Where Are You Going?

Introduction

Sometimes our lives feel like we are on a merry go round. We get up each morning, we go to work, we go to lunch, we go back to work, we go home, we go to bed, we get up the next morning, we go to work, and so on and so on...

We drive down familiar roads making the same turns we have made hundreds of times before. Sometimes I think my car knows the way so well it could get there on it’s own.

From all this repetition in life, it can get to the point where it feels like you have no true direction or no true purpose in life. Sometimes it just feels like we are killing time until its time to go home, our eternal home.

If that describes your Christian life, this Scripture may help you today.

Galatians 1:13–17 (ESV)

13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.

14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

For those of you on the merry go round, you can find some good news in this passage where Paul shares his story.

Paul’s Story

Paul is telling us about his former way of life. Paul was a dyed in the wool Jew. He had advanced far beyond many of his peers his same age. He was very zealous in his mission and a big part of his mission was to destroy this new religion that had sprung up known as “The Way,” in other words the Christian church.

He could not stand the church or what it stood for.

Paul was present at the stoning of Stephen.

Acts 7:58–60 (ESV)

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 8:1 (ESV)

And Saul approved of his execution...

Paul states in Galatians that he violently persecuted the church. And in Acts 8

Acts 8:3 (ESV)

But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

In his effort to destroy the church, he was going from house to house dragging people off to prison.

Paul was certainly no friend of the church. He was trying his best to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth. He was a driving force bent on destroying these so called followers of Christ...

Then Jesus was revealed to Him. Verse 16 simply says that God revealed His Son to Paul. Of course, we know the details of that very dramatic story.

The account is in Acts, chapter 9, where it says Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord when he was struck down by a blinding light in the middle of the road. Paul was struck blind for three days. And Paul was never the same again.

Paul came to know who Jesus really was. Jesus became Paul’s Savior and Lord.

And now this man who so ruthlessly persecuted the church of God began preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And Paul was given a specific mission, and that was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Up to this point it is doubtful that Paul had ever even given much consideration to the Gentiles.

Paul tells us that Jesus was revealed in him so that he could preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.

What a drastic change. One day Paul in on the road to Damascus with official warrants in his hand, dedicated to the persecution and destruction of Christians. Dedicated to eradicating this new Jesus movement, and just a few days latter he is out on the street preaching about the One who, a few days before, he had sought to destroy.

But you know what, God had a purpose and a plan for Paul. A plan that had been laid out before Paul was even born. God intended Paul to be a preacher and a missionary. God set Paul on a path that Paul faithfully followed for the rest of his life.

God had purposed for Paul to be a key person in the setting down of what we know today as New Testament Scripture.

Paul had many harrowing experiences in his missionary work, as he spread the Gospel message to many a foreign shore. But even when things were tough and his life was hanging in the balance, Paul never returned to what he used to be.

Paul died in a Roman prison still preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Few of us would dare to compare our story with Paul’s, but all Christians have had a similar experience.

Most of us probably were not as bad as Paul before we were saved, but we all lived a life contrary to the will of God before being saved.

We may not have been stuck blind for three days when we were saved, but we still had a life altering experience when we first met Jesus Christ.

Few of us took on the task of doing missionary work on foreign fields after we were saved, but since we met Jesus, our lives have never been the same.

All of us, like Paul, have been given a mission to serve the living God.

Now let us consider what we can learn about our own lives from the testimony of Paul the apostle. There are three things I would like you to consider. First, think about:

Where You’ve Come From

There is a timeless piece of advice that I am sure you have all heard and that is, “Don’t Forget Where You’ve Come From.”

This is something that is said to someone who appears to be moving on to bigger and better things. When someone suddenly becomes successful, others will tell them not to forget where they came from. They say this to ensure that this person remembers who they were before they moved on to these other things.

My grandmother used to put it as “Don’t get too big for your britches.”

Deuteronomy 6:12 (ESV)

12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

As Christians, it is important that we remember where we came from. You see we are blessed to now have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But it has not always been that way.

At one time in our lives, we were lost and didn’t even know it.

We were under the condemnation of sin and death and didn’t even know it.

We were on our way to spend eternity, eternally separated from God and didn’t even know it.

And if it were not for God, and His call upon our heart, we would still be there today. So, remember where you came from.

Today the world is full of people who are where you once were. They live a life contrary to the ways of God and they don’t seem to be aware, or if they are aware, they just don’t care.

They want nothing to do with Jesus and they want nothing to do with His church.

The only difference between them and you, is Jesus Christ. You used to be just like them. But then somebody thought enough of you to tell you the good news about Jesus Christ. Someone cared enough for you to give you the Gospel message and now you are in the fold of the Almighty.

So, don’t forget where you came from. Remember where you used to be when you look at those people and look at them with the eyes of Jesus. Look upon them with love and compassion the same way that Jesus looked down upon you.

The second thing you need to consider is:

What God Has Done for You

Because of what God has done for you, you are not who you used to be. You used to be lost and drifting along in this world, but now you are a blood–bought, born–again, Holy Spirit–filled child of the Living God.

God not only saved your soul from damnation, He saved you from the way you were living. No matter what you used to be or who you used to be, you’re now a new creature, a follower of Christ.

As a follower of Christ, you are set apart from the world. God had a plan for you from the day you were born. He selected you to share in His grace and forgiveness and eternal life. God always had the desire for you to saved:

1 Timothy 2:4 (ESV)

4 [God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Think about that for a moment. Let that sink in. You were lost and dying in your sin, but God had a plan. When you were born, He set that plan into motion to bring you to Him.

Throughout all of life’s circumstances, though all the twists and turns of your life, you were walking the map God had already drawn up. A map that led you right to where you are today, forgiven, sanctified, and looking forward to your heavenly home.

You need to think about what God has done for you.

You also need to consider:

Where You are Going

If God did all of this to bring you to Him, He must have some purpose for you now.

If all He had in mind was just to see you saved, He could have just called you home right then. But He didn’t do that. You are still here. And since you are still here, obviously God has something more in mind for your life than just seeing you saved and on your way to heaven.

Now we circle back around to where we started.

So many Christians are on that merry go round, making the same turns, in the same way, that you have been doing for your entire life.

Maybe through all this feeling like you have no real direction, no real purpose in your life. Still just killing time until it’s time to go home.

Perhaps it’s time to think about the question, just why am I here.

God has a purpose for you, and if you don’t know what that purpose is, what could be more important than discovering just what that purpose it?

If God has had a plan for you since the day you were born, don’t you what to know what that plan is?

Paul discovered what God’s plan was for him. God’s plan for Paul was for Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.

So, what’s His purpose for you? And if you don’t know, how do you find out?

First off, you immerse yourself in His Word. Take your Bible study to the next level. More than just a chapter a day, more than just reading a daily devotion, I mean really dive into the word, literally. The sailor knows the ocean, but he only knows what’s on the surface. The diver knows the ocean on an entirely different level. Be the diver, not the sailor.

Secondly, learn how to pray. When I say learn how to pray, I mean learn how to pray for more than what you want. Learn to pray for what God wants. Ask God to put you in a position where He can use you.

Train yourself to quit thinking materially and start thinking spiritually.

This is something you can start today.

You can settle it with God today that you want His will to be done in your life, not your own will.

You can commit yourself today to His plans and His ways for your life.