Part 21: Build Your Dream Live the Life You've Always Wanted! Play It! Part 4: Making the Most of the Hand Life Deals You

Transcription

1 Part 21: Build Your Dream Live the Life You've Always Wanted! Texts: James 4:14 (KNJV) - For what is your life? Philippians 3:13-15 (NKJV) - Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, [14] I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Play It! Part 4: Making the Most of the Hand Life Deals You A. Since it's the upward call, God calls us to a life that is ever moving toward greater blessings and fulfillment. 1. Having concluded that this call is a phenomenon, secular studies have given a name to the uplift Christians experience when they are elevated to a higher level, both socially and economically. 2. You probably won't hear Bill Maher or a university professor mention this experience, but it's known as redemptive lift. The surprising results, documented by scholars, such as eminent secular sociologist Dr. Robert Woodberry, name Christianity as the single greatest factor to ensure the health of nations. 3. Jesus really did come to give us a more abundant life, and science has now confirmed this to be true. So, what should God's faithful servants do when they encounter situations like this? a. Psalm 119: (Message) - Even though troubles came down on me hard, your commands always gave me delight. The

2 way you tell me to live is always right; help me understand it so I can live to the fullest. b. Has trouble ever come down on you hard? Or even worse, have you experienced plural troubles with an s? B. Review: 1. Although faithful believers who serve God are promised a blessed life, the fallen world in which we live is still unfair. Even the Bible teaches that some people really do get a better deal than others. 2. For example, on January 17, 2004, a 66-ton whale died and was beached on the southwestern coast of Taiwan near the city of Tainan. Twelve days later, on January 29 th, authorities decided to transport the dead whale to a laboratory for an autopsy. It took 13 hours, three cranes, and 50 laborers to hoist the 56-foot behemoth onto a flatbed trailer truck. Pedestrians and shop owners poured onto the streets to watch the spectacle of a whale's carcass being transported through downtown Tainan. And then it happened...without any warning! An exciting day suddenly turned into a disaster. As the truck slowly crawled through the downtown area among throngs of eager observers, the whale exploded! That's right, it blew up! The bumps in the road caused an eruption in the decomposing dead mammal that the townspeople will not soon forget. Cars, people, and local shops were splattered with whale entrails. Traffic was at a standstill for hours. The smell was almost unbearable. Betcha no one got up that morning thinking they would be covered in stinking whale guts before noon! 3. Isn't that just the way life goes at times? You're doing your own business serving God and "KABLOOIE!" A whale explodes! You didn't see it coming, it wasn't in your plans and you certainly didn't welcome it. Life can

3 suddenly deal a zinger, leaving us dazed, hurt, and full of unanswered questions. 4. What we do know is the unwavering fact that God loves us and delights in blessing His children. a. Psalm 35:27 (NKJV) - Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. b. The Hebrew word for 'pleasure' means: God delights in and even desires prosperity for His people. c. The Hebrew for 'prosperity' means: welfare, health, and peace; to be blessed in every way materially, emotionally, and spiritually, including your health and family. 5. What must you do when your beliefs about God seem to clash with the reality of your circumstances? How can you maintain the conviction that God is good when life stinks? For the next several weeks, I want to talk about the hardest, most painful, and worst days of your life when you struggle with depression and loneliness and have no ready answers. C. There are at least two major reasons for life being unfair. 1. First and most importantly, the world and everything in it has become broken because of sin. It's very important to understand this principle so you won't blame God for what the enemy has done. The world God created was perfect until satan spoiled it with death, disappointment and pain. 2. Second, because you are uniquely made, you won't get the same hand as someone else any more than you could have the same fingerprints as another person. D. You are unique for a number of reasons.

4 1. Your biology makes you unique. Because there's no other person like you in the whole world, your lot in life is different from everyone else. 2. Your relationships impact and affect your life, making you unique from others. 3. Your circumstances make you unique. The things you will face are never quite the same as what others will experience. 4. Now, let's talk about some other ways you are unique. E. Factor No. 4 Your consciousness makes you unique. 1. Your consciousness is what you say to yourself, or your self talk. a. It's true that everyone in this broken world will face trouble and opposition. But why do some people actually thrive and discover new opportunities during difficult times? b. Why does pressure cause some to become diamonds and others to collapse? It's their self-talk! You will excel or crumble according to what you're thinking and how you process a situation. 2. For those who say they don't talk to themselves, of course you do! 3. Some people can't understand John, chapter 17, where Jesus prayed to the Father. They ask, can God talk to Himself? Really,. as if you don't? 4. There has never been a time when you didn't talk to yourself. a. In fact, it's probably happening right now if you've been thinking, When are we going to get out of here? Or, Good message today! Or, This sermon is terrible! Everyone talks to themselves. b. But if you talk to a friend as you do to yourself, they may not be a friend for long. You are probably your most harsh critic! 5. Another self-talk habit is repeating to yourself what others have said about you. Since it's all filed away somewhere in your thoughts, you can press 'replay' and then hear, over and over again, all that negative stuff that's been dumped on you. The reason you keep rehearsing it is because

