MAKING THE BEST OUT OF LIFE
INTRO.- ILL.- A man by the name of George owned an apartment complex and had just completed the exterior brick work on the 2nd floor. He had some bricks left over and was trying to decide the best way to get the load of bricks back down to the ground level without breaking them.
He noticed a 55-gal. Barrel on the ground and thought, "I know what I’ll do. I’ll tie some rope around that barrel, hook a pulley to the 2nd floor eave and pull the barrel up to the 2nd floor. Then I can load the bricks into the barrel and let it back down to the ground."
So that’s what he began to do. He tied the rope around the barrel, ran it over the pulley on the 2nd floor and pulled the barrel up to the 2nd floor. Then he tied the rope to the root of a nearby tree. He went up to the 2nd floor balcony and loaded the bricks into the barrel. Then he went back downstairs, grabbed the rope and pulled it loose from the root.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, HOWEVER, GEORGE HADN’T COUNTED ON! That 55-gal barrel full of bricks weighed about 4 times as much as George! So the barrel shot down like lightning and George shot up like a rocket! As George shot past the barrel, it hit his shoulder, slammed against his hip and hit his kneecap. The barrel crashed to the ground, and George’s head smashed into the pulley above, cracking his skull. THERE HE WAS, DANGLING BY THE ROPE FROM THE 2ND STORY.
When the barrel hit the ground, the bricks were so heavy they knocked the bottom out of the barrel. NOW GEORGE WAS HEAVIER THAN THE BARREL! What a predicament!
Down came George and up came the empty barrel. This time, however, the barrel caught him on the other side. It hit his other knee, scraped his hip, broke his nose and dumped him on top of the pile of bricks.
He turned both his ankles and scuffed up both his shins. George let out a yell and turned loose of the rope. SINCE THE BARREL WAS HEAVIER THAN THE ROPE, DOWN CAME THE BARREL. And you guessed it, it hit George one more time. As George found himself in the hospital bed: bruised, broken, cut, and sprained, he kept saying to himself, "I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO FILE ONE INSURANCE CLAIM OR FIVE."
George’s story reminds us that we are living in a terribly mixed up world! Our world is forever going up and down. And about the time we think we have the bucket filled, the bottom falls out of the bucket and we get cracked in the head.
We expect life to have a few bumps, BUT NOT ONE CONSTANT ROLLER-COASTER RIDE FULL OF PAIN, MISERY AND BRUISES!
Brethren, we all get "dumped on" in life! Rich and poor, saints and sinners alike, spiritual and non-spiritual.
ILL.- Former heavy-weight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy from Oklahoma who fought out of Chicago in the early 1980s. He still remembers his first day in the Windy City after his arrival from Tulsa, OK. "I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under by arms in downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down, and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ’I’m going to conquer Chicago.’ "When I looked down, the suitcases were gone."
Even big, heavy-weight boxers get dumped on. Some days are not fun days. Some days we just don’t even want to get out of bed.
ILL.- Mark Twain said, "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen." Sounds good, but it doesn’t work that way. The future would look a look brighter if it were brighter. That is, if there were some brightness to look forward to. And there is!
ILL.- An old Quaker of 82 years said, "I’m going to live until I die and then I’m going to live forever."
The sad truth is many people don’t live until they die. They don’t live the kind of life they could live. They don’t live the abundant life that Jesus spoke of. In fact, many of us who claim to follow Christ don’t live the abundant life. We don’t even know what it is. We may want it, but somehow it escapes our grasp.
How can we learn to live until we die? How can we have a better life here and now? How can we make the most out of our lives?
PROP.- To make the best of our lives, there are several Biblical principles that we must observe and follow.
1- walk by faith
2- focus on people
I. WALK BY FAITH
ILL.- A few years ago, a letter appeared in the national news that was sent to a DECEASED person by the Indiana Department of Social Services. It read as follows: Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.
Except for an occasional Lazarus, there haven’t been too many who have seen a change in those circumstances!
II Cor. 5:6-8 "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
In our text, the apostle Paul is saying that some day we will leave this world and most people are not too hip on that idea.
Many people are not very confident when it comes to their death. While most people believe in heaven and want to go there, they are not sure of their eternal destiny. WE CHRISTIANS, HOWEVER, SHOULD BE CONFIDENT AND FULL OF FAITH ABOUT THIS MATTER!
We need to learn to live by faith when it comes to our eternal salvation! We need to put our trust in Christ and not ourselves!
Most of us are still hung up on this calculator type salvation. That is, if I do enough good then God will let me into heaven. But if my bad outweighs my good, then I’m in trouble. Hey! I’ve discovered that we all are in trouble!
Rom. 3:10-12 "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
But what if we are righteous (or pretty good Joes) before God? Doesn’t this count for anything?
