Living on Purpose

It is a new year. For many a time of resolution and commitment to do better, be better or at least be different. The prospect of a new year fills some with hope, some with dread and yet others with a sense of the unknown.

I am not a fan of New Year resolutions, at least for me. It seems that I am just setting myself up for failure –if history is anything to go by! On the other hand it is an opportunity to recommit to those things that are of value and to reflect on how the last year has gone. I am mindful at this time of the words of John Lennon in a song to his son, Sean: ‘Life is just what happens to you when you are busy making other plans’. For many of us it seems that we get so busy planning our future that we forget how to live. Of course the opposite is also true, we can get so busy with dealing with the everyday issues of life that we forget to plan! Another year ends and all the good intentions, ideas and aspirations seems to have fallen by the wayside.

If we want to achieve those goals, we need to be intentional about how we live, in short we need to live on purpose. What is the purpose that we commit ourselves to? The Westminster Shorter Catechism suggests that the chief end of man (and I am sure this can be extended to women also!) is to ‘Glorify God and enjoy him forever’. And while this is a good statement it is a little short on detail and doesn’t speak much to the context of our lives.

Each of us have or have had ideas and visions for the future. Sometimes the circumstances of life have given them a bit of a battering and we struggle to see how they can ever be reached, but they can be. There does need to be some reflection, some taking of stock and maybe some re-aligning of priorities but the good news is God’s plans for you are for success!

The prophet Habakkuk said that he would put himself in the right place and then watch and wait until he heard what God would say. God in reply said that when he heard the message he was to write it down, because even though it seemed a long time in coming, it would happen and it would not fail (Hab. 2:1-3). Many of us have had a dream, or a vision of what could be, and yet nothing has happened. After a while our enthusiasm dampens and the normal activity of life has taken over. Sometimes we have just given up and decided to do something different. Now is the time to rediscover those dreams. The writer of Proverbs said that without a vision, people are undisciplined or even run wild. When we have no vision to guide us, we have no purpose to guide the decisions we make and the behaviour we exhibit.

The champion athlete who has a vision of an Olympic Gold medal makes sure that all of her behaviour contributes to her goal. It will affect her eating, her recreation, her spending, and her social activities and so on. The Academic in pursuit of higher honours will likewise subject every area of his life to achieving his dream. The mother who wants to build the home of her dreams will plan and budget her time and resources to seeing that vision fulfilled. Whatever the dream or vision that God has planted in your life, if you want to see it become reality, you will need to live with purpose.

As you start a new year, ask God to reveal to you those dreams and visions that were yours but have somehow become lost in the daily grind. Don’t accept the lie that they were just fanciful imaginations, but live in the expectation that they will become your reality. If you have not yet had that dream or vision, then put yourself in a place where you can hear from God. Remove yourself from distraction, adopt an attitude of expectancy and listen! God will speak and when he does, write it down, share it with others and plan to make it happen. Make 2014 a year of living on purpose!

Nevertheless...

Things were looking bad for the nation. The countries to its north had progressively been invaded and taken over, and now it was in the sights of this militaristic power. The people’s failed attempts at appeasement had only turned others against them and on top of that they were struggling with dissent from within, threat from without and the daily struggles with poor harvests and oppression. The future was gloomy to the point of being black. Instead of joy and laughter the lives of the people were full of anguish and despair. They had lost hope and were afraid of what was to come.

In the midst of this most dismal set of circumstances a lone voice cried out ‘Even though it is your own foolishness and rebellion that has caused this situation, nevertheless it will not always be this way’. He went on to say that in fact the misery and anguish would be turned to gladness. In particular he identified four sources of this newfound joy: Their darkness would be turned to light, the gloominess of their future would be transformed into the clearest light. Their harvest would be bountiful, their poverty would be replaced by abundance, no more would they face the prospect of scrimping and saving but would have all their needs met. They would no longer be victims but conquerors. The history of defeat would be turned around – they would be returned to the winner’s side. Finally the chains of oppression that held them captive would be broken – they would be set free.

