Sermon Tone Analysis

10-16-05

Dallas Baptist Church

40 Days of Purpose

Week 2:  Created for God’s Pleasure…first purpose: Worship

 

 

*Sermon Transcript*

 

Rick Warren tells of a true story that was reported by Mike Royco in the Chicago Tribune.

The story goes like this:

 

There was man whose name was Bill Mallory.

Mallory traveled to India to discover the purpose of life.

\\ But he didn’t find the answer there.

\\ So after returning to the United States, he noticed a sign at Chevron gas station that simply said, “As you travel, ask us.”

So every time he pulled into a Chevron station, he would look to the sign and say, “I’m a traveler.

I’d like to ask you a question.

\\ What is the purpose life?”

These were some of the real answers he got.

One attendant said, “Sorry.

I’m new here.”

Another said, “I don’t remember anything in the manual about that.”

Another attendant said, “I’m not much for church myself, sir.”

One fellow even gave him a leering look and a wink, whatever that meant.

But most of the people just gave him a blank stare, cleaned his windshield, filled his tank, and took his money;

But Mallory persisted and kept asking that same question at all the Chevron stations.

Several weeks later, Mallory got a phone call from Chevron Customer Relations.

The person said, “We understand you’ve been asking our dealer questions and getting unsatisfactory answers.”

The man asked Mallory to write out his question and send it to Chevron Corporate with a self-addressed stamped envelope.

So Mallory wrote, “What is the purpose of life?” and sent it to Chevron Gas Company.

Several weeks later, the envelope was returned.

The only thing in it was an application for a credit card!

\\ \\ If you want to know the purpose of life, you’re not going to find it in a gas station.

You won’t find it in a credit card application.

You’re not going to find it in a self-help book.

You’re not going to find it at some seminar.

If you want to know the purpose of life, \\      you have to talk to the Creator, God Himself, Who made you, \\      or you’ve got to look in the owner’s manual, \\      the Bible, the Written, Inspired, Inerrant Word of God.

You were made by God and you were made for God.

And until you understand that, life doesn’t make any sense.

\\ Today in our journey through the 40 Days of Purpose, \\      we’re going to look at the first of \\              God’s five (5) purposes for your life.

Together…Let’s read Revelation 4:12  from the Screen.

*SLIDE 1  Revelation 4:11*

 

 “/You/ (God)/ created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created/.”

I want you to please Notice two things…

     FIRST…*God*…God is the ONE Who CREATED.

And, Second…see the phrase “/for your pleasure/.”

You were created for GOD’s pleasure!

How many of you are parents?

Do you enjoy watching your kids?

Probably MOST of the time, but maybe not all the time, \\      especially when they’re making mistakes!

Well as we explore the first purpose of life today, \\      consider that just maybe, \\      God is probably the same when it comes to us as His kids.

Last week we talked about how you were created to be loved by God.

But this week we’re looking at the other side of the coin.

We’re going to look at the *first purpose* of your life, which is this:  \\              */God wants you to love Him back/*.

We can learn a lot from a fellow that Jesus was talking to one day, because it gives us the answer to what is our first purpose.

Again, Would you read this with me from the screen?

In Matthew 22, verses 37-38, Jesus said,

     It’s there in your outline.

He said, “/Love the Lord your God.

\\      This is the first and greatest commandment/.”

Jesus calls this The  “/first” /and the “/greatest/.”

Is there a message there?

YES…God is telling us that IF we don’t get anything else, \\      we need to GET this…

You and I are supposed to learn to love GOD back, \\      because HE made us to love us, and God is saying, \\      and I want you to know Me, and I want you to love me back.

Now…as many of you know…there’s a word we use for this.

That word is the word “worship.”

Worship is literally */knowing and loving God back./*

WHEN you or I say the word “worship,” what do you think of?

(Let people answer)

 

Some of you may think of prayer.

Others may think of singing.

Since we’re celebrating the Lord’s Supper today, \\               some of you may think of ritual or communion.

And some people think of going to church,  

or doing something in church when they hear the word, ‘worship.’

All of those things may be a PART of worship, \\      but Worship is really a LOT more than all those things.

So what is Worship?

The Word of God defines Worship as: \\      “To love the Lord, Your God with all your heart and all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Would you take your outline, and write this down in your outline.

*Slide:   3:  MY FIRST PURPOSE is to WORSHIP GOD*

My first purpose in life is to *worship God.* 

 

Folks…that means that Worship is supposed to be \\      your TOP priority.

It is your number one purpose in life.

But there’s a real problem with this word, worship.

That’s because worship is so misunderstood \\      and so wrongly defined by most church people.

What does worship look like to most people?

In other words, what is the picture that comes to mind \\      when you think of someone worshipping?

Is it like this? – /[Pastor demonstrates comically holding hands up and mouth wide open] /

/ /

Okay?

Now, that may be one legitimate form of worship...But worship is far more than – /[Pastor demonstrates again]./

In fact, there are lots of ways to worship God.

But what does God say?

Probably one of the best verses that defines worship, \\      which again is OUR very first purpose, is this-

 

*SLIDE: 4  Romans 12, verse 1.  *

 

 “/Because of God’s great mercy to us… offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him.”  /“/This is the true worship that you should offer/.”

What do we see here?

There are THREE important words here…

First, is the word “/because,”/ \\      then there’s the word “/offer/,” \\      and last there’s the word “/offer/”  again.

*Because*…tells us *WHY* we are to worship and *WHAT* we are to do.

*SLIDE 5* \\ So…First, worship is *my response* to God’s love.

*/My RESPONSE to God’s Love./*

In other words, Worship is how I respond, to God when He loves me.

We worship “/because,”….

“/ /because of God’s great/ /mercy/,”

 

Another way of saying that is Because of God’s great love \\      (and if great mercy isn’t an outpouring of love, \\                           I don’t know what is)

     God’s great mercy towards us, we worship Him back.