Awakening the Soul's Purpose: A Call to Divine Alignment

Reading of the Word

Jeremiah 29:11–14 NASB 2020

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will let Myself be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

Introduction

I am very excited that this series is beginning our new year. As we go into the year with the theme “Rebuilding the Kingdom: Sowing and Praying”, I think there is no better way to kick this off. In order for us to do this work that God has called us to, we have to focus on our own spiritual lives so that we can have God’s leading in our lives. Before we can go on though, we have to look at the story that we find in the book of Jeremiah.

What is going on with Israel?

-God sends the prophet Jeremiah to bring a message to Israel.

This message is not a good one. They will be taken captive for 70 years. They will never see the promised land with their own eyes again. Disobedience ends up in punishment. God is not doing this to torture them but to draw them away from the worldly things and back to Himself.

But then Jeremiah brings with him the message of hope. He was going to bring them home after 70 years or 2 generations later. But there was some things they would need to do in order to see their homeland again.

a. Destroy false idols and gods.

b. Turn away from their sin.

c. Seek God with all their hearts.God has us upon the earth because He has a great plan and meaning for our lives.

People are always thinking several things when it comes to the purpose and meaning of life

Something is missing

There has to be more to life

I have so much more to offer

What is the purpose of my existence?

When you ask these questions, it is actually a good thing! It means that “Your heart, mind body, and soul are working together to get your attention.” -Matthew Kelly, p.13

So he is saying that when these things try to get your attention, it is God telling you that He is the key to finding out all these answers and everything is working together as God intended so that you can find this out.

“Toward the end of his life, Michelangelo observed, “I regret that I have done so little for my eternal soul and that I am but beginning to learn the alphabet of my craft.” He was eighty-eight years old and indisputably a genius who had lived a life of astonishing world accomplishment. But what was his regret? Care of the soul.” -Matthew Kelly, p.15

I have heard the same about many that accept Christ at the very end of their life journey. They wish they would have accepted Him earlier so that they could experience more of Him in this life.

So what is the difference between you and Michelangelo? You still have time to be able to do something about it!

2 Corinthians 6:2 NASB 2020

for He says, “At a favorable time I listened to you, And on a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation”—

You were made for more

You were made in God’s image.

You are beautiful to Him.

He has amazing things in store for you.

What a God we have!

We are always yearning for something

Material needs

Food, water, shelter, work, etc.

Emotional Needs

Love, comfort, strength, happiness

Spiritual Needs

a. Those other needs are important. But this is where the greatest yearning comes from. This is where we ask what is the meaning of this life. This is where we seek for that which is missing from our life.

This beautiful and profound observation of the South African author Lauren van der Post puts this in perspective:

“There is ultimately only one thing that makes human beings deeply and profoundly bitter, and that to have thrust upon them a life without meaning. There is nothing wrong in searching for happiness. But of far more comfort to the soul is something greater than happiness or unhappiness, and that is meaning. Because meaning transfigures all. Once what you are doing has meaning for you, it is irrelevant whether you’re happy or unhappy. You are content.”

We will try to satisfy this hunger in thousands of different ways

Drugs & Alcohol

Pornography

Material Possessions

Fame

Other countless ways that sin can hold us in bondage.

The thing is that even though we do all of these things, our hunger will still remain. The question of the meaning and purpose of life will still be there and when these things fail to answer this question, the hunger will become even greater.

“We cannot thrive without meaning.” Our need for meaning is as urgent and unceasing as our need for water.” -Matthew Kelly, p.17

What is your hunger? Is what you are using to satisfy it working? If not, I have the answer to your question and where it can be found. It can be found in Jesus Christ!

It is your decision whether to create holy or unholy moments

Do you know that it is ok to ask the hard questions of life? That it is ok to ask God to lead you in your plans for the future.

I had a mentor who did just that as I began to wrestle with these questions as I was a new Christian and studying for the ministry. He led me in times of study and prayer. He held his hand to his face and shook his head in disbelief of what I was doing. He sat me down and told me that this was not the way to handle something and that I think this is how God would have led me to do this. He was so patient as I asked questions and held me as I cried through situations of rejection and turmoil. He and his dear wife loved Lori and my family just as we were, failures, shortcomings and all. He is the reason I am the pastor I am today. He is who God sent to give me so many moments of clarity in my life. He is the one who showed me how to properly care for my flock. He is the one who had the honor to pray over me and lay hands on me as I was ordained a pastor. I thank God for my spiritual dad and mentor. I had the calling in my life since I was 8 years old but he is the one who brought clarity and the plan to the calling.

We all have these moments of clarity

When the Holy Spirit moves on us that we fall short of God’s standard and that we need to trust in His Son for salvation.

