INTRO.- Where are you headed? Where are you going?
ILL.- Two friends went hunting for moose in Canada every year. Each time they were flown out to the marshland in a small bush plane.
After landing them at the hunting site, the pilot said, “I’ll pick you up in four days and you can only return with you two, your gear and only one moose.”
Four days later the pilot landed to pick them up and found the men with two moose. He was very angry and said, “I told you only one moose. It’s impossible to fly out of here with the weight of two.”
The men said, “But we were here last year and the pilot took us out with two moose, so we thought maybe you would too.”
The pilot said, “Hey, I’m the best pilot in this country, so if he can do it, I can do it.” So they stuffed everything in the small plane, closed the door, and took off. The pilot pulled the throttle down as far as it would go. They made it up fine until they came to a tree at the end of the runway and suddenly crashed right in the top of it. Moose, gear, and men went flying in all directions.
When one of the hunters came to, he looked around and said, “Herb, where are we?” Herb said, “I don’t know, Bill, but it’s about 150 yards farther than we were last year.”
Brothers and sisters, where are you in life? Are you just a little farther than you were last year?
Often, it seems like we take two steps forward and three steps backwards in life and especially, in the spiritual realm.
Life is tough, to say the least. Life has a tendency to knock us down and beat us up.
ILL.- A preacher friend of mine wrote me the other day and said, “One very sweet lady who has been struggling with MS had to be put in the hospital after it flared up on her. It does that every now and then, and every episode like this she has, puts her one step closer to death as there’s no cure for her disease. It’s really a shame as she’s so sweet and so young. She’s a wonderful example of a young Christian woman should be. She teaches at the elementary school here and all the children think the world of her.
“Then, one of our teenage members tried to commit suicide because she and her boyfriend broke up. This girl is so beautiful, smart and athletic that she could probably have just about any boy she wanted. Why she can’t see her potential, I don’t know. She has been taken to a psychiatric hospital in Shreveport for professional help. Hopefully, they can help her get her life back together.
“We have another lady in the hospital dying of cancer. And another elderly gentleman who used to preach here many years ago wasn’t expected to live through the night.”
This brother preacher wrote back the next day and here is what he said.
“We had another teen try to kill himself yesterday. I was at the hospital till late last night with the family. He overdosed (purposely) on pain pills. I just don’t know what’s in these kids’ minds these days. This makes the 3rd teen that’s attempted suicide this year. One of these days one of them will be successful. He told me he heard the voice of demons calling and he answered the call. I told him he almost got to see them too! And if he did, he’d get to spend eternity with them. I don’t think he listened as he was still feeling the effects of the drug overdose. I don’t think he’d listen anyway. Pray for me that I might have the strength and wisdom to help these people.”
Brothers and sisters, this preacher doesn’t minister in a large church either. He is only dealing with about a hundred and twenty people in a small town in Northeast Texas, population about 200.
Life is tough. We all need direction. And we all need to make some progress in the right direction. Where are you headed? In what direction? Are you making any spiritual progress?
Our text in Prov. 3:5-6 teaches us to seek the Lord and trust Him in all things in life. We humans don’t have all the answers to life’s difficulties and perplexities, BUT THE LORD DOES! We must continually pray, seeking His will for our lives if we want a better life! In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight or direct your life.
Regardless of what our agenda is we need to get in on God’s agenda, get on His team, wave His flag, follow His leading, do His will, seek His purpose in life.
PROP.- I want us to consider some more areas where God’s purpose needs to be fulfilled in our lives.
1- God’s purpose in our worship
2- God’s purpose in our relationships
I. GOD’S PURPOSE IN OUR WORSHIP
ILL.- A preacher visited a family who had not attended church in a while. After the preacher asked why they hadn’t attended church recently, the husband said, “Well, preacher, I’ve been out of work, all the kids have been sick and it has rained an awfully lot lately.” “But,” the preacher said, “it’s always dry in the church.”
“Yep,” replied the man, “AND THAT’S ANOTHER REASON WE DON’T ATTEND CHURCH.”
Brothers and sisters, some times certain church services are dry and I do believe that this may keep some people away from church. BORING IS BAD. Exciting is good, especially if it is centered on worship, growth, love, etc.
