BACKGROUND:
The Proverbs 31 wife considers buying a field - in this wealthy household she apparently had money to invest. Then out of her earnings from various investments (“trading,” v. 18, and “sells,” v. 24) she plants a vineyard. She has a business mind and she works hard.
She works energetically (lit., “girds her loins with strength”) and with vigor (“works” in v. 13) She has a healthy attitude toward work.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
I was thinking today about one of the passages of scripture that Pauline used on Sunday, during the message (didn't she do a wonderful job?)Acts 13:36, which says -
"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..."
Moms, (really all of us) would to God that you would serve God's purpose for you. Would to God that you would run the race that God has set out before you.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
How do you do that? The answer is by asking the right questions. So today I want us to review life’s four most important questions. If you can get these clear in your mind, your stress level will go down and your satisfaction will go up. You will live a life of significance and meaning and purpose.
#1. WHAT WILL BE THE CENTER OF MY LIFE?
In other words, who or what am I going to live for? That's the starting point. Obviously there are a lot of options. You can center your life around a career. You can center your life around a sport. You can center your life around a hobby. You can center your life around making money. You can center your life around who’s my next date. You can center your life around having fun. You can center your life around collecting things like little Precious Moments figurines.
All of these things – there’s nothing wrong with any of these things. They’re all fine and good but they all make a lousy center for your life. They’re not strong enough, they’re not solid enough, they’re not secure enough to be the center of your life. You need something at the center of your life that is absolutely unchanging, that can never be taken away from you. If it can you will lose your security. You will always be under stress. You need something that is unchanging and secure.
When you become a Christian, a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, the center of your life changes. Being a Christian means Jesus Christ is at the center of your life. The Bible says “Christ’s love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focus center.” A lot of people imagine their life as a pie with different pieces representing different segments of their life. So you’ve got a work segment of your life, you’ve got a retirement segment and you’ve got a financial segment, you’ve got a sexuality segment and you’ve got other relationships, a social life, and then, over here we’ve got Jesus as a piece of the pie.
No. Jesus is not a piece of the pie. Jesus is the filling. He is the whole pie. And He wants to influence every segment – the financial segment, the sexual segment, the relational segment, the goals and ambitions and dreams segment, your career. He is the glue that holds it all together. He is the pie if you’re a believer. He’s not just a segment. He’s at the core.
After you have settled that question – Who is going to be at the center of my life? – the second of life’s most important questions is this…
#2. WHAT WILL BE THE CHARACTER OF MY LIFE?
God is far more interested in who you are than what you do. Why? Because you’re not going to carry your career into eternity, but you will carry your character into eternity. This life, the life we’re living right now, is preparation. All of this life is just preparation for eternity. God is developing our character now so we can carry it with us into that eternity He’s prepared for us.
The Bible is very clear about His plans for our lives after we have make Him the center of our lives. Romans 8:29 says, “From the very beginning God decided that those who came to Him should become like His Son.” God wants us to be like Jesus Christ. To have the values that Jesus Christ has. To have the character that Jesus Christ has. To have the kind of interests at heart that He has.
Philippians 2:5 says, ”In your lives you must think and act like Jesus Christ.” God wants to help me become more like Christ. It’s a lifetime project.
Here’s the secret on how God builds and shapes our character: God does this is very different than we might expect. God works a new character into us – like love or patience or peace – by putting us in the exact opposite circumstance. If you say to God, “I want to become a more loving person,” do you think He’s going to put you around a lot of lovable people? It doesn’t happen that way. I hate that but it doesn’t happen that way. When you say, “I want to be a person of love,” God puts you around a lot of unlovely people because that develops the character of love.
When God wants to build your patience, He puts you into places and situations where your patience will be tested. Unless our character is tested, it will never grow.
The third question that will focus your life is this…
#3. WHAT WILL BE THE CONTRIBUTION OF MY LIFE?
In other words, how am I going to use my God-given talents, my abilities? Am I going to use them just to benefit myself or am I going to use them to help other people?
The Bible says in Ephesians, “It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus. And long ago He planned that we should spend these lives…” in living for ourselves? No. “… spend these lives in helping others.” We’re meant to help each other.
There’s one thing we all have in common. Everybody here wants to make a difference with our life. You may have given up and thought I'm never going to do it. But down deep you’d like to. You’d like to leave an impact. You’d like to leave your mark. You’d like to influence others. You’d like to make a difference in this world. Where do you think you got that desire? You got it from God. God wired you to make a difference. God wired you up to make a contribution in this world. You were not put on this earth just to take up space, to breathe, to use resources, to retire and die. No, God put you here for a very unique reason. And God has uniquely shaped you so you can make a unique contribution.
Consider these foundational principles today as you seek to serve God's purpose for your life. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
This was awesome!
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