Understandably this news would bring some excitement and hope to the hearers, but what would cause this miraculous turnaround? What momentous event would change their dire circumstances to joy and expectation? The speaker replied ‘A baby will be born!’ Seriously – the birth of a baby will change all this? That seems highly unlikely. What is so significant about this baby that the world as we know it will change?

This was no ordinary baby – this is the Christ, God himself coming to live amongst us. Immanuel – God with us. The lone voice in this story was the prophet Isaiah and he was speaking to a people chosen by God but who were now under threat from Assyria. He was calling them to believe that a deliverer would come and rescue them from their plight – a Messiah, the Christ. By faith the people believed that which was dark would become light, that poverty would become abundance, defeat would become victory and captivity would be replaced by victory. It was some time off but it would happen.

Christmas is the time we remember that event, the coming of the Christ into the lives of men and women. What the people of Isaiah’s day looked forward to in faith, we look back on – likewise in faith. The Christ who was promised to the Jews as a future deliverer is given to us as the one who has delivered.

There are many whose prospect of the future is gloomy, who rather than enjoy abundance struggle with meeting the demands of everyday life. There are others for whom every day is a battle, a procession of skirmishes characterised more often by defeat then victory and who are bound by the chains of habits, circumstances or history. The Christmas message is one of deliverance, one of joy and celebration.  A baby has been born!

This baby, this child is a wonderful counselor, a mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. His peace will never end. He invites us to come and worship him because it is Christmas. He has come into our lives.

What about you? Is your future looking gloomy? Are you struggling to see a light ahead, do you walk in darkness? Jesus the Christ will change your darkness into light, he will guide your footsteps so that you will not stumble but will emerge into the light of his radiance. Has your harvest been poor, do you see failure when you look for success? Does the daily grind of making ends meet rob you of your joy? He is the great provider, he it is that assures us that we need be anxious for nothing but that his peace will keep us. Do you face daily battles? Are you feeling beaten and defeated and just worn out by the relentless nature of the warfare? Remember you are more than conquerors through him who loves you. Yes there is a battle, but it is being fought in the heavenly places where Christ rules. All you need to do is stand, for the battle is not yours but his. And do you feel that you are held captive by your past, or your weakness, or your sin? It is for freedom that you have been set free, if Christ shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.

How do we experience this? By faith. Belief that the one who came as a babe at the first Christmas is Christ the Lord and he comes to deliver you. The only reasonable response is to worship and to celebrate. Make Christmas a time of rejoicing for the hope that is in you. Let your hair down – laugh, sing, dance it is a time of rejoicing. You have been set free - act like you believe it!

A Vision for your Future

 After years in the wilderness the people of Israel were finally on the verge of entering their promised land. But just at the crucial time their leader, Moses, died.  In his place Joshua responded to God’s challenge and, with the people crossed into the Promised Land, ready to take possession of it. But they weren’t going to get it without faith and without a fight.

They needed to drive out their enemies. As Joshua camped near Jericho contemplating his plans and strategies he looked up and saw a man facing him with sword drawn. Joshua faced him and asked whose side he was on and in response the man told him that he was the Captain of the Lord’s army. Joshua fell on his face and asked, “What do you want me to do?” He was told to take of his shoes because he was standing on holy ground.

Why did this man appear to Joshua? Joshua was about to undertake a major challenge for God and he needed a vision that would be sufficient to prepare him for the task. He was about to embark on a military campaign – he needed to know that Lord’s army was with him. Like Joshua before we take on any mission for God, we too need a vision of him that is sufficient for the task.

In Isaiah 6, God revealed himself to Isaiah, In Ezekiel 1 and 8, to Ezekiel and in Revelation 1 and 4 to the apostle John. In each case the vision he gave to the prophet was appropriate to the task they were to perform. God has called us in to the land of promise, the land of service. He has given us a commission – go into the world make disciples, preach the word, set the captives free, feed the poor, heal the sick. But we cannot hope to accomplish this mission without a revelation of God.

We can plan, strategize and theorise, we may even see some success. We can adopt spiritual disciplines, pray, read, give, fellowship and serve. We can pump ourselves up with self-motivation, the 7 keys to success, the be-happy attitudes and the power of positive thinking. But without a vision of God, our successes won’t be sustained and we will find ourselves once again in the wilderness hopping from hilltop to hilltop scanning the horizon for some fresh motivation and blessing or reward for our labour.

The only way Joshua could face his enemies was for God to reveal himself to him. The only way Isaiah and Ezekiel could preach was to see God first, the only way John could prophecy was to have a vision of Jesus. Unfortunately for many of us our only experience of God is hearsay. We have heard of the revivals, God’s blessing and miracles. We may even have seen them – but they are always someone else’s. Job had this same experience. He was a righteous man and suffered because of his righteousness, yet his experience of God was based on hearsay – until God spoke out of the whirlwind (Job 38). After God revealed himself Job could say “Before I had heard about you but now I have seen you for myself” (Job 42:5). Is your knowledge of God based on hearsay, or have you seen him for yourself? Have you delighted in the testimony of others as you go from those hilltops to hilltops or have you had your own revelation of him?

When Joshua saw the Captain of the Lord’s army he fell down at his feet and asked ‘what do you want me to do?’ When Isaiah saw God he confessed his sin, when Ezekiel received his vision he fell down and worshiped while John fell down as though dead. In each case their response was recognition of God’s holiness and their uncleanness. All they could do was worship.

As you seek God’s help, expect him to reveal his holiness and your need. Expect to recognize your inadequacy, and then rejoice that Jesus has reconciled you to him and that you can approach this Holy God. The vision we need today is a vision of a Holy God who allows us to approach him though Jesus and then to show us that aspect of his character that will prepare us for the mission to which he call us. It is this God who will equip us and motivate us to complete the commission he has given – our only response is to worship.

Living with Purpose

Ok, so you think you are about to leave the desert, what now? What are you going to do with your life – what is your purpose?

When Jesus emerged from his experience in the desert he went to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14). At Nazareth he entered the Synagogue and proclaimed that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to:

Preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18,19).

He understood his purpose, in these verse Jesus outlined the job description for his ministry on earth. He had received a commission from God and the equipping of the Holy Spirit and this was his purpose. In a similar way God has ordained a purpose for your life and mine. In fact Ephesians 2:10 tells us ‘we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them’. God has given you a Divine appointment and anointed you with the Holy Spirit so that you can carry out his plans, whatever they may be.

What is the purpose to which God has called you? We often assume ministry has to do with what we do at church – but it is much bigger than that. Your place of ministry or purpose, may be in the church, but it is also your workplace and your home. God calls you to serve him in the place he has appointed you. That may be as schoolteacher, banker, carpenter, shop assistant, housewife or even a pastor. This is the purpose for which you have been equipped and anointed with the Holy Spirit.

God’s ultimate purpose is that the gospel be presented to everyone everywhere. He intends that we fulfil that purpose in the place of his appointment. He wants you to walk each day in the power of His Spirit, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the places you serve. Our choice of vocation is not a matter of chance, nor should it be based on the financial returns it gives, the prestige it provides, the retirement plan on offer or opportunities for travel and advancement, but rather on how God may help us to use our talents and abilities to share the good news with those with which we come into contact.

The primary place of Christian service is not the church. It is the marketplace and neighbourhoods of which we are a part. It is as we live as ambassadors for Christ in these areas of life that we communicate the good news of Jesus Christ. If you ask him, the Holy Spirit will lead you to opportunities to share about your faith with your friends, neighbours and work colleagues.

As Jesus looks out at the world he sees people who need to be loved, to be encouraged, to be set free. He doesn’t just see these needy people in the pews of our churches but as the lives of men and women, doing business, teaching classes, tending families, playing sport and shopping in supermarkets. It is into this world he wants to send you in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Learn to see your job as the means by which you can fulfil the fundamental purpose of your life – allow the Holy Spirit to lead you and enable you in your daily tasks and in your relationships with those in your street, office or factory. God has prepared these good works for you – before the world was even begun and he has and will continue to enable you to complete them.

Life in the Desert

In the Psalms King David spoke of being in a ‘dry and thirsty land, where there is no water’ (Ps 63:1). He wasn’t just speaking of as physical desert but one of emotional and mental abandonment. Even though he had done what he believed to be right, had committed himself to a cause ordained by God, he was now alone. Have you ever felt like David when he wrote these words? Have you felt like you are in a dry and weary land where there is no water? Perhaps you have tried desperately to follow God’s leading but wound up in the desert? No matter what you do, what you read or where you go, you still come up dry and empty.

