April 15, 2007 message by Pastor Rich Doebler
People everywhere seem to be looking for a better way to live. The problem is that many of them are looking in the wrong place! Psychic hotlines aren't the answer. Self-help can only take you so far. Feel-good medication or escaping through drugs won't do it. Neither will full-bored entertainment and pleasures. Fame and fortune won't last forever.
So, what IS the secret to a better life?
Actually, there is no "secret" to a better life. There is no magical formula waiting to be uncovered. No hidden knowledge or mystery.
The truth is it's not a secret because God has already given us everything we need to know for life. What we need to know is available for anyone interested enough to pick it up. The Bible says:
[God's] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)
However, if you look at what's happening in American society right now, you'd never be able to tell that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Too many people are struggling with too many problems. Too many are overwhelmed by worry, anxiety, and even despair. Too many are seeking—but failing to find—answers to life's problems.
Everyday thousands of people hit bottom—spiritually and emotionally. Everyday our society sees thousands of bankruptcies, divorces, criminal convictions, lawsuits, suicides, lost jobs, murders, extra-marital affairs—the list goes on and on.
God offers hope for this world as well as the next, but people don't see the answer right before their eyes: God's divine power has given us everything we need for life.
So people keep looking, trying to muddle their way through the messiness of life. They keep looking for something that will help. Some antidote to life's poison. They're seeking a quick fix. They're looking for the secret.
Some of you may have heard about the latest big craze—right now The Secret is number one on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Oprah Winfrey helped put it there when she interviewed the author, Rhonda Byrne, and endorsed its message. The week before that program in February, the book sold about 18,000 copies. The week after, it sold over 101,000. A follow-up story a week later sent the sales to 190,000. So far, it's sold over 1.3 million copies in the U.S. alone. [From Tim Watkin, Washington Post, 4/8/2007]
Apparently, a lot of people are tired of their old lives and are looking for the secret to a better life.
But before you go out and plunk down $16.76 for the book or $34.99 for the DVD, let me suggest that you'd be better off hanging on to your money. I want to be perfectly clear: The message of this book is pure, unadulterated New Age garbage. It's all about positive aura and negative vibes and some kind of metaphysical magnetic attraction in the universe.
The message is popular because it claims anyone can obtain wealth, health, or love simply by focusing thoughts on good things. What about hard work and dedication as the keys to success? That's not necessary. What about self discipline? Forget about it. What about natural ability or resources? Not important. What's important is to stop your negative energy. Stop thinking about bad things and focus on good thoughts.
Here's one example of how goofy it is: "In the book, investment trainer David Schirmer describes his own experience. He used to receive bills every day. ‘So I got a bank statement, I whited out the total, and I put a new total in there,' he says. ‘I thought, "What if I just visualized a bunch of checks coming in the mail?" Within just one month, things started to change. It is amazing; today I just get checks in the mail. I get a few bills, but I get more checks than bills.'" [From Tim Watkins in Washington Post, 4/8/2007]
Peter Jones, professor at Westminster Seminary and director of "Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet," writes: "The Secret is the power of positive thinking on spiritual steroids. It is a new hybrid religion that joins the self-indulgent materialism of the West with the Hindu/Buddhist spirituality of the East."
Caroline Hartmann (4/10/07, Michigan Daily): "This isn't just another feel-good website dangling in cyberland—this is a cult."
So I want to be careful when I talk about how to find a better life. I don't want to mimic some kind of feel-good, me-first cult teaching. I want us to open up the Bible and hear what God has to say about life—real truth about real life. There's enough garbage floating around out there! We need to know God's Word to sort out all the New Age garbage from the truth.
Let's begin with a simple question: How does God define a "better" life?
We know how Rhonda Byrne—and a lot of others—define "better": it's about money, health, and love. They say the more prosperous and successful you are, the better your life. They say the fewer troubles, hassles, and difficulties you have, the better your life. They say the more you feel loved and affirmed, the more friends (and the less enemies) you have, the better your life.
But what does God say? Is "better" always measured by material or physical things? Does "better" depend on our feelings or our circumstances? What is God's view of "better"?
Pr 8:11 (NASB) For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.
Pr 12:9 (LB) It is better to get your hands dirty—and eat, than to be too proud to work—and starve.
Pr 15:16 (NCV) It is better to be poor and respect the Lord than to be wealthy and have much trouble.
Pr 15:17 (NASB) Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
Pr 15:24 (NCV) Wise people's lives get better and better. They avoid whatever would cause their death.
Pr 16:16 (NASB) How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
Pr 16:19 (NLT) It is better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.
Pr 16:32 (NLT) It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
Pr 19:1 (NCV) It is better to be poor and honest than to be foolish and tell lies.
Pr 19:22 (NCV) People want others to be loyal, so it is better to be poor than to be a liar.
Pr 22:1 (NCV) Being respected is more important than having great riches. To be well thought of is better than silver or gold.
Pr 28:6 (CEV) It's better to be poor and live right, than to be rich and dishonest.
These verses tell us that the quality of a person's inner life is more important than his good looks or the size of his bank account—the condition of his outer life. God is more interested in your character than your accomplishments.
1 Sam 16:7 [God said] "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Luke 9:25 [Jesus said] What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Luke 16:15 [Jesus said] ...but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
Here's the dirty little secret—success, wealth, and fame do not solve your problems or give you a better life.