Is. 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags...."
Our righteousness (or goodness) has nothing to do with our salvation! We are to live as righteously as possible, but only because we are saved. Not in order to be saved! Not to try to purchase our salvation.
We cannot save ourselves. Our righteousness will never be good enough to save us. NEVER! Christ, alone, is our Savior! He alone is the perfect sacrifice for our sins!
II Cor. 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
We need to learn to live by faith in regard to our eternal salvation!
I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t try to live a faithful Christian life. We should. We should repent and be baptized. We should be faithful in attending church, in giving, in serving, etc. But we will never do everything right. Our salvation is not dependent on us. It’s dependent on us trusting Christ! WE MUST LIVE BY FAITH IN THIS MATTER!
We need to learn to live by faith in all things in this life.
What about living by faith when it comes to our children? It’s a must. When they are small and at home with us, in some ways it’s easier to walk by faith. Because we tend to make our faith, their faith. We can make them go to Sunday School and church, etc. We can ride heard on them, guide them, direct them, correct them somewhat.
But when they are grown it can be even tougher at times. We don’t know always know how they are doing.
ILL.- My daughter lives 600 miles from me and my son Shane lives over 800 miles from me. Believe me, I don’t like this. I love my children very much and my grandbaby Hope. I love to see them and hug them and talk to them. But I have to trust the Lord to take care of them, because there is little I can do for them. It’s easier for me to live by faith in regard to my married daughter Holly because she is happily married and is living the faith of Christ in her life. It’s harder for me to live by faith when it comes to Shane. He’s all alone, with the exception of my twin sister living near him. He’s experienced a lot of troubles in life. Some due to his own making and some perhaps due to my "not-so-perfect" fathering. SO IT’S TOUGHER FOR ME TO LIVE BY FAITH IN REGARD TO HIM. But I must! It’s the only way to live!
I must commit my children to the Lord in prayer, knowing that He will love them, care for them, protect them, provide for them, and lead them in the way of Christ. He can do things I cannot do!
We must live by faith when it comes to everything in life: our work worries, our financial woes, our marriages, our health, etc.
How do we live by faith in these matters? We commit them all to God in prayer! And then try, as best we can, to let Him handle things.
Psalm 37:3-5 "Trust in the Lord and do good....delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this..."
Psalm 40:1 "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry..."
Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Prov. 16:3 "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
We must learn to commit everything and everyone to the Lord in prayer. People, plans, work, etc. This is what living by faith is all about.
ILL.- Last September 11th I put my mother in the National Healthcare Nursing Home in Joplin, MO. I didn’t want to do that, but that seemed the best option considering the circumstances and her health. I had prayed and prayed about mother, seeking the Lord to know what to do. And the doors opened to that option and it turned out to be a good one. I felt more at ease, knowing that if mother fell, etc. there would be people around to care for her.
Then I got that fateful phone call at 2:30 Sunday morning, June 30th. The doctor said that mom was terminal. I said, "What do you mean, 24 hours?" He said, "probably less." I jumped in my car and headed out of Mattoon at 3 a.m. and I kept praying all the way there. "Father, please keep mom alive so I can see her before she leaves this world..."
And I just knew that the Lord was going to answer my prayer, but I got there about 10 minutes late. Did I trust the Lord? Yes. Why didn’t He honor my prayer? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect He knew that had mom been alive when I got there it might have been harder on me than the way it happened. And it might be that the right person was with mom when she passed from this life instead of me. The lady who was with mom probably helped her more than I could have.
What about tragedies in life? Loss of loved ones? How can we walk by faith in the Lord during these times?
ILL.- Christian author, Philip Yancy, said, "Look at Job. He lost just about everything. God seemed silent for a very long time. His wife came to him and said something like this: ‘Just look at what you’re going through! With a friend like God, who needs enemies! If there is a God, he must hate you! Curse him and die!’
"Now, looking around at the evidence, Job could’ve easily come to the same conclusion his wife had come to. He could have decided God was cruel, sadistic and didn’t like him. But ultimately, Job chose to believe that what he knew about God remained true no matter what. He chose to believe God was trustworthy."
Yancy went on, "Consider this illustration. Let’s say your experience with a particular friend has shown you that she’s dependable, responsible, caring and trustworthy. Now this very same friend agrees to meet you at Starbucks. She said she’d be there by 10:30. But at 10:40, she’s still not there. At 10:50, she’s still not there. When 11:00 rolls around, she still hasn’t walked through the door. You don’t automatically think, What an irresponsible, uncaring jerk. Of course not. You know your friend, you trust her. Sure, you’re irritated and feel like you’re wasting your time. But most likely, there’s a good reason she’s late. It could be a flat tire, an accident, a family emergency. The fact that she’s not there does not mean she’s irresponsible, uncaring or insensitive.
