Living with Purpose
Purpose Driven Life #40
Montreal/Cornwall
June 19, 2004
Today, we conclude our series of 40 messages on the theme of living with purpose. We have taken a great deal of time to consider the five biblical purposes God sets before us, and to think about ways these apply in personal and church life. I believe that nothing can be greater than yielding ourselves to God’s purposes, and then seeing God work. In Christianity, it has become common to focus on self, actually, and look for God’s purpose for ’my’ life, or special mission, and the like for the individual life. We do not need to do that and we always fall short when the focus falls on ’me’ or the individual. However, when the focus is on God, and on yielding to His instruction, His standards, His laws, then we cannot and will not go wrong. He, in his time, will lead us to the individually important focus we might need. First of all, though, we must rise above ourselves and yield to God.
According to Acts 13.36- David- the ancient king and ’sweet psalmist of Israel’- served the purpose of God in his own generation. He didn’t go out looking for personal purpose, but he yielded to God’s purpose. Well…when he did focus on himself, he got into a lot of trouble, as we know in incidents with regard to numbering people and personal pleasure with Bathsheba, for instance. When he got his eye off God, he went down. The same holds true for each of us. It’s hard, I admit, to keep our eyes on God and it’s so very easy to find reasons to turn our sight away from God. However, when we do, we go down, down, down, and our goal is to arrest any downward spiral in our lives and to rise to whatever purpose God has in mind.
Proverbs 19.21- tells us that we have many plans in our hearts, but it is God’s purpose that prevails. That’s what we want to seek, and that’s what we’ve sought this past more than 10 months.
Jesus’ brother, James, tells us something significant in:
Jas.1.23, 25- we have to look into God’s word and continue in it- do it- and we will know blessings at the highest level- not blessings that are temporary, but that are permanent and ongoing.
What we’ve heard, and we’ve heard a lot and many of you have read along, too, having picked up the book upon which these messages have been based. Now what do we do?
John 13.17- Jesus says something that parallels what James tells us. If we’ve heard, now we need to do. Otherwise, we’ve wasted our time.
So, let’s review the five biblical purposes for our lives. I’ve 3x5 cards for you, yet again.
1. You, and I, were made for God and by God. We are not chance happenings in a chance world. We are in a world that was designed and are here by design. I don’t understand how that works, of course, and neither do you. In fact, it’s easier for us to assume certain chance, I think, but that only limits and diminishes God and we don’t need to do that. So, our first purpose is to respond to the One who made us. We were made to worship.
Eph.3.17- we want God more and more at home in our hearts. If He is, then we’ll respond to that.
So, to fulfill this first purpose, first of all, what have you done, in worship, to adjust yourself more to God? Have you done, or have you resisted? (In this regard, remember that worship is not simply what we do here. But, remember, that this is one venue. Do you worship more wholly and more openly? We continue to have disucssions about worship styles, and we tend to resist openness in worship. I’ve always thought we are supposed to follow leaders, to some degree, and cannot understand why more of us don’t try to allow the emotion of worship to impact us/you more. I get into discussions, yet, about people raising hands to God in worship, as if this is something unusual or awful. Why don’t you follow the example of those who do, and begin to connect, even physically more, with God? Don’t be restrained- be unrestrained more. Look at David’s example of dancing with abandon- not at our societal fearfulness of emotion- as your example.)
That being said, write down what you will do in order to grow in worship in this next year? Maybe you need to write down a commitment to a certain 15 or 30 minutes of time with God each day. Maybe you need to commit to, at least weekly, turning on some wonderful worship music and just kneeling and praying through words of a song or two- I’ve done this on several occasions and the tears can flow, even- nothing wrong with that. God made emotion and, even as we approach camp, I admit that, shamelessly, I will endorse anything that will help youth connect with God- or that will help you connect with God. (When we did, at the Conference, what we did here three weeks back in Lord’s Supper- I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the house- and so many commented on how meaningful that communion was- with candles/prayers, etc.)
You need to make a commitment in this regard.
