40 Days of Purpose #1 What on earth am I here for?
1. Everything has a purpose
What is this for? [pictures of a camel’s hump,
sharks fin, etc]. Everything has a purpose.
2. Everyone has a purpose
These people have a purpose, What is it? [pictures of a people in uniform, etc]
Everything and everyone has a purpose.
3. Not everyone knows what their purpose is
How
do you feel when you don’t know where you should be? Or what you
should be doing? Or why you should be doing it? In our gospel reading,
the friends of Jesus were like that.
After his resurrection they went to
find his body: “they did not find the body of the
Lord Jesus.” (Luke
24:3)
They were worried (Luke 24:4)
They were afraid (Luke 24:5)
They had forgotten (Luke 24:5)
They didn’t believe (Luke 24:11)
They were tired, discouraged, confused and afraid because they had forgotten the purposes Jesus had given them. They had forgotten that
4. Jesus had a purpose
“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” (Luke 24:6-7)
Jesus’ purpose was to seek and save the lost.
5. God has a purpose for you
“For
we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.”
(Ephesians 2:10)
God has Five Purposes for you
Our Bible reading mentions each of them.
1. To Love Him: You were planned for God’s pleasure: Worship
“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.” (Ephesians 1:3)
2. To Know Him: You were formed for
God’s Family: Fellowship
“In
love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance
with his pleasure.”
(Ephsians 1:5)
3. To Be Like Him: You were created
to be like Christ: Discipleship
“For
he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in
his sight.” (Ephesians 1:4)
4. To Serve Him: You were shaped for serving God: Ministry
“he
purposed in Christ…to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one
head, even Christ.”
(Ephesians 1:10)
5. To Share Him: You were made for a mission: Evangelism
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” (Ephesians 1:13)
Look at your hand - God gave you five fingers to remember his five purposes - to love Him, to know Him, to become like Him, to serve Him and share Him.
God
created you to know Him and make Him known. As you grow up to discover the special
talents and skills God has given you, thank him and ask him to help you discover
your unique role in His church and His world. Knowing God’s purposes will help
you grow up more secure and happy in life, they will help you make the right decisions
and, most important of all, help prepare you to serve God in heaven.
Let’s try and memorise our verse for this week
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)