Forty Days of Purpose

April 17, 2005

Lesson 1

What on Earth am I Here For?

Just like any other endeavor, one will get out of

something what he puts into it.

Any kind of relationship that is worthy to be called

a relationship, takes time, effort, attention, in short,

your heart must be in it.

Knowing God through Jesus Christ and under the

leadership of the Holy Spirit gives purpose in life.

Does that mean that if we are floundering in life,

drifting along without purpose, that we have not

spent the time nor the effort to progress in the will

of God for our lives?

In my 61 years on this earth there have been no

short cuts in my development to physical maturity,

there are none to spiritual maturity!

Rely on the Holy Spirit and I have extensively used

the Pulpit Commentary for insight into the meaning

of Scriptures which then I try to take and apply to

my life and to others who will not take the time nor

make the effort, thus they end up getting it second

hand.

Everyone should have the experience of the Apostle

Paul when he was converted. He “immediately did

not confer with flesh and blood....but went into Arabia”

(3 years) - Gal. 1:16-18

Often, we are selfish or lazy, not putting the time,

nor the effort, in our personal relationships, much

less to our God.

Something for nothing mind set.

You can’t eat enough today to last through Thursday.

You may have to but that is not normal.

Spiritual growth immediately? without time?

Shortcuts?

A disclaimer - Experiencing God - Blackaby,

40 Days of Purpose - Warren - ? maturity?

1619-1865 - Slavery - 246 years

1865-1966 - Segregation - 101 years

1966-2005 - Equality - 39 years -

Has this done away with racism?

It takes time - conversion is in a moment but

spiritual growth continues until we die!

I will not purposely throw a cup of cold water on

this endeavor, neither will I swallow, hook, line or

sinker - I have had my apprehensions and have

expressed them to proper leadership.

There is a lot of information out there both positive

and negative on 40 Days of Purpose. Who will may

know it!

Two scriptures will explain how I plan to deal

with this:

(1) Acts 5:38-39

(2) Acts 17:10-11

Without knowing your purpose, life will seem

TIRESOME.

Eccl. 1:4-8

Man is a pilgrim on the earth - he soon passes

away and his place is occupied by others.

All flesh waxeth old like a garment for the

covenant from the beginning is, Thou shall die

the death.

From the Iliad - “The race of man is as the

race of leaves, one generation by the wind is

scattered on the earth; another soon in spring’s

luxuriant verdure bursts to light. So with our

race: these flourish, these decay.

Growth and decay contrasted with insensate

continuance.

v. 5 - The sun rising and setting day by day but

resting never. Eager pursuit but no real

progress - monotonous routine.

v. 6 - The wind, an example of motion, continually

repeated with no real progress to an end.

“it whirleth about continually” - the idea

of weary monotony. It comes back to the

point where it started, the wind, seemingly,

the freest of all created things, is bound by

the same law of immutable changeableness,

insensate repetition.

v. 7 - The hydrological cycle is another

example of unvarying operation

producing no tangible result.

Streams continue to make their way into the

sea ceaselessly - I live by one and I marvel

how that it continously runs.

v. 8 - “all things are full of labor” - or

wearisome

Thus the translation tiresome - now from

this I gather that man like nature, is confined

to a circle from which he cannot free himself,

though he uses all his powers with which he is

endowed to penetrate the enigma of life and

to rise superior to his environments, he is

wholly unabled to effect anything in these

matters.

The inner cause and meaning to life elude

his faculties. There is still some depth which

his powers cannot fathom.

Gen. 1:28 - “subdue the earth”

Gen. 2:7 - “The Lord God formed man of

the dust of the ground, and breathed into

his nostrils the breath of life; and man

became a living soul”

God’s two volumes - Nature and Revelation

Isaiah 5:4 - “What could have been done more

to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?

wherefore, when I looked that is should

bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild

grapes?

“without me, ye can do nothing” - John 15:5c

“If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my

Father will love him, and we will come unto him and

make our abode with him” - John 14:23

I personally believe that the above scripture reveals

that God through Christ and the Holy Spirit can live in

every person on the earth simultaneously! But, He

can not live in our sin - thus the need to obey and

keep His words!

“And the peace of God which passeth all under-

standing, shall keep your hearts and minds through

Christ Jesus” - Phil. 4:7

Aging - Tiresomeness - Weariness - associated

with both naturally and spiritually.

Eccl. 3:1-11 - esp. v. 11 - Septuagint translates

a form of the word "aeon" - original meaning

is "hidden" - could be the remote past or the

future -unknown duration - forward or

backward - equivalent to our word eternity.

Man himself is a microcosm, a little world, or that

the love of life, of the world, is naturally implanted

in him.

