The Truth About My Purpose

0:00Chapter 12 Ecclesiastes. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. While the evil days come not, nor the years draw not, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves in the grinder's cease because they are few, and those that look out the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the streets. When the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,

1:02and all the daughters of music shall be brought low. And when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fear shall be in the way, and the almond trees shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets, or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the sister. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanity, say at the preacher, all is vanity, and moreover because the preacher

2:06was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Ye he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written was upright even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goats, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd, and further, by these, my son, be admonished. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is the queerness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, fear God, and keep His commandments, for this

3:18is the whole duty of man, for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. First chapter of Philippians, Paul and Timothyus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always and every prayer of mine for you all making requests with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all because I had you in my heart, and as much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all our

4:22partakers of my grace. For God is my record how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ, and this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the praise, the glory and praise of God. But I would you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ, even of Indian strife and some of good will, also of good will, and the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.

5:26What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and I there in do rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but that with all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I want not. For I am in a straight betwixt to having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better, nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith. That you rejoicing may be more abundant in Christ, Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you

6:30again. Only let your conversation be as it become with the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. And nothing terrified by your adversaries which is to them an evident token of tradition, but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which He saw in me and now here to be in me. So if I ask each one of you this morning a question, what is your purpose? What is your purpose? Today I would like to preach the truth about my purpose, the truth about my purpose.

7:38What is the truth about your purpose? I can preach the truth about my purpose because of the first and the last that give us hope. That can be first. Wow. Thank you brother for that opening. That truth about my purpose. I am going to pull from verse 21 of Philippians chapter 1. What to me to live is Christ and because of the opening we heard and the truth we believe

8:48to die is gain. That's the truth about my purpose. Paul said when you would have looked at his situation as helpless, jailed and bonds away from the people he loved and ministered to. He was clear about the truth about his purpose. What to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

9:52Why are you here? Why are you here on planet earth? Imagine the vast answers you would get in a survey at Seattle or Ellensburg or wherever. What is your purpose for living? We have all this just floating around but put the rubber on the road. Why? Are you ready to die? Are you ready to die? If those stones out there had your name on it, would you have been ready to be buried beneath that stone?

10:54I'll ask you another question. Are you ready to live? Are you ready to live? Could one be ready to live if they're not ready to die? What is the truth about your purpose? Erich Fu went to bed one night with what we call him. His purpose was just to farm. I'm not going to say anything about the farmers. He said, I just want to build bigger barns. You could probably say he just wanted to be a good steward. But his life evidently was just about what he did. And God says you fool.

11:58Tonight your life will be required of you and then. And then who shall these things be? I remember the rich young ruler. What is his purpose? He was to follow Jesus until Jesus said, by the way, Saul, which you've got and give it to the poor, and then come and follow me. What was the truth about his purpose? What is the truth about my purpose? Solomon, I read this morning, he's confusing to me. We call him the wisest man.

12:59But I got this picture this morning, even though the elements won't back my prop up very well. But I imagine Solomon was just like a man chasing the wind. Can you imagine waking up in Ellensburg, some morning in the spring and you're going to amlet chase the wind and you head out over there and you go all the way over to the door. Huh? Never caught it. I'll do it again tomorrow. I'll chase the wind. You're going to get it. But you went out. He says it blows us away and it blows us away. That's the way some people spend their life. He says it's vanity. They don't understand the truth about their purpose. Years ago I had a young boy who he loved to ride with me in my work.

14:03On one particular day he rode with me and his old dream that day was stopping at the sonic. He got the sonic about noon and his delight was to order the largest cone he could order. What size of cone you want? Large. Well, when he bit into his cone after we'd left the sonic that thing was hollow inside and he was hot. Up and down the road he couldn't even enjoy the cone he had because that thing was hollow inside. I said well that's probably what it is. Large cavity. No.

