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TRANSCRIPT

WHY> Week 1: Why Am I Here? (10:30 am)

September 7, 2008

*Video Intro of Joe on the Treadmill of Life

Do you ever feel like Joe?
Do you ever feel like you are doing everything you can just to keep up with the pace of life? 
Do you ever feel like you can never move forward with life because all your energy is used to maintain the status quo?

During the next 40 days, we will get an opportunity to really think about the deeper questions of life. If you are like me your tendency is to get busy with life and back on the treadmill before you can get real answers to your questions.  Too often, you find yourself running again, and never really pausing to think about some of the deeper issues of life.

Over the next forty days we have an opportunity to slow down and stop and begin to ask some of the deeper questions of life.

Today we're going to look at this question, “Why am I here?”

Have you ever felt like there has to be something more to your life? Maybe it's when you go through a crisis in your life or a transition or a difficulty. You feel like there has to be something more. You just have this deep feeling that there has to be more to my life.

I think it's a question that Zacchaeus was wrestling with. Zacchaeus is a character that we meet in the New Testament of the Bible. Zacchaeus lived two thousand years ago, even though it was a different place, different race, and different language, it was the same question. The question is, “What is my purpose in life?”

Zacchaeus was very successful by the world's standards.  He had reached a high level of success in his job. He was the chief tax collector. His job involved going to people’s home and collecting the taxes that they owed to the government.  Today, in America, this is much like those working for the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).

We read his story in Luke 19:1-10. READ IN ENGLISH THEN IN SPANISH.

Here is Zacchaeus.  He has lots of money. He has success in his job. Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is coming to his town and he does something significant. He makes the decision to do whatever it takes to look beyond himself to see Jesus.

1)    First, I would suggest to you that the first step to discover our purpose is to LOOK BEYOND YOURSELF.

The bookstores and libraries are full of “self-help” books. You can read in these “self-help” books or you can listen to a lot of motivational speakers, and they all say the same thing. They all say, “Begin by looking within yourself. Look within.”  Another way they say this is, “Find your inner child.”  I want to say to you that while looking inward is important, first we have to look beyond ourselves to God.

Zacchaeus was in the tax business. The tax collectors would meet merchants coming down the roadways, especially through Jericho because it was a major trading city. They would see the merchants, overvalue their goods, and then tax them on the value. They were seen as corrupt criminals in the eyes of most people.  Zacchaeus was no different than the rest of the tax collectors.

 It is important to understand that even though Zacchaeus had money and a successful job, he knew there was something more to life.  He knew that money and success was not all that life was about.  Zacchaeus was still seeking the answer to, “What is the purpose of life?”

Therefore, we see that Zacchaeus took a bold step to looked beyond himself.

I love how The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren begins. The very first paragraph in this book which is one of the bestselling books ever in American history. Millions and millions of copies have been sold. Here is what it says: “It's not about you.” That's the first sentence. It's not about you. “The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

Some of you may be here and you may be spiritually seeking. You may be asking questions about life. Some of the questions you are asking are about God, the Bible, or even Jesus.

My hope and prayer for you is that over the next 40 days you are able to get some answers and find more direction for your life.

2)    The second step we can do to discover our purpose is to MAKE SOME DTR TIME WITH GOD.

DTR = Define The Relationship

Now Luke is very specific that Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore fig tree. When you do some research on these type trees, you find that it has big branches and big leaves. The leaves are big enough that you can actually hide in one of these trees. I think that Zacchaeus is climbing this tree because he wants to see Jesus, but I wonder if he's also hiding from Jesus. He wants to see him, but he doesn't want Jesus to see him.

Illustration: Fischer loves playing hide and seek.  He thinks if his face is hidden, he is out of sight from me.

How many of you can say there have been times in your life when you have wanted to know a little bit more about God, but you really didn't want him to see all the stuff in your lives?

Over the next forty days we as a church have an opportunity to get off the treadmill and put away all the busy stuff in our lives.  We have a chance to honestly think about where we are with our relationship to God.

As we start this journey together, It will be good to ask yourself this question, “Where am I in relationship with God? Where am I spiritually? Do I really believe all this stuff?”  Some of you may say, “I don't know if I believe any of it.” That's okay. You have to start with where you are. Be honest with God about where you are at. You might have to say, “Okay God, I don't know if you exist, but I'm going to go on this journey anyway. We'll see what happens as I spend some personal time learning more about you.”

