INTRODUCTION
Author: Pastor Johan du Toit
Overview
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
God created everyone of us with a purpose. Nobody came to the earth by mistake – we were known by God before the foundation of the earth. We came at the right time to the right place with the right equipment to do the will of God. God prepared those good works beforehand that we should walk in them!
Ephesians 2:10 AMP For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time) that we should walk in them - living the good life which He pre-arranged and made ready for us to live.
Read Psalm 139:13-18
Learning Objectives
- Understand your identity in Christ.
- Know the reason for your existence on earth and the part you are meant to play in the Kingdom of God.
- Understand the will of God over your life.
- Know how to fulfil your purpose.
DEFINITIONS
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Purpose | The reason for which something is done or for which something exists. |
Consider the five important questions of life:
- Who am I? (My identity in Christ)
- In Christ Jesus as a new creation?
- Where do I come from?
- Spiritual Heritage
- Old things have passed away, all things have become new!
- Why am I here?
- Purpose
- Good works prepared beforehand
- That the image of Christ be formed in me
- What can I do?
- Natural gifts and talents
- Spiritual gifting – that came after the new birth
- Potential (untapped power; unused abilities; hidden success; dreams – Dr. Myles Munroe)
- Opportunities (being at the right place at the right time)
- What I have to do to die empty – no more dreams, no more vision
- Where am I going?
- Where will I end in life?
- Where is this road taking me?
- Where will I be this time next year? (Strategy)
- My goal in life; what I want to accomplish with my life before I die
Read I Samuel 24:1-14
Saul was born to be a king (I Sam. 9:2). He had the honour to be the first king of Israel, the tremendous opportunity to set a standard for all the kings that would follow after him and to lay a foundation for the kingdom of Israel. He was the anointed of the Lord; God chose him above everybody else and exalted him. All the resources of Israel were at his disposal: the armies, the best warriors in the nation, the wealth, the people. A special place that God had prepared for him, and equipped him well for the task at hand!
As a king, the best he could do was to be busy with the things that kings do; that was his calling and purpose. He was called to greatness and to fellowship with great people. His task was to lead the people of God into greatness, but he got distracted and lost that vision. After just one year as king he got involved in things that had nothing to do with his calling, and disobeyed the Lord.
In I Samuel 13:9-13 we read how he trespassed by offering burnt offerings to the Lord, which only priests were allowed to do.
In I Samuel 15:8,9 he spared the life of king Agag of the Amelekites and the livestock, contrary to the instructions of the Lord. In verse 12 we read that he even set up a monument for himself.
In our text we find Saul returning from pursuing the Philistines when someone came and told him that they knew where David was. Saul made it his life’s goal to kill David because he was jealous of him, and he pursued him from the day he killed Goliath.
In his desire to find David Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went after David. As it happened, David had an opportunity to kill Saul when he spent some time resting in the cave, but only cut off a corner of his robe to prove that he had no intentions to kill Saul.
David spoke with the king to convince him of his innocence, and we hear these words:
I Samuel 24:14 NKJV After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?
The king of Israel; the commander of the armies of the Lord, the anointed one chasing after dead dogs and fleas! How he missed his purpose! How low can you fall if you are motivated by the flesh and not the purposes of God!
- Saul missed the great purpose for which he was born.
- He reduced himself from a royal calling to chase after dead dogs and fleas – trivial things that didn’t matter.
- He wasted the resources of the Lord – three thousand select men to chase after David.
King Saul’s life ended in tragedy and defeat when he fell into his own sword; an embarrassment to his people and a disappointment to God, and this is how he will always be remembered. A sad ending to someone who was born to be great, just because he missed his purpose and got sidetracked into something else.
PERSONAL INVENTORY
For your own use – do not send this in to the school.
Philippians 2:13 NKJV For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
- What did God work in your heart to do?
- Can you accept that God put His desire in you so that you would go out and do it?
- What do you dream about concerning your future?
- How do you see yourself in future?
- Ephesians 2:10 NKJV – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
- How were you put together as the workmanship of God (Gifts, talents and skills – your unique personal equipment)?
- What comes naturally for you?
- What are the good works that God prepared for you beforehand?
- How / when can you start walking in those ‘good works’?
- Psalm 139:13-18 NKJV – For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.
- What are God’s thoughts towards you?
- Philippians 3:12 NKJV – Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Paul had not attained anything, nor was he perfect, but he pressed on to lay hold of “that” for which Christ Jesus laid hold of him.
- What is “that” for which Christ Jesus laid hold of you?
- What can you do to “press on”?
- Jeremiah 1:4-8 NKJV – Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you: I ordained you to be a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth.’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
- In what do you sense an anointing from the Lord on your life?
- What are your excuses?
- What are your defenses?
