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Shine: The Call to a Brighter Life
A sermon by Paul Manning
Founder and President of U-TURN
First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Conclusion of youth DiscipleNow Weekend
The
theme for this weekend has been the word ‘Shine.’ God wants us to radiate and
reflect who He is in this world. And this weekend’s theme verse has been
Daniel, chapter 12, verse 3. And that verse reads: “Those who are wise will
shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to
righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever.”
Before
we dig into today’s topic and text, I want to give you a background for this
weekend. On Friday night we met, and certainly the kids know this… but on
Friday night we met, and the topic for that night was “Starbursts, Black Holes
and the Life of a Star.” And the starburst has nothing to do with the candy,
Starburst. It actually has to do with, and again, pardon me- but I am an
electrical engineer so if I go geek-mode for a little bit- tolerate that. But
the starburst refers to this phenomenon, and if you get a chance you can just
‘Google’ it: NASA, the Hubble Telescope. There’s this phenomenon called
Starburst Galaxies in the universe. And what happens when two galaxies or more
intersect, there’s this rapid formation of billions of stars… it’s fascinating.
Now how that relates to us is that there is a God of the universe who desires to
intersect and engage with us. And He wants to create dynamic things in us and
through us. So again, the topic for Friday was, “Starbursts, Black Holes and
the Life of a Star.” So there’s the starburst portion. The other thing is a
black hole. Well a black hole is just a star- which now its energy that’s being
emitted normally the gravitational pull has exceeded the energy that it’s
emitted. So that star implodes upon itself. How does that relate to us? How
does it relate to kids… to adults… that there are forces pulling at us all the
time? That pulls us away from a life devoted to Jesus Christ. In our hearts we
want to serve Him, but the reality is that He gets very little of our time… very
little of our focus. He is Lord of my heart, but God, I just don’t have time
for you right now. The pull of life. Christ wants to enter our lives, He wants
to counter that pull. He’s greater, the Bible says that He in us, if you’re a
believer, He that it is you is greater than any force even Satan in the world.
This is fascinating.
In the
book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul, he talked about this. He refers to his
labor- he says, ‘to this end, I struggle. Laboring with all the energy of
Christ that so powerfully works in me.’ That’s in Colossians, chapter two – and you should read
it because of that word ‘energy.’ He says that
‘Christ’s energy that works so powerfully in me.’ That Greek word is ‘dunamus.’
And that Greek word refers to explosive and dynamic power. That dunamus
is in you if you are a believer. Whether you are six years old, eight years
old, or eighty years old- He, the God of the universe is in you. And He wants
to create dynamic growth in your life that the world would see, as we’ve heard
today, Matthew 5:16. The world would see your light, be blown away and want to
know your God and my God.
On
Saturday night, we looked at the topic of the ‘Dispellers of Darkness.’ And
that’s who we really are as Christians. Christ first comes in us to transform
us and then He calls us as His agents to go out into the world imploring men and
women, boys and girls to be saved, to be reconciled to God. Because if a man or
woman, boy or girl – if their not reconciled to God and they breathe their last
breath, they spend an eternity in Hell. We are ‘the game’ on this earth. Jesus
prayed to the Father in John 17, He said, ‘Father, I pray that you leave them in
the world.’ What was He saying? He was saying legitimately, if
they're
Christians, their citizenship is in Heaven, they can come home right now. But I
pray that you leave them in the world as salt and light to storm the gates of
Hell and rescue people who need the Savior, me. That’s responsibility, that’s
obligation, that’s privilege, that’s opportunity. You know what that is? It’s
joy, if you’ve ever shared the Gospel – it’s joy to see someone say “What must I
do to be saved?” So we are to be in Christ, empowered by Him, the dispellers of
darkness. Those were the topics Friday and Saturday. So we get to today, this
morning.
