SECOND SERMON IN THE SEVEN FOR "40 DAYS OF PURPOSE"

SUNDAY MARCH 22, 2004

Pastors David Layman, John Hollis and Barb Kenley

"What on Earth am I Here For?"

February 22, 2004

II Corinthians 4:16-5:1

We're ready to start on this journey we've been planning for long time. Today we'll look at life's 3 greatest questions:

1. The question of existence--why am I alive?

2. The question of significance--does my life matter?

3. The question of intention--what is my purpose?

Pastor David Layman

1.Why am I alive? I have an easier time answering this question than many. I was born a very privileged child. Not privileged in the terms of finances... .the home I grew up in had less "stuff" than those of many. But from the very beginning, I knew that I was loved by my parents, and they and the churches I grew up in taught me I was loved by God... .that God loved me eternally, and wanted me to be his child forever. You can't grow up in a more privileged home than that! Some kids were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I was born with a golden rule in my heart! More than this, my father was a philosophy major in college; by his nature, he was always seeking to understand the meaning and purpose of life. Science, how something came to be, never mattered as much as why something came to be! Proverbs 16:4 tells us "The Lord has made everything for His own purpose."

Those who don't believe this have to come up with their own answers. Survivalists conclude that the purpose of life is to live as long as

possible. I've done enough calling in nursing homes to know that long life, without purpose and companionship, is rarely a blessing. Rap artist Ice T wrote "The only reason we're here is to reproduce.. .Keep the species alive." The Hedonist believes the purpose of life is pleasure. But as the wise come to understand, many activities that bring momentary pleasure, result in bad side effects in the coming

days. The Materialist says "Life is about acquiring things." A bumper sticker proclaims "He who dies with the most toys wins." But we could add "The one who dies with the most toys still dies." And, you can't take it with you! Many seek to invent their own purpose in life, and seek to inflate a hobby into an ultimate purpose. I'll never forget the first funeral I did. It was for a non-member. I went to the calling and asked loved ones to share about the person that died, so I could prepare a meditation to reflect upon the person's life in the light of the hope we find in Christ. My problem was that all I could gather from those at the calling was that this individual liked to play cards, and watch Reds games. Playing cards and watching ball games are fine hobbies, but I sadly began to see that this man lived with no apparent greater purpose than that!

For fun, Bob Chamness and I traveled to beautiful central Pennsylvania last fall to see IU play Penn State in football. But we sat next to a man who's been to 120 straight IU away football games. I hope and pray he has a deeper and more abiding purpose in life, especially since there's a lot of suffering involved in watching IU get pummeled on the road in football. This year, they're even losing in basketball.. .at home! There's got to be a greater purpose in life than that!

Why are each of us alive? It's to do more than accumulate possessions, perpetuate the human race, go to ball games and enjoy a brief moment in the sun. Every rock, plant, animal has a purpose. And every human being has a purpose as well. As Rick Warren sees it, God has 5 purposes for each life, and in the next 40 days, we're going to consider these purposes. Today, it's sufficient to remember God's motive: we were created to be loved by God.

2. The second key question of life is the question of significance: Does my life matter? We were each created for a purpose, and if we don't understand why God put us here, life doesn't make sense. During World War II, there were prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp in Hungary working in a factory. The Allies bombed the factory, so the prisoners had nothing to do. The Nazi guards had the prisoners take all the rubble and move it to another field. Following that, they were ordered to move the same rubble back. The prisoners began to lose their will to live because there was no purpose to their work. Many began to throw themselves at the guards, knowing they would be shot. Because we were made for a purpose, and even doing productive work for a hated enemy was preferred to a meaningless existence!

We can go through life at three levels. The most basic is the survival level. This is where many find themselves today.. .they put in their time and live for the weekend... .just surviving. Or, as the Bee Gee's hit song says it, "Staying Alive." Above the survival level is the success level. Many you and I know don't want to just survive, they want to succeed at something... .it may not matter to them what! They may become an officer in someone's fan club, they may accumulate the world's greatest collection of baseball cards. They may be like a classmate I once had who could stuff 14 golf balls in his mouth... .he was a success!

But the third level of living is the significance level. One achieves the significance level by knowing the meaning of life, knowing how much we matter to God, and knowing, and living out God's purposes for our life! In Psalm 139 we read "It was you (God) who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb." (vs. 13) The knowledge that we aren't just the result of a biological occurrence, but were created and known by God, gives each life significance! Psalm 33:11 tells us God's "plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally." It's not just for a few days or four score years that we exist. In God's plan, we are to exist forever. This gives our lives significance! On earth, God wants us to practice what we will do in Heaven forever. This earthly life is like the warm up act. God has plans and purposes for us, and they don't end at death. Our body will one day give out, but we are far more than a body. God's "purposes last eternally." (Ps. 33: 11) We were made to be loved by God, and we were made to last forever!

