Consecrated For His Purpose | Rev Brent Coltharp
by Brent Coltharp
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 4:4, Luke 9:25, John 10:10, Exodus 19:6, Exodus 9:16, Isaiah 14:24, Isaiah 14:26, Jeremiah 51:29, Mark 1:38, Luke 4:43, John 12:27, Ephesians 3:11, Acts 19:21, Acts 21:10-14, Romans 8:28, 2 Timothy 1:9, Jeremiah 1:5, Galatians 1:15, 1 Peter 2:9, Matthew 6:33

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/brent-coltharp--consecrated-for-his-purpose
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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thank you brother carpenter praise the lord everybody and it is so good to be here and i have a lot of memories flooding uh through my mind and my heart as we drove to church today thinking about oh somewhere about 25 years ago preaching revivals at the first episode church of maryville and passing down the street and thinking about even different projects when we were there and and sheetrock and things that are going on and see what god has done what an amazing thing that the lord has done aren't you thankful to be a part of the first abstract church of maryville tennessee oh man and i don't know however the carpenter does it all except i guess i do i know i've got a great team and when i see this pastoral team the hammonds the ericksons and and all that are involved what an amazing team that you are blessed with here in maryville tennessee and we're tremendously blessed amen i appreciate uh this family because 25 years ago whether we were staying with them in apartment or moving into the house these are the same people and their work ethic how they have worked the humility and they've given themselves to the kingdom of god i just applaud you what an amazing job that has taken place and to be able to be a part of this service today when he had called i start vacation tomorrow amen i'm glad you're excited about it too we are really excited been waiting two years for this particular vacation and we were going to go back home and when he called i said let's let's just go and go from there to be able to be there and so we are just honored to be here and so many people that i do know some who have connections to aurora i can't talk too much about it right now because i'm still grieving in a sense and so i love you and it's good to see you amen i'm going to ask the lord to be with us i know it's 11 15. and now the problem is you're east coast i'm i'm central time i don't get hungry until 12 30 of your time but as you see i don't miss meals so i'll speed it up and we'll get right right on time if you'll just stay with me for a few moments but it's so important that we ask the lord to have his way with us today and would you just join me one more time in prayer let's ask the lord to have his way lord i thank you for this opportunity to be in your house so excited about this church and to see what you are doing here lord it's just an honor for rachel and i and the kids to be here i pray that you would anoint me to preach your word we know your word is already anointed anoint me to speak it and let us have ears to hear and heart that are open to receive your word today and that our lives would be changed or i ask it in the name of jesus the name of jesus and everyone said amen god bless you maybe cetera chadwick boseman died august the 28th 2020. he was 43 years of age when it was a saturday i believe when i heard about this i have been been actually exercising no it might not look like that's what i do all the time but i i had been and the news bulletin came out and they're making a big deal of it i i stopped because i saw how young he was and i wondered what what would happen what went on i didn't know if maybe it was a helicopter crash as as one athlete had recently met an untimely death and i was wondering what was happening he he's sort of a star actor numerous films and as i began to hear about him i found out he had been in a four year battle with cancer colon cancer but he never talked about it they say that some of his close friends did not know didn't know he was sick and and here is what one of the individuals on the news said he said he never let on that he was in pain for discomfort pushing through and i quote to fulfill his purpose to fulfill his purpose as i heard his story i've got to tell you i became quite impressed with his commitment to his purpose they said that frequently he was working and producing while he was simultaneously being treated not letting the people around him know he had multiple surgeries he went through rounds of chemotherapy and while he was working he did not tell anyone they would say that when they look back they they could tell maybe that his mood was a little different at times but he had pressed on and in fact this is what was said about chadwick boseman that his last few years he gave his greatest performance he knew what god had put him on earth to do and he didn't want people knowing or focusing on his battles and not his work so i hear this four years i i the star and the films that he's produced while he's having chemotherapy while he is having surgeries and and i have to tell you i was inspired by his dedication to his craft i was inspired by that you know there are a lot of things in life that we dedicate ourselves or we're passionate about that we're committed to and then there are some things in life we're sort of apathetic about it we we just really don't care you know when i think about passionate about i'm passionate about the kingdom of god you are too that's why we're here in church today we're passionate about the kingdom of god the great commandment and the great commission i'm i'm passionate about my family i'm so glad