INTRO. - How old are you? Do you remember the old TV game show called “What’s my Line?” It was a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS from 1950 to 1967. The game had celebrity panelists questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations. The show was moderated by John Charles Daly and with panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf.
WHAT’S YOUR LINE? I know what many people do for a living, but what’s your true line in life? What is the thing that motivates you the most and causes you to do what you do in life?
If we would be honest, most of us are not extremely motivated by our faith in the Lord. There is some motivation but I’m not sure it’s the greatest motivation for us in life. IT SHOULD BE!
ILL.- Remember the bumper sticker? “I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.” Because we have a house and a car to pay for and a whole lot more, we are motivated to go to work. Well, some people are. Not everyone wants to work but they should.
II Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Most people are motivated to work at a job because they like to eat and they have a house to live in and a car to drive. They have mortgages and car payments, so they go to work.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our government would endorse this scripture along with many others? If you don’t work, you don’t eat! That would put a lot of people back to work, even if they were only getting minimum wage pay.
We like many things in life as well as eating and that’s why we go to work. We can’t do much in life without money. And money in the pocket or in the bank requires that we work. And money is a big motivator in life and perhaps one of the biggest.
Money or making money often controls our lives whether we want to admit it or not. If we have enough money to pay our bills and some left over for whatever we want to do or buy then we feel pretty good about life and we even feel good about God. But if we have trouble paying our bills then we are often depressed and maybe somewhat angry at God for not taking better care of us.
Instead of letting our faith control us, money does. Or it could be something else. It all depends what seems to be most important to us.
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Whatever you treasure most in life is what will motivate you in life. It could be money or anything material or a hobby or sports or even your family.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
We all have a choice to make in life; either we serve the Lord or else we serve something else or someone else. If we have committed our life to the Lord then the Lord should be our great motivator in life and we always seek to do His will above everything else. The apostle Paul was such a man. Nothing was more important to Him than doing the Lord’s will. As a result, he was both a servant and an apostle. He was a humble servant and an apostle of the Lord Jesus. He wanted to fulfill God’s mission in his life.
PROP.- Since Paul was a servant and an apostle, what was his job and what is our job as Christians?
1- To further the faith of others
2- To increase the knowledge of truth
3- To encourage godliness
4- To foster the hope of eternal life
I. TO FURTHER THE FAITH OF OTHERS
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect...
ILL.- I read that Theodore Roosevelt, sometimes known as Roosevelt the First, was a President who knew his value and apparently, over-valued himself. One of his children said: “Father always had to be the center of attention. When he went to a wedding, he wanted to be the bride. When he went to a funeral, he was sorry that he couldn’t be the corpse.”
Roosevelt was not the first to put himself first. And there are plenty of people and famous people who like to promote themselves. Life seems to always be about them, their lives, their work, their interests, etc.
In fact, recently I listened to a preacher online who was talking about being broken before God. And being broken before God is a good thing, because we have to go down before we ever go up. God uses broken things, including broken people. But this preacher just talked about himself through the whole sermon. It almost sounded like he was proud of being broken, which doesn’t make a sense. It’s like a person who is proud of his humility which isn’t humility at all.
ILL.- The young pop singer, Justin Bieber, said, “Not trying to be arrogant, but if I walked down the street and a girl saw me, she might take a look back because maybe I'm good-looking, right?"
It sounds like young Justin already has a bad case of pride.
Proverbs. 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
I Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Life is not just about me, myself and mine. God put us here for others; to think of others, to live for others, to serve others.
Others, Lord, yes others
Let this my motto be
Help me to live for others
That I may live like Thee.
Matthew 20:28 “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Romans 15:1-2 “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.”
What are you doing to further the faith of others? And what can you do? We can be faithful in praying for one another. We can encourage one another with good and kind words, which I think are greatly lacking today. We are often quick to criticize but slow to commend and encourage. We can set a good example of faith. We can be faithful in our faith (going to church, having daily devotions, witnessing, etc.) which is a great encouragement to others.
We are here to further the faith of others! Let’s do it!
II. TO INCREASE THE KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth... Paul’s job was to increase in the knowledge of
God’s truth.
ILL.- I read that certain aborigines of Australia do not know how to count above three. They say, “One, two, three, enough.” They have a limited horizon, in material things. Their desires do not go beyond “three.”
And this may hold true for many people when it comes to a knowledge of God and His world. I know John 3:16. Isn’t this enough? Well, no, but it’s a good start.
Why should we know more of God’s Word?
First, because it’s God’s Word.
II Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is God inspired, God given, God breathed. And we need to know what God is saying more than we need to know anything else in this world. God is from everlasting to everlasting. He is omniscient. He is all-wise. And He is always right. His Word is always right and we need to know it better than anything else and better than we know ourselves.
Second, we need to know God’s Word to do right in life and keep from sinning against God.
Psalm 119:11 “Thy Word I have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”
The Word of God is a powerful deterrent to sin. And God’s Word in our hearts and minds is an even more powerful deterrent to sin.