What is God’s purpose for His church? It’s many things.
Acts 2:42-43 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.”
The early church assembled to study the apostles’ teaching. For us today, that’s the Word of God. They shared with one another, broke bread (or shared in the Lord’s Supper) and prayed together.
This is what worship is all about! But what’s the purpose of doing these things? Do we gather to study the Bible just to study the Bible? It is just to gain some head knowledge of the Bible? No, there is far more to it than this.
The whole purpose of Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and the Lord’s Supper are to draw closer to God and to one another! It is to be humbled before God and to commit ourselves more fully to Him! That’s what our worship should do.
Please notice in the text what happened as a result of worshipping God: EVERYONE WAS FILLED WITH AWE!
Worshipping God did something to them and for them! And so should our worship! When was the last time you walked out of church filled with awe, if ever?
ILL.- The sad truth is this. It has taken 30 million dollars to humble some people before God, fill them with awe and get them to commit themselves more fully to Him. WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? I am talking about the Mel Gibson movie, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.
This movie seems to have caused more people, more Christians to humble themselves as never before and become more committed to Christ and His church. It’s a shame that it took a movie to do this for some people! BUT I’M NOT AGAINST IT. If it works, it works.
ILL.- Another preacher friend of mine in the Joplin, MO, area wrote these words to me after seeing THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.
“We preachers in the Christian Church sometimes have a problem being positive. We say, ‘Yes you are saved by faith BUT . . .’ ‘Yes, Christ has the power to keep you BUT . . .’ By the time we get through all the fine print we have negated the power of His promises. Consequently I am determined not to do this with the Passion. Yes it was a good movie BUT . . . It was a good movie PERIOD. It portrayed the passion of Christ in a way that impacted me in a positive way, and probably will do the same for the vast majority of the people who see it. When God is feeding 5,000 it is not the time for us to open up a hamburger joint and try to muscle in on the action.”
Many people have definitely been moved by God and sensed His awesomeness as a result of this movie. There is even an internet site devoted to this. It’s called: CHANGED LIVES: MIRACLES OF THE PASSION. Here are some testimonies.
"I was raised in church, but never really got it. After seeing this movie, I can’t ever look at the cross the same way again. I will never be the same..."
"I have always been an angry person, but seeing how Jesus forgave those who tortured him, I’m now really trying to forgive those who’ve hurt me, and I’ve made peace with several people already..."
"My marriage was on the rocks, but while seeing the film, I realized how much God cared for me and He is healing that relationship-- we’ve decided to work it out..."
"I was an addict, but after the movie I stopped cold turkey-- God has removed the cravings completely!"
"Now I finally truly understand what Jesus suffered on my behalf... I will never see Communion -- the body and blood of Christ-- the same way..."
"I used to suffer from a chronic disease, but while watching the movie I was instantly healed!"
What can we say about these testimonies of people who have been touched by God’s awesomeness? We must say, PRAISE HIS HOLY AND BLESSED NAME!
ILL.- Someone said, “ If you box God you will begin to box with God.” Interesting thought.
For a long time now we have “boxed” God, saying He can only work in this way or that. I think He has shown us differently, time and again. And He did again by using THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST movie!
We have been humbled. We have in some ways been filled with awe! And I say, so be it. And this is something of what we need to strive for in our churches. We need to allow God to work in our services in such a way that He will be glorified and we will be humbled and filled with awe!
Heb. 12:28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship with reverence and awe.”
It seems to me that if we are extremely thankful to God for who he is, what he is, and how he is, we will worship Him with awe. We will be awed by Him, overwhelmed by Him, taken by Him.
ILL.- Nearly every week Elaine and I watch the “American Idol” competition on the Fox TV network. There are three judges: Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and the infamous Simon Cowell, whom people love to hate. Why? Because he often has little good to say to the contestants.
If Judge Randy Jackson likes what he hears, he often responds with the words, “That was awesome, dude!” I beg to differ. What we humans do is not awesome. God is awesome! What He does is awesome! When He said, “Let there be light and there was light,” THAT WAS AWESOME! Any time God spoke, worked, etc. He was awesome. He still is awesome! And somehow we need to learn to worship Him with awe! That is with amazement, respect, and wonder.