15:04Have you been disappointed in life? Have you set your hope on something? And it's just a large cavity. He's like chasing the wind. I mean I started out in life. I had these hobbies. I had this hobby, that hobby was going to collect this time. I don't even care about that stuff. Are you there? I think this morning we heard about the first. I was so glad we got to that last. My, my, my. That's why we have hope here today. The truth about my purpose. Do you ever feel restless? Do you ever feel dissatisfied? Your hobbies, your dreams, your aspirations are changing.

16:07They're not what you thought they would be. When you finally reach some type of a goal it wasn't what you expected it to be. That's what it was for Sullivan. I got to watch him last night on that zip line. What lesson can I get? Woo! Wow, that's a thrill. But it just all came to an end. Another thrill. Wow! It's come to an end. Another thrill. Who's next? Hey, you've already had two turns. You've gone so many times. Same end, dead end. By the way, we're doing life, isn't it? Get a good thrill. Oh, what's next? What's the end? What's the last?

17:09So today I'm really, really, really excited to share with you the truth about my purpose from verse 21 of Philippians chapter 1 for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Let's say 252. Let's sing it. What do I say? 252. 252. Now I resolve. What is your purpose? With all my heart, with all my powers to serve the Lord, nor from His precepts, Erdi Part, whose service is a rich reward.

18:11I would like to give you the definition of purpose. That which a person sets before himself as an object to be reached or accomplished. The end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan, measure or exertion. I think when I'm preaching about purpose, I'm just thinking about like a target, someone that's shooting for the target, the trophy, just that aim, that purpose, that measure. Why is this important? Why is this message today? You're getting ready here. So important. I'll read it twice.

19:14Knowing and choosing the truth about my purpose will keep me from attempting to get life from anything, or anyone else, then Christ. I'll read it again. Why is this message so important? Knowing and choosing the truth about my purpose will keep me from attempting to get life anything, or anyone else. I'm going to give you the goal of this message. Well, it's simple.

20:16The goal of this message is to obtain a proper view of myself, obtain a proper view of others, obtain a proper view of my circumstances, and to obtain a proper view of my purpose. I'm going to give you the goal of my future. Proper view of myself, God, others, circumstances, and my future. So number one, I would just like to start in about talking about knowing the truth about my purpose, affects how I view myself.

21:23Number one, knowing the truth about my purpose, affects how I view myself. In 1966, there was a story titled, This Is Living. It was appeared in the New York and Nashville, Abington Press, about a Texas millionaire. He specified in his will that he was to be buried in his Cadillac. And of course, you can imagine a Cadillac in those days look different than a Cadillac in these days, but anyway, that's beside the point. When he died, a firm of undertakers prepared to carry out his instructions.

22:29They dug an enormous grave, placed the Cadillac on a huge, lowering device, and dressed the corpse in his sports jacket, put a cigar in his mouth, seated him at the steering wheel, and set the speedometer at 60 miles per hour. Morners gathered around the grave, and they looked at this strange coffin. And as it sunk into the earth with appropriate words of committal, another millionaire looked

23:31at his friend with a tear in his eye and says, Man, this is living! I think they're past the poor, and they said, Man, this is dying! Man, this is it living! Man, this is dying! Man, you're going down with the first! You have no promise of the last, but the worst, you have no promise that Christ's death has availed you anything. Because you didn't believe it, if that's living. In the context of the message, the truth about my purpose is for me to live as Christ,

24:34and knowing that truth affects how I view myself. What am I living for? What is my for to me to live? What is it? You fill in the bike where you sat. What is my for to me to live? What is it that makes me say, this is living? I'm more soo down the zip line, I'm not against the zip line, I've never tried one. I asked a young boy this morning here, what's the purpose of the zip line? He said, Fun! Yep. So how would knowing the truth about my purpose affect how I view myself?

25:45Genesis 126 is where we find the secret line. God said, now don't lose me, we're looking at how the truth about my purpose affects the way I view myself. Go back to Genesis 126 and God said, let us make man in our, there it is. Oh, wow! You can't look at yourself unless you're taking a selfie or something like that this morning, but I see you, you're created in God's image. So when you look in the mirror, wow! I'm created in the image of God and all of this stuff we do to ourselves, to change ourselves.

