"Purpose"

In our examination of words used in some circles how could I leave out Purpose? In any dictionary you will read a pretty standard definition like this:

pur·pose (pur-puhs)

1. The reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.

Pretty straight forward, right? Well maybe not, as many associate this word now with a book “The Purpose Driven Life” written by Rick Warren. It’s because of this book, and all that has happened since it's writing, that when I use the word "purpose" I am careful to be abundantly clear what I mean and not have it be simply a cliché.

In some circles “purpose” is used quite often in broad sweeping terms but with little information as to what that "purpose" is, let alone who is the author of that "purpose".

Sadly in the 21^st century church we can do most anything and say it’s God’s purpose for our life. No need to see if it is Scriptural, if we do something we see as purposeful, then by golly it must be His purpose for us, After all we feel it’s a good thing to do and it makes us feel good about ourselves, then it must be OK. This is especially true when we can use Christian themes and catchy acronyms to announce our intentions. But is it truly representative of God’s Purpose?

We can answer that question best by seeing His “purpose” and asking if we carry that on, as we are His Bride and are the ambassadors of His Kingdom. We read Jesus in His own words as He is in the final days of His life, pressing on to the cross.

Mark 10 gives us a scene where His disciples are walking with Him and misunderstanding much of what He was doing. They were so fixated on temporal things and projecting that into a Kingdom they grossly misunderstood what was taking place in their midst.

How reminiscent of today’s church, that some are so busy about kingdom stuff, that they are oblivious of The Kingdom that is coming. The one of which He said His people would inherit and not build.

As Jesus put it;

⁴² “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. ⁴⁴ And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In this and many other places we see Jesus had a Purpose. Peter tells us more in that he uses a term we translate in English as “Purpose”

Acts 2

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

So the “determined purpose” of God was that Jesus was to be crucified? For what reason and to what end? Jesus tells us the answer by letting us know His death was no accident, but the will and “purpose” of God to reconcile mankind to Himself. He was consistently telling all who would hear what His “purpose” was. He then went on to tell us what The Holy Spirit would do in furthering His message of “purpose”

Jesus lets us know the gravity of this truth in John 16:7-11

⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Question: Who does The Holy Spirit use to speak His message?

Answer: If we answer, we do, then how does a me centered purpose fit with preaching the Gospel that makes man aware of his sin, his need for righteousness supplied in a new life cleansed in the blood of The Lamb, and how that blood frees us from the judgment to come? Well, simply, it doesn’t.

Jesus, when He was before Pilate, had this exchange;

John 18

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

If so with Him, then what about us? Are we here for any other reason other than to testify of The Truth? If our “purpose” is not ministering the whole of The Gospel, and calling people to repentance, then it is either a self centered “purpose” or a kingdom building social gospel that lacks a “purpose” that can save a human soul.

No wonder the word “purpose” is such a prickly one to use.

The Co-opting of Words

As a Pastor I often find myself in the odd position of carefully considering words when trying to explain passages in Scripture. Sometimes I will avoid words because they have been stripped of meaning by the modern consumer driven church. You see, when a passage presents a wonderful truth I look for ways to explain and describe them using similar words to illustrate a thought or concept. I find this list of no-go words is growing by the day and my frustration grows along with that list.

Doesn’t sound like a huge problem does it? Well at least for me it is, as clarity is no small matter, because I know my enemy is famous for twisting words. Maybe I am too sensitive, or am I?

Anyone remember Genesis 3?

¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had

made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not

eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will

not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

You see Satan is a master in creating confusion and giving alternate views of reality. With this in mind, I will seek to explain this point over the coming weeks on this blog. He is cunning, as Genesis records, and he sows confusion as his vocation.

Words are used in the consumer (Seeker Sensitive, Emergent, New Spirituality) driven church and these words have now been given alternative meanings. By co-opting the language, people who take a different view of Scripture have introduced teaching that Scripture either doesn’t support, or warns against entirely. Gimmicks and catchy bumper sticker slogans are used so frequently, and books carry the same meaningless, powerless slogans, that words are robbed entirely of their meaning, simply to promote some program or new thought.

We will take these words one by one and explain the correct meaning, as the Bible uses them, and contrast them with how churches muddy the water, and create confusion with those words. We have to be on guard as never before, as we see the decline of Truth Seekers, in favor of Program Driven movements, and Seeker Driven churches.

One last thing, for those who think I am picking on other ministries, or causing dissent, think again. I seek to sound the alarm and I ask you to look at the information presented and decide for yourselves.

The U.S. And Israel, A “New Chapter” Indeed

By Pastor Chris:We heard from the President today his vision for a new Middle East. His statement focused a great deal on Israel and it is not a good vision. In fact the implications are staggering and worrisome for Americans whether or not we acknowledge them.

