Robin takes a twirl right before clean-up time. 
Monday, June 06, 2005
Not By Might
Often when I pray before preaching on Sunday mornings, I ask God to work "through me if You can and around me if You must." I do this because of a settled conviction that I cannot effect heart-change--only God the Spirit can. That doesn't mean that I am not responsible and accountable. It just means that I am not powerful!
Here's a quote from Charles Spurgeon that makes that point in typical Spurgeonesque language:
"Look you, sir, you may study your sermon; you may examine the original of your text; you may critically follow it out in all its bearings; you may go and preach it with great correctness of expression; but you cannot quicken a soul by that sermon. You may go up into your pulpit; you may illustrate, explain, and enforce the truth; with mighty rhetoric you may charm your hearers; you may hold them spellbound; but no eloquence of yours can raise the dead. . . . You may organize your societies, you may have excellent methods, you may diligently pursue this course and that; but when you have done all, nothing comes of it if the effort stands by itself. Only as the Spirit of God shall bless men by you, shall they receive a blessing through you. Whatever your ability or experience, it is the Spirit of God, who must bless your labour. Therefore, never go to this service with a boast upon your lip of what you can do, or with the slightest trace of self-confidence; else will you go in a spirit which will prevent the Holy Ghost from working with or through you.
[From "Come From the Four Winds, O Breath!" by Charles H. Spurgeon, preached at Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, May 15, 1890, HT: Albert Mohler]
Min's Dedication
Minhao Lynn-Yan Belko, his family, Pastor Bobby Bell (middle), and me, at Min's dedication to the Lord at Lanse Evangelical Free Church.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Matt's Messages - Children of God
“Children of God”
June 5, 2005
1 John 3:1-3
[Note to Readers: Today in our worship celebration, we dedicated Minhao Lynn-Yan Belko to the Lord. "Min" is a three year old Chinese boy that Amy Jo Belko just brought into her home. Min has an older brother, Miles, who is Amy Jo's by birth and two other sisters, Meili and Meizhen, who are also adopted from China.]
It is quite a thing that Amy Jo has done, isn’t it? In adopting Min?
Amy Jo has shouldered a great expense. She’s traveled a great distance. She’s committed herself to a great responsibility for this little boy.
She didn’t have to do it. There were no outside forces compelling her to hop a plane to China and bring home this precious little guy. She didn’t have to do it. Nobody was holding a gun to her head!
But there was something inside of Amy Jo that did move her to adopt Min. It was a love. A love, first for God, and then a love for this little boy.
And it moved her to act. To shoulder a great expense, to travel a great distance, and to commit herself to a great responsibility–that will require God’s grace to keep.
Amy Jo’s choice to adopt Min prompted me to take a break from the book of Exodus, this week, and instead to think about the biblical category of adoption–being made a child of God.
Adoption.
Because, to make me His child, God shouldered a great expense, traveled a great distance, and committed Himself to a great responsibility–all for me.
Adoption.
Today, I want us to think about what a great privilege and responsibility it is to be called the “Children of God.”
You understand, don’t you, that we are not, by birth [in Adam!], naturally the “Children of God?” The Bible says, instead, that we are naturally: children of wrath, children of the devil, children of this world.
And God had to choose to do something to make us His children.
The Bible says, “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ...” (Ephesians 1:5).
He didn’t have to do it. There were no outside forces compelling God to do what it took to adopt us. But He did–in love.
And I want us think about what that means for us today–to be “Children of God.”
Our text will be 1 John 3:1-3. Invite you to turn there with me in your Bible. 1 John 3:1-3. Pew Bible Page #1208. 1 John 3:1-3.
1 John 3, verse 1 is very familiar to all of us. We know it from the song. Since beginning to work on this message, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind!
