Experiencing God 07 - God takes the initiative
Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-19
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)
I. God forms us for His Purpose
A. God Forms us
1. We do not arrive here by accident.
a. You are not a random collection of amino acids.
b. God made us and He did it on purpose.
2. God Himself makes us who we are.
a. God Himself is shaping you.
b. You are his workmanship (Eph.2:10)
B. God has a Plan for us
1. God forms us to fulfill His plan for us
a. God forms us to do what he planned for us to do (Eph. 2:10)
b. For Jeremiah, it was a lifetime as a prophet. (Most of us are non-prophet!)
2. Since our existence isn’t accidental neither is the purpose of our existence
a. We don’t need to bumble around hoping to find something meaningful.
b. We know we have something meaningful to accomplish.
3. God made you for a very important reason!
a. If He didn’t have a purpose for you, he wouldn’t have made you.
b. You may never know the reason.
C. No Spare parts in the Body of Christ
1. God made you to be in important part of His Church.
a. Don’t believe less of yourself than that
b. Church isn’t a spectator sport
2. Doing God’s work isn’t your option, it’s your duty
a. If you don’t, Christ’s Body (the church) won’t work right.
b. We need you so that we can do what God calls us to do.
II. God Reveals His purpose to us
A. God Wants us to know our purpose
1. God doesn’t hide our purpose from us.
a. He doesn’t always slap us in the face with it either.
b. God works His good purpose in us carefully and intentionally
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 (NIV)
2. God comes to us in His time.
a. God’s timing can be hard for us throughout our lives
b. but it’s always the right time.
B. He knows what we Can do
1. No use protesting that you can’t do what God asks you to do like Jeremiah.!
a. God isn’t impressed with your self-assessment. He knows you better.
2. God makes/forms us exactly for what He wants us to do.
a. It’s not like getting hired for one job, but getting stuck with another.
b. From before you were born God has been shaping you for His plan for you.
3. One way to know God’s plan for you, is to look at who God made you to be.
a. What you are good at, has a lot to do with what God has in mind for you.
b. But it isn’t easy to draw the lines from talent “A” to job “Q.”
C. He Equips us for our tasks
1. He forms us, and equips us along the way.
a. The “forming” is a life-long process
b. We don’t emerge from the womb like a car from an assembly line!
2. He equips us through our life’s experiences
a. God works everything for our good — toward our fulfillment of His plan for us.
b. Our victories and failures, joys and sorrows shape us for God’s use.
3. He equips us with Spiritual Gifts.
a. As he touched Jeremiah’s lips.
b. He touches us with His power to accomplish His purposes through us.
III. We are to Conform to God’s purpose
A. A joy-filled Opportunity
1. God doesn’t need us to do anything.
a. It would be easier for God to just say the word and it would all happen.
b. He chooses to involve us in His work.
2. God gives us the opportunity to accomplish the part of His purpose He entrusts to us
a. We are stewards of that trust.
b. What do you want to do about the plan God has for your life?
3. The meaning of your life is right here.
a. Emptiness, purposelessness is a common problem these days.
b. Know that God has a plan for you and He’s working it into your life.
B. Open our hearts to His Agenda
1. It’s not our job to come up with wonderful things we can do for God.
a. David wanted to build a Temple, but God told Him his son would do it.
b. I can think of some pretty impressive things to do for God too — not my job
2. God has a plan, our job is to open our hearts to it.
a. God’s plan will always be better than mine because He is able to do more than I can ever ask or imagine.
3. Often that plan has a lot to do with the desire he places in our hearts (Phil. 2:13)
a. God’s plans and our desires aren’t often in conflict (Phil 2:13)
b. Though our desires aren’t completely reliable.
C. We are to conform as a Church too
1. God formed Alger Community Church!
a. God has been shaping us for His purposes from the beginning.
2. God has a purpose for us.
a. Our board has been discussing this lately: What is God’s purpose for us?
b. We know God is working among us to will and to act according to his will
c. We’re convinced that we need to focus on God’s purpose which he is working into us.
3. It is our joyful duty to focus all our ministry on fulfilling that purpose.
a. As a church our joy is to do nothing less and nothing other than what God has in mind for us.
b. Pray with us for clarity about His plan.
c. We plan to involve us all in a process of discovering that plan together.
The Bottom Line:
| Let’s Open our hearts to God’s plan for us and Joyfully take up the tasks He gives us. |
Red #486 Open My Eyes that I May See (v.1)