What is the good life?
It may not be what you think, or what you’ve been trained to think.
What does the “good life” look like for you?
THE WORLD’S DEFINITION IS TO HAVE ALL THAT I NEED AND WANT.
- This new definition of ”need” drives us to want more, buy more, and covet more so that we can be ”happy.”
- We long for deep things like love, joy, and peace.
- We try to take hold of these through money, materialism, popularity, pleasure, and ease of life.
YOU CAN’T GET BETTER THAN WHAT GOD HAS SAID IS GOOD.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. Genesis 1:1-5 NLT
- Adam and Eve had what was good.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. 31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! Genesis 1:28-31 NLT
- We often want to trade what is good for something that might be great.
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5 NLT
- God’s good is always best.
- The enemy always wants to lead us away from God’s best.
- The enemy will fill our minds with a lie.
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 NLT
10 I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:10 The Message
GOD’S DEFINITION: JESUS IS ALL THAT I NEED.
- We are living the good life when we surrender everything for what God created us for.
- Loving God and loving others.
- Serving God and serving others.
- We don’t have to bow to the world’s methods to experience the truly ”good life.”
Apostle Paul knew what was best…
5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:5-9 NLT
