THE PEACE OF PURPOSE
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8 TPT
Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let your joy overflow! And let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near. Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude.Tell him every detail of your life, and then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.
THE WORK HE HAS DONE IN US
Psalm 27:4 ESV
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
OLD TESTAMENT TEMPLE
2 Chronicles 7:1 ESV
Now when Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
(Glory – Nature – Character)
NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE
1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The Bible portrays God’s presence as a manifestation of His character in various ways.
In Exodus 34:6-7, God reveals Himself to Moses, emphasizing attributes like mercy, grace, patience, and justice.
Throughout the scriptures, events and interactions showcase different facets of God’s character, illustrating His love, wisdom, and righteousness.
A Christian’s body is where the Holy Spirit lives. Paul elevates our bodies to temples and holy places that house the Spirit of God. God gives His Spirit to every person who trusts in Christ for salvation. We carry His Spirit in our bodies.
(His Spirit – His Presence – His Character – His Nature)
The essence of our connection with God surpasses the confines of a church building, set of predefined behaviors, or religious pedigree. Instead, it beckons us to embrace the dwelling place God has established within us.
Our refuge, our sanctuary, is not built with bricks and mortar, deeds or actions but woven through the transformative work of His character in our lives. In the quiet moments of reflection, in the hidden recesses of our souls, we discover a dwelling where we commune, worship, and find solace. God’s indwelling presence invites us to simultaneously shift our gaze inward and upward, recognizing that our true sanctuary is a living testament to His grace, shaping our very being into a dwelling place for His glory.
HIS GOOD WORK
Philippians 1:6 ESV
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
We desire to dwell in Christ’s good work (revelation of God’s Character) has done in us.
Good work! – He moved into your temple.
There was a purpose behind His good work… When we walk out the purpose of His good work, we find peace…
DIVINE PURPOSE BRINGS PEACE
DIVINE PURPOSE?
THE COLLECTION OF INTENTIONAL DECISIONS TO EXPRESS YOUR TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS A UNIQUE EXPRESSION OF GODS CHARACTER.
We find PEACE when we make it our purpose to intentionally find unique ways to express God’s character that has been established in us.
When you have no peace, you have lost your purpose.
What Distracts You From The Expression of God’s Character in Your Life? (Purpose)
What distracts you from your peace?
LEGALISM.
Legalism: substituting rules for relationships.
You will never get to know God’s character through rules but rather through relationship.
John 17:3 – get to know Him…
Philippians 3:2-6 NIV
Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh – though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
Because I failed at A B or C – I am a failure.
Rules rule out grace, and grace is a characteristic of God in you. Our purpose is to express grace, not condemnation.
Legalism leads to false guilt and false confidence. There is no purpose in either.
WORLDLY DISTRACTIONS.
Phillipians 3:7-8 NIV
But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…
Philippians 3:9–11 NIV
and be found in (Christ), not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
You’re not seeing what’s important—distracted!
What’s important? To dwell in the good work Christ has done in you, giving you a full revelation of God’s character in you so that others can see it through you.
SPIRITUAL COMPLACENCY.
Satisfied with what we have done, not what is still to be done.
One of most dangerous things so many churches—spiritually complacent!
Marriage, Ministry, Relationship to God
If you’re not dead—you’re not done!
Philippians 3:12-14 (From prison!)
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 27:4 ESV
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
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