Second Timothy, chapter two, verse twenty. I'd like to preach a message tonight that I've entitled The Purpose Driven Family. Now, I know that if you combine the word purpose and driven, all of a sudden, we as fundamentalists, we kind of get this, like, wait a minute, what's going on? We know about that guy out in California who wrote all those books and did all those things. Listen, the Bible had a purpose for our life. Well, I'm going to be ... or whatever it is he does out there, I'm not exactly sure. and God has some desire and purpose for life. The issue is not so much that someone is saying, Hey, we need a purpose in life. The issue is, is What purpose is it? Is it God's purpose? The issue is how I apply that and the methods by which I live that out in my life. And we believe that as we do that, we methodically live that out in our life in an attitude of holiness, an attitude of righteousness, because we serve a holy and a righteous God. That's why our music and our lifestyle and the way we live and the way we do things is separate from the things of the world. So I don't want you to be nervous about this in any way or think we're headed in a direction that we're not, but it is important for us to have a purpose in what we are doing. I think about it this way most of all, is when I go to the gym, which isn't very often in the last few years, But, you know, when you go to the gym, you could go in and you're kind of like, okay, well, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? I said, well, I think I've used this machine before, you know, and you go over here and you do a little bit and, oh, this one looks, you know, and you see this guy, he's got all these muscles, you think, man, if I do that, I look like him, you know, so I go over here and I'll try this one out a little bit and I kind of mess around and I get on the treadmill and I, Man, that's three and a half minutes, and it's kind of tough. I'm starting to sweat, you know, thinking about stopping. And, you know, I spent about an hour, hour and a half kind of wandering around the gym doing this, doing that. And then I leave, and I think, man, I don't really know if I really did anything or not. I'm not really sure. I'm not really sure. And then I say, I know this personally. When I go, if I have a plan, if I have something I want to accomplish, I'm going to do six of these and 20 of these and 20 minutes over here. And I follow that plan methodically out. When I leave the gym, first of all, I spent less. And secondly, I got more done, OK, and I've accomplished more because I'm going in with a purpose. I'm hitting the purpose and I'm able to quit. And hey, I know I accomplish the purpose. And so we want to try to develop tonight a purpose for our family, a purpose for our homes, a purpose for maybe even us as an individual. And we want to get that from God's word. And we certainly want to apply it biblically in the methods that we would use to work it out in our life. In Second Timothy, chapter two, the Bible tells us in verse twenty, But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. The Bible says in verse 21, if a man therefore purge himself from these, And that's speaking of a verse that will look at a little bit later up in verse sixteen, but he purged himself of these. He shall be a vessel under honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared under every good work. If you would please, if you're marking in your Bible, if you would underline that word sanctified, we're going to look at that word and see that we find a great purpose in that word tonight. The word sanctified. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we're thankful to be in the house of God tonight. And Lord, we're here because we stand in need of your Word from heaven. We stand in need of your strength by the Holy Spirit. We stand in need of Christian fellowship with one another. Father, as we come to the preaching of the Word of God, I pray that every heart would be in tune to listen, not necessarily to me, Father, but to you and to your Holy Spirit and what you have to say. And may we find ourselves, in God's Word, a purpose for living. Perhaps, Father, many of us know the things that will review tonight, but we need to just refocus on the purpose for our existence. Perhaps there'll be new things of some young Christians here tonight. And Father, I pray that tonight would be the first night of a focus, a purpose-driven life for them. And Father, we'll give you the praise and the honor and the glory for all that's accomplished tonight. For we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. I've asked you to underline that word in verse 21, the word sanctify. It carries the meaning, it has the idea to make holy. Biblically, it means to withdraw fellowship with the world by first gaining fellowship with God. It carries the idea of being set apart for a specific purpose, a specific use. And the Bible tells us that when we are saved, we are sanctified and God sets us apart for a specific use. We see throughout the Bible that not only Christians, but other things were sanctified or set apart in God's Word. For instance, in Exodus 29 verse 44, the Bible says, and I will sanctify the tabernacle, the congregation and the altar. And I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest's office. So in the Old Testament, we see these people and these things are sanctified and they're set apart. They have a special use and they're going to be used in the worship of God. They're going to be used in the ministry of God. All right, I give in. In Exodus chapter 31, the Bible says, "...that ye may know that I am the Lord thy God, which sanctify you." And the Hebrew there, it's the name Jehovah-Mechadosh. And it has the idea of Jehovah, my sanctifier. He is the one who sanctifies, He's doing the action to us, and He is setting people apart. He is setting things apart for His use. He has a special purpose and a special plan for those things. In Leviticus 20, verse 7, the Bible says, sanctify yourselves therefore, be ye holy, for I am the Lord your God, I