ILL.- Preacher Charles Swindoll who is now 79 years old and still preaching for the Stonebriar Community Church, in Frisco, Texas, told a story being confronted with sin and how he overcame it. He was holding a meeting somewhere and was staying in a hotel. One evening he got on the elevator to go to his room and was approached and actually propositioned by two young women. He promptly turned them down, but probably not without thinking about it first. But he said he couldn’t sin in that way.
What kept him from falling into that sin? He said it wasn’t the fact that he’d been married for a long time to his loving wife. It wasn’t the fact that he had children at home. It wasn’t the fact that he had a church to which he had to give account. It wasn’t the fact that he had a large radio ministry called “Insight for Living.” What kept him from falling into that sin?
It was this: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8
It was the powerful Word of God that kept him from sin. God’s Word came to his mind and saved him from that great sin. And the Word of God can do the same for us but only if we know it and grow in our knowledge of it. And again, we do this, not just for ourselves, but for the sake of others. The more we know God’s Word and quote it and live by it, the more we will encourage others.
ILL.- One of the greatest compliments that my children could give to me would be to quote things I’ve said in life that were good, especially, God’s Word, “Dad always said we should...” “Dad often quoted this scripture...”
How do you think God our Father feels about us when we quote what He said in His Word?
II Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
II Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” Paul’s job and our job is to increase in the knowledge of God’s truth and share it with others.
III. TO ENCOURAGE GODLINESS
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness... Paul’s job was to encourage godliness in others or godly living.
How so? By word and deed and perhaps, more by deed than by anything else.
I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day,
I’d rather one would walk with me than merely tell the way;
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear;
The best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good in action is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do it if you’ll let me see it done,
I can watch your hands in action, your tongue too fast may run;
The lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get lessons by observing what you do;
I may not understand the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
Did you ever see a sermon? I’m sure you have, and I’m also just as sure that sermon inspired you in some way to be better.
ILL.- In Birmingham, Alabama, many years ago, lived a Presbyterian pastor, James Bryan. Throughout the city he was known as “Brother Bryan.” There were many preachers stronger in the pulpit, but none preached better sermons than he did with his life. Like Jesus, he went about doing good.
It was a common thing for him to come home on a cold day without his overcoat. He had given it to some poor man who had none.
One spring day he was driving a horse and buggy through the countryside. He saw a farmer standing dejectedly in the field. It was time for his spring plowing, but his only horse lay dead. Brother Bryan unhitched his horse and gave it to the man. Then he walked home.
It was fitting that when his biography was written it was called “A Sermon in Shoes.” Of all the commentaries on the scriptures, good examples are still the best.
Our job is to encourage godliness or godly living in others and we do this best by being godly people every day.
IV. TO FOSTER THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.
ILL.- I don’t know who wrote these words but they are very insightful and very true: “In the catacombs of Rome, the contrast between the inscriptions of Christians and those of unbelievers in other burying-places is most striking. The heathen epitaphs rarely express a belief in immortality, but often describe death as an eternal sleep, the grave as a final home, and possess a tone of great sadness.
“However, the catacomb inscriptions abound in hope. Again and again we find—“In peace,” “Live forever,” “He rests Well,” “Weep not, my child, death is not eternal,” and “Alexander is not dead but lives above the stars, and his body rests in the tomb.”
If there is one thing that people need it is hope for a better life and hope for eternal life.
I believe in everything Jesus said and did. And our ultimate hope in Him is in eternal life.
John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
I believe that Jesus offers the “full” or “abundant” life and it starts here and now, but it will continue “there and then.” In heaven and heaven is eternal. Heaven is our ultimate hope in Jesus.
Here and now is not bad. It’s not as bad as it is for some believers around the world who suffer because of lack of daily provision and suffer because of persecution for their faith. Honestly, we American Christians have it made materially speaking, but that doesn’t always mean it’s best. We still suffer from aging, from temptation, from the evil one and evil people, etc.
We need to learn, however, that money and material goods are not everything. They don’t bring ultimate hope. If they did then the rich and famous would have the greatest hope, but instead, some of them are strung out on dope and they are stuck on themselves instead of Jesus.
I John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
We need to be reminded of this truth, over and over, again and again. Our ultimate hope is eternal life through the Lord Jesus. This world is not our home. We’re just a passing through. Our hope is laid up........ You can finish this song.
We need to foster this hope in others. How? By believing it and living it!
ILL.- Brother Don DeWelt was one of my college professors at Ozark Christian College. When you would greet Brother Don and say, “How are you?” He would always say, “Happy, on the way!” Meaning, “Happy and on the way to heaven.” He always talked about heaven and looked forward to it.
Do you?
CONCLUSION--------------------
What’s your line in life? What is that you do in life? It is determined by what you believe. And just what do you believe more than anything?
Steve Shepherd, Cape Girardeau, MO
shepherd111@hotmail.com
