Why do you do what you do?

Are you feeling like you are still in the same place you were 10 years ago?

Today we are diving into the NUMBER 1 reason why we make bad decisions and get frustrated... we lose sight of our PURPOSE!

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Good morning, afternoon, or evening - if you listen to podcasts as I do… 

I wanted to take a quick tangent on my podcasts to share a little about why we do what we do…

 Now, this podcast is all about how we develop the best versions of ourselves so that we can live out our faith and our leadership to its highest place!

So that we can truly be responsible for those that God has given us charge over, or the opportunity to serve

 That goes for pastors, that goes for fathers, that goes for business leaders or new entrepreneurs as well!

But today - I want to talk about your why…

Too often we set goals, we set up dreams but we don’t take the time to connect our “why” to our actions, our goals, our jobs, our leading opportunities.

Have you stopped to pray about what motivates you?

 Why do you work 40-70 hours a week

 Is it so that you did a good job

 Is it so that you provided jobs for your employees

Is it so that you can have 2 days off on the weekend?

 Why is it that you do what you do?

 What truly motivates you?

 Now - because my faith is what drives me

Let's read Matthew 20:

20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye, know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.

25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye, know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

think about what is going on - all these guys are following Jesus, still unrenewed and all of a sudden there is the possibility that two of them are going to be elevated - - what??>

 And they got their mom to ask… that’s a low blow right?

 Well - this story is when we find the reason why Jesus came - we found out his WHY!!!

This WHY is what drives him to do what he came here to do!

To minister and to give his life as a ransom for many…

What did you come for?

Why are you here and have you taken the time to find out?

 When I think about why I am on this planet - I get excited, confused, and overwhelmed at the same time…

 I am on this planet to encourage people to become a better, more dogly version of God's plan for their life.

 It has been that since I started operating in relationships with Others

It is why I raise my kids the way that I raise them

It is why every business idea I have, has to be centered around that purpose… 

I guess that is another word we could use instead of WHY

Purpose…

 So - do you know your purpose?

 I will tell you - it doesn’t come easy

And it isn’t a 20 question survey to find your purpose…

 No this one comes through prayer and seeking the Lord

So I am not going to have 3 points on how to find your purpose… 

BUT I am going to tell you three things KNOWING your purpose will do for your life and others!

1 - It is your litmus test - when you know why you exist, then when opportunities, jobs, ministry, locations, moves, purchases come top… you can take your purpose and ask… does this line up with that? My purpose is to passionately pursue God by silently serving-man …. Did you know that I am not a pastor of a mega church>? Could I be>? Yes, I believe I Could be - I believe that if I were to start a church that it would grow quickly and it would become as large as we wanted it to be - BUT that is not my call and that is not my role. There is a reason why I have moved from being a pastor…

When you know your purpose - when the GHolyt Spirit has revealed this to you- then you have the perfect litmus test. 

 Litmus paper stained with litmus is used to indicate the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. So that when a liquid comes into contact with it - you can know its alkalinity or acidity… 

In your life - when you have your purpose established then you can line it up to everything and ask… does this fit in>?

 2 - Your purpose is your drive - - - if you want to be the strongest - operate in your purpose. You want to have the most energy - operate in your purpose. Want to provide the best for your family and your community - figure out how to operate in your purpose. I know for some listening that may sound irresponsible BUT, my reply back is… how long do you want to live misearble>. 

 Why do we think we feel unfulfilled in our 9-5 jobs? 

 Could it be that no matter where you go you will have difficult people to work with, difficult responsibilities, difficult circumstances? I say yes - it is not only possible - it is likely that the problems you are facing are common to man! 

That means that we need to rethink why we are there.

Sometimes I can do the same job, but with my purpose in front of me all of a sudden, the same job becomes a part of my journey. I can pull the most from my situation when I have my purpose in front of me! 

 I believe that living in our purpose is the best version of our lives. It is the reason why we have a part in our family visi0on weekends where we walk through what each kid in the family brings to the family. Why is your 3rd child a little quirky and think outside of the box./. Why is your first child more of a dominant type and your 4th child is quiet? 

 For each of your family members, there is a purpose - a God-given purpose on the inside them, and there is a purpose for them to be in your family. But we have to find that, encourage that, and give room for that.

 Now when we are facing an obstacle, we have identified who in our family is the best for helping us through it… those who have disciple, but Also our out-of-the-box thinker!!!  

So - use your purpose as a litmus test, use your purpose as your drive

And lastly - keep your purpose in front of your eyes~!

 I can imagine that Jesus had his purpose figured out at the age of 12…

I think that He figured out that He was different and that His life call was amazing

 I know some of you are probably thinking that I am off on my interpretation of the Bible - I just believe that he was all god and all man. And I believe that he was tempted in every area - even in knowing his Call on his life…

 But moving on - our third point in walking out our purpose…

Keep it in front of you

To make decisi0ons about your purpose - you need to keep ut in front of you. WE have been talking about trusting God in our circumstances, the past few podcasts, but this piece is critical to being able to do that. When we know our purpose, then we can look at our situations and line it up and ask… how does this bring life to my purpose. 

 Write it down, keep it in front of you!

 I have my purpose in the signature of my emails

I have since 2005 when I discovered my purpose…

Can't say that I have always made decisions based on it - sometimes I wanted to move things into more of a spotlight on me… 

But then when I found myself back in the presence of God I would be reminded that my role is to passionately uprise God while silently serving-man!  

So what is your purpose?

 What are you doing to know your purpose?

 Can I challenge you to take time this week to seek the Lord to KNOW your purpose?

  Maybe fast a meal - maybe stay up late one night and just spend time with God and have him begin to stir in you the unique reason why he chooses YOU! 

 What I do know is that HE did choose YOU!

 You - selected you, positioned you - now be the best version of it - 

Not the perfect version but the ever learning version

 Because leadership in my onion means that every day you strive to be at least one step ahead,

 at least one experience in front of those you have been given the gift of leading

. It’s not a matter of being the BEST, or 

It is not a badge

It is not even being the brightest,

 it is about having the courage to lead  

It takes commitment, persistence, and patient

And it takes an everyday God experience 

I'm Benjamin Stewart

And until next time

Go lead from the edge