that three of my four children are here today and one's going to join us tomorrow and i'm passionate about that and our time together i'm passionate about different parts of life giving ourselves i'm passionate about food that's why you're in good shape here sunday morning i like i like all the major food groups meat pizza chips and salsa and donuts i'm passionate about competition a little bit i like like baseball and basketball racquetball golf but there are some things i'm indifferent about shopping i'm just praying that rachel meant what she said about submission because when rachel says i've been thinking about you a lot lately that means she's been having that credit card with my name on it and she's been looking at it a lot there's some food i'm apathetic about taco bell there are some sports i'm apathetic about marathons never run a marathon i don't have a desire to run a marathon and for you to do it's i'm not talking bad about you god bless you we need i guess somewhere in the world we need a marathon runner there's just some things i just don't care about i don't pay attention to and we have things in our life that we can get passionate about and we get engaged in a conversation or there are other things that when we hear what's going on we just sort of tune out mentally this is what happens in life and so when i hear about somebody who is so passionate and so dedicated to their profession it inspired me and i i remember that saturday as i was thinking about this story and learning so many new things uh about uh chadwick boseman's work ethic how i you know they talked about him being purpose driven i i was inspired but as time went on that day i had a profound sense of sadness that started to come into my life because i was thinking about this wow cancer still working surgeries and i realized that regardless how committed he was to his craft whether he was the best actor of all time i realized this that everything that he gave his life for is only temporary it's only temporary it was just uh not long after that i was walking through an airport and lincoln was with me love to really embarrass my son on this one and we're walking through the airport in chicago and in the the concourse there they have uh they have these stands and it's it's harry carey's how many know who harry carey was just look around lincoln please and we're walking through that and and dad says uh lincoln says dad who's harry kerry well i said well he he's an announcer for this losing team called the chicago cubs and they're just horrible and this horrible team he said and no i i didn't say that i said that later but i didn't say that then i said i looked at him and said are you are you serious he says he yeah i have no idea who harry kerry was i said really you're you're not joking he says no and i said link him at one time harry carey was a household name everywhere throughout the united states people had heard of harry carey he was well known and i said you really don't know who he is and it was at that moment that it just emphasized again that no matter how high somebody goes in the recognition in this world it is only temporary that just a few years will go by and people will start being these people will start being the answer to trivia questions or do you remember them and where are they now in this decade because that is what time goes on and i realize that whether it was chadwick boseman or harry carey or so many other people that might have been the goat the greatest of all time in their era it is only a few years not even a generation to where they fade from our memories no matter how much they inspired us or impressed us at one time and a generation comes up and they walk through that someone is so well known that a restaurant is named for him in a major airport and they say who is that the wisdom writer says it like this ecclesiastes 1 2 vanity of vanities says the preacher vanity of vanities all is vanity it's futile it's worthless it's meaningless has no significance notice he goes on verse 14 i've seen all the works that are done under the sun and indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind trying to get a hold and to to control the wind that's what it's like or eccles 2 11. then i looked and all the works that my hands had done and all the labor in which i had told and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind there was no profit under the sun ecclesiastes 4 4 and i saw that for all toil notice this and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor talk about contentment this also is vanity and grasping for the wind have you ever been able to put a leash on the wind control the wind have you ever been able to get that here's what the wisdom the preacher is saying in ecclesiastes he says when i look at the world he says at all the works and the labor in which we toil and the skillful work and the reasons why a man is envied by his neighbor he says i look at all of these things and i realize that they are nothing but meaningless things they are here today and they're gone tomorrow they are not lasting there is no profit in fact this is what jesus said in luke 9 25 for what profit is it to a man that he gains the whole world and it's himself destroyed or lost he says what profit is it if you gain everything here's what jesus wanted you to know is that you can accomplish everything you set out to do in this life this is what he's talking about gain the world that every goal you set you hit every vision you have you realize every mission you go on you accomplish he says you can win every single time and when you look back at life and you never know what it's like to lose you never know what it's like to have a goal you