Sermon series- purpose 3
- God equips you to carry out His purpose.
- As a Child of God it is the greatest encouragement to know that our daddy, Father
God, is always with us.
- Well, the next great move in our purpose filled life is, God is going to equip you to
carry out His purpose.
- Think about Jeremiah, he was perfect to deliver God’s messages, & live the life God
had put ahead of him.
- The thing of it is, God knew the plans for Jeremiah, but Jeremiah still felt ill
prepared.
- Let’s read Jeremiah 1:4-10 one last time, but this time pay close attention to
verses 9 & 10.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
- God was equipping Jeremiah with the means to do His will!
Prayer
- We’re looking at what our purpose is in life.
- The greatest tragedy that we can have in looking for our purpose is, we don’t listen to
God’s leading.
> Bugs. (www.pastoralcareinc.com)
“Mom, are bugs good to eat?” asked the boy. “Let’s not talk about such things at the dinner table, son,” his mother replied. After dinner the mother inquired, “Now, baby, what did you want to ask me?” “Oh, nothing,” the boy said. “There was a bug in your soup, but now it’s gone.”
- When you make a bad decision there’s always going to be consequences.
- That’s one of the forces that sidelines us when we’re thinking about our purpose.
- I can imagine Jeremiah thinking, what if I say the wrong thing.
- I think that all the time, but notice what God did for Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:9-10
9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
- What we just read was the moment Jeremiah’s mouth was consecrated to do God’s
work.
- Jeremiah’s mouth was set apart to do whatever work God had intended.
- In our Wednesday night class I said I could just see when Isaiah was standing in
the Throne Room of God, & The angel touched the unclean lips of Isaiah with a
burning coal from off the altar.
- Isaiah was prepared to deliver the message.
- Jeremiah was prepared to deliver the message.
- Now God has prepared us to deliver a message too.
Ephesians 1:4-9
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,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
- Before Jesus, The Word, was forming us. He knew exactly what He would do to
redeem His creation, that would fail.
- The adoption papers were filled out, & ready before He even created us.
Q- What was the purpose of this great creation?
Q- Why has all of this good & bad taken place?
- It all took place to reveal the mystery.
Q- What’s the mystery?
- It’s Jesus!
- He is God’s plan.
Galatians 4:4
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
- God has given to us the front page story for any newspaper in history, Jesus Christ is
the Savior of the world. If any would come to Him, & Believe on Him, He will save
them.
Colossians 1:27
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Q- That sounds pretty important doesn’t it?
- It is, & That’s What our purpose boils down to.
- Not only is there the importance of sharing the good news, the gospel.
- You know the thing we were saved by!
- We also are purposed to show the hope that we have in God’s work, His Glory.
Q- What is my purpose?
- To be a Child of God. You have been consecrated, set apart from the world for
God’s Service.
- In the moment that Isaiah’s lips were touched, Listen to what was asked.
Isaiah 6:8
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
- We are made different, because God asks the same question today.
Q- Whom shall I send?
- When Jeremiah & Isaiah answered the call, neither one of them knew exactly what
they were going to do, or how they were going to do it.
- Other than, they knew what they were called to do.
- To deliver God’s message.
- That same job is given to us, deliver My message. Tell people, show people,
invite people to come see the mystery, Jesus.
- That’s our purpose. That’s why we are God’s Children.
- We’ve been made for this!
- That brings me to how I want to close this message.
- Starting today we’re highlighting the work of the North American missions, & I
thought wouldn’t it be great to hear a Testimony from a missionary.
- I came across a husband & wife that I want you to hear about.
> Dave & Mary Eliff (www.anniearmstrong.com)
When Dave and Mary Elliff left Arkansas, they left family and familiar culture to plant a new church in the Pacific Northwest.
“In the South, we have the Bible Belt. In Seattle, people call Roosevelt, the neighborhood where we’re planting, the Metaphysical Belt. 96% of the people here don’t attend an evangelical church,” says Dave. “It’s really well-known for New Age and Eastern religion.”
The Elliffs launched Roots Community Church with just one other couple. They soon formed a core group through community outreach and by recruiting others who felt called to serve in Seattle.
“We started Roots Church in 2016. Since then, we’ve had to move three times because we keep outgrowing our space. That’s a good problem to have. Now, we have almost a hundred people who are a part of our church,” says Mary.
- Their Church continually is growing!
- Remember The fear that was in the beginning, 96% don’t attend an evangelical
church.
- Look What God did Because they went anyways.
- He did His plan, His Purpose.
- That’s our rallying cry as we go into our invitation, I am listening to Your will God
, Here am I, send me.