"That’s the way it is with God. Again, think about Job. The evidence would indicate that God was irresponsible, uncaring, unloving. But Job knew God’s character and he knew something didn’t add up. In spite of the way things looked, Job chose to trust God."
And brothers and sisters, this is what we must do as well. Regardless of what we’re faced with in life, we must continue to pray and trust the Lord to act on our behalf. He knows best and He always does best. If you want a better, richer life, you must walk by faith in the Lord.
II. FOCUS ON PEOPLE
ILL.- Someone said, "In life, as in driving, there is nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead, but it’s not considered good to blow your horn while passing."
We should focus our lives on others in life, but not in the sense of feeling superior or better than others.
Rom. 12:3 "For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment."
ILL.- A. C. Green said, "Men often talk about their ‘glory years’ in high school. At Benson High School, in Portland, Oregon, I was a sports-minded, egotistical maniac. I was the tallest guy on the team and could have broken scoring records, but Coach Gray wouldn’t let me. Even with the brakes on, twice that year I scored 39 points, and in the season finale against Wilson I scored 40. I averaged 27 points per game. As a team we scored more than 100 points in seven games and averaged over 90. I was voted the Oregonian’s 1981 All-Metro area player of the year, and joined Dean Derrah on the All-Metro team."
Green went on to say, "In basketball and in life everyone starts out with a what’s-in-it-for-me attitude. Children are selfish. That natural selfishness has to be broken to be a winner. You have to realize you can’t do it all by yourself. You need the team. Coach Gray made me pass the ball and play unselfishly. Regardless of individual stats, we, the team, reached the top. We went all the way."
Brothers and sisters, It’s all right to make progress in life, make a living or even make some money, just don’t be a big head about it. Don’t think you did it all by yourself. Generally, we don’t get anywhere in life without the help of others. Don’t toot your own horn just because you’ve been fairly successful in life. AND DON’T LET YOUR LIFE BE THE FOCUS OF YOUR LIFE!
ILL.- One wife and mother wrote a counselor: "Dear Dr. Langberg, How can I get my couch-potato husband away from TV at night to help me with our two kids? Once dinner’s done, he heads for the sofa and zones out watching ESPN. He doesn’t want to do anything with me; he says he needs to unwind. And he doesn’t spend time with our children at bedtime; he says he needs some quiet. I feel as though I’m a single parent, and I resent it!"
Brothers and sisters, that’s nothing but selfishness and we live in a very selfish society! Everywhere selfishness abounds: in the home, the workplace, the world, and sometimes the church!
Some people view selfishness as their God-given right. WRONG! God put us here for others! For our mates, for our children, for our family members, for all the people around us!
Matt. 22:37-38 Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"
I believe that Jesus is saying that first of all, we should love God. And second, we should love people! And if you love God, you will love people!
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to saved what was lost."
Jesus’ sole purpose in life was to live for others! Of course, Jesus wanted to do more than just "shoot the breeze" with people. He was interested in their eternal salvation. JESUS LIVED TO SAVE LOST PEOPLE! That’s the greatest form of love there is! And we are to do similarly.
Rom. 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love..."
Gal. 6:2 "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Gal. 6:9-10 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
These Scriptures and many more emphasize the importance of thinking about others, of caring for others. And when we do care for others, we will also care for ourselves. We will experience a better, richer and fuller life!
Prov. 11:25 "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." We all need to be in the "refreshing" business.
ILL.- Thomas Monaghan is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. From 1970 to 1985, Domino’s grew from a small debt-ridden chain to the second largest pizza company in America. When asked to account for the phenomenal growth of the company, Monaghan explained, "I programmed everything for growth." And how did he plan for growth? "Every day we develop people-the key to growth is developing people." Not special cheese, not a tasty crust, not fast delivery schedules, but people! Dominos has the slogan, "Our most important ingredient is our people!"
Brothers and sisters, God’s most important ingredient on planet earth is people! The older I get, the more I realize how important people are. It’s not what we have nor what we get to do that counts in life. All the fine things and the fun trips mean nothing unless we love people!
It’s what we do for others and how we love others that really counts or matters in life! And matters to God!
CONCLUSION----------------------------------
ILL.- A father was reading his Sunday paper one time and not wanitng to be disturbed, he cut up a map of the world and gave it to his little girl. He asked her to put the pieces together and figured it would take her quite a while. But in just a short period of time the little girl returned with every piece in its proper place. Her father asked, "How did you get the world in its proper place so quickly?"
The little girl replied, "You see, there was a picture of Jesus on the other side and I figured if I got Jesus in the right place, the whole world would be right!"
This not only holds true for our world, but also for our lives. Do you want to make the best you can out of your life? Then put Jesus where he ought to be in your life.
