What Is Your Goal in Life? — Paul Washer

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Media used by permission of Heart Crime Missionary Society. Visit us online at heartcrimemissionary .com. Pawasher starts preaching about four minutes into this service.

Life, Death, and Standing Before Jesus

There is every second a transition from life on earth to an eternity that will follow. And when I thought about it this morning, I thought, what will be engraved on my tombstone? And what will be engraved on your tombstone?

His life was work, or his life was Christ. And his death as a blessing. And when I thought about it this morning, I thought, in a hundred years, there will be no one left for us in life. And we are all between six planks.

And we are freed by the worms. And then, we stand before Jesus. On the Great Judgment Day. Gentlemen, here you have all my details and my bank account. And here you have my portion of voluntary work inside and outside the church.

Please, dear Jesus, it is for you. And Jesus looks at us, but must send us away. If I have nothing to do with Jesus on earth, what do I have to do with Jesus in heaven? Without Jesus, I have nothing. Without Jesus, we have nothing.

Without Jesus, we have nothing as a nation, as a country. Without Jesus, I will never reach my goal in life. Without Jesus, I must die. Without Jesus, I must burn in hell. Without Jesus, I have nothing, and that goes on.

Because without Jesus, even the church is a graveyard. Without Jesus, a delusion is written, no more than a fossil. Without Jesus, we have nothing. But with Jesus, we have life. With Jesus, we have a new life.

That unchanging, loving, faithful, wonderful, full Jesus. Do you have Jesus in your heart? Is Jesus your Lord and Master? When He stands before you, He will stand on your grave. His life as a Christian.

His death as a winner. Oh, we have to praise Him for who He is. Many Christians love Jesus like they love a cow. And because of the milk and the cheese. But to love Jesus as He is now, in His essence, His love.

He is faithful. He is good. He is full. His name is Jesus. Who is Jesus for you? That is my question for tomorrow. And I have only one desire. That Jesus, with the power of His Holy Spirit, will touch you.

For the first time or again. And that you can see nothing else but Jesus. That is awakening in your life. If you don't have Jesus yet, then I sincerely wish you a restless day. And maybe a sleepless night until you have found Him.

And it is my prayer that the Lord will use you powerfully for each of us. And after the reading, we hope to come together. We hope to come together in groups. There are eleven mentors to talk about it.

That is very good. And so from heart to heart. To be able to work together on the reading. And let us now sing song 119. Love was it.

Loving God and Loving Others

To love your God with all your heart. And then to love everyone else. Your brothers and sisters in Christ. The unbeliever. Even your enemy. The worst person you can find. To love them. That is Christianity.

Joy. Unspeakable. That God produces in our heart. To follow Him. And walk in love. Sometimes when I'm on an airplane. People ask me, what do you do? And I tell them, I'm a husband. And they say, okay, but what else do you do?

I say, oh, I'm a father. They say, what else do you do? I'm a friend. Okay, but what else do you do? Well, if I have any time left, I also preach. The point that I'm trying to make is this. Christianity is all about relationships.

About loving God. And then loving the people closest to you. And joyfully laying down your life as a sacrifice. For them. Jesus did not say that the world will know what kind of disciple, that you are my disciples because you wear a certain kind of clothing.

He said, the world will know you are my disciples if you love one another. To follow Him. Okay, now we're going to talk about something very important. Let me put it this way. I've got some good news for you this morning.

The Brevity of Life and the Meaning of Existence

You're going to die. A lot sooner than you think.

Let me put it another way. You strong young men.

That have muscles even up to your ears. One day you're going to be so strong that it's a whole week that someone's going to have to help you go to the bathroom.

And you beautiful young ladies.

Who look in the mirror for hours a day. I've got some news for you. One day you're going to be really, really ugly. And old. And hair is going to grow out of your ears. So if you're going to get married you better do it now.

Because later on there's not going to be any chance. Now what am I saying? This world does not last forever. This life does not last forever. I'm 47. Even though it doesn't even look like I'm 21. It seems like yesterday I was 9 years old.

And now I'm 47. Tomorrow I'll be 90. Life goes that fast. Why are you alive? We have a saying in Peru. Tu vives porque el aire es gratis. And this is what it means. The only reason you're alive is because air is free.

And the point that they're trying to make is this. Most people don't have any reason to be alive. They chase after things that do not matter. And they waste their life. And I want us to look at a few passages in the scriptures.

Psalm 103 and Human Frailty

Psalms 103. Psalms 103 verses 15 through 17. Now look at verse 15. It says, ask for man. Now look at verse 15. Now look at verse 15. It says, ask for man. Now we could say this as for you. Your days are like grass.

As a flower of the field you grow up. Now notice it doesn't say that you are like a tree. Trees last a long time. But you don't. You are like grass. The grass lasts only for a short season. And then it dries up.

Go out to the market and buy a flower. How long does it last?

Even if you care for it. And give it water.

It quickly wilts and dies. And that's what you do. Do you realize that there are turtles that live longer than you? You are going to die. Your life is going to pass very very quickly. It says in verse 16.

When the wind passes over the grass it is no more. One day you will be no more. Let me give you an example.

Do you know the birthday of King Solomon? Do you know the day that he died?

Do you set aside one day a year to mourn his death? No, you don't even think about him. But he was the most famous king who ever lived. He was the wealthiest king who ever lived. He was the wisest king who ever lived.

But he is dead now. And you don't care. You don't even think about him. He is no more. And the place where he dwelt acknowledges him no more. Do you think it's going to be any different with you? You will live for a short time.

You will not be remembered when you go. Possibly you know your grandparents. But do you know your great-grandparents? Do you even know the name of your great-great-grandparents? They lived on this earth.

And now they are gone. And let me share with you just a short testimony. When I was 17 my father and I were working on his horse ranch. And we were building a fence. And as we were building that fence my father screamed.

And I turned around and I grabbed him.

And he fell to the ground and he was dead.

Out in the middle of a field he died in my arms. My father was a really smart man. He even worked on some of the projects for the astronauts. My father was a successful man. My father was a strong man.

But he was dead. And everything he had done and everything he built no longer mattered. He had a beautiful farm with beautiful horses. But in one second he lost it all. I remember at the funeral that as a young boy I told my father that I became so angry.

Because it was my father's funeral. He had died. But even during the funeral.

The visitors were talking about other things. The weather. Politics.

Business. And I was thinking my dad just died. And even at the funeral people have already forgotten him. But that's what the Bible teaches. It will be the same with you. I have to tell you the truth.

Your strength will disappear.

Your beauty will fade.

Everything you own will rot.

And your money cannot help you.

The Devil’s Distractions and the Search for Meaning

So why are you alive? One of the things that the devil does is he entertains people and entertains us. He gets us thinking about all sorts of things that do not matter. So that we do not think about what is most important.

Most teenagers do not walk around thinking about the meaning of life.

They are young. They think they have a million years to live. They play games. They play sports.

They listen to music. They play football. And all those things just go away.

And all those things are now the things that have their thoughts under control.

You look in the mirror every day.

But you do not think about what is really important. How many of you have ever been to a funeral?

We go to a funeral but we forget that one day it will be us in that box. The wise man realizes that. And then begins to ask himself why am I alive? A few years after my father's death.

I was in the University of Texas.

And I was studying hopefully one day to be a lawyer. I worked very hard at my studies. But I was also a drunk. I had money. I had a really nice car. Really nice clothes. Everything was going well on the outside.

But on the inside I was miserable. Why? Because I knew something. I learned something from my father's death. I knew that it did not matter how young I was.

I was going to grow old.

It did not matter how rich I became. I was going to die. It did not matter if I became famous. I was going to die. And it did not matter if I fell in love. Because that love would not last forever. She would die.

