THE SECRET TO PURPOSE Secret: kept from knowledge of others; Unexplained mystery; Hidden concealed Purpose An intention or plan A reason for an action There are six (6) to get you to your purpose (1) Get saved and filled with the Holy Ghost ISA 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ISA 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ISA 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ISA 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ISA 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (2)Let the word of God be your guide JER 29:10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.( 29:12-13 Echoed from Dt 4:29-30. The Lord's gracious gift of prosperity is contingent on his people's willingness to repent) 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile. (3)Stop living with double standards RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. You have to change your mind by way of the word of God flooding your soul. Double-standard in this sense is to live two lives in one person. For example live by what God says on one subject and what your friend, parent, or some other influence instead of what God says. (4) Get out of the box People will have you to live by there rules MT 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " MT 13:18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." (4) Allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for you. RO 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. RO 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 8:27 The relationship between the Holy Spirit and God the Father is so close that the Holy Spirit's prayers need not be audible. God knows his every thought. 8:28 the good. That which conforms us "to the likeness of his Son" (v. 29). called. Effectual calling: the call of God to which there is invariably a positive response. 8:29 foreknew. Some insist that the knowledge here is not abstract but is couched in love and mixed with purpose. They hold that God not only knew us before we had any knowledge of him but that he also knew us, in the sense of choosing us by his grace, before the foundation of the world (6) Become an Intercessor PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 4:6 anxious. Self-centered, counterproductive worry, not legitimate cares and concerns for the spread of the gospel (see 2:28 and note; 2Co 11:28; see also Mt 6:25-31; 1Pe 5:7). in everything, by prayer. Anxiety and prayer are two great opposing forces in Christian experience. thanksgiving. The antidote to worry (along with prayer and petition). 4:7 peace of God. Not merely a psychological state of mind, but an inner tranquillity based on peace with God--the peaceful state of those whose sins are forgiven (cf. Jn 14:27; Ro 5:1). The opposite of anxiety, it is the tranquillity that comes when the believer commits all his cares to God in prayer and worries about them no more. transcends all understanding. The full dimensions of God's love and care are beyond human comprehension (see Eph 3:18-20). guard . . . hearts . . . minds. A military concept depicting a sentry standing guard. God's "protective custody" of those who are in Christ Jesus extends to the core of their beings and to their deepest intentions (cf. 1Pe 1:5). 4:8 Finally. See note on 3:1. true . . . praiseworthy. Paul understood the influence of one's thoughts on one's life. What a person allows to occupy his mind will sooner or later determine his speech and his action. Paul's exhortation to "think about such things" is followed by a second exhortation, "put it into practice" (v. 9). The combination of virtues listed in vv. 8-9 is sure to produce a wholesome thought pattern, which in turn will result in a life of moral and spiritual excellence.