Start With Why

Introduction

This morning’s lesson began a couple of weeks ago with a book recommendation. I got a call from David Osteen, who’s been a good friend of mine for a long time, who preaches down in Texas City, but that’s about to change. He’s moving to work with the Stone Gate Church in Port Arthur. And he called me a couple of weeks ago and said, Tony, it’s a book I want you to read. I want you to read this book called Start with Why. And of course, my first thought in it was is there a sermon in this? Because if I’m going to spend all this time reading the book, there needs to be a sermon in it. And he says, you know, you may not get a lot of sermons out of it.

You may get one sermon out of it, he said, but it’s going to affect your work from now on. And so I needed to read this book. Well, I did get a sermon out of it, so that’s positive. And in fact, I’m considering the possibility of a sequel next week. So we’ll see what happens. But this is a book about, written by Simon Sinek. Start with Why is a book about success in corporate America. And I would suggest that everybody who is the owner of a business really ought to read Simon’s book. He talks about in the book the success of companies like Apple, the success of the Wright Brothers years ago, and the invention of the flying machine, and then another airline company that’s the result of their work, Southwest Airlines, which is, of course, a company that we’re familiar with that flies out of our area rather frequently.

He argues that the success of these individuals had to do with the fact that they started with why. They had a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish, and they brought people on board who shared their vision of why, and their success is all about emphasizing the why. Apple thrives year after year as they sell to us a lifestyle. They appeal to a certain kind of consumer who buys into their why. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were all about challenging the status quo, being innovative, empowering the individual, and making things work better. Apple thinks different. So the commercial goes. Apple products further give people a sense of identity and belonging. The loyalty of those who use Apple products is interesting.

The Wright brothers. They knew that figuring out the problems of weight and balance and flight would be an innovation that would change the world. And thus it did. And now we have commercial airlines like Southwest. Southwest came along and it was all about solving problems. They decreased the turnaround time, was one of the initial problems that they solved. The amount of time that an airplane was in a terminal and reloaded again, and they figured out they could be much more efficient. And they came along when only 15% of the traveling public used the airlines. And so they became the airlines of the common man. And it wasn’t just for elitists anymore. And it was for the average person, and so it had to be fun. And so they promoted their fun way of travel.

And if you would ask Southwest in the early days who their competition was, they wouldn’t say the other airlines. They would say the bus and the car. And so they had a clear vision of why. And so he talks about the success of these companies and some others like them. And then Simon Sinek talks about the golden circle. And the golden circle is the why that then leads to the how, which then leads to the what. And he says what must happen is that a company and its leaders must first buy into the why and then surround them with people who know the how who have bought into the why, and that produces the what, the product that we hopefully consume. And he said the failure of many companies is that they do not have a very well defined why.

Either that or others in the company have not bought into the why. If everyone doesn’t get on board with the why, there will not be success. And further, he speaks of the clarity of why. He speaks of the discipline of how, and then the consistency of what. And I like that particular way of describing it. And so as I thought about Sinex golden circle, how that it needs to start with the why, and there needs to be a clarity regarding that. And there needs to be the discipline of how. Those who have bought into the why and know how to put everything together, and then what comes out must be consistent, the consistency of what. And I thought about, well, let’s turn this into a spiritual model.

1. Jesus Started With the Why

How does that work with what we’re all about? And I would make this change. I would suggest that, yes, it has to begin with the clarity of why, but I would flip that around that what must follow then is the consistency of what, and then the discipline of how. And that’s where the sequel to this sermon may come in. But as I thought about, starting with why, you should think immediately of how this pertains to our Savior, Jesus Christ. And I want to look at three statements made by him and one statement made about him that demonstrates why he was our success. Why he lived perfectly without sin. And why he is our leader today. Jesus started with the why. I want you to look at three statements with me.