And I would bury her. Or I would die. And leave her alone. One day some young men came by my apartment and began to witness to me about Jesus Christ. And I really did not care. But I did listen. Eventually I came to know Jesus.

But my mother had put a Bible in my suitcase. When I left home to go to school. So I looked around.

To find that Bible. I did not know where it was because I never read it. But I started looking for it. Trying to find some sort of meaning.

And I opened the Bible. And it came to Psalms 103 verses 15 and 16. It said as for man his days are like grass and as a flower the field so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it it is no more and its place acknowledges it no more.

And when I read that I got angry. I said I know this. This is what happened to my dad. He grew up. He died.

The place acknowledged him no more. And I got really mad at God. And I kind of threw the Bible on the bed. And I walked out of the room. Thank you God for telling me something I already knew. Life is a horrible thing.

At least animals don't understand they're going to die. But we know it. Well after about a half an hour I went back into the room. And I picked up the Bible again. And I read verse 17. But the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.

It was the word everlasting that caught my attention.

I thought to myself finally here's something that lasts forever. It's really funny that when I was going through this journey and trying to find something eternal some of my professors in class during their lecture talked about eternity.

Now both of them were atheists. The first one was a psychologist. And he stood up before the class one day and he said I'm going to be eternal. When I heard that word I woke up from my sleep Eternal. Something that lasts forever.

I need to listen to Him. And he said I'm going to be eternal. Because I have written many books. And when I die the books will go on. I thought you're a fool. You're happy because people are going to be reading your books while worms are eating your body in the grave.

Then one day I went to my anthropology class. The man was an atheist and he said there is a sense in which my life will have meaning forever even after I die. And I thought alright. Good. What is it? And he said both of my parents are biologists.

And one day when I was young I told them I was very frightened about death. But they gave me an answer that gave me peace. And I thought oh wonderful. And then he said this. My parents told me that when I die my body will rot in the grave and it will be fertilizer for the soil and the plants and therefore it would have meaning.

I thought to myself I've got to leave this university. But when I saw this it says the love of the Lord is everlasting on those who fear Him. If He would love me forever it means I must live forever. I found something.

Eternal. I realized that I had a life that did not have to end. I began to understand that if I lived for Jesus Christ that my deeds and my works would not disappear. That I could do things that had meaning.

That I could give my life for something. That would matter forever.

And that meaning can be summed up in two things. To love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. And to love people there are only three things that are eternal. God God's Word and the soul of a human being.

And that soul will either spend an eternity in hell or an eternity in heaven. And that you and I who know Christ could be used to have an impact on people. Let's go to the book of Ecclesiastes. Chapter 12.

Chapter 12 Verse 1. Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 Verse 1. The Bible commands us here to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. Now this is what God commands you to do. It's a command. But it's a command written for your benefit.

God loves you.

God desires the best for you. He's telling you these things so that you will know how to live. He doesn't want you to waste your life. The devil and the world will tell you just the opposite. The world wants you to listen to the world.

To think about the world. That's what it means to remember. To always be thinking about. To always be listening to. To always be obeying. Either the world or God. Either the devil or God. And who are you going to listen to?

Who are you going to remember? Who are you going to think about? God, who is love or the devil and the world that desires your destruction. Will you be wise or will you be foolish? In the Bible a fool is not an ignorant person.

He isn't a person who cannot learn. He is not a person who cannot understand. It's a moral term. It's a person who knows the right way but chooses not to go down that right way. Someone who willingly disobeys God and goes down the path that leads to destruction.

The Bible says remember your Creator. But here's the problem. When you think about God do you think biblically? When you think about the Christian life are you truly thinking about the Christian life as it's described in the Bible?

Christianity as Relationship With God

The Christian life is not a dead religion. It's not just a bunch of rules that you follow. Even though there are rules. But it's not about rules. It's not about beating yourself on the back with a whip.

It's not about walking around.

