The price of purpose
So much has been written about purpose. It's all good. The Purpose Driven Church/ life , etc. Awesome and inspiring books. It sounds so wonderful. "Find your purpose and your life will matter." Hmmm....Let's take a look at some people in the Bible that knew their purpose and what it cost them.
Let's start with King David. He knew when he was just a young boy that his purpose was to be a King. Did he start announcing this? Did he run an ad campaign to make sure he got the popular vote? Nope, he went back to shepherding, then onto bear and lion slaying, then onto giant slaying...then running for his life, then becoming king, then having a man murdered...oh my gosh!
Does the Bible say anywhere...anywhere that to know your purpose is to be successful? I've been listening to "Elevation Church" and "Life Church". The sermons have been quite unique and eye opening. Trust me, I'm a "professional Christian", meaning that if it's in the Bible, I've either read it, heard it preached or even taught it. The latest Life Church series was called, "Things Jesus did not say." I had to laugh when the screen went to Jesus saying, "follow me on twitter and Instagram." Then it went to a picture of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane with a quote "Does this robe make me sparkle?"
I've heard it said, even said it in an attempt to bring comfort......"The Lord will not allow more than you can bear." (I Corinthians 10:13). Who wrote this? Wasn't it Paul? The murderer, the prisoner, the guy who nearly drowned? The guy who get this, "lost his head." I'm pretty sure he could't bear those things. I couldn't. What the heck is he talking about then?
Let me tell you what it says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. BUT when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it." Isn't it a get out of jail free pass? NO?Well, that just sucks. I mean, I thought God would keep me from having cancer because he knew it was more than I could bear. It was more than my family could bear....Well, if you call 15 surgeries and scars for life less than you can bear then you haven't seen this body in a mirror. If you call surgeries a way of escape then where were you when I was in a coma and dreamt that I was being cremated? I couldn't bear it. I couldn't bear the pain of a divorce, I couldn't bear the pain of rejection. I still can't bear the hospital bills. There are a lot of things that I can not bear. So, what the heck is he talking about?
Do you mean that scripture is about temptation? Not a "get out of trouble" card? for life! Not a "things will get better" quotation that I can put on my wall? If this is a promise then let's back this up a bit. He says, "When you are tempted." What? Yes, it's an absolute certainty that you will be tempted.
Did Joseph hollar out to God, "God you gave me a dream that I would be in charge of great things." "What is this prison for?" "Why did my brothers sell me?" I can imagine him screaming out those words; wouldn't you? When Joseph saw his brothers again and the vision he had of them kneeling before him came to pass did Joseph say, "I told you so! This had been my purpose all along!" Nope. He had to take a moment to himself. Read the story, you'll be surprised. Do you think maybe he was dealing with anger and resentment? Do you think he had to take the opportunity to get his heart right? Or was it humbling to him to finally understand that the dream was not about exalting himself, it was about saving a nation of people from starvation. Wow! His problems became the hope for future generations....his pain turned death away from his family.
I do believe in knowing your purpose. However, I do believe we have all wasted time trying to find our purpose, when all we need to do is live our purpose. I for one have wasted a lot of time asking God, "WHY?" "What is my purpose?" I mean, Abraham had a purpose. He was to be the Father of Many Nations, but it didn't happen for almost 20 years. Do you think he walked around every day saying, "I have purpose!" Do you think he wrote it on his mirror so he wouldn't forget? I know, you're going to have to forgive me for that one.() Habakkuk 2:2 "Then the Lord replied, "Write the vision; make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." KJV. What about "Without a vision people perish?" Let me tell you what it says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (Proverbs 29:18)
If you read the text you will see that he was talking about the comfort of the law. When people don't have a standard to judge right and wrong by, they will perish, but those who know what is right and wrong and do what is right will be happy!
Do I believe in vision boards and goals and plans? Absolutely, but I do not believe in wasting time trying to figure out what the "vision" is. Do you think Elisha knew his purpose? I mean, what kind of man taunts other religions, dares them to spark their gods interest, then pours water on his offering (when it hadn't rained for 3 years), then calls down fire from heaven? We all know that part. But what about the part when the Queen sent him a letter telling him "I'm going to kill you!" Wouldn't it make sense that Elisha should just call down fire from heaven and let her be consumed by her own evil ways? What did he do? He ran for his life. I guess he didn't know his purpose?
