Today I want to share the third message of the series. Keep in mind that today’s message is about You!
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; * all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts ”
Psalms 139: 13-17
He said: all my days were ordained, and my days were written in a book. You then gave me life and that book is full of thoughts about me!
Prepare your heart because God will now give you direction and will speak to your heart! Do you believe this?
No human being on earth, not a single one of us is a mistake. You were born to succeed!
Yes, you who are listening to me now, God has a purpose for your life! You may have once been rejected or abused, but God created you and gave you a hopeful future. God has good thoughts about you, plans for you to prosper and to give you hope for a good future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
God has specific thoughts and plans for your life, nobody knows them but the Holy Spirit can reveal it all to you! God doesn’t want to keep this information and plans about you a secret! God wants to reveal these plans to you.
The only way for you to learn your life purpose is through the Holy Spirit!
No man knows God’s thoughts, except the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the key for you to succeed!
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” 1 Corinthians 2:12
Why did He give us the Holy Spirit? So that we can understand (know) what God has freely given us (please underline that verse in your Bible).
God is revealing the purpose of the Holy Spirit to us! The reason we must receive the Holy Spirit in our lives is so we can understand what God has freely given us. That’s why we have to cultivate a daily relationship with the Holy Spirit! Many Christians ignore the Holy Spirit or they don’t even accept the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
We have to be attentive to the Holy Spirit at all times, because He is the one who will tell the truth about me.
People may criticise you, but what does the Holy Spirit say about you?
People may say you have no future, but what is the Holy Spirit trying to say to you?
People may say you are not smart, but what does He say about you?
People may say you’ll fail, but what is the Holy Spirit saying to you?
People may say you will never pass that driving test, but what is the Holy Spirit saying?
Medical reports may say there is no cure, but what is the Holy Spirit saying?
If you don’t listen to the Holy Spirit, you will believe all the other voices around you!
The Bible says that God gave us the Holy Spirit so that we can know what was freely given to us!
The aim of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the truth about us! This is His purpose! If you learn this teaching and put it into practice, the rest of your life will be different.
The dreams that He has for you are bigger than the dreams that you plan, and if you develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit, He will reveal His plans, which are way higher than your ones!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, ”declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9
God is saying: you don’t even know who you are, and because you don’t know My thoughts about you, you are living a pretty mediocre life!
Let’s read about the Holy Spirit, in Joel chapter 2
“28 And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. ”
“Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28, 29
The Holy Spirit is not just for some people, everyone can receive it, God said: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, all servants, men and women! The purpose of the Holy Spirit is not to make you feel good, or for you to be able to tell others you’ve been baptised in the Holy Spirit.
I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. He goes on to say, I will make the old ones dream again, and I will give the young ones a vision for them to fulfil their life calling.
This is what God gives you the Holy Spirit for. It is not for you to be a good religious person, not for you to come to church and attend services, but for you to know and fulfil the work and purpose that God has for you!
I know many Christians who have received the Holy Spirit, but they still do nothing. Many Christians are lazy; they stand around doing nothing, waiting for Jesus to return and take them to Heaven!
You are not saved BY good works, you are saved TO DO good works. So go and do something and create change in this world, bless people, make disciples, serve the Kingdom of God, be the Light of the World and Salt for the Earth.
God gave you life so you could accomplish a task. You were not born to go to Heaven. The Holy Spirit came to you to give you information about your purpose in life.
Does the Bible say that God has secrets? What are these secrets?
Do you remember when Jesus was talking to his disciples and He asked them:
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. ” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 16: 13-17
I said at the beginning that today’s word is about you! And in this verse, Jesus is asking the question that you have been asking your whole life!
What do men say I am?
Your parents have an opinion about you, your neighbours have an opinion about you, your friends have an opinion about you, your teacher has an opinion about you!
What do men say I am? Some say you are a prophet, others say the Lord is John the Baptist, others say the Lord is Elijah.
These are people’s opinions. This is all very good. If someone says that you are a prophet, wow, good for you, because prophets are men of God. If someone says that you are Elijah, this is quite a compliment because Elijah caused fire to come down from heaven. If anyone says that you are John the Baptist you can also take it as a nice compliment, because John was a real man of God.
People will say things that may sound good to you, but that’s where you can go wrong! You shouldn’t believe what people say about you, even good things!
Not all doors that look open are meant for you to go through, even if it looks like it could be good!
I worked at a company in Brazil, and I received a proposal to move cities and earn 5 times more than I was earning at the time. A good door was open! Some may say, a door from God! But before I accepted the offer, I asked the Holy Spirit what to do, and He said: are you going to exchange the calling I have for you just to earn extra money? So I did not accept the job offer.
I have seen people giving up on their calling and the ministry because of money. Christians who abandon all their commitment with God, they move cities, change jobs because of position and money.
People will say and offer you things that may look very appealing, but they are wrong, they will take you away from God’s path and stray you from His plan. You should not believe the good things they tell you, and you must reject their apparently good offers.
None of the disciples’ told Jesus an evil answer. Everything they said about Jesus was good! But Jesus asks them: what do you say I am?
Remember, no one knows the real truth about you!
Jesus knew that the disciples and no one else knew who He really was, for the only One who knows who we truly are is the Holy Spirit!
They were quiet for a while and then Peter said: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!Then Jesus said:
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 16:17
Jesus said, Peter you are blessed, because his answer had not come from his own intellect, he would not known this through his own flesh or intelligence. This smart answer had not come from his head!