In II Corinthians 5:1 we read "FOR WE KNOW THAT IF THE EARTHLY TENT WE LIVE IN IS DESTROYED, WE HAVE A BUILDING FROM GOD, A HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS." The question of existence.. .why am I alive? is answered by God saying "I made you to love you, that's why you're alive." And the question of significance: "Does my life matter?" is answered by God: "Oh yes! You matter so much to me, I plan to keep you around for eternity!"

Pastor Barb Kenley

3. Now, let's look at the third question. If you were created by an all-powerful God - and you were! And if your life matters to an all-loving God - and it does! Then the question that naturally follows is: what is my purpose? That is, what am I going to do about it? How am I to respond? It's not enough to know in your minds, or even in your hearts these wonderful truths. We creatures must act; we must respond to this incredible life and love we've been given.

Please take your bulletin inserts and read the Acts 17 verse aloud with me, "For in him, we live and move and have our beings." Acts 28a. Thank you. Circle the words "in him."

Let me ask you something. If you were to go home after church today, and find Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard had taken up residence in your home, what would you do? They're the American Idols! The whole country loved those two young men so much that over 40 million people cast ballots for these guys, based on a television show! Not only do they sing great, they're genuinely nice guys. So, if you find them sitting on your sofa, watching your TV, eating your microwave popcorn, you're going to say hello, welcome, nice to meet you. Now, I know some of you are thinking, Pastor Barb, I'm going to be calling the cops! But, friends, you'd be in the minority. The rest of the country wants to get to know these guys. They'd ask about their families, their hobbies, the food they like, how to make them feel at home.

Shouldn't we do at least as much for God? We just read, "For in him, we live and move and have our being." It's not like God's moved into our house, we've moved into his! If we're going to find our purpose, we do that by getting to know God. Please write that in your blank space at the bottom, "I find my purpose by getting to know God."

If you have a Pew Bible handy, please take it and turn to page ____ in the New Testament, the Letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17. Would you read it aloud with me please? "For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers--all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together." The Greek word for hold together means that they are held together in a very specific order, in a unique and perfect way. "All things" find their purpose in God, which is why we want to spend the next 40 days getting to know God better. It's not about us anymore. It's not about looking within ourselves, or to other mere creatures. It's about God, and what God wants, and Who God is.

Last night, over 150 people came together in our Fellowship Hall and signed little orange commitment cards about what they would be doing these next 40 days. We're going to put these up where everyone can see them, reminding us of our common commitment to 3 things: 1) To participate in a small group. Over 200 people, some not even a part of our church, have signed up for one of these groups. They'll meet for 6 weeks and each meeting will last no more than 90 minutes. And if you're not in one, it's not too late. Please meet me in the Parlor after worship, and I'll help you find a group.

The second thing we committed to was to read each day's chapter from The Purpose-Driven Life book. These chapters are very short. They will take you about 15 minutes to read, which you can fit in during your lunch hour, or when you sit down to read the Pal-Item in your favorite chair, just pick up your book and read your chapter first.

The third thing we committed to was to hear all 7 messages in our 40 Days of Purpose. It's great if you can be here in our Sanctuary each Sunday, but if something prevents you from doing that, our messages can be found on our church web site OR your can watch our cable broadcast on Channel 21 each Sunday at 1 PM.

If you weren't with us last night, and would like to make this commitment, there are more orange cards just like them near the exits of the Sanctuary. Please sign one and leave it with any Usher or in the Church Office.

If you add up the time each of these three commitments takes, the whole thing adds up to no more 48 hours. Forty-eight hours; two days to transform your life on earth and prepare for your eternity. Is it worth it to you? Pastor David, Pastor John and I are praying you'll say yes.

And we know that each of us here is at a different point in our spiritual journeys. Some of you are new to the Christian faith and the Christian life. We're thrilled you're here at First Presbyterian at just this moment; you're going to get a great start.

Some of you have been around church all your life, but you haven't let God very close. You know the building like the back of your hand; but you don't know the Savior. If you are being honest with yourself, you'll admit that you've been living for your own plans, not God's. Well, this 40 days is a time to come home; a time to get real; a time to reorient your priorities and humble yourself like you've been avoiding. There are all kinds of us around here to help you do that, and cheer you on. To you, let me be the first to say, "Welcome home."

And some or you are strong believers who've walked very closely with God for many years. This is the time to go deeper, and to take others with you.

During this 40 Days, it doesn't matter where you are or who you are because it's not about you, it's about God. Please write down one more verse, and read it in your own Bible when you get home. It's Acts, chapter 10, verse 35. When you read it, you'll find it doesn't matter if you're a baby Christian or super spiritual; if you're from Richmond, Indiana, or Southern California or Sydney Australia, if you want God and are ready to do as God says, the door is open.

Let's take our Red Hymnals, turn to hymn 394, let's stand and make this hymn our song of commitment to God for these 40 Days….