A Life of Purpose

Introduction

Ill. A few weeks ago I saw a story that was part catalyst for this message today. Tom Cruise was doing a stunt for his new movie where he drove a motorcycle off a cliff and then parachuted or something off it. This caused me to remember this is not the first stunt he’s done for the cause of ‘art’. And I began to consider how this man is so dedicated to his legacy that he’s willing to risk life & limb for it. And then I thought “50 years from now, who’s going to care?” I mean, how often are movies from the 70’s watched today? And even if they are, are they really making a difference? Is that true purpose?

(For those that may not be aware), our theme this year is ‘Rise Up and Build’.

I believe that the wall of Nehemiah is a wonderful illustration of the state of the church. The reason our country is in the shape it’s in, is because the church is in the shape it’s in. The church is the entity that protected this nation in it’s inception and through it’s history. It has given this country:

Safety

Stability

Sustainability

Whenever our enemy would attack, the church - God’s People - would rise up and protect this nation. But the church has suffered grave attacks over the last 50-70 years that is has not withstood. Satan has hurled various things upon it and has tore down at the church to where it lays in shambles today. Satan has launched fiery darts and tore down the wall - AND BECAUSE THE WALL IS TORE DOWN, THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY ARE IN GREAT DISTRESS! They have no protection!

Satan has landed three near-death blows to the church as a whole.

Satan first convinced the church that in order to reach the world, it had to become like the world.

Therefore, a large part of the church has given in to carnality - this is the Contemporary church movement. It’s filled with preaching & practices that instead of rejecting worldliness, it is embracing it.

We see it in the dress, the music & the messages

Next, Satan convinced the church that it’s acceptable to give God part, but not all.

Therefore, much of the rest of the church has become Lukewarm - those that haven’t gone contemporary in their ways have become Lukewarm in their worship. We give God part of our time, talents & treasures. We do our little part of Sunday morning & feel that we’re ‘paid up’ with God until next Sunday

Few people get excited about going to the House of the LORD

Few people have a fire welling up inside them to do the Work & Will of God

Few people put the Things of God before the things of Self

Finally, Satan has inundated the church with things. Things to do, things to see - things to otherwise occupy our time.

If we’re not working, we’re running to ball fields, or we’re surfing the internet, or going to appointments, or playing games, or facebook & TicToking, chores, TV, etc… Satan has made us so busy with things that mean nothing that we don’t have time to think about the things of God or the matters of eternity.

One thing that impressed me in reading Ecclesiastes recently was Ecc. 7:2-4 “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

The reason is that when we’re at the house of mourning (a funeral) we take time to think about things that really matter… to which man does very little of today.

Now I say ‘near-death’ blows, because there is still hope. The walls are down, yes, but they can be rebuilt! There is hope for the church, and our nation - but it starts right here. And let me say this: You have no right to complain about the state of our country if you’re not willing to pickup a brick & get to work!

So today’s message is titled ‘Let Us Rise Up and Build a Life of Purpose’, because the truth is, God gives man opportunity to make a difference - to live a life of worth that matters, but few truly do.

Carnal lives are a dime a dozen

Lukewarm lives never effect that which is around it

(Ill. You can step in water that’s Lukewarm and hardly notice it… so is the lives of the Lukewarm Christian)

And being busy is not the same a being productive...

if you’re life is going to truly make an impact, it can, and it can begin today: I believe this message can help you do so.

If you’re going to Rise Up and Build a life of Purpose, the first thing that you must do is Determine to Understand

I. Determine to Understand (v6)

A large portion of those that heard Jesus speaking here are Pharisees.

If you’re not familiar with the Pharisees, they are the religious bunch of the day. But just because they were religious is not the reason they didn’t understand. They didn’t understand because they’d already (by and large) had their minds made up. They didn’t need to understand because nothing was going to change their mind.

So today, you may be religious - that may be your problem. You’re comfortable in your religion & you don’t need to understand this message on anything more than a surface level. But you may NOT be religious and have the same mindset. In other words, you don’t need this message to affect you - you are comfortable where you’re at...

But if you’re going to live a life of purpose, then you must Determine to Understand.

And whether or not you Understand is up to one person - YOU.

Your Past Matters Not

Where you’re been doesn’t matter. You may have frequented the most unsavory places.

What you’ve done doesn’t matter. You may have sin in your life that would make Hitler blush, but it doesn’t matter!

Your past will not determine your understanding… unless you let it!

God used a murderer by the name of Moses

God used a schemer by the name of Jacob

God used a harlot by the name of Rahab

God used a lowly fisherman by the name of Peter

God used a blood-thirsty zealot by the name of Paul

You see it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, it matters where you’re going!

You past matters not

Your People Matter Not

As mentioned, the large part of these were Pharisees. But know this: God can and will still save a Pharisee!

God was able to reach a man by the name of Nicodemus - the one who came to Him by night in Joh. 3. He reached another by the name of Joseph of Arimathea who begged Jesus’ body and buried Him in his own new tomb

So you’re people matter not. God can save and use you regardless of who your momma & daddy are. He can save & use you no matter who your friends are.

AND THAT GOES BOTH WAYS - Just because your momma & daddy are saved, that doesn’t automatically make you saved as well!

Your people matter not

Only Your Posture Matters

Posture (def) Situation; condition; particular state with regard to something else

What I’m talking about is your state of mind regarding the message here today. The way you regard it - because there are many ways you can:

You can shut your ears to the message

You can hear it, but not heed it

You can heed it, but not practice it

Or you can heed it and then ACT on it!

Let me ask you...

