Have You Lost Your Fizz? Colossians 3:23

Transcription

1 SERMON FOR SUNDAY NIGHT, APRIL 18, 2010 CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Have You Lost Your Fizz? Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as Working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23) INTRODUCTION Object Lesson: Two bottles of Soda (pop) 1 flat, 1 fizzy I have here two bottles of Soda. (hold up 1 st bottle) Listen carefully as I remove the Cap from this bottle. (no noise, no fizz) (hold up 2 nd bottle) Now listen as I remove the cap From this bottle. The difference between these two bottles of soda is obvious isn t it? -This one has FIZZ, while this one does not. -This one tastes CRISP & REFRESHING while this one Tastes FLAT & BLAND. There was a time when this bottle of soda had as much FIZZ as this one. There was a time when this bottle of soda tasted just as crisp and refreshing as this one. But now this soda is all fizzled out

2 For just a moment, let s think of your life and mine as a bottle of soda. Which one of these bottles best symbolizes your life? The one that is full of FIZZ or the one that is all FIZZLED out? -Have you lost your FIZZ? -Do you get out of bed each day thinking, OH BOY, ANOTHER DAY! (say excitedly) Or, do you get out of bed thinking, OH BOY, ANOTHER DAY! (say dreadfully) -Have you lost your EXCITEMENT? Your PASSION and your ZEAL? -Have you given up on your HOPES and DREAMS? As we all know.life CAN BE VERY BRUTAL! There are LOTS of things that can take all the FIZZ out of life. -stress -responsibilities at work -responsibilities at home -problems with people -relationship troubles -the death of a loved one -sickness -pain or injury -the daily grind All these things and more can drain our lives of passion and enthusiasm if we allow them to

3 MANY OF OUR MARRIAGES started out with lots of FIZZ. There was PASSION and ROMANCE and AFFECTION. But then along came KIDS and CAREER demands and the stresses of day to day living. Has the SIZZLE of your marriage turned into FIZZLE? MANY OF US STARTED OUT OUR CAREERS with lots of FIZZ. We loved our work! We believed we could make a difference. Have you lost your enthusiasm and passion for your job? Are you content just to go put in your 40 hours each week and draw a pay-check? MANY OF US STARTED OUT OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE with lots of FIZZ! We were in church every time the church doors were open. We volunteered our time and labor to do work in the church. We read our Bibles and prayed regularly. We even Invited other people to church. Have you LOST your spiritual fizz? How Do We Get the Fizz Back In Our Lives? How Do We Re-Capture our Passion and Enthusiasm for Living? Perhaps we find our answer here in COLOSSIANS 3: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working For the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)

4 When we look at each statement in this 23 rd verse we see a chain of three inseparable links. And herein lies the key to living a life of passion for the Lord. First of all Paul says. I. Whatever You Do (vs. 23a) Now what does Paul mean when by WHATEVER? (A) Whatever Includes Anything You MUST DO. We all have DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES we MUST DO. We have DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES as citizens.as Spouses..as parents.as sons and daughters And as employees or employers. In ALL those areas of our life where we have DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES we MUST DO..we need to dive into Those tasks passionately and enthusiastically. NOW.does that mean all our duties or responsibilities Are going to be pleasant? NO! But if we take a Hap-hazard, half-hearted approach in some areas of our life That attitude has a way of spilling over into other areas. (B) Whatever Also Includes Anything You CHOOSE to do. When you and I are not dealing with DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES we must do.we have the Freedom to do those things we CHOOSE TO DO. By that I mean our leisure activities..our hobbies Our recreational activities. It may be woodworking or quilting or golfing or hunting or Fishing. It may be gardening or playing an instrument or Hiking.

5 Although we should not allow our leisure activities and Hobbies to take priority over our duties and responsibilities, We should approach those things we CHOOSE to do in life With passion and enthusiasm. Mike Murdock says.. You will never get good at Something until it becomes your passion. (C) But most importantly, WHATEVER includes all the things GOD has commanded us to do. Our whole existence our whole purpose here on earth is To LOVE GOD and PLEASE GOD and DO SERVICE FOR GOD. MATTHEW 22:37-39 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. And listen to DAVID S PASSION for GOD in PSALM 63:1 O God, you are my God, EARNESTLY I seek YOU; my soul THIRSTS for you, my body LONGS for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. As Christians our greatest passion in life should be to LOVE GOD and PLEASE GOD and one of the best ways to do That is to enthusiastically OBEY GOD S COMMANDS! ILLUSTRATION: Lance Armstrong LANCE ARMSTRONG has won Le Tour De France, the world s most prestigious bicycle race, an un-precedented six times in a row. The thing that makes Armstrong s feat so incredible is that he was battling cancer as recently as It was his passion for life that helped him overcome his cancer and become the most dominating figure in World Cycling. Listen to Armstrong s passionate words:

