Wow, that's fancy.

Mark Twain once said, the two most important days in your life are number one, the day you're born, and number two, the day you figure out why, why you were born.

God has never created anything without a purpose.

Every plant has a purpose, every star has a purpose, every animal has a purpose.

God does not create things without a reason, without a purpose.

And if your heart is beating and you're breathing, there's a purpose for your life.

Because God never makes anything without a purpose.

And the very fact that you're alive makes your life meaningful, that God had a reason for creating you.

And that's what we're going to look at this week and why God made you.

Now if you want to know the purpose of your life, you've got to start with God.

You can't find it on TV, you can't find it in the movies, you can't find it, you know, reading a book.

You can't find it, a lot of people say, well the way you need to find your purpose is look within.

Like trust the force, Luke.

Look within, that doesn't work.

I tried that a lot of times, look within, all I saw was a bunch of confusion.

You can't tell you what your purpose is because you didn't make you.

Does that make sense?

Only your creator can tell you what your purpose is.

You can't tell yourself because you weren't alive when whoever thought you up, thought you up.

If I were to hold up just any kind of invention that you had never seen and I held up.

And I said, tell me what this is, what's the purpose of this invention?

You wouldn't have the slightest idea.

And the only way you would know the purpose of an invention you'd never seen is either A, talk to the inventor, the creator who made it and they can tell you what it does.

Or B, read the owner's manual.

The same is true for your life.

The only way you're ever going to know your purpose for your life, why you're here on this planet, what on earth you're here for is A, talk to your creator, God who made you.

And B, read the owner's manual.

Now the Bible says this, look there on your outline.

Ephesians chapter 1 from the Bible says, it is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for.

And so you say, I really got to find myself.

You're going to find yourself in Christ.

It is in Christ we find out who we are, what we're living for, part of the overall purpose that He, God, is working out in everything and everyone.

The next verse, Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 says this, everything, absolutely everything, got started in Christ and finds its purpose in Him.

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

Until you understand that, your life is never going to make sense.

You're going to go through life wondering, what on earth am I here for?

You got to start with God.

Now the Bible says that you were made to last forever.

One day your heart is going to stop.

That's going to be the end of your body, but it's not going to be the end of you.

That's going to be the end of your time on earth, but it's not going to be the end of you.

God has long range plans for your life, and I'm not exaggerating, because He wants you to live forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

So you're going to actually spend more time on the other side of death than you do on this side.

On this side you get 80 years, at the most maybe 100.

That's it.

That's not really a whole lot of time.

After you die, you move into eternity and you're going to spend trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions on to infinity and beyond for the rest of your life.

So this is like a little tiny millimeter of your life.

The few measly years you're here on earth.

Most of your life is going to be on the other side.

Now have you ever thought about this?

If God wants to take me to heaven, why doesn't He just take me there instantly?

Why doesn't He just make me and start with me in heaven?

Why does God put you on this planet for 80 years?

Really.

Why does He do that?

Well the Bible says you're not ready for heaven.

There are some things you need to learn.

And God says this life, follow me, this life is preparation for the next.

If you want to know why you're on this planet, it is to get ready for the next life.

This life is preparation for the next.

This is the preschool.

This is the warm up act.

This is the get ready stage.

This is the kindergarten.

This is the dress rehearsal before the real show begins.

This is the first lap around track before the real race begins.

This is the warm up act.

Getting ready for eternity because that's the real show that's going to go on forever and ever and ever.

Now in heaven you're going to do a number of things and the Bible tells us what's going to happen in heaven.

And what God wants you to do here on earth is practice what you're going to do in heaven forever.

So when you get to heaven you know what to do.

Now I'm going to explain to you this evening exactly what God wants you to practice while you're here on earth.

This may be the most important message you've ever heard in your life.

Because I can't think of anything more fundamental than why am I here on earth.

And what am I supposed to do with my life.

If I only had one sermon to preach it would be this message.

To teach you why God made you and what you're supposed to do with your life.

God wants you to practice five things on this planet.

We call them our purposes.

The reasons for living.

We often use the word callings.

There are five callings.

But there are five things God wants you to do with your life here on earth for five reasons.

He made you for five reasons.

Now I want you to write these down.

Number one.

The first purpose of your life is this.

God planned me.

God planned me for his pleasure.

God planned me for his pleasure.

God created you just to love you.

That's the whole idea.

The bible says that God is love.

I've told you this many times.

It doesn't say God has love.

It says God is love.

It is the essence of his nature.

It is his character.

It is who God is.

God is love.

And if God wasn't a God of love you would not be able to love anybody else.

Because you're made in God's image.

The only reason you're able to love is because God said I'm going to make men and women in my own image.

And if God was not a God of love there would be no love in the universe.

There would be no love between human beings.

Now the bible says that God made you simply to love you.

God made you to love you.

He didn't need you.

God is totally satisfied in himself.

Father it's unholy spirit.

But he wanted you.

That shows how valuable you are.

Now let me show you some verses about how God planned you for his pleasure.

He planned you.

He created you just so he could love you.

Revelation 4 verse 11.

You God created everything.

And it is for your pleasure.

Circle that.

For your pleasure that they exist and they were created.

Everything was created because God gets enjoyment out of it.

He wanted to love it.

God loves every rock, every plant, every animal, every star and every human being.

Psalm 149 verse 4.

The Lord takes pleasure in his people.

Anybody here a parent?

Anybody here have kids?

Alright.

Those of you who are parents.

Do you get pleasure?

How many of you get pleasure in your kids?

Most of the time.

Yeah.

Well you know what?

God takes pleasure in you all of the time.

Why?

Because he made you.

He created you.

He made you.

He is your heavenly father.

Did you know that God gets pleasure in just watching you be you?

Some people think that God is only smiling at them when they are doing something quote religious.

That if you are feeding the poor, you are helping the sick, you are confessing your sins, you are going to church, you are giving a tithe, you are being generous.

That when you do these kinds of spiritual things, reading your bible and praying, then

God smiles.

But the rest of the time, God is kind of bored with you.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

God gets pleasure in watching you be you because he made you you.

And when you do something that is so typical of you, he goes, that is my girl.

That is my boy.

That is what I made them to do.

You know when my children were little, I used to sneak into their rooms at night and sit by their bedside and watch them sleep.

And I got so much pleasure out of just watching them breathe.

You know, I would watch their little chest rise and lower and rise and lower and rise and lower.

And I got so much pleasure just watching my kids breathe.

Why?

Because I am their creator.

I am their father.

I made them.

They would not exist without me.

Now they did not have to do anything special.

They did not have to be reading the bible or memorizing scripture or witnessing to other two year olds.

They just had to be themselves.