The pronoun, "in their heart" refers to the sons of

men in the previous verse. God has put into men's

minds a notion of infinity of duration, the beginning

and end of all things are beyond man's grasp, the time

to be born and the time to die are equally unknown

and uncontrollable.

The innate ability of man to look forward and backward

man possesses but as an explanation of Providence,

it fails.

"so that no man can find out the work that God

maketh from the beginning to the end."

Man sees only minute parts of the great whole, he

cannot comprehend all at one view, nor understand

the law and power that regulates time, season and

circumstance. He feels that, as there has been an

infinite past, there will be an infinite future, which

may solve anomalies and demonstrate God's harmony

and unity of design, but he must be content to wait

and hope.

Revelation - God's will has been made "manifest by

the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath

abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel" - II Tim. 1:10

Jesus Christ is "the Desire of all nations" that

shall come according to Haggai 2:7 and the "Shiloh

to come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the

people be" - Gen. 49:10

Purpose in life comes from knowing God through

Jesus Christ - without purpose, life will wear you out!

You will lose your energy, spark and motivation -

your enthusiasm if you please - (origin of the word)

from two words - in and God -

Spinning your wheels, like a dog chasing

his tail, a treadmill - at the end of the day

you are worn out - in the morning you are

worn out - psychologically and physically.

“What’s the purpose of it all?” “What am

I doing?”

Deut. 28:14-15, 65-67

In six months things will be better -

funnel example - in youth - in old age. When

I was young I looked at the bottom end and

through it there seemed to be a wide expanse -

now that I am old, I look from the top and

things have narrowed quite a bit in the field

of vision.

Without purpose your life will be

UNFULFILLING!

The vanity of life is interesting study -

the humanist thinks that the study of man is

man - but there is a danger that the study leads

to despondency, that the possession of life should

cease to be valued.

Wealth, comfort, pleasure and fame may occur

through toil, birth, hook or crook but it yields

to disappointment and dissatisfaction.

The brute beasts are content to eat and drink,

sleep and follow its instincts and impulses but

man is ever aiming at something higher.

Earthly things because they are finite, are

incapable of satisfying such a nature as to which

we have been endowed.

God's design and remedy - "look to Jesus and

live" - "the Desire of all nations"

v. 8b

You will never be satisfied until you

know why!

Isaiah 57:15-21

Without knowing your purpose, life will

seem UNCONTROLLABLE!

v. 15 - trying to count chickens before

they are hatched.

Situations beyond our control - FAITH

IS NOT WORRYING - Ky Explorer.

What does one do when life seems

meaningless, tiresome, unfulfilling

and out of control.

We try to cope in a secular and

humanistic way or we seek God and

His great help.

In the presence of such speculations the

intellect reels, dizzy and powerless!

Warning - Jer. 10:23-24

God is our Creator and Designer -

to know our purpose, we must begin here!

Eph. 1:11 II Pet. 1:4

Phil. 3:13-14

FOCUS - “where your treasure is there will be

your heart be also”

FUNNEL

“I did it my way” - and now I am driving in a fog,

like a rat in a maze, trying to find the way out

I let God control my life and plan my course -

“the entrance of thy words giveth light” - “Thy

word is a light unto my path and a lamp unto my

feet” - Thy words have I hid in my heart that I

might not sin against thee” - all excerpts from the

Psalms

Isaiah 26:3 - “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on thee: because he

trusteth thee”

“Without faith it is impossible to please

Him, for he that cometh to God must

believe that He is and that He is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”

Psalm 63:1-4

“I press toward the mark for the prize of

the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”

petal to the metal - committed - all systems

go.

Jer. 29:11-14 I Cor. 2:9

The intentions of Eternal Wisdom & Love.

The prize - James 1:12 “Blessed is the man

that endureth temptation: for when he

is tried, he shall receive the crown of

life, which the Lord hath promised to

them that love Him”

Knowing God’s will (purpose?) will give your

life focus, simplify it, motivate it and prepare

you for eternity.

Life is not a cycle just going round and round,

you were made to last forever. Your last gasp

will be the end of your time on earth but not the

end of the soul.

We will go to a place where the soul (of man)

never dies - to Canaan's fair and happy land -

implanted in me long ago.

One day, God will do an audit on your life. You

will stand before God and He will ask "What have

you done with my Son, Jesus Christ?"

He has appointed a day - Acts 17:31

"and we must all stand before the judgment

seat of Christ"

Dear God, I want to know Your purpose in my

life. I don't understand it all but I want to open

my life to you. I ask you to come into my life and

make Yourself real to me!

Psalm 34:6-9

A wise man will always feel grateful that the

Almighty has retained the ordering of events

in His own hand, and will meekly submit to Him,

believing that God's times and that His ways

are always best - (Psalm 25:10)