This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”. In this series I have been teaching a great deal about purpose and how your success/prosperity is connected to your divine purpose. Today I will use the life of Jesus to highlight the importance of being driven by your purpose vs. being driven by need.
We know that Jesus lived in complete harmony with the Father. Jesus only said what He heard the Father say and He only did what He saw the Father do (John 5:19,30, 8:26-28, 30). Jesus made it clear that it was the Father living in Him who gave Him the words He spoke and performed the work He did (John 14:10). With this in mind, let me bring up an example of a time when Jesus was surrounded by sick people but He only healed one.
In John 5 Jesus entered Jerusalem through the Sheep Gate and He visited the pool of Bethesda. It is a pool with five covered porches. The Bible says, “Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.” There were sick people everywhere Jesus looked, however, Jesus was drawn to one man, a man who had been sick for 38 years, and Jesus healed him. That’s it. After healing this man Jesus moved on. But wait! There were more sick people. There was more NEED. Others could have benefitted from the power flowing through Jesus. But Jesus was only driven by purpose, not need. Jesus went places where there was lots of need, but Jesus did not allow the need to drive His ministry. Jesus was successful because He allowed the Father’s purpose to drive his actions. We would do well in learning from Him.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God is driving us to the place where we will be driven by purpose and not by need.
2. If you are driven by need and not by purpose it will be: 1) difficult for your to put God first and 2) easy for satan to manipulate you.
3. When you are need focused the only thing on your mind is YOU and what you need. Living this way makes you too selfish to hear from God.
4. Needy people are quick to point out what they cannot do because of what they are facing. They are driven by circumstance instead of being driven by purpose.
5. In this series God is putting a desire in people’s hearts to FIND, FOLLOW and attempt to FINISH their divine purpose, by God’s grace. This is the only way to find true success.
6. God is not moved by need, He is moved by purpose. If God allowed Himself to be moved by need, then satan could create need all over the world and basically dictate God’s actions. While God does not allow Himself to be driven by need, unfortunately many of His children do.
7. A needy person who does not strive to find their divine purpose will always remain needy. They live their lives from episode to episode of trying to get their needs met. God did not bring you into the world to live so focused on meeting your own needs that you fail to fulfill your purpose and you fail to BE a blessing to others.
8. People driven by need focus only on themselves. People driven by purpose focus on making an impact in this world!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and how You made plans for me before the world began. I open my heart to hear from You. You reveal Your Kingdom plans and purposes for me, TO ME, so that I can maximize the purpose and potential You placed down inside me. From this day forward I declare that I shall not be driven by need. I shall only be driven by Your divine purpose for my life. When I was driven by need I was too focused on me to hear from You and I was certainly not focused on others. I die to self. I pick up my cross and follow You. I embrace my divine assignment and I don’t worry about my needs. As I pursue Your divine purpose I know You will give me more than I need. Your Word says that You are able to make all grace abound towards me that I would always have more than enough to meet the needs of any situation and I will also have enough to contribute to every charitable work. I focus on Your purpose and I know You will finance the purpose You brought me into this world to perform. I focus on Your vision for my life and I trust You will release the provision. By Your grace and with my faith, I am confident that You will make the impact You desire to make IN, WITH and THROUGH me; because I will live my life purpose-driven and not need-driven. And as I live this way I will enjoy true success by Your amazing grace. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
