Motivation for Living

What makes life worth living? What gives meaning and purpose to life? I hope to answer these searching questions Biblically in this message.

Many churchgoers have never been challenged by the leadership of todays's Local Churches. Pastors and leaders are so worry about losing members that they never call members to any real commitment, sacrifice or effort. Many seek to please men by compromising the truth of God's Word in their preaching or teaching. They failed to understand true Christians don't want leaders to please them. They never understand inwardly members are longing for chanllenges; longing for something they can give their life for and something worth living and dying for. In general, if a thing isn't worth committing yourself to, isn't worth much. Today's Christianity has little to offer because they demand so little. On the other hand, Jesus, the Head of the Church, demands everything from His people. The Bible says unless you forsake all and follow Jesus you cannot be His disciple! Jesus offered a great deal, but His demands were on the same level as what He offered - which I think is reasonable.

It is hoped that this message will motivate you, as a believer, by giving meaning and purpose to your life whether your Local Church fails to motivate you or not. We'll take our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul as examples.

The Earthly Life of Jesus

What is the real motivation in the life of Jesus? What was it that caused Him to go through with the tasks that were committed to Him? I believe the one great overruling motive for everything He did was to do the will of God - that was how He started, that was why He came and that was how He ended. If we desire to be like Jesus, if we desire to have any strength and stability in our Christian walk, our desire must arise from the same motivation. It should be our sincere desire to do God's will.

Psalm 40 paints a prophetic picture of Jesus of His eternal nature before He became a carpenter's son of Nazareth. It is a prophetic picture of the motivation that made him willing to give up His place in the Glory of Heaven, to be born of a human child and to live a life of humility, struggle and suffering.

"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not required. Then I said, 'Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart'" (Ps. 40:6 - 8, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The above is a picture of what was spoken by Jesus to God the Father. This is confirmed by the writer of Hebrews - Heb. 10:5 - 7.

2. Hebrews further indicates that Jesus set aside the first sacrifice according to the Mosaic Law to establish the second - His own personal sacrifice (Heb. 10:8, 9).

3. The will of God for Jesus let up to the sacrifice of Jesus Himself on the cross was the ultimate destination of God's will culminated according to what was written in the scroll for Jesus!

"By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10, emphasis added).

Our scroll and our suffering

I believe, just like our Lord Jesus Christ, God has a scroll for every person's life so that we may do everything that is written - this is His will for every one of us.

Paul said, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).

Written in our scroll there are times of joy and suffering. I don't think any of us can avoid suffering. The question is, are we going to grow by suffering or are we going to be defeated by it. There is an appointed share of suffering for every one of us.

Paul said, "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24).

The Motivational Strength of Jesus

We now turn to some words of Jesus (all in John's gospel) during His earthly Ministry to bring out the continuing unchanging motivation that guided and impelled Him all through His earthly life.

1. Jesus at Jacob's well

Jesus' disciples went out to buy food, and on returning they found Jesus at Jacob's well talking to a Samaritan woman. They offered Him some food, but Jesus said to them:

"I have food to eat of which you do not know. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:32, 34, NKJV, emphasis added).

Then He talked about the harvest which according to Jesus the time was ripe (white) for harvest. But His disciples failed to see the urgency of the harvest.


Here are some statements of truth:

I. According to the context, without partaking of natural food Jesus actually had been physically strengthened. There is a source of supernatural vitality which comes from doing the will of God.


Paul said, "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16).

The lesson learnt is, as Christians we have to learn to live on an inner source of strength and vitality. Always go for the spiritual and God will make up what is needed in the natural.

II. Being sent to do the will of God, Jesus had a different perspective from that of His disciples concerning the urgency of the harvest. Jesus saw what the disciples could not see because He was united with the will of God.

It could be true in your life and my life. We fail to see the urgency of the world situation we are facing today. There is so much unrest politically and socially. I believe the changes are tremendous; and the opportunities are also tremendous. It is a real tragedy, as children of God, if we could not see what evil forces we are confronting now. If you are not really committed to do the will of God you'll remain spiritually blind. Many Local Churches are in spiritual slumber!

2. Jesus' righteous judgment

Jesus said, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30).

The only judgment that is righteous and acceptable in the sight of God is judgment according to the will of God and never according to our own will. But there is a lack of realism in the Church today. Instead of judging people with righteous judgment we relate to people on the basis of what we hope they would be. We project ourselves with our emotion hoping people would be changed by our kindness shown to them. But it just won't work out this way. The truth is if a person is unreliable three times, he won't be reliable at all.

Jesus said, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10).

3. Jesus' finished work

Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38).

At the end of His earthly ministry Jesus prayed to the Father:

"I have glorified You on earth, I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4).

At the last moment on the cross the Scripture says:

"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 'I thirst!' So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished'" (John 19:28, 30, NKJV, emphasis added).

That was His food - did God's will and completed it. There was nothing more for Jesus to do - He had seen it to the end!

Notice that in Greek, the powerful phrase "It is finished" is one single word "teleo" which means, "perfectly completed", perfectly accomplished" or "perfectly executed".

The Motivational Strength of Paul

The same motivational strength that directed Jesus also directed the life of Paul.

1. Back to Jerusalem

Paul was speaking to the elders of the Church in Ephesus:

"And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, ..." (Acts 20:22 - 24, emphasis added).

It was the will of God for Paul to finish the ministry which he received from Jesus (V. 24) in all circumstances.

2. Sharing the suffering of Christ

"... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection of the dead" (Phil. 3:10, 11).

Not many of us can say what Paul said. Paul didn't want to see Jesus suffer alone. When you are really committed to a person you are not only just interested to share his joy but equally interested in sharing his suffering.

Paul was essentially saying, "If Jesus is going to bear the cross I want to be there". Paul was a man with a simple motive - to attain to the resurrection of the dead; not just to go to heaven. I believe God unerringly discern our motives. He deals with us much more according to our motives than the things we actually do.

3. Time of Paul's departure

Paul said to Timothy, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:6, 7, emphasis added).

I believe the above was the most victorious statement made by Paul in his entire ministry.

In the Livitical Priesthood according to the Mosaic Law every offering of animal sacrifice had to have a drink offering of wine pour out on it (or with it). What Paul said was essentially, "My contribution to the Church of Jesus Christ is like the offering, but with it I have to pour out my life as a drink offering". That was Paul's way of doing God's will.

I really believe the only offerings that God will ultimately accept are those accompanied by the drink offering that our own lives pour out on it! God does not want us to be martyrs - He desires that we offer ourselves entirely to Him, to do His will and to finish it.