I'm so excited to see you today as we continue our series Made for More. This week we are in week number three. If you have your Bibles, open up to the book of Ecclesiastes. We're going deep. We're jumping in.

What we're going to do today is deal with the topic I think I get asked about more than anything. Even when I was in student ministry, this was the question I got asked more than any other: What is my purpose? Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life?

Today we're actually going to learn from one of the wisest men, outside of Jesus, who has ever lived. His name is Solomon. Before we read what he has to say, let me give you some background on Solomon.

When Solomon was young, God came to him and said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Now here's the thing: Solomon was smart. I'm not smart. If God came to me and asked me that question, "If you could have anything, what would it be?" I don't know if I would ask for what Solomon asked for. I might say, "God, may the Cardinals win against the Titans today. Let's keep that victory streak going." Or, "Jesus, may we have Chick-fil-A on a Sunday." Anybody? When you leave church, you're like, "Oh, what would be so good is some Chick-fil-A," and you're like, "Oh, it's closed." I would ask for that. Or for my kids to go to bed. Or if you're a student, you're like, "Lord, may she snap me back. That's what I want."

We all ask for silly things, like money or a long life or all these various things. But Solomon doesn't ask for any of those things. He asks for wisdom. And God gives him wisdom. He says, "You will be wiser than anyone else. And because you asked for wisdom, and not for money, and not for a long life, and not for the death of your enemies, I will give you all of that too."

Why does Ecclesiastes say everything is meaningless?

So this is the guy who is so wise, and God grants him this wisdom, and he writes the book of Ecclesiastes, which we're going to read. Now, I need to give you a little trigger warning, because for 11 and a half chapters, Ecclesiastes is the most depressing book in the Bible. He starts out like, "Meaningless. Everything is meaningless. Find a job? Meaningless. Find a spouse? Meaningless. Get all the money in the world? Meaningless." And you're like, "Then what is meaningful?" I remember reading this for the first time and being like, "This is crazy. Everything just seems meaningless."

And the thing is, he didn't just say that. He actually had it all. He didn't imagine it, because he was one of the wealthiest guys who ever lived. He says, "I had all the wealth in the world, and yet I was empty. I had all the wives in the world." He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. "And it wasn't enough." He gave himself to every pleasure, and he said no pleasure satisfied.

So this is how it starts. You're going to absolutely love this. It's fantastic. Ecclesiastes 1. I'm going to read more than I normally read.

"The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 'Meaningless! Meaningless!'" There it starts already. "'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.' What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new'?" Nope. "It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them."

Aren't you all encouraged? Are you so glad you came to church today? Praise God.

I remember reading this as a kid, and I was so miserable. The reason I was miserable is because I thought, "Okay, Ecclesiastes. This is the book of meaning. I'm going to find meaning." And for 11 and a half chapters, all he tells me is what is meaningless. I was like, "This is crazy."

And I think the reason it bugged me so much is that all of us are wired for meaning. We're wired for purpose. So when we find something that feels like it doesn't give us that purpose, we feel like we're in a place of despair.

If you're in that place today, maybe you're here and you're like, "Man, I feel like I have no purpose in my life. I feel like I don't have any meaning in my life. I don't know why I'm here or what I'm even called to do." Let me just say that you're in the right place today. I believe God wants to speak a word straight from His Bible that is going to encourage you, that is going to give you purpose wherever you are. So if you're taking notes, I want to talk today from this title: Made for Purpose.

Lord, I want to thank You for who You are. Father, I thank You for what You're doing. I pray that You will be with us, that You will move, Lord, that You'll hide me behind Your cross, and that only You will speak. In Your name. And everybody said amen.

What happens when you have no vision for your life?

One of the things I've learned in my life is that you always need a vision, a target. If you don't have a vision or a target, you're going to inevitably drift.

How many of y'all love the beach? I love the beach. Great beach guy. Any of you who have been to the beach will know this experience. Your parents set up their cute little umbrella and all those different things, and you run straight into the water, splashing around, only to look up 20 minutes later and realize your parents are 1,500 miles that way. Because you drifted.

I remember when I was a kid, I went into the ocean. I was having so much fun. I was bodyboarding, or boogie boarding. I don't know what you call it here in America. And I'm looking for my parents, and I see them. Twenty minutes later, I look up, and they're nowhere to be found. Not only that, but I'm actually being pulled into an estuary, a river that comes into the sea. And in that particular place, there were crocodiles. Praise God.

