Our Plan vs. God’s Purpose
Last month we heard a great message from Bill Hackworth about staying in the story, how his bout with cancer was difficult but he stayed in God’s story and is a witness to the Grace and Mercy that God gives to us freely, and all we have to do is trust in his Love and Truth’s
So I want to piggyback off of that message a little and talk about God’s purpose for each of us versus our plan or lack of plan.
Screwdriver
Have you ever gone to change batteries in a remote or in one of your child’s toys, only to find out that you need a screwdriver for the task, so you grab a butter knife or some other utensil out of the closet drawer and you twist and pry on the screws and get the batteries replaced, in the process how many times did that butter knife slip and fail to make connections with the screw properly? Although you can get the batteries changed the butter knife is much more suited for spreading butter as opposed to using it as a screwdriver.
Like the butter knife turned into a screwdriver, many of us are doing some things in life that we were not designed to do. We are able to do them and complete certain tasks, but those are not what God specifically designed and created us to do.
85%
85% of what we do can be done by others, i.e., watching tv, driving a car, mowing the yard, etc, 10% of what we do can be done by others with a limited status because you have the skills and training, i.e., like building a house, farming, being a lineman, mechanic and so on. But 5% of what we do can only be done by you. Here are some examples that we can relate to, Husbands, only you can be a husband to your wife, and only you can be a father to your children, but what about the lesser-known skills that maybe you don’t even know you have?
Many people try to fulfill their happiness by being like someone else, but in reality, the happiest people are those who have discovered what their special talent is and have deployed a plan to develop that talent and gift. These lesser-known skills that I am speaking to are the things that God has given us to fulfill our purpose here on earth.
Encounter testimony
Seven years ago I attended my first Encounter, before going to this Encounter I had not attended a Church service for 25 years. I did not have a relationship with God, I was a broken man, in many ways, but I was also a desperate man, you see my life was on the verge of culminating all of the sins that I had lived in the past years, I knew I needed a change, a way out, help to get out of the prison walls that I had built, and I found Jesus Christ during that Encounter. So needless for me to say, the Men’s Encounter, this Saturday every month, my Church family, and all of you are very important to me.
Faces I can look at the faces I see in front of me this morning and know that all of you have been through the same stories that I tell, these faces have experienced life at their lowest point individually, and collectively as men, we unite in our Savior to help each other out of that darkness.
Much to learn
There was much that I learned about myself at that Encounter, much more that I had to learn, and there were many takeaways for me to build upon. One takeaway that has remained with me and I believe is the purpose that God has in store for me, is ministering to men. While at Encounter for the first time, I witnessed 35 men/servers sharing their stories with me, stories that are all similar in many ways, really the only thing that changes is the faces and names, the stories all start with a sin that held them captive for years, and then through the mercy and grace of our Lord and savior they found freedom, now these men were there to serve me, a broken man that they did not know, a man that was crying out to them in the wilderness, a man looking for the salvation that only Jesus Christ can offer and these men led me to learn about this good news.
Work to do.
After leaving that Encounter, I knew that I had work to do, so I got involved with the Encounter process and started serving, and eventually led a couple of Encounters, currently I lead a small group bible study for Men, and serve on the board of overseers at my church, I only tell you this because if you knew me before Encounter, you would know that this is unchartered territory for me, never would I have been up here speaking to you about this subject, I might have been talking about the proper way to chug a beer, or speaking to you about a lustful subject or any other number of things that come to mind.
You see this is part of that 5% that I spoke to you about earlier, things that quite possibly we are not aware of about ourselves that will help to fulfill God’s purpose.
Holy Spirit
After starting my relationship with Jesus, and learning about the power of the Holy Spirit, I became aware of certain things about my past, things that were revealed to me about certain situations that truly were the hand of God, situations that He put me in to prepare me for this part of my life, you see God has a unique and individual purpose for each one of us, many of you here I am sure are aware of what yours is and you work to fulfill that purpose. There are others here who quite possibly are new to their walk and need help understanding this process.
Joe and Scott
Joe and Scott are an example of this, I know for a fact that neither one of them would have ever dreamed that they would be hosting a bunch of rednecks the first Saturday every month to enjoy fellowship and share the good news of Jesus Christ, their story is my story, and your story, the story that Bill alluded to last month in his message.
You see for a couple of years after Encounter. I worked to understand what my purpose was, but I feel that this was a time when God was preparing me, and then I attended another Encounter as an attendee again and after that Encounter I received a direct message of what God’s desire was for me.
Here I am going to ask you to stretch your imagination.
Let’s take a look at the beginning
Genesis 1:1-2 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Here we see just how challenging it is for us to wrap our minds around living in God’s story, how great and vast God is, and we might say to ourselves, “I am just a speck of sand in the vast quantity of sands.” But that is exactly the answer. I want you to think about all of the uses of one grain of sand, how it works in unity with all of the other grains of sand, and then how it works in unity with its surroundings to fulfill its purpose. One speck of sand is part of a vast array of beautiful beaches around the world, a small particle in the vastness of all the desserts in the world, and it is an important part of the concrete mixture that creates many foundations for the homes we live in and the buildings we work in, and the highways that we drive on. Think of all of the applications for the use of sand and how it works in unison with all other materials and applications.
