Walk in Purpose

Speaker 1: 0:00

The best day of your life. The first best day of your life is the day you were born, the day you came into the world. It was a pretty good day. It was awesome. The second best day of your life is the day you discovered why you were born. It's the day you discover why you were born Purpose, purpose.

Speaker 1: 0:21

So many of us are looking for purpose. All of us, to some degree, are trying to ask the question why am I here? What is my purpose? The definition of this word is this the reason for which something is done or created, or with something exists. I don't think any of us, deep in our hearts, want to get to the end of our lives and say I don't know if I lived out my purpose. I'm not sure if I lived out my purpose. And we live in a world that would suggest to us that purpose is found when you get married. But everyone who's married knows that's not the case. We are living in a world that suggests that you will find purpose when your bank account hits a certain number. We live in a world that says you'll find purpose when life gets easy. Others will say you find purpose when you can finally retire in Florida. That sounds kind of good, though I'm not going to lie. But as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, is it possible for us to live out purpose every single day? Is it possible for us to live each day with purpose? Is it possible that the small things, the ordinary things, from making our bed in the morning to sending our kids off to school, to our nightly dinners is there purpose in all that we do? Is it possible that purpose is closer than you think and purpose is something that you can experience daily? Let me put it this way to you, let me shoot it straight to you today it is possible to walk with purpose in our everyday lives. It is possible to live each day with purpose. So here you go.

Speaker 1: 1:59

We are in a series that is leading us to Easter Sunday, like Aaron just said, which is next week, which is crazy. We're in this series called Live in Grace, where we, as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, are figuring out how do we activate and live in the free gift of grace that God gives us. What we have learned is that grace is not something that we can earn, it's not something that we deserve, but it is the undeserved favor of God. Ephesians 2 puts it like this For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. And what we also have learned about grace during this series is that grace is not passive. Grace is not timid, grace is not afraid of our challenges, but God's grace is aggressive, that God's grace pursues us, that God's grace goes after you in your life. In the message paraphrase of Romans 5, it says like this but sin denies it and doesn't have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins. Hands down. Come on, grace is like having LeBron James on your team. No, not anymore. But because of that, because of grace, we can walk confidently in faith. We can walk with action and love those around us.

Speaker 1: 3:27

Now, today, on this Palm Sunday, we are going to discover how to walk in purpose, how to live in grace and how to walk in purpose. And today I'm going to be super practical with you guys, and I have a spiritual habit I want to share with you guys. But I'm going to be so practical with you. I want you guys to take notes today. Come on, take out your notes app today, but just use it for your notes app, don't be texting. But here you go. I got seven tips Seven. There's a lot of tips, jacob. I got seven tips to daily walk in purpose. Here you go, these seven tips. That is a lot, but it's not as much as you think.

Speaker 1: 4:08

Check this out what we're going to do, because what we're going to get these tips from is what's known as the Lord's Prayer. It's known as the Lord's Prayer, and I believe that when we look at the Lord's Prayer, it's not just something that Jesus said. It's not just a good prayer that he said and that we're supposed to repeat at funerals or something like that. No, no, I believe it's a model of prayer, the Lord's Prayer. Jesus gave us a model on how to communicate to God During our 21 days of prayer and fasting that we did at the beginning of the year. Each morning, we use the Lord's Prayer as a model during our daily morning, google Meet Calls, and so what I want to do is I want to use this model of the Lord's Prayer to help us better understand how we can personally live with purpose each day in our lives.

Speaker 1: 4:50

Okay, but before I get there, before I get there, let's just talk about something. Let's just clear the air. Let's talk about what purpose is not, because it can get kind of confusing when we talk about purpose. First thing is this purpose is not just one big grand event. Purpose is not just one big event in your life, and this is important to understand. Your purpose is not winning the Super Bowl while dating Taylor Swift. That's Travis Kelsey's purpose. I'm sure that's not even his purpose. That's just a part of his story. That's a part of his story, but for a purpose. Your purpose is not subject to this one big life accomplishment. But I do think we can often think about purpose in that kind of grand view Doing something extraordinary, doing something miraculous.

Speaker 1: 5:37

I made it, I arrived and did this thing. Now I've done some pretty cool things in my life. I'm not gonna lie. I've done some pretty cool things in my life being a pastor. I've done some pretty fun things. I've been flown to places to speak at large youth conferences all around the US I've led hundreds of youth to. I've had altar calls where hundreds of youth came down and gave their life to Jesus and pretty like just incredible things to do. I've been on six missions trips. That's been awesome, even starting this church with a giant leap of faith. You know doing that. But here you go.

