027 Destiny Part 2 – Believer’s Destiny

Believer’s Destiny

Destiny Part Two

 

 

I believe our destiny is to be grasped and lived out.

 

Destiny according to Paula Shaughnessy on the previous episode, #26, Destiny Part One, Purpose, Calling, Destiny

Merriam-Webster Online

  • Destiny: 2: a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency

Paula’s take:

  • Our preordained journey: it’s the things written in our book in heaven if you will.
  • Our destiny is the route that we take to get from preconception to our eternal state.
  • God’s preordained will for our lives.

 

 

Merriam-Webster Online

  • Destiny: 1: something to which a person or thing is destined: fortune

 

 

I believe there are some things in destiny that are preordained and there is no escaping them. Those things would be primarily in the big picture, that which is over all people. Such as God’s ultimate plan for creation as we saw in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Or in the ultimate end of days and the final judgment. There will be a time for each of us to come before the throne of God and be judged according to our life, our words, and our actions, be they good or bad. These are the things we will not escape, avoid, or alter.

 

I also believe there are portions of our destiny that in some ways are dependent upon our action, reaction, agreement, and will. Basically it comes down to the level of obedience and intimacy with God that we are willing to walk in during our lives.

 

I believe that God has a mapped out perfect life for us. Do we live our life that way? Not likely overall, but maybe in parts of that perfect destiny. Whether it be in family, career, ministry, or any other aspect of life, God has seen fit to bestow upon us a level of free will by which we choose how closely we will walk with Him. Our level of maturity will often indicate how closely we follow the plans God has laid out for our lives.

 

We have the idea that freedom means we possess complete control over our lives and decisions. Wouldn’t there be an even greater freedom in knowing that each and every choice we made was the perfectly ideal choice for our lives? This is where we need to determine what we truly believe about God. Do we believe that God has our best interest at heart? Do we believe that God desires to be our protector, our provider, our healer, etc.? Do we believe that God knows the end from the beginning? Do we believe that God knows more about us and what is best for us than we do?

 

Honestly answering this type of question, is God who He says he is, reveals what we truly believe about God and who we lift up as our God. Is it God the Creator of all things seen and unseen? Or is it someone or something else? Then we must ask, who, or what, qualifies to be God?

 

God is the supreme or ultimate being, above all others. Therefore, there cannot be more than one God. If God had an equal, He would no longer be supreme, nor above all others.

 

So any trust placed in anyone or anything, including oneself, if it is set above trusting God, is misplaced trust. I can trust myself to do certain things correctly, and indeed God can trust me to do so as well. That trust I have in myself, however, is predicated upon the belief that God has given to me the skill, and/or ability, to complete the activity. When I begin to glory in my own independence, thinking I don’t need God, I am placing myself on a throne above God. Of course this is only in my feeble mind as I cannot really rise above God. It is a matter of the heart and in this case it is idolatry, putting something before God that ought not be there. It is sin.

 

There are several areas of life, both corporately and personally. Here are a few that are the same for all believers. In fact, the first one listed is for all mankind.

 

  • Creation
  • Salvation
  • Conformed to Christ
  • Kingdom Life / Good Works
  • Eternal Life

 

Let’s take a brief look at each of these. A full study could be dedicated to each of these items, but let’s just look at the overall view for now.

 

 

Creation

  • It was God’s decision to create mankind
    • Genesis 1:26 –“Let us make man”
  • We were created in His image
    • Genesis 1:26-27 – “Let us make man in our image”
  • By the fact that God created us, we belong to Him
    • If we are His, He has the right to do as He will with us
      • This is where it becomes important for us to know Him

 

 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the
earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 

Genesis 1:26-27 ESV

 

 

Salvation

  • The Son came as Redeemer
    • Luke 19:10 – Son came to seek and save the lost
  • By the fact that God redeemed us, we belong to Him
    • If we are His, He has the right to do as He will with us
      • This is where it becomes important for us to know Him
    • We have been saved for a reason
      • Romans 8:29 – Firstborn among many brothers
    • By the fact that we surrender our lives to God, we belong to Him
      • If we are His, He has the right to do as He will with us
        • This is where it becomes important for us to know Him