didn't win he says you're going to still realize that it doesn't profit you that you have not profited you have not accomplished you see you can gain this whole world he says and have it all and still be lost or destroyed in the end and when you look back and you had all of the successes that life has to offer you look back and say i gave my life to it and it was meaningless it was meaningless and yet when i read about chadwick boseman talked about his purpose and wanted to say chadwick you're you're great at your profession i'm inspired by your profession but that was not your purpose jesus was very aware of purpose for humanity john 10 10 the thief comes to steal to kill destroy i have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly you see he's he's more interested than you gaining the world he's interested in you having abundant life and there is a big difference because i even see in the church that people confuse abundant life with gaining this world and you can gain this whole world and never have abundant life and so people chase this world thinking well that's i'm really going to be living someday only to find out no no no these are not the same these are mutually exclusive you can gain the whole world and still not have life and jesus said the reason i came was not for you to gain this world i came that you might have life and life more abundantly that's why i came he wants you to give yourself to something that's more significant than this world he wants you to focus on something that's going to last beyond the clock he wants you to focus on something that will last even beyond your lifetime paul said to the corinthians he said if in this life only we had hope in christ we are all of all men most miserable or to be pity the the scripture would say you should feel sorry for us if this is all there is to it scriptures reveal something much different about the kingdom of god that god has a calling and a purpose for your life purpose for humanity we see it start throughout the scriptures israel is in bondage and god begins to call them out and he begins to let them know i've got a plan and a purpose for you as a nation he wants to establish them and set them apart why because he wants them to be a kingdom of priest exodus 19 and 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation he says i i've called you and i want you to know what your purpose is your purpose is to serve me and to come out and be separate you're going to be a city set on a hill you're going to be an example of what it's like to be in relationship with yahweh and so exodus 9 16 goes on notice but indeed for this purpose i have raised you up that i might show my power in you that my name may be declared in all the earth you want to know the purpose he says moses this is why i'm calling you out it's this purpose i'm going to show my power throughout the world my name is going to be declared throughout the world you see it's all about god it's all about yahweh it's all about our savior but moses would be known for a lot of things i mean think about moses his character traits he would be known for his worship right he chose to suffer affliction in egypt with his people over the passing pleasures of sin for a season moses had this long-term vision he says i can enjoy things right now but there's something bigger that's going on and i will suffer affliction here for that abundant life he's known as a man of humility moses is known as a man of humility he's known for his education he's learned in all the wisdom of egypt he's known as a deliverer he's known as a prophet he's known as a leader and when you look at the life of moses moses impacted a generation and he changed the world but listen to me moses's purpose was to reveal the power of god and to declare his name in all the earth that was his purpose and all of these other things that he became known for are great it's wonderful he became known as a deliverer and a prophet and a leader it's wonderful about his humility and his worship but his purpose god said this is what i have in store for you this is a purpose and the power of purpose is evident in moses's life this is why god raised him up and elevated him and blessed him don't get confused moses you're not being elevated because of your gifts you're not being elevated because you're so smart or your talent or your education no no no it's because of my purpose and you might be known for a lot of things but don't confuse what you're known for with my purpose can i tell you that moses was protected by more than just an ark the hand of god was on him throughout it all why because god says i have a purpose for you there is power in purpose we don't receive the power of the holy ghost where we can beat our chests and talk about how strong we are you shall receive power after the holy ghost i shall come upon you and you shall be witnesses he didn't give us power for us to talk about how powerful we are he gave us power where we could fulfill his purpose his mission his kingdom there is power in purpose isaiah 14 24 as i have purposed so it shall stand god says when i have purposed something it will stand 14 26 4 this is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations for the lord of hosts has purpose and who shall annul it when god has purposed something who is going to tear it down jeremiah said it like this for every purpose of the lord shall be performed against babylon because there's something bigger in the world than you and something bigger than me god has a purpose god has a mission it's not just history it's salvation history from genesis to revelation it's about the purposes of god he's working even when we can't see it or know it or we can't