Skip to content 4. Biblical Purpose: What Am I Called To Do? Sep 7 · 27 min ...more
September 7, 2023 · 27 min · Life Redefined
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0:00 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. What a joy and a privilege to greet each and every 1 of you through this service. I want to especially greet those who are0:12 watching us live at Macquarie Centre. You know, today is a test Sunday where we are testing this live streaming across to Macquarie Centre0:24 just to see the capabilities of our own systems. But also it's because we were running short of time to record for online and then do live in both the locations because of the0:36 IDMC conference just happened. So I'm thankful to the Lord for the privilege of being able to speak to you today. Today, we're continuing our sermon series on Life The0:48 8 Key Questions for Spiritual Formation. And today, we're going to touch on the topic of biblical purpose. What am I called to do? And that's what we're1:00 going to explore today. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Thank you, Jesus. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this wonderful privilege that we have as a church that we can gather at1:12 Holmes and in Macquarie Centre, that we can come together and listen to your word and worship together with the saints. Lord, we know that we are living in the last leg of the1:24 last days, that we want to reorientate our heart back to you. We want to recalibrate our lives in alignment with your will so that we can walk in your ways and we can1:35 obey your word. So today, father God, I ask that the holy spirit will be our teacher. Give us listening ears and a heart that is willing to obey your word. We thank you. And Lord for all that are1:47 watching. I pray father that they will have, they will, their heart will be in tune with what the Holy Spirit is saying, that they will hear now a timely word from you. In Jesus1:59 name. And people of God said, Amen and Amen. Today, we are continuing our sermon series on Life Redefined. Today's topic2:10 is What Am I Called to Do? As you know, this is the 8 key questions that we explore on the subject of spiritual formation.2:22 It begins with biblical theology: Who is God? And then, if you know who your God is, it leads to biblical allegiance. Who is the true2:34 master of my life? And biblical allegiance then defines who we are. Biblical identity: Who am I? And once you know who you are,2:46 or more importantly, whose you are, it helps you understand the purpose for which you are created. Biblical purpose: What am I called to do? Let me start with a2:58 principle. Where purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable. Let me repeat that again. Where purpose is unknown, abuse3:10 is inevitable. You know, a story was told of a rich man who wanted to outgive everybody else's gifts to his mother. He wanted to make it so special. And3:21 he was reading through a magazine, and suddenly he discovered that there is a bird. And this bird is a talented bird. It can speak 3 languages. It can sing 33:33 operatic tunes. It has more than 4000 words in its vocabulary, and it quotes hundreds over scriptures. So, he immediately bought that bird for3:45 50000 dollars and shipped it and had it delivered to his mother. The next day on her birthday, he called her and asked her this very simple question: What did you think of the3:56 bird? The mother replied, It was delicious. Where purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable. I want you to put on a thinking cap with me4:08 and think about the following: Why do we need to find your higher purpose? Someone said this: If you don't find your higher purpose, you will fall for your lower4:20 passions. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will join with your lower companions. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will settle for lower4:31 performance. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will invest your resource into lower ventures. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will enjoy lower4:43 pleasures. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will travel life's lower paths. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will sit in lower seats at kings'4:54 banquets. If you don't find your higher purpose, you will end up lovely in your own eyes. This is why you and I, we need to discover our5:06 purpose. Just like a ship in the middle of the sea, it needs a compass to navigate. See, the compass doesn't help the ship to sail.5:19 The ship doesn't need a compass for it to be afloat. The ship doesn't need a compass for it to actually go faster or slower. The ship only needs a compass when it needs to know the5:31 destination and the direction in which it is heading. In the same manner, you and I, we need an inner compass. We need an inner compass to reorientate our life to the true north,5:43 to know who we are and what we are called to do. So can I humbly say this? What am I called to do? It depends on 2 things. 1, it depends on5:54 who is truly the master of your life. That's why we talk about biblical allegiance. Secondly, it depends on who am I? Or more importantly,6:06 whose am I? That's why we talk about biblical identity. So, biblical allegiance and biblical identity helps you to discover your biblical6:18 purpose. We know Apostle Paul is a favorite character in the New Testament. My name is Paul. My mother loved Apostle Paul. She named me Paul. So, I fell6:30 in love with Apostle Paul's character in the Bible. 