The Great Why Of God Series

The Great Why of God

(God’s global Purpose from the beginning till today)

Daniel 3: 28-29 (p627) Sept. 25, 2011

INTRODUCTION:

I had spoken at the South East Christian Church men’s breakfast a couple of weeks before the package arrived in the mail…it was a book from my buddy Joe Donaldson…who now leads this Saturday morning study that Bob Russell use to lead…it’s a huge gathering of men…several hundred.

I had shared about being the prodigal in the parable…Joe sent me this book called “The Cross and the Prodigal” “To My bother Rick…this book has totally opened my eye to the richness and depth of this amazing parable….so I looked through it…each chapter seemed to start with an Arabic drawing…I didn’t get it….but appreciated Joe’s thoughtfulness.

That same day I had lunch scheduled with a friend…Let’s call him Dan (that’s really his name) I’d known Dan for 13 years…Dan was the youngest (or one of the youngest elders on the board when I came…Dan and I have butted heads on more than one occasion…but everything changed a couple of years ago..

Dan went from being in charge of His own company. Highly successful in this worlds eyes…to utter dependency on God…and God begin to d o some weird stuff…at the same time Dan’s security began to crumble…God began to open doors. Doors that he could have never imagined...or even wanted…Doors into world missions…God opened doors into the lives of people Dan at one time hated and would have just as soon seen annihilated from the face of the earth.

This journey would bring Dan, his wife and family into an open door to the Arabic World.

So as Dan & I ate lunch together on this same day I received the book from Joe Donaldson..He and his wife had just returned from living abroad in the Arabic world and going through language studies…and I said, “Dan, could we stop by my office and can I show you a book by Kenneth Bailey my friend sent me…And Dan said, I love Kenneth Bailey…I’d love to see it.!

As I opened the book in my office…Dan saw the Arabic Drawings…He said…we’ve just studied some of this…”that’s outside that symbol means “Son”…Outside the Father’s Will”.

And Dan and I stood in my office…tears in our eyes and Dan said…”I’m sorry…and I said, “Dan It is an amazing thing to see what God has done with you and your family…I ask him “would you trade where you’re at with Jesus right now…would you subtract all you’ve been through with what god has revealed in you and through you?” He said…”No Way” and I said, “Me too”

Most of us would choose the comforts of America…the security of what we have…or believe we must have.

Dan had the American Dream and discovered its rubbish in comparisons with “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…it’s worth losing everything to be found in Him.” (Phil 2:7,8)

How can anything be better than the things I think give me security? …I’ll tell you…it’s when God takes them away and you let Him become your security. It’s when you realize your titles, your job, your money, your influence are trash in comparison with what God can give you…if you let Him.

But how many of us will really give up our security and comfort? How many of us want our children or grandchildren to serve as missionaries on foreign soil? We’ll write a check…we’ll pray…but don’t ask me or mine to go…I might not say I hate them or God…annihilate them. To Hell!

But unless we take the gospel to the ends of the earth, isn’t that where they’ll go? Jesus commands us to go…we are created a new so we each take the gospel to the ends of the earth…I propose that anything less than radical devotion to this purpose is unbiblical and self-centered.

Because from the beginning of history god had a twofold purpose in creating us. That twofold purpose

I ENJOY HIS GRACE AND EXTEND HIS GLORY.

God has everything…He is everything…so consider this question: Why did He create us? And as you all know I am not God…nor will I presume to know His thoughts…but it seems God tells us why He made us. First off

1) We were created to enjoy His grace…we are the only parts of creation that bear His image (Gen 1: 26, 27) God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created them…

We alone have the capacity to enjoy god in intimate relationship with Him…and the first word the Bible uses to describe that relationship is…”blessed”

God blessed them (v. 28)

God blessed them…the human race, not because of any merit or inherent worth in us…but simply out of pure unadulterated grace. God created humankind to enjoy His grace.