Seeking Purpose

We're in Luke chapter 19 today, talking about the purpose of Jesus and how His purpose influences and affects our purpose. This will help us frame and understand why we're here. Open with us to Luke chapter 19 and follow along.

Good morning! You can have a seat for just a moment. Thank you, Christian and the worship team. It's so good to see all of you here this morning. You must all be Patriots fans since you showed up; it's awesome! I'm glad that you are here. You'll find out later what happened; it's no big deal. Plus, you're here to pray; they need all the prayer they can get, I think, so that would be good.

Before we get into the Scriptures this morning, I wanted to announce a couple of things. At the end of this month, we are bringing on a new staff member here at the church as our worship pastor. Anthony Martinez will be joining the team at the end of the month. Praise the Lord! We ask you to continue to pray for Anthony, his wife Alma, and their little son Alexander as they finish everything up at Calvary Chapel South Bay. Calvary Chapel South Bay will be sending them down here, and if you've ever made a move like that from one place to another, you know it can be a challenge.

As Anthony and his family come to be a part of our church, we want to give them a traditional pastoral pounding. This is something that the church did in years gone by. A pounding would involve the church giving a new minister a pound of this and a pound of that. They would go to the pastor's house and give them a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, or whatever it was. We're going to update that for today.

At the very least, we ask you to welcome them by maybe getting a card and welcoming them to the church. Beyond that, if you'd like to, you can get them a card for Costco, Target, or wherever you shop. Maybe you have a favorite restaurant that you'd like to introduce them to since they will be new to the North County area. You can give them a gift card and bring those things to the church over the next couple of weeks. We just want to welcome them to be a part of our family. Amen! So, it's called a pounding, and we'll give them a good pounding when they come.

Good. So, also, if you notice up here on the screen, we have something new. This is something we'd like to try here at the church. We want to start doing a podcast where we will answer questions. If you have questions as we're going through the message, you can text your questions to 760-814-1223. We'll get those, we'll look them over, and what we want to do is try and put together a podcast to answer those questions.

With that, would you stand with me? Take out your Bibles. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We're going to open to the Gospel of Luke, which is in the New Testament. So, open to about the middle of your Bible and turn to the right. You'll find the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. We were in Mark last week, and we're going to be looking at Luke chapter 19 today, beginning at verse 1.

Luke 19:1 says, "Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He sought to see Jesus, but he could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and He said, 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.' So Zacchaeus made haste and came down and received Jesus joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, 'He has gone to be the guest with a man who is a sinner.'"

Father, what good news that is! You went to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. Lord, that means that You would not be ashamed to be our guest; You would not be ashamed to spend time with us. In fact, in the last book of the Bible, we read that You stand at the door and knock, and whoever opens, You would come in to them and dine with them. Lord, we are grateful that that is who You are and how You work.

I pray, God, that You would speak to us today as we consider Your pattern of life and the things that You did. Would You cause us to think on these things and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds? So speak to us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

Well, if you weren't with us last week, I want to say happy New Year!

It's amazing how quickly time goes by. It seems like it just gets faster and faster all the time. As we are in a new year, we're starting off with a new short series, and we're talking about the important topic of purpose. I believe that knowing and having a purpose is essential if we are to live this life in a meaningful way.

I've believed for a long time, and I've shared it many times here at the church, that I'm not sure we can truly experience life as God intended. God, our Creator, created us for a purpose, and He intends for us to live and experience life in the way that He wants us to. However, I don't know that we can experience it the way He wants us to without knowing the answers to a number of very important questions.

You probably realize that everyone you interact with—in your neighborhood, at work, at school, or wherever you find yourself—has a worldview. They have a framework by which they see the world, a philosophy, basically. Every philosophy, whatever it may be, needs to answer a series of very important questions if it is going to really hold up one's life.

I believe there are about five of these questions. The first one is the issue of identity, followed by purpose, origin, destiny, and morality. If we are going to experience life in a way that is meaningful and abundant, then it's important for us to answer the questions of who we are (identity), where we came from (origin), where we are going after this (destiny), what we are here for (purpose), and how we should live (morality).

We need to find strong answers to these questions if we are going to gain transcendent meaning in this life. I think these questions are so important that from time to time, I'll speak about them as we go through the Scriptures. It's our pattern, generally, to go book by book through the Bible, and those answers regarding identity, purpose, origin, destiny, and morality are found in the Scriptures. I want to highlight that as we go through, but there are other times when we take a moment or a few weeks to look specifically at one of these topics.

