THE JOURNEY - PART EIGHT

REVIEW

The Journey

Know God

Find Freedom

Discover Purpose

Make a Difference

Finding and fully understanding your purpose is essential to walking with God. One day, we will all stand before the Christ and give an account of our lives. We all hope to hear “well done, thou good and faithful servant” as Jesus said in the parable of the servants in Matthew 25:21.

“Well done”, not “well thought.”

I’m going to make a statement that seems like common sense, but it isn’t that common in the faith community.

If you want to hear “well done”, you’d better know what you’re supposed to do.

I believe that much of the fruitless, off mission activities, and overall lack of respect for the church of Jesus Christ isn’t because of message of the Gospel; it’s because of a lack of purpose in the lives of believers.

When we pray for revival, we are in fact, praying for a return to original purpose.

Habakkuk 3:2 (NKJV)

2 O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PURPOSE

Taken from the book “In Pursuit of Purpose, Dr. Myles Munroe

PRINCIPLE #1—GOD IS A GOD OF PURPOSE.

Every creator or manufacturer begins with purpose. The person first establishes the intent before beginning the process of production. God is the source of purpose. Nature is filled with evidence that He determines the purpose for a thing before He creates it. In other words, God never made anything for the fun of it. He never created something just to see if He could make it. Before the creative act ever takes place, God has in His mind the why and the how of what He decides to make.

It was His purpose that generated all He created and forever established the intent for everything that exists.

PRINCIPLE #2—EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAS A PURPOSE.

Because God is a God of purpose and He created everything, then everything in life has a purpose.

Just because we don’t understand a thing’s purpose doesn’t mean that it is purposeless.

PRINCIPLE #3—NOT EVERY PURPOSE IS KNOWN.

Our world is plagued by the desire to have more and more and more. But having something is not really the most important thing. Knowing the reason for what you have is much more important. There are times, however, when the why is not known. This doesn’t mean that the thing, event, or person doesn’t have a purpose; its purpose just isn’t known.

Unknown purpose always wastes time and gives the possibility of danger.

PRINCIPLE #4—WHEREVER PURPOSE IS NOT KNOWN, ABUSE IS INEVITABLE.

Abuse occurs whenever we don’t use something according to its creator’s intentions. Abuse occurs whenever we don’t use something. In other words, if you don’t know the purpose for something (or you choose to ignore that purpose), you can’t do anything other than abuse it. No matter how good your intentions may be, they are canceled by your ignorance. You may be sincere and committed to your husband, your child, or your boss, but your sincerity and commitment cannot make up for your lack of knowledge of their purpose. Abuse remains inevitable, and you put them in danger.

PRINCIPLE #5—IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE PURPOSE OF A THING, NEVER ASK THE THING.

Have you ever asked a microphone or a chair or a plant why it exists? Of course not, because those things can’t possibly tell you what you want to know.

Therefore, if you want to know the purpose of a thing, including yourself, you must discover who created it and submit to his or her knowledge. Only God knows the purpose for your life.

PRINCIPLE #6—PURPOSE IS ONLY FOUND IN THE MIND OF THE CREATOR.

A created thing doesn’t not inherently know what was in the

mind of the creator, though they certainly know that they were meant to have purpose. .

PRINCIPLE #7—PURPOSE IS THE KEY TO FULFILLMENT.

We have confused success with fulfillment,

accomplishment with satisfaction,

and achievement with peace.

God wants us to know His plans and purposes for our lives because He knows that apart from them we cannot know hope, peace, and joy. In all things, purpose is the key to fulfillment because it establishes the foundation on which all life must be built.

When you know your God-given purpose, you are not subject to the opinions and purposes of others.