[This sermon was preached on August 26, 2012 at Folsom Community Church by Pastor Tito Dizon]
A Life Worth Living: Pursuing God’s Purpose for our Lives
Introduction
Today is my 54th Birthday & I was thinking
that it’s worth reflecting on what I have done for the last few years in light
of what God wants me to do in this world. It would be good
to pause once in awhile in our fast paced society & busy lives to check if we are aligned w/ what God wants
us to do. Are we veering off from the road where God wants to
follow , or we’re lost & we don’t know where we are heading .
An unexamined life is not worth living-
Socrates, ancient Greek Philosopher
The Lord Almighty says, “Give careful
thought to your ways.” Haggai 1:5
The Lord called "the people" to evaluate what they were doing in the light of their present situation.
Is that the kind of life God wants them to pursue or experience? Are they fulfilling the purposes he wants them to do or they were doing other things besides his purposes?Are they wasting their time, their lives & energy or they’re living life to the fullest?
If someone would
ask you, “What is your purpose in life,” What will you answer?
To be a successful Businesman, doctor, nurse, accountant…to
be rich, famous, powerful? Formerly,for me, it is to study hard, get a good job, marry,
have children, get them educated too and have a good job like ours, then we
retire & wait for our death. But, is that all to life?
What is our purpose in life? Why are we here? Why did God
create us? What on Earth am I here for? The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention
is to ask the inventor. The same way is true for discovering your life’s purpose:
Ask God- our creator.
God has not left us in the dark to wonder & guess. He has clearly revealed his purposes for our lives
through the Bible. It is our Owner’s Manual, explaining why we are alive,
how life works, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future. To discover our purpose in life, we must turn to God’s
word, not the world’s wisdom. Only the creator or the owner’s manual could reveal its
purpose.
So what is our purpose? The Bible says:
Romans 11:36 (LB) Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, & everything is for His glory.
Proverbs 16:4 (NLT) The Lord has made everything for
his own purposes.
The reason for everything- It’s all for Him. The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory
of God. It is the reason for everything that exists, including
us.
What is the glory
of God?
It is who God is. It is the essence of His nature, the radiance of His
splendor, the demonstration of his power…
Where is the glory
of God?
Just look around: different people, trees/ flowers,
hills…if we go farther we see the beautiful lakes (Tahoe), mountains, (Yosemite),
Bay area esp. the seaside. Everything created by God reflects his glory in some way. We see it everywhere, from the smallest microscopic form
of life to the vast Milky way. Creation reveals our Creator’s glory. In nature we learn that God is powerful, that he enjoys
variety, loves beauty, is organized, is wise & creative.
The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory
of God.” Psalm 19:1 NIV
(1st week of Sept, my wife & I are going
to Vancouver, Canada. As a birthday day gift. To see beautiful- parks, forests,
sceneries).
God’s glory is best seen in Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, “The Son is the radiance of
God’s glory.” Heb 1:3 NIV
Jesus came on earth so we could fully understand God’s
glory. We are commanded to recognize God’s glory, honor
His glory, declare his glory, praise…, reflect…& live
for his glory. Since God made all things, he deserves all the glory.
The Bible says, “You are worthy, O Lord our
God, to receive glory & honor & power. For you created everything.”…Rev.4:11
NLT
Failing to give God glory is sin. Sin is loving anything else more than God. In different ways we have all lived for our own glory,
not God’s.
The Bible says, “All have sinned & fall
short of the glory of God.” Rom.3:23 NIV
We as God’s creation failed to bring glory to Him. None of us have given God the full glory he deserves from
our lives. This the worst sin & the biggest mistake we can make.
On the other hand, living for God’s glory is the greatest
achievement we can accomplish w/ our lives.
God says, “They are my own people, & I
created them to bring me glory.” Is.43:7
TEV
So it ought to be the supreme goal of our lives.
How can we bring glory
to God?
There are many ways to bring Glory to God, but they can
be summarized in God’s 4 purposes for our life. Jesus summarize it all in….
Mt. 22:37-39 (NLT)(The great commandment)
37 ‘You must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally
important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
Mt.28:19-20 (The great commission)
19 … go and make disciples of
all the nations, 20 Teach these new disciples
to obey all the commands I have given you…
We need to commit ourselves to the great Commandment
& the great Commission. We bring glory to God by following God’s (4) purposes for
our life.
1.We bring God
Glory by loving Him. How? By worshipping him.
God wants our worship to be motivated by love,
thanksgiving, & delight not duty. Sometimes we get so busy working, we don’t have time to
express our love for him through worship. Worship is far more than praising, singing, & praying
to God. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving him, &
giving ourselves to be used for his purposes. When we use our life for God’s glory, everything we do
can become an act of worship.
