FBCWest 689 | Your Purpose
Recorded On: 12/04/2025
Bulletin
Hymn # 81 “O Come All Ye Faithful”
SCRIPTURE READING – Revelation 2:10 & 11
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“O Come, O Come Emanuel”
“Jesus Saves”
“Who You Say I Am”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Your Purpose”
“Praise You Anywhere”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
Ephesians 1:3 –14 To the praise of His glory
Ephesians 2:4 –10 In the ages to come He might share the surpassing riches of His grace
Romans 9:9 – 18 God’s purpose in Esau, Jacob and Pharoh
Isaiah 45:23 Every knee will bow and eve3ry tongue confess allegiance
Philippians 2:9 – 11 Every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus as Lor to the glory of God the Father
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Today we're going to talk about your purpose. Look to have been written about what your purpose is and how to achieve it. Colleges and other places of institutions are advertising how to know your purpose and how to develop it. We're going to take a look at what the Bible says is your purpose and how you can accomplish it, whether you're under eight or over 88 or whether your life is wonderful or it's been crashing down, you can still perform your purpose. A lot of cultures have been trying to explain life and why things are the way they are. We happen to know more about the Greek and Roman myths and explanations and stories which kind of adopted in our culture.
So for instance, one of the myths to explain why people are the way they are is narcissists. Narcissists was supposedly very beautiful handsome young man. It was so handsome and beautiful that when he saw his reflection in a lake, he stopped and could not stop looking at his reflection and even fell in love with himself because he was so beautiful and was frustrated that he could not grasp it. That's our culture today. We're in love with ourselves. We take not pictures, we take selfies. We take selfies of ourselves, we take selfies of our food and let me tell you, I don't care what you eat, I try not to care what I eat. And so if you get a picture from me of eating something, it didn't come from me.
Because I just don't think it's that interesting. And people love to text, you know, what they're doing. I'm sitting on the porch, I can't, I don't care. But everybody thinks that everybody else is so interested in what we do.
And so I'm so, so one of my frustrations is I will see pictures of people taking pictures of themselves. Isn't the selfie good enough? But no, no, you got to take, I got to have you take a picture of me while I'm taking a picture of me. That's how narcissistic our society is. And to feed that, we try to feed that and say, well come, listen, let me tell you things. Our books written about your purpose.
Colleges and universities are saying come to our university and colleges because we will tell you what your purpose is and develop your purpose so that you'll have this awesome, wonderful life and all will be good. And the sad thing is that there are people, and I've even heard on a commercial for a good thing. It was a soldier who had been severely injured in the war, lost his legs and whatever. And he said, I lost my purpose. What I'm going to share with you today is not a wonderful and beautiful you are. But what is your purpose?
The one that made you, the one that revealed himself in the Bible in the scriptures. The world tells us the oceans and the mountains and the universe tells us there is a God. But the Bible, the scriptures, tells us who that God is and what is this plans for us. And what is this plan for us is to not look at our reflections. And we're so narcissistic that there are those who will tell you from the pulpit that God loves you so much that he couldn't survive the rest of eternity without you. Let me disabuse you of that. There's enough love between the God, the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
And it doesn't need us. It doesn't need our love. But he made us and the scriptures tell us why he made us and he tells us what our purpose is. And so if you have your Bibles and you should today, we're going to go through a number of different scriptures. And so we're going to do a little Bible drill here.
So first, I want you to turn to the book of Ephesians. And we're going to take a look at the first chapter starting with verse three. I'll give you a few moments to do and and we'll go from there says this. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
So we have been blessed because of what Christ has done in these very spiritual matters. And it is God who has done this blessing just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. God decided that he would love you and choose you before he even spoke.
Let there be light. That's how much God knows you. He knows you before he even started this whole thing off. And he's going to determine that he's going to bless us and spiritual things because of Christ Jesus. And that we would be holy and blameless before him. That's his desire for us and him. He fordestinates to the adoption of sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to his kind intention of his will. All of these things have been predetermined because what God has done and what God is doing.
