Genesis 1:1-5
Scripture says the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)
93 million miles from the blistering surface of the sun hangs the planet earth. A rotating sphere perfectly suspended in the center of the universe. The size, position and angle of the earth is a scientific phenomenon, because a few degrees closer to the sun and we’d disintegrate; a few degrees further and we’d freeze. The axis of the earth is tilted at a perfect 23 degree angle. This allows equal global distribution of the sun’s rays making it possible for the food chain to exist. The combination of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere we breathe every day just happens to be the exact mix needed to support life; it doesn’t happen on any other planet that way. It has to be by design.
And if there’s a design, there’s a designer, if there’s a plan, there’s a planner, and if there’s a miracle, there is a God. A design, a plan, and the miracle of creation indicate a purpose. There is a hope, there is a light. Echoing in our minds we hear the words of scripture, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Welcome back to our series for January, “Are you connected?” Last week we kicked off the series by talking about the power of being connected to God through prayer. Today we talk about the power of purpose.
All of us have questions about why we exist. At one time or another, people will ponder, “Why am I here?” or “What is the purpose of life?” or, putting them together, “What is my purpose in life?”
Now, if you go around asking different people these questions, you will get many different answers. Oprah Winfrey said, "You’ve got to figure it out by yourself." The Materialist says, "Life is all about the acquisition of things." Those who are into all of the self-help books would say, "You’ve got to create your own purpose in life." Carl Yung, the famous psychiatrist said, "I don’t know the meaning of life or the purpose of life, but it looks as if something were meant by it."
We could go on and on, but these statements show that there are many people who truly see no purpose at all in their lives. And, without any purpose to your life, you have no direction. Having no direction to our lives renders us absolutely useless. Why bother? Why go on living?
So let’s talk about why we’re here. I don’t mean here at St. Paul’s, but why we’re on this earth. Because this is one of the big questions of life. Now,the first thing we must realize in order to understand why we are here is that God created us—in fact, God created everything! Look at verse one of our reading today, the very first verse of the entire Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This verse makes a statement which sets the tone for the entirety of scripture and for the reason for our existence. God, with intentionality and purpose, created all that there is. And with that same intentionality and purpose, God created you and me.
On Christmas Day 1968, the three astronauts of Apollo 8 circled the dark side of the moon and headed for home. Suddenly, over the horizon of the moon rose the blue and white Earth garlanded by the glistening light of the sun against the black void of space. Those sophisticated men, trained in science and technology, did not utter Einstein’s name. They did not even go to the poets, the lyricists, or the dramatists. Only one thing could capture the awe-inspiring thrill of this magnificent observation. Billions heard the voice from outer space as the astronaut read: "In the beginning God created.” This was the only concept worthy enough to describe that unspeakable awe, unutterable in any other way: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” with intentionality and purpose. And God created you and I with intentionality and purpose as well.
Now, in discerning what our purpose is in life, many of us go through a list of wants and desires: “My purpose is to win the lottery,” or “Life’s purpose is to enjoy one’s self,” or “My purpose is to lay on a beach in the Caribbean drinking iced Dunkin Donuts coffee.” Oops, sorry!
Too often, we tend to look ahead and see our own desires and conclusions. We set our lives on a course that will take us to where we think we should go. We forget that we have a Master and that Master has a master plan for us.
Some of you will recall that a few years ago we had a church-wide campaign based on Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. Through that, we discovered that there are actually five great benefits to having purpose in our lives.
a) Purpose gives true meaning to our lives
b) Purpose actually simplifies our lives
c) Purpose prepares us for eternity with God
d) Purpose keeps us focused
e) And purpose motivates us to do more for God
You and I need to realize that God put us here for His purposes, not our purposes. When we understand that, we will start to see our life from a different perspective. And it’s in this connectedness, being connected to God’s purpose which helps us to see our purpose. We are not here to wander aimlessly through life, working for our own desires, but to work for the Lord and for the desires He has for us. There was a commercial years ago on TV by the Peace Corp: "It doesn’t matter how long you live if you’re not doing anything with your life." We need to connect and find God’s purpose for our lives so that God can use us for His greater purposes.
And we begin by realizing that there are three basic truths in our lives: that God loves us more than we can know, that God wants us to love Him with all our hearts, and that God wants us to love others in His name. Or as Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) That’s our basic purpose, the reason that God created us and the reason that we exist. Now, we can try to live our purpose out on our own, but it’s a lifelong journey and fraught with distractions and obstacles, one of which is that we will end up focusing on ourselves. We need to be able to look beyond ourselves, connect to something bigger than ourselves in order to live out our purpose. Which brings us to the purpose of this church.
Here at St. Paul’s, we live out these words of Jesus both individually and corporately through our Mission Statement, which is to Share, Care, and Prepare.
We covered some of this at the gathering yesterday, but to refresh all of our memories, here’s the full version of the Mission Statement which is printed on the front of your bulletin: St. Paul’s exists for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ and all that we do needs to lead us to that end, that is to SHARE the love of Jesus Christ with all persons within our sphere of influence, both individually and corporately; to CARE for and nurture the souls which God has entrusted to us, both those who attend worship and those who are homebound, as well as our neighbors around the block and around the world; and to PREPARE ourselves to be in God’s mission by being in worship, fellowship, prayer, and the study of God’s word. We prepare to make disciples by being disciples.
This is how we, as individuals who are seeking to live out our purpose to love God and love our neighbor, live it out in community. This is how we put into action our beliefs. This is why we come together in this place to worship and to be equipped to do God’s will in the world.
When we strive to seek God in our lives, to get and to stay connected to God through prayer and worship and Bible study, we will start to know and understand God more and more. From there we will discover our purpose, and the wonderful way in which God wants us to live it out.
Listen, God loves you and wants you to discover and live out your purpose. He intentionally created the heavens and the earth, and he intentionally created you and me. In Genesis we do not see any hesitancy in our creation, even though God knew what would lie ahead for His Son because of our sins. He knew how much it was going to cost Him, and He went ahead with the project anyway. Why? Because in His eyes, we were worth it. The cost of creating and redeeming you and me was outweighed by the value He placed on us. We were created with purpose.
So here’s what I’d like you to do: On your GPS study guide, or on your bulletin, write these questions: from God’s perspective, what is the purpose of your life? And what is your purpose here at St. Paul’s? Think about those questions this week as your homework. And then when you have the answers, act on them. Because that’s your purpose.
