SERIES: Welcome to the Planet #3
TEXT: Genesis 2:15
TITLE: Strategically Placed
This is Week 3 of our series, Welcome to the Planet.
Week 1 was Divinely Designed.
We shared the 7 Wonders of the Created World from Genesis 1.
We shared the 3 “so what’s” of the message.
1. God bringing light to our darkness.
2. God bringing order to our chaos.
3. God fills whatever is empty.
God did that “in the beginning”…some 6,000 years ago…He’s still doing that today.
Week 2 was Creatively Wired.
God formed the man…breathed into him the breath of life…and wired him to live in the image and likeness of Himself.
Sin tarnished that likeness…but it never altered God’s purpose…He predetermined …from the beginning…that you and I who love and follow Jesus be conformed into the image and likeness of Jesus. Our partnership with God makes that possible.
Now here we are in Week 3…each message from Genesis 1 and 2…this morning we find that we are Strategically Placed for a divinely designed purpose.
Genesis 2:15 (READ)
Verse 15 is the key… (Read Again)
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
Let’s jump ahead in history…we’ll come back.
About 1,000 years before Jesus was born…there lived a man God called, “A man after my own heart.”
His name was David.
Many of the great O.T. stories include David…
· David’s victory over revenge regarding Saul.
· David’s friendship with Jonathan.
· David’s victory over the giant Goliath.
· David’s rebounding after his sin.
David was a shepherd boy turned king…a great story.
In Acts 13 we are given something of an epitaph of David’s life.
“David…served God’s purpose in his own generation.” - Acts 13:36
Esther lived 400-500 years before Jesus. The king of her day threw a lavish party. A royal beauty pageant broke out. Esther won.
As a Jewish queen serving in a Gentile Court…Esther was found to be in a unique position.
A rift broke out between her Jewish Uncle Mordecai and the powerful man Haman.
Haman authored and was granted permission a law that stated all Jews would be put to death.
Mordecai wrote to Esther these words:
“Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:14
Jesus prayed…His prayer is recorded in John 17. The cross looms…it gets personal between Jesus the Son and God the Father.
Jesus prays,
“Father, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” - John 17:4
Let the truth seep in this morning…
- Completing the work you gave me to do.
- For such a time as this.
- Served God’s purposes in his generation.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
Every man…every woman…every young and old person on the planet…has been Strategically Placed on the planet and we have been placed for a God purpose.
There’s overwhelming evidence…an abundance of proof…we’ve been strategically placed.
We’ve been:
- Strategically placed in our family.
- Strategically placed in our neighborhoods.
- Strategically placed in our classroom or career.
- Strategically placed in our church.
For such a time as this…to complete the work God has given to us…in this/our generation.
Do you know why Jesus never married?
Jesus never married because He already had a bride. His Bride is the Church.
It’s an experience that I will personally have at least 6 times over the next 8-9 months.
I’ll be the first in the room to see the Bride.
That’s the way that it is.
The groom is up front.
The wedding attendants take their place.
Then the sound of Wagner’s Wedding March. Everyone stands.
She steps out. Makes her way down the aisle.
- Heads snap
- People gasp
- They cry
- They rejoice.
It’s the bride. She’s the center attraction. That’s why Jesus called the Church…His Bride.
Jesus didn’t marry…He already had His bride. She’s the Church. A many membered Body. His eternal companion.
She’s destined to be presented to Jesus pure and holy. Without spot. Without blemish.
Jesus said, “I will build my Church.”
Ahh…that’s beautiful…and that’s true… and so is this…you and I have been strategically placed.
Let Romans 12:5 in The Message Bible get a hold of your heart this morning…
“Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of His (Jesus’) Body.” - Romans 12:5
Let’s not come to this encounter with God’s Word without an inventory…is Romans 12:5 true of you?
Do you find your meaning…as part of Jesus’ Body?
Earlier in Romans 12…Paul pleads,
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…” - Romans 12:2
There’s a cultural squeeze going on…and Christians are in it…the squeeze is to conform to the pattern of our world in finding our functions and life’s meaning in our:
- Careers
- Positions
- Possessions
- Body measurements
- Athletic prowess.
From the beginning…starting with Adam…God strategically placed him (in the garden of Eden) and gave him an assignment (to work it and care for it).
Adam was part of God’s mission.
His life had purpose.
His life had meaning.
Harold Kushner wrote:
“Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning.”
Romans 12:5 is right...since Adam we see….
“Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of His (Jesus’) Body.”
I read a joke this week about 2 workers.
One would dig a hole.
The other would fill it.
They worked hard all day…
One dug a hole.
The other filled the hole.
An onlooker was impressed at their hard work but just couldn’t figure out what was going on, so after awhile his curiosity got the best of him and he asked,
“I can see all the hard work going on, but what on earth are you doing?”
Wiping his brow and leaning on his shovel, the digger said, “Normally, we’re a 3 man crew…but the man who plants the trees is sick today.”
God has a far better purpose for our existence than senseless routines and meaning repetition.
We were not created by God and then strategically placed to dig meaningless holes. We were created and strategically placed to join God on His mission.
Adam was
David was
Esther was
Jesus was.
And so was every human being between and since and today it includes you and I.
Are you finding your function and meaning in God’s plans and purposes?
As pastor I enjoy a front row seat in what God is doing in our generation.
I get to see giving meet real needs.
I get to watch as spiritually gifted people serve in their area of strength and watch real lives change as a result.
I’ve been part of that around here for nearly 12 years and I love to watch God work.
Do you know that today…our Sunday ministry to pre-school children and grade school children are led by gals not part of NLNC a year ago?
Just last week…they invested several days…Imagene refused to sub-teach and Karen took 2 days vacation from the Montrose Post Office…and invested themselves getting ready for their ministry.
Why do people do things like that?
They’ve found their meaning and function in God’s purposes.
Chad and Angie…Chad teaches an Inner-Mission class. Angie has accepted the challenge of a resurrection…the resurrection of a Caravan program starting in October. Why? There’s nothing like joining Jesus on His mission.
Dan Hemgesberg. When we went to 2 Sunday morning services…Dan said, “What can I do to serve?”
Dan could give all his time to advance a lot of community life agendas…He’s gifted…He’s willing to serve…He’s found his meaning and function advancing God’s purposes.
There’s no end to the stories like that around here…I love to think of them…love to tell them...
Every week through our serving, and giving, and exercising our spiritual gifts…God’s purposes are advanced.
Can you believe that you are Strategically Placed?
When we trust in the truth…and move in mission with God…the result will be, “Yes, I am completing the work I’ve been Strategically Placed to do.
Ahh…what a difference God makes in our life.
