IAG2M: Episode 1 – Search for Significance

Some of the questions that I was asking was where did I come from? What am I doing here? Where am I going? I grew up in a greek Orthodox home, if you ask me, are you a christian, I would say, oh yeah, but I didn’t know who christ was, I didn’t understand a christian, what does that mean? I really didn’t know, I thought it was going to church lighting a candle party, Ramona and johnny’s doing my prayer a couple times a year, giving some money, I really didn’t understand any of it. I wasn’t a buddhist, I wasn’t a Confucius, I wasn’t a muslim, I was, I would say I’m not a turk greek christian, but I wasn’t, I knew about jesus christ here, I heard the stories, christmas easter, I knew intellectually that jesus christ, I was born supernaturally, this baby mary and that he grew up to live a perfect life to go to a cross and die on the cross. I didn’t understand a lot of that and I believe that he arose again from the dead. They told us this during easter time, we would walk around with candles and uh you know, and sing restores a nasty echo that groan, christ is risen from the dead, I’d say these things I as an altar boy, even as a little boy didn’t understand them, It was from here to here is about 18\”, they weren’t personal, I had religion, but no relationship with God, if I’m talking about God, there was no relationship between me and God, I knew about it intellectually Then when I was 18 after having been high on drugs for three years, every day, almost 19 a month before my 19th birthday I heard and I was I was totally confused. I had been in a mental institution. They tied me up, they gave me shock treatments. I was a drug user every day every day for three years. And then I heard on the street, someone told me that jesus christ died for me personally was buried, arose again that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. And it just was amazing to me that I since God talking to me and that experience changed my whole life. I went to a christian camp. I heard the gospel again. I prayed and asked God. I said God, I I really screwed up my life. I’m please forgive me, jesus. Come in my life, jesus, I accept you as my personal savior. You died on the cross. You were buried, you rose again. He changed my life. I called my girlfriend Vicky. I was, it was 1968. We had no cell phones. I called my girlfriend. I told her to the same story. She too believed and accepted christ And since 1968 I’ve been reading the bible. I’ve been studying the bible mm. I have decided to follow jesus. No turning back, No turning back and I found real significance because as hippies, we were looking for ourselves, we were in search but for ourselves. Then I heard the message, If you find your life, you’re gonna lose your life. But if you lose your life for me and the Gospel, you’re gonna find your life. That’s what I want to talk about. I want to talk about Luke 17 and 33 where Jesus said he, whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it. Whoever loses his life shall preserve it or keep it. And the greek word that he uses his petty pieces, you understand Betty is all around be all means to make. So it’s talking about a person who is seeking to make a life for themselves, whether it’s sports, you’re gonna go after music, you’re gonna money, you’re going to go after a family, Children, whatever it is, a house, a car, you’re gonna try to make for yourself the life this life, so you can say, well, I’m happy now, he says, if that’s your goal, you’re going to lose. But if you lose your life, if you say no to yourself, and you come to jesus christ and you believe he died on the cross was buried and Rose again and you give your life for the Gospel and for jesus christ, you’re gonna find the purpose of life. Now you say, well, I’m a buddhist, I’m a confusion, I’m an atheist doesn’t matter, you’re not going to change what jesus said he said it, I’m just repeating it. If you decide to believe it, that’s up to you. If you seek your life, you’re gonna lose it. But if you lose your life, you’re gonna find what God’s purpose for your life is. Now, let me in search of significance. Let me just show you that uh this is a huge universe and it takes about 1.3 million earths to fill up the sun. And this is how big the universe is. And it takes about 64 million suns to fill up on tariffs and to show you how much bigger the universe is. It takes 100 million antivirus is to fill up Hercules. These are different stars. These are biggest stars, This universe is incredible. It takes 100 and 25 million Hercules size stars to fill up epsilon And let me say this to the Milky Way itself, which is 100,000 miles from one end to the other and light traveling at 186,000 miles a second would take 100,000 years to just 11 galaxy. There are 12 billion Galaxies. And then there’s God God created the symbol on in greek the universe. Everything. The physical time space, energy, matter, God created all this. Yeah. And so the Milky Way is a tiny little speck in the, in