Here's another one. Romans 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." I've always taken that to mean that once God gave you a gift or a calling your purpose would never change. Haven't you heard it preached like that?
Well, let's look at the devil. He was called to be the worship leader in heaven. He made a bad decision and took God on and said he was just as important as God! I don't think his calling is the same as it was? Matter of fact, God threw him out of heaven without a safety net.
What about King Saul? He was anointed King, but he didn't have a heart to be patient or to obey. So, he took it upon himself to make a sacrifice to God without the prophet. He was told to wait for the prophet, but he must have thought it was a waste of time because he went ahead and made the offering. (Isaiah 13:9) "And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering."What happened next? Samuel said, "What have you done?!" Saul came up with excuses... I was afraid, the people were leaving me, I forced myself to do it!" Read it it's quite interesting. (KJV) Did God say, "oh, it's okay King Saul. My bad. I know you were under a lot of pressure. My callings are without repentance, so you just go ahead and do what you were doing before?" Nope, Samuel said, "You have done foolishly!" "God would have established your kingdom forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue." You mean God took back his gift and calling on King Saul? Yes, he did.
Who then shall be saved? That's an excellent question. Enter: Jesus! "His mercy endureth forever and his loving kindness is new every morning." (Lamentations 3:23) Does that mean that we can blatantly disobey God's word and have a "get out of the responsibility for our actions free card?" Well, that would be wrong. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17).
Well, that does it. We're all doomed! I have done things that I knew was wrong....on purpose mind you...it was sin, it was wrong, but Jesus so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that those who believe on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) "...But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (I John 2:1).
Are you getting this? We are destined to be free...even from our own wrong decisions. Are there consequences? Absolutely. Do we suffer all the consequences for our wrong choices? Absolutely not. Jesus is standing right there saying "You need to stop doing that! I'll go to our Father and talk to him for you, but STOP DOING THAT!"
So, be careful what you ask for....especially if it's for divine purpose. It cost Jesus the cross, death, hell, the grave. He gained the resurrection, which was his diving purpose, but he literally went through hell to get it. WHAT?
Happy Easter everybody! Consider the cost....
Let's start with King David. He knew when he was just a young boy that his purpose was to be a King. Did he start announcing this? Did he run an ad campaign to make sure he got the popular vote? Nope, he went back to shepherding, then onto bear and lion slaying, then onto giant slaying...then running for his life, then becoming king, then having a man murdered...oh my gosh!
Does the Bible say anywhere...anywhere that to know your purpose is to be successful? I've been listening to "Elevation Church" and "Life Church". The sermons have been quite unique and eye opening. Trust me, I'm a "professional Christian", meaning that if it's in the Bible, I've either read it, heard it preached or even taught it. The latest Life Church series was called, "Things Jesus did not say." I had to laugh when the screen went to Jesus saying, "follow me on twitter and Instagram." Then it went to a picture of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane with a quote "Does this robe make me sparkle?"
I've heard it said, even said it in an attempt to bring comfort......"The Lord will not allow more than you can bear." (I Corinthians 10:13). Who wrote this? Wasn't it Paul? The murderer, the prisoner, the guy who nearly drowned? The guy who get this, "lost his head." I'm pretty sure he could't bear those things. I couldn't. What the heck is he talking about then?
Let me tell you what it says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. BUT when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it." Isn't it a get out of jail free pass? NO?Well, that just sucks. I mean, I thought God would keep me from having cancer because he knew it was more than I could bear. It was more than my family could bear....Well, if you call 15 surgeries and scars for life less than you can bear then you haven't seen this body in a mirror. If you call surgeries a way of escape then where were you when I was in a coma and dreamt that I was being cremated? I couldn't bear it. I couldn't bear the pain of a divorce, I couldn't bear the pain of rejection. I still can't bear the hospital bills. There are a lot of things that I can not bear. So, what the heck is he talking about?
Do you mean that scripture is about temptation? Not a "get out of trouble" card? for life! Not a "things will get better" quotation that I can put on my wall? If this is a promise then let's back this up a bit. He says, "When you are tempted." What? Yes, it's an absolute certainty that you will be tempted.
