Why Am I Here? — Chuck Smith

The Heavenly Scene in Revelation 4

Well, we're journeying through the Bible in the book of Revelation and chapter 4. Tonight, we're going to take you to heaven as we study the fourth chapter, the rapture of the church, caught up into heaven.

I would encourage that you be here to get the description of what's going to be happening because you don't want to be like some country rube when you get there, and when things start going on, you say, whoa, wow, you know, and and you know, everybody will know you didn't do your homework.

And so I would encourage you to be with us tonight as we will be taking a glimpse at heaven, what we're going to see, what we're going to respond to, and all, and I think you'll find as we move now into Revelation, a fascinating, fascinating story of the future, what is in store for us.

In the fourth chapter, it deals with the rapture of the church being brought into the heavenly scene, the things that will be happening there, the 24 elders on their lesser thrones, the cherubim about the throne of God and their worship of God, but then the last verse is the one I would like to call your attention to today, and this is where John, in talking about the 24 elders, as they fall on their faces, take their golden crowns, cast them on the glassy sea, and they declare, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for thou hast created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.

It's interesting that the Apostle Paul was caught up, he said, into the third heaven, but he declared that it was indescribable. He didn't even try and tell you about it. John also was taken by the Lord by vision into heaven, and he attempts to describe what he sees here in chapter 4 and in chapter 5, and the first thing that does capture his attention is the throne of God, the 24 elders around the throne on lesser thrones, and that glassy crystal sea before the throne of God, and then those cherubim and angelic order that are worshiping God there at the throne, and the response to the worship of the cherubim, they are saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, which is to come, and as they do, the 24 elders fall on their faces, take their golden crowns, cast them on the glassy sea, and then declare, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive the glory and honor, for thou has created all things, and for your good pleasure they are and were created.

Here they are declaring the basic purpose of your existence. There are three questions that people often ask. Why am I here? How did I get here? And where am I going? Why am I here? Here is the answer.

You were created for God's good pleasure. First of all, note that you were created. You have created all things, they say. You're not the product of random chance, beyond all odds, as the evolutionists would try to make you to believe.

You do not exist as the result of billions of fortuitous occurrences of accidental circumstances through millions of years. The theory of evolution really destroys the meaningful purpose of life. For according to evolutionists, you are nothing more than just an accident, a freak of nature.

You exist only as a result of a long series of accidental circumstances, and one day you'll probably die by an accident. Thus, you might as well live like a hog, because you're gonna die like a dog. There's no real reason for life.

The theory of evolution cheapens the value of life. According to the evolutionists, life is nothing more than a dog-eat-dog competition and the survival of the fittest. The belief in evolution allowed Hitler to justify his efforts to kill off all of the Jews whom he had deemed unfit to live.

It is in Christianity that you find the value of life, the value of a soul. Jesus said, what should it profit a man if he would gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul?

God placed such a high value upon you, your soul, that he sent his only begotten son to take your sins, to die in your place, in order that he might redeem you and make you his child. They not only declared that you were created, but they declared the purpose for your being created.

For God's good pleasure, you are and were created. This is a basic truth of life. You exist for God's good pleasure. Now you might rebel against that truth. You might say, I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's right.

I don't want to live for God's pleasure. I want to live for my own pleasure. And God will allow you to do that. But you see, you can't change the fact that the basic reason for your existence today is to bring God's pleasure.

If you say, I don't want to do that, well, tough. That's why you were made. And he will allow you to rebel against that. But ultimately, you will discover that living for yourself is empty and meaningless.

And you will not be pleased with your life. But it will be frustrating and empty. Solomon is a classic example of that. Solomon did not want to live for God's pleasure. He said, I said in my heart, I will prove that life or living is partying.

Solomon's Pursuit of Pleasure and Its Emptiness

I will live for pleasure. But he said, I became empty. I said of laughter, it is madness. And of merriment, well, what good is it? So he said, I decided to give my heart to wine. Yet acquainting my heart with wisdom.

I sought to understand folly. So that I might see what is good for man and to find out what is the best way for man to live. So I made great works. I built houses, palaces. I planted vineyards. I made gardens and orchards and planted all kinds of fruit trees.

And then I made pools of water to water the trees that brought forth the fruit. I had servants and handmaidens in my house. Also, I had a great herds of cattle more than anyone ever in Jerusalem before me.

I gathered silver and gold and rare treasures of the kings of the provinces. I had men and women singers to entertain the sons of men and all sorts of musical instruments. So I was great. I had more than anyone that was before me in Jerusalem.

And also, I retained my wisdom. Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from myself. I did not withhold from my heart any joy. For my heart rejoiced in all my labor, but this was the reward of my labor.

And then I looked at all the works that my hands had wrought, the things that I had labored to do, and behold, all that it brought me was emptiness and frustration. And I concluded, there is nothing worthwhile under the sun.

So I turned to behold wisdom and madness and folly. For what can any man do that comes after me more than what I have already done? Therefore, he said, I hated life because the work that was wrought under the sun was grievous unto me for everything was empty and frustrating.

So you, as Solomon, may seek to find the purpose of why you are here in pleasure or in wealth or in other things. But I guarantee, when you come to the end of the road as Solomon, you will look back on your life and you will speak of the emptiness and the futility of a life that is given over to pleasure.

You have only one life and it will soon be past. And only what you do for Jesus Christ is going to last. It's interesting that as a person gets older, you begin to finally recognize your own mortality.

Now, I know that you young people haven't come to this place yet. You think you're going to live forever. But as you get older and you begin to see the end of the road, you realize that you are immortal and you recognize your own mortality.

And as you look back on your life and you realize it's gone by so quickly, the questions that come into your mind are, if I could do it over again, what would I want to change? What would I do differently?

