God wants to use your life. That’s why we want to discover our purpose. There are a lot of shallow secular books out there like the one I saw recently entitled Discovering Your Purpose. It is an attempt to ride on the coattails of the popularity of Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life. Warren’s book is all about finding your purpose by finding God’s purpose for you and plugging into it. It’s all about God. This book was all about me — my goals, my dreams, my desires, my talents. But then, what would you expect?
The great thing about Rick Warren’s book is that it starts out with the opening sentence: “It’s not about you.” He goes on to say, “The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.” I would like to have you read that with me, making it personal: “The purpose of my life is far greater than my own personal fulfillment, my peace of mind, or even my happiness. It’s far greater than my family, my career, or even my wildest dreams and ambitions. If I want to know why I was placed on this planet, I must begin with God. I was born by his purpose and for his purpose.”
We discover our purpose when we find God’s purpose. We discover our purpose when we find God and take him into our lives. We catch his heart and follow where his leading. Our purpose becomes his purpose. We surrender to his will and his plans for us, and it becomes the most fulfilling thing we have experienced in life. We have learned that our purpose is to worship God, to live in loving fellowship with other believers, to be conformed into Christ’s likeness, to serve God and others through a ministry. And today we will be talking about our fifth purpose: You were made for a mission. We have specific gifts that are the particular way God chooses to use us to build up his kingdom, but there is a shared mission that we have with all other believers. We were made to bring other people to Jesus and help them find a personal relationship with him. Jesus described our mission with these words: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). This is the Great Commission which is our mission. Jesus promised: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). For us that means Mount Vernon, Ohio, the United States and the other nations of the world.
Here is the great good news: We can know God and help others to know God. We can change the world. As Methodists we do not believe that everything is predetermined and that the future is fixed in every detail. We believe that we have free will, and we can make choices that will, with the help of God, determine the future of the world. We can change the future by the things we choose to do. How exciting is that? History will be different because of the things you do or don’t do. We can actually change the future and shape history by cooperating with God and doing his will. We can change the future of someone’s individual life. Their life will be different because of the influence we have had on them and the good we have done. Their whole eternity will be different because we have obeyed God and shared the good news of Christ with them. You can make a difference, and we never know how big a difference it will turn out to be. Your life counts for something. Isn’t it exciting to think about the fact that the world can be a better place because of you? That’s what happens when you discover and live out your life’s purpose.
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to win people for Jesus Christ. All of us have differing gifts for ministry, but all of us share a common mission: bringing people to Christ. The ways we serve in order to make that happen will differ, but our goal is a shared one. Whether we teach, serve on the Trustees, cook in the kitchen, serve on the Wagon or Apartment ministries, work on the worship team, we all have the goal of bringing people into a meaningful relationship with the living God. We want everyone to find meaning and purpose in this life, but more than that, we want everyone to inherit eternal life.
Do you realize how many people are floundering in life and desperately need an eternal purpose and destiny? We sometimes forget how we felt and what our lives were like without Christ. We were so lost. I recently read a news story from the Houston Chronicle that illustrates what I am saying. It read, “When Louis Paul Kadlecek turned 21, he went on a bender, drinking for four days straight. He was familiar with the Brazoria County (Texas) Airport, since that’s where he performed community service after ‘one of his previous arrests.’ Kadlecek, who has never flown a plane before, stole one from a hangar and, following instructions in a pilot’s manual, took off. Within a mile he hit 100,000-volt power lines and crashed, but managed to walk home unharmed. The airport’s director said, ‘If stunt pilots tried 1,000 times to do the same thing, they would have been killed 999 times.’ Kadlecek blamed poor airport security for his actions. ‘If there had even been a tall chain link fence with barbed wire on top of it, I would have just turned around and went on home,’ he claims. He faces up to 20 years in prison. . . where they will definitely have a tall chain link fence with barbed wire on top of it.”
How do we reach people like Louis Kadlecek, and so many others, who so desperately need Jesus and a larger purpose for their lives? We pray for them and love them into the kingdom. And we serve God using the gifts he has given us, in order to make it possible for them to come to Christ. Rick Warren does a masterful job by helping us to understand what he calls our spiritual “shape.” Let’s look at that carefully.
S.H.A.P.E. is an acronym that stands for your particular combination of Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. Let’s begin by talking about your spiritual gifts. We have already passed out a spiritual gift assessment tool in your small group that will help you to discover your spiritual gifts. If you did not get one there, please pick one up at the Welcome Center. The Bible says that everyone has a spiritual gift, and possibly several. You need to discover your spiritual gifts and use them for the kingdom. The Bible talks about spiritual gifts saying, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:4-8).
But some will say, “My gift is not as important as others.” In another place Paul writes to the Corinthians saying, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:14-20). In other words, everyone is essential and the exercise of every gift is important. Using your gift is indispensable. When you choose to hide your gift, it harms the rest of the body of Christ and deprives someone of what you can offer.