the light of all of the universe. This image only shows a very small area of the universe. And there’s a little milky where you can’t even see it, can’t even see it. And so I’m telling you the question, where did I come from? If you believe we just came out of a little paramecium in the water, jumped out and grew a leg and then before you know it, there’s an ape and here we are. No Where did all that paramecium? Where did the water come from? There was a big bang billions of years ago. Where did those, where did that matter collide? Where did that come from? That matter? That collided? You can’t just say stuff without any facts, can’t do that either. You believe that there is no design in the universe or you believe there is a design and you know, I believe there’s a divine design. So God the designer designed everything and he created a place called the Earth. Incredible. If you looked at this like a spaceship, it’s a spaceship going through the air, going through space spaceship, it’s moving. You know how fast we’re moving right now, 64,000 miles an hour around the sun. This is this is fast and it’s moving around the sun, 64,000 miles an hour around the sun and it’s spinning in its access 25,000 miles an hour. That’s why it takes 24 hours, Almost 25,000 to make one revolution, wow. And it’s moving fast. Now God created this place I believe and he gave us oxygen. He put the vegetation, he gave the fish, the birds, the animals all for us. We are the most important thing that God created in this planet. I know people want to save the whale, but God’s interested in saving people man. I know you want to save the Eagle. Wonderful. But the Eagle doesn’t have the kind of soul that a man has, a woman has the Children, the 65 million Children that have been aborted. They have a soul and you can’t save the whale and kill the child. You can’t save the eagle and kill the baby. What kind of nonsense is that to pull out arms and legs and heads? Because then you have to the doctors and nurses have to put them back together again after they rip them out of the womb of the mother, they have to put them back together again. So they make sure they didn’t miss anything. How you talk about cannibalism, that’s cannibalism, that’s incredible wickedness. Murder. Yeah, we are going around like we know what we’re doing. There is no big deal. It’s a huge deal when the when the creator God looks down upon this planet and sees people killing one another and killing little unborn babies and destroying themselves through alcohol and drug addiction through wars and famine, in selling one another. It’s as horrible God has a better purpose than that. That’s why jesus said he who seeks to find his life will lose it, but he who loses his life will find it. So the three big questions we’re asking is where did we come from? I believe it’s God, I believe our designer designed us with a divine design so he could meet all our needs, the planet is moving, but he gave us oxygen enough. He gave us the right kind of temperatures. Yeah, it gets hot sometimes, but just turn that a little more and get a lot harder or turn it back a little more on its access that planet, you get a lot colder. Believe me, we have enough temperature in this space ship that’s moving through the universe, through around the sun that we’re able to survive all these thousands of years and we’re able to eat and we have enough food and we grow our own food and we can, it’s amazing, it’s amazing that we can see and we can hear and we can taste and we can touch and God created us in his own image, not only the body, but more importantly, he breathed into us a living being and we became eternal souls, what are we doing here? We are here to be significant in God’s design. We are here to know God and to reflect God through our life and to serve one another, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and then to love our neighbor as ourselves, that’s what we’re doing here. Are you doing that? Are you loving God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, jesus christ When he talked about this, He he mentioned all of these things because that was incorporated in Deuteronomy six. When it talked about the heart, it talked about the mind that talked about the Psyche talked about the body, it talked about everything in our life and that’s how we love God. And then when he says, where are we going, where are we going to do? You know where you’re going? Are you sure if you die today? You know you’re going to be with God in his heaven because that’s where he wants us to go. He said, He said in Matthew 1626, what does it profit a man to gain the world but to lose his soul? He wants us to know that we’re saved. He wants us to know that when we leave this planet, we’re going to be with him, he says, I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and bring you onto myself that there you also maybe and that’s where we are going. Are you going to heaven? If you die today, do you know for sure that jesus christ is your personal