Sermon Central
-
Formed For A Purpose Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: The Bible repeatedly tells us we were created with a purpose. So, why do we have such a hard time believing that?
How can I be the type of man or woman that God created me to be?
ANSWER: You prepare yourself.
Just like Dave who gave our communion meditation this morning, or Barb who told us about the Mexican ministry of Garnet Calzedo. They prepared themselves so that they could minister to you this morning by sharing the goodness of God and the example of great Christians.
How, then, do we prepare ourselves to be used by God?
Paul wrote Timothy and said: In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, HE WILL BE AN INSTRUMENT FOR NOBLE PURPOSES, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21
So, if we want to be used for God in a noble and holy purpose we need to prepare ourselves by cleansing ourselves. We need to cleanse ourselves of
o worldly ways of talking
o and worldly ways of treating others around us
o and worldly ways of thinking
In short we need to cleanse ourselves of sin. And we start that cleansing with becoming God’s children
Admitting that we are sinners
Accepting that Jesus can cleanse us of our sin
Deciding that we don’t want to live like that anymore
And that we want Jesus to have total control of our lives
And then allowing ourselves to be buried with Jesus in the waters of Christian baptism
Until we allow ourselves to do this with our lives we’re still like the people that had that unknown object. They knew it was valuable, but they realized that it had no value to them. It’s value was only realized by the one who knew what it was.
So also, you have value but that value can only be fully realized by the ONE who truly knows who you are. Your creator, your savior, Jesus Christ.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
· Formed For A Purpose - Jeremiah 1:4-1:10
· Accept No Substitutes - Jeremiah 2:4-2:13
· The Smell of Sin - Jeremiah 5:20-5:25
· If I’ve Got It Why Can’t I Flaunt It? - Jeremiah 9:23-9:24
· The Effect Of Judgment - Jeremiah 10:17-10:25
· Time To Decide - Jeremiah 15:15-15:21
· Planning For The Future. - Jeremiah 29:8-29:14
· A New Hope - Jeremiah 31:31-31:35
· Knowing God’s Phone Number - Jeremiah 33:1-33:3
· You Can’t Tell Some People Anything - Jeremiah 44:1-44:30
