many people are driven by materialism.

Their desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of their lives.

1. This drive to always want more is based on the misconceptions that having more will make me happier, more important, and more secure, but all three ideas are untrue.

Possessions only provide temporary happiness.

Because things do not change, we eventually become bored with them and then want newer, bigger, better versions.

2. It’s also a myth that if I get more, I will be more important. 

Self-worth and net worth are not the same.  Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says the most valuable things in life are not things!

3. The most common myth about money is that having more will make me more secure.

It won’t. Wealth can be lost instantly through a variety of uncontrollable factors.

Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you-your relationship with God.

2 Cor 4: 18   While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Kaya't ang paningin namin ay nakapako sa mga bagay na di nakikita, hindi sa nakikita. Sapagkat panandalian lamang ang mga bagay na nakikita, ngunit walang hanggan ang mga bagay na di nakikita.

5.     Many people are driven by the need for approval.

They allow the expectations of parents or spouses or children or teachers or friends to control their lives.

1. Many adults are still trying to earn the approval of un-pleasable parents.
2. Others are driven by peer pressure, always worried by what others might think.

Unfortunately, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.

I don’t know all the keys to success, but one key to failure is to try to please everyone. Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God’s purposes for your life.

Jesus said in &  Matt.6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye  cannot serve God and mammon.”  --

There are other forces that can drive your life but all lead to the same dead end:

v  unused potential,

v  unnecessary stress,

v  And an unfulfilled life.

This forty-service journey will show you how to live a purpose-driven life—a life guided, controlled, and directed by God’s purposes.

Nothing matters more than knowing God’s purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them—not success, wealth, fame, or pleasure.

v  Without a purpose:

o    Life is motion without meaning,

o   activity without direction,

o   And events without reason.

o   Life is trivial, petty, and pointless.

II. THE BENEFITS OF PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIVING

There are five great benefits of living a purpose-driven life:

1.     Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.

We were made to have meaning. This is why people try dubious methods, like astrology or psychics, to discover it.

When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.

A young man in his twenties wrote, “I feel like a failure because I’m struggling to become something, and I don’t even know what it is.

All I know how to do is to get by. Someday, if I discover my purpose, I’ll feel I’m beginning to live.”

Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning.

Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.

In the Bible, many different people expressed this hopelessness.

   a.      Isaiah complained in & Isaiah 49:4, “Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my  strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.”  --.   Ngunit ang tugon ko, "Ako ay nabigo sa aking pagsisikap, hindi nagtagumpay gayong ibinuhos ko ang aking lakas." Gayunma'y itinitiwala ko kay Yahweh ang aking kalagayan, na ako'y gagantimpalaan sa aking nakayanan.

  b.      Job said in &Job 7:6, “My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.”

Mga araw ng buhay ko'y mabilis na nalalagas, pag-asa ko'y lumalabo, at matuling tumatakas.  ----  and in &Job 7:16 “I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.” Ako'y hirap na hirap na, ayaw ko nang mabuhay; iwan mo na ako, wala rin lang kabuluhan.

The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.

Hope is as essential to your life as air and water.

You need hope to cope. Dr. Bernie Siegel found he could predict which of his cancer patients would go into remission by asking, “Do you want to five to be one hundred?”

Those with a deep sense of life purpose answered yes and were the ones most likely to survive.

Hope comes from having a purpose.

If you have felt hopeless, hold on! Wonderful changes are going to happen in your life as you begin to live it on purpose.

God says in &Jer.29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” ----.    

You may feel you are facing an impossible situation, but the Bible says in &Eph 3:20, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”  ----

2.     Knowing your purpose simplifies your life.

It defines what you do and what you don’t do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren’t.

You simply ask, “Does this activity help me fulfill one of God’s purposes for my life?”

Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources.

You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment.

People who don’t know their purpose tries to do too much—and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict.

It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God’s will. If you can’t get it all done, it means you’re trying to do more than God intended for you to do (or, possibly, that you’re watching too much television).