Speaker 1: 6:11

It's not like I did one of those things and I said, wow, I arrived, I made it, I figured out my, I did my life purpose. No, those are all events in the grand story, all moments in the story of my life. Just like getting married. Just like getting married In the movies or in the books. What always happens Two people fall in love, they find true love. Then they do the wedding day and then at the end it says and now they live happily ever after. And who's ever been married? And you know that ain't true, I'm joking. You're happy still, but it's not like that Now. For me, my wedding day was probably one of the best days of my life. It was a fun time. I did a stinky leg, it was good. But life after the wedding day has been just as fun, it's been just as cool, it's been even better.

Speaker 1: 6:58

All that to say purpose is not one moment, it's not one event, it's not one thing when you look at the life of Jesus. Here you go. Let me put it this way when you look at the life of Jesus, yes, his purpose was to die on the cross and they go gonna celebrate next Sunday. He was risen three days later. But without a purpose driven life before the cross, the cross will not matter. The cross wouldn't matter His life and the decisions he made that led to the cross fulfilled his purpose. It was a part of his purpose. So here you go. It's not just one big event, but our life can have a purpose to it, has a daily purpose to it.

Speaker 1: 7:35

Second thing is this Purpose is not just your career or title that you have. It's not just your career. Now let's be clear. It is awesome to have a job where you can kind of live out your purpose with it. You know I'm very fortunate, my job being a pastor. You know I feel called to this. I feel like this is my purpose. But a career can just be a means to an end. Like my wife, for example, she works for a great company called ServiceNow, but that's not her purpose in life. But it provides the resources our family needs so that we can do what God calls us to do, so that you can live out a purpose, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong. I think we sometimes put so much pressure that, like our career, our work, man, that has to be my purpose too. It doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be. It could be just a means to an end, and there's nothing wrong with that. But you see this all the time, especially when I saw it all the time when I was a youth pastor.

Speaker 1: 8:30

But when high school students, what happens when they graduate high school? People ask them what, where are you gonna go to school? What are you doing after high school? What do you wanna be when you graduate? And then, once they're done with college, people ask them this well, what job are you gonna get? And then, once they get a job, people ask them when are you gonna get married? And then, once they get married, what's the next question that people ask? Well, you go have kids. Then, once they have kids, they ask when are you gonna get sleep again? Never, never. But that's kinda how we kinda think. Right, that's how our society works.

Speaker 1: 9:09

We can think that our purpose is our career, our title. Oh, I'm a doctor, I'm a mom, I'm a lawyer, I'm a manager, I'm a CEO. And the problem is, if we think purpose is only attached to a career or a title, we will live with a when then mentality. And what is a when then mentality? A when then mentality is this when I get this, then I'll be happy. When I accomplish this, then I'll feel fulfilled. And the problem with the when then is, once you get to your, then you'll start thinking about the next thing you wanna get to. It's always thinking about the next thing and you will find yourself unsatisfied and always looking for what's next.

Speaker 1: 9:50

So what is purpose then? So what is purpose? What is purpose? Purpose is not just one big grand event. And if purpose is not necessarily just your career or title, well, let's look what the Bible has to say. What does Jesus have to say? And for the sake of this message, I'm gonna look at the message paraphrase of the Bible to help us get a better understanding of this. So what is purpose? Check this out. Jesus says this in the message paraphrase, matthew five.

Speaker 1: 10:13

Let me tell you why you are here. That's good to hear, all right? Well, lay it on me, jesus. You're here to be salt-seasoned, and that brings out the God flavors on this earth. So we're getting salty. Okay, we're getting salty. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and you will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it. Check this out. You're here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world. So salt and light, god is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on the hill. If I make you light bears, you don't think I'm gonna hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I put you on the hilltop on a light stand, shine. I love that. But listen to this part right here. I want you to listen to this Keep open house, be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous father in heaven. I love this At the heart of it. At the heart of it.