The first in Luke chapter 19 and verse 10. This follows the story of the we little man. The we little man Zacchaeus, the tax collector. The Pharisees would have nothing to do with someone like that. But Jesus notices him in the tree. You know, that just demonstrates a little bit of eagerness, doesn’t it? That he’s willing to climb the tree, being smaller in stature. Some of us know a little bit about that, being smaller in stature, the eagerness of climbing the tree so that he could get a better look and he could see Jesus. And he says, Zachy has come down from there. I’m going to go to your house today. Why would he? Here is one who is going to die for the sins of everyone, not just this lowly tax collector, this little man.

But he took the time for this one individual, and that sort of became something that other people around could observe. And the moral of the whole reason, why is in verse 10. And I want to suggest to you that this was a part of Jesus’ why that fueled everything. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Every lost person mattered to Jesus. And that was at the bottom of everything. That was at the source of all that his earthly life was about. That was his why. And if you’ll look through the ministry of Jesus while we looked at just this one verse, that’s really what it’s all about. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

He was concerned about all lost men and women, and that consumed him. The second statement.

That was his why. Every day. And then when we come to the end of it in John 17, when he praised that lengthy prayer the night of his betrayal, he says, I have accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do in his prayer to the Father. I mean, that work, that mission, he was going to accomplish it. It was on his mind continually. I have finished the work which thou hast given to me to do. And he says that he longed for the joy that he had with the Father before the world was. I think in these three statements, we have a summary of Jesus’ why. And then one more statement as to what Peter said about Jesus’ purpose and his ministry in 1 Peter chapter 1 Peter chapter 2 rather, and verse 21.

For you have been called for this purpose. And I want you to hold that thought, underline it in your mind, for you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leading you an example for you to follow in his steps. And yes, he committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. At the heart of Jesus’ why was to not only save the world, to do the things that were pleasing to the Father, but also to leave for us an example that we could imitate and we could follow. Now, how are you going to get that done? Without question, that’s going to lead to certain habits that he formed. And that’s going to involve training. Interesting. He arose early while it was still dark.

And he went out to a desert place and was praying there. He would often slip out into the wilderness to pray. Mark 1 and verse 35, Luke chapter 5 and verse 16. As it was his custom. He entered the Sabbath. He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and he stood up to read. And so we see the customs and habits that Jesus developed that helped him to accomplish his mission. And thus it says of us that we are to train ourselves to be godly. Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is of the life that is to come. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 7 and 8. If we’re going to be his disciple and follow him, we must buy into his life.

So that we might be the success that he was. Jesus is our example to follow. I find it interesting that Sinek defined the leadership as this. He says, leadership requires two things. A vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it. Isn’t that true of our Savior? A vision of the world that does not yet exist. He saw the kingdom and did what he must do to bring it about. A vision of the world that does not yet exist, and then he, the word, who became flesh, communicated it perfectly. The very nature of this kingdom and what it means to be a citizen of it. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 3.

2. The Pharisees Forgot the Why

And so Jesus is the perfect embodiment of starting with why. Well, I thought a little bit more about this. And I thought about the fact that the Pharisees’ struggle was the fact that they forgot the why. And we look at what’s said about the Pharisees in the New Testament. For example, in regard to tithing. You know, they had that, they had the what and even the discipline of how down to a science in terms of what was involved in giving attempt to the Lord. Remember that familiar text in Matthew 23? That’s how I remember it. 23. You tithe of mint, dil, and cumen. They weren’t neglecting the tithe, even down to the smallest of spices. He says, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law faithfulness, justice, righteousness.

And these you ought to have done while not neglecting the others, Jesus said in Matthew chapter 23. How could you be so diligent about tithing everything, a tenth of everything to the Lord, and then miss the essence of it all. Because they did not have the clarity of the why. And like Sinek would go on to say, when the why goes, the what and the how is about all you have left? The Sabbath day. They had all kinds of rules and regulations about what one could and could not do on the Sabbath day, but all their rules interfered with such things as mercy and compassion. They could not even show mercy and compassion on the Sabbath day because of their rules. It was no longer about God.