Jesus understood the desert experience. After he was baptized the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. Moses spent 40 years in the desert. Elijah experienced dry times, as did Joseph, Daniel, the apostle Paul and many others of the great men of God. The fact is God leads us into dry times. But why?

There are a number of reasons why this might be so. In the first place the desert is a place of testing. The people of Israel were taken through the desert for 40 years to see what was in their hearts and if they would obey God’s command (Deut 8:2). God takes us through times of dryness to test us, to see where our motivation really lies. Will we still love and serve him without the recognition or results we seek?

God also leads us into and through the desert to help us to grow. John the Baptist remained in the desert, where he grew and became strong in the Spirit so that he would be prepared when he appeared in public (Luke 1:80). We often do our best growing in the desert, the place where we have to deal with the harshness and severity of circumstances. The place where our character is formed and we grow to maturity.

A third reason why God may lead us in to the desert is to give us rest. Sometimes the only way we will rest is if we are forced to it! Jesus told his disciples ‘come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’ (Mk 6:31). Many of us feel that we are so indispensable to God that if we don’t keep active then somehow his purposes will fail. On occasion God takes us aside so that we will rest – he knows our limits better than we do and if we don’t take time out, his Spirit may well lead us into the desert where we have no choice.

God also uses the desert to restore to us something we have lost. Serving God should always be vibrant and exciting, however for many of us it can become mundane and routine. God will use dry times to bring us back into the joy of his presence. He will also use them to restore our ability to hear his voice and to give us fruitfulness in ministry, to get things into proper perspective, to restore our praise and to give back to us freedom in serving him. Our ministry is not the drudgery of self -imposed service but a joyful experience of co-labouring with Jesus.

The fifth purpose, of the desert is preparation; God uses our dry times to get us ready for what is to come. It is a place where our desire is heightened and where we develop a thirst for the streams of God.

Unless your desert experience is the result of some act of disobedience or because you have lost your way, God has led you there. It is his desire to prepare you for the wide open places he will set before you. Thank God for your desert, allow him to show you the purposes he intends it to accomplish in your life and ministry. And then get ready for the day you emerge from those dry places full of the power of the Holy Spirit ready to do great and mighty things. 

Once you know where to go...

Knowing where to go or what you to do is one thing – actually doing it is another!

Biblical history is full of accounts of people who doubted their ability to follow through on the tasks they were given. The people of Israel knew that God was leading them into the Promised Land but they doubted that they had the ability to get there. Moses knew God was sending him to Pharaoh but didn’t think he had the ability or strength. Jeremiah was given a message to deliver, but thought he was too young. What about you? Have you ever had the conviction and even the opportunities to engage in some task or project, but were reluctant to take it on because of lack of strength or resource? Have you ever walked to the edge of the river, as did the people of Israel, looked over at the other side but then gone back to the wilderness because you lacked the courage or strength to go across?

As we go through life we are continually confronted with opportunities to move forward. We might even be convinced that this is all part of God’s greater plan for our life. But having a vision, or even a plan isn’t enough, it remains our responsibility to make it happen. Where do we get the necessary resources and strength? In Isaiah 40:28-31 God gives us our first clue – our strength comes from waiting on him. Isaiah 31:15 tell us that it is in repentance and rest that that we will be saved and in quietness and trust is our strength.

Before we wait on God for strength and courage, we must first be willing to do whatever it is he leads us to. As the people of Israel prepared themselves to finally go into the Promised Land, they waited on God for three days. They were ready and willing and now they waited in the presence of God. It is in the waiting and depending on him that God provides the strength. They didn’t run ahead of God – they had tried that before and failed. They listened to him, and they waited.

Sometimes waiting is the most difficult part. It is easier to do something, anything, than it is to wait. And yet this is God’s way. After his anointing by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led into the wilderness to wait. After the resurrection the disciples were told to stay in Jerusalem and wait. After telling King Ahab there was going to be a drought, Elijah was told to go to a brook - to wait. Having heard from God we need to wait.

