Purpose

Outline

November 30 (Advent Week 1)

Sermon Title: "Opening The First Present: Purpose"

Sermon Description: God gives us purpose by design.  We are to honor and worship God as a way of magnifying His glory.  We were created in God's image and the angels are said to look upon us in awe.  Displaying God is built into our literal and metaphorical DNA!  When you look at how God uses His chosen people, it is explicitly to contrast His glory with the compromised, inglorious creations of man.  The painting created through God's Chosen People (Israel and Judah) is one of a people sanctified by God, blessed and protected by God, who ultimately couldn't keep themselves aligned to what God called them to do.  It would be easy to look at this and suggest that God's glory had failed, but this was only the set-up for something beautiful: the coming of Christ.  Christ's coming, ministry, sacrifice, and eternal victory over death is the ultimate opportunity for us to enjoy this gift of purpose.  Because now we are purposeful, not because of WHO WE ARE, but because of WHO GOD MAKES US.

December 7 (Advent Week 2)

Sermon Title: "Opening The Second Present: Creation"

Sermon Description: It's funny that when we talk about God's gifts, we often forget the big picture of creation.  Creation is evidence of God's generosity and an ever-present gift handed to us from the beginning.  In the beginning, God created all things and THEN he created Adam and Eve before resting.  This is a pretty clear indicator that we were the culmination of God's creation.  We also know Adam was given dominion over creation.  It is a beautiful thing and, unfortunately, something people are often warned or guilted away from appreciating.  We can all appreciate the wonder of the night's sky or the beauty of living things, but our existence IN creation is also a gift to appreciate.  Solomon tells us as much in Ecclesiastes... to "eat, drink, and enjoy your labors" because these are also gifts from God.  This goes a step further when we realize that one another are also creations to enjoy.  God knew it was not good for us to be alone, so He gave us one another to enjoy as a part of Creation which we experience today as the church... a gift ultimately given to us through the coming of Christ.

December 14 (Advent Week 3)

Sermon Title: "Opening The Third Present: Hope"

Sermon Description: Christ, our living hope!  We associate the concept of "Hope" with Christianity, but hope has been built into mankind's relationship with God since the beginning.  The literal atonement (or covering-over) of Adam and Eve at the end of Genesis 3, God's promises to Noah, the covenant with Abraham, God's commissioning of Moses, the anointing of David, and the words of the prophets all speak to God's desire for us to hold hope.  Hope isn't a vague concept; it's something God very actively gifts us just when we need it.  Sometimes hope is physical.  Other times it is spiritual.  In all forms, it harkens to God's dominion and sovereignty over all Creation despite circumstances or the actions of man.  Praise God for His consistent and stalwart hope!  We have done everything possible to not deserve it, yet even in the midst of our trials and righteous discipline, God communicates the Hope to come which was realized through the coming of Jesus Christ.

December 21 (Advent Week 4)

Sermon Title: "Opening The Fourth Present: Messiah"

Sermon Description: Hints of the Messiah pop up early in the Old Testament.  It's almost as if God already knew what He was going to do the second sin entered into the equation.  God knew we couldn't do it on our own.  He gave us opportunities and provided the framework to do it, but ultimately that only served the purpose of proving that we can't earn it.  The conclusion was clear: salvation must be a gift.  There is no other way we could attain it outside of God's mercy and love.  When we celebrate the coming of Christ, we don't just celebrate a birthday or a singular miraculous event; we celebrate reaching the summit of a mountain built upon all God's divine gifts.  Jesus is the fruition of purpose.  He is the sovereign of Creation.  He is the realization of Hope.  And He is the embodiment of salvation.  He is Messiah in spirit and flesh given not because we deserved it, but because of our God's glorious generosity.

Our Design

It’s hard to know who you should be if you don’t know who you were created to be.

This is why so many people want to understand and connect to their roots.

Having a grounding in your roots helps you understand why you are inclined or drawn to certain things.

We talk often about our design because it is essential to understanding who God intends for us to be.

Our Creation —> Speaks to God’s Design

We REFLECT God...

