Living Life On Purpose Part 7

Posted by Paula White - Sun, November 15, 2009 at 07:01 PM

Click here to download the sermon notes for “Living Life On Purpose Part 7”.

Hebrews 12:1 (KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

Hebrews 12:1 (MESG) Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

I. God Has a BIG LIFE for YOU!
a. He has designed a blessed and successful life for you to enjoy. One that has…
i. Peace and purpose
ii. Joy
iii. Goodness and wholeness
iv. Wealth and health

3 John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Mayest prosper = succeed in reaching, have a successful journey
Be in health = (Greek) “be well” safe, sound and whole
Even as thy soul (spirit) = success is highly individualized

b. I want you to see it for a moment…
i. A big God being big in YOU and doing big through you!
ii. Where there is not a continual life of
1. worry
2. fear
3. anxiety
4. constant pressure
5. stress
6. confusion
iii. But a life of
1. vitality – energy and stamina
2. clarity
3. love and value
4. purpose and fulfillment
5. provision and supply

Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV) “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

II. Whatever has Caused you to be Barren Can be Broken with One God Moment
a. There are areas of our life that are not working
i. Ineffective
ii. Powerless
iii. Doing nothing and going nowhere

b. Faith does not dent the facts, it only changes them
c. When something breaks it means…
i. To separate into parts with suddenness
ii. To disrupt the normal
d. God is going to cause you to break forth and break out (Isaiah 54)
i. Break out = a violent, forceful break from a restraining condition or situation
ii. To emerge with suddenness and force

e. Whatever has restricted you is going to be removed from you

Job 22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

Lifting up = (Hebrew) exaltation
Lift = to raise, remove to a higher position, boost. Go up, elevate to a higher plane of thought

f. God is not going to let you down; He is going to life you up!
g. Something is shifting in you that knows you can not go to a higher ground if you are hanging on to a lower level

A “BIG” God doesn’t live in “little“ places, therefore, God does His part, and I must do my part. I have to lay aside every weight

Weight = (Greek) a mass (a bending or bulging by its load)
Burden / Hindrance = (root word) “a bend”

III. Everyone Has “a Bend”
a. A propensity
b. A tendency
i. “My bend” may not be “your bend” (and vice versa)
ii. But all of us have a “curve” somewhere and “the sin”
1. Which means everyone has the one tendency that causes them to miss the mark (mistaken identity, fall short of the character of Christ)
c. The bend in you might not bother me at all, but it could break you (and vice versa)
d. We are instructed to lay aside every weight and the sin
i. Don’t play with poison in your life

To be in harmony with the will of God and attain the highest state of purpose for your life, you must clear the clutter…

IV. Clear the Clutter
a. Clutter = a confused, crowded, disordered state or collection. To throw into disorder (chaos), to disarrange
i. God has an arrangement for things in your life
ii. When something is arranged, it is put into a proper or systematic order

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

b. True spirituality has a freedom and a flow
i. Clutter = is derived from an (old English word) = “clot” (as in blood clot)
1. which cuts off the “flow” of your blood (life) and can potentially kill you

c. Therefore you must make a conscious decision to get rid of what you do not want to make room for what you do want

Ecclesiastes 3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

d. Spiritual Clutter are the…
i. The issues
ii. Mind sets
iii. Emotions
iv. Past history
v. And habits that you harbor and hold in your soul-self, which makes you unable to nurture and support your purpose in life
1. Example- When I go to the airport (my bag are too heavy) I always have to pay extra
2. Some of us are paying too high of a price for what we are carrying around
3. You must make a decision to get rid of the things you know are holding you back and weighing you down
e. Think how freeing your life would be without the excessive baggage

V. God’s Principle = “Leave and Cleave”
a. You cannot effectively cleave to “the Big Life” God has for you until you are willing to let go of “The Little”
i. The lesser things that have no real value or place in your purpose
b. I have discovered, that if you don’t make a problem real, the solution is meaningless
c. Most of us already know the provision

Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

i. As a covenantal people, we are heirs with God and joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:17 and Ephesians 5:31-32)

2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

ii. So if provision has been made, it’s already available to us, then what is the problem?
iii. Why am I not living abundantly?
iv. What is restricting me and crowding my spirit and my life?
v. How do I clear the clutter?

