God's Purpose

Two weeks ago, I was here, and I gave a sermon on integrity. Integrity. And I went to some scriptures that showed that God not only asks us to have integrity, He requires it of His people. To have integrity. We went through quite a few verses. Not only is it important for us to have integrity, it is important for us as God's people to understand why He wants us to have that integrity. Why it's so important. And then, what is His purpose in having us living this life? Is it to live and to breathe and to live 70-plus years and die? Is His purpose to have us end up as worm food? Is that it? I think we understand there's more to it than that. There's more to it in this life. So, as you can see today's sermon, the title is God's Purpose. God's purpose. Do you understand His purpose in your life? Do you understand why humans were created? Do you understand why you have the knowledge of Him and His ways at this time? There was a Hall of Fame athlete that was asked after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, just what it was that made it possible for him to receive this great honor and to be part of the Hall of Fame. And his answer, which many of you have heard many times from many athletes, was, I got the most out of my abilities. I got the most out of my abilities. Perhaps you have had the same thing in your life, in your job. You've been promoted because you had certain abilities that were able to help you to rise above others. Perhaps in your family you had abilities of leadership that was able to help your families. Perhaps God gave you abilities because He gives each and every one of us abilities, whether you believe that or not. Some are hidden, some are actually put back on the back burner. Some are never recognized. One specific athlete said something one time that I had to write down when he was asked why he was able to perform and be an All-Star at his sport. And almost sound like a Yogi Berriism, if you remember who Yogi Berri was. He actually said, I made the most of what I didn't have. I made the most of what I didn't have, which can sound like a strange statement, but I think many of you might realize what that means. I'd like you to turn in the New Testament to the book of Acts, if you will. In the book of Acts, I'd like you to turn to Acts 13. Acts 13 and verse 36.

Okay? I'd like you to read it.

I don't know what translation you have. Maybe it's the Old King James. Maybe it's the New King James. Maybe it's the New Living Translation. As in IV, I'd like you to read Acts 13 and verse 36. That is our main text for the day. And I'll wait until everybody goes through and reads it. I bring this up because I'd read this many, many times, probably five or six times, and I never really got it.

Didn't just read right through it. Didn't understand, okay, why is this verse so important? And to me, it becomes one of the most important verses in the entire New Testament. Okay? I look at everyone, and I think they've pretty well read this. Now I would like you to just sit and listen to part of this verse read from the contemporary English version, or the contemporary English Bible.

Because it's made so simple, and even though I've mentioned it here in a sermon or two before. I'd like you to read, or I'd like you to listen as I read now, Acts 13, verse 36 from the contemporary English version.

Very simple. It said, David fulfilled God's purpose in his generation. David fulfilled God's purpose in his generation. Not David's purpose, not anyone else's purpose, but God's purpose. How about your purpose? David had one. David had a purpose, and it wasn't his, it was God's. So this verse is very, very important. Two weeks ago, when I gave this sermon on integrity, I handed out a piece of paper, and on it was the words that are given to you when you are baptized.

And you answer in the affirmative. Most of you have been baptized, answered in that affirmative. That Jesus Christ is your Lord and Master, high priest and soon-coming King. But your Lord and Master, we are his servant. We are the servants of him. And you can even say slaves, as Paul actually says, that now we are slaves to Christ. So we have signed up to do what God wants us to do, which ties us into what?

God's purpose. He has a purpose for us, each and every one of us. So David fulfilled God's purpose in his generation. Will we? Have we? Have we fulfilled his purpose? Are we like the magnanimous David? Most in here did not slay a giant at 16 years of age.

But many in here have faced gigantic trials and slayed those giants, haven't you? King David. He left his son Solomon, as we went through the book of Ecclesiastes, and he left his son Solomon 3,000 talents of gold to build the temple. In today's dollars, that's $34 billion, not million, billion dollars in gold.

Now, I don't know that we have any sons of Warren Buffett in here. I don't know if any of you have received millions from your fathers. Don't know that anyone's extremely rich, or disgustingly rich, I think is the politically correct word today. But many in here have fed and clothed and provided a roof and an education for their children.

