Necessary Motivations – part 1

Introduction

What a beautiful song that was. I guess I could describe my state over the past several weeks as overwhelmed. I guess that’s the best word to use. And this morning I’m overwhelmed. And so I might want to ask in the future that the elders equip the seats with seat belts because you might need to fasten your seat belts. I don’t know what I’m capable of this morning. It could be an interesting ride, but I am just extremely overwhelmed by how blessed I am to preach this message. The message of salvation in Jesus. My physical feet aren’t that beautiful. But hopefully, as a messenger of God, I can be beautiful for him. And so I’m overwhelmed by this message that I get to preach on a weekly basis.

I am overwhelmed by the way the Lord has used me to communicate his truth. I am overwhelmed by the message that I get to deliver today in particular. It’s a message that we’ll talk more about tonight, as I will be enlisting the aid of six of our brothers to further talk about each of the points that I will make. And we’ll do some additional praying and singing in relation to these thoughts. I want to take you to a very important couple of verses. I want you to digest what Paul is saying as he comes to really the very essence of his entire message when he writes 2 Corinthians. The theme of the entire epistle, I believe, is stated in this chapter, when he admonishes those who are already in Christ, because of problems that have developed, because of poor attitudes that have been cultivated, that they again need to be reconciled to God.

There may be an occasion in your life, or occasions in our lives where we find ourselves less than what God calls us to be. And we must again come to God to be reconciled. And as he’s approaching this all important thought, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, he says these words.

Having concluded this, that one died for all. Therefore all died. And he died for all.

And then notice this. Underline this in your text or on your electronic device. That they who live, okay, on the basis of what Christ has done, on the basis of the life to which he calls us in our salvation, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. Paul says something very powerful here, several things actually. But there is something that struck me in these two verses just recently. When he speaks of a force that is compelling him.

How he went from persecutor to perhaps one of the greatest servants of our Lord, if not the greatest, in terms of accomplishment, in terms of amount of service, perhaps one of the greatest servants of the Lord that ever lived. What was the driving force? What so changed him? What made the Apostle Paul the Apostle Paul? And what can make you the best you can be? And he said it here. For the love of Christ controls. This is the force that was at work in the life of the Apostle Paul. And this force fuels choices and behavior. This force fosters completely our transformation. It is this force that diminishes the practice of sin. And it is this force, this motivation that meets our need and accomplishes goals.

And you know that’s what motivations do. Motivations meet our needs, or at least our needs as we perceive them and help us to accomplish the goals that we have set for our lives. And it goes much further than just spiritual goals and religious things. Why do you do what you do? What motivates you? What’s the force that compels you to act? So I started thinking about this generically.

What is your motivation? And I would suggest that there’s something. There’s something compelling your behavior. If not, you would just be a slug 24-7. And eventually you wouldn’t be able to pay for your place of residence. And yet, I guess the motivating factor in that is you’re just extremely lazy and self-indulgent. But you do stuff in your life. Why do you do it? What is the force that motivates? And I would tell you that one of the most powerful motivators, especially in our affluent culture in America, is that we seek pleasure. A lot of the things that we do ultimately might have a variety of motivations, but we’re headed this direction ultimately.

No, they’re going to have a great time. It’s going to be a wonderland for Will. And whatever it is that you so really want to do, you’ll do a lot of things in order to get to that reward. You’ll make a lot of sacrifices because you’re motivated. And perhaps to get to the pleasure, or perhaps it’s just the idea of amassing wealth itself, to have the wherewithal to do what you want to do in life, to obtain what you want to obtain. That’s a powerful motivator for people. And you know, you really can’t enjoy those things unless you have some measure of physical wellness. Mental wellness, it’s not underrated either. Wellness motivates. You know, when you’ve not been feeling good for about a week, you might just go to the doctor looking for a solution.

I hate going to the doctor. But if I’ve been sick for a good number of days and I can’t kick it, I might just go. Because wellness is a motivator. And sometimes we do things we don’t really want to do because there’s a deadline. And if I don’t meet the deadline, there are consequences. I’ve got to get a certain grade because that fits back into some of these other things that I really want. Because if I don’t make the grade, I don’t get the job. And if I don’t get the job, I don’t get the money. That gets me to the pleasure I want to get to. The things that I want in my life. And so deadlines motivate. I know. Because I have a deadline every week, and it’s today.

And as the days start to slip by, it’s Tony. You’ve got to have something to say on Sunday. You can’t get up there and mumble. And so the deadline motivates. Relationships motivate. In a number of ways. Sometimes negatively, sometimes positively, but the nature of relationships that you sustain will compel a certain kind of behavior. And then sometimes it’s just about the kind of person you want to be, the way you want other people to perceive you, and you need to be really careful with that in our culture, because people sometimes elevate image and status above everything, and what they convey is not really real, and that can be very dangerous. But that’s important to people how I am perceived by others. Really don’t want to go to church today, but I want people to think I’m God fearing, that I’m a Christian.

