Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1191 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Why Should We Live Like Jesus? – Worldview Wednesday

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge.  Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy.  Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1191 of our Trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday.  Creating a Biblical Worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events.  To establish a Biblical Worldview, it is required that you also have a proper understanding of God and His Word.  On our Worldview Wednesday episodes we are in a series in which we are covering another detailed review of a book from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser.  We are taking a deep dive and will share Dr. Heiser’s insights into the question, which is also the title of his book: ‘What Does God Want?’

Why Should We Live Like Jesus?

Last week we discovered there are a lot of reasons to live like Jesus, but earning God’s love isn’t one of them. What are those reasons?

First, sin is self-destructive and harms not only us, but those around us. In my own extended family, I’ve seen the effects of alcoholism, drug addiction, and infidelity. It’s obvious that these things destroy lives. It should be equally obvious that the things the world—the unbelieving culture—offers for pleasure and self-gratification are temporary and have no enduring value. The culture tells us to “live life” to gratify our own “happiness” regardless of the misery our decisions create. It offers no eternal perspective. It beckons us to live only for now. There is no higher calling. The Bible exposes this mindset for what it is in 1 John 2:15-17: Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Second, and in many respects the opposite of the first, living a godly life blesses others. The truth is that the way we live and think either blesses other people or curses them. Jesus served people and was a blessing to them. Pursuing a lifestyle driven by self-gratification and self-absorption isn’t fulfilling. Every supermarket tabloid offers examples of that reality. Blessing people not only reflects Jesus, but leads to personal fulfillment. Your life matters when it’s lived in service to others.Third, a godly life allows us to be a consistent witness for the gospel. If people look at our lives and don’t see any distinction from the unbelieving world, and don’t see a life lived in service of others, they won’t find the gospel believable (or at best they’ll be confused). They will see our lives as a contradiction of the message of Jesus. In other words, people will expect us to live like Jesus, the person we say loves them. That’s not unreasonable. The alternative is hypocrisy, and no one appreciates hypocrisy.

Living a godly life isn’t about earning a place in heaven. It’s not about putting God in our debt because of the “spirituality points ” we’ve racked up. Passages like these have an altogether different focus.  First let’s look at Romans 12:1-2

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Also 2 Timothy [2:19]-21 tells us

 But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.”  In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.And finally in Philippians 2:1-8

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?  Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.

 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

These passages give us some idea of how we should live, but we still haven’t gotten to the specifics of discipleship. How does a disciple live? What does a disciple do? Fortunately, Jesus and his original disciples, the first Christians, made that clear. Jesus never told his followers to do something he didn’t do himself—and showed them how to do it. They, in turn, followed his example and taught others to do the same in the early days of the fledgling church.

That will conclude our lesson for this week from Dr. Heiser’s book “What does God want?” Next Worldview Wednesday, we will discover “What Does A Disciple Do?” I believe you will find each Worldview Wednesday an interesting topic to consider as we build our Biblical worldview.

Tomorrow we will continue with our 3-minute Humor nugget that will provide you with a bit of cheer which will help you to lighten up and live a rich and satisfying life.  So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’If you would like to listen to any of our past 1190 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.  I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all, your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you Tomorrow!