am holy, the Bible tells us. And so not only is it something that Jesus or God does to us, or to things that he is going to use, but God also instructs us to sanctify ourselves and to set ourselves apart to be like God or to be holy, because the God that sanctified us, the God that loved us, the God that sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us, he is holy and we are therefore to be holy and set apart for the use of God. So the Bible tells us in John chapter 17 and verse 19 that Christ even sanctified himself for use, and that was to die upon the cross. I want us to get the idea that this word sanctified carries the meaning of being set apart and given a specific purpose. Now, in verse 20 of our text, The Bible tells us about these vessels. We'll read this again. It says, But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. You know, in the Bible times they didn't have, you know, rubber made or plastic or that one kind that's the, you know, the clear with the blue lid. I'm forgetting the name of it now. But the kind you just kind of use a few times and it ruins in the microwave and you throw it away, you know, and you get a new one. No, they had these different vessels that they would use time and time and again. And the Bible says that they had specific purposes. Some were for honor, okay? Some were for honorable purposes. Some were made of gold and of silver. And I can imagine that we would think that in this great house or in this palace, there was a king there, a man of great importance, and the vessels that he would use that were honorable were made of this gold or of silver. And then there were also vessels in this man's house that were used for dishonor, and they were made of clay. or they were made of wood, the Bible says. And so we see these different types of vessels in the palace. They would be used, the honorable things for eating and drinking, or perhaps, you know, you kind of know the idea. Your wife doesn't allow you to eat on that certain type of plate that you have in your cabinet, because that's for honor. That's for the guests. That's for people when they come to your house It's special. You only eat on it when guests come over. And you use that special china, you use that special silverware for the plates. But then there's also vessels that are of wood and of clay, and they're used for dishonorable tasks, such as putting the trash in. Or perhaps they would burn a fire in their house, in a fireplace, and they would empty the ashes out into this vessel. Or perhaps it was used for changing the oil. task, and it was these these lesser vessels. They weren't as worth as much, and they were dirty, and they weren't to be eaten out of. They weren't to be drinking out of. I know in our house, our honorable, dishonorable deal is towels. OK, we have towels. How many of you are with me on this one? OK, we have towels that are used for guests, OK? And that's really the only people who use them, OK? Now, if I happen to use one every once in a while, my wife is OK with that, but I know that they are for the guests. And then we have the towels, they're kind of in the middle, and that's probably the ones that we use. And they're somewhere between honorable and dishonorable because they've been used before or something like that, I'm not exactly sure. But those are the ones that we use. And then there's the dishonorable ones, they're out in the garage. And they get used to clean the car, they get used to dry off the dog, they get used, you know, for whatever's really dirty things that we don't, that are kind of a dishonorable chore. So the Bible gives us this picture in verse 20 of these vessels that are being used for different purposes or different plans. In our life, God, the idea here in verse 20 and in verse 21 as it connects, is that Christians are these vessels. And the great house of God is God's ministry, God's work that he's doing in our life, and we are too. As God has sanctified us and set us apart for special use or purpose in our life, we too are to work with God to sanctify ourselves, to make ourselves a clean vessel that can be used in an honorable way in the work of the Lord. Now, the overall purpose of mankind is found in Ephesians 1, verse 12, when the Bible says that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Jesus Christ. We know that. We know that our life, whether therefore we eat or drink or whatsoever we do, do all to the glory of God. This is the purpose of our life, no matter what it is that we do. But it's sometimes easier to be said that it is to be lived out in our life in order to be in order to bring glory and honor and praise to God. We must be holy. We must be vessels that are fit to be used by God. And so tonight we see that every believer needs to prepare his life for God's use, according to our text. And the question tonight is, is your life or is your family a prepared vessel that God can use? Is it a sanctified place? Is it a sanctified group of individuals? Is it a sanctified single individual where we realize that our purpose is to be separate, holy for God? And there is a purpose behind that holiness, not simply just to be holy. Not simply just to do right, for doing right's sake, but there is a purpose that we'll get to at the end of the night. We're going to look at and consider tonight three phases of preparation so that your family and yourself, maybe as an individual, can be used by God. First of all, may we notice the positioning. The positioning. This is our salvation. I believe that our text in other places in the book of second Timothy. Not only is it we find in God's Word, but is also assumed in this text that if we're ever going to be used by God, if we're ever going to be driven by a God's purpose in our life, we must first know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 12, Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, the only reason we're able to be sanctified is because the blood of Jesus Christ because He died on the cross and He shed His blood for our sins. And it is not our self-righteousness. It is not