Exploring the Purpose of Life

Speaker 1 0:37

Why were we put here ? I think everyone wants to know . Why were we put here ? Why are we on earth ? I'd like to think that God is real . The Bible , that's controversial . Thank you for asking .

Speaker 1 0:51

Why would anybody want to create people who do horrible things to each other ? Does it make any sense ? I'd like to think Jesus is a great person . To me , it's a silly story , just a storybook written by some people about some character . I do think God is so big and so vast that we'll never get to know him exhaustively . I don't know . I don't know if there is .

Speaker 1 1:23

Why am I just pretending to be like us and hope that there's something out there ? I think I'd be ignorant to say that Christianity is the only right religion . I don't know what the right religion is . It's just what I believe it is . My view on anyone who claims to have a monopoly on truth is that there's no one truth about anything . I think that a lot of religions say the same thing in different ways .

Speaker 1 1:44

I was raised atheist . I don't believe in an air power , but I also don't claim to know everything about the world . So there are questions in this life that actually have the power to change things in your life Like why am I here ? Or does my life matter ? Why do I have such crippling and posture syndrome ? Why does my job not feel as satisfying as it once did ? Or how do I fix my marriage ? Why does the world keep getting more and more chaotic ? How can I help and battle my depression or anxiety ? Is anyone looking out for me ? Is anyone looking out for my family ? And those types of questions aren't just the type that make you curious , they're the ones that keep you up at night . They're the ones that you either avoid , bury or you attack head on . And while life is beautiful and full of promise , it is also hard and comes with questions that weigh on our hearts and minds .

Speaker 1 3:03

And so today we are beginning a seven week series , in conjunction with hundreds of other churches in the San Francisco Bay Area , called Explore God , and during this series , we're digging into 70 of these questions that actually have the capacity to change our lives . My oldest daughter was riding with me in the car and she said who's teaching this stuff ? And I was like me and she's like oh , wow . Now let me just say right off the bat , especially to those who have been invited by a friend or found this through marketing . Man , I am so glad that you are here and as a faith community , we really try and strive to be a place that we can wrestle through all of our questions . We know that , you know this . You're going to hear this right now . You don't have to look like , think like or believe like the people that are sitting around you to wrestle with these questions safely . I hope that today , and as you go through this experience , you feel really genuinely welcomed and safe in this place .

Speaker 1 4:11

And today this series is kicking off with this question that I think everyone of us have asked in some form or another , which is does life have a purpose ? Or , said a slightly more personal way , does my life matter ? And my responsibility is to introduce us to and to draw us into this incredible topic today , and at some point I'm telling you , at some point in all of our lives , all of us will be interested in the topic of purpose . And here's why I say that Because after you go to a few funerals or memorial services , you realize that at the end of everyone's life , regardless of what kind of life that they actually lived , somebody at their funeral service is going to look for something to say that's meaningful and we're going to come back to that word in just a minute but we try to mine out of every single life something that's purposeful , and the reason is this is because it's unavoidable . If you think about this , it's in you and it's actually in me that we want to make some sort of difference , like we actually want to find something , some meaning in our life , which is a link to this topic of purpose .

Speaker 1 5:30

Now , most of you and many of us aren't motivated by purpose , and the reason that we're not motivated by purpose is because purpose has a gotcha , it has a twist . There's this angle of the purpose that a lot of people miss , and the twist in the gotcha is actually found in the definition of purpose . The definition of purpose is the reason for which something exists or is accomplished . You already knew that . You know that that purpose is simply the reason for which something exists or is accomplished . And here's the gotcha , here's the tension in that definition , here's and here's what we're going to wrestle to the ground for the next few minutes . Nobody really wants to be the reason . Everybody wants to be the something . That's what we start . That's the tension in this . Nobody wants to be the reason for something Everybody wants to be , the something Most people don't want to be the reason . Let me just put it this way Purpose is a means to the end .

Speaker 1 6:42

Purpose is a means to the end . It's not the end , purpose is the means to it , and most people aren't actually willing to be a means . And so it's easy to go through our entire lives and never actually embrace purpose and get to the end and look back at our lives and ask the question that so many people ask I wonder if there was something more . And when it comes to purpose , I think oftentimes we ask the wrong questions like what's my purpose ? Why do we do that ? We do that because we don't understand that purpose is actually a means to the end . And if you've ever stopped long enough to ask that question , why am I here ? What you're saying is I wanna know why I'm here , so that when I'm not here , people will know that you were here . And once again it comes back to me because it's not intuitive and I don't think that it's natural really for anyone to wanna be a means to an end . But until you are willing to be a means to the end , you will never , ever , ever in your company , in your organization , in your department , in your division , in your personal life , ever be a person who is motivated and empowered by purpose . So the starting point for the discovery of purpose is not what am I here for ? The starting point for purpose is we're discovering . Is this question who am I here for ? And friends , purpose is always found just across the border from what's in it for me , and to discover purpose , you must be willing , in some capacity , to be a means to an end , to be a means saying that it's no to you so you can say yes to something that's bigger and broader than you , which means , then , that purpose has a price .

Speaker 1 8:50

I'll tell you somebody who understands this . His name is Larry Merlot . Larry Merlot was the president and the CEO of CVS pharmacies from 2011 to 2021 . And he understands because years ago , cvs found themselves in a wrestling match internally over profit and purpose , and many of you maybe remember this . In 2014 , cvs became the very first major pharmacy chain in America to stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products , and this was not a casual decision for them , because even in the decision making process , the company , and Larry especially in particular , knew that this was not gonna cost CVS millions of dollars , but eventually this would cost CVS billions with a B dollars . And here's what he said . Put simply , the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose .

The Pursuit of Purpose and Meaning

Speaker 1 9:51

Now , cvs had a really tightly designed purpose statement , which is helping people on their path to better health . Helping people on their path to better health , and Larry says so . We're trying to help people on their path to better health . At the same time , we're selling products that undermine people's personal health , and there was this tension between profit and purpose , and in his leadership , cvs decided to go with purpose or means , over profit . But it was costly . It cost them billions of dollars , because purpose has a price , and this is why so many people live their entire lives and never embrace any sense of purpose , because purpose is actually the pathway to meaning .

Speaker 1 10:41

Let me explain this for just a minute . Just think with me for a second . If purpose requires you to be a means to an end , then the only way to have meaning in life is to be a means to an end , which is how you embrace purpose and that's how you find meaning . This is what meaning actually means . Meaning means you become a means . So whenever you hear people asking this question , maybe you've asked this question isn't there more to this life ? There's gotta be more to this life . You've thought that . You've felt that you stayed up at night in laying your bed in the dark , thinking there's gotta be more to this life . Do you know what you were actually saying in that moment ? You're saying this there's gotta be more to life than just me , and there is no meaning if you're not willing to move beyond me . Meaning is the pathway to purpose , and in order to get there , you have to become a means to an end , and that's what meaning actually means . You know this . You actually met this person .

Speaker 1 11:56

Those who devote themselves to themselves will ultimately have nothing but themselves to show for themselves . You've met that person . You're thinking of their name right now . I'll tell you this because of what I do for a living . I've been to too many funerals where we have to think really hard , where we have to work long and hard with families , and I'm just like you gotta give me something . Like , can you give me anything ? What can I say about your grandfather ? What can I say about your aunt ? You gotta give me something , because a person that lives for themselves , regardless of what they accomplish or what they own . At the end of the day , those who devote themselves to themselves will ultimately have nothing but themselves to show for themselves . I'll put it this way your glory , friends , is way too small a thing to live for . When you live for your glory , when you live for yourself , you get smaller and smaller and smaller . Versus I can tell you the times that I've been at a celebration of life and had someone who was focused and lived a life full of means . I'm telling you right now there was not enough time to talk about all of the things that their life meant . And you know this , you know this that you actually were made for more . You were made for more . You were actually designed with purpose in mind , and that's why you admire it .

Speaker 1 13:24

Well , it turns out , there was a biblical writer who , on the surface , would agree with you . His name is King Solomon . He was the third king of Israel thousands of years ago and by far the most successful , prosperous , rich , wise king of Israel that had ever been . He is attributed to writing a book in the Bible in the Old Testament called Ecclesiastes . Now , we don't know whether or not he wrote it himself or whether it was written from a school of thought . But this book is a commentary on the meaning of life and in this wisdom literature the speaker over and over and over again 38 times to be precise cries out this word meaningless .

Speaker 1 14:11

The book actually starts this way Meaningless , meaningless , says the teacher . Utterly meaningless , everything is meaningless . Welcome to church . We're so glad you're here today . I hope you feel encouraged and uplifted as you leave this place . So in the original Hebrew Old Testament language here the word for meaningless is actually havel , which for us is then translated into this word vapor , vapor . Vapor denotes something temporary or fleeting . It doesn't mean that it's valueless , it just means that it doesn't stay . It's something that looks solid , like you can grab onto it , and as soon as you try to grab ahold of it , there's no substance there , it's empty . So to help us today I have this very sophisticated vapor-producing piece of equipment . Try it out . You got this .

