Living A Life That Counts by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

We live in a world where people desperately desire meaning to their lives. They want to see their lives count, they want to see themselves great, they want to taste of success at least at one point or the other within the course of their lives. For others, they eventually stumble into it at various levels, but many sadly never have the opportunity to live lives of meaning, lives of purpose, and lives that count.

Our world is full of sad, depressed, frustrated, lonely, angry, suicidal people who have lost hope, who have lost joy, and have lost meaning to life. This is a very sad but true statement. And yet the Bible is very clear that when Jesus came, he said, John 10:10, that we may have life and have that life more abundantly. It is God's desire in his prophetic program that we live lives of meaning and purpose within the time given to us, called our lifetime, from the moment we are born until the day we transit in glory.

There are keys that can help any individual to live a life that counts, so that at the end of your life you look at yourself and are glad for the kind of life you have lived. Teaching once at a youth program, three people were sampled to represent the youngest version of a man, his current version, and his future version, and made to have a conversation. The young one asked the old one, "Do you have any lesson for me?" And the old one replied that he had many lessons, but no longer had the time to correct the mistakes he had made in ignorance. He said, "Now you have an opportunity. Don't be like me, even though you are me." There are things in life that, if you do not know them and know them on time, it takes the grace of God to correct the mistakes. Some mistakes can be corrected, but some cannot. They become a scar upon your life forever.

Eight Keys to a Life That Counts

notifications_active Stay Updated

Join the Readsermons communities for daily nuggets and new sermon alerts.

WhatsApp Telegram

1. A Genuine Encounter With Jesus

   No one can live a life that counts outside of a genuine encounter and experience with the Lord Jesus. John 10:10 says the thief comes not but to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. In order of spiritual priority, you officially start living not the day you are born, but the day you are saved. There are things we receive when we come to Christ:

   • Life — 1 John 5:10-12 says he that believes on the Son of God has life, and this life is in his Son.
   • Peace — John 14:27, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth." Philippians 4:7 speaks of the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, that guards the heart and mind through Christ Jesus.
   • Joy — 1 Peter 1:8 calls it joy unspeakable and full of glory.
   • A reason to live — Jeremiah 29:11, God knows the thoughts he thinks toward us, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give an expected end. John 15:16, we have not chosen him, but he has chosen and ordained us to bring forth fruit that remains.

   The formula must not be compromised: in the beginning, God. Compromise on that formula and your life will go upside down.

2. Transformation — Contending for a Superior Belief System

   A superior belief system is beyond being more western, beyond being more academic, beyond being more logical. It means becoming more word-compliant with your life, sustaining the thinking of Christ. If transformation were about westernization, there would be a class of people on earth who did not need it, but the Bible mandates all men to be transformed by the renewing of their mind through the word of God. Consciously probe into your beliefs and only retain superior, word-compliant belief systems. Don't say, "We are all like that in our family," or "We are all like that in this country." You can change; it is an ability God gave men.

   Your life will be a reflection of your belief system. Your life never becomes a reflection of your desire or intentions; it becomes a reflection of your belief system. There is a winner's mentality and there is a loser's mentality. The individual is not necessarily bad; they have simply received a programming, like a beautiful laptop with a terrible virus in it. Transformation is not an impartation, it is a conscious work, fuelled by the word of God, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and a hatred for a life of mediocrity. The man who cannot be helped is not the man with a demonic problem, and not the unsaved man, and not the failure. The man who cannot be helped is the man who refuses to change.

3. Value and Contribution

   You cannot live a life that counts without being valuable and productive. Value speaks of superior solutions that relate to and solve human needs. Being valuable demands skill, training, unlearning and relearning, upgrading to best practices, and a skillful, intelligent presentation of your solutions. A great solution presented poorly will hardly be received and hardly rewarded.

   Your value to men will define their perception of your importance, alongside their willingness to honor and reward you. Everyone is valuable before God, but your value to men, the degree to which you are useful, is what defines their perception of your importance and their willingness to reward you. You do not stop people from trivializing you by asking them to stop; you stop them by becoming too useful, too important, to ignore.

   person

   Apostle Joshua Selman

   Enjoying this sermon? Browse more messages by Apostle Joshua Selman on Purpose at ReadSermons.

   library_books More Sermons

   Be a giver more than a receiver. Acts 20:35 says it is more blessed to give than to receive. The one who is celebrated is the giver, not the one who is always conscious of receiving. A giver is not only a giver of money, but a giver of ideas, of superior information, of love, of positive energy. The realm of greatness has two doors: the door of need and the door of value. Step in through the door of need and you become a slave there; step in through the door of value and even those already great will extend to you a warm hand of fellowship.

4. Master Relationships

   Psalm 115:16 says the earth God has given to the children of men. Ignore men and the dynamics required in living in the world of men, and you will live a miserable, defeated life, even as a Christian. Relationships are advantageous connections that should be mutually beneficial to the parties involved; they are bridges that lead either to an exceptional life or to a life of pain and regret. Relationships are currencies; they can buy what money can buy, and also what money cannot buy.