savior. And then while you’re living here, he wants you to have significance. He wants you to know not only where you came from, not only what you’re doing here and where you’re going. He wants us to be able to share that with others through the Gospel. He wants us to become gospel messengers and go to all the world and preach the gospel. I’m just gonna go to this verse. Whoever seeks to keep petty poem and his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Now, jesus christ in Acts 2028 it says beyond God for yourselves and for the flock among which the Holy spirit made you overseers to shepherd the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. So what did he live for? He lived to go to a cross as the lamb of God bleed and die and with his own blood purchase make for himself the church, that’s what he lived for. Now those of us that belong to jesus christ. We need to live for the same thing. We need to be willing to sacrifice. We need to be willing to serve and surrender our lives so that we can bring other people into that body of christ. He’s the head carefully we are the body the soma and we’re bringing others into that body through the gospel of jesus christ. This is what that word purchase means. So and then there is first timothy 3 13 which if a man wants to really gained for himself a high standing as a faithful deacon, he gets that high standing. So we can do some things in our personal life that really elevate us to the point where we do something to to be given a responsibility of great honor in the body of christ. That’s the other place. It’s used, it’s only used these three times. And then in other forms it’s used in first Peter 29 as as a as uh it says the chosen race, a royal priesthood. The whole priesthood, the holy Nation, a people for God’s own possession. Again, it’s Betty pieces. So one is a verb, the other is announced. This is the noun form, talking about that which we are referred to as petty pieces of God. In other words, God created this treasure for himself. And what does he call us? His chosen people? In the old testament, it was secular in the new testament. Its party piece is the fourth of these adjectives concerning us that we are a chosen race. A royal priesthood, A Holy Nation, a people for God’s own possession. Petty pieces. That’s the word found in Luke 1733. He seeks to find his life meaning to make for himself. Petty pieces. His life here God is doing it for himself. And let me go back one more verse. Ephesians 1 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession. So this thing that he’s trying to make for himself, he has to purchase with his blood, redeem it and make it his for himself to the praise of his glory. Then in first Thessalonians 59 for God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation. Pary pieces through the Lord jesus christ Second Thessalonians 2 14. It was for this he called you through our gospel that you may gain. Perry pieces that you may gain the glory of our lord jesus christ. And then in hebrews 1039. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving petty pieces of the soul. All of these places. This word is used now I want to go further uh in in this passage, but you are a chosen race, A royal priesthood, A holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. So God is all around us and we, his people are right there in the center. He uses, he talks about us as a special treasure in exodus 19 5 as uh for himself, a special treasure in Deuteronomy 76 and Deuteronomy 26 18. His special people. And uh in maliki 3 17. My jewels, God calls us uh and then I go to the end. Whoever seeks to keep his life Now listen, we’re going to just show you in Matthew, Mark luke john And in the book of Acts and other places, the principle where he’s talking, if you die to yourself, you’re going to find life. If you live for yourself, you’re gonna lose this life. What God has intended for you when he created you. So watch this. So we’re gonna go first, we’re gonna go to Matthew 10 39. He who has found and this time he uses a different greek word. Every school, every school means to find literally find something. His life loses it. And he who has lost his life for my sake will find it. So there we have for my sake. Uh, and then he goes to Matthew 16 25 for whoever wants to save. So, so that’s the greek word, salsa for save or salvation Santeria. Okay. And, and, and he says here his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it again. We have added to it, my sake. And then Mark 8 35, whoever wants to save. So, so again, uh, safe or rescued his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, Now watch this. This is my favorite 18 35 and Mark for my sake and what the gospel will save it. You understand what jesus is saying, folks, you understand that he’s talking about, you’re gonna live for yourself. Maybe it’s, you know, you like, I love the guitar, you like the guitar or you love soccer. I loved soccer when I was a little boy, I was on a team in college, great stuff. But that cannot be my life, my life has got to be connected to my maker. I remember great basketball players. You know the pistol who was one of the greatest basketball players. That pistol pete the pistol. He he got saved later on in life. He went through all kinds of religions, but then he got saved and he realized, he told people, look, basketball is great. But man, my redeemer, my savior, my jesus christ is goes way beyond any sport or any. And he was the great, he was one of the greatest. They still haven’t broken his records. You have to understand that we’re talking about, not just something you do or some hobby or some great sport or some book that you write, you find significance in money or building bridges. I’m talking about you and your maker. That there is nothing between you and your God. And then you find out that it’s jesus and the gospel that will create a pattern for you. A whole new life for you that you’ve never really seen before until you give up ownership and you surrender self to death. That’s the only way you’re going to see it. It’s an all or nothing deal. He’s not interested in some of you. He wants all of your life. He stands at the door and he knocks. If you hear his voice and open the door. He’ll come in, He will manifest himself. God will manifest himself to you. Now look what he says in Matthew 16 25. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life. And the mark 8 35 we said, whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and for the Gospel, these are jesus words. We’ll find it. These are jesus words. This is, this is not tom, This is not some other preachers. These are jesus words. If you find your life, if you seek to make for yourself what you think is happiness, you’re gonna lose it. But if you lose that, if you give that up, if you surrender that to me and to the Gospel now he may give you back that habit or that hobby or that desire. But he may give you something totally different like he did with moses moses. One of the smartest people that ever lived. He was educated in Egypt for 40 years. He knew all kinds of things. But yet God took him to the desert to help them unlearn and detoxing for everything he learned. A lot of the stuff you learned you know, and give him the The Law, the 10 Commandments and give him a whole new way to live incredible, isn’t it? God had a different purpose for moses and then we go to luke 9 20 for luke 9 20 for for whoever wants to save His life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. And then of course Luke 14 so that none of you can be my disciples who does not give up Oppa Tasso means to prioritize everything in your life. To follow jesus christ, not before him, but after him. That’s what that word means. A potassium I pull from here, you know, in greek there is and that he and a party not here, there is before the beginning and after the beginning. This is after a poor from here. You have to start with jesus. Then after that you prioritize everything. That’s what he’s talking about here. Not giving up all your money and all your things. That’s part of it. If that’s what he wants. But more important is to put Jesus 1st And then prioritize everything after him, Luke 1733, whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. And that’s the one we started with and then we go to John 1225, whoever loves and again, you see all these nuances now it’s love and hate. First it was lose and find cheap and lose. I mean, it’s just amazing how he’s he’s helping us to understand he who look what he says, whoever loves fellows affectionate friendship, his life will lose it. But whoever hates MS eval Michelle properly to detest his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. And then what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for the sole C. And then there are two more verses I want to leave you Galatians two And verse 20 I am crucified. These are principles in the epistles. What you heard now in Matthew, Mark Luke and John are given to us principles and the epistles. And explain further, I am crucified with christ Galatians 2 20. Nevertheless I live It is an eye who lives its christ living in me the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So I’m dead. He’s living his life through me. Look at Philippians 1 21 For me to live is christ and to die is gain. You see these are principles now and you’ll see them all through the epistles. So we’re coming to an end. We have a million dollar body. We have a billion dollar mind. We have a trillion dollar soul. That’s really a lot more than that. But I just did that for you to be able to relate to it. Your life. Your soul, your body are so valuable that jesus exchanged the big exchange uh huh himself for you. He said uh this he’s uh he who knew no sin. Second Corinthians a five verse 21 became sin so that we could have the righteousness of God in him. I recommend jesus, christ and I recommend you lose your life and you embrace jesus and his gospel and find real purpose in your life. God bless. Yeah.