It was no longer focused on him, but was focused on themselves and their rules that they had developed. And they neglected the commandment of God for their own tradition, Jesus says. They honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me in Matthew chapter 15, verses 1 through 9. And then the sacrifices themselves, we saw a little bit about that in our study in Isaiah this morning. That they were going through all the forms, the feasts, the sacrifices, but God’s not happy with them. And he’s appealing through the contemporary of Isaiah, Micah in chapter 6. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to him with burnt offerings? With yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams and 10,000 rivers of oil?

Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, for the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He’s told you, old man, what is good. I want sacrifices, but I want things that are consistent with those sacrifices to do justice. You know, you can offer all the sacrifices you want, but if you deal with your fellow man in an unjust way, you’ve missed the point. To do justice, to love kindness. Where’s your compassion for people? Instead, you hold people in contempt and with disdain. And what about personal piety? What about prayer? What about devotion to Jehovah? And to walk humbly with your God. Even all of this today is meaningless if we lose sight of the why. If we walk out of here and are people of injustice and self-promotion above everything else, if we are people who lack compassion, if we are people who do not spend time in personal piety before God.

About what it means to embrace the why and to follow after Jesus as our Savior. This is what I told David when he recommended the book. I said, Well, David, I’m not going to say it’s not going to be helpful. It’s been helpful. I got a sermon out of it. But I’ve been emphasizing the why my whole preaching life. Have you heard sermons where I have emphasized the why of what we’re doing? Because to me, the why is the motivation for everything. But again, I thought, well, I can use this and re-emphasize the why that I’m always emphasizing. And I thought about, well, why? Why do all this? Why are we here today? Why go out there and live the kind of lives that the Bible directs us to live?

3. Nine Basic Reasons That Are Our Why

We must always have a clear vision of the why. And I’ve thought about nine things here that I’m going to do very quickly. This is not an exhaustive list. And if you can think of something that I really need to add to the list, you can, this is sort of an interactive part of the sermon. Later you can tell me, and I can add this. But I thought of at least nine basic reasons that are our why. That we need to stay focused on. Number one, I believe God lives. Every house is built by someone, isn’t it? But the builder and maker of all things is God. I love that verse in Hebrews 3 and verse 4. I can’t get around that. That this universe has a marvelous design.

And that I have designed because I am the product of a creator. My creator lives. And that this Jesus that we read about, who started with why, this Jesus lives. He ever lives. According to Hebrews 7 and verse 25, it is in his name and his name alone that there is salvation. Acts chapter 4 and verse 12. Jesus is the one and only Savior. I was going to have Scott leave this, but it’s in tonight’s song service. So you’ve got to come back. I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that. You know, I’m not afraid that I’m going to die. Does this happen to you? Are you afraid that you’re going to die and you find out on the other side that things really weren’t the way you thought they were?

I don’t have any thoughts like that. I know that when the righteous die, they’re going to be with Jesus. I know that when we die, we’re going to stand before Jesus as our judge. I know that. That’s not pie in the sky. That’s not wishful thinking. That’s not some kind of delusion because I’m an intellectual pygmy. The evidence is overwhelming. Jesus lives. And this book is truth about him. And his New Testament is my judge. The words that I have spoken, Jesus said the same shall judge him on the last day. John chapter 12 and verse 48. There’s some motivation right there. That’s at the heart of it all. And I am convinced of the exceeding value of the soul. That I am more than just this fleshly carton.

And that I am not profited if I gained the whole world and lose my own soul. When it comes back to the why I’ve got to continue in the what and figure out the how so that I can accomplish the what. In the midst of all of this study and looking into the Word of God, I must not forget the why that I have a soul and its value exceeds everything else. That’s part of my why. And it was my soul that was a part of Jesus’ why.