   Learn people's skills. Real wealth is not measured by the amount in your bank account; real wealth is having access to the hearts of men, the ability to secure the loyalty, trust, and confidence of men. Understand the auxiliary laws of relationships: the law of honor, the law of words, and the law of timing. Men are intrinsically selfish; understanding this gives wisdom in relating with the world. Who hates you does not matter as much as who likes you, though if too many people hate you, you will feel it. Genesis 12:2-3 promises that God will make a name great and that others will bless — for every "him" who hates, there should be enough "them" that bless. One strategic relationship can bail a man out; God often accelerates a man's life by bringing him into proximity to someone already established, as with the widow of Zarephath and Elijah.

5. Live by Values

   Proverbs 25:28 says a man who has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down and without walls. You must live by values that control your words and your conduct, and the greatest of these is self-control. Everything God gave man, he also gave man the ability to manage and control. The moment control is lost over a gift, the devil has hijacked it. You must have a moral creed that guides your life, what is permissible and what is not, so that people can predict your consistency in matters of moral excellence. The power to say no is proof that you have grown. Satan tries people with evil things, and when that fails, tries them with good things, because the goal is simply for you to fail. Many of us have no trouble saying yes; the real weakness is the inability to say no. There will be more nos to say than yeses if you want to be great, because life will offer many things, even good things, that are not part of the script of your destiny.

6. Be Guided by Vision and Purpose, Not Emotions

   Emotions are wonderful, but they are the weakest way to leadership. Desires and pursuits only become profitable to the degree to which they are connected to purpose. Purpose asks the question, "Why?" Why fame, why wealth, why increase, why greatness? If you cannot answer the question why, you are not ready to do business with God. The strongest reason for any pursuit is to see Jesus revealed and Jesus glorified — John 3:30, "I must decrease that he may increase." John 17:1, Jesus prayed, "Father, glorify thy son that thy son may glorify thee." John 1:6-7, there was a man sent from God whose name was John, who came to bear witness of the light. If God can trust that wealth, fame, and influence will be used to draw many to him, then that is a life of true greatness.

7. Genuinely Desire the Good of All Men

   Luke 2:14, the angel's salutation was, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," even knowing that there are wicked and unreasonable men on earth. You will never live an impactful life if you do not desire the good of all. Learn to have a positive disposition toward people as a first response, rather than sizing people up by what they carry or who their people are.

   Most men are not evil; in fact, most people used to do evil things are not evil, they are only desperately in need of salvation, deliverance, exposure, growth, and transformation. Looking at people through that lens swells compassion rather than hatred. Some people need salvation, some need deliverance, some simply need exposure to a wider horizon, and some simply need to grow, biologically, financially, or in leadership. Look at people's motives beyond their actions; someone can steal from you out of pressure without being a thief by nature. In this light, Judas was not necessarily a wicked man but one who loved Jesus and wanted to make money quickly; his hanging himself was not part of the prophetic script. Do not wish for, anticipate, or support the downfall of anyone in the body of Christ; leave the blood of Jesus to do his assignment and the throne of judgment to do its own.

8. Understand the Brevity of Life

   Psalm 90:12, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Life is brief and transient. When you celebrate a birthday, you are not only celebrating the distance covered, you are also celebrating the distance left. Every dead body on earth is a sermon, a constant reminder that the destiny clock is ticking and one day it will stop. Focus on the things that matter. If life were to end today, the only pain should be that an assignment was unfinished, not that a life was wasted. For as many who are between fifteen and thirty, there is grace to run from the deception of feeling young; once a person can take decisions and understand the implications of those decisions, they are an adult. There is no time to waste; give life a victor's aggression. Jesus said, John 9:4, "I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day, for the night cometh." Whatever hour of the day life is speaking to you, morning, afternoon, evening, or night, hurry up and press on.

   You may also like

   

   What We Need To Do For Africa To Stand A Chance In The Days Ahead

   by Apostle Femi Lazarus

   arrow_forward

   Three things to invest your time and energy in as you consider the brevity of life:

   • Your relationship with Jesus Christ — this should be the highest pursuit and highest priority of life.
   • Your earthly relationships — family, children, and strategic destiny relationships. Invest more in relationships than in making money; don't lose good people to find money. Many people in old age are rich but lonely because they did not invest in relationships. Parents should invest time and attention in their children early, not only money.
   • Your assignment — the work God has called you to do.

An Invitation to New Life

If you have seen anything good in this life, it is because of Jesus, his grace, his mercy, his word, his wisdom, his power, his help. For anyone desiring to make Jesus Lord, or to rededicate their life, there is a fresh start available: "Lord Jesus, I love you with all my heart. I believe you are the Son of God. I believe you died for my sin. Right now I receive Jesus into my heart as my Savior, my Lord, and my King. I declare that the power of sin, Satan, hell, and the grave is broken over my life. From today I am a child of God, going from glory to glory and from grace to grace."