WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:04.080 Now, if you want to know the purpose of your life, 2 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:06.759 you got to start with God. You can't find it 3 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:08.759 on TV, you can't find it. In the movies, you 4 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.080 can't find it. You know, reading a book, you can't 5 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:14.119 find it. A lot of people say, well, the way 6 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.679 you need to find your purpose is look within, like 7 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:22.760 trust the force, Luke, look within. That doesn't work. I 8 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:24.920 tried that a lot of times. Look within also has 9 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.800 a bunch of confusion. You can't tell you what your 10 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:33.159 purpose is because you didn't make you. Does that make sense? 11 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:39.359 Only your creator can tell you what your purpose is. 12 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:43.119 You can't tell yourself because you weren't alive when whoever 13 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:47.159 thought you up thought you up. If I were to 14 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:50.960 hold up in a just in any kind of invention 15 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:53.079 that you had never seen, and I held up and 16 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:55.439 I said, tell me what this is? What's the purpose 17 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:59.000 of this invention? You wouldn't have the slightest idea. And 18 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:02.039 the only way you would know the purpose of an 19 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:05.319 invention you've never seen is either a talk to the inventor, 20 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:07.079 the creator who made it and they can tell you 21 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:12.120 what it does, or b read the owner's manual. The 22 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:15.120 same is true for your life. The only way you're 23 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:18.200 ever going to know your purpose for your life. Why 24 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:20.280 you're here on this planet. What on earth you're here 25 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.319 for is a talk to your creator, God who made you, 26 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:27.280 and b read the Owner's Manual. Now, the Bible says this, 27 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.680 look there on your outline. Ephesians chapter one from the 28 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.920 Bible says, it is in Christ that we find out 29 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:37.439 who we are and what we're living for, part of 30 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.640 the overall purpose that He God is working out in 31 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:47.120 everything and everyone. The next verse, Colossians chapter one, verse 32 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:53.359 sixteen says this, everything, absolutely everything, got started in Christ 33 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:59.120 and finds its purpose in him. You were made by God, 34 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:04.200 You were made for God. Until you understand that your 35 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.239 life is never gonna make sense. You're gonna go through 36 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.240 life wonder what on earth am I here for? You 37 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.960 gotta start with God. Now. The Bible says that you 38 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.560 were made to last forever. One day your heart is 39 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:21.560 gonna stop. That's gonna be the end of your body, 40 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:23.240 but it's not gonna be the end of you. That's 41 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:25.199 gonna be the end of your time on earth, but 42 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.960 it's not gonna be the end of you. God has 43 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.960 long range plans for your life. And I'm not exaggerating 44 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.520 because he wants you to live forever and ever and 45 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.240 ever and ever and ever and ever and ever, so 46 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:39.960 you're gonna actually spend more time on the other side 47 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:42.639 of death than you do on this time side. Now, 48 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.280 have you ever thought about this? If God wants to 49 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.439 take me to heaven, why doesn't he just take me 50 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.159 there instantly? Why didn't just make me and start with 51 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:53.280 me in heaven? Why does God put you on this 52 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:58.960 planet for eighty years? Really? Why does he do that? Well? 53 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:02.319 The Bible says you're not ready for heaven. There are 54 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.960 some things you need to learn, and God says, this 55 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:09.800 life follow me. This life is preparation for the next. 56 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.599 If you want to know why you're on this planet, 57 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.360 it is to get ready for the next life. This 58 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.360 life is preparation for the next. This is the preschool. 