Building a Life of Purpose
Acts 13:36
Scripture reading (36)
Millions of people go through life without any real sense of why they are here and what they ought to be doing in life. It might surprise you to know that the wisest man who ever lived seems at times to have had just such a perspective on life. Listen to what he writes in Ecclesiastes chapter one.
... He said the life seems useless
"2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?" If there's no purpose to life, why not sleep in? Why not just let somebody else do it? If nothing really matters, why bother? Why make the effort. Life is useless if I don't see a purpose to it.
Eccl. 1:2-4
... He said that life seems tiresome
"4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing."
When you don't know that there's a purpose in life, life just seems like we're going in circles. It gives three examples -- there's the rotation of the earth, the sun goes up and down; there's the swirling of the wind; there's the cycle of rain and evaporation. It seems like an endless cycle. Just about the time you get the Christmas lights put away it's time to get them out again. We're on this treadmill.
Do you ever feel like you're on a treadmill? You're using a lot of energy, a lot of activity in your life, but there's no progress. The fact is, you can win the rat race but you're still a rat. If you don't have a purpose in life, life seems useless and life seems tiresome.
Business Week recently did a study to find out what is the number one answer when you ask people, "How you doing?" The number one answer today is, "I'm tired." This is the decade of fatigue.
Eccl. 1:4-8
... He said that life seems unfulfilling
"9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us."
When we don't see a point to something the fact is we get restless. When you don't see the point to something you get restless, antsy, you can't stay in your seat. You come late, leave early. We use the zapper on tv. The average human being will change channels with the zapper 325,000 in his/her life. (Some of you far, far more of that. That's an annual number for you!) But we get restless when we don't see a point to something. Life is useless, tiresome, unfulfilling.
Eccl. 1:9-10
... He said that life seems insignificant
" 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after."
Fame is fleeting. You break a record, and your's is going to be broken next week. He's talking here about the surety of obscurity. Nobody's really going to remember you. We all want to be significant but it doesn't happen. Have you ever been to a class reunion? That's a humbling experience. All the heros are now zeros. They're all getting fat and going bald -- and those are the women! The guys...
Regardless of your accomplishments, you're going to be forgotten. If you went to college, my guess is that every building on your college campus had somebody's name on it. Did it make any difference to you? No. You couldn't care less. You never did any research to find out who those people were because the only people who care about having their name on a building are the people who give the big bucks to put their name on a building. Nobody else could care! The fact is, we don't remember. Life seems insignificant when you don't have a purpose.
Eccl. 1:11
... He said that life seems uncontrollable
" 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be number!"
Eccl. 1:15
That's obvious. Have you ever tried to straighten out a relationship that just wouldn't straighten out? It's tough. Have you ever been baffled by a problem that you couldn't fix? One of the great frustrations of life is that there are some things I just can't fix. And it's true with you too. There are some things you just cannot control. The most important things in life are things you cannot control. You didn't control when you were born, when you're going to die. You don't control a whole bunch of things in between that really do matter. You certainly can't control other people. You can't keep them in love with you. You can't make them fall in love with you. All kinds of things like that.
It's interesting to me that these five themes -- life is useless, seems tiresome, seems unfulfilling, seems insignificant, seems uncontrollable -- are the themes of many current popular books and movies. You see this over and over. Without a purpose, life seems pointless.
There's a guy named Hugh Morehead who 45 years ago began a hobby of writing to famous philosophers and scientists and authors and asking them, "What is the purpose of life?" The responses he got back were depressing at best. Isaac Asimov wrote back, "As far as I can see there is no purpose to life." Karl Jung, the Austrian psychiatrist, wrote, "I don't know what the meaning or the purpose of life is but it looks like as if there were something meant by it." Arthur Clark, who wrote 2001, wrote, "I'm afraid I have no concrete ideas of the purpose of life." Albert Ellis, the psychiatrist who invented RET therapy said, "As far as I can tell, life has no special or intrinsic meaning or purpose." Gerald Frank, "In the cosmic scheme, I see neither meaning nor purpose." Edward Gorny, "I doubt if there is one." William Gasp, "There is no meaning to life." Thomas Nagle, "I'm afraid the meaning of life still eludes me." With a sense of resignation Joseph Heller wrote, "I have no answers to the meaning of life and I no longer want to search for any."
Is there a purpose in life? Is there a meaning to life? Can we know why we are here? Thankfully there is an answer in the Word of God!
" 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will," God's plan has always been to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ.
Eph. 1:4-5
" 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:" His purpose is to gather us all to heaven to be with him for all eternity.
Eph. 1:10
"11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world (eternity) in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.." He planted eternity in every human heart. We were made for eternity!
Eccl. 3:11
Since we were made for eternity, it's obvious that we need a relationship with God. That one's a no brainer. That is, we need to establish a relationship with Him -- God's Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." Notice: Not everybody's a child of God, just those who receive Him into their lives. God wants you to establish a relationship with Him.
" 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
John 1:12
Many of you have heard the name Bertrand Russell, the famous English philosopher. He was an avowed atheist. One thing I have to admire about Bertrand Russell, at least he was intellectually honest. He admitted that if you don't believe in God there are severe consequences to it. He said, "Unless you assume a God, the question about life's purpose is meaningless." Freud, who was also an atheist, said the same thing. "The idea of a purpose stands or falls with the religious system." In other words, if you don't accept that God exists and that you must accept Jesus Christ as your savior you're on a dead end street.
In our scripture verse we see that David had a relationship with God and out of that relationship he found the purpose for his life and we can learn how he did it! Here are 4 facts about God's purpose. First, there is:
I. The responsibility of the servant (...to serve...)
It's interesting that when tempted by Satan to worship someone or something other than God that Jesus replied that our greatest purpose in life is to worship God and serve Him only.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, all these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 4:8-10
Illus - There is a relationship which makes life complete. Without that relationship, there is a void, a vacuum in life. Many people, even those who are well-known, can attest to that void. For example, H.G. Wells, famous historian and philosopher, said at age 61: "I have no peace. All life is at the end of the tether." The poet Lord Byron said, "My days are in yellow leaf, the flowers and fruits of life are gone, the worm and the canker, and the grief are mine alone." Henry David Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation."Ralph Barton, one of the top cartoonists of the nations, 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."
Illus - "More men fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent."
Billy Sunday.
II. The rule for the servant (...by the will of God...)
a. Find the will of God
b. Follow the will of God
c. Finish the will of God
Illus - Sign on door: "Gone out of business. Didn't know what our business was."
III. The regulation of the servant (...his own generation...)
There are limitations suggested by this phrase;
The Pulpit Commentary translates this verse the following way: "David had a work (purpose) to do limited to "his own generation," and when that work was done he died."
IV. The reward for the servant (...fell on asleep...)
David finished the work God gave him to do and then "fell asleep." This phrase is used throughout scripture to designate the home going of a believer. The implications are that those who "sleep" in God will one day awaken.
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
Job 19:25-27
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
I Thess. 4:13-14
USE MY TIME IN VIEW OF ETERNITY.
5 "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." Col 4:5
USE MY TALENT IN VIEW OF ETERNITY.
" 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
1 Cor. 6:20
USE MY TREASURE IN VIEW OF ETERNITY.
" 17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."
1 Tim. 6:17-19