The
topic for this morning is ‘The Call to a Brighter Life.’ And today’s scripture
reading is from the book of Philippians. If you all know anything about the
Bible, Paul wrote to the people who lived in the city of Philippi and he did not
write this as he was lounging in a chair by the water. As the kids would say,
chilling out by the beach. He was in jail. Not a jail with cable TV. It was
damp, it was nasty, it was dangerous, it was vile and filthy. Yet, we know that
this book, Philippians is called a book of joy, because he says over and over
again, “Rejoice.” He’s writing from prison, he’s saying rejoice – how? Because
he discovered the life that is brighter – Christ in him. He said, ‘I’ve learned
the secret of contentment, whether in plenty or in need, I’ve learned the secret
of contentment.’ Contentment isn’t where you are and how much you have – it is
Christ with me, the hope of glory.
Philippians chapter two, verses 14 through 16. Those verses read: “Do
everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and
pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in
which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out (as you hold forth)
the word of truth.”
Today’s
topic again, “The Call to a Brighter Life.” God is calling. And I would
venture to say in this sanctuary there are many hearts where the brightness is
dimming to that of almost a black hole. There’s no hope, there’s no joy,
there’s no peace. One of the songs we sang earlier “Move. Lord, move in a way
you haven’t moved before.” He wants to do that, even today, He wants to sweep
into your life. He can remove any mountain, any obstacle; He can do it for
you. He can do it for me. I praise the Lord He’s done it. I rejoice at
looking at Ben and Leonora over there, that gosh, 12 years ago God burdened
our hearts at the same time to go forward, to gut it out in ministry and
experience things we would have never experienced otherwise. Was the paycheck
hit? Oh yeah, the pocket was hit. But God gives you so much more – the
brighter life.
I want
to share three principles with you. What I think the three basics are to
experiencing a brighter life. The first point, if we are to, as God says, if we
are to shine like stars in the universe for Him, representing Him in a wonderful
way – that’s going to require a heart and a life that is contented. That’s not
complaining, that’s not ‘oh life is so tough.’ Take a look at the scriptures,
verse 14: “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” So that, there’s a
key… we only experience the ‘so that’ if we do the front end – to learn the
secret of contentment. So let’s take a look at this issue of contentment. I
think that’s it’s critical that number one, as the Bible says, if we are to live
a contented life, we must remain plugged into Jesus Christ. You couldn’t even
hear me unless I screamed unless there was a connection with this mic. It’s
plugged in. Imagine like two weeks, three weeks ago watching the Super Bowl,
the Eli-escape play and your TV goes dead, you lose power. Oh, how bad that
would have been.
We must
remain plugged in to experience the good life. The good life doesn’t mean
comfortable, the good life, the bright life means it’s better and it’s worth it
and you hear from the King of Kings one day, “Well done, my good
and faithful servant.” Doesn’t mean it’s easier. The Apostle Paul could tell
us, Jesus said about him, I will show him how much for my name sake he will
suffer. But Paul could say, man, it’s strange, I can honestly say, my life is
awesome. My head is about to be cut off, in a couple of weeks from now. It’s
incredible. I’ve seen things that I couldn’t see otherwise abiding in Jesus
Christ. John 15, Jesus said, “Abide in me and I will abide in you. Apart from
me you can do nothing.” Nothing. I shared with the group there are some
billboards in Richmond, Virginia and in other places – there’s a new – I guess
ministry it’s called ‘Unfulfilled.org.’ Anyone seen the billboards? I went to
it this past week – on Monday – and they’ve got different testimonies from
different people, but there’s this little clip from Rolling Stone article
featuring Brad Pitt. Now get it, the web site is entitled, ‘Unfulfilled.org.’
And the Rolling Stone magazine interviewed Brad Pitt and asked him, so man, life
is great right? And he’s like, well, things are good, but there’s something
major missing. That the money is not giving me, the fame, my wife, -he’s got a
cute wife. He’s like, none of this, there’s got to be more. And the Rolling
Stone magazine asked another question – so have you figured it out? His
response is, man, no I haven’t. But I need to, he said, there is a numbness in
life, there’s a void, he said, I’ve got it all. I don’t have anything. I’m
praying for Brad Pitt. But if he would surrender his life to Jesus – the
influence and the platform he would have for the kingdom of God. You should
join me, anyone want to join me in praying for him? Unfulfilled.org. There are
even unfulfilled hearts in here. Some are saying, Jesus, I thought Jesus was
going to give me that abundant life. I’m not experiencing that abundant life.
Are you abiding in Him? If not, He said apart from me, you can do nothing.
Another
person who can tell us this issue of contentment is Job. You look at the life
of Job who went through hell on earth. In Job chapter one and two – you should
read that later, it’s inspiring. His servants come to him and say, ‘Job, Job…’
one servant says, ‘Job, some marauders just came in and they just wiped out
everything, they stole your possessions.’ And as he was still speaking, another
one came and said, ‘Job, all your kids just died, man, a great wind came and the
house fell on them – they’re dead.’ Job’s health went down south. You know
what the Bible says, he fell down, he did not beat the ground and say, "God
you’re so hard." The Bible says “he fell down and worshipped God and said,
'God,
blessed is your name.' Naked I came into the world, naked will I leave. Blessed
be the name of the Lord.” The Bible says “he worshipped God.”
The
secret of the contented life – knowing that circumstances and things don’t give
a contented life. It is the God who controls the universe, who says sometimes
‘yes’ and sometimes He says ‘no.’ He wants us to be contented and say Lord,
blessed be your name.
Let’s
look at the heroes of the faith. Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a whole list of
people who just walk by faith. And near the end of that chapter, gives us a
list of people who endured grueling hardships for one reason and one reason
only. They refuse to recant. They refuse to deny the name of Jesus. So the
enemy said if you don’t deny Jesus, we’ll saw you in two. Do you know that’s
one of the hardships that believers years and years ago went through? They were
sawn in two. They were hung on posts in Nero’s courtyard at night, on fire, lit
on fire and lit the palace courtyard all night long. Singing as they burned,
‘great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness…’ That is faith. That is
the life that God wants for us. That doesn’t come easy. It comes when we make
sacrifices to know Him, to spend time in His Word, to share Him, and then He
gives more and more of Himself. He reveals more of Himself to us. Jesus
himself in Gethsemane, just before His arrest, beating, flogging, crucifixion,
He was at Gethsemane, and that means the place of the press. That’s where they
pressed olives and got the oil. And we know Jesus was pressed. The movie, “The
Passion of the Christ” only gives us a small glimpse of what He endured for us.
He was pressed and He was beaten. He said, ‘Father, if there be any other way,
that they, that Paul could be saved and redeemed, reconciled, I’m for it right
about now. But if not, Father, your will be done.’ Contentment.
‘Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do, thank you that you love me, this
really hurts, and I can’t wait to be with you Papa.’ That could be our call,
our cry, ‘Papa, thank you, that even though it hurts, Lord, you’re with me.’
So, the call to a better life, the first step, I believe is the inner issue of
contentment. Before God gives us anything else, we must come to a place where
our contentment does not rest on goodies, things, other people, it is Christ
Jesus, alone.
The
second point, I think- I want to share with you all in terms of what it means to
shine like a star in the universe – is that it requires not only a life of
contentment, it requires a life that is focused on holiness. God doesn’t call
us to be good, he calls us to be godly, and to live a holy life. In First Peter
chapter one, verses 13 through 17, there’s a simple statement. God says this:
‘I am holy, you be holy in all you do.’ That’s a command. He says, ‘As my
children, be holy.’ I’ve seen parents… and I was certainly one of them, as a
kid. A kid walks in the store, and mom grabs the hand, ‘you…’ That parent
wants to say – you represent this family, don’t you act crazy in here. Well God
is asking us to stop acting crazy and represent the family we belong to – a holy
family. We were bought with a price, God calls us to honor Him.
