- The question of existence – why am I alive?
- The question of significance – does my life matter? and
- The question of intention – what is my purpose?
Some time ago I asked one lady what she thought was the purpose in life? She answered: “there is not one big purpose, everyone has different ideas. We just are, and we should make the best out of this time & our lives.”For me, this is a sad statement, because what is life without purpose? If you take God the Creator out of the picture, you will have too many alternatives and no foundation to build life upon.
Here are some examples…
- You can try the Mystical approach – the mystical approach says “look within and find your purpose in yourself.” If that really worked, all of us would know our purpose.
- Then you can try a Philosophical approach where…
- the survivalist says, “The purpose of life is just to stay alive.”
- the naturalist says, “The purpose of life is just to perpetuate itself” - you’re just here for biological reasons
- the hedonist writes, “The purpose of life is pleasure – have fun & party.”
- the materialist says, “Life is all about the acquisition of things and is measured by the things you own.”
- the self-help approach says “You have to invent your purpose.” Read enough books and you will find your purpose.
But being a success and knowing your purpose in life are not the same thing. You can have a success in many areas of life and still never know, “What on earth am I here for?” What did God put me on this earth for? The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, happiness, or peace of mind.
You were made by God and you were made for God and you were put here for His purposes. The Bible says in Proverbs 16.4, “The Lord has made everything (circle everything) for His own purpose.” It’s for His purpose. God has never made anything in our world without a purpose. If you want to know if God has a purpose for your life, check your heart. If it’s still beating, God still has a purpose for you here on earth. Actually, God has five purposes for your life. In the next 40 days we’re going to look in detail at those five purposes. The five reasons God put you on this planet.
Today, I just want us to examine God’s motive. Look at this next verse, Ephesians 1:4, read it with me…”Long before He laid down the earth’s foundation, He had us in His mind and settled on us as the focus of His love to be made whole and holy by His love.” If you don’t get anything else as we start this 40 days, I want you to understand this, God says He made you, to love you. God made you to love you.
You were created to be loved by God. God is love and God wanted to create something to love and so He created you. He wanted you. And before we can talk about anything else, I would like you to understand: this is why we are on this earth – to be loved by God.
The second key question of life is the “Question of Significance: Does my life matter?” Isaiah said this “My work all seems so useless. I’ve spent my strength for nothing and for no purpose at all.” You were made for meaning. Without it, life doesn’t make sense.
Most people go through life living at one of three levels:
Level One: Survival. This is where most live today, in survival mode. Simply existing and being controlled by their circumstances.
Level Two: Success. Maybe, this is where many of us are. By the world’s standards, we have it. We’ve got a comfortable living, compared to the rest of the world; we’re wealthy, compared to the rest of the world. We have possessions, we have freedom, we have good health. We have success.
Then there is the Third Level. Not a Survival, not a Success, but step up to
Level Three: Significance.
How do you live at the Significance level? Well, you get there through three things:
#1: You know the meaning of life - that gives Significance.
#2: You know how much you matter to God - that gives you Significance.
#3: You know God’s purposes for your life and you live them out and that
gives you Significance.
God made us to live in Significance.
If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at the next couple of verses from the Bible. God says, “I am your Creator. You were in My care, even before you were born.” (Isaiah 44:2) The next verse says, ”You (talking about God) scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book.”
That’s how much you matter to God. Do you matter? – Yes.
He made you. He sees everything in your life, the good, the bad and everything in-between. You matter so much to God.
God wants you to know how much you matter to Him. God wants you to know the meaning of life. He wants you to know His purposes.
If you just stay with us the next 40 days, we’re going to talk about purpose. God has extremely long-range plans for you. Look at the next verse, “His plans endure (what?) forever; His purposes last (what?) eternally.”
God’s purposes are eternal. When we talk about the five things God put you on earth for, He wants you to practice what you’re going to do forever in eternity. The Bible says this in Psalm 33:11, “His purposes last eternally (write this down).
God says, “I was made to last forever.” I was made to be loved by God, and I was made to last forever. This life is not all there is. One of the biggest ways you can waste your life is thinking all there is, is here and now. Notice 2 Corinthians 5:1, “When this tent we live in – our body here on earth – is torn down. God will have a house in Heaven for us to live in. A home He himself has made, which will last forever.”
You want to know how much you matter to God? He wants to keep you with Him for the rest of eternity. He wants to keep you with Him forever. That gives meaning. So the question of existence – why am I alive? God answers it by saying, “I made you to love you, that’s why you’re alive.”
We can live in Survival or in Success, but God created us to have Significance. God says that your life matters. You matter so much that He intends on keeping you alive for the rest of eternity.
So then comes the third question, the “Question of Intention: What is my purpose?” What on earth am I here for? And that’s what we’re going to spend 40 days looking at.
Bertrand Russell, a great English atheistic philosopher said, “Unless you assume the existence of God, the question of life’s meaning and purpose is irrelevant.” You see, if there is no God, if you’re just a freak chance of nature, – then guess what? – your life doesn’t matter. If somebody wants to take it, they could. Because there’s no real reason, meaning or purpose.
But the good news is: there is a God!!! And God made you for a reason, and He made you for a purpose. The only way you’re going to know your purpose is first looking to Him.
There are many items we use every day for a particular purpose. If you don’t know something’s purpose, it is likely to be abused or misused. You need to know the purpose it serves. We can know the purpose of something in two ways:
- talk to the creator, or the inventor of it, or
- read the owner’s manual.
Genesis 1:1, the first verse in the Bible…”In beginning, God created.” It all starts with God, it continues with God, it ends with God. “In the beginning, God created.” The Bible says this in Proverbs 9:10. “Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding.”
- Do you want to understand the meaning of life?
- Do you want to understand your purpose of life?
- You find your purpose by getting to know God. It all starts with God.
Understanding God’s purposes for your life does take time. That’s why we’re organizing this 40 Days of Purpose -campaign. The next 40 days are going to transform your life if you want it. Regardless of where you are in your spiritual journey, I want to invite you to travel this journey together with me.
God wants you to know Him and He wants you to know His purposes for you. So talk to Him. You don’t have to use any fancy words. If you don’t know what to say, say this prayer to God with me:
Join us next week, Saturday, 27 October, for the second message in finding God's purpose for your life.
“Dear God, I realize that if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive. But because you made me, you must have a purpose for me. I admit that I focused on my plans for my life, not yours. But I want to know your purposes for me, so I commit the next 40 days of my life to learning about it. Thank you that you made me so you could love me. Thank you that you cared for me even when I didn’t know you. Thank you that I was made to last forever. I want a life filled with meaning. I want to start by getting to know you better. So as best as I understand, I ask you, Jesus Christ, to come into my life and help me to understand your purposes for me. I want to take the first step today. In your name I pray, Amen.”