Purpose - Life Change
Notes
Transcript
This morning we are going to begin to talk about purpose. Your purpose. This word purpose and how and will look to it means something just for you. Something that God has designed just for you. ______, you have a purpose. ___________ you have a purpose. _____________ you have a purpose. But this purpose is not only for now, this purpose is something that will go your entire life. Our purpose is not something we determine. We don’t decide who we will be or what our purpose is life will be. It is only God. You see God created everything…the trees, the sun, the moon, the stars, and he created you and me. And long before he created you, hundreds and thousands of years ago, he had a purpose for your life. Not only a desire for you to know him and love him, but a desire and a plan for your life…a purpose.
I have been in ministry now for over 15 years, and I have been a Christian for 52 years. And if there is one question that I hear over and over again from people, it is this… WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO WITH MY LIFE? WHAT IS HIS WILL FOR ME? WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? You may even have this question right now? You may be coming to the end of your education and you may be thinking what am I going to do with my life? What will my life be once I finish my education and training? What is my purpose in life. For some of you, that may be still many years away, but that doesn’t mean that God does not know. He knows and he wants to reveal that purpose in your life. But the only way for a person to know from God what their purpose is, is when they begin to have a relationship with Jesus. Not just a prayer, to ask Jesus into your heart… but truly following Jesus and loving him every day of your life.
Where to we find our purpose? Through Jesus, and where do we find Jesus? Through the pages of His Word. So lets declare as a church what we believe about the Bible.
+++++Creed++++
When you have a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, you will see how you fit into God’s plan and purpose for the world.
This morning as we seek to understand our God-given purpose, we will look to those who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, and that encounter helped them see how they fit into God’s plan and purpose for the world.
This morning lets look at people who experienced life change and their purpose in life was set by God and it changed the world.
Open your bibles to Matthew 4:18-22
In Matthew 4:18-22 we are introduced four men. These were ordinary men. They were men who were just normal, everyday men, doing everything things. Before their encounter with Jesus, they could have been someone like you, or someone you go to school with, or someone you may see on the road, but when they met Jesus, something changed. Something in them changed.
At this time Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist, he then was in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and did not eat anything, and if you will remember, in those 40 days, it was Satan that tried to tempt Jesus, but Jesus did not sin. SSo as he comes out of the wilderness, all the things that had been written about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament were about to come true… Look at what it says in Matthew 4:17
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Jesus, God, the Messiah, was preparing to follow through with a plan of redemption for those who would accept and follow him.
Look at verse 18.
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.
19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too.
22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
Today we know these men very well. Simon Peter. Do yiou rember when Jesus asked his disciples a question? Matthew 16:13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
We also know Peter as the one who said I will never deny you Jesus and would even die before I did that (Matthew 26:35). What what did he do? He denied Jesus, not just once, or twice, but three times. But we also know Peter as the one who stood up three and a half years after this, and preached the gospel and 3000 mean were saved that day… which was the beginning of the church. He is the author of 1st and second Peter we have in the Bible.
But here, Peter was just a simple Jewish man. We also know his brother Andrew. Andrew is the one who mentioned there was a boy with bread and fish at the feeding of the 5000. But here he was just a fisherman.
Then we see James and his brother John. James was one of those with Jesus on the Mount of Tranfiguration when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus. But here, now, just a simple Jewish man making a living by fishing in the Sea of Galilee. And then there is John. Later we would come to know John as the beloved disciple, the one who would write the Gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and the Book of Revelation where Jesus revealed the events that will lead up to end of the world. We also know John as the last to die of all of the apostles. But here he was just a jewish fisherman helping his father with their fishing business.
But they met Jesus, and everything changed. God had a purpose for these four men, but that purpose was not revealed until they had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.
Did you see the moment that Peter’s and Andrews life changed? What did Jesus say to them?
What about James and John? When did their lives change?
19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too.
22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE?
You will never know your God-given purpose until you give your life to God.