59 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.759 This is the warm up act. This is the get 60 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:24.879 ready stage. This is the kindergarten. This is the dress 61 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:29.360 rehearsal before the real show begins. This is the first 62 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:34.199 lap around track before the real race begins. This is 63 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.560 the warm up act, getting ready for eternity, because that's 64 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.400 the real show that's gonna go on forever and ever 65 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:45.080 and ever. Now, in heaven, you're going to do a 66 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:47.479 number of things. And the Bible tells us what's gonna 67 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:50.120 happen in heaven, and what God wants you to do 68 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:53.400 here on earth is practice what you're gonna do in 69 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.080 heaven forever. So when you get to heaven, you know 70 00:03:56.120 --> 00:04:01.479 what to do. Now I'm gonna explain to you this 71 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:05.319 evening exactly what God wants you to practice while you're 72 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:09.199 here on earth. This may be the most important message 73 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:11.960 you've ever heard in your life, because I can't think 74 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.159 of anything more fundamental than why am I here on 75 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:16.279 earth and what am I supposed to do with my life. 76 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:19.959 If I only had one sermon to preach, it would 77 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.120 be this message to teach you why God made you 78 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:28.600 and what you're supposed to do with your life. God 79 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:32.519 wants you to practice five things on this planet. We 80 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:37.639 call them our purposes, the reasons for living. We often 81 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.600 use the word callings. There are five callings, but there 82 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.360 are five things God wants you to do with your 83 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.839 life here on earth for five reasons. He made you 84 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:48.879 for five reasons. Now I want you to write these down. 85 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.879 Number one, the first purpose of your life is this 86 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:57.439 God planned me. God planned me for his pleasure. God 87 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:02.560 planned me for his pleasure. God created you just to 88 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:07.439 love you. That's the whole idea. The Bible says that 89 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:10.519 God is love. I've told you this many times. It 90 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.800 doesn't say God has love. It says God is love. 91 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:16.000 It is the essence of his nature, It is his character. 92 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:18.600 It is who God is. God is love. And if 93 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:20.639 God wasn't a God of love, you would not be 94 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.319 able to love anybody else because you're made in God's image. 95 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:25.800 The only reason you're able to love is because God 96 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:27.519 said I'm going to make men and women in my 97 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:30.199 own image. And if God was not a God of love, 98 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:32.160 there would be no love in the universe. That would 99 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.839 be no love between human beings. Now, the Bible says 100 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:41.439 that God made you simply to love you. God made 101 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.639 you to love you. He didn't need you. God is 102 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.160 totally satisfied in himself. Father's not holy spirit, but he 103 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:52.240 wanted you. That shows how valuable you are. Now let 104 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:54.720 me show you some verses about how God planned you 105 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:58.439 for his pleasure. He planned you, He created you just 106 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:02.800 so he could love you. Revelation four, verse eleven. You 107 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:07.199 God created everything, and it is for your pleasure. Circle 108 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:11.519 that for your pleasure that they exist and they were created. 109 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:15.279 Everything was created because God gets enjoyment out of it. 110 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:18.480 He wanted to love it. God loves every rock, every plant, 111 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:22.319 every animal, every star, and every human being Psalm one, 112 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:29.079 verse four. The Lord takes pleasure in his people. God 113 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:32.319 gets pleasure in watching you be you because He made 114 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:35.040 you you. And when you do something that's so typical 115 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.959 of you, he goes, that's my girl, that's my boy, 116 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.319 that's what I made them to do. Here's what the 117 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:44.759 Bible says, Ephesians, chapter one, verse four. Long before he 118 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:48.160 God laid down the Earth's foundation and other words I 119 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:52.160 mean is long before God created the universe, God had 120 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:56.319 us in mind. Whoo. God had us in mind, and 121 00:06:56.360 --> 00:07:00.000 he settled on us as the focus of his life. 122 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.680 Love circle the word focus. His focus of his love 123 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:07.879 is us, and the reason why is because He has 124 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.079 given us the capacity to love him back. This is 125 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:15.879 what makes you different from animals. Animals can't pray, animals 126 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.920 can't talk to God. Animals can't worship because they're not 127 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.680 made in God's image. God gave you the freedom of 128 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.120 choice and the freedom to respond. You can learn to 129 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.240 love and love him back. God knows everything about you. 130 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.720 You know almost nothing about God. God loves you. In 131 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:34.199 spite of everything knows about you. God wants you to 132 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:36.720 learn to know him and love him back. And the 133 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:40.079 Bible calls this worship. And it's the first purpose of 134 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:43.959 your life. That God planned me for his pleasure and 135 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.560 he wants me to learn to love him back. Here's 136 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:48.839 what he says in the Book of Hoseiah in the Bible, 137 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:53.439 chapter six, verse six. God says, I don't want your sacrifices. 