26:49Let's leave that where it is. Let's go to the next verse in Genesis 127. So God created man in his own image. That's you. And that's you. And you. So all of a sudden, the truth about my purpose takes on a different view of myself. I'm created in the image of God. You say, yeah, but didn't that all change with the sin? Well, let's see. In Genesis 9 after the sin, after the flood, I mean sin, sin, sin, sin. I read these words, uh, who so shedeth man's blood?

27:51My man shall blood be shed, probably talking about capital punishment. For in the image of God, man, he was made. Clear in Genesis 9 is talking about something about that image. We're image bears. We say, yeah, but we're falling in the bear. Yeah, but the best is yet to come. We've been redeemed. We heard that this morning. Knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view myself. I like that Jesus in the temple and they were arguing with him. And Jesus just said, oh, they said Jesus is saying, um, this and that about maybe taxes. And they ask him, should we pay taxes or not? And he just said, give me a coin. Matthew 22, 20 or something there.

28:52He just said, whose image? Wow. These are, you know, I look at whose image. God's. Whose image? Oh, yeah, but I got this scar. Now whose image? Whose image? Whose image? The Romans 8, 28, you know, we kind of make a soft landing out of that and all, all things work together for good. Those that love God, although they're called according to this purpose, but there's so much suffering. There's so much, so much trouble and so much trial that comes down into that big top funnel. And it lands down on the 29th verse, which talks about God and His four knowledge.

29:54And He says it like this so that we can be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brothers. So the whole thing through here is first creation and the image of God. Oh, recreation, Christ risen from the dead, born again in the spirit, again. So not only the outside, but the inside and the image of God. Yes, point number one is knowing the truth about my purpose. Effects how I view myself over in 1st, Grinth in 11, was talking about the headship order. I heard about that already a little bit this morning. Notice it just says for a man indeed, I'm not going to cover his head in as much as he is the image and glory of God.

30:55Hello, image and glory of God. Knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view myself, create an image of God. Here again for Scrinning 1549. And as we have born the image of the earthly, we also shall bear the image of the heaven. Knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view myself. Colossians 3 and 10 says, we have put on the new man, which is renewed and knowledge after the image of him that created him.

32:00So zooming way back when we talk about the truth about my purpose. For me to live as Christ must affect the way I see myself. Second Corinthians 3, 18, but we all with an open face. Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the spirit of the Lord. You say, you know, I can just tell. All of a sudden this is over my head. Oh, now I don't get it. I don't know how I could make it any simpler. But I will try. Let me tell you again, knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view myself.

33:05I will guarantee you. You can never look at yourself the same. As before. You are an image bearer. Well, that doesn't mean anything. Let me try to help you. In 1941, in the black hills of South Dakota. There were four faces. Or at least it's completed in that about time and some work done. But for the big picture, there are four faces carved into Mount Rushmore.

34:07Each face of solid granite is approximately 60 feet tall. Can you see it already? Maybe you've been there. You haven't been there. You've seen it somewhere. You're already see it, right? You got an image in your mind already. These faces represent four former United States presidents. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Can I tell you what these are? They're images.

35:09That I tell you that there is an image there of George Washington. There is an image there of Thomas Jefferson. There is an image there of Theodore Roosevelt. There is an image there of Abraham Lincoln. So, the question, when you have an image, what is an image for? Well, an image is to project an image. Every image is a projection of an image.

36:15But the image is only the image. The image is not the actual person. We get it. Abraham Lincoln is not up there in Mount Rushmore, but his image is. And so, when you hear someone say that knowing the truth about your purpose affects how you see yourself because you were made in the image of God, you are not God. But you are in the image of God. And an image is an image of projection image, but it is not the person but it is an image. That's you. My purpose. The truth about my purpose. So that I can live Christ is to believe and embrace and lean into and operate out of the fact

37:19and truth that I am an image bear of God. That's it. First time, yes, and born again through his death, burial, resurrection and ascension. The second time. How do you view yourself? You look in the mirror. How do you view yourself? What is it for you to live? Is it, wow, give me that mirror to bear his image. To work with a man one time.

38:21He just couldn't hardly wait to lunchtime. And he came down. He was a subcontractor from somewhere else and he says, man, he says, couldn't hardly wait to lunchtime today. He says, do you all, how do you all do around here? He says, do you, do you, do you eat to live? Or are you like me? You live to eat. And you appeared that way. He said, I live to eat. I like to eat. And he did. He ate. He never tell me around him. Yet, are you eating to live? Or are you living to eat? Also, it's for me to live. It's right. What is it for you to live? Well, for me to live, someone say, it's my good health. For me to live, hobbies. My vacations.

39:23For me to live, my collectibles. Retirement. My occupation. And yes, even my ministry. Don't miss that one. Well, I just live to be a good church member. I live to be a salesman. An arborist. Pastor, teacher, educator. I live to do vegetation management. I live to be a cattleman. I live to be a marketer. I live to do member care. I live to be an electrician. I live to be a businessman. I live to be a Bible translator. I live to be a CEO. I live to be a CFO. I live to be a pilot. I live to be a food handler. I live to be a bus driver. I live to be a workshop member. I live to be in an emergency camp. The manager from my office,

40:25I live to be a surfing squadron. I live to be a on top of my relationship withanda. At this point, I was the HR manager at Ilimonizarriets. I was also the leader of Ilimonizarriets. In AUDIO, I was martyred and casterer. I was the director of the economic career for 4 and a half years now. But that's who I felt when I met with in – my first son, when I was in college. I was living with my cousin, as the director of the ministry – Inspired of me and indiscency of the military, and help other government officers. I live to be a seamstress. I'm living to be a missionary. I'm living to do garden. I live to do house remodeling. I live for sports. I live for fishing. I live for hunting. Is that all one lives for? Zip ride. Whoop! Darien. Good things. I've spent three months. My mask has been a mess for days and days and

41:29days trying to prepare the truth about my purpose and every time I get off and I'm not saying these are every time I get off and all the secondaries, all the secondary purposes, they're good purposes. Of course the Father's God to be a good Father. Of course the Mother's God to be a good Mother of course a workman's God to work into the Lord. They're all good purposes but they're secondary. And I really don't know the truth about my purpose until I can claim the plan of it. And that is for me to live is Christ and to die. It's gain. I wish I could say it like it will be revealed in that day. If all I'm living for is that stuff I mentioned, repent. I mean repent. Be done with lesser things. This picture we reminded

42:49of the morning in a prayer room. I think us brothers we looked at this at a prayer meeting that we had our all night prayer meeting. This is a picture of the American Baptist Ford Mission Society. It's their seal that they had. And it's a picture of an ox, big ox. It's a little different than farming method nowadays. And this big ox is standing between the altar where there's fire going up and a plow. So this big ox is between the altar and the plow. And this is what the seal says. Ready for either. Ready for either. In these days a

43:49farmer would go out to plow and he would hook this ox to that one bottom plow and that ox would put all his beastly weight into pulling its own weight plus the plow through the field day and day out plowing the field. But if the owner decided at one day and time I would like this ox to become a sacrifice on the altar, the ox is saying, ready for either. I'll serve you in front of the plow. I'll serve you on the altar. I'll serve you to my last breath. It's up to you master. Up to you. I have more of these copies up here in the drawer if any of you would like.

44:52The plow for the altar. What is it for you to live? I think for Adam it was his fellowship with God, but he soon lost it. No, it was the grace of God. Abraham is called the friend of God because he believed God. Jesus came to do the Father's will for him to live us to do the will of the Father. And based on his obedience, we have eternal life. For Paul, to be fair I must tell you for Paul, at one day he would have said, for me to live is the law. That's it.

