If you use any or all of this message--would you be willing to fire off a quick email to:pastorjerryvargo@juno.com? I would like to have an idea of how often my sermons are actually being preached to strengthen the Body of Christ. Thanks!
The Foundation of our Existence
Pastor Jerry C. Vargo
Opening
A nun once confessed to her priest that Christ had revealed himself to her in person. The priest was surprised, but he knew this nun and the deep walk she had with the Lord. So he said to her, "Look, the next time he reveals himself to you in person, ask him about my sins. Because he was her priest, the nun said that she would act in obedience and do exactly that. A number of weeks later she came back. The priest nervously asked, "Well, did he reveal himself to you?" She said, "Yes." The priest said, "What did he say?"
The nun replied, “He said, ’I don’t remember.”
-- Adapted by a message from Pastor Steve Brown
I. Introduction.
A. I know if someone had the ability to find out about all my past sins and mistakes in prayer…I’d be pretty nervous.
B. But, because of the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, I am sure that He chooses NOT to remember my past failures.
C. The Bible states that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.”
D. The reason he can and does forgive…? Because that was His mission on earth. And…Jesus always, always, fulfills His purposes on earth and in us.
E. Today, I want to begin to cast vision for the purposes of God’s church.
G. Today, I want to share with you THE FOUNDATION OF OUR EXISTENCE.
H. So many churches have complicated mission statements and even more complicated vision statements. I intend to keep it simple…and understandable.
I. I intend to do this because I want us all unified in the purposes and the vision of our church. If anyone asks you…I want you to be able to CLEARLY explain it.
II. Body.
A. So, if you will turn to John 18:35-37 NKJV…
“Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
B. Listen closely: THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR EXISTENCE should be EXACTLY THE SAME AS THAT OF JESUS CHRIST.
C. His “cause” was to bear witness to the truth. His “cause” was to redeem mankind. His “cause” was to provide a refuge in the storm. His “cause” was that “not any should perish.
D. As a pastor, I tremble at the thought of us being a consumer church. Always asking the question, "what can you do for me pastor?" Not, "what can I do for God," But, "what can others do for me?"
E. As a pastor, I tremble at the thought of being an “inwardly” focused church. God wants us to minister to those who are lost and hurting.
F. His mission…must be our mission. He has called us to make an eternal difference.
G. I want you to ask yourself three questions this morning…
1. What gives my life meaning?
2. Why am I alive?
3. Why did God choose me?
H. If we can answer these three fundamental questions, we will be well on our way to understanding God’s plan for our lives here at Calvary Christian Chapel.
I. You see, when I wake up in the morning, I don’t have to wonder about the meaning of my life. I don’t have to think about why I am alive. I’m alive because I’m committed to the “cause of Christ.”
J. You know, some people look at their lives with hopelessness and despair. They seem to echo the writer of Ecclesiastes when he cries: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
K. And that’s the way it will be if you don’t live for the cause of Christ.
1. What Gives My Life Meaning?
A. How many of you know that life lasts only for a minute compared to eternity?
"You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."
- James 4:14
I’m not sure we always really understand this truth!
Illustration
For the sake of making a calculation, let’s say that eternity is only 8 million years long (though we all know that after only 8 million years, eternity is just begun). Now, let’s say that you have been given a long life and you live to be 100 years old.
Using these numbers, your life compared to eternity would only be a fraction of a second or 1/30th of a second.
Your life would end before you could say “ME.” Our lives are here today and gone tomorrow.
B. A second can only find purpose if it positively affects the rest of time. It is not big enough to find purpose in itself.
C. Our lives have meaning only as they affect our lives to come. If the brief second of this life can be used to move us toward eternity, then, (and only then) does it have purpose.
D. How many of you know that we become frustrated by trying various ways to find purpose?
We try things like...
1. Money
2. Sex
3. Drugs
4. Power
5. Influence
6. Education
E. All these things fail to provide lasting sense of fulfillment. Why? Because they all try to pretend that the "brief second" is longer than it really is.
F. We need to fuel our lives with eternal things. We need to be driven by “The Cause.”
2. Why am I alive?
A. So many today live life without a cause. We need to ask the question: “Why am I alive?”
B. Some of you may be thinking: You don’t know my circumstances Pastor. My life was so messed up. My parents were alcoholics, my past is dark.
C. You know what? You are a success story in the making. God sees your purpose. He sees your destiny. He wants you to make it.
D. But, without FIRST grabbing onto the cause of Christ, you will be nothing but frustrated.
E. It has been said that the purpose of life is to “Know God and to enjoy Him forever.” And although I do agree with that…I think it needs to go much further.
F. I believe that we are to Know God…Make Him Known…AND THEN…We Will Enjoy Him Forever!
God did not save us to make us comfortable, he saved us to make us comforters - Let’s comfort others by making Him known.
G. Stop and PRAY…For a Burden for the Lost! This is why we are alive.
3. Why did God choose me?
A. Did you ever ask yourself that question? One of the first questions that I want to ask God when I stand in His presence is this:
With all of my shortcomings and failures, why did you choose to use me to bring about your purposes?
B. He probably chose each of us for many reasons. I want to quickly highlight three:
1) He chose you because He decided to reach the lost through human vessels. You might call this "Vessel Theology"
a. The foundation of vessel theology is found in Galatians 2:20 (Quote).
b. 1 John 4:17 states: "We love, because He first loved us."
c. Don’t underestimate God’s reason for choosing you! He makes Himself known through YOU! YOU are the vessel.
2) The second reason that He chose you is very simple! He loves you! Thank God that the scriptures declare:
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
- Romans 5:8
Illustration
Thank God that He committed Himself to me, just like He found me. I didn’t have to prove myself to earn His approval. Just like when my wife and I were first married. We just loved each other because we were put together by God. It brought us much happiness and it still brings us much happiness. We are committed to each other.
3) The third and last reason that He chose you is simply that He not only loves you, but He also loves the world (Quote John 3:16 – Slowly).
a. Listen to the words of 1 Peter 2:9...
"You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, A people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
b. The bottom line is this: God did not include you at the exclusion of others. He included you and I so others would be included!
This is the foundation for our existence!
May God help us to fulfill the Mission. To know God…To Make Him Known…and then we will enjoy Him forever!
Ask God for a burden for the lost. Only what we do for eternity really matters. All our temporary things won’t mean much in the presence of the Ancient of Days!
NOTE: Use this sermon freely. You do NOT need to reference me when you preach it. Use it and pray that the Body of Christ will arise and become all that God intends. Blessings, Pastor Jerry Vargo
