Living with Purpose
Romans 8:28; 29-39
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Introduction: Ashley Smith never suspected that she would ever have to spend a night like that! Not in her worst nightmare! How do you prepare for being assaulted by an escaped murderer, threatened with a loaded gun, and held hostage in your own home for hours? You can¡¦t! Or can you!
At first the police wondered if Brian Nichols ended up at Ashley¡¦s house because he knew her. They even thought she might be an accomplice. She wasn¡¦t. The two had never met before. Then it must have been an accident or mere coincidence that brought together the twenty-six year old single mom and the subject of Georgia¡¦s biggest manhunt. That¡¦s what most everybody concluded. Not Ashley. She¡¦s convinced this was no coincidence. It was providence. She says it was part of God¡¦s purpose for her life. You have probably heard about Ashley¡¦s story. Just in case you haven¡¦t heard the best part, let me tell you the rest.
Ashley had just moved into her Duluth, Georgia apartment two days before. Duluth is a suburb just northeast of Atlanta. On Friday night (March 11, 2005), she stayed up late to finish unpacking. About 2 a.m. she made a trip to a nearby convenience store. As she returned, a man stepped out of a parked truck and shoved a gun into her side.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked. She didn¡¦t. He was wearing a ski parka and a ball cap. He removed the cap, showing his shaved head. She recognized Brian Nichols. His face had been all over the television news since he had overpowered a guard at the Fulton County Courthouse that morning. In his escape, he had shot and killed a judge, a court reporter, and a deputy. At the time, Ashley didn¡¦t know that he had also killed one other man and beaten two more.
Nichols forced Ashley into the apartment. He drug her to the bathroom and placed her in the tub. He kept the gun on her. ¡§I am not going to hurt you,¡¨ he said. She didn¡¦t believe him. Who would have?
He warned her not to scream. "If you scream, the police will come. There will be a hostage situation. I’ll have to kill you and kill myself." He seemed calm as he told her this. Just in case she tried anything, Nichols wrapped her hands and feet with masking tape. He then lifted her from the tub and carried her into the bedroom. He bound her with more tape, an electrical cord, and some curtains. With her secure, he took a shower and found some fresh clothes to wear.
This was just the latest installment of a rough life for Ashley. Four years before her husband had been murdered, leaving her with a young daughter to raise on her own. As a teenager, she was frequently in trouble. Once she was arrested for shoplifting and placed on probation for a year. Later came arrests for drunken driving, speeding, and battery. Ashley had lived a tough life. But somewhere along the line God had begun a work in her. When all this happened, she was working two jobs and completing a medical assistant course just to try to make a better life for herself and her daughter.
Eventually Nichols untied Ashley and let her sit in the living room. Ashley asked if he would mind if she read for a while. Nichols gave her the OK. She went to the bedroom and retrieved her Bible and a book she had been reading. She turned to the chapter for that day and began reading the first paragraph out loud to Nichols. She had only read a few sentences when told her to stop. ¡§Will you read it again?" She read it again. That was the turning point. The fugitive¡¦s attitude slowly began to change.
Would you like to know what caught the attention of the accused rapist turned murderer and runaway fugitive? Let me read you what Ashley Smith read.
"We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you¡¦ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you. This is so contrary to the world¡¦s idea of greatness that we have a hard time understanding it, much less practicing it. ... To be like Jesus is to be a servant. That¡¦s what he called himself." (The Purpose Driven Life, 323-324)
Later that same chapter offers this advice. ¡§Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever he needs. If you will remind yourself at the start of every day that you are God¡¦s servant, interruptions won¡¦t frustrate you as much, because your agenda will be whatever God wants to bring into your life. Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry ¡K¡¨ (325-326). Ashley knew this was one of those moments!
Later she fixed Nichols breakfast and began to talk to him about God. God cared about him, she said, even after all he had done. She suggested that if he gave himself up, he could become an instrument for God even in prison. She said that by ministering to other inmates, he could save many more people than he killed. Nichols listened. He asked questions. His heart softened.
At about 9:00 AM the next morning, Nichols told Ashley she could leave so she could pick up her daughter at a church function. As she walked out the door, Nichols stopped her, handed her $40, and said, ¡§Take it. I don¡¦t have any need for it.¡¨ His last words were to ask her to come visit him in jail. "You’re an angel sent from God to me," he told her. "I want to talk to you again. Will you come see me?" She told him she would.
Ashley drove away in her car and immediately called 911. A police SWAT team rushed to her apartment. A short time later, Nichols walked out waving a white towel. Later Ashley told reporters, ¡§I believe God brought him to my door so he couldn’t hurt anyone else." Everyone who talked with her later came away amazed at her calm demeanor. She insisted that it was not about her. It was about what God did through her. (Information from Atlanta Journal Constitution.com and CBS.com)
Few of us are likely to ever have to go through what Ashley Smith did. Hopefully none of us will ever be held hostage at gun point. We will probably never be forced to spend the night with an escaped fugitive. If we read The Purpose Driven Life to anyone, it will likely be a friend or family member.
But that doesn¡¦t mean we won¡¦t go through some tough times. We will all face bumps in life that will cause us to wonder where God is and what his purpose could be for us in those experiences. In fact, some of you are probably going through some of those times right now. How can we look at such situations and see God¡¦s providences and not mere coincidences? How can we develop the kind of courage in our tough times that helped Ashley Smith get through that horrible night? Romans 8 provides some of what we need. We can¡¦t dig deep into this remarkable text this morning. Let me just walk you through the highlights.
Knowing and understanding these truths are what will see us through whatever rough spots life brings our way. Note how these verses reinforce the same ideas over and over again. 1) The God who made us cares about us. He is not indifferent or distant. 2) The God who cares about us has a purpose for us. Life is not pointless. He does turn coincidences into providences, interruptions into opportunities. 3) Nothing we will ever face, not the darkest night, not the deepest pit, is bigger than God¡¦s purpose for us.
We read verse 28 before. Let¡¦s read it again. ¡§And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.¡¨ The verses that follow this majestic statement outline five undeniable facts, five unanswerable questions, and five pairs of untouchable assurances. Note them with me.
First, look the five undeniable facts:
„X For those God foreknew¡K (Nothing surprises God. He knows the end from the beginning.)
„X For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (God has a plan and purpose. This doesn¡¦t mean that we are puppets on a string. Rather, we are creations that he loves, cares for and knows about. His goal in everything that happens is to make us more and more like Jesus!)
„X And those he predestined, he also called; (God doesn¡¦t leave us adrift and alone. He invites us to walk in his will.)
„X Those he called, he also justified; (The holy God made a way for our forgiveness and deliverance from sin and evil. He did that through Jesus Christ.)
„X Those he justified, he also glorified (God doesn¡¦t abandon us when he saves us. He will see us through to a glorious future with him forever.)
Now note how verse 31 picks this up. ¡§What, then, shall we say in response to this?¡¨ The five unanswerable questions follow.
„X If God is for us, who can be against us? (Name someone greater than God!)
„X He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all¡Xhow will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (This week Christians around the world will think about the reality of Christ¡¦s crucifixion. In drama, music, and scripture, we will relive those horrible hours of the cross. We will remind ourselves and declare to all who will listen that this was no accident. It was not a suicide. It was far more than a martyrdom. It was the Son of God bearing the sins of the world on the cross.)
„X Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
„X Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died¡Xmore than that, who was raised to life¡Xis at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (If God says, you¡¦re forgiven, you¡¦re forgiven. What anyone else says or thinks doesn¡¦t matter!)
„X Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: ¡§For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
These questions lead to the mountaintop ending of the text, ¡§No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced¡K.¡¨ The five pairs of untouchable assurances follow. To those who pursue the purposes of God, nothing, absolutely nothing, can defeat us. Not death not life, not angels not demons, not the present or the future, not any power, not height or depth, not anything can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not a runaway fugitive, not a gun at your head. Not your worst nightmare. Nothing is bigger than God¡¦s purpose for your life.
Conclusion: I have here a $20 bill. Who would like it? (Crumple it) Who still wants it? What if I do this? (Drop on the ground and grind it into the floor with shoe.) Now who still wants it? Of course, you still want it. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in life, we get dropped, crumpled, and even ground into the dirt. Sometimes it happens because of our foolish mistakes; sometimes because of circumstances beyond our control. That can make us feel worthless. It can make life seem pointless, without purpose. But remember this. No matter what has happened or will happen, you never lose your value to God. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you still have a purpose. (Adapted illustration; source unknown).
You are not an accident. Your life is not without purpose. 1) You were planned for God¡¦s pleasure¡Xthat¡¦s worship. Your reason for being is to bring glory to God. 2) You were formed for God¡¦s family. You weren¡¦t meant to be alone. You need God¡¦s family, the church. The church needs you. 3) You were created for Christ¡¦s likeness. The life and the example of Jesus provide the pattern for your life. 4) You were shaped for God¡¦s service. Everything that has happened in your life from the first day until now has prepared you for ministry to God and others. Finally, 5) you were made for God¡¦s mission. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what mistakes you have made in life, you can be a part of taking the message of God¡¦s love and purpose to those across the street, across the tracks, and around the world.
The preparation for the rest of your life, whatever that may be, starts here! Right here! Right now!
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