And then there is the promise of immortality and endless bliss in the presence of my God and Savior. In his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures forever. I have treasure in heaven awaiting me, and that’s a part of my why. And needs to be in my thoughts continually. And in contrast to that, my mortality here. I’m a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes away. Life’s brevity and swiftness. I’ve only been gone from the East Side Church for about six and a half years now. I labored there for 12 years. And when I go back, it is amazing how things have changed, how people have gotten older. Some soldiers have passed in just six and a half years.

My golfing buddy, week after week after week, Roland Williams is in slow but steady physical decline. Hard to believe. Sherry and I were on vacation this week, went for a few days to the Destined Panama City Beach region, and we worshipped Wednesday night with the Saints. Panama City Beach. The preacher there is Ben Liggan. Rick Liggan, son-in-law of the Frasers here, a brother. And Ben and Carolyn Liggan have been a part of that Panama City Beach church for a long time. I held my first meeting with them two days after Brett was born. Brett was a late delivery. The meeting was supposed to be a few weeks after he was born, but he was late. And so two days after he was born, husbands are no good at that time anyway.

Mom was there. Kathy was there to help Sherry. I would have been no good to her anyway. And so I go off and hold a gospel meeting, and I remember this meeting so well. On Friday night of the meeting, there was a storm. And they still remember it too, the handful of people that were there 19 years ago. The lights went out, and I preached that whole sermon. I’m probably still blind from it. The emergency light up there in the left corner. It’s still there in the Panama City Beach church building. The emergency light was blinding me as I was trying to preach that night. I got in my car after that sermon was over, drove all the way home in driving rain. I followed two truckers all the way up I-65 for hours and hours and hours.

Pull in on Halloween to our driveway in Louisville, Kentucky, and it was snowy. So it was very memorable. The second meeting I held at Panama City Beach. The kids, we had two children then, and of course Brett was there, I guess, 19 years ago. But our children were a little bit older. And we stayed at a little place on the beach while I held the meeting. And so that’s one of our vacations that were meetings that my kids always give me a hard time about. But that was the second meeting that I held with him. And here’s what’s interesting. Okay, so of all the people that were there in those two meetings that I held, just the liggin family and the little family. The only one still there.

And the littles, one of the elders there, Gene Little. I mean, getting very old now. We are rapidly. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that. We are rapidly moving through life. Another reason. The elevating nature of obedience. The obedience of faith, Romans chapter 1 and verse 5. I could talk about Romans chapter 6, verses 16 and following that talk about the elevating nature of serving the Lord and being slaves of Christ. This is beneficial to us. My daily need for him, be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known unto God. And then I would conclude with this that worship betters me. Praise is becoming to the upright, Psalm 33 and verse 1. It enlivens and energizes and exalts my life.

4. If You Get the Why Right

I don’t know what I would be without worship on a weekly basis. Well, those are nine of the reasons of our why. As disciples of Jesus. Holy to the Lord. Thoughts in truth refined, works in Him designed, reverent, sanctified. He has made me holy. That is the clarity of our why. And if you get the why right, now listen, stay with me for two more minutes here. If you get the why right, it positively affects everything. And when you get the why right, it affects the nature of your involvement in the local church. It affects your behavior out there in the world. It affects your relationships and your behavior in the home. And it affects your private moments and what you will and will not do.

We need to wake up every day with a sense of why.

Conclusion

And just as Jesus did the training, so too must we. And we absolutely must not allow time, pain, circumstances, and a zillion distractions to cause us to lose focus and clear vision of our why. And if you get the why, if you buy into it, and remember, success is all about not just saying that’s the why or producing the what, but buying into the why. If you buy into the why, let me tell you what logically follows from that. Surrender. Not just a one time, one moment decision to obey the Lord, but a daily surrender of our will to his, the total surrender of a life. People who get the why, they obey without any quibbling, without any hesitation. And so will this song be the sentiment of your heart?

Whether it is time for you to buy into the why and to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, putting him on in baptism, or whether it’s time for you to buy into the why again and get your focus right today. May the words that we’re about to sing be the sentiment of your heart. I surrender all. Let’s stand and sing.