Designed for Purpose



Acts 6:1-7
1Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
2And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
3Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
6These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
7And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Back in the mid 1990’s I attended a conference in Tennessee put on by Worship International. At that conference I went to a seminar put on by a guy named John Stanko that changed my life forever. He introduced me to the concept of discovering and living in my God given purpose. The basis of his talk was Acts 6:1-7. It was a profound experience and since then I have actively pursued life lived within my unique God-given purpose. If you would like to know more about John’s ministry I have given you a link to his website at the bottom of this post.

This passage tells an interesting story. The early church is learning how to live together in community. But whenever you bring people together life can get messy. That’s just the way it is when a sin-filled group of people no matter their heart-felt intentions try to live together. The church in Jerusalem was in the throes of just such a situation. As they sought to take care of one another, providing food and shelter, a group of needy women was being over-looked. Verse one has been rather hotly debated throughout the years but probably comes down to one of two options. Either they were purposely being neglected due to bigotry and prejudice or it was simple oversight. Regardless of the reason action needed to be taken to eliminate the problem. Then we come to verse two and the Apostles make a rather bold statement.

“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables“.

At first blush it sounds like snobbery in action; they considered themselves too important to help out a few widows with a basic need. But that is not the case at all. What they knew was that the work set before them was not to hand out food. It was to spread the Gospel. These 12 men were uniquely positioned to do that work. For them to spend their time handing out food would be to spend that time foolishly. So they brought organization and the Holy Spirit to bear and the women were served. It’s a win for everyone.

So often we are trapped into a place where we are spending our time doing anything but serving in our purpose. And life circumstances sometimes demand that. There are bills to pay and situations that demand our attention. But hopefully there will also be time for that purpose as well. The first goal is to determine what that purpose might be. For each person it will be different. Unfortunately, we don’t pop out of the womb with that purpose stamped on our butt. So it must be discovered. But it is possible to discern and once you do, you will find no greater joy than when you are functioning as God intended.

If you would like some help with that process, please contact me. I would be happy to walk you through the process.

http://www.purposequest.com/johnstanko/

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