138 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:57.439 I want your love. This is God talking to you. 139 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:02.879 I don't want your offerings. I want you to know me. Now, 140 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:06.079 circle the word love and circle the word no. Because 141 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:09.439 that is the first purpose of your life, to know 142 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:12.399 God and to love God. The most important thing you 143 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:14.879 can know in life is that God loves you, and 144 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.079 the most important thing you can do in life is 145 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:20.959 love him back. So, as I've said to you many times, 146 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:23.680 you ought to get up in the morning and say God, 147 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.519 I want to know you and love you more. I 148 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:30.040 have done this every single morning of my life for decades. 149 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:32.679 If at the end of the day I know God 150 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:34.159 a little bit better and love him a little bit more, 151 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:37.679 I didn't waste that day. On the other hand, doesn't 152 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:40.240 matter how many things you accomplished, how many things you achieve, 153 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:43.279 how famous you become, how much money you make. If 154 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:45.159 at the end of each day you don't know God 155 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:46.639 a little bit better and love Him a little bit more, 156 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:50.279 you just wasted that day. Because God did not create 157 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.679 you and put you on earth just to mark things 158 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:57.360 off your to do list. He put you here for 159 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.480 the very first purpose, and there are five purposes of 160 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:01.840 your life to know Him and love Him. Write this down. 161 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:04.919 The first purpose of my life is to know and 162 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:09.279 love God. Bam. That's it. It's pretty simple. Love God 163 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:10.440 with all your heart. You got to get to know 164 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:12.120 Him before you can love him. And that's the most 165 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:13.960 important thing in life. It's what you were put here 166 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:16.679 to do, to know God. One Timothy chapter six the 167 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:21.759 Bible says this, some people have missed the most important 168 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:28.799 thing in life. They don't know God. They don't know God. Now, 169 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:31.919 how do you know when you don't know God? How 170 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:34.360 do you know when you're disconnected from God? How do 171 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.240 you know when in that moment you're not knowing and 172 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:39.799 loving God. God has given us a warning sign and 173 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.080 that goes off like a bright yellow light in your 174 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:45.399 life every time you get disconnected from God, and that 175 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:53.600 warning sign is this worry. Are any of you familiar 176 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:59.879 with this term worry? Yeah? Yeah, Well, anytime when you worry, 177 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.559 you're acting like God doesn't exist. You're acting like, if 178 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.200 it's to be, it's up to me. No, it's not 179 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:08.080 up to you, It's up to God. The Bible says 180 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.519 in Matthew six point thirty two, people who don't know 181 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:16.399 God are always worrying. I was planned for God's pleasure. 182 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:18.519 So the first purpose of life is to get to 183 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.039 know and love God. I missed that. I just wasted 184 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:25.000 my life. Number two. Write this down. Not only did 185 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:29.480 God plan me for his pleasure? Number two, God formed 186 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:34.840 me for his family. God formed me for his family. 187 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:39.720 God wanted a family, and you were created to be 188 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:44.000 a part of it. The whole reason the universe exists. 189 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:48.759 You want to know why the universe exists. God wanted 190 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.879 a family, He wanted children. Now I didn't need us, 191 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.240 but he wanted us. He wanted to show his love 192 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:01.000 to something, so he created us as objects of his love. 193 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.600 And he created an entire universe to create this galaxy, 194 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.840 to create this planet. So it's on an access. Do 195 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:09.799 you know the one degree this way we'd burn up. 196 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.039 In one degree this way, we'd freeze up. It's just 197 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:18.080 the perfect angle that would sustain life at this point 198 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:21.679 from the sun, just so he could create the human race, 199 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:25.799 just so he could create you, just so he could 200 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:26.120 love you. 201 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:40.679 Pastor Rick has put together a special resource called Daily 202 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.519 Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life to help you reflect 203 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:47.600 on the key Bible verses found in his best selling book, 204 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:52.360 The Purpose Driven Life. As you dive deeper into these verses, 205 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:57.200 you'll experience the transforming power of God's word. This beautiful 206 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:01.039 hardcover gift book features gold detailing the cover and has 207 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:05.720 three hundred eleven pages filled with scripture and also includes 208 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:10.799 reflection pages so you can record the life changing truths. 209 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:11.600 God reveals to you. 210 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:15.799 This book is a wonderful spiritual growth tool and it 211 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:20.200 makes a perfect gift for your friends and family. When 212 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.480 you give a gift to help daily Hope share the 213 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:25.440 Gospel with people around the world, will send you a 214 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:29.320 copy of Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life to 215 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:30.159 say thanks. 216 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:39.240 God thought you up before he thought up the universe. 217 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.120 The Bible says this very clearly that you were the 218 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:47.759 focus of his love. Ephesians, chapter one, verse five. God's 219 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:53.080 unchanging plan, it never has changed, has always been to 220 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:58.000 adopt us into his own family. Whoa, whoa, whoa. By 221 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:03.679 bringing this to himself through Jesus Christ, this gave him 222 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:07.799 God great pleasure. God wanted a family and wanted you 223 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:09.559 to be a part of it. God never meant for 224 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:12.519 you to go through life alone. Whether you marry or 225 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:16.320 not is irrelevant. Whether you are your family stays together 226 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:19.840 splits up, is irrelevant. At this point, God wanted you 227 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:23.279 in his family. And the first thing he told Adam 228 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.080 is it's not good for men to be alone. You're 229 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:28.519 made to be in a spiritual family that he created 230 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:33.080 to take care of you, so you're not lonely in life. 231 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:35.639 And by the way, I said this before, your spiritual 232 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.879 family is going to outlast your physical family. No physical 233 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:44.960 family lasts. People grow up, they move off, they get married, 234 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:49.840 they start their own family. People divorce, people die, people separate. 235 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:55.000 No physical family lasts forever. But your spiritual family is 236 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:57.320 going to last forever and ever and ever. In fact, 237 00:13:57.360 --> 00:13:59.440 it's the only thing on planet Earth that is going 238 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:03.399 to last for and ever, your spiritual family. First Peter 239 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.200 chapter one, says this verse three, God has given us 240 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:11.279 the privilege of being born again, so that we are 241 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:17.039 now members of God's family, God's own family circle. That 242 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:21.320 word members. Being a part of God's family is not automatic. 243 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:25.519 It's a choice. Now, listen to me very closely on this. 244 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:28.320 Are you telling me that everybody is not a child 245 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:32.080 of God? That's exactly what I'm telling you. You got 246 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:34.200 to choose to be in God's family. You got to 247 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:39.080 let him adopt you. Everybody is created by God. Everybody 248 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:42.879 is loved by God. God has never made a person 249 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.120 he didn't love. God has never made a person he 250 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.759 did not want in his family. But he gives you 251 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.080 the choice, and he's not going to force you in 252 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:54.559 a lot of people choose to opt out. They are 253 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.519 not children of God because they choose to opt out. 254 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:01.000 And God's not going to force you into an adoption. 255 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:06.120 You got to want to be adopted into his family. Now, 256 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:10.039 what is God's family? One Timothy chapter three says that 257 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:14.480 family is the church. The family is the Church of 258 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:18.399 the Living God, the support and foundation of the truth. 259 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:23.679 Now notice God says the church is a family. It's 260 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:27.639 God's family, and we are children of God, which makes 261 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:31.399 us brothers and sisters in the family of Gods. And 262 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.120 God's purpose for your life is not just to know 263 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:37.159 him and love him, but to belong to his family. 264 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:40.399 He doesn't want you just to believe. He wants you 265 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:45.039 to belong, to be connected. A Christian without a church 266 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.000 family is an orphan. Now it says that that family 267 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:51.080 is a church, the support and foundation of the Truth circle. 