Rev. David Holwick B Purpose-Driven Life #2
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
January 11, 2004
Deuteronomy 6:3-9
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I. Looking for purpose in the wrong places.
Mike Royko reported this true story in the Chicago Tribune.
A man named Bill Mallory traveled to India to discover the
purpose of life.
But he didn't find the answer there.
So after returning, he noticed a sign at Chevron gas station that
simply said, "As you travel, ask us."
So every time he pulled into a Chevron station, he would look to
the sign and say, "I'm a traveler.
I'd like to ask you a question: What is the purpose life?"
These were the real answers he got.
I'm not making this up.
The first guy said, "Sorry. I'm new here."
The second guy said, "I don't remember anything in the manual
about that."
Another guy said, "I'm not much for church myself, sir."
One guy gave him a leering look and a wink, whatever that meant.
However, most people just gave him a blank stare and cleaned his
windshield.
But he kept asking at all the Chevron stations.
One day Mallory got a phone call from Chevron Customer Relations.
The Chevron caller said, "We understand you've been asking our
dealers questions and getting unsatisfactory answers."
The man suggested that he write out his question and send it to
Chevron Corporate with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
So Bill Mallory wrote, "What is the purpose of life?" and sent it
to the Chevron Gas Company.
A couple of weeks later, the envelope was returned.
The only thing in it was an application for a credit card!
If you want to know the purpose of life, you're not going to find
it in a gas station.
You're not going to find it on a talk show.
You're not going to find it in a self-help book.
You're not going to find it at some seminar.
If you want to know the purpose of life, you have to either talk
to the Creator who made you, or look in the owner's manual.
You were made by God and you were made for God.
And until you understand that, life isn't going to make sense.
#2559
II. We were created to be loved - now love Him back.
A. God created us because he wanted an object of His affection.
1) That is why we are here.
2) Our ultimate purpose is to love him back.
a) How do we do this? Worship.
B. Typical concept of worship.
1) Newspaper image: singing out of a hymnal, or raising hands.
More up-do-date image: Time/Life worship CD commercial,
where hundreds of young people sway to mellow music.
Like a rock concert, only nicer.
2) You do it for an hour, then go home.
C. Genuine worship is more.
1) Worship is my response to God's love.
a) It is how I react because God loves me.
b) God takes the initiative in loving us, we only follow
through.
2) Worship is my giving back to God.
a) Anything offered to God is worship.
b) God enjoys getting things.
1> What do you give the guy that has everything?
2> You give him your love.
III. The secret to a long, full life.
A. Deuteronomy 6 marks a critical stage in salvation history.
1) The Ten Commandments are specified in chapter 5.
2) In this chapter, God reveals that "Law" is not the answer.
Love is.
3) True religion is a matter of the heart, and even more.
a) Jesus adds "mind" in Matthew 22:37, which is contained
in the Hebrew view of the heart.
B. The three aspects of loving God acceptably.
IV. Love God thoughtfully. "mind"
A. Religion is often associated with irrationality.
1) Your mind goes into neutral.
2) You believe weird things and hope you find happiness.
3) Genuine religion demands to engage your mind.
B. It takes energy and focus to worship thoughtfully.
1) Lazy worship:
a) praying on autopilot.
1> Wheaton College, as a good Christian school,
opened each class with prayer.
An absent-minded geology professor was remembered
for beginning his class with "Lord, we thank you
for this food which we are about to eat...)
b) Daydreaming in church.
1> (reason our new light fixtures are so popular - you
can stare up at them the whole hour)
2) God wants our focus because he is focused on us.
a) Psalm 139:1-3 - God knows our inner soul.
b) He is always thinking about us.
C. Give attention to God.
1) Similar to husbands who "do things" for family.
a) How come they don't feel loved by us?
b) They want our attention.
2) Attention is the visible expression of our love.
a) It is not automatic, like a camera focuser.
b) We must decide to pay attention to God.
D. Renew your focus on God.
1) Distractions to our focus on God:
a) We are self-centered by nature.
b) We live in a self-centered culture. Rom 12:2
2) Re-focus yourself on God.
a) Disciplined daily prayer and Bible reading.
b) Make it a habit.
1> Choose a comfortable spot. Matt 6:6
c) Talk to God throughout the day.
E. The benefits of focusing on God - inner peace. Isaiah 26:3
1) Focus on self - anxiety, guilt, fear, discouragement.
2) Focus on God - gratitude, hope, confidence, love.
V. Love God passionately. "heart and soul"
A. Expressing love can be difficult.
1) Our families may not have been affectionate.
