THE COMPELLING PURPOSE OF GOD
by Dr. Larry Bergeron
INTRODUCTION TO THE SERMON
The Sure Purpose of God
Today I want us to look at the way in which God’s Purpose Is Always Achieved. Because what God Purposes to do will happen.
Because God is good, we know that His Purposes are Good. In fact, inspite of the evil schemes and workings of man, God can still promise His children that He will purpose Good out of it.
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,£ who£ have been called according to his purpose.
I want you to open your bibles and turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, verse 17. Will you reverence the Word of God and stand as it is read to you:
Matthew 16:17
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,£ and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades£ will not overcome it.£ 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be£ bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be£ loosed in heaven."
Jesus is in complete control. He told His disciples that
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 20Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. Matthew 29:18-20,
He is building His church, here in Red Bay. That is the point of the message this morning. I want you to know that I don’t intend to preach a sermon to you today . . . rather . . . I have a word from the Lord for each of us. That is the burden of my heart this morning…to deliver God’s Word to you for this day.
Let’s Pray . . .
I. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD?
Webster defines purpose as 1) Something one intends to do, or get. 2) It is a Resolution; a determination. 3) It can also be the object for which something exists or is done. It has an end in view, that is, it is something done by design, or on purpose.
The Opposite of purpose is aimless, direction-less.
But we know that God has everything under control. He knew that mankind would need a savior before He ever made Adam & Eve. And He also knew that they would sin and be out of fellowship with Him.
That’s why the Word tells us that "He was crucified before the foundation of the world"
Everything about what Jesus did was focused on this primary purpose…to seek and save that which was lost. In fact Jesus, having been sent to us from the Father, tells us, in Luke 19:10
10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
And, also, in Matthew 1:21
21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,£ because he will save his people from their sins."
Also, in the Gospel of John 3:16:
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,£ that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
And also in 1 Timothy 1:15, the Apostle Paul tells us the purpose of God in Christ
15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
And, again, in 1 John 4:14,
14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
Our Conclusion:
PRIMARY PURPOSE OF GOD IS TO SAVE MANKIND THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.
II. WHAT IS GOD’S PURPOSE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SAVED?
A. To be At One with the Father and Jesus in Purpose and Relationship
(1) PURPOSE:
John 17:18
"As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified"
Sanctify means "to set apart for a holy purpose"
When Moses sanctified the utensils for use in the Tabernacle, he did so by sprinkling them with blood. This dedicated the utensils solely for use by the priests in the ministry of the Tabernacle.
You and I have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ so that we may be sanctified – set apart for the holy purpose of continuing the ministry of Christ on earth.
(2) RELATIONSHIP
John 17:20-23
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Jesus wasn’t praying for Christians to be one with each other. He wasn’t asking for organizational or even experiential unity in the body of Christ. What Jesus asked is that all beleivers be one with Him!
We know this from the passage itself. Jesus’ relationship with the Father is the model of the oneness Christ prayed for. Jesus is in the Father, and the Father in Him (v.21). They are bound together: by shared nature, by mutual love, by oneness of purpose, by a single, harmonious will. Jesus lived His life on earth in union with God the Father, and His actions here revealed God to us all.
And now, Jesus asked that we may have the kind of relationship with Him that He has had with the Father! Jesus asked that we might be bound to Him: given a new nature that is like His, a capacity to love that reflects His own, a place in God’s plan and purpose, and knowledge of God’s will.
When we are one with Christ in purpose and relationship we assume His ministry of reconciling mankind to God:
As 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 puts it . . .
14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin£ for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
CONCLUSION
1. God has a Great Purpose . . . to Save Mankind
2. God’s Purpose Cannot be Undermined. . . He Will Accomplish His Purpose
3. God’s Purpose Must Be the Purpose of Every Believer…Ministry of Reconcilliation
So, what is our response?
1. Appeal to the Purposeless Sinner
Appeal to the Members to not be anxious. God’s Purpose is being accomplished
Commit yourselves now to become Ministers of God’s Great Reconcilliation Program by making sure you’re at one with God and Christ.