It's about God and what he's done in his purposes. And notice this is his kind intentions to the praise of his of the glory of his grace. He did these things that he might have the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved. We receive this grace because of Christ. In him we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. Again, because of the riches of his grace, it's not because of who you are, how wonderful you are, but because of who he is and what he is done and what he has determined.
Which he lavished on us. God is not miserly when it comes to his mercy and his grace and his blessings. He lavishes on us. And always in an insight, he may known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intention, which he purposed in him. It was in the purpose of price with a view to an administration suitable for the fullness of the times that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven and the things on earth in him. We also have obtained and inherited having been predestined according to his purpose, who works all things after the counsel of his will.
All these things again are done and we have an inheritance. That word is very important and inheritance is something you receive after a death. Before death, it's an expectancy. I can put somebody in my will, but until I die, I can take them out of the will. I can change those people. So when you are a person under a will, you are receiving an expectancy. You are a potential beneficiary.
But after there's been a death, you are now an heir. You are now entitled to that inheritance. So what God has planned and what God has given us is not something he's going to take back because of what Christ has done. To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. I want you to notice this.
This is what it's all about. That we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. In him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, have been also believed you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with the view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of his glory. Notice to the praise of his glory has been repeated a couple of times. The next verse that we're going to take a look at is going to make it, but your purpose laid out in these two verses is the praise of his glory. That's your purpose. I want you to now look one more chapter over to chapter two.
Sorry with verse four. But God being rich and mercy because of his great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved.
And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God has planned because of the redemption of Christ that we are not going to just be earthly dwellers, but that we are going to be dwelling in heaven for eternity, not just dwelling, but it says that he has seated us with him in the heavenly places. When you're seated somewhere, means you're not going anywhere. We are there permanently. We're there because we're of his grace and because of his love and but it was what he has done.
It is now our home. In reality. So that in the ages to come, he might show the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. I'm going to come back to that. Notice it says so that in the ages to come. His purpose for you is to glorify him to just demonstrate his praise and his glory. So 100 million years from now, when time is no more, when you're walking around heaven and you see me, you go, how did he make it?
God knows how he made it. God goes, it's not because of him, because of me. I'm going to receive glory in the ages to come because Joe is in heaven, not because of what he did or what he's entitled to, but because of God's love and his grace and his mercy and his forgiveness. God is going to receive glory, decades and millions of years later. What he's done and why I'm there. Well, by grace, you have been saved through faith.
Grace, unmerited favor, which means you don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. We're not in heaven because we deserve it. There's not a person who has received grace that is entitled to it because it's unmerited favor. And how is it that I know that I have this grace? Because he gave me faith because I believe in him, because I believe in him. I know that he has extended his grace to me. And that, not of yourselves, it's not because of how wonderful I am.
The world keeps saying, well, God just love me so much in the age of not, and I work it. But he determined because of his riches of his glory, I am that he might receive glory. Not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. Not as a result of work so that no one may boast. So why do we do good stuff? Well, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in him. We don't do good works to show our salvation.
We do good works because we have been saved and we want to glorify him. God has taken this mold of clay and made it more beautiful than it would have been. We are his workmanship. Now, in case you're not sure of what I'm going to give you three examples of God using people for his purposes to demonstrate his glory and his grace. So if you again turn in your Bible to Romans chapter 9, which is just a couple of books back, Romans chapter 9.
We're going to start with verse 9. For this is the word of promise. At this time, I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but Rebecca also when she had conceived twins before by one man, our father Isaac. For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad so that God's purpose according to his choice would stand not because of works, but because of him who calls. God says, I'm going to take two people. He saw in Isaac. They were twins.
And God says, I'm going to choose one of them before they were ever born so that you might see that my choice has nothing to do with the qualities of who they are. So matter of fact, Jacob was the conniver was the deceiver was the person who was always trying to get an advantage. So if anybody you would choose you wouldn't necessarily choose a deceiver and conniver, but God said, because of my choice not because they've done anything good or bad, it was said to her to Rebecca. The older will serve the younger God said, I chose Jacob even though he saw was born first because it's God's choice.
