Matt Chandler - Purpose

Good morning! If you want to open up to that passage, we will look at it here in just a few moments. But I want to join in the chorus of thanking our fathers. So let me say it this way: for all that you do and carry, seen and unseen, the Lord sees you. There are significant and serious weights that we endure as husbands and fathers, and that can feel lonely and isolating. I just want you to hear me say that the Lord sees you. Furthermore, on behalf of human flourishing, thank you for carrying what you carry. There is no human flourishing without you stepping into that post. Everything falls apart without you. As imperfectly as you see yourself, I want to tell you today that the Lord sees you. For all the lies that the enemy wants to convince you of, I want to tell you that you have an identity that is greater than that and a purpose that is more profound. If you feel like nobody sees you today, I will not let you leave here without saying that the Lord sees you. I will be His mouthpiece today and say, «I see you. Well done, brothers, in your imperfection, in your striving. Well done.»

Last week, we got to celebrate together as a family as I wanted to highlight Jim and Jane Beckett, both 97. They just celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Who gets that? Nobody gets that! I’ve been in the game a long time, and nobody gets 75 years of marriage like that. That’s five years longer than my father-in-law has been alive. That is a long run, and so we celebrated that last week. We were right to celebrate it. Then, earlier this week, Jim went home to the Lord. I spent last Friday with Jane, and we are getting ready to celebrate his life this week. It wasn’t lost on me that, on a weekend where I want to talk about purpose—emphasizing that you have a God-given destiny—I want to convey through the grace of God that in the continual surrender of formation, you will step into something that God has created just for you.

It’s not lost on me that while I’m writing this sermon, Jim—who embodied this in a way that just resonated deeply—has passed away. He was one of the best men I know; his life breathed life into my preparation. I kept finding my mind and heart drawn to this man: this man who lived well, this man who lived with purpose. In my own heart, I thought, «Yes, I want to have a story like this.»

We’ve got time because it’s the 11 o’clock service. Jane, at 97, goes to bed around 4:30 in the afternoon, and some of us might say, «Yes, please!» She sleeps all the way through the night until the next morning. Jim died around midnight or 1 a.m., and like a scene from a movie, at 11 o’clock, Jane stirred, woke her caregiver, and said, «I want to kiss Jim and say goodbye.» She walked in, kissed Jim’s face, and then went to get back into bed. The nurse asked, «If he starts to fade, do you want us to wake you up?» She replied, «No, I’m saying goodbye.» Then she got back into bed. Just a couple of hours later, Jim went to be with the Lord. I’m thinking, «Yes, Lord, let me go like that.» A life well-lived, a life surrendered to Jesus, a life profoundly in love with his wife—who he saw as a partner in ministry and in life. I’ve been so encouraged by the testimony of that man and wanted to encourage you with his legacy.

It is rare to have 75 years of life, much less 75 years of marriage. One of the keys seems to be playing competitive tennis into your 80s; that’s one thing I learned. Now, if you’re here and you’re just joining us—this is week three of a four-week series. If you’re a once-a-month attendee, or a once-a-quarter visitor, or someone who comes a couple of times a year, you are actually stumbling into a conversation we’ve been having the last couple of weeks. The conversation is really about how we are formed as human beings—how we are shaped and molded into the people we are or the people we will become.

We’ve been arguing for the last three weeks, echoing what the Bible teaches, that you are either being conformed into the image of Jesus or being conformed into your idols. We’ve used different language around that because the Bible employs various terms: you are either becoming more human or becoming less human. You are either progressively being dehumanized or progressively being rehumanized. We started by discussing the fact that God is our creator. When He created us, He declared us good—actually using «very good» as the descriptor. So there’s a divine assurance.