Purpose/Destiny I

Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Purpose - the reason for which something exists or for which it has been done or made.

Destiny - the apparently predetermined and inevitable series of events that happen to somebody or something

Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.

Fulfilling your true destiny starts with discovering your true identity. Most of us live our entire lives as strangers to ourselves. We know more about others than we know about ourselves. Our true identities get buried beneath the mistakes we’ve made, the insecurities we’ve acquired, and the lies we’ve believed. We’re held captive by others’ expectations.

We’re uncomfortable in our own skin. And we spend far too much emotional, relational, and spiritual energy trying to be who we’re not.

Why? Because it’s easier. And we think it’s safer. But trying to be who we’re not amounts to forfeiting our spiritual birthrights. 2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having

escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

As long as you are breathing, God hasn’t given up on you yet. So don’t give up on yourself. Let this promise soak into your spirit it’s never too late to be who you might have been. Who are you and who are you supposed to be?

Self-discovery is a lot like an archaeological dig. It takes a long time to uncover the hidden treasures that lie buried beneath the surface. You can never be certain of what you will find or where you will find it. And it is a painstaking process. But the failure to dig deep will result in a superficial life.

It’s hard to truly get to know others if you don’t even know yourself. If you haven’t discovered your unique gifts and passions, how can you find fulfillment in what you do? You might make a living, but you won’t make a life. You’ll never experience the joy of doing what you love and loving what you do. And, finally, it’s the spiritual side effects of superficiality that are the most detrimental. Superficiality is a form of hypocrisy. If you fail to discover the truth, the whole truth, about yourself, aren’t you lying to yourself? Your life becomes a partial truth.

Instead of narrating our own lines in the first person, we live second-person lives by allowing others to narrate our lives for us. And that is hypocrisy at its worst. Our lives become lies. We not only cheat ourselves and others when we fail to discover our God-given identities and God-ordained destinies, but we also cheat God Himself. Greenfield wrote: Life inside the image … requires continuous care, feeding, and, above all, protection. That is the worst of it

We are, most of us, much of the time, in disguise. We present ourselves as we think we are meant to be.

And the primary reason we live as strangers to ourselves is because we’re afraid of what we’ll find if we start digging. We don’t really want to see ourselves for who we are. But if we can dig deeper than our fallen natures, we’ll find the truth that lies buried beneath our sin: the image of God. We’ll find our true identities. And our true destinies as well.

Time may be measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments. And some moments are larger than life. And it’s those defining moments that dictate the way we see life. Some of them are as predictable as a wedding day or the birth of a child. Others are as unpredictable as an accident. You never know which moment might become a defining moment, but identifying those moments is the key to identifying who you are.