And again, God chose you not because of your wonders, not because of your qualities of who you are, but because of God's choice. Just as it is written, Jacob, I loved but jeez saw I hated now. I want you to understand something in scripture hated doesn't mean that I had this malificent hatred and and I want evil and bad things to happen you hate means I see a need and I don't do anything about it. Jacob, I saw I loved therefore I gave salvation I gave redemption. He saw you're on your own.
He saw I hated. What shall we say then there is no injustice with God is there may it never be basically saying why is God making these choices because he's God. He's the potter worth the clay again, it's thought about us. It's about him and showing who he is to the world and then he's going to go on to a third person. For he says to Moses he being God, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy. You may not like that, but I'm thrilled with it. Why am I thrilled with it because he gave me his mercy. Now because I deserve it, he decided to have mercy on me.
Awesome. I will have mercy on whom I have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs but on God who has mercy. It says I can't source my way into God's love and I can't act my way into God's love. I cannot live a life such that God will then choose to love me. God will love me or not love me based on God, not based on what I determine or how I act, which phrase God because what I determine or what I act is messed up to all too often.
So I praise God that he has mercy on me because he has mercy on me. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, okay, this is a guy not even in the group, not even in the believers. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I raised you up. Now I'm sure Pharaoh thought, I'm Pharaoh, I'm important. I get the rule of nations.
I get to determine wars and peace. And God goes, I raised you up. I made you Pharaoh for this purpose to demonstrate by power in you. But wait a minute, Pharaoh's not even a believer. He thinks he's a God. To demonstrate by power you so that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.
God determined to use Pharaoh power to show God's power to show God's glory. I'm sure Pharaoh thought he was the one to be glorified that he's a God. God got done. I'm going to use you that is my purpose to use you to show who I am. So then he has mercy on whom he desires and he hardens whom he desires. And we see in that whole display, when Pharaoh would not let the people of God go, Pharaoh would harden his heart, but then the scripture said that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. God made it even doubly more difficult for Pharaoh to do because God said, I have 10 signs and wonders that I want to show.
And I'm not going to let Pharaoh cut it off at five. I'm going to show all 10. The amazing thing was even though he showed all 10, his people with a few months out into the wilderness were claiming they wanted to go back to slavery.
Even though God showed all 10 of his glorious powers. So God uses the people he's called and the people we don't think he's called God uses. So maybe people who aren't believers can have an impact on our lives. We aren't yet suspicious of because of what God is using them then. Now I want to go further in and Isaiah chapter 45 verse 23. You won't have to go there because we're going to go back to another. I have sworn by myself that God says, I have there's no one I or I can you know when we have people testify, we just have their put their hand on a Bible.
They don't do that anymore and raise their hand and they square to tell the truth, the whole truth, the nothing but the truth. So help me God because we're appealing to a higher authority. Or you had the classic, I swear on my mother's grave and the funny thing is half the time the people's mother's still alive, but you know, tell you how much truth they tell you, but they try to claim something or I this one I love.
I swear on a stack of rivals. Isn't one good enough? But what they're trying to do is I'm appealing to authority greater than me and God says there isn't any authority greater than me. So I swear by myself. The word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back that to me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear allegiance. So God is determined everyone is going to talk about God. The last verse I want you to look at is in Philippians chapter two.
So I want you to turn to that. Philippians is is a little after Ephesians. And it says this for this reason also. God highly exalted him be Jesus and be stood on him the name which is above every name.
So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. That at that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The purpose of you and I is to give glory to God.
And those of us who are believers give glory to God and we have already confessed that Jesus is Lord that we've confessed that we believe that God raised him from the dead and that he is Lord is our Savior. We confess that but just like Pharaoh everyone even people who reject the even concept that there is a God will someday bow their knee and confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This is purpose.
