Discovering Your Purpose - Course Outline

DISCOVERY SCHOOL COURSE

DISCOVERING YOUR PURPOSE INTRODUCTION GOD is a God of purpose. Everything He does, no matter where, when or how, He does for a reason. Everything that God has ever created, He created with a purpose, and for a purpose. “Purpose Precedes Creation” Everything in life “begins” and “ends” with purpose. God is a purpose driven God. Therefore as a believer, you must be purpose driven in all that you do in life. God’s will for you is to live and breadth purpose. Purpose is the only thing that gives meaning to life, and makes you relevant to this present generation, and the generations after. MYLES MUNROE in his book “In Pursuit Of purpose” says, that, “the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without a reason (purpose). It is dangerous to be alive and not know the reason you are given life”. One of the most frustrating experiences is to have time but not know why.

WHAT IS PURPOSE? Purpose can be defined as: i. ii. iii. iv.

the original intent of the creation of a thing, the original reason fro the creation of a thing, the end for which the means exist, the cause for the creation of thing,

v. vi. vii. viii. ix.

the desired result that initiates production, the need that makes a manufacturer produce a specific product, the destination that prompted the journey, the aspiration for the inspiration and the object one wills or resolves to have..

Purpose therefore in a more personal context can be defined, as, the original intent in the mind of God, that prompted Him to create you. CREATED FOR AND WITH A PURPOSE TEXT GEN 1: 26 God created you with and for a purpose. There was a problem that God wanted solved that prompted Him to create you! The purpose for your existence was determined by God long before you were born into this world. Jeremiah 1: 5, Rom 8: 29 – 30. CALLED/SAVED FOR A PURPOSE Rom 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to HIS PURPOSE”

It is important for you to know that God created you to be a player and not a spectator in the affairs of life.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and LET US RUN with patience THE RACE that is set before us”. Hebrews 12:1 QUESTION: Is a runner a spectator or a player?

• Players are assets, spectators are liabilities.

“Players are for prizes, while spectators are for fun”

Myles Munroe: “There are three groups of people that walk the face of the earth today: i. ii. iii.

Those who makes things happen; Those who watch things happen and Those who have no idea what is happening. “You cannot just sit down and watch things happening. You are created to make something happen – something unique and special”.

Your existence is the evidence that this generation needs something that your life contains

THE MANUFACTURER AND HIS PRODUCT The person responsible for the creation or the existence of a thing is called “The Manufacturer”, while that thing itself is called “The product”. The word “Manufacturer” is a compound word made up of two words: MANU: which means “Manual” FACTURER: which means “Maker” When a manufacturer makes his product, he produces a manual, which will help users of his product to understand the purpose of that product, and how it was designed to fulfil that purpose. The manual gives you a fore-knowledge on the specific function of the various parts in that product. i.e. A car has consists of various parts, which possess their own specific function that contribute to the fulfilment of its purpose.

Only the manufacturer has the right to determine the purpose of his product, not the customer nor the product itself. Any attempt to use a product in any way that is different from the purpose for which is was created, is referred to, as, “abuse of purpose” You are God’s product. Therefore, He alone has the right to determine what your purpose should be, not you or any other person. God has a manual for your life. It is your responsible to find out what it says about you. Luke 4: 17 (About Jesus) “…And when He opened the book, He found the place where it was it written …”

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PURPOSE

1. God is the source of your purpose. 2. Purpose is constant 3. Purpose is predetermined. 4. Your purpose is an integral part of you. 5. Your purpose is a solution to a problem. 6. Your purpose is to a person or to a people 7. Your purpose determines your destiny. 8. Your purpose is your assignment. 9. Your purpose is interrelated.

PURPOSE AND VISION Proverbs 29: 18 : “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the

law, happy is he”. (KJV)

You cannot talk about purpose without talking about vision, because, purpose gives birth to vision. God has a purpose for your life, and when it is revealed to you it becomes vision. WHAT IS VISION? Vision can be defined as, “having an insight or revelation of God’s plan and purpose for an individual or a nation”. When you have knowledge of God’s plan and purpose for your life, then you can say that you have a vision for your existence. In other words, Vision means: to have an understanding of your Creator’s intentions for creating you.

PURPOSE, VISION AND MINISTRY Purpose is your assignment, while the knowledge of your assignment is called Vision, and the pursuit of your vision is called Ministry. NB: Vision as a course will be treated in full when we take the 3rd course: The Power of Vision

PLANS AND PURPOSE For I know the PLANS I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (Living Bible) God’s purpose for an individual, nation or people is always constant, but His plan to achieve that purpose may vary from time to time.

WHY DOES GOD SOMETIMES HAVE MORE THAN ONE PLAN?

The variableness in God’s plans for our lives is not due to His inability to bring about the fulfillment of His purpose for our lives with just one plan, but sometimes due to:

I. Our defiance to following our own plans and intuitions. II. The mistakes we make which take us away from the course of destiny. III. The opposition’s success in distracting or derailing us from God’s ordained path for our lives. IV. Inability to make the right choices when occasion demands it. V. Our insensitivity to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.

