Living now but focusing on eternity

Greetings and welcome to the Faith Chapel podcast. My name is Jason and I am

the pastor of Faith Chapel.

In season two of this podcast, we have looked at why we should have the Bible

as an authority in our lives and are now discussing some of the issues in our

society to see what the authority of Scripture says about those subjects.

In this episode, we discuss the human desire for focusing on immediate actions, immediate relief,

immediate gratification, and compare that with what the Bible says about focus.

Thanks for joining us today.

So tonight I was, I struggled with what we should do tonight,

but I came down on the side of what focus,

different focuses people can have compared to a biblical perspective.

And what I came down on is that there is some overlap. There are some philosophies,

some ways of looking at the world that overlap with Christianity.

And so I chose one of those that has overlap.

And we're going to compare and contrast those two.

But what I mean by focus is something that is a center of activity,

attraction, or attention, or a point of concentration.

So that's the definition that

I'm working off of, and that comes from the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.

When we think of a focus, there can be a lot of different things that we focus on.

So it can be a physical object, a ship that is coming into port in the in the nighttime hours.

Their focus is going to be on a lighthouse and getting in the right direction

and knowing where to go and where not to go so that they can have safe passage

into the shore for themselves.

So a lighthouse could be a focal point, something that they are centering their attention on.

But it can also be an idea or a concept like traveling in space to Mars.

That's the focus of SpaceX and their owner.

That's something that they want to do. And so that's their focus.

That's their attention.

That's what they are going towards. So our focus can be on lots and lots of

different things And there are

many things that we do end up focusing on Whether it is a relationship,

whether it is an activity that we're doing We just went through the elections

That was a focus for a lot of people over the past several months And so we

have different things that can focus on And they come and go It ebbs and flows in that way.

But when we put our focus on those objects or on those things,

we also need to realize that it is filtered through the lens through which we see the world.

And when we look at a concept,

when we look at an object as followers of Jesus, our purpose is to focus in

on how we should look at that from a perspective of how Jesus would look at it.

And so we're going to look at what we think, what the Bible says,

is the focus for us as followers of Jesus.

But to begin with, we're going to take a look at a worldly focus and one that

has been really prevalent in our society.

I don't have any statistics to know how many people follow this,

but I know it is definitely what advertising pushes. It's definitely popular

in our culture, and that is the focus on the now.

What is happening right now? So in

advertisements, Pepsi in 2012 started a campaign that says Live For Now.

It was the first ever global campaign of Pepsi, and it is still going on today.

A concert was held earlier this year that was titled Live For Now and sponsored

by Pepsi. So it's something that they are still focusing on.

And when you look at the advertisements, the advertisements are about usually

a group of people and they're doing some sort of fun activity.

There's a sand volleyball that's going on in one of these interactions.

There is a fashion show that's happening in another one.

There's lots and lots of people, lots and lots of laughs, lots and lots of Pepsi

being drunk. And the idea here is to say, let's do something enjoyable right

now. Let's live for the moment.

Let's do what it is that makes us happy right now.

So Brad Jakeman, the president of global enjoyment brands PepsiCo.

Said this about the campaign.

Live for now is considerably more than a positioning statement or a single ad.

It's the central governing idea for the brand globally.

Pepsi has always inspired people to embrace the now by being at the epicenter

of and helping to define pop culture.

And so this idea of living for the now, he says, extends beyond just what 2012 was into the past.

They've always been trying to embrace this concept of do what you want right now.

And so the concept here is just very basic.

Let's focus on what's happening in front of us at this moment.

And this idea is carried out through other thoughts, other focuses.

One of those is in yoga. There is a mantra in yoga about living for the moment

and being mindful. in one of the articles they had, which is wedoyoga.co.uk.

It's the five mantras for living in the moment.

And one of the mantras was what I have presented here.

I am fully present, embracing the gift of now.

And in the description of that, the idea is shift your focus to the present

moment, for it is where true joy and fulfillment reside.

Be fully engaged in what you are doing, whether it's flowing through yoga poses,

savoring a delicious meal, or sharing meaningful conversations.