Now let’s take a look at Genesis 1:26 “Then God said. “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” God’s original intent was within itself intentional, our purpose in life as God created man, is to glorify God and enjoy fellowship with Him, have good relationships with others, work, and have dominion over the earth. But with man’s fall into sin, fellowship with God is broken, relationships with others are strained, work always seems to be frustrating and we struggle to maintain any semblance of dominion over nature.
So now comes the question, what is my purpose in that greater plan, let’s
take a look at Ephesians 1:4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love.”
Here we see that we were chosen before the creation of the world that we looked at in Genesis 1 verses 1 and 2, we were chosen to be a part of God’s plan, all along, we were put on this earth to fulfill a purpose within that plan.
Now let’s look at Acts 20:24 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Here in these words, the Apostle Paul is telling us that to stay in this story, we must complete the task that has been given to us, and that the Good News of Jesus Christ is directing our path, what we put into life is far more important than what we get out of life on earth.
And in Colossians 3:23-24 Paul writes “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Here we see that it does not matter what we are doing we are to do it with joy and pleasing to the Lord, the task at hand may be something that we may deem dull and less desirable, but keep in mind, that God may have placed you in that position for training for future work that he desires from you.
So we have looked at scripture this morning that points to the greatness and vastness of God, how we were made in that image, how we were chosen before creation, how our life would be without the fulfillment of having a relationship with God, and how every task that we do we should do with joy and compassion for the Lord.
So now let's look at some pointers to help clarify this a little.
First The only way that you can fulfill these purposes is to restore your fellowship with God. We must have a relationship with God to be able to understand what he desires us to do. Next, we must ask ourselves 3 questions, 1) What are you designed to do? 2) What do you desire to do? 3) What do you have a unique ability to do? Most people when they ask these three questions in conjunction with God’s purpose, they proceed without an answer. The three components or questions you need to address are: What is my design? What is my desire? What is my distinction?
Design What we believe about who we are has a massive impact on how our purpose is lived out. Stop and ask yourself what makes me, me? When you meet someone how do you introduce and describe yourself? Our identity is very important to the heart of God. So much so, that he fills the Bible with stores that affirm our identity in Christ. When we lose sight of Jesus, we can enter into an identity crisis. But when we renew our minds with the truth of God’s Word, we can restore our understanding of who we are in Christ.
Psalm 139:13-16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. “
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
This is what makes the Bible so beautiful-God is constantly speaking over his people: You are mine, You belong to me, Your life has meaning: Declaring this true identity, instead of the false identities of sin and shame, is a choice we have to make every day. When we stand tall in our God-given identity, our purpose is ignited.
2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
Here we see that God has given us everything we need to live a Godly life, and in that life, we are called to be part of His purpose.
Desire One of the best parts of our purpose is that it is unique to us. God is not looking for you or me to become carbon copies of the people around us. We can find hints of our purpose in the things that we do that come naturally to us, or in the gifts or activities that we already desire and find joy in. What do people affirm in you? Maybe you are often told how encouraging you can be, what an amazing host you are, or how inspiring your parenting, leadership, or friendship is. This can be fine-tuned further to include specific gifts like writing, organizing, teaching, or generosity. Way too often we are looking for some big sign in the sky to tell us we are on the correct path, all while we are missing the purpose-filled moments. Many times, we discover and encounter our God-given purpose in everyday moments. God will most often use humble beginnings like those as steps toward our purpose. Then our purpose will blossom over time as God grows and expands our skills, our experiences, and who we are. Remember that God created you on purpose and for a purpose. It’s not too late and there is no beginning too small, there is nothing random or mistaken about your giftings, your passions, and the people in your life. There is a plan that only you can complete.
Distinction One of the biggest stumbling blocks in realizing God’s intended purpose for our lives is when we feel that our purpose has been put on hold. In our culture that values instant gratification, we can easily forget that development in the Kingdom of God does not run on our timeline. It's often a much more gradual process than we would like.
Consider David, one of the most famous kings in the Bible. David was anointed as king by the prophet Samuel as a teenager, but it would be many years until he took the throne as King of Israel. First Samuel 16 one to 13 and Second Samuel 5 one to four. David was developed, not discovered.
This can be true for us too. We may have sensed God calling us in a certain direction or speaking purpose over our lives. Only to return to work as usual. This does not mean you have missed your purpose. It means God wants to do some work in you so He can do a mighty work through you.
Never forget that God develops the character we need to fulfill our purpose over time. Growth and maturity are not instant. Our role is not to try to climb the proverbial ladder of success in our own strength so that we can fulfill our purpose. Our role is to trust God's process and timing and to be faithful to what He puts in front of us each day. We never know how He is using the little things to develop and prepare us for bigger things.
Well we learned from an earlier Scripture in Ephesians 1:4 that we were chosen, and we know from 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is God-breathed, so within this short lesson we have to determine ourselves to have a purpose that was given to us by God, at creation, and what does it require for us to find what that purpose is and how to fulfill it.
1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Romans 12:6-8 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Many more gifts as Christians these are just a few that are mentioned in these verses
S.H.A.P.E. Test Spiritual Gifts Heart Abilities Personality Experience
The only way that you can fulfill these purposes we have discussed is to remain obedient or restore your fellowship with God.