45:56To be fair, he would have said one day, for me to live is persecute those people that believe in that final last victory. But then one day Paul changed allegiance. Now, after the Damascus road, he says for me to live is Christ. Number two, we've talked about knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view myself. Number two, knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view God. I read this quote, I don't know who wrote it. I'm still kind of testing it. It says purpose is not a mystery to unlock, but a relationship to cultivate.

47:03You can try that on. Knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view God. We're going to move into Philippians chapter 17 and it's going to have to be very, it's going to have to be very brief, but I see 17 times in this chapter. I underlined every one of them in my Bible, 17 times in the book of Philippians, verse chapter one is the name Christ. In other words, without Christ, it is impossible to come to God. Don't lose track of my point knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view God. And so all through the book of 1 Philippians chapter one is Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ. That's the only way I can view God with any degree of hope this morning. The only way I can view God this morning and any degree of life this morning is through Christ. Paul over and over, it is through Christ. You just start in. Paul and Timmy and Timothus, they were there in jail and Rome, servants of Jesus Christ, writing back to the believers in Philippi, many three, four, 500 miles

48:05away, and to the bishops and the deacons, they were in Christ. You mentioned that twice in the first verse goes on down the second verse, grace being to you in peace from God, our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is revolves around Christ. That's why he says for me to live as Christ. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life, the only way to know the truth about my purpose affects how I view God and I view God through Christ. Acts 4 and 12 says there's no other name under heaven given among men. Where Bobby must be saved, but at the name of Jesus every name shall, every tongue shall confess. Get the few things tangled there. First Timothy chapter 2 and 5, there is one God and one mediator between God and man and out of the man Christ. John 10 and 9, he says, I am the door and he man come, he must to the Father, he must come through the door. So knowing the truth about my purpose like the Possible Paul did, it affected how I viewed God

49:07because he could view God now through Christ. So somebody was there, well for me to live as Christ, when does life really begin? And you know you used to say, well life begins it, one for me, I thought life probably began at 14, you get a driver's license in 14 when you and Kansas, I thought life started then. Within a while, it must be later on up to be about 18, it must be about 21. Well, somebody will say, when you turn 40, you're over the hill, well, somebody will say, well, now it's just when you start living because you got enough energy to be, you got enough youth yet to be energetic, you got enough experience to be wise. So you put it together when you start living. I don't know when it is, somebody will say, well, I start living when I'm retired. But I think the truth of the Bible is a man never starts living until he gives his life to Christ. So I have you God knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view God.

50:13I don't know what Paul was thinking about as he looked at the church back there at Corinth, and he back there in Philippi. And this is the church, if you remember, when Paul was traveling, he thought he was going to go off to the east and then slowly spirit wouldn't let him do that, directing him back to the west, a little place of Troashe, he had a vision one night, and the vision, he said, hey, there's a man of Macedonia says, come over and help us. See, he gets over to Macedonia's first stop as Philippi, this little church right here. And I don't know what he is, what all he's thinking. You think about, boy, you remember we got over there, him and Timothy, they're thinking and remember that got down over the water side. There was Lydia, the seller of purple, and she took us to her house, there were baptize. Maybe he was thinking about the night, the jailhouse, they'd been beat for their faith, and they were singing in the jailhouse, and the jailhouse broke down, and the jail was going to take his life, and Paul says, oh, do yourself no harm. The guy said, well, what must I do to be saved? Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you

51:15shall be saved. I don't know what all he was thinking about, as he was writing back to his dear friends at Philippi. But I know this much that the things that happened to him, that the truth about his purpose kept being revealed, he just kept going, he kept going, he'd hit one stop, another stop, another stop, another door open, another door open, whoever read us such a story as this stuff that you read about in Acts 16 that happened to Philippi. It's amazing. Well, knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view God, it certainly did here in this. I'm going to move to number three. Let's just review the truth about my purpose. It affects how I view myself. Knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view God.