Andrew, Peter, James, and John followed Jesus. They didn’t just say a prayer and then continued about their day. They didn’t just make Jesus a part of their life, they didn’t make him an addition of theri life. They made him the main point. What was their life? Fishing. It was how they provided for their family. It was their way of life. But something happened to them that was so big, that they walked away from it. It wasn’t the most important thing anymore. There was soemthing else that was more important. They had been given a purpose. But they would have never known what that purpose would have been unless they did one thing. Follow. Follow. Jesus said “follow me,” learn from me, do the things I teach, love the way I love, serve the way I serve. Being a Christian isn’t only about coming down here and asking Jesus into your heart. Do you know what it is to be a Christian? Following Jesus. Making him #1, making him the top priority, making what he wants, what you want. And when we do that, we will begin to see what our purpose will be in our life. A purpose that honors God.
So why do so many Christians, still today, not know what God’s purpose for their lives are?
Why do Christians not know what God’s will for their life is?
a. Maybe God has not yet revealed it
The psalmist says:
14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Teh prophet Isaiah wrote:
31 But those who trust (wait) in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Paul wrote in Galatians:
9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up (if we wait).
Wait. Don’t give up. We don’t like to wait. We want to know now. If you are following God, then you will have to wait. There is a good chance that God will not tell you your purpose for life on the day you begin to follow him. Why not? Why would he make you wait? Because he is growing you. He is making you stronger IN HIM.
Isaiah 40:31 You will have to not give up. God why are you taking so long to tell me what your purpose is for me?
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
So if you are following Jesus, and you have had life change in him, not knowing what your purpose is right now is not always bad. It’s ok. Stay focused on him. Seek him in this Word, don’t give up. Stay focused on him because he will renew your strength every day if you continue to seek him.
So why has God not yet revealed your purpose as of yet? Maybe it not his timing. But I promise, it’s coming.
Why do Christians not know what God’s will for their life is?
a. Maybe God has not yet revealed it
b. Maybe you may not be truly following him
What do I mean “you are not trulY following him?” Many people say “I am a Christian” but they are not a follower of Christ. They are not following Christ everyday. They are saying it, but their lives do not show it. That is the difference. Just a few chapters later here in Matthew Jesus was talking about false teachers and prophets, and he said that you will know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16) In other words, you will know them by what they are producing. Just like a banana tree cannot produce cashew nut, someone who is not a follower of Jesus cannot produce a godly life or one that pleases the Lord.
So just because someone says they are a Christian, if their life is not producing the things of God, they are just talk, talk. No fruit, no following.
So we have to ask ourselves, if God is not revealing his purpose for us, could it be that we are not following? Could it be that we have not dropped our nets immediately and followed him?
(1) You will never know your God-given purpose until you give your life to God.
HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE?
You will never know your God-given purpose until you give your life to God.
2. Your God-given purpose will be something that fits you perfectly.
Turn to Genesis 1. God gave Adam a purpose. Look at verse 28….
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Adam was the first human. He did not have an earthly Father to teach him how to govern all of creation. He didn’t have someone to tell him to do this with the fish, do that with the birds, and then this is what you do with the things that crawl on the ground. He didn’t even have a father and mother to tell him how to be fruitful and multiply. It seems that God put that in him. God built that into him. He designed Adam with the ability and the knowledge to do these things perfectly.
God will never call you do a purpose that he has not prepared for you to accomplish. I look at Soemdat. I see his life, even before he finished his SS3, there is no doubt in my mind that God’s purpose for him was to preach, to tbe a pastor, a missionary. He recognized that calling from God and he gave into that. I have seen this in other graduates. I can think of two who even told me and Mom that they felt God calling them to some type of ministry, and we even thought the same thing, but they went away from that calling and that purpose. That doesn’t mean that God will not use them at some point, but maybe they were perfectly fit for the work of ministry, but they stepped away from that.