VI. The Law of First Mention (Leave and Cleave) and Separation
a. God implemented the principle of “leave and cleave” in Genesis 2:24
b. He speaks to our Father of Faith, Abraham in Genesis 12:1
i. The first thing God tells him is… “Get out of your country and away from your kinfolk
ii. Here’s where we often get stuck and struggle, not receiving the fullness of what God has
1. Separate yourself – get up and get out
a. Separation brings revelation, (which always leads to worship) which brings exaltation

c. There are 7 separations Abraham will go through
i. He will have to make 7 critical decisions in his lifetime until he knows God as “Jehovah Jireh” = complete, unlimited provision without any further requirements
1. Country / Culture (Genesis 12:1)
2. Kindred (Genesis 12:1)
3. Egypt (Genesis 13:1)
4. Lot (Genesis 13:1)
5. A desire to get wealth (Genesis 14:21-24)
6. Ishmael (Genesis 17:18 and 21:9-14
7. Isaac (Genesis 22:1-4)
a. The ultimate test – worship in its purest sense

d. So why was this so difficult?
i. It takes Abraham 25 years from the time God makes the promise, before he starts to see anything take place
ii. When Abraham starts his journey and sets off for Canaan, he gets side tracked, settled in Haran.
1. Haran is the same name of his dead brother
a. He settled in a place of his past that has died. Hebrew 12:1 – lay aside every weight
iii. Abraham wasted 6 years of his life in Haran (a dead place) stuck between a past and a promise
iv. His dad died there and it takes a crisis for him to continue on course
1. That’s why you don’t’ curse your crisis. Opposition is working for you and pits are part of your journey
v. vs4: So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken to him and Lot went with him…
1. The real issue was Lot was a leech
a. When Lot saw Abraham was going somewhere, he attached himself
b. When you discover that you are going somewhere, you have to watch for “stuff” that wants to go with you
c. Some things have to be separated – Clear the Clutter
2. It’s not a “Lot” issue
a. He’s always been a leech and he always will be
3. It’s an Abraham issue
a. He has no boundaries
b. No lines to tell him what his life consists of and what he is responsible for
c. He is anointed and appointed and chosen but he struggles with an issue

4. Lot is Abraham’s nephew (Haran’s son) the brother of Abraham who , Jewish tradition says was cast into Nimrod’s furnace for wavering during Abraham fiery trial

VII. Blurring of Boundaries, Lines, “a Bend”
a. Abraham probably feels a sense of false responsibility
i. Guilt
ii. Shame
b. He is a rescuer
c. His drive for approval and “let me fix” is what went wrong in life
d. Abraham is living an “imbalanced” life

When we are out of balance, anything can become an “external solution” to calm the “internal chaos”. Most often we try to heal the “symptoms” when we must get to the “root” of the problem…

e. There are 8 Common excesses (symptoms) that manifest in an imbalanced life
i. Remember, you are a spirit struggling with humanity, therefore most of these patterns are “normal”
ii. We are not perfect and we don’t have to be
iii. We are human being human
iv. It’s only engaged in these patterns (excesses) frequently and to our significant detriment that we are in danger = clutter
1. Eating too much – over eating, binge, mindless eating
2. Chemical Pleasures – drinking, smoking, drugs
3. Working – over working, career as identity, busy, busy, busy
4. Spending – over spending, excessive, hoarding, materialism
5. Rescuing People – emotional merging, being a savior, expecting too little
6. Putting up Walls – emotional distancing, persecuting, expecting too much
7. Too Much Thinking – obsessive thinking, avoiding feelings, analyze everything
8. People Pleasing – fear of rejection, approval seeking, being too good
f. Lot represents a certain mentality that would create habits driven from dysfunction
i. This is not a relationship
ii. Its not an entanglement, which is a snare and complication
iii. It produces…
1. controlling behavior
2. distrust
3. perfectionism
4. intimacy problems

VIII. What Lot Represents
a. Ungodly attachments
i. Any person, mid set, habit or attitude you hold against God’s word is an ungodly attachment
1. un-forgiveness
2. bitterness
3. malice
b. Disobedience
c. Distraction
i. Inappropriate distraction
ii. Lot means = a veil, covering, to wrap up, muffle, hidden, concealed, covert, black art, magic, sorcery, secret
iii. As long as Lot is in your life, you are stuck
iv. But if you will “clear the clutter” …. Vs14: And the Lord said unto Abraham after that Lot was separated from him. Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art
1. from = (Hebrew) Above

You can now see above your situation and circumstances with Lot gone. As long as he stays, your life is crowded, confused, has disorder and is full of clutter (and junk)

IX. Life is Like a Closet
a. When you open it, there is a bunch of junk in the inside
b. I’m sure there are valuable items, but they are hard to find and locate
i. Clutter = diminishes clarity
ii. Clutter – robs valuable time (James 4:14)
iii. Clutter drains energy and creativity

c. Your life becomes mismatched
i. It impedes movement and progress
ii. It detracts from efficiency and effectiveness
1. It “junk”. Anything that crowds your life from building, edifying and enriching your spirit has to go!

d. How do you move things?
i. It starts by believing what the “Big God” has for you is going to arrive
ii. Remember to leave and cleave
iii. Surrender your small for God’s Big
iv. Lay aside every weight, cast it off (Hebrews 12:1)

Living Life On Purpose Part 7

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