our good works. It is not necessarily the things that we do that make it possible to be sanctified or a fit vessel that God can use. But it is the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. There is no remission of sins. And so our position tonight is not in ourselves. It's not in our past history. It's not in anything that we could ever do in the future. It's simply on Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone and his blood that washes and cleanses us from our sins. We are sanctified and that is being set apart. But our sanctification begins at salvation. You know, we live in a world that is really searching. for a purpose and for fulfillment in life. You know, I believe many times it starts as a young person. We try to make a name for ourselves and perhaps it's in the area of academics and athletics and people are pushing us really hard in that area. And then we're looking and we see these role models that are in our life and they're not necessarily meant to be role models, but we see them all the time on the television. We see the great wealth that they have and the popularity that we have. And so we have this mindset of, man, I've got to be successful. And if I'm going to, I want to be like him. And so I've got to get out there. And even at an early age, The purpose for life, the world takes it and it blurs it for the Christian. So that maybe even before we're off running the race really as a grown-up in life, our focus and our purpose is way off. But you know what? It's continued and it's fostered many times in the home and even by grown-ups. This is not a teenage problem. This is not something exclusive to teenagers. but we live our life running a rat race and we run and we work all day long and then we run the games and we run the recitals and we run the vacation and we seek out overtime and there's events and excitement and enthusiasm and we're looking for everything to fill our life and to give us purpose and to give me meaning so that I have something that is really me and that makes me kind of stick and makes me remembered in my society or in my place of service. But listen, there is nothing that this world has to offer that is going to fulfill that void inside the life of a Christian. Because whether you like it or not, God has separated you and God has sanctified you for a holy purpose, to be used by Him. And if you don't like that, listen, you should have perhaps thought of that before you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. Now listen, praise the Lord, you cannot lose your salvation. But when you're saved, the Bible says that Jesus' blood washes you clean, forgives every one of your sins. And the Bible says, whether you like it or not, That Jesus Christ, when you are saved, sanctifies you. He sets you apart and says, hey, here's a vessel that I'm going to work on. Here's a vessel. Here's a person that I'm going to begin to use. Here's a person that I'm going to develop a great purpose, and I'm going to use them in an honorable way. I'm going to take their life, and I'm going to do great things with it. But it begins in our position, and that position is Jesus Christ. Many people have become enslaved by the American dream. And the only thing that will set them free is the truth. The truth of God's Word. The Bible says in John 14, 6, Jesus said unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In John chapter 8, verse 34, ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. John chapter 8 verse 36, if the sun therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Listen carefully every person in this auditorium. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, That guiltiness, that burden, that worry, that frustration that you try to find everything else in life to take away, whether it be alcohol, whether it be a good time, whether it be a movie, whether it be friends, whether it be a job, whether it be education. Listen, there is nothing wrong with any of those things except for what I said, drinking alcohol. When our purpose in life is understood that it's for Jesus Christ, we're sanctified, we're holy. And so that as I watch a movie in my home, it is acceptable unto the Lord. I'm not saying it has to be a movie or a cartoon on John 3, 16 or on Daniel. It can be a normal movie. But I ask myself, is it holy? Is it sanctified? Is it going to help me to fulfill God's purpose for me? in my life. Listen, what you're looking for is the truth and the world wants to give you all kinds of substitutes to fill in for the truth. But there is nothing, nothing that will ever fill that. But the truth and the truth is Jesus Christ. And when we know the truth and we recognize the truth and we accept the truth, then we are set free from sin. We are set free from living a purpose, a purposeless life so that we can fulfill God's purpose indeed, for a lot. You consider the endless cycle. I talked to a guy this week in so many, you know, if that guy wakes up every day and he's got a job and he goes to his job and it pays the bills, he said, why? Well, he kind of comes home and he does other things, whatever he wants. And he gets up the next morning, and he's got a job. And it pays the bills. It pays for him to do fun things. It pays for him to do this. It pays for him to do that. And then he, you know, he buys food, I imagine. He eats, gets the strength, goes to sleep, wakes up the next morning, and there he goes again. Listen, let's stop and think about this for a second. If that is the purpose for your life, is your job, Someone shoot me now. If that's all it is, is just to work this job, that's killing me. Just so I can make money. Just so I can chase some dream that everybody's out trying to get that really isn't so much of a dream, but perhaps a nightmare in the day and age that we live in right now. There has to be a greater purpose for my life. Did God save me to do this? Did God save me just to live and have a job and earn money and have fun in life? No, there's a greater purpose. But it begins with our positioning. It begins at salvation when Christ cleanses