Living to Please God Rather Than Self

Of the things that I accomplished, what are the things that brought me the greatest satisfaction? Am I content to stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of my life and how I used that which he entrusted unto me?

You know, we are so often asking the questions as a Christian, is it all right if I do this or if I do that? But that is really not the real question that we should be asking. Not whether or not it is all right or not right to do a particular thing.

But the real question should be, if I do this, would it be pleasing unto God? Because you see, I was created for his pleasure and that should be the main concern of my life. The things that I am doing, is God pleased with them?

I have found that the greatest joys in my life have been when I was doing the things that pleased God. There's a sense of fulfillment. There's a sense of meaning, of purpose, when I've done those things that were pleasing unto the Lord.

Jesus as the Perfect Example of Pleasing the Father

I think that all of us would agree that Jesus lived the perfect life. Jesus said in John 13, 15, I have given you an example that you should do as I have done. I have lived an exemplary life, he is saying.

Peter tells us that Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps. So basically they're saying that Jesus lived an exemplary life, one that we should follow. What did Jesus say was the guiding principle of his life?

He declared, I do always those things that please the Father. The one who lived as a perfect example, he said, I've always done those things that please the Father. The Father actually confirmed the boast of Jesus in that we remember when John was baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River.

As Jesus came up out of the water, there came a voice from heaven that said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We also remember that when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with his disciples, that as they had this rich experience of seeing Jesus in a glorified form, talking with Moses and Elijah, Peter said, Lord, this is wonderful.

Let's build three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. There came, while Peter was speaking, a voice from heaven that said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him.

So twice the Father spoke from heaven, assuring that Jesus pleased him in how he lived and what he did. God wants us to follow that example and to live our lives in such a way as it is pleasing unto God.

Christ's Obedience to the Father's Will

Jesus said, my purpose is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Jesus said, I don't seek my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me. Jesus said, for I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

And he was dedicated to do the will of the Father. That was his life. This was, of course, manifested in the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. For there, Jesus prayed, O Father, if it is possible, looking at the cross, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not what I will, but thy will be done. Submitting himself to do the will of the Father. In John 14, 31, Jesus said, that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, so I do.

He was obedient to the will of the Father, though it cost him his life. If you wish to please the Father, you must, as Jesus, be dedicated to do the will of God. You must be obedient unto God, and the Father's will must be the top priority of your life.

Jesus' Purpose Revealed at Twelve Years Old

You remember the story how that when Jesus was just 12 years old, he came with his parents to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the feasts. And as the family was returning to Bethlehem, they evidently figured that Jesus was a part of the crowd that had come from Bethlehem and were going back together until evening.

And they looked for Jesus, and he wasn't with the company of people returning to Bethlehem. So Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem, and for three days they were searching for Jesus. And they finally found him.

He was there in the temple precincts talking with the priest and the doctors of law, religious law, who were amazed at this little 12-year-old boy. The questions that he asked, and the things that he declared to them, and they were in amazement at this child.

When Mary and Joseph came in and found him, Mary began to rebuke her son. You know, we were worried about you. Why would you do this and all? And he said, I figured you would know that I would be about my father's business.

Even at 12 years old, the recognition that I am living to do my father's business. That is why his life was so complete, so meaningful. There was purpose, the purpose to do the father's will. Your life may also be meaningful and have real purpose when you live to please the father.

Fulfilling the Purpose of Existence

That's why you were created. That's what will be acknowledged by the 24 elders in heaven. Thou has created all things, and for your good pleasure, they are and were created. That's why you exist. For God's good pleasure.

Seeking to please him and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. If you follow these three things, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you have fulfilled the purpose of God for your existence.

The God who created you will be pleased with you when you dedicate your life to do the will of the father. When you seek to be obedient to the father and when doing his will is the top priority of your life, you will have a very meaningful, fulfilling life because you are answering to the basic reason why you exist to please the father.

Prayer of Surrender and Invitation

Father, we thank you for the opportunities that you give us to know you and to serve you. And we pray, Lord, that we can come to the place where we with Jesus can say, I do always those things that please the father.

Lord, we haven't arrived there yet. We are still doing things selfishly to please ourselves. But Lord, free us from that narrow concept of living for our own pleasure and bring us, Lord, into that broad concept living to please you.

And in so doing, discovering that pleasing you is the most pleasing thing we could ever do. Father, there are those here today that are experiencing the emptiness of life, a life that's lived for self, a life that's lived for pleasure, a life that's lived for just gaining for ourselves what we might.

And like Solomon, beginning to realize this, too, is empty. Life is frustration. We pray, Father, that they might this day discover the secret of living, living for Jesus, a life that is true, striving to please him in all that I do, yielded completely, glad-hearted and free, Lord, may this be the pathway of blessing for me.

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, we give ourselves for thee, for you and your atonement did give yourself for us. We own no other master. Our hearts shall be thy throne. Our lives we give, as forth to live, O Christ, for thee alone.

Take us, Lord. Guide us in your path. We surrender ourselves to do your will. Thank you, Lord, for receiving us. In Jesus' name, Amen. Shall we stand? The pastors are down here at the front to pray for you this morning.

If it is your desire to submit yourself to the Lord fully, completely, to do his will, to discover the real purpose of life itself, I would encourage you as we're dismissed, make your way forward and just let these men pray with you that God will reveal to you his plan and his purpose for your life.

Guaranteed blessings. A life that is meaningful, filled with purpose. It may be that you have other needs that you'd like someone to pray with you. They're here to minister to you today, whatever the need might be.

So again, avail yourself the opportunity and come on forward and let them pray with you and for you today. And may the Lord be with you. And may you know the joy and the fulfillment of serving him and doing his will.

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship oh, take joy in may it be in.