Rick Warren cautions us that if we only rely on a spiritual gifts inventory we make a serious mistake, for there are other important indicators of how God wants to use us. We take spiritual gifts into consideration, but we look at our whole shape to see how God has fitted us for service. The second part of our shape is Heart. The Bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Another word for heart is passion. There are some things that you are passionate about, and some other things that you couldn’t care less about. Let me share with you how people serving in the area of their passion has worked out in our church. Dorothy Rex had a vision for a ministry to women, and because of her we have a thriving Women’s Ministry. There were a total of 70 women at their recent retreat. Linda Boyette has a heart for prayer and missions. She has begun a ministry in those areas without anyone asking her to do anything. Rachel Overholt Hoffman has a heart for the Hispanic population of our community and has started our new “English As a Second Language” ministry. Michelle Dallas is a teacher, and she had a desire to reach the kids she saw in school who need Christ. Our Apartment Ministry is a result of her heart for kids. Sue Hillier had a desire to see our homebound and nursing home members be ministered to more effectively. She now has a team of over 20 people who work with her. Eli’s heart for some of the underprivileged kids in the community resulted in the Wagon Ministry and our soon-to-be Disciple House. Each person’s heart led them in a different direction, but it sprang from the common goal of seeing others come to Christ. The Bible tells us to serve the Lord with our whole heart, and our heart will often lead us to the place where God wants us to serve.
The next thing that helps us to know how we can serve is our Abilities. Some of us can sing and some of us can’t. The recent television talent show American Idol proved to us that you can have a real passion for singing, but that doesn’t mean that you can sing, or ought to. You might hear Simon saying, “You have to be the worst singer in America!” But maybe you have the ability to cook, or talk, or teach. Perhaps you are good at listening compassionately and understanding people who have problems. These are the natural talents you were born with. Don’t covet the gifts of other people and be jealous of them, be happy with the abilities that God has given you. If your gift is not as good as someone else who has the same gift, then don’t let pride stop you — continue to serve. You don’t have to be the best for your gift to be used. If only the best singer in the church sang, we would only have solos and never a quartet or choir. I will never be able to play basketball like Michael Jordan. It would not matter how many basketball camps I went to or how good a coach I had. It will never happen. Neither can I preach like Billy Graham or Rick Warren. But that’s okay, because God has given me other skills. Every ability is important. The whole body depends on its balance from the inner ear. Something as seemingly insignificant as your little toe also helps the body keep its balance. Every part is important. Last year, a small group of women who have the talent of gardening planted spring flowers that we are enjoying now. They landscaped the entire front of the church, and it is a blessing to us all. They used their ability.
The next part of your shape is your Personality. Isn’t is wonderful that we are all so different? What if all of us thought exactly alike? What if we all had exactly the same talent? What if we were all singers, where would the teachers be? Where would the people be who are good at painting and fixing things? Where would the dancers be? It would be so boring if we were all the same. I love it when I am surprised by something in someone’s personality that I have never seen before. God obviously loves variety. We all look so different. Some of us operate by feelings, and others operate cerebrally. Some are natural leaders, and others prefer to follow. We have different tastes, talents and personalities. No one has a voice exactly like yours. No one else has your fingerprint. You are unique in the universe. God made you special. No one else has your unique grouping of gifts and abilities. No one can take your place in the world. The Psalmist said, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).
The final part of your shape is Experiences. Some of you have had educational experiences that God can use in special ways. I hate doing taxes, so if you have experience in that area, you could do my taxes. . . or the taxes of someone who doesn’t have the ability or the means to get their taxes done. Jared Hoffman has his degree in the area of computer technology. I thought I had fried my computer this past week and he fixed it in five minutes. He also set up our computer network here at the church. Tim Cook uses his computer skills to manage our web site. George Dunham’s education as an engineer has been helpful in leading the Trustees. Mike Clippinger and Bo Mallory have made enormous contributions to our Trustees because of their educational background in architectural engineering. We have people with training as EMT’s and nursing and they use that in ministering to people. Perhaps you do not have a college education, but you have tremendous vocational experiences that are valuable. Patsy Jenkins and Linda Styers were Home Economics teachers and now head the ministry to provide dinners for families who have lost a loved one. Mike Brazeal’s interest in working on cars led him to volunteer to keep our church van in good shape. He and Eileen Dunham take the van every week and pick up children at the apartments for our Wednesday Connection. Bob Hubbard has been quietly doing a lot of fix up and painting jobs around the church because of his experience in these areas. Amy VanDyke has a ministry on the square cleverly designed as a beauty shop.
Some of your experiences have been painful experiences, and they have put you in a special position to minister to people who are going through a difficult time. The Hood family told me that the cards that meant the most to them were the ones from people who had lost a child. God can use your experiences.
All of us have a wealth of experiences that God can use, if only we allow him to use them for his purposes rather than just our own. The purpose of all this is that others might come to know Christ. The Bible says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). The greatest blessing we can have is when we get to heaven and see others there that we helped to get there. Then we will hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21).
Rick Warren tells the moving story of the death of his father. His father had been a pastor all his life, and in his final hours he started to try to get out of bed. His wife tried to prevent him and asked, “What are you trying to do?” He suddenly said, “Got to save one more for Jesus! Got to save one more for Jesus! Got to save one more for Jesus!” He began to repeat that phrase over and over. As Rick sat by his dying father, he bowed his head to thank God for his faithful life. At that moment his dad reached out and placed his frail hand on Rick’s head and said, as if commissioning him, “Save one more for Jesus! Save one more for Jesus!” Rick said, “I intend for that to be the theme of the rest of my life.”
Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 4, 2004
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