Speaker 1 15:17

Solomon says that everything is just a vapor , everything that he tried to find purpose and turned out just to be temporary and fleeting , even though it looked solid . And if you think Solomon was just like pinning something tweetable here or exceble , I don't even know how that works nowadays Think again because , like I said before , he had everything . His claim wasn't just based merely on the abstract . It wasn't like just a cool thing to say . He was making this claim based on his own experiences and failures . You could say , if you wanted to , that his conclusion was actually data-driven . And then what we see in the book of Ecclesiastes is how he unpacks this hypothesis to prove the rest of his point throughout the book . So the first thing that Solomon does , solomon chases knowledge and wisdom in the pursuit of purpose . He writes I've increased in wisdom more than anyone who was ruled over Jerusalem before me . I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge .

Speaker 1 16:31

I think , personally , this is pretty relatable in the Bay Area , right ? I mean , in our age of information , our culture idolizes the one who can wield information for their advantage the best . It's not knowing , just knowing the facts that intrigue us . It's being able to use those facts in information and people skills to get ahead . Ancients from religions all over the world would call these kinds of skills the ones that help you navigate chaos in life wisdom . We wanna be wise . That's why somehow , if you look at it today , ceos of companies have become household names . It's why kids grow up wanting to be influencers now and not movie stars . It's why we root for characters and movies that use their creativity and their ingenuity to save people . It's why we like it when we're the smartest person in the room and it's also why we're willing to go into holes of debt pursuing education . It's because we respect those with knowledge to get ahead , and the more knowledge that we have , the better and more meaningful our life will be , and we buy into this all of the time .

Speaker 1 17:45

But Solomon , scripture says , was the wisest man who ever walked the planet . In fact , you read about when God asked Solomon in a dream for whatever he wants . Solomon said Lord , I want wisdom and God gives it to him . You see that larger nations around Israel start to revere them because of the impressive wisdom that Solomon had . And yet Solomon and Ecclesiastes said , in his very pursuit , in the wielding of wisdom , I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind . Meaningless Friends . It doesn't take long to live in and around the Bay Area to realize that your head can be full and your heart can be empty . Solomon's search for purpose continues .

Speaker 1 18:39

The second thing we see is Solomon sought purpose in accomplishments . It says I undertook great projects . I built houses for myself and planted vineyards . I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them . I made reservoirs to water , grows of flourishing trees . And on top of all of his accomplishments here , solomon was also responsible for building the temple in Jerusalem , which is an ancient wonder of the world , which it's remains , still remain , and Jerusalem to this day . I mean like if anybody had a list of accomplishments that could adequately populate a LinkedIn profile , it was Solomon , like he had done it all , and accomplishments in the Bay Area is literally the air that we breathe .

Speaker 1 19:23

I think if you were to sum up our culture in just a few statements , it might be move fast and break things or make something people want . We want our resumes to be shiny , our dreams and aspirations to be larger than life , and we never , ever want to stop moving forward because contentment is not our strong suit . And in the end Solomon would say accomplishments are meaningless . No one on their deathbed looks up and wishes they had a better resume . Solomon pursued pleasure for purpose . Solomon thought pleasure , that's what it's about , and perhaps he could find purpose and satisfaction in the pursuit of pleasure .

Speaker 1 20:17

I think a good illustration in our modern day and time is an attempt at manufacturing and sustaining pleasure is Disneyland . Who doesn't like Disneyland ? Disneyland is . I love Disneyland . That place is made for pleasure , isn't it Like ? Every nook and cranny is like there to push all the bad things out and all the emotions and make people happy , from like the music to the clean streets and the smiles on the cast member faces , to the delicious food and amazing rides . Disneyland's goal is actually to manufacture pleasure for kids and adults who wish they were still a kid . But my question is this have you ever spent an entire day , from open to close , in the Disneyland park ? I think it's a perfect example of the law of depreciating return , because the longer you stay in the park , the less fun you have . If Disneyland could actually sustain our pleasure , no one would cry there , no child and , let's be honest , no adult , literally . The last time we went to Disneyland with my family of six , everyone left crying , and I mean everyone . Krizzi Asi says I denied myself nothing my eyes desired . I refused my heart no pleasure . My heart took delight in all my labor and this was the reward for all of my toil .