For some of you who are here, you may have been a believer for many years.  For you it's just to define where you are at. Maybe for some of you your heart is kind of growing hard. Your heart is growing numb.  You come to church as always, but you don't know what is going on inside. Something doesn't really seem to connect. You are not sure where you are at. That's okay. Be honest with God about that.

Others of you are here, and you are going through a hard time in your life right now. You are struggling. Life is very tough. Your struggles are affecting your relationship with God. You can talk to God about that. Start where you are and do not hide from God.

For some of you, Life is very good right now.  For you, everything is going your way. Maybe God wants you to be an encouragement to someone else who is going through a very hard time in their life.

3)    The third step to discover our purpose is to LEARN FROM OTHERS IN COMMUNITY.

Let me tell you a little story. It's a true story. It comes out of England. It was actually filed on a worker’s insurance claim after an accident occurred. It's through the English branch of what we would call OSHA in America. Here is what this person wrote on their insurance claim form about their accident. It's about a bricklayer who took five hundred pounds of bricks from the top of a four-story building and moved them to a sidewalk down below.

“It would have taken too long to do it by hand, so I decided to put the bricks in a barrel and lower them by a pulley which I had fastened to the top of the building. After tying the rope securely at ground level I then went to the top of the building, fastened the rope around the barrel, loaded it with bricks, and swung it over the sidewalk for the descent. Then I went back down the sidewalk, untied the rope, and held it securely to guide the barrel down slowly. But since I weighed only 140 pounds, the five hundred pound load jerked me from the ground so fast that I didn't have time to think of letting go of the rope. As I passed between the second and third floors I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises and lacerations on my upper body. I held tightly to the rope until I reached the top, when my hand became jammed in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb. At the same time, however, the barrel hit the sidewalk with a bang, and the bottom fell out. With the weight of the bricks gone the barrel weighed only forty pounds. Thus my 140-pound body began a swift descent. I met the empty barrel coming up. This accounts for my broken ankle. Slowed only slightly, I continued the descent and landed on the pile of bricks. This accounts for my sprained back and broken collarbone. At that point I lost my presence of mind completely, and I let go of the rope. The empty barrel came crashing down on me. This accounts for my head injuries. As for the last question on your insurance form, “What would you do if the same situation arose again?” Please be advised that I am finished trying to do the job all by myself.”

In life we don't have to do the job all by ourselves. We can do the job in community with others. Spiritually speaking, we don't have to do the spiritual journey by ourselves. We can do it with other people.  This is why I encourage you to get into a small group.

4)    The fourth step to discover our purpose is to UNDERSTAND THAT JESUS SEEKS THOSE THAT ARE FAR FROM GOD.

Zacchaeus’ heart was far from God.  Zacchaeus’ lifestyle was far from God.  Tax collectors were so mean in Jesus’ time that the Bible usually grouped tax collectors together with prostitutes and beggars.  This did not keep Jesus from sitting down and having a meal with Zacchaeus.  It is very important to understand that although it seems like Zacchaeus was searching for Jesus, the opposite was true.  Jesus was actually seeking to touch the life of Zacchaeus.  Read Luke 19:9-10,

“And Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”

Jesus was willing to sit down with a well known criminal because Jesus knew his purpose was to seek those who are lost and far from God. 

Maybe the most important step for you this morning is to admit that you are far from God.  Maybe you need to just think about the fact that Jesus came for someone just like you.  I am not saying you are a criminal, but I am saying no matter your background, race, or actions of the past, you are never too far from God’s touch.  Maybe you need to come to the reality if you are lost and far from God, that Jesus could be seeking you.

I believe that as you reach out to God these 40 days, God is going to be reaching out to you.

Let us pray.  Dear Father in Heaven.  I thank you for the bible story of Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus teaches us to look beyond ourselves.  Zacchaeus teaches us that you want to spend personal time with us.  And Zacchaeus teaches us no one is too far from your reach.  No matter what we have done in the past, you want to have a personal relationship with us.  Help us understand this better during these next few weeks together. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.