us with His blood and He gives us eternal life. Mom and Dad, if you want to give everything to your children, listen, you could give them a mom and dad, a parents who are saved and know Jesus Christ as their Savior. who understand the great power that is in the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and they are willing to plunge themselves under that blood and not their good works in order to give them eternal life and forgiveness of sins. There is in the first step that of positioning ourselves for God's use, and that begins at salvation. Secondly, there is a purging. Not only a positioning, but a purging. For the Bible says in verse 21, if a man therefore purged himself from deeds, In verse sixteen, we see that the Bible says, but shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase under more ungodliness. The idea of their and Paul's context to Timothy is that of ungodliness or unprofitable arguing that was going on in the church. And these false teachers were in there and living on godliness and acting out on godliness and involved in carnality and involved in immorality and trying to pervert the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul tells Timothy, who says, listen, if we will purge ourself with each, then we can be a vessel of honor. We can be a vessel that is sanctified. We can be a vessel that God can use. Listen, you can be saved all you want. And understand that God does sanctify you. He has a purpose for your life. He sets you apart. But the problem, as many times as we were set apart over here with God, And we wonder back over here to all these people, all these things that are not sanctified. We wonder back into the world, and we'd rather not be used to God. We'd rather not have a special purpose, but we do. And so we look out in the world to try to find all of these things. And we need to understand that the Bible tells us that the old man is done away with and all things are become new. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter one, verse three, when he had by himself purged Our sins sat down on the right hand of the majesty of God. Perhaps you're here tonight and you are trying to live for God. You're trying to do what's right. There's a real burden, a real desire in your life to do what is right and to live for God. And it seems that the devil just keeps bringing back these issues in your past and brings back these sins and says, you know what? You're never going to be a user of God. You're a vessel that's dirty. You're a vessel that's been broken. There's nothing that you can do for God. God can never forgive you. God can never use you. Listen, the Bible says that Jesus himself purged our sins. And then he sat down. Why? Because the job was done. Jesus Christ purges our sins. He's not remembering those anymore. But not only is that true. He said, Oh, I just do whatever I want. I just live however I want. And Jesus already did it for me. He took care of it. Hey, I'm just, I'm free. I'll just look. Jesus Christ just keep purging those sins. No, the Bible says for us to take initiative and to purge ourselves from the sense we are promised that enrollment separate verse one. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Our lives have been purged, washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, and God has begun a good work in you. The Bible says, according to Philippians chapter one and verse six, we understand tonight in this area of purging, excuse me, that clean vessels are not perfect vessels. They are purged vessels. Their sins have been forgiven. They've cleaned house, so to speak, by the blood of Jesus Christ, and they're willing to take these things that are not sanctified, that will defile them, and they're willing to turn their back on them and follow Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He shed his blood in order to sanctify us so that we could be used by God. The Christian has been purged, and as such, he should have different desires in life. He should have different ambitions and goals in life. Very practically, the Christian should have different speech. The way we talk to each other, the way we treat each other, ought to be different. Because we've been purged from those sins. God set us free from those things. We don't have to live like the world any longer. There's victory in being purged and living our lives holy and acceptable to God. There is a peace and a joy and a satisfaction and a fulfillment that the world could never give you outside of a holy life set apart for God's use. Our work ethic, our entertainment, these things. should be things that would help in the process of our sanctification. They wouldn't hinder the work of being a clean vessel that only God can use when it's clean. We must work at cleaning up our life. First of all, we asked me, how do we do this? First of all, by fearing God, the Bible says in Proverbs 16, verse six, by mercy and truth, iniquity is purged. Praise the Lord. It's by God's mercy it's purged. It's the only way it's possible. But secondly, it's also by truth, and that I'm living my life according to God's word. And therefore, iniquity, sin, is purged from my life. And by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. You know, to be real honest, the reason why many of us live in sin and we live defeated by the devil and by this world day in and day out, even though we've been given all the victory that we'll ever need to be victorious in the Christian life is because we simply do not fear God. We don't believe that God is real. We don't believe that there are repercussions. We don't believe that we break the heart of God when we live in sin as Christians, as redeemed people. But the Bible says when we fear God, we'll depart from evil. Listen, as we live in our homes and we treat our life a certain way, and we treat our children a certain way, and children as we treat our parents in a certain way, understand. that God is real and He is there. And He's requiring that we live life differently from that which we see on the television. From that which we see