God Made us on Purpose

In our mid-week service we are talking about doing with our life what God created us for. The Purpose we were created for. Catching God’s vision for your life must be the number one purpose of the Christ-like life. We are not our own we have been bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Catching a vision is finding and developing the blueprint that God has for your life and then maintaining that personal vision. We do this by doing three things.

Discovering what God made you for. (Understanding our created purpose)

Developing your life for the purpose you were created. (Education and training, reading and study)

Maintaining and growing your purpose in God. (Adding to your talents and abilities)

In looking and trying to find what God has in mind for us and what He made us good at, I like Max Lucado’s diagram. He uses it in the book, Cure for the Common Life.

We would never consider going to a Medical Doctor who felt it was his calling to be a MD but refused to ever attend medical school and prepare and train himself. Yet we often act this way with what God has called us to be and do. We feel a direction but we spend little or no time preparing to be a success in God. Yes we need the anointing on our life but we are taught in scriptures that we need to work on our purpose. Too many sit around and declare their calling and just hope something works out. The Lord has not called us to sit and hope it all works out personally. Hope is not a strategy.

Andy Stanley said, “Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. Those are the ones with vision.” Too many, when it comes to the purpose of God, just go along and if something works right and pops up along the way they might do something for the Lord.  For this reason children of God become frustrated and even backslide because they have a pulling in their life to do something for God but they are unwilling to commit to the purpose God has set for them. They feel it cost too much or they don’t feel qualified. Some simply have spiritual laziness and refuse to move in any direction. They become comfortable just sitting.

A clear vision and purpose along with courage to follow through dramatically increases your chances of coming to the end of your life, looking back with deep abiding satisfaction, and thinking, I did it. I succeeded. I finished well. My life counted.

This is what Paul felt when he writes in 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 KJV

Don’t let this slip by. You are His workmanship. Say it out loud, “I am God’s workmanship.”

It means you are the product of God’s vision. God has decided what you could be and what you should be. He created you on purpose and with purpose. But His vision for you is not complete. You have a part to play. Look at the next phrase of the verse. …created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

That purpose is to do the good works which God has envisioned or created you to accomplish. Your purpose was before ordained, God planned on your mattering. The Almighty set a plan for you and you are to walk in and do these good works. It is our part to walk in those God ordained works. God has a vision for your life! God made you as his workman ship! We must go do what He ordained us to do.

As children of God we do not have the right to take our talents, abilities, experiences, opportunities and education and run off in any direction we please. We lost that right at Calvary. But then, why would we dream of such a thing?  The all-knowing God of the universe, the Creator of all things that knows that which was, is, and shall be, He has a plan for my life and your life! What could possibly be more fulfilling than that?

Without God’s purpose you may find yourself in the all too common position of looking back on a life that was given to accumulating green pieces of paper with pictures of dead presidents on them.  Let’s face it, at each milestone in your life of pursuit of your own dreams you feel like a kid at Christmas after all the presents have been opened. After all the hype, after all the excitement, you ask, “Is this all there is?” You cannot squeeze enough life or meaning out of a secular accomplishment to ever satisfy your soul. The hole you are trying to fill has an eternal and spiritual dimension that only matters of eternity and spirituality can satisfy. God has a divine created Vision and Purpose for your life. That purpose when fulfilled will leave you with a smile on your face and contentment in your heart because your life mattered. Man made visions all begin to look alike after a while. Unless you discover what God wants for your life you may very well just become a rerun.

Look at your life and its passions today. Are you being driven by things that have no value to the kingdom of God and no eternal blessing? Did you get so wrapped up in your life today that you didn’t even stop to consider talking to the Almighty in prayer? You would feel so much better if you simply started chasing what God created you for, you were made for that purpose.

Some of the quotes here are from the book, Visioneering by Andy Stanley. I highly recommend reading it

It was so enjoyable watching God sweep through our services this weekend. Nothing ever trumps the moving of the Holy Ghost! Then to finish the evening with Brice getting baptized in Jesus Name! Yes! That’s what it is all about.