To those with an understanding of Biblical history, and an appreciation for the dangers Israel faces from a host of the surrounding nations, and their underlying hostile ideology, I cannot help but be reminded of what God said to Abram when He began to reveal Himself through this people, His Israel.

Genesis 12:1-3

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:

Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father’s house,

To a land that I will show you.

2 I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

With that in mind my blood ran cold as I heard The President point out a number of distressing proposals. He spelled out his vision of a new Middle East, and weighed in on what our policy would be going forward. Many knew he had these views, but to verbalize them, on the eve Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit is a sequence of events that is either sloppy in its timing, or deliberate in its intent.

The marking of a “New chapter in American diplomacy” he made a series statements that elaborate on what is this “New chapter” and none of them are ultimately helpful to Israel, nor do they make things more secure. In fact such proposals as reverting to pre 1967 borders serve no security purpose whatsoever. In fact if they ever saw the light of day they would put Israel in an incredibly vulnerable position given the terrorist condition of the world of the 21st century.

Need we be reminded of the reason for the 1967 conflict? Those borders were established as a response to a looming escalation and military buildup in what is now the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank. Israel was faced with preemptive action, or taking a reactive posture for what was an inevitable conflict. They were taken as a buffer against an ever increasing hostility for the surrounding nation. A hostility that is still held, and only increasing.

As the President continued he said;

“It will be the policy of the US to promote reform, and to support transitions to democracy,”

Which presumable means he supports, among other “democratic” unions, the one between Hamas and the former PLO of Mahmoud Abbas now called the Palestinian Authority? That union is a good thing in the President’s opinion?

In case we need to be reminded, a removal of the current borders would by definition mean Hamas would have its influence reach beyond Gaza to the West Bank as well. Has Hamas shown a reason to be trusted with more than they have already been given in the terrorist breeding ground known as Gaza? This is a union The President supports and seeks to promote, why on earth would a man supposed to be so wise support such a foolish endeavor?

Would we be able to expect the same terrorism in the form of rockets and mortars coming from Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Jericho that we have seen from Gaza? It will, after all, have the Hamas element so how exactly is this good reform and transition, exactly?

Then there is the problem of Hamas having a seat of power in “peace” negotiations. This group has the stated goal of the destruction of the nation of Israel. Not to mention they refuse to even recognize the right for Israel to even exist. How then does one propose peace with the new “unity” government of the “Palestinians”?

As for the “Peace Process” The President said it was “up to the Israelis and Palestinians to take action”.

But of course he put his own stipulations on what it needs to look like, as he said;

“So while the core issues of the conflict must be negotiated, the basis of those negotiations is clear: a viable Palestine, a secure Israel. The United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine. We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their full potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state. “

So which is it Mr. President, will they need to “take action” on their own, or are they going to need to follow your view of things. It cannot be both ways, and we have reached an impasse. Well, actually this impasse was been reached as soon as terrorists looked to undo what God clearly created when Israel became a viable nation again in the middle of last century.

In another classic and confusing statement that seems internally contradictory, The President said this;

“No peace can be imposed upon them, nor can endless delay make the problem go away,”

Again, how does that work, operationally, Mr. President? It sounds like the pre conditions upon which the U.S. will insist will assume a border reverting back to a pre 1967 configuration. Only this time Gaza will not be Egyptian and the West Bank will not be Jordanian. It will be a never before known nation, called “Palestine” run by a far more insidious and violent government, if that is imaginable.

Or does The President believe that unless Israel agrees to a suicidal new nation there will no way to make the “problem” go away. In this bold new position for the U.S. Israel is in a no win situation. Not only that but we, as the only traditional ally Israel has, appear to be turning our back on Israel’s interest and security. This administration has staked out a position that Scripture clearly shows is unacceptable.

In short, for a Bible Believing Christian this is a dark day for our nation. Our current administration no longer puts it support solidly behind the only true ally we have in the region. It leaves one to once again ponder the question, why?

Rather than be a leader we are now becoming another voice in the crowd of absurdity and irrationality. The Bible lets us know this will be the case as Israel will be a topic that shakes the nations. (Zechariah 12) We are following the conventional wisdom of the rest of the world in opposing Israel’s right to self determination and security.

Let me state the obvious, the “Palestinian” government (if we can call it that) has nothing but ill intent regarding Israel, and our meddling in their business from the wrong side of the issue is something we know God will not allow to work in our favor, but rather the contrary is true.

Keep looking up and know that God will see to Israel’s well being and those who seek to subvert God’s will are going to be resisted. God forgive those who treat Israel with such contempt, and God forgive our nation for its treachery.

Test 1

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