Behold What Manner of Love The Father Has Given Unto Us
Behold What Manner of Love The Father Has Given Unto Us
That We Should Be Called the Sons of God
That We Should Be Called the Sons of God
1 John chapter 3, verse 1.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (NIV)
Point #1 (of 3). CHILDREN OF GOD, REJOICE IN THE LAVISH LOVE OF YOUR ADOPTIVE FATHER. V.1 again.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
It takes the Apostle John’s breath away!
We sang it, “How Great Is Your Love, O Lord!”
The old King James says, “Behold! What a manner of love?!” This is an amazing love. And unheard of love. A love unlike any other.
It’s worth repeating and repeating and thinking about and thinking about.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
What did it take for us to become the “Children of God?”
It took the death of God’s only “natural” Son. His only begotten Son.
It the took the expense of His precious blood. That we will be meditating on in a few moments around the Lord’s Table.
- It took the imputation of my sin to His shoulders.
- It took the Cross.
- It took the crucifixion of the Prince of Glory.
And, at that time, I couldn’t have cared less.
Paul says, “God demonstrates His own love in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
In a few weeks, Lloyd Riehl and Tom Hampton are going to start a study for men in the book of Ephesians during Sunday School. The men are going to be blown away by the lavishness of the love of God in Ephesians chapter 1.
The list of blessings that come with being God’s child is breath-taking.
Let me read them to you:
He] has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession–to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:4-14 (NIV)And that’s all just “theological shorthand” for the blessings tied up with becoming a child of God!
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
John goes on to say (v.1 still), “And that is what we are!” Exclamation mark!
John rejoices in, relishes, revels in this lavish love God. He almost can’t believe it!
“That’s what we are!” Can you believe that?
That we [you and me!] should be called [should have the status of] the children of God! And that’s what we are! By His grace.
Do you rejoice that you are child of God?
That assumes, of course, that you are one. If you are not yet a child of God, the Bible invites you to put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Rescuer and your Master.
John said in chapter one of his gospel, “to all who received [Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...” (V.12)
So, if you want to be a child of God, your part is to receive Christ and believe in His name. Believe that He is Who He said He is. Believe that He died on the Cross for your sins and came back to life to give you life and to adopt you as a child of God.
He invites you to put your faith in Him today.
And if you are child of God, do you rejoice in it?
Do you rejoice in this lavish love?
We can get to taking this for granted. And when we do, we need to be reminded of Min (and Meili and Meizhen for that matter!).
That’s what God did for us! He went to all that trouble for us.
[In fact, our adoption goes one step further in that not only does He change our status (like Min became a Belko), but He also changes our nature. He gives us new birth into our adoptive family! That’s truly amazing!]
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Of course, it doesn’t look it, really.
If I am a son of God, why doesn’t it seem like it? I’m certainly not glorious to look at! Where is the family resemblance?
I don’t yet look like Jesus looks–either in body or soul.
A little bit. I look like my big brother, Jesus, a little bit by His grace. But I’m not there yet. That’s the point of the next few sentences. Still in v.1:
“The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
The first reason that the world does not recognize that we are the Children of God is that they didn’t recognize the real Child of God the first time.
But we are. V.2
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known [or has not yet appeared].” That is to say, we don’t yet look like Jesus in full.
We can’t grasp what that will be like [what will a glorified body be like? What will a sinless nature be like? What will a perfect love of God feel like?].
And we certainly don’t look like that now! V.2
“But we [do] know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Point #2. CHILDREN OF GOD, ANTICIPATE THE COMING OF YOUR FULL ADOPTION.
Are we the children of God now? Yes, we are. Very truly the Children of God.
But there is coming a day when we will fully come into our inheritance. And the Bible is comfortable with using the word “adoption” for that which has not yet fully come.
Our adoption now is a down-payment on the adoption to come. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 8:
“[We] received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ [God is our Daddy.] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory....We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved” [Romans 8:15-17, 23-24a].There is an adoption coming that we are supposed to anticipate.
The full inheritance is coming! V.2 again.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
When we behold Him, we shall become like Him.
