Born for a Purpose

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

DEDICATION

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE

OUR

ORIGINAL

PURPOSE

THE BEGINNING

THE CREATION OF MANKIND—OUR PURPOSE

LIFE IN PARADISE

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FREEDOM

THE TREE OF LIFE

THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

THE ORIGIN OF SATAN:

THE ENEMY OF OUR TRUE PURPOSE

THE FALL OF MANKIND:

THE LOSS OF OUR PURPOSE, IDENTITY AND DESTINY

PART TWO

SALVATION:

THE POSSIBLE

DREAM

THE NEW BEGINNING

THE MAN FROM HEAVEN

THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION

THE LOVE AND FORGIVENESS OF GOD

REDEMPTION THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

RELATIVE FORGIVENESS

COMING HOME

THE NEW LIFE

THE NARROW ROAD

RELATIVE SALVATION AND THE INDIVIDUAL

OUR CROSS AND DISCIPLESHIP

DISCIPLESHIP AND SUFFERING

THE MIRACLE OF BROKENESS AND NEW LIFE

POCKETS OF RESISTANCE

BAD TEMPER

PREJUDICE

LOVE OF MONEY

ARROGANCE

UNFORGIVENESS

JEALOUSY

PERFECTIONISM

BLAMING GOD

THE BOOM-CRANE OF GOD

THE DIVIDING OF SOUL AND SPIRIT

THE DIVINE METAMORPHOSIS

PART THREE

OUR PURPOSE AND DESTINY:

THE DISCOVERY

THE FULFILLMENT

THE SEEDS OF PURPOSE

OVERCOMING THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD

THE CHOSEN ONES

OUR PURPOSE AND DESTINY

WITHIN THE

TRUE CHURCH

OUR INDIVIDUAL FUNCTION

AS IT PERTAINS TO

THE TRUE CHURCH

PART FOUR

BORN

TO BE

SAINTS

FAITH

CONSECRATION

LOVE FOR OTHERS

THE SECRET RIGHTEOUSNESS

SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES

THE DIVINE REGRESSION

LIVING BY THE SPIRIT

LEARNING TO LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

RUNNING OUR RACE

FORGETTING THE PAST

A PARABLE OF A MAN AND HIS HORSES

THE PERFECT LIFE

THE LORD OF THE TRIES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My beautiful and precious wife, Scarlett. Whom I thank God for everyday. Together, may our purpose continue to be crowned with God’s eternal destiny for our lives.

Dr. Myles Munroe, who believed in this book from the early manuscript stage. Who encouraged me through subsequent stages, which culminated in his generous and powerful endorsement. May God richly bless him for his faithfulness in bringing my full potential to the surface.

Dr. Ralph McInearny, for his initial encouragement towards publication.

My dear sister Rosalie, for her faithfulness that has lasted all of my life.

DEDICATION

To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Who trains my heart to smile

And my soul to sing.

For those of you seeking:

May you discover and achieve

The purpose for which

God created you.

For this reason I was born

and for this cause

I came into the world

to testify to the truth.

John 18:37

In everything there is a season,

And a time to every purpose

under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

PREFACE

You were born for a purpose. I was born for a purpose. The purpose is uniquely suited to each one of us as individuals. By the time you have finished reading this book, my hope and prayer is that you will recognize and understand your purpose. If you can believe and apply the truths you are about to read, I am firmly convinced that the Holy Spirit will bring your purpose for life into focus.

God earnestly desires for us to know the purpose for which we were born. However, there is a condition; we must be willing to place His divine will above our own. Otherwise, this kind of revelation would hinder rather than help us achieve our goal.

Before the world was created, God chose each one of us for a wonderful, fulfilling purpose:

•   A purpose designed precisely for each individual.

•    A purpose filled with joy, adventure and meaning.

•    A purpose manifesting itself in love, transcendent peace and true inspired identity.

•    A purpose we would gladly live, suffer or die for.

•    A noble unending purpose that was woven into our very being while each of us was silently sleeping in our mother’s womb.

If you are satisfied with a superficial existence, then this is definitely not the book for you. However, if you have a genuine desire to attain your true dreams and are willing to pay the price to watch them come true, keep reading.

Perhaps it’s time for that change you have been longing for. It could be your moment to begin to shine, your season to blossom. Isn’t it time to allow God’s grace to inhabit your life and begin to experience the genuine peace that is a direct result of pleasing God from moment to moment, from hour to hour, and from day to day? Maybe it’s finally time to begin seeking the abundant life that Jesus longs to give you; that life that you could never provide for yourself—eternal life. It’s an opportune time to leave mediocrity behind; to follow closely the One who blessed the children, healed the sick, raised the dead, calmed the storms, fed the multitudes, lived, died, and was resurrected for every one of us.

Let us make no mistake about it—we are living in evil, corrupt times. Times of hatred and confusion, times of widespread sickness and hopelessness, suffering and depression. Jesus yearns to make Himself real in our lives. He wishes to reach down inside us and gently untie our knots of hurt. His desire is to make us whole and complete by freeing us from our fears, worries and frustrations, thus granting us the clarity to see for what purpose we were born. Whatever your station in life—rich or poor, sick or well, black or white, winner or loser—you are not holding this book in your hands by accident. God loves you and has a perfect plan for you, YES, YOU! This plan was created by God for you and you alone to fulfill.

You may feel as if you are in life’s huge Lost and Found Box, Jesus has come to claim you and make something beautiful of your life. Your search is over. Your destiny has arrived. Jesus is standing before you with His hand outstretched. Take hold and let Him pull you up. What is your alternative? Right now is the time to begin. Begin to discover your true destiny. Begin to realize the purpose for which you were born.

It is essential that you pray this prayer daily until it is answered.

THE PRAYER OF PURPOSE

Dear God, my Father,

Please reveal to me

My Purpose in life,

The reason I was born,

And the reason I am living.

Dear Jesus,

Please open my eyes

That I may know

Fully and without doubt,

Your dreams and goals for me,

That they may become

My dreams and goals as well.

Dear Holy Spirit,

Lead,

Enlighten,

Strengthen,

Comfort me,

That I may discover and accomplish

The purpose for which I was born.

INTRODUCTION

I was not born into a religious family. I remember once, when I was about four years old, looking up into my dad’s face and asking, Why are people allowed to treat God so mean? I waited and waited for an answer that never came.

I was raised in an affluent neighborhood and my dad was a man of significant position. Still there was something missing inside me.

I rebelled at an early age. I stole money from my dad’s wallet and cigarettes from my mother’s pack. Soon I became the ringleader among my peers. In retrospect, considering all the trouble I continually got myself into, I can see that I must have been a genuine embarrassment to my family. My dad was active in business and local politics, which kept him busy elsewhere most of the time. My mother also participated in local politics and various other social activities. My mother did the lion’s share of raising my two sisters and me.

Only once can I remember sincerely praying as I was growing up. A tornado was approaching and I was terrified. At about ten years of age, I was looking out our back den window, watching the pitch-black sky and praying. My dad walked into the room. He probably knew that I was praying, but he could give me no words of comfort. It was very difficult for my parents to express affection. My mom and dad neither led me away from the reality of a living God, nor did they bring me any closer to Him.

Ever since I can remember, we had a house-keeper. When I was about five, we had a wonderful black lady, who helped raise me, working for us. She would sing old gospel hymns and songs, such as His Eye is on the Sparrow and Amazing Grace. Her husband was a Baptist minister across town. I know now, in retrospect, that her love for God reflected in everything that she did. I would sit on the floor while she ironed the clothes and listen to her sing. Her hymns and the way that she carried herself in general stirred something inside me. I know now that God was lovingly reaching out to me through this precious lady, gently making His love for me real. Her effect on me could not be denied. I love this woman deeply to this day and I praise God for sending her into my life.

Our family did not have an openly loving relationship. My dad always seemed preoccupied with one thing or another and it was my mom’s role to keep him happy. I was born late, an accident and that appeared to put a crimp in my parent’s style. I craved attention, so I reached out in every way imaginable—sometimes in constructive ways, but often in destructive ways. I started drinking early. By the time I was thirteen, I had a lot of girlfriends. I have a gift for music and at that point, was playing in successful rock and roll bands. The guys I played with were all quite a bit older. After our band jobs we would stay out most of the night. Sometimes when I got home, I would sneak my parent’s car out of the driveway for a joy ride. I ended up wrecking it twice. It’s a miracle I lived.

Although at the time I was receiving a significant amount of money and praise for my musical abilities, something was missing.

I was suspended from high school a number of times in my fourteenth year, and finally expelled. My parents then sent me away to a boarding school. This left them with less money; but it left me more confused and lonely. At that point I continued to drink and began to take drugs as well. It all helped me forget, at least for a little while, just how lost I really was.

Early in my boarding school experience, I was befriended by some older students. They called themselves greasers. I joined my identity with theirs, an identity that included drugs and violence. I was taught to fight and to win each fight. We wore black Cabretta leather jackets. I learned to wrap my jacket around my wrist so that when knives were used, I would not get cut and bleed to death. After awhile and far too many fights, I was able to brag that I had never lost one. At least one of the boys that I beat in a street fight died later. Although I don’t know if I was directly responsible for his death, I definitely did nothing to lengthen his life.

There were sixty boys and sixty girls in our school. Every one of us seemed to be lost in one way or another. Even though we all came from affluence, we were the children our parents could not control. Every floor in the dormitories had a house-father and house-mother. My house-father used to take me to church on Sundays. I sensed something warm in the air at these services. Once again, I was crossing the path of God. That semester my house-father wrote in my yearbook that I had all the makings of a fine man if I could only find myself. Finding myself was what I was constantly striving and failing to do. After my parents spent a small fortune on my education that year, I flunked. I hated school and finally quit when I was sixteen.

After quitting school, I hitchhiked to New York City and moved into the East Village area. That was the sixties and the drug movement was in full swing. I saw the worst of it all. I moved into a crash pad where all kinds of drugs were being use. Fifteen to twenty of us (mostly runaways) at a time would sleep on the floor of a one-bedroom apartment. Periodically the police would raid our place and check everyone’s identification. They must have been looking for particular kids, because some would be rounded up and taken with them, while others would be left.

The drugs of choice at that time were LSD, herion, and various forms of stimulants, such as cocaine and liquid methedrine. People in the apartment where I lived, as well as around the neighborhood, would inject or "shoot up these various drugs around the clock. We loved our drugs more than life itself. My favorite drug was cocaine, but it was very expensive so I was forced to deal in order to support my habit. At that time I loved cocaine more than anyone or anything. One night I overdosed and had to be taken to the hospital emergency room. The doctors and nurses hooked me up to a heart monitor and were trying to get my pulse under control. I wasn’t sure I was going to live through that night. I turned to God and asked Him to spare my life. I told Him that if He would, I would never take any drugs again. He kept His part of the bargain; I backed out of mine.

At that time it was not uncommon to hear gunshots outside our door. We had a number of killings in our neighborhood. Obviously, this was not a time of happiness in my life.

I panhandled for the money I ate with.