Purpose-driven living leads to a simpler lifestyle and a saner schedule.

§  The Bible says in & Prov 13:7, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.”  May taong nagkukunwang mayaman subalit wala naman, ngunit ang iba'y nag-aayos mahirap bagaman sila ay mayaman.----. 

§  It also leads to peace of mind:  Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Binibigyan mo ng lubos na kapayapaan ang mga taong matapat na tumatalima at nagtitiwala sa iyo. -- --

3.     Knowing your purpose focuses your life.

It concentrates your effort and energy on what’s important. You become effective by being selective.

It’s human nature to get distracted by minor issues. We play Trivial Pursuit with our lives.

There 300 whales that died in the shore of California because they are pursuing the salmon.

Henry David Thoreau observed that people live lives of “quiet desperation,” but today a better description is aimless distraction.

Many people are like gyroscopes, spinning around at a frantic pace but never going anywhere.

Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals-hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart.

You think, Maybe this time it will be different, but it doesn’t solve your real problem--a lack of focus and purpose.

The Bible says in &Eph 5:17, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the

Lord is.”  ----

The power of focusing can be seen in light.

v  Diffused light has little power or impact, but you can concentrate its energy by focusing it.

v  With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire.

v  When light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel.

There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life, one lived on purpose.

The men and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused.

For instance, the apostle Paul almost single-handedly spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

His secret was a focused life.

§  He said in & Phil 3:13, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,  forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Ang ginagawa ko ngayo'y nililimot ang nakaraan at sinisikap na makamtan ang nasa hinaharap.----

If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less.

Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most.

Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point?

§  Paul said in & Phil 3:15, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any  thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” Ganyan ang dapat na maging isipan ng mga matatag na sa pananampalataya. Kung hindi ganito ang inyong paniniwala, ito'y ipauunawa sa inyo ng Diyos.----

4.     Knowing your purpose motivates your life.

Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose.

On the other hand, passion dissipates when you lack a purpose.

Just getting out of bed becomes a major chore.

It is usually meaningless work, not overwork that wears us down, saps our strength, and robs our joy.

George Bernard Shaw wrote, “This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. “

5.     Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.

Many people spend their lives trying to create a lasting legacy on earth. They want to be remembered when they’re gone.

Gusto lang nating ng monumento, ang mga monumento ay iniihan na lang po.

Tatanda at lilipas din ako ngunit mayroong aiwitn iiwanan sa inyong ala ala…

Yet, what ultimately matters most will not be what others say about your life but what God says.

What people fail to realize is that all achievements are eventually surpassed, records are broken, reputations fade, and tributes are forgotten.

In college, James Dobson’s goal was to become the school’s tennis champion. He felt proud when his trophy was prominently placed in the school’s trophy cabinet.

Years later, someone mailed him that trophy. They had found it in a trashcan when the school was remodeled. Jim said, “Given enough time, all your trophies will be trashed by someone else!”

Living to create an earthly legacy is a short-sighted goal.

A wiser use of time is to build an eternal legacy.

§  You weren’t put on earth to be remembered. 

§  You were put here to prepare for eternity.

One day you will stand before God, and he will do an audit of your life, a final exam, before you enter eternity.

The Bible says in & Rom.14:10,12, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”  ----. 

Fortunately, God wants us to pass this test, so he has given us the questions in advance. From the Bible we can surmise that God will ask us two crucial questions:

First, “What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?”

God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views.

The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him?

Jesus said in &John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” ----

Second, “What did you do with what I gave you?”

v  What did you do with your life—all the gifts, talents, opportunities, energy, relationships, and resources God gave you?

v  Did you spend them on yourself, or did you use them for the purposes God made you for?”

Preparing you for these two questions is the goal of this book.

v  The first question will determine where you spend eternity. 

v  The second question will determine what you do in eternity. 

By the end of this series of messages you will be ready to answer both questions.

DAY THREE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.

Verse to Remember: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”  Isaiah 26:3

Question to Consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?