What separated the Pharisees from the Apostles? Did Jesus love one more than the other? (Not according to Mat. 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” )

What separated them was that the apostles desired to know truth - the Pharisees desired confirmation. The apostles wanted to know what was true, the Pharisees wanted Jesus to tell them they were right. The apostles went on to do great things for God and live a life of purpose, while the Pharisees only remembrance is for hindering the work of God.

Your posture matters. How you receive this message today is what matters.

If you’re going to build a life of purpose, you must first Determine to Understand, but the first step is an important one. You must Decide to Enter the Door

II. Decide to Enter (the Door)(v9a)

Now if you’ve decided to honestly hear this message, you must first Evaluate your Position. Are you inside Christ or outside.

Evaluate Our Position

We must first consider where we stand in the sight of God. Are we Righteous, Good or at least ‘Good Enough’?

Many people look at their lives with Rose-colored glasses and at their sin compared to the worst of humanity.

They look at their lives and choose to magnify what they deem as good and minimize the bad. And when they do look at their sin, they try to excuse it such as ‘well, it’s not too bad… it’s not like I’ve killed anybody.

Listen carefully to me: This is not the way God examines you. He does not magnify the good over the bad or compare you to anyone else.

But if you want to know if you’re good in the eyes of God, all we have to do is look in the Bible:

Rom. 3:10-12 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” The reason the Scripture says that is found a few verses later Rom. 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

This is a problem because sin separates us from God: Psa. 5:4 “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: Neither shall evil dwell with thee.”

So if we die in our sins, we are eternally separated from God in a place called Hell

So EVERY man in their NATURAL STATE is separated from God - for every man is a sinner by nature and by practice, and God does not dwell with sin. If this is you, you are on the outside of that door.

You must evaluate your position

Examine the Options

You really only have two options:

You can try to remedy this situation on your own, or you can come through Christ.

Men try to remedy this sin problem on their own by doing multiple things:

They try to ‘clean themselves up’

They try to ‘be good’ by attending church or tithing

They try to please God by doing good works

But notice what Jesus said Joh. 10:1 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”

If you try to be Righteous in God’s sight outside of Christ, you are nothing more than a thief or robber.

The only other option is to Enter through Christ

Enter through Christ

This option is easy for you and I

This option is solely performed by Christ

This option is one that you can’t boast of yourself

This option is the only way to be found Righteous in the sight of God

Many know the story of Jesus, but don’t understand the purpose of Jesus.

Jesus was born without sin and sinned not.

Jesus went to Calvary’s Cross and was punished for sin - but not for His, but yours and mine

Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against sin - and all that will accept this free Gift of Salvation, the Righteousness of Christ will be counted unto them, and their sin will be counted against Christ.

The Bible tells us how to accept this gift in Joh. 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

We accept this gift by faith - choosing to trust in God’s Salvation plan. That’s it! That’s the Righteousness of God without the Law that was manifest! (Rom. 3)

Without this, you have nothing. You cannot truly live a life of purpose, as you cannot live a life yielded unto the Spirit of God, for you have it not!

As Jesus told Nicodemus in Joh. 3 - ‘ye must be born again!’

You must Enter through Christ

You Must Determine to Enter the Door, Lastly, you must Discern the Appropriate Path

III. Discern the Appropriate Path

Once you have made the decision to trust in Jesus, you now have the option of which path to take.

I want you to know that Jesus speaks of the results of these to paths you will follow. What we don’t see in this passage is the what they look like at the beginning.

For example: I could set 2 glasses of water before you: One would be pure, the other contaminated with arsenic. You couldn’t tell by the taste, nor by odor. They both would look alike - but one gives life with the other takes it.

This is often the case between the two paths that I present unto you today.

Satan’s Path

Labeled here as the ‘Thief’ Satan has a path laid out for every soul here. The Bible tells us 1Pet. 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Jesus tells us where this path leads. He tells us that the thief will:

Steal

One of Satan’s great robberies is that of Time.

Each one of us is here for a limited amount of time. We each have expiration dates if you will, and Satan is very adept at stealing the time that God has given us here to make a difference

Kill

Satan will kill people’s potential

So many could do such great things for God - yet instead of serving the LORD, they’ve allowed Satan to kill their potential for doing great things by following his path.

Destroy

Satan will destroy not just lives - but your BEST life.

God has a Perfect Will for us. He has a Plan for us. He said to Jeremiah Jer. 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Yet many souls allow Satan to destroy their best life by following his plan

That’s Satan’s path - but there’s another path. One that gives you that life of Purpose! It’s the Shepherd’s Path

The Shepherd’s Path

One of Pastures (v9)

God’s Path brings you to the place of plenty. It’s one where you’re fed, cared for and looked after

One of Peace

Psa. 23:2-3 “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, the Shepherd can give you peace!

One of Prosperity (v10)

Not just life - Not just Salvation - but a better life.

Listen, I wouldn’t trade my life for that of one like Tom Cruise for nothing! I’d be trading down! Is everything perfect in my life - not at all - but I’ve got something he doesn’t: I have a friend in Jesus! I have a friend that sticketh closer than a brother! I have a burden bearer and a chain breaker!

It’s a life of Prosperity

One of Purpose

Serving the LORD, I know that I’m doing something that matters. And I’ll say this: I’d rather be in the Kingdom washing the feet of the King than a dancing monkey adored by millions outside the kingdom.

But this is me. What do you want?

Conclusion

The invitation is two-fold:

If you have never been born again, you have to enter through the door of Christ. You can’t get in any other way.

Many of you have been born again, but you’ve allowed Satan to:

Rob you of your Time

Kill your Potential and

Destroy your Best life

What are you going to do about it? Are you going to continue down that path? Or are you going to come to the altar and say ‘Enough is Enough! I want a life of Purpose!’ You can have it, if you’ll just follow the Good Shepherd.