2. We learned that we are to belong. We are not independent Christians. Oh, belonging can be painful. Having to yield to each other- having to put up with each other- can be difficult. Having to go to church can take effort. But the heart of Christianity is community. We were created to belong. First, we were created to worship. Then we were created to belong. What will you do to belong more? What will you do to contribute more to community through your local church- which this is?
Write down what you have done, first of all. Hopefully, since the messages on this purpose were given last autumn, you have adjusted your life a little more. What have you done? Have you purposefully phoned people more often, through the week? What have you done?
Eph.5.25- Christ loved the church- this church- and gave himself for it. What are you doing to belong to your church?
What will you do? There are some of you who need to commit to arriving at church earlier, for instance. You can’t come into church at, or after, the last minute and expect to enter into the atmosphere of worship, for instance. We should be sitting down and preparing to worship- so one purpose springs from the other. So you might write down that you’ll plan to arrive 15 or 30 minutes earlier than you do now. You might write down that you’ll invite someone over each month. You might write down other ideas- this is very personal.
3. We learned that, belonging, we’re to be growing. To be a member is not the end of the matter. We are to grow- to mature.This means you are to be a disciple. Do you remember that God ismore insterested in what you are than what you do? Remember that your character is what you take into eternity, not your job or income or anything like that.
2 Pet.1.5- Peter writes us about growing- and about not being content with just staying where we are at any time in life.
What have you done? Have you read any books? Have you attended our Living Today series? Have you attended any seminars? Lynn and I are convinced that more of us need to get out more. We cannot simply stay around our church, considering our history and our need to connect with historical Christianity. Don’t misunderstand on this matter, either. We don’t say that everything about that is terrific- 100%, and the like. We simply understand that we have things to learn from others. I learn from other Christians, and so do you, though me, for instance, but you need to get out. Go to a worship concert. Go to a prayer gathering. Go to hear a lecturer. Steve and I heard an eminent Canadian theologian together a few weeks back- it was stimulating and helped us all grow a bit. I think we ought to take out youth, en masse, for instance, to Acquire the Fire in Hamilton in November. I’ll do my part to help us grow- and have some ideas for the autumn and winter.
What will you do? Will you join a small group? Or, will you begin a small group? I’ll help you get started. I’ll help you with materials, if you need them. I’ll write materials- have done a bit of that and can do more. Will you commit to going to one outside event each six months, perhaps? Will you commit to reading one book from other Christians each month- and make sure some is theology, not just popular stuff (Left Behind series doesn’t really count, for instance.)
4. Then we learned that our lives are to be centres of serving.
John 15.16a.- Jesus commissioned us to go and bear fruit. We are commissioned to serve. We are not here to be served but to serve. That’s the pattern Jesus set for us and the pattern we need to follow.
What have you done to serve, in the past year? I hope you have an impressive list- to God, not to me. What have you done to find areas for ministry? What have you learned about yourself in the process?
What will you do in the next year? Write it down.
5. Then, we focused on our need, and purpose, to be involved in the mission field. You, and I, are on mission to unbelievers., and none of us is exempt from this. I think this is the area we tend to be weakest, yet, and one idea I have is to lead us through the Contagious Christian material, which, I hope, will help us. A few of us were involved in this a couple of years back, and can certainly be refreshed in that, and others can be helped in it, too.
What have you done toward unbelievers in the past year? Have you prayed for them? Write it down. Have you gone on the street to offer coffee. Write it down- it’s something- just a beginning, of course, but something.
Now what will you do? What kind of mission activity will you be involved in? A few of you are involved in camp- that’s a mission activity, and a few of us are involved in the upcoming mission to the north, of course. We hope both will continue and furnish opportunities for more to be involved, over time, of course. Do you want to consider a mission trip? Parents, please think about helping your teens to be involved in these. Yes, they cost something, but they represent an investment in their lives and education, and we’ll help, too, of course.
Conclusion
The rubber meets the road when we actually do what we’ve learned, and when the education in our heads is transferred to action outside toward people. We weren’t called to sit and we weren’t called to be comfortable, necessarily. We were called to be active, worshipping, belonging, growing, serving, mission-oriented Christians. Focus on these purposes. Yield yourself to each one. Ask God to mold you to his purpose in each of these. And then, watch out, world. There’ll be no stopping us, individually, and congregationally.
