By
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
Rev. Juliet Schimpf is the Minister of
First Baptist Church in Perth, Ontario:
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LINK to CFRA broadcast of
Sunday, January 13th, 2013)
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/10810/good_news_036_jan20.mp3
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/10810/good_news_036_jan20.mp3
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Broadcast
Notes:
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‘What is my Purpose in Life?’
How to find meaning? Usually, in relation to a phase in one’s life:
·
I am a student.
·
I am a mother.
·
I am retired.
[I’ll be happy
once I graduate; I’ll be happy once I get married; I’ll be happy once I have
children; I’ll be happy once I buy a house; I’ll be happy once I retire; I’ll
be happy once I have grandchildren….]
YOU ARE NOT AN ACCIDENT!
·
Isaiah 44:2 “I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were
born.”
LIFE IS NOT MEANINGLESS!
·
BETRAND
RUSSELL, ATHEIST: “Unless you assume a God, the question of
life’s purpose is meaningless.”
GOD FORMED YOU WITH A PURPOSE IN MIND
·
COLOSSIANS 1:16 “For everything, absolutely
everything, above and below, visible and invisible…everything got started in
him and finds its purpose in him.”
HIS PURPOSES ARE ETERNAL IN NATURE:
·
Rick Warren “You
weren’t put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for
eternity.”
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU—AND HIS PURPOSES ARE FOR YOUR GOOD!
·
JEREMIAH 29:11 “For surely I know the plans I
have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and
not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
AS CHRIST-FOLLOWERS, WE SHOULD LIVE LIFE PURPOSEFULLY:
·
EPHESIANS 5:15 
"Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as
those who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do."
"Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as
those who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do."
·
Henry David
Thoreau: “As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”
IMPORTANT TO KNOW OUR PURPOSE:
·
THOMAS
CARLYLE: “The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder—a waif, a
nothing, a no man.”
LIFE IS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT:
·
PSALM 39:4 “Lord, remind me how
brief my time on earth will be. Remind
me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away!”
THE PURPOSE WE ARE DESIGNED TO SERVE IS NOT OUR OWN:
·
PROVERBS 16:4 “The Lord has made everything for
his own purposes.”
PURPOSE 1: PLANNED FOR GOD’S GLORY
AND GOD’S PLEASURE
·
Revelation 4:11 “You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and
were created.”
·
Romans 11:36 “Everything comes from God alone,
everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory.”
·
John Piper “The
chief end of man/woman is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever…..God is most
glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
PURPOSE 2: FORMED FOR GOD’S
FAMILY
·
NO LONE RANGERS IN CHRISTIANITY
·
RELATIONSHIP IS WHAT MATTERS; NOT RELIGION
·
CHURCH IS GOD’S CHOSEN VEHICLE TO ACHIEVE HIS GLORY
·
NEED TO BELONG TO A CHURCH TO DISCOVER YOUR TRUE PURPOSE
PURPOSE 3: CREATED TO BECOME LIKE
CHRIST
·
GENESIS
1;26 “Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in
our image, in our likeness'"
·
Romans 8:29 (NIV) “For those God foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers and sisters.”
·
2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
PURPOSE 4: SHAPED FOR SERVING GOD
·
Ephesians 2:10 |
"For we are God's workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to
do." |
·
1 Peter 4:10
|
"God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure
to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings." |
PURPOSE 5: MADE FOR A MISSION
·
JOHN 17:18 “In the same way that you gave me
a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”
·
MATTHEW 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit”
HOW TO DETERMINE OUR SPECIFIC PURPOSE IN LIFE:
·
NOT THROUGH ASTROLOGY, PALM READERS, OPRAH OR DR.
PHIL
o
JEREMIAHS 29:8 For thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are
among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,*9for it is a lie that they are
prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.
·
MUST COME TO GOD AND HIS WORD
o
JEREMIAH 29:12 “Then when you call upon me and
come and pray to me, I will hear you.13When you search for me, you
will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,14I will let you
find me, says the Lord
GUIDELINES FOR
MAKING LIFE-PURPOSE STATEMENTS
Billy Sunday “More men/women fail
through lack of purpose than lack of talent.”
1. Life-long in
use—giving meaning and direction to the whole life:
o
it should have the same life expectancy that you
do;
o
as long as we live, it should be relevant and
applicable;
o
DAVID (Psalm 17): “I have
purposed that my mouth will not transgress.”
2. General in
wording:
o
Can’t be too specific:
o
It must provide meaning and direction for
everything you do in life—Everything relates back to it
o
APOSTLE PAUL:
“To forget what is behind, strain to
what is ahead, I press on to win the prize for which God has called me
heavenward.”
3. Relational in
meaning (i.e. all about people):
o
Look at Christ’s commandments—love God and love
people
o
Any purpose statement that excludes people is
flawed at its core
o
JESUS CHRIST:
“The Son of Man came to seek and
save that which was lost.”
4. All-encompassing—comprehensive
enough to touch all aspects of life:
o
Can’t just be about social or career
o
Both short-term and long-term
o
TEACHER IN ECCLESIASTES: “I’m determined
to be wise.”
5. Short enough
to memorize”
o
Great challenge = mixing 4. And 5.
o
Twenty – thirty words maximum
o
JOHN THE BAPTIST
JOHN 1:19 ‘Who are you?’20 He confessed and did not deny it, but
confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’*21 And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are
you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’22Then they said to him, ‘Who
are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about
yourself?’23 He said, ‘I am
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the
Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said.
6. Unique—a
personal expression of your prayer life, calling, vision, etc.
o
Summarize your own journey, prayer time, etc.
o
Should blend natural gifting, education, and
experience with spiritual gifts, personality, etc.
o
Juliet’s life-purpose statement: “To proclaim the truth, the relevance, and
the urgency of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
7. Measurable
o
JOHN 3:30 JOHN THE BAPTIST: “He must become
greater; I must become less.”
“Only one life,
‘twill soon be past;
Only what’s done
for Christ will last!” (anonymous)
Would you join
me in prayer?
Heavenly Father, We
thank you that you created each and every one of us with a purpose in mind.
None of us are an accident in your sight.
We thank you that you
have given each and every one of us a unique personality, unique giftings,
unique passions, and they’re all to be served or used for your glory.
God, I pray for each
and every listener, this morning, that he or she would be able to figure out
their life purpose statement, by using the tips I’ve presented, this hour.
And, so, God, speak to
us: What is our purpose? What would you have us to do? How can we please you?
We ask all this in
your precious name: The name above every name: The name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Rev. Juliet
Schimpf
____________________________________________________
To listen to the above broadcast, click
on the following link:
“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”
ReplyDelete-Albert Einstein
Originally Posted on Twitter:
ReplyDeleteUltimate Leadership - (@UltimateLeaders on Twitter)
"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." - Proverbs 19:21 #Purpose
Originally Posted on Twitter:
ReplyDeleteDan Rockwell - (@Leadershipfreak on Twitter)
Success always requires making someone happy. #leadership #purpose
"Everything in the universe has a purpose. Indeed, the invisible intelligence that flows through everything in a purposeful fashion is also flowing through you."
ReplyDelete-Wayne Dyer
"I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose."
ReplyDelete-George Carlin
"Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from."
ReplyDelete-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."
ReplyDelete-Robert Byrne
"Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."
ReplyDelete-Helen Keller
"I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life."
ReplyDelete-Ronald Reagan
"The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body."
ReplyDelete-Mahatma Gandhi
"Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit."
ReplyDelete-Khalil Gibran
"I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvellous Presence."
ReplyDelete-Christopher Columbus
"The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others."
ReplyDeleteAlbert Schweitzer
Originally Posted on Twitter:
ReplyDeletePrayer Watch - (@PrayerFountain on Twitter)
"God will see you through His restoration #PLAN & #PURPOSE for you when you set aside your worries and #FOCUS on #PRAISING Him!!!"
"It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is."
ReplyDelete-Hermann Hesse
"A Christian is nothing but a sinful man who has put himself to school for Christ for the honest purpose of becoming better."
ReplyDelete-Henry Ward Beecher
"The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere."
ReplyDelete-Michel de Montaigne
"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time."
ReplyDelete-Marian Wright Edelman
"Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built."
ReplyDelete-James Dobson
How close is this to a right relationship with God, purposed as preparation, for a life of eternity? -GNCM