LIVING ON PURPOSE

Who would you consider a “successful person”? Why?

No matter what kind of success- what factors would you say are common to all forms?

What makes a church “successful”?

When’s the last time you visited the State Fair. There are miles of booths and stands. Question: Why are all those people there? We can reduce it to a formula as simple as--one, two, three- it is ‘Value/ Purpose/ Result’.

There was something each booth owner valued before they ever came here. For the business person running the concessions- it is most likely money. They came for cash sales. For some of the other booths- it is interest in new customers or members; for others who have performed on the stage- perhaps popularity or fun. Whatever it was, everyone valued something enough to make the effort to go and set up.

Purpose is not the ‘how’ of our actions, but the ‘why’. In fact, the ‘why’ comes before the ‘how’. And we need to come back to it often. For example: Around 4 O’clock after a long and hot afternoon, the booth owners might be asking themselves, “Why am I here? Oh yes, it’s a good place to make sales, or to meet potential customers.” And they press on with their particular purpose.

Once it is understood, purpose never changes. For example, the purpose of the concession stand is to make a profit through selling food. They may change their menu several times; but the purpose remains the same- making profit through food.

Here’s a question: how do you know when you are succeeding? The answer’s simple enough- you see the desired results.

The bottom line is this- Success in anything comes from a well defined sense of purpose. Successful booths or businesses- churches or individual lives- success is far more likely when our way of doing things and our activities revolve around our purpose.

Let’s switch gears and see how this formula of, ‘value/ purpose/ result’ works in the spiritual side of things. But first, let’s ask a question so basic, that many of us may never have stopped to ask: what exactly does ‘spiritual’ mean? After all, people can do some pretty weird stuff and call it spiritual- what’s the official definition?

A. The vital principle or animating force within living beings.

B. The soul, considered as departing from the body of a person at death.

Hubert Humphrey once said, ‘There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once it has been set free.’

Now keep in mind, this isn’t some religious explanation- this is how humanity in general defines the spirit. The spirit is a basic component of human life. By common definition; the spirit animates the physical, and after the physical breaks down in age or misfortune, the spirit is still there. According to our own definition, the spirit is the key to unlocking the potential in lives. It is the means by which we are set free. If this sensing of the human race has any credence, [and it is hard to believe the entire race could be wrong] wouldn’t concern for the spiritual become the most important thing of all?

Do you think most Christians approach their spiritual growth in a deliberate manner? Why or why not?

How about most churches?

What would you say are the main- “value; purpose; and desired result” of the Christian faith?

So, practically speaking- what we need is a good spiritual manual. I refer to a book that has claimed expertise in this area for some 4000 years. We know it as the Bible. Now, you don’t have to mention the Bible too often before you run into statements like, “The writings in the Bible might have been accurate at one time- but after all these years, it is completely distorted.”

I wish we had more time to address that topic today, because I think you’d be surprised at what we’d find. But at least, let me offer a few considerations.

Everyone has heard of the ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’, they contain many parts of The Old Testament. When these scrolls were found, they were 1150 years older than the texts scholars were using at the time. So with this discovery, an obvious question came to mind: How close is what we are using now to those ancient writings? After 11 and one half centuries- do you know how many errors they found? -Two letters.

Scripture has stood the test of time, the test of history, and the test of personal lives, just like our own. Scripture has proven, and continues to prove IT IS REALIABLE. –And the Bible tells us, not only is there a spiritual side, there is a supreme being holding it all together. In a nutshell, that ‘Supreme Being’ is described like this:

24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

So, here’s a question of curiosity- do you think this Supreme Being… God, might use the ‘value/ purpose/ result’ approach that we’ve been talking about? Let’s take a look at one of the most memorized passages of all time,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world’- Here is God’s value. And what He values is a real mind-blower. What God values is YOU! He values every face you’ll see here today. Just think about this for a moment: We are valuable to God.

Maria Shriver- Schwarzenegger, a renowned journalist, and now First Lady of California, talks about the blessing of an affirming father. He would say things to her like-“People are fortunate when you walk into the room.’ Oh, what a difference it makes when a child finds their value through their parents. Through simple affirmation, parents have propelled their children to the highest achievements. Imagine… just imagine what might happen if we could truly see our value through God’s eyes. How high, how far might that take us?

‘Whoever believes in him shall not perish’- His purpose is rescue. To save lives. To save us from what? A very successful businessman once said something to the effect, “I have devoted my entire life to climbing the ladder of success. But, I fear I will get to the top only to find it has leaning against the wrong wall.”

God’s purpose is to save us from wasting our lives here, right now. He has the greatest design for them- now. His purpose is to save the opportunity of this life, and what comes after this life. That brings us to the result of His purpose.

‘Have eternal life’- But what does that really mean? -To have ‘eternal life.’ Does it simply mean living forever? Perhaps you saw a documentary a few weeks ago about a very compassionate woman who was taking care of children with horrific genetic defects. There was a boy of 19. He had lived his entire life from a wheelchair and looked like he was 10 years old, physically. He had a rare condition where the body rejects its own skin and the effect is much like a severe burn victim who just, never heals. So, it’s important to fight infection through constant cleaning. So as this caretaker was bathing him as delicately as possible she explained, “Imagine being drug over course sand behind a car. Then having those scrapes and cuts washed with acid. That is what it feels like for this boy in every bath.”

Who would want to live like that, forever? It would be a curse, not a blessing. Who would want to live forever with the doubts, the sickness, and the pain that routinely invades our earthly lives? Thank God, that is not what God promises. Eternal life is far more than living forever.

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Eternal Life is an existence worthy of eternity. It is life, designed for eternity. Words like crying, death, or pain will have vanished from memory. I can’t help but wonder- what that would that mean to a person like that boy? -Someone who has never known the freedom of a simple walk; and whose own skin is a crucible. Not suffering but joy forever. And that is the result to which God purposes… for all of us- who will accept it.

We all know them- people who were gifted; they stood out in athletics, or music, or brilliance in some area- but their lives came to very little. Why? -Lack of purpose. People have overcome incredible hurtles, but no one can be aimless and successful at the same time.

And yet, we have this incredible enigma of humanity: so many of us are willing to live our lives with only a vague sense of the spiritual, and an even vaguer sense of God. We live our lives as we see fit at the time, and then incidentally, hope its good enough for God- whoever He might be. But, if aimlessness doesn’t work in anything else, why would it work in the spiritual?

If I were to offer a working definition of Christianity it would be this: ‘Christianity is living on purpose.’

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.

Why do you think many people don’t trust in the Bible?

How would you answer their doubts?

After looking at our verse, how would you describe God’s: value, purpose, and result- to His eternal plan?