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Perspectives on Purpose

Achieving God’s Purpose for Your Life

What is “SUCCESS” to the “Allegiant Christian”?

Maybe surprisingly, true and full success for a Christian is NOT simply having a relationship with God and Jesus Christ. While such a vibrant relationship is indeed fundamental, even requisite, to achieving true success, the relationship is only being “the branch that abides in the vine of Christ”. As Christians, we are accountable for our service, our allegiance and our loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ – and not to earn our salvation, but because He has redeemed us. We are not only redeemed for eternal life, but we are also redeemed for service to Him now in this temporal life.

Being successful as a Christian is therefore: “Achieving GOD’s purpose for YOUR life“.

For the allegiant Christian, achieving “success” is “bearing fruit” – bearing fruit for God’s glory. To help put a perspective on incorporating together the relationship (“being”) aspect and the action / achievement (“doing”) aspect in your life, think of a flowerpot. Rooted down in that soil, beneath the service, is our relationship with God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Indeed that is where the base of our relationship should stay – “in the pot”, deeply rooted with Them. But if that’s where we “stay”, then we fail. As a plant, we need to “grow” and to “bear fruit” – “to do’! (As the Bible repeatedly says, we will be judged according to the fruits we bear and those who do not bear good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire.)

True and full success for you as an allegiant Christian is the complete achievement of all that God would have you do – for Him and His glory.

We will be held accountable for what we do, what we don’t do and what we could have done here on this earth in our present lives. We will know we have been successful when we hear these words addressed to our achievements for God (referring to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:23):

“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.“

Remember too, Matthew 16:27:

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

(“Works” here is definitely not connoting any manner of earning salvation by such works, but rather simply what God would have us “do” in service for Him.)

As an allegiant Christian, ask yourself this question:

What great thing does God want you to achieve here in this life– for Him and His glory?

So how can you know what God’s will is for you to achieve for Him? Certainly, what God would have one Christian “achieve” for Him might be quite different from that which He expects from someone else. To know His will for you to achieve, start by looking in two directions: “inward” and “outward”. First, look inward to see what God has prepared you for – what talents, gifts, experiences, desires, resources, etc. are yours – and are perhaps unique to you? What can you do better than most people? What’s your specialty? Second, look outward to the world around you: What needs can you help fill? What hurts can you help heal? What problems can you help solve? The answer to what God would have you do might well lie in the match of answers to those two sets of questions.

Within Christendom, we see two types of Christians:

1. Those champion Christians who are successfully fulfilling God’s will for their lives
2. Those more pitiable Christians who are falling far short of achieving for God what He would have them strive to achieve

Why do some, even most Christians fall into the latter category? Why don’t they even try? The Bible and current observation give four main reasons:

1. Fear
2. Love of this world, family or other things more than love of service to God
3. Pre-occupation with the problems of life and trying to live life as a do-it-yourself proposition
4. Not fully trusting God to provide, protect and lead them in their service to Him

The Parable of the Talents

Luke 19:
16 “The first came before him saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.’
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'”

In Jesus’ parable, the man who received the most lavish affirmation was the one bold enough, with broad vision, to venture into a project of major proportions. It held the promise of being a stunning success producing a tenfold return…or a monumental failure. And remember that the money belonged to someone else!

Perhaps that’s the key. He had been asked to invest that money on behalf of another person: His Master. Certainly he asked himself, “What if I invest in a daring project, and something goes wrong? Will He be outraged at me, and condemn me for making an honest try? Or will He at least be glad that I was willing to reach for something of consequence?”  In the end, it was his confidence in his Master that led him to manage the money boldly. He was not only commended, he was given the responsibility of managing ten cities.

But Jesus’ parable isn’t primarily about money. It’s about people who feel that the surest way to retain God’s favour is to live tiny, conventional, risk-free lives. It’s a message about a Master who wraps His people in such intense security that they will be willing to make big plans for Him. If something goes wrong, He will say, “I’m delighted that at least you were willing to try. Here! I have some more resources for you, try again!”

The Master called the servant “good and faithful” because he understood the heart of the Master – which made him secure enough to dare!

Dare To Do His Will!

One of the fundamental purposes of Allegiant Life is to challenge as many people as possible to DARE TO DO GREAT THINGS FOR GOD!

