You Were Created For God’s Pleasure
5/2/04
Given by Russell Q. Adams

May 2, 2004

You Were Created For God’s Pleasure

Mark 12:28-34

Opening Words: Bill Mallory went to India looking for the meaning of life. He returned home without an answer. On his way his way home from the airport he passed a Chevron gas station. It was at that moment he saw a "sign." The sign read: Traveling? Ask Us! That slogan was part of Chevron’s advertising campaign. He had traveled all the way to India to find the meaning of life so he thought, "Why not?" He pulled into that service station and the young man behind the counter, "What is the meaning of life?" The young man said, "Today is my first day." He went to another Chevron station and asked, "What is the meaning of life?" The response this time was, "I don’t recall that question in the manual. He went to so many Chevron stations and asked, "What is the meaning of life?" that one day he got a call from the Chevron corporate. The voice at the other end of the line said, "We understand you want to know the meaning of life. If you send us a self addressed stamped envelope, then we will do some research on the meaning of life and send you the answer." Sure enough that is what Bill Mallory did. He sent his self addressed stamped envelope and waited for it to return. One month later his envelope returned. Inside his self addressed stamped envelope was a credit card application.

If you want to find the meaning of life, do ask at the gas station. You will not find the meaning of life by listening to daytime talk shows. You will not find the meaning of life by going to the library or doing some research on the internet. The only way you will find the meaning of life is by returning to the creator of life and reading his manual for life, the Bible.

Today, we continue our six part sermon series called, "The Purpose Driven Life." According to the Bible there are five reasons why you were created by God. Today, we look at the first purpose for your creation, worship! You were created for God’s pleasure. Our scripture lesson today comes from Mark 12, verses 28-34.

Introduction

What do you think of when I say the word WORSHIP? How many of you think of organ music? How many of you think of the choir? How many of you think of long boring sermons? How many of you think of the bulletins with that list of announcements and birthdays? The primary reason you exist is to worship God. So what is worship? According to the scriptures truth worship is nothing more then spending time with God. The God of the universe likes spending time with you! You were created you for His pleasure. You don’t have to do anything for God. He likes being with you.

My daughter, Anna was born on March 25, 1990. I will never forget that day. When she was born they handed her to me and I was thrilled to be with her. I counted ten fingers and ten toes. I studied every line on her face. I hoped she would open her eyes so I could see the color of her eyes. My world wanted to know about her birth but I didn’t rush to call anyone. I just sat there in that delivery room and just enjoyed being with her. She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t sing. She could not walk or clean the garage. Those things didn’t matter. Just being with her was enough! True worship is just being with God. That is enough for Him.

Body

The God of the universe has the power to do all things but He is lacking one thing. You! Worship is just spending time with God but God can not force you to spend time with Him. That is your choice. That is under your domain. You were created for God’s pleasure. How much time are you spending with God? I don’t mean did you come to church this week. I mean how much time do you spend with God in your life? This morning let me help you answer that question by giving you three words. Three ways that you can spend time with God. Each word begins with the latter "A."

The first word is attention. One day a teacher of the law came to Jesus and asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus answered, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love your Lord with all your mind." As you live out your daily life how much attention are you giving to God? Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo once said, "Attention is like a daily bouquet of love." Did you know the average adult attention is only six minutes? If you want to show someone that you love them then give them some of your attention.

How much time do you spend thinking about God? If you were to take an inventory of your thoughts what is the one thing that dominates your mind? Is your mind crowded with job issues? Do you spend all your time thinking about your health or your retirement? How much time do you spend thinking about your investments? How much time do you spend thinking about your children or your grandchildren? How much time do you spend thinking about your spouse? How much time do you spend thinking about God? I did not say the organizational church or church politics. I said how much time do you spend thinking about God?

I have had men in my office who have told me their wives complain, "You never say, ‘I love you." The husbands will say they don’t get it. I work hard everyday to have a nice home so we can afford the extras. That is how I say, "I love you." The truth is those husbands don’t get it. Their wives do not want things. They want them. They want their attention. Your children want your attention. Your aging parents want your attention. Everybody who loves you wants your attention. God wants your attention. How much time do you spend thinking about God? True worship is spending time with God. You were created for God’s pleasure. And all of God’s people said, "Amen!"

The second word is affection. One day a teacher of the law came to Jesus and asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Jesus said, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love your Lord with all your heart." As you live out your daily life how much affection are you showing God? In other words, God wants a living relationship with you. He doesn’t want a relationship that is based on duty. Let me tell you how important this is.

Gentlemen imagine it is your anniversary. You look at your wife on your special day. You say to her, "Today is our anniversary so I am expected to do three things. First, I am expected to remember it is our anniversary. I remembered. Second, I am expected to buy flowers, so I bought flowers. Third, I am expected to give you those flowers. Here!" How do you think that seen would go? Your wife wants you to speak from your heart. Your wife wants you to communicate the fact that you love her today as much as the day as you were married. The last thing your wife wants is a relationship built on duty and expectations. God wants the same thing!

God does not want a relationship with us based on duty and expectations. God wants to know that you are as excited about Him today as the day when you first encountered Jesus. How fresh is your relationship with God? John Wesley once said, "Get on fire for God and men will come and see you burn." True worship is spending time with God. You were created for God’s pleasure. And all of God’s people said, Amen!"

The third word is abilities. One day a teacher of the law came to Jesus and asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most import?" Jesus said, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your strength." As you live out your daily life how much of your ability are you giving to God? In other words, worship is not something that lasts one hour. Worship, spending time with God, should occur all week.

Who is your boss? If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ then your boss should be God, Himself! Everything that you do reflects on God. Colossians 3:17 says, "Do all in the name of the Lord." Use your abilities and bring honor to God. If you are teacher, then teach to the best of your ability. If you are a stay at home mom then raise those young ones to the best of your ability. If you are a fireman or a policeman do it to the best of your ability. If you are a salesman then sell to the best of your ability. If you are cooking for your own family do it the best of your ability. If you are librarian, then pass those books out to the best of your ability. Do all in the name of the Lord and spend some time with God at work. Don’t leave God at church! True worship is spending time with God. You were created for God’s pleasure. And all of God’s people said, "Amen!"

Conclusion

My daughter, Anna, is no longer a new born. She is fourteen years old and I still like spending time with her! She goes to school. She takes music lessons. She has her own friends. She takes dance lessons. She has a busy life. Do you know what I really like? I love it when Anna has time for me! You live busy fast paced lives. How much time are you spending with God? The first purpose for your life is to worship God. You were created for God’s pleasure. How much time are you spending with God?