1 of the things I discovered is how he sees the Christian life. Look at this in Second Corinthians, chapter 5, and verse6:42 14 and verse 15. It says, For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this, that 1 died for all, therefore all have6:54 died. Verse 15 says, And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died7:06 and was raised. I want you to pay attention to that. What is Christian life? What is the life of a disciple? The life of a disciple is this, that you no longer live for yourself, but you live for7:18 the 1 who gave Himself for you. Hallelujah. Isn't that what Paul says? No longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And Paul says here, You no longer live for yourself. You live for the 1 who7:30 loved you and died for you. Now, what is that? That is biblical stewardship. Let me highlight biblical stewardship in 2 ways. 1, we are called to walk with Him.7:42 And we are called to work with Him. So if I want to understand what is my biblical purpose, if I want to discover the question, what am I called to do? It7:53 always addresses this following principle. It comes down to this. This is the irreducible minimum of understanding biblical purpose. What is it? I am called to steward my life for the8:05 glory of God and for the good of His kingdom. I'm called to steward my life for the glory of God and for the good of His kingdom. In today's lesson, I'm going to take you to8:17 Colossians chapter 1. Now, Colossians chapter 1, Paul deals with Paul's commitment to the call of Christ. In fact, the whole book of8:28 Colossians, the theme is about the supremacy of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ for all of life. The supremacy of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ for all of life. And in8:40 chapter 1, in particular, Paul deals with this 1 question And this key question we need to address when we are discipling people. What is it? Is Christ preeminent in your life? Or is8:52 Christ prominent in your life? Many times as Christians, we make Christ prominent in our life. We give him the first day of the week. We come to worship him. We maybe9:03 give him the first hour of the day. We make him probably a priority in our calendar. We make him prominent in certain things. But what Christ wants is preeminence, not just9:15 prominence. What is preeminence? Preeminence means that He has the chief place in your life. That He dictates the terms upon which you live your life. Hallelujah. Now that's9:26 true discipleship. So in Colossians chapter 1, verses 24 to 29, I want us to read together so that we understand how Paul saw9:38 biblical stewardship and how Paul saw his own biblical purpose. What am I called to do? Look at verse 24. I'm going to read from NASB translation from the 19 95 edition.9:50 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in10:02 Christ's affliction. Of this church, I was made a minister, according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might10:14 fully carry out the preaching of the Word of God. That is the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been manifested to His saints,10:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him,10:38 admonishing every man, teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose10:50 also I labor, striving according to His power, which works mightily within me. May the Lord bless the reading of His Word. Colossians11:02 chapter 1, verse 24 to 29 is where Paul summarizes his entire life and ministry. If you really want to understand this passage, just read it11:13 backwards. Start from verse 29, and then go down to verse 24. You will understand the big picture of what Paul is saying. Look at this in verse 29. Paul says Paul's11:24 persistence. He's striving. He's working hard. For what purpose? Even to the point of exhaustion. For what purpose? To fulfill his purpose. In Colossians chapter 1 and11:36 verse 29, he says, For this purpose, I also labor. Look at this in verse 28. Paul's purpose, he defines and he describes the purpose. It is to mature the saints. It11:48 is to present every man complete in Christ, he says. What is Paul's subject? How does he train people? He says, Preaching Christ. That's the next 1. Preaching Christ in12:00 verse 26 and verse 27. He says, Christ in you, the hope of glory, Him we proclaim. Hallelujah. What is Paul's source? Look at this in verse 25. He says, According12:12 to the stewardship from God bestowed on me. Paul considers his life and ministry, his purpose in life, a stewardship that is bestowed on him. And look at the spirit12:24 in which Paul serves. Paul's spirit is he rejoiced in his sufferings. He says, Now I rejoice in all my sufferings for your sake. Now you and I, we need to12:36 pause and ask this question. This is a puzzling statement. It's an incongruent statement. Now I rejoice in my sufferings. No 112:48 wants sufferings. In fact, we reject sufferings. But as Paul says, He rejoices in sufferings. In some Christendom, in some, know, in some12:59 Pentecostal churches, are taught to even renounce suffering, rejected, renounce it. But Paul says, I rejoice in it. So why is this a perplexing situation? The reason13:11 is because Paul found his purpose, and he understood the nature of biblical stewardship. And the more he understands stewardship, he understands suffering is part13:23 of the purpose of God. Look at this in second Corinthians chapter 11 verses 24 to 28, Paul actually lists some of his sufferings. You know, Paul's13:35 sufferings cannot be compared with any of our sufferings. Look at this. In verse 24, he says, 5 times I received at the hands of the Jews 40 lashes less 1. You know, the Jews, when they13:46 want to hurt somebody, punish somebody, they lash them. And it was supposed to be 40 lashes, but they count 39. They only give you 39 just in case they miscounted. They don't want to disobey13:58 the law by by striking you more than 40. So 39. Even with 1 39 lashes, people would be bedridden for days. He had 5 times on the same back.14:11 And the Bible says in verse 25, 3 times I was beaten with rods. This is the punishment of the Romans. Paul was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, he says. It doesn't mean that he was14:23 on drugs. It's just that they threw stones at him. 3 times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys, in14:35 dangers from rivers, from robbers, from my own people, from Gentiles, in the city, in the wilderness, at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship through many a14:47 sleepless night, in hunger and thirst often without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from other things, there is a daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all14:58 the churches. Wow. Look at Paul's suffering. He says, the list is unbearable. It's a list that you cannot even imagine. But Paul says,15:10 I not only endure these sufferings, I actually rejoice in these sufferings. What makes him come and make a statement like that? I tell you why. It is because of Paul's15:22 theology. It is because of Paul's theology his stewardship, his understanding of the stewardship of Christian life and ministry. That's15:34 why you and I, we need to understand. Even when we are going through our darkest hour, God is going to do His deepest work. It is all part and puzzle of the purpose of God for our15:46 lives. But Paul found some hope in who God is and who He is in Christ. And therefore, he was able to rejoice even in his sufferings. You know,15:57 Duke's University did an experiment. They took a bunch of rats from the wharf, and they took they separated them into 2 batches. The first batch, they tried to16:09 drown them in water. All these rats from the first batch, they struggled for a while, and then they gave up and drowned. They recorded it. It was 17 minutes.16:22 The second batch of rats, they put them in the water and let them come about 10 to 12 minutes. And then they took them out, and then they dried them, and then they fed16:34 them, and then let them play. And the next day, they took them and put them again in the water. This time, the rats survived 36 hours before16:46 they drowned fully. What was the difference between the first batch and the second batch? See, the first batch had no hope. As soon as they were in the water, they didn't have any preconceived idea, so they16:58 drowned. They didn't know what was happening, they drowned. The second batch, however, realized, well, there is hope. Someone might pick us up, dry us, feed us and let us17:09 play. So they were hanging on for their dear life. I want you to listen to me carefully. Paul understood this. Paul understood that his life has meaning and purpose and17:21 significance. Paul understood there is hope. Why? Because Paul knew his God. Paul knew what God has accomplished through Christ for him. Paul knew who, where his17:33 true allegiance lie. Paul knew who he is, and more importantly, whose he is. Therefore, Paul had a clarity around the biblical purpose. What was the purpose? He17:44 understood that his life ought to be a stewardship for the glory of God and for the good of His kingdom. So if we want to truly understand biblical purpose, we need to understand17:56 biblical stewardship. And in this passage of Scripture that we just read, there are 4 marks of biblical stewardship. I want to help you understand what18:08 kind of stewardship that Paul had. Number 1, a stewardship that is joyously profitable. He says in verse 24, Now I18:20 rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. I want you to circle those 3 words, for your sake. In verse 25, he says, According to the stewardship from God18:32 bestowed on me for your benefit. See, Paul is saying, the stewardship that I have received from God is actually for your sake,18:44 for your benefit. See, this is an applicational principle I want you to capture. This is the first applicational principle. Number 1, God calls us to serve Him by18:55 serving others. You know, many times we think that God is calling me. I have a purpose in God. Listen, the purpose to serve God is to serve others.19:07 God calls us to serve Him by serving others. You see this in the life of Paul. He says, For your sake, for your benefit. Now ask yourself19:19 this question, for whose sake did Paul go through all that painful things? You know, when Paul is writing this to the Colossian church, the Colossian church is comprised of the Gentile19:31 believers, the Gentiles. You know, you and I, we need to understand that Paul, a Jew, is now suffering for the sake of Gentiles. Paul, a19:42 Jew, is now paying the price to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Now, why is this so important for us to understand? Because you got to understand the hatred that Jews19:54 had about the Gentiles, and the Gentiles hated the Jews. You know, John Stott, in 1 of his books, he writes about this. He says that the Jews had an immense20:06 contempt for the Gentiles. The Jews thought that Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell. You know, it20:17 was not even lawful to render help to a Gentile mother in her hour of her greatest need, because it would mean that you're