Jack Graham - Choose Purpose
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In today’s culture, the definition of thriving often comes down to the size of our bank accounts, the square footage of our homes, or our social media numbers. But as followers of Jesus, our understanding runs much deeper, far deeper. Through the lens of Scripture we see thriving not as a measure of worldly success, but as a profound alignment with God’s divine purpose for our lives. Earlier this year, we began exploring what it truly means to thrive in 25. The response from our church family has been remarkable, which is why I feel led to share them with you, our PowerPoint family. So today we’re focusing on a essential truth, thriving with purpose. Now think about that for just a moment. You were made by God for a purpose, on purpose, for a purpose. But what does that look like in our daily lives? How does the divine purpose, God’s plan for our lives shape us every day? As we open God’s Word together. Let’s discover how we can live out God’s plan for our lives with joy and purpose.
A wonderful friend of mine, now in heaven, George Sweeting; he was pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago, friends with the Moody Bible Institute, a wonderful encourager. I mean one of the greatest encouragers in my life was George Sweeting. He lived to be 100 years of age. Passed away just about a year ago. But he had a statement that I’ve often thought about. «Success in life does not depend upon the dreams we dream, but upon the choices that we make». Again, your «success in life», young people, men and women, «does not depend upon the dreams that you have great dreams, but it’s not dependent upon your dreams but the choices that you make».
Especially when you choose Christ and you choose the will of God for your life. You were made on purpose for a purpose! In fact, the Scripture says we are knitted together in our mother’s womb. God knew us before we were born and had a plan. God has a story for every life that He’s writing in us. And God’s purpose for each one of us is that we know Him and love Him and serve Him. Jesus is first in my life. I exist to serve, honor and glorify Him! That’s the purpose of life. So we’re going to look at some scriptures today regarding choosing God’s purpose in your life.
Jeremiah 29:11: «For I know the plans (And some translations give this as for I know the thoughts) I know the thoughts, I know the plans that I have for you». Personal. When I read that I often stop to think, if God just had one thought towards me in my lifetime, if He just thought about me one single time, that would be amazing. That God Almighty would have a thought towards me, a plan for me. But the Bible says. He said, «I know my thoughts towards you, the thoughts that I have toward you». Jesus said He knows the number of the hairs of our head, He knows our days, He knows our destiny. He has all these thoughts towards us, these plans towards us. And what are they? «…plans for your welfare and not for evil».
The will of God is not something we have to do; it’s something we get to do, and God would choose for you, what you would choose for yourself, if you had all the facts. So He said, «not for evil but for your welfare to give you a future and a hope». Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. Well-known verses. Verses that I have l lived by through the years. And in effect what you see in Romans 12, the first 2 verses, is a prayer of the Apostle Paul for sure. He said, «I plead with you…» I beg you (at the start) but in affect because this is God’s Word, it’s not just the prayer of Paul, but you could even say, this is God’s prayer for you! This is God’s plea to you. God’s appeal.
«I appeal to you, therefore brothers, by the mercies of God (because of all that Christ has done for us, all that God has done in our lives, His love, His grace, His power, His mercy and salvation; His cross, His resurrection, because of all of these mercies), that you would present your bodies (meaning your whole self) as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. And don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern (important word) discern what is the will of God which is good and acceptable and perfect».
You can know, because of what Christ has done for you, that His will for your life, His purpose is good, acceptable and it is perfect. Another scripture to make the point of God’s guidance in our lives: Ephesians 2:10. Right on the heels of «For by grace are you saved through faith. That not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast», comes these words: «For we are His workmanship», and the word there poíma, it could be translated poem or masterpiece. You are God’s workmanship, you are God’s masterpiece, uniquely designed and shaped by God Himself. To do what? «…created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before him, that we should walk in them».
So even before you were born, God prepared your works, and when you were born again in Christ, everything is now prepared for you to live out your faith in Christ. Listen to this promise in Psalm 32 and verse 8: «I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you». That is God is watching over us, and His eye never leaves us. And He cares for us, and He instructs us and teaches us and shows us the way in which we should go. Amazing, isn’t it, that the Lord is leading our lives? That there is a purpose, a plan that God has in mind? A work for each one of us.
And when you think about the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: we have God the Father above us, watching over us, instructing us, teaching us; we have Christ beside us as we walk with Him, this journey with Jesus, we follow in His steps, Peter says; and we have the Holy Spirit within us, who is our Helper to know and do the will of God. Yes, God has a will. God has a plan for your life. Desire it. The psalmist said in Psalm 37: 4: «Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart». Proverbs 3:5-6, Our life verses for me.
When I was just a boy, 10 or 12 years of age, I took a book, I had a bookmark. I think I got it at church. But it was a large bookmark and on it was a photo of a young teen, looked like a teenager, a young man. I was probably 12 or 13 when I got this, and I, I saw this young man. He was muscular, he was strong. He had his hands on the stern of a boat, the wheel. And behind him was a photo or a depiction, rather, of Christ, who has His hand on his shoulder as though in life’s voyage, Christ has His hand on us, and He’s leading us. And then what really mattered about this bookmark was underneath were the words of Proverbs 3:5-6: «Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean under your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path».
I want to be in alignment with the will of God. You know, if your car, if a wheel gets out of alignment, everything is imbalanced. It runs crooked, veers to the left or to the right, so you get your wheels balanced. Well, the beef of this message, the heart of the rest of this message, I want to show you four wheels on which you can align yourself with the will of God, because there are four times in the Scripture specifically that the will of God is mentioned. And this is universal and specific to every one of us. There are four things that if you will do these four things, you will find yourself in the center of God’s will. Who wants to be in the center of God’s will?
So these four wheels, they are four wills, if you will, will balance your life and keep you aligned with the will of God. And I’m going to mention them first, and then we’re going to break them down briefly for all of us. So here are the four wills, the four wheels: Number one, John 6:40. These are the words of Jesus: Believe in Jesus Christ. «For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the Last Day».
So Jesus said this is the will of the Father: that you be saved, that you be born again. There’s a second wheel and it is in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 18, which is to give thanks to God in every circumstance of your life. Here it is: «give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you». That’s wheel number 2. And then number 3, «For this is the will of God, your sanctification, (which means to be made more and more like Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is to make us Christ-like, to make us godly. And so His will is that we grow in maturity in our faith in sanctification, Christ-likeness) that you abstain from sexual immorality».
So wheel number 3 is abstain from sexual sin and live in moral purity. Wheel number 4: And this is 1 Peter chapter 2. And I’m going to read it because the verses that I asked to be put on the screen didn’t quite cover everything I wanted to cover in this verse. So just listen up on this one. Chapter 2 of 1 Peter, (I hate it when those marks in your Bible don’t work. Hang on.) 1 Peter chapter 2. Here we go. Verse 13: «Be subject», or submissive, «for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him», we preached on this several weeks ago in 1 Peter, «to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good».
Watch it, verse 15, «For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people». Verse 16, «Live as people who are free», you want freedom? «live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God». So it is God’s will four times: That you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved; receive eternal life. It is God’s will that you be thankful in all circumstances of your life. It is God’s will that you abstain from sexual immorality and impurity of all kinds and live in moral purity. It is God’s will that you be subject to authority and to do good to all of those who are around you as a witness for Christ.
So let’s break these down. Number one, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved by trusting in Christ and Christ alone. That’s again, John 6:4. This is God’s will; this is the will of the Father for you. It is God’s will that you be saved. To be saved is to have all your sins forgiven. It means that Christ lives in you. It means you have eternal life. The moment the miracle happens in your life, when you believe… The Bibles says, «Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved».
The Scripture says in 2 Peter 3:9, «that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance». It is God’s purpose, it is God’s plan that you know Him, that you love Him, that you serve Him by receiving Him as Lord and Savior of your life. Any theology that suggests in some way that there are those who are unloved or unelected by God… Now we’re all chosen by God, we are all invited into the family of God, the Holy Spirit. No one just gets saved in their own good time and good way, but God the Holy Spirit works. So we are chosen before the foundation of the world. I believe in the election of God. But at the same time the Scripture says that «Whosoever will may come, whosoever will». So it is God’s will that you come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Then secondly, the second will, the second will, giving thanks to God in every circumstance. First Thessalonians 5:18. That we praise God and give thanks to God in all things in every season of life, in every step of life in every station of life, that we are always praising God. The Westminster Confession of Faith, which is an old Christian confession, says the chief end of man, that is, the purpose of a human being is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And so it is your purpose to glorify God. One way to do that is through our praise and thanksgiving to Him. So every season, every step of the way. Psalm 37, some favorite verse of mine, verses 23 and 24 «The steps of a good man or woman are ordered by the Lord».
