Title: Life is Temporary*These are the lyrics of a song Nowhere
Man, written by The Beatles, in their album Rubber Soul, 1965. It
was a hit. Whats interesting is that this song is the first song
they wrote that was totally unrelated to love or romance. So fans
took notice that they had written something different from the
usual here.
John Lennon, the one behind the lyrics, said that he wrote this
song about himself, suggesting to us that as much as he had his
career, fame, money, he was struggling with the meaning of
life.
An American pastor, John Piper, said that this song expressed a
popular school of thought at the time, called Existentialism. It is
basically the belief that theres no Ultimate Purpose or Ultimate
Meaning in life life is just simply absurd! So whatever you call it
God, Ultimate Purpose, Ultimate Meaning - its not there until you
create it for yourself. One of the devils big lies that people
bought into in that day.
*This song were more familiar with Lucky by Britney Spears.
I believe she was writing these things about herself, because I
dont think you can come up with lyrics like that unless youve felt
this way. Again, a reflection of the struggle going on inside: I
have everything I wanted, but why does it seem Im still missing
something in life?
Its interesting how the third-person language is used in these
two songs. It doesnt say I feel this way, I feel that way. Rather,
it creates this imaginary character and says he/she feels this and
that way. So I tried putting myself in the writers shoes, and I
thought of 2 reasons why they might have used the third-person.The
song will sound way too emo if in first-person, haha so better
not.If I create this imaginary guy whom I can empathize with, it
gives the idea that everyone does feel this way from time to time,
so its quite a normal thing to go through. It may not be a real
problem for me, it could be just a phase, so I guess my lifes
fine.
The second is the realisation of a problem, but the reluctance
to face up to it.
Everyone faces a sense of emptiness and meaninglessness in life,
but no one likes to come face to face with it. As long as we can
occupy ourselves we little purposes, little joys, little pleasures,
little things to look forward to, we will. Because facing up to the
fact that my life has no Ultimate Meaning is very depressing.
I have a friend who studies in one of the best universities in
the world Cambridge University. He finished his first year 2nd in
his entire cohort. He is so confident of himself that he even
turned down a prestigious government scholarship because he felt he
could earn bigger money by himself. He already knows how to make
money through shares, and no doubt hell be very rich one day. But
he once told me something which got stuck in my head and started me
thinking, he said Anyone can be depressed if he thinks about life
enough. For someone who has such a bright future, what made him say
such a thing?
The meaninglessness of life haunts us even those of us who have
plenty. The Bible answers this mystery perfectly, as well see
later. *This week we celebrated the 40th anniversary of mans first
visit to the moon.
The flight was called Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong, the one on the
left, was the mission commander. Hes the most famous, the one who
said those famous words One small step for man, one giant leap for
mankind. But I want you to meet this guy, Aldrin Buzz, because Buzz
Lightyear of Toy Story was named after him.
This was a historic achievement, an experience people would died
for, but this is what Aldrin Buzz felt when we came back down to
earth, like literally back down to earth. *A melancholy of things
done? Melancholy is basically sad and depressed. You feel depressed
by what youve done? You feel depressed by what youve achieved? You
feel depressed by being the first group to walk on the moon?
Yes, because what do I do now? Whats there to look forward to
now? Whats my role in life now? I thought that will satisfy me. But
why do I feel still feel empty?*Closer to our times, is this guy,
Tom Brady, an American footballer who is still playing, and widely
regarded as one of the best American footballers of all time.
These are his achievements:Played in four Super Bowls (super
bowls are like the championship final, a mega event in the US)
winning three of themWon two Super Bowl MVP awardsHolds the NFL
record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season.Sports
Illustrateds Sportsman of the Year, in 2005.Helped set the record
for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21
straight wins over two seasonIn 2007, he became the first
quarterback to lead a team to a 16-0 regular season.He was named
Sportsman of the Year by The Sporting News for the second time in
his career.He was also named the NFL MVP in 2007Male Athlete of the
Year by the Associated PressDating a Brazillian super modelMakes
over $8 million dollars per year
But this is what he has to
say:http://ylhelp.com/2008/04/07/the-best-talk-talk-illustrations-2-of-5
*
*This problem was identified by the Bible ages ago.
The entire book of Ecclesiastes essentially sets out to try to
answer this one question: Whats the point of living??
Ecc 1:2"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly
meaningless! Everything is meaningless.
This verse sets the tone for the rest of the book, with the word
meaningless repeated 38 times across the whole book.*The Greek word
used for this meaningless is Mataiotes (mah-tah-your-tes). It is
repeated 38 times in this book, thats more than half the number of
times this word appears in the entire Old Testament (OT).