Like your dog just died. It's about a relationship with a God who loves you. A God that is absolutely wonderful.

It's about learning to walk with Him. Trusting in Him. And being filled with all the things He has promised us in the Bible. Life. You know I make a lot of people nervous. They say I laugh too much. And I don't act my age.

But I can't find in the Bible how a 47 year old man is supposed to act. Yes, I have to grow old. But I don't have to act like it. The devil had me in bondage. Slavery. With sadness. And death.

And depression. And darkness. God came to liberate us from all of that. Why are you so happy? Because God loves me. Do you do right all the time, Brother Paul? Do you do right all the time? No. Just ask my wife.

But God loves me. He paid for all my sins. And He always loves me. Because of the power of Jesus Christ. Do I take His commandments seriously? I hope so. I want to be obedient. But my life is not just a life of obedience.

It's a life of relationship. It's walking with a God who loves me. In spite of all my failures. Do you know what it's like just to be loved? Not because of you. But because of the person who loves you.

Let me give you an example. This is especially true with regard to girls and women. It must be really hard to be a girl.

I don't ever want to find out what it's like. There are so many lies out there in the world today. The magazines and all these sorts of things. In order to be loved, you must be beautiful. But in order to be beautiful, you must be about this tall and weigh three kilos.

Most women look at that and say, full of insecurity. So you're always wondering, am I meeting the conditions? Am I doing everything right? Do I look right? Because I want to be loved. And I've got to meet the conditions.

In the kingdom of Christ, you walk through a door where you are loved. Whether you meet the conditions or not.

And that means you're free. Now, a religious person will hear that, who has religion but doesn't love God. And they'll say, well, if it's like that, then let's just go on and keep sinning. But the true Christian, when they hear that, you mean God loves me?

Yes. Well, then I want to be more. I want to serve Him more. I want to be more obedient. Not so that He will love me. But because He does love me. Young people, I don't want to drag you into a religion that's nothing more than ordered death.

I don't want you to think that Christianity is just a bunch of rules of do and don't. Christianity is a wonderful and wild relationship with God. With the God who loves you. And will lead you to good things.

Remembering the Creator in Youth

Remember your Creator. After I read this, I had to kind of describe what I was talking about.

Because some of you have wrong ideas about the Creator. You equate God with a bunch of dead religion. But it's not the same. Just remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, I have no delight in them.

Right now, you're young. Your body doesn't hurt. You get out of bed in the morning and you go, well, I'm up. I feel good. Let's go play football. But when you get my age, you get out of bed like this.

What do you want to do today, my wife asks me. I just want to.

Breathe. Sit down in a chair. Read a book. And just think about it, it's just going to get worse for me. But see, right now, you're young. What should you do with all that energy? Well, first of all, you should stop running around like a bunch of crazy people.

Now, don't stop having joy. And don't stop enjoying life. But learn what it really means to enjoy life by remembering your God. Give your young life to know Him. To find out who He really is. And then give your life to serving Him.

As I've said, I'm 47 years old. I have no regrets about serving God. But I do have regrets about the time I did not serve God. I never think to myself, I gave too much of my youth to God. I wish I hadn't done that.

No, I say this. I wish I had sought for Him more. I wish I had served Him more. I sit down now in my study. And I try to figure out how can I serve Him more with the life that I have left. How can I serve Him more?

Over the last 26 years I have walked with the Lord. He has been so kind to me. So full of compassion. So full of love. So forgiving. He is absolutely wonderful. That's why I want you to know Him. And that's why I want you to serve Him.

Treasures on Earth and Treasures in Heaven

Let's go for a moment to Matthew. Chapter 6. Verse 19. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Jesus is giving us a command.

Why? Again, it's for the glory of God and for the benefit of you. He says do not live for this world. This world is passing away. It's falling apart. And it doesn't matter how much you get in this world.

Someone else can take.