Embrace the gift of now and let go of distractions that pull you away from the

richness of the present.

And so the concept here is, again, when we're in the moment,

that's where true joy and fulfillment are. And this is the focus that they have.

So let's be in the moment, whether we're doing yoga, whether we're enjoying

a meal, whether we're having deep conversations with other people,

let's be in that moment. Let's have joy.

Let's have fulfillment because that's where they reside. And again,

this is a very limited perspective.

It is just what's in front of us, what we're feeling like, what we want to do.

How can we just embrace this moment to get joy and fulfillment?

The last one comes from a website called Becoming Minimalist,

and the document was 10 Tips to Start Living in the Present.

And again, I'm just trying to show you that this is an idea that encompasses

many, many different ideas.

Genres of thinking and focus.

So in this article, they say, living in the present moment means no longer worrying

about what happened in the past and not fearing what will happen in the future.

It means enjoying what's happening now and living for today.

Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment today,

but it also robs you of truly living.

The only important moment is the present moment.

And so the idea here is, again, that we are to be here for this moment.

There are things that can distract us from this moment, something that's still

on our to-do list, something that is coming from the past that has haunted us,

that is a pain or a hurt that we have in our past.

Maybe it's a loved one who is dying or sick and we can carry all these things,

but according to this tip to start living in the present, it is to no longer

worry about what's happened in the past or what's going to happen or fear what's

happening in the future.

Just take this moment in and live in it. This will help you to increase your

happiness. This will increase your enjoyment of today.

And so this is a really wide-ranging, a lot of people are really focusing in

on this concept of living for the now, being in this moment.

And this leads us to making decisions that are based only on this moment in

time without consideration, seemingly,

for what happens in the future or considering what's happened in the past and

learning from those times.

So that is a perspective of how to focus our attention.

And I do wanna say that there are some valid reasons for thinking in this way.

There are in that 10 tips, one of the tips, two of the tips I really, really agree with.

One of them is overcoming addictions is one way they say that you can live in this moment.

And that is something I think all of us would agree.

Yeah, we all should overcome our addictions, especially if they're weighing

us down, especially if they are hurting ourselves and other people.

Like that is something we should do. Another one is to forgive past hurts.

This is something I wholeheartedly agree with because this comes right from

Scripture. This is something that we should do.

And so they have some valid points and they have some reasons that we would all agree with.

And so sometimes it can make this sort of mentality very, very appealing to

us because living for the moment means that we're doing what we want to do in

that specific moment in time.

And when we follow that, I think that's the natural conclusion to where this would take us.

It leads us to decisions that are based only on this moment in time,

which I believe is dangerous. And it leads to really difficult and hard decisions

or consequences that we have to live with.

Living for this moment may mean to a particular person, I would like to have

mind-altering substances inside of me. This feels right to me.

It may lead you into a relationship that is short-lived, but only for enjoyment purposes.

It could do many, many harmful things to us when we really process what it means to live in the now.

And none of these people up here are explicitly saying this is what you should do.

But if we live with this as our focus, like for me at least,

like that's where it's going to end.

It's going to end in choosing things that would harm myself or my family.

It would lead me into making myself a God over God and saying, no, no, no, no.

You don't get to tell me what to do. I get to tell me.

And so in this way, I think it can be very, very detrimental.

And Romans chapter 1 verses 21

Romans 1:21–24

to 24 or 24 to 25 really takes this to its natural conclusion in my mind.

And so Paul writes to the church in Romans these words, So God abandoned them

to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.

As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies.

They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the

things God created instead of the creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise. Amen.

And so this ultimately to me is the end of living in the moment.

Now, I agree with some of the things. Remember, I agree with some of the things

that they have said, like this is what you can do to live in the moment.

But if we take it to its ultimate end, it's going to lead to us following our

passions, our desires, our wants more than following after God.

And in this way, I think it is harmful for us.

So what is the biblical perspective of our focus?

What should our focus be on if it is not live for the now?