6 I want to die at 100 years old with an American Flag on my back And the star of Texas on my helmet, after screaming down an Alpine descent on a bicycle at 70 miles per hour. I want to cross One last finish line as my wife and my ten children applaud, and Then I want to lie down in a field of those famous French sunflowers And gracefully expire. A slow death is not for me. I don t do anything slow, not even Breathe. I do everything at a fast cadence. I eat fast and sleep Fast. It makes me crazy when my wife, Kristin, drives our car, Because she brakes at all the yellow caution lights while I squirm Impatiently in the passenger seat. Whatever You Must Do! Whatever You Choose To Do! Whatever You Have Been Commanded to Do By God! GIVE IT YOUR ALL! Let s move on to the second link in the chain. II. Work At It With All Your Heart (vs. 23b) Verse 23 a, b Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart 1. One of the biggest reasons so many of us are bored with life and have lost our passion and enthusiasm is because we don t PUT OUR HEART into it! Notice, Paul doesn t say.. Whatever you do dabble at it.or piddle at it. He says, Whatever you do..work AT IT!

7 2. You and I will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, get more out Of life than we are willing to PUT INTO IT! PASSION and ENTHUSIASM for living are the DIVIDENDS we reap for pouring our hearts into daily Living! I L L U S T R A T I O N In a small KANSAS town you will find the World s largest Ball of Twine. It measures 40 feet wide, and weighs a whopping 9 tons! Un-raveled, the string used to make this giant ball would stretch half way across the United States. The originator of this giant ball of twine began his work in 1953, and he continued to work on it every day until his death. After his death, the town s people joined in the effort and to this day they are still adding string to the World s Largest Ball of Twine. 3. What is it that would cause a guy to devote the best Years of his life to making a giant ball of twine? What is it that would cause someone to make a giant Replica of the Eiffle Tower completely out of tooth- Picks? What is it that causes people to BUNGEE jump off tall Bridges or.hang-glide off mountain cliffs or Run in 26 mile Marathons? IN A WORD HEART!

8 4. What is that ONE THING you have literally poured your HEART and SOUL into? What is that one thing you Believe GOD has called you to do in life? I L L U S T R A T I O N When I think of someone who has passionately poured His heart and soul into his life s work, I think of JIM PIERSON, Director of the Christian Church Foundation For the Handicapped. Jim Pierson is a gifted TEACHER, WRITER and SPEAKER. But the one thing he has poured his heart and soul into Is ministering to the Mentally and Physically Handicapped. Most people wouldn t even consider such a work..but For JIM PIERSON, it is his life s passion! 5. What is it that GOD is calling you to do? Whatever it is. WORK AT IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART! The third key to putting the FIZZ back in your life is this.. III. Work For The Lord, Not For Men VERSE 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart As working for the Lord, not for men. 1. How much of a difference would it make in your life if You lived every day with this thought in mind: GOD IS WATCHING? -If you did your JOB every day with the knowledge That GOD IS WATCHING how much more Productive would you be?

9 -If you did your HOUSEHOLD CHORES as though GOD IS WATCHING.how much more Passionately would you dive into those chores? 2. If we would DO EVERYTHING WE DO IN LIFE as though we are doing it for the LORD HIMSELF it would cause us to approach life with a whole new passion and zeal. I L L U S T R A T I O N BROTHER LAWRENCE was a Carmelite Monk who lived in 17 TH CENTURY Paris. His job in the monastery was to work in the kitchen a monotonous, mundane job all the other monks hated to do. But Brother Lawrence saw his work in the monastery kitchen as an extension of his WORSHIP and SERVICE to GOD. As he would do the dishes, he would pray: Lord of all POTS and PANS and things make me a saint by Getting meals and washing up the plates. BROTHER LAWRENCE called this: Practicing the Presence of God! 4. How much more passionate and rewarding our lives would be if we practiced the presence of God every moment of every day

10 CONCLUSION Rick Warren says this about living a life of passion.. The creative force behind all great art, all great drama, all great music, all great architecture, all great writing is passion. Nothing great is ever accomplished in life without passion. Nothing great is ever sustained in life without passion. Passion is what energizes life. Passion makes the impossible possible. Passion gives you a reason to get up in the morning and go, "I m going to do something with my life today." Without passion life becomes boring. It becomes monotonous. It becomes routine. It becomes dull. God created you with the emotions to have passion in your life and He wants you to live a passionate life. Passion is what mobilizes armies into action. Passion is what causes explorers to boldly go where no man s gone before. Passion is what causes scientists to spend late night hours trying to find the cure to a dreaded disease. Passion is what takes a good athlete and turns him or her into a great athlete where they re breaking records. You ve got to have passion in your life. It has been said, The greatest tragedy is not to die, but to die having never lived. This evening Paul has reminded us that the true secret of a passionate life is rooted in our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ! Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as Working for the Lord, not for men.