Sermon Notes

In church, we're going through the book of II Timothy. Yesterday the passage was from chapter 3, verses 10-15. The title of the sermon was "Determined Disciples." I really loved this because it really emphasizes that spiritual maturity does not come by accident.

One thing he said that I thought made this point beautifully, is that our conduct is based on our purpose. If we believe our purpose in life is to please ourselves and fulfill our own desires, then we will conduct ourselves accordingly.

If, however, we see our purpose in life as pleasing God and bringing glory to Him, we will act in a way that demonstrates that. The only way we'll persevere in our daily lives is if we truly believe that it is a part of our purpose.

This fits in beautifully with another concept I read just this week, as well. I'm mentoring a girl from church, and we're going through the book "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. FANTASTIC book, by the way.

Anyway, the most recent chapter was "Lies Women Believe About Themselves." One of those lies is, "I Should Not Have to Live with Unfulfilled Longings." One thing she said is, "If we could have all our longings fulfilled down here, we would easily be satisfied with staying here, and our hearts would never long for a better place... God has made us in such a way that we can never be truly satisfied with anything or anyone less than Himself."

As I pondered that and really thought about what that means, and and began to apply it in light of this week's sermon, I began to realize that it is okay not to have everything I want here and now. Our culture places a very high emphasis on instant gratification, but by not spending all my time striving for what I want, I am not only fulfilling my purpose in life, but I am proving my purpose by looking forward to a fulfillment that is impossible in this life.

As you go out today, I encourage you to examine your purpose in life. Is pleasing yourself all there is to life? How is that working out? Are you fulfilled?

Or, is there something nagging at you, telling you there is something greater? Do you try to meet this need by yourself? Or do you realize that you can never be completely fulfilled outside of having a purpose greater than yourself? Do you live your life in response to a greater calling, looking forward to a future more fulfilling than anything you can imagine on earth?