Eyes Wide Open #5-Abundant Living in a Bankrupt World

“EYES WIDE OPEN #5-ABUNDANT LIVING IN A BANKRUPT WORLD”

JOHN 10:10

INTRO: A word which we have all come accustomed to hearing these days is

bankruptcy. Our world is not only in trouble materially but also

spiritually. Even though our world is bankrupt God’s desire is that

we enjoy “life more abundantly.” In fact, Our Lord Jesus stated that

this was one of the purposes of His coming—“…I am come that they

might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Friends, this means an abundance of grace, love, peace, and life.

As we have seen in this series we need to approach life with EYES

WIDE OPEN. God has called each one of us to a life that is not only

eternal but it is also to be enriching. The Scripture says—“Thou wilt

shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right

hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11). The Lord’s

presence, peace, and power brings fulfillment to our lives. But friends,

to live with EYES WIDE OPEN we need to determine to live our lives to

fullest with the talents, gifts, and abilities the Lord has blessed us

with. We need to enjoy what we are doing and invest our lives in our

dreams.

The key to achieving anything worthwhile in life is preparation.

Friend, you may have great dreams you want to achieve but you have

not put yourself in the position to live out those dreams. You may

have waited, hoped, and prayed for these good things to happen but

at the same time neglected a critical part of the process—preparation.

Becoming great for God does not just happen. It is a result of

using our God-given talents, gifts, and abilities to the fullest coupled

with a lifetime of preparation. I want to speak this evening on

ABUNDANT LIVING IN A BANKRUPT WORLD. Creating the life of your

dreams is ultimately your responsibility. I want you to turn with me to

Matthew 25 and I want to read vv. 14-30. Many of God’s people

today are like the servant who hid his talent in the Lord’s parable of

the talents. They are not using what the Lord has entrusted to them

to maximize their potential for the Lord. Friend, are you guilty of

doing so? Are you giving God your best? If every believer would

simply give God their best we would have no trouble filling our pews,

fulfilling our mission, and financing our ministries. Please note with me

three things this evening. Let us see first…

(1) CREATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS

COLOSSIANS 3:23-24—“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the

Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive

the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

A. REALIZING YOUR POTENTIAL. Every one of us is born with potential.

Potential is something that is not to be hoarded or conserved but used.

This what Paul says here—“…whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the

Lord..”. Time is fleeting. Urgency is required. Friend, you and you alone

are the steward of your life. You must choose what you are going to do with

the talent God has blessed you with. Going back to Jesus’ parable of the

talents in Matthew 25:14-20 each servant had equal opportunity but only

two of the three maximized their potential but investing the lord’s talent.

You and I have no control over how much talent or potential we are born

with. Some are born in more favorable circumstances than others but we

just need to thank God for who we are and move on for the Lord! All men

are created equal but not all are created the same. There are people that

have more talents than we have. But even those of us who are less talented

can accomplish great things for the Lord by working hard. Paul said—“And

whatsoever ye do, do it heartily…”.

B. RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR PRODUCTIVITY. God may have made men

equal but He did not make them even. There are some people who are

smart and pretty. Some are wealthy and wise. The truth is that we have no

control over the way that God designed and created us. Nor did we have

any say-so over the gifts, talents and capabilities we were born with. No

one asked us where we wanted to be born. We had no choice as to whether

we were born into an ethnic minority or majority in this culture. But we are

all responsible and accountable to God for our stewardship of what He has

entrusted to us. Are we maximizing our God-given talent and potential?

The main thrust of Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25 comes down

to responsibility. It was the responsibility of the three servants to use wisely

what the master had entrusted to their care. Talent you don’t use is talent

that is wasted. To waste what God has given you is a dishonor to God and

a disservice to others.

Friends, each of us have been entrusted with a great gift. Your life is God’s

gift to you and to the world. Jesus said in John 10:10—“…I am come that

they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” The Lord has placed

within you and I all we need to create the life He desires for us to live. He is

our source of all creativity, beauty, and of all that is good in the world. He

blesses us with the potential to be great in His kingdom. Friends, greatness

doesn’t happen in a vacuum, neither does the future. It is our responsibility

to employ the talents, gifts, and abilities He has blessed us with to the

greatest potential for His glory as live and long for His return!

ABUNDANT LIVING IN A BANKRUPT WORLD happens when you are CREATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS but also when…

(2) CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS

A. ENJOY. One of the primary obstacles that we face in living with EYES

WIDE OPEN is that we are not enjoying our lives. Somehow many

Christians have come to the mistaken idea that God and fun are mutually

exclusive. Many think that in striving to be like Jesus we have to laugh

less, smile less, and enjoy less. Because they say being godly is deadly

serious!

