"Serving God’s Purpose” - Acts 13:36a Series

Today, we’re looking at the life of David, as summarized by Paul (READ TEXT). There are three life principles mentioned here, that we would do well to apply to our lives and the life of our church family. Principles that should impact our decisions in life as individuals and as a family of believers. Let's think together about God's purpose.

1. God’s purpose for His creation.

When God created His kingdom, is was in two realms - a heavenly realm and an earthly realm.

“God created the heavens and the earth.” - Genesis 1:1b (NIV)

God made angels to do His will in the heavenly realm of His kingdom and made human beings to do His will in the earthly realm. He gave each free will. What God wanted was a love relationship; but love isn’t love unless freely given. So God gave mankind and angels a choice. An archangel named Lucifer, rebelled in heaven and 1/3 (33.3%) of the angels joined him (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17; Revelation 12:4). He then brought his rebellion down to earth, where 100% of the human race joined him.

Earth fell under the dominion of Satan. Rather than walking with God, man walk away from God; rather than knowing fulfillment and blessing, man was left to know emptiness and misery. Something had to be done. So God came to our rescue in Christ. God took on flesh in Jesus, lived a sinless life, and ended His life by dying on a cross, where He paid the penalty for the sins of the world. Three days later, He rose from the dead as evidence that sin’s penalty had been fully paid, and returned to heaven. He sent His Spirit to convict individuals of their sin and draw them to Him. When we turn from sin and trust in Christ, we have a personal love relationship with God, and know we can look forward to being in God’s presence for eternity. In the meantime, on this earth, by the power of the Holy Spirit, our life can be an answer to the prayer Jesus taught us, that “God’s will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Christ will return. He’ll remove sin, Satan, and Satan’s people, leaving only those who’ve responded to the Gospel with repentance and faith to live eternally in a new heaven and new earth. This is God’s purpose for creation, that will happen and has been made possible because of Jesus.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made

known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment - to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” - Ephesians 1:7-10 (NIV)

2. God’s purpose for His church.

God’s calls His church to spread this Good News of redemption and restoration to everyone we can!

“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” - Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” - John 20:21 (NIV)

Christ left His comfort zone, making necessary adjustments to provide us with the opportunity to be saved. He now calls believers to leave our comfort zone. making necessary adjustments to provide others with opportunity to respond to the message of salvation.

When missionaries go to reach people with the Gospel, they become familiar with the group they’re reaching out to and organize their efforts strategically to share the Gospel with them. They share the timeless truth of the Gospel in a timely manner where they go.

3. God’s purpose for our church.

The church’s mission in the world is our mission in our community. Like missionaries overseas share the timeless truth of the Gospel in a timely manner where they go; we must share the timeless truth of the Gospel in a timely manner where we are. So our focus must be on our community and our God.

A. We focus on our community to gain the information we need.

B. We focus on our God to gain the inspiration we need.

“Many of us want God to speak and lead us in His will. We want the excitement of God working through us, but we are loath to make any major adjustments so He will. The Bible reveals that every time God speaks to people about something He wants to do, they have to realign their lives in some way. When God’s people are willing to take the necessary actions, God accomplishes His purposes through those He calls.” - Henry Blackaby