John K. Jenkins Sr - The Purpose Series - Part 5

Okay, I’ve been in a series on purpose; today is part five of the Purpose Series- part five! Someone might be saying, «When is this series ever going to end?» So today is part five, and I believe I’m going to do part six next week. Then I think I’ll be done-that’s the plan. For those who haven’t been able to join us for this series, we started with part one, which talks about your purpose: why God created you. God created you for the purpose of giving Him glory. God wants your lifestyle to glorify Him. That 's what it’s all about. When it’s all said and done, it isn 't about you. Look at your neighbor and say, «It ain’t about you.» It ain’t about your name, your reputation, or your career. God created you so that whatever you do in your life, He gets glory- that people will be able to see through you that He exists. So we talked about that: that’s your purpose. He wants to put you on display. That 's what I’ve learned about God; He wants to put you on blast. He wants to light up your life-He wants your life to shine, as the young people would say. He wants you to be blown up! That 's the purpose of why God created you.

Then, I talked in part two about how you can know what your purpose is: how do you identify your calling? How do you know what God has called you to do? There are indicators. Somebody say, «There are indicators.» Say, «Indicators!» There are indicators for you to know exactly what God created you to do. In parts three and four, the last couple of weeks, we discussed things that happen during the journey. A part of what I felt compelled to tell you is that heading toward your destiny and fulfilling your purpose will come with some sifting. I talked about sifting last week- the fact that the devil wants to see if you are genuine in your walk with God. The devil thinks he can make you curse God to His face. But is there anybody here who knows that, in spite of all you’ve gone through in life, you will never curse God? You will never deny Him. You will go through a sifting; you will face trials, tribulations, and challenges. But here’s what Luke 22 says-let me get to my text. Here 's part five: Luke 22, verses 31 and 32. It says this: «And the Lord said, ' Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat.'» We talked about the sifting last week. But then verse 32 says-I love verse 32. Verse 32 is anointed! Somebody say, «Anointed!» It’s gifted. «But I have prayed for you.» Oh my God! Oh my God! Every time I read it, I feel something in my soul. Pastor, what do you feel? I love when God sticks His «but» in my situations. God has a big «but.» When God sticks His «but» in your situation, it means something’s about to shift; something is going to change. So what happens before the «but» is one thing, but what happens after the «but» is something different. The scripture says Jesus is saying right here, «You 're going to be sifted, but I have prayed for you.» You know, the 9 o’clock crowd didn’t get it, but I thought if anyone would understand the power of Jesus praying for us, it would be the 11:30 crowd. They should be shouting, «Praise the Lord!» and giving God glory because you’ve been through hell. You 've faced sifting; you’ve had challenges. But I can go through anything in life knowing that I’ve got Jesus praying for me. You need to understand this; it has to be in your mind. You can face anything in life; you can go through any challenge or trouble. I don’t get stressed out; I don’t get burned out; I don’t get frustrated; I don’t get scared. Somebody say, «I ain’t scared!» That 's how they say it in the streets -"I ain’t scared!» I’m not afraid of anything that approaches my life. You know why? Because I am confident that Jesus has prayed for me. Somebody better get that in your heart, get it in your mind, get it in your soul, and get it down in your spirit. Stop crying; stop being frustrated; stop being afraid. Just stop having anxiety. Know down in the depths of your soul that Jesus has talked to God about your situation. Somebody lean over and tell your neighbor, «I know Jesus has prayed for me. He’s talked to the Father about me. He has taken my case before His throne; He has made a request of the Father; He has petitioned God on my behalf. He has interceded for me; He has prayed for me .» You know what? That 's exciting! People will tell you they are going to pray and then don’t. I’ve learned to be thankful to God, knowing that people may say they will pray, and then they forget about praying for me. But I’m thankful that even if you forget and never call my name out, it’s okay-Jesus has talked to God on my behalf. Somebody say «Amen» to that point right there! An awesome thing is that Jesus has talked to God on our behalf and prayed. In fact, He has promised to pray for us. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He’s making intercession for us. He’s talking to God on your behalf.