What Is My Motivation

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Maybe stay in chapter 5 a little longer. [00:00:36] I was wondering how you are doing as clay this morning. For those of you that were here three weeks ago, I was wondering if you're keeping your clay watered. If you are staying soft and supple and that God can mold you and make you what he wants you to be. And we know that we keep our clay watered by reading God's word. [00:01:13] I guess the first verse I wanted to look at was from Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. It's very familiar. And this is, I'm still looking at the life of Paul, because I think I have a lot to learn from looking at his life and his example. And so it's been really interesting. It's kind of hard to put it into groups or try and pick out what he, but his life. [00:01:48] And I really like his testimony to the Galatians here. He says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the flesh which I now live, the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. You know, how do we, how do I get to that point where I say, it is no longer I who live? [00:02:24] And you know, I've been really thinking about how can he boast so much? You know, boy, he just really brags himself up sometimes it seems like. How can he do that? I mean, who does he think he is? The reason that he could is because of this. He lived it. It wasn't just a thing where, and I don't think he was boasting by the way, but it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. [00:03:01] So I've been really challenged by his testimony and his life. And so I would like to share some things that I see in his life. A couple questions came to my mind. What is your ministry? You know, what for work does God want to do in you, through you? [00:03:34] And another question that I had, you know, because chapter 5 here is talking about some of Paul's motives. And another question was, what motivates me? What motivates you to do what you do? Maybe what motivates you to say what you say? Maybe when, maybe it's a kind word. Why do you say it? [00:04:08] Or what motivates you to bake cookies? So you get some praise and honor? You know, what is your motivation? Then I had to think, well, what does motivation mean? I looked up the word motive. That which incites to action Or that which determines the choice Or that which moves the will That's what motivation is And I had to think of, look at Paul's life [00:04:39] And I had to think, what drives this guy? You know, what makes this guy tick? What is driving him? And I think a real short answer is Christ. What motivated his ministry? I think it was Christ. There's a lot of different things. There's a lot that goes into that answer. So this morning I'd like to look at his ministry and look at some of what motivated him. [00:05:10] First off, another thing that I wanted to look at is 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 17, 18. Here, Paul is trying to get the Corinthians motivated. He says, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord. [00:05:45] He's quoting Ezekiel. Then he says, Therefore, having these precious promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. He's trying to motivate them. And, you know, maybe he, there's some things there in the fear of God. That was one of his motivations and we'll get to that later. [00:06:18] But in chapter 4 here, we definitely see that, you know, his reason for ministry was Christ. Christ is the reason. He says, I thought maybe I would read the whole chapter, but because I'm not sure what to. It was just such a blessing to take these two chapters and read over them and then read over and then read over them and then read it really, really slow. [00:06:58] I don't know if you've ever done that before. Really slow. And then maybe read over it, and read over it really slow again. Because words come out a little more clearer. So I thought, you know what, I'm just going to read the whole thing nice and slow. But I don't know if there's enough time for that. Verse 1, Therefore, since we have this ministry, and I have to go back to verse 18 of chapter 3, but we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord [00:07:34] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord. So since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. Verse 4, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. [00:08:13] For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. That's their reason. That's what they're preaching. They're not preaching themselves, they're preaching Christ. And ourselves, your bondservants, for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I really, really like that verse. [00:08:47] I don't know if it's my favorite verse, but I really, really like. God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, okay? So He created the world, but He also shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. And so I want to say, let's look to Jesus. Look to Christ. And verse 7, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. [00:09:24] You see Paul always going back to God. It's always about God. It's not about us. It's about God. And I also like how he brings up these earthen vessels. You know, at one time I remember thinking, well, he's talking about these bodies that we're in. Well, what if we make them look like earthen vessels? What if he was talking about clay pots? Here we are, these weak... I don't know if you've ever broken a clay pot before. You don't have to drop it, but much, and it just pops, you know. [00:09:59] That the excellence of the power may be of God. You know, it's like it's an opportunity for God to show his power. Because here we are, just these weak little pots, you know. And it's a way that God can show his power through us. And then we see in the next few verses there, he talks about his trials while he's in the ministry. And if we, I thought it'd be interesting to look at every way that he was tried or every way that he suffered in prison and beatings and stonings and all these. [00:10:37] And then you have to ask, what drove the guy? Why did he go on and on? I remember Jim just preached a sermon on Paul getting up out of the rubble and drug him out of the city and he walked back into the city. Why in the world? The guy's crazy. What drove him? Verse 16, Therefore, we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. [00:11:13] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. That was one of his motivations. He's saying this tribulation or this struggle that we're going through. It's like he understood that it's working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight. It's way more important. It was a motivation that moved him to action. [00:11:56] He kept on and he kept on. He kept getting up. He kept praying. He kept trusting in God. He kept rejoicing. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Very familiar, familiar verses. But, you know, I pray that God can shed new light [00:12:28] as we think about what motivated Paul and what's motivating me. Why do I do what I do? Motivates us not only in our actions, but why we do it. Then in chapter 5, maybe I'll read chapter 5. [00:13:05] Verse 1, For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven. If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, [00:13:37] but further clothed that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Even though we die, we'll be swallowed up by life. And this is motivating Paul. Verse 5 Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee, His Holy Spirit. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. [00:14:15] We are confident, yes, well pleased, or we would rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. This is motivating Paul to go on through all the trials and all the struggles and all the hard times. And I don't even know if, some of us don't even know what that's like, and maybe others more. But, you know, there's other things that we're motivated to, and we'll go on to that. [00:14:48] Verse 9 and 10, therefore we make it our aim, I think King James says we labor, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in his body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Paul worked hard. He labored for God's approval. [00:15:20] That whether present or absent, not sure what he means here, but I kind of took that to mean whether we're present with Him or absent with Him, whether we're here on earth or whether we're at home in heaven. To be well-pleasing. I think that we can know that. It's not that when we... The only way that we'll be approved of him is when we get to heaven. No, I don't think so. Whether present or absent. Whether we're in heaven, you know, be approved, you know, yes, enter in. [00:15:51] But I think that we can know, I know that we can know that here on earth. You know, that approval that Paul knew this approval that he's talking about here. to be well-pleasing in His sight. He knew that it wasn't something that you can just go to Scripture and claim it [00:16:23] and just like tack it on to your life. How do I say what I want to say? It's much more than that. It's real. It's something that is real. It's not just something that you say. Yes, I'm approved by God. It's something that was real. It was reality. He also knew, I think, that it wasn't just what he did, but even why he did it. [00:16:59] What was his motivation? So many times I ask my children, why did you do that? I think I asked more in frustration, what do you think you're doing? Why did you go and do that? And it's a good, I mean, even at life, I forget how it all was stated and everything, but they asked the question, you know, what do you want out of the things that you say? What do you want out of your actions? [00:17:31] Do you want a pat on the back or what is your motive? . [00:18:07] So, one of his motivations was to be well pleasing to him. The next one there is in verse 11. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. Do we know the terror of the Lord? Do we have a fear of God? The other day I was in the garage, I forget what day it was, whenever those thunderstorms went through. I was in the garage sweeping it out. It must have been Friday afternoon, I think. [00:18:44] And there was the sound of thunder. The miracle was that my skin came back on me just like that. Because, man, I jumped out of my skin. But I didn't run anywhere. I didn't run inside. I just stood there. Like, whoa. That was amazing. Where in the world did that come from? Where did it hit? Oh, my word. [00:19:19] And instantly I thought, you know, God is so much bigger than that yet. So much more powerful. And so I'm thinking of an ant and how I look at static. You know, when you touch your car door sometimes, pop, you can hear it just crack just a little bit. And if an ant would hear that thing, I don't know if they can cover their ears, they probably can't, But they probably cover their ears and freak out like I did to this lightning, you know. [00:19:50] And how does God look at this lightning? Probably the same way I look at static. And the other thing I thought of in this terror of the Lord or the fear of God, you know, I don't think it's the kind of fear that makes us run and hide, but stand in awe. And I also had to think, do I really believe in hell? Because he says here, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, that's a motivation, but knowing that, knowing about the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. [00:20:32] And that is what drove him to tell others about Christ. We persuade men. I thought I had written down. Okay, the definition of persuade, to urge or incite, to influence by argument or advice, to draw or incline the will to a determination by presenting motives to the mind. And I right away had to think of Acts chapter 26 where Paul and King, he's talking to King Agrippa. [00:21:10] And what did he say there later on? King Agrippa says, you know, Paul, you almost persuaded me to be a Christian. You almost persuaded me. And, you know, as you read over that account, it didn't seem like Paul was afraid of man. He wasn't afraid of man. He told him like it was. He even told Festus, look, I'm not mad, I'm not crazy, I'm not out of my mind. You know, I wonder what his tone of voice was. [00:21:41] I wonder what courage and boldness he said that with. And as he told about his life and his conversion and what Christ, what Jesus said to him. Oh, he says in verse 19, Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Another testimony. He had this vision, he had this calling, and he's not going to be disobedient. But this whole thing of persuading men, do we really believe in hell? [00:22:20] Does it motivate us to persuade men? And then another motivation that Paul had, I see here, was verse 13 through 13, 14, 15. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. [00:22:52] for the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all then all died and he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again. Verse 16 Therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. [00:23:25] It wasn't a fleshly motivation. They were motivated by the love of Christ. The love of Christ compels them. Or in King James it says, constraineth. And constrain means to press, urge, to drive, to exert force, physical or moral, in urging to action, to compel, to urge with irresistible power or with a power sufficient to produce the effect. [00:24:06] So this love of Christ compelled them, constrained them, it drove them, it drove him to action, urging to action. And don't you wonder if that's what made him get up out of those stones and walk back into town. And time after time, beatings after beatings, making fun of him, he's got a bad name, and he just goes on and on. [00:24:41] Preaching Christ, living Christ. See, we're not really looking at Paul's life, we're looking at Christ's life. I mean, it was Paul's life, but Paul was living as Christ lived. I'm sure he, I know he was just a man also, but you know what I'm saying. It's what kept him going from town to town. And it wasn't this determination or this, what do you want to, what do you call those things at the beginning of the year? [00:25:14] A resolution, a New Year's resolution. It wasn't just a fleshly determination in his own mind. And the other thing that I thought of, you know, how can we do that? Well, duh, we serve the same God that he served. And do we really believe that God can do that in us? Another thing that motivated him as part of 15 also, I mean 17. [00:25:58] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. He knew, he was motivated that there is possibility of change. You know, I'm looking at my neighbor Dennis Cox or even Pinhead. I mean, Jason, you know, do I think that God can change them or do I just, do I not say anything to them? [00:26:29] Do I not witness to them because I'm like, that's hopeless. They are never going to come to Christ. Why don't I talk to them more? Why don't I persuade them? Dude, you're going to die. There is a hell you are going to burn forever. What am I doing? Why don't I... You know, Jason I would have more hope for than Dennis, and I'm not sure why I'm telling you about my neighbors, but why don't I compel... Why am I not compelled? Why don't I try to urge them to come to Christ? [00:27:02] Why am I not more motivated to do that? What is it? But he was motivated that there can easily be change. Look at the change in his life. And that's another thing I thought of. It had to happen to him first. He couldn't do this if He wouldn't have been changed, if He wouldn't have been transformed. [00:27:40] I think that we need to look at, and this has been preached over this pulpit before, we need to look at the deeper reasons why Christ died. Was it just so we can go to heaven? I don't think so. It's all about a God-centered life. God is our center. Everything comes back to God. It's about God. Everything becomes spiritual. Anything that happens. Why is this happening? [00:28:12] Or when there's tough times, what's God trying to teach me? What should I learn from this? How can I grow? It's on and on and on. Instead of, if it's a self-centered life, then what happens? Poor me, you know, all this kind of stuff. I think you all know what I'm talking about. And it's not a thing where we have our life, we have our good life, [00:28:44] and we take a little bit of Jesus and we add it to our life. You know, you're either all in or you're all out. I have to think of being a soldier. When you join up for the army, do you think everybody that joins up, don't you think they have to be thinking, you know what, I could die doing this. I could lose an arm doing this. I could lose a leg. I may be paralyzed from the hip down, from the neck down. [00:29:17] They know that there's going to, it's for life. They give themselves. This salvation that we have, I really like the, three weeks ago at Shepherd's Institute, Paul Emerson gave the illustration of you know I was talking about Philippians chapter 3 verse 7 and 8 where he says he counts all things as loss and I was thinking what does that really mean well Paul Emerson had this illustration of you know when we come to Christ it's not that okay we all have a good pile of things over here and we have a of things that we do and we have these evil things and [00:30:10] We don't want these evil things, so we get rid of these evil things. We accept Christ and we add Christ to this pile. No, counting all things as loss is you get rid of everything. When you come to Christ, you get rid of everything. And so that's what this transforming salvation, it's a transforming salvation. It's not a you add Jesus to our good things that we do. And Paul believed this and he was motivated by it. I just, in all of this, I want us to be moved to action, motivated to action. [00:31:02] In whatever area God is talking to you about, whether it's talking to your neighbor, or whether it's appearing before Christ, standing before Christ unashamed. In closing, I'd like to read from 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 through 18. 18. You know, something, you know, it's not enough that we that we call ourselves Christians. We live this halfway separated life in some areas. And for the motivation of that, we will look good. Or it's what my mom and dad wants me to do. [00:31:59] or I don't want to embarrass mom and dad or I don't want to, you know, I want to, I want to go to heaven and in order for me to go to heaven I have to do this, this, that's ridiculous. But if we could be motivated and be moved to search the Scriptures To grow in Christ as we read, as we pray, and as we study. [00:32:36] Okay, verse 8. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. [00:33:10] Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? That really jumped out at me. Verse 13, Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. [00:33:46] Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless, and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures. [00:34:25] You, therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. but grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. I pray, it's my prayer, that, you know, how can I study God's Word and be the same thing that I was two weeks ago? [00:35:08] And it's my prayer for you all as you study God's Word and as you look to Christ and as you spiritualize things and as you live and as you see God working around you and in you and through you to recognize Him and be thankful for what He is doing. Even though I've never been in Glennon and Patty's shoes, how can I say that to them? But God wants to dwell in us and he wants to work through us [00:35:44] and somehow I want to be motivated as Paul was motivated to be approved by God. God bless him. Thank you.