(The OT is written primarily in Hebrew, but I use the Greek
translation here, to make a comparison with an NT passage later)
(NT is written primarily is Greek)
Some English versions (ESV, NASB, KJV) translate mataiotes as
vanity to do something in vain. I think vainity or futility capture
the flavour well the sense of no matter how hard you try, or no
matter how much you attain, its no point, you still feel like youve
wasted your time. It still doesnt fully satisfy you. These were the
reflections of the writer of Ecclesiastes as he pursued various
things life had to offer.
The idea that you spend your entire life climbing to the top of
a ladder, only to realise that the ladder was placed on the wrong
wall.
And just to give you a better idea of what futility is
like:**Now watch this verse written by Paul in Romans. I
paraphrased the back part of the verse slightly, so its easier to
understand for now. But if you want to, you can examine the full
length of the verse in your own time.
This word futility used here is the same mataiotes in
Ecclesiastes. Some Bible scholars say that Paul might have had
Eccelesiastes in mind when he wrote this verse. And for Greek
readers at that time, when they see this word mataiotes,
Ecclesiastes would spring to mind.
The verse says that creation was subjected to this futility.
This Ecclesiastes futility all of creation was subjected to
it!Because of God who subjected it! For a good purpose! In hope
that creation would turn to Him!
Wow, this was an eye-opening discovery for me. It tells me that
we have an innate longing for God. God has put in us an innate
longing for something bigger, something better, something eternal.
In the hope that we would seek Him, and realise that He is the
answer.
Side Note:(After all, we were created for a relationship with
God. When Adam and Eve was cast out of the Garden of Eden, from a
theological perspective they were cast out of the presence of God
and communion with Him. Mankind since, have had the longing to
return into the blessed state of being in communion with God -
whether they recognize it or not, whether they believe there is a
God or not, they have a deep sense that there could be more to life
than this. This, according to Rom 8:20, is Gods design, who since
the fall, has launched his restoration plan to return man to
Himself.)
*A hole that only God can fill. The missing piece, that only God
can fit perfectly.
This is the piece that Tom Brady, Aldrin Buzz, Britney Spears
are missing. They have everything, but they have nothing.
What good is it if a man gains the whole world, but forfeits his
soul. *Now together with this God-shaped hole of mataiotes, God has
also planted eternity into the hearts of man.
God has put in us a sense that life continues beyond this
present existence. God has put in us a sense that theres more to
life than this, that life doesnt end here.God has put in us an idea
of eternity. Though we cannot grasp what eternity feels like, but
we know that such a thing can possibly exist.
And God has made our hearts long for eternal things. *(The is a
picture of an aurora, which is an amazing display of colourful
lights in the sky. It only occurs in certain parts of the world at
certain times. This one lasted 25 min in Oklahoma. I think its
these kind of things, the magical stuff of nature that happens on
earth, that remind us that theres something bigger out there.)
A fish would never be happy living on land because it was made
for the waters. An eagle would never be happy walking around on
land because it was made for the skies.
Many Christians have foolishly concluded that because they live
on earth, its their home. It is not. Your identity is in eternity,
your homeland is heaven.One day your heart is going to stop
beating, but thats not the end of you. *This is Busselton Jetty,
Australia. It is the longest wooden jetty in the Southern
Hemisphere, almost 2km long. *It looks out into Indian Ocean. From
the shore we say this is a long jetty. But if you take a plane
higher and higher and look at the bigger picture the expanse of the
Indian Ocean, the jetty appears smaller and smaller compared to the
vast ocean. 2 km becomes like 2 inches. And its another 10,000km
before it reaches the next piece of land, the tip of Africa.
Similarly, have you ever tried to imagine what eternity is like?
Itll blow your mind. Its just infinitely long. The more you think
of it, the shorter life appears to be. If eternity is infinitely
long, life is infinitely short!
Isnt it a pity if we think jetty is all there is, and we make
the jetty our home? When theres another 10,000km to go?*So this is
usually how we look at life. Theres a jetty in front of me. I just
walk down the jetty, I dont know when Ill drop off, but I know some
day I will. But lets not think about that, there are things to be
occupied with now, so Ill occupy myself with them, Ill occupy
myself with hopes for the future, so that I dont get depressed
thinking about that.
*But this is how God calls us to look at life youre only a few
steps away from the end!
Ecc 2:3 describes life as only a few days long! I wanted to see
what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days
of their lives. Ecc 2:3
Life is merely a preparation for eternity!
No wonder C.S. Lewis, a great Christian thinker and author, has
this to say, All that is not eternal, is eternally useless.
*And this is how Apostle Peter addressed us Christians as aliens
and strangers of the world! Were only passing through, this is not
our home!
(Aliens are not how we read it to be, like ET creatures or
whatever haha. It was used to described foreigners.)
Try to imagine yourself as a stranger to this place. Walking
around with this thought in your head, I wont be here for long.
