7 Steps to Achieving God’s Purpose and Destiny For Your Life
Part 1: Knowing God’s Purpose and Destiny
The brain functions similar to electricity. The brain is a physical mass. Scientists tell us that the brain is made up of neutrons and electrons; neutrons have a positive charge, while electrons have a negative charge. When these move relative to one another they form electric discharges, much like sparks: these discharges make up what they call the thought process of a man! When we talk about knowledge most people immediately think of the brain.
The most efficient pump is the heart. The heart is a physical mass, the size of a fist, whose responsibility is to circulate blood through the system. Yet, when we refer to love, we immediately think about the heart.
The physical heart pumps blood; the spiritual heart is the seat of emotion.
The physical brain controls the Central Nervous System; the spiritual brain, or the mind is the seat of knowledge.
The mind is not the same as the brain.
- The brain is physical, hence has physical attributes. It is made up of matter - has mass and occupies space! The mind does not have mass, neither does it occupy space. You cannot touch it, you cannot see it!
- The mind can be treated as an abstraction, i.e. it is neither here nor there. But it is not an abstraction.
o The mind is the seat of knowledge
o The mind is the spring board from which you can rise to excellence
o The mind is the origin of your thoughts, Philippians 4:8“Whatever things are true, … honest, … just, …pure, … lovely, … of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things”,
The foundation of the 7-stage process to achieving God’s purpose and destiny for your life is SALVATION. Without salvation there is nothing to build upon; without entering into a relationship there is no basis for wanting to achieve God’s purpose and destiny for your life.
Ephesians 2:12, “For at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in this world!”
If salvation is so primary,
1. How can you determine that you have been saved?
o Holy Spirit conviction. Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” If you are the child of God, you will know. If you have been born again you will know.
2. How can you determine that you are yet to be saved?
o The lie detector! If you speak a lie and you consistently speak a lie, you are not yet saved.
o If you live a lie and you are not interested in changing that manner of life, you are not yet saved.
o Satan is called a liar and the father of liars.
o Revelation 21:8, “… and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”
o Revelations 21:27, “Nothing impure will enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful (lies)…” (NIV)
The thing about lying is that you can very easily decide today and say to yourself, “I want to stop telling lies” or “I want to stop living a lie”. It is at this point that you can ask God for help by committing your life into His hands. There are many who strongly desire to live a life approved by God but cannot. The problem is that these ones continue to depend on themselves and their strength. If instead you cry out to God, God will help!
Romans 7:22 -24, Apostle Paul’s cry for help. “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (NIV)
I mentioned the issue of lying because lying is so commonplace and so prevalent, sometimes even before you know it you have lied! Yet just as it is so easy to lie, daily we sin, and daily we need to go back to God for help!
After the foundation has been laid, knowing the purpose and destiny of God for your life becomes simpler than most people think. That purpose and destiny can be summarized in one verse of the Word of God.
3 John 2, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well”. (NIV)
When we talk about prosperity and health, 2 things immediately come to mind, money and physical health.
Money is good. “…Money is a defense…” Ecclesiastes 7:12
Health is God’s will for you. “He sent His Word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions”, Ps. 107:20
But 3 John 2 goes beyond money and health. 3 John 2 talks about God’s desire to make you a complete individual.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV)
As an example to how an individual can get to know God’s purpose and destiny for his life and how that knowledge can affect that individual, we will look at Jesus’ dealings with Zacchaeus.
Luke 19:2 – 4 Read
Zacchaeus, a publican
- Hated- a tax collector
- Known as a sinner, Matthew 9:10, 11:19, 18:18, 21:31, Luke 2:15, 2:16, 5:30, 15:1
- Publicans were sinners and they knew it. No cover up unlike the Pharisees.
o Pharisees were scholars of the Scriptures (Old Testament) who had head knowledge of what God says but do not live it.
o Pharisees were self righteous, Luke 18:11
o Pharisees were “white washed graves”
Zacchaeus was a publican yet
- He sought to see Jesus, who He was, implying he desired to know Jesus.
- In spite of who he was, he desired to know the purpose and destiny of God for his life.
- He desired to know the solution to sin and troubles.
Apart from the singular act of being a publican, Zacchaeus had so many pressures working against him.
- He had other publicans friends – peer pressure
- Zacchaeus was chief among publicans – positional pressure
- Zacchaeus was rich (most likely by collecting more taxes than he should) – possessional pressure (money, children)
- Zacchaeus was short – physical pressure (“I cannot…” syndrome)
- Zacchaeus was pressed by the crowd – purposeless pressure (a crowd has no purpose. Going no where and hindering those desiring to go somewhere)
What did Zacchaeus do to overcome this great weight of pressures?
Luke 19:4, “And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way”
1. He sought information of where Jesus was to pass.
2. He ran ahead of the crowd. He made up his mind not to conform.
3. He climbed the sycamore tree.
a. He made himself of no reputation
b. He went the extra mile
How did Jesus respond?
1. Jesus saw that man’s heart. He does not look at the stature.
2. Jesus looked up at him. Jesus will always meet you where you are.
3. Jesus told him to come. He says come as you are and I will make you what I want you to be.
4. Jesus supped in his house. Jesus came into his house. The Son of God came into the house. Salvation came into his house. The power of God came into his house. The glory of God came into his house.
What prompted this divine visitation?
Luke 19:3, “And he sought to see Jesus who He was…” Zacchaeus desired to know more about Jesus! Zacchaeus desired to know of God’s purpose and destiny for his life.
1. Knowing God’s purpose and destiny for your life is knowing that you can have a relationship with God. Everybody calls Him God. Even the devil knows Him as God. But when you know Him and you know His relationship with you will call Him your Friend.
- A Friend who is there when you are lonely, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”
- A Friend who will defend you in time of trouble, “When you pass through the fire it will not …”
- A Friend that is trustworthy and who will guide you in the right path. There are some friends who know the way to success, rather than show you the way they will want to have you continually dependent on them. This Friend in Jesus will lead you to the fish and then teach you how to catch them.
2. Knowing God’s purpose and destiny for your life is knowing Jesus as your father. All you need to do is listen to the news and you will see how some fathers are abusing the children in their care. This father does not abuse, rather He protects and provides.
3. Knowing God’s purpose and destiny for your life is knowing Jesus as your mother. Some mother abandons their children, some at birth some along the line for other men, or for their profession. They neglect their children and refuse to give them the love and attention they need, when they need this love and attention. Jesus as a mother will only not abandon all those who come to Him; He will also nurse and nurture you through the weakest moments of your life. I remember the caption “Footprints in the Sand” … the most trying periods of my … when I have needed You most … Is when I (the Lord) carried you (Mary Stevenson)
The question now is simple: How do you now acquire this knowledge of God’s purpose and destiny for my life?
- By studying His Word
o Alone
o In a group
The more you read the Word of God, the more you learn about God; the more you learn about God, the more God reveals Himself to you; the more God reveals Himself to you the more you will realize what His purpose and destiny for you. There is no short cut to it.