So get this: if y'all wondered if I died, I didn't. I'm here. For anyone who's stressed out, "Did he make it?" I made it. But I got to this place where I had lost focus of my father. I lost focus of the vision. I lost focus of my anchor. And before I knew it, I began to drift. And I began to drift to a place that could honestly have taken my life.

I think for some of us, if we don't engage with the vision God has for us, we start drifting into a place we're not supposed to be. We start drifting into a place that ultimately feels like death. And if you're here and you're like, "Man, that's what I'm feeling," it might be because you don't have a vision. You might not know your purpose.

The Bible speaks about this very clearly. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint." Other versions say, "Where there is no vision," or, "Where there is no prophetic vision." What does that mean? When you do not know the thing God wants you to do, when you can't see the thing God wants you to do, you cast off restraint. What does that mean? You live without boundaries. You say, "Whatever goes, goes." You go from one thing to the next. "I'm going to try this. I'm going to try that."

It was Lucius Seneca who said this: if a man doesn't know what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind. If a ship doesn't know where it's going, any wind is the right wind. What is he saying? He's saying that if we do not know what we're supposed to do or where we're supposed to go, we will take every opportunity, only to find that we end up nowhere. We have to have a focus. We have to have a vision for our lives. And that's what's happening to a lot of people.

This is what I love about the Bible. It says where there's no revelation, people cast off restraint, "but blessed," say "blessed," "is the one who heeds wisdom's instruction." Another version says happy. Say "happy." Happy is the one who keeps God's direction, instruction, and law. You want to experience true joy? Try God. Try God's way. Try doing it the way God tells you, and you're going to be like, "Oh my gosh, where did this joy come from?" It comes because the one who follows His instruction is blessed.

What is my purpose in life?

So what I want to do today is give you a framework for purpose. I'm going to be a bit more teachy than normal, but I really want you to be able to grasp this, so that when you walk out of these doors, you say, "I know that I know that I know why I'm here on earth." So there are a couple of things I want you to understand.

1. You were made for a purpose

The first thing is this: you were made for a purpose. Can I hear a good amen?

I know that might sound cliché. You're like, "Okay, Brad, I've heard that before. I know I'm made for a purpose." No, no, no. There are some people here who haven't heard that. What you've heard is that you're a mistake. What you've heard is that you're an accident. What you've heard is that you'll never amount to anything. "You'll be just like your mom. You'll be just like your dad. God's never going to be able to use you." If you've heard that, let me just say: that is a lie from the pit of hell. You were created for a reason, and you were created for a purpose. Can I hear an amen?

The Bible actually talks about this in Jeremiah 1:5. He's talking to Jeremiah, but it applies to you too: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." What does that mean? It means God knew the thing He wanted you to do, and then He formed you. He shaped you. He created you with a plan and a purpose.

This is even why Christians believe life begins at conception. Because God is busy forming you from the beginning. He is busy creating you from the beginning. He has a destiny for you, and He is shaping you so you can step into what He has for you.

Which means this: you are uniquely you. You are made for a purpose. If God wanted you to be taller, you'd be taller. If God wanted you to be cuter, you'd be cuter. If He wanted you to be a man, you'd be a man. If He wanted you to be white, you'd be white. If He wanted you to be African American, you'd be African American. If He wanted you to be Latino, buenos días, you would have been Latino. He created you, you, for a plan and for a purpose.

The Bible says that you are a masterpiece. Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are God's masterpiece." You are a Mona Lisa. Praise God. You are a masterpiece, "created in Christ Jesus to do the good things he planned for us long ago." God had a plan, and then He created you. So we need to come to a place where we stop complaining about all the pieces we don't have and start thanking God that we are a masterpiece. God created you to be you. He created you for a purpose. That's the first truth we have to come to understand.

2. The Bible defines your purpose

The second truth we have to understand is this: the Bible defines our purpose. Nothing else. Not "What am I gifted at?" No. Not what culture says. No. The Bible defines our purpose.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 says this: "All Scripture," how much? All. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Say "every." In other words, there is nothing God expects you to do that isn't in His Word. Let me say it another way: there is nothing God expects you to do that is not in His Word. And that should encourage you, because it means that if we just come to the Word of God, we have everything we need.

I remember when I was growing up, people would say to me, "Have you found your purpose, Brad? Have you found your purpose?" And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, where do I find it? Is it under my couch? Do I find it on the internet?" I got so stressed. Has anyone ever asked you that? "What's your purpose?" And you're like, "Oh my gosh, what's my purpose?"

So I started looking. I was like, "Okay, I know the Bible has everything I need, so let me start there." I read the whole Bible looking for a framework that would teach me how to find my purpose. And you know what I found? Nothing. The Bible doesn't teach you to find your purpose. You know why? Because your purpose was never lost. From the beginning, the Bible has always clearly defined what our purpose is.

If you want to understand the purpose of something, you have to ask the Creator. Amen? Because if you don't understand its function, you will abuse its purpose. Is this a speaker? Could it be a chair? I mean, I'm sitting on it. It's working. But how many of you know that right now I am underutilizing its potential? If I don't understand its function, I will abuse its purpose. And the enemy is trying to get you so confused that you don't know why you're here, because if he can confuse you, he can cause you to abuse the very thing God has called you to do. If you want to understand the purpose of something, you have to ask the Creator.

What does the Bible say my purpose is?

So my question is this: what does God say about your purpose? The Bible actually talks about it very clearly, and I love it. You ready to find it out? It's incredible. It's in Isaiah 43:6–7. This is going to tell you everything. It's amazing. It says, "Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my," what? "Glory." That's your purpose. "Whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." You were created for God's glory.

This is huge, and I need to break down exactly what it means. Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.'" So we are image bearers of God, which means it is our mission to give Him glory and to reflect His glory. That's our primary purpose: that we would reflect God's glory.

Let me break this down. In the Old Testament, there were kings who would often erect statues. Wherever those statues were, they were saying, "This is my kingdom." So you'd walk by and say, "Ah, Nebuchadnezzar's statue. This is his kingdom." And then, "Ah, this king's statue. This is his kingdom."

What's so crazy about God is this: do we have statues of God? No. What did God say? "Never form anything in My image." We don't even know what God looks like. "Don't make an image of Me." Instead, He makes image bearers. So our whole purpose is to reflect His glory. What does that mean? It means that wherever you are, the kingdom of God is.

Is my job part of my purpose?

"Brad, but I hate my job." That's okay. You can hate your job. But in this moment, you are God's image bearer. So when we're miserable and we're like, "I'm not going to work hard. I'm not going to try. I hate this, because one day I'm going to be in my purpose," you are failing at your purpose right now. "Oh my gosh, these Christians are so lazy." No, no, no. The Bible says that whatever my hand finds to do, I'm going to do with all my might. When I'm working, I'm not working as unto man. I'm working as unto God. Why? Because I'm reflecting Him, in a job I love and in a job I hate. If you think your purpose is something out there and not something right here, you're missing the mark. Our entire purpose is to give Him glory and to reflect His glory in every single thing we do.

Which means this: when the calling is significant, which is reflecting God's glory, nothing is insignificant. If the calling is significant, nothing is insignificant.

"Brad, I'm just a barista." No, no, no. The second you became a Christian, you lost the right to be "just" anything. "I'm just a barista." No, you're not. You're God's representative, showing what Jesus looks like when He makes a caramel macchiato. "I'm just a financial planner." No, you're not. You're God's representative, showing what Jesus looks like when He makes a financial plan. "I'm just a nurse." No, you're not. You're God's representative, showing what Jesus looks like when He helps heal. "I'm just a student." No, you're not. You're God's representative, showing what Jesus looks like when He takes a test. In everything we do, we represent God, whatever job you're in. And if we spend our entire lives thinking that one day we'll step into our purpose, we're going to miss the very thing God has for us right now, right here.

Martin Luther has a teaching on the faces of God, from Psalm 147. I want to read it to you, because you need to get this. Psalm 147:13–14: "He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat."

God strengthens the bars of your gates. Anyone ever seen God strengthening a gate? No. Has anyone ever prayed that God would put a hedge of protection around you? Did you ever get a literal hedge? "Oh my gosh, that's so cool." No. We read this and we think it's metaphorical. It's not. How does God strengthen your bars? Through a blacksmith.

It says He satisfies you with the finest of wheat. Has God ever put a spoon into your mouth? No. So how does He feed you? He feeds you through the guy at Trader Joe's who checked you out. He feeds you through the guy who stocked the shelves, the guy who unloaded the truck, the guy who drove the truck, the guy who harvested the grain, and the guy who planted the grain. So my question is this: is that ministry? Because how does God feed me? He fed me through you, and you, and you, and you. How did God heal me? He healed me through you, and you, and you. The faces of God.

So let me just say: I don't care what you do. Give me enough time with every single person, and as long as what you do isn't a sin and it helps people, I can show you how that thing connects to a way God serves His people. And your role in this season, until God calls you elsewhere, is to reflect His glory in that place. Does that help you? The Bible defines our purpose.

How do you give God glory?

So if we're made to reflect God's glory, the question is, how do we do that best? I told you about Ecclesiastes, and how sad I was reading it, because everything is meaningless. But eventually he gets to a point where he actually shows you what we're supposed to do, literally in the last two verses. It's meaningless for 12 chapters and 12 verses, but in verse 13 he concludes. If you're like, "Okay, Brad, how do I give God glory best?" here's how. Ecclesiastes 12:13: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind."

We are to love God and follow His law. And you're like, "Brad, what is His law?" Jesus sums it up when they ask Him, "What is the greatest commandment?" He says, "The first and greatest commandment is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." So if you want to know what it looks like to follow this: love God and love people. Every job we do is loving someone in some way, shape, or form. Amen?

But get this. Verse 14 says why we do it: "For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."

One thing we need to understand about God is that there will come a point where all of us face judgment. One day I'll do a bigger teaching on this, but there are two judgments you will face. The first is the Great White Throne judgment. That's where God says at the end of time, "What did you do with My Son, Jesus?" Let me give you the answer to that test. Your answer is, "I made Him my Lord. He was my best friend." This is the judgment that determines whether or not we get into heaven.

But there is a second judgment that a lot of us don't realize, and it's called the judgment seat of Christ. You can read about it in Corinthians. That is the judgment that determines our reward in heaven. The things we do on this earth with the right motive, built on Christ, will last when they are tested with fire, and we will receive a reward.

This life isn't random. You have a purpose. And I'm afraid that so often as Christians, we're waiting for "one day when," and we're missing out on what God wants us to do right now. He has put you in that place right now to reflect Him and to reach the people in your circle. If we're always waiting for "one day when," we're missing what God is calling us to do right now. Does that make sense? You were made for a purpose. The Bible defines that purpose.

3. You can live out your purpose today

And the final point is this: you can live out your purpose today. I get so afraid when people say, "I'm not in my calling."

Which is funny, because if you look at the Bible, and I'll do a teaching on this one day, the noun for calling is klēsis. It's only used 11 times in the Bible. Nine of those times, it refers to salvation. One time, it refers to receiving the eternal reward I just told you about. And one time, it refers to being in whatever situation you're in right now.

"Brad, I don't know my calling." Yes, you do: salvation, receiving an eternal reward, and being right here. "No, no, no. I'm not in my calling yet. That over there is my calling." No, this is your calling. Now, God may call you, the verb kaleō, to something else. Different word. But right now, this is your calling. Does that make sense?

We're like, "I'm trying to find my calling." You're in it. "I'm trying to find my purpose." You're in it. We don't have to search. You're in it. I don't know about y'all, but doesn't that just set you free? I'm right where I need to be. God has me right where He wants me.

Are your gifts and passions your purpose?

As the band comes out, there are a couple of things I think are important to say. Your gifts are not your purpose. You'll often hear this: "You want to know what your purpose is? Look at your gifts." Your gifts are not your purpose. Let me bring balance to that. Your gifts are the tools God gives you to fulfill your purpose of glorifying Him.

Romans 12:6–8 says, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

1 Peter 4:10–11: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."

Your gifts are not your purpose. And that should encourage you, because if you're in a job right now that isn't using your gifts, and your gifts were your purpose, you'd be missing your purpose. But if gifts are just tools to glorify God, then it doesn't matter where I'm placed. I can be effective.

Another thing the world will tell you is that your passions are your purpose. Your passions are not your purpose. If you're passionate about ministry and you get fired from ministry, did you just lose your purpose? Your passions might be indicators God uses to tell you what you need to do next, to show you your next assignment. But your purpose remains the same throughout. Does that help anyone?

Your purpose is to glorify God. May you never go through life again saying, "I don't know what my purpose is." Yeah, you do. "I don't know what my calling is." Yeah, you do.

How do you experience the more God has for you?

As we close this series, if you want to experience the more God has for you, I think Ecclesiastes said it best. What do you need to do? Fear God and keep His commandments.

We talked about the promises God has for your life: that God wants you to know Him, to find freedom, which we talked about last week, and to discover your purpose. This is your purpose. And ultimately, once you've done those things, you can be together with a group of people and make a difference.

So if you're like, "Brad, how do I receive all the more God has for me?" Easy. Become a disciple. What do I mean by that? Follow Jesus. When early disciples followed a rabbi, they did it in a specific way, and there were specific goals they lived toward. Jesus is a rabbi. He is our great Rabbi. If you were going to follow a rabbi, you would follow closely. They would say you were blessed to be covered in the dust of your rabbi. What does that mean? "I'm following you so closely that when you kick up dirt, it falls on me." That's how closely they would follow. They would imitate the rabbi's way of life, which means if the rabbi had a limp, they would walk with a limp. And then eventually they would carry out the rabbi's mission.

Dallas Willard, who wrote on spiritual formation, and John Mark Comer have put it this way. They say our focus as Christians is very simple. It's these three things: be with Jesus, be like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. What am I supposed to do? Be with Jesus, be like Jesus, and do what Jesus did.

And I told you, the cool thing is that this has been in the Bible all along. I told you about the four things God has for you that come out of Exodus, the four "I wills": that God will free you, that He wants to make you His people. We talked about that at the beginning of the series. Know God. Find freedom. Discover purpose. Make a difference. The crazy thing is that all of those things track with this. Be with Jesus: you've got to know God. Be like Jesus: Jesus was completely free from everything of the world, and He knew what His purpose was. And do what Jesus did: go make a difference with a group of people who are making a difference. We can phrase it however we want, but it has always been God's plan. Does that help you? Always God's plan.

So let's do that. There are two questions I want you to ask. The first question is this: What am I doing that I shouldn't be doing? Some of you, throughout this series, know the thing God's telling you. And my encouragement is, whatever that is, stop doing it. The Bible says in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed," and then you will be able to test and approve what God's good, pleasing, and perfect will is. You have to get rid of your yesterdays before you can even see clearly for your future. So what are you doing that you need to stop doing?

The second question is this: What am I not doing that I should be doing? James 4:17 says, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them." What does that mean? It means you're missing the mark. And I really believe that if you get rid of the stuff God doesn't want in your life and you start pursuing everything God wants for you, you will experience the life that only God can give, the more that He can give.

Take the one-year challenge

A couple of weeks ago, as we closed, I said to everyone, "I want you to give us five weeks." The reason I said that was that I really wanted you to get this series. I really wanted you to get to a place where you knew what God had for you: that He wants you to know Him, that He wants you to find freedom, and that He wants you to discover your purpose and make a difference. If you've been here for all five weeks, congrats. Give yourselves a hand. And I have no doubt that God has begun to show you things.

Today I'm going to issue a new challenge, and it's called the one-year challenge. My encouragement is this: go all in for a year. I dare you. I double dare you. I triple dog dare you. Go all in for a year and do everything we do as a church. And I promise, if you go all in for a year and God doesn't significantly change your life, I will quit. We will change churches, and I will go with you. And I know I'm not going to have to do that, because I know what the Bible says.

You might say, "Okay, Brad, what does all in look like?" I want you to do those four things. "Okay, but more specifically, what does that look like?"

Know God. I want you to invite Jesus to be Lord of your life. If you haven't done that, today's your day. You've put it off too long. What does it mean that He is Lord? It means I do everything the Bible says, even when I disagree with it. I'm saying, "You are Lord, and I'm not." If you've never made that decision, today's your day.

Second, be water baptized. Today we are baptizing people right after the service. If you've never been water baptized, congratulations. Today is your day. You have the privilege of going home wet. "Brad, what do you mean by that?" The Bible is very clear. People got saved, and then they were baptized. "I'm waiting for my parents to come. I'm waiting until all my friends are here." No, no, no. This is between you and God. You're saved, and then you're baptized.

