“Meant to live” This is the first week of our new series called “Desire” Today we are going to start with what is probably the most import question that anyone can ask “What is my purpose in life?” I did a google search of the exact phrase “purpose in life” and I found 1.5 million hits, this is a question that most people want answers to. As many of you know a book called “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren has sold 25 million copies world wide. There is nothing new in that book it just echoes what the Bible teaches about why we are here. The point is, the title of that book attracted sales because most people want to know “what is my purpose”.
Ralph Barton, a famous cartoonists, left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his own life: "I have had few difficulties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, from house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day."
He lacked purpose or a reason to live
If we have the “desire” inside of us to find out what our purpose in life is we must have the realization that there would be no purpose for us if there was not a creator who made us. To look at the intricate and complex design of the human being and say that this is by chance that we here the Bible says is foolish. “The fool says in his heart there is no God” Psalm 14:1
Admitting there is a God and He offers a purpose or a reason why we are here is the first step to understanding why we are here.
Notice Psalm 14:1 says “in his heart” many times we link desires and our heart. What does God have to say about hearts?
Jeremiah 17:9 describes the condition of the unbelieving (sinful) heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Solomon reiterates the same concept, “the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).
In almost every culture an afterlife is assumed, believed or hoped for.
Hebrews 11:16 Like the Israelites we desire something better then this life. A life in Heaven
David Ps 27:4 desired to dwell with God
Meant to live lyrics “everything inside screams for second life”
But we learn through the Bible that sin or wickedness can not live in eternity with God so there is a problem if that is what God says of us, that we are sinners.
But how do cure the heart problem of wickedness and evil or better known as sin, which the Bible says separates us from God. Romans 6:23 the wage of sin is death.
The good news is, that God has the cure. He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the price for our sin our heart condition. The Bible says that if we believe in Christ and His work on the cross for us we will have eternal life. Ps 51:15-17 God wants our brokenness. God wants us to come to the realization that we are sinners who cannot save ourselves
Our desire will become a reality when we pass from this life.
1 Tim 2:4 God desires us to come to faith
John 17:24 Jesus’ desire is you
Ecclesiastes 3:11 refers to God's placing of "eternity in a persons heart.” God made us for His eternal purpose, and nothing in this world can bring us complete satisfaction.
Augustine prayed “You have created us for yourself O Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you” What many have called the God shaped hole.
When searching for purpose in life, knowing where you are headed in the afterlife will make this life have meaning.
Put it this way if you were to run a race and did not know where the finish line was how effective can you be in your race. I once saw an interview on TV about a man who fell off a cruise ship in the middle of the night. No land or lights of any kind in site. He said “I swam but it dawned on me that I did not know which way to swim, I could have been swimming away from land or towards it, then I realized I just need to tread water to stay alive.”
Many times this is what happens to our Christian walk , we are just treading water.
Pro 13:12 our hope our desire gets deferred, we get distracted with things like money, relationships our health which is why I am teaching about those things in the next three weeks. we forget why we are here on this earth, and what does that do to our hearts? It makes us sick, spiritually.
The second part of this verse tells us about having desire to follow the Lord it is a “Tree of life” Brings us back to Eden and the reason why God created us… to love us and us to love Him back. This is going to be our anchor verse for this entire series.
I can guarantee that you will not have fulfillment in life if you do not live out God’s purposes for your life.
What are God’s purposes for us, well simply stated they are in the bulletin every week.
Acts 2:42-47 tells us about the first church and what they practiced. The reasons listed below are what “The Five” revolves around.
Thank God for what he has done in our lives. Worship/Prayer
Learn about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Grow
Serve others inside and outside the church, because Jesus Christ served us. Service
Love one another as Jesus Christ has loved us. Fellowship
Share about Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him Outreach
But how do we accomplish this in our personal lives?
*****Warning before we procede 2 Tim 3:12 if you desire to live a Godly life you will face persecution. That means it will not be easy, some people will not like it and you may get discouraged. But I guess the question you have to ask yourself is “is it worth it”? I say yes.
*God has a desire for our obedience
John 15:7 The reward for obedience, God is more sensitive to what you ask for, but the more obedient you are the more you will ask according to God’s will.
There are also eternal blessings and rewards for our obedience
Elijah McCoy was born in 1844 to former slaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Ontario via the Underground Railroad. His parents sent him to study in Scotland, where he earned a degree in engineering.
Working for the railroad, McCoy invented a lubricating cup that automatically dripped oil. He patented it, and it was installed on locomotives. His invention greatly increased engine efficiency, and soon everyone wanted one of the "McCoy Cups." So many inferior copies were made that train engineers began to demand "the real McCoy," the genuine article.
When it comes to obedience, who is the "genuine article"? If Christians obey, they're "the real McCoy" in the eyes of others. Obedience is the litmus test of faith (cf. James 1:22-25).
Our life should be a constant process of bringing sinful behaviors into obedience to Jesus
You have a “Desire” to have purpose, God has a “desire” for you to follow. God wants you to have an abundant life on earth and the way to do that is obedience to Him.
*Forsaking our own desires Matt 20:26-28
Putting the needs of others before our own.
Philippians 2 actually says consider others better then yourself
*Making Jesus #1 Luke 14:26
The essence of being a disciple is giving Christ first place over anything else including other people. Jesus does not mean hate as we think of hate but as in “Love more then Jesus” this has other implications, because some families reject their members when they trust Christ. Larry Stamm’s Father. The question is “who is more important Jesus or loved ones?”
John 6:66-69 Peter’s reply “to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life” in other words you are #1
When Jesus is #1 you will always have something to live for.
If you live for other things you will eventually lack purpose. Studies show that a good number of people die 18 months after they retire. If they lived for their job they lack purpose when they retire. In 2005 Johns Hopkins came out with a study that named a medical condition “Broken Heart Condition” when a loved one especially spouse dies the other person passes a short time after. Loved ones are obviously important to us and God, but they need to be 2nd to God if we lose a loved one, to death, distance or maybe a breakup, it should not paralyze us to living for God.
*Don’t hold on too tight Matt 16:24-26 If you want to save your life you have to lose it to God.
Meant to live lyrics “We were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves?”
Everything you have including your life belongs to God and if you hold onto to what is rightfully God’s to tight you will actually lose.
*Galatians 4:8 don’t turn back to your old desires, they way you lived before.
God has a purpose and a plan and He desires you first to come to know Him
Peter T. Forsythe "The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master".
Second He desires you to live a life after Him.
The minister and theologian John Wesley said
I desire the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.
No comments:
Post a Comment