What will it take? Prayer. Surrendered prayer. Serious prayer. Genuine praise. True humility. Overflowing appreciation. All of these and a whole lot more.
God’s purpose in our worship is for us to draw near to Him and somehow become more aware of His awesomeness. And we all must contribute to make this happen. It won’t happen by one person or with one sermon or with a certain kind of music. It can only happen when we all participate, pray, and praise our awesome God!
II. GOD’S PURPOSE IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS
ILL.- A woman who had been bitten by a mad dog went to her doctor. His diagnosis was she didn’t have long to live. Her doctor advised her to make out her will. Taking her pen and paper, she began to write. In fact, she wrote and wrote and wrote. Finally, the doctor said, “It appears that you are making out a very long will.”
“Will, nothing,” she replied, “I’M MAKING A LIST OF ALL THE PEOPLE I WANT TO BITE.”
There are times in when we do bite one another. Perhaps not literally, but we do verbally. We are sometimes very wicked in our speaking.
Gal. 5:15 “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
Sometimes in life when we may find ourselves in those “biting and devouring” relationships. People don’t always get along with one another or perhaps don’t have the right chemistry mix. It’s sad, but it happens all the time.
ILL.- When employees were asked, “What upsets you most about where you work?” their number one complaint was about fellow workers. It turns out that job satisfaction depends more on our relationships than our salaries. Relationships make the difference the job we love and the job we loathe!
And the same thing applies to other areas of our lives as well: family, socializing, church, etc.
ILL.- Maxwell Perkins, the famous editor, once wrote, "One of my deepest convictions is that the terrible harms that are done in this world are not done by deliberately evil people. They are done by the good people - by those who are so sure that God is with them. Nothing can stop them, for they are certain that they are right.”
And we might add that this “rightness” that some possess causes anger and alienation in many relationships. We are to live as right as possible, but at the same time we are to live by the law of love.
This is one of the problems why we sometimes can’t get new people in our churches. We often run them off or else scare them off with our “rightness.” The outside world often views Christians as being too critical, negative and judgmental. We are quick to judge people, but not love them.
Eph. 4:31-32 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Many times in life we find ourselves at odds with some people. Worse yet, we may find that we just can’t get along with certain people. And to top it off, we may know some people that we just can’t stand to be around!
ILL.- In Rick Warren’s book, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE, he says, “In every church and in every small group, there is always at least one ‘difficult’ person, usually more than one. These people may have special emotional needs, deep insecurities, irritating mannerisms, or poor social skills. You might call them EGR people – EXTRA GRACE REQUIRED.”
Warren said, “In a family, acceptance isn’t based on how smart or how beautiful or how talented you are. It’s based on the fact that we belong to each other.” And of course, the same principle applies to the church, because we are family.
ILL.- One day, two monks were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own. The first monk kindly offered, "We will carry you across if you would like." "Thank you," she said gratefully, accepting their help. So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.
After they had walked another mile or so, the second monk began to complain. "Look at my clothes," he said. "They are filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff." The first monk just smiled and nodded his head.
A few more miles up the road, the second monk griped again, "My back is hurting me so badly, and it is all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain." The first monk looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground, moaning. "Have you wondered why I am not complaining?" he asked. "Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. But I set her down five miles ago."
This is a problem that many people have with other people. They never can let anything go! They get offended, but never let go of the offense. And those who won’t let go are hurt the most, but in the end, all people suffer.
What is God’s purpose in our relationship to people? God wants us to commend one another, not criticize. To build up one another, not tear one another down. To love one another in spite of differences and mistakes.
Rom. 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Rom. 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
Rom. 15:1-2 “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”
God’s purpose in our relationships is to build those relationships in the spirit of Christ.
CONCLUSION---------------------------------
ILL.- In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you ’love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
God’s purpose in our lives is for us to love Him and love one another. Lewis is saying that we must take the first step in demonstrating love. God took the first step in loving us. He sent Christ to be our Savior. This is the greatest act of love the world has ever seen. Now we must respond to Him.
But when it comes to people, we must do the acting. We must demonstrate love whether we are loved or not. When we give love, we will come to love. God’s ultimate purpose in our lives is for us to learn how to love, because this is when we are changed from selfish creatures into the likeness of our loving God.