What is baptism? It's identifying with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. That's why we go into the water and come out of the water. If you were christened as a kid, that can be a beautiful dedication experience, but that's not what the New Testament calls believer's baptism. Believer's baptism is the choice you make after you've given your life to Christ. So if you've never made that decision for yourself, today is your day. "Brad, but I don't have clothes." That's great, because we have clothes for you, in every size you can imagine. In the bathrooms, we have hairspray. We've removed the excuses. Why? Because we want you to follow God. So right after this, I'm changing, and I'm going to meet you in the tank if you have not been baptized.

What else? Develop a daily walk with God. The most important word there is daily. Just do something daily, even if it's 15 minutes. We call it the First 15: five minutes in worship, five minutes in the Word, five minutes in prayer. Just start somewhere and watch what God can do in your life.

Attend church every week. Be in community. That's not for me. That's for you. My entire life, I never missed church. I'd be like, "Dad, I'm sick." And he's like, "Great. You can throw up at church." Attend church. You need to be needed.

Next, participate in churchwide events. Here at Spirit, we do 21 Days of Prayer at the beginning of the year and the middle of the year. We're going to start it in January. Go all in with that. We do Serve Day, where we serve our city. Go all in with that.

Find freedom. Join a small group. We're going to launch those in the spring. Get in a group. If you've been in a group and you're kind of tired of being in one, great, lead a group. Not only that, join a Freedom group, a type of group we do where people can get free from the things that have held them back.

Next, discover purpose. Complete the two-step growth track. It happens right after the service. If you're getting baptized, praise God, do it next week. The first step is going to help you figure out who we are as a church. The second step is going to help you actually discover your gifts, which aren't your purpose, but they help you live out your purpose.

Make a difference. Join the Dream Team. What is that? That's the team that does everything you see. We call them a Dream Team because we want them serving in a place that's connected to their dream. "Brad, I hate kids." Great. I do not want you in kids. Praise God. That's fine, because I don't want someone who hates kids in kids. Serve where you're passionate.

The next thing is to trust God with your finances. Jesus cares about your heart, and He doesn't want money to rule us. The way you break materialism in your life is through giving. We've always said this at Spirit: we'll never ask you for a specific amount. We will always ask you to ask God and do whatever He tells you to do. But let me say this: if you've never taken this step, you do need to take it at some point. If you've never given, give once. If you've given before, great, give recurring. If you give recurring, grow in your generosity.

You'll often hear churches talk about the tithe. It is a principle, not a law, but I think it's a good starting place. People say, "That's not New Testament." Do you know what is New Testament? Selling all of your possessions and having everything in common. So you want to start there? Go for it. It is a principle. If you're not doing it, it doesn't mean you're sinning. But it is a principle with a promise attached, and we want you to have that promise. Start wherever it makes sense, but start somewhere.

Finally, invite friends and family to church. Be a bringer. You will never have a better Sunday than a Sunday when you bring someone and they give their life to Christ. I talked to someone last week, and they said, "Brad, I'm so sorry." I'm like, "What?" They said, "The moment you said, 'Everyone close your eyes,' I didn't close my eyes. I brought someone, and I peeked. Please forgive me. And I saw their hand go up. And it was my favorite Sunday." I just want you to have a favorite Sunday, where you get to see that you actually played a part in someone's eternity. Does that make sense?

You were made for God's glory

What is your purpose? To give Him glory. Do you receive that?

Father, I want to thank You for every single person here. Lord, I want to thank You for who You are and for how clear Your Word is, that we can live and breathe and bring You glory in everything we do. Lord, I pray that You'll minister, that You'll speak, that You'll help people know the next step they need to take. And Father, Your Word says that now is the day of salvation. Lord, I pray that whatever step they need to take, they'll take it now.

With every head still bowed and eyes closed: if you're here today, maybe the step you haven't taken is actually starting that relationship with Jesus, making Him Lord over your life. If that's you, we want to give you an opportunity to pray. The Bible's simple. It says that all of us have fallen short of God's glory, but God sent His Son, Jesus, who lived the perfect life. And if we accept Him, if we declare with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, the Bible says we will be saved.

If you're here and you've never made that decision, we want to give you that opportunity. So I'm going to pray a prayer, and I'm going to ask all of us to pray it for the benefit of those praying it for the very first time. Repeat after me: "Dear Jesus, I believe that You're the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I believe You came to this earth, You died on a cross, and You were raised so that I may have life. And right now I make You my Lord. I make You my Savior. In Jesus' name."