A few years ago, at the beginning of 2015, I did a series on the book of Ephesians in the New Testament called "Identity." You can find it on our website, LifeInConnection.com. In that series, we discussed these same questions, and now, as we talk about purpose, we are returning to these questions so we can drill down into them. I believe we need to address these issues as they relate to purpose because we are living in a time when people seem confused about the issues of meaning and purpose in life.

This confusion is evidenced by some of the things we observe in our culture. There is an increase in prescription drug use and a rise in suicide rates. I think these issues are not disconnected from the questions of purpose and meaning. People are grappling with purpose and meaning, and our culture is experiencing what some have identified as a collective existential crisis. Existentialism deals with the question of why we exist.

In the past, some people referred to this as a midlife crisis. Perhaps we are experiencing a collective midlife crisis in our nation, where individuals start to reflect on their lives. They look at all they have done, consider the time that has passed, and think about the future, asking themselves, "What is it all about?" Many feel they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, leading to this kind of existential crisis.

In our culture, various voices suggest different causes for this crisis. Over the last twenty years, some have pointed to September 11, 2001, as the catalyst for the existential crisis. Others argue that it began with the election of George W. Bush and continued with his reelection. Some attribute it to the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009, while others say it was the election of Barack Obama and his subsequent reelection. There are also those who claim that global warming and climate change are the root causes, with recent articles stating that world leaders have been informed that this is the major crisis threatening our existence.

Additionally, some people believe the election in 2016 marked the beginning of this existential crisis. There are numerous factors that people point to as sources of this confusion. However, I think that deeper than all of these issues are the fundamental questions surrounding meaning and purpose. We interact with people daily who are wrestling with these profound questions.

Who are wrestling with issues of meaning and purpose? I was listening to one person, not a Christian, talk about this just a few weeks ago. He said life is very difficult, rife with suffering and contaminated by malevolence. You need a sustaining meaning to avoid bitterness in this world. You need a sustaining purpose, or you're going to enter into what some people refer to as existential depression.

It's not just those who look at the Scriptures or consider the implications of theology that have questions about meaning and purpose; it's people who don't even have a framework for the existence of God who really question, "What is life about? What is the purpose?" So, people ask, "Where do I turn to for this sustaining purpose?" There are all kinds of different opinions about where to turn.

I've mentioned several times over the last few months one very outspoken individual that a lot of people are following today. He is an atheist by the name of Sam Harris, and he is thoroughly convinced that the best way to attain meaning is through the use of meditation and perhaps even psychedelics. What you're going to see in our culture right now is a push—it's already happening—to make legal all the psychedelic substances that some of you remember from back in the sixties. They are trying to declassify those as Class One narcotics because they say that's where we're going to find meaning.

This is an interesting situation taking place. People are starving for meaning, and we're told by the same individuals who are identifying this problem that you need to create your own purpose. You need to manufacture your own meaning, which is really difficult because many people don't seem to be doing that very well.

I'm convinced that as we look at the Bible, there are some answers that relate to this issue of purpose and meaning. This leads to the first point, which isn't really my reason or proposition for this series: the purpose of Jesus helps us frame and understand our purpose more meaningfully. When we begin to grasp the purpose of Jesus, who is revealed in the Scriptures as God, that is the great declaration of the Christian faith—Jesus is God.

So, Jesus being God speaks about His purpose for coming into the world, what we call the Incarnation. God became a man, and if that is God's purpose for Jesus coming into the world, then I believe it has some implications for our own lives.

As we begin to understand why Jesus came, it helps us frame and comprehend our purpose in a world that is broken, filled with suffering, and often marked by malevolence. This understanding begins to answer questions such as: Why do I live where I live? Why am I in the job that I am in? Why am I at the school that I'm at? Why am I a part of the neighborhood or the family that I belong to?

I believe that these are the kinds of questions people often wrestle with. As we grasp the significance of why Jesus came, we find more meaningful answers to these questions. Therefore, we are looking at some of the purpose statements of Jesus in the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So far, I have identified about thirteen instances where Jesus states, "I have come for this purpose." I am still searching for more as I routinely go through the Gospels.

Last week, we examined the first of three purpose statements we will consider in this three-week series. We are not going to cover all thirteen statements, but the first one we looked at is found in the theme verse of the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verse 45. Mark records Jesus saying, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many."

In this statement, Jesus presents a single purpose. He expresses it both negatively and positively, which is a typical teaching method used by Jewish rabbis. He states that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but He did come to serve. This service is manifested through the act of giving His own life, laying it down as a ransom—a payment for many. Thus, His purpose is revealed.

