January 20-21, 2007, Jeremiah 1:5; Selected

LIFE 360!
LIFEQUEST!

*** 2 Cor. 10:12 "Oh, don't worry; I wouldn't dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, and measuring themselves by themselves. What foolishness!" [New Living Translation]

1. GOD THINKS YOU ARE MARVELOUS!
*** Psalm 139:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." [New International Version]

YOU AND I HAVE VALUE!

*** Eph. 1:4 "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love." [Message Bible]
*** Isaiah 44:2a "This is what the Lord says--he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you...." [NIV]
*** Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." [NIV]

GOD WILL NEVER NOT THINK YOU’RE MARVELOUS!

*** Isaiah 46:3-4 "Listen...I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you." [NLT]

"We were made by God and for God – and until we understand that, life will never make sense!" – PDL p.19

2. GOD PROGRAMMED US FOR SIGNIFICANCE!
*** Eph. 1:11 "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living...." [Msg]
*** Isaiah 49:4 "I replied, "But my work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all." [NLT]
*** Ecc. 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." [NIV]

ACCOMPLISHMENTS - Eccles. 2:11 "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." [NIV]
EDUCATION - Ecc. 1:17 "Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom..., but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind." [NIV]
WEALTH - Ecc. 5:10 "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." [NIV]
PLEASURE - Ecc. 2:1 "I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless." [NLT]

*** Ecc. 12:13 "Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about." [Contemporary English Version]

SIGNIFICANCE IS NOT FOUND IN SERVING SELF BUT IN SERVING GOD!

LIFE IS A TEST! - James 1:12 "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." [NLT]
LIFE IS A TRUST! - 1 Cor. 4:2 "Now in this way those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust." [NCV]
LIFE IS TEMPORARY! - 2 Cor. 4:18 "We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever." [NCV]

LIFE IS PREPARATION FOR ETERNITY!

*** Ecc. 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." [NIV]

3. GOD PLANNED US WITH A PURPOSE!
*** Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." [NIV]

How God Feels about you! - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...."
You're Importance to God! – "...before you were born I set you apart...."
What God has Planned for You! – "I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

*** Col. 1:16 "For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels - everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." [Msg]
*** 2 Cor. 5:5 "Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." [NIV]

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU, IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD!

*** Proverbs 16:4a "The Lord has made everything for his own purposes..." [NLT]

The Purpose of WORSHIP!
The Purpose of FELLOWSHIP!
The Purpose of DISCIPLESHIP!
The Purpose of SERVICE!
The Purpose of EVANGELISM!

*** 1 Cor. 9:26a "So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step." [NLT]
*** Eph. 1:11-12 "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." [Msg]

"It makes no difference who you are or where you're from - if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open." -- Acts 10:35 [Msg]

EVERY SIGNIFICANT JOURNEY BEGINS WITH THE FIRST STEP!