# . Nothing the devil does can stop the purposes of God. He always has a back up plan. i.e The Israelites journey to Canaan land.

PURPOSE AND TIME Eccl 3:1: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (KJV) “There is a right time for ever thing” (Living Bible) To every purpose in life there is a “Time Tag” attached to it. Purpose is the reason why time exists. In other words time is of no relevance outside purpose. Time is meaningless without purpose. God establishes a purpose and also sets a time for its beginning and its fulfillment. i.e. Jesus said, “My time has not come” - John 2: 4; and “It is finished” – John 19:30. Jesus never gave up ht Ghost until He finished His assignment.

WHAT IS TIME? Time can be defined as “a short interruption in eternity”. A period that is allocated to you, to fulfill what you were sent here to do. Time is always given for the completion of purpose. Whenever time is used for things that do not work towards the given purpose, it is wasted and the opportunity to reach perfection is delayed or lost.

Time is always given for the completion of purpose

He who has time to burn will never give the world much light. Killing time is not murder, it’s suicide. (Myles Munroe) “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should”. Psalms 90:12 (Living)

Key Points • Time starts when we are born, and ends when we die. • Eternity has neither beginning nor an end. • God, who is eternal, exists outside time. • God sees the end from the beginning and sets our course according to His overall purposes. • God gives every purpose a time that allows it to reach perfection. • Time is always given for a purpose. • Time that is not used for it’s intended purpose is wasted and lost.

PURPOSE AND PLACE God does not only determine the purpose of a thing, but He also determines the place for its commencement and its completion. And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the LAND OF MORIAH; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto THE PLACE of which God had told him. Gen 22:1-3 (KJV)

PURPOSE , PEOPLE AND PASSION Your purpose is not to everyone, but to a specific set of people. In other words you are not sent to solve every one’s problem. You are not created to meet every need.

JESUS:

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying; Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL. Matt 15:21-24 (KJV) EZEKIEL:

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For THOU ART NOT SENT TO A PEOPLE of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Ezek 3:1-5 (KJV)

God will only draw to you, the people to whom you have been sent (i.e. Adam & Eve). The sick, the diseased and the demon possessed all thronged around Jesus everywhere he went, because of Acts 10v38: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and HEALING ALL THAT WERE OPPRESSED OF THE DEVIL; for God was with him.

PURPOSE AND COMPASSION It takes the Compassion for you to be able to complete God assignment for your life. The people, to whom you are sent, are the ones that will unlock your compassion. You have been tuned by God to respond compassionately to your purpose. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was MOVED WITH COMPASSION TOWARD THEM, and he healed their sick. Matt 14:14 (KJV)

NB: Jesus was not moved to heal the daughter of the Canaanite woman, because she was not from the house of Israel. He only responded to her on the basis of her “Persistence faith”. (Matt 15:21-28)

PURPOSE, DESIGN AND POTENTIAL God has designed (formed) you the way you are, so that fulfilling your purpose becomes so natural. The reason why you struggle to do what other people are doing

is because you are not designed to do those things. You are not designed to do everything, but something specific. Discover what it is and stick to it. And the LORD God FORMED (designed) man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen 2:7 (KJV)

After God designed you, He then put in you all the things - the ability, capability, gifts, and talents - that you will need to get the job done. All these things are known as “your potentials”. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils THE BREATH OF LIFE (potentials); and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 (KJV) For the gift (potentials) and calling (purpose) of God are without repentance. Romans 11:29 (KJV) Your purpose is the reason why God has designed you the way you are. Don’t try to change it, but accept it and flow with it.

7 VITAL KEYS TO LOCATING YOUR PURPOSE 1. What is the deepest desire in your heart? • “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart”. Psalm 37:4 2. What stirs your passion? Passion is the zeal, fire, excitement, and intensity that you feel about things that are important to you. Passion is powerful. • “And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up”. John 2:17 3. What flows naturally out of you?

Your course of destiny will feel right – will feel natural – as you discover it. People who have found their place in God’s plan are doing what is natural to them. 4. Where do you bring forth fruit or produce good results? You will need to sit and discover the area(s) where God has been using you the most, or the nature of the lives he has been using you to touch. • “A tree is known by its fruits” – Matt 12:33

5. What is the witness of The Holy Spirit in your spirit? God has a way of letting us know what is right, what is wrong, and what His will is. Call it a feeling, a known, an intuition, or a green light on the inside; we all have a witness in our spirit when something is in question. • “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God…The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Romans 8:14, 16 6. What do mature Christians see in you? You are not alone. God will bring to you friends and leaders who can help you on to destiny’s course. • “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment”. Proverbs 18:1 7. What career or ministry do you feel the peace of God about pursuing? When you are on course with your God-given destiny, there is a peace that passes all understanding in our life. Others may wonder how you can do what you are doing and have peace about it. • “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let you requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus”. Philippians 4:6-7