You Are Shaped for a Life Mission

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Doing Business With God

You Are Shaped for a Life Mission By Rick Warren — Apr 13, 2015 “I have formed these people for myself. They will praise me.” (Isaiah 43:21 GW) You are commissioned for a life mission! The Bible says in Isaiah 49:5, “And now the LORD speaks — the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me”(NLT) Your shape — your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences — equip you for your life mission and your life message. What is your life mission? It’s your life’s work. It’s what God created you to do on this planet. The body of your life work is your life mission. What is your life message? It’s what God wants to say to the world through you. It’s unique. It’s your message from your life to the world. I can’t give your life message, because I’m not you. You can’t give my life message, because you’re not me. You can only give your life message, and I can only give mine. If you don’t give your life message to the world, it doesn’t get heard. When an artist accepts a commission, he makes a commitment to complete a certain task. You have been commissioned by God to fulfill your mission and your message in the world. God has shaped you and given you the exact tools and traits that you need to complete your task, and when you use them to complete your mission, it pleases God. Isaiah 43:21 says, “I have formed these people for myself. They will praise me” (GW). How do you do that? How do you broadcast God’s praises with your life? By being who God made you to be. When you use the gifts and abilities and personality and passion and experiences that God gave you that make you you, that brings glory to God. Talk It Over How has God shaped you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40qvAQe8oug What is it about your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences that make you uniquely you? In what ways are you using your shape in your work? What about in ministry? In your home? Do you think God expects you to know everything about your life mission and message? Why or why not?   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7     Years ago I read about a lady in Miami, Florida who wrote the editor of the Miami Herald because it had printed the results of an academic study on how prayer helped heal sickness. In her letter, she talked about a hurricane that hit Miami. She had gotten word that the hurricane was coming and so, though she wasn’t a praying person, she tried prayer, asking God to keep the storm from hitting her home. The clouds rolled in and the storm raged. And when it was over, it destroyed her house despite her prayers. So she asked the editor, “What do you think about that? What about this God who Christians say answers prayer? I prayed and He did nothing!” The editor responded in his editorial, “Madam, I don’t know much about prayer either. And to tell you the truth, I’m not much of a praying man so I don’t know why God didn’t answer your prayer. But I’m wondering… could it be that He was spending time with some of His regular customers?!” Many times, I find out that when people say, “I’ve been praying about this,” what they really mean is “I prayed once about this.” But God wants more than simply our lip service. He wants our trust and our lives. So pray often, talking to God about your needs on a regular basis and most importantly, giving Him control by submitting to His will. PRAY HARD AND PRAY OFTEN!