There is a purpose in everything we do.
• We do not wake up every morning and then go through the motions of living. We make plans and seek to achieve something. It is odd to do anything without purpose.
• If we know that, then we can expect God to have a purpose when He sent Jesus into this world.
• Many celebrate Christmas, but few stop to ask: WHY did Jesus come to this world?
God said it very clearly at the first Christmas.
• Luke 2:10-11 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David [that’s Bethlehem] a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”
Jesus was born differently. When we were born, we have to discover our life purpose.
• Jesus was born with a clear purpose given. He was on a mission when He was born. And that purpose has to do with you.
• I do not think God will do anything that is unnecessary. God has a plan.
• God has a design in everything He created, and a purpose in everything He does. Take a look at creation today, and we get a glimpse of a great designer.
• God does not waste His energy. He has a purpose for Christmas.
God sent us a Saviour. If you and I do not need a Saviour, God would probably not have gone through all the effort and trouble to send us one.
• The fact that He sent a Saviour to this world means you need one. It is therefore wise to listen to what God has to say.
• If a doctor tells you today that you need to take this medicine, you would probably listen. It is unlikely that you will doubt him, because you know you’re sick and need the medicine. The doctor knows better.
God wants you to know that you need a Saviour. Why do I need one?
• Because we are inflicted with this sickness the Bible calls SIN. We have turned our back on Him. Isa 53:6 “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”
• God wants you to know 3 things: (1) Jesus saves you from your sin, (2) He saves you for a purpose, and (3) He saves you by His grace.
(1) The first thing you need to know is: God wants to save you FROM sin.
Sin is more than just doing things evil. Sin is an attitude that says, “God, I don’t need you. I want to be my own boss. God, You do Your thing and I’ll do mine. You don’t disturb me, and I won’t disturb You.”
• Sin is a rejection of God and His ways; the result of this is that it makes us gods.
• It is saying, “This life is mine. I’m going to do what I like with my life, not what God puts me on earth to do.”
• This denial or rejection of God separates us from Him. Sin separates us from God.
This separation resulted in a life of confusion and aimless living.
• We lose the sense of what is of value, what is good and what is right. We make our own rules and set our own laws.
• Not only do we not know how to live, we do not know why we are living.
These problems arise because people are no longer connected to God.
• So Jesus Christ has to come. He comes to re-connect what was lost because of sin. He comes to bridge the gap caused by sin.
• The angel tells Joseph: “Give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” (Matt 1:21).
God does not want you to go around carrying this weight of sin all the time.
• He wants to remove this ‘cancer’ in your life and give you a new lease of life.
• There may be some things in your life you wish to change but you can’t. You have no power to change. You tried but failed. You felt frustrated and helpless.
• The Bible says you cannot remove sin. Only Jesus can. You need a Saviour.
• You need an outside help. You need God’s power. You need Jesus Christ.
You may be looking for salvation in the wrong places.
• You’re looking for that one thing that’s going to give you satisfaction and meaning and peace in life.
• “If I could just get a good job, life will be fine…” or “If I could get rich… or get a promotion… or get married… or get a bigger house… then everything would be great.”
• You have been at it for many years, and life has not been great. You’re looking in the wrong places. That’s why you’re frustrated.
The problem is not outside of you. It is in you. The Bible calls it sin.
• Jesus says in Mark 7:21-23 “For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.'"
• You have to clean the inside. No matter where you go, if you did not solve the problem inside you, you’re just carrying it with you wherever you go.
God has given us the answer to this problem.
• It is not in a place. It’s not in a program. It’s not in a pill. The answer to your problem is in a Person. Only Christ can change us from within.
• You need to return to God. You were made by God, and you were made for God, and until you understand that, life is never going to make sense.
So first, you need to be saved from your sin.
• Jesus came to do that. He took your sin away when He died at the cross. Believe in Jesus and your sin will be forgiven.
• He enters your life and changes you from within.
(2) The second thing you need to know is: God saves you FOR a purpose.
The Bible says in 1 Cor 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
• We live to glorify God. We do that by obeying and doing His will.
Author Rick Warren says people live on 3 levels – the survival level, the success level, or the highest level – the significance level.
• Most of the world lives at the survival level. Half of the world (that’s 3 billion people) lives on less than 5 dollars a day. That’s survival.
• Here in Singapore, we are better off. You’re at the success level, compared to many third world countries. We are not surviving, we have more than enough.
• Yet people are not happy and fulfilled.
Why? If we have a comfortable and decent life, why aren’t we feeling fulfilled?
• Because you were made for more. Fame, wealth and success are not the ultimate goals of life.
• You were made for significance. And significance comes from knowing God, knowing His purpose for your life, and then doing it.
• All the success in the world can’t give you that. You will never find satisfaction and significance by living for yourself.
You need something greater than yourself. You need to live for God.
• You listen to His Word and obey Him, because you are made to know God and glorify His Name.
• Author J. I Packer say it will be very sad if we live life without God.
"We are cruel to ourselves. We try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and Who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. In this way you can waste your life and lose your soul.” [J. I. Packer in KNOWING GOD]
(3) The third thing you need to know is: God saves you BY His Grace.
Jesus saves you from your sin, He saves you for a purpose, and He saves you by His grace.
• God did all this because He loves you. Jesus came because He wants to give you a hope and a future.
• The Bible says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)
• That means you don’t deserve it. You don’t earn it. You can’t buy your way into heaven. You can’t be good enough to get into heaven because heaven’s perfect, and you’re not. And I’m not.
I’ve got to get into heaven on somebody else’s ticket, and that’s Jesus Christ.
• He was perfect because He was God, and He paid the price for me.
• That’s grace. Grace is when God gives you what you need and not what you deserve.
• Grace is when God says, “I’m going to take your problem and make it MY problem. And Jesus died for me.”
Someone puts it this way – G R A C E is God’s Riches given to you At Christ’s Expense.
• God giving you the best, and who pays for it? Jesus pays for it.
• In other words, salvation cannot be earned. You cannot work your way to heaven. God will tell you, “Sorry, you don’t have enough good works in you to do that.”
• It’s just a gift. What do you do with a gift? Just receive it.
• Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Because God gave the gift of His Son to you. By grace. He paid for it. That’s why we give gifts, because God gave the greatest gift to us at Christmas.
One day at church service, a young pastor invited his friend, an elderly pastor to say a few words of greeting before his sermon. He ended with a story.
Let me tell you a story. "One day a father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the pacific coast. A sudden storm came and blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the 3 were swept into the ocean.
“Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son’s friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, "I love you son!" he threw out the life line to his son’s friend.
By the time the father had pulled the friend back, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered.
The father knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son’s friend.”
He said to the church, “How great is the love of God that he should do the same for us. Our Heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take a hold of the lifeline He is throwing out to you today.”
With that, the elderly minister sat back down in his chair.
After the service, two teenagers came to the man. "That was a nice story", said one boy politely, "but I don’t think it was very realistic for a father to give up his son’s life to save the other boy."
“Well, it sure isn’t very realistic, is it? But I’m standing here today to tell you that this story helps me understand what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You see, I was the father and your pastor is my son’s friend.”
Do you understand how much God loves you, and longs to save you?
• He wants to save you from your hurts, from your aimless wanderings. He wants to save you from sin.
• He wants to save you for His purpose, so that you can live an abundant life, Jesus says, and glorify our God.
• He wants to save you by His grace. You’ve got to stop trying to do it yourself. You’ve got to let go of your hold on your own life.
You need to let go and let God be God. There is only one God and you’re not.
• Whenever you start acting like god, you’re going to come under stress. Because you are not made to handle life on your own.
• Jesus Christ died for your sin. That’s why we celebrate. God sent us a Saviour.
• Would you accept Him? Would you be willing to accept this gift from God? You will be blessed if you do that.
