I'm sure most of you know what the Nobel Peace Prize is and some of you may know that the guy it was started by was Alfred Nobel, but not many of you probably know that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and had a huge business in producing dynamite. It's kind of ironic don't you think? A man who the Nobel Peace Prize is named after created dynamite, a destructive weapon used and designed to kill millions of people.
Well one day Alfred Nobel woke up to find his own obituary in the paper. His brother had died and they had mistaken his brothers death for his death. At first he was shocked and didn't know what was going on, heck I would be too if I woke up to find that I had apparently died. After getting over the shock he decided to read what people had said about him. The heading was titled "Dynamite King Dies" and talked about his inventions of dynamite, he was "the merchant of death."
After reading about what the world thought of him and his life, "Merchant of Death" he asked himself the question is this what I want to be remembered for when I am gone, that I was the "Merchant of Death." From then on Alfred Nobel worked towards peace and when he died all of his money went to the funding of the Nobel Peace Prize, to recognize those in the world who work towards peace and make a difference in the world. That is why many people do not know that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite.
Alfred Nobel was a lucky man. The majority of us will never have the chance to see our own obituaries in the newspaper and read about what kind of life we lived in the eyes of the world. Think about it. If you died today, what would the world have to say about you? Would you be a "Merchant of Death" or one of peace and love. Will the world see you as someone who lived without fear, gave your very best, loved with all your heart, and gave everything you had or as someone who took away freedom, lived in hate, never had time for the ones you loved, took away instead of giving, was self seeking instead of focusing on others.
Today pastor Kerry Shook talked about clarity in our lives. In the last 60 seconds of our lives everything we thought was important won't mean a thing, and everything we thought was valuable to us will be worth nothing. Everything we see in the world is temporary. Your large home, your fancy car, your clothes, your boat, bike, TV, jewelery, money, etc. When you are dead, what use will all of those things be then? The things that we cannot see are eternal, these are the things that are worth our time and effort and where we should concentrate our energy on. Things like faith, hope, peace, and love.
Jesus said "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves and do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21
Think about what you spend most of your time doing and where the majority of your money is spent. Those are the areas and things that show what is most important to you in your life. You may say that God is the most important, or your family, or that you believe in giving to charities, but does where you spend the majority of your time and money say that? Are you building up your treasure on earth or in heaven?
"Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to loose." Steve Jobs
Every day you are building your life. You are given one life to live. Knowing that you have only one life to live, what are you going to do with it? I just finished a book called One.Life by Scott McKnight which talked about these very things, and about living your life for all its worth.
My solution is give it to God and see what he can do through you. You may be thinking what could God do with me. I am a huge screw up and have messed up so badly that there is no one God could use me for good. Don't put God in a box. He used a man who had murdered thousands of His believers, to eventually spread the word and bring believers to Christ. There is nothing you could do that would make God love you less and not be able to use you in amazing ways. All you have to do is accept him and trust him with your life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Store up your treasures in heaven and you will have lived a life worth living.
They world may think we are crazy, but we already know that we are. Being different is the only way you can make a difference.
Believe that you can change the world.
"The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do."
Well one day Alfred Nobel woke up to find his own obituary in the paper. His brother had died and they had mistaken his brothers death for his death. At first he was shocked and didn't know what was going on, heck I would be too if I woke up to find that I had apparently died. After getting over the shock he decided to read what people had said about him. The heading was titled "Dynamite King Dies" and talked about his inventions of dynamite, he was "the merchant of death."
After reading about what the world thought of him and his life, "Merchant of Death" he asked himself the question is this what I want to be remembered for when I am gone, that I was the "Merchant of Death." From then on Alfred Nobel worked towards peace and when he died all of his money went to the funding of the Nobel Peace Prize, to recognize those in the world who work towards peace and make a difference in the world. That is why many people do not know that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite.
Alfred Nobel was a lucky man. The majority of us will never have the chance to see our own obituaries in the newspaper and read about what kind of life we lived in the eyes of the world. Think about it. If you died today, what would the world have to say about you? Would you be a "Merchant of Death" or one of peace and love. Will the world see you as someone who lived without fear, gave your very best, loved with all your heart, and gave everything you had or as someone who took away freedom, lived in hate, never had time for the ones you loved, took away instead of giving, was self seeking instead of focusing on others.
Today pastor Kerry Shook talked about clarity in our lives. In the last 60 seconds of our lives everything we thought was important won't mean a thing, and everything we thought was valuable to us will be worth nothing. Everything we see in the world is temporary. Your large home, your fancy car, your clothes, your boat, bike, TV, jewelery, money, etc. When you are dead, what use will all of those things be then? The things that we cannot see are eternal, these are the things that are worth our time and effort and where we should concentrate our energy on. Things like faith, hope, peace, and love.
Jesus said "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves and do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21
Think about what you spend most of your time doing and where the majority of your money is spent. Those are the areas and things that show what is most important to you in your life. You may say that God is the most important, or your family, or that you believe in giving to charities, but does where you spend the majority of your time and money say that? Are you building up your treasure on earth or in heaven?
"Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to loose." Steve Jobs
Every day you are building your life. You are given one life to live. Knowing that you have only one life to live, what are you going to do with it? I just finished a book called One.Life by Scott McKnight which talked about these very things, and about living your life for all its worth.
My solution is give it to God and see what he can do through you. You may be thinking what could God do with me. I am a huge screw up and have messed up so badly that there is no one God could use me for good. Don't put God in a box. He used a man who had murdered thousands of His believers, to eventually spread the word and bring believers to Christ. There is nothing you could do that would make God love you less and not be able to use you in amazing ways. All you have to do is accept him and trust him with your life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Store up your treasures in heaven and you will have lived a life worth living.
They world may think we are crazy, but we already know that we are. Being different is the only way you can make a difference.
Believe that you can change the world.
"The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do."
-Steve Jobs
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