Leon Fontaine - Stick To Your Purpose
Today, I want to talk about stick to your purpose. Stick to your purpose. In Hebrews 12, it talks about being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. And it is talking about the men and women who have gone before us, who are now in heaven. I don't know how much they can see, but it says that, it uses the terminology of the Greek Olympic Games. And that they're in the stands, because their work is done. Heaven has nobody in there that needs help, so they're rejoicing and laughing and enjoying His presence. But down here, is where you and I still have our work cut out for us. And so, this great cloud of witnesses, is cheering us on to run our race. You have a purpose for your life. You are in this generation for a reason. And every one of you have gifts and abilities that need to be used for God.
This issue is crucial because the Bible says in Hebrews 12:1-3, lay aside the weights, and the sins that so easily beset you. You know, during this time. The church of Jesus Christ needs to rise up. This is the time for us as never before, to reach out to people, to love people, to care about people. People are hurting there, people are going through things they have no idea what the future's going to hold. They live in fear, and the Bible says fear has torment. So they're tormented emotionally. They're tormented in relationships. We know because of the incredibly high degree of relationship issues that are taking place. And it says, lay aside the weight. And you know, when fear is brought into our lives. When situations are brought into our lives. We can't let those become a weight that weighs us down.
You know, it's amazing when we go shopping with the grandkids or you know, if you just tuck one under your arm, I don't know how you moms do it, but my arm gets tired after about ten minutes and you guys shop for hours. And they kind of lock their arm in and they put their hip there and I just see these moms, shop for hours. And I'm thinking that is, that little bit of weight is still a weight and it will slow you down. It will make you sore. And in life, the enemy wants to weigh you down. And that weight will become a sin. In other words, what you allow to make you weary in fulfilling your purpose, will become something as you get off course. God has a purpose for your life.
It says in Ephesians 2:10 and I love the Amplified Bible, that your purpose is so powerful, that God has made a pathway for you ahead of time. You don't have to follow it, but it's the best path you'll ever follow. For the greatest excitement, the greatest passion, the greatest fulfillment, and the greatest use of the gifts and abilities that are in you, that you probably don't even know that you have. But when you follow God's purpose for your life, something amazing takes place. When you look at, the Bible, there's an interesting portion of scripture in Romans 8. And it says there, that, the spirit of God helps our weaknesses. Anybody here have weaknesses? I do. We do not know how to pray, as we should. But the spirit Himself speaks to God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain.
One of the versions says that Holy Spirit will pray through us in words that are hard to put articulate speech to. And many of us know, as you study the Word here, he's talking about praying in the Spirit. It goes on to say in verse 27, God can see what is in people's hearts, and He knows what is in the mind of the spirit of God. Now, let's just stop there for a minute. We can see that God is looking at what is in people's hearts. Why does He do that? Because it tells Him their future. Okay? God does not control your heart, God does not make your heart have beliefs, these are up to you. This autonomous ability of free will, you believe and live your life with complete freedom. And so God will never violate your freedom. He will try to love you, He'll try to, to influence you. But He'll never manipulate you. He will never force you. Because you've been given something incredible called freedom, which is why even in our societies today, governments don't give us freedom, they're supposed to protect it because it's God-given.
But here it says, that God can see what is in people's hearts. He is looking at the hearts of you and I. It's crucial when you go through things in life, and every one of us period continue to feed and listen to God's Word because it has a way of beginning to determine the beliefs of your heart. And the Bible says in Proverbs that as a man thinks in his heart, this is how he lives. Not how he thinks in his head. The thoughts of my head come and go by the minute. But if I can learn to control what comes into my heart, I can begin according to Jesus' teaching in Mark 4, to begin to control and keep the seed that goes into my heart. Seed, that is growing an amazing future. An amazing life. Your heart, is the autopilot of your life. You don't get what you want, you get what you believe from your heart. And so your heart must be protected, and it must be, the Word of God must be planted so that the old beliefs that you've established growing up as a child, that are wrong or maybe incorrect. They need to be pushed out and God's Word, His beliefs, be placed into your heart. Because that is when you're going to do amazing.