The first two scripture verses I have here, I think, can really be used in the live for now moment.

And again, I think this is overlap of the two ways of focusing.

The first one is Psalm 30 verses four and five.

It says, sing to the Lord, all you godly ones, praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime.

Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

And so the idea here is that if we leave,

if we are in the moment and we are dealing with the emotions we have when someone hurts us,

when someone makes fun of us, when we have a pain of the loss of someone,

we know that this feeling, because we are dealing with it, it is not going to linger,

it's not going to last, we're going to be able to overcome it.

And ultimately, that's what this verse is saying. We can overcome it.

We know that weeping, we know that mourning, we know that the hurt and the pain

will last for a while, but we ultimately know that joy comes in the morning

because God is our ultimate prize in that.

And so I can see here people dealing with, excuse me, overcoming addictions

is something that takes a lot of work.

It's a lot of effort. It is sweat. It is tears.

It is all those things, but they know that something good is happening.

And so that is one way that live for now can be used in this way.

But ultimately, our joy is in God. It is not in accomplishing a task.

It is not in living for a moment. It is purely for God and his plans and his purposes.

So again, I think that that is a verse that can be used for the live for now

kind of focus and mentality, but it is also one that we need to hold on to.

We need to know that we need to deal with these emotions.

We know that we need to take care of the things that are bothering us.

We can lament to God. We can lament to those in Christian fellowship with us,

but we ultimately know that as we process through this and when we get over these,

joy is ultimately there because God is always with us.

So again, I think there is overlap and I think that's why sometimes these different

focuses can be very alluring to us as followers of Jesus.

And so the next one I think can be used in the live for now mentality or focus

is Jeremiah chapter 29 verses 10 and 11.

Jeremiah 29:10

Now, verse 11 is a very famous passage, but 10 has a very important qualification in it.

And it says, this is what the Lord says. You will be in Babylon for 70 years,

but then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised,

and I will bring you home again.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

They are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.

So the Israelites are here. They've been taken out of their homes.

They've been forced into captivity.

And Jeremiah is writing this letter from God to them.

And in it, he says, you're going to be here the rest of your lives and your

children's lives are going to be lived in this location.

But I will come. I have plans for you.

They are good plans to give you a future and a hope.

And as Christians, as followers of Jesus, this helps us to know that we are

going to go through seasons and trials, much like what Psalm 30 verses 4 and 5 was saying.

Psalms 30:4

We're going to go through some correction from God, and we need that.

We need that. And it may be longer than we anticipate, but God wants us to prosper.

God wants us to do good. So we need to, in the words of that,

of the focus we're comparing and contrasting, we need to live for the now.

God also says to them, I want you to plant vineyards where you're at in Babylon.

I want you to build houses.

I want you to have children and I want your children to have children.

He wants flourishing in the now, even though it's not where they're going to

stay forever. They are going to go back to Jerusalem. They are going to be within their homeland again.

And so they need to live each moment. They need to live it for God's glory.

And this is how I see that there being overlap here as well.

Ultimately, as followers of Jesus, what we're living for is not ourselves,

but for God. And when we live for the now, I think the focus is different because

it's on what I want and what's best for me at that time.

But I think you can see overlap here and you can see why people would be.

Able to be a follower of Jesus if they are having a focus, or at least think

they are a follower of Jesus, if they have a focus on the now.

But the really big difference comes in the next verse.

Philippians chapter 121 is a hugely important verse when we're thinking about

where our focus should be.

And this is Paul, again, writing to the church in Philippi, and he says,

for to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better.

And the big change here is that we are not living for ourselves.

We are living for Jesus Christ. When we are living in the now,

I think the ultimate end, even if you want to go and serve because it makes you feel better.

You want to go and serve at the meal ministry. You want to take a Sunday school

class and serve in that capacity because it makes you feel good.

That's a focus on ourselves. Ultimately, we're doing it as followers of Jesus

to focus on him and to make him known better.

The feelings we get from that, the positive affirmations we get by being thanked

or by seeing a kid light up for the first time,

knowing what the gospel message is, is just a secondary benefit.

