Welcome to the Further Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn, and this is the final episode of the series I've called Reset, and I want to talk to you about how to reset your purpose. We live in a culture, I'd say rightfully so, that's pretty obsessed with finding purpose. I would imagine you uh desire to live out your purpose. I know that I do, and you'll see people quit jobs to find purpose. They'll move across the country to discover it. Uh, we buy books hoping someone can help us uncover their purpose, but the Bible does not teach that purpose is a hidden treasure buried deep inside of you or somewhere at a location and you've got to go find it. Purpose is revealed by God wherever you are. So hopefully that encourages you. If you're in Christ, meaning you're a Christian, your purpose is not a mystery. Now, maybe the specifics about a job, what college to go to, your dating life, marriage, kids, medical prognosis, uh, finances, your future. Maybe you're in the military and you don't even know what you know the next season is going to hold, all of that, understandable. But your underlying purpose does not have to be a mystery. Your purpose is not waiting for you in the next career move. It's not waiting for you in the next stage of life or with the next big opportunity. Your purpose has already been given to you and you can live it out no matter what job you have. Now, maybe some of those things will be really helpful. Maybe there's more clarity in certain seasons when you are at that next stage. Yes and amen. That's a part of life. And God does prepare you now for what's to come. But as far as living out your purpose, no way. You can do that now. It's not a waiting game, it's a now thing. I'm turning my Bible to Ephesians chapter two, verse 10. And so if you're watching this on YouTube, you can follow along, it'll be on the screen. If you're on a run, doing some cleaning, working out or driving, I got you. Ephesians 2, 10. After explaining that salvation is by grace through faith and not as the result of works, nobody can boast. Paul says, no one can be proud and be like, I saved myself, I forgived my sin. I changed my life and I led myself to salvation. No way. God did that by grace, through faith. Grace is unmerited favor, and faith is to put your trust, your whole trust in Jesus Christ. After all that, Paul basically saying, so so what of our works? Like what about what we do? Verse 10. For we are his workmanship, meaning we're we're the masterpiece of God. We're we're the the the artistry, we're the work, we're what came out of it. We're his workmanship. He's the carpenter, he's chiseling away, he's making us into a beautiful piece of furniture you can think about, or a tool. Created in Christ Jesus for good works. Now, God prepared these beforehand, meaning it was his purpose for us to walk in them, so that, well, we might walk in them. He prepared us for them. So, according to scripture, you and I, as Christians, we were created for something. God has already prepared good works for you, it says beforehand that you would walk in. And so your job and my job is not to invent a purpose. You could invent a product. You could be the CEO of a company one day or even now. You may invent many things. You may create and ideate. Bottom line, though, when it comes to your purpose, like actual purpose in life, it's already set. Your job is to faithfully live it out wherever God puts you. So to finish the summer reset and keep you going in the right direction, let me give you five keys to living out your purpose. Number one, stop asking, what do I want to do? And start asking, what does God call me to do, or what has God already called me to do? Okay. Not what do I want to do. Don't start with yourself, start with God. One of the greatest traps in our generation is making fulfillment the goal instead of faithfulness. The way they often describe this with guys that I'm talking to about this is faithfulness over fulfillment, or maybe you want to say faithfulness leads to fulfillment. It's not all about me. It's about God. It's not all about you, it's about God. So I'm not asking, you know, what makes me happy? What will excite me this summer? What will feel most meaningful for me? Look, and those aren't bad questions. You should ask those. They're just incomplete. Or if you ask them first, you got the order out of order. The primary question in every season of life, whether you're a teenager, business owner, troops deployed, a parent in the trenches, trenches, or an empty nester, what has God commanded? So to be really blunt with you, your purpose actually has less to do with your own passion and everything to do with God's. It doesn't mean you can't do what makes you happy or love your job. But before you hone in on what you want, you gotta embrace what God wants. There's this passage in Micah 6, verse 8. Maybe you've heard it before. It'll be familiar to you. Maybe you're newer to church or newer to the podcast and you're thinking about what the Bible says. There's this passage that says, you know, he has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? What does God want you to do? To do justice, to love kindness, the word mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. God first, God's purpose first. So you don't have to wonder uh whether God wants you to do certain things. Now, there might be specifics that you desire to know, but you can know what his will is for you. I wrote about that. The reason I wrote this book, Walking in God's Will, is to help you understand that and to help people realize God's will is not a mystery. It's not. And you can see how clear his will actually is. You can look at how he wants you to, number one, live by faith. Put your faith in him. Number two, love God. Love God, love others. Number three, love your