Colossians 1:9-10(NKJV)
9For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
As has been so often the case over the last several months, I did not preach what I had planned for our church on Sunday morning. The Lord took us in a totally different direction. I believe it was an important message, however, and I am going to try and give some highlights this week. I want to say that the entire message has been put into a book entitled Promotion Comes From the Lord. It is available if you e-mail me through our website, http://www.Livingwordgreene.com and ask for the book.
We have been talking about Canaan as the place where Joshua was taking the children of Israel in order for them to fulfill their “destiny” in God. I believe that the principles we have been studying are also given so we may fulfill our own destinies as well. That brings us to a question. What does the word destiny mean? What does it imply for me personally?
First of all let me say that I believe we are talking about two interconnected things here. One is the personal destiny that is give to every person by God. Everyone is born for a purpose. No one is born as an accident. Many people are not planned by their parents. Some people were not even wanted when they were conceived. I have been in many countries ravaged by war. In these brutal conflicts rape is a constant. The children born from this terrible crime are not wanted by anyone. That is, they are not wanted by anyone but God.
Although it is not God’s will they be born under these circumstances, every human that is conceived is given a purpose by God for their lives. One of the things we gain in our salvation is the ability to find and walk in that purpose. What a wonderful gift to offer humanity in a world that often seems so devoid of purpose. That God given purpose for each individual is our destiny.
Israel, as it crossed the Jordan river, was not just heading into the individual destinies of its people. It was moving into position to fulfill a corporate destiny as well. I believe the church has a corporate purpose from God. I believe we live in a significant day. I believe we have an opportunity to change the course of our worlds history and our corporate destiny is a part of that. In order to fulfill the corporate destiny of the Body of Christ we must each fulfill our personal destinies. They are connected.
What does the word destiny really mean? The English dictionary offers a number of definitions, here are 3 of the entries.
1. something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing; lot or fortune.
2. the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.
3. the power or agency that determines the course of events.
I believe they give us a good outline of what destiny is. For each individual the Lord has “something that is to happen” to them in their life. Obviously there are many things that are supposed to happen in the lifetime of a person. God’s plan includes myriad steps and experiences. However it is my belief that they are all a part of the master plan God has for our lives when He creates us. They are events that are bringing us to what Paul calls “finishing his course.”
In the second entry the wording is very interesting. Our destiny has been predetermined at our birth. It is the will of God for our lives. God sees the whole thing the moment he creates us. Remember that God’s perspective is the ever present now. He told Moses that his name was “I Am”, not I was or I will be. To God it is all the same. When he created you he had a plan and purpose for your life.
The dictionary says this plan is usually inevitable. In the case of our destiny in God it is not. It is dependent upon our choices. It is fluid and adjustable. If we make too many wrong choices we can miss some or all of God’s purpose for our lives. The main choice we must make is to receive Jesus as Lord and savior. If we never do that we will never fulfill our destiny in God.
However if we do receive salvation in Christ and if we do our best to follow God, we can and will fulfill the essence of our destiny. In this sense it is indeed an irresistible course of events. It is irresistible because The Hand of God is behind it all. It is God that is moving us in a direction. It is God that is providing the power to bring it pass. That is the third element of the definition. God our loving father is the power or agency that determines these events.
In Romans 8 Paul exclaims the power of this idea.
Romans 8:31(NKJV)
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
When we realize that the invisible hand of God is guiding us and providing the power to accomplish all that he commands us, we realize the power that His destiny has to cause us to live a powerful and purposeful life. Believe in this destiny. Expect that He is moving you toward it and providing the power to bring it to pass.
Tomorrow we will begin to look at this powerful force at work in the life of one of the most outstanding characters in the bible. His name was Joseph.
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