Grasp the Ultimate Life Purpose

Date:April 23, 2017

Scripture:Joshua 22:1-5 (NIV)

Text:Micah 6:8 (KJV), “He has shown you. Oman, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”

Theme:As God’s children we actually can live the ultimate life purpose – follow God.

Introduction:Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life,” begins – “It’s not about you. The purpose for your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

Bertrand Russell, an atheist said, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”

Some secular views…see page 2

What does the Bible say about Life Purpose?

Micah 6:8, “He has shown you. O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”

Like the Ten Commandments there are two segments of purpose in reference (Man and God)…here they are in reverse order from the Ten Commandments…

  1. In Reference to Man:
  1. Act Justly…
  2. Matthew 7:12 – The golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
  3. Love Mercy…
  4. Justice is good but not enough – must reach beyond in generosity, pity, compassion
  5. Remember the poor, suffering and depressed
  6. Mercy not only shown, but loved – i.e. Mother Teresa (not for a million $, nor would I)
  7. Mercy must be a delight to perform
  8. Not required as a means of justification, but as evidence of it.
  1. In Reference to God:
  1. Walk Humbly with your God…
  2. Be conscious of His presence real and constant
  3. Be in harmony with His will in lowly submission
  4. Be in growth toward Christ likeness
  5. Moral excellence
  6. Requirement of God from us
  7. Condition of fellowship with Him – sin breaks fellowship!
  8. Achieved by Faith through Christ Jesus – not by our own effort
  9. The soul soaring away from the way of the world unto God-likeness and enjoying His presence while living in this world
  10. Not necessarily in Churches, Bible Studies, Ceremonies, or Rituals
  11. But through a true life lived in relation to both man and God

Conclusion:

This is to grasp the ultimate life purpose as summarized in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

Some Secular views on the purpose of life: (source - internet)

  • Kurt Vonnegut: "We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is."
  • The Dalai Lama: "The purpose of our lives is to be happy."
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
  • Nelson Henderson: "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
  • H. L. Mencken: "You come into the world with nothing, and the purpose of your life is to make something out of nothing."
  • Monty Python: "It's nothing very special. Try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."
  • The purpose of life is to create something that no one else could have created, and thus to bring into existence something that wouldn't exist if you hadn't existed.
  • We are here because we evolved.
  • We are not here for any purpose.
  • "An objective meaning - that is, one which is inherent within the universe or dependent upon external agencies - would, frankly, leave me cold. It would not be mine... I, for one, am glad that the universe has no meaning, for thereby is man all the more glorious. I willingly accept the fact that external meaning is non-existent... for this leaves me free to forge my own meaning."

Sermon Scriptures:

Joshua 22:1-5 (NIV), Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. 3For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. 4Now that the Lord your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Micah 6:8 (NKJV), He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you, But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?