NEXT: You Are Designed For a Purpose

Next 3 You are Designed For a Purpose

Text: Psalms 139:13-16, 1 Cor. 12:21-13:8, Eph. 4:11-16

Intro: If you watch kids open Christmas presents, they will open a huge box. Inside is something really nice, with lots of parts and potential; instead of playing with what was inside the box, the kid starts playing with the box itself.

The parents say, “No, no, no—look inside! That’s the real gift!” But the child is perfectly happy with the cardboard. I remember thinking it was funny. The truth is, many of us do the same thing with life. God has given us gifts, abilities, experiences, and a purpose—but many people never open the box to discover how God designed them to serve Him and others. Psalms 139:13-16 says God formed us and knew us before we were born. God designed you intentionally for His purposes.

1. God Designed You for Service

• The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day that you find out why you were born. Mark Twain

1. God made us in His image and to reflect His glory.
2. Eph. 2:10. God prepared us to do good works before we actually do them. We are God’s masterpiece - poema, God’s work of art.
3. God has a purpose in mind for our lives before we were born. Before time began, God knew His plans for you to bring Him glory and to accomplish His purposes.
4. Everyone is engineered to do something, and we are to fulfill the engineer's designs.
5. We can find God’s design for our lives by looking into the following areas:
6. Spiritual Gifts - God has given you divine abilities to be able to serve. Rom. 12:6-8
   1. Many things happen when we come to know Jesus at salvation, and one of them is receiving spiritual gifts. What are they? We learn what our gifts are as we unwrap them in life.
   2. Scripture lists many spiritual gifts, such as in Rom. 12:6-8, and I believe many other spiritual gifts exist that are not listed in scripture.
7. Enthusiasm, God has given you a passion not just for your enjoyment but for His glory.
   1. What makes you excited in life? What do you enjoy doing?
   2. What are you enthusiastic about or passionate about? Sports, babies, families,
8. Response: God has designed your unique personality.
   1. What is your personality? DISC Routine, variety, task/relationships
   2. Whatever your personality type, God has a place for you.
9. Vocation/Skills God has equipped you with work and personal talents
   1. What skills and abilities has God given you? Whatever they are, we want you to release them for God’s purposes. Numbers, animals, people, etc.
   2. Good at mechanical abilities. Give cars away. Do oil changes for single women or those without financial means.
   3. Love to cook - make meals for those who are coming out of hospitals, or use food to create conversations for those who don't yet know Jesus or are currently unchurched.
   4. Sewing and knitting - makingblankets for new babies or for the homeless to bless others.
10. Experiences God has carried you through life events that help you relate
    1. God will often use you in the events and situations that you experience.
    2. Some moments in life seem mundane and simple, but when we present our lives as a sacrifice to God for His plan, even the simple moments serve His purposes.
    3. God desires to use your positive and painful past experiences for His glory.
    4. Sometimes, God uses our pain to bring comfort to others. 2 Cor. 1:3-4 God never wastes a hurt; we might waste it, but God never intends you to waste your hurt.

F. We are all wired differently for God and by God for a purpose. You are not one in a million or one in a billion; you are one of a kind.

G. God made each of us uniquely for His purposes as He designed us to fulfill the purposes that He placed within our DNA.

• If you want to serve but don’t know where to start, we have a list of options for you to consider, and we would love to connect you with any of these ministries.

1. God Designed You For Others - The Church
   1. Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. A marital commitment gives a level of intimacy reserved for marriage. Eph. 5:31-33, 22-33

• What did the church in Ephesus do when it experienced problems in the church? Did they start a split? Did they leave and no longer attend? What do we do when we struggle with the church? What should we do when we struggle in marriage? Stay committed and work.

1. God designed your life to function in community with others.
2. The following four things are necessary to be a healthy part of the church:
   1. Contribution
      1. 1 Cor. 12 Paul speaks of our connection in the church as a connection within a physical body. This passage is where we get the term “member” of a church, as Paul parallels members of a physical body to members of a church. Paul divides the membership into three groups:
         1. 12:21 External - eye, hand, head, feet: these are the visible parts of the body.
         2. 12:22 Internal - weaker parts of the body that are necessary according to those looking outside in. These work behind the scenes—heart, liver, brain.
         3. 12:23 Private - parts we don’t want people to see, but are still necessary. A body needs every part to function.
      2. Whether you're an external, internal, or private part of the body, your portion needs to contribute.
   2. Unity
      1. Unity begins by being willing to lay aside our desires for others. 12:24-25 God’s plan is for there to be no division in the body because we are serving alongside one another. Phil. 2:1
      2. Leaders serve others, receive criticism, and remember that it is never about them but about the better good of the body and for the glory of God.
   3. Compassion
      1. 12:25-26, we put our needs aside for the good of the body. Healthy marriages are healthy when husbands love sacrificially, and wives respond by submitting. One says you're first, and the other says no, you're first.
      2. When there is suffering in the body, the whole body suffers, and when the body is honored, the whole body rejoices.
      3. The Corinthian church had everything they needed: gifts and right doctrine, but they were a divided, carnal church. Why?
   4. Love
      1. They did not love one another. 12:27 They were members of one another. There were many gifts within the body listed in 12:28-31
      2. Notice the transition in verse 12:31: "I will show you a more excellent way."
      3. The chapter is on love, and is not about marriage, but about the church. We are to love one another. It doesn’t matter how we talk, what our gifts are, how generous we are, how sacrificial we are, if we do not love.
      4. Love described 13:4-8
      5. It is easier to have the right doctrine in the church than to be loving. Our love for one another and for Jesus should demonstrate that we are followers of Jesus. John 13:34-35
      6. Some people are harder to love than others. Those who are harder to love still need to be loved. We learn love when we look at Jesus’ love for us and our love towards those who are hard.
3. God Designed You to Grow
   1. Ephesians 4:11-16 Building up, attain unity, attain knowledge of the Son of God, attain mature manhood, attain a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and no longer be tossed about like children by bad doctrine, human cunning, and crafting schemes.