5 you've begun to believe it. The thoughts you repeatedly think over and over again become your identity. a. Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) - As a man 'thinks in his heart,' so is he. b. Proverbs 4:23 (NCV- New Century Version) - Be careful what you think because your thoughts run your life. c. For many people, an 'i' could be inserted after the 'u' to make the word ruin. Thoughts will not only run, but ruin your life. So, if you're ready to change the direction of your life, change your thoughts. 6. Of all the factors mentioned, self-talk has the greatest impact on your life. More than your biology, relationships, or circumstances, self-talk determines who you will become. 7. What's so amazing is that you can even be hurt by a thought that isn't true. Just believing it can be damaging. a. Try telling yourself that your marriage won't last and it won't. b. If your mom and dad both died young and you think the same about yourself, it could very likely happen. c. Tell yourself that you're not strong enough to overcome the struggle you're dealing with and you'll be defeated. 8. The person who says, I can, and the person who says, I cannot, are both right. As a man thinks...so is he. 9. Our fears become self-fulfilling prophecies. If we continue thinking negative thoughts, we're actually setting ourselves up for failure and sabotaging our own lives! Since fear is negative faith, faith will always attract what it believes! a. Jesus told the blind men,...according to your faith, let it be to you. (Matthew 9:29 NKJV) b. Job 3:25 (NKJV) - For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. 10. Fear can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

6 a. If you think some of your relations don't like you, when you enter a room and everyone seems to be looking at you and frowning (or laughing), what is your first thought? You'll conclude they're frowning because they're unhappy to see you. Even worse, if they're laughing, you'll think they're making fun of you. b. So, what happens next? Whether you blast them with angry or cutting words or simply ignore them, they sense your hostility and rejection and feel that you don't like them. So they reciprocate by deciding they don't care for you either. c. But the truth is, they were probably frowning because their team just lost a game or laughing because someone said something funny. It had nothing to do with you! 11. Feelings are not facts! "I feel so ugly" doesn't mean you're ugly. "I feel like no one cares for me" doesn't mean they don't care. Feeling that your husband is unfaithful doesn't mean that he is. 12. Notice Apostle Paul's self talk: a. Romans 8:28 (NKJV) - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. b. Romans 8:35 (NKJV) - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? c. Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV) - Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. [38] For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, [39] nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. d. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

7 F. Factor No. 5 Your choices make you unique. 1. This one is the biggie. Just as thinking, or self-talk is the greatest factor we've discussed, choices are even more impacting than thoughts. Your decisions will affect and even manage the other factors. 2. Simple decisions can have huge consequences you were unable to foresee! Did you know that World War One was initiated by the chauffeur of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary making a wrong turn? A man with a gun was waiting on that particular road to shoot the Archduke and his wife which began WW1 that continued from 1914 to 1918, costing the lives of many millions of suffering humanity. 3. Think about this: individual choices based on what a person thinks also explodes the entire fallacy of evolution. a. Animals act on instincts programmed into them by God. Geese hatched just this year know to fly south in the winter. b. The larger and stronger the animal species and the more dominant they are, the less reason they have to act on basic instincts. c. Like they say, what do you tell a 500 pound gorilla to do? Nothing! It does whatever it wants to do! Survival of the fittest, right? d. Since humans are at the top of that ladder, if we are mere animals, wouldn't we act on those animal instincts? What would prevent us from acting according to our instincts? But that's not how we respond. 4. Rather, I believe God created humans to accomplish what the animal kingdom cannot do. We think and act on the basis of decisions, hopefully made after spending time to think it through. If I acted according to instincts and impulses alone, I would hurt myself and those around me. 5. Most decisions that hurt others were made before exercising our Godgiven gift of cognition, or thinking things through before acting. a. Those who say we evolved want to excuse bad behavior by saying it's just our animal instincts that cause us to do bad things.

8 Therefore, we should not stifle our humanity, but do what we feel is right for us without allowing anyone to judge us. b. But that is so wrong! It's those bad choices we make time and time again that violate our heart and conscience. Finally, we become so hardened, we no longer pause before doing wrong things that will damage ourselves and others. 6. We are made in the image of Almighty God. Unlike animals, humans can choose the life we want to live. We have the ability to think about things and then decide the best course of action based upon the projected outcome of our options. a. Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) - Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. b. 1 Kings 18:21 (NKJV) - And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. 7. Freedom of choice is man's greatest blessing; but it is also our greatest curse. It's a curse if we make foolish and self-destructive choices that hurt us and those we love. 8. Though we can't choose the first four factors that affect our identity our biology, early relationships, circumstances, or the programming that once affected our consciousness or thoughts the fifth factor (our choices) can be used to change the others. A choice can override the effects of the other four, if we want that to happen. a. I didn't choose my biology, my genetics or chemistry; but I can choose whether I will allow them to affect what is important in my life. b. I didn't choose many of my relationships, especially the early ones, but I can choose how I react or allow them to affect me.

9 c. I didn't choose my circumstances for this or that to happen. But I can choose whether I will allow those things to affect my life or the direction I take. d. I am responsible, or RESPONSE-ABLE. I can respond to negative events in my life and change them into something good. 9. Even with my consciousness, or thought life, I can't choose what people will say that hurts or wounds me. I didn't choose the old tapes and programming played over and over again that caused so much pain. But I can choose to throw those tapes away and play some new ones that say I'm loved, that my life counts, and I matter to God. 10. You can choose to think good thoughts and make right choices that will provide a blessed and prosperous future. Not only is your life and destiny determined by choices, so is your eternity!