268 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.000 Support and foundation. When you don't have the support and 269 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.919 foundation of God's family, You're not gonna make it through 270 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:02.759 the tough times of life. You need support and you 271 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:06.759 need a foundation. And the Bible says that is the church, 272 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:13.159 God's family. You cannot fulfill God's purposes for your life 273 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:16.399 by yourself. Sorry you can't. You can try, but you 274 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.360 will fail. You cannot fulfill the purpose God made you 275 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:23.600 for by yourself. We're better together. And the Bible says 276 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:29.840 in One Peter two seventeen, love your spiritual family. Now, 277 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:31.600 what's he wants you to do? He wants you to 278 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.759 practice here. He wants you to learn how to love 279 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:37.559 God and how to learn love other people here on earth. 280 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:39.919 So when you get to heaven, you're not a dufus. 281 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:45.879 You know exactly what to do. So write this down. 282 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:49.080 The second purpose of my life. What on earth am 283 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:53.840 I here for? Is to learn to love others. And 284 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:57.840 the place you learn to love others is in God's family. 285 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.840 The church is the laboratory for learning how to love. 286 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:07.359 God wants us to learn to love real people, with 287 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:10.599 all of their quirks and their false and their flaws 288 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:15.000 and their social you know, mess ups and things like that. 289 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:17.519 God wants you to learn real love, real people, not 290 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:21.599 ideal people. You know, all love people in heaven. Yeah, 291 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.960 in heaven. To dwell above with those we love, that 292 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:28.079 will be a glory. But to dwell below with those 293 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:33.319 we know, that's another story. God says, no, No, this 294 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:35.960 is why you're here, not in heaven. First, I want 295 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.079 you to learn real love where it's difficult, where you 296 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:43.400 have to learn that love is a choice. Romans twelve, 297 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:47.279 verse five says this, we belong to each other, and 298 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:51.319 each of us needs all the others. You will not 299 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:53.960 make it in your purposes in life without being a 300 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:57.640 part of a spiritual family. Number three, write this down. 301 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:03.119 God created me to become like Christ. That's the third 302 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:08.039 purpose in life. God created me to become like Christ. 303 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.920 Once you understand this, life's going to make a whole 304 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.240 lot more sense because God wants you to grow up 305 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:19.839 spiritually and the model of perfection is Jesus. Jesus is 306 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:22.240 the only perfect human being whoever lived, because he was 307 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.960 God come to earth in human form. He lived a 308 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.599 perfect life. He showed us exactly what it meant to 309 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:31.559 be fully human. So God wants you to learn to 310 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:35.279 think like Jesus, to act like Jesus, to respond like Jesus, 311 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.680 to talk like Jesus, to value like Jesus. This is 312 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.640 the third purpose in your life. Once you're born into 313 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.920 the family, God wants you to grow up in the family, 314 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:50.119 and the model for growth is Jesus Christ. Now, God 315 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.920 is far more interested. Don't miss this. God is far 316 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:58.119 more interested in who you are than what you do. 317 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.519 We're always worried about what does God want you to God? 318 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.599 What job should I have? Where should I go to work, 319 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:04.160 where should I go to school? What should I do? 320 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:06.400 And we're always worried about what we should do. God 321 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.799 is much more interested not in what you do, but 322 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:12.880 in what you become. And the reason why is you're 323 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:18.039 not taking your career to heaven. You're not taking your 324 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:22.680 car to heaven. You're not taking your cash to heaven, 325 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.039 how much money you're making. You're not taking your china 326 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.880 to heaven. You're taking your character. The only thing that's 327 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:32.799 going to heaven after your eighty years or so here 328 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:36.640 on earth is you. You're not taking any of your accomplishments. 329 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.160 You're not taking any of your achievements. You're not taking 330 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.480 any of your acquisitions. You're not taking any of your things. 