Point number two is that Jesus purposed to serve sacrificially. In identifying this purpose in Mark 10, we must ask ourselves how this understanding helps us frame our own purpose in a more meaningful way. I believe it does, because it allows us to see that whatever situation or circumstance we find ourselves in during this life, the place you...

Live the place you work, the family you're a part of, and the people that you interact with on a regular basis. The difficulty that you're going through, the trial that you're experiencing right now—those are the things in life where we should begin to do as Jesus did: adopt His purpose to live in a self-sacrificial way.

Now, here's the problem. In saying that Jesus lived with a self-sacrificial purpose and that we should adopt that purpose, it's certain that some are going to ask, "Why? Why should I serve others sacrificially? Why should I not serve myself?" It is our natural tendency to be self-focused. We call it selfishness. If you have had a two-year-old, you know this. If you haven't had any kids, you might think, "No, I'm not very selfish." But kids are born not selfish; we are not naturally so. We are, at times, very self-focused. In children's ministry, you'll see it, and really, when we're honest, we see it in ourselves as well.

We tend to mask it in more socially acceptable ways, but at the core, by nature, we are very self-focused. Jesus comes and gives an example of self-sacrifice, and He calls us to that. That's exactly what He called His disciples and followers to. In Mark 10, He said, "In the world, you know how the world is; it's very self-focused. But it shall not be so for you, My followers." You should adopt My purpose to live self-sacrificially.

Of course, we ask the question, "Why? Why should I do that?" It is not our nature to do so. It is quite contrary to virtually every impulse we have innately to be self-sacrificial. We are oriented towards serving all of our desires and wants, and we live in a culture that says, "Yes, you should do that." I mean, that's basically what all of our culture says: "Have it your way." This message is constantly drilled into us through all kinds of advertising and the philosophical worldview presented in every form of media. It's all about you. That's the basic ethos of America in the year 2019, not just in the United States but in most of the Western world. Because there is a lot of power in the Western world through money, we are exporting this thought everywhere to the rest of the world. Constantly, this is what it's all about: it's all about you.

Speaking people are working in our culture with whatever gifts, talents, abilities, or training they have. They are striving to gain ascendancy and reach the top in their respective fields or territories. If you look around at the various industries and areas of work in our society, you will see that people are using their abilities, gifts, talents, and training to climb higher and higher, seeking to gain prominence in whatever field they are in.

As a result, our culture tends to solidify into silos that often resemble hierarchical structures, much like a pyramid. These structures are very wide at the base and become thinner as you move toward the top. There are differing opinions on how people reach the top. Some, like Nietzsche, argue that it is all about power, with individuals dominating and holding positions of authority. However, in a meritocracy, which our culture somewhat resembles, those who compete well or excel in certain areas tend to rise to the top through competence.

Regardless of the specifics, we have these hierarchical structures in various fields, including medicine, the military, law enforcement, education, and many others. Each of us possesses different gifts, abilities, talents, and education, and we find ourselves in these various roles. This dynamic even occurs within the church world, where individuals use their training and abilities to ascend. Our culture tells us that reaching the top will place us in a position of power and greatness, and there is a deep-seated desire within the human heart for power and greatness, as illustrated in Mark chapter 10 with the disciples.

Perhaps Nietzsche was right: the entirety of the human race is geared toward a will to power. Interestingly, wherever you find yourself in this societal hierarchy, there is a tendency, stemming from our nature, to look at those who are higher than us with a degree of disdain, often fueled by jealousy or envy. We tend to despise and dislike those who occupy higher positions, and not only do we look at them with contempt, but we also assume that those individuals...

Couldn’t you talk to me later and tell me if you don’t think this is true? We assume that those who are higher than us, whom we kind of envy in whatever hierarchy, got there by some sort of corrupt way. They did something wrong to achieve their position. Isn’t that kind of the way we think?

If you’re following me, some of you are tracking. That’s what we have in the story before us. It’s an interesting story, and maybe you’ve gone through this one before. You might read Luke chapter 19, verses 1 through 10, the story of Zacchaeus, and instantly have a song in your head: "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree to see what he could see." If you don’t know that song, you could sign up for children’s ministry afterward, and you’ll learn it.

In this story, we have a picture of culture that is 2,000 years old, but it’s not much different from culture today. We see a hierarchy, with someone who is higher up, despised, disliked, and assumed to have reached that position through unethical, immoral, or corrupt means.

