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"Living A Purpose Filled Life"

God is real, no matter how you feel.

When God seems distant...

"The LORD has hidden Himself from His people, but I trust Him and place my hope in Him." Isaiah 8:17 (TEV)

It is easy to feel worship and feel close to God when things are going great in your life.
But, circumstances are not always pleasant.

How do you worship and feel close in relationship with God then?
What do you do when God seems a million miles away?

The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting Him when tempted, surrendering while suffering and loving Him when He seems distant.

It is just much like any other friendship...

"Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance and in a relationship with God, no matter how intimate, the pendulum will swing from one side to the other." Phillip Yancey

To mature our friendship with Him, God will test it with periods of "seeming" separation- times when it feels as if He has abandoned or forgotten us.

"The ministry of absence." Henri Nouwen

King David felt this way...

"Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most? Why have you forsaken me? Why do you remain so distant? Why do you ignore my cries for help? Why have you abandoned me?" Psalm 43:2

God never left David and He promised that He will never leave you!

In Isaiah 45:15 God admits that sometimes He hides His face from us.

Knowing this gave Job hope when He could not feel God’s presence in his life. Job said, "I go east, but He is not there. I go west, but I cannot find Him. I do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find Him But He knows where I am going. And when He has tested me like gold in a fire, He will pronounce me innocent."

How do you praise God when you don’t understand what’s happening in your life and God is silent?
How do you stay connected in a crisis without communication?
How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of tears?

You do what Job did...
"Then Job fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’"

1. Tell God exactly how you feel.

"I can’t be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak!" Job 7:11 (TEV)

2. Focus on who God is- His unchanging nature.

3. Trust God to keep His promises.
Job held God to His word: "I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread."

Don’t be troubled by trouble.

Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; He is still for you, even when you don’t feel it!

4. Remember what God has already done for you.

What makes God smile?
"May the LORD smile on you..." Numbers 6:25 (NLT)	"Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live." Psalm 119: 135 (Msg.)

The smile of God is the goal of your life!

Your most important task is to discover how to make God smile!

"Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it" Ephesians 5:10 (Msg.)

Let's take a look at Noah

"Noah was a pleasure to the Lord." Genesis 6:8 (LB)

But he was NOT perfect!!!

1. God smiles when you love Him supremely.
"Noah consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him"
Genesis 6:9b (NLT)

The most astounding truth in the universe: God wants a relationship with you and me - the Creator wants to fellowship with you!

God made you to love you, and He longs for you to love Him back.

God says, "I don’t want your sacrifices- I want your love; I don’t want your offerings- I want you to know me." Hosea 6:6 (LB)

God longs for you to know Him and spend time with Him!

Jesus said that this is the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."

2. God smiles when you trust Him completely.
"By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told... as a result, Noah became intimate with God." Hebrews 11:7 (Msg.)

Three things that could have caused Noah to doubt:

Noah had never seen rain, because prior to the Flood, God irrigated the earth from the ground up.
Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest Ocean.
The problem of rounding up all the animals and then caring for them.

Noah never complained or made excuses. He trusted God completely and that made God smile.

Trusting God completely means having faith that He knows what is best for your life. You expect Him to keep His promises, help you with problems and do the impossible when necessary.

The Bible says, "He takes pleasure in those that honor Him; in those who trust in His constant love."

Did you know that it took Noah 120 years to build the ark?

"Without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

3. God smiles when we obey Him wholeheartedly.
Noah had to do everything "just as God prescribed it."

"So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him." Genesis 6:22 (NLT)

Noah obeyed:
"Completely"- no instruction was overlooked.
"Exactly"- in the way and time God wanted it done.

God does not owe you an explanation or reason for everything He asks you to do!

Understanding can wait, but obedience can’t!

Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions.

Obedience unlocks understanding.

Often we try to offer God "partial" obedience.

We partially obey by saying...
"I’ll attend church but, I am not able to tithe..."
"I’ll read my Bible but won’t forgive the person who hurt me."
"I’ll obey... but this is not easy or fun!"

Yet, the Bible tells us that we are to "Obey Him gladly".

David’s attitude was : "Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I’ll wholeheartedly obey."

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments."

4. God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually.
"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord...and sacrificed burnt offerings on it."

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we no longer offer animal sacrifices.
We are to offer to God: "the scarifies of praise" and "the sacrifice of thanksgiving"

5. God smiles when we use all of our abilities.
The Bible says, "the steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives."
Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

"He has shaped each person in turn; now He watches everything we do." Psalm 33:15 (Msg.)

"The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God." Psalm 14:2 (LB)

Are you making pleasing God the goal of you life?

There is nothing that God won't do for the person totally absorbed with this goal!

On the cross, He already took care of the MOST important thing that you need!

What drives your life?

"I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy!" Ecclesiastes 4:4 (LB)

"The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder- a waif, a nothing, a no man." Thomas Carlyle

Driven by guilt ?

You spend your life running from regrets and hiding your shame.
You are manipulated by memories.
You allow your past to control your future.
You unconsciously punish yourself by sabotaging your own success.

When Cain sinned, his guilt disconnected him from God’s presence and God said, "You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." That describes most people today- wandering through life without a purpose.

You are a product of your past, but you do not have to be a prisoner of it!

"What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! ... What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record." Psalm 32:1 (LB)

Driven by resentment and anger?

You hold onto hurts and never get over them.
Instead of releasing your pain through forgiveness, you rehearse it over and over in you mind.
Some resentment-driven people "clam up" and internalize their anger.
Others "blow-up" and explode it onto others.

Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent!

Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless YOU hold on to the pain through resentment.

"To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do." Job 5:2 (TEV)

Driven by fear?

You may have fears that are a result of a traumatic experience.
You miss great opportunities because you’re afraid to venture out.
You play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo.

Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love.

"Well formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life- fear of death, fear of judgment- is one not yet fully formed in love" I John 4:18 (Msg.)

Driven by materialism?

The desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of your life.
This drive to want more is based on the misconception that having more will make you more happy, more important and more secure.
But, this is untrue... processions only provide temporary happiness.
Usually we become bored with what you have and end up wanting more!

Please note: Self-worth and Net Worth are not the same!!!

Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says that the most valuable things in life are not things!

Money will never make you more secure. Wealth can be lost instantly through a variety of uncontrollable factors.

Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you- your relationship with God!

Driven by the need for approval?

You allow the expectations of others in your life to control you life.
Many adults are still trying to earn the approval of unappeasable parents.
Others are driven by peer pressure, always worried what others might think.

Trying to please everyone is a KEY to FAILURE!!!

Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God’s purposes for your life!

Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters."

The goal of this sermon series is to show you how to live a purpose driven (fulfilling life) ... a life guided, controlled, and directed by God’s purposes.

NOTHING matters more than knowing God’s purposes for your life, and nothing can compensated for not knowing them- not success, wealth, fame or pleasure!

Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason.

Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless!

Here are some of the benefits of living a purpose-driven, purpose filled life:

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.

"I know what I am planning for you... ‘ I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.’" Ephesians 3:20 (LB)
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life.

"You Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." Isaiah 26:3 (TEV)
Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.
One day you will stand before God, and He will do an audit of your life before you enter eternity. The Bible says, "Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God... Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God."

Fortunately, God wants you and me pass this test, so He has given us the questions in advance. From the Bible we can surmise that God will ask us two crucial questions.

The two questions:

"What did you do with my Son Jesus, the Christ?" Romans 14:10b, 12 (NLT)
What did you do with what I gave you?

Good News! "You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." Isaiah 26:3 (TEV)