WHY
AM I HERE?
Solomon
asked this question:
Eccl.
1:2-4 "'Vanity
of vanities,' says the Preacher;
'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.'
(3)What
profit has a man from all his labor in
which he
toils under the sun? (4) One
generation passes away, and
another
generation comes; but the earth abides
forever."
Is
life all about becoming wealthy and getting all we can
(canning all we get)?
Eccl.
1:8 "All
things are full of labor; Man cannot
express it. The
eye is not
satisfied
with seeing, nor the ear filled
with hearing."
Eccl.
5:10-11 "He
who loves silver will not be
satisfied with silver; Nor he who
loves
abundance, with increase. This
also is vanity. (11) When
good
increase, they increase who eat
them; So what profit
have the owners
except to see them with their eye?"
A
quick review of life: We're born, we work to make a living, then we
die.
IS
THAT ALL THERE IS?
The
answer to the question is found in our Creator.
Heaven
declares around His throne:
Rev.
4:11 "You
are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honor and power;
(why)
for You
created all things, and by
Your will
they
exist and were created."
(kjv)
"...for Thy pleasure
they are and were created."
We
were made according to His will
- for His pleasure
Col.
1:15-18 "He
is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
(16) For
by Him all things were created that are
in heaven
and that are on earth,
visible and invisible, whether
thrones
or dominions or principalities or
powers. All
things were created
through Him and
for Him.
(17) And He
is before all things, and in Him all
things consist. (18)
And He is the
head of the body, the church, who is
the
beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that
in all things He may have
the preeminence."
When
we do His will (obey),
we
find joy and fulfillment.
WHY?
Because we were designed
"in the image of God."
Gen.
1:26-27 "Then
God said, 'Let Us make man in
Our image, according to Our
likeness; let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea,
over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle,
over all
the earth and over every
creeping thin that creeps on the
earth.' (27) So God created man in
His own image; in the
image of God
He created him; male and female He
created
them."
We
were made in the image of the spirit of God. Therefore, we were
designed for eternity - with needs that cannot be met in the
flesh.
Eccl.
3:11 "He
has made everything beautiful in its
time. Also He
has put eternity
in their
hearts,
except that no one can find out
the work that God does
from beginning
to end."
Psm.
90:2 "Before
the mountains were brought
forth, or ever You had formed the
earth
and the world, even
from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God."
But
Satan came along and said, "No you won't
be happy by obeying God, because
He has an ulterior motive. You just follow me
and you can enjoy every
desire of your flesh.
Gen.
3:4-5 "Then
the serpent said to the woman,
'You will not surely die. (5) For
God
knows that in the day you eat of it your
eyes will be
opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.'
"
The
world agrees with Satan and looks at following God as foolishness:
1
Cor. 1:18-29 Notice the contrast of perspective
between
the world & those who
choose to follow Christ.
This
life isn't where it's at.
1
Cor. 15:19 "If
in this life only we have hope in
Christ, we are of all men the most
pitiable."
Without
God, we can do nothing
Jn.
15:4-8 He is the Vine, we are to be branches,
nourished and
receiving life through
Him.
Jesus
invites all who are carrying a heavy load to come to Him:
Mt.
11:28-30 "Come
to Me, all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give
you
rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you and
learn from Me,
for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. (30) For My yoke is
easy and My burden is
light."
SIN
CAUSED MAN TO LOSE HIS CONNECTION WITH GOD
Isa.
59:1-2 "Behold
the Lord's hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His
ear heavy, that it cannot hear. (2) But
your iniquities
have separated you from
your God; And your sins have
hidden
His face from you, so that He will
not
hear."
When
we sin, we die. Death is a separation. Spiritual death is
separation from God.
Jas.
2:26 "For
as the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is
dead also."
How
can we be brought back to life?
Rom.
6:3-7 Baptism is where we begin a new
walk in life. It
is where we are united
with Christ It
is where our old man is
crucified
with Christ It
is where we
die
to sin
in order to be freed
from
sin
Jas.
2:14-ff We
are not saved by faith only, but in
obedience to His will.