And that's nothing to scoff at. When you realize that over half of the world today lives on and survives on $2.50 a day. Something to say. Will you fulfill God's purpose in your generation? And what exactly is God looking for? Most of the world could care less about God, much less what His purpose is designed for them. So what is He looking for? The same thing He was looking for 3,000 years ago. I'd like you to turn back 3,000 years in this book. I'd like you to turn to 1 Chronicles 28.

We'll give three very important verses if you do not have them underlined. They're marked in your Bible. They are very important. If you want to understand your purpose. So I'd like you to turn to 1 Chronicles 28. 1 Chronicles 28 verse 9. As David is addressing his son Solomon.

And he says, I read from the New King James, As for you, my son Solomon, Know the God of your Father, And serve him with a, what? Loyal heart. And serve him with a loyal heart and a willing mind. He distinguishes between the two. A loyal heart and a willing mind.

For the Lord searches all hearts. Wow, isn't it amazing? Hearts. Heart is brought up here. Lord searches all hearts. Did you get that? All hearts. Didn't say just Israel. Didn't say just the United States. Didn't say just this. It says, He searches all hearts. And understands all the intent of the thoughts. And then He says, If you seek Him, Seek. If you seek Him, He will be found by you. But if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

Hmm. I've had people ask me at various times, Well, you know, whatever happened to Solomon, Will Solomon be in God's kingdom? All I can say is, what does it say? Solomon was given more gifts, more wisdom than any man, More blessings than any man has ever experienced on this earth.

Where much is given, much is required. You come to your own conclusion about Solomon. It just brings me back to the fact of what I've been given. Migrating the most of my blessings. I'd like you to turn to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14. 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14. Many of you have heard this. I've seen this on bumper stickers. I've also seen this on billboards in this country. But how many people believe it?

Don't know. A lot of people will say it. But do they realize what is said here? And who said it? 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14. I said, if my people... Is that you? Is that this nation? If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves... Has that been done yet? And pray... Has that been done yet? And do what? We heard this in the last verse. Seek. Seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

There's a lot of stuff that needs to be healed in this land. It's not going to be done. Unless we do our part. If my people... Like you turn over a couple pages, 2 Chronicles 16. 2 Chronicles 16. It's one of my absolute favorite verses. When I came across this many years ago, I just started thinking and then put myself in God's eyes. Or tried to. And think about this.

2 Chronicles 16 verse 9 says, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. Not just Miami. Not just Florida. Not just the United States. Over the whole earth. The whole earth. To show himself strong. Boy, do I need that. How about you? Show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart. Back to that heart thing. Whose heart is loyal to him. How about it? Are we loyal to God? What about our hearts?

Are our hearts loyal to him? Common denominator of these 3 verses. Are 2 words. Heart and seek. Heart and seek. God seems obsessed with people who have or who are creating a heart like his. Does that describe us? Scriptures say that David was a man after God's own heart. You see, heart mentions so many times throughout the Scriptures, we don't have time. In 5 sermons to cover every Scripture where it talks about heart.

It's interesting in Zechariah 7 verse 9. You don't have to turn there because I want to quote this from the New Living Translation. It's as if God is really seeking the hearts of human beings who are wanting to be like him. Who are not afraid to be like God in a world that is wanting to be godless. Seems clear. But in the New Living Translation, I'll just quote this. This is what the Lord says, and it's a very simple line. He says, judge fairly and show mercy and kindness to one another. Judge fairly and show mercy and kindness to one another.

Why? Because that's the way God is. He's always fair, right? And he is so merciful and kind to those who follow him. I guess that's why he even told the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 24 there that he wanted his people who he'd blessed to follow him, but they had gone in and out of all these issues and problems with other nations as he would bring these nations to punish them. So they would wake up and return back to him. What do you think it would take for a nation of 310 million people to turn back to God? 3,000? Would it take killing 3,000 people and almost a trillion dollars in debt, like it was September 11, 2001?

People did! A lot of people! Remember the churches? But it only lasted a week or two. What is it going to take to turn the hearts of this nation back to God? How about 300,000 people? Would it be worth it to God to allow that? It happened before. 69 AD, when the Romans conquered Jerusalem, thought upwards of a half a million people were slaughtered. And all God says, tells Jeremiah, I will give them a heart to know me.

He tried so many things, but he realized that it takes a heart. It takes a certain kind of heart to really know God. And to want to do that, it has to start right here. And so many people have asked, well, I don't know why God called me. That's your answer. Because his eyes go to and fro over the entire world we just read. He has seven billion people to choose from! Makes who you are and what you're doing here pretty important. I could go back with me to Deuteronomy 4.

Deuteronomy 4. He was telling this nation he was building that was going to be professing him as their God. Deuteronomy 4 in verse 29, he says, "...but from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." He's just quoting the Ten Commandments. He's quoting the First Commandment, right?

He's been asking that the entire time! But I'd like you to turn over one chapter to Deuteronomy 5 in verse 29. When I read this one time, I was really feeling or trying to feel what God felt at the time. When he wrote this, I had this written in Deuteronomy 5 in verse 29. He says, oh, you get that? That was put in there. Oh! That they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me and always keep my commandments, and that it might be well with them and their children forever.

Oh, that they had such a heart! Does that describe you? Does that describe what you have taught your children? That it's in here, not what's out here that God is really looking for? Three thousand years, and God's still looking for the same thing. Three thousand years, He's been searching for the same thing, those hearts. Do we need a heart transplant? Or do we just need to work the one we have and get the plaque out from the arteries, so that our heart will work?

He describes in different places people whose heart was not towards Him, and He actually said a heart of Flint in one example, and He also says a stony heart. A hardened heart. How's your heart?

You know, Christ came. And besides, I don't want to negate what is said in John 3.16, which you all know. One of the reasons He came. But another reason He came, He said, was to reveal the Father. Reveal the Father.

And you have to think, what do you mean? He wanted to show what His Father is like, because people didn't understand. And you go through the Old Testament, the four thousand years that the Old Testament roughly covers, and you see the word phrased in different ways only seven times. And it's the word Father.

Because people didn't view Him. They viewed Him as God. Thunderbolts. Lightning. Not Father. God! Not Father. He was amazing, seven times Father is used. And one time, it's actually referencing Jesus Christ and the Father.

But think about it. Seven times compared to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Gospels. The first four books of the New Testament, Jesus Christ mentions Father seventy times. Seven, seventy? You think He had a message? He wanted people to see what His Father was like. And He wasn't this big bad, abusive Father. A loving and caring. He came to personify the Father so they could actually see what the Father is like in Him.

Right? He said, if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. Right? It sounds so simple. People at that time didn't get it. Very few got it. Do we? Do we see that Jesus Christ was a chip off the old block, as you might say? When you read it and you see these incredible examples about Christ, you say, well, that's God.

That's like my Father. He's just my older brother. So think about it. Here is God, and so for you to see God better, well, clearly, be able to see the heart of God. And what's at His very core? He sends His Son, who looks, He says, like His dad. Who acts like His dad. Who is everything like His Father. So all people had to do was look at Christ and they see God. They see the Father. I had the blessing of having two wonderful physical fathers. My father, who died two years ago, was a very loving and caring man.

I just was able to spend four days, four or five days with my father-in-law, Mary's father, who is 92 years of age. I had to take him to the doctor. I got to spend time talking the Bible. We got to spend a lot of time talking sports. He loves sports. Spend that time, and all during that time, it always came out how much he loved his children and how blessed he was to have these children and how good his children had been to him.

And that love, and my father was that way. My physical father would give us anything. He's always wanting to do something for us before he died. The love for the children, that's how God is. I got to see that. Not everybody has that opportunity to see that. But you see, Christ came, and we get to read about those three and a half years mostly.

And we get to see how he acted, how...but look how many times he referenced the Father. Father, Father, Father. There is none good but the Father. So many times, he was showing how good his Father is. And all he wanted was for us to be able to look at. But see, things have changed. Christ is no longer here except in here and in spirit.

But it wasn't good enough for God. Not good enough. God wants people to see who he is and what he's about. So he's given the responsibility. It went from God to Christ and from Christ to what? His followers. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So God's saying to the world, Observe. Observe my heart by my people. And hopefully he says, if you've seen them, you've seen me.

Our purpose, our purpose is about him. Amazing. So what is important about us to God is how we are seen by people. It's how we're seen by people. But it's not us. It's how he's seen by people who look at us. And that's what is so important in Matthew 23, 23 that we went through, I don't know, six months ago. But many of you do not know Matthew 23 by heart. It's very important because that's part of your purpose. Matthew 23, verse 23, talks about, at the end of his life, he's in the last seven days, he's preached for three and a half years, trying to show people, trying to tell them how to act and be, and the Pharisees and the leaders just following him around, chastising him and making fun of him and mocking him the entire time.

Because they were so righteous, they kept the Sabbath day, they kept the holy days, they tithed, they looked religious. And he said, no, it's the weightier matters of the law. Just have one verse. He said, weightier matters of the law. Weightier, heavier, more important. The important part of God's law, the important part of everything about this is in, and the very core of God, and Jesus Christ is in J.M.F. Justice, Mercy, and Faith. Justice, Mercy, and Faith. We cannot say that enough.

That is at the very core. J.M.F. Justice, Mercy, and Faith. Justice, what's right and what's wrong? How do we tell? Well, how do you judge someone? Who are you to judge that a man cannot have relations with another man? This is what? Oh, wait a minute. Let's not stop there. He says, who's to say it's wrong for a person to have relations with an animal? This! This is it! Justice, what's right? This tells us what's right and what's wrong.

That's justice. That's why the law was given. Justice, Mercy, and Faith. But justice. And then, but with that comes mercy. We must not only make the right decisions and choose to do what's right, we must also show mercy. God is so merciful. See, because this shows God in us. Do we show the mercy? And then finally, there's faith. Justice, Mercy, and Faith. We believe it. We just don't think this is a book written by a bunch of different authors that somehow they knew a little bit about God. We know this is the Word of God.

God breathed. This is how we live our lives. And that we have faith that there is a power and an entity above us that is so much smarter than us. That's what it's about. Faith. Justice is to know it. Mercy is to show it. Faith is to believe it. With no doubts. If you ever want to have a great Bible study, sometimes just pick up a concordance and go and look up the word mercy and see how many of their examples are.

And you'll find out one thing about mercy. God is so merciful. Which brought me to this question of, am I that merciful? I still got a ways to go. But is it important? I bring this up because every year God brings people into our lives. People who will get to see Christ personified in us. And when they see Christ personified in us, they get to see God personified in us. Every year God brings people into your life, into contact with you, so that they can see either for now or for later God in us.

I think that's a good enough purpose. That's why the greatest sermon ever given, Christ couldn't leave it out. A sermon on the Mount. And He says, all you followers of mine and God, you are light of the world. You are light of the world, a city set upon a hill that cannot be hidden. Let your light so shine before men, the world, that they will see your good, great works.

And they will glorify Chuck Smith. Ah, yes! Let my name be in a banner. Let me hire an airplane to fly it over the stadium. And they can say, Chuck Smith did all these great works. Glorify this man. Put my name on a building. Better yet, put my name on the stadium. Put my name carved in stone on one of these sidewalks, because I donated a million dollars to this. Good works.

He is fabulous. Doesn't say that at all. But you sure see it, don't you? They're not glorifying the Father. That's why we're here. That's our purpose. Whether it's for 70, 80, or one day, which is tomorrow, that's your purpose.

