Bringing Heaven Home

09 Moral Authority (2)

Hi, fathers, mothers and grandparents, we meet again. Welcome to ‘The World Needs A Father’ Bringing Heaven Home series, chapter six, part two. Today we are focusing on the clarity of purpose. Part one, earlier we touch on what moral authority is all about. It simply means, if you have no morals, you have got no authority. And as fathers, if you don't walk the talk, living by example, it will be quite hard to earn the respect and the right to be heard. So let's dive in and look what clarity of purpose is all about.

As we move towards clarity of purpose in relation to moral authority, it means we need to define and be clear about the clarity of purpose in our life. That basic question there you see on the screen, what am I here for? And when I meet up with a lot of young people in the age of 25, and even some fathers as late as 50, they are still not clear of what they are here for. And so when you look at authority, at the way it has been shared in ‘The World Needs A Father’, it simply means when authority is lived in submission as a servant and to the Lord and the people that you will be serving. And as we drawn near to God to the Father, just like Jesus did, I'm quite sure there will be a clear sense of purpose and assignment in our lives. As we draw near to God, God will reveal exactly what He wants you to do in life here on earth. Just like Jesus, He knows His primary assignment, to die on the cross. And so that is the most significant act of history that brings life and redemption to all of humanity. We too need to be clear what God really want us to do with our lives.

So we need to know the mission. Even now children will need to know why knowing our mission is important. The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose. It seems to be like a play of words but there is significant truth in that. Because in the heart of the matter, is the matter of the heart. Again, it’s a play of words. It simply means, as Jesus said, where your heart is, there, your treasure is, and where your treasure is, there, your heart will be also, isn't it? And so it means this. You and me, we need to choose core principles, the real core values that will give the pulse, the heartbeat to our lives’ orientation. The heart of the matter is knowing very clearly what God wants us to do as a Christian family, as ourselves, as we journey here on earth. And we should adopt some of these examples in terms of the motto in our Christian life. But wisdom starts with humility. Life is not to get, but to give. If you seek holiness, you will find lasting happiness. Selfless love is the mightiest power in the world, for the greatest is love. That's what 1 Corinthians 13 says.

And so the Latin word, Missio Dei, is a Latin word meaning God's mission or mission of God. So moral authority comes from being aligned to a higher calling, God's calling, to be part of God's mission. And that's where we want to discover God's intended purpose for our life. So we need to realize, as in the left picture, that God is not finished with us yet, God is not finished with you yet. He is the porter, shaping, melding us into the fine piece of instrument to fulfil His destiny for your life. For that, we need continually to seek with clarity, that we will always be in alignment with God's intended purpose for our life. And that is basically 2 kinds of calling, primary calling that I’ve talked about and secondary calling.

So when you look at these two calling, the primary calling, and the secondary calling are pretty different. Primary calling is the overall mission that God talked about. You may think in terms of Matthew 28:19-20, the special great commission, a mandate, “Go therefore and make the disciples of all nations”. Or 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, reconciling man to himself. Or Malachi 4:5-6, it talks about turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. The last verse in the Old Testament. And so we need to realize our primary purpose is to follow God's mission and mandate. This is an interesting quote used by both of us, by our father and ourselves in training. That life is not about you. Life is not about me. Life is about God being on a mission. And one thing that God wants you to do before you die, what is it? We need to become part of God's mission. Then when you look at the secondary calling. The second part of the slide, means we need to submit to God’s specific mission and purpose for our life. When you look at the first square there, it talks about self-directed life. Self is on the throne, Christ is dethroned. And often it result in discord and frustration.

Then when you shift to look on the right, is the Christ-directed life. Christ is seated on the throne, he’s enthroned. Yourself is dethroned, meaning you have yielded and surrendered your life to Christ. And so your interests are very much well-coordinated and directed by Christ, resulting in harmony with God's plan for the person's life. So when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. It is to see what God really wants him to do. And the thing is to find the truth that you can live and die for. Alive, that they are willing to live for others. And that must be the case as far as God and Christ, he lived His life for others. So as in Luke 9:23, it’s a very pointed verse that we need to know. When Christ said, if you want to follow me and be my disciples, you first, you have to deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow me. It is discovering God’s specific purpose for your life.

And so what is the secondary calling all about? What is this specific assignment all about it? It is to cover this very specific calling for you. Three things to take note of. First, you have to know who God is, because it's Him who determine your purpose and destiny. It's Him who gives you the calling. Secondly, what is God calling you to do? What is God trying also to do in a specific context of your life, within the area of your life. You need to understand the specific needs, opportunities and challenges in the context of your life. And then thirdly, what is God doing in this network of your life? What is then the unique contribution that they can do, that God has given you, and that God wants you to make. Means, you then look at the uniqueness that God has given to you, your gifts, your skills, your interests, in the context of your life to bring an established heaven on earth. This then should be your driving passion. So when these three, as you see, align, overlap, coincide in the centre, you then begin to discover the secondary purpose, a specific assignment God has intended for your life. And it will then give you a sense of direction as you gain clarity of purpose, as you discover and know his calling. You will feel convicted, and you indeed would be very clear to be a man of moral clarity and conviction.

What then are the steps you need to take? There are six steps, the seventh step is basically writing the statement down. This is one thing that we would like you to do when you're ready. First and foremost, you need to understand God the Father’s all-encompassing purpose and mission for your life. Second, you need to determine the context of your life and God's mission, but identifying a specific target of people that you are drawn to, that you have a soft spot for and want to meet their needs. And this is based on where you are operating right now in the network of your life. Determine the target group of people. When you have done that, the third step is to formulate your design outcome. Where they are and where you want to bring them to, the future outcome, by meeting their needs.

And then you need to figure out in four, how God intend to use you in relation to your need, in relation to their needs, by looking at your gifts, your skills, your talents, your abilities to be used by Him to meet their needs. And then in verbs, 5, what exactly is choosing a verb that you can be actioning it to impact and to touch a life? What are the suggested verbs that God is leading you to use to bring them from one condition to another. And lastly, come up to the vehicle, the means. It could be through the church, it could be through a program, it could be through a church that you want to follow along to bring these people to the desired future outcome. And lastly, write your statement.

And these are the complete statement. Seven. Identify the target group, it’s a bit of repetition for you. State  the condition of these people. What then are their needs that you need to bring them to, into the future desired outcome. Choose a verb, an action verb, that you will drive you to do something about it. Decide on the vehicle, what are the means that you can bring them to the desired destination whereby their needs can be met.

And these are examples of the purpose statement. The one that I used for myself is help families to break free from bondage to freedom in Christ through prayer and ‘The World Needs A Father’ model. There is a verb break free, the people are families, their need is from their present condition, bondage. Future outcome is freedom in Christ, and the means, through prayer and ‘The World Needs A Father’ model. Another friend of mine use the purpose statement, I help pre believing youths to become believers through soccer coaching.

And so this is then the true joy of life. Being used by God for a specific purpose. We need to realize that we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Our life belongs to God, belongs to Christ. Therefore, I hope you will be with me in this, that I want to be thoroughly used by Him, and for His glory before I die. Life this short, and so as long as I’m alive, I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before I hand it over to the next generation.

So we come to the end. The reflective question is express your thoughts about this statement, “life is not about you and not about me. It's all about following God in His mission.” Question two, discuss the importance of a purpose statement. And if you have one, share how you're working it out in your life. And lastly, please complete your purpose statement if you have not crafted one. Thank you for listening to me.