Keith Battle - Purpose

I’m starting a new series of days called «Purpose,» and that’s what I want to talk аbout: something I’m passionate about, something I taught in our church 13 years ago. Our church was barely a year old when I went through this. I feel like it’s my assignment during this season to help people identify why they’re here. Why am I here? What on earth am I doing here? This is all part of one of the contemporary Christian songs that says, «I’m trying to find my place in this world.» How has God wired me? You need to pay attention to your wiring, how you’re made, and the things that stir and motivate you. Sometimes we’ve been told that the Bible says, «Train up a child in the way he should go.» This verse actually means identifying a child’s gifts and bent, and training them in that direction. That’s what it truly means. Children aren’t really meant to be scripted; they’re meant to be read. God has already scripted them; He’s already put their DNA in them. The job of a parent is to read them. When I read you, I put you in the context that you were wired to be in, so I don’t try to vicariously live my life through you and make you an athlete when you’re an artist, because then you become confused. Just because you’re six foot ten doesn’t mean you have to play basketball; you could do something else. Sometimes we force things that aren’t in the wiring of our children, and we need to feed them and put them in those environments. Even as adults, I’m finding in my own life that I must pay attention to my purpose because it can evolve. The thing you’re meant to do now may not be what you’re supposed to be doing in ten years. In fact, anyone in the world or profession needs to be working on a second skill anyway, because it’s usually your second career that brings you the most joy. A lot of people work for 20 and 30 years doing what they have to do, and then when they reach 50 or 60, they finally do what they want to do. So you ought to be paying attention to that and working on that skill. I’m paying attention to Jim Collins, who wrote a book called «Good to Great.» He wrote it about companies, but I think I see people in it. He talks about a hedgehog theory, which identifies three things: every great company recognizes these three things. The first one is, «What can I be the best in the world at?» When you’re doing it, you throw your whole life, interest, and energy into something. If you can’t be the best at it, I don’t want to be average. I’m allergic to mediocrity. If I can’t be the best at it, I don’t even want to do it—not for a living. You can make it a hobby. If you’re just out there playing golf and you hit the golf ball with no idea where it’s going to go, then that’s not your calling; that’s a hobby. But when you can hit it the way you think you’re supposed to and it lands, and your scores are low, then maybe you can make some money doing that. The next thing is you’ve got to focus on what drives your economic engine, because if it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense. You can’t just be out here doing something that’s not paying your bills. In fact, the thing that you do best is what people will pay you to do for them. Eventually, you will make money doing it. «Do what you love, ” one author said, „and the money will follow.“ The final element is that it’s something you are passionate about. You don’t have to manufacture passion; it’s something that’s just in you. If you’re passionate about something, you get emotional about it when the conversation starts happening around it. You may be quiet the whole time, but when it comes up, you find yourself speaking out, even if you’re introverted. Why? Because they’ve hit your passion, and while everyone else is ignoring it, you get drawn in. Every time you see it, and every time it comes on TV, it bothers you. Every time you read about it in the paper, it bothers you. Everyone else can read past it and turn the page, but you get stuck right there and say, „Does anyone see what I see?“ The people who see what you see are the ones who are meant to do something about it—and that’s you! So don’t wait for someone else to deliver a baby that you’re pregnant with. Discover what’s inside you, bring it to fruition, and trust that God put it in you and wants to bring it out of you to do something amazing in your life. Now, this is the purpose of this series. I want to look today at a person named Joseph because one of the lessons we learn from the life of Joseph is the importance of dreams when it comes to your vision and purpose. Dreams and purpose are tethered together, and I don’t just mean the stuff that happens when you’re asleep. I believe that God speaks to us through dreams when we’re sleeping.