Yesterday’s message was entitled “Judgment Time”. The point of the message was to use this season, the end of the year, as a time when you judge yourself and you open your heart to God’s judgment. You want to know that you are doing the right things, you are pursuing the right purpose and you are becoming the right person. Today’s message flows in the same vein.
The Lord told Jeremiah he was known, set apart and assigned to a specific purpose all before he was ever formed in his mother’s womb (Jer 1:5). David said the Lord watched him grow from conception to birth, all the stages of his life were spread out before God like an open book, before he was born. David said it was as if the Lord prepared ALL the days of his life before he ever lived one day (Psalm 139:16). Paul said God not only saved us, but He called us to a holy calling, to something bigger than us; and He did so according to His grace and purpose, not our performance or desires. Paul further explained how God did all of this in Christ Jesus before the world began (2 Tim 1:9). Solomon explained how everything that is (now), has already been, and everything that will be (in the future), has already been. Solomon said it is as if God is looking for history (what He planned in eternity) to repeat itself in the earth in time (Ecc 3:15).
Considering all the Bible has to say about God’s sovereignty and the plans He made for us before the world began, we should clearly see a need to discover, develop in, and then deploy into our purpose. But what if you pursue the wrong things? What if your desires don’t line up with God’s plans? That’s where frustration sets in.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- God made plans for you before the world began and along with those plans, He already gave you the grace to complete them.
- Everything you need to accomplish what God birthed you to do has already been prepared for you by God’s amazing grace.
- Frustration sets in when you attempt to make a demand on God for something that is not your to have. If your desire does not line up with God’s plans, then you can pray, decree, declare, name, claim, fast, and nearly starve, but you can’t make God give you something that’s not yours. Faith is not you telling God what to do. Faith is not you attempting to get God to put a “YES” on your plans. Faith requires submission and surrender. Faith is about God attempting to get you to put a “YES” on His plans.
- The late Dr. Myles Munroe said, “If you pursue the wrong assignment, you’re going to need things you can’t get, because the provision isn’t there unless the vision is yours. It’s someone else’s assignment, and he has his own warehouse. Sometimes, people make demands on God that He can’t supply because He can’t give us what doesn’t belong to us. Again, knowing God’s will for your life is the key to your prosperity.”
- Powerful things happen when you come in alignment with God’s divine assignment for your life.
- God never promised you assignment would be easy, but He did promise you the grace. This means you have both the grace to PERFORM what you were called to do and the grace to OVERCOME every challenge along the way. However, if you pursue selfish desires that don’t line up with God’s plans, then you will be out there on your own, without grace, attempting to do everything with human effort, and the results will not be good.
- Many believers are blaming God for their troubles when in reality they are simply living in disobedience. If you pursue the wrong things and live the wrong life you are going to get the wrong results. Life is hard for those who pursue whatever they want. Grace is available for those who are willing to die to self and live the life God planned for them to live. I have tried both. Take it from me, the latter is better!
- As you close out 2015 slow down long enough to seek God concerning the direction of your life. If you are pursuing the wrong things, it is time to make some changes. Die to self, so God can live through you!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. Your grace is already available for my success. My prosperity is connected to my purpose. There have been times in my life when I pursued my own desires, made my own decisions, and was left to perform with nothing but my own ability. That’s not your best. I was not born to live as a mere human. I was Born-Again to live a supernatural life. But that supernatural life is connected to Your purpose. So I declare that I discover, develop in, and then deploy into Your purpose. I find, follow, and finish Your purpose before I die. I align with Your design for my life. And as I do, my faith taps into Your grace and I experience grace-based success. My success does not come with more trying, my success comes with more dying! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