It away from you. It can be destroyed. It can be lost. In the last year in the United States of America, men who had homes that were worth $750 ,000, their homes are now worth $200 ,000. Men who had millions of dollars in the stock market, now have nothing.

Beautiful women over the last 20 years are no longer beautiful. Do you remember only 15 years ago or 10 years ago some of the great football players? They no longer even play football. Nobody even knows their name.

You see everything in this world passes away. So why will you work and work and work for treasure.

Which does not remain? It's absolutely foolish. I saw a famous actress one day. Very, very famous. And she was about probably at that time about 60 years old. All her life she was known as one of the most beautiful women in the world.

But as she sat there 60 years old it was so sad. Now she looked amazing for 60 years old. But she had had so many surgeries on her face and body that you couldn't even count them. And you could tell she spent hours a day putting on makeup.

But you know what was sad? She knew she was losing the battle. She knew she was getting old. She had spent her entire life for her beauty. It didn't matter how much money she spent on doctors she was getting old.

She gathered treasure in this world. But her treasure was going. Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world. He will die. And his body will rock like everyone else's body. All the money in the world cannot keep him from death.

So don't make treasures on this earth. But he does say that we should make treasure. In verse 20. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven. Where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal.

Now look at that. Jesus is commanding you to let go of the treasures of this world. Stop seeking treasures of this world. But he does not tell you to stop seeking treasure. He tells you to seek eternal treasure that cannot be lost.

We are justified by faith alone. I am saved only because Jesus Christ died for me and I trust in him. But the Bible says in Ephesians 2 .10 that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. So as believers we are to turn away from the world and we are to serve God.

But no one serves God in vain. Jesus said that if we give just a cup of cold water to a disciple in his name we will not lose our reward. He means that everything we do in God's name has a reward. Now I know what some of you are thinking.

You are more spiritual than Jesus. And you are saying to yourself I am not going to serve him for a reward I am not going to serve him for a treasure. But he said that's what you should do. It doesn't mean that you only serve Christ for reward.

You serve him because he is worthy. You serve him because of who he is. You serve him because of love. But he tells you also to store up treasure in heaven. To serve him knowing that there is great reward in serving him.

The world offers you no eternal reward. Christ offers you eternal reward that cannot be described. And cannot be taken away from you. Now let's go on. Look at verse 21. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

Do you remember how Jesus said that it would be very difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Do you know why? Because he has so much treasure on this earth. And it constantly tempts him to think about the things of the earth rather than the things of heaven.

So you are not to work for this kind of wealth. But you are to work for eternal wealth. And there is something that happens here when you begin to serve Christ. As more and more of your treasure is in heaven the more and more you will think about things above.

Persecution, Perseverance, and the Two Destinies

I served the Lord in Peru for many years and during a time of war it was horrible. People were being killed everywhere. Sometimes we would have to stand in line for two hours just to get a bag of rice.

There was nothing. Most of the time we didn't have electricity. Many times there wasn't even much food. Do you know what was amazing? The fellowship in our churches was absolutely wonderful. Because no one had anything but Christ and His promises and the hope of heaven.

But you know what? When the war ended and Peru began to prosper again there was a coldness that swept over the church. People began to think more about the world and less about Christ. If things continue as they are going right now in the world those of us who believe in Jesus Christ will probably end our lives very, very persecuted.

We may lose absolutely everything for Christ.

I am training my children at this moment with one thing in mind. One day their dad will probably be thrown in prison. For preaching Jesus Christ. I want them to be able to stand on their own. But when that type of thinking begins to occur you begin to realize that this world means nothing.

Christ is everything. I want to end by saying this. I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet. But I am going to prophesy not based on something I heard from God but something that is an observable fact.

And it is also found throughout the scriptures everywhere. Some of you will end your life serving Christ. Your only regret will be that you did not serve Him more. Some of you will die as fools. You will reject the gospel.

You will live for the world. And the little bit of understanding you have now will be totally lost. You will be turned over to your foolishness. You will live for wealth. You will live for beauty. Basically, you will live for yourself.

