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(Set Midi)

'A Higher Purpose' (, )

In Almighty God was confirming His law that He had given to Israel in the previous 3 chapters

'His law to His people' was in the form of a Covenant

The Covenant was a 'Sacred Relationship' that was established by God

Almighty God was their Saviour - He was their God and Israel were His people

(And Here) - Moses was being called by God to 'Come up to Him'

1. It was a call for Moses to come up to the place of Divine Presence & Provision

2.

(Praise God)

It was a call for him to come up to the place of Divine Ministry, Mediation, Revelation & Instruction

3. It was a call for Moses to come up to a Higher Purpose for his life

Back in Exodus chapter 3; God had called Moses from within a burning bush to lead

the Nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage

In Chapter 4; We find Moses making all sorts of excuses & complaining to God as to why

he couldn't do or didn't want to do what God was asking him to do -

And despite the miraculous interventions of Almighty God

His staff being turned into a snake - His hand being afflicted with Leprosy - And the promise from God that if he poured water from the River Nile onto the dry ground it would be turned into blood

(Yet; Despite all of this & Despite God's promise to help him to speak & to teach him what to say)

…Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

(Moses felt that he wasn't the right man for the job - Perhaps his faith in God and God's ability was weak - I don't know)

But we do know that despite those anxieties & those failings of 'Moses the Natural Man'

Moses went on to be a great spiritual man of God

(You See) Almighty God had a 'Divine Purpose' for Moses that transcended his natural ability, his failings,

his history & his negativity

📷

(You know); The present reality of this world has been shaped in part by going beyond & looking

higher than the natural boundaries & negativities of man

The chairman of IBM Thomas Watson said in 1943 - "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

Ken Olson, the president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977 said;

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

It was said of the telephone in 1876.

"This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.

The device is inherently of no value to us.

Of the Radio in 1920 it was said that - "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value"

H.M. Warner of the Warner Brothers film makers, 1927 said; "Who the heck wants to hear actors talk?"

Decca Recording Co. rejected the Beatles in 1962 saying; -"We don’t like their sound, & guitar music is on the way out."

In 1895 Lord Kelvin the British born physicist & engineer once said that "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."

And in Nathanael sarcastically asks Phillip about Jesus

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (“Come and see,” said Philip.)

And in these words of Philip we find great purpose & wisdom - (Come & See)

§ Don't just stay where your are - (Come & See)

§

The Psalmist puts it like this:

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

Don't keep doing those same old things & forming those same old opinions - (Come & See)

§ ��Don't keep listening to other people - (Come & See for yourself)

Our lives are so important - They are full of so much Value & Potential & Significance

And I wonder what you think about yourself & about your life today

I wonder what people have said about you in the past

Or what they might be saying about you now

(But more importantly) I wonder what your God thinks about you when He looks at your life and the choices that you make & the lifestyle that you live

I want you to realize today that there is a 'Divine Purpose & Call' upon your life

God is calling you to 'Come up to Him'

There is a 'Higher Purpose' for your life

(Read with me: )

Do you know what was going on here

God was calling those men to a 'Higher Purpose'

(In the same way)

ü Noah was called to a higher purpose

ü Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph were called to a higher purpose

ü Moses & Joshua & Gideon were called to a higher purpose

ü The Levitical Priesthood was called to a higher purpose

ü Saul & David & Samuel & Solomon were called to a higher purpose

ü Isaiah & Jeremiah & Ezekiel & Daniel & Jonah & Ezra & Nehemiah & Job & Esther

and Deborah they were all called to a higher purpose

ü God's chosen people Israel were called to a higher purpose

And the disciples of the N.T. (Which includes those of us who are in Christ)

Are also called to that 'Higher Purpose' of living & of service In the Kingdom of the living God

(You See) - The moment that you gave your heart to Jesus - The moment that you became 'Born from Above'

Was the very moment that things changed for you - You are not the same anymore

The condition & the state of your soul has changed -You have become part of a new family

You belong to the 'Body of Christ' which is the Church - Your life has come under a New Covenant Law

You have new responsibilities & commitments - You have a new calling and a new higher purpose for your life

And Almighty God in Christ Jesus through His Spirit has given you the freedom to embrace and live this new life

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging

to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into

his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God's people with a Godly purpose - A purpose of good works that God has chosen for His people

Almighty God has so much more for everyone of us

§ We are not born into this world just to carry on our father’s deeds

§ We are not born into this world to continue in the generational mindset that seeks to subdue the 'Will of God' for our lives

We have a higher purpose - We have A Higher calling - We belong to a Higher Heavenly Kingdom We have a glorious Eternal Destiny with a powerful present reality of Divine Purpose

1. There is Royal Blood flowing through our spiritual veins

2. There is the heart of God beating at the core of our souls

3. There is the Word of God that is nourishing & developing our lives

4. There is the Spirit of God empowering us & releasing us into the spiritual arenas of Divine Purpose

There is a reason that we were born into this world

God has called us 'Up to Him' - God has called us to a 'Higher Level of Life'