His purpose is that we might glorify him the scriptures throughout tell us what is purpose. You don't need to go buy a book of what is your purpose. This is your purpose. The awesome thing about your purpose is this. I don't care if you're really young. You can give God glory. I don't care if you're really old.
You can give God glory. I don't care if you're living the best life you could ever imagine. You can still give God glory. I don't care if your dreams have come to ashes and you don't know where tomorrow is coming from. You can still give God glory. It doesn't matter what stage of life or where you are. You can fulfill your purpose.
As a matter of fact maybe when your life is in tatters giving God glory is even more significant than one life is wonderful. Often when we try to determine what our purpose is is what we're trying to say is what is it that I want to accomplish what is it that I desire to do. When I was a child. Now I did I want to be I thought I was going to be president of the United States. And I gave a lot of justification for that. My father was 65 years old when I was born, which usually doesn't happen all that often. Unless you're some biblical figure.
Not only that I had one brother who was 15 years older than me. So I go I was kind of like Esther. I was born for such a time as this.
I was convinced that God placed me in a while your poor will so is Abraham Lincoln you know and I had all these things and so I even became a lawyer because I thought I was going to be president of the United States. In case you don't know your history. I never became president. In case you don't know your president.
I'm not president in the United States. In a case you're not sure about the future. I'm at an age now where nobody wants you to be president at my age. So the likelihood of being president is kind of diminished. And since there's only been 47 or only 45 different individuals who have been president.
The odds are whatever so you can say well Joe you failed your purpose. My purpose was not to be president of the United States by purpose was to praise God to give him glory. And it doesn't matter whether I am president or not president. I still give him glory. My purpose is never detracted by what success or failure I have in my plans and my dreams. So I want to give an analogy. It's kind of removed from being people. Let's let's say that giving God glory is like holding or transferring water.
So your purpose is to transfer water. You can be a water main. You can be a pipe. You can be a hose. You can be a bucket. You can be a glass.
You can be a bowl. You can be a cup. All of those things will transfer and hold water. So what we should think more about is not what type of utensil, whether I'll be a pipe or whatever. But we should consider how do I best glorify God? If I can best glorify God with the talents and abilities He has given me, then maybe I should be a water main.
Or maybe I should be a cup or somewhat in between. What is it that God fulfilling my purpose by glorifying Him? What is it that I can do that would best glorify Him and do that? I get so wrapped up. And so yeah, I'm a lawyer. It used to be that was a wonderful thing. Now it's less than a used car salesman.
But there's a sense of what is it that I can do? And if being a lawyer can better glorify God than do that? If being a farmer can better glorify God in your life, do that. And being an astral physicist can glorify God, do that. But you should determine what your purpose is. My purpose is to glorify God.
How can I best glorify God? Then I will choose to do that until and then let's say I choose to be an astral physicist. But I find out I can't do trig and calculus and all those other things. Well, doesn't mean I can't do my purpose. Just means I need to find another avenue to do my purpose. I never lose my purpose because my purpose is to glorify God. And even if I don't choose to glorify God, guess what?
God is going to get glory because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So even if I complain and gripe and just don't want to do it, he's still going to get glory. Now the awesome thing is, whether I do it really well here or not, as we read, I have this promise for the rest of eternity.
But I'm walking around heaven. He's going to get glory because I'm only there because of what he is and what he did. Not because of what I am and what I did.
So I just saved you money to buy books. Just saved you all kinds of hours spent reading those books. Because that's your purpose. And you can live that purpose whether you're really young or really old.
You can live that purpose whether you're happy or whether you're sad. Whether your life is nice, tied up in a nice little beautiful bowl or in chaos. You can live your purpose. And God will see the love, glory and honor to his name. Now, because of who God is, I'd rather do that willingly and hopefully better each day. But because of the word of God, whether I do so well and they are not, he's going to get his glory and his praise. I would rather do it willingly.
I would rather be a Jacob who doesn't deserve it and yet gets it. Then a Pharaoh who thinks he's a God is narcissistic and thinks it's all about him. God puts you here for a purpose. Let's live it.
And all God people say.
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