The Point and Purpose of Your Life

April 6, 2025

In this talk, Andrew Scott teaches that as followers of Christ, we’re brought from death to life to represent and reflect God to the world using our spiritual gifts, hearts/passions, abilities, personalities, and experiences.

Key Takeaway

We are meant to represent God in every space we enter—embracing our God-given identity and purpose to share His love with the world.

Sanctification is the process of being set apart FOR God and His purposes.

We want to share the Jesus we've become like with the world. We don't become like Jesus to feel better for ourselves—God has a purpose.

God calls us to a new way of life, desiring for us to step into what He has created for us to do. The Gospel is about the life we live as a result of being moved from death to life.

Jesus didn't come to move us from death to life simply to prepare us to die. He moved us from death to life so that we could live abundantly. An abundant life is when we step into the "what now" of salvation.

One of the greatest deceptions the enemy has brought to the Church is the lie that there is no "now what."

The three main lies he tries to deceive us with are:

1. Settle with the from.

He wants us to be happy to be saved and stay there.

2. Delegate the for.

We decide who shares the Good News and base it on things like education or standing.

3. Relegate the for.

We reduce sharing the Gospel with only the people we're close to in proximity.

We want to refute these lies.

Read Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV).

Today, we're focusing on the last few verses.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

We're not just saved to stay in the form; we're saved for the for—for good works.

Read Ephesians 1 (NLT).

Before God made the world, He decided He would give people identity and adopt them into His family so that He would be glorified. There was a new identity and purpose.

Read Genesis 1:26-28 (NLT).

The idea of being made in the image of God was only used for the pharaohs of the day. But in Genesis 1, we read that God made all human beings in God's image. This spoke to their identity. If you were made in the image of God, you were a king and a son or daughter.

This idea of being made in God's image gave us identity and purpose. The pharaohs were also God's representatives, which meant that all human beings were meant to represent God.

Nothing created gets to decide its own purpose. Our purpose is to represent Him.

Read Revelation 22:1-5 (NLT) and 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (NLT).

We're becoming more like Jesus so that the world can see more of Him through us. We're representing Him in the spaces we inhabit.

Sanctification is God through Christ renewing the original identity and purpose He planned for us as his Image bearers.

Satan came in to distort and destroy the image of God in people—he didn't want humans to reflect God in the world or for God's goodness to be experienced through us. But God sent His one and only Son to restore us.

So, what do we need to be doing?

1. Focus on your purpose.

Your purpose is to reflect and represent God.

When you represent God and reflect it to the world, you exhibit the fruit of the spirit.

Can the world see that through your life?

Everything lives out underneath that.

2. Embrace your shape.

Re-read Ephesians 2:10 (ESV).

He thought of the good works He wanted you to do and then He made you in such a way that you could do those good works.

Spiritual gifts

Heart/passions

Abilities

Personality

Experience

Your shape determines how you live out the roles you have in your life to glorify God. Embrace the roles you have so that you can become the most brilliant reflection of God.

3. Live it out in every space you enter.

We aren't meant to glorify God just on Sundays. We are entering into every space representing God, letting people see the goodness of God.

Read Matthew 5:13-16.

Our sharing with words is often not effective because we don't look like the Christ we're proclaiming. (John Stott)

4. Speak it out at every opportunity

Read Acts 8:1-4.

After Steven was killed, believers were scattered. Everywhere they went, they preached the Gospel.

"This often was not formal preaching, but informal chattering to friends and chance acquaintances, in homes and wine shops, on walks, and around market stalls. They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with the conviction of those who are not paid to say that sort of thing. Consequently, they were taken seriously, and the movement spread, notably among the lower classes.” - Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church

We don't need to stand on a box to share the Good News—we can do it in everyday conversations. But it's easier to talk about Jesus when we live lives that reflect the Gospel.

When we understand that sharing Jesus is what we were made to do, it should be a rhythm in our lives, not a program of the week.

The enemy hates when we live our lives to glorify God because God's goodness is seen, experienced, expressed, and explained through us. More and more people see what real life looks like and are drawn to the one we are emulating, reflecting, and imitating. More and more people move from death to Life because the sons and daughters of God are living out who they are saved to be and how they were meant to live.

Here is a prayer for you to pray every morning this week:

Jesus,

I want others to see you through me and become curious about you.

Help me to enter every space today with this in mind.

Help me be attentive and curious about those in the spaces I enter.

Show me one person to share your love with today.

Amen.

“

"The enemy dreads nothing more than the children of God becoming more like the God they worship."

”

Andrew Scott

Discussion Questions

What does sanctification mean to you, and how have you seen it at work in your own life?
What do you think it means to “live the abundant life” Jesus offers beyond just being saved?
How does the idea of an abundant life challenge or affirm your current way of living?
Ephesians 2:10 says we are God’s handiwork, created for good works. What do you think are some of the good works God has prepared for you?
How does understanding your identity as someone made in the image of God affect how you live and treat others?
How have you seen God use your SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience) to reach specific people?
In what ways can you more intentionally reflect Christ in the everyday spaces you enter (work, school, home, social settings)?
Why do you think it’s sometimes hard to speak about Jesus in everyday life? What might make it easier?
Have you ever experienced someone being drawn to Jesus because of how you lived? What happened?
How can we move from viewing evangelism as a program or obligation to living it as a natural rhythm in our daily lives?

Scripture References

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9not by works, so that no one can boast.

10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9not by works, so that no one can boast.

10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

26Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

5There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

18And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

1And Saul approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Andrew Scott

CEO and President of Operation Mobilization