Sermon Recap | Purpose

Purpose shapes perspective, which determines joy.

Your understanding of your life's purpose will shape your perspective regarding your circumstances and ultimately affect your joy.

If your purpose is to be physically comfortable, then illness or injury will destroy your joy.

If your purpose is to be financially stable, then pay cuts or job loss will destroy your joy.

If your purpose is to be liked, then criticism or embarrassment will destroy your joy.

Paul’s ultimate purpose was to communicate and spread the gospel, the good news that Jesus died and rose again to offer life those who would believe in Him as their savior and follow Him as their Lord. So long as this purpose was being fulfilled, no circumstantial misfortune could destroy his joy.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave a final charge to His followers, which can basically be summed up like this: Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe God’s word.

In other words, followers of Jesus Christ (true Christians) are on a mission: to advance the gospel. To communicate it to non-Christians and to encourage Christians to live according to it.

This is God's purpose for your life as a Christian and aligning your purpose with His will yield joy.

Paul’s freedom and privacy were stripped from him for two years in prison; yet he viewed his situation as wonderful – not terrible. How could he possibly think prison was wonderful? Because it was actually fulfilling his ultimate purpose, to advance the gospel, in three ways:

1. It put him into contact with people who needed to hear the gospel.
2. It gave him a unique platform from which to communicate the gospel.
3. It gave him a unique opportunity to encourage his fellow Christians in the gospel.

This week, we'll look at each of these and how finding God's purpose in your situation could lead to great joy in Him through Jesus. So be sure to check back often.

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