put it all together there is a god whose thoughts and ways are higher and above ours and he has a purpose and a mission and the worst thing we can do is step into the purposes of god and think it's all about us it's about what i have and my happiness and my ability my power and my name no this is the purposes of god in fact anointed we would christoph said it means to be consecrated for a sacred purpose jesus comes shall we in flesh he is the christ the anointed one why because he came on purpose he was anointed and that's what anointing is anointing is never about your skill anointing is never about your charisma anointing is about the purpose of god god says i'm putting my hand and my power on you because there's something i have for you to do and yes you might get recognition you might get honor and that's okay but don't lose what the purpose is because when it stops being about the purposes of god then i get upset when i don't get proper recognition brother kilgore used to say everybody everybody wants to be a servant of the lord until somebody treats him like one then we want to be the king but jesus mark 1 38 let us go to the next town said i might preach there also why why jesus for this purpose i have come forth luke 4 43 i must preach the kingdom of god to other cities also why for this purpose he was focused on purpose in fact it was his purpose that rachel talked about john 12 27 father save me from this hour for this purpose i came to this hour i'm right where i'm supposed to be you can be going into the valley of the shadow of death and be right where you're supposed to be when the purpose is of god acts 2 being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of god this understanding ephesians 3 11 according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in christ jesus our lord over and over again when you look at the life of jesus you want to know why he did what he did when he did it was because of the purpose he came he says here's why i've come i've come to seek and save that which is lost and so am i going to be known as a rabbi yes i'm going to be known as a teacher am i going to be known as a preacher yes am i going to be known as a healer yes am i going to be known as a miracle worker yes all of those things but that's not the ultimate purpose my purpose is the salvation of souls and so jesus didn't say well i'm just going to stay here because people are getting healed he says no i need to leave here and go there why because i'm being driven by the purpose and why i am here to seek and save lost souls it's not about success it's not about what people think about us it's what has god commissioned us to do it's what has god called us to do it's what has god purposed us to do following in those footsteps the apostle paul would follow right along acts 19 21 when these things were accomplished paul purpose in the spirit which he had passed macedonia occasionally to go jerusalem saying after that i must see rome also paul says i i have this pull to go to rome acts 21 10. stay there many days a certain prophet named agabus came down from judea when he came to us he took paul's belt bound his own hands and feet he said thus says the holy spirit so shall the jews that jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver them to the hand of the gentiles and when they heard these things both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go to jerusalem paul answered what do you mean by breaking weeping and breaking my heart i'm ready not only to go bound but also to die at jerusalem for the name of the lord jesus so when he would not be persuaded we see saying we ceased saying the will of the lord be done paul it was the will of god at any cost and when people a prophet rightfully said paul if you go to jerusalem i want you to know what's waiting for you paul says i'm ready i'm ready to die understand this paul never expected to die of old age the apostles never did paul was told at his conversion the things he would suffer for the name of jesus and that was always in paul's mind that's why three times in the book of acts he'll refer and he'll tell his story he was on the road to damascus and the light and these apostles of the gentiles and he's going to suffer many things and so many of us would say well this must not be the will of god because things aren't going to go better if you and so this must not be the will of god because many times we judge the will of god by how it affects us do you not realize the devil would love to bless you out of the church i'm sorry i'm a pastor i've been evangelized in a long time and so i get up here and i just start preaching like a pastor but every raise is not from god anything that would pull you out of the church or that would come between you and god and your dedication from god don't don't please please don't say this is the blessings of the lord it's not the blessings of the lord it's an enemy that knows exactly what your price tag is and knows how to destroy you but there was a paul that said hey it might not be better for me down the road it actually might be worse for me down the road but i already made my commitment whether the lord gives or whether the lord takes away i'm going to be faithful in serving him i'm going to walk with him why because it's not about me it's about my god it's about his purpose the will of the lord be done the will of the lord be done romans 8 20 8 all things work together for good to those who love god to those who are called according to the his purpose if you want the end to be good for him to say well done then you mean make sure that you're living your life according to his purposes paul said to timothy who saved us and called us with