Tag Archives: Purpose

April 15, 2012 · 9:08 pm

Favor Gone Berserk – Recieving grace in vain

What are you doing with God’s favor? (listen here)

God’s grace is multifaceted! His grace saves us from eternal separation (through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ), covers us in a myriad of situations and covers our sins when we confess, and empowers us (through the Holy Spirit) to live righteously and to attain all the covenant blessings or promises (favor, healing, prosperity, wisdom, might, and much more) that has been won for us.

Since we receive grace through faith (see Ephesians 2:8), as we grow our faith (belief and trust) in the Lord through the study of His Word (see Romans 10:17), we ensure we experience more grace (power, gifting) in our lives. Thus, a life of faith is an empowered life that leads to the manifestation of the fullness of His covenant blessings in our life.

Yet, many of us receive the grace of God in vain when we fail to realize that God lavishes His grace on us not just to proper us but for us to be His hands and feet and to fulfill the requirements of love through His gifts – to walk in His purpose for us, to reveal Christ to others, and to be a blessing to others. Paul puts it this way:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me – 1 Corinthians 5:10

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: We receive grace in vain when we stop laboring to fulfill the requirements of love by walk in His purpose for us, revealing Christ to others, and being a blessing to others. When we think it is just for us and we become lazy

Favor Gone Berserk

Favor goes berserk when we receive favor in vain. I started thinking of how favor goes berserk when I was asked this question: What would you rather have – favor or blessing? I found the question puzzling, not because it is difficult to answer, but because it makes a fundamentally flawed assumption. The question assumes that favor and blessing are mutually exclusive.

The will of God is to pour out his blessing on us and doth on us as a loving Father. He longs to bless us so that we can be a blessing to others – not to hog all our blessings in selfishness. By blessing others, we show God’s heart and walk in obedience. We open the door to God’s blessing when we obediently follow the path the He has for us. Favor is something that God grants us as we continue on the path of obedience. It is God’s favor that propels and catapults us towards the blessings that He has in store for us. So the relationship between favor and blessing is simply this:

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Favors are simply doors that God opens to accomplish His purpose through us

The mindset that favor and blessing are exclusive keeps us from reaching our destiny! People who chase after favor rather than blessings can be compared to those that base their performance on effort rather than results. They congratulate themselves on effort without ever achieving much. Hence, favor minded people often find themselves stuck in the same situation in life.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Favor is the means to an end, and not the end in itself.

The story of Mark lays out the peril of being solely favor minded

Mark Receives Grace in Vain (listen here)

Mark is a favor-monger! He loves favor. Mark does not have much but he does very well on favor. He is favored everywhere he goes – he gets free parking in places others need to pay; he gets the closest parking at sporting events, and a friend usually picks up his tab at dinner. Mark enjoys so much favor that he has come to expect it. It has come to the point where he can just about budget favor into his monthly financial plan.  For this, He is very thankful to God and prays to God for even more favor. From the outside looking in, it would be nice to be Mark right? Wrong!

Here are some things that being solely favor minded has done to Mark

  • He Cannot Bless Others: Mark is never able to pick up the tab for any of his friends. He is never able to help or bless anyone as he is the one that is always in need of a blessing. He needs others to continue favoring him and so is unable to be God’s hands and feet.
  • He has Become Lazy: By being solely favor minded he has imbibed a poverty mentality where he is satisfied with barely scraping by. He has the ability to achieve more, but laziness has crept into him. He has become the servant that the master admonished in the parable of the talents for being lazy (see Matthew 14:26). Mark has buried his potential under the seductive soil of favor!
  • He is Dissatisfied: Mark is never fully satisfied with any particular blessing his friends bestow upon him as he is always looking for more! His friends have noticed that while he always smiles and thanks them for blessing him, Mark becomes very sad, withdrawn, and even cold when he does not obtain their favor. They secretly wonder if Mark is only friends with them because of what they do for him. They wonder if their friendship with Mark is built on being his cash cow, and they wonder why he does not do more with the talent he possesses. On the other hand, Mark wonders why his friends have not picked up the tab especially when they are able and he is unable! He rationalizes it as his friends being cheap and not really loving him. He judges them for not following the biblical injunction of caring for the “needy” – as he is one who is in need! He conveniently forgets about all the other times they pick up his tab……. Mark has truly become a burden. And since he is never truly satisfied, he is never truly content. As such, he always nags. He has become a person that bible calls quarrelsome and nagging (see Proverbs 21:19).
  • He Cannot Keep a Relationship: Mark cannot maintain relationships because he is always the “taker” in them. He never gives because he rationalizes that he has nothing to give – but a whole lot of condemnation which he considers advice. He sees nothing wrong with always being a taker. In fact, He thanks God for blessing him and for putting people in his life he can take from. They are such a blessing! But in time, his partner realizes that Mark loves favor more than her and leaves him. Mark is stunned! He cannot see his own selfishness. He prays that God sends him another partner – another partner to drain!