It is about Him. You will make a difference in people's lives, either good or bad. There won't be any middle ground. You will either make an impact in someone's life, either good or bad, when you take what we're supposed to be doing for God. Will you fulfill God's purpose in your generation? Who have you shown justice, mercy, and faith to last week? Who will you show justice, mercy, and faith next week? It's not easy in this world, but it wasn't for David, either. So, as we end a calendar year at the end of this month, who did God bring into your life this past year?

Who did God bring you into their life? Many of you can think about it. Many of you, when you start thinking about it, you go, Oh, wow! Didn't realize it. Guess that's why God even throws a caveat in there and says, In case you didn't know it, you have possibly entertained angels unaware. I bank, Mary Banks, at BB&T. It's our bank. Tried across the street from where we live. About a month ago, I drove, I did the drive-through. I go in the bank sometimes, but it was very crowded. There was a small little branch bank. I drove up, got out, was going to go in and saw three or four people backed up, and they are not known for their speed there. So I said, Oh, I only need to go. How dare these people hold me up? I'm so important. I need my name on a banner and on a building. But I got back in my car, and I drove through the drive-through. And I just said, because I don't have an ATM card, I don't use one. So whenever I need money, I just go to the bank and ask them to write out this thing, and I got to sign it and give me some money out of my checking account. So I asked for $60, said, could you just give me three 20s? That's all I need. So she did, and she was busy, and it was another four or five minutes before she was even back, because she was trying to take care of this and this and this.

I didn't realize that God had brought this woman into my life. I didn't even realize it till I drove off. I didn't realize it till I started working on this sermon, that He brought her into my life for a purpose. Because when I went back to the window, the little arm came out, and she had money in this little envelope. You know, it's little bitty things, just about the size of bills could slip into. And so I took this, I said, thank you, and I was just about to drive off, and I held my break.

You know, she might have gotten that wrong. She might have. I better count it. She's liable for giving me $40. You better count it. So I just looked in there. She didn't give me $40. She didn't give me $60. She gave me $80. She put $420s instead of... giving me too much money is her mistake. Her mistake? Good! Mary, let's have lunch on her.

That's not my purpose. Justice, doing what's right. Mercy, making sure she doesn't get there at the end of the day and say, What did I do? Faith, knowing I don't need their money. God is my banker. Right? But only problem was I let the car go forward just a little bit, and I was stuck in that drive-through.

And somebody else was right behind me because they'd been waiting too. So I couldn't back up and say, Hey, hey, hey! You gave me too much money. I had to go inside the bank. So I pulled around, still at my envelope, went in, and there's a dozen people. So they were going to make me wait. I was trying to do something good, and now I got to wait and do it. Justice, mercy, and faith.

Except this was patience added to it. Patience to do what's right even when it's not expedient to me. Olivia. Is she here? No. You can see her. Olivia works at Walmart. And she was telling me when she first got the job at Walmart, she was telling me how part of her job of checking people out was to make sure that people were not ripping them off. Because as they were going through, they were using fake coupons. They were taking the prices off of one thing and putting them on another. And I said, well, yeah, but how many times that happened? She says hourly. It just happens all the time. And she told me some of the things that people were doing, and I'm going, man, no kidding.

I found it hard to believe. Some of the scams that people will go through just to rip Walmart off. They don't understand, thou shall not steal any way, shape, or form. Mercy. Who did God bring into your life this year? That you had the opportunity to show mercy to. Who will He bring tomorrow into your life? Mercy, not just for one who needs it, or how about somebody who could use it? I'll straighten that person out. There's a guy in one of the islands.

He was a regular attendee of services, and he actually brought this man in one Sabbath when I was there. And this older man, he was so bent over, he could barely look up. Very old, and he had some health problems. And so this guy came and brought him to services.

He listened to the sermon, and afterwards this guy came and asked, would I actually annoy him? Lay my hands upon him and ask for God to give him some relief from his incredible pain. I said, certainly, I'll do that. And after I did that, he said, well, I need to take him. He lives pretty far away, and there's only one bus that actually goes out there to him. And it usually takes a while. You usually have to wait. And I was sitting there and looking at my budget that I had had, and I thought, well, you know, after services a long day, I think I'll have a nice meal and even have a glass of wine with my meal.