Speaker 1: 11:14

Purpose is when we live each day, when you live each day to make a difference, when you look at your life and you say my life is here to make a difference, my life is here to make a difference. Living as salt, meaning that you add flavor. Here you go, we all bend to the house where the food is bling and you're eating it. You ain't trying to offend somebody, but you're kind of like you got some hot sauce or something around here Because it's bland. Out here no one wants to eat. Life's too short to have bad dinners. It's a model I live by. But we all been there having me. Here you go. You don't want to have a bland life either. You just don't want to go through the motions, just barely making it, barely getting by, just doing what other people tell me to do, just barely making it. No, you're here to add value and flavor to your world and living as light what Jesus was saying there was. I want you to continue my message. Jesus invites us a part of his life-giving message to the world To bring light to people's lives so they can see better.

Speaker 1: 12:23

See, one of my favorite verses in the New Testament is this in Acts 13. It says this Now, when David and this is speaking of King David when David has served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep and he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. Some of you guys are like Jacob. That's a really weird verse To be one of your favorite verses. It is kind of weird, but here you go. Here's one of the things I love about it, because what it's saying is King David served God in his own time. He served God, he went after God, mistakes and all. He went after God and he fulfilled his purpose in his own time. And what I want to tell you guys today is this we can't change yesterday's, we don't know what tomorrow brings, but today I have today to walk in purpose. I have this moment to walk in purpose. I can't fix all the things I messed up and I definitely can't predict what tomorrow is going to happen, but God, you've given me this day, so help me, lord, fulfill my purpose on this day. See the problem? The problem Sometimes we try to live so far out there one day that we miss what God is doing right now.

Speaker 1: 13:30

In the Bible, james says what is your life? It's a miss. That's here today and going tomorrow and what he's saying, because that sounds kind of sad. But what he's saying is hey, you can get caught up thinking about tomorrow and miss what God's doing right now, and you can miss the very thing that God is trying to work with you right now, even in this, even in our hardships, even in our pains, even in our discouragements. Often we cry why, god? Why are you doing this to me Instead? Instead, a better prayer could be God, what are you trying to teach me in this moment? What are you trying to show me in this? It's a different perspective, but I love this, and my prayer for you is that you will live out God's purpose in your generation.

Speaker 1: 14:13

Now let's be practical. Okay, how do we live in grace and walk in purpose? I said I had seven tips today, but I promise you we're not going to take a long time. Okay, here we go. Here you go. We're going to look at the Lord's Prayer and what I want you to do, these seven tips I'm about to present to you. I kind of want you to mentally have a utility belt and you can take these things out and, like shark, repellent Anyone see the episode of Batman. Never mind, I almost went on a tangent right then. Okay, here you go. Okay, so here you go, and I want you to use these throughout your day when you're in need. Okay, here you go.

Speaker 1: 14:48

The Lord's Prayer Say it with me If you know it. Here you go. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. It's a good prayer. It's a good prayer. Now, here you go.

Speaker 1: 15:15

I'm going to break this down Seven things that we see from the Lord's Prayer. The first one is this Connect with God relationally. Connect with God relationally, our Father in heaven, in order to see purpose in your day. I'm going to be so honest with you In order to see purpose in your day, you have to spend daily time with God. You have to spend daily time with God. I want to shoot it straight to you I think it's important to be at church every week.

Speaker 1: 15:43

I think you should make it your weekly schedule, be a part of church. And, of course, if things come up and you can't make it, that's okay, that's fine. But I think coming to church is very important. But, but, however, church attendance has to lead you to regular connection with God. A Sunday service won't do it. A Sunday service won't make you, won't bring you to the place that you want to be.

Speaker 1: 16:09

It is a great time for us to come together To worship, to sing, to be in community. But Sunday should always be pointing you to have a regular relationship with God. And that's why we even do small groups at our church, because our heart is at Sunday. It's an opportunity for you to be with Jesus, for you to worship Jesus, to connect with Jesus. When you serve here, we want you to serve on a team that's helping you be with Jesus. But then our small groups are how we help people become like Jesus, because we believe that the life change you want is found in healthy relationships, because we all know the life change you don't want is found in unhealthy relationships, with people that bring you down. But we believe that. So that's how we, that's how we want, we want, we want to be able to do that. Here's the, here's the best part. Here's the best part.

Speaker 1: 16:54

No matter what season of life you're in, god wants to connect with you. If you're an empty nest, or now, god wants to connect with you. If you still got six of them in your house, god definitely wants to connect with you. You know, no matter what, no matter what season you are, and this is where the principle of first things comes in, because often what we do first sets the pace for the rest of our days.

