How to Find God and Help Others Find Him
The world is filled with people of all backgrounds often searching for one thing – purpose. We’re all searching for the “main thing” we were born to do or become. But at the bottom of your soul, what you are craving the most isn't purpose. Although it might present as a search for purpose, you are most restless for God.
God is home to me.
I don't need a better identity or plan for my life. I don’t need everything to work out okay because I have a relationship with God.
It’s important to remember that God built you and set you on this earth as a display of His love and image.
There is no better proof of God’s love than Jesus Christ, who died on the cross so that all our sin can be forgiven. When we have accomplished God’s will on earth, we will receive the eternity He promised us. Jesus Christ bled for us so that we can be children of God. Jesus has extended this invitation to anyone who will trust in Him as their Savior. And so, the story of God is for anyone who sees their need for Him and cries out to Jesus for salvation.
We all long to know that we exist on purpose and for purpose.
But to understand this, we have to first understand God's story and realize that we all actually have the same calling, although it looks wildly different for everyone.
We're not trying to each build our story or have our name remembered. We are trying to build God's story. And so, you’re supposed to use whatever gift you have to build God's story in your community and with your people. Our motive is to build the kingdom of God because it's the only thing that will last. If you believe the Bible and the story of God in it, then you would be a fool to waste your short years here to build your own comfort.
God has called people to a mission – to be fruitful and to multiply. Ultimately, God is about His glory on all the earth. So, it is our job to fill the earth with the glory of God. That was His heart and goal from the beginning. We must use whatever platforms God has given us our platforms to make a name for Him. God loves when we are boasting about Him and making disciples who make disciples because that's His plan. And that's His story.
Disciple-making is telling the story of God and showing others what God has done in your life.
It’s about sharing God’s word with others and helping them read the bible. The ultimate goal is to help people find their way to God. But if we all do it in Christian vocational ministry, then none of us will be actually seeking and finding people who are furthest from God.
For you, ministry could be working at a bar. People tend to open up in bars. I would be a designated driver for people when I was in college, and they would just spill their guts out to me. We would grow and become closer friends because of the conversations we had.
Some of you are called to dark places. Now, if you realize that you are called to a dark place and feel isolated there, you need an army protecting you. Otherwise, the enemy can tempt you to lose your credible witness for the Lord.
Some people are called to open their homes for Bible study. But most of you will be called to secular places. If that's you, then you are on the front lines of God's work.
You are who we exist for in vocational ministry. Whether it's your neighborhood, a college campus, or the military, we exist to serve and equip you because you are the front lines of the work of God.
You are meeting the people who need God the most, and you're getting to build relationships and bring people to the kingdom of God. That is what you get to be a part of. So, those of us in vocational ministry are in the background, hopefully building the tools you need to do the work God has called you to do.
I think we've glorified the idea of ministry for some people. You may feel like you’re not doing something important because you’re not doing something spiritual, but there are many ways to minister. You can get involved in your community.
If you’re an artist, for example, you can join your local art community. This will allow you to make more friends who might not be believers. It will allow you to have great conversations that could lead others to Jesus. So, this little thread that you feel like is no big deal could be a great way to minister to others. God can use your love of art for ministry. That is why it matters to pay attention to these things.
You are created by a God who loves you and has a plan for your life.
That plan is first to cause you to know Him and know of His great love for you. It’s so you know that you don't have to measure up and that He died for all your sin. All you have to do to receive that is to trust Him, and to pray this really simple prayer:
“God, I need help. God, I want a relationship with You. But ultimately, I need salvation. I need to be rescued from the choices I've made and in the ways that I have run from you and the ways I have loved everything but You. God, rescue me from it. And thank You for the rescue You have promised in Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, that You died so that I could be right with You. Thank You that You love me and that I am Your child. I want to be Your child and I don't know how. And so, help me know how. I believe that you are God. I believe, Jesus, that You are perfect. I believe that You have the power to save, and that death did not defeat You. And that you were raised again. And I want to be raised again one day.”
The first thing you need after accepting Jesus in your heart is to let other people know. If you have nobody in your life who knows Jesus, Google “healthy, Biblical church” and find the closest one to you. Go and walk down front, before or after the service and say, “I just became a Christian and I don't know what to do next.” A healthy biblical church will help you. If not, we will help you here.
We want to help, and I hope you'll stick with us because we are walking through the scriptures, what God has done, and who God is. You’ll understand that more and more every week. That is our prayer here. And so, we can't wait to hear what God is going to do next in your life.