WHAT IS GOD’S PURPOSE FOR HUMANITY?

Our purposefulness in creation is to be the vice-regent over God’s creation (Genesis 1:26), “…let man have dominion over [rule over His creation].”  We were created by God and for God and UNTIL we understand that, life will NEVER make any sense.  As well, we are here to glorify God, created beings to make His praise glorious!  To worship God and proclaim His splendor; in addition, to accomplishing His established will for each of us individually and corporately.  Obedience to His purpose and plan for our lives is praising Him, submission to His will and way is worshipping Him.  In so doing, we discover and walk out daily the reason why we were created as we develop vertically towards spiritual growth, producing fruit in our lives, and rest in His great salvation plan.  We achieve this vertical momentum and seeing God make vertical changes in our lives by spending time in God’s Word through consistent connection with Him and His Word.

As well, herein lies the problem as many people struggle with being consistent in reading the Bible.  Irrefutably, many people set out with good intentions to read their Bible with a solid understanding that it is God’s guide to salvation; thereby, only achieved by reading the Word of God for spiritually growth.  The psalmist wrote, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).  Nevertheless, because of the freedom to choose, more than often do those well intentions fall by the wayside as insignificant life events and activities, pharaohs, are allowed to rule our time and get in the way.  Pharaohs today are considered to be anything (television, work, shopping, activities, greed, jealousy, anger, status, etc.) or anyone (unhealthy relationships, circle of friends, spouse, children, etc.) allowed to control us and get in the way.  In biblical terms, it is something we have allowed to master, override, and rule our time with God (Psalm 119:133), or that we trust, fear, or serve (Matthew 6:24).  It is this freedom which makes mankind in God’s image the same freedom which manifests itself in separating us from God, as the Fall (Adam and Eve) characterizes.  According to this, mankind can, in their freedom, choose to deny or inhibit their spiritual likeness to God.  The ability and desire to love one’s self and others, and therefore, God, can become neglected and even suppressed.  Endeavoring to bring about the Imago Dei in one’s life can be seen as the pursuit for wholeness, as aligning to in the life of Christ and His teachings through the Holy Spirit.

Reading the Bible is a discipline that can only be developed by a decision to be determinedly persistent.  Through the guiding ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Bible instructs us to recognize sin in our lives, our need for salvation, and the best possible life course.  Those of us who aim to run the race to win must conduct ourselves temperately (Galatians 5:22-23) meaning the running of the whole of my life is under the authority of God, circumcise our hearts (Deuteronomy 30:6) meaning cutting away from your heart that longing or desiring after the flesh, and buffet ourselves in all things (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) meaning bringing the body, mind, and emotions under control.  Overall, we cannot expect someone else to make us do what is right.  We must listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and take action ourselves under the authority of God by the resurrected power of Jesus Christ.

So, what is the Imago Dei?  Imago Dei means “Image of God” in Latin. In Genesis 1:26-27 we see the first biblical reference to the Imago Dei – “And God said, Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth.”  The New Testament continues the same Image of God or Imago Dei theme in Romans 8:29- “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”  In this verse the target of Imago Dei is even more defined than in the Genesis account of the Imago Dei.  In the Imago Dei of Romans 8:29[1] we see that the image of God is seen in the perfect expression of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The New Testament deepens this theme in Hebrews 1:3- “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person… .” Jesus IS the fullest expression of the Father that exists. He is the Imago Dei at its’ peak.  Imago Dei and Jesus are synonymous.  The target of Imago Dei then, is to be conformed to the most complete image of God, the Son of God Himself.  The center of the target is being like Him in our heart.  Through a process of pivotal transitions, the Father has encoded that we are to be the Imago Dei in the earth as His people. We are to be the Imago Dei in thought, word, action, reaction, purpose, and nature.

At that end, God never intended for His people to live in defeat; He destined us to rule and subdue.  To that point, life is a progression of pivotal transitions.  Change….transformation comes to each of us every day.  You have to change your position to receive the marvelous deposit of God and impartation.  Change is a indication, a marker, or a season that you have to make adjustment to your prospect.  Missing this crucial moment of resurrection in your life, the change God requires, will result in missing the essences of what God is trying to do in elevating your life.  Like Martha in the gospel of John God, He is calling you out of your comfort zone.

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l want you to PRINT 8 words beginning with the words –
“God – can – establish – a”

Next to it, print in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS the word –
“MESSAGE”

Next to it, print in lower case letters –
“from – my”

Lastly, next to that, print in ALL CAPS the first 4 letters
from the word MESSAGE
“MESS”

Silently, to yourself, I want you to read what you just wrote because it is a personal message to you from the Lord.

~~ NOW ~~

READ IT        RELEASE IT        RECEIVE IT

God – can – establish – a – MESSAGE – from – my – MESS

God can turn your MESS into a MESSAGE!

……but, and there is a BUT ———a very significant but – YOU HAVE GOT TO CHANGE!

Flow with me here –
How many of you work out?