Seeing means becoming.
Our adoption will become our glorification.
We will be like Him.
A body like His. A heart like His. A sinless soul like His. A glory like His. We wil be an unbroken mirror of His glory. We will be like sponges that absorb the glory of Christ and soak in it and take up its properties. We will be little-Christs. Still finite. Still creatures. Still small in comparison to His greatness.
But like Him. Because we will see Him.
Do you anticipate that day?
Do you long for that day?
Do you look for its appearing?
We need to live today in view of that Day.
Children of God, Anticipate the Coming of Your Full Adoption!
This not all there is. This isn’t even a fraction of what is coming. Don’t settle for this. Don’t live for this.
As I told the graduates on Thursday night, “Don’t Waste Your Life!”
Live it for then. Live it for Him. Live it for Him whom you will be like.
“For we will see Him as He is.”
And #3. CHILDREN OF GOD, PURIFY YOURSELF IN THE FAMILY RESEMBLANCE. V.3
“Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
Everyone who has this hope in him [everyone who is a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus] purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.
If you are going to, one day, look like Christ, then get started today.
Purify Yourself in the Family Resemblance.
Whatever is in you that is not like Christ needs to go.
Whatever is in you that brings shame on the family needs to be rooted out.
Whatever is in your heart that doesn’t look like Jesus’ heart needs to be changed.
Purify Yourself in the Family Resemblance.
We have been adopted through no merit of our own. We have been brought into God’s family and accepted just the way we are.
But we have been adopted to change.
We have been accepted to be altered.
We have been saved to be sanctified.
We have been made a child of God to look like children of God.
We are, one day, going to look like Jesus, and we need to get started right now.
Purify Yourself in the Family Resemblance.
“Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
Don’t trample the lavish love of God by deciding to take it for granted and not be conformed to the image of Christ.
Paul says, “[T]hose God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
God went to a lot of trouble to adopt us. And He has a plan for us. To make us like Christ. We need to cooperate with that plan and purify ourselves.
Take a spiritual inventory.
What in your heart and life looks like Christ? Keep that.
What in your heart and life does not look like Christ? You need to go to war (in faith) against that.
Purify Yourself in the Family Resemblance.
One day, I hope that we can see that Min has become like his Mom. That he has developed a heart for those are helpless and without Christ. And that Min will reach out in love like his Mom did in adopting Him.
The same is true for us. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 1 says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (vv. 1-2).
Purify Yourself in the Family Resemblance and Live and Love Like Christ.
“Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
Children of God,
Rejoice in the Lavish Love of Your Adoptive Father.
Anticipate the Coming of Your Full Adoption.
And Purify Yourself in the Family Resemblance.
Be like Christ. “[Who] loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Adoption
I'm preaching on being a "Child of God" tomorrow and thought that this description of "adoption" from the Westminster Confession of Faith was thoroughly rich and worth repeating and rejoicing in.
"All those that are justified, God vouchsafeth, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption: by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God; have his name put upon them; receive the Spirit of adoption; have access to the throne of grace with boldness; are enabled to cry, Abba, Father; are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by his as by a father; yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation." (Chapter XII)How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! - 1 John 3:1
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Feed Bacc
Dear Graduates,
Congratulations on your graduation from the West Branch High School!
This book, Don’t Waste Your Life!, is a free gift for you from the Lanse Evangelical Free Church. It is also our prayer for you: that your life would be lived to the fullest and for the greatest cause on Earth–the glory of Jesus Christ.
If there was something in my Baccalaureate message tonight that you would like to talk about, I would enjoy dialoguing further with you. Feel free to send me an email at feedbacc@lansefree.org or visit my weblog, “Hot Orthodoxy,” online at matt-mitchell.blogspot.com and post a comment.
May God richly bless you as you pass this milestone in your life.
In His Grip,
Pastor Matt Mitchell
Don't Waste Your Life!
“Don’t Waste Your Life!” - Pastor Matt Mitchell
West Branch Area High School Baccalaureate
June 2, 2005
Mark 8:36
It is a distinct honor and great privilege to be invited to address you this evening, the West Branch High School Class of 2005, your parents, other family and friends, West Branch faculty and administration.
I want to thank my colleagues in the West Branch Area Ministerium for affording me the opportunity to give the Baccalaureate sermon to this year’s graduating class.
I have been told that it has been almost thirty years since a pastor of the Lanse Evangelical Free Church has been given this honor–since Pastor Jack Kelly (some of your parents will remember him) back in the 1970's. And that makes my task tonight a very special one, indeed.
In celebration of this honor, I asked our church family to buy a gift for each graduate. As you process out this evening, there will be volunteers at the doors to hand each of you a gift copy of a book by my favorite author Dr. John Piper. The book, like my message tonight, is titled, “Don’t Waste Your Life!” And not only is it our gift to you, class of 2005, it is our prayer for you.
But don’t be confused. I didn’t write the book. I merely stole the title!
Don’t Waste Your Life!
Can I ask you to do something with me that’s a little bit different?
Don’t worry; it’s nothing very difficult–like spell “Baccalaureate” without looking!
What is a Baccalaureate, by the way? I had to look that one up this week.
Webster’s gives it two definitions. The first is “the degree of bachelor conferred by universities and colleges,” and unless Mr. Matchock has a big surprise up his sleeve, I don’t think that definition applies tonight. You aren’t giving out any college degrees tonight, are you? Because I could use an extra one, if you’ve got them. No? I didn’t think so.
The second definition of “Baccalaureate” in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is: “(a) a sermon given to a graduating class, and (b) the service at which this sermon is delivered.” So there you have it! A “Baccalaureate” (and I checked the pronunciation!) is a sermon and a worship service for graduates. That still doesn’t mean that I know how to spell it!
But that’s not what I’m going to ask you to do. What I’m going to ask you to do is to take your pulse with me.
Take your pulse.
Put two fingers up at the pulse point on your neck or wrist.
That little bump you feel is blood stopping and starting as it moves through your arteries. Kid’s resting pulses range from 90 to 120 beats per minute. As an adult, your pulse rate slows to an average of 72 beats per minute.
What you feel right now...is your life beating away.
Do you feel your heart beating?
How long is it going to keep doing that?
You don’t know.
Your heart may stop beating before you get home tonight.
My heart may stop beating before I’m done with this message. [By the way, if it does, somebody please step up here and read the rest of this manuscript! It’s going to be dynamite stuff if I die while delivering it!]
You don’t know how many more times your heart will beat.
In an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. And that sounds like a lot...until you realize that it beats at least 100,000 times every day. And that adds up really fast. 35 million times a year. [HT: Nova]
But you and I don’t know if our heartbeats will be average or longer or shorter.
And even if we get a lot of heartbeats, they will still go by very quickly.
Every heart here will eventually stop beating. The death-rate for human beings is very close to 100%.
And it will go by so fast!
I know you don’t believe me. Most of you feel young and indestructible. But, as a pastor, I talk with a lot of older people all the time. And almost every one of them says that they don’t feel as old as they are (at least inside, where their minds are). And they can’t believe how fast their life has gone.
That’s true for me. I’m only 32. I know that sounds old to you. But not to many of you.
The fact is, that when I was graduating from High School, you were all rug-rats, 3 or 4 years old, hanging onto somebody’s knee. And it’s gone by, for me, so fast!
I always thought I would be much wiser than I am when I was 32.
And I want to give you some wisdom tonight.
Don’t Waste It!
Don’t waste those precious heartbeats.
Don’t Waste Your Life.
In the Bible story I just read to you, the Lord Jesus gave his followers a pop-quiz. [Mark 8:27-38]
I’m sure that you always loved those pop-quizzes!
The Lord Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say I am?”
Well, that was an easy one. There’s lots of right answers.
Some say, “John the Baptist back from the dead.”
Others say, “Elijah come again.”
Some say, “A great prophet.”
Jesus says, “Okay. Question #2. Who do you say I am?”
Class of 2005, that is one of the most important questions you will ever be asked.
Who do you say that Jesus is?
The answer to that question divides all of humanity into two groups.
You have to come to an answer to that question. Who do you say that Jesus is?
Jesus’ disciple Peter gets an A+ on this pop quiz. He says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Way to go, Peter!
And Jesus says, “That’s right. And let me tell you what kind of a Christ, a Messiah, I am going to be: I must suffer many things. And be rejected. And be killed on a Cross–a cruel instrument of Roman torture. Dying for the sins of all who believe in me. And after three days, I will rise again!”
And class of 2005, that’s what’s called the gospel–or the good news. And you must decide if that is something you believe or not. Do you believe the gospel of a crucified Savior? Dying for the sins of His followers? And rising again?
Peter didn’t do so well on this question. He pulled Jesus aside when he heard that and tried to rebuke Him and change His mind. Not a good idea. Rebuking Jesus is never a good idea.
Instead, Jesus rebuked Peter. And told him that he was acting like Satan, trying to get in His way. His mind was on the wrong things.
The way forward for Jesus meant the Cross. And nothing was going to stop Jesus from fulfilling His destiny on the Cross as the Savior of the World. Not even His own followers.
And the way of Cross is the way that His followers must go, as well. Next, “He called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.’”
You lose your life if you try to selfishly keep it.
But you save your life if you give your life to Jesus Christ and to His gospel.
Class of 2005, Don’t Waste Your Life.
The next thing that Jesus says is the one that I want you to remember the most tonight. Jesus asks a rhetorical question. That’s a question that makes a point. It answers itself. He asks this question, and I want you to ask it of yourself tonight:
“What good is it for a [person] to gain the whole world, yet forfeit [their] soul?”
It is no good. It is no good to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your eternal soul.
Don’t waste your life!
It is possible to gain the world but lose your soul.
What could you gain?
You could gain money. You could be the next Bill Gates or George Soros. But no matter how much money you gain, you cannot keep that heart pumping forever. In 150 years, all the money that you have collected will be someone else’s. Guaranteed.
You could gain popularity. You could become the next 50cent or Coldplay or Usher or Carrie Underwood. The next American Idol. But before too long, there will be another flavor of the month. And your popularity will fade away. What then?
You could gain sexual pleasure. Our culture has become incredibly sexually charged and hedonistic. If you try hard enough, you can probably have just about any sexual experience that you can imagine. And don’t get me wrong, sex is a wonderful gift given by God to be enjoyed in the context of the marriage covenant, but the kind of sexual pleasure that this world chases after is not ultimately fulfilling. In the end, is like a drug addiction–promising more and more but delivering less and less until it’s like gravel in your mouth.
You could gain your freedom. I’m sure that freedom from parents, school, teachers, and so on, is what many of you can’t wait to taste. Free to choose whatever you want to do. Free...but then your heart stops beating, and then what?
You could gain power. You could make people do what you want. You could become the next senator or president, or CEO of a large company. You could “have it all.” You could have the world by the tail.
But lose your soul.
Jesus says, “What good would that be?”
“What good is it for a [person] to gain the whole world, yet forfeit [their] soul?”
It would be about as good as a screen-door on a submarine.
Or, you could gain a happy spouse, a couple of kids, a nice job, a pretty house, a new truck, nothing big, just the “American Dream.”
And still lose your soul.
What are you going to live for?
What is that heart beating for?
So many people are going to tell you as you graduate that you can do anything you set your heart on.
I’m asking you, “What are you going to set your heart on that matters? That matters for eternity?”
Don’t Waste Your Life.
Jesus says here that whoever wants to save his life will lose it. That means whoever chases after the world will get the world but lose their life.