Beware of the Spirit of Midian

I want to start buy thanking Jesus for a wonderful week end of services. Our two services where power packed with the Holy Ghost. In our second service the students and their leadership were anointed and full of the Holy Spirit. This was seen and felt in their singing and worship. The Element Student choir was amazing. As I watched them singing and tears running down many of their faces, I leaned over to Jason our student Pastor and told him, “I was so happy to see my kids there singing”. He said the same and many parents after church felt the same way. To see our youth singing in anointing fashion was powerful and encouraging. Wow, I so happy to preach at FPB.

With all that God is doing all around us and new faces appearing weekly there is something I would like to remind each of us in the church. We have a great responsibility to nurture those coming to Christ and guard against spirits that rise to destroy the harvest. Here is something to study and remember.

Midian was a son of Abraham, which is what his name meant. He was the son of Abraham who was born to Abraham’s third wife, Keturah (keh TYOO ruh). This third wife had children and one of them was Midian. As you follow along after this son you find him as a nation by the time you get to the book of Exodus. It was to Midian that Moses fled and there married the priest of Midian’s daughter. This priest was a great help to Israel and Moses when they are crossing the wilderness and came to the mountain of God.

But as you move along you find these people strayed away from the directions of the God of Israel and by the time you get to Judges they have joined with the Amalekites, and are attacking the children of Israel. It is in the sixth chapter of Judges where the last story of Midian starts. Israel has sinned and God has allowed Midian to give Israel problems. The Bible tells us that when Israel would sow their crops and came to the time of harvest, then Midian would come in and destroy all their increase and take their livestock and leaving no provisions for Israel. It is during this time that Gideon became Israel’s leader. A man, without importance, a man from the lowest family in the lowest tribe. God puts His hand on a willing dedicated heart and when chapter 8 of Judges is finished, Midian as a nation and a power is never heard of again.

These people tend to always be presents when it’s time to gather what God has produced. This got me to thinking and studying about Midian. I wanted to know about their character and actions and why they were like they were. I wanted to understand about the Midianties so I would know them by their works. I begin to define all I could about the very name of Midian, it comes from a word that means H4080 (a son of Abraham) same as 4079; a Midjanite or descendant (native) of Midjan: - Midianite. It also has two variations or expanded meanings H4079 A variation for: H4066 – one means - brawling, contention (-ous). H4066  other means - discord, strife. So Midian is a son of Abraham that is contentious and brawling that sows discord and strife. Three things to remember about Midian

They have the wrong mother.

They are sons of Abraham but not sons of promise. God told Abraham that the promise would come through Isaac, through Sarah. Midian has the right father but the wrong mother. This is very important in the promises of God.

The New Testament church is referred to as a bride preparing for her husband. Jesus gives us the example of the church as a bride waiting on the groom. John in Revelations refers to the church as a bride. He also calls her New Jerusalem adorned for her husband. In Revelations 22:17, John says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. KJV John wrote that the Holy Ghost, God’s Spirit along with His bride, invites people to come and drink of the water of life freely. The Apostle Paul in Galatians says that this Jerusalem that is from above is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26) It is so important that we understand how important the mother is. It is so important that we value the life of the mother, the life of the church. God’s word has told us that His bride, the church, joins with Him is calling people, to Him. In short God and His bride are responsible for the harvest. We need to understand how much God loves and values the church. He gave His life for it. It is the spirit of Midian who values the Father but lacks the connection with the mother. Don’t tell me how much you love God then misuse His church or not value the church. It is so important that you love your church so much that you feel for it like God feels about it. The Father is teaming up with the mother to get the harvest in. it is the spirit of Midian that does not place importance on the church.

They are contentious.

Not only was Midian known as a son of Abraham but his name also defined his spirit and nature. The spirit of Midian sows discord and strife. They enjoy stirring up bitter feelings while calming to be spiritual. They easily can tell you what is wrong with people and critically destroy people with their words. They can tell you what is wrong with God’s Bride. If you turn to the book of Proverbs chapter six, in verse 12 the wise man Solomon starts to describe what he calls a naughty person. In verse 14 he says they are a person who sows discord. The word he uses here is the same word that is used to describe Midian in the Book of Genesis. But the wise man Solomon doesn’t stop there, beginning at verse 16 he begins to describe the things God hates. One of the things God hates, “A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” (Verse 19)

They come to rob and destroy the harvest.

