1 John 5:11–12 NLT — 11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
Ephesians 1:4–5 NLT — 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT — For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Our mission statement is strategic for us.
1. Bring people to LIFE.
Have you ever considered the question, why are we alive?
Hospital rooms
Great joy when a newborn is born
Great sorrow when a person dies
When life comes, it’s awesome; when it leaves, it’s sad.
SOMETHING IS WRONG. IT’S LIKE WE HAVE SOMETHING REALLY GOOD GOING, AND THEN IT’S INTERRUPTED.
What ruined life? SIN
To experience the joy of life, you must come back to the giver of life!
Luke 15:24 NLT — “For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.” So the party began.
John 10:10 NLT — The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
Give them — He’s standing openhanded with life.
Zoe — bios, vibrant life
More abundantly — more than they could ever dream
Life in this life
Life in the next life
We bring people to life by bringing them to JESUS.
2. Bring people to FAMILY.
In the Scriptures, when God would bless someone, it would include the charge to be fruitful and multiply. With God, the more the merrier.
Malachi 2:15 NLT — Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.
Just as sin ruins life, it also destroys relationships. When families are destroyed and relationships ended, sin has played a role.
God desires family and created us to exist in family.
The kingdom is not I, but WE.
Ephesians 1:5 NLT — God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Galatians 4:5 NLT — God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
Jeremiah 3:19 NLT — “I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me.”
Sin ruined family, but ADOPTION makes it possible again.
We bring people to family by bringing them to US.
3. Bring people to PURPOSE.
Three thoughts about our purpose
God wanted us to be recipients of LIFE and give Him the glory for it.
God wanted to bring us into His FAMILY and for us to have family.
God wanted us to fulfill specific ASSIGNMENTS.
For Adam, it was the garden.
For Noah, it was the ark.
For Moses, it was the people.
He has a specific assignment for every person.
Our assignments will not stop in the next life; He has a specific goal in mind for every one of us.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT — For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Our assignments differ.
Although different, our assignments have one outcome—more people.
We bring people to purpose by bringing them to other PEOPLE.
Our purpose at Bethany is to bring all people into the life, the family, and the purpose of God.
The purpose here at Bethany is all about other people.
If we want to bring people to LIFE, we just bring them to JESUS.
If we want to bring people to FAMILY, we must bring them to US.
If we want to bring people to PURPOSE, we must bring them to PEOPLE.