I know that wasn’t your motivation. I’m just saying that’s part of that image motivation. Now I’m going to come back to all of that at the end. I want to talk to you this morning about necessary motivations. If you’re going to please God, and that’s that’s the awesome responsibility I have to encourage that in you. If you’re going to please God, if you’re going to live for Christ and no longer live for yourself, which he beckons us to do, then you are going to need to understand the motivations that are necessary to arrive there and to arrive in his glorious presence eternally. But I will say this listen to me. Listen to me. These motivations aren’t going to work for you. Unless your mind is open and willing to receive these necessary motivations.

And God isn’t going to force you. If I know one thing from reading the New Testament, God is not going to make you have these motivations. It is entirely your choice. You can’t turn him away. Did you remember that when we sang without him? What a great song, by the way. You can’t turn him away. Now, the author of the song is not saying that it’s impossible for you to turn him away because people turn him away all the time. But he’s saying, if you really know him, if you know what Jesus is doing for you, what Jesus has done for you will not turn him away. Surely you would not. But God’s not going to force this on you. I can’t force this on you.

I’ve always said, I would love to be able to force everyone to put on Christ. Let’s just get out here on hardened store road with our shotgun and say, you pull in here. We got some guys with some guns. We can line up six or seven guys. Come in here, start shooting. We’re going to baptize you today. Whether you like it or not. But that’s not how this works. Covenant people again who should have known better. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. I’m afraid. Too many people who should know better. Too many people who have been long acquainted with the Word of God will not maintain the necessary motivations because they do not keep knowledge within their grasp. It’s not that they stopped believing in God.

It’s not that they even quit worshiping God. They just didn’t know him anymore. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. And if these six things that I’m about to reveal to you that our men will talk about tonight, if they are not the compelling force for your behavior, the compelling force for your choices and decisions.

You won’t respond like you did. Motivation number one. And obviously, I’m not going to spend a lot of time on these.

1. God Lives

That’s enough. One motivation out of six that I’m going to give you. That’s enough. God lives. In him we live and move and have our very being. Why am I carrying this book around? It’s called, and I bought this used, by the way, off Amazon. Who needs new books? Just get it used. It’s the same thing. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Gleason L. Archer. I got this book last month because I was sitting in the office while I’d gone to visit my family in Florida, sitting in the office of Tommy Peeler, my longtime friend and a Bible professor at Florida College, and I saw this book in his office as we were in our usual gaffal about our past experiences together when we were in college. I don’t think we ever got over our college experience.

And Tommy has a perfect recall of everything that happened. And so every time we get together, we start laughing immediately. And so Tommy says, hey, see this book over there? Encyclopedia. It’s an older book, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason Archer. He said, and of course we talk about sports too. And he’s a big Tennessee Balls fan. Sorry, Ben. It’s a rough life. And he was telling me that the coach for Tennessee’s basketball team, who used to be the head coach of Chris Pennington’s team, that he has this book. Tommy said he saw an interview with Barnes, and this book was on his desk. This one. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. Interesting. Now that says something about Rick Barnes. Something positive, I think. Oh, I left the Purcells out, sorry.

It’s a hard life being a Tennessee fan. Okay. Them two. Why do you think this book is on Rick Barnes’s desk? Why do you think Tommy has a copy in his office? Why did Tony think, hey, I need to get this book? Because the topic of whether we can trust the Bible story is a more growing concern in our culture. That’s why. And there are difficulties. There are things to unravel that are not just apparent from a casual reading. And so people see conflict. There’s conflict in the Bible. It’s not really from God. And you know why? You know why they think about that? It’s not really from God. Therefore, I don’t have to listen to it when it tells me the hard things about how Jesus wants us to live.

2. Without Jesus I Have Nothing: Grace

And so if I can’t trust it, then I don’t have to worry about morality. I can just do whatever feels good. And that’s where people, that’s that pleasure motivator. That’s where we would sort of like to go. If it feels good, do it. That’s what most of the world lives by. And so I’m not going to restrict myself from things I might want to do if I can’t be convinced the Bible’s from God. The call to biblical morality, New Testament holiness is tall. It is a tall requirement. It is challenging. Another motivator. First is enough. I realize more and more that without Jesus, I have nothing. I am nothing. And it doesn’t matter what I know and what I accomplish if I don’t know him. And I am totally unworthy of what he’s given.

Grace.

3. Without Him, Absolutely Undone and Ruined

May we never diminish the importance of grace and what God extended to us. Or we would be hopeless. Out utterly, totally hopeless. And beyond all that, what he gave up, what he surrendered to deliver the grace out of the ivory palaces into a world of love to be rejected by those he fashioned in the beginning. Oh, what an amazing descent he made for God to take on the form of a serpent. The love of Christ controls us. And that leads to this point. Are there any negative motivators? Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. When you realize that without God and without the grace of our Savior, we are absolutely undone and ruined. Hellbent. Without him, I’d be enslaved. You can walk away if you want. But I will tell you this.