But if you look in the Scriptures you will find that God designed us to

enjoy life. He created us so that He could enjoy us and we could enjoy Him

and we could enjoy life. God created the world for our enjoyment and WE

took the fun out of it. In the beginning God placed Adam and Eve in a

beautiful, perfect environment. The Garden of Eden was beautiful. “There

was no zone diets and no holes in the ozone layer.” (Erwin Raphael McManus. Wide

Awake. p. 192). Friends, God designed the world to inspire our human spirit.

We were created to take care of the world, but we have not done a very good

job. Because of our failure and sin we do not live in paradise any longer.

But this does not mean that we cannot brighten and enjoy our spot in the

world. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:17 that we are to “trust…in the living God,

who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” God designed us to experience

pleasure. We can see colors. We can taste all kinds of flavors and smell a

grand variety of aromas. Have we forgotten that God designed us with

desires, passions, and cravings? But these must be the right kind of

desires, passions, and cravings. Buddhism teaches the elimination of

desires, but the Scripture teaches that knowing and loving God awakens all

of our God-given desires and passions. God through His Word redirects our

desires from destructive outlets to creative ones. The psalmist said—

“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine

heart.” (Psalm 37:4).

B. EMPLOY. So often we choose the wrong places to fulfill our desires. In so

doing, you can become self-destructive in your pursuit of pleasure. That is

the way addictions becoming life-dominating, life-destroying patterns. On

the surface, most things that destroy our lives, usefulness, and testimonies

for God, are extremely enjoyable. Yes, we were created to enjoy, but we

must make sure we enjoy honorable things. The philosophy, “If it feels

good, do it,” is not a reliable compass for our lives. We ought to make

decisions that enhance our joy for a lifetime rather than sacrificing joy for a

momentary pleasure.

The only way that you and I are going to stop being pulled around by

destructive desires and passions is to allow God’s Spirit to take control of

our lives. As Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:16—“This I say then, Walk in

the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

ABUNDANT LIVING IN A BANKRUPT WORLD happens when you are CREATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS, CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS and finally when you are…

(3) COMMUNICATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS

HEBREWS 13:15-16—“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise

to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his

name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such

sacrifices God is well pleased.”

A. INVESTING IN OTHERS. Friends, whatever we gain in this world,

whatever we accumulate in life, whatever the Lord blesses us with; we need

to invest in people. The dream that God places within our hearts has room

for more people than just ourselves. When we invest our lives in others, we

will find that we are not alone in the midst of crisis. In a healthy Church,

others cont it their success when you succeed. Others count it their sorrow

when you sorrow. Friends, we will never realize the life of our dreams until

we are willing to make people our highest priority. We must invest our lives

in people. None of us were meant to walk alone.

ILLUS: In our physical bodies a toothache makes the whole body react in

sympathy; the cessation of that ache makes the whole body give a sigh

of relief. Why can't it be that way in the Church? Is it because we're so

blind to the close and sympathetic union that Scripture enjoins

between the members, that we allow the folly of selfishness to take the

place of the wisdom of unselfishness? (Bible Illustrator for Windows. Version 3.0f.

I want you to note the words “but to do good and to communicate forget

not…”. Doinggood to others improves a believer’s ability to respond

quickly and effectively. Another side of doing good is a willingnessto share

… with those in need. This strikes a blow at the self-centeredness of our

times. By sharing with others, we get by with less for ourselves so that

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B. IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE. Friend, when your potential is limited by

who you are because of poverty, disease, lack of finances or wisdom, then

you truly have limitations. But when your potential is measured by whom

you serve—the Lord Jesus Christ—then your potential is unlimited. If you

live your life obeying and serving God then your potential for God truly has

no limits. That is how Paul could say—“I can do all things through Christ

which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13).

ILLUS: Does this verse promise that Christians can do anything they want?

No. What God promises is that we can do everything he wants us to

do. At times we may wonder if God is expecting too much. How can we

possibly heal that relationship, break that sinful habit, tell that

neighbor about Christ, or give our tithes to the church? But God

promises to give us the strength to do what he asks. What does God

want you to do? Step out in faith and do it, trusting him for the

of FindEx.com, Inc.).

CLOSING: The three important steps to ABUNDANT LIVING IN A BANKRUPT

WORLD are: CREATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS,

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS, and

COMMUNICATING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS.

Friends, we must allow God to unleash His creative power within

us. We must be willing to open up to God and enjoy Him and the

life He has given us. Jesus said—“… I am come that they might

have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:

10). Friends, God does not see us as isolated from the people in

our lives. God measures our spiritual health or spiritual

dysfunction by our relationships with the Church and the people

around us.

Time is swiftly passing. Tomorrow will soon be upon us, and there

is much work to do. Time waits for none of us. So when you wake

up each day, don’t forget to live and to dream with your EYES

WIDE OPEN!

(PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, MAY 3, 2009).