Speaker 1 21:49

Solomon lived the Disneyland kind of life Eat , drink and be merry was his mantra . If he were an influencer . His pictures would have all the right travel , the most remote beautiful places and locations and the most beautiful people on his arms and a Michelin chef making him food and crews of friends were like you'd be looking at him and be like that guy's got it made Like , come on right , the kind of life that people would envy . And if he saw something or someone and he wanted it , nothing could stop him from having it . And even with a world of pleasure at his fingertips , he still found it all meaningless . Yet we would protest . I'm not sure Solomon was doing it right , because if I could get more of what I want I would be satisfied . But , friends , let me tell you , the problem with pleasure is it is never enough and the law of depreciating return always applies . Cs Lewis author describes it as a never and ever increasing craving for an ever decreasing pleasure , in the end meaningless .

Speaker 1 23:13

Solomon pursued wealth . There it is . Wealth for his purpose , says I am asked , silver and gold for myself , and the treasure of kings and providence . Yet wealth too , only left him feeling like he never had enough . Another search for something that's solid that suddenly proves fleeting . I think that many of us have become much more aware of the fleeting nature of wealth in the past few years . From the rocky stock exchanges to bank collapses , entire markets that seemed promising disappearing . People have made and lost tremendous amounts of wealth in the last few years , and we also know that if wealth itself was good enough to be our purpose , then there'd be a lot less depression and anxiety in the Bay Area , wouldn't there ? Suicide would actually be on the decline amongst middle-aged adult men , not the rise .

Speaker 1 24:16

King Solomon knew that because of his own wealth it would not satisfy , and by all accounts he should have been content , yet he was not . Everything he grabbed the hold of didn't have substance . It reminds me of something that actor and comedian , jim Carrey , said I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything that's worth it . And they're rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of . So they can see that it's not the answer . But if that's the case , and none of those things were satisfying , we're still left with this gaping hole of purpose , and the author of Ecclesiastes knew that .

Speaker 1 25:03

And so , rounding out this book , the writer makes a conclusion that points as to what he believes every person should fill that hole with what's my purpose ? Here's Solomon's conclusion . He says . Now , all has been heard . Here's the conclusion on the matter Fear God and keep his commandments , for this is the duty of all mankind , for God will bring every deed into judgment , including every hidden thing , whether it is good or evil . See , solomon was convinced that the existence of suffering and death made the pursuit of everything meaningless . But that wasn't actually the point of writing this wisdom literature . Instead , the author would say there is this intrinsic value and purpose in life with God Fear God and keep his commandments . It's not that wisdom and wealth and pleasure and accomplishments are bad in themselves , but instead they become more purposeful when God is at the center of your life instead of you . The point of purpose is to determine how you will serve others , and if you don't plan to serve , you don't need a purpose . I think that's so powerful when we can grasp that you cannot divorce purpose from service . You cannot divorce purpose from becoming a means to an end . There is satisfaction in his commands to love and to be loved . There is satisfaction in our ability to love and to be loved .

Speaker 1 26:51

I think some of you in the room , or maybe even online right now , are hung up on something I said just a moment ago and that was this . The author would say that there's this intrinsic value and purpose in life with God , which is fear God and keep his commandments . And you're going , come on Like . This is why I don't do this church thing . Here we go again fear God and keep his commands . You're thinking rules , you're thinking commands . You're thinking don't do this and only do this . You're wrong , you're bad , you screwed up again and you're sitting here right now going . You know what the church people are the ones that hurt my friends because of this command keeping stuff . You know what the church is actually the one that hurt me through my friends . And some of you maybe are just sitting here going like , ah , why am I here again today ? There it is . You finally got me . You got around the corner , you got to this whole fear God , keep his commands , his friends . This is not about rules .

Power of Love, Seeking God's Presence

Speaker 1 27:55

Jesus came and said love . Jesus came and said love , love one another as I have loved you . A new command . So again , there is a satisfaction in his commands to love and be loved . There is a satisfaction in our ability to love , to love and to be loved , to be a means and according to the God and all of scripture . That's why we were created in the first place . God himself gives us purpose as we center our lives on him .

Speaker 1 28:47

In the monologue of Ecclesiastes begins with this speaker like having a chip on his shoulder , god was more like a taskmaster than a friend in this moment . But the purpose of wisdom and scripture is actually to point us to a relationship with a God that is beckoning us into life with him . Even wisdom literature like Proverbs that some of you maybe are familiar with , with all of its little statements about how to live a good life it cannot be read outside of an understanding that true wisdom and understanding is actually found in a relationship with God . God is not holding out on us , but rather inviting us into a fuller life . And when we recognize our dependence and our vulnerability before him , the questions that we have about meaning in life actually tend to fade away , not because we get numb to them , but because he is the answer to them . Cs Lewis says I know now , lord , why you utter no answer . You yourself are the answer Before your face . Questions die away .

Speaker 1 30:02

And similarly , when we acknowledge him as the source of our wisdom and provision and purpose , suddenly he also is the source for our enjoyment and satisfaction . The things of the world that he has given us to live with , the things , all of the things of the world that he has given us to live with , like relationships and food and intimacy and laughter , and experiences and home and memories , suddenly don't have the pressure of filling us so we can enjoy them , knowing these things are meant to actually point us to the one who provided them in the first place , god himself . This is exactly why we chase after all the things Solomon chased after , and there's still this deep restlessness that nags at us . And the point of this restlessness , friends , is always and it always has been to lead us home , to lead us back to God , back to a relationship that we were created for in the first place . And in a world of vapors , god is the one true , solid , the one we can rest on and rest in , and the only one we can truly hold on to . In light of all this , I would love to issue you a few challenges . First , if you're here today and you're like , I don't buy into any of this God stuff , really , yet I'm still wrestling with what to believe , again , I want to commend you for being here with us today . I want to challenge you to keep wrestling . The author of Ecclesiastes wrestled long and hard for answers , and there was room for him to do so , and so for anyone that is wrestling with what you believe about God , here's the challenge for you today .

Speaker 1 32:13

The 17th century mathematician , blaise Pascal , had one of the greatest intellects in history of the Western civilization civilization . He grew up knowing about God but not earnestly following him . And then , in this profound moment in his life that he writes about , in the middle of the night , he had an experience with God that changed his heart and it ignited Pascal's passion to actually help others find their way back to God . He began this challenge with fellow intellectuals to wager on God , kind of similar to what we saw Solomon doing . He tested things out to see if they could satisfy , and so Pascal , he figured the best way to learn was by his spearmentation , and so he would dare his colleagues to step into a belief about God and see if it would actually change their lives . He explained his wager this way . He said make a bet that there is a God who loves you , and if you are right you have everything to gain , and if you are wrong you have nothing to lose , make a bet that God is real .

Speaker 1 33:24

So , if you are wrestling with what you believe , I want to challenge you today . Will you place a bet on God ? I want you to think of it another way an experiment , with a prospect that God is real , and make the decision to risk something on a possible positive outcome . Would you take this risk , would you take his wager and do this ? Would you pray to God ? Might seem weird or awkward to you at first , but would you just try it ? Talk to God and be open to the possibility that God is waiting and listening and he's eager to respond .

Speaker 1 34:12

And here's the prayer that I wanna challenge you to pray for the next seven days . It's very simple . It's just this . You can take a picture of it if you want God . If you are real , make yourself real to me . Just that , god . If you are real , make yourself real to me . Pray that prayer and then sincerely look for God to make himself known to you in unexpected ways . And for those of you who are already yourself a Christ follower , here's the challenge . I want you to pray the same prayer God , if you are real , make yourself real to me .

Seeking God's Kingdom and Purpose

Speaker 1 34:50

Maybe you're thinking to yourself why would I pray that I already believe in God , yet most of us need reminders , constant reminders , that God is at our center , not ourselves , that I am a means which gives me purpose , not an end .

Speaker 1 35:07

And we need reminders that the things we are striving for were never meant to be our satisfaction , that there is a big difference between believing in God and living our lives as if that were true .

Speaker 1 35:19

So I think we should ask ourselves am I truly grabbing hold of God or am I still grasping at vapors ? Jesus says it this way in the book of Matthew and the New Testament seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness , and then all these things will be given to you . What does he say ? To seek first His kingdom , not our own , and all of the things that you need , the things we often lose sleep over trying to pursue or to get more of , we'll be taking care of . He says bet on God , trust that he is good and watch . Watch your life begin to be transformed . God , if you are real , make yourself real to me . This week , let's all ask God to show up and show us that true life , a life of purpose , comes from sin . A life of purpose comes from seeking our purpose and Him and , to that end , join us next week as we tackle the topic . Is God even real ?