Recognizing your Purpose / And Taking your Position!

Ephesians 1:3-5; 9-11  (Shows Christ as Our ALL IN ALL)!

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

How do we “Recognize our Purpose”?  First we must understand its meaning.  “Recognize” means to be aware of as known before:  to know by some detail, as of appearance: to perceive.

For the most part, Women throughout scripture are a subordinate figure, especially in the Old Testament.  To some extent a woman was her husband’s property (Genesis 12:18; Exodus 20:17; 21:3) and owed him absolute fidelity because he was recognized as lord and master.  Through her diligence and love, she created an honorable position for herself within family and community circles.  Any notability women attained was obtained by force of character such as Deborah, a judge of Israel (Judges 4:4) and Esther who delivered the Jews from extinction.

Throughout history, man, through pride, ignorance or moral misrepresentation, has treated women as being greatly inferior and has enslaved and degraded her accordingly.  In some countries today, women have no rights whatsoever in relation to equality with man.  But God through Jesus Christ has brought “full emancipation” (liberation; freedom; release; deliverance) to womanhood and has given us equality with man in Him.

• Galatians 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek (gentile), there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:  for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANCE OF US RECOGNIZING OUR PURPOSE / AND TAKING OUR POSITION IN THE BODY OF CHRIST!

There’s proof of who we are, especially as women, and there’s a sacred record of the female’s special creation:  It wasn’t to just be incubators; chef’s; maids; insubordinates; etc.  

• Genesis 1:26-27  And God said, Let us make man (not “men”) in our image, 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 upon the earth.

27 So God created man (not men) in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  

• Genesis 5:1-2  This is the book of the generations of Adam.  In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;  

2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Even then there were females who were classified (categorized) as “ADAM”.  ADAM wasn’t just one man.  ADAM was a group of people composed of both “male and female”.  This was a special group of people that God named “Adam”,  and whom God had taken out of a people to show His blood in their face and to manifest God in flesh form in the earth.  They were operating in the wisdom and understanding of God demonstrating His dominion, authority and power in the earth!

• Malachi 3:6: I am the LORD, I change not.  

Today we call ourselves “Christians”, which is a body of people composed of both “male and female”.  It is through us - Christ’s body - that God wants to demonstrate His dominion, authority, and power in the earth today!

Therefore “male & female” must know their purpose (intention; determination; aim; goal) in the earth,

What is the goal?   

• Ephesians 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

• Revelation 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:  for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure (enjoyment; delight; gladness; transport) they are and were created.

We are God’s (transport) vehicles that carry Him everywhere He goes!  

• St. John 1:1-2; 14  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same (that’s us; His church) was in the beginning with God.  

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.  

• 1 John 4:17  As he is, so are we in this world.

These scriptures helped Jesus to find out HIS “PURPOSE” AND HIS “POSITION”:

- HIS “PURPOSE” - was to put on flesh as a man so that He could deliver mankind!  

- HIS “POSITION” – while having on flesh as a man, He still maintained and retained His identity as God!
Galatians 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption (the placing or being put in position) of sons.

• 1 John 4:17  As he is, so are we in this world.  

Well, when the fullness of the time came for you and me to be manifested, so did we come forth of a woman by the will of God.  

• St. John 1:12-13  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I am not here just because my parents got together one day or one night and neither are many of you, but we are here because God willed us to be here for divine purpose!

• 2 Corinthians 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.

The only way God could reconcile man back to Himself was to give up Himself and make Himself Man – and yet at the same time, show man that He (man himself) was God in flesh form. (I hope you got that revelation right there)!  

• St. John.10:34  Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?  
• Psalm 82:1, 6  God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods,

6  I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High”.

This is how we know our “purpose” and our “position”:  

• 1 John 4:17  As he is, so are we in this world!
• John 14:12  He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father.

That is the purpose of the church - to do what Jesus did when He walked the earth because we are Christ’s body:   

• Romans 12:4-5  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:  so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another.       
• 1 Corinthians 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:  so also is Christ.  
• 2 Corinthians 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them;  and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH (the ecclesia – the called out ones) IS:

• SPREAD THE GOSPEL:

• Matthew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.  Amen.
• Mark 16:15  Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

• TO WORSHIP:

• St. John 4:23-24  The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:  for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit:  and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

• TO EDUCATE:

• Ephesians 4:11-13  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

• TO WITNESS:

• Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:  and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

WE THE CHURCH ARE GOD’S  representatives; agents (delegates; trustees); ambassadors (spokesperson – male & female) in the earth!

• 2 Corinthians 5:20  We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us.

WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE OUR PURPOSE AND TAKE OUR POSITION “AS JESUS DID AS GOD”:

THE PURPOSES OF THE CHURCH IN THE EARTH:

• Luke 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

• To fulfill - Mark 16:17-18  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
• Romans 10:14-15  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?  and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?  and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent?  

WE NEED HIM AND HE NEEDS US:  St. John 15:16  You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.  

We are Him who is seen of Him who is invisible

We crystallize the one who has no form  

We localize Him who is everywhere  

We are the ones creation is waiting for

• Romans 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

We bare the name of Him who is unnameable whose name transcends every name that is named

We are the dawning of a light which has no genesis  

We are the ones creation is waiting for  

We are the living word wrapped up in flesh and bone

• Ephesians 5:30  We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

THEREFORE WE MUST GET INTO OUR POSITION (post; station; office; rank; status)

Our position is not just as servants:

• St. John 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth:  but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

A father doesn’t turn his business over to his friend.  He talks about things to the friend that he doesn’t talk about to the servant.  But when it comes to the father’s business, he turns it over to his “son”!

And our position is not just as “sons”:  

Galatians 4:7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.  (But also as priests and kings.)

As “priests”, we intercede for the people, and as “kings”, we rule and reign over the powers of the devil.  

• Exodus 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.  
• 1 Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.  
• Revelation 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto our God and his Father
• Revelation 5:10  ...we shall reign on (over) the earth.

In relation to all of this we must do as Jesus did, and that is to take our “God-ship” authority” – knowing that what we do is the Father doing it through us because we have become one with the Father as Jesus was!  

• John 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Jesus realized that He was not separate from His Father – but that they were “ONE”!   

• John 10:7-9  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

   As long as Jesus admitted to being “the Son of God”, He was alright with the Jews (religious folk):  but in John 10:24, they surrounded Him asking Him if He was the Christ.  Jesus said:  

• John 10:25-26; 30   I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

30  I and my Father are one.

Look at what they did when Jesus said this:

• John 10:31-34  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

• Psalm 82:1-6   God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

There are people today who will “stone you” for saying that “they or you” are God as Jesus did!  That is because they haven’t yet grasped the revelation as Peter did in Matthew 16 in relation to Jesus as being “the Christ”!  Peter recognized that Jesus was Man and God all in one!  

1 John 4:17  As he is, so are we in this world!

In Exodus 3:13-14, when God sent Moses into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel, Moses said to God in verse 13:  When I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name?  What shall I say unto them”?  Verse 14:  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:  and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you!  

This was a “profound revelation” of God manifesting Himself as man in the man Moses!  In actuality, Moses was “GOD” who had come to deliver the Israelites and did deliver them!!  

• Exodus 7:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh:  and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

Get hold of this truth:  God is SPIRIT, but He has always had “a body” that He could and did manifest Himself in and always will!!!  “I AM” is a name that is “PRESENT TENSE”!  “I AM”!!!   

• Exodus 3:15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you:  THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER, and this is my memorial unto all generations.  

“I AM THAT I AM”!!! HALLELUJAH!!!  “I AM”!!!

Listen to what people say today, “You aren’t God”.  That’s because they don’t know Him or their purpose and therefore can’t get into their rightful position.

What the Jews in John 10 didn’t know was that it was not Jesus trying to make Himself God, but it was God talking to them which had made Himself man!  

There are many today who don’t know who they are nor who God really is!

It was only when Jesus understood His purpose as God and Man that He could take His position and perform the miracles that He performed because He knew it was the Father in Him doing the works!   Jesus was God in flesh form

• St. John 1:1-2, 14  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  

2 The same (that’s us) was in the beginning with God.  

14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us!  

• 1 John 4:17  As he is, so are we, in this world!

Again I say:  You are Him who is seen, of Him who is invisible!  You crystallize the one who has no form!  You localize the one who is everywhere!  You are the living word wrapped in flesh and bone (Ephesians 5:30)!  You are the dawning of a light which has no genesis:  You bare the name of Him who is un-nameable!  We are the ones creation is waiting for! (Romans 8:19).

Many are ignorantly waiting for Jesus to come back, but He has finished the work the Father sent Him to do!  

• St. John 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth:  I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do!  

In reality it is us “the sons of God” who have moved into our God-ship authority that the creation is waiting for.  

• Romans 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God!!!

RECOGNIZE YOUR PURPOSE (man; woman; boy; girl):  AND TAKE YOUR POSITION AS GOD, IN GOD!!!

~  Pastor Gracie Perry