10-30-2022 – “What Are You Living For?”
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October 30, 2022
“What Are You Living For?”
Mark 8:35
What do you do for a living?
What do you live for?
What are you living for?
Matthew 16:13-20
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
Jesus is seeking more than a confession but a commitment.
Mark 8:34-36
34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
Now that you know who Jesus is, are you ready to take up your cross and follow?
Most of the world will think you are wasting your life. They won’t understand what you’re doing and think that you are throwing your life away.
What good will it be if you become the best at your career or you’re the richest man in the world if you find out your life was all wasted?
Jesus asks, “who will you serve?”
Is your life a career or a mission?
A career is something you choose for yourself.
A mission is something chosen for you by someone else.
Having a career is not a biblical issue where having a mission is.
A career is a ladder we climb where a mission is a journey you take.
It’s not bad to have a career and do well by the world’s standards, but motivation is everything. One may be living solely for his career while the other sees his life as a divinely ordained mission by God.
Did Jesus have a career? No. He had a mission from God to be the Savior of the world. Nothing he did made sense from a career point of view.
Robert A. Jaffray (1873- July 29th, 1945) a Canadian missionary to China gave up a career with Standard Oil to do a mission for God. He spent most of his life translating The Bible into Cantonese (35 years). Millions got saved. During World War II he was put into an Japanese internment camp and died two years before the end of the war.
Did he waste his life? He lost wealth, career, prosperity and all the world could offer.
The answer to the question depends on your perspective.
Conclusion:
One day all of us will pass from this life into the presence of God.
What will we say on that day?
More importantly, what will God say about us?
If you try to save your life, you’ll loose it in the end.
If you lose your life for Jesus’ sake, in the end you will save it.
If you live your career, what difference will it make ten seconds after you die?
If you spend your life in the service of the kingdom of God, the road may not be easy, but ten thousand years from now you won’t regret your decision.
Do you have a career, or are you on a mission for God?
Do you have a career for yourself, or are you a missionary disguised as a professional?
Your answer makes all the difference. What is your motivation?
What do you do for a living, or what are you living for?
May God help us to live for Christ today and every day.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today and always.
Jim Shepherd