Purpose as highlighted by Pastor Eddie is needed to ignite your passion. And when you’re passionate about something, you tend to channel important resources towards its direction.
Rather than randomly fine tune our purpose by speculation, Bob Gass explains that the best way to get ahead in life is to return to our owner’s manual explaining why we are alive, how life works, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future.... i.e. Get a purpose by REVELATION.
“Every open door is not necessarily your door”. We as Christians get carried away that we see all opportunities as ours to take forgetting that the devil can provide opportunities too that makes us miss the God given one.
The devil Provided Jesus with alternatives when he tempted Him in the wilderness, but Jesus stood His ground ensuring His purpose stays intact. The bible explains the power of purpose in Hebrews 12 vs. 2
“.... Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”
Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy of getting you and I saved.
If we take a quick look at ourselves and the people around us, we’ll realise that consciously or unconsciously we operate with this principle:
“We give up when the cost of achieving our purpose is greater than the benefit”
For everything you do, if the above is true, then permit me to say...."stop".... “think twice”... is it worth pursuing?
But as long as the purpose is more significant, folks, keep pushing on.
The problem however is how do we measure cost against benefit?
By good planning: Jesus said "if a man wants to build a house does he not first count the cost?" Good planning gives you a rough idea of what will be required. Luke 14 vs. 28
Make it Plain: clearity of purpose can be the difference between failure and success. If your purpose is clear, help from others can be easily rendered.
Check your resources: Good knowledge of what you have gives you a factual assessment of where you stand in relation to your purpose. This coupled with the cost will enable you to either stop or know the additional resuorces required to fulfil your purpose.
However, there are other reasons why we don’t chase or why we give up on our dreams, aspirations and purpose.
Because we don’t have any: Surprisingly, vast majority of people don’t know what they want or what they’ll like to achieve be it in the short term (such as today) or long term (say 10 years).
Obstacles to be faced: Obstacles are part of everyday life. In fact the wind would have had an easy journey if you were not standing in its way. Likewise, there is really no straight road in life, be it the M25 or the M6 and no automation can take a car through the Spaghetti junction, the red lights, observe other cars and drive at the required speed limits and look out for pedestrians. Driving skills are required.
"Obstacles help identify purpose owners because it requires some form of mastery or expertise"
Benefits of having purpose
Criticism: Fighting against negative criticism is a battle that can be won with a strong sense of purpose.
Purpose takes you beyond opposition: Mark 2 vs. 1-4 talks about the friends that opened a hole in the roof to let their paralysed friend get an encounter with Jesus.
Purpose takes care of distractions and increases our commitment.
Ultimately, why you are fighting must be known, less you risk loosing the battle or giving up prematurely.
Finally, God's purpose for our lives even takes a different turn
God’s purpose is always bigger than us and we can't phantom what effects it will have on generations to come. Hence, a cost-benefit analysis is not possible......
but knows this "If it is God's, then it is worth fighting for.
If it is God's purpose, expect a big battle.... If it is God's purpose... Victory is yours to take.
NEXT WEEK: INTEGRITY
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