Speaker 1: 17:22

I remember I used to do this. I remember I used to wake up and my first thing would be I would grab my phone. You know, instantly I grab my phone, check social media, check emails, see if someone texts me at three in the morning. Don't know why anyone would do that. Start watching videos on how to make delicious food on Facebook, but for real, we can start our days with that, don't we? With multiple news stories of death and tragedy, while seeing the drama and the fake pictures of our friends on social media.

Speaker 1: 17:53

You know, even before we step out of bed, even before we go to the bathroom, before we wake up, now, what I want now, what I try to do now, the moment that my eyes first wake up in the morning, is I say Jesus, thank you for this day. That's the first thing I just try to intentionally Jesus, thank you for your day. Oftentimes I do think can I just get 10 more minutes forward, but I try my best. Jesus, this day is for you and that's the best thing I do. And then what I do and this is just me, it's not for everybody then, what I do after I do that, I wake up between 4.30 and 5. I go downstairs, I make me a cup of coffee, come on somebody, and then I just talk to my heavenly father. I spend time with Jesus. I connect to God first.

Speaker 1: 18:36

And here's the thing not everyone is a morning person and for some of you, god don't want to see you in the morning, just to let you know. But even if it's a small thing, intentionally connecting to God at the beginning of your day will set a pace for you to experience God for the rest of your day. And here's the truth when you spend daily time with God and this is how I want you to get this when you spend daily time with God, you begin to recognize God's voice in your day. You begin to recognize His voice in your day and you say, well, does God speak today? And I want to say, yes, he does. Yes, he does. It may not always be audible, it may not be a loud megaphone speak. But when you begin to position yourself on the things of God, you begin to understand what God is leading you and calling you and moving you and nudging you and guiding you.

Speaker 1: 19:23

Jesus says it like this my sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they follow me. So we say, before we check our schedules, before the day goes on, before the day gets started, we say our Father in heaven. We say our Father in heaven, and this is a personal thing. That Jesus is saying our Father in heaven was like, was radical for that time. It was like our Father. I mean, god is personal, he's relational, yes, and here's the thing God is like that relational, god is so relational. Picture like he's number one on your speed dial on your phone. And when you call them, it's not about you saying the right things to sound good to them, it's about you just opening your heart and your Father enjoys to listen to you, enjoys to listen to you. And this is a relational connection and this is something that can happen in the beginning of your day, that can then carry out throughout your day. And the apostle Paul says it like this pray without ceasing, meaning always pray.

Speaker 1: 20:18

How in the world do we do that? Do we always get on our knees and put our hands together throughout the day? Hey, sorry, johnson, I know the reports do, but I got to pray first. No, johnson, every time I think about it. A co-worker, his name has to be Johnson, never mind. But no, it's not no, but it is an ongoing thing. It's an ongoing thing. It's like one sentence prayers. Before you step into a meeting God, help me with this meeting. You know, before you send a serious text message, god, should I send this text message or should I meet with them in person? But before I go on my work computer, god, help me be ready for my work day Before school. Help me learn and focus. When your kids are being difficult, lord, help me not uppercut them. You know you're just little prayers throughout your day and it will help you. Okay, second tip, second tip on how to walk in purpose Worship his name.

Speaker 1: 21:07

Hollow be his name. Worship his name. Now there is power in God's name. There is power in the name of God. And here's a list of them to help us pray, to help us worship him specifically and personally. See, here you go.

Speaker 1: 21:22

God is righteousness. He makes us clean. God is sanctifier. He has called you and set you apart. God is healer. He heals all of my disease. God is banner of victory. He defeated my enemies, including your depression and your anxiety and your fears and your worries and your doubts. He is God of victory.

Speaker 1: 21:45

Here you go. God is my shepherd, he speaks to me and he leads me. God is peace, even in this storm, and God is provider. He supplies for all my needs. And so I worship you, god. I worship the name of God. I put him before me because when we worship, whenever we hold before us and some of us we worship our fears the most Some of us we worship people, because that's why we're always trying to please them, and it's whatever we hold ahead and we say God, I'm going to put you. I'm going to put you first. See, praise is our weapon against fear. Praise is our strength when we are weak. Praise positions my eyes not on the mountains in front of me, but on the mountain mover who can get them out of the way, and I'm going to praise God through my storms. Psalm 121 says I look to the mountains. Does my help come from there? Nope, it comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth. I'm going to tell you this Sometimes we look to earthly things for the rescue that we want, but we got to keep our eyes above, on our mountain mover, who can do it, who has done it and will do it again. I'm going to praise him throughout my day and find purpose. I'm going to set my heart and mind on things above, because here's the truth. Here's the truth.