The Bible tells us that Midian showed up every year for seven years to rob the harvest.  Midian came and took from God’s people so much that they were left without substance.  I am worried that we have tolerated the spirit of Midian to the place that we have lost our harvest year after year. Israel started praying for the Lord to help them and they repented and called on God. When the battle was finished, God had destroyed Midian so that they are not heard of as a nation of any power ever again

As the church we need to identify those who come among us and destroy the harvest. Raymond Woodward while teaching a leadership conference said, “The Midianties always show up at the time of harvest”. We must destroy this spirit if it finds its way into the church. Read and study Romans 16:17-18. Watch and stand against the spirit of Midian in this time of harvest.

Only He Understands Grace

Since early this year I have been following a certain direction in my daily prayer. During my prayer I come to a place where I worship and thank God for being who He is and the five-fold mentioning of His name in Isaiah 9:6. Here the prophet says His name shall be called, Wonderful, the Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. I try to ask God to give me a revelation of each of these names daily.

I studied each of these out to get a clearer picture of who Jesus really came to be. One of the names is the Everlasting Father. The original text might say the Forever Father. The Almighty came to be a Forever Father to His children. A great picture of this is seen in the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told in Luke 15:11-32. I had to ask as I read this story how many times do you think in all the days, weeks or months that the son was gone did the Father pull back the curtain and look down the road in hope? We know He was watching because He saw the son a long way off (verse 20). How many times did the Father pull that curtain back and look in hope? No doubt hundreds. Why? Another way to describe the word Everlasting Father is to say He is the world-without-end Father. He was the forever Father so He kept looking forever.

Ok we say, He is a continual Father. Yes, Forever Father.

It’s a name only He gets.

As the Father in Luke 11 pulls the curtain back for the one hundredth and seventh time, looking down the road in hope, he knows what that means.

No one else in the house gets it but He does.

No matter what happens, no matter who says what, no matter that life goes on, the Father understands what it is to be a forever Father. So he pulls the curtain back for the one hundredth and eighth time that day looking and hoping. Because He is the Forever Father He will do the same tomorrow. Looking and hoping the child will come home.

At the house the older brother didn’t understand the Father’s actions. He can’t, try as he might the other children don’t get the actions of a Forever Father. The reason is they are not the Father.

Another thing that stood out to me in this story was the Father’s expectations. Not only did He continually look down the road hoping but somewhere along the line just after the boy left He put a calf up to be butchered. The way I understand this, a fatting calf needs to be stalled at least one hundred and twenty days. Somewhere when the boy left the Father stalled a calf in preparation for the son’s return. So much so that when the boy came home the Father did not have to explain to the servants. They knew which calf. The Forever Father expected the son to return. So again He pulls back the curtain and looks down the road in hope.

Yes, we often as Christians find it hard to understand the actions of God as He continually takes those who have rejected Him back. We tend to be quick to form an opinion and judge the actions of a life. Why? We don’t get the Forever Father. In Matthew 7 during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us not to judge and then gives the story of the speck in our brother’s eye and the stick in our own. Again in Luke 6 Jesus says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:36-38 NIV

The reason we cannot judge is the fact we don’t think like the Almighty. We don’t understand grace. Only Jesus who gave His life understands grace. That is why Isaiah said He would be the Forever Father.

Some time back while in prayer, I ask God as I have been doing for some time to give me a revelation of this name, a Forever Father. Later on in my prayer I begin to pray for my children and ask God to watch over them as they left for a trip. I remember stopping and really calling out to God, asking Him to bring them home safely and watch over them. I was met with a feeling from God that asks me, “What if they don’t come home safely? What if they are taken out of this world?”

I must tell you, I became very fervent in my prayer asking God to protect them and put a prayer shield around them I pleaded the blood of Jesus over them. Yet, God seemed to continually ask me what if they don’t come home safely? God continually pounded on my heart the question, what will you do if they are not here? I continually tried to pray past the question in my spirit.

I hope I never forget finally saying, “Well, God I will go on, I go on doing what I am called to do.” I told the Lord, “I will go on with life but I don’t want to live it without them.”