 

 

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

 

Luke 19:10 ESV
 
 
For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

 

Romans 8:29 ESV

 

 

Conformed to Christ

  • We are to be restored to the image in which man was originally created
    • Romans 8:29 – To be conformed to the image of the Son
    • Ephesians 2:10 – Created in Christ Jesus
  • We ought to rejoice in the knowledge that a time is coming when we will no longer be tormented by the curse or temptation of sin

 

 

For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

 

Romans 8:29 ESV
 
 
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

 

 

Kingdom Life

  • Called to express the love of God through our lives
    • John 13:34-35 – Love one another
    • Ephesians 2:10 – To do good works
    • John 14:12 – The same works that were done by Jesus
    • John 14:13 – To glorify the Father
  • We ought to seek to live the kingdom life now
    • Matthew 6:10 – “on earth as it is in heaven.”
    • Luke 10:11 – “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

 

 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another.”

 

John 13:34-35 ESV
 
 
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

Ephesians 2:10 ESV
 
 
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this I
will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

 

John 14:12-13 ESV
 
 
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Matthew 6:10 ESV
 
 
“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.”

 

Luke 10:11 ESV

 

 

Eternal Life

  • God is the one who gives eternal life
    • Matthew 19:29 – Eternal life is an inheritance
    • John 3:36 – For those who believe in the Son
    • John 4:14b – the spring of water welling up to eternal life
    • John 10:28 – “I give them eternal life”, Jesus

 

 

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands,  for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

 

Matthew 19:29 ESV
 
 
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but  the wrath of God remains on him.

 

John 3:36 ESV
 
 
“The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

 

John 4:14b ESV
 
 
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

 

John 10:28 ESV

 

 

These are areas of destiny set out for all men and women. This is Scripture, which we accept and believe by faith as God’s word which He gave to us and for us. This very first step is a step of faith.

 

 

of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

 

Colossians 1:24-26 ESV

 

 

Paul the apostle wrote many portions of Scripture, and as with those who did so before him, he relayed the word received from God to us for our welfare. God gave a ministry to Paul and Paul carried it out in obedience and faith.

 

Faith at some level is required every step of the way in the Christian life. We must always trust in God and upon His word. Failure to do so is unbelief.

 

 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

 

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

 

 

Remember our three-part working definition of faith.

  • God is who He says He is
  • I am who God says I am
  • God will do what He says He will do

 

These are the foundational things for us to learn if we are to walk with God in an intimate relationship.

  • Who God Says He Is – Episode 33, scheduled for November 14, 2022
  • Who God Says I Am – Episode 16 and 16.5, from July 18, 2022
  • What God Says He Will Do – Throughout Scripture
    • Testimonies of what God did in historical accounts
    • Prophecies set forth and fulfilled as seen in Scripture
    • Touched on throughout these studies, including this episode
      • He rewards those who seek Him
      • He gives to those who believe eternal life

 

Let’s recap the several areas of life for all believers, which are destinies in themselves and lead to the ultimate destiny of our high calling.

 

  • Creation
    • Destination earth; to live in an intimate relationship with the Creator, God
  • Salvation
    • The destiny set for us by God in the sending of His Son for our sake and the forgiveness of our sin, restoration of our relationship with God
  • Conformed to Christ
    • A destiny of fulfilling our transformation in deliverance from the curse of sin, a grand journey on which we embark
  • Kingdom Life / Good Works
    • Our destiny of living a life on this earth for which mankind was created, though now with the sin issue to overcome
  • Eternal Life
    • The ultimate destiny of eternity lived with God without any aspects of sin and all that goes with it

 

 

It is one thing to know what our destiny is, it is another to know how we are to fulfill it. What is our role in fulfilling our destiny? Here is a hint, it begins with a step of faith.

 

Episode 28, Destiny Part Three – Living the Faith, October 10, 2022.

 

 

Commentary on Believer’s Destiny