In other words Jesus said: be happy because you managed to get heavenly information! My father has placed some heavenly secrets, which were once in Him only, in your heart.
Truly, Peter and the disciples did not know who Jesus was. This information came from those who knew!
That is why you have to be careful what people say about you, even if it is good, it may not be true! And you need to know what God has for you, what God thinks of you, the plans He has for your life. And you will only discover these secrets and information through a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit. ” 1 Corinthians 2: 12-13
This is the key verse about you! The words we are teaching are not learned through human wisdom! The truth about you, you will not learn at school, at university and it will not be through human words and teachings.
Many are educated, have graduated, trained, they earn money, but still do not understand God’s purpose and plan for their life.
For this wisdom does not come from human teaching, but it comes from words taught by the Holy Spirit, that is why your relationship with the Holy Spirit is Key, or you will live by your own knowledge.
Many Christians are rational, not spiritual people led by the Holy Spirit.
God says to you: The only Truth about your life is in Me! When God tells who you are, even your mind finds it hard to believe it! God calls us, He has a purpose, a plan for me and you, God tries to tell us what we are, but we try to convince God that we are not.
I did that ! God called me to leave my church , my country, my family, to be a missionary in Ireland. But I tried to convince God that He was wrong ! I said : I don’t speak English, I can’t make it ! But in my relationship with the Holy Spirit, He said : Go , I’m with you , I have plans for you in Ireland !
The truth about us is so incredible that we have a hard time believing in God’s plan. The truth about you will define your future and that is why you need this relationship with the Holy Spirit because He alone can reveal all the plans that God has for your life.
Without this relationship with the Holy Spirit you will go on to do things God did not intend on you to do, you will waste time.
The most important person in this life is the Holy Spirit. Why? Because He is the one who the Father and Jesus Christ have sent to complete God’s work on earth.
The most important work on this earth is the work of the Holy Spirit. And we need to know Him and learn about Him and have a relationship with Him, for this is the key for you to fulfil your purpose here on earth.
Only The Holy Spirit can reveal everything that has been written and determined for your life!
Without Him, you will make mistakes, you will do what God did not intend for you to do, you will waste time and at the end of your life you will regret not having fulfilled your purpose.
You and I were called to live for a purpose, to dwell in his presence and to manifest his glory on earth. We are called to carry the glory of the Lord around this earth just as the priests carried the ark of his presence. Each of us is a letter written to reveal Jesus to other people.
Jesus is the word, he is the communication of God with his creation. We must listen to the creator talking to us. John 10:27 says that his sheep hear his voice and therefore follow him.
Our goal is to hear his voice, to serve Jesus passionately, thus fulfilling our Life purpose.
When Jesus is exalted, people are drawn to Him. We need to express His glory, to carry His glory so that Jesus is seen. You can be the one who will carry the presence of Jesus so His work can be seen through you!
We are here to see him, to know him, to love him, to become like him and to reveal Jesus. If we do this we will be fulfilling the greatest goal that anyone can ever fulfil here on earth. If we do this, we will be the most successful people who have stepped on earth.
That is why He says that creation groans in anguish, waiting for the manifestation of the children of God.
“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19
Our aim is not to go to Heaven, but to live for Jesus here on this earth. There is no one more deserving of our devotion, love and sacrifice than Jesus. There is no greater cause than His, there is no greater or worthier adventure than to live for Jesus here on this earth! He gave you free will and the choice is yours! You can choose your path and decide your future!
You can live for Jesus or you can continue to live for yourself, but one day you will regret it!
When you cross the portals of eternity, when you leave this life and come before Him, you can have one of the two feelings:
1- Regret , sadness and a deep pain for having wasted your life on earth and for not having fulfilled your calling
““ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant.” Matthew 25:26
2- You will have a great joy and satisfaction when looking at the face of Jesus and being called by Him as “good and faithful servant”
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. ’” Matthew 25:21
You can define your future now, you can choose which of the two feelings you will have when you leave this earth and enter eternity!
I have already decided, I will live for Him and I will spend my life serving Him! I want to use every day that He gives me and every minute, to love, honour, serve and make disciples for My Master! I want to be called a good and faithful servant. And about you ? What do you want to hear from Jesus?
I want to invite you now to have a moment of prayer. If you can close your eyes and look at the Cross!
It was there that He paid a price to have you by His side! You have been bought, you have “an owner”, you cannot live for yourself, it will cost you dearly and you will bitterly regret crossing the line of eternity!
Today is a day of repentance, today is a day to make corrections and to fix your life before God, today is a day to return to His presence.
If you want to fulfil your life purpose and you repent of your sins, say this prayer out loud with me:
Father, I have sinned against You, I have sinned against Heaven, I am not worthy to be called your son.
Forgive me for my sins, forgive me for living selfishly, forgive me for not living for You.
I want to live your plans, I was born to work for you, I was born to serve you!
I give myself to you, use me according to your will. Forgive my laziness, my lack of commitment to the Lord and your Kingdom!
I renounce my old ways, I want to live your plans and purposes.
I want to carry Your glory, I want to live for you and let everyone see Jesus through my life!
In the Name of Jesus I pray, I surrender to you and I want to spend my life to serve you!
In the name of Jesus, Amen!
May the Lord bless you and keep you and see you next week with the fourth and final message from the series “You were born to succeed!”