The moment I said it, if I have ever heard the voice of God I did that day. God said, “That’ how I feel about you, if I have too I go on with my plans without you, but I don’t want to.”

It was then I started to catch a glimpse of what the Father must have been feeling as He looked down the road and out the window for the one hundredth and tenth time. He was watching for a boy to come home. Life had gone on and the world kept on turning, the plans and purpose of the Father had to keep going on. The Father was living without the son at home, but He didn’t want to go on living without the boy being there. He was always a Father, a forever Father.

Yes, the wonderful, counselor, The mighty God and the prince of peace have great meaning and powerful implications. The name Everlasting Father may seem a little misplaced until you realize He is really the only one who really gets it. HE is the only one who understands mercy, grace a Father without end.

He is a Forever Father. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus came to be the Everlasting Father in your life.

No More Leaning On Us

Happy fourth of July! No, Happy Independence Day.

I am so thankful to live in America. Yes, we can find so much about it that is not good from the moral condition of its people to the disconnected leaders of our country. One hour of News is enough to make you sick at your stomach. Yet, as Christians we need to remember today and every day how this country started. It was started by men and women that feared God and sought after the Almighty. In reading their life history’s we see them seeking Jesus many times for direction in the affairs of state. Our founding fathers knelt and prayed many time for this country. In a day where there was no broadcast or very little ways of declaring the daily actions of these men they prayed any way. Today most prayer are only done before cameras and media and used as political leverage. But we need to remember to sincerely pray every day for America. We can believe that it is no use and lack faith. Or we can believe scripture that the effective or active prayer of a holy person makes a difference. (James 5:16) If prayer does make a difference then there is no limit to its ability and power in God. So, today start a new trend, start praying for Jesus to touch America, for the Almighty to deal with our country to get back to Him. It will make a difference.

Allow me a few lines today to share with you my devotions and study this morning.

My first study after prayer this morning came from a journal I have, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

“Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil doing.” Psalm 37:8 RV

Fretting means getting out at the elbows mentally or spiritually. It’s one thing to say Fret not and a very different thing to have such a disposition that you find yourself able not to fret. It sound so easy to talk of resting in the Lord and waiting patiently for Him until the nest is upset – until we live, as so many are doing, in a tumult and anguish. Is it possible to rest in the Lord? … Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself.

Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way… Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God.

Have you been bolstering up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God? Put all the supposing on one side and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing. All our fretting and worrying is caused by calculating without God.

Wow! Yes, that was kind of in-your-face to me also.

But it also reminded me of some verses in the Bible.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; Philippians 4:6  NKJV

On many occasions Jesus said, “Fear not”! One such time was; “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear (Fear Not KJV) therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 NKJV

Jesus gave several verses to trusting in God during the Sermon on the Mount. Read Matthew 6:25-34.

Yes, we tend to trust in us more than we trust in God. This is seen in all our fretting and worrying over trying to add one inch to our life. Yes, fretting is wicked because it is without faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6

One more devotion from today.

It is from the book Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day… Exodus 16:4

God liberated His children from slavery and created a path through the sea. He gave them a cloud to follow in the day and a fire to see at night. And He gave them food. He met their most basic need: He filled their bellies.

Each morning manna came. Each evening Quail came. “Trust me. Trust me and I will give you what you need.” The people were told to just take enough for one day. Their needs would be met for one day at a time. “Take just enough for today,” Was God message. “Let me worry about tomorrow.” The Father wanted the people to trust Him.

God meets our needs one day at a time. How should this affect the way we live?

Ok another Wow! God is no doubt trying to get my attention today. Two different books, two different writers expounding on different scriptures? Yes. WOW! Each book was dated with today’s date.

Could God be trying to get your attention too?

Yes, we spend too many days of life trusting in us and only turning to God on a Sunday or when we have a really big need. You have to admit with me there is little rest in such living. I have never been able to do a miracle no matter how had I work at it. So, take a deep breath today and turn your life toward Jesus. Turn your life in His direction and lean on Him. Let Him worry about tomorrow. He wants to do that for you. Every good Father wants to do that for their children.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV