Grace for a Purpose Driven Life Chapters 7 & 8

January 31, 2004

“Grace for a Purpose Driven Life” – Week 4

- Brief review of Lessons 1-3

1. It All Starts With God -- life isn’t about you (your own purpose) – it’s about God and you fulfilling HIS purpose!

2. You Are No Accident – God has you here on earth for a purpose (His purpose!)

3. Every Person’s Life Is Driven by Something – the question is, what is it?

4. Man Was Made to Last Forever

5. Life on Earth Is a TEST.

- to prove the genuineness our faith – but along the way, God provides HOPE and GRACE

- Life is also a TRUST – life is about stewardship of what God has entrusted to us!

6. Life Is a Temporary ASSIGNMENT.

> Compared with eternity, life is extremely brief – our residence is here on eather is temporary!

- Distribute the Yellow Cards – explain and distribute [see notes from #3]

[Yellow Card – hand these out to each person] – like the “Green Card” (a visitor registration card for someone out of the county, it allows them to work, even though they are not citizen of the U.S.) – it lets others know that they are NOT a citizen of our country.

- Let’s move ahead in our study of “Grace for a Purpose Driven Life”

- Today, we thinking about the biblical principle . . .

I. The Reason for Everything

Input: “Everything happens for a purpose” – agree/disagree

- one of the verses that comes to my mind is:

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

- Paul did NOT say, everything is good –but that everything works together for good!

A. What Is the Ultimate Goal?

- The ULTIMATE goal of the universe is to show the glory of God

Glory = has it’s root in a Hebrew word meaning “opinion”

- So if we are to give ‘glory’ to God, we will be giving to others the right opinion of God!

“It is who God is. It is the essence of his nature, the weight of his importance, the radiance of his splendor, the demonstration of his power, and the atmosphere of his presence. God’s glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities.” – p. 53

Input: How does being a ____________ (job occupation – teacher, engineer, constructions, doctor, lawyer, etc.) help you to have the right view of God – see his glory?

Point: All of creation reveals the glory of our Creator – His power, variety, majestic beauty, wisdom, and creativity!

Psalm 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

- God has revealed in nature (His creation) certain aspects of His character – He’s also revealed Himself in His Word – but there were times when God revealed Himself to man!

Input: Examples of times God revealed Himself to man?

Garden of Eden (to Adam)
Moses (burning bush)
Temple & tabernacle (to the priest – the glory of God was present)
Jesus – (John 14:9 -- He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . .)

B. How Can I Bring Glory to God?

- What can we DO to glorify Him – to be able to say as Jesus did:

John 17:4 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

* Here are 5 ways you can bring glory to God

> We’ll get more in depth with these as our study goes along:

1. We bring God glory by worshipping Him!

Input: What comments would you make regarding the following quote by Warrend:

“Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God. Worship is a lifestyle or enjoying God, loving him, and giving ourselves to be used for his purposes. When you use your life for God’s glory, everything you do can become an act of worship.” – p. 56

Point: Worship isn’t just what happens on Sunday Morning!

Input: Examples of times you’ve worshipped God when NOT in church.

[standing outside and looking up to the stars; sun rises; sun sets, beach]

2. We bring glory to God by loving other believers.

“Following Christ is not just a matter of believing, it also includes belonging and learning to love the family of God.” – p. 56

- that is the 2^ndgreatest commandment – to love our neighbors, as ourselves

- Paul put it this way:

Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Q: How are you doing at reaching out to other people and loving them?

[apply our recent Home Fellowship]

Q: When are YOU going to open YOUR home??]

3. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ!

- The reason we talk so much about being Christlike is because that’s the way we can bring the most glory to God – being like His Son!

- Matthew 3:17 records the words of God the Father:

Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

- other authors in the NT went on to say this about Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power . . .
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

4. We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts.

- God has gifted every believer with certain spiritual gifts [mention the study available in the Ministry Resource Center]

1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Ill: Laurie having to play the piano at the Pastors/Wives Retreat – found out 30 min. before the service that the scheduled pianist was iced-in and couldn’t make it!

5. We bring God glory by telling others about Him

- Don’t keep his love and grace and truth a secret!

ILL: Stilwells – Peru, representing our church – mention their faithfulness, evangelism

ILL: Community Center – why consider developing it? Opportunity to tell others!

C. What Will You Live For?

“Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one.” – p. 57

- But life isn’t about me and what I want – it’s about glorifying Him!

Note: The Pastor from Romania will be addressing our Men on Feb. 7^th@ Men of Faith – he will challenge us regarding the sacrifice that men make in other cultures to serve the Lord!!

- To spell sacrifice with a big “S”instead of a little ‘s’takes a passion and love for Christ that drives you!

John 12:25 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”

- You might be asking, “How can I pull this off? What resources do I have to get it done?”

- Part of the answer is found in . . .

2 Peter 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Input: Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God’s glory?

II. Planned for God’s Pleasure

“He wants you to enjoy life, not just endure it.” – p. 64

Input: What does a person look like who is really ‘enjoying God’s grace’? Or enjoying life, and not just enduring it? [various answers]

A. Bringing pleasure to God is called ‘worship.’

John 4:23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

B. Worship is far more than music.

“Every part of a church service is an act of worship.” – p. 65

Input: What are the implications to this statement?

C. Worship is not for your benefit.

Input: What are the implications to these statements?

“It isn’t for our benefit. We worship for God’s benefit. When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves.” – p. 66
“God’s heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment.” – p. 66

D. Worship is not a part of your life; it is your life.