Did Joseph hollar out to God, "God you gave me a dream that I would be in charge of great things." "What is this prison for?" "Why did my brothers sell me?" I can imagine him screaming out those words; wouldn't you? When Joseph saw his brothers again and the vision he had of them kneeling before him came to pass did Joseph say, "I told you so! This had been my purpose all along!" Nope. He had to take a moment to himself. Read the story, you'll be surprised. Do you think maybe he was dealing with anger and resentment? Do you think he had to take the opportunity to get his heart right? Or was it humbling to him to finally understand that the dream was not about exalting himself, it was about saving a nation of people from starvation. Wow! His problems became the hope for future generations....his pain turned death away from his family.
I do believe in knowing your purpose. However, I do believe we have all wasted time trying to find our purpose, when all we need to do is live our purpose. I for one have wasted a lot of time asking God, "WHY?" "What is my purpose?" I mean, Abraham had a purpose. He was to be the Father of Many Nations, but it didn't happen for almost 20 years. Do you think he walked around every day saying, "I have purpose!" Do you think he wrote it on his mirror so he wouldn't forget? I know, you're going to have to forgive me for that one.() Habakkuk 2:2 "Then the Lord replied, "Write the vision; make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." KJV. What about "Without a vision people perish?" Let me tell you what it says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (Proverbs 29:18)
If you read the text you will see that he was talking about the comfort of the law. When people don't have a standard to judge right and wrong by, they will perish, but those who know what is right and wrong and do what is right will be happy!
Do I believe in vision boards and goals and plans? Absolutely, but I do not believe in wasting time trying to figure out what the "vision" is. Do you think Elisha knew his purpose? I mean, what kind of man taunts other religions, dares them to spark their gods interest, then pours water on his offering (when it hadn't rained for 3 years), then calls down fire from heaven? We all know that part. But what about the part when the Queen sent him a letter telling him "I'm going to kill you!" Wouldn't it make sense that Elisha should just call down fire from heaven and let her be consumed by her own evil ways? What did he do? He ran for his life. I guess he didn't know his purpose?
Here's another one. Romans 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." I've always taken that to mean that once God gave you a gift or a calling your purpose would never change. Haven't you heard it preached like that?
Well, let's look at the devil. He was called to be the worship leader in heaven. He made a bad decision and took God on and said he was just as important as God! I don't think his calling is the same as it was? Matter of fact, God threw him out of heaven without a safety net.
What about King Saul? He was anointed King, but he didn't have a heart to be patient or to obey. So, he took it upon himself to make a sacrifice to God without the prophet. He was told to wait for the prophet, but he must have thought it was a waste of time because he went ahead and made the offering. (Isaiah 13:9) "And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering."What happened next? Samuel said, "What have you done?!" Saul came up with excuses... I was afraid, the people were leaving me, I forced myself to do it!" Read it it's quite interesting. (KJV) Did God say, "oh, it's okay King Saul. My bad. I know you were under a lot of pressure. My callings are without repentance, so you just go ahead and do what you were doing before?" Nope, Samuel said, "You have done foolishly!" "God would have established your kingdom forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue." You mean God took back his gift and calling on King Saul? Yes, he did.
Who then shall be saved? That's an excellent question. Enter: Jesus! "His mercy endureth forever and his loving kindness is new every morning." (Lamentations 3:23) Does that mean that we can blatantly disobey God's word and have a "get out of the responsibility for our actions free card?" Well, that would be wrong. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17).
Well, that does it. We're all doomed! I have done things that I knew was wrong....on purpose mind you...it was sin, it was wrong, but Jesus so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that those who believe on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) "...But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (I John 2:1).
Are you getting this? We are destined to be free...even from our own wrong decisions. Are there consequences? Absolutely. Do we suffer all the consequences for our wrong choices? Absolutely not. Jesus is standing right there saying "You need to stop doing that! I'll go to our Father and talk to him for you, but STOP DOING THAT!"
So, be careful what you ask for....especially if it's for divine purpose. It cost Jesus the cross, death, hell, the grave. He gained the resurrection, which was his diving purpose, but he literally went through hell to get it. WHAT?
Happy Easter everybody! Consider the cost....
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