Speaker 1: 23:07

We all got problems. We all got problems In our days often filled with problems. We have work problems, kids problems, schedule problems, boss problems, health problems, financial problems, too many shows to watch and not enough time problems. That's a real one, and problems can suck the life out of purpose. Paul and Silas trying to do the right thing in the Scriptures, trying to follow God's way, and for doing the right thing they end up flogged and imprisoned. Have you ever felt like you tried to do the right thing but the wrong results came? Can we be honest today, trying to do the right thing, trying to live your integrity the best you can, trying to make the right sense, but then the wrong results still happen Something you like. Pastor Jacob, you told me to pray for my enemy and even though I'm praying for them, they still cause me problems. I thought if I put God first, my other problems will work out. I'm having a hard time living in grace and walking in purpose because these problems keep building up Paul and Silas in prison for doing the right thing.

Speaker 1: 24:19

And it says this about midnight, paul and Silas will complain about everything. Paul and Silas have a list of all the ways things didn't go the way they wanted. At midnight, at the darkest hour, when all hope was gone, paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them. At the darkest night, they chose praise.

Speaker 1: 24:47

And what I want us to get good at LVC is this I want us to get good at giving our problems a problem. And the problem I want us to give our problems is a problem called praise. And I'm going to praise my way through it, even when the problems build up. I'm going to praise God through it, even when I don't see it, because when you're in this thing and you know your thing, you know your thing that feels insurmountable. You know your thing that you feel like I can't get past it. Even in that thing, I'm going to praise God through it. So I'm going to connect to him relationally, I'm going to worship his name and then the third thing I'm going to do I'm going to pray his agenda. First, your kingdom come, your will be done, not my kingdom and not my will, but God. Your kingdom come and your will be done. And the problem often is with purpose. We're looking for things to happen our way when God's like that's good and that's cute. But I'm trying to take you over here, but I'm going to have it in my head, I'm going to pray his agenda first. And that's a hard one, especially for us who love to have control. That's me.

Speaker 1: 25:59

Who in here agrees that we can't predict the outcome of our days. The Proverbs say it like this and their hearts. Humans plan their course, but the Lord, but the Lord establishes their steps. We have plans, but our plans don't always turn out as planned, but that's okay, because the Lord, because you're God, if you trust Him, will establish your steps. Meaning, meaning, meaning. What does that mean? Meaning that things don't go the way I wanted them to go. God can take my steps and lead me to where he needs me to go. I thought I was going this way, lord, but I'm going to trust you. You're bringing me here, you're bringing me this direction and this is happening. I'm going to trust you in this Lord.

Speaker 1: 26:52

I love what Jesus says about our plans in the message. Paraphrase again, he says give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come when the time comes. See, we do not know what tomorrow will bring. We can't control the uncontrollables in our lives, but we can give our entire attention to what God is doing today, and this becomes a prayer that we start at the beginning of our day. This is the prayer we go back to in the middle of our day, and this is how we even end our day. God, your will be done, your kingdom come. Your will be done, your kingdom come. Use me to make a difference. Fourth tip to walk in purpose is we depend on Him for everything. Give us this day our daily bread. God, I depend on you for everything. I'm focused on you for everything. Talk to God not as a genie who is at your every wish, who is at your every command, but as a loving father who truly cares.

Speaker 1: 27:55

My daughter, my daughter, told me about this little boy in her class who just drives her crazy and they just recently, like a month or so ago, had reassigned tables and now she has to sit right next to him. She has to sit right next to him, and almost every day she would come home and tell a story about something crazy he would do or gross he did, or something that he said so much to the point that she was feeling so discouraged to go to school. And she loved school. She loved school, but she was feeling so discouraged to go to school and so, as her dad, I literally cannot go to the school and pick up the boy and move her. They'll lock me up. That wouldn't be good. But what I can do as her dad, as her father, is guide her on what she should do, on what she could do. And I told her I said you got three options. I said you got three options you can ask your teacher for a new spot, you can try to not pay attention to the boy, or you can confront him and maybe try to be his friend and maybe try to be his friend. And then she said well, how would I know which one to do? How would I know which one to do? And you want to know what I told my five-year-old daughter? The same advice I told my five-year-old daughter. I'm going to tell it to you today. I told her that when you're in this situation, talk to the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit speaks to you. He will guide you and I give you that same advice that I give her.

