On Purpose

A man of God needs to know God’s purpose for his life. In Philippians 3:10-11 and 13-14, Paul said, “that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto his death; in order that I may obtain the resurrection from the dead….forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:5 says, “for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also raised in the likeness of his resurrection.” As believers in Christ, life in this world is so full of suffering, trial, and heartbreak, that unless we look to Him, we forget the purpose for which he called us.

The basic purpose of a man of God is in Romans 1:1. Paul is a “bond servant” of his Lord Jesus Christ. A bond servant is dedicated to serve his Lord, bound not by duty or obligation, but bound by a heart of love. In biblical times, slaves were required to serve their master for a certain period of time to pay off a debt of obligation. Many slaves couldn’t wait to be freed from bondage under their hard task masters. However some slaves after being freed, returned to their master to plead to their master to continue to serve him voluntarily. The bondservant’s master would mark him by smearing lamp-black ink on the bondservant’s ear. Then the master would pierce his bondservant’s ear to the doorpost leaving an indelible mark. This mark told the world that the servant had dedicated his life to serve his master from a heart of love. The master was obligated to meet his bondservant’s needs. The bondservant owned nothing and his sole desire was to serve his master.

According to Oswald Chambers, our purpose is not to be “holy men” but to be proclaimers of the gospel of God. The abiding reality is redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s servants we need to understand that redemption is the only reality. Paul did not separate himself, rather God separated him to God’s own purpose. It’s not about our own purpose, but His purpose. We’re separated for one purpose…to proclaim the gospel of redemption through our lord Jesus Christ.

We were justified in Christ because of what he accomplished on our behalf. It’s not about our own testimony…rather it’s about his testimony through us. For we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ and him crucified. For it is the gospel of God unto salvation. He called us with power to be His witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

A man of God is an example of Psalm 1. He shall be like a tree that is planted by the streams of living water. His leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Christ is the vine and we are the branches. He is the source of our life as we live according to his purpose. We bear the fruit of his spirit when we abide with and within him.

A purpose is the “end to be attained.” According to the bible, “holy” or “sanctified” means “set apart for the purpose intended by the designer.” For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has foreordained that we should walk therein. Our purpose is to align our will with His will to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Christ.

Sanctification is a means to an end. The end is to serve our Lord Jesus Christ from a heart of love. The purpose of a bondslave is to do the master’s will. A bond servant says, “here am I Lord, send me. Thy wish is my command.”

We’ve been set apart to spread the good news of the gospel of redemption. When the seventy returned after Jesus sent them to heal the sick and preach the good news, they returned joyfully because of the miracles they were able to perform. Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall from heaven as lightning because of the good news you proclaimed. However, rejoice not because you cast out demons, but because your names are written in heaven.”

Cory Tin Boom said, “no pit is so deep but that God is not deeper still.” Even when we experience the depth of the depravity of this world, we still have our salvation…we’ve still been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. There’s always something that we can be excited about…that our names are written in the book of life. Paul while he was in prison said, whether I’m prospering or in bonds, my life’s purpose is for the furtherance of the gospel. Therefore let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. The darker the night, the brighter the light shines.

The purpose of a bond servant is to do the master’s will. As the scripture says, delight thyself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. When we, from a heart of love, choose to make God’s desire our desire, and His good pleasure our good pleasure, then It is God who works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure.

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Our Call

A man of God is not one who has everything together. Men of God still struggle with the nature of the flesh that we inherited from Adam. Men of God need to swap their own self esteem for Christ esteem. He gracefully breaks us so that he can lift up our heads. We’re broken by God’s grace so that he can forgive us when we repent. Grace and mercy is not because of what we’ve done but because of what he did on our behalf when he became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf.

In 1 Peter 2:9 it says, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”. Today, we’re a chosen generation to make an impact to influence our world for Christ. Our country’s cultural mindset has changed over the last 50 years. The change has been gradual as the cultural erosion has progressed.

We’re a royal priesthood. The priest is the one who speaks to God on behalf of the people. The priest ministers the love and light of Christ in a world of darkness. This is our calling of God.

We’r’e an holy nation because our citizenship is in heaven. Holy men have been made holy… they have been set apart for God’s purpose through the supreme payment of the blood of Christ. Our priestly ministry is a blessing. Our calling is to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel.

We’re peculiar people. We’re not normal…we’re unusual according to the world’s standards. To follow Christ we must deny ourselves to follow him. If any man is in Christ he’s a new creature….called out of darkness into his marvelous light. Our purpose is to reflect and demonstrate the nature of Jesus Christ others. The enemy will tell us that we’re a failure and that we’re hypocrites for professing the standard of Christ. However, the word of God is truth. According to the the truth of the Word, it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Most men think that they need to seek retribution and to retaliate against those who have violated their “rights.” However, Jesus said “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” Therefore, recompense to no man evil for evil…be not overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.

Men are comfortable in the “shallow end of the pool.” However, Jesus says to come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. He bids us, forsake yourself and come unto me. To follow our Lord we must leave the comfort of the shallow end to come and join with him at the deep end of the pool.

Men of God are “outliers” from the world. We’re different because we’re sanctified…separated according to the purpose intended by the designer. Life is too short and the stakes are too high to live mediocre lives. Our challenge is to live a life that’s extraordinary, set apart for the vocation wherewith we have been called.

According to Isaiah, In the year in which Uzziah died, a vision came to Isaiah… a vision of the holiness and the righteous of God. He said, “woe is me. I’m a man of unclean lips.” When we see God’s holiness, we understand our own unworthiness. This is the point of repentance. Like the prodigal son living in the pig pen, he “came to himself.” As the Apostle Paul said, “in me dwelleth no good thing.” The point of repentance is when we come to ourselves and make an “about-face” to turn from our selfish selves and unto our Lord Jesus Christ.

The purpose of the Church is to call others to worship their Lord….to call God’s people into His presence. To turn to Jesus means, “I surrender all.” It’s not about us…it’s about Him. We must live and dwell in his presence to come to know the nature of our Lord. This is the nature of the spirit of Christ in us the hope of glory.

When we call on him when we fall, our gracious and merciful Heavenly Father will correct us. Biblical correction is to restore to an upright position. For if we walk in the light as he is in the light he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The light of the Word of God disinfects the darkness of the world.

As a man of God, our calling is to hold up the standard of Christ…the word of God living in us and through us. We’re not justified by convincing ourselves that wrong is right. This is justification according to the world’s standard. To “rationalize” is to bring that which is unreasonable into the realm of reason. The devil’s ploy is to deceive and to twist God’s truth. Lying is the native language of the devil. However, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Spending time in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ will keep us holy…set apart for the purpose for which God designed us…

To forsake the sins of the flesh, we must repent. We must acknowledge that he’s in charge and we’re not. Therefore, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face…and the things of earth will become strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

We’ve been called for such a time as this. For we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation that we should show forth the praises of the one who called us from the darkness of this world into his marvelous light. We’re His representatives… He called us not because of who we are but because of who He is. We proclaim his nature as we walk in fellowship with him through this journey of life. We’re his living epistles known and read of all men. Therefore, proclaim the gospel. When necessary use words. In other words, “give ’em Heaven.”

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael