Coronavirus Bible Study Series July 29, 2020

My Life Plan

Living A Full Life Part 3

Synopsis of Bible Study July 29, 2020

Delivered by Pastor Lee Bynum, MDiv.

James 4:13-15
¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

What Does It Mean To Live A Full Life

I. Introduction

Is your life one that you are happy with and content with? Does your world make sense? Do you feel like you spend most of your time accomplishing little? Do you feel like you are spinning your wheels and expending your energy on things that have little value or consequences? A desire for fulfillment is universal. You are not the only one who desires more. The moment you are born there is a hunger for life and more of it while trying to grasp every experience that we can. We should enjoy every relationship maximizes every important opportunity every moment every second. You must understand this must be done with great intentionality because to live a full life means that I must live with intentionality.

Its interesting that sometimes we treat God like an app on our phones. If we are not getting everything, we need from God we close and swipe up. But treating Jesus like an app does not work because God is the operating system. God should be at the center of your life directing everything and that is how your focus shifts from what you want to Gods incredible plan for your life.

II. YOU CAN HAVE A FULL AND REWARDING LIFE

1. Kingdom Vision

A. You function for something bigger than yourself. As a kingdom citizen you must realize that you are functioning for something bigger than you.

2. Team

A. A small team of people who are committed to helping you go after your kingdom vision. People that you connect with locally or virtually surround yourself with ladder holders, people that grasp vision and know how to move with it. You need those that can pour into you and not drain you if you are going to be intentional.

3. Plan

A. The plan does not have to be complicated or fool proof. You must know what you are doing and have a plan on how to do it. What is the plan for you living life full?

4. Training and Tools

A. Finding people and tools, visionaries that can give you the insight, knowledge and wisdom.

5. Coach

A. You will need a coach or a mentor someone to stand under is what you understand. Need someone who has been where you are trying to go, who has done what you are trying to do. We all exist for a purpose. The tasks that we perform in life are important and necessary and they do count. Let me ask you a question, “Are you really happy?” Is life rewarding for you at this point and place in your life. The greatness in you needs to start flowing out of you.

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

God show me the path the direction that I need to go. I cannot do it by myself. I need your guidance I cannot get to that place of fullness alone.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Understand that the enemy’s attempt to rob you of the life that God has for your life is simple. He is a thief he wants to kill steal and destroy. God says I counter that by giving you life and giving you abundant life. Not in heaven but here on earth.

III. WHAT IS NEEDED FOR A RICH AND REWARDING LIFE?

1.A Sense Of Purpose and Destiny

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.

What allows my life to have purpose is I have vision. I am directed toward something; I see something bigger than myself and I am led and driven by that vision that I see.

Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began

A life without purpose will cause us to chase endless rainbows bringing dissatisfaction and heartache, a sense of failure, emptiness, and apathy.

Now that does not sound like the abundant life that God promises.

CASE STUDY- KING SOLOMON

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 ¹⁰Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. ¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.

He lost sight of the true purpose of life and he was just doing and doing and doing and whatever he put his eyes on he would do but there was no fulfillment. Was it worth it? You must look at Gods purposes in what you do. Never accept the assignment never walk in places that are not designed for Gods purpose over your life. As a child of the King you do not have time to waste. A dream cannot be an end and of itself.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 ⁹What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. ¹²I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Do you want to get the most out of your life? Get the most out of your marriage the most out of your relationships. Then you must acknowledge God in all His ways and all His purposes.

2.Find Contentment in What You Are Doing

Philippians 4:11-13 ¹¹Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹²I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Timothy 6:6-8 ⁶Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Contentment means that I am not living my life comparatively. Living full does not mean you are living by how much someone else has. You have to be content with where God has you in this season because God is navigating your steps and God knows what you can handle right now.

Acres of Diamonds

There is an ancient story about a rich man name Al Hafed who lived on a large farm. He allowed someone to come and tell him about great diamonds that existed in the far country. So, he sold all his possessions and packed up because he did not want to be second to nobody and went in pursuit of these diamonds based on what he had been told. He searches the world looking for the diamonds and he died broke. He committed suicide by jumping in the river. The person who bought his farm noticed something piercing through the back yard of his farm. He reached in the water and pulled out a huge diamond and realized that there were more diamonds in the stream. The new owner of the farm realized that Al searched the whole world over, looking for what he had in his own house. Sometimes we give up what we have in our own house because we think its bigger and better somewhere else. While we are in this pandemic season it is good to appreciate what you got at home while you are at home.

Hebrews 13:5-6 ⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Society trains us to want what our neighbor has. If your neighbor gets a car, we want a new car to. You do not need it, but you want one. We compare status, clothing, material items and as a result we are never satisfied. There are people banking on your discontent hoping that you will keep chasing at it and no matter how much you come up with you come up empty. If you let it happen naturally it will happen in due time.

3. Evaluate Your Priorities Periodically

Proverbs 23:4-5 ⁴Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! ⁵Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

Being rich does not equate to happiness. You can see the big house, but is it a home? Riches take wings. Here today and gone tomorrow. Invest in things eternal. To live full is to want my life to matter. I want to make sure that there is peace and joy in my home. I need to ask if I am content or discontent? If I am discontented ask myself why? You may discover that you are out of order.

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

When you are diligent and intentional it leads to plenty. When you make hasty decisions, it leads to poverty and it detrimental to your life.

IV. LIVING BY GOD’S DESIGN

1. We Are Insatiable by Design

God makes everything in its own time and in its own way. He gives us what he needs us to have which oftentimes is detrimental to the desires that God has for our lives.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

2. Know the Truth and The Way

It means appropriating Gods way into your life. Every time you open Gods word, God opens His mouth. You must recognize that God is the source of all truth contrary to us believing that we are in control. God is in control. In the greek the word sin translates as missing the mark. So, we missed the mark when we decide to live any other way than in unity with God.

Romans 6:3-4 ³Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. The only way to have fulfillment of life is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and be willing to walk in that fullness and say I understand The old person died, and the new person has arisen and now I am in Christ and my life now is sweeter. I am walking in the total fulfillment I am only satisfied by those things that are eternal and tangible carnal things do not satisfy me and I recognize right now what is my part?

2. Ask What’s My Part

You have got to make an active choice to surrender. You must make this personal. People go through life and its never fulfilled. Just because people have things that their lives are all that and a bag of chips. We began to live vicariously through other people. For example, the young people are enamored by videos of money being waved in hip hop artist hands and driving big cars and we think that is a full life. We do not realize that those same folks reach fifty and sixty years of age, they own nothing. That is not a full life. I must say Lord while I am here let me do those things that bring glory to your name that every day, I wake up my life matters. Do you want to be successful or significant?

God says if obey my word I am going to give you good success, but its about obedience. Its not about chasing after stuff because stuff will perish and leave you. Buy a car and drive it off the lot. It depreciates in value as you drive it off. What is most significant in your life is, that you say Lord let me tie my life to those things that matter, let me invest my time in things that bring fullness in my life. Let me have a full prayer life. Let me have a full life in your word. Let me have a full life in my marriage and in my relationships. The aim is to die empty. Take the attitude that everything God deposits in you, you left it in the earth.

Stay Informed.

Stay Safe.

Be Encouraged!