LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST
From Death to Life
Ephesians 2:1-5; Luke 15
INTRODUCTION:
A. Is there some thing, or some one, other than God that has your attention right now?
1. This is an every day battle for every Christian–staying focuses on Jesus Christ
2. I suppose that that is why the first of the 10 commandments dealt with our commitment to God
a. Exodus 20:3 (NIV) - "You shall have no other gods before me."
b. Then we are reminded once again by the writer of Hebrews to stay committed, stay focused
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
CARTOON> Sexy Carrot, published in Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller.
"And the moral of the story is that if you work hard, stay focused, and never give up, you will eventually get what you want in life."
Probably not the ending you were expecting, is it? But isn’t that what we are taught? Whatever you want, you can get it. Just stay focused and work hard.
"Unfortunately, shortly after this story was told, Don Rabbit choked on the carrot and died. So the second moral of the story is:
Sometimes the things we want most in life are the things that will kill us."
3. If you’ve ever been on a diet or you’ve tried to quit smoking, then you understand that many of the things that we crave in life are not the things that we need
a As a matter of fact, there are times when the very things that we crave will kill us–if not physically, they may kill us spiritually as they draw us away from the close relationship that we should have with God.
b. How tragic it is when we have a relationship with God and allow the enticements of the world to draw us away from Him
4. Jesus understood how enticing the world is at times
a. Mark 8:36 (NIV)
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
b. In other words, what good is it to get all of the neat trinkets that life has to offer if you’re dead.
5. What’s more important than a relationship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ
a. Maybe you ought to write it down
b. I had thought about having you just say it out loud so you could hear yourself
c. What’s more important than your salvation? Than eternal life?
d. Unless Jesus Christ is Lord, Lord of your life, then the Bible says that you are dead
e. READ: Ephesian 2:1-3
I> A LIFE WITH NO HOPE
A. You were dead in your transgressions
1. As long as you are carrying around the weight and the burden of your sins, then you are living a life with not hope
a. As long as you are living in your sin, then you don’t have a relationship with God
b. Not much of a future
c. Hopelessness--it’s an awful state of mind, believing that there is nothing you can do that will improve your life
d. Believing that there is no reason to go on, that no one cares
ILL> Button on computer games. Start over.
ILL> There is a fellow in California (Juan Manuel Alvarez, age 25) whose life is a mess. I don’t know what drove him to it, but he decided to take his own life this week so he parked his car on the railroad tracks and waited for the train to come. At the last minute he changed his mind, so he jumped out of the car and ran to safety while the train crashed into his automobile, derailing, and involving 2 other trains on adjacent tracks. Unfortunately, 11 people died, nearly 200 were injured, and he will either serve life in prison or given the death penalty for his actions.
2. From bad to worse–that’s what generally happens when we try to do everything ourselves
a. When we fail to realize that God can and does make a difference
b. Even though we live in a world that is in the pursuit of trying to disprove God, it is God who offers hope, peace, purpose, a future, and genuine happiness
II> THE CHOICE
A. The good news is that we have a choice–we don’t have to live with the guilt or the burden of our sin
1. We don’t have to live a life without hope or without a future
a. God has given us a choice–we can choose to do it our way or we can choose to do it His way
b. READ: Ephesians 2:4-5
B. In Luke 15 Jesus tells the story about a young man who had it made–he was set for life
1. He had servants to wait on him
a. He had many of the luxuries that life afforded
b. All he had to do was stay home, work in the family business, and someday he and his brother would be in charge
2. However, that wasn’t good enough for this young man–he wanted to be his own man, do his own things, make his own decisions
a. So he went to his father and asked if he could have his part of the family fortune now
b. He was going to go off and make his own life–he didn’t want what the father was going to give him
3. Well, the father wasn’t too thrilled about the whole idea, but he knew that his son was set on taking off so he gave the son what he would have inherited a few years down the road
C. So off the young man went–life could not have been better
1. No one to answer to–and he headed to a far off country where he could begin his new and glorious life
a. He had his bag of coins and he was going to do what he wanted to do for a change - No pleasure was beyond reach–he tried it all
b. No one to boss him around - If he didn’t want to do something, he didn’t do it
If he wanted to party and stay out all night, he did it. He was in charge–he was in control and he loved it
2. One day he woke up, walked over to his trusty bag of coins and discovered that it was empty
a. Uh oh. Time to get a job - The only problem was that there was a famine in the land which meant that the local economy was sluggish and there weren’t many good jobs to be found
b. He searched and searched, but the only job he could find was slopping hogs
Now, there’s nothing wrong with slopping hogs–I’ve known some pretty nice Christian people who have done that as part of the living
c. The problem was that while he was slopping those hogs he found that he was a little bit envious–of the hogs. They were eating slop, but they were still eating better than he was
3. He had done his own thing
a. He had lived life the way he wanted
b. His life was a mess.
D. There are a lot of people that understand where this guy is coming from
1. They’ve been there
a. Maybe you’ve been there
b. Maybe you’re there right now
c. Is there some sin that you just won’t give up
d. Are you involved in a relationship that you know is wrong
e. Have you been stealing, or lying, or cheating, because you think it will help you get ahead somehow
f. Are you living in a far country
III> THREE STEPS TO ESCAPE THE FAR COUNTRY
A. Realize where you are - Be realistic about your situation
1. Since the hogs were doing better than he was, he thought that becoming one of his father’s servants might not be such a bad idea
2. Boy, how things had changed
a. He was high up in the company
b. The only person that had any say over his life had been his father
c. Now, he was thinking that maybe just being one of the servants might not be so bad
3. So, he decides to humble himself and return home to see if his father would put him on the payroll, starting at the bottom
B. Repent - be willing to change
1. It’s humbling
a. But sometimes you have to put your tail between you legs and get headed back in the right direction again
C. Return - If you’ve been a Christian for some time and you’ve gotten off the track, then you know that you don’t belong in that far off country
1. You need to return home
D. Result - Restoration
1. This is a great part of the story–VS 20
2. Key Verse - VS 24
IV> CONCLUSION:
A. Are you dead or alive this morning
1. It may be that you’ve been a Christian for a long time and you’re still growing in your relationship with Christ–if that’s you then praise the Lord.
a. Keep up the good work!
2. However, I know that there are some this morning that are living in that far country
a. It may be that you’ve never become one of God’s children
b. It may be that you’ve made a commitment to Christ, but that far country looked better so you’ve taken off
c. Humble yourself and come back home to the Father
d. My son was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.