Our primary benefit is living for Jesus.

We are to tell other people about him. And so that is our objective. That is our focus.

And any feelings that we get of seeing someone who hasn't eaten all day,

any feelings that we get from playing with kids in the nursery,

all of these things are just secondary to knowing Jesus and making him known.

It's not a focus on me. It's not what I want to do that makes me feel better.

It's ultimately what Jesus asks me to do.

And so when Jesus asked me to love my enemies, to pray for those who persecute me,

to treat other people the way I want to be treated, to love God with all of

my heart, mind, strength, and soul, to love my neighbor as myself,

and on and on and on, as he's telling you that, you are obedient because you are living for him.

It's not because it makes you feel good.

That is a second or third benefit of this.

It is ultimately because you are surrendering to him and living for him.

And this is where the idea of live for the now really comes into contrast with

what our focus on the Bible or what our focus from the Bible shows us.

And that is to be focused on Jesus Christ. And why should we be focused?

Because dying is even better. Because ultimately we are in this for Jesus,

but we get the secondary benefit of spending eternity with him.

In all his glory, in all his splendor, he is going to share it with us as his co-heirs.

We get to be in eternity because he has gifted that to us.

We have that as our inheritance, and it is better than what living for now is.

And this is another big difference because I think living for the future is

really, really important.

Living for eternity with God is much more important than feeling good about my present state.

One of the things I mentioned on Sunday that has really focused me on this particular

passage is reminding ourselves that Jesus is greater.

Jesus is greater than the temptation I have to sin.

Jesus is greater than getting revenge on my enemies.

Jesus is greater than anything that we can get satisfaction from on this planet.

And reminding myself of that this week has been really transformational to the

point where it is something that I try to pray every day.

Jesus, help me remember that you are greater. Help me to remember to choose you.

Help me to remember not to live for myself. And ultimately, it's because of

verses like Philippians 1.21,

that our focus is not on me and what I want right now, but it is on Jesus.

And living for eternity is what this last verse really talks about.

So this is back in the book of Romans, starting in chapter 8, verse 20.

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse.

But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join

God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

For we all know that all creation has been groaning, as in the pains of childbirth

right up to the present time.

And we believers also groan. Even though we have the Holy Spirit within us,

as a foretaste of future glory.

For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.

We too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights

as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

We were given this hope when we were saved.

So ultimately, our hope, our preferred future isn't all of my wants,

all of my desires being met.

Our future hope, our future preferred future is being in relationship with Jesus.

And we have just a small taste of that.

When the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside of us, we get to experience a small

bit of what it's like to be in connection and community with God.

And we get a small taste of what our future looks like.

While all creation wants death and decay to fade away, to die to itself,

we want that as well. And we want these new bodies that have been promised to us.

We want full rights as his adopted children.

We wait with eager hope with the preferred future of this not being the ultimate end.

So the pain, the suffering, the hurt feelings, the physical ailments that we

might have, we long for those to go away.

And so we don't live for the now, we live for eternity.

And ultimately, that is why I think that sort of mentality of the present moment

being the most important is not a focus of Scripture.

There is some overlap, but ultimately, our focus is the future.

And seeing Jesus' face and having God wipe every tear from our eye and just being in,

coming into our inheritance as children of God.

So, that's the idea, that's the focus of, that's our focus as followers of Jesus,

to live for Christ and to know that it's not right now where we get an immediate

satisfaction for ourselves,

but we are long-suffering, we are patient in waiting for him to come.

And so that's where our focus should be.

Thank you again for joining us in our discussion of human versus biblical focus.

If you are interested in learning more about Faith Chapel and its ministries,

please visit gofaithchapel.org.

This is the final episode in this second season where

we have looked at the reasons why the Bible is an

authority in our lives and then at some of the issues facing our society today

and the biblical response to those issues next week we will hear from summer

zimmer a missionary faith chapel supports who spent her teenage years in the

congregation please join us for that conversation have a great day.

Music.