The Purpose Driven Life

What does God want from my life?

 By Pastor Samuel Chess

   I sat with a man I had never met a couple of week ago in Ohio and he poured out his life to me. He owned several businesses (quite successful), was in his late fifties, yet something inside of him was crying out that there was far more to life than he had found and he was starting to fear that he might reach the end of his life and miss the real reason he was put on this earth. I agreed with him!!

   Do you agree.....   Life is too precious to waste!

Ephesians 5:15-17  Be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.

   Don’t stumble through life.... 

   Don’t drift through life....

   Think life through, know why you are here..

   Know your purpose.

A) What does God want from my life? 

  When you read through the Bible you can summarize in just a few words what God is asking from each of us.

He wants my whole life!

There is not a single verse in the Bible that says I can choose to live my life any way I want to live it. Look closely..... the theme of scripture from the earliest patriarchs to the New Testament saints to the teaching of the Epistles on what our lives are supposed to look like all reads the same way. God doesn’t want 10% of you; He doesn’t want 50% of you; He doesn’t even want 99% of you. He wants all of you!

Romans 6:13 Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. NLT

C. S. Lewis once said, “The only thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important”.

If what Christ did for you is really true then it deserves everything you have. If it’s not true; then you shouldn’t be here right now.

In Biblical Christianity... it’s either all or nothing!

If this all or nothing aspect of Christianity is true then that should determine the rest of your life or you should just toss it aside and live the rest of your life how ever you want to. There is no logic that would allow any of us to say: I embrace Christianity with my whole heart but I am only going to give it a 30% commitment.

Deut 10:12  This is what the Lord your God wants you to do; Respect the Lord and do what he has told you to do. Love him. Serve him. Serve the Lord with your whole being. NCV

Notice the whole being phrase again. A lot of people sit on the fence. I’ll serve God in my spare time. There life is like a pie. A slice is their career; a slice is their social life: a slice is their family life: a slice goes to leisure and entertainment; a finally a slice is their spiritual life. The spiritual life is just a piece of the pie. According to Scripture God is the whole pie! All the other slices are fine, but they need to be slices out of the pie that is our relationship with God.

If you portion off your life and give 10% (tithe) of your time, talents and treasure to God; that certainly seems spiritual enough; unless of course you see the other 90% as your life and God would be well advised to keep his mitts off.

If you give a tithe of your income to God you are certainly obeying God’s principles but understand; the other 90% is still part of the pie that is your relationship with God. God is asking for you to turn over everything to him in every area of your life; including your finances.

Matthew 6:24   No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and money! NIV

He doesn’t say you shouldn’t serve both God and money. He doesn’t say it’s hard to serve both God and money. He says you can’t...... it’s impossible! You can put any other subject you want in place of the word money... 

   In other words; You cannot have two #1 priorities! You’re always going to have a #1; then everything else is going to have to be 2,3,4 or 5.

   If work is #1; the best God can be is #2

   If family is #1; God will have to slip to second.

   If entertainment is #1 God cannot be as well...

    Please understand; these things are not bad things.... Were not talking about bad things. If pornography is #1 in your life it’s a pretty safe bet that God is no where near the #2 slot. The things we are discussing here are the good things in your life..... the necessary things; the important things.. It’s just that none of them were ever meant to occupy 1st place.

   Get this, this is very important.... The number 1 slot is and always has been reserved for God. It’s the God slot! Always has been.. always will be.

   Now that creates a problem; If something other than God fills your #1 slot that something by definition becomes....... your God!  tough words... true words...

Biblically, any time something fills that #1 slot other than God, scripture calls it a false God; or an idol.

I’m not here to brand us all or any of us a bunch of idolaters; but the challenge for each of us becomes to evaluate what place God actually fills in our life and then to consciously move him to the # 1 slot. A second challenge is: once God fills that #1 slot: to keep him there the rest of our lives

One day Jesus was walking down a street in Jerusalem and a man walked up and Jesus said; Follow me. The guy said OK Lord but  let me first go take care of some things.

Serious contradiction between the words Lord and me first... You do not say the words Lord and me first in the same sentence.

Lord I will follow you but first......let me marry, let me get the kids out of the house, let me get caught up in my finances, let me get to financial independence, let me build my career.

Jesus told the story in Luke 14 of a King who invited everyone to come to his banquet. He of course is the King and we are the ones being invited to the banquet of eternal life.

Luke 14:18 But they all began to make excuses. The first said, I have just bought a field and I must go and see it. Please excuse me. Another said, I have just bought five yoke of oxen and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me. Still another said, I just got married so I can’t come. TNIV

   The first one used his wealth as an excuse.

   The second one used his work as an excuse.

   The third one used his marriage as an excuse.

v: 24 I tell you not one of those who were invited will get to taste of my banquet!

Proverbs 3:6  In every thing you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.  

That’s the recurring theme of scripture.... You can’t be a part time Christian!

    B) What does it take?

   What does it take to become all God wants me to become? What does it take to develop myself to the full potential.

   1) Discipline- Becoming a disciple involves learning disciplines....

1 Timothy 4:7a Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness  NASB

1 Timothy 4:7b Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit!

Hebrews 12:1b Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. NLT

3 new habits: 1) Read daily devotional  2) Six weeks of small group  3) Scripture memory

     C) Why should I do it?

2 Cor. 5:15  He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. NIV

Romans 12:1  Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him.

2 Cor. 6:1 We beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. Msg

In order to agree not to squander one little bit of our marvelous life we have to figure out what this marvelous life is supposed to be all about...

II. What on Earth am I here for?

     A) The Big Three Questions

            1) Why am I alive?

            2) Does my life matter?

            3) What is my purpose?

Not a question just asked by Christians....

   Arthur Ashley Brilliant My life is a superb cast, but I can’t figure out the plot.

   Jack Hanley- I hope life isn’t a joke, because I don’t get it.

  Carl Yung, the famous psychiatrist said, I don’t know the meaning, the purpose of life, but it looks as if something were meant by it.

Joseph Taylor wrote a book titled: I have no answers to the meaning of life and I no longer want to search for any.

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