After the people of Israel had waited before the Lord they consecrated themselves. Not only did they need to wait on God but they needed to prepare themselves to do God’s business God’s way. The act of consecration is the setting apart of the whole life – not just part of it. They needed to be completely set apart before they took on the Lord’s mission – then they went. They had heard from God, they had waited for his timing and they had prepared themselves – now they needed to obey. It was not until they showed their faith by obedience that God prepared the way. When their feet were in the river, he made a path for them to cross. They didn’t wait for circumstances to change they acted believing that they would.

When God shows you the part of his plan that you fit in, and he will, you need to wait until you know where he is calling you to – but when he tells you to move, then move. Once over the river the people were told to set up a stone monument as a reminder of where God had brought them from and where he was taking them. This was a step of commitment; there was no going back.

God wants to know that we are committed to the task he calls us to before he will make available his limitless supply of resources. Wait before the Lord until he shows you his plans and his timing. Consecrate yourselves to him and take the first step of obedience. Then commit yourselves to continuing in his will no matter what the circumstances being certain that he that began a good work in you can and will bring it to completion.

But which way is the right way?

Nobody likes to be lost. We all want someone or something to point us in the right direction and so we turn to GPS, maps, the advice of others, for some even crystals, mysticism and Tarot cards and while others, God.

The Bible says that God’s children will be led by the Holy Spirit, but what does that mean? How do they know where the Spirit is leading? Some things are quite straightforward, the Bible is full of advice, encouragement and instruction as to the direction God wants to lead, particularly in issues of morality and ethics. But what about areas of life where the Bible is not clear? Especially when it comes to areas of work and vocation.

Throughout the pages of the Bible we read of men and women being specifically led by the Holy Spirit to go to places or to do various things. In Acts 10 God led Cornelius to send messengers to Peter and then led Peter to go to the home of Cornelius. An angel of the Lord sent Philip to the desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza (Acts 8:25), Ananias was led by the Spirit to visit and minister to Saul (Acts 9:10-13). Frequently Elijah moved after the ‘word of the Lord’ came to him.

But how was it that these people actually discerned God’s leading? Sometimes God used dreams and visions to speak - but this was not always the case. In Acts 16 we read that Paul intended to go to Bithynia but the Holy Spirit forbade him from going. Shortly afterwards he was told to go to Macedonia. At other times God used the prophetic words of others to give direction (Acts 21:4, 11). Many times we read of the early church going from place to place without any record of specific leading and sometimes unusual circumstances led to changes in plans. It seems that God uses a variety of means to direct us.

For the Christian, the word of God is the primary source for moral guidance. Psalm 119 is devoted almost exclusively to the value of the word of God in finding direction for life. But he uses other means as well. Perhaps the most common method of discerning God’s leading, if not the most undervalued from a ‘spiritual’ perspective is circumstances. God uses the events of life to move us along the pathway he has chosen for us. How many times can we think back through seemingly unconnected events that have almost mysteriously led us to the places we arrive? At other times God uses other people to bring specific messages. These may be what are sometimes called ‘prophetic messages’ or ‘words of knowledge’, but they may also come in general counsel and conversation.

However we receive guidance, whether by specific words, dreams, and circumstances or in some other way, it is important that it be tested. In the first place it needs to be tested by the word of God – he will never lead you in a direction that is contrary to his word. We should sometimes seek confirmation by the community of believers and also seek the confirmation of the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. Ordinarily we would want all these things to align: the message we receive, the witness of the Holy Spirit within, confirmation by others, the word of God and circumstances. However this will not always be so and sometimes God will expect us to follow his lead even when circumstance and the counsel of others seems to be against it.

One of the great encouragements from the bible is the verse that says: “He, your teacher will no longer hide himself, but your eyes will behold your teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘this is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to right or the left’” (Is 30:20, 21). Listen to others, read, pray and look at your circumstances, but don’t dither!  Indecisiveness is paralysing. God does not expect or want us to stand trapped in uncertainty, but to follow your passions and your dreams, confidently and purposefully moving in the direction we believe to be right, always listening to the voice that says ‘this is the way, keep going’.