I. Introduction
-- turn in
your Bibles to Isaiah 43:6b-7
6b Bring my sons from afar
and my
daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I
created for my glory,
whom I formed
and made.”
--
"Today I was reminded of my purpose"
-- that
line was the first post I read when I opened up my Facebook account one Friday
morning -- it was from a young friend of mine, and that was all it said
-- I don't
know the occasion that prompted this statement -- he did not elaborate in his
status -- but those simple words spoke volumes to me and I have been reminded
of them many times since
-- they
come from the questions that we all ask of God at some point in our lives -- Why
am I here? -- Why did You make me? -- What do You want me to do with my life?
--
-- looking
around, I think a lot of people are just wandering through life -- drifting
along -- aimless and pointless -- with nothing to do and nothing to live for
-- some
people are like those described in the book, “Brave New World” -- they fill
their lives seeking the highs of happiness through entertainment and
superficial relationships -- doing nothing of importance while true life passes
them by
-- others
follow the traditional treadmill of the American Dream -- that plodding path
that a lot of us were set on where we go to school and get a job and work for
30 or 40 years -- waiting for retirement so that we can start enjoying life
-- others
seek to hide from their lives in the bottom of a bottle or with drugs or sex or
something else
-- very few
people have truly found their purpose in life and the reason they are here --
the vast majority of us are still looking for it
-- I think
there’s a reason why we feel so lost -- I’ve pondered this for some time, and
I’ve come to the conclusion that this drifting and sense of lostness in our lives
is a move of God -- I think it is God shaking our lives and calling our
attention to the fact the American Dream should not be our dream -- that we
were created for more than a treadmill to retirement -- that we were created to
love and to be loved -- to be in relationship with God and to live out of that
relationship into the lives of those we come into contact with
-- I think
that’s one reason He allowed the coronavirus pandemic to affect our lives in
this way -- in a matter of weeks, God stripped away all the superficialities of
life -- entertainment -- sports -- relationships -- vocations -- even our
religion -- and He brought us to the place where there was nothing left but us
to remind us of who we truly are and why we are here
-- He’s
done all of this to help us learn to see again -- to remember our purpose -- to
know why we are here and why He created us in the first place -- so that, when
all this is over, our lives won’t go back to “normal” -- but they’ll go back to
“better” -- they’ll be lives of meaning and purpose lived in the light of God’s
love
-- in order
to remember our purpose -- in order to find our way with God again -- we must
remember the great truth that God created us -- He created you -- on purpose
-- in
Jeremiah 1:4-5, God tells Jeremiah, "Before you were in the womb, I knew
you -- before you were born, I sanctified you" -- that means that even
before we were conceived by our parents, God had already planned for us to be
born and had already planned what we would do here on earth -- our lives were
designed with purpose and meaning in mind
-- we are
not accidents or the result of an evolutionary process -- we were created by
God the Father with a purpose in mind -- the Bible tells us that God loves us
for who we are and He has great plans for our lives -- Jeremiah 29:11 says,
"For I know the plans I have for you -- plans of peace and not for evil --
to give you a future and a hope"
-- so, what
are these plans? -- Why are we here? -- Why did God make us? -- What does God
want us to do with our time here on earth?
-- that’s
what I want us to talk about this morning
II. FINDING MEANING AND PURPOSE IN LIFE
-- we’re going to begin our journey to answer these questions in Isaiah
43:6b-7 -- listen as I read these verses to you again
6b Bring my sons
from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the
earth—
7 everyone who is
called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
-- this section of Isaiah is one of
the few places in the Bible where God speaks to us directly -- in most other
places in the Bible, we hear others talking about God or their relationship
with God -- but here, in Isaiah 43, God Himself speaks to our hearts and our
souls
-- He begins by reminding us that He
is the one who created us -- it was He who formed us and redeemed us and saved
us from captivity to sin and death -- in verse 11, God says, “apart from Me
there is no Savior”
-- and, because He has redeemed us
-- because He has saved us -- He now calls us to Him from all the places where
we have wandered -- in verse 6, He calls out to the north and the south to give
us up and not to hold us back, but to let us come back to Him
-- in the second part of verse 6,
God says, “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth
-- everyone who is called by My name”
-- and here’s what I want you to see
-- “whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made”
-- why did God make us? -- what is
the chief end of man? -- it is to bring glory to God -- that is why He made us
-- that is why He formed us -- that is why He redeemed and saved us through His
Son Jesus Christ -- that we might bring glory to Him -- that is why we are here
-- so, how do we bring glory to God?
-- first, by being in a relationship
with Him -- by believing in Him and putting our faith and hope and trust in His
Son Jesus Christ
-- turn over to Ephesians 1:3-8 and
let’s read that passage together
3 Praise be to the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before
the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he
predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with
his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has
freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8
that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
-- there is
one purpose for which we were all made -- we were all made for a special
relationship with God -- out of all the things that God made, mankind was the
only thing that was created in the very image of God
-- that
means we are the image bearers of God -- we are designed to reflect God's
nature -- just like Christ reflected the image of the Father when He was on
earth-- we were designed to reflect and share God's care and concern for the
world
-- that’s
why He says here that He chose us in Him before the creation of the world --
that is why He has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing
-- that’s why He adopted us as His sons and daughters through Jesus Christ
-- so that
we would be in relationship with Him -- we would be living in Him and He in us
-- so that He would be our all in all -- all that we have -- all that we do --
all that we live for -- it all finds meaning and purpose in God and God alone
-- when we
are in a relationship with God -- when we are living our lives in faith and
walking as God intended us to walk, then we are doing what God called us to do
-- and when others see that -- when they recognize that we are living
supernatural lives empowered by God’s presence within us, then God is glorified
through our lives
-- whenever we are doing what God
called us to do -- whenever we are being who God called us to be -- when we are
living in relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ, then we are
bringing glory to the Father and are fulfilling our purpose
-- a
spiritual leader once said, "the glory of God is a human being fully
alive" -- to be fully alive is to know God and have faith in God and find
our meaning and purpose in Him and bring glory to Him through our lives
-- the
second way we bring glory to God is by doing good works for Him -- by
ministering to others in His name, so that they will see God in us and through
us
-- turn
over to 1 Peter 4:7-11 -- here in this passage, Peter tells us how we are to
live holy and blameless lives for God so that others might come to know Him
through us
-- verse
7 -- The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so
that you may pray.
-- he tells us to be clear minded and self-controlled
-- to know our purpose and to live lives of meaning -- to not let ourselves be
carried away by entertainment or politics or any other pettiness of this world
-- but to self-controlled so that we may give ourselves to God in prayer and in
our relationship to Him
-- verses
8-9
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers
over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
-- our lives should look different from those who live in
the world -- we should love everyone deeply -- in words and in deeds -- we
should forgive sins and offer hospitality to one another -- that means to minister
to them -- to meet their needs -- to give them water when they’re thirsty and
food when they’re hungry -- to reach out to others without complaint -- to
bless them as God has blessed us
-- verses
10-11
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received
to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11
If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If
anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the
power for ever and ever. Amen.
-- Peter
says that when we take the spiritual blessings that God gave us and use them to
serve others in the strength God provides, God will be praised -- God will be
glorified through us
-- when we
serve others in the name of Jesus, God is lifted up -- when we minister to
others in the name of Jesus, God is glorified
-- we bring
glory to God by doing good works for others in His name
-- the
final way we bring God glory and honor is by worshiping and praising Him -- 1
Chronicles 16:23-29
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his
salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his
marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be
feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord
made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and
joy are in his dwelling place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
ascribe to
the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an
offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
-- nothing
brings God more glory than when we worship and praise Him for who He is and
what He has done
-- in these
verses, we are told to sing to the Lord, all the earth -- to proclaim His
salvation and His name day after day -- to declare His glories among the
nations -- to lift up His marvelous deeds to all
-- I don’t
think we spend enough time worshiping and praising God -- we spend a lot of
time learning about Him and talking about Him and asking Him for things in our
prayers -- but I don’t think we spend enough time actively worshiping God and
praising Him for who He is
-- the
writer here reminds us of God’s splendor and majesty -- of His strength and the
joy in His dwelling place -- he admonishes us to ascribe to the Lord glory due His
name -- that means we are to praise enthusiastically -- to constantly lift Him
up
-- we need
to intentionally spend time worshiping and praising God -- to glorifying His
name -- take some time this week -- sing to Him with your whole heart -- lift
Him up on high -- and praise Him for who He is and what He has done for you
III. CLOSING
-- for
those of us who find ourselves adrift in this world today, seeking meaning and
purpose in life, let us be reminded of what God has done for us -- He formed us
and He created us in His image and breathed into us the breath of life -- He
redeemed us and saved us from captivity to sin and death -- He has brought us
into life and filled us with His very presence -- He has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ -- and He calls us His sons and His
daughters
-- when Brooke was younger, she always wanted
to be a princess -- so, I told her that she was truly a princess because she
was a daughter of the King -- and on those days when she was acting out and
doing things she wouldn’t do, I got into the habit of asking her who she was --
and she learned to repeat back that she was a princess, the daughter of the
King -- and then I asked her how a princess should act -- and when she thought
about it, she’d straighten up -- at least for a little while
-- we need
to remind ourselves of who we are in Christ -- we are the sons and daughters of
the King -- we are those God created and formed and called to bring glory to
His name -- and when we live our lives a princes and princesses -- when we live
our lives as those redeemed and saved by the King -- we find our purpose and
meaning for life
-- our goal
-- our objective -- should be to bring glory to God in our lives -- by living
in faith and in relationship with Him -- by living holy and blameless lives and
doing the good works He has called us to do -- and by worshiping and praising
God for who He is and what He has done
-- we are
leaving here with a choice -- to step into who we are as royalty in the Kingdom
of God -- or to step back into the world and into lives without true meaning or
purpose
-- where do
you want to go? -- at the end of your days, what will be the measure of your
life? -- a retirement certificate on the wall? -- a last-ditch effort to travel
and see what you missed your whole life? -- or the remembrance of lives touched
for the kingdom -- of souls saved from the fire -- of eternity changed for many
because you took the time to seek them out and to see them and to love them
-- this
week, I want to challenge you to look at life as never before -- to look into
the eyes of another -- to seek their heart -- and to speak into their life the
good news of Jesus Christ
-- that is
where we find meaning and purpose -- that is what we are searching for
-- let's
pray
1 comment:
Pastor, as always, you challenge us with the task of self reflection. Seeing ourselves through God's eyes doesnt always look as good as we had hoped.
You help us to relize, that our sinful nature is inherant, while forgiveness is offered, we must first want it, and seek God in our lives.
Another Great message
Praise God
David Babecki
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