Speaker 1: 29:16

And guess what she ended up telling me a few weeks later. She said that she confronted the kid. They're five, they're in kindergarten, all right? She said. She confronted the kid and she asked him. She said why do you act that way? Do your parents not love you at home? I said did you say that for real? And she said yeah, I said that. And I said well, what did he say back? And she said that he said no, they love me. And then she said then why do you act that way? And he says I don't really know why I act this way, but I love it. She went for it. And then what she said? She said after that he started to get a little bit better. He's starting to get a little bit better, and for real.

Speaker 1: 30:00

Almost every night, when she does her nighttime prayers and I didn't tell her to do this and when she does her nighttime prayers, she prays for him by name. She prays for him by name, and I share that story because, as a dad, my first instinct is I want to email the teacher hey, can you move my kid away from this? I want to intervene, right. But who knows, if you can't intervene for your kids forever, you can't intervene forever. But what I can do is prepare her to face the challenges that come her way and, when challenges come, guess who she can depend on. Because it's a relationship. It's a relationship and so I remember I can't fix everything for her, but she can depend on me. And I want you to know something that everything might not be fixed, everything might not go the way you want it to go.

Speaker 1: 30:47

Some people are always going to be difficult, some situations are very unfortunate, but you can depend on God, and Psalm 119 says this your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path, and I want to make this very clear. A lamp, a lamp, isn't very bright, A lamp doesn't help you see all the way down the road, and a lamp can't help you see everything that happened behind you, but around you, but around you, you can see with clarity, you can see your next steps. And so, god, I'm going to depend on you. I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring, and I for sure can't change yesterday, but I'm going to depend on you right now and I'm going to walk in purpose right now and I'm going to depend on you for the salvation of my kids and I'm going to depend on you for the hope of this world and I'm going to depend on you for the growth of this church. And I'm going to depend on you, lord, because with you all things are possible. You're going to light my steps, you're going to light my path and once I'd start to, once I begin to do that.

Speaker 1: 31:51

The fifth tip I want to forgive and be forgiven. Forgiveness, our debt, as we forgive our debtors. I'm not going to hang on this part too long and I just want you to know you are forgiven, you're forgiven, and if you really want to derail your purpose, I want you to listen to me. If you really want to intentionally derail your purpose, hold on to bitterness. Sixth step, six tip to walk in purpose, engage in spiritual warfare, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Listen to me please, church. Listen to me here.

Speaker 1: 32:33

We fight from a place of victory, not for victory, let me. Let me say this one more time we fight from a place of victory, not for victory, because our enemy, our enemy, the devil, has been defeated on the cross and Jesus rose again from that grave. And I'm going to tell you this your enemy, at best, is a dog on a leash. He has a big bark but he can't bite. And I'm going to tell you this, friends, we got to get to a place where we say my victory comes from the Lord, I'm going to walk in His grace today. I don't understand everything, but I have victory because Jesus rose again and my victory comes from that place. And so, satan, get out my head with those lies. See, you can't have my kids, you can't have my purpose, and I want you to get, I want you to get this these doubts that we get, these fears, these worries, these things that pop up in our head and our heart, those addictions that seem to somehow find their way back to us, even though we think we've got them, and they always show up at the most inconvenient times. It's not a just cousin, it's not just a random. There is an enemy and we are at war, but grace allows us to live from a place of victory.

Speaker 1: 33:55

John Mark calmer says it in his book like this. He says in his book live known lies. He says for Jesus there is an invisible but real intelligence at war with God. And all that is good, beautiful and true. The devil's end goal is to drive our souls and society into ruin, to decimate love. But here's my main point. His method is lies, his primary. I ain't going to try to say that word. Go to old strategy is a go to. His signature move is deception. All the other stuff demonization, illness, wreaking havoc, the natural order, scaring little kids with bad dreams is biblical and we need to take it seriously, but it is secondary. Jesus sees our primary war against the devil as a fight to believe truth over lives. And the truth I see time and time again is when people forfeit their purpose because they believe a lie about their false identity, that who God has really called them to be.