in perhaps in other homes in our neighborhood. That we live and act and talk and we exist and we are entertained by things that are different and that we understand that God is real. I talked to this young man that I already referenced. And I said, hey, would you like to get saved? Talked a little bit, said, you know what? He goes, I can't. So why not? What's the deal? There's only a second person I've ever talked to that said this. He said, because there are some things in my life, translated, there are sins in my life that I know I'm going to have to get rid of because I'm not going to play games with God. And I thought, this is my first thought. I thought, man, if more Christians could get a hold of that idea and understand that there is a real God. If a man who is not saved and has no Holy Spirit and no desire to do what is right can understand that God is real and that he requires his children to live a holy, sanctified, separate life, why is it so difficult for us as Christian people to do the very same thing? We begin by fearing God. Secondly, we begin by obeying God's Word. In this purging process, we have to understand that God is real. He hates sin. He doesn't want it to be a part of our life. Secondly, we must continue by obeying his word. The Bible says in John 17, 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Jesus Christ speaking to God in his prayer in John 17. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. You see, if we're to be sanctified and used by God in a great way, We have to know God's Word. We have to live God's Word. We have to obey God's Word. The only way that we'll ever be sanctified, to be used by God, is when we put this Word, this book, into practice in our life. It's not something we read, it's not something we study necessarily, but it's something that we live out in our lives. to be purged from our sins by fearing God, by obeying his word, and thirdly, by the power that we find in God. The Bible says in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 12, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That is the The change that has happened inside of you as the Holy Spirit has come in and made you a new person in Jesus Christ. God puts the burden and the responsibility on us to work that out. We ought to be able to see. People ought to be able to see in our lives that there's a difference, that we're Christians, that Christ changed us, that there's something different about us. And we're to work that out in our life and the way that we act and the way that we live and the way that we treat people and the things that we are entertained by. But I have good news for you, because you know what? If God just said, here, do it. It would be difficult. It would be impossible. The Bible also says in verse 13, for it is God which worketh in you, both the will and to do of his good pleasure. That idea of work is the idea of power. It's where we, English-speaking folk, get our words dynamite. It's the idea of having the power or the ability to do what God has asked us to do. And everything we do in making our lives clean for God, you say, well, Paschal, I can't do that. Hey, don't worry. You don't have to. God's going to do it. But if you'll submit to him, if you obey his word, God will give you the strength to live for God. God will give you the strength to be sanctified so that he can use you. God will give you the strength to purge your life from your sins. We are to be positioned in Jesus Christ. We're also to be purging our sins. Can I tell you tonight that what God is looking for to use In this life is not talented vessels. He's not looking for fancy vessels. He's not necessarily looking for overqualified vessels, old vessels or new vessels. What God is looking for is a clean vessel that he can use. Listen, it's not about your talent. It's not about where you've been. It's not about where you went to college. It's not about any of those qualifications as much as it is about, hey, I am willing to be used by God. I don't want to live my life and waste it on this world. I want God to use it so that it impacts and makes a difference in eternity. The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 1, chapter 1, verse 9, But he that lacketh these things in his life, And those things are found in earlier in 2 Peter 1, that is faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance or self-control, patience, godly perseverance, godliness, just being like God in my life, brotherly kindness and charity. If these things are not found in our life, the Bible says that this person is blind and cannot see afar off and have forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. If the fruit of the Spirit is not active in our life, and it's not evident in our life, then the Bible says we are blind, that we've forgotten something. We forgot that we are sanctified. We forgot that we are special. We forgot that God once had a purpose for our lives. And we need to, we can't see it far off, and so we need to get things back in focus, so we understand, so we don't miss it, so we don't live our entire life Wasting our life when we could be using it for the service of God. Here's a question tonight Are you forgetting something? Are you forgetting something? Are you forgetting that Jesus Christ came to this earth and he died on the cross and he shed his blood and he paid a great great price Not just so that you could go to heaven But so that he could purge your sins and give you victory in this life so that he could use you because God is doing something in this world. And if we're going to be a part of it, if we're ever going to be used by God, we must first be positioned. And that is under the blood of Jesus Christ. We must be purged and we must be purging things from our life that would make us a dirty vessel that God could not use. And then thirdly, tonight, we want to see that we need to be preparing for the Bible says in verse 21, sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work. We're not only supposed to be positioned in Christ, not only to purge the sins of