Mark has forgotten that the bible says we should give and it shall be given unto us. It does not say to take so that we can get more.

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:38

Mark’s Heart Condition (listen here)

The story of Mark illuminates what can happen when favor goes berserk – when we make favor the goal and not a means. It may lead to laziness, ingratitude, inability to fulfill our potential and broken relationships. As heirs to the throne, Jesus has unlocked for us covenant blessings; not just covenant favor for our selfish gain. We must not allow the enemy to twist favor in such a way as to keep us from God’s best. If this is happening, we have to examine our hearts. If we truly have a heart for God (a heart of love), then we will have a heart to be a blessing to others. We will have a heart to be givers.

So to answers the originally levied question of whether I would rather have favor or blessing, I say give me bless me so that I can be a blessing to others.

Food for Thought: The path to God’s blessing is paved with favor

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April 8, 2012 · 1:43 am

Communion – Why I Love Bread and Wine

Good Friday is so special because it was through the crucifixion (and subsequent resurrection) that we were restored to the Father and so allows us to commune with Him. Communion is an act of sharing, participation or coming together. If we are to commune with Christ, we are to share in all of Him – both in His tribulation (see John 16:33) and His victory. In taking the Holy Communion, we accept this, and remember the broken body of Christ and the blood that was shed for us.

When I take Communion, I remember that He suffered for my sake – to wash my sins away, to bear the judgment for the sins I committed, to reconcile me to God, and to grant me the power to live life abundantly. When I take the Holy Communion, I realize who He is and who I am. I realize who I am without Him (lost, broken, worldly, and depraved) and who I am in Him (found, worthy, righteous, and beautified). I am reminded of His love for me and the sacrifice He made for me; that He did not run away from the Father’s will but was fully obedient because of His love for me and the Father; lowering Himself to be a man so that I can gain an undeserved position as a son of the Almighty God. In dying, He shattered the chains of bondage and granted me His Spirit so I may commune with Him daily.

It was unbelievable love that kept Him there on that cross. It was His love for me that kept Him diligent in His ministry and obedient to the point of sweating blood. When I think about His sacrifice on the cross, it reminds me of my responsibilities and what true love looks like. It reminds me that I am a new creation in Him and it reminds me of my sonship in Him; that He is my all in all; that He is the one in control of my life. When I remember His sacrifice and what it means, it brings me to my knees in total surrender.

Bread

“…this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.” – 1 Corinthians 11:24

The body reminds me of the humanity of Jesus. Breaking the bread reminds me of His sacrifice and the painful death He endured to put me in right standing with the Father. What if in His humanity, Jesus had been disobedient? What a tragedy for us all that would have been. His broken body reminds me of His willful obedience, His immense discipline, and His single-minded focus on God and on His purpose. He is the ultimate example of what it is to live a purpose-driven life. Neither the scare tactics, nor the law, nor the certainty of death and the suffering along the way could move our Savior. His broken body reminds me of why He endured it all – His love for me. It reminds me of how I need to live life – in love and in total surrender and obedience to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Wine

“…This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” – 1 Corinthians 11:25

With the blood came the new covenant. Hallelujah! The blood bought covenant tells me He will never leave me nor forsake me; He has granted me the Holy Spirit as my helper with whom I am sealed. His blood reminds me of his Deity and His Lordship. The power that conquered death and brought forth the covenant lies in the blood of Christ. Because of the blood, that same power resides in me through the power of the Holy Spirit. It enables and strengthens me to do all things – to love, live a better life, produce spiritual fruits (see Galatians 5:22), and manifest all manner of spiritual gifts (see 1 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Bread and Wine

Hallelujah! The broken body and blood remind me that I must daily crucify my flesh and surrender daily to the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. They remind me of God’s love for me and that He can and wants to do the impossible for me. His blood and body give me confidence and hope for the future. They remind me that full victory is mine when I discipline my body, mind, and heart, and surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit in full obedience; that I do not have to faint and lose heart.

His body (bread) and blood (wine) cleanses me, reconciles me, seals me, changes me, and empowers me to have total victory over anything and everything that may ever come my way. It emboldens me for it cloaks me with invincibility. It makes me superman! Therefore I ought to make it a point to get fattened with His bread (Word) and to get drunk on His wine (Holy Spirit) on a daily basis. This is why I love bread and wine. You tell me what is there not to love about it?

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: The only kind of gluttony and drunkenness the bible advocates is gluttony on the Word (bread) and drunkenness on the Holy Spirit (wine). Therefore, if loving bread and wine is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

“‘Man shall not eat by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” – Matthew 4:4

“…All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” – 2 Timothy 3:16

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” – Ephesians 5:18

Food for Thought: In Christ, we are free to indulge in all the bread and wine we want

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February 29, 2012 · 7:36 am

Stop Being a Jonah – Answer God’s Call Willingly

Stop Running Away

If we are not impressed by our gifts, abilities, and talents (because we know everything we have is from God and by the grace of God), then we should not be depressed by our weaknesses (because our weaknesses keep us humble and reliant on the saving power of Christ).

God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). If any of us think that we have conquered all our weaknesses and have arrived at our destination in life, then we have become puffed up and are on our way to a downfall. Paul puts it this way:

“For though I desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth…” – 2 Corinthians 12:6

When we truly realize how much we need God and how nothing we accomplish is by our own strength, we become maximally useful to carry out His will. See, God foreknew all of us before we were born and called each one of us to achieve a particular purpose (good work).

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

Shying away from God’s purpose is disobedience so we should not do it since it displeases Him. Furthermore, its a fool’s game! But why?

Here is why. As children of God, the Spirit yearns jealously for us (see James 4:5). We can run around in the wilderness for years trying to dodge the purpose to which He has called us –using every excuse in the book – but He will use people, situations, and circumstances to break us down and get our attention. No matter how hard we try, we find that His purpose cannot be withheld from Him and that what He has ordained will get done, for no word that He has spoken can ever return back to Him void (see Isaiah 55:11).

“I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.” – Job 42:2

A good example of someone that tried not to do what God called him to do was Jonah. When he was given his orders, the first thing He did was head in the opposite direction.  Being self-righteous and disobedient, he almost caused a boat to sink and had to spend time in the belly of a whale before he finally headed to Nineveh to deliver God’s message. As hard-headed as he was, God’s purpose was accomplished through him – not because of Him, but despite of Him. Jonah endured unnecessary hardship because of his disobedience. In the end, it was all for naught.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Running away from God’s purpose in our life is pointless and is life’s biggest time waster. If He has chosen us, His desires will be fulfilled through us no matter how much of a Jonah we become.

And just like Jonah, we become miserable if we do not align our hearts with the purpose of God, for even after Jonah delivered the message to the people of Nineveh and they repented, he wanted God to take him out. Seriously Jonah!

For those of us that answer God’s call, we can be assured that If He has chosen us, He will strengthen us. Just as He strengthened Moses and gave him the words to speak to the Pharaoh and made him a great leader, He will do the same for us as long as we walk in obedience – so we need not fear. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

The story of Gideon highlights the strength of God working in human weakness. Gideon was a man who started out with little faith. In fact, he did not really believe in what God promised and thus became the first “fleece-thrower” (see Judges 6:36 – 40).  Yet, God called him a mighty man of valor and persevered with Him – showing Gideon that He is a mighty God. It was this same Gideon that did not question God when He trimmed his army from 34,000 to 300 before granting him victory over the Midianites. Now that took some faith!

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: If stubborness and lack of faith could not stop God from achieving his purpose through Jonah and Gideon, respectively, it will not stop Him from using you.

Food for Thought: You signed up to be used by God for His purpose when you signed up with Jesus, so stop fighting it! He will have His way anyway.

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