Luke chapter 19, verse 1 states, "Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho." As a quick side note, if you were here last week in Mark chapter 10, this actually follows immediately after in the timeline of the Gospels. The story we looked at in Mark’s Gospel chapter 10, where Jesus’s disciples were talking with him about greatness, occurs almost immediately before this. If you read through Mark chapter 10 and Luke chapter 18, you’ll see that the stories line up.

Jesus is on his way from Galilee, which is in the northern part of Israel where most of his ministry took place, and he’s heading down to Jerusalem for the very last time before he would be crucified. The last major outpost or stop before going up into the mountains of Judea, where Jerusalem is located, was the city of Jericho. Jesus is on his way down to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. There are multitudes of other people also walking with him to go for the Passover. He’s entering and passing through Jericho; he’s not going to stay there, just moving through.

Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector. Dun-dun-duh! And he was rich. You can kind of feel it in yourself, like, "Yeah, maybe you know this name." In fact, if you own a home, you do know this.

My name is Dan McAllister. I get a letter from him once a year, and I hate that letter. I don't like it. It's really colorful; it's got yellows and blues and all this stuff, but it has this big red number on it that I have to pay in November. In April, I always delay as far as I can. It's like December 10th—okay, that's the day I'm paying that sucker, like the last day.

So, you guys know Dan McAllister. You probably never met him. I don't know what he looks like, but I know his name. He's a tax collector, and I just assume he's probably rich, like Zacchaeus. We don't really care for tax collectors at any time because we don't like to pay taxes. We just don't. This guy was especially not liked.

In American terms, he's at the top of the hierarchy. We think, "Yeah, man, he's rich; he's the chief; he's the boss." He's where you'd want to be as an American. But in Jewish culture of the first century, he would have been the most despised. In fact, they lumped tax collectors in with sinners and harlots. So, if you were a tax collector, you were considered a sinner. They didn't like them because they viewed them as treacherous.

You see, they paid taxes to the Roman Empire, which was occupying the area of Israel. Zacchaeus was a Jewish man who was a tax collector for the Romans. There are a lot of different intricacies as you study these things about how the taxes would be collected. Rome had a certain amount, and the tax collector had the authority and power to collect what he would, keeping the difference. So, people assumed, "You're rich; you're a tax collector; you're not doing it right." That's how they viewed it, so they didn't like this guy.

Zacchaeus sought to see who Jesus was, but he could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. Most researchers, historians, and archaeologists who have been studying the remains found in that region of the world at that time say that the average man was five foot six. So, you would have been tall back then. Jesus was probably about five foot six. We have these pictures of Him with long, flowing, Fabio-like blonde hair, and He looks tall. That's not it at all. He was a Jewish man in the Middle East, about five foot six. So, if Zacchaeus was a wee little man... a wee little...

Man, was he short! You guys saw Sheree Bailey; she was here this morning, our missionary. She's very short, and he was probably about that height. I'm going to get in so much trouble saying this kind of thing. You guys are texting right now, no questions at all. It's just like, "You're a wicked person." That's right, I'm wicked; I repent in dust and ashes.

So, maybe he was about four foot six. Zacchaeus had a problem: he couldn't see Jesus because of the multitude around him. He wanted to see Jesus, so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for Jesus was going to pass that way. He was small, but he was industrious. He was determined to see this guy.

Now, when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him. This was probably the first time in Zacchaeus's life that someone looked up and saw him. Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus," calling him by name, "make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." So, he made haste and came down, and he received Jesus joyfully.

However, when the multitudes saw it, they were indignant. They all complained, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." As I said, as a general rule, those who are lower down in the hierarchy of wealth, power, and privilege tend to see those who are higher up and despise or dislike them. We assume that they are immoral, corrupt, or wicked, believing they did something unethical to get there. This isn't new; it's just the way we are. Back 2,000 years ago, things were the same.

They assumed that this guy was immoral. Tax collectors were despised; they were treacherous in the eyes of the people. Point number three on your outline: Jesus saw those overlooked and looked down upon. As we're writing that down and thinking about it, He saw those who were overlooked and looked down upon because...

He purposed to do so. Think about that. He saw them because he was looking for them. He intended to do this. Everyone else looked down upon Zacchaeus, not just because of his short stature, but because they did not like him. They despised him and had a belittling opinion of this little man.

