Sermon Central
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Knowing God's Purpose And Destiny Series
Contributed by Ade Odusote on Dec 1, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: The more you read the Word of God, the more you learn about God; the more you learn about God, the more God reveals Himself to you; the more God reveals Himself to you the more you will realize what His purpose and destiny for you
7 Steps to Achieving God’s Purpose and Destiny For Your Life
Part 1: Knowing God’s Purpose and Destiny
The brain functions similar to electricity. The brain is a physical mass. Scientists tell us that the brain is made up of neutrons and electrons; neutrons have a positive charge, while electrons have a negative charge. When these move relative to one another they form electric discharges, much like sparks: these discharges make up what they call the thought process of a man! When we talk about knowledge most people immediately think of the brain.
The most efficient pump is the heart. The heart is a physical mass, the size of a fist, whose responsibility is to circulate blood through the system. Yet, when we refer to love, we immediately think about the heart.
The physical heart pumps blood; the spiritual heart is the seat of emotion.
The physical brain controls the Central Nervous System; the spiritual brain, or the mind is the seat of knowledge.
The mind is not the same as the brain.
- The brain is physical, hence has physical attributes. It is made up of matter - has mass and occupies space! The mind does not have mass, neither does it occupy space. You cannot touch it, you cannot see it!
- The mind can be treated as an abstraction, i.e. it is neither here nor there. But it is not an abstraction.
o The mind is the seat of knowledge
o The mind is the spring board from which you can rise to excellence
o The mind is the origin of your thoughts, Philippians 4:8“Whatever things are true, … honest, … just, …pure, … lovely, … of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things”,
The foundation of the 7-stage process to achieving God’s purpose and destiny for your life is SALVATION. Without salvation there is nothing to build upon; without entering into a relationship there is no basis for wanting to achieve God’s purpose and destiny for your life.
Ephesians 2:12, “For at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in this world!”
If salvation is so primary,
1. How can you determine that you have been saved?
o Holy Spirit conviction. Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” If you are the child of God, you will know. If you have been born again you will know.
2. How can you determine that you are yet to be saved?
o The lie detector! If you speak a lie and you consistently speak a lie, you are not yet saved.
o If you live a lie and you are not interested in changing that manner of life, you are not yet saved.
o Satan is called a liar and the father of liars.
o Revelation 21:8, “… and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”
o Revelations 21:27, “Nothing impure will enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful (lies)…” (NIV)
The thing about lying is that you can very easily decide today and say to yourself, “I want to stop telling lies” or “I want to stop living a lie”. It is at this point that you can ask God for help by committing your life into His hands. There are many who strongly desire to live a life approved by God but cannot. The problem is that these ones continue to depend on themselves and their strength. If instead you cry out to God, God will help!
Romans 7:22 -24, Apostle Paul’s cry for help. “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (NIV)
I mentioned the issue of lying because lying is so commonplace and so prevalent, sometimes even before you know it you have lied! Yet just as it is so easy to lie, daily we sin, and daily we need to go back to God for help!
After the foundation has been laid, knowing the purpose and destiny of God for your life becomes simpler than most people think. That purpose and destiny can be summarized in one verse of the Word of God.
3 John 2, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well”. (NIV)
