What is the purpose of life?  What on earth am I here for?

Today is the first of a six part series of sermons that will help you answer that age-old question, ‘What on earth am I here for? I guarantee it will not be the same answer that our culture gives. I guarantee that it will have nothing to do with the pursuit of happiness, the accumulation of wealth, the achievement of success or any of the other pursuits that dominates today’s living. I am going to be honest enough to say that you may not agree or even like the answers that will be given over the next 6 weeks. However, I assure you every answer will be Biblically based. In other words you have heard what our cultural has said about our purpose, now it is time to hear what God says is our purpose.

So let’s start with the first question of 3 questions.

Intellects, authors, philosophers and theologians have written volumes upon volumes of books attempting to answer this question.  One can only be astonished when an intellect like Isaac Asimov concludes, “As far as I can see, there is no purpose.” His sentiments are shared in a book written by Joseph Taylor entitled, I Have No Answers To The Meaning Of Life And I No Longer Want To Search For Any.”

When you look at the increasing number of alcoholics, drug addicts, gamblers and suicides you have to conclude that many people believe their conclusion to be true.

Why should this come as a surprise when our culture is telling us so many different ways we can find our purpose?  The New Age movement tells us we can find our purpose by looking within.  Look within and find your god self.  If it were true I wouldn’t have to be preaching this sermon.

The survivalist tells us that the purpose of life is to stay alive, easier said than done.

The naturalist tells us that the purpose of life is to perpetuate itself.  Tell that to someone who was raised in an abusive home.

The materialist tells us that the purpose of life is the acquisition of things. The problem with that is that he, who dies with the most stuff, still dies.

Self-help tells us that the purpose of life is to create your own purpose.

God’s purpose for your life is far greater than personal fulfillment, happiness, success and peace of mind.  If you don’t think you have a purpose then do this.  Put your hand over your heart.  Is your heart still beating?  Yes?  Then God still has a purpose for you.

God has five purposes for your life and over the next five weeks you will discover what those five purposes are. This morning we are going to answer the question of our existence.

You were made by God and for God and put here for HIS purpose. You and I were created to be the focus of His love. Until you understand that, life isn’t going to make sense.

Linked to our question of existence is a question of significance.

“You don’t care! I don’t matter to you!” says a child to a parent, or a wife to a husband, or by anyone feeling they are insignificant. The prophet Isaiah said,

Let’s face it we have all had days like that.

For most people life is about survival. They are just barely getting by. They just exist.  They’re not living.  They are controlled by their circumstances. They put in their time and live for the weekend.

If it is not about survival it is about success.  It’s about living a comfortable life, making a good salary, having good health, having freedom, having success.

Like the lyrics to the song, More to Life. “He takes care of his family. He takes care of his work. Every Sunday he takes his place at church. He still feels a need to search. But life just goes on.”

There is more to life that survival and success. There is significance. You and I find our significance not in our accomplishments, not in our possessions, but in God.

God says, I WAS MADE TO LAST FOREVER. God created us to be loved and TO LAST FOREVER.

The biggest waste of time and life is thinking that this life is all that there is. The time we spend on earth is but a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. God’s purposes are for all eternity, forever, not just here and now.

So far I have said that you and I are alive TO BE LOVED BY GOD.

You and I matter because we were created TO LAST FOREVER.

This brings us to the third and last question. It is a question of intention.

The psalmist David said,

When Diane’s father was moving to live with us I spent a day with him emptying out his garage.  Diane’s dad was a plumber.  I found some of the craziest looking tools and gadgets of which I have no idea what their purpose was. As far as I was concerned they were destined for the dumpster.  Yet my father-in-law insisted that it was a valuable gadget/tool and worth saving to give to a plumber friend.

The point I am making is that if you don’t know something’s purpose, it is likely to be discarded, misused or abused. You want to know why there are so many abused people in the world.  You want to know why so many people feel depressed.  You want to know why so many people feel unsatisfied.  You want to know why so many people are addicted to drugs, alcohol, and gambling. You want to know why teens join gangs. You want to know why people commit suicide.  You want to know why people are consumed with satisfying the desires of the flesh.  Because they don’t know their purpose.

The only way they are going to find out the purpose of an invention is to ask the inventor or read the owners manual. The same is true about life. You won’t know your purpose by listening to philosophers or by looking within or by reading self-help books or by creating your own purpose. You will only find your purpose by asking your creator, God and by reading the owner’s manual, the Bible.

The lyrics of the song, More to Life state,

So where do we start to find every part of what makes this life complete

If we turn our eyes to Jesus we’ll find life’s true beginning is there at the cross where He died. He died bring us more to this life than living and dying.