a holy calling not according our works but according to his own purposes and grace which was given us in christ jesus before time began god had a purpose and a plan that's what my dad used to say i read and located a book years years ago and the first like lines of the the book was it's not about you and dad always had these phrases that when they got in his mind he would just repeat them probably over the last 20 years i've heard him say that over and over again it's not about you it's not about you it's about him his purposes his kingdom and the wonderful thing that takes place is when we give our life to the purposes of god there are so many wonderful benefits that come along with that moses could look back and think about what moses could share moses could share i know what it's like for the seed apart i know what it's like for god to bring quail and man i know what god's like for to bring water out of a rock and and moses could share all those things and and be recognized for him but moses had understood all of the way that's not the purpose of god is not to bring manna the purpose of god is not quail those are all wonderful things that we enjoyed enjoying along the journey but the purposes of god is his name and his power and i can't lose focus on that he said here's what jeremiah said before i formed you in the womb i knew you before you were born i sanctified you i ordained you sanctified to set apart set apart why because god always sets apart for purpose you cannot be a part of this world and fulfill the purposes of god because you're connected to it galatians but when it pleased god who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace god has purpose and the challenge is for us to consecrate ourselves to his purpose it's amazing what people will do when they give themselves to a purpose or a cause olympic athlete michael phelps he's known for all kind of records i guess has more medals than anybody i know but in his peak training phase this is what he does 80 000 meters a week he swims nearly 50 miles twice a day trains for five to six hours six days a week lives three days monday wednesday friday in his diet i'm always interested in their diets he eats 12 000 calories a day i know some of y'all can eat but 12 000 calories a day here's what what he eats for breakfast three fried egg sandwiches with cheddar cheese lettuce tomatoes fried onions and mayonnaise he drinks two cups of coffee consumes five egg omelet a bowl of grits three slices of french toast with powdered sugar and three chocolate chip pancakes that's breakfast for lunch he eats a pound of pasta two large ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise he drinks 1 000 calories worth of drinks for dinner he eats another pound of pasta a full pizza followed by another thousand calories of energy drinks now you might think he's overloading and overeating but you see he trains five to six hours a day every single day and his body consumes thousands of calories and this crazy regime that he has is for one purpose and that's it right there to have a medal represent his country that's that's his purpose and i dare say if i were to ask my 12 year old before i started preaching this do you know who michael phelps is he would probably not know but when you give yourself to the purposes of god see i'm talking to somebody today that there's a battle going on for your attention for your soul for your focus and there's an enemy that you see when we talk about separation here's the thing that always gets me crazy about holiness and separation when we talk about separation in the church sometimes the church do you realize that that the same message we preach is what our world preaches our world's not content for you to pray our world's not content for you to go to church he wants to pull you in its direction and god's pulling you in his direction do you think the church is the only the only place in town that's interested in making disciples in winning cells no that's what our world is doing they're trying to make disciples of everything that is out there what it is it is a battle for the souls of humanity and here's what god is saying is that i have a purpose for you and that when you give yourself to my purpose here's what's at the end everlasting abundant life as i hurry to a close yes moses you're to be a king of a priest of servants a holy nation sounds eerily familiar exodus does then first peter you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light you see paul and peter understand that when god calls you he sets you apart he doesn't call you to stay in darkness he calls you to come out from darkness and it's not just about what you're leaving because the psalm that's all it is is about what i'm leaving it's all about what you're walking into he says called you out of darkness into marvelous light god's not just calling you out he's calling you to his purpose he's calling you to be a light to let your light so shine he's calling us to be a city on a hill he has a purpose but there are those who ignore the purpose of god and demas paul says have forsaken me loving this present world he wouldn't come out he went back demas returned and he lived a life of vanity always trying to get a hold of it man i got it got to get a hold of the wind only finding that no matter how much he tries to squeeze it and get a hold of it can't do it you're wasting your time it's meaningless so today as you stand let me tell you how you start on this journey of purpose jesus was very clear matthew 6 seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness all these things will be added to you moses you seek the name of the lord to show his power god will add everything you need for the journey he'll he'll part waters he'll bring water out of a rock moses god will do everything you need to get to the promised land if you will focus on his purpose but moses let me tell you what happens when you stop focusing on his purpose you start focusing on the rock and you take matters into your own hand it's going to keep you from ending up where god designed and destined and called you to seek first the kingdom of god joshua says it like this sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the lord will do wonders among you joshua's saying it's what you sanctify and set your part itself to today that will determine what god can do tomorrow the blessings and the favor and the provision all that god wants to do in your life tomorrow is contingent on who and what you sanctify and set yourself apart to today today so daniel he purposed in his heart he made up his mind on the front end i'm not going to defile myself with the king's mate i purposed i'm going to stand and daniel whether there was changes in monarchy whether there were those who were jealous of him or those who tried to get him executed daniel remained true to his purpose and god he says i can shut the mouth of lions and daniel they're going to talk about this lion mountain shutting an accident for all time but that wasn't your purpose that's what i did because you were focused and committed to my purpose god works for those who are committed and consecrated to his purpose when hernando cortez wanted to take the treasure of the aztecs he took 500 soldiers 100 sailors landed 11 ships he had a large army but they were vastly outnumbered you have to realize the aztec empire had been around for 600 years six centuries and some of the men were unconvinced of success and they were loyal to cuba they began to plot to undermine cortes to get one of the ships and return so cortez did something really radical he burned the boats because his answer was this if we are going home we're going home in their ships we're not turning back we know why we're here we know why we're here you see retreat is always easy when you give yourself an option and that's why preachers of old have said that jesus didn't die on the cross he died in the garden when he said not my will thy will be done today such a joy to be here but i know i stand here and i think as jesus did when he looked at peter and he says satan desires you but i have prayed and while we might be inspired by some things in this world can i tell you the only thing that's truly lasting eternal is the kingdom of god i i said before i'm grieving a little bit last couple weeks probably really harder than more and every time i drive out of town going south i stop at my father's grave just each stage watching as they put topsoil and seed and i have this hardest time believing that six feet down there i can still picture the suit he's in casket billy crane caught up as they would say in mississippi but i'm just so thankful every time i stand there because i served i had a dad that you know what he was most excited about me and his family was not our accomplishments on this earth although he celebrated them if i did something on a good on a ball field dad dad would be applauding and telling us proud but he'd never ever let me even get confused about what was most important to serve god consecrate yourself the purposes of god dedicate yourself to god and while people might forget broadcasters i know one man whose name is written in the lamb's book of life and that name will be known throughout eternity because while you might not have known him down here he was fully committed to the kingdom of god i don't know how the custom fully works but i want to give an altar call today and i believe that the lord has spoken to somebody today you might have already been baptized in jesus name filled with the holy ghost but there's some tugging that's going on at your heart i don't want you to know that today the decision you make today can determine what god can do for you tomorrow wonder is there anybody that would step out this doesn't mean your loss or your backs on any of that you realize at the very beginning altars were made for the people of god altars are for the church so don't make these in the things that are not for the church altars have always been for the people who follow god i wonder if somebody would step out and say you know what i feel this battle but i feel fresh and new i want things to matter i don't want to look at the end of life and say it was all vanity and vexation of spirit and grasping for the wind but i want to consecrate myself to something that is eternal something that time cannot erase something that will be here throughout the ages oh god bless you as you come oh let's consecrate ourselves to god god i give myself to you yes in the name of jesus it's eternal life to you and everything i give to you withholding nothing withholding nothing says with nothing sure everything i give to let's you in come on let's move in around our altars today oh you're not too far away from god this morning let's get a few moments in the altar before we go home pour your heart out to god right now oh god i withhold nothing god i withhold nothing god lord i confess my failures today god i confess my shortcomings today god i confess my sins i today your purpose in my life jesus everything oh i give you of me do you say king foreign foreign i give you all of give me all of me oh come on church come on church push come on church push just for a few more moments just for a few more moments just for a few more moments confess your sins confess yourself god lay your hand over on somebody right now lay your hand over and pray right now i surrender