*This is quite a prayer to pray. I dont think David is just being
poetic here, I think this is a sincere cry. *A sense of destiny
begins with a deep realisation of the brevity of life.*How then do
we live? I propose these 3 Grand Pursuits hallmarks of a life lived
with a sense of destiny.
(Adapted from Mentoring Paradigms by Rev Edmund Chan)
*An easy way to remember.
GPL
Grand Pursuits in Life
GodPurposeLife
*The first pursuit of life the God we are to know.
We often think of eternal life as basically living forever, yes
thats true but thats such a given. Its much more than that. Its
living forever with God. From John 17:3, eternal life is not a just
an eternal possession, its an eternal relationship.
Thats why eternal life starts now. And we can taste the goodness
of it today!*Weve all heard before, theres a difference between
knowing God and knowing about God.
This is distinguished more clearly in the Greek.These are the 2
most common words that are translated as know.
Oida knowing factually. e.g. you know the way to the place, you
know the commands of God
Ginosko strongest definition Ive seen is experiencing what is
known. Element of emotions, often has to do with relationship.
Deeper than facts.e.g. my sheep know my voice; Jesus says, I know
the Father; Phil 3:10, I want to know Christ, and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings*Know used here is
ginosko.*Secondly, the God-ordained purpose for our lives. As his
children, we are destined to be moulded, shaped and made more like
Jesus.
This is what we are to embrace, not to reject! ****Thirdly, the
kind of life we are to live one that is without compromises.
Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart. This is a love
without compromises. ***What does it mean to be called? It means
there is an onus to respond. And I hope you respond to Gods call to
live to a higher purpose.
*The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means the
gathering of those who are called. What a strong statement of the
church of Jesus!
But when we lose our sense of destiny, our sense of calling,
then instead of SJC St. James Church, we should call ourselves SDC
sian diao church. And instead of JYM, we should call ourselves DYM
depression youth ministry.
But hey lets rise out of this shallowness.Lets live unto the
3-fold calling of God the God we are to know, the life we are to
live, and the purpose we are to embrace. I tell you, if just some
of us embrace this calling, this whole place will shake into
revival.
Last Sunday, Ivan shared during worship that for the first time,
our attendance hit 100 or more for 3 consecutive weeks. It made me
recall a quote that he also shared a while ago, also during worship
time a quote by John Wesley, Give me a 100 men who love God an hate
sin and we will shake the gates of hell.
It is my dream that we rise up to this vision. *In closing, I
want to share with you the life of a man called Dietrich
Bonhoeffer.
Two days after Hitler was installed as Chancellor, Bonhoeffer
delivered a radio address attacking Hitler, in which he warned
Germany against following him, who could very well turn out to be a
seducer. He was cut off the air in the middle of a sentence. He was
27 years old. 3 months later, he spoke out for church resistance to
Hitler's persecution of Jews when he declared that church must not
simply "bandage the victims under the wheel, but jam the spoke in
the wheel itself."
He poured himself into resisting the Hitler movement, and in
1943, at 37 years old, was arrested and imprisoned. He ministered
to fellow prisoners and guards with such impact that he even won
admiration from guards. Sympathetic guards helped smuggle his
letters out of prison. A guard even offered to help him escape from
the prison, but Bonhoeffer decided against doing so.
On April 4, 1945, Bonhoeffer concluded his last Sunday service
of his life, done in the prison, and asked an English prisoner
Payne Best that if he ever gets to go back home one day, to
remember him to Bishop George Bell of Chichester, and tell him
these words: "This is the end for me the beginning of life." (This
is the end of the 2km, but the beginning of the 10,000)
On April 9, 1945, He was hanged. The execution was brutal.
Bonhoeffer was stripped of his clothing and led naked into the
execution yard, where he was hanged with thin wire for
strangulation.
The camp doctor who witnessed the execution wrote: I saw Pastor
Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I
was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout
and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of
execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few
steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a
few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I
have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will
of God.
This was a man who lived without compromises.
*Closing Prayer.
Lyrics of This is Our TimeWhat a day to be alive, what a time to
live my life, to have a destiny and call, to see it day by day
unfold. What a day to know you Lord, to live and walk within your
love, to see the wondrous things youve done and know theres greater
things to come. And we sense the wonder of it all, we feel the
urgency. Theres not a day to be wasted, so God help your church,
the Ekklesia, the called out ones, help us to see.
That this is our time, this is our day, nows not the time to
hold back or delay, dreams can live again, faith and hope restored,
taste and see that the Lord is good. This is the day of salvation,
a time to break free from containment, people need, people need you
Lord. And I myself need you Lord.
All I ever need in life is you, all they ever need in life is
you. Help us to decide to walk towards an undivided heart that is
rested in you alone and restless to make you known.
Amen*