331 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:46.720 You've piled up stockpilbum, money, materialism, stuff like that. None 332 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:48.880 of that's going to heaven. The only thing that's going 333 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:52.559 to heaven is the person you became, the man you became, 334 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:56.240 the woman you became. The only thing you're taking to 335 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:59.720 heaven is your character. And God puts you on this 336 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:04.119 pl to develop your character, to grow up spiritually, and 337 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:08.519 to become like Jesus Christ, because that's what he's interested in. 338 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.519 He's not interested in what you do. He's interested in 339 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:13.839 who you are. Now, let me show you a couple 340 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:19.759 verses Romans, Chapter eight, verse twenty nine. From the very beginning, 341 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:25.000 God decided that those who came to him, and all 342 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:27.359 along he knew was He decided that those who came 343 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:33.480 to him should become like his son, Colossians one fifteen. 344 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:38.559 We look at the sun Jesus and see God's original 345 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:43.880 purpose in everything created. Now, this is not Plan B. 346 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:46.759 It's been God's plan from the very beginning. Even before 347 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:50.480 Adam sinned, God created Adam and said, let's make man 348 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:54.359 in our image. From the very beginning, God has been 349 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:59.400 wanting to make us like himself. Now, do not understand me. 350 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:03.160 God doesn't want you to become a god. You're never 351 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:06.039 going to become a god. Never never, never never never 352 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.079 never never never never never. You're never going to be 353 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:12.319 a god. Now, there's a whole movement out there called 354 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:16.839 the New Age movement says you're a god, You're a goddess. 355 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:19.920 God is within you, You're the God. You're the master 356 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.799 of your univer You're not a god. You're not even 357 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.799 a mini me God. If you're a god, why don't 358 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.240 you solve all your problems? You're not a god and 359 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:33.880 you never will be. You can't solve the problems of 360 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:36.880 the world, you can't solve your own problems. You're not 361 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:42.440 a god. And that New Age is actually Satan told 362 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.559 us to Eve in the garden of mean It's the 363 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:47.359 first lie. He said, eat this fruit and you'll be God. 364 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:51.880 It's not new age, it's old lie. In fact, it's 365 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:54.119 the oldest lie that you're a God. That is the 366 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:57.400 oldest lie in the universe. You're never going to be 367 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:59.480 a God. But God says, I don't want you to 368 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:02.799 be a god. I want you to become godly. That 369 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:06.400 means have tell the truth like I tell the truth. 370 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:10.720 Be faithful like I'm faithful, Love like I love, Be 371 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:13.920 patient and forgiving like I'm patient and forgiving. God says, 372 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.599 I want you to be godly. I want you to 373 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:21.400 become like me in character, in wisdom, in in in 374 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:25.880 your values, and in who you are. Now when things 375 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:29.599 happen you, the normal question you ask is the word why. 376 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.359 Why is this happening? Why is this happening to me? 377 00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:37.279 Why is this happening now? And the answer to all 378 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.279 the why questions of life is this to make you 379 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:45.839 like Jesus, To make you like Jesus. If God's going 380 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.400 to make you like Jesus, He's going to take you 381 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:52.799 through everything Jesus went through, and Jesus wasn't spared from difficulty. 382 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:55.559 Was there are times when Jesus was lonely, Yes, time 383 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:58.240 when he was misunderstood Yes, were the times when Jesus 384 00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:00.960 was disappointed by people? Yes, were the times when who's 385 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:03.319 tempted to be discouraged and give up? Yes? Were there 386 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:06.920 times when who's just tempted? Yes? And if God let 387 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.799 his own son go through all that, don't you think 388 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:11.599 he's gonna let you go through it too? Yes? Why? 389 00:23:11.880 --> 00:23:14.759 Because He's more interested in your character than your comfort. 390 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:19.079 This is not the comfort side of life. The comfort's 391 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:22.519 gonna come in eternity. Comfort's gonna come in heaven. This 392 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:25.799 is the classroom side of life where you were to learn. 393 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:29.839 In some things you only learn through difficulty. The Bible 394 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:33.920 says in Philippians, chapter two, verse five. In your lives 395 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:38.519 you must think and act like Christ Jesus. This is 396 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:40.759 the third purpose for your life. You must learn to 397 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:44.480 think and act like Christ Jesus. So if I'm supposed 398 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:49.240 to think and act like Christ Jesus, what is Jesus like? Well, 399 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:51.599 I've told you this before that the perfect picture of 400 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:54.279 Jesus in the Bible is Galatians five, twenty two and 401 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:57.920