For those of us who do, we know that when you increase your repetition or weights, you feel it the next day.  This happens because you have made changes to what you were once comfortable with (your comfort zone)…in doing so you stretch that particular muscle, in essence, you have literally hurt that muscle.  In building muscle, there is no way around this, it just has to happen that way.  I do not like this part about working out because of the soreness and since I do not want my muscles to make me look masculine, I do not have to go through this adjustment that often, but the by-product of building muscle is that it burns more calories and keeps burning those calories all day long.  Now keep following me here – the benefits of making adjustments to your workout routine is to keep pushing you forward to a healthier you, burning calories even while sitting at home studying your Bible and praying to God……….Amen!  However, the adjustments——the stretching of the muscle, comes with aches and pains.  With change, God, too is trying to stretch you, and like a muscle, it is for your benefit, not detriment.  The aches and pains of the process at times hurt and feels uncomfortable, but it just has to happen that way—-it just has to work out that way.  He knows what you have done in your yesterdays, and that you are afraid to deal with those issues………You don’t want to face what God is moving you into because you think you are being JUDGED…………..but NO, you are being processed.

God is building truth into your life.

God is calling YOU, Yes YOU, and He is calling you by your name and not your shame.

Shame often accompanies the memories of mistakes in our past.  Unlike conviction or guilt, which focus on our feelings about a past event, shame centers on how we feel about ourselves because of our involvement in that event.  Shame comes from Satan, whom the Bible calls the “accuser” (Revelation 12:10).  Shameful feelings promote self-hatred, condemnation, insecurity, withdrawal and suicide.  No matter how horrible your past may be, God wants to set you free from shame.

The enemy does not have power, but he is strategic.  He does; however, know the proclivities of man to replay certain negative events and mistakes from their past; as a result, he uses it against them to paralyze forward and vertical spiritual growth.  Antagonistically, he calls you by your shame and not your name.

WHAT GOD SAYS:

Write out Isaiah 1:18 below:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEEPER INSIGHT

Romans 12:2 tells us the secret to change in a Christian’s life is having our minds renewed to line up with God’s Word. In other words, our thoughts must agree with what God says is true about us, about our past and about our future in Him.

Read 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) and fill in the following key words.

“We demolish ____________________ and every____________________ that sets itself up against the ____________________ of God, and we take captive every ________________ to make it obedient to Christ.”

What is it that “sets itself up” to prevent us from knowing God?
Practically speaking, what does that mean? Where is the battle?

APPLICATION

Take the following self-evaluation with regard to shame. Rate each sentence according to the following scale. I feel that way: (1) very often; (2) sometimes; (3) rarely; or (4) never.
_____ 1. I find it difficult to forgive myself for things I’ve done in the past.
_____ 2. I believe God enjoys other people, but it’s hard to believe He enjoys me.
_____ 3. I don’t really like myself very well.
_____ 4. I tend to criticize or critique the things I do and say.
_____ 5. It is hard for me to accept compliments from other people.
_____ 6. It is hard for me to trust people.
_____ 7. I think if people know my past, they will not approve of me.
_____ 8. I often ask God to forgive me multiple times for the same mistake.
_____ 9. I feel “yucky” inside and wish something about me would change.
_____10. When I think about the past, I am overcome with regret.
Now review your responses. What do they reveal about how you feel about yourself?

Read Romans 8:1-2[2] and 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11. According to these verses, what is God’s desire for you?

To condemn you?                      Yes _____      No _____
To give you life with Him?       Yes _____      No _____

Shame is often described as a veil, something that seems to cover our faces so that we hide our hearts from other people and avoid making eye contact with them. We don’t want them to see the “real” us for fear they will reject us just as we have rejected ourselves.
However, God’s Word says that He has accepted all those who call on the name of Jesus (see Acts 2:21). He has forgiven them and has become the “lifter of their heads” (Psalm 3:3). In other words, God wants to set you free in relationships to give and receive love, to be healed and made whole again–regardless of your past.

FOR GROUP STUDY

Sometimes sharing the mistakes of our past can be frightening in a group. However, the Bible says in James 5:16 that we gain freedom from the past by confessing our mistakes to sincere believers. The truth is, we have all done and said things we wish we hadn’t.
Today, take time to share a situation from the past in which you wish you had handled things differently. Then pray for one another as the Spirit leads you. Using the prayer below, pray aloud to forgive yourself for whatever mistakes you made and receive God’s forgiveness by faith. You may even want to symbolically “remove the veil” of shame that accompanied your failure by pulling an imaginary mask from your face. Finally, encourage one another as 1 Thessalonians 5:11 commands us to do.

PRAYER

Father, please forgive me for _____________ (name your failure). By faith, I receive Your complete forgiveness in Jesus Christ. I accept that Your grace is enough to cover ALL that I have ever said or done or will ever do. Jesus’ blood is enough to wash me clean.
I forgive myself for all that I have said or done, or even thought, that was wrong. I renounce those words, thoughts and practices. And I refuse to listen anymore to the accuser, Satan, who would continue to torment me by reminding me of these mistakes. I am forgiven and made new. Help me learn to live as a new creation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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[1] The natural man has no such passion.  But in the Christian, the Spirit of God begins to carry out the will of God to make the child of God like the Son of God (Romans 8:29); Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: Zondervan, 1991), 273.

[2] Our freedom from the law of sin and of death through the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).  The key to our freedom from the power of sin is our co-crucifixion with Christ and the indwelling power of the Spirit; Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 103.