Finding Your Purpose

It All Starts with God

 It All Starts with God
• “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible,…
everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him,” Col. 1:16 (MSG).
• Unless you assume a God, then the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.
• When God created the world out of nothingness, the first thing He had to do was
create existence—because nothing had ever existed before.
 What is Existence
• “To exist is to occupy space. That’s the scientific definition: everything in the
universe exists because it takes up space, and if it does not take up space, it does
not exist. For example, the chair you are sitting on, and the book you are reading,
occupy space. There’s no room in those exact spaces for anything else to exist.”
• “Even the thoughts in our head take up space. When we are thinking, our minds
are occupied, and another thought cannot fit in that same space. Emotion also
takes up space; hence the expression “my heart is full.” It implies that when you
have an emotion, another emotion cannot enter that same place. Everything that
exists occupies space—fire, water, stone, thoughts, feelings.”
• Another characteristic of existence is that it’s conditional. Fine, so you exist;
but in order to keep on existing you have to eat, drink, and breathe. You need a
roof over your head, friends, security, a support system—the list goes on. As
long as you fulfill these conditions, you can continue to take up space. Without
them, maybe not, and certainly not for long. In other words, existence
demands and depends on the use of resources.
 Something More than Existence
• God, therefore, gave to the world something more than mere existence,
something that doesn’t depend on outside conditions. He gave us life. Life is
the effect something that exists has on its surroundings, the contribution it
makes to the world. Fire and water both exist, but the contribution of fire is not
the same as that of water. Fire gives light, warmth, and causes things to come
apart. Water makes things grow, keeps things cool, and binds things together.
Stones also contribute something that fire and water can’t. They offer stability
and safety.
 Why Am I Here?
• Things get more complicated when we start to consider human beings. Like all
creations, we exist, but our existence is not automatic. It’s not even instinctive.
We are consciously aware of life.
• Every human being with even a smattering of self-awareness will at some point
ask, “Why am I here?” We ask this question because existence alone does not
justify itself. We have to justify our existence by contributing something. It
cannot be that we are here simply to take up space, and then demand all sorts of
things—“ I need this, I want that, I deserve something more.” That’d be
embarrassing for any sensitive human being.
 Existence without Life
• Existence without life is burdensome and depressing. Not only do you have to eat just to
exist, you have to eat the right kinds of food and the right amounts. You have to sleep in
order to exist, and even that comes with many conditions. So, the question we need to
ask ourselves is not what the purpose of life is, but “What is the purpose of existence?
The answer is life! Life is the answer, not the question. And we ought not to confuse the
two. There’s a popular saying that goes, “Life stinks and then you die.” What it should
really say is, “Existence stinks. Life never stinks. Life only comes in one flavor, and that
flavor is delicious. A moment of life is infinitely precious.”
• “In short, existence means “Give me what I need!” Life means “Do you have any needs?
How can I be of help to you?”
 Putting Energy into Living
• “When you are alive, your existence is not heavy, because life is buoyant. It
carries you. Existence is dead weight; you have to carry it. What is the solution?
In a word: live! Put energy into living, not into existing. It has an astounding
seesaw effect: when you put energy into living, you do not need to put as much
energy into existing, but when you put too much energy into existence, you
have no energy left for life.”
• “Depression occurs when you add weight to your existence. You do so by
worrying about this and crying over that, by fighting over this and
sweating over that. When you give too much importance to your
existence, you add weight to it. At some point your existence becomes so
heavy that you can no longer carry it. That is when it comes crashing
down on you like a ton of bricks. The next thing you know you can’t get
out of bed, you can’t even make a phone call, and you’ve lost your ability
to function. Your existence has completely taken over.” Gen. 1:1 “In the
beginning God created…”
 Intentional or Unintentional Creation
There is one classical argument that is the difference between Science and religion.
The conclusion to that argument is that either creation was intentional or it was
unintentional. That conclusion leads us to a huge problem which this lesson will
seek to solve.
 The Difference Between Science and
Religion
There is one classical argument that is the difference between Science and
religion.
The conclusion to that argument is that either creation was intentional, or it
was unintentional. That conclusion leads us to a huge problem which this
lesson will seek to solve.
 Idolators, not Atheists nor Scientists
• So, either you have a God who unintentionally or unknowingly created the universe, or
you have a God who created all things on purpose. So, there is nothing such as an atheist.
• This subatomic particles that created the universe is called God by religion.
• “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO
THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as
though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things,” Acts
17:23-25.
 You were Intentionally Created
• Genesis 1:26-28 - KJV
• 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image
of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28. And God blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
 What Did God Gain for Creating the World?

• That is an important question because it is the question of the future.

• So, the question is not whether there is a God because there is definitely a God.
The real question is What Does God want? The Purpose of Life. By creating
the world means that God created out of choice and if he chose to create the
world, that also means he wants something or he’s after something that we may
refer to as the vast eternal plan. What is God’s vast eternal plan? This is not a
mysterious or religious question; however, you may choose to call it scientific
or not. The cause of the universe was a decision made by a cause but what’s
that decision?
 The Question of Reality
• Why am I here? Why should this question be of any importance or
significance to us when we’ve been here for about 6000 years?
• There must have been a purpose if the world was created and what’s that
purpose? The reason why that question is important to be asked is that we
are the result of that purpose. If you don’t know the purpose of your
existence, then you can never know yourself.
• How amazing it is to see that every creature, being and substance in the
universe has its place and each go about doing what it must do constantly
and devotedly without any question. It is only human being, the intelligent
creature, who can’t figure out what he’s doing here.
 Who Caused This?
• The question of “why I am here” is actually the question of who caused me
to be here? Who cause this? You didn’t and neither did I.
• A story is told of a young man who took his parents to court for giving him
birth without asking his permission. What you think his problem was so
much that he hates being born? Now everyone could be asking the same
question. Why was I born when I wasn’t asked to be born? What am I doing
here and who did this to me? Can someone please tell me! That someone is
having the same problem too. Before then that was a religious question, but
it is not anymore but a question of reality.
 You were Made to Be Needed
• You are here because God needs you here and if he needs you here then he
has a purpose for your existence.
• God made you to have needs and when you find out who needs you and
serve that need; God takes care of your needs.
• Find out what you love doing and dedicate the rest of your life to it with
deliberate discipline. That is purpose.
• When you live to serve yourself, you are only living to survive but when
you live to serve others you become bigger than life itself.