our life, but we're doing this in preparation for good works for the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The idea is that clean and useful and that we're ready to be utilized for the master's work. Why the position? Why the purging? Why the preparation? It is all for a purpose. The Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. A few chapters over in 2 Timothy, we find that Paul says to Timothy, watch down all things, endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof thy ministry. That word there, that phrase there, make foolproof is a sailing term. It has the idea of a sailboat that we put out on the water. And as the sail is closed, it really is not going to go anywhere because the sail needs to be opened so that the wind can catch it and you can drive it somewhere. The idea of making foolproof your ministry is the idea, the picture is, is to pull that sail up all the way open, as big as you can get it, so that we are prepared and ready for God to blow his great power into our life and to use us in the work of the ministry. Making foolproof, being fool ready for whatever God calls us to do, whatever God wants us to do. He doesn't have to clean us up first, but we're ready to go because we realize our purpose from the very beginning. Why? What is the purpose? The Bible says in Ephesians 4.12, the church, the pastors, the preachers, God's Word, those things are given for the perfecting or maturing of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying, the building up of the body of Christ. Listen, we would have no qualms tonight if we said, here is one man, here's an individual, And God's purpose in his life is that he be saved, that he be sanctified, that he be holy, because God wants to use him. And in 2009, where is God using people? Anybody want to take a guess? There's a place, there's a vehicle that God is using and he's working through in this world. Anybody want to help pastor answer the question? Maybe you're not on my wavelength yet. You'll get there. The church. Am I wrong? Is that, I mean, there was a time when God worked through the nation of Israel, but now there's a different time when God is working through the New Testament local churches all around this world. You know, we'd have no issue in saying, here's a man and God, God saved him. God's calling him to a purpose. And if he's going to be fulfilling that purpose, if he's going to be driven by that purpose in his life, then he needs to be part and he needs to be actively involved in serving God through a New Testament local church. Would we not? Now, let's think about this. Let's stand two guys up here, okay? Or let's do this. Let's stand a guy and a girl up here. And we say we have two, a guy and a girl, and God has saved them, God has sanctified them, and He's calling them to be used by God for the work of the ministry, where? To the local church. Now, let's throw in a few kids. Let's say a few years down the road, these two get married. And now they have kids, and we have five individuals. Wouldn't that be great to have three kids in your family? Let's ask this question. Here's a twelve-year-old boy, he just gets saved. And God sanctifies him, God sets him apart for a use. And I hope that no one has issues with this, but in 2009, we live in the last day, we're living in the last days, the last times, it's also called the turf age. Because we're to be involved in the service and ministry of the local church. It's interesting even that, you know what my job is, my pastor's job is, the Bible says according to Ephesians chapter 4, for the maturing of you all, and for the church, and I'm included in that, the pastor's included in that. Why? For the work of the ministry. And so whether you have one individual standing here, or you have two individuals standing here, or you have some little kids standing here, or you have a family standing here, God's purpose is found. in the local church and serving God. God has saved us. He's forgiven our sins. God has sanctified us because He's going to use us for something. Where are we going to find that? In 2009, we will find it. through the local church for the work of the ministry. The purpose is good works where in our life. Yes, in our attitude. Yes, in our actions. Yes, in our home. Yes, in the ministry. Definitely listen. These things do not have to work against each other. We understand that a strong church makes strong families. But we also understand that strong families make strong churches, and so these things are not contrary, but they're complimentary. They work together for a purpose, and that is so that we can do the work of the ministry effectively. But look, God has not just simply called us to be holy for holiness sake. Would you take your Bible, please, and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter four. Second Corinthians, chapter four, verse one. You say, Pastor Lohmann, what is the purpose? Now look, we could say, well, God's calling you to teach Sunday School class. And maybe it's, and we can say, you know, God's calling you to be an usher. And you can be great. You'd be good as an usher and greeting people and being friendly, helping people find a seat and take it out and do a lot of great things for God. And God's called us in a church this size. There is There are many places to get involved and do something during the worship service, during the things for God and serving God and pleasing God. But ultimately, when we back all this up and we think, wait a minute, what is the purpose of it all? Why is it that sometimes we run around here like crazy, like chickens with their heads cut off? What is it exactly that we're doing? Why is it that my family were were running around. It seems like we're doing this. What is the point of it all? I believe we find it here in second Corinthians, chapter four, verse one. The Bible says, Therefore, seeing we have this ministry as we received mercy, we faint not. but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every person or every man's conscience in the sight of God. Here it is. You see, when