This is the first talk in our new sermon series, My Story." Any good author knows that a good story begins with the end in sight. Every plot line, every twist and turn, ultimately leads to the exciting conclusion. We are each telling a story with our lives. And there will come a day when our lives will be revealed and our stories told.
Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves. For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before. And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say! For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material. I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.
Starting With The End - 01.27.13 / Matthew 12:33-37
Introduction: This week we begin a brand new series which I’m calling “My Story.” We all love stories. I especially love good stories. Our books, our TV shows, our movies all attempt to entertain us with good stories. Down through the ages - even before modern technology - the world always valued a good story teller. Great preachers are good story tellers. Jesus himself was a master story teller.
Over the next 8 weeks I want to communicate to you one central truth:
We each are ___TELLING A STORY___ with our lives.
It’s not so much what you say - though that’s a part of it - it’s who you are. It’s the decisions you make. It’s the path you choose to follow. It’s what you believe, what you think. It’s how you see the world. It’s how you live out in the world. All that is a story.
We think of a story as words on a page, or a script. The words the story teller tells, the book the author writes are often separated from himself. There is the main character in the story and then there is the author - the two are separated.
But this is not true for you and me in the way we are leading our lives. Our very lives are the stories we tell. Often, when we’ve had a bad scare, or come close to death, we say “My life passed before my eyes.” Almost like our very lives are like movies and we see ourselves, our words, our actions, our decisions, our choices all pass before our eyes.
There are many places in God’s Word that actually confirm that this happens. Paul writes to the church in Rome. He tells them (and us) that there will come a day of judgment before God:
“So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Rom. 14:12
I don’t know what you think of when you think of “giving an account.” I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of explaining. It’s not like there’s going to be a running commentary like you see and hear with the DVD of a movie you buy. It’s just you and your story. Some of us will have a good story. Some of us not so much. Our stories, our lives, will be our “accounts of ourselves.”
This is what Jesus was getting at when he talked about this same topic. He said almost the exact same thing in Matthew 12:36:
“But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” Matt. 12:36 NIV
Those words “empty word” is interesting. The Greek word is ἀργός, and it means unemployed, idle, lazy, useless, without thought, indifferent. In context it doesn’t just mean a careless vocabulary. It means that the words coming out of our mouth don’t match the inner heart and life. The way Jesus told it - “A tree is known by its fruit.” Good tree, good fruit. Bad tree, bad fruit. You don’t like the fruit, you gotta change the tree.
Let’s change this and put it into our context of the story telling life. When your life flashes before your eyes, what do you think about the story? Is it a story you will be proud of? One you want your children and grandchildren to know about? Or not so much? What is the legacy your life is leaving behind? Think about it. If your life is a story, how is the story going? Where is it leading? This is what I want you to consider:
Live out the story of my life with ___THE END___ in mind.
This is one aspect of our lives that separate us from animals. The concept that our lives have meaning. There is something more to us than just our physical beings. As C.S. Lewis said, “We are not bodies that happen to have a soul. Rather we are souls that happen to have a body.”
In other words there is a purpose for your life. A meaning to your story. My question for you today, and for the next 2 months leading up to Easter is this: Are you living each day with THE END in mind?
So often when we think of “giving an account” we think with fear and trembling about the judgment day. Will God love me? Will He accept me? For those who are Christ followers, you need to remember that your sins have been forgiven. You are not now nor will you be condemned! No guilt. No shame! Remember Romans 8:1?
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Giving an account for ourselves means answering some important questions. “What have you done with this great life I’ve given you?” “What have you done with Jesus?” “How have you lived with forgiveness... have you forgiven others?” “How have you been the hands and feet of Jesus to a broken and sinful world around you?”
Living out the story of my life with the end in mind MEANS I don’t wait until the end of life to ask these most important questions of myself. I ask myself these questions now... every day. And when I don’t measure up, I make whatever changes are necessary in the way I’m living. This is what Jesus had in mind when He was explaining it in Matthew 12:33:
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” (NIV)
At this point if you think Jesus is talking about fruit trees, you’ve completely missed the point. Trees can’t do anything about themselves one way or the other. But people can. You can look at the fruit of your life - or how the story is going - and decide if this is what you want or not. This is what Jesus meant when he said:
“It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard.” Matthew 12:35 The Message
So, stop and evaluate. Think about your life. Think about where you are now and where you want to be a year from now, 5 years from now... think about “The End.” Then make the changes necessary so your life tells the story you most want to tell.
Illustration. Isn’t this what any good story teller would do? Wouldn’t you expect a good novelist to have figured out where he’s going with his story. Hopefully the story has a few surprises for you as the reader. But you hope the author sat down and figured out where he was going, that he thought about “the end” before he got to “The End.”
4 Ways to Help Me Live Out My Story With The End In Mind.
1. Recognize the ___BREVITY___ of life.
“What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14b ESV
Life is short. Remembering that helps us to make the most of it. This is why it is so important to have a regular Quiet Time. Otherwise we can be so busy about our lives we will forget the preciousness of each day.
2. Seek ___WISDOM___ not just education.
“Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NLT
Far too often today we go to school to learn to make the most from our time. Real wisdom is knowing how to make the most of our time, living the most in every moment we have. The best educations we receive are the ones from the School of Real Life / Hard Knocks. Do we learn not to make the same mistakes again and again? The more wise I am, the more I live with the end in mind.
3. Discover God’s ___PURPOSE___ for my life.
“For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible,... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.” Colossians 1:16 The Message
This should be the priority of our lives - figuring out how God designed us to fit into his plan. Everything in your life builds you toward your purpose. God has shaped each one of us for a particular reason. You should discover your S.H.A.P.E. and figure out your purpose. Your S.H.A.P.E. is your Spiritual gifts, your Heart passions, your Abilities, Personality, and Experiences all make you uniquely qualified for the work God calls you to do.
4. Live out each day with ___PASSION___.
“Never tire of doing good.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 NIV
When I figure out #3, #4 is so much easier. “Doing good” is anything that God has created you to do. When you accomplish your purpose, you are doing good. You are living the life God has made you for. Do it with all your heart and soul. Give it all you got. Don’t quit. Don’t tire out.
Conclusion:
Illustration: Andy Stanley on Jan. Leadership podcast talking about book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Exercise - Stop and imagine your own funeral. Then imagine the people closest in your life speaking at your funeral about your life. What would you want them to say? Stanley said that stopped him in his tracks and he did this exercise. The end result? They were all "be" goals, not "do" goals! At THE END none of us really care about what we did, but who we were.
Over the next 7 weeks we’re going to talk more about writing “My Story” by living the life God has created us live:
Feb. 3rd “Ghostwriter” - Who will be the author of your story?
Feb. 10th “Plot Lines” - How are your experiences shaping your story?
Feb. 17th “Getting Published” - How do you tell your story to others?
Feb. 24th “Splits & Royalties” - How does handling finances say about whether you are the owner or caretaker?
March 3rd “A Thousand Words A Day” - What does your work say about your story?
March 10th - “Character Driven” - What kind of character do you have in your story?
March 17th - “The Sequel” - Does your story stop with you or is your story told in the lives of others?
Who could you share this with this week?
Let’s pray.