And you will die in your sins. Do you realize that? Right now, as a preacher, I am looking at two groups of people. I don't know who they are. And I don't know where they are. But I know there will be two groups of people on that final day that come out of this room.

Some of you will hear this. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master. And others of you will hear this. Depart from me. I never knew you. That's what we have in this room right now.

But as the Bible says, why will you die? God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Turn to Him and be saved. Some of you are probably, even now, definitely Christians. But maybe the world is kind of starting to entertain you a little bit.

Turn from the world. It is a deadly lie. In the Amazon of Peru we have the great anaconda. They are terrifying when they get large. The largest one I've ever grabbed was about four and a half, five meters.

The only problem when you grab an anaconda that big is that he grabs you back.

You grab a hold of the back of his head and before you know it he comes completely off the ground and wraps around you. So you've grabbed the anaconda. He's grabbed you back. You want to let go. But he will not let go of you.

That is a great description of the world and sin. You want to grab the world. Just touch it. Play with it a little. Before you know it it's grabbed you. And even though you want out you can't get out.

Joy, Fear, and Renewal of the Mind

There is a real sense as I said that as a Christian you should walk with great joy. One of the evidences that you're filled with the Holy Spirit is joy. Love, joy, peace, patience. But there's also fear in the Christian life.

We can make decisions that can harm us greatly. In our pride we can turn down roads that can do us great harm. That's why you must constantly renew your mind in the Word of God. That is why you must have fellowship not with the world, but with other believers.

Who also desire to follow Christ. So much is at stake. The Christian life is a matter of life and death. How will you live? Let's pray. Father, I come before you in the name of your Son. And I pray, Lord, that you would work in the hearts of these young people.

Father, I pray that they will know you, that you will know them. Father, I pray that you would give them glorious lives in Christ, that they would be a people holy and full of joy, people who have more than a religion, but a relationship, that their lives would be abundant and overflowing, that they would be blessed and bless you and be an instrument of blessing to others.

Father, please work in these young people. They have but one life. And so much is at stake in Jesus' name. But when I again received a mail to give my testimony, I felt that the Lord called me that I have to give my testimony to you.

A Testimony of Sin, Shame, and God’s Mercy

And last week, I was looking very much on myself and I thought, who am I to give my testimony to you? But yesterday night, the Lord encouraged me great by the speech, the preaching of David Paul Worship.

And really, I cannot imagine, I cannot imagine would if I had not of David Paul Worship. And really, I cannot imagine, I do not consider that Jesus He looks to me through his son Jesus Christ and that I am righteous and holy.

And that's the only reason why I stay here and give my testimony to you. I'd like to read with you a part from Exodus chapter 34. Exodus chapter 34 verses 5 up to verse 7. And above that part is written that God appears to Moses and that he makes himself known.

For me, this is a great part of the Bible. The Lord reveals himself as a God full of righteousness, mercy, compassion. And he wants to forgive our trespasses. When I look back to my own life, I realize that I wasn't a great sinner.

In earlier days when I was a small man, I liked to be proud and very good in the eyes of my friends. And I used to go to the supermarket and to pick all kind of snitches without being snapped by the woman who was sitting there.

I also used to steal money from my parents to buy sweets. I also used to lie. When I had to go to school, I didn't go and later I passed a form with a sign of my mother. And one of the things where I feel a lot of shame about is that I was addicted to masturbation.

And later there was also pornography.

I know that there are a lot of young people here in this room who are also addicted to masturbation and pornography. I spoke with a lot of young men and I did never speak to someone who said oh it's not my problem.

Once there was a youth night in our congregation and people cited me and people said to me share it someone, bring it in the light because from yourself you will never stop it. But I thought yeah, for me it's very common.

With who? With who? Can I share those things? And I thought by myself well people might think that I'm a very strange boy and are amazed that he's addicted to those things. And there are two reasons why I want to share it with you.