Relationships: What's the Point?

Intro

Hey all, welcome back to another Thursday night. To any of you that are new with us, welcome for the first time. My name is Cody....

Let me catch you up on what we are doing this summer. We are continuing throughout the summer in a pretty normal fashion for us…That is Worship, Word, and Community. But we are taking a break from our routine of going through a book of the bible verse by verse, and we are hitting a few more topical things. On top of that, we are giving some other guys a chance to preach and learn how to facilitate a college ministry…with that said I don’t want to forget to introduce to you our College Intern for the summer...

Introduce Richard and what he will be doing.

Alright, with that said…let’s focus on tonight. Tonight we are continuing and concluding a mini-series we started last week on relationships.

Last week we covered the relationships we have with the body of Christ…our brothers and sisters in Christ…but this week we are getting a little more specific and covering a topic many of you have asked about…and that is relationships. Romantic relationships.

And before we dive any further, let me let you know that tonight will be very broad in it’s application. Both for those in a relationship, and not in a relationship. In fact, all we are truly talking about is the purpose of them, and how to prepare for that purpose. That’s why the message is titled..

Relationships: What’s the point?

Now, if you’re looking for more specific conversations on dating and relationships, we actually covered a range of topics on our podcast “Centered. Committed. Confident.” I encourage you to check those out and feel free to email me with any questions you’d like us to cover on another podcast episode.

Now, into tonight’s message..’

Relationships: What’s the point? I’m going to tell you the point right away, and then go from there.

The point is this...

You were made with a purpose....and that purpose is to glorify God.

Your Purpose is to Glorify God... (Is. 43:7)

I’d like you to turn with me to Isaiah 43....

Go over context of Isaiah 43...

So overall you can see that your life ultimately has a purpose…and it’s a big purpose…and sometimes big things can be hard to understand how they are to be executed, but thankfully God gives us those as well..

Here’s some of the main ones I see in scripture.

…by being his image (Gen. 1:27-28)

Turn with me to Genesis...

Genesis 1:27–28 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

What does it look like to be made in the image of God?

Photo illustration

SO we be the image of God, by fulfilling that role of reflecting his glory…and God gave his people a way of reflecting his Glory, and that was through the commands he gave them. The law. At the heart of it…the law and his commandments were intended to show the world who he was, by having his people strive to be holy as he is holy. That they would show his holiness as they acted out holiness through the commands...

Although our relationship with the law has changed, the principles of them, the commands in them, remain the same. That’s why Jesus summarizes them in his preachings and still expects us glorify God by following them.

The greatest of these, Jesus says in Mark 12.

Mark 12:30–31 ESV

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

That’s not the only great command he gave us that we can see as a way of glorifying him…on top of our purpose of glorifying him, God gave us a very specific purpose in our life as Christians…and that is by making disciples.

...by making disciples (Mt. 28:18-20)

…by keeping his creation (Gen. 2:15)

Turn to Genesis with me.

Genesis 2:15 ESV

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Okay…we’ve covered our purpose in life…but let’s start getting to the application of this message…and that is talking about how our purpose relates to our relationships.

And so the first point in all of this, when it comes to relationships is...

Build your relationships upon this purpose.

Application for those in a relationship...

It stands to reason that if we are called to glorify God as the purpose of our life…that that purpose shouldn’t stop when we enter into a relationship.

In fact, it stands to reason that if the chief end of man is to glorify God, that the chief goal of the relationships of man should do the same.

So for those of you in a relationship, your relationship should be built on…it should start on the agreement that you are image bearers of God…who are called to make disciples…and called to keep his creation.

For those of you who are in a relationship, you are in this relationship to do that very thing together.

Let’s not forget to acknowledge that Eve was created for this very reason. To aid Adam in fulfilling the purpose given to him in the garden.

Genesis 2:18 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

So acknowledge this is the purpose

So if you’re in a relationship…and you have strayed from this purpose…or you’ve never had it…then get it.

If you’re in a relationship and you can say this is true about your relationship…then spend some time together thanking God for it…because not everyone is there.

Application for those not in a relationship...

Don’t enter a relationship, if the purpose isn’t marriage

Don’t enter a relationship if the purpose isn’t to glorify God better together.

Don’t enter into a relationship if both of you don’t agree that you are image bearers of God, called to make disciples and be fruitful and multiply.

Practice this purpose.

Application for those in a relationship..

It should contain things that allow you to practice this purpose.

bible, prayer, yada yada

Application for those not in a relationship...

You need to have these practices in your life…they won’t come magically just cause you meet a cutie.

Cheesy yet true ways to remember it...

You can’t cross the same finish line if you’re not running the same race.

Become the one, the one you were looking for, is looking for.

If you’re running towards Jesus, you should be able to look beside you and see them running to.

Defend this purpose.

What happens if the purpose is lost and can’t be recovered.

Application for those in a relationship...

End it.

Application for those not in a relationship...

Don’t start it.

Illustration about Oxen

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?