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer. —Actor Jim Carrey
What people think is the answer is not necessarily the answer. Following the crowd is not the answer. Going along with the world is not the answer.
A couple of years ago in Turkey, some shepherds watching nearly 1,500 sheep took a break to eat their breakfast [near the town of Gevas]. While they ate, they kept an eye on their sheep, and were surprised to see a sheep jump off a nearby cliff and fall to its death. What happened next, however, stunned them. They watched helpless and amazed as the rest of the sheep followed, each one leaping off the cliff.
When it was all over, 450 sheep were dead. (Those jumping later were saved as the pile became higher and the fall more cushioned.) One of the shepherds said: "There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted." [Nevzat Bayhan, from one of 26 families grazing sheep together, commenting on their $100,000 loss in a country where annual income is about $2,700.] ["450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey," washingtonpost.com (7-8-05)]
If you follow the herd, it could kill you. The majority is often wrong. So let's not worry about the conventional wisdom of self-help authors or pop psychologists. The question is: What is real life, according to God? What is the best kind of life?
Pr 19:23 (CEV) Showing respect to the LORD brings true life...
1 Tim 6:19 [You have to plan for eternity to] take hold of the life that is truly life.
John 10:10 (AMP) ...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
A "better" life from God's perspective is an "abundant" life—an overflowing life, a full life, a life full of meaning and purpose and significance, a life that counts for something. Where do we find abundant life?
John 15:1-5 (NASB) 1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-5 (LB) 1 I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. 2 He lops off every branch that doesn't produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. 3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. 4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can't produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me. 5 Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can't do a thing.
Where do we find abundant life? An abundant life is...
An abundant life is A life connected with God. v 4 - Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. (LB: Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can't produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.)
Last summer we had a lawn mowing accident. The mower hit the main trunk of a grape vine growing on our backyard fence. I didn't notice the damage until I noticed the branches and the leaves—all along the fence—beginning to wither. Because the branches were dying, I knew something had cut them off from the root system. Without that connection, they died. When I found the break, there was nothing to be done except clean out the withered branches and throw them away.
To have an abundant life, we must remain connected to God. The independent person—the one who is unconnected to God—may enjoy temporary comforts and earthly pleasures. But independent, self-made men—the powerful and influential high-rollers, the movers-and-shakers-eventually will wither like a grape vine cut off from the roots. They may live a few years, but then they're gone, leaving their accomplishments behind.
Ps 39:5 (TEV) ...In your sight... every living being is no more than a puff of wind.
An abundant life is A life nurtured by God. When you are connected with God, you can draw on his grace. The branch receives daily nourishment from the vine—minerals and water to make your life full and abundant. We need daily renewal—tapping into the gifts and resources of God.
Too many try to find their own nourishment. Too many try to fill up their own lives. Abundance does not come from trying to fill up your own life!
Jesus said if we try to find success and prosperity, we'll miss out on real success. He said if we try to fill up our own lives, we'll end up with empty lives.
Matt 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matt 10:39 (NCV) Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life.
Matt 10:39 (NLT) If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.
Matt 10:39 (MSG) If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.
Our lives must be filled up by God! We need the nurture and the resources of God's grace. And that's why we must remain connected to him—like a branch connected to the vine.
An abundant life is A life surrendered to God. v 1 - I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (LB: ...my Father is the Gardener.)
Surrender means to commit yourself to God. Give yourself to God. Give Jesus full and complete authority in your life. Only when we give him full control can we begin to experience full life—an abundant life, a better life.
Surrender means we put ourselves under his care and his discipline. He can work with branches who are connected and surrendered. He can see that we are nurtured and watered, that we receive good nutrients and sunshine. He will keep the weeds and the birds away.
But surrender also means we give up our independence. Surrender means we will be tied to a trellis—we can't just grow off on our own. Surrender means we will be disciplined—he will trim us and prune us and "clean" us. If we surrender to him and allow him to do it, he will cut back areas in our lives that are unproductive and wasteful.
What makes you unproductive? What things need to be pruned in your life? I find that the world—the culture all around me—has too much influence on my thinking and on my behavior. Surrendering to God means that I allow him to prune the influence of the world in my life.
Surrendering to God means that we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to him (Rom 12:1). Once we surrender to God, then we can begin to do what Paul tells us:
Rom 12:2 (TEV) Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind...
(Phillips) Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within...
(MSG) Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
An abundant life is A life partnered with God. v 4 - As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. (LB: Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.)
God wants us to surrender to him—but he also wants us to work with him. Surrender does not mean that we lay down and become immobile, like protesters being hauled away limp to the police station. Surrender means laying down our weapons, waving a white flag, raising our hands, and crossing over to God's side.
Surrender does not mean that we have no free will. Surrender means that we partner our will with God's. It means that we choose to obey him because he is working in us.
Phil 2:12-13 12 ...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phil 2:13 (NCV) ...God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him.
Phil 2:13 (NLT) ...God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
Jesus said: I am the way and the truth and the life... (John 14:6). You cannot find an abundant, full, meaningful life without Jesus Christ. You cannot "live it up" here on earth without being connected to Jesus, and trying to find life by other means will not give lasting life.
It's not what you know; it's who you know. It's not information you need as much as transformation. Knowing theology is good; knowing Jesus is better.
Do you have Jesus living within you? He is the life! If you want a better life—an abundant life—you need to have Jesus' life. You need to live in him. You need to abide in him.