The Adventure of Pioneering

Pioneers – those who settled this country and those who pioneered in other ways, as in missionaries like David Livingston – had at least five things in common:

1. A dream – a worthy and glorious, perhaps seemingly impossible dream
2. A passion, a burning desire to achieve their dream
3. A resilient belief that they could and would indeed achieve their dream
4. The courage to try
5. A fierce determination to succeed when things got really, really tough along the way

Did they all succeed? No. For every pioneering “success” like David Livingston, there was a “failure” like Jim Elliot. (This is NOT to imply that Jim Elliot was a failure. Quite the contrary! It is simply to point out that Elliot’s pioneering ministry could have “appeared” to be a failure since it was cut so short by his martyrdom.)

Should anyone and everyone be a pioneer? Perhaps not.

Should each and every person consider being a pioneer? Perhaps so – especially Christians!

Of all people Christians should be the most confident, courageous, creative and committed when it comes to pioneering – especially when it comes to “pioneering for God”.

Who are some examples of “pioneers for God”?

The Apostles. The Reformers. The Martyrs. William and Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army. David Mainse of 100 Huntley Street. Dwight L. Moody. H.M.S. Richards Sr. Jim Elliot. David Livingston. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Charles Spurgeon. Amy Charmichael. Hudson Taylor. And many, many other great men and women of God.

So how do you know if you should be “a pioneer for God”?

1. Are there needs to be filled that you have the skills, talents, gifts, abilities, resources, influence and desire to help fill?
2. Is it God’s will for your life? Does it pass the 11-question test below?
3. Is there any good reason to consider that God would “exempt” you from pioneering service – for His glory and His purposes?

Consider these comments from the pioneering missionary, Jim Elliot:

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

God, I pray thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee.  Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine.  I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus. (This quote was from a journal entry Jim Elliot wrote in college.)

Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.

I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not. Rest in this – it is His business to lead, command, impel, send, call or whatever you want to call it. It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond, or what have you.

There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey. Our young men are going into the professional fields because they don’t ‘feel called’ to the mission field. We don’t need a call; we need a kick in the pants. (Written at age 20 re secular jobs)

We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the Twentieth Century does not reckon with. But we are “harmless,” and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are “sideliners” –coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous! 

The will of God is always bigger than we bargained for.

If God wants someone to “pioneer” is it all up to God? How is the person accountable for his or her response to God’s pioneering challenge? Success in anything, especially great adventures of pioneering for God, is a matter of human effort combined with divine power.

As per The Parable of The Talents, each of us is accountable for any pioneering for our Lord we might be able to do. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might”.

As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command, may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings. When we give ourselves wholly to God, and in our (pioneering) work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavours. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to co-operate with One who knows no failure.

How do you know God’s will for your life?

Go to the “Vision – Giver”:

James 1:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him.  

Go to the Bible:

2 Timothy 3:
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  

Be alert to God’s voice:

Job 33:
14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, 
16 then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. 

Seek the counsel of wise people:

Proverbs 11:
14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Look for direction in circumstances and change. Change is one of the greatest blessings in life – allowing us to become what God would have us to be.

Consider your gifts, abilities and skills. Consider your weaknesses and your strengths. Consider your experiences, good and bad. Consider your personality. Consider your personal desires and preferences.

Trust in God and depend on Him to help you discover your greatest purpose.

How can you “test” a decision to determine if it is God’s will?

For major decisions in life – like career changes, who to marry, etc. – consider the following eleven test questions. If you can’t say “yes” to all eleven, the tentative decision may not be “best” and may not be God’s will. If you can honestly say “yes” to all eleven, then it is probably God’s will and you can have the confidence in proceeding accordingly. If by chance it wasn’t the best choice or it wasn’t God’s will, don’t worry; God will help you make another decision!