family. Number four, share the gospel. Number five, serve others. Number six, grow in holiness. He wants you to grow. What's your sin that you're dealing with? Take it to him. He wants you to use your gifts for the church. Number eight, he wants you to be generous and not see your money as yours, but all of your resources as his. Number nine, he wants you to work diligently, whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might. And number 10, he wants you to make disciples. He wants you to pass on the knowledge that you're learning from him. You can know what God's purpose is for you by looking at what he's already told you. So don't start with what you want to do. Start with what God wants for you and from you. You know, don't be like the kid who skips dinner just to get to dessert. Yes, all the juicy details about a job or getting engaged, or when will you get married, or how many kids are you going to have, or will that business idea take, or will this risk take uh pay off? And how will things look in the next two and three and four and six years? And will this and that and the other be? All of that is normal to want to know, but I refer to that as dessert. That's the sweet finish. You go, wow, look at how that turned out. But you don't skip over the obvious and core elements of a healthy diet for your purpose, which is no matter what the sweet things are, the juicy details to come, what does God want me to do with my life right now? What has he already said? What's in his word? So do something practical this week. Apply the truth by making a list of responsibilities that God has clearly given you in this season and write out an action plan for how you'll put those things into practice, whatever you are. If you're a student, a husband, a wife, a parent, an employee, an owner, you're a church member, a friend, you're a ministry leader, whatever those things are, look at where you're at. What has God called you to do? Write it out and go do it. That's where your purpose begins. Do not neglect the obvious while searching for the extraordinary. Number two, you want to know your purpose? Start defining success God's way. Define success God's way. A lot of people feel purposeless because they're chasing someone else's definition of success. God measures differently. I'm always renewed in how I define success. When I think about Jesus' words and the parable that he tells in Matthew 25, you remember Matthew 25, verse 21, he ends the parable by saying, Well done, good and faithful servant. It's that statement we think of, the parable of these stewards, the talents. And I heard an old preacher once remark how it doesn't say, Well done, wealthy servant, well done, famous servant, well done, influential servant. No. Well done, faithful servant. Faithfulness is how we define success in the kingdom of God. And that's a game changer. If you're changing diapers to the glory of God, that's purpose. If you're leading a company with integrity, that's purpose. If you're showing up to a church quietly serving behind the scenes, that's purpose. If you're giving sacrificially without a parade and pomp and circumstance, that's purpose. If you're considering others above yourself with humility like Jesus, which is what Philippians 2 is all about, that's purpose. Purpose is found in obedience. So start defining success and faithfulness the way God does. So how would you apply this truth? I want you to ask the question this week. Am I pursuing significance in the eyes of people, or am I pursuing faithfulness in the eyes of God? That one question will expose a thousand misplaced ambitions. Number three, steward what is already in your hands. I know for some of you that's probably boring. It shouldn't be. You've just got caught up on the hype train, always looking to the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. Oh, when I just get there, I'll be there. When I just get there, it'll finally be it. Had a mentor who used to tell me, Costi, there is no there, there. You're gonna get there and there's a new there. We can't live in this endless cycle of drive to finally have purpose in the next thing. Steward, meaning manage what's already in front of you. You can't think purpose starts someday. You have a purpose today, right now. You know, it's not when the kids are older. It's not when, you know, when I get more time and more money. It's not when the schedule calms down. Oh, when the promotion comes. On and on and on. Your delays and mine will continue if we live life for the there that's there. There's no there there. Scripture consistently teaches that stewardship is about where you are right now. In Luke 16, 10, he writes out the same parable that Jesus was teaching in Matthew 25. There are parallels in these Gospels. And it records Christ saying, One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, meaning faithful in little, faithful much. You're faithful with a little bit right now, with what's right in front of you, God will trust you with more. So as Christians, we would say the opportunities right in front of you right now are the most important opportunities that you could ever steward. That's what God wants for you. You say, Well, Costi, I want to know what God has for me. What's ahead? What's a no, no, no. God has shown you right now by saying, be faithful with what is in front of you. Do that. Take the next step of obedience right in front of you. He'll take care of the future. Your current season isn't a locker room, it's the field. You've got to look at it that way. I think we often look at our lives like, oh, I'm in the locker room. You know, this is just practice. You know, what is really a no, it is game day now. You're on the field. You're not waiting or wishing to be in the game. You're not dressing for the game, you're in it. The trial you're in, your