Now this portion of scripture, people use it all the time. In verse 28 it says and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. And then they stop right there. But actually, it goes on to say, all things work together for good when you're in His purpose. I just want to share this with you, this is very, very important in our lives. That you have a world that is in front of you. You have decisions to make on all quadrants. Where you live, what you do, career, marriage, kids. How many addictions you want, how you want to live, how you want to serve pleasure, or whatever. All of this is here for us, and He's not going to stop us. This verse is talking to those who have a sense of purpose. What purpose? A sense of, knowing Jesus. And following Him. This is our purpose.
You say Leon, what is my purpose, is it to be the person who sings and makes the whole? No, sometimes we get these grandiose ideas that every, I'm going to be the greatest leader the world has ever seen. And it's more positional than it is influential. And so if God wants you in positional leadership to be the most famous politician or singer, He'll do that. But to go for it, you'll fall into error. Just decide I want to know Jesus better each day. I want to, to be obedient to His Word, and as you do, this purpose of knowing Jesus and then when you obey His Word, your heart begins to be filled with His Word through your, through your, your own time of reading and getting out to a life-giving church. Where you're taught who you are. This takes place in your heart. And then to be led by the spirit is so easy. But if you do not have it as a purpose, I will know Jesus. I will be a part of His church.
You say well I go to church. Yeah, good for you. You can do whatever you want. But Jesus said, I will build my church. And the gates of hell won't stop it. Someone says well He's talking about the universal church. You can just be by yourself anywhere on the planet never going to organized religion. Believe whatever you want. Again, you get to do whatever you want. But the disciples who were with Him listening to Him explain all this teaching, when He left, they went out and planted local churches in every possible city and country they possibly could. And that is why Christianity became such a powerful, miraculous thing in the lives of people. I want to challenge you today. Purpose is crucial. Without purpose, you'll be bored. Without purpose, when you're bored, you get into sin way easier. You're looking for pleasures.
People who have no purpose in life, their purpose simply becomes how many different pleasures can I learn to enjoy, and God gave all these pleasures, but what He did was He showed you how to access them. Every pleasure, from food to sex to relationships, to power, to influence, to career, to enjoying golf and water-skiing, and all of these things. He gave, but every one of them can take you off track, if not control. And making sure that your purpose is your priority. Today, so many people are concerned about their rights and privileges, and I sure am, too. Especially when it comes to the government. But you as a person should be more concerned personally, about your purpose, and your duty. It is the only place you'll find true happiness. The other areas of my rights, my pleasures, my privileges, are crucial for us to fight for governmentally, and nationally. But you personally before God, if all you focus on is your rights and your privileges with God, and what I want here and what I want there, of course it's filled with promises of blessing. But it's only in purpose, in duty, that you're going to find this sense that makes you get up in the morning.
Now, as we make this decision, to live with purpose, then the Bible says and then you can know all things work together for good. You'll look up at a storm coming and go wow, you know, okay God, Your Word says to do this, this, and this. And if there's no verse on it, Holy Spirit will show you and guide you. Because He says I'll show you things to come. And you'll have a sensing and a direction of what to do. But you'll notice that when the smoke clears and the storm is over. A lot of the stuff around you is gone. It's kind of like, when an earthquake hit a prison where Paul and Silas were. You know, they got shaken. It can't be a good feeling to be in a prison, it happened a could times you know, where the place starts to shake and you're worried it's going to come down on top of you. But all that happens is your chains fall off. Your, stocks fall of. The door pops open. And while the jail's being shooken to not, to death, you get to get up and walk out free.
There are so many examples in the Word of God of lifting your eyes above the storm, and the things that are around us. It says a thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand. It's not coming near you. Why? Because you have a covenant with almighty God. And this is what Jesus did for you and I. One, of the reasons for the blessing of God on your life, is to make everybody who doesn't know Him jealous. It is so clear, it is all through the Word. Almost in every book of the Bible, the word "blessed" and it means happy, when you're blessed you're happy. It means fortunate. That means everything you put your hand to prospers from careers to finances to relationships, and then it says, and to be envied. God wants the world to envy you in any area that they're driven to succeed in. He wants them to look around and say how is that person doing this? How can they be so peaceful and happy and still love their wife as they prosper and succeed? He wants this blessing, one of these meanings is that He wants you and I to make the world envioius. So they look at us and go what is it?
When they ask you what makes your life so good, stop talking as if you the expert. And just say there's a blessing, there's a favour on my life. That, I had nothing to do with but to accept and believe. And that favour is what makes my life so good. So, when we talk about this issue of, God causes all things to work together for good. To them who love God, and are called according to His purpose. And I have seen, and I have been there where I've decided to take my own path. And my own purpose even as a Christian. And I have to say, if the path hasn't been prepared, then it's not God doing anything to you. Like, there's a highway from here to Banff. It's been prepared. If I had decided, I don't need the highway. Hey, I'm driving a 4x4. I'll make my own way. How long will it take me to get from here to Banff if I don't use any prepared roads ahead of time? I don't think I'll even make it.
Let alone, you've got to figure out how to move trees, how to move creeks, how to get across creeks, you're going to get stuck in the mud. You're going to run into cows, a farmer's going to take a shot at you as you cross his property. How many problems will you have? A lot of them. That's why He prepares a path ahead of time. That's the path, He's cleared the way. He's made it good. That's the path, that when you get on this thing, you'll know the greatest and the best of every desire of your heart and you'll even discover the ones that you do not know. God causes all things to work together for good to them who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Please keep knowing Jesus and keep going that way. You are salt and light. You are salt and light. That is what you are to be with the presence of God in you. That means, that with, being light means you illuminate the right path. Wherever you go, there should be something about you, even in conversations.
You don't have to have to even preach to people. There's an illumination. There is a glow that comes off of you and I, that everyone notices because it's not, shouldn't be self-centered, it shouldn't be self-grandising, it shouldn't be, it should be something that flows off so easily you kind of go what is in that person? There's an illumination of the presence of God that causes business to come. That, that causes people to look and to question. This illumination is needed, we are the salt and the light. How will we ever reach this world if there's not an illumination of the peace, the joy, the presence and the love of God off of us? Then, the Bible says you are salt. Now, everywhere you go, you should be able, see, salt makes you thirsty. As the deer pants for the water. So my soul longs after You. Is how king David put it.
Did you know that wherever we go, if we stop trying to take the credit, get the credit, make ourselves look so smart, so good, and I know the truth, and just die to all that. And let people know, that you have a relationship with God that makes me want one. You have something that's going on between you and God, and I want that. This saltiness is you. And then they want to know God like you know God. They don't want religion. They don't want church. They don't want more meetings, they don't want more things to go to. Unless, they first get illuminated by God on you. And as you talk and flow, they begin to want and desire to know Him. They begin, salt makes you crave water. The water of His Word, the water of what flows in His life. I pray that you would be salt. I pray that everywhere you go, if you'll walk in the presence and the joy and the peace of God and love people the way they are.
I love LAF. L-A-F is something we taught from day one. That in this church we're going to love people the way they are, we're going to accept them for whatever they want to be. And we're going to forgive them when they hurt us because we can't change them. Only God can change me, not you. And only God can change you, not me. And to you spouses, you've been trying for 50 years and haven't changed a thing on each other, why? Because you can't. And only love them the way they are, and release them to God. And so, be salty. Make sure you know Proverbs 4:18 says the path of the just is like the shining light, that shines more and more until the perfect day. The church of Jesus Christ is not going to be shut down, taken out, or stopped from its goal because the Bible clearly says this light that comes from us will always grow brighter. It's not going to be stopped or shut down. Every generation needs salt and light. You need to change your view of yourself.
An angel came to Gideon in Judges 6, and he said oh might man of valor. And Gideon goes, huh? I can just see him just like that. And then he says what are you talking about? There's no miracles. What happened to the miracles that our forefathers got? There's no food, all this stuff is going wrong, what are you talking about? And the guy says, then this person says to him, that you're going to go change this. You're going to go in the power that you've got. What are you talking about? My family is the least in the country, and me? I'm the least in my family. You think you've got an identity problem? This guy's the lowest in his family, and the lowest in the whole country, and an angel says oh mighty man of valor.
Now, what's interesting about this to me, and I'll just give you the tidbits to look at on your own later, is that, John the Baptist's dad was forbidden to speak, and he was struck mute when he disagreed with the angel. And he couldn't speak for nine months. Until John was born, because God didn't want his mouth stopping this miracle. Why didn't He do it to Gideon? It had to have been, because Gideon's heart changed. Because God's always looking at the heart. When, when God speaks to you and I, a heart issue is about to take place. Will you listen and obey, or will you back away? So we know that John the Baptist's dad as a priest, that something went on in here. And his heart didn't change, so his mouth had to be stopped. Because the words that we speak are curses or blessings.
And so, then Gideon through a different things like, you know, he said well, I'm going to put a fleece of a sheep out and if it's wet and the ground is dry, I know it's You. Then he still wasn't convinced, so he says I'm going to put another fleece out and make the ground wet and the fleece dry, and God did it again. And then God said to him, you know what? Go and sneak into the enemy's camp. If you're still struggling a little bit. So Gideon snuck into the enemy's camp, and he heard them in a dream in the middle of the night, one guy saying I had a dream that a great big loaf of bread rolled into the camp and took out all of our tents. And the other guy goes, that is Gideon's God. And Gideon turned around and went back knowing that if they're dreaming about how tough he is, and how big his God is.
You say well why did God do that for him when he wouldn't do it for John the Baptist's dad? Because his heart was changing. He made a decision to change his heart, and God was helping him to see and to know. Today, do not use fleeces, you'll get fleeced. Because you have the written Word of God. And in His new covenant, as you spend time in the Word, you will discover that as you decide to change your heart, Holy Spirit who is now within you which these men didn't have. Because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross, He will teach you. And He will prove to you. He will do signs and wonders for you, too. The Bible says so. But He'll help you to begin to believe who you are, what you can do, and that the future, stop looking at it as though nothing can be changed. And the last thought I'll give you is this. Stop limiting God. Stop limiting Him.
In Psalms 78:40, it says how often they provoked God in the wilderness. Talking about the children of Israel. And they grieved Him in the desert. The word grieved means they rebelled against His Word. They disobeyed what He said to do. Verse 41, yes. Again and again they tempted God. That means they made Him prove Himself because they weren't there believing. And they limited the Holy One of Israel. Okay, we need to stop right here for a minute. You can limit God in your life. When people say God can do anything, it's not accurate. God, when He gives free will out to the human population, He will not take it back or violate the words when He said to you and I that here, have life. And so, if the children of Israel according to Psalms 78:41 limited Him, and it says here they, that, and the word "limit", here's an interesting word. The word "limit", one of the meanings of this word is, it, a warrior in battle cam be wounded, and it limits his effectiveness.
Now you're saying God can get wounded? No. I'm just showing you where else this word is used. That when it talks about God, another word, another translation is God was grieved. He wanted to prove Himself to them. He wanted to move on their behalf quickly and powerfully. But they limited Him. Some might say well, I don't know if I agree with that. Here's another example, New Testament. Jesus in His hometown, went to do miracles and He couldn't. It doesn't say He wouldn't. In the Greek it says He couldn't. And He marveled at their unbelief. They limited Him because oh isn't that Joseph's son, didn't I grow up with Him? Boy, my kids grew up with Jesus. Who does this Jesus think He is, He's going to do miracles?
This is exactly what happened. And Jesus said a prophet is without honor in his own country. They limited Him. And He couldn't do any great works there. We can limit God. Make sure that you're not limiting Him. Every one of you, have paths prepared ahead of time. That include your families, your marriages, your kids, it includes your careers, your giftedness, your skillset. That includes His church, and the entire purpose needs to be stay close to Jesus, get to know Him and His Word. The Bible says that the light will grow brighter and brighter. The Bible says His church will make the enemy His footstool. The Bible is not filled with a defeated church, it is filled with a victorious church. Without spot and wrinkle, an overcoming church that's going to go do great things for God, and you are a part of this church.