Does God Have A Purpose For Your Life? Absolutely! (Part 3)

Know and Understand God’s Word

So far I have shared the following two steps with you about achieving God’s purpose for your life:
1. It’s not about you, it is about God.
2. Obedience is mandatory.

The next thing you must occupy yourself with is the Word of God. You must know and understand God’s Word. If you don’t you can be severely misled. Understanding God’s Word is crucial to achieving your God given purpose. Without understanding God’s Word you could cost yourself years off of your life by chasing the wrong things. This is serious! Study the Word. Ask God to line your understanding up with His. I can’t stress how important this step is for your destiny. For years I believed there was scripture that said; The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but he who endures to the end. While the bible does make this statement it is not in the same verse or the same book. Ecclesiastes 9:10-12; Matthew 24:12-14 Because I heard so many people say it, I took it for granted that it was so. Without knowledge and understanding of God’s Word you will obey the wrong thing. That could be dangerous.

I have known since I was a little boy that God has chosen me to do great things and speak in high places. One of the teachings I received on stepping into my gift was that I needed to wait for a pastor (man) to ordain me first, and then I could preach. I was taught that this was God’s order. You could not be a preacher until some other pastor, preacher, or evangelist said so, and ordained you . So I waited for my turn. I helped other men in their ministries, patiently waiting for my own. Patiently waiting to see what God had shown me in my dreams. I submersed myself into God’s Word to ensure I would study to show myself approved. I needed to be ready when my name was called upon to take the mantle and run with it. While I waited, I wanted to serve God and continue to become a better man, a stronger man. “Pursue God’s destiny for your life”, is what I kept hearing. In my mind I was more than ready, but I had to be obedient. That’s God’s Word right?

I turned away from many things. I stopped talking to the friends I had, although they had done nothing wrong to me. They were in need of a Savior just like I was. I couldn’t see that then. I was too busy listening to the pastor and not paying enough attention to the Word I poured over on a daily basis. My soul vision was to be what God showed me in my dreams. I just had to wait my turn. Or so I thought.

In my isolation I had issues though. I loved women. I felt like I couldn’t live without them. Women became my comfort instead of the God I professed. I had to hide it. I couldn’t be a pastor having sex with multiple women. I wouldn’t be ordained if they knew this secret of mine. So I hid it, but not from the ladies. They knew, because they were willing participants to my weakness. I kept praying and praying, repenting and repenting. I was doing everything I knew to do, but nothing was working. I was sinking. As a matter of fact I sank. I remember sitting and saying to myself, ‘All I want to do is preach God’s Word.’ Why was that so difficult? Maybe if I could have just preached I wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so separated from myself. If I could just do the one thing I believe I was created to do. Oh well, I guess I just had to wait my turn. Or so I thought.

Paul encountered God by being knocked off his feet by God’s great light and was blinded for three days. After God sent Ananias to remove the scales from Paul’s eyes, he got up, spent some time with the local disciples, and started preaching. He didn’t talk it over with anyone. I guess he just figured he needed to go tell somebody about his story. He needed to tell someone what God had done for him. In telling the story of how Christ changed his life, one of the most dynamic ministries known to man was birthed. All without the approval of the leaders of the church of his day. Acts 9:1-22

I am not suggesting that order is not necessary within the church, but what I am saying is that you don’t need a person to let you know its okay to lift up the name of Jesus. Paul lifted up the name of Jesus and look at what happened as a result. After years of making bad decisions based on a flawed understanding of God’s Word, I cried out to God. I told God that I was tired of the direction my life was moving in. I couldn’t take the hypocritical church anymore. Of course, I had become a chief hypocrite. Knowing God’s Word, but not acting on it because I didn’t have a piece of paper saying I could. Amazing!!!!!

God saw me in my mess. He saw me in my illusional state. He heard me cry and reached out to me. I asked Him; What should I do Lord? He said, ‘Read My Word and tell the story that is in you.’ Enter: “The Day Jesus Spoke Hip Hop”; a vision exposed ten years after its original inception. It’s not just about hip hop, it’s about Christ meeting you where you are. He met me where I was and saved me. This, from the heart of a man that has faced many challenging things in my life. I thank God for His Word and Him allowing me to understand it. You want your destiny? Know and Understand God’s Word.
..To be continued..
© 2010 Lynn A. Jackson

The Beast is Hungry

John 10:10

Birthed into disorder
Some may say mayhem
I didn’t think either was true
I loved the love I knew
I never considered it wrong
Raised by and in deception
I thought it was truth
Now there’s a real song
Poverty was only an indicator of need
It didn’t have to be who I was
My innocence stolen away
Before I realized I was supposed to value it
My purpose never considered
I became a waterless seed
Dying but not aware of it
I thought this was life as it should be
I thought this was my portion
I made it my creed
Thoughtless is my attempts to differ from my plight
Why should I
This seems to be the path chosen for me
Death all around me
But I couldn’t see it
Normalcy ripped my sight away
I didn’t see it as losing breath
It was the way it was
My homies said so
My music said so
Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat
Bumping and grinding in the club
Listening to: Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat
Spewing life giving fluid in the parking lot
Listening to: Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat
Telling her I love her when I know I don’t
Listening to: Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat
Still I continued
Shots ring out
Somebody’s Son, Brother, Friend, or Father
Takes one to the head
Listening to: Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink
They killed him because he stepped on some shoes
All while listening to: Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink
Still it continues
Confusion all around
No one trying to sort it out
To wrapped up in what they like
To wrapped up in their own sound
Virginity misplaced @ 9
Pornography presented for consumption @ 10
Sexually misused @ 11
Stickin and Movin @ 12
Stealing and lying @ 12
By 21 my life was incarcerated by death and destruction
All while listening to: Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat
Lost before I knew I could be found

Then came Jesus
Married me in my mess
Alcohol still on my breath
Her perfume still on my clothes
Somebody’s naked daughters picture burned into my mind
Still listening to: Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat
He spoke to me anyway
He made his vows to me
An adulterous man I was
In some ways I still am

The Beast is Hungry
He wants your daughter
On the front cover of a magazine
With a man’s extension shoved into her mouth
On the next page
He wants her pictured with
Life giving fluid all over her face
All to satisfy his other customers

The Beast is Hungry
He wants your young men
Glued to the front of the magazine
He wants the man to fantasize about your daughter
He wants him to want what he sees
So the man runs out to find a woman to supply his induced needs

The Beast is Hungry
He wants us to Kill for nothing
He wants us to Kill and think nothing
He wants us to Drink
He wants us to Drink more than our share
This will aid the man and woman in their hunt of each other

The Beast is Hungry
He will use anyone or anything
He wants to us all to Steal, Kill, and Destroy ourselves and each other
All while listening to: Shoot, Kill, Murder, Steal, Drink, Sex, Lie, Cheat

Get Jesus and Get Free

© 2010 Lynn A. Jackson