travels, your battles, your work challenges, your promotion, your job search, your wrestling with certain beliefs and faith and doubts and going through all of this. Maybe for some of you ladies, your infertility, maybe your singleness. Maybe for those of you, you're empty nesters, you're going through this weird feeling of like the kids are all out. You're going, What is my purpose? I've been needed for 18 years, and now I'm kind of like, what's next? Your deployment. If you're one of our faithful servicemen, your daily grind, stay-at-home mom, changing diapers, your marriage, everything else that you're in right now, all of this season, that's the assignment. If God has brought you to it, he's called you to it. Don't look past his purposes. They are the right now. So you apply this truth by writing down three things that God has entrusted you today that you've been overlooking. That's what I want you to do. I want you to take what I just walked you through, and I want you to sit down, pray, and think. Maybe you want to hit pause right now and just think, what are three things that God's actually entrusted me with that I've been overlooking, and now I see that's ground zero for my purpose? You know, I have a friend right now going through chemo. She is uh a woman who's spoken to, you know, people with cancer for years. She's been what's called a pre-viver. I mean, you're just always proactive ahead of it. And now she's a survivor. She's got cancer at stage four. The prognosis is good, but it's still stage four. And we were talking about this recently and just praying and thinking through how wonderful, yes, it'll be if the Lord would heal that and take it away. Absolutely. How wonderful it'll be if the chemo and everything the doctors want her to do is gonna be all fine and it works. Uh, how wonderful it'd be to be on the other side of this. But one thing I love about her is right now, her and her husband are just looking at this season as ground zero for their purpose. She sees the chemo as an opportunity to represent Christ. She sees the, you know, the time in the hospital and the time and conversations and the waiting and the wondering and all of those as opportunities. It's ground zero for her purpose. And her and her husband have lived a long time. Her husband is in his early 80s now, and you think, man, their life isn't over. And sometimes cancer can make you just wish for the future. Like, I just want to be past this. What a great reminder. Whether it's you're in the trenches of early motherhood, whether you're in the trenches of the teenage years, whether you're in ministry life, education, whatever it is, business, just some phase you're in, or you're in chemo, your purpose is now. What have you been overlooking and missing out on because you keep looking past it? Number four, eliminate what distracts you from your purpose. Not everything that is good is beneficial. Not everything that is permissible is helpful. We talked about this earlier in this year. If you're just new to the podcast, I did this series on Christian liberty, talking about all the things that the Bible might allow you to do. And it's not the end of the world, but doesn't mean you always have to do it. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 23, all things are lawful for me. Oh, I could, I could do say, I'm do that, do that, but not all things are helpful. Many believers aren't living without a purpose. They're they're just living with a lot of distraction in the midst of the purpose. They go, Yeah, I want to do this, I want to do this, I want to do this. It just, you're doing too much. And so maybe it's too much scrolling, too many commitments, too many useless engagements. You are busy, busy, busy, busy, but there's not a lot of intentionality. You can't fulfill God's calling while constantly overbusying yourself with lesser things. So I want you to sit down this week and think what is stealing time and energy from what matters the most? Make a list of everything you're doing this summer, all of the meetings, all of the uh celebrations, all of the weddings, all of the travel, all of the trips, all of the parties, all of the places, all of just do it all. And a lot of those things are gonna be awesome. You're gonna do them. It's family, it's friends, it's beautiful, it's great members. But just look, just double check, triple check, are there some things I don't, we don't need to do another one of those. We don't need to do another this. We don't need to add another night of that. We're good. And make sure that you're thinking and praying about doing the right things. I had a mentor who used to say, Costi, don't just do things right. That's important. Make sure you're doing the right things. There's a lot of busy people that are going nowhere. And then there's the people that seem to do the right things. And it's efficient, it's effective, and they're living on purpose and they're fruitful because they're doing the right thing. So I want you to pray on this. Maybe remove one thing this week or next or next month that needs to be canceled, deleted, limited, maybe get rid of an app. Maybe reschedule something for a different time of year and replace it with something else that's more beneficial. That could be rest, could be worship, or it could be just a little bit of breathing room. Number five, seek the kingdom first. Jesus simplified our purpose in one statement, Matthew 6.33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. He goes on to say, all these things will be added unto you. What things? Oh, food, clothing, shelter. What are we gonna do? Where are we gonna live? How are we gonna do this? All of that. Jesus was saying, look, it's not unimportant. It's just not the most important thing. Seek first the kingdom. So remember that your issue isn't having no purpose as much