Genesis 1:26–28 CSB

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

REFLECTION IN… Likeness (image of Glory)

REFLECTION IN… Duty (image of Dominion)

REFLECTION IN… Presence (image of Omnipresence)

From these few verses, we see that God created us in such a way that we would represent His Omnipresence, Dominion, and Glory in corporal form. There is an obvious connection here to the person of Christ who was God’s ultimate corporal form for God’s person. While we would be a mere reflection of these things, Christ would be the final coming of them.

Genesis 2:7–8 CSB

7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed.

The Breath = Nishmat chayyim —> Connected to Ruach which is ‘spirit’

In addition to reflecting God, we are imbibed with a part of God… His “essence”, in a sense.

Image Reinforced by Unity with Christ

Romans 8:28–29 CSB

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

God’s image is reflected in the PERFECT MAN —> but “perfect man” only existed in two instances...

1) TEMPORARILY: Adam

2) ETERNALLY: Christ

We thank GOD for this immense gift of Christ, because in Christ we enjoy what was once only known temporarily: what it means to reflect our Creator!

Observing Our Purpose Through Christ

I want to draw a cool connection here, but to do so I have to go back to one of my favorite metaphors from our Jeremiah study: Underwear.

Jeremiah 13:1–11 CSB

1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it on. But do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to the Euphrates and hide it in a rocky crevice.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined—of no use at all. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem. 10 These evil people, who refuse to listen to me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who have followed other gods to serve and bow in worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. 11 Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to me”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be my people for my fame, praise, and glory, but they would not obey.

Funny Metaphor, but Powerful

We have purpose: Fame, Praise, and Glory

A REFLECTION of God should bring the Creator all these things. HOWEVER...

Judah… God says, “No use for them” = NO PURPOSE

Refused to listen to God

Stubborn

Followed their own worship devices

This emphasizes the downfall of Adam. Despite covenants, prophets, and countless blessings, we were forever separated from created design as a result of our corrupted hearts. WHAT HOPE DO WE HAVE?!?!

Jeremiah 31:31–34 CSB

31 “Look, the days are coming” —this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” —this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

NEW Covenant vs OLD

Old Covenant was a ‘hand hold’… still implies we had to walk the walk… we could not

This calls for God to dwell within us.

Reaffirmed by Christ’s own declaration...

John 14:20 CSB

20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you.

This should leave you with goosebumps. Some seem to treat Christ like the old covenant… holding your hand and expecting you to still do the work of salvation. That’s not how salvation works. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t complement it. You didn’t augment it or make it more meaningful. Your salvation was purchased by the blood of our savior and by the graciousness of our God who foreknew this sacrifice would be needed.

CRAZY CONNECTION...

Old Covenant assumed you could “reattain the purpose of Adam” and reflect God… we could not.

Christ coming meant we could finally see what true Adam looked like through a PERFECT image of the Creator.

When Christ came to earth, it didn’t just usher in the beginning of life for someone who WOULD DO something glorious; it ushered in the beginning of life for someone who WAS GLORY IN PERSON.

We could FINALLY see for ourselves what it meant to reflect the Creator.

The Weirder It Is, the More “Right” It Is

This is why being a Christian… a real Christian meaning a real follower of Jesus Christ, not just some cultural observant… looks so weird. Look at what a reflection of the Creator looks like...

Philippians 2:5–9 CSB

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,

God Elevated Christ —> Because Christ was a corporal image of the Creator

We strive to be reflection of Christ for the same reason...

Philippians 2:10–11 CSB

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

When we live as Christ, we live as reflections of the true image of the Creator.

Doing so drives us back to our ultimate purpose established with Adam… to live for the fame, praise, and glory of God.

This first week of Advent we can be grateful for the gift of a divine purpose… a purpose established with Adam, reaffirmed through the Old Covenants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and permanently established with the eternal covenant of Jesus Christ.

This gift, like all the others, is not to be hoarded. It is to be shared for the glory of God. This season, are we going to choose pretty imagery and culturally acceptable rhetoric, or are we going to put to use this gift we have recieved of divine purpose.