Speaker 1: 35:02

I want to simply show you how you can begin to engage in spiritual warfare. James 4, 7 says this. So then, surrender to God. How do we engage in spiritual warfare? Surrender to God, connect to God relationally, spend daily time with Him, worship His name. From a place of devotion to God, we can live in grace from a place of victory, because when we do this, I want you to get this, I want you to get this part of LVC, because when we surrender to God, stand up to the devil and resist him, and he will flee. I want to make this clear. I want to make this so clear because sometimes, even in our worship songs, sometimes, we only sing about how God is our deliverer, how God is our fighter, how he fights for us and that's true he does.

Speaker 1: 35:50

When the Israelites were set from Egyptian captivity, moses stood at them and said the Egyptians that you see today you will never see again, your Lord will fight for you. All you need to do is be still and stand, but, but, but. But. With that, with that, we can forget that God has given us power over the problems in our lives and that we can stand and say devil, you're not going to get me today Anxiety, you're not going to get the best of me. I am going to put myself in some counseling, I am going to figure out these traumas, I am going to find freedom in my life, and so we cannot live in a place of entitlement, expecting everyone to do something for us, but we got to live in a place that, god, you have given me victory and since your finished work on the cross is done, I can stand to my problems and say get away from me and they will flee. They will flee. And then it says make your heart closer to God and he will come even closer to you. You want to know what that's really saying. When you spend daily time with God, you begin to hear His voice even better. You begin to identify His voice and our prayers. Our prayer needs to be Lord, help me recognize and see how the enemy is lying to me today. Help me take captive of those lies and make all my thoughts obedient to you, jesus.

Speaker 1: 37:08

Last tip on how to daily walk in purpose, express your faith in God's power, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. To this I'm going to say something that has transformed my life, that I've been saying for over two and a half years now. If you've been coming with us for that long, and that is at the end of the night, I do a daily thankfulness journal, do a daily thankfulness journal. Every night I take five minutes or so and I write down one thing that God did, aaron did and my kids did, that I am thankful for that day, because sometimes we are so busy looking out there for purpose and meaning that we miss what God is doing right here and now. So I'll close with this, because I'm going to set my heart and mind on things above. I'm going to live with the spirit of gratitude.

Speaker 1: 38:03

Psalm 104 says this enter His gates with thanksgiving, go to His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. Colossians 2.4 says this let your roots grow down, enter Him and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong and the truth you were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness. Philippians 4 says don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. Colossians 4.2 says this devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Speaker 1: 38:42

If Psalm 6930 says, then I will praise God's name with singing and I will honor Him with thanksgiving In 1 Thessalonians 5 says this rejoice always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances for this, for this thing, for that thing. This thing is God's will for you, in Christ Jesus. So I'm going to praise His name. I'm going to praise Him and I'm going to lift Him up, because His is the Kingdom and all authority belongs to Him, and I will end my days saying God, thank you, thank you. I might not be where I want to be, but thank God I'm not where I could be and he's bringing me every step into the purpose he's designed me to have to make a difference in the lives of people around me. So, god, jesus, holy Spirit, we invite you here, lord, we say have your way with us. We say more of you.

Speaker 1: 39:52

Lord, calm, holy Spirit, man, I just, I just very much feel like there is like this little demon on people's shoulders whispering into their ears, saying that's not for you, you can't walk in purpose, you've done too many stuff. That's not for you. I rebuke that in the name of Jesus, freedom in the name of Jesus, right now and I'm Holy Spirit, we wait on you, lord, we just wait on you. We say we give you control. I even feel like the Holy Spirit saying you got to release that loved one to Him. You can't fix them or change them. You can pray for them, but release, release. It's visually, that's for you, just visually, visually, even maybe physically, pitch yourself, hand in over that person to the Lord. I even feel like there's a trauma that someone's holding on to you, specifically with the father figure or father in your life that said something or did something to you, and I feel like the Holy Spirit saying hand that to me right now.

Speaker 1: 41:43

Calm, holy Spirit. Calm, holy Spirit. You want to feel the weight of your glory right now. Lord, you say come, holy Spirit. You ain't here today, like Jacob, I mean that sounds good, but I don't even know this Jesus you're talking about. I mean I know him, I don't know him. You want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life? It's right where you are in your chair. I want to lead you in a prayer. I'm not going to call you out. Have you come up front? Nothing like that. It's right where you are. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, just say this prayer with me, right where you are. Say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new Today. I trust you with my life Today. I follow you In Jesus name. Amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today, amen. Amen.