The Big Picture

INTRO.- Christ is rightfully our life. Your life. My life. He is the Christ, the Messiah. He is God in the flesh. He is Lord.

ILL.- One night a thief broke into the single-room apartment of French novelist Honore de Balzac. Trying to avoid waking Balzac, the intruder quietly picked the lock on the writer’s desk. Suddenly the silence was broken by a sarcastic laugh from the bed, where Balzac lay watching the thief. "Why do you laugh?" asked the thief. "I am laughing to think what risks you take to try to find money in a desk by night where the legal owner can never find any by day."

Brothers and sisters, I think this story characterizes most people’s lives. They are trying to find money where there is no money. They are trying to find happiness where there is no happiness. They are trying to find comfort and security where there is none. They are trying to find something where there is nothing.

II Cor. 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

What we see in this life is only temporary. It is not lasting. It is not eternal. It will never fully satisfy.

ILL.- That rusted wreck of a car in the junkyard was once new, shiny, sleek and desirable. Those clothes we threw away or gave away were once new, fashionable, and desirable. Not anymore.

We all need to look beyond this life and see the eternal. We need to see the big picture instead of our own little world. We need to see the eternal world more than this one.

As Paul said in Col. 3:2-3 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Even though we have to live in this world we must see the next. We need to think more in the spiritual realm, think about Christ, living for Christ both here and there.

ILL.- Preacher Rick Warren hit the nail on the head in his book THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. Warren said, “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.”

To put it simply: life begins with God. Life ends with God. And somehow we must sandwich Him in the middle of our lives.

Rick Warren says that life is about worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission.

PROP.- Even though some of you may know about God’s purpose for your life, let’s consider His purpose in detail.

I. WORSHIP - YOU WERE PLANNED FOR GOD’S PLEASURE

ILL.- A congregation that decided to have four worship services each Sunday. There was one for those new to the faith. FINDERS. Another for those who liked traditional worship. KEEPERS. One for those who’d lost their faith and would like to get it back. LOSERS. And another for those who had bad experiences with churches and were complaining about it. WEEPERS. FINDERS, KEEPERS, LOSERS, WEEPERS.

Regardless of who we are: finders, keepers, losers or weepers, we all need to worship God. Regardless of where we are spiritually. We all need to worship God. This is God’s will or purpose for our lives.

Heb. 10:22-25 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Let us draw near to God. That’s worship and it pleases God when we worship Him. Why should we not worship Him? He created us. He gives us life and breath and everything else. He gives us the homes or houses we live in, the food we eat, the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the luxuries we enjoy. IT IS ONLY RIGHT THAT WE WORSHIP HIM AS OUR CREATOR AND GIVING HEAVENLY FATHER!

Worship is drawing near to God in faith and offering Him praise for who He is and what He has done. It’s done through the study of His Word, prayer and praise. Listening, meditation, prayer, and music.