We worship God corporately here every Sunday 4pm, but we
can also worship God in your place of work or school. Your work as a nurse, accountant, businessman, or
student…can be your worship.
One bus driver turned his driving into glorifying God. He
said some of his passengers are rude & complainers but he just kept on
having a positive attitude. Other regular passengers noticed it and shared with
them his secret, he always pray before driving & always pray for all his
passengers for that day. Before he committed his life to Jesus, things were
crazy…complains how monotonous his job is, boring, thankless & stressfull.
The Bible says, “Use your whole body as a
tool to do what is right for the glory of God.” Rom.6:13b NLT
2.We bring god
glory by loving others.
It is our responsibility to learn how to love as God
does, because, God is love. We are to minister to all kinds of needs: spiritual,
emotional, relational, & physical. Jesus said that even a cup of cold water given in his
name is a ministry & would not go unrewarded We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. Each of us was uniquely designed by God w/ talents,
gifts, skills, & abilities.
God didn’t give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were
given abilities for your benefit.
Ex.
-be a listening ear or counsel -help repair a the car or house-if someone needs a job…. Refer -teach badminton
3.We bring God Glory by telling others about him.
God doesn’t want his love & purposes kept a secret. Once we know the truth, he expect us to share it with others. This is a great privilege- introducing others to Jesus (Ambassadors), helping them discover their purpose, & preparing them for their eternal destiny.
The bible says, As God’s grace brings more & more people to Christ,…God will receive more & more glory 2 Cor 4:15NLT
4.We bring god
glory by becoming like Christ.
He wants us to grow in spiritual maturity. Are we? What does that look like? Sp. Maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we
think, feel & act. The more we develop Christlike Character, the more we
will bring glory to God. Ex. Born this way by L.GagaThe Bible says, As the Spirit of the lord works with in us, we become more & more like him & reflect his glory even more. God wants to continue the process of changing our character.2 cor.3;18 nlt
You are different now,formerly our lives were like in Galatians 5:17-21- Read in Bible. (Our life before), But now, with the help of the Holy
Spirit we have a new life. Gal.5:22-25- Read in Bible (Our life after).
So now after
knowing how to glorify God, What will you live
for?
Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will
require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, &
everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead
of an easy one. Even Jesus struggled w/ this. Knowing he was about to be crucified, he cried out:
“My soul has become troubled; & what
shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Father, glorify Thy name.”John 12:27-28 NASB
Jesus stood
at a fork in the road. Would he fulfill his purpose & bring glory to God, or
would he shrink back & live a comfortable, self centered life? W e face the same choice.
Will we live for our own goals, comfort, & pleasure,
or will we live the rest of our life for God’s glory. It’s time to settle the issue. Who are we going to live for- ourselves or God? We may hesitate, wondering whether you will have strength
to live for God.
Don’t worry. God will give us what you need if we will
just make the choice to live for him. 2 Pet.1:3 Right now, God is inviting you to live for his glory
by fulfilling the purposes he made for you. It’s really the way to live. Everything else is
existing. Real life begins by committing yourself completely to
Jesus Christ.
If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to
do is receive & believe. The Bible says, “To all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
NIV Will you accept
God’s offer?
First, believe.
Believe God loves you and made you for his purpose. Believe that God has chosen you to have a relationship
with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to
forgive you.
Second, receive.
Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Receive his
forgiveness for your sins. Receive His Spirit, who will give you the power to
fulfill your life purpose. The Bible says. “Whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in
on everything, life complete and forever.”John 3:36a Msg
I invite you to
bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your life: “Jesus, I believe
in you and I receive you.” Go ahead. If you sincerely meant that prayer, welcome to the family
of God! You are now ready to discover and start living God’s
purpose for your life.
“The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people
for thousands of years” - Dr. Hugh Moorhead, a philosophy professor at Northeastern
Illinois University, once wrote to 250 best known philosophers, scientists,
writers, and intellectuals in the world, asking them, “What is the meaning of life?” He then published their responses in a
book. Some offered their best guesses, some admitted that they just made up a purpose for
life, and others were honest enough they were clueless.
In fact a number of famous intellectuals asked Professor Moorhead to write back & tell them if he discovered the purpose of life.(Hugh S. Moorhead, comp., The Meaning of Life According to Our Century’s Greatest Writers & Thinkers (Chicago Review Press, 1988)
We assume that many people know the meaning of life, but
research has shown that a majority of mankind exists w/o knowing their
purpose. Rick Warren wrote the Purpose Driven Life book and it became a bestseller. Why? People are seeking for meaning in life. The only for
life will have meaning is to Glorify God in our lives.
-Message adapted from Rick
Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life book
No comments:
Post a Comment