WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE?
1. GOD WANTS ME TO CENTER MY LIFE AROUND HIM!
“LOVE The Lord your God with all your heart . . . and soul and mind and strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Mt. 22:37-38
THIS FIRST PURPOSE IS CALLED WORSHIP
“A sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
Phil. 4:7
2. GOD WANTS ME TO TO LEARN TO LOVE HIS FAMILY
“Let us not give up the HABIT OF MEETING TOGETHER . . . instead let us encourage one another.” Heb. 10:25
THIS SECOND PURPOSE IS CALLED FELLOWSHIP
“Those who believed . . . were baptized and added to the church . . .They joined with the other believers and committed themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship . . . They worshiped together regularly at the Temple . . . and met in small groups in homes . . .” Acts 2:41-42, 46
NOTE THE ORDER:
1. God wants me to BELIEVE in Jesus
2. Next, he wants me to be BAPTIZED
3. JOIN a church family
4. Commit to regular WORSHIP
5. Connect to a small group FELLOWSHIP
3. GOD WANTS ME TO CULTIVATE SPIRITUAL MATURITY!
“Let us go on . . . and become mature in our understanding, as strong Christians ought to be.” Heb. 6:1
THIS THIRD PURPOSE IS CALLED DISCIPLESHIP
“By now you should be teachers. Instead, you still need someone to teach you . . . !” Heb. 5:12
4. GOD WANTS ME TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING BACK
“God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other.” 1 Peter 4:10
THIS FOURTH PURPOSE IS CALLED MINISTRY
“What can I GIVE BACK to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me?” Ps. 116:12 (Mes)
5. GOD WANTS ME TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIS LOVE
“Through Christ, God has made peace between us and himself, and He gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with Him . . . So, we have been sent to speak for Christ!” 2 Cor. 5:18,20
THIS FIFTH PURPOSE IS CALLED WITNESSING
“In our work together with God, we beg those of you who have received God’s grace TO NOT LET IT BE WASTED!” 2 Cor 6:1
THE BENEFITS OF PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIVING
There are five great benefits of living a purpose-driven life:
1. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.
Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. In the Bible, many different people expressed this hopelessness. Isaiah complained, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in pain and for nothing.” Job said, “My life drags by-day after hopeless day” and “I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.” The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose. Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope.
2. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life.
It defines what you do and what you don’t do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren’t. You simply ask, “Does this activity help me fulfill one of God’s purposes for my life?” Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment
3. Knowing your purpose focuses your life.
It concentrates your effort and energy on what’s important. You become effective by being selective. It’s human nature to get distracted by minor issues. We play Trivial Pursuit with our lives. Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals-hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, Maybe this time it will be different, but it doesn’t solve your real problem-a lack of focus and purpose. The Bible says, “Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.” The power of focusing can be seen in light. Diffused light has little power or impact, but you can concentrate its energy by focusing it. With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire.
4. Knowing your purpose motivates your life.
Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. On the other hand, passion dissipates when you lack a purpose. Just getting out of bed becomes a major chore. It is usually meaningless work, not overwork, that wears us down, saps our strength, and robs our joy.
5. Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.
Many people spend their lives trying to create a lasting legacy on earth. They want to be remembered when they’re gone. Living to create an earthly legacy is a short-sighted goal. A wiser use of time is to build an eternal legacy. You weren’t put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity. One day you will stand before God, and he will do an audit of your life, a final exam, before you enter eternity. The Bible says, “Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God…. Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God.”
Fortunately, God wants us to pass this test, so he has given us the questions in advance. From the Bible we can surmise that God will ask us two crucial questions: First, “What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?” God won’t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him? Jesus said, ‘l am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Second, “What did you do with what I gave you?” What did you do with your life-all the gifts, talents, opportunities, energy, relationships, and resources God gave you? Did you spend them on yourself, or did you use them for the purposes God made you for?
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