2) Remembering first time you said "I love you" to someone
special.
a) Beat around the bush first - send out spies.
3) Expressing love to God isn't that much different.
B. How to begin.
1) Express gratitude.
a) Take nothing for granted.
b) (Celeste in Haiti - phones, electricity, water are iffy)
2) Surrender yourself wholeheartedly to God.
a) We fear becoming a fanatic - JEEEEESUS....
b) Surrender is simply saying, "God, you are in charge."
The late Sam Shoemaker stated, "To be a Christian
means to give as much of myself as I can
to as much of Jesus Christ as I know."
#831
Liz Curtis Higgs was one of the best-known disc jockeys in
America, and she lived quite a wild life.
A really wild lifestyle without God.
In fact, Howard Stern was the morning show, and Liz Curtis Higgs
was the afternoon show.
And one day Howard Stern said to Liz, "You know, you need to
clean up your act."
If Howard Stern says you need to clean up your act, you must
REALLY need to clean up your acts.
Apparently she was a little on the wild side.
And because Liz Curtis Higgs had been burned and heartbroken by
so many men, she became a militant feminist.
And I underscore, militant feminist.
But she had a Christian girlfriend who kept inviting her to
church.
So one day after a long, long time, she said, "Okay, I will go
to church one time and ONE TIME ONLY."
So she went to church one time with her friend.
And that week, the pastor just happened to be teaching on the
Bible verse that says, "Wives, submit to your husbands."
Now, that's not exactly a good verse to reach a militant feminist.
And she got a little uptight, a little ticked, a little angry.
But she continued to listen and she actually heard the second
part of the verse, which nobody ever talks about.
You see, the second part of the verse says "and husbands - you
sacrifice yourself;
you give yourself for your wives just as Jesus Christ sacrificed
Himself for the church and died for her."
People don't ever hear that second part, okay?
Who is asked to give their life up?
The husband or the wife?
The husband.
Well, when Liz heard that part, she leaned over to her friend and
said with a little cynicism,
"Shoot, I'd gladly give myself to any man if I knew he would die
for me."
And her friend leaned over and said, "Liz, there is man who
loved you enough to die for you. His name is Jesus Christ.
That's how much He loves you."
And it was not long after that that Liz dropped her guard,
surrendered her life to God in love, and became a believer.
Today she is a well-known Christian author and speaker.
#26823
VI. Love God practically. "strength"
A. Use your abilities.
1) The practical love you give to others, you give to God.
2) Jesus - what you do for the "least of these" you do for me.
3) Even your regular job can be a place to practice genuine
worship.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it
all for the glory of God. 1 Cor 10:31
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for men." Col 3:23
B. Genuine worship is a part of everyday life.
1) Moses to his people - talk about God on the road.
2) Pass him on to your kids.
3) Tie him around your eyes.
(not literally, unless you're Jewish)
4) Whatever you do, keep God in it.
Example of Brother Lawrence, a monk who praised God as he
washed the dishes...
Rick Warren: "In life it's not what you do that matters;
it is Who you do it for."
C. Church worship can even get in the way.
Matt Redman, a worship leader in England, tells how his
pastor taught his church the real meaning of worship.
To show that worship is more than music, he banned all
singing in their services for a several weeks.
During this time they learned to worship in other ways.
By the end of that time, Matt had written the classic song
"Heart of Worship":
I'll bring You more than a song,
for a song in itself
is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear.
You're looking into my heart.
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.
#26824
VII. Everybody worships something.
A. You were wired to worship by God.
1) He put it in your DNA.
2) You couldn't stop worshipping if you had to, because it
is part of being a human.
B. Worship is universal.
1) That's why you can go to any culture in the world and
find people worshipping.
2) If you don't worship God, you're going to find a
substitute real quick, even if it is just yourself.
3) Why not worship the real thing?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
This sermon closely follows one by Rev. Rick Warren titled "Planned For
God's Pleasure."
# 831 "Give As Much Of Yourself As You Can," by Alan F. Johnson,
Commentary on Romans, Vol. 2, 1974, page 70.
# 2559 "As You Travel, Ask Us," from a sermon by Rev. Rick Warren titled
titled "Planned For God's Pleasure."
#26823 "A Militant Feminist Submits," from a sermon by Rev. Rick Warren
titled "Planned For God's Pleasure."
#26824 "Worship Is A Matter of the Heart," by Matt Redman, from a sermon
by Rev. Rick Warren titled "Planned For God's Pleasure."
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html.html
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