as it's the priorities that become disordered. I would imagine that you have many important priorities and things you want to do this summer. I do as well. That's good. Just remember Jesus says kingdom first, kingdom first mentality is what we want to live with. That doesn't mean abandoning all of the other responsibilities and your dreams and your ambitions, and God is just a killjoy that wants to take all your fun dreams and goals away. No, it just means you're gonna orient all of it around Jesus Christ. We need to ask some questions. How can my work honor Christ? How can my family reflect Christ? How can my finances advance Christ's mission? How can my gifts build Christ's church? Remember, purpose is integrated with your faith. So wherever you are, you bring your faith with you. Faith is not this compartmentalized thing, like, oh, my faith is just personal. I don't really incorporate it. No, everything can have Christ at the center. The entrepreneur can bring faith into the efforts. The mother can bring faith into her efforts. The student can bring faith into their efforts, into their life, everything, even your recreation, all of it can center on Christ. So I want you to evaluate your current ambitions and take Christ and put them at the center of him. How are you aligning with his purposes? How are you doing this thing for his glory? And if they don't align with his purposes, I want to challenge you to stop pursuing that ambition. I don't know what that'll be. I can't even give you a list. It's your own life led by the Spirit of God, but you'll be able to answer that if you're really honest with yourself. I need to put Christ at the center of this. If I absolutely can't, it's probably something to do with a sinful decision or some way of living that you're living outside of God's will. But generally speaking, if you can't get Christ in the center of it, it's got to go. And I want you to remember the words of 1 Corinthians 15, 58, one of my favorite passages. We talk about it with all of the people who volunteer at our church all the time. Paul says, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Meaning, what you do for the Lord, it's not going to be wasted. Be steadfast, be immovable. Meaning, come on, be a rock, be stubborn. Christ is all and all in me. He is the center of everything. I ain't budging on that. And that reminds us, nothing done for him will be wasted. Every prayer, every gift, every sacrifice, every deed done for him, it matters. And maybe your biggest blind spot right now, when it comes to purpose, is not that you don't have one, but you've been looking for it in all the wrong places. So I pray above all else today that you would look to Jesus Christ as your savior and your hope and your peace, and that in him you find everything you need. Maybe you're a Christian who just needs to be reminded of the gospel. Our ministry is called for the gospel for that reason. We all need the gospel and you never graduate from the gospel. Maybe you're somebody who's newer to the faith and you just need to be told for the first time, yeah, this isn't like the basic thing you get past. We always, always go back to the gospel. The good news that Christ died for sinners. That's us. And we need him, even just to live out our purpose. And maybe you happen to be listening to this. Or watching it, and you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ. I want to just invite you to do that right now, today. If everything I've said to you you believe is true and you would agree with it, and you think, yeah, this is this is honestly what I've what I've needed. This is what I've been looking for, my friend. That's exactly how it works. God has done that for all of us. He draws us like wandering lost sheep by his voice, by the truth, to Christ Jesus, our Savior. And no longer is it our works and doing more and giving enough money and saying enough of the right things and being moral enough and cleaning ourselves up that makes us have access to God or given entrance into heaven one day. No. It's Christ who is our Savior. It is his grace upon us, his forgiveness of sinners because of his work on the cross. He died for sinners. He paid the penalty for your sin. He absorbed the wrath of God. So all the punishment that God would ever put on you or me as sinners, he said, I'll put it on my son, he will take it as your sacrifice. He did that. And all you have to do to receive the gift of salvation is to put your faith, not in yourself, not in your works, not in your own purpose, but you put your belief, your faith in Jesus Christ. And when Christ is your life, he's the one you put your faith in, you receive forgiveness of sins. You receive his righteousness. And God no longer looks at you as a dirty, filthy sinner. He looks at you through his son Jesus Christ and says, Washed and clean, mine forever. And he'll give you a purpose. It's not waiting for some ticket to heaven that you'll get when you die. No, this isn't life insurance for the afterlife. Although there is a promise that you will live with him forever. It's a life now, the abundant life in Christ. Living for something greater than yourself, that is his glory and his purpose, living for someone greater than you, that is Jesus Christ. And so I want to invite you to ultimately find your purpose in faith through Jesus Christ. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Thank you for those who support this ministry here for the gospel. By the way, if you are someone who uh has been led to Christ and helped through this ministry to get to know what Christianity is all about, we'd love to hear from you. Uh lots of people choose to give and support the ministry, and that's wonderful. 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So thank you, and I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.