The Purpose Driven Life: When God Seems Far Away - April 30, 2015

There are some people who will argue up and down that there is no God but there are more than enough who will tell you that God is very real; In spite of what you feel and see…God is very much an entity. Your faith and vision will be tested in times of seemingly separation and abandonment but trust and believe He has not forsaken you

Isaiah 8:17     I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.

Psalm 10:1     Why, LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Psalm 22:1     … My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

God is never far from us in times of trial; He has repeatedly  promised never to leave

Joshua 1:5     No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5     Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

God tells us that He will hide His face sometimes and this is the normal maturation process of our faith.

Job 7-9     …"There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. "Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.…

Psalm 13:1     For the director of music. A psalm of David. How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

No matter how you feel or what you see , hang on to God’s unchanging character and trust in His love for you. Our circumstances do not change HIS CHARACTER and the fact that you’re able to experience the circumstances should remind you that He has preserved you in your trial.

Job 13:15     Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

Job 23:12     I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

2 Corinthians 5: 21     God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Purpose Driven Life: Worship That Pleases - April 29, 2015

There are four major characteristics to the kind of worship that pleases God

1)       ACCURACY

John 4:22 – 24     …"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."…   

2)       AUTHENTICITY

1 Samuel 16:7     But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

3)       THOUGHTFULNESS

1 Corinthians 14:39-40     …Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

4)       PRACTICALITY

Romans 12:1-2     Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.…

The Purpose Driven Life: Friendship with God - April 28, 2015

 

If you want a deep friendship with God you have to learn to share all of who you are and what you do.

Proverbs 3:32     for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.

John 7:17     Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

Job 29:4     Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,

Moses was honest with God and voiced his humanity in sharing his frustration

Exodus 33:12-13     Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people!' But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, 'I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.' "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people."…

Psalm 142:2     I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.

The essence of our friendship with God is trust (FAITH)

John 15:14     You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 15:8 -10     …"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.…

Jesus is the quintessential example of a life that is pleasing and obedient to God.

Luke 2: 50 -52     …But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Matthew 3:16 -17     …After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

There is nothing more important in your life than developing a friendship with God!

The Purpose Driven Life: Friends with God – April 27, 2015

Entering into a friendship with God becomes possible because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of His only son.

Romans 5: 9-11      …Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

John 15:15     I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

God desires a deep and intimate relationship; everything, as we know it, heavens, Earth and the details of our lives were created for the purpose of a deep relationship.

Exodus 34:14     Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Ephesians 4:6     one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Acts 17:26     From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

Constant conversation and communion with God helps to solidify a sound friendship

The Purpose Driven Life: The Heart of the Matter – April 26, 2015

 

2 Timothy 2:15     Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

The very core of worship is surrender...yielding is the natural response to God’s immense love and mercy

God showed His love for us by sending His only son that we might have life. Not that we show God the same amount of love or even love consistently; He loved us enough to sacrifice His ONLY son.

1 John 4:9     This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Romans 5:8     But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Yielding means that you can admit your human and fleshly limitations…the desire to have control is actually a temptation because “control” indicates a lack of need for God. Yielding demonstrates obedience and trust.

Luke 1:37-38     …"For nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Jesus, before His crucifixion, yielded to God’s plan. The fruits of surrender are peace, freedom and the power of God demonstrated in your life.

Yielding is never an option it must be a daily habit!

Romans 6:17     But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.

Luke 9:23     Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

The Purpose Driven Life: Making God Smile - April 25, 2015

 

Psalm 119:135 (NET Bible)     Smile on your servant! Teach me your statutes! 

Numbers 6:25  (NLT)     May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.

Pleasing God should be your priority in life and you should seek how to please God.

Hosea 6:6     For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Matthew 22:37     Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

God smiles when we love Him without reservation or constraint. God smiles when we obey him and trust Him completely and when we praise and thank Him with the same zeal

Psalm 147:11     the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Hebrews 11:6     And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

James 2:24     You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

God smiles when we serve Him in our activities. Everything we do, outside of sin, can be done for the glory of God. God enjoys us when we enjoy Him and His creation in its entirety. God knows that we are incapable of being without sin but what He sees is our hearts and the attitude that dives our actions.

Psalm 14:2     The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

The Purpose Driven Life: You Are God's Pleasure - April 24, 2015

 

Revelation 4:11     "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Psalm 149: 3-5     …

3 Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. 5 Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.…

God was in the delivery room with the family, smiling the moment you were born.

Ephesians 1:5     he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--

We bring pleasure to God through our worship

Psalm 34:1     ...I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

 God desires passion in our worship

Isaiah 29:13     The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Every act can become a form of worship if you do it to please God
Colossians 3:23     Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Romans 12: 1     Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship.

The Purpose Driven Life: The Reasons - April 23, 2015

The true things of God begin to reflect His glory and majesty...

1 Corinthians 8:6     yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Proverbs 16:4    The LORD has made everything for its purpose,...

Psalm 89:5     The heavens praise your wonders, LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.

His majesty and glory is best seen in the person of Jesus.

Hebrews 1:3     The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

John 17:3 -5     …3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

All glory goes to God when we worship Him, show love to others and become Christ-like in our words thoughts and deeds

1 John 3:14     We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

2 Corinthians 3:18     And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Who will you live for? Will you live for yourself and your own goals and pleasures or will you live for God and a life of glory and eternal reward?

John 12: 24 - 26          …24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.…

The Purpose Driven Life: Seeing Through God's Eyes - April 22, 2015

Romans 12:2     Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Bible gives 3 examples that addresses of God's view of life:

1) Life, as we know it is a test. Following and learning of God gives us the means to endure and pass the tests.

James 1:12     Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Hebrews 10:23     Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

2) We are entrusted with the things of God. We never own anything outright here on Earth, God just loans them to us in stewardship. 

Psalm 24:1     ... The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

1 Corinthians 4:2     Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Luke 16:10     "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

If you recognize and treat everything as God's, he promises rewards in eternity.

Matthew 25:21     "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

1 Timothy 3:13     Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

3) Life is a temporary assignment

Psalm 39:4     "Show me, LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.

Job 8:9     for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.

When you come to the realization that life and all that we hold dear here on Earth are temporal out thinking about eternity should radically change

The Purpose Driven Life: Endurance - April 21, 2015

Ecclesiastes 3:11     He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

1 Corinthians 15:47     The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.

You were created in His image to fellowship with Him for eternity. There is so much more to life than your present circumstances; when you begin to understand this you will begin to live differently. You will begin to recognize the guiding light of eternity....

Ephesians 2:19     Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household,

1 John 2:17     The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Have you given thought to eternity and what the experience would be like? Our brains cannot imagine or grasp the fullness, the greatness and the richness of heaven.

…8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.…

2 Corinthians 2: 8-10

The Purpose Driven Life: Cui Bono – April 20, 2015

When you discover your purpose you begin to understand that your life has purpose and meaning. You begin to have a sense of simplicity, focus and motivation when you embrace your purpose and calling. Understanding all these things is a preparation for eternity.

Romans 4:7     "Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Romans 8:15     The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Philippians 4:7     And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3: 12- 14     12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.…

The Purpose Driven Life : What Drives You? - April 19, 2015

Everyone has something that drives them; that still and quiet voice, the urge, the unction. Many people have shifted their focus and are now driven by things not of God...guilt, resentments, anger, fear materialism and the need for approval.

Proverbs 12:16     Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.

Proverbs 27:3     Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

Ecclesiastes 4:4    And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

There are other things that people tend to focus on and use it to drive them but it still leads to a life unfulfilled; unused potential and unneeded stress.

Job 7:6     "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.

Genesis 4:12     When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

Isaiah 49:4     But I said, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God."

The Bible offers "drivers ed"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.