Gods Plan Purpose & Place For His Children

Rawang Church, Chiang Mai – Oct. 26, ‘03

GOD’S PLAN, PURPOSE & PLACE FOR HIS CHILDREN

Story:   On the island of Kuwati, cows are exchanged in payment for a bride.  Sam Karid hoped to get two cows for his daughter Sarita, (head bowed down, shoulders slumped, but she was kind)  however he was willing to settle for one cow.

Johnny Lingo came to the town and he was a rich man.  Being an extremely smart trader, he offered eight cows for Sarita.  Sam thought that Johnny was crazy.  Why would he offer eight cows for what he could have for just one.

In time Sarita became the most beautiful woman on the whole island.  In her father's house she had been treated as a one cow woman, in her husband's house she was treated as an eight cow woman.  She became what she was worth!

Questions:  Do you think about yourself as a one cow or an eight cow person?  Does this attitude about yourself affect the way you relate to others?  Is your attitude to your co-workers and the people you lead like Sarita’s father, or are you like Sam who valued his wife?

You have so much value, that God has chosen you and wants you to be in close relationship with Him.  Why?? 

You can be confident that God has:

·          A plan for you

·          A purpose for you

·          A place for you in His heart

I.     God has a plan for you.  

Romans 8:29: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

He wants us to become like His son Jesus Christ.

But, what obstacle keeps us from becoming like Jesus?  A: The problem is sin!

The good news is:  We have been saved from the penalty of sin. 

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

·        The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).

·        We need someone to pay the penalty, but we are unable to pay the price. 

·       Why are we not able to pay the price ourselves?

·       Jesus paid the penalty of our sin for us.

We have been saved from the power and presence of sin.

Romans 6:6-7: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

Be confident in this: God has a definite plan, purpose and place for you.

II.  God has a purpose for us.  

Psalms 57:2: “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.”

Question:  What are some of God’s purposes for our lives?

We were created to:

Worship God (Ex 34:14; Ps 29:2; Is 66:23; Jn 4:23)

Psalm 29:2:  “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”

Acts 2: 42 says that worship consists of prayer, praise, singing, communion, teaching and fellowship.

Glorify God (Is 43:7; Rom 15:9; 1 Pet 2:12).

Isaiah 43:7: “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and  made."

God has made us to worship Him and glorify Him. 

Please God (1 Thes 4:1)

1 Thes 4:1: “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.”

God is pleased when we glorify Him – when we come with a loving and sincere heart.  We are not forced to worship God, but with all our heart, we want to worship God.

Love God (Mt 22:37-38) - When we love God, we fulfill a great commandment.

Matt 22:37-38: “Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Serve God

Ephesus 6:7-8: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

When we serve God, we are fulfilling the Great Commission.

We can serve God through the use of our time, talent, treasures, thoughts and the words we speak.

Mark 9:35b: “… Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

III.  God has a place for us in His heart.

Why does God have a place for us in his heart?  Because He knows us intimately; no one knows us like God.  He wants to dwell with us forever.  He had us in mind even before He created us:

Psalm 139:13-16: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Are you feeling unwanted or worthless?  Stick to the facts!  You are in God’s heart.  He knows you, wants and loves you like no one else. 

1 Peter 1:18-19: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

So:

·       Follow His plan for you – Conform to His image (Rom 12:2).

·       Fulfill His purpose for you – Worship, glorify, please, love, serve Him (Heb 12:28).

·       Fill His place for you – Get as close to Him as you can (Heb 10:22 tells us to draw near).

Illustration:  There was once was a gardener who worked at a large bank.  He was poor because his wages were quite low.  This all seemed normal to him, because both his grandfather and father were also poor.  Every day, when the owner of the bank would come to work and go home, he would stop and talk to this man.  Over the years, he began to really like this gardener.  One day, the bank owner died and his widow came to the gardener, and told the gardener that the bank owner cared for him very much.  Furthermore, the banker left in his will a generous amount of money that the gardener could access at any time.  All he had to do, was to go in and sign his name, and he would access to the account.  Strangely enough, although this money was available to the man, he was so use to being poor, he never gave it anymore thought.  Until ten years later, he ran across the letter from the banker in his belongings, and decided to go into the bank to access the account.  He was surprised to find out that he was not poor, but had a considerable amount of wealth.

The gardener in this example was rich for many years, but really did not understand this fact.  Likewise, we need see that God’s love has always been there for us; and in that love, God has a plan for us, a purpose, and a place for you.  He loves you more than you’ll ever know!

Ephesians 1:4 says: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

Do we deserve God’s love?   - No!

Romans 5:6-8: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”