But look at verse 8. Then Zacchaeus stood and said, "Lord, look! I give half my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore it fourfold." This is interesting because if you've ever heard the story of Zacchaeus taught in church, you probably heard the common interpretation that this is a sign of Zacchaeus's repentance. He is making a public statement of repentance by saying, "Lord, I give half my goods to the poor. From this day forward, I'm going to give half my goods to the poor, and if I've taken anything in a wicked or immoral way, I will restore it more than the law requires—fourfold."

That is the wrong interpretation. I know it's the wrong interpretation because the Greek in this passage is very clear and specific. Greek is a very technical language. This was originally written in Greek, and when he says, "Lord, I give half my goods to the poor," it's in what's called the present active indicative. It indicates an action that has been continuous for a long time. Just to make sure that I wasn't off on this, I called my good friend Justin Alford this week, who is a Greek scholar, and he said, "You're absolutely right; that's exactly what it means."

When he says, "And if I have taken by false accusation, I restore it fourfold," he is saying, "This is my life. This is the way I live." So when it says Zacchaeus stood, he is standing with a self-justifying pose. He is saying, "Hey, listen here, all you people that don't like me. I give half my goods to the poor. You want to set your giving record up against my giving record? I guarantee you mine's better. You think I'm wicked just because I'm rich, just because I have this job? But I give half my goods to the poor, and if I've done anything unethical, I restore it more than the law requires."

So we may not like Zacchaeus because he's a tax collector and he's rich, but according to his own words...

Society viewed Zacchaeus as doing pretty well by his own accounting. He considered himself a good man. Yet, Jesus says in verse 9, "Today salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." This gives us Jesus's second purpose statement, which is point number four on your outline: Jesus came seeking to save the lost and despised. Praise the Lord He did! Amen.

There are several important things to recognize in these ten verses as we consider the purpose of Jesus in seeking to save that which is lost and despised. First, Zacchaeus was viewed by those lower than him in power and privilege as corrupt, immoral, and unrighteous. It is our tendency to look at anyone who is a little higher than us and think they did not achieve their position through their own efforts. We assume they must have inherited their power and privilege or done something corrupt to get there.

This mindset allows us to feel better about our own position. We may think, "They may be higher than me on the privilege and power hierarchy, but I am higher than them on the good and moral hierarchy." Don't we often do that? It makes us feel better about ourselves, which is not necessarily a good thing, but it is the way we live.

In holding the view that someone like Zacchaeus did something immoral or corrupt to achieve his status, we are essentially claiming that we are better than that person based on our goodness and morality. We tend to set up the world in this way. However, Zacchaeus, based on his declaration, considered...

He considered himself to be a pretty good guy because of his good works. He said, "I gave half my goods to the poor, and if I've done anything wrong or unethical, I restore it fourfold more than the law requires." So, he felt he was doing pretty good. We have a tendency to do that as well; we compare ourselves to others, thinking, "I'm better than that person or that person because I do this and that."

For example, while the Chargers are playing, I'm at church. So, we think, "Check me out, I'm doing pretty good." This is reflected in the passage. In spite of Zacchaeus's good works, Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house." Not because of all the goods that Zacchaeus gave or because of the ethical life he lived, but because the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

There are a lot of lost people in this story. All those who looked down upon Zacchaeus because he was a wicked, rich tax collector were also lost. Zacchaeus, in spite of his good works and good moral character, was lost. But Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.

For us, I've made the statement that when we understand the purpose of Jesus, when we grasp it, it will help us frame and understand our purpose in a more meaningful way. We are living through the same kind of world that Zacchaeus and all those people were living in 2,000 years ago. Yes, we have iPhones; they didn't have those. We have vehicles; they had chariots. We have running water and good sanitation, while they may not have had many of those things.

However, when you get right down to it, humanity has not changed that much in thousands of years. At our core, we are still the same. We still view hierarchies in the same way. We can find ourselves in this story and realize that we have the tendency to look at those who are higher than us and deconstruct their position in our own lives to make ourselves feel better. But we are still lost, and those who are higher up might feel the same way.

Vindicated because they give or do this, but they're still lost. It's interesting, guys like Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, and Bill Gates, another of the richest men in the world, have pledged to give all of their money towards endeavors to relieve suffering and deal with hunger. These are amazing, good things, but none of those billions are going to make them right unless they are found before God. They are still lost.

The wonderful thing is that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. So how does this help us frame and understand our purpose more meaningfully? There are despised, overlooked, lost people all around us all the time—at work, at school, in your neighborhood, and in the places where you play basketball, softball, or golf. Wherever it is, there are people who are lost and overlooked in all of those places.