It cost me 20 bucks in the island.

I realized that 20 bucks wasn't going to do me near as good as it would this man who was in pain to at least get a good ride home and maybe they could stop and get a meal. I realized what I had, and I was just about to complain to God that my back was sore and stiff from the airplane ride.

And I looked around, and God had been so merciful to me. How about you? Maybe it's just a prayer. How merciful is that? Remember, I had to remember last night and even this morning about all those people who were dealing with family in San Bernardino, California today. I've preached in a funeral, said I realized what people go through. They need some comfort. I have to remember to show mercy that I've been shown. Very important. Finally, we come down to faith. Faith? If we don't have it, who in the world does? If we don't have it, who in the world would expect us? Hebrews 11.6, that wonderful verse. He who comes to God must believe that He is, that He is who He said He is, and we know who He is, and we know that we know that there's a higher power here. And it's not about us. That's what it's about. Do we believe and share this belief when someone's going through something? Because that's true faith. Faith is you're in charge, God. I prayed for people, anointed people who have been healed, like that. I prayed for people and anointed people who died. That's faith in Him. He knows what's best because I always go, your will. Not my will. I know what I want, but what I may want is not your will. It's His will. And faith. And I guess that's why when you talk about a funeral, and we always cover 1 Corinthians 15, we always cover 1 Thessalonians 4.

And it actually says in the verse of chapter 13, verse 13 and chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians, about when someone dies, that lest you sorrow like the world. We don't sorrow like the rest of the world. We know what happens after death. We have faith that there is a God. And dead or alive, we are all in His hands. And I don't want to be in anybody else's hands. And neither do you. See, we comfort people. When you have faith and know that this isn't all there is for Uncle Aunt Ginny, death is inevitable.

But not so with comfort, is it?

Do you share that comfort? I have a friend of mine named Joe Curtis. Best friend growing up. And Joe, we were rooming together when I got married to Mary and kicked him out. Took her instead.

But Joe and I, all through junior high, elementary, junior high, high school, and everything. And Joe is one of the... You never have to worry about him cheating you. He's always fair. He's giving and so forth. He always shows mercy. He's a very caring and merciful guy. You've seen him too. In your life. But whenever we talk to Joe, even in the last few years, last ten years, we haven't been that close. I'll mention something and I'll say something about God. And he goes, there you go with that God thing again. He says, you are an intelligent guy. How can you believe in that stuff? And then he'll roll his eyes. God! He said, you're so ignorant. I can't help Joe in this world with that. It's going to take another world for me to be able to help Joe. Because that's how he's lived his life and he's 57 years old now. But I will continue to show justice, mercy and faith with him. As I wrap this up, my job is to minister to people. Whether they're in this room or whether they're out there. It's just what I do, 24-7. It's something that you do also. You minister to people. They get to see what kind of belief you hold by the way you act. By the way, you show justice, mercy and faith. The greatest messages ever given were not heard, but they were observed. Remember that. The greatest messages ever given were not heard, but they're observed by other people. That's your job. You might say you are a life coach because you're to tell people as a scripture, say how to live life and live it more abundantly because that's what Christ said, one of the reasons he came. The opportunity I have, I teach teachers that you were to teach. See, we have the big questions in life. We have all the answers to them. The answers to the big questions of life are all in here. We just have to have a way to present them. To each one of us, those big questions in life are going to come to us in different ways, in different manners. And so it's important how we give the answer, how we present them to people. Because I can't take Joe Curtis and say, let me cram this down your throat. God, how dare you mock my God! That doesn't help Joe. That's not going to get that.

Two great gifts from God is His Word and His heart. His Word and His heart. We take this and we transform this into this. And what comes out of this is this. It's what we are told to do. It's how we do it.

Let's better use this and this. I know I can. I can do a better job of it. And I want to, starting tomorrow, do a better job. So that perhaps it can be written of us that we fulfill God's purpose in our generation.