52:18Number three, knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view others. And he just moves right in, starts right in, and verse one, he's talking about others in the church. Names them by their offices, goes on down, he's thinking about others, he said, I want grace to flow to others. Verse three, others, remember what I told you? That's the way, knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view others. I'm telling you it does. If we don't see others created in the image of God, we won't move toward them. If I don't behave in a way that reflects the image of God, it's hard for others to move toward me. And he's just moving toward them. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

53:19Thankful for them. I mean, how many of you will go out this door today and you will say, oh, I thank God on every remembrance of you. Oh, I thank God, I thank God, I have a remembrance of you. Try it. See how it does. See what it opens up inside. Would you try it? Just someone? I mean, don't make it up. That'd be where it's at. There's someone in here you're really thankful for. Could you just look them in the eyes? I thank God. This is pretty strong here on every remembrance. I mean, that's really strong. But that's what knowing the truth about your purpose does. It molds that affection to another blood about saint. I can thank my God upon every remembrance of those people. They were surely people like me that had their quirks. But I think he just shows that love them.

54:24And verse four. So knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view others. Verse four, always in every prayer of mine. If you don't have a prayer list of, I would encourage every one of us. Every man, every woman, every child, you're called a fellowship with in the image of Christ. Pray for them by name before the throne of God. And when you see them at church on Sunday morning, wow, there you are. I hear Paul saying that. There you are. It's not like, well, here I am. Are you glad to see me? No, he's off in a jail. He can't see him. He's just blessing them. He's just lobbing but blessings over there. Three, four, five hundred miles away through a letter. He didn't even know what ever get there. Oh, let's keep going. It knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view other. This is about what I can do. This is about what you're doing. This is about what I can do.

55:29What can I do? How can I view others? Always. Oh, verse five. He's thanking God for their fellowship and the gospel. That's within my reach. I can do that. Verse six, he's giving a basis on which we can affirm everyone. Look at that. Who of us is perfect? Who of us is complete? But you can be confident in this very thing that he which has begun a good work in the person behind you, the person in front of you, the person beside you. God has a potential to continue that work until the last breath in that person or until Christ comes. Verse seven talks about our situations differ but grace can be given to all. He said, it's not me for me to think this of you all because I have you in my heart. He's in a different situation than they are but he's still blessing them where they are.

56:34Verse eight, he says, for God is my record, how greatly, a long after you in the bowels of Jesus Christ, I have the same love for you that Christ does. I mean, that is amazing to me. I'm going to kind of end this section on verse 10 that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ. It's easy to approve things, but are they excellent? Are all my things excellent? Ask myself. His challenge was for them to feed the things that were excellent. Number four, we talked about how the truth about my purpose,

57:39knowing the truth about my purpose affects how I view myself, how I view God, three, how I view others, and not last of all, number four is how I view my circumstances. I just was blessed by opening this chapter a few mornings ago and God has laid this thing out. So if I know the truth about my purpose, it affects how I view my circumstances, listen to church, listen to this. This is a win-win for everyone. Circumstances, verse 12, we're going to move right into the circumstances, but I would, you should understand brother and the things which have happened unto me. Those are circumstances, things that happened to us. What are the things that have happened to you?

58:40Those are circumstances. And when we know the truth about our purpose, it affects how I view my circumstances. It did his. Sometimes we look at circumstances as something that's bad, but instead of looking at them as something that's bad, he's turning them around, because he knows the truth about his purpose. I worked for a contractor one time and he had a really very disappointing thing happen to his mansion. And I remember him driving up to the job site. I won't name the car. I got out, walked up to the job site and he says, why did this have to happen to me?

59:46I can still see his worth. Why did this have to happen to me? Oh me. Oh me. I know the truth about my purpose. It affects how I view my circumstances. It kind of turns like, well why not me? How will God purify his image in me? That I wouldn't have stood a chance at in my own flesh. Just grinding me down, purifying me, polishing me, polishing you. Let's see how Paul dealt with this. First of all, in verse 12,

1:00:47I would, you should understand, brother, that the things that happened to me have fallen out rather into the furthest of the gospel. I just say, circumstances built him a pulpit. A problem, pulpit, I called it. A place Paul says, I now have to speak from I never had before. You got some circumstances? God building you a pulpit. Maybe pulpit, I would never dream of. But the way, if I know the truth about my purpose, it changes the way I view my circumstances. Oh Paul says, let me tell you about my pulpit, my chain, my bonds, my prison. It's furthering the gospel.

1:01:52He says, wow. You got any of these? The circumstances in Paul's life became servants of his to the gospel. Prisoners prospered. And in prison, he prospered. It did not squelch Paul's message. Verse 13, oh, so that my bonds in Christ are manifested in all the palace and in all other places. Because of so many guards that are chained to me or that wash my house, I have a captive audience. In all the palace, excuse my sense of humor, it seems like he's saying, in all the palace, did you hear that? In all the palace. How would you get into all the palace? All the palace, all the soldiers, all the jail, all the time.

1:03:02Because he knew the truth about his purpose, changed the way he used his succumbance. How about you? Verse 14, and many of the brothers and old boys getting worse here, trubs are rising up now. Many of the brothers and the Lord waxing confident by my bonds, I guess trouble's not yet, it's on down next verse. They're much more bold to speak the word without fear. So he said, my trouble is just saying succumb to my brother. Is it there just becoming bolder? Let's just go, brothers, let's get her going. They're growing confident, they're motivation. God is shut, look like God shut. Looks like the soldiers or the government shuts the front door. God came in the back door. And took the message of all the palace. And the brother and the brother are getting excited about it. Do you see what's going on here? Do you see how God is using this man? We're able to go in, we're able to be refreshed by him. And if he was free, he would already be back over somewhere else.

1:04:03And so he says, this is good. This is good. Now the turn is the corner. Oh, are you sure about this? Knowing the truth about my purpose, does it really affect how have you been circumcised? Let's take a look. Some indeed preach Christ, verse 15, even if the Indian strives. Some also have goodwill. This one preach Christ for a condition, not sincerely supposing to add a fliction to my bonds. Whoa, verse 17, but the other of love knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What should we say? He says, while I'm going down, the trouble is coming up. Some are sincere, some are not, but it's not my problem. Christ is being preached. Yes, the name of Christ is being preached. He just took what he could take that was positive. And that's where he puts his energy. And that's the message that come out. And that's what tells us today that if you are, know the truth about your purpose, it changes the way you view your circumstance. 18, verse 18, this is what them notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in

1:05:06trite, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And I therefore do rejoice, yeh, and will rejoice. He says, I'm not going to judge them. I'm not going to be critical of them. I'm just going to rejoice and I'm going to rejoice. And I'm going to cheer them on. I'm going to keep the celebration going. I'm going to choose love. Verse 19, for I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He says, regardless, I win, I win, I win. He says, God, Paul says, I know they author the next chapter. You don't have to worry about me. I know he has it all written. I am to be delivered here or there. It doesn't matter. He says, I will be delivered one or the other. I'll either be delivered and released from these chains here. I'm going to be delivered. And I'm going to go be with the Lord. Death is conquered. The last in them is done. So it changed the whole attitude about his purpose. Regardless, regardless, verse 20, move right on down in the verse 20 into our text, close to our

1:06:07text. It says that according to my earnest expectation, my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always. So now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ. No wonder you could say, and to die, like Luther Math, it is gain. I'm out of here. I mean, I think he was getting excited about the guy coming in some time to maybe chop his head up, but let's keep looking. It changed his, the way he viewed circumstances, everything I do for Christ, everything I do through Christ, I am nothing without Christ. That's the truth about my purpose for me to live as Christ. You know Paul could have said, you know what he could have said, I said down to the Bible, and what the second Corinthians 12, he could have said, you know, for me to live what's been stripes, it's been whips five times. Yeah, yeah, 40 times. Yeah, for me to live shipwreck. Yeah,

