Gregory Dickow - The Power of Purpose, You Were God's Idea
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He gave them power. Now, imagine that for a moment that you are not alone when Jesus rises from the dead, you're not powerless, he gives you peace, he gives you purpose, and he gives you power. Now, last week, I talked to you about peace. So today I want to drill down a little on the second thing that he gave. Purpose, purpose, purpose. Do you know that you were created on purpose? You were created with purpose and you were created for purpose. And I believe the most depressing thing in life is living your life without purpose. The most discouraging thing in life is living life without purpose, because you see, you can handle whatever comes your way when you understand the purpose for which you were born and the purpose. And when you understand there is a purpose for which you were created.
I like what God says through David in Psalm 139. I want to read this to you now. Notice what David says to the Lord. He said, My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret. He said in skillfully rot in the depths of the earth and verse 16, he goes on to say, he said, Your eyes have seen my unformed substance and in your book were all written your days that were ordained for me. He said in your book, All the days of my life were written for me when not one of them had ever happened yet. Do you see God chose you before the world began. God shows you before you were in your mother's womb. You know what you might have got here? You might have gotten here through your father and mother. Most of us did. You you you might have gotten here through your father mother. But you got here from God. You were God's idea. You were God's idea.
Now there's something very liberating about knowing that you were God's idea. In fact, is is when your parents conceived you, they didn't have you on their mind. Now, we might have to start with some biology here today, but I need to help you understand something. When your parents conceived you, they didn't have you on their mind. You were the farthest thing from their mind. But guess what? God had you on his mind, they didn't have you on on their mind, but God used them to bring you into this earth, you might have come through the portal of your father and mother, but you came from the heart of God. You are God's idea. You see, when you have purpose in your life, when you know, God created you on purpose, for purpose, with purpose, you stop running.
All of our lives were running from our past. We're running from our pain. We're running from our mistakes. We're running from our shortcomings. We're running from the things that we're feel ashamed about. We're running from the things that we didn't do. Right. We're running from people. We're running from our fears. We're running from our anxieties. We're running from our insecurities. We're running from the thing that makes us feel like we are inferior. We're running from those things. We're constantly running. We're constantly running. Why are we running? Because we're afraid. Why are we running? Because we're uncertain. Why are we running? Because we're insecure.
Why did Peter run? Because he was afraid. Why did Thomas run? Because he doubted. Why did Andrew Ron. Why did all these disciples run? They ran away because they weren't sure. They didn't have confidence in what they were there for. They didn't know their purpose. They didn't realize that God was going to do something amazing in their lives. They all started out as cowards. And yet God made them the bravest men and women that have ever lived. They all started out running from God and running from their purpose. And now after his resurrection, they Jesus comes running after them. There they have run away and now they go gathered in a little room where they've locked the doors because they're afraid of the Jews. And what does Jesus do? He comes running after them. They didn't find him. He found them.
I must tell you something. No matter where you're at in life, you need to know something. God's been looking for you. God hasn't been looking for you to beat you up. God hasn't been looking for you to make you feel bad about your life. He's been looking at you. He's been looking for you so that he could give you three things so that he can give you peace, so that he can give you purpose and so that he could give you power. Let me tell you something. And he's determined to find you. And however you ended up here today, he brought you here so he can give you peace. He brought you here so he can give you purpose. He brought you here so he can give you power.
Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. Every one of us, God new you, God chose you. God loved you before you were even born. God knew you before you were in your mother's womb. He loved you before you were in your mother's womb. He chose you before you were in your mother's womb. And I'm going to tell you something. When you get a hold of that, it brings so much more meaning in your life. It brings you purpose in life. What is life for? Just to go through life and live with a happy family? There's nothing bad about that. I happy one is better than an unhappy one to live with a little money, enough to pay your bills and have a little have enough to enjoy life and have enough to help somebody else.
Yes, there's nothing wrong with that. It's certainly better than not having enough. But that is not enough to fulfill you. That is not enough to keep you motivated. That is not enough to keep you focused. That is not enough to give you hope. That is not enough to give you joy. That is not enough to give you all of the the the power that comes from knowing that you have a purpose. Purpose gives meaning to money. Purpose gives reason for money. Purpose gives meaning to relationships. Purpose gives meaning to situations that you go through. Purpose gives you meaning to your pain when you go through something and you have no purpose when you're feeling hurt and you have no purpose, that hurt could destroy you. But when you're when you're feeling hurt but you know you have a purpose, then that purpose will give your pain meaning.
It'll give your pain a reason. It'll give you it wasn't God that brought you the pain, but God will carry you through the pain when you understand there is a purpose to that pain and there's a purpose to your life. And God will even use the pain in your life to bring you to the ultimate purpose that he has for you. I'm telling you, man, I'm telling you there is. This is what purpose does for you. Purpose gives meaning to your pain. Purpose powers you through your pain, you know. If you don't have purpose. Then pain will kill you, pain will destroy you, pain will paralyze you, but when you understand purpose that you have been born with a destiny, that you have been created for greatness, you say what? Why? Why aren't I experiencing that greatness? Because you quit.