we miss the verse three, when we miss our purpose, When we live for a different purpose, here's what happens. The Bible says in verse 3, But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world, that is Satan, hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. for we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness and shine in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power of God may be or she may be of God and not of us. Listen, there is a purpose behind being holy. There is a purpose behind having a high standard. There is a purpose for being faithful to the house of God and being faithful as a Christian and raising your children and bringing up your family in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. But we must not forget that purpose, and we find it here in 2 Thessalonians, and that is this. Yes, we're to be to the praise of God's glory and we understand that everything we do we're to honor and glorify God Listen if that was all there was God might as well just take us home How about we just go to heaven? He has the angels to do that if He'd like to. The Bible says He could make the rocks to cry out and to praise Him if He so chose to do that. But why is it that God has us on this earth? Is it to work a job? Is it to have fun? Is it to enjoy ourselves in this world? No, there's a purpose. It's because there's a whole world out there full of lost men who are unredeemed. They're in that position in the blood of Jesus Christ. And if they died tonight, they'd spend eternity in hell. So God has left us here, and He has sanctified us for a great purpose. And that purpose is taking God's Word to lost men. Now, we do not compromise anything in doing that. Listen, we could have a thousand people here tonight. We could just show a movie, pass out popcorn, have all kinds of music. It's not about cramming everybody in, filling up a room, and then preaching the Gospel. There are things that we cannot compromise along the way. But the overall purpose of it all is so that God is giving more time to lost people so they can receive you as Christ our Savior, not go to hell. And the great thing about it, this is not a curse. This is a privilege. God is going to use us. If we will prepare ourselves, if we will purge ourselves, God will use us in his master plan. And he has designed the family to be a great thing that he will use to further the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is great to have high standards. It is great to be holy. But listen, the Pharisees, they had high standards and they did a lot of things right. But I don't know so much as they were really very evangelistic and helping other people receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and go to heaven. You see, faith without work, if we do this, we'll do that, all these things we're going to do right. If it's never acted out, if it's never a purpose, the Bible says, let your light so shine before men. Why? So they can see how clean your life is? No, not necessarily. So they can see your, they can glorify your God, which isn't happening. The Bible says in this passage in 2 Thessalonians, if we hide that gospel, if we don't tell it to people, if we don't live it out in our lives, if we don't tell it to other people, the Bible says it's hid to them that are lost. And God has given us the opportunity to pull off the veil that the devil has put on the place of lost men, and to help them to see their need of a Savior, and that Savior being Jesus Christ. Now, very practically, I want to challenge, I'm not making anybody do this, obviously, I want to challenge you to do this. If it's an individual, that's great. If it's a family, if it's a couple, whatever it is. I want to encourage you this week, and maybe it'll take you a little longer this week, and that is to sit with your family and say, look, we've been running for a long time. Man, we've been going here and going there, and we've been working hard, and I'm not really sure anymore where we're running exactly. Anybody ever been there? But if we sit down with our family and open God's Word and say, look, somewhere in here, there is a purpose. There is a reason. why God still has me on this earth. There is something that God wants me to do. He has sanctified me. He's paid a great price through the blood of Jesus Christ to do so. And we want to get God's purpose in our life. I know this is very practical. I know it's not. I think it is theological. I think it is doctrinal. But it is very super practical because I think it's important that we always keep our purpose in front of us. And as we spend time as a family this week, I think it would be good if we took God's word and we develop perhaps a kind of a personalized purpose statement for our family. What is it? Why is it that we're running day and night? Why is it that we're doing all these things? And the truth is that a lot of us have a purpose. This may not be God's purpose. A lot of us are driven by some purpose, but it may not be the one that really counts. It may not be the one that God wants. and eternity. If you're taking notes, let me give you four areas to work on this. Obviously, we want to use the Bible and want to be biblical, but as we develop this purpose, and I think we've outlined a great deal that tonight, but I think if you look individually in the family is going to apply somewhat differently in each situation, but at any at any instance, it requires the gospel being taken, taken to a lost and a dying world. It needs, first of all, and as you develop that, and you have that developed, I think it, first of all, needs daily attention. And that is a daily reminder of our purpose. The Bible says this in Hebrews, that we're to exhort one another daily, lest our hearts be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. That's why we spend time in God's Word every day. Hey, it wouldn't hurt any of us to understand and go through and say, hey, wake up in the morning and say, this is why I exist. It is not for a job. It is not for a car. It is not for a girl or a guy. It is. It is