In First Peter chapter two, verses nine and ten, I’ll read that to
you. Holiness not just because we are His children, but also because we are a
chosen people. It’s wonderful to be chosen. He’s chosen us. The Bible says in
verse nine: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.”
Royal priesthood, it always just – that’s something for me. That we are royalty
before God. Did you know that the Bible says that one day if you are a
Christian – that we will help with Him, we will rule the world. That He said no
longer do I call you servants, because a servant doesn’t know his master’s
business. I call you brothers. I call you my sisters. The Apostle Paul said
to the Corinthians, who were bickering over little things, he said ‘don’t you
know that one day, you will judge angels? Did you know that? It’s in the book
of First Corinthians, that we as believers – then they said this, we will judge
the world, co-reigning as co-regents with Jesus. This is mind boggling. That
He counts us worthy, as vile as we are to sit enthroned with Him to rule and
reign. Amazing. What an amazing love. But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood a holy nation, a people belonging to God. That you may declare… so
what’s the purpose? That you may declare the praises of Him who called you out
of darkness into His wonderful light. That we might live and express and reveal
the brighter life. Once you were not a people, you were enemies of the cross.
But now you are the people of God. Once you have not received mercy, but now
you have received mercy. To live the life that is brighter, more relevant, that
purpose-driven life, requires a contented heart, and again, we can’t generate
that on our own. We have to abide in Christ Jesus. It’s only then we can
experience that. The second point is we must live a holy life. Saying ‘no’ to
ungodliness and saying ‘yes’ to righteousness.
The
third point if we are to shine like stars in the universe in a manner that is
pleasing to God, we must live a life that focuses on the Word of God. The Bible
says in Psalm 119, chapter 119, verse 105 that ‘the word of God is a lamp unto
our feet and a light unto our path.’ In this journey in life the roadway is
very treacherous, very tricky. We need a lamp, we need a light that will guide
us, that will keep us safe. That we just don’t meander down dark roads getting
lost, but that we would be efficient in this journey, accomplishing all that
He’s called us to accomplish. Glorifying His namesake. In Romans chapter ten,
verses 14 and 15… as we are sojourning through this life, walking with the light
of God, shining with brilliance, we just don’t keep that to ourselves. Romans,
chapter ten, verses 14 and 15 tell us that we need to be busy about radiating
and reflecting Him. You know, I hear people all the time, ‘well, I don’t really
believe in sharing the Gospel, the Bible a lot, I just believe in just living a
good life. We’ll we’re called to live a good life. Matthew 5:16, “Let your
light so shine that they might see it and give glory to God.” But I submit to
you, if you only live a good life and never share the Gospel, people who see you
unredeemed, this will be their only conclusion, ‘man, he’s really nice. He’s
really cool, wow.’ It’s a given. But they will never know how to be saved.
They must hear the word of God. Romans ten, verse 14: “How, then, can they
call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one
of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to
them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Again, what relevance
does it have, what relevance is sharing the Gospel and shining in a way that is
pleasing to God? Well, again, let’s go back to Philippians chapter two, in the
latter part of the verse, it says: “in which you shine like stars in the
universe as you hold forth the word of truth.” The word of life, the word of
God. That is how you shine.
The
three points: contented life – abide in Jesus, be holy for I am holy, and hold
forth the word of truth.
I’m
going to close us in prayer and then we’re going to have the hymn of
invitation. There might be someone here who’s not yet trusted Christ as Savior
– you can do that even today. Someone will be up front to pray with you, that
you might receive Christ as Savior. Maybe you want to rededicate, recommit your
heart to Jesus Christ and to study and teaching of the word of God.
Let’s
bow our heads and pray please. Dear Father, thank you so much for this
wonderful time. Thank you for the privilege of being able to share your word
with these wonderful people, Lord. I pray that by your Spirit our hearts will
be seared, will be pierced that we would see revolution and transformation in
our lives. Lord, I pray for those who have not trusted you, Jesus as Savior
that they would surrender, that they would bow their knee to you as the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. We thank you for this time in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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