I interviewed a person recently, a guy in his 20’s. He has graduated from college and has already had three jobs and looking to
change direction. And that is the beauty of being 20. The world stretches before you. There is nothing that you cannot at least imagine. There is a joy just in experimenting. At 20 years of age, spending 10 weeks 
in California, or going to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a month or hiking through Europe
– these all seem like reasonable uses of time. People in their 20s are like Moses who goes from the Pharoah’s court to tending sheep in the desert. Or they are like Isaiah who says that he is too young but he will go anyway. Or like
Mary, who accepts the stewardship of the Savior and says, My soul magnifies the Lord.
Most people are actually too timid. They settle for security too soon. Most of you are not like that. Many of you have moved from some other country. For most people, that is the kind of decision you make in your 20s. Perhaps you even lost licenses or certifications that you gained in another place as part of the trade to New York City. And for all of us, we are living in a city where change and adaptation is constant. The people who don’t change are in the minority. Some people leave New York because they want less change and more security.
We looked last week at the decade of your 30’s and how overcoming failure is so important to your maturity. And today we look at your 40’s and how it becomes so important to choose the way you will use your life.
The 40’s are a time when people change careers and move. There is a sense in your 40’s that life should count for something. You have done some testing and now it is time to commit. You would not want to get to age 60 and look at your life and suddenly say, ‘Ooops.’
Your 40’s may be a time when you have more money. Getting a boat or vacation house is just not possible upon college graduation. But it sometimes is possible when you’re 40. So the whole question arises of what is the real prize for my life? What am I going to strive for? What will determine my success or failure?
We have a delightful passage of Scripture today from Paul who was probably in his 40’s when he wrote it. And he reveals the secret of what will make your life worth living. Let’s expect great things from God’s word today
Paul achieved education and high social status from his dual citizenship as Jew and Roman. Its fair to say that he expected a position in the Sanhedrin, the real leaders of the nation. And Paul gives us such a sense of a strong personality that it is likely that he would have been at the top of the Sanhedrin itself.
Instead, he gets involved with following Jesus. One of those experiments that we were thinking of earlier that you do in your 20s and 30s. He sees now that this Christian movement within Judaism is attacked and struggling. He has given up the potential to lead a nation for the humble leadership of a splinter group. He has to wonder if this is the real prize for which he is willing to give the remaining decades of his life Paul realizes that it is not his job, money, status, or even great leadership potential which answers the question of the 40’s. In its place he embraces Christ and Christ's way. But this is more than just a change of values. It is also a deeply spiritual and personal change which affects Paul at the heart of his being and changes his future forever.
Let’s face it. For most of us, getting a job with a lot of money helps us feel valued. I was working with our personnel agency last month to set a salary scale. And Ruth happened to say that the purpose of the scale is to see what we can pay for each job. It says nothing about people’s worth because we are worth much more than whatever salary comes from our job.
The church should be one place in America where we can gather and find equal value and sons and daughters of God regardless of whether we worked last night as a janitor or a CEO. When we see a person doing a custodial task, we immediately assign a value to them in this society. As a matter of fact, most of the custodians at this church have this as a part time job and in their real lives are college students.
Paul, at age 40, says, I look at all of the things which I thought might give me status and meaning and I count them as worthless in verse 8. Verse 10, I want to know Christ and share in his life and sufferings.
Friends, we live in a sick society that gives value to life depending on where you live, who you know, what you own, and the title with your name. And all of us have bought into these values in some ways. But in our hearts, we also know that something doesn’t seem quite right. And its in your 40’s that you finally sit down to make sure you are giving your life and energy to the right things.
Paul finds the answer in doing things that will really count for eternity and trusting that he will end up in heaven enjoying life forever. That is what counts.
For some of us, this means that we should look at how we spend our money. Does your giving and spending live out your faith in eternal life or are you spending like there is no tomorrow?
For some of us, the 40’s may be a time to reassess career.
And for a lot of us, the world has gone to war in the past five years. And our own nation has broken the rules of a just war, tortured its prisoners, and spied on its citizens. And with all these measures, the violence only increases.
I believe we are at an unusual moment in history. God well may be calling you to change life in some special way because the Lord needs messengers of peace. [Isa 52:7] How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
This call may confound what you thought brought meaning to life. It seems to threaten all the status for which you have been struggling. Hear the call of God. Paul was at a historic moment in the history of Israel. Rome was just months away from besieging Jerusalem and crushing the nation. Paul chose to use his life in ways that would count eternally, offering leadership and a message of true peace that God wants the world to experience.
What is the prize in life that you have set your heart upon? And is it the prize that God wants for you? Open your heart to the voice of God this morning. Lay your life before the Lord and say like Isaiah, I will go where you want me to go, Lord, I’ll do what you want me to do.