not. I understand how important our children are and understand that God has given us. And the thing is, is that we don't have to say, well, I have to pick God's purpose or pick my children. I have to pick God's purpose or that it's You see, we can take all these things together, because God's will is not conflicting. He's not going to say, take your children, take your church, and you've got to decide. Live for eternity, live for two, and you've got to decide. It all works together. But with daily attention, this may be something that you put in your home, a piece of paper that you put up nice and put a frame on it, and it has the Lohman family purpose. Why God has us here on this earth. And it may be right by the door, so this is the last thing we see as we grab our keys and our cell phone. and we run out the door. It may be a note in our children's lunchbox to remind them, say, well, my kids only in first grade. Hey, I think it'd be good. The earlier start, the better to help them understand that there is a purpose why God has them here for an existence. There are opportunities where you're out and about and you get a chance to witness. And I say to my children, hey, this is why we're here. You know, it's not for T-ball. It's not for this. It's not for that. It's so that God's going to God's using us for a great purpose. and that is to see people receive Jesus Christ as their Savior daily attention. Also, I believe weekly attention would almost be hate together as a family, or perhaps I know things get busy things up, but there is every week. I'm doing something that I could say underneath that purpose check. I'm doing it. Listen, if there's a purpose, like if you want to do your work, you had a purpose. And you tell your boss, I'm just not going to do it this week. I'll be here. I'll be in. I'll check in, check out. But I'm not going to fulfill the purpose. You know the reason you hired me? I don't like that anymore. I'm bored with that. I need something different and new. I'm not going to do it this week. No, that wouldn't fly. So if at least the purpose that God has us here on this earth, if we can fulfill that purpose at least once a week, we can at least have this in focus and be headed in the right direction. I think also a monthly assessment Whereas a family would sit down and say, they're on a family devotion, say, hey, remember that purpose? See that thing over there on the wall? What God has us here in this earth to do? Are we doing it? Where do we do that? Oh man, it was great to see God use us over here. And it was great to see God use our children over here. And they were able to sing that song in church. And it was a help in getting the gospel out and letting people see that man. We saw that guy at the restaurant and we gave him a track and we invited him to church. And we just pray that God will use us. And we are accomplishing our purpose in life. Isn't that great? And I think also there would be an annual accuracy. We're saying annually we look back and we say, you know what? Do we need to tune this a little bit? Maybe God's given us a different ministry. Maybe God's given us a different opportunity. I'm not working with living proof anymore. Maybe I'm working with the senior citizens. Maybe I'm working over here and God's given me a new position at work or God's put me in a new place of work. And so I can tweak this to be specific. We don't just want to say God wants me to lead people to the Lord. Because it's a little thing, we're going to work on it with the Bible, with God's Word, and we want to go over it daily, weekly, monthly, annually, so that we can ensure that we are hitting God's purpose for our life. Listen, there's nothing New Evangelical or wicked about having a purpose statement. We find it in God's Word. We're to be to hit the praise of his glory. We're to be a light in a lost and a dark world. You know, Pastor Lohmann, what's the burden exactly behind this? I'm just being honest with you. It's a good thing for preaching to Africa, preaching for 40 minutes. I'll be honest with you now. I know that in my life, even as a preacher, there are days where we run around doing this and doing that a lot of good things. But when I get honest, when I get, when I get home at night and I look back on my day, I think, what did I just do? Is any of that going to matter? Is any of that really what God wants me to do? Is that what I'm here for? If every day I live the rest of my life like I did just that one, and I did it again and again and again, would I fulfill God's purpose for why he has me here on this earth? And I know it's a help to me to have something that's a daily reminder, to have something right in my face that says, hey, wake up. You're sliding off. Hey, wake up. You're getting out of focus here. Let's get back into focus about what, listen, when you find what God's purpose is and you say, OK, here's some things that are getting in the way. Here's some things that are distracting from this. Here's some things that may be good things, but we eliminate them because there is a main thing that God wants us to be after. And we need to always strive to keep the main thing, the main thing. And the reason that God has us here is for seeing people receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. Holy? Yes. Living for the family? Yes. Helping children, raising them in godliness? Yes. But why? It's because God sanctified us to use us to see people receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Let's bow our head and close our eyes, if you would, please. Father, we're thankful tonight for the opportunity that we have to be saved, to have a real purpose in life. And I pray that it is something that our families would work on. I pray that it's something that we as a pastoral staff would make clear and plain and constantly remind that this is the purpose for our existence. And I pray that it would be constantly lived out in the life of people now. Father, we pray that you'd move in the invitation as you so desire. And we ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.