bringing another Gentile into the world.20:30 You know, he goes on to say, If a Jewish boy married a Gentile girl, or if a Jewish girl married a Gentile boy, the funeral of that Jewish boy or girl was carried out. Such was20:42 the contempt that the Jews had about the Gentiles. The Gentiles equally hated the Jews. But here's a man whom God chose20:54 out of the Jewish race to go and proclaim to the Gentile world about a Jewish Messiah. I want you to listen to me carefully. You know, but Paul understood21:06 that his life, even though Paul sometimes I think in some places Paul writes and he says, I'm better suited for the Jews, but God called me to the Gentiles. You know, I21:18 understand the ways of the Jews. He's a Hebrew of Hebrews. He's a Pharisee of Pharisees. But yet God called him to people who do not know the law to go and proclaim the gospel to them. And the only21:30 reason Paul obeyed is because Paul understood biblical stewardship, that God calls us to serve Him by serving others. We belong to Him, and because we belong to Him, we obey.21:42 You know, when I apply this to our church life, you know, church world would be beautiful if there were no people. You know, many times when you're working with people, there21:54 are a lot of problems you encounter, isn't it? I want you to listen to me what Warren BSP said. People not only have problems, very often, people are the22:06 problem. In other words, we sometimes find it, you know, people are supposed to behave in a certain way, but they don't. Or they're supposed to be Christian in their values, but they don't display that values.22:18 They hurt you. But yet God calls you to go and serve them. You know, very early on in my life, I discovered this. God is not asking us to work22:30 with people. Listen carefully. God is not asking us to work with people. Let me give you a principle that I apply in my own life. God is asking us to love people and work with those whom22:42 we love. God is not calling us to just work with people. God is calling us to love people and to work with those whom we love. So the key question many times is22:54 not whether it is fair, or is it right or wrong or good or bad. The key question that you and I need to be governed by is, is this the loving thing to do or unloving23:05 thing? Or the key question is what is the loving thing to do? See, in any situation, you and I are called to serve others. Our purpose is tied in serving others. And Paul understood23:17 this. He understood that God gave salvation through Jesus Christ. He redeemed him. He loved him. Paul pledged his allegiance to Christ. And Paul knows that my life is no longer mine. My23:29 life belongs to him. So if he sends me to the Gentiles, I will glow. I will grow. I will go gladly. I will go gladly. And even in the midst of sufferings, he23:40 rejoiced. Hallelujah. The second defining mark of biblical stewardship. The stewardship that is wonderfully participated.23:52 Wonderfully participated. Here in verse 24, he says, And in my flesh, I do my share. I want you to listen to me. This is the application of principle. God has24:04 specific assignments for specific individuals. When you want to discover biblical stewardship, when you want to discover biblical purpose, you've got to learn that God has specific24:16 assignments for specific individuals. For Paul, it was preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. And Paul in verse 24 actually says this, In my flesh, I24:28 do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction. I love that last line. In24:40 filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction. See, there is a Catholic doctrine that says that Christ's affliction was not sufficient.24:52 You also have to suffer and add to the work of Christ. I want you to listen to me. That's a distortion of the truth.25:04 What is the truth? The truth is God's work on the cross through His Son is completely sufficient. Totally sufficient. You don't have to add25:16 anything to it. It is already complete. But what was Paul saying here? That he would fill up what is lacking in Christ's affliction. This is what it25:27 means. Christ died for the whole world, but the whole world doesn't know it. Christ paid for the whole world's sin, but the whole world doesn't know it. So someone had to take that good news25:39 and travel the world, reach the people, pay the price and speak that gospel. Because how would they know unless they hear? How would they believe unless someone preached to25:51 them? And the people who go to preach sometimes are persecuted, even killed. And that is their affliction that they bring what was26:03 lacking in Christ's affliction. Let me explain in another way. Let's look at this principle. Not the defects of Christ and the supply of Paul, rather it is the call of Christ26:15 and the obedience of Paul. What Paul was saying there is not the defects of Christ and the supply that Paul has to make, but rather it is the call of God and the obedience of Paul.26:27 Another passage of scripture, Paul explains this passage, this line in a different way. In Philippians chapter 2 and verse 25, Paul actually writes to the Philippian church about Epaphroditus.26:40 Now Epaphroditus was sent by the Philippian church to Paul who is in Roman prison. Epaphroditus represented the Philippian church, came to26:51 Rome and started to serve Paul. And in the process, Paul was ministered to by Aphroditeus. But Aphroditeus almost died because the27:02 journey
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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