February 2005
Dakota Community Church
Pursuing Purpose
Introduction:
I hope you will take notes or at least fill in the blanks and save the bulletins for future use. I have several former congregation members who have told me they still read over notes from sermons from years ago and are blessed.
As we grow older most of us are guilty of over estimating the amount of time we have to accomplish things.
An even worse mistake is that we also tend to underestimate the importance of our daily decisions and the accumulative effect that they have on our purpose in life.
Life can sometimes feel very long but look at what the scripture says on the topic.
James 4: 13-14
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Romans 14: 10-12
You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ ” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die,
There is a time for every purpose!
God has created each of us with a purpose and he has gifted us with the time we need to fulfill it.
Psalm 90: 12
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
The question we need to be asking ourselves is how much of my time have I foolishly wasted?
What have you done today that moved you along in the accomplishing of your purpose?
- This week?
- This month?
- Since 2000?
Having you been killing time? Killing time is not murder, it is suicide.
About purpose:
- You like doing it.
- You are good at it, you possess gifts that help you with it.
- It may or may not be you job.
Remember:
The fact that you have a dream, destiny or purpose does not guarantee that it will come to pass.
Many, many people die without ever reaching the full their full potential.
Ephesians 5: 15-18
Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Three absolute must haves before you will come close to achieving your purpose:
1. Spiritual consistency.
Spiritual consistency is absolutely foundational to anything we do of significance.
Eternal things require eternal involvement.
- You cannot build your third floor corner office first.
- That comes only after the foundation, and the ground and second floors.
Consistency is the key word!
- Toilet seat Christians rarely accomplish much for God. (Up and down)
James 1: 6-8
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.
You will not do anything if your life is up and down between camp meetings.
Three areas where consistency must be developed:
a.) Reading the Word.
Why do you think it is hard to read the Bible for most people?
The same people who can read Grisham from cover to cover in two days cannot read a chapter a day consistently.
Obviously there is opposition to your Bible reading.
Proverbs 4: 20-22
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.
b.) Communion with God.
I am talking about honest prayer here. I’m talking about a set time and place for quiet reflection. I’m talking about uninterrupted time with two way conversation, at least attempted listening.
Psalm 5: 3
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
c.) Mentoring fellowship.
We all need friendship to enjoy life and often our friends will be people who primarily receive ministry from us through that friendship. That is a great thing but we all need to have building friendships as well.
Proverbs 13: 20
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Quotes:
“Attach a boy to a good man, and he seldom goes wrong."
- Dr. James Dobson said in his book “Parenting lsn’t for Cowards”
Dr. Terry Wise defines mentoring as:
"A relational experience in which one person empowers another by sharing God given resources."
2. Passion and Zeal for the things of God.
Most people go through periods of time that can only be described as spiritually dry.
During these times we really don’t feel like doing any of “the stuff”.
In order to accomplish God’s purpose for our lives we must learn to break out of these feeling induced dry times and into the fervency of living faith.
Luke 12: 49-50
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!
2Timothy 1: 6-7
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Illustration:
Sermon Spice video "The Crowd or the Cross" inserted here.
Too many people are not passionate about the things of God because they fear what the crowd will think of them.
In every area of life we must decide if we will be spectators or players.
Good is the enemy of best.
If you want to lead the orchestra you will have to turn your back on the crowd.
Eventually we all need to learn to stir up the gift with in us.
We need to be able to get our own fire going, we need to be able to load our own gun.
We need to be the masters of our own emotions, or they will master us.
So then #1 in achieving your purpose is Spiritual consistency.
And #2 in achieving your purpose is Passion and Zeal for the things of God.
3. Wins under your belt.
We have got to develop for ourselves a history of success.
The first victory for every man of God is the victory over self.
1Samuel 17: 34-36
But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
Matthew 11: 2-6
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
What can you do to get wins under your belt?
- Conquer a bad habit.
- Save up a set amount of money.
- Stick to an exercise routine.
- Finnish a school course.
- Discipline your TV or computer time.
- Read a book a month. (Those who don’t have no advantage over those who can’t.)
This generation will not be able to stand before the Lord and plead ignorance; we can only say that we could not be bothered to take advantage of the overwhelming resources that sit at our fingertips.
Psalm 90: 12
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Closing Illustration:
In his book “Winning With People” author John Maxwell tells this story, “Three sons left home to make their fortunes and did very well. One day, the three competitive brothers got back together to discuss the gifts that they were giving their elderly mother.
The first said, “I built a big house for mother.”
The second said, “I got her a Mercedes with a driver.”
“I’ve got you both beat,” said the third. “You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can’t see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty monks in a monastery twelve years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for ten years for them to train him, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it.
Soon afterward, their mother sent out her letters of thanks. To the first son, she wrote, “Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in onl one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”
To the second son, she wrote, “Marty, I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!”
To the third son, her message was softer: “Dear Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious.” (Maxwell, pg.74-75).