I have this conversation at least a couple of times a year with people who are wrestling with their place in life. They feel like, "You don't understand, I'm just a fill-in-the-blank," whatever job they do. "I'm just a stay-at-home mom. I'm just a teacher. I'm just a cop. I'm just this or that." They tell me how they wish their job had more meaning. They wish they were serving Jesus because that would make their job more meaningful.

Listen, I want you to back up for a moment and understand that God has placed you where you are on purpose—to seek and to save that which is lost. I guarantee you that the place you don't feel is very meaningful, the purpose of Jesus is going to change the way you see what you're doing. He placed you there on purpose, and you need to live your life with that purpose. As you start to live your life with that purpose, it will make that position, which does not seem very meaningful, quite a bit more meaningful.

You may ask, "Well, how do I do that?" That brings us to some of the other purpose statements of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 46, Jesus said, "I have come to be a light to those who are in darkness." So, you don't have to raise your hand, but do you think the place that you work...

You go to school, which can be a dark place. You might think that maybe God placed you there for a purpose, to fulfill the same purpose that Jesus came to do. Jesus said, "I have come as a light to the world, to those who are in darkness." In John's Gospel, chapter 18, verse 37, Jesus stated, "I have come to bear witness of the truth."

How many of you think there are some people in your sphere of influence—in that office building or in that classroom—who are believing and espousing some lies? Probably a few. Jesus came to bear witness of the truth, and He has placed you in that dark place to be a light, as one who bears witness of the truth.

In Mark's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 38, Jesus says, "We need to leave this town; I need to go to the other towns to preach the gospel, because for this purpose I have come." He came to preach the good news, the gospel, and He has placed you where you are to be a bringer of truth, one who brings light.

Point number five, which is on the screen, highlights our purpose: to seek out those who are lost. That's what Jesus would do, and that's what He has called you to do in the place that you're at. I have dedicated my life to being a bearer of the truth and a preacher of good news, a light in a dark place. I love what God has given me the opportunity to do, but understand that I don't get to do that unless you are a light in a dark place, bringing people so that I can do that.

I'm with church people all the time, and God has placed you throughout this county to be a light in a dark place, to bear witness to the truth, and to proclaim the good news. Is it easy? No, it's hard. John the Baptist was killed for doing that, and Jesus was killed for doing that. Now, I don't think that's going to happen to you; you might think they're going to kill me, but no, I don't think so.

It's hard and challenging, but that's what God has called us to. I'm going to embarrass her, but my wife works in the ICU at Scripps in Encinitas, and she comes home pretty...

Regularly sharing with me, I was able to share with this doctor and this group of people about how she is being a light in a dark place. She is ministering to patients, to the people who are there with them, and to her co-workers. It's hard, and she comes home saying, "I don't think I said it the right way." My thought is, "Yeah, but you said it." I don't care if you said it the right way; you spoke. You were a light; you were a bearer of truth in there.

She shares with me the things that her co-workers think or say. That's darkness; that's a lie, and you're bringing truth and light into that place because that's what Jesus would do. It makes that work more meaningful, whatever that work is. I am absolutely certain that when we begin to grasp and understand the purpose of Jesus and adopt that purpose as well, whatever place you are placed in by the purpose of God will be all the more meaningful. There is nothing more meaningful than bringing people who are far from God back into connection with God, and that is an endeavor that has eternal consequences.

You see, a lot of the things we do on a regular basis that don't feel very meaningful often seem temporary. Even saving for retirement is very temporary. If your entire life is geared towards having a nice big 401(k) for when you reach a certain age, it won't be very meaningful. However, if you're investing your life into eternity, into the bank of eternal securities, it will yield eternal dividends. That is where true and great meaning is found.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Jesus, we see very clearly your purpose articulated by you. You came not to be served but to serve and to give your life sacrificially as a ransom, a payment for others, for many. You came to seek and to save that which is lost. You came as a light into the dark place to bear witness to the truth, to preach the gospel. God, I pray that in whatever place you've placed any of us here today, we would begin to see that we are actually placed there on purpose by you.

For your purpose, we would be a light to those who are in darkness. This darkness may stem from corruption, ethical problems, trials, difficulties, or malevolence. We are called to be a light to those who are struggling.

Lord, we have the truth, and we get to bear witness to that truth. God, give us the boldness to speak it, even when we feel fearful or anxious about doing so. Grant us the words to express this truth.

I pray that we would find true meaning in your purpose, living life on purpose. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.