My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. Isaiah 46:10
If we would allow the Holy Spirit to guide us we would
know our Lord came to give us a quality of life without corruption. He didn’t come to redeem us only, but to give
us life that exists forever. What is our
destiny and how do we get there? How do
we step into our destiny? Our Lord came into this world to fulfill the will of
our Father and to show us the way. He came to reveal the desires of our
Heavenly Father’s heart. Every step our
Lord took had divine purpose. He was
born of the Spirit, grew in wisdom and grace, and through His life has revealed
to us how we should walk as sons of God.
Mark 1: 10 Jesus comes out of the water after being baptized
in the Jordan River. Mark 1:12 KJV
reads, “Immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.”
The New American Standard version of
Mark 1:12 uses the word ‘impelled’ meaning; Force: Make someone feel the need to do something. Mark’s gospel
presents the Lord as a servant. A
servant obeys the commands and the desires of His master’s heart. Here Jesus is being driven, impelled into the
wilderness by the will of God the Father. As the pattern Son, Jesus is
revealing to us how we will conduct our lives on this earth under total
submission to the Holy Spirit. He had no
doubt as to the outcome of the forty days in the wilderness. By this, the Holy Spirit reveals to us our
outcome in any trial or situation when we are absolutely controlled by the
Father’s will. He overcame the
wilderness experience for us; he did it for the love of His Father. This was a display of absolute selflessness
and holy love; the love that God shed abroad in our hearts.
Two examples of Gods servants in the Old Testament will help
us see important principles and keys to our walk. One example is David who was a type of our
Lord. In 1 Samuel 17 David’s father sent him with food to his brothers who were
settled on one side of the valley as the Israelites were at war with the
Philistines. Israel was paralyzed the
minute Goliath stepped onto the battlefield and began cursing them. Spiritually relate this same scenario to many
in Christ who are not advancing into spiritual maturity. In their individual circumstances they aren’t
confident of the outcome. Saul who was
the leader of this great army was paralyzed.
Much of our spiritual leadership is the same today. What a tragedy when we don’t know our
God. David knew what needed to take place
in order to release the army of the Lord from this paralysis; from this state
of death. David knew in whom his
confidence was. Witness David’s spirit, courage, and confidence as he hears the
voice of Goliath defying the army of the Lord with curses. When Goliath started
to attack, David quickly ran to meet him; no hesitation (I Samuel 17:48). He
was about to deliver Israel from spiritual paralysis. That same spirit is in us. How is it possible for us to see much of the
church in this limited and weak state and not sense the urgency in our hearts to
find a way to deliver them? Leaders are given
the responsibility to lead and bring maturity.
Our Lord gave His precious life for this glorious cause of deliverance
from death. The Lord will bring us into
situations where we will discover the root cause of the limitations, hindrances
and fears that paralyze us. He purposely does this until we submit to the Spirit.
He has given promises only He can fulfill in order for us to partake of His
divine nature. This is one truth I see
in David. He didn’t hesitate, he ran
towards the enemy. After that, Israel
destroyed the Philistine army.
Our Lord was immediately
driven into the wilderness; no hesitation. Wilderness represents death, lack,
no resources to sustain physical life. I remind you, He knew the outcome. He knew what He was going to release into the
church; confidence and a trust in God the Father, which is something human
nature cannot produce.
Abraham is another example. Dissatisfaction was stirring in
his spirit and God revealed Himself to him. Acts 7:2-4 reveals God calling him out of his
home land, Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram
did not live in a little village hidden away somewhere, it was a metropolis. Ur
was a city thriving with wealth, religion, and idolatry. Abraham was raised in that environment; God
appeared to him and called him out. Genesis
11:31, “And Terah took Abram his son. . .
” God didn’t speak to Terah, He spoke to Abraham. He speaks to us the same way when we hear
the gospel. He calls us out of the world system to go into our inheritance. When
Terah, a type of the old nature, took the lead Abraham was hindered and finally
stopped. Abraham stayed in Harran for approximately
twenty five years until Terah died.
Until we realize and experience the power of the cross, the old nature
will always want to take the lead. Experience
the cross, know the old nature is dead and begin your journey! Abraham left his
old life and he reached the Promised Land, Canaan. Genesis 12:8-10 reads, “And he removed from hence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel and
pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he
built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram
journeyed, going on still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land:
and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in
the land.” Notice that Abraham comes
into the land God promised and the first test he confronts is the necessity for
life’s sustenance. The enemy of our soul
uses necessity to paralyze us. He wants us to focus on the natural and forget
the spiritual. He deceived Adam and Eve
this same way. Our Lord had needs in the wilderness but He was not deceived by
the temptations put before Him. How many of us have come into this new
spiritual life and suddenly circumstances seem to change for the worse. Perhaps you lose a job, there is no food on
the table, there is sickness in the family or a child runs away. Why? The
answer is only found in Christ Jesus. Too
many times we make the same mistake Abraham made. When the old nature begins to
take the lead again, Abraham’s problems are compounded. Hagar comes on the
scene and oh what problems she presented to Abraham. We allow the need or
crisis to overwhelm us and we search for a solution without asking if it’s the
Lord’s will. We must know exactly what God
is doing. He’s stripping away all the things we once relied on and He’s bringing
us into the fullness of Christ. This is the eternal cross of God the Divine
Rule of Action.
Until we discover the purpose for our existence, our lives
will be meaningless. Our purpose is only
found in Christ. After forty days in the
wilderness our Lord was so consumed with fulfilling God’s will He did not hunger. Take note of His nature that we now possess;
His character that is being formed in us. The devil is tempting our Lord with
the things that will satisfy His natural life. Hunger is not a sin, God created
it in us. Jesus was being tempted to
fulfill His hunger by using his own will, turning the stones into bread was an
option for Jesus; the stones were close at hand. Returning to Egypt was an
option for Abraham. Egypt was close at
hand and Abraham was deceived by what he saw.
Be aware the visible will always deceive us; we must see the invisible.
II Corinthians 4:18 “So fix our eyes not
on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but
what is unseen is eternal.” Our Lord has promised never to leave us nor
forsake us. He has promised to always be with us. Our Lord knew He was being tempted
to fulfill a hunger using His own will. He
accepted the possibility of the Father’s will for Him to die. Notice in Matthew 4:4 Jesus confronts satan
with, “It is written: ‘Man
shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of
God’.” He did not say, The Son
shall not live by bread alone. He
confronted satan as a man. Our Lord knew who He was and
knew what He had to do.
There are three important lessons our Lord revealed in the wilderness.
First:
Allow God to have His perfect work in you. Don’t take matters into your own
hands. Second: Allow the Holy Spirit
to guide you through the process. Don’t
rely on your own abilities. Third: Always let God vindicate. Don’t allow others to dictate your actions.
There is a promise for every circumstance you come into.
Don’t be hasty and be deceived by the visible. Know that your Father God is
there with you. Our Lord said He delighted to do the will of the Father. That should be our confession. My dear brothers and sisters, it’s time you
and I allow the Holy Spirit to lead us as instruments in God’s hands to bring
deliverance from paralysis and death to His children. The Lord had no fear. We should have no fear. Confidence comes through our
intimate relationship with our Lord. If we know our Lord we know our
Father. How do we arrive at our destiny?
The answer is within you; Christ. I rejoice in the Lord and I am grateful
for the trials that draw me closer to the Lord and my destination. I’m grateful for the love that was shed
abroad in our hearts. Be not deceived. God
will guide you into the fullness of Christ with every word He speaks to you. We
cannot reach our destination until we know where we are going. We cannot expect any sense of satisfaction in
fulfilling our divine calling if we don’t have a clear understanding of what it
is.
I pray the Lord gives spiritual understanding as to the glory
He has made available to all His children.