• Painting the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco never ends. The myth is that they paint it end-to-end, then start over; it is true that they are always painting, but they are painting the areas that need it most.

Regardless of strategy, the bridge is always being painted. Why is the seemingly monotonous act of painting a task of importance to sustaining the structure?​ The air coming in from the Pacific Ocean is incredibly high in salt content, and if it is not sealed with paint, the structure will be compromised. Exposed segments lead to corrosion, which leads to structural failure, which leads to disaster.

Thirty-four people have a vocation of painting the Golden Gate its trademark “international orange” color. They climb ladders hundreds of feet in the air, hang from harnesses and baskets suspended over the vast waters, and risk their lives to put paint to steel. Year after year, every bolt, rivet, beam, crevice, and cable gets covered. The safety of the bridge depends upon it.

1. As believers, we are to grow in our walk with Jesus: rely on Him more, be more aware of sin, be stronger in our faith, and be willing to trust in Him even when it is painful.
2. There is no end in needing to grow spiritually in this life. 2 Pet. 3:18
3. Bodies are living organisms, designed to grow. Each part of the body depends on the rest, and we all need to grow together.
4. In some seasons, we grow more than in others, but it is hard to see. Daily devote to becoming more like Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide your life. As you do, you will grow.
5. If you don’t want to grow - settle.

• Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games. Babe Ruth

1. If you want to grow - pursue. Draw near to God, and He’ll draw near to you. James 4:8
   1. Healthy spiritual growth strikes a balance between being content with what God has for us and desiring to know God more intimately.

• Jonathan Wesley admired another preacher who burned all of his sermons every seven years. “It is a shame if I can’t write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.”

1. Growth requires an intentional process:
   1. Set aside time to spend with the Lord.
   2. Read the Word
   3. Talk with Jesus.
   4. Look at the specific areas you want to improve, identify who is good at areas you are not, and ask for their help.
2. Growth always includes a change of habits. If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got.
3. Areas of Growth Lk 2:52:
   1. Wisdom
      1. Wise people are lifelong learners. Pro. 18:15 You will always be able to ask a wise person what you are reading or what podcast you are listening to that is helping you grow.
      2. Wise people depend on the Lord for their wisdom. James 1:5
   2. Stature
      1. Bodies require healthy food, clean water, fresh air, and plenty of sleep.
      2. Rest. Keep Sabbath principles Ex. 20:9-10. Take one day a week to recharge your life and be glad that you can move more than 100 yards.
      3. For some of us, it would be wise to take a sabbatical from social media. Give it up for a while because it is life-taking and not life-giving; for others, you may need to give up something else.
   3. In Favor with God and Man
      1. Our relationships with God and others are designed to experience growth.
      2. With God, God designed you to draw near to Him through the Word and prayer. We are not to allow our schedules to run us, but we are to run our schedules. Lk. 10:38-42 Prioritize spending time with Jesus.
      3. With others, the only way to grow close to someone is to spend time with them and talk. Ask questions about them. Value people. Eccl. 4:9-10
      4. The moment you open yourself to growing in relationships with others is when you open yourself to being hurt. Sinful people hurt each other, and we are all sinful.

Conclusion: There’s a story often told about a lighthouse keeper responsible for keeping a powerful light burning to warn ships away from rocks. Each month, he was given a limited supply of oil, but neighbors began asking him for some: one needed oil for a lamp, another needed oil for a heater, and another for a tool. The lighthouse keeper helped everyone, and eventually the oil ran out. Soon, at night, the light went dark, ships crashed into the rocks, and lives were lost. When authorities investigated, the keeper said, “I was trying to help people.”

They replied: “You were given the oil for one purpose—to keep the light burning.”

Sometimes, believers settle into a life where spiritual growth fades because our priorities drift.