How Will You Live the Rest of Your Life?
Happy New Year!
a. I pray the Lord will bless you.
b. How will you live the rest of your life?
Combine 3 texts today to introduce our lesson.
c. II Cor. 5:14-15
d. Gal. 2:20
e. I Pet. 4:1-2
Look how closely these verses are tied together.
f. All three point to a commitment to Christ and purity of life.
"…Should not henceforth live unto themselves…"
"…And the life I now live… I live by…"
"…That he should no longer live… but to the will of God."
g. All three urge the love of Christ as the motivating force in the Christian life.
"…For the love of Christ…"
"…The life I now… who love me…"
"…Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh…"
h. Notice how all three call particular attention to the rest of our lives here on this earth.
"…Not henceforth live unto themselves…"
"…The life which I now live in the flesh…"
"…That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the…"
How will you live the rest of your life on this earth?
Think for a few moments, just what is comprehended in the expression, "the rest of your life."
A. We don’t know how much time we have left (one year, 10, 20), but we do know it is certainly all the time we have. What ever it is, it is all there is.
1. Job 7:6
2. Psa. 90:10, 12
3. The rest of it is all of it.
B. Illustrate
1. Life sentence – To prison for the rest of your life.
2. Wedding ceremony – "For as long as you both shall live."
C. So at baptism, a commitment to serve Christ for the rest of your life.
On this first Sunday of the New Year, you are deciding now how you will live the rest of your life.
D. Popular expression – "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
1. Diet, exercise
2. Certainly applies to spirituality.
3. Accomplishes or mistakes of the past are over.
4. Therefore, today, a decision must be made, starting today, how you are going to live the rest of your life.
E. So many texts emphasize the urgency of the right decision.
1. Jos. 24:15
2. I Kings 18:21
3. Heb. 3:15
4. Jn. 9:4
5. II Cor. 6:2
6. Eccl. 12:1
F. But people persuade themselves that this is not the right time. They will decide later on.
1. It is never the right time to do wrong but it is never the wrong time to right!
2. Your life is like a diary in 3 volumes.
a. The past is stored away under lock and key and you can’t change it.
b. The future is locked and only God has the key.
c. Only the present is open and you are writing in it every day.
3. Make the best use of your life before the best of your life has been used.
How, then, will you live the rest of your life?
G. Spiritually speaking, do you want to be the same person you are now for the rest of your life?
1. At the end of your life, would want to look back and see that you have used it all like you have used the past year?
2. If not, why not? And what are you going to do about it?
H. How will you live the rest of your life?
1. The question is not just whether it will be as a husband or wife; factory worker, office worker or professional; whether living here in Lenoir or some other place, but whether you will live the rest of your life as a Christian.
2. Nothing else matters! Nothing more important than pleasing the master, Jesus Christ!
3. Story of musician who gave solo concert.
a. Audience gave standing ovation except for one man. Performer went to his dressing room and cried. Asked why he was so upset over one person not applauding? "That one man was my teacher and my master!"
b. Nothing else matters! If we are not living lives that please our teacher and master, Jesus Christ. Everything is hopeless and worthless.
c. There is just one life. It will soon be past. Only what is done for Christ will last.
The rest of your life may seem like an awfully long time.
a. Some fear they can’t hold out.
b. But we must live one day at a time.
c. The way to determine how you will spend the rest of your life is by considering what you will do today. Not tomorrow, next year but today!
Texts
Not suggesting a New Year’s resolution, but a new life resolution.
Today will you…
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift from God. Live it like He wants, in His service.
James Pharr
Lenoir, NC