Sermons
Serving the Purpose of God
Serving the Purpose of God (b)
Acts 13:34
Introduction:
1. Why am I here? And what am I supposed to be doing?
2. These are some of the most fundamental questions of life.
3. When we are very young we are oblivious to such questions, but it is not long until we are asking them.
a. High school and college age students are asking these questions. Parents and
teachers are asking, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” My fifth grade
teacher kept asking, “Why don’t you do something constructive boy?”
b. Mid-age people often find purpose in their work or in their families.
c. Retirees and elderly people often ask, “Why am I here and what am I supposed to be
doing?”
4. These are very real questions. Finding an answer gives meaning and purpose for our existence, hopelessness and despair may result if we find no answer.
5. In Acts 13:34, speaking to the Jews of Pisidian Antioch, Paul spoke of David, “serving the purpose of God in his generation.”
6. Paul seems to have had a perception that “serving the purpose of God” was really what life was all about.
7. What is his perception? What does it mean to him to serve the purpose of God? Is that something that I am supposed to be doing?
Discussion:
I. For Paul, the unfolding of the plan of God reveals God’s purpose (Acts 13:16b-41).
A. In his presentation at Pisidian Antioch Paul rehearsed the work of God among the
people of Israel (13:16ff).
1. God chose our fathers (Acts 13:17). These people were all descended from
Jacob.
2. In Rom. 9:11 Paul refers to the choosing of Jacob as part of the purpose of God.
God chose to execute His purpose through the descendants of Jacob.
3. Paul continues the account of the work of God stating that He made the people
great in Egypt and with an uplifted arm He led them out (Acts 13:17).
4. He gave them the land of Canaan (Acts 13:19).
5. He gave them judges. He gave Saul. He raised up David (Acts 13:20-22).
6. He brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus (Acts 13:23). God’s work among the people
led to the coming of a Savior, Jesus. This was God’s purpose. David served the
purpose of God in his generation by making his personal contribution to the
accomplishment of God’s plan.
B. God’s work among the people culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus (26-
37).
1. Preaching the message of this salvation was serving the purpose of God (26).
2. The prophets served the purpose of God (27).
3. But those who did not know the purpose of God in Christ condemned Him to
death (27). Some people do not understand the purpose of God (Micah 4:12).
They work contrary to the purpose of God (27-29).
4. But God raised Him from the dead (30-31). Thus God fulfilled His promise (32-
37).
C. God’s work continues in the proclamation of forgiveness through Christ and entrance
into His kingdom (13:26, 38-39).
1. God has acted to bring about forgiveness through Christ.
2. He is acting in the proclamation of forgiveness through Christ.
3. His purpose is evident—to bring about freedom through Christ. Our response
ought to be to place our faith in His purpose.
II. This purpose is further confirmed by Luke in Luke 7:30 where he refers to those who “rejected the purpose of God for themselves.”
A. What does it mean to reject the purpose of God for oneself?
1. Lk. 7:30 in set in a context contrasting those who accepted John’s baptism with
the Pharisees and lawyers who were not baptized by John.
2. John had preached the kingdom of God was at hand and that men should repent
and turn to God in order to be prepared to receive the kingdom.
3. To reject the purpose of God for themselves meant that these refused to accept
God’s plan for them.
B. This is clear evidence of what it means to NOT serve the purpose of God.
1. The word “purpose” as used in this context is from a Greek word family that
means to take counsel. The KJV says that the Pharisees and lawyers had
rejected “the counsel of God” for themselves. They had rejected the plan, the
purpose of God for themselves.
2. To reject the purpose of God means that we live our lives in a way that runs
counter to God’s plan for us.
3. To “serve the purpose of God” one lives his/her life in a way that is in harmony
with God’s plan and purpose for mankind.
III. Facts about the purpose of God.
A. Carried out through Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:11).
B. Executed in the crucifixion (Acts 4:28).
C. Unchangeable (Heb. 6:17).
D. We are called according to the purpose (Rom. 8:28; 2 Tim. 1:9).
IV. We are called to serve the purpose of God.
A. That means that our lives need to be aligned with what God is working to
accomplish in the world.
B. It is easy for us to align ourselves with our own purposes and neglect the purpose
of God (Deut. 17:14-20; James 4:1ff).
1. Business/work.
2. Family.
3. Pleasure.
Conclusion:
1. Are you willing to give your life to serving the purpose of God?
2. This is the purpose that you are called to.
3. It is the purpose that Jesus suffered for.
