People Need Purpose

Building People of Substance for Works of Power

May 8, 2025

“I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:1-4 ESV

A young man approached me after a bible school class. He had recently been put in charge of his church’s worship ministry. Now he wanted to know, “How can I motivate my team to be diligent and faithful.” I listened to him for a minute, then asked, “What’s the mission of your ministry?” He couldn’t answer. If he didn’t know, then I’m sure his team didn’t either. One reason we sometimes can’t get people to follow our vision is that we don’t really have one, or at least we aren’t fully aware of what it is. It’s important because people need purpose.

Manmade slogans are trite, contrived and often forgettable. God-given vision is powerful and compelling. If you want people to participate in the vision, you need to know that God gave it. A word from God brings clarity and faith. It motivates people to run. In fact, if you’re having trouble getting people to run with the vision, maybe it’s time for a re-think. As Habakkuk said, it’s time to go to the tower and look out to see what he will say.

The first step in any endeavor, ministry or otherwise, is to truly seek God for His purposes. Even for those of us who know we’ve heard from God, it’s a good idea to go back to the tower on a regular basis. Vision can change! There’s only one eternal vision, and that’s the one God had from before the foundations of the world. All others are pieces in that endless tapestry.

Vision is often fluid. There are seasons for reasons. God gives instructions or a commission for a specific time in order to deal with a particular issue, people group, or cultural phenomenon. As these things change, so does the mission. There are also horses for courses. Just as some horses run better in the mud and others on a dry track, God providentially prepares and gifts some individuals for a particular task at a particular time in history. When the season changes or the horse is put out to pasture, the mission must change.

One of the more common phrases in our Christian world is “I’m going to pray about it.” In this case we’re talking about praying about God’s direction and purpose for your life and ministry. So what does that mean? How do I “look out to see what he will say to me”? Here are a few tips for hearing from heaven:

• Sow some time to the spirit: Make a time and a place to get alone with the Lord and your Bible.
  • If you sow to the flesh you will reap from the flesh, but if you sow to the spirit you will reap from the spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8) Where are you investing your resources? That will be the source of your harvest.
  • Sow time by missing a meal and pray instead. Jesus calls that “fasting.” God will hear and reward. (Matthew 6:16-18)
• Go to the Word first: Romans 12:2 tells me that I can never know the full will of God until I change the way I  think. Most questions can be answered directly from the Scriptures. God has already spoken!
  • Pray before you go to the Word. Ask the Lord to give you insight. Proverbs 2:1-5 says to cry out to Him and He will give you understanding.
  • When you can’t decide if you’ve heard God or if you’re just  following your own want-to’s, the Word is the tool that separates the two. It exposes and judges our innermost thoughts and motives. (Hebrews 4:12)
• Pray with the Spirit: Let’s be clear. I am unapologetically pentecostal, which means I speak in tongues. A lot. Think about it.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:2 and 4 tell me that I can pray for things I don’t know about, and I will build myself up as I pray.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:13-15 tell me that speaking in tongues has remarkable benefits:
    • It sensitizes and activates my spirit. That is where the Holy Spirit interacts with me, through my recreated human spirit. (Romans 8:16)
    • It helps to still the clamor in my head. (This is job #1 in the prayer closet: Pray until your mind slows down.)
    • It is something I can do at any time as an act of my will.
    • I can pray for interpretation. Revelation often flows through the interpretation of tongues as we pray. Words and images from God flow from the same fountain as your tongues.
• Pay attention to your heart.
  • As you put God first, seek His face, and attend to His Word, He will replace your desires with His desires. Remember the promise Jesus made in John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (NKJV).
  • Don’t be in a hurry. Whims and bright human ideas come and go. If a desire is from God it will abide and get stronger as you wait on the Lord. Isaiah said, “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isaiah 28:16 NKJV).
• Use your faith. God has promised 2 things that you can count on when you seek His guidance. Use your faith to receive them.
  • Ask God for wisdom. James 1:5-8 promises that He will give wisdom liberally to whoever asks Him in faith. Asking in faith means that you believe you receive wisdom when you pray. (Mark 11:24) He promised it. You asked for it. You’ve got it.
  • Believe that you hear the voice of your shepherd. Jesus promised that you would. If you don’t know it’s Him, then it’s not! John 10:4,5,14,15.
  • Once you pray for His wisdom, stop complaining that you don’t know what to do. Don’t keep begging Him to speak. Begin thanking Him instead. Try something like this: “Thank You, Lord, that I have your wisdom on this subject. I have prayed and I believe I have received. I know the voice of my Shepherd and I recognize His direction. Thank you for hearing my prayers.” Then begin to worship Him in the Spirit. Stay there as long or as often as necessary until you know that you know.

Somebody Said: True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Helen Keller

Here’s the Point: I believe hearing from God about our purpose is a key to living a fruitful Christian life. Learning to seek God before we make major decisions is essential. Purpose is the cure for many of life’s ills. Knowing that your purpose came from God is downright exhilarating. God has a vision for you and your ministry. Take the time to find it, or remind yourself of it, and take the next steps to run with it. Don’t skip over “look out to see what he will say to me.”

Pastor Virgil

3141 W. Ironwood Hill Dr.

Tucson, AZ 85741

Next Time: One of the hazards of serving a living God who speaks to us is that we are still human. We mess up. We hear what we want, not what He wants. I know we’ve all had a few experiences where we thought God was leading us a certain way, but it turned out to be a mess. Next time we will learn “How to Avoid Spooky-Natural Disasters”. Tune in.

Check out the new printing of : “Water Baptism: …believeth and is baptized.” Updated, new look, and now available on Kindle. You need to know what happened to you when you identified with Christ in baptism.