Today we’re going to talk about Protecting Your Purpose.
You may be thinking Protect My Purpose!? God’s got this. Why do I need to protect it? Let’s look at 6 Things You May need to be protected from in order to fulfill your purpose.
Let’s start by looking at the life of Jesus, and some of the things He needed to protect Himself from to get to His destiny and ultimate purpose.
#1 WELL-MEANING PEOPLE.
Mark 8:31-33 ESV
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
If you read the verses before this, you’ll see that through the Holy Spirit Peter had just confessed Jesus as the Christ.
As soon as you get a revelation from God, isn’t it just like the devil to try to interfere. Peter may have meant well, but the enemy was using him.
#2 NOT-SO WELL MEANING PEOPLE
Matthew 12:14 ESV says,
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
Throughout the Scriptures you’ll see the Pharisees trying to figure out how to kill Jesus. This time Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. You would think they’d be praising God, but they trumped up charges against Jesus and that was that He healed on the Sabbath. I believe that if Jesus would have healed that man on another day, they still would have come up with another reason to try to kill Him.
Let’s look at #3 DISTRACTIONS
Mark 4:18-19 ESV
In this Scripture, Jesus is explaining to the disciples the parable of the sower and the ones on the path where the word is sown.
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
I know most of us don’t think of ourselves as THRONY, if you will, however, but the distractions in this world CAN, in fact, if we allow them, take us off task if our mind is not stayed on Him.
#4 PEOPLE TRYING TO RUSH YOU INTO YOUR PURPOSE
John 2:1-4 ESV
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
Sometimes people can see a gift in you and tell you you should be doing this or that. Not considering that God may have you in preparation mode and is working some things into you and some things out of you.
God’s timing is important. The Word they that they have for you may be correct, but is it God’s divine time?
#5 PEOPLE BETRAYING YOU WHILE YOU’RE WALKING OUT YOUR PURPOSE
Matthew 26:47-50 ESV
While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Here Jesus is trying His best to hear the voice of God. To be obedient to what He’s telling Him to do, and one of His own betrays Him.
We might say, look, I don’t need this! And I’m not sure that I would have called him Friend! Friend!?
It may hurt, but don’t fall for it. It’s the enemy’s way of distracting you, BUT God’s way of clearing the path for you. Some people can’t go with you.
#6 PEOPLE THINKING THAT THEY KNOW HOW YOU SHOULD FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE
John 18:10-11 ESV
Continuing in the same story about Jesus being betrayed…
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Jesus knew that in order to fulfill prophecy and His purpose, He needed to go to the cross. That’s not the way Peter saw it. Peter might have thought, as others did, that Jesus would overtake the government and religious leaders the way many governments are formed—by hostile takeover.
But Jesus never does things the way the world does. And unless the person talking to you, about your purpose, has an inside track with Jesus about you, they may not know HOW Jesus will fulfill His purpose in you.
So, whether the enemy may be trying to:
- Kill your purpose
- Distract you from your purpose
- Altar your purpose OR
- Rush you into your purpose
You MUST stay FOCUSED!
Focus protects your purpose…
Let’s look at what Jesus focused on.
In Luke 2, Jesus was with parents in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover. They’re on their way home and can’t find Jesus. Here’s His response in Luke 2:49 ESV
And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Even as a kid, although He was obedient to His parents, He was still focused on His for purpose.
Hebrews 12 is talking about the faith of our forefathers… like Abel, Abraham, and Moses.
Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV says,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
What was the joy set before Jesus? Let’s look in
1 Peter 3:18a ESV
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…
The joy set before Jesus, the purpose set before Jesus, was YOU and ME!
Let’s look at our final Scripture for today.
In John 5, Jesus was again healing on the Sabbath and the religious leaders were again trying to find ways to kill Him.
Here’s John 5:17-19 ESV
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Jesus was so one with God, so focused on Him that He felt His heartbeat.
He was in a place of perfect unity and yielding. He knew exactly the will and purpose the Father had for Him. Jesus was so immersed in the Father that their wills were the same. Because He was so yielded, He knew what to do because Jesus knew what the Father wanted- and He did it!
Let’s all protect our purpose by focusing on the Father, that’s the POINT OF PURPOSE.
See you next time.
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