God has ordained us unto 'His Will' & 'His Reason' for our very existence

Ø God will give to us the provision for the vision that He presents before our lives

Ø He will give to us the Divine Capability for our calling

Ø He will give to us the Divine Energy to enable us to engage in Godly endeavors

Ø He will give to us the Divine Authority to advance and the Power of His Might to move us

Into the realms of the miraculous

(With God) - (I can't do it becomes I can do it) - (The impossible becomes possible) - (The mundane becomes the miraculous) (The weak becomes the wondrous) and (The despair becomes the deliverance)

Your God has called you 'Up to Him'

Yes; We have all come from different backgrounds - (We are not all the same)

(But our purpose is the same) – To let our lives become that which God has ordained them to be

ü Our will today is to allow 'His Will' to be done in us

ü Our will today is to enter into the riches of His perfect design for our lives

(You Know) One of the saddest things to me; 'Is a life that has not yet found its purpose in God'

A life that is full of potential; 'Yet has never found out what it is that God would have them to do'

It is sad to me to see someone like Peter going back to fishing in his father’s boat after

Christ was crucified. - Going back to those same old natural boundaries & abilities & mindsets

But Thank God for His abundance of Love & Grace towards Peter

For He called Peter & changed a dejected man who was throwing the net into the sea to catch fish

Into an Apostle who would just days later be throwing the net of the Gospel into the sea of humanity -

Jesus Christ our Saviour is calling us 'Up to Him' this morning

Will you come up to me is His call - Will you come to the place of provision & revelation

Will you come & embrace the 'Higher Calling' that I have for your life

Will you allow me to take your life to a 'Higher Place of Purpose & of Meaning'

As we look into Biblical History we are strengthened by the multitude of ordinary people who appear to have no talent or purpose for their lives

But after hearing the voice of the living God in their Life & responding to it

They become something amazing for God

1. It’s the young shepherd boy David tending his father’s sheep

2. It’s the young Joseph telling his brothers about a dream that he had just had

3. It's Mordecai saying to Esther “..you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?”

4. It's Jesus telling Peter, "I’m going to make you a fisher of Men"

5. It's Jesus telling Paul (get up and) go into the city, and you will be told what you must do"

Sometimes we wonder why everything seems to be going wrong in our lives

Sometimes we wonder why it just seems like our lives are going nowhere fast

v Could it be that we are spending our energy fighting against the very thing that God is calling us up to do

v Could it be that we are running or hiding from 'Our God Ordained Destiny'

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Here is what I believe

& know to be true

§ Each & every one of you here today has 'A Divine Purpose' to be fulfilled

§ Each & every one of you here today has 'A Valuable Reason' for your existence

§ Each & every one of you here today has 'The Call of God' upon your life

Not one of you here today is an accident

Not one of you here in this church is without purpose

The Bible teaches us that Almighty God knew us:

'Even while we were in our mother's womb'

ü So don’t think for one moment that God is not concerned about you

ü Don’t think for an instant that God doesn’t know where your heart is this morning

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there

your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

(You Know) You cannot be in such a situation this morning that your God cannot find you

Or to think that your God is not concerned about you

Or to think that your God is not able to pick you back up

That's why I hear the Lord so clearly saying to you "Come up to me"

It’s not to the left or to the right - It’s not to the North or to the South

The only direction that you can go to find God is UP

And you only go up by bowing down to your Creator Saviour God

Let us all stand together in the presence of Almighty God

Music on

Jesus is saying to you

“look up, and lift up your head; for your redemption is drawing near”

ü For you - Up might mean a time of repentance - Getting yourself right with your God

ü 'Up' might mean being filled with the Holy Spirit of God

ü 'Up' might mean making a deeper commitment to your God

ü 'Up' might mean that you have to walk away from something that

you know is keeping you away from God's Will for your life

'Going Up' signified to Moses

That he was Separating Himself from the carnality of the common people

While the people were making gods of silver & brass at the bottom of the mountain

Moses was up on the mountain top seeking the face of the One True Living God

There’s a reason why you are here today @ Life Change Community Church

There’s a reason why you have found yourself in this place today

§ There is something in you that is: Searching for an explanation for your life

§ There is something in you that is yearning: To find your identity in the Kingdom of God

§

(Praise God)

There is something in you that is reaching for its Purpose in God

It’s the soul within you crying out, "Lord, help me find my direction in You."

ü I wonder if you are wanting to 'Come Up Higher' in God today

ü I wonder if you are ready to move away from the ordinary & 'Move into the Extraordinary'

ü I wonder if you would be willing to make a commitment to go 'Higher in God' today

Right where you are standing – Just lift up your hands to God

Let’s find our place in God this day

Let’s find our Divine Purpose as we rise up by faith before our God

Let's begin to move deeper into the 'Will of God' for our lives

Let's begin to truly understand our identity in the Kingdom of God

And let us make that commitment to the New Covenant

That God has made with us: through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour