"Meet International Ministries"

"THE PURPOSE of LIFE"

            Have you ever heard sincere statements from people close to you in their later years like; "I waisted my life pursuing useless and even dangerous goals seeking pleasure, fame and riches".

            During a flight from Houston Texas I met a man who was sent home to die. He was sitting across from me in the first class cabin very pensive. After some discussion about my reading of the scriptures as we flew he said; "I have one regret, I have wasted my life by not doing anything good for others, I have not helped my fellow man."

            Our biblical teachers tell us; "A person must have the wisdom .... to know who he is and why he exists. He must look back at his life, and realize where he is going." Both man and nature have purpose because they where created by a purposeful Being. We call this Being GOD.

            For sake of argument, let us look at an atheists negative view. Since their world has no purposeful creator, there is no purpose in existence. Mankind becomes nothing more than an accident, with no more consequence than a bacterium or a stone. Man can even be looked upon as a vile infection and a disease on the surface of this planet.

            If there is no purpose to existence, all our hope, desires and aspirations are nothing more than the mechanization of the molecules and cells of our brain. We would have no alternative than to agree with a noted cynic who declared, "Man is a sick fly, taking a dizzy ride on a gigantic flywheel."

            In a world without purpose, there can be neither good nor evil, since both of these concepts imply purpose.

            Without a belief in some ultimate purpose, all values become completely subjective, subject to the whim of the individual. Morality becomes a matter of convenience, to be discarded when it does not serve one's immediate goal. One's philosophy of life can simply be, "If you can get away with it, do it."

            IF EXISTENCE HAS NEITHER PURPOSE, MEANING NOR DEPTH, OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE WORLD, TOWARD OUR FELLOW MAN, AND TOWARD SOCIETY IN GENERAL NEED BE LITTLE MORE THAN "SO WHAT."

IF THERE IS NO GOD, THERE IS NO PURPOSE!

            A recent article (Jan 2,94) by the Associated Press stated; "Homosexuals find new welcome within walls of many U.S. Colleges." The article goes on to tell us that at Rutgers University student fees go to groups promoting gay concerns and that they have a gay alumni association and gay archives. Matthew Klain, a 20-year old mathematics major stated; "It seems like the community is doing all it can to help them fit in, Just like, It's OK."

The article further states; "Rutgers is among hundreds of schools public and private, secular and religious that are introducing homosexuality to academic discourse and making their campuses hospitable to gays."

            Colleges often serve as incubators for the changes churning American (and others) Society at large. In this case, it's part of the shift from ostracizing to accepting gays. --Associated Press--

            The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute lists more than 500 campuses as hospitable to gays. Since Nations are turning away from the fear (RESPECT) of God they are building in Vain and their purpose is wrong. If this trend continues, history will repeat itself.

            It would seem that God has something to say about man’s worship of the creature more than the creator. THE EPICENTRE OF AN EARTH QUAKE EARLY IN THE YEAR OF 1994 DESTROYED THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE GAY TASK-FORCE IN CALIFORNIA.

            Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

            Let us gaze at the other side and accept that "GOD IS", through the eyes of true Faith. If we believe in God as Creator of the universe, then creation has a mighty purpose and life has an infinitude of depth.

            IF MAN IS TO FIND MEANING IN LIFE, WE MUST SEEK GOD'S PURPOSE IN CREATION AND SPEND OUR DAYS TRYING TO FULFIL IT. The existence of man, a creature who can search for purpose in life, is no longer a mere accident, but the most significant phenomenon in all creation. The concepts of good and evil take on awesome proportions. That which is in accordance with God's purpose is good, while that which goes against it is evil. We are nothing less than partners with God in fulfilling His purpose.

            DEEP DOWN, NO ONE REALLY FEELS THAT EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS. In all of us there is that knowing that there is purpose in life, and ultimately, in all creation. The old fashioned materialist who was convinced that human life was without goal or purpose and that man is an irresponsible particle of matter engulfed in a maelstrom of meaningless forces, was a man without wisdom.

            A great philosopher once summed up the folly of this way of thinking by saying, "People who spend their lives with the purpose of proving that it is purpose-less, constitute an interesting subject of study."

THE BIBLE FLATLY STATES;

            The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth good.

            What the Bible is saying is that one who does not believe is both stupid and blind. They do not see what there is to see. Not only are they blind, but they are also likely to act blindly. They do not recognize any purpose in existence, and is therefore likely to act without direction. They do not recognize Truth, and is apt to do everything wrong. They are so un-perspective that they cannot be trusted. They say that there is no God because they are a fool. They are too blind to see God all around them; or else they are too selfish to share their own world with their Creator.

            In the entire Bible you will not find a single philosophical argument for the existence of God. God exists without question. When EL SHADDAI answered the question presented to Him by Moses, “Who shall I say sent me” the answer thundered out from the unburnt bush. “I AM THAT I AM”. This was not a phylisophical statement, but Active Manefestation of Divine Power. The Bible does not waste time trying to convince the atheist that they are wrong. They are considered a fool, too dull to understand, or too wicked to want to.

 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

GOD SAYS TO US ALL, COME & GET SOME PURPOSE

            I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Belief, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

            For over three thousand years, the existence of God was self-evident to the Jew. He needed no proof or demonstration. The very existence of a universe implied a creator. The Psalmist thus said, "Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge." (Psalms 19:2) "The Heavens declare the Glory of God, and the skies proclaim His handywork."

            The Prophet speaks of this most lucidly when he says; "Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth."

            The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of his doings.

            Too many have tried to find God with intellect and not from the heart. We seem to think through our learning that we have the ability to comprehend and know God. All we have to do is just add some of His teachings to our life-style and our lives will be purposeful with meaning, pleasing to the Lord.

            The Bible is Spiritual and man cannot find God or know His Purpose through their own ability. If this were so then God would be unjust and there would only be a limited few who could know Him. There was a certain woman named Lydia in the Bible;....("And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." Acts 16:14) ............who found God because her Heart [ATTITUDE] was right.

            There also were the Disciples who through a change of heart were allowed to understand the scriptures; "And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,"

            If you want real purpose in your life, become as a little child; "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and He will shew you things to come [PURPOSE]."

            "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."

            True purpose and joy comes when Jesus Christ is "IN" our life. "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

            The Bible states that man was fearfully and wonderfully made. This implies that deliberation, careful planning and majestic beauty are a part of man when we compare ourselves to the remainder of God’s kingdom. Man was created in God’s likeness. You may ask this question; “What was God’s purpose in creating me”? God with all His omnipotent power and His omniscient all knowing omnipresence could not create LOVE.

            Love implies choice. Of all God’s Kingdom, Man and the arch angels were the only beings given choice. The greatest purpose of a man or a woman is to find out from God by seeking Him, what His purpose was for creating them. When you find this understanding, then your life can be full of meaning helping God fulfill His Purpose of your creation.

            God’s ultimate purpose of creation was to find true love for Himself in the heart of those that He gave free choice, for He said after creating Adam in His own image that it is not good for man to live alone.

LIFE WITHOUT PURPOSE

Life without purpose is barren indeed

There can’t be a harvest unless you plant seeds

There can’t be attainment unless there's a goal

Man's but a robot unless there's a soul

If we send no ship out, no ships will come in

Unless there be a contest no one can win

Games can’t be won unless they are played

Prayers can’t be answered unless they are prayed

Great is your gladness, rich your reward

When you make your life purpose, the choice of the Lord

Andrea Campbell of Jamaica

MEET INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES 1/6/94

Dr. Strome