But whoever loses his life for me, Jesus says, and for the gospel, the good news of His death and resurrection, will save it.
At the risk of not being asked again to speak here for the next thirty years, I am here to tell you tonight that the only thing worth living for (ultimately) is Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
If you are a follower of Christ, He is asking you tonight to give your life, to dedicate your life day by day and hour by hour to Him and to His grand cause.
He is the only thing, the only Person (ultimately) worth living for.
That doesn’t mean that everyone here must become a pastor or a missionary. No. We are not all called to vocational Christian service. But we are all called, if we name Christ as Lord, to serve Him and His cause in everything that we do.
Whatever job we get. Whatever career we pursue. Whatever schooling we engage in. Whatever relationships we connect with. Whatever purchases we make. Whatever we choose to do in life should be dedicated to the glory of Christ and His glorious gospel.
The only thing worth living for (ultimately) is Jesus Christ and His Good News.
Don’t Waste Your Life.
You have heard the phrase, “Carpe Diem.” It is Latin for “Seize the Day.”
I’m telling you, “Class of 2005, Carpe Christus.” Seize Christ!
You may not yet be a Christian.
Jesus’ invites you tonight to become one.
It’s not very complicated.
You need to have those two questions answered.
(1) Who do you say that Jesus is? Is He really the Christ, the Son of the Living God?
(2) And do you believe His gospel? That He is a Christ Who was crucified for your sins on the Cross, and has come back to life to give you life?
And you need to put your trust in Him and begin to follow Him by faith. You need to tell Him that you will take up your own cross and follow Him by faith alone. Not because of anything you do, but because of what He has done and offers to you as a gift.
Jesus is Himself, the greatest graduation gift, anyone could ever dream of.
If you don’t have Him yet as your Lord and Savior, Jesus invites you tonight to put your trust in Him.
And that is very serious. He says that the stakes are enormous. Jesus says, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in a exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.”
Those are not my words. They are Jesus’ words.
And you have to make up your mind about them.
What are you going to do with your life?
The Bible says that our lives are like a vapor. Here one second and gone the next.
Like when you go outside in the winter and see your breath. [Breath.] And then it’s gone.
What are you going to set your heart upon?
Don’t Waste Your Life.
I have four children. The oldest will be five in July. She’s a girl. The other three are boys. Three and a half. Almost two. Almost one. You do the math. Four in four years. We are very busy. They are a big joy for Heather and me.
We have begun to teach our kids a catechism at night. A series of questions and answers to memorize about the Christian faith so that they are well grounded in what the Bible teaches. We expect them to memorize, in the next year, about 77 questions and their answers. At least the older two will.
The first question in our catechism is: “Who are you?
And my daughter says, “I am Robin Joy Mitchell.”
And my oldest son, Andrew, says, “I am Drewby Charles Mitchell.” We call Andrew, “Drew” or “Drewby” for fun.
And my second son, Peter, [he’s almost two] says, “ME!!!” He’s so cute.
And my third son, fourth child, Isaac, just sits there and drinks his bottle.
The second question in our catechism, and we ask it every night, is this, “Why did God give you life?”
“Why did God give you life?”
And I wish that my little ones were here tonight to give the answer. They have got it down. They repeat it every night:
“God gave me life so that I can live for Him.”
And that’s right.
Class of 2005, why did God give you life?
You don’t know how many heart beats you have left.
What are you going to do with them while you have them?
While You Have a Pulse, Don’t Waste Your Life.
The only thing worth living for (ultimately) is Jesus Christ and His Good News.
Here’s a suggestion. Every morning, when you get up, take your pulse. And if you can feel your heart beating, dedicate it that day to the Lord Jesus Christ and to His Gospel.
You will not be dissatisfied.
In fact, Jesus says, you will save your life.
He is worth it.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Far Too Easily Pleased
"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
--C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory. Originally preached as a sermon in 1942.
