Purpose in Your Heart
DANIEL 1:8
8 ¶ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Heathen nations not only ate unclean beasts which were forbidden by Jewish law, but even the clean animals that were eaten were first offered as victims to their heathen gods.
Purpose in Your Heart
Our Purpose in this Life is to serve His purpose
Daniel was a young man that had been taken captive by the Babylonians right at the beginning of the 70 years of captivity, and as a young man he was determined that he would keep true to the word and teachings of what he had been raised to believe back in Jerusalem.
**The reason that some have so many problems in their Christian walk is that they have nothing determined or purposed prior to the temptation.
***In order for us to serve God in an effective way, we must purpose in our hearts and have a purpose in our hearts that has been placed there by the Holy Spirit and that is according to the word of this hour.
JOB 31:1
1 ¶ I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? What you see with your eyes you think of with your mind - Job had made a contract with his eyes so that he would not look on things that could lead him down slippery slopes, he first purposed this in his heart beforehand in order to ward off temptation.
ISAIAH 26:3
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
***If our mind is not made up beforehand, then when we are faced with decisions of right and wrong and temptations, then there is a strong possibility that we may not do the right thing if our mind isn’t first stayed upon the word of God by a predetermined purpose in our hearts. All temptations known to man have become amplified by the pressure of this age.
DANIEL 1:8
8 ¶ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:
He knew that the culture of this heathen land that he was forced to live in was contrary to the culture of what he believed, and so he was determined to maintain his separation from it – in it but not of it.
Notice Daniel purposed in his heart beforehand - He had rehearsed it in his heart what he was going to do and say.
MATTHEW 24:4-14
4 ¶ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (Remember that the original sin was caused by deception, and when a person is deceived, then sorrow and death always follows that. The deception that took place in Eden in Genesis by reasoning against the word is to become the condition of the entire world at harvest time at the end of the world in Revelation)
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (not “I am Jesus” but I am the anointed one – so this is false anointed ones at the end time).
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many (religious deception – 999 different denominations).
12 And because iniquity shall abound (Abound = to be increased, to multiply), the love of many shall wax cold. (As sin increases, peoples love for God waxes colder and colder)
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Saved = to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgement).
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
That is what is taking place now under this message; the word of this hour is being preached to all the nations of the world because John (who in the book of Revelation represents the bride) is now preaching this same message to every nation under heaven – Revelation 10:8-11.
So if there was ever a generation that will see the “END”, then it is us in this hour. So we need to know how to scripturally endure under this truth that God has sent to us in this generation by his vindicated prophet.
This word “endure” unto the end, the same shall be saved”
Endure = to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee, to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ, to endure, bear bravely and calmly ill treatments
*** To endure to the end takes commitment and a steadfast purpose from the heart and not just from the head, because your heart is where God is in the control tower, and that is where the purpose has to come from.
JOSHUA 24:13-15
13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
15 ¶ And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
*Joshua had learnt about purposing in his heart from a young age.
As a young man, right from the beginning he had purposed in his heart to stay with that the Exodus prophet that God had sent to lead them out of Egypt, and when the 10 spies brought a bad report, he brought a good report because he had already purposed in his heart beforehand.
Daniel was a young man when he purposed in his heart to do the right thing in a culture that was against the things of his belief, this is showing us that much of our future life depends upon our earliest days.
That is why in the message Mother’s day (1959), so much of what a young man becomes can often be attributed to his early days spent with his mother – and that should be the purpose of every mothers heart is to see their children come to know Christ from an early age.
I.AM.THE.RESURRECTION.AND.LIFE_ CAMPBELLSVILLE.KY MONDAY_ 63-1118
56 …you cannot look out without seeing the evidence of death, burial, and resurrection. Wherever you go, whatever you look at, it's impossible to pass over: death, burial, resurrection.
57 And then, again, we find out that resurrection only comes when it serves God's purpose. If it doesn't serve God's purpose, no matter how beautiful it is, how--how pretty it looks, and how much better it might look than some other Seed that is germitized, it'll never rise. It lives this, and that settles it. But if It's germitized, It must rise again.