1. Will it honour God?
2. Is it consistent with Scripture?
3. Is it the “best” thing that could be done? Is there something “better” to do?
4. Is it my heart’s desire? Is this something I really have a passion for?
5. Does it fit who I am as a child of God? Does it fit my skills, gifts, resources, abilities, capabilities, limitations, etc.?
6. Does it fit God’s overall plan for my life? Has everything He’s brought me through readied me for this opportunity, this purpose, this adventure?
7. Are there, or have there been any providential leadings toward this course of action?
8. Am I willing to submit this decision to God’s will?
9. Is there, or has there been an inner conviction and compulsion to undertake this course of action? Has it been confirmed through another person? Through the Holy Spirit? Through His Word?
10. Are thoughts “not” to really “fear” based? Am I making a judgement on what I can do with God or on what’s within my “comfort zone”?
11. Do I have lasting peace in my decision?

Is it ethical to mix ministry and business?

Some Christians believe that “religion and business do not mix”. Other Christians seem to compartmentalize, putting business to make money in one are of their lives and putting ministry into another.

How can it be proper and ethical to mix ministry and business?

1. If the ministry component is dominant in the business, it means that there is the maximum potential for creating a “sphere of influence” – from the executive levels to the marketing levels to the marketplace.
2. Many products and services are in harmony with God’s creational purpose. It could be said that Adam and Eve were called to be the business managers of creation. Adam’s role in naming the animals shows God’s intent and purpose for mankind to be co-creative with Him. The biblical commands to “fill the earth and subdue it” and to “rule over it” translate today into “community building”, into making the world a better place to live in. Hence, there are many businesses today that fit these biblical criteria.
3. The dominant purpose must be deeper that just making a financial profit. Profit in any endeavour, ministry or business, is like blood in the body. Every organization needs it to survive, let alone thrive. While we don’t “live for our blood”, if our blood goes away we stop living. Organizations with a dominant purpose of making money are doomed to fail. Organizations that succeed are those who provide consumers with value – a value for which the consumers are willing to pay a profit for. Hence profit is a measure of the value an organization is providing.
4. Being a Christian in business can provide great opportunities to “excel” and to thereby witness for Christ. Giving a consumer more and better than they expected can build rapport, trust and respect. That, in turn, can pave the way for countless opportunities to minister to other needs of that consumer.
5. Whether Christian or not, an ethical salesperson will only sell something when the consumer needs it, wants it and can afford it. There is nothing unethical or unbiblical about helping someone invest in something they need, want and can afford.
6. Tragically, in today’s world, many Christians are noted for being “poor workers” because their heart is in ministry and evangelism – and not in their jobs. In a Christian-based business, there is much more opportunity to work wholeheartedly.
7. A Christian-based business can be a great opportunity to mentor. In a Christian-based business staff and associates can be trained, motivated and supported – to maximize their potentials, not only in business, but in service to God.
8. In a Christian-based business all aspects are to be considered ministry and hence a matter of applying wisdom, prayer and allegiance. There need not be a secular-sacred division in a Christian business (i.e. people involvement is sacred, doing the accounting is secular).
9. The culture of a Christian-based business must line up with God’s Word. Just some of the biblical values that should influence the culture of a Christian-based business are: men and women having equal dignity; work is good; people are sinners, but are all loved by God and can be redeemed; communication, in advertising or sales, must be honest, even if a sale is lost; prices are fair and not inflated to make an excessive profit; and workers are given a second chance – there is forgiveness as well as discipline. In a sense, the Christian business owner / manager is a “community builder”, even a “pastor” to those associated to that business.
10. In a Christian-based business, the leaders are servants – servants of God, of the staff and other business associates and of the consumers. Servant leadership is based on the teaching of Christ in Matthew 20:25-28. Being a servant leader doesn’t mean being passive and “re-active”. It can mean being very “pro-active”. For the servant leader, there is godly ambition, dreams and visions for the future. In a Christian-based business there can be a legitimate expression of God-honouring ambition as we fulfill His creation mandate for our lives. A characteristic of servant leaders is that they are more concerned with bringing out the best in their staff and associates than their own advancement.

For information on how you can get involved in the great adventure of this new Christian ministry, please contact Braden Caldwell at (email)  bradencaldwell777@gmail.com

 

Allegiant Life is an outreach ministry of  Mark of God Communications Inc.
For more information, please visit www.MarkOfGod.org.

For more information on Allegiant Life programs, please contact Braden Caldwell at (phone)

(416) 804-6213 or email: bradencaldwell777@gmail.com

Mailing address: 777 Butterworth Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6R2P6

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