SUMMARY
What drives your life? What do you have to live for? Everyone who has ever lived has asked themselves three questions: Existence: Why am I alive? Why was I born? Significance: Does my life matter? Purpose: What on earth am I here for? Unless you know why you are here you will struggle with life.
If you are alive it means that God has a purpose for your life.
“All my days were recorded in your Book.” Ps. 139:16
God determined the times and places for everyone. Acts 17:26
Knowing your purpose defines what you do and what you don’t do.
Knowing your purpose motivates your life.
God wants You to Know His Plan for Your Life 9
God’s plan is useless to you unless you know it!
God wants to fill you with His will, but you need to pray for it.
#1 The Knowledge of His will.
He wants you to know what His plan is.
He wants to FILL you with it!
95% of God’s will is revealed in the Bible.
#2 the Wisdom of His will.
God’s way is always best
God wants you to see the wisdom of His will.
#3 The Spiritual Understanding that comes with His will.
God only reveals His purposes to those who seek Him. Prov 9:10
As many as seek God, find him.
God wants You to Walk Worthy 10
God wants you to live a worthwhile life.
What could be more worthwhile life than pleasing Him?
- Existence: I was created to please God and enjoy him forever.
- Significance: What I do for Jesus is of eternal significance.
- Purpose: I am here to serve God and follow Jesus.
#1 Be fully pleasing to God.
You should always ask the question, “Will this please God?”
Is this something God wants me to say or do?
#2. Be Fruitful in every Good Work.
Do all the good you can, to all the people you can.
This is talking about generosity, charity, and doing for others.
God wants you to be Strong 11
Many people are ready to give up.
It is God’s Will that you should grow stronger.
You can do it, not because you are so strong, but because He is so strong!
“Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord is with you.” Josh 1:9
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Jesus. Heb 13:6
They that wait on the Lord Shall gain new strength. Isaiah 40:31
You are not an accident. God makes everything with a purpose. God has a purpose for your life. There are three powerful purposes in Colossians 1 – Knowing His will, walking worthy of His calling, and finding your strength in Jesus. Live for Jesus, that’s what matters! Do leave here today feeling useless. Listen to God and begin living the life you were meant to lead!
MESSAGE
What makes your life worth living? What is the prime mover behind you? What drives your life?
These are important questions, especially in light of the recent spate of suicides in Roseburg. A young man just took his own life. He wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. He appeared to be happy. He had a good career ahead of him. And yet he couldn’t find a reason to stay alive.
What do you have to live for? Why bother to go on at all? There are three important questions every person must answer in order to make their life worth living.
The Question of Existence: Why am I alive? Why was I born, here, now, and to this family and to this life.
The Question of Significance: Does my life matter?
The Question of Purpose: What on earth am I here for?
Dr. Hugh Moorhead, a philosophy professor at Northeastern Illinois University, once wrote to 250 of the 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 to say they were clueless. In fact, a number of famous intellectuals asked Professor Moorhead to write back and tell them if he discovered the purpose of life! [i]
This is the most fundamental question you can ask yourself: “Why am I here?”
Let me just say, you are not an accident. God makes everything with a purpose. Every plant has a purpose, every animal has a purpose, and if you are alive that means that God has a purpose for your life.
Scripture is clear that God has a plan for the whole world and for each person. He is God. What He purposes and plans He will do. He knew us before we came to be; before the beginning of time He had a plan for us (Romans 8:29).
Because God made you for a reason, he also decided when you would be born and how long you would live. He planned the days of your life in advance, choosing the exact time of your birth and death. Your race and nationality are no accident. God left no detail to chance. He planned it all for his purpose.
The Bible says, “You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book” (Ps. 139:16)
The book of Acts 17:26 says, “From one man God made every nation,. . . and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” Nothing in your life is arbitrary. It’s all for a purpose.
So, what drives your life? Everyone’s life is driven by something. Some people are driven by guilt. Some are driven by resentment and anger. Some are driven by fear. Many are driven by materialism. Others are driven by the need for approval. These drives are not worthy of you. These drives are trivial, meaningless and ultimately useless. You were born for something more.
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. It defines what you do and what you don’t do. Knowing your purpose focuses your life. It concentrates your efforts on what’s important. Knowing your purpose motivates your life. Purpose always produces passion. Knowing your purpose prepares you for this life and for eternity. It gives you a lasting legacy.
And God is searching for a select group of people to make a significant impact at this pivotal moment in history. Could that be you? Those who answer the call and understand their “why” have a drive called holy ambition. What’s your holy ambition?
Today we are going to uncover the plan that God has for you. And if you leave here today feeling purposeless and useless, it can only mean one thing: You’re not listening to God. You have got to do what God has for you. Let’s look at the three powerful purposes God has for you in Colossians 1.
God wants You to Know His Plan for Your Life
That’s what verse 9 is all about. If there is a plan for your life, and if God has your life planned, that plan is useless to you unless you can know it! So the question is, “can you know God’s Will?”
If only God were to speak to me from a burning bush like He did to Moses; or if only I could hear His heavenly voice like the Apostle Paul did on the Damascus road. In fact, I’d settle for the still small voice that spoke to Elijah! Anything, so that I could know God’s will. Even Paul prayed for that:
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
God wants to fill you with the knowledge of His will, but you need to pray for it, unceasingly, regularly, day after day. Is it too much to ask, that you would ask God for guidance and direction? Is it that simple! Yeah it is. And this is where we start. God wants to reveal three things to you.
#1 The Knowledge of His will. In other words, He wants you to know what His plan is. And he just doesn’t want you to know it, He wants to FILL you with it! What does it mean to be filled with the knowledge of his will? God doesn’t give you a wiff, or a taste, or a touch or a tad of his will. If you are filled, it is from top to bottom. The Word πληρόω pleroo means to lavish or furnish liberally. It is the full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. It is His will without a doubt.
Just quick helpful hint: 95% of God’s will is revealed in the Bible. All you’ve got to do is read the book to discover why you are here. It is as simple as that. The second thing God wants to reveal to you is.
#2 the Wisdom of His will. “He wants to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom.” Let me say it this way, God’s way is always best. It is always the wisest way. I’ve held many things in my hands and messed them all up, but the things I placed in God’s hand, and done according to his plan, those stand the test of time. God wants you to see the wisdom of His will. In an age when the Bible is scorned, you are going to have to learn to treasure it. That is wisdom. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends of it is destruction.
#3 The Spiritual Understanding that comes with His will. God reveals His purposes and His will, only to those who seek Him. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov 9:10). Because the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Cor 2:14).
So if you want to know His will; if you want the wisdom of it, if you want the spiritual understanding of it, you must ask God to fill you with it, and he will. For as many as seek God, find him, if you seek him with all your heart.
Now, let’s get into the specifics of God’s plan for your life, and I pray that you will see the wisdom of it.
God wants You to Walk Worthy
Let me put it another way; God wants you to live a worthwhile life. And what could be more worthwhile life than pleasing the one who made you? There is no better purpose in life than to live for Jesus. It should be your number one goal. Here is how verse 10 puts it:
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
This is the answer to the Question of Existence: Why am I alive? I was created to bring pleasure to God and enjoy him forever.
This is the answer to the Question of Significance: Does my life matter? Only one life, will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last. No matter what else you do, significance boils down to this: Did I please Jesus.
This is the answer to the Question of Purpose: What on earth am I here for? I am here to serve God and follow Jesus. That’s my purpose! And it is the greatest of all goals ever given.
There are three things that you need to focus on in order to have purpose:
#1 Be fully pleasing to God. Just as he fully gives the knowledge of His will to you, He wants you to be fully pleasing to him… in every area of your life. You should always ask the question about everything you do, “Will this please God?” “Is this something God wants me to say or do?” “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all to the Glory of God.” While this purpose relates to God, the next relates to our fellow man.
#2. Be Fruitful in every Good Work. In other words do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. There are several kinds of fruit mentioned in the New Testament: The Fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control. The Fruit of Righteousness, which is living a godly and holy life. Mt 3:10. The Fruit of Faith, which is trusting in Jesus for eternal life. Mt 13:23. There is the fruit of evangelism, which is leading people to Christ Ro 1:13. But the Fruit of Good Works is talking about generosity, charity, and doing for others. This is your purpose: To do good things for others, because God so loved that He have, and so do we.
#3. Increasing in the Knowledge of God. This is pretty self explanatory. There will never come a time in your life where you know God well enough, or know enough about God that you can stop. Your life is all about a deeper relationship with Jesus. This is your purpose, let it become your passion!
And that leads me to the last purpose for your life.
God wants you to be Strong
11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
There are so many people who are losing hope. There are so many who are ready to give up. There are so many times when life threatens to overwhelm us, and we feel like we are drowning… it is God’s Will that you should grow stronger. This strength is not born of human determination; it comes from dependence on God’s divine power! It’s not human power, it’s God’s power! You can do it, not because you are so strong, but because He is so strong!
This is the kind of strength that helps you patiently endure trials and troubles with the joy of the Lord. This is the kind of strength that gives you purpose, makes you realize you can go on, that life is worth living and that ultimately you want to go on, because you have a higher purpose to live for.
God told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Josh 1:9
Jesus said, said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.What can man do to me?” Heb 13:6
And the classic verse in Isaiah 40 reminds us: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
What drives you? What makes your life worth living? What on earth are you here for? You are not an accident. God makes everything with a purpose. God has a purpose for your life. There are three powerful purposes in Colossians 1 – Knowing His will, walking worthy of His calling, and finding your strength in Jesus. Live for Jesus, that’s what matters!
Do leave here today feeling purposeless or useless. Listen to God and begin living the life you were meant to lead!
[i] https://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Driven-Life-What-Earth-ebook/dp/B008EGV4BQ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&asin=B008EGV4BQ&revisionId=c283a2c3&format=1&depth=1
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