Known Ls 4: God Knows Your Purpose (Full Service)

“Have you ever found yourself in a situation where afterward you were thinking, “How did I get here?” “What am I doing here?” “I need to go home and rethink my life

tell story about being in the metal/hardcore/screamo scene.

“What am I doing here?”

In the past few weeks, we’ve looked at how God knows everything, how He knows your false identity, and how He knows your real identity. We’ve looked at how our value doesn’t come from temporary, shallow things on this planet, but from being his child. We looked at our identity in Christ, and read a bunch of passages about what He says about us.

So far, we’ve spent a lot of time looking at WHO we are on this earth.

But now, we’re going to look at WHY we are on this earth.

God knows who you are, but he also knows why you are here.

GOD KNOWS WHO YOU ARE, BUT HE ALSO KNOWS WHY YOU ARE.

Your identity is not just about who you are, but why you’re here.

The identity of something cannot be separated from its purpose. For instance, is a phone really a phone if it can’t make calls?

We’re the same way. For us to really understand our identity, we have to understand our purpose.

We’re going to visit our Psalm 139 text one more time.

Psalm 139:16. (NIV)

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Listen to the way this is translated in the Century English Version

You saw my body as it was formed.

All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old.

What this verse is saying is, God knew us, knew who we would be, knew our identity, and before our body was even formed, His plan and purpose were already formed.

Your purpose was formed before you body was.

YOUR PURPOSE WAS FORMED BEFORE YOUR BODY WAS.

God knows your purpose.

Did you know that the number one question people ask in life is: Why am I here? What is my purpose?

You can go to the book store and find 1,000 books on what people think our purpose is.

People have all kinds of advice about how to get the most out of life and live your purpose. But these are all human opinions.

Others can’t tell you your purpose, and you can’t even tell yourself your purpose, because you didn’t make you.

[Random object illustration]

What is this? What is this object’s purpose?

We don’t know. We can guess. We can find things to do with it. But if we really wanted to know what the object’s purpose was, the best person to ask would be the creator. The creator could tell you exactly what it’s made for, why it’s made out of this material, why it’s shaped like this, etc.

If we really want to know our purpose in life, we need to go to the one who created us and see what He says about us.

God knows your purpose

In the Bible, God says it very clearly.

In just a minute, I’m going to tell you your purpose. I really want you to get this, because so many people wonder their whole life what their purpose is, but you can learn this today, and never have to wonder again.

Are you ready for it? Here it is:

You are here to bring glory to God

You are here to bring glory to God. It’s that simple.

YOUR PRIMARY PURPOSE IS TO BRING GLORY TO GOD.

Look how clearly God tells us our purpose in His Word:

Romans 11:36 - For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and everything is purposed for his glory.

There it is! It couldn’t be more clear. We’re on this planet to bring glory to God.

That is the shared purpose of every single person. If you can get that now, it will save you a lot of problems.

Now this is going to take a bunch of different forms, shapes, callings, etc., but at the end of the day, this is why we’re here.

Turn to your neighbor and tell them, “Your purpose is to bring glory to God.”

What does it mean our purpose is bring glory to God? You remember in elementary school when you’d on field trips and your teachers would tell you: “Be on your best behavior, because you represent the school!”? Bringing glory to God is like that. The way we live brings glory to God. But let me be clear. God does not want us going around pretending like we have perfect lives. He doesn’t want us treating people like we’re superior to them. NO! We bring glory to God when we lived like Jesus lived. When we love genuinely and put the needs of others above ourselves. That’s how we bring glory to God!

That is our purpose. So let’s talk about what that actually means in real life.

God knows YOU. He knows your identity. He knows your purpose. I also believe...

God knows the plan he has for you.

God knows the plan he has for you.

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope.

God has a plan for you. It is a good plan.

A plan is different than a purpose. We all have the exact same purpose (to bring glory to God), but God has a different plan for each of us. For most of us, God gives us choices to make to go down a variety of paths/plans.

I believe God has plans/paths for people in this room in tons of different careers: teachers, coaches, doctors, social workers, missionaries, youth ministers, stay-at-home-moms/dads. Or for you all right now, as students. You can follow God’s purpose/plan in almost any career.

Let me talk quickly about what God’s plan may not be for you. This may be tough to hear. God’s purpose is NOT to make you happy.

God does not exist to make you happy.

He’s not a genie or a fairy who’s goal is to give you everything you want. Honestly, that’s because he has something better in mind. He could give you everything you ever wanted, but he wants to give you something better.

But here is what I want you to see: God’s plan is better than anything we could come up on our own, and He wants us to succeed even more than we want to.

Be encouraged by this.

Ephesians 2:10 - We are God’s workmanship, and we’re created in Christ Jesus to do good things which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God says He has created you to do good things, and He has prepared them in ADVANCE for you to do!

God gives us purpose, value, and identity.

God’s purpose may not be to make us happy, but he is in the business of giving our lives purpose, meaning, value. This is huge guys. When you recognize that you exist to live a life to bring glory to God, you have purpose. For me, I’m really happy knowing about that purpose. I’ve got bad days, but I’m part of something way bigger than myself. The purpose and identity I have in God is not something that can get taken away in an instant, it’s lasting. It’s real.

I want to see you guys understand this. I want yall to recognize the work that God is calling to you NOW.

Start living for God NOW

So many opportunities all around you!

Sometimes we feel God asking us to do something, but we don’t step out, because we’re afraid, and because we think God will abandon us in the middle and let us fail.

God has set it up in advance! He wants you to succeed even more than you want to.

Guys, I don’t know what God has planned for each of you. I don’t. Here’s what I know.

God made you. He loves you. He knows your Identity. He knows your purpose. I believe God has plans for you. But I think the ball is in your court. Are you going to keep living for yourself or are you going to live for God?

Find Fulfillment in God’s Plan for YOU!

Not only does God know who are you, but he also knows why you are here. Find fulfillment in God’s plan for YOU! Live each day for God.