A Mother serves God’s purpose by being a faithful and Godly wife to her husband, and for raising her children right, and feeding them and washing their clothes, and for teaching them about the Lord Jesus, and taking them to church, – all these things is God’s purpose for a mother.
A Father serves God’s purpose by providing a living for his family, and being an example of a real believer in front of his family, and by loving his wife.
The best thing a man can do for his children (especially his boys) is to love their mother.
Children serve God’s purpose when they obey their parents in the Lord.
To be PURPOSED is to be - determined, to settle it forever in your mind – to be steadfast, to be resolved, committed to the end
Daniel endured from a young age to the end of his life because he had a purpose in him at the beginning.
DANIEL 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."
POSSESSING.THE.ENEMY'S.GATES_ JEFF.IN V-11 N-6 SUNDAY_ 59-1108
34 Stand alone. Walk out there and say, "Though He slay me, yet I'll trust Him." That's the seed of Abraham. That's the One that gives the promise. No matter what the rest of them says, and the rest of them do; "For me and my house, we'll serve God," said... If the rest of them says there's nothing to the experience, it's a bunch of excitement; "For me and my house, we will serve God." And I like to take up with Paul right here and say, "In the way that's called heresy so worship I the God of our fathers." Though they be tattlers come in the church, though they be twisters, and though they be all kinds of false prophets, and everything come into the church amongst the people, and in the neighbourhood and everything, but for me and for my house, we'll serve the Lord. Though all of them quit coming, though the church gets cold, indifferent; me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. Though if someone was prayed for and didn't get well, that had nothing to do with it; for me and my house, we serve the Lord. The testings and the trials...
35 Men are not infallible, but God is. Man, you get your mind on a man, he'll make a mistake. Maybe not wilfully, but he'll do it. God permits him to do it so that He can shake your faith away from man.
JANUARY 15, 1893, in a sermon delivered by C. H. SPURGEON,
I talked, the other day, with a gentleman who was the trustee for one of the wealthiest men in England, and who now is trustee of the money that the same gentleman has left to all his children. Those children have grown up and have come to years of maturity, but they still make him the trustee, paying him for looking after all their money, which is an immense amount. I was asking him how it was that he gained the confidence of the family so that they put him in such a position where all that they have is under his care and discretion. He said that he remembered when he was but a boy, the head of the establishment said to him one day, “Say that I am out,” and he replied, “Please, sir, I could not say that, for it would not be true.” Of course the master was very angry, and told him that he must not bring his scruples there, or he would never get on in life; but he never asked him to tell a lie again, and when somebody was needed to act as confidential clerk, that young fellow was selected, and knowing him to be one who would be faithful and true, his master took the opportunity to promote him! And he put implicit confidence in him from that hour.
Sometimes you will find that to be out and out for the right will be the making of you. I would not urge integrity upon you from such a motive, but, since the devil will tell you that it will be the ruin of you, I will urge you to stand fast to the right, to speak the truth at all times, to be straightforward, for you will find that honesty is the best policy. Any man who speaks the truth will find it the best thing in the long run! To lie, to stray from the truth, to stall, to try to hold with the hare and run with the hounds involves you in a world of difficulty and trouble! Be straight as Daniel was. The Lord help you to be so!
Mr Spurgeon goes on the say…
THERE ARE RIGHT METHODS OF RESISTING TEMPTATION.
And the first is that the heart must be set. “Daniel purposed in his heart.” He looked the matter up and down and he settled it in his heart.
Oh, for a made-up mind! Oh, for the man who knows how to look at his compass and to steer his vessel where he ought to go! God grant you divine grace, young man, to nail your colours to the mast and to be determined that you will keep to the right course, come fair wind or come foul!
He goes on to say that - The protest must be courteously borne
Firmness of purpose should be adorned with gentleness of manner in carrying it out. It was so with young Daniel.
“Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art,
I’d call them vanity and lies,
And bind the gospel to my heart,”
COUNTDOWN_ BAKF.CA V-22 N-9 SUNDAY_ 64-0209
(Notice that the sun has a purpose right from the beginning and maintains that purpose to the very last rays of light at the evening time – that was Daniel, that was Joshua)
26 Watch the sun when it rises of a morning, the sun that lights the skies. It's a little baby, rocked in its mother's arms, when it's weak, not very much life, not very strong. And then about eight o'clock, it starts off to school. At eleven-thirty, she's graduated, and it's out of high school and out of college. Then she is in her strength, from about twelve till about two. Then she begins to get weak, weaker, weaker, weaker, and finally she gets real weak like an old man or woman, goes down. Is that the end of it? She comes back the next morning to testify, "There is a resurrection, and a life beyond death."
27 Everything testifying. All nature testifies. The Word testifies to it. The very Spirit Itself that's in our heart, testifies to it. Something within us, calling out, that, "There is a resurrection of the dead." So, you see, to say...
28 If everything serves God's purpose, it's got a resurrection. But it can only rise if it serves God's purpose. If a flower lives and is not germitized, it will not rise again. If you plant corn, and it is not germitized, it will not rise again. Anything that doesn't serve God's purpose, has no resurrection. But you can't keep anything in the ground that serves God's purpose. It comes forth again to testify of a resurrection. We know that all these things are right. They are testimonies to us, to encourage us. Each day, everywhere you look, you see God.
29 There is a natural body, a people. There is a spiritual Body of people.
30 There is a natural bride. I've had the privilege of marrying fine young couples. And I never think of it unless... I kind of turn them around, a little superstitions, and I face with my--my back to the East, and them looking to the East. And as I look at them, I think of their hearts beating as one, Christ and His Bride. There is a natural bride, and being that there is a natural bride, it's only a testimony there is a spiritual Bride. There is a spiritual Bride, because there is a natural bride.
31 All these natural happenings, now, they forerun spiritual happenings. Each happening accompanies the other happening, only it improves it.
You say, "What's like that?"
32 Well, something like a spiritual Life, when it comes into the natural life, it improves the natural life. It, It makes you in a better condition than you was in the natural life.
33 When the leaf is getting old and dies, when it comes back with the life again in the resurrection, to testify in another year, it comes back in a better condition than it did when it went down. See, everything testifies of these things.
Purpose in Your Heart
Our Purpose in this Life is to serve God’s purpose, to have His great purpose in our hearts as our purpose because his plans for our lives are much bigger than our own plans for our lives; so let us purpose to do his will for our life.
First we must find out what His purpose is for this hour, and then purpose in our heart by a predetermine will that nothing will distract us from that.
POSSESSING.ALL.THINGS_ JEFF.IN V-10 N-4 SUNDAY_ 62-0506
138 …Did you ever think what you're here for? What are you--what are you going to school for, children? What are you working for, dad? What makes you get up, and mother, of a morning, and get the kiddies to school, wash their face, and make up the beds and cook, and--and--and do it all, come in, wore out that night, and the next day start the same thing? What do you do it for? Why do you labour and slave, dad, and everything? Come in at night, and weary, and one of the kids gets sick and you walk the floor, and cry and pray and struggle, and they get well; and then back, and you do it again. And every Sunday wash their faces, and get them down to church... And, well, what's it all about? What he here for? Is that all there is to it? My, that'd be miserable, and knowing you got to go anyhow. See? What's it all about?
140 Oh, brother, it's an examination time; it's a opportunity time. It's the opportunity to accept This (he is referring to the message of this hour – that is why the message of this hour is to be our number one purpose). Tell me something to take Its place. Tell me something better than That. Produce anything in the world, be the king of the earth, rule the universe; be a Khrushchev or a Kennedy, or whatever you wish to be, you'll die just the same. Right. You don't know what time it'll come, any minute. But here when death does strike, you got Eternal Life and can't die, with a guarantee by the God of all creation, Who's Possessor of heavens and earth, "I'll raise him up again at the last day."