So he orders our steps. And someone added, he also orders our steps and our stops. And then «Though he fall, though he stumble, he will not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his strong right hand». You know, when you’re little, when you’re a child, just watch these little children. Maybe you were like this. You know, a kid falls down, he gets right back up. Falls down, he gets right back up. It’s just a passage of life. But at this season and this stage of our lives, if you fall down, that’s a big deal. When we stumble in life, God has promised to uphold us. So he says in 1 Thessalonians 5 give thanks. He talks about rejoicing always and praying and giving thanks. So when we’re rejoicing, when we are praying, «I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise will continually be in my mouth».
This psalm was practiced by Paul and Silas when they were in jail for preaching the Gospel. They were beaten within an inch of their lives, hung in shackles, chains and it’s midnight, dark, terrible dungeon. What are they going to do? Whine? No, they worshiped. And the Apostle Paul must have looked at Silas and said, «Hey, Silas, how are you doing»? He said, «Well, I’m hanging in there». He said, «Let’s sing something». «What do want to sing, Paul»? «I don’t know. Let’s sing Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone».
And they begin to sing and worship God, praising God in prison and in pain. God broke through in the midst of that and set them free. And they ended up leading the jailor, the Roman jailor and his entire family to Christ. And I’ve always thought what a beautiful picture that is of Christians who are suffering or in pain or in difficulty or circumstances, that God would give us the grace that we could praise Him in anything and praise Him for everything. Why? Because it’s the will of God. Now we can debate that and argue that and not always understand it, but the second will is «This is the will of God that you give thanks in everything»!
Thirdly, abstain from sexual sin and live in moral purity. «This is the will of God, that you be sanctified (be made more and more like Christ) and that you abstain from sexual sin». God calls us, every one of us, to purity. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, said, «Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God». We’re to live in pursuit of godliness, that’s sanctification and holiness; and say no to the fleshly appetites that Peter tells us later in his book of 1 Peter, «that war against the soul». Because sexual sin is so damaging.
Paul said, «It is a sin against ones on body». Live in freedom from all sexual sins and sensualities and porn and all the stuff that’s there! This is God’s will for you! Why? Because God’s holding out from you? NO! Because He’s holding sex for you; He’s keeping it for you, that it would be righteous and good and godly when the time comes. But we’re never to live in sexual sin or immorality, but rather in godliness. Make godly choices in your life regarding your body, your brain.
1 Corinthians 6:19: «What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit for you are bought with a price. (You are blood-bought and heaven bound) Therefore, glorify God with your body». The will of God is not so much something that we find, but God’s will finds us when we’re walking within obedience to Him. And remember this: God will not take you one step further in your life than the measure of your obedience to Him! Number 4, and quickly closing, submit to authority and do what is right in the sight of all men. The word submission is a dirty word for some, but it’s a biblical word. We’re to submit to one another, according to scriptures, and then we’re to submit to governing authorities. Employees are to submit to employers. In this case 1 Peter slaves. In that era to slave masters.
And then we’re going to see in the marriage section coming up in 1 Peter, wives to husbands as husbands love their wives. It’s all about authority. It’s God’s will that you live in submission to authority. «Children, obey your parents, for this is right». Submitting yourself to the authority that God has placed over you. Wives to husbands, and husbands to God, and all to one another. And we do this because we’re not radicals, we’re not rebels as Christians. We live in submission to the laws that govern our land, unless those laws in some way violate the commandments of God, we must obey God and not man. But as Christians we live subject to the laws that are in our society and in our culture. Why? So that our witness would be strong and good to those who are around us.
And this is the will of God. Four wheels, four wills: Believe in Jesus and be saved, give thanks in all circumstances, abstain from sexual sin and live in moral purity and submit yourself to governing authorities and do what is right in the sight of men and in the sight of God, for this is God’s will. And then what do you do? You have the freedom then, because you are in alignment with God’s will, because you’re in the center of God’s will, to make choices that will honor Him and propel you to great success in your life. For remember my opening quote: «Success in life is not the dreams that you dream, but the choices that you make».