When we recognize that we only find the meaning of life when we truly give our whole self to God and allow Him to sit on the throne of our heart as Lord.

When we do this, we feel a gaping void in our lives as sin leaves and it is painful. Our nature is literally being ripped from us. But God will quickly fill that void with His love and presence.

Another moment of clarity is as Matthew Kelly states “Some moments are holy, some moments are unholy, and our choices can guide a moment in either direction.”

It is in those moments that we feel God’s grace at work in our lives. It is in these times where we collaborate with God and create holy moments.

We must be willing to give up the past to God so that God can create holy moments now.

Don’t let it be the thing to hold you back. Give it to him today. Catch me after service and I will be glad to pray with you. As our text tells us today, He has amazing plans for us. Plans that will give us a hope and a future where there is meaning.

We have to do as Israel had to. They had to give up their past. They had to give up the false gods and idols. They have to let sin go and grab a hold of God. If they would do these things, God was going to do amazing things that would restore them to their high place of honor where His hand would be upon them and His presence would never leave them.

What is a holy moment?

So now we come to the main question of what this series is all about. What is this Holy Moment thing you are talking about. We as Nazarene know that holiness is something that is attainable. It is what our God is. It is the most mentioned attribute in Scripture. So it only makes sense we look into a series such as this.

What is a Holy Moment?

Matthew Kelly defines it in his book. “A Holy Moment is a single moment in which you open yourself to God. You make yourself available to Him. You set aside personal preference and self-interest, and for one moment you do what you prayerfully believe God is calling you to do.”

His definition describes exactly what we believe. We believe that in one instant moment, God calls us to yield control of our lives to Him. In doing that, He not only washes us through the cross and our salvation but He purifies us from sin. He completes the work of making us a new creation in Him.

Here is another unique definition that I found interesting: “Holy Moments are times, although mostly brief, where it seems like God pulls me to the side, is right there next to me, and showing me something or teaching me something. It is a time when it seems like it is just God and me and the whole world is filtered out. God has me where He wants me, and He has my full attention.”

Wow! Don’t we need those times in our lives as Christians?

vs. 13 says that when we seek God with all of our hearts that we will find Him. This only happens when we call upon the Lord and pray to Him.

We need to seek God where everything else is turned off and our vision is only on Christ. Matthew Kelly even calls them “tiny collaborations with God.” This is where we find meaning for our life. It is where we experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. It is where everything else melts away from our lives and we feel His holy love burning within us.

The ultimate question: What are you going to do with the rest of your life?

Something that is beautiful is we don’t have to wait to implement this. Do it today! We need to experience God. It is what refines and defines our faith in Him. Give your life to Him today. Pray for those who are searching for the meaning of life that we have found.

The decision is ours. Will we create Holy Moments with God or unholy moments that take us down the wrong path?

Don’t exile yourself from God.

Make decisions that you can live with

Simply ask yourself this one question: If I look forward 5 or 10 years from now, would this decision be for my best interest?

Decisions have power

They literally shape your life. Are we going to hold onto that power and use it for self-interest or will we give God the power so that we can experience those great things He has waiting for us?

Decisions have consequences

Whether it is a good decision that draws us closer to Jesus or a bad one that takes us down a path that is separating us from God, it is the consequence of our decision. God doesn’t want disaster for us. He has much better things in store but it only happens in following Him.

One decision can change the path of our whole life

Listen to the story given in the book. It spoke to my heart about the reality of decisions and consequences. Read story on pages 26-27.

Holy Moments, moments that allow us to encounter God, are choices that are easy to live with

Stay in God’s will. Be obedient to Him. He has our best interest at heart.

We know that in seeking and experiencing God, we cannot go wrong.

Conclusion

God has us upon the earth because He has a hope and future for those who make the decision to have Holy Moments in their lives.

a. People in the secular world cannot make sense of life.

I. If they will seek God, He will restore them to new life in Him.

Our God is the restorer. He wants to take the broken pieces and make something beautiful from them.

b. The more disconnected we are from God, the more meaningless life becomes. It is why people reach a level of hopelessness where they feel as if they have nothing to live for.

Allow God to create those moments where you encounter Him. Make decisions that draw you closer to Him. If we want to reach others, we have to experience this in our life first. Evangelism without a testimony is a stale, fruitless relationship with God.

Why am I preaching this series?

a. You have to be able to tell your experience with Jesus.

b. You have to live a holy life to live an authentic life that stands out to people in the world.

c. Before you can reach others, your relationship with Him must be nourished.

I. Isn’t that being self-centered? No. It is great to take care of others but we have to take care of ourselves first in order to have the tools to reach others. I pray that this series will challenge you to do this.