As soon as pain comes, pain is the signal to you that to not go any farther, that Satan signal, stop in your pain, be paralyzed and your pain be made lame by your pain, that Satan's message to you, but God's message is, I will heal you and I will get you through it, and then you will bring other people through it all. Beloved, when you understand, when you understand the purpose, when you understand there is purpose, you might not understand the fullness of God's purpose for your life. But when you understand there is a purpose for your life, you get through anything. Let me tell you something, gang, we've got to get a hold of this, because around this world, our cemeteries filled with the greatest wealth that this world has ever known. And you know what the wealth is.
Sadly, the wealth in the cemeteries around this world is it's unfulfilled potential, all the potential and all the purpose that God put in you. We cannot allow it to die with us. We cannot allow it to go into the grave with us. You have been created for greatness. You've been created with purpose. You've been created with destiny. I don't care what you're going through right now. Listen to me. It doesn't matter if you're young or you're old, doesn't matter if you're black or you're white. It doesn't matter if you're rich or you're poor. Doesn't matter if you're if you're if you've gone through something or you haven't gone through something, it doesn't matter if you almost want to be here or you really want to be here. God got you here because you have a purpose, you have a destiny.
And I'm not letting you go to your grave with your potential. I'm not letting you go to your grave with your purpose buried. No, we're going to get it out of you. We're going to lift it out of you before you die. We're going to lift it out. You got to be committed to lift your purpose and lift your potential out from your life before you finish this earth. None of your potential matters in heaven. Your potential only matters here on this earth. We're going to live forever in heaven when we die. But the impact we will make on this earth while we live will be determined whether we embrace God's purpose for our lives or whether we just live by default and we live just because rather than living by a cause. Oh, may we get a hold of this today?
Listen, you think church people some people think church is just this just a family tradition. We just need to go to church. It's the right thing to do. No, it's the place to be equipped. It's the place to discover your purpose. It's a place to discover there's a treasure inside of you. And every Sunday we come together, every Wednesday we come together. We're going on a treasure hunt. We're looking for hidden treasure. There is hidden treasure buried in every individual soul in this place. No matter what you've been through, no matter how bad life has been, no matter what strikes are against you, no matter how far you fall, no matter how bad you felt.
Let me tell you something. There is hidden treasure inside of you, and today is the day to start digging it. The day is today is the day, the start removing the layers that have been burying that treasure and awaken to the greatness that's inside of you, awaken to the potential that's inside of you. Today is the day to rob death of your potential to rob death of making you die without having released it and unleashed it and taking advantage of the greatness that's inside of you. Today is the day to snatch your potential from death's jaws. It starts today. It starts today, there's more there's more for you, there's more for you. God has more.
You know, I think of Peter who ran from Jesus. I like Peter because Peter reminds me of me. Peter remind should remind all of us that God can use anybody. Peter reminds us of a man who denied the Lord three times. A man who sank in the water. When he tried to get out of the boat and walk down the water and then he sank, Peters, the guy that tried and failed, denied the Lord three times. One time Peter said, Lord, Lord, you can't die. You can't go to the cross. And Jesus said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. Now you know you're having a bad day when Jesus nicknames you Satan. That's like the worst day of your life right there. And then the worst. And then. And then Peter hits. He hits rock bottom in Luke. Twenty two I think it is. It says. But Peter said, man, I do not know what you're talking about. And immediately while he was still speaking a cock crowed and the Lord turned and looked at Peter. One translation says that Jesus turned toward Peter.
Now I want you to think about this. How good God is. Peter has just denied denied the Lord three times. And Peter has turned away from Jesus, but on the third time, after the third time of denying the Lord Jesus doesn't turn away from Peter, Jesus turns toward Peter. And that symbolizes something to me. And I hope it symbolizes something to you that no matter how many times you failed, no matter how many times you've blown it, no matter how many times you've fallen, no matter how many times you denied the Lord, he will not deny you. And no matter how unfaithful you've been to God, he will not be unfaithful to you. When we turn from him, he will turn toward us. He looked at Peter. What does that look? It wasn't a look of guilt. It wasn't a look of shame. It was a look of mercy. How else could Jesus look?
Jesus could never look at your failures and be mad at you. Jesus could never look at you when you fall and be angry with you. Jesus can never look at you when you make a mistake and be mad at, you know, when Jesus looks at you, he looks at you with acceptance. He looks at you with forgiveness. He looks at you with what he has. He doesn't have any anger to give you. He doesn't have any condemnation to give you. He doesn't have any guilt or manipulation to give you. He only has love. He only has mercy. He only has forgiveness. So when he looked at Peter, he was saying, Peter, I do not reject you, I accept you. And this launched Peter into the greatest future that he could have ever imagined. Peter ends up being the one who preaches the gospel after Jesus rises from the dead.
The first sermon Peter ever gives three thousand people were saved. The next time Peter gets up to open his mouth, 5000 people are saved. The next time Peter walks through the city, everybody wants to get in his shadow just to be healed. Yes, Peter was a spiritual superstar. You know why? Because he understood that his purpose would power him through his pain and his purpose powered him through his mistakes and his purpose powered him through his damaged life and his purpose powered him through his past and its purpose powered him through whatever he was, whatever was trying to limit him. And your purpose will power you through your pain. It will power you through your regrets. It will power you through your failures. It will power you through your past. It will power you through whatever you're going through. It'll get you through it. It's God's purpose.
And before you were in your mother's womb, you knew you called you destiny, purpose. You loved you called you, made you for him and for him alone. Well, you've got to pardon me for getting so excited about it, but I look at my life and I go, oh, God, I blew it there and God, I blew it there. When are you going to stop using me? When are you going to give up on me? And he says, never, I will never give up on you. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. What's in your life? What are you running from? What pain are you running from? Stop running. It's time to believe you have a purpose. What past are you running from? It's time to stop running. It's time to believe that you have a purpose. What mistakes. What what guilt. What shame.
What the terrible thing is in your closet. What terrible skeleton is in there. It's OK. God's already been in there. And he's dusted out all the ashes of that skeleton. And said, it's over your past, it's over your mistakes, I've forgotten them, your sins, I've forgiven them. I got something better, I got peace, I give it to you, I got purpose, I send you and I got power. I feel you. This is God's will for your life. And this will power you through anything, purpose gives you perspective, purpose gives you stability when your emotions are unstable. Anybody have a few of those in your life? Emotions go up and down. Emotions are the motion inside of you trying to move you in a certain direction.
That's what emotion is. It's internal motion. It's trying to move you, is trying to sway you. It's trying to get you to make bad decisions. Anger is an emotion that tries to it tries it's an internal movement trying to put in motion the fulfillment of that anger to hurt somebody, the fulfillment of that fear to run from something, the fulfillment of that anxiety to be scared of something, the fulfillment of of that that emotion of depression, to get you to take a drug, to take more than the doctor prescribed, to drink more than what's healthy, to swallow more than what's good for you to take your own life comes from not having purpose. You're in control, you're in control, your emotions aren't in control, child of God, so so how do we discover purpose in our lives? Well, it starts with knowing that your loved.
It's in Genesis 37, verse 3, and I read this to you from the King James Bible and we're almost done here, so hang in there. But in Genesis, chapter thirty seven, verse three, it says Now, now Israel love Joseph or Jacob loved Joseph more than all of his children and gave him a coat of many colors. You have to understand, this is this is also symbolic. It really happened, but it's also symbolic of how God loves you and has put a coat. Of righteousness on you, a code of power on you, a code of favor he's put on you. Israel love Joseph Israel is Jacob Jacobson. He had 12 sons. Joseph was one of them. Jacob loved Joseph. He loved Joseph. This is how God sees you. He loves you. You're special to him. You're important to him.
And when you understand that, look at what happens in verse five and Joseph, look at what it says. So Jacob loved Joseph in verse three and then in verse five. And Joseph dreamed a dream. Jacob loved Joseph and Joseph dreamed a dream. In other words, it was having the foundation of his father's love that lifted him out of just living to find love and living to get attention and living to have people like us to get the thumbs up on Instagram or Facebook. We live for the likes. We live for the approval of people. And we've got to realize you can't dream big when you need people's approval. But when Joseph knew his father's love, he could dream big dreams.
When you don't know the father's love, you're living a low life, trying to get affection, trying to get people to like you, trying to find love in all the wrong places, as the song says. But when you understand the father's love, it lifts you to a place. It elevates you to a place where you can dream big dreams, where you can live with purpose, where you can where you're unafraid to dream. You're not just trying to get somebody to like you. You're not just trying to find a date. You're not trying to get somebody to look at you the right way and smile at you and compliment you.
And notice you, whether you're married or whether you're single. We all try to get that. And we got to just know the father approves of us. The father loves us. The father adores us. The father is for our Heavenly Father. He sees you as the apple of his eye that gives you confidence to dream big dreams and to live for something bigger than yourself. Purpose comes from knowing that your loved purpose comes from knowing you were God's idea. Why would God? Be so obsessed with you to seek and to search. Well. It's because he created you. That's why he searches for you, you were his idea, you know, when you have a really good idea, you're proud of it. You protect it, you promote it, and you want to celebrate it, and you were God's idea.
So guess what? He's proud of you. He will protect you. He will promote you and he will celebrate you, you know why? Because you were his idea and a good God doesn't have bad ideas. You were his idea. It says in Ephesians one four before the world began, he chose you. Before the world began, he chose you. He chose you, he knew everything was going to happen, he knew every decision you're going to make and you knew every mistake you were going to make, but he still chose you. And you'll never give up on you before the foundation of the world. He chose us in him. I got to get a hold of this beloved everything's going to be all right.