And let me say this, your purpose may never be to become a Pastor or a missionary. I don’t believe that is God’s purpose for every Christian. I look at Jonathon, our graduate, and I beleive that God’s purpose is for him to be a barrister. From what I knwo and what I have seen, that is God’s perfect fit for him. But even in that, Jonathon can be used by God to do good as a barrister. He can help people and he can even point people to Jesus.
Because when God reveals your God-given purpose, the reason is for HIM…to bring HIM glory.
HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE?
You will never know your God-given purpose until you give your life to God.
2. Your God-given purpose will be something that fits you perfectly.
3. When God reveals your God-given purpose, it will be for his glory, not your own.
Let’s look a moment at the life of Peter. Here is Matthew 4 he is a fisherman. This is an honest job, he is a hard worker. He is making money to put food on his table. This is good, right. For you older ones here at A Place of Hope you know it is one of our jobs to prepare you to go out and work and provide food and money so that you can live one day a part of A Place of Hope. Yes? Peter was doing this. He had become a responsabile man. He was nto a beggar wanting someone else to pay his way…he was a hard worker. But if you think about it, he was only making a difference for himself and his family. Again, that is not bad, the Bible says that is what we should do. But thats not all that the Bible says we should do.
17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
When Jesus said “Follow me” to Peter, he wasn’t saying follow me because I will give you a good life. Follow me because you will be happy. Follow me because you will never worry the rest of your life. No. He said follow me, and I will show you how to fish for men. I will show you how to catch souls for the Kingdom and snatch them away from Satan who wants to take them to hell. Follow me, and together we will glorify the Father in heaven.
Jesus called Peter and he revealed to Peter his God-given purpose, and it glorified God. On the day of Pentecost, by the power of the Holy Spirit that God placed in Peter he stood up and boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord and over 3000 men were saved and baptised that day. And the Bible says in Acts 2 that they were added to the church. This was the beginning of the body of Christ…the church… the group of people who believe and worship the one true God.
That day when Peter dropped his nets and followed, it was for God’s glory, not his own.
God may reveal to you that you are to be a tailor, or a tiler, or barb hair, or do make-up, that may be the God-given purpose he has for your life, but it doesn’t stiop there… in everything you do, do it for his glory. As your barbing, you can talk to someone about what God has done in yoru life. As you are doing make-up, you can talk about the God who saved you from yoru sin. As you are making clothes and someone comments how good it looks, tells them it is God who saved you and gave you this ability. Give him the glory, and always look for opportunities to tell others about him…BECAUSE THAT IS WHY HE HAS GIVEN YOU YOUR PURPOSE.
Remember, You will never know your God-given purpose until you give your life to God. Then as God reveals that purpose, it will be a perfect fit for you, but it will be for HIM…his glory, not your own.
And isn’t that our goal as Christians? Giving him glory. We are not called to be happy. We are not called to be comfortable. We are not even called to make a lot of money. As Christians, we are called to glorify God. And what’s the best way we can do that? Living out the purpose which God has given us to accomplish for HIM.
James said this:
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”
14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
James says that when WE decide our purpose, it is like we are making our own evil plans. He said that when we go against what God has desired for us by his purpose, it is a sin.
So what is your purpose in life? Many of you who are young, God may not have revealed that to you yet. But that doesn't mean that you should not seek him, search him in the scriptures, and build your relationship with him, while you are waiting for him to reveal his purpose in your life. You may have something in your mind that you want to do, but is that what God wants you to do for his glory? I don’t know.
But this is what I know…I don’t want you all to look back on your life and realize what you have become was not what God wanted you to be. That his purpose for you just fell to the ground.
God wants the very best for you, and he has the very best for you…that is your purpose…but until the time he reveals that to you, you need to be diligent in following him. In seeking him. And we do that with time spent in his Scripture and time in prayer. There is a word that discribes that…time in the Bible and time in prayer. Do you know what that is? RELATIONSHIP. Because when we draw close to him in these ways, we are in relationship with him.
Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Have you had a life changing encounter with him? Is he your Lord? Is he your Savior?