You will be pursuing an inferior and empty life without him. You will be on a course to destruction and eternal regret. Eternal regret. You ever regretted anything? You ever done something that you deeply regretted? Do you remember the pain of that? How about an eternity of regret? Because of what you knew. And you reject it. Motivation grows because you realize what you were staring at. And deserve. But God rescued you. He who is forgiven much loves much. That’s the Apostle Paul. It was spoken in Luke chapter 7 about the woman who wiped Jesus’ feet with her tears. He who is forgiven much loves much. The love of Christ controls us, Paul says. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Wow, there’s some motivating there. Why is he so blessed? Why does he feel so blessed? And so why does he say, all that is within me, bless his holy name? Forget none of his benefits. Why? He pardons all your iniquities. He heals your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit. He redeemed my life. And he satisfies your years with good things. So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. He has not dealt with us according to our sins. Thank God. Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

4. Something in Christ That Transcends All Circumstances

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. He knows our frame that we are but dust. Choose not to be motivated if you wish, but know this. Your calamity will come suddenly. Instantly you will be broken, and there will be no healing. From our reading this week, Proverbs chapter six and verse 15. Why allow your vigor to be given to others, and your years to the evil one, and allow strangers to be filled with your strength, and you groan at the latter end when your flesh and body are consumed. Proverbs 5, 9 through 11. Who said the daily Bible reading didn’t have benefit? Point number four, and I’ll move quickly. Points one through three. Plenty. But beyond all of that, we have something in Christ, despite our unworthiness that transcends all circumstances.

We can rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice, Paul writes that from a prison cell. Why? Because the love of Christ controls him. That’s why. There’s always a reason to rejoice in Christ, even when our hearts are breaking. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, we can never really begin to know. How awesome it is to have peace. What a treasure. It shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Not just assurance in the midst of a storm, but a reason for exaltation. I know the King of Kings. Peace I leave with you, Jesus said. My peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid. You got enough motivation yet? There’s more.

5. God Gives Us Relationships

You God gives us relationships in which he cultivates and nurtures and desires the expression of love. Human touch, human compassion. He knows we cannot touch him. Not physically.

Love. And if not in our homes, by his ideal. Certainly within the framework of those who are like minded with us in this pursuit. Our brothers. Your souls are purified in obedience to the truth unto an unfeigned love of the brethren. He even provides relationships that are designed to nurture and encourage us in this course. And finally, at the end of it all is the Creator Himself. And Jesus.

6. Hope Eternal

Hope. Eternal. We talked last week about the prodigal son’s story. When he came to himself. There he was in the pig pen. No one was giving him anything. That’s that’s what I was talking about earlier from Proverbs chapter 6. When you suddenly realize I’m in a mess. You better realize that before it’s too late. He did. I’m in a mess. And then he thought, hey, my father’s house wasn’t so bad. In my father’s house, there was bread. Bread and enough. And he was motivated. He was motivated to come out of the miry pit in which he had sent himself so foolishly. And to go back to the only place where there was bread and enough. In his father’s house. And our God says, You come to me, you come to me, and you shall not want.

You come to me, and I’ll fill you up. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. They are satisfied, they are filled. You come to me, I will sustain you, I will fill you up, and I’ll tell you this is just a taste of it. You embrace these motivations and you walk his path, and at the end of it all, what is eternity? It is being in the presence of the most awesome God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and it is being filled without want. Never a moment of lacking. Absolute joy, absolute peace, absolute rest, absolute fulfillment, every moment, every single moment.

In his presence is fullness of joy. And at his right hand are pleasures forever.

Because that’s what I know I’ve always wanted. I sometimes look for it in the wrong places. But it is only found in the presence of God. Everything that means anything. Everything that means anything is only found in Christ.

Conclusion

The love of Christ controls us. You know what you find out is all of these rewards that we talked about earlier, all these motivations, they’re all sort of wrapped up in what we were talking about. Real wellness, real wealth, real pleasure, real image and status. I could read a couple verses in Revelation 2 and 3 about that. Ultimate relationships, and oh, by the way, there’s a big deadline. There’s a big test that’s coming. See how all of those things that motivate people are really involved in the motivations that Paul had to no longer live for himself, but for him who died for him. Well, I thought you’d be able to see that better. It’s also from Psalm 16. I’ll read it to you. I have set the Lord always before me.

Have you done that? Have you set the Lord always before you because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. That’s a beautiful thought. You want to be strong in the Lord. You want to stay the course. You set the Lord before you. If he is at your right hand, you shall not be moved. That, my friends, that is salvation. That is security. That is stability. And that is your need. In Christ alone. If you need to respond, let’s stand and say.