1:07:09can you just hear the sarcasm he could have used? Oh, yeah, for me to live, yeah, the night in the deep shipwreck for me to live. Parals, hunger, cold, naked. That thorn in my flesh, you want me to tell you what it's like to live? Let me tell you about something. Conflicts for me to live has been bonds, has been people adding affliction, it's been false brother, I've been misquoted, I've been suspicion. No, you never said that because he knew the truth about his purpose. For to him to live as Christ. And every time he got stepped on, it pushed him up. Every time he got stuck, it buoyed him up. Because he knew the truth about his purpose and his circumstances. Well, I want to bring this to a swift close. We had talked about the truth about my purpose knowing it affects how I view myself, how I view God, how I view others, how I view

1:08:18circumstances, but I'm not done yet. There's still one more. How I view my future. Now, for ends, we all have a future. Every one of us in this house has a future. None of us know the next second, the next moment, the next five minutes. None of us know when the sawd in that graveyard will be tilled up. We don't know the future. But if I know the truth about my purpose and I'm willing to hang on that, then I will see my future in a special way. He says in verse 21, let's look at him, how did it work for him? Verse 21, you know, for me to live as Christ. Okay, we're moving into the future here, but the die would be gained. But he says in verse 22, but if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor yet. What I shall choose, I want not. He says, you know, I'm a peace with the future. He says, it's a win-win. He says, if I stay, I have purpose in the gospel.

1:09:25I hear him saying, I don't know what to choose. I hear him saying, if you give me the dial and said, Paul, you turn it where you want it. I hear him saying, I wouldn't touch it. I'll let God design because he was secure in the truth about his purpose. It gave him a new way to view his future. He said, I'm just going to let it go. I don't know what to say. Verse 23, verse 23, I'm going to straight, but Twix II, he says, this is hard having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. He said, it's hard for me to know. He says, they're both good choices. He says, if I live, I have purpose. If I die, I'm out of here. Both are good choices. Verse 24, nevertheless, to abide with the flesh and the flesh is more needful for you. I trust God with my future. I just want to hear him saying they're verse 25. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your fervent and joy of your faith. He said, it's

1:10:31about you. It's not about me anyway. I think so many times we get tangled up in our future because we think it's about me. He said, it's about you. It's about others. What a man. What a man. Thank you, Lord. Verse 26, that you're rejoicing. Maybe more abundant in Jesus Christ, or by my coming to you. Again, he's just keep focused on joyful, positive things. Verse 27, only let your conversation be as it becomes with the gospel of Christ for whether I come and see you or else be absent. I'm a hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit and one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. That gives me courage for the future. He says, I want you to take your individualities and I want you to bring them together. I want you to stand fast like we heard there in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 at the very last this morning for Anthony took us to prayer. Stand fast in one spirit. Stand fast in one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

1:11:36I mean, this man is just trusting God completely for his future completely. And I think that's what we have to do this morning is simply say, Lord, I know the truth about my purpose. I believe that it affects the way that I view my future. And I think us at Cascade Valley, we do well to claim this for ourselves, for each other. You know, the future is up to the Lord. And we're just going to try his writing the next chapter. We can't see the next chapter. We can't see it. Paul couldn't see it. He did not know whether he'd live to see the next day or not. But he just kept breathing confidence. He's just kept breathing life. He just kept breathing hope over that body of Christ, though they were 500 or so miles from him. We must know the truth about our purpose unless we be blinded when we're called to suffer. I think the last few verses of this chapter, this kind of sums it up. Only let your conversation become

1:12:41verse 27, the gospel of Christ, whether I come and see or not. I'm here of your fares. He has to stand fast. One mind. I've already gone through that. We're unto you, verse 29. It is given them. We have a Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sakes. That kind of wraps it up. I just want to say this. Why is this so important? Because knowing and choosing the truth about my purpose will keep me from attempting to get life from any one or anything less than Christ. That's the bottom line. The goal of this message is to obtain a proper view of myself, God, others, circumstances, and my future. What are you living for? What is the truth about your purpose? I just trust that all of us, and if you can't say this, I can lead you to brother and I can help you with this. I can lead you to the truth

1:13:42and give you the opportunity to say this. But this is what the Apostle Paul said about his purpose. He says, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gay.