January 8, 2008

• Fulfilling your Destiny by Pastor Darrell Copes

  I wish you could have been here for Pastor Copes’ teaching. He is dynamic, funny, and exciting to listen to, but he delivered a powerful and impacting message through humor.

  If you ever want to hear a teaching presented by the speaker, feel free to go to Living Word Chapel or In His Name Ministry’s site through the links on the left of my page and order one. For many of the messages there is an audio, and for the Sunday services you can even get video. I do my best to share my notes, but nothing compares with hearing the speaker directly.

  Pastor Copes brought us to Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

  We have a destiny, and even if we do not find it, that does not mean that we don’t have a destiny.

  Pastor Copes said that we have to train up a child in the way he should go, and bring the child to the Lord. Let your children see you serve God and see you fulfill your destiny, for your children will imitate what they see. Don’t say to your children, “Do what I say, don’t do what I do.”

  God is the One speaking in this passage of Jeremiah, not a loan officer, not santa not a doctor, not a surgeon, not a friend – we need to listen to what God is telling us. God knows the thoughts HE is thinking, He knows the plans HE has for us. He has a destiny for us and a road for us to walk on, and it will bring us peace – not evil.

  Psalm 23 tells us that He will lead us beside the still waters, to peaceful and calm places, not to troubled ones. God is the Shepherd and He will not lead us to destruction, but to our destiny, to the place of peace – it can be a peace in the middle of the storm, in the middle of our trials we will find peace. God has thoughts of peace towards us in the midst of our hardest crisis.

  God speaks to our storms, “Peace, be still.” We have a hope and a future, a destiny. God has a plan for us that He planned before we were ever in our mother’s womb. We came to this earth with a road map of God’s plans. God’s plan is one of peace and to prosper us. Prosperity is not just money. Prosperity is also in health, soundness of mind, wholeness, peace, joy. All the dollars in the world can’t buy these things. No possessions will help us to have peace in our home.

  Hebrews 11, the hall of faith, shows us that there is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on, Moses, Abraham, and all the other heros of faith. Hebrews 12:1 (remember that the Bible was not given to us in chapter and verse format and Hebrews 12:1 continues Hebrews 11′s message) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

  They are cheering us on in our race that God has set before us. We want to finish our course. Paul sure finished his course in the midst of many trials and tribulations. He was let down in a basket to escape enemies, left for dead after being stoned, shipwrecked twice, beaten often within an inch of his life, put in jail, and He counted it all as nothing. He finished the course, ran the race to its fullness. He had a destiny to fulfill. He was an apostle to the Gentiles.

  We need to ask ourselves, what is necessary for me to finish my destiny that God placed within me? We have to find out what God has determined is our destiny, find out what God has for you, and FINISH IT.

  Jesus did not sit down until He finished His destiny, then He sat down on the right hand of God.

  If we don’t plan our route to follow God’s destiny, we will follow some destiny, if not God’s then we will end up following satan’s plan for us. Satan imitates God, and we can rest assured that if God has a plan for us to prosper us and give us peace, satan also has a plan for us. Satan’s plan will be a plan of evil and destruction, and we will find ourselves following that to our destruction.

  All we have to do today is to look at TV and see some of the plans of satan acted out. Gangs are replacing family, the family is being attacked, violence is on the rise, and many things that God considers abominations are now rampant. The quality of TV has deteriorated.

  God’s plan is well for our souls and He wants us to prosper. God wants us to fulfill our destiny but little things can distract us. We need tenacity, to not quit in the midst of the distractions. the devil is there trying to shipwreck our destiny. We cannot be passive, we must keep our focus on our destiny. Pastor Copes told us that today we have become lazy in our worship of God and in our spiritual practices. The old time churches and believers held fast to their destinies and it took a huge move of satan to rock a person’s life. Now satan has to only send in junior demons to bowl us over. It doesn’t take much to distract us, just a TV remote control, or something simple like that.

  Genesis 37:3-11 Jacob, also called Israel, had 12 sons, one of which was Joseph. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

  Joseph was young and did not exercise understanding. Joseph should have kept his mouth shut about the dream. And Joseph’s situation was not helped by his father’s favoritism. God chose Joseph to give him Jeremiah 33:11 – a plan and a purpose. Joseph understood his dream and destiny, but he did not understand all of it. He saw the end result, but not the road that would lead to the result.

  God is taking us somewhere, but we don’t know all the stops along the road. We have to trust God, to tell ourselves, “He’s my God, and He’s got a place for me to go.”

  Joseph relayed his dream to his brothers.

  Pastor Copes told us that:

  1. We are not able to get understanding of everything God has shown us.
  2. Joseph declared that God was taking him someplace.

  At this point Joseph did not realize that his brothers planned to kill him, he just knew the end result according to his dram, the final outcome for his Jeremiah 33:11.

  Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’

  We need to look up and see God’s greatness. God shows us the end results. We know that there is something on the inside. We don’t know where or how to get to the end result, we are not sure how God will take us to the end result.

  Joseph saw the palace and he trusted God.

  3. Pastor Copes told us that some of our biggest hurts and disappointments will come by people close to us. They weren’t there when God spoke to us, and they didn’t have the vision that God gave us.

  Joseph’s brothers ended up hurting him, and Pastor Copes told us that Joseph probably wondered about how he ended up in the pit, how he ended up being sold into slavery to Egypt, and how he ended up being a slave after such great promises of God. The situation of his life did not seem to agree with the dream that God sent Joseph.

  Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

  These are afflictions of the RIGHTEOUS (we are righteous because we believe on Him who God sent), the afflictions happen to the righteous – not just to sinners. We are on the road to our destiny and there will be afflictions on that road. But the LORD will deliver us out of them ALL, not out of some of them or a few of them. God will deliver us out of them ALL. When we get to our Jeremiah 33:11 we can look back and say, “Look what the Lord has done.” We need to walk to our destiny relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the mind of God, the Word of God.

  When we walk toward our destiny we will get hit, the church is not godly. There are fleshly people here, and we will get hurt. We will look at our destiny and what we are experiencing and feel that this is not adding up, that when we put our foot on the path toward our destiny we are seeming to get more tests and trials. The devil is messing with us because he does not want us to fulfil our destiny, and does not want us doing anything that God has for us to do.

  If we deal in the natural our faith will not work. If we look at our circumstances in the natural we may ask, where’s God? When we look at things in the natural we open ourselves up to satan and give him a sledge hammer. We will think nobody loves us, nobody wants us going to church, or getting well.

  WE DO NOT WANT OUR AFFLICTIONS TO  BECOME DISTRACTIONS.

  To those who are seeking to find their destiny, we have to not let our afflictions distract us. Those who just go to church and don’t do anything, satan doesn’t have to bother as much as those who are boldly stepping out in their destiny.

  We have to keep our armor out, keep our shield of faith up and walk on to our Jeremiah 33:11. If we focus on circumstances we open ourselves up for the lie of the devil. The devil doesn’t have to come at us full force, he just needs to distract us and make us less effective, to have us down 1/2 of the time.

  If a person has weak faith, or weak armor satan will come in and affect our lives, our kids, our spouses, anything to distract us. We have to be careful of what words we speak for our words can work against us and against what God wants us to do.

  Satan wants to wear us down and stop us from fulfilling our destiny. The devil doesn’t want us to stand before our Savior and have Him say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The devil doesn’t want us succeed. The devil wants our work 1/2 done, to stop us from finishing the race, and not fulfilling our destiny. He wants us to focus on our afflictions and distractions.

  But God delivers us so we can fulfill the destiny He has placed before us. We have to stiff arm the devil (tell the devil to speak to our palm). We have to want to do anything we can to reach our destiny, even if we missed five or six plays, we can still run the race set before us. If we push on through our problems and circumstances, fall forward and get the first down so you can play again.

  To those who want to fulfill the Lord’s plan remember, BUT THE LORD DELIVERS OUT OF ALL. Tell ourselves, I’m going through but I’m coming out to finish this.

  Joseph said, in slavery in Egypt, so be it unto me. Trouble came.

  If you really trust God and trouble comes, rejoice for you know you are on the right track. You have caught the enemy’s attention with your walk.

  Joseph was put in a pit, sold into slavery, put on the block, and yet he still had God’s favor on his life. So be it unto me – favor. Potiphar, the second or third in charge of Egypt, finds Joseph and picks him, even though Joseph was in the midst of other slaves. Potiphar did not pick Joseph by accident, Joseph was a slave but he had DESTINY. He may have been a slave on the outside but he was free on the inside. He was branded in God’s favor on the inside, and it did not matter if he looked like a slave on the outside. The favor of God would find its way out.

  While Christians are on earth we need to be totally sold out to God. Satan likes us iffy – because when we become totally sold out to God, satan can’t do anything to us. Joseph had a dream, a destiny that satan tried to stop. If Joseph reached his dream (that God placed within him) satan knew that many people would be set free.

  We have to realize that its not all about us – GOD’S DESTINY FOR US IS MORE THAN JUST ABOUT US.  If satan can get us to react like everyone else, he stops our progress toward our destiny.

  Joseph was given complete charge of Potiphar’s house, yet outwardly he was still a slave, inwardly he was a man of destiny. Satan did not stop Joseph from carrying out his destiny, and Joseph still had his dream on the inside. Satan had to get Joseph to be fearful or to give up the dream. So satan set up Potiphar’s wife to falsely accuse Joseph. Satan kept throwing Potiphar’s wife at Joseph, over and over and over, and tried to wear Joseph down.

  Satan will keep throwing things at us too, to try and wear us down.  We have to just keep on doing God’s plan for our lives. The blow doesn’t have to be heavy. Potiphar’s wife kept after Joseph, and Joseph did not give into her. Satan wants us to be distracted, to fail. But the devil failed.

  If we open doors the devil can get at us. He tried to get Joseph to open that door, but he did not get distracted. We have to look at the big picture, to see what is behind what is coming at us. What is coming at you, your generation, and everyone connected with you. See the big picture.

  Joseph told Potiphar’s wife that his master had put him in charge of the household, and he was going to honor his master, and also that he would not sin against God. She pulled on Joseph’s clothes and Joseph ran, he ran for his destiny.

  We need to make sure our destiny means more to us than anything else – hold onto our destiny and don’t get distracted. Material things come and go, but our destiny and goals will lead to fulfillment. Pastor Copes told us that there are cures for cancer buried in graves, and answers to many of our problems buried in graves – where people got distracted from the goal and failed to fulfill their destiny. The devil wants us to cough up our destiny. Joseph escaped.

  Pastor Forte said that Joseph followed the principle of don’t mess with the honey or the money. The wife lied about Joseph, and about how she got his coat in her possession. All eyes were on Potiphar, so he ends up putting Joseph in jail.

  But, everything Joseph touches prospers. So the warden ends up putting Joseph in charge of the prison. People can never hold a person down that really wants to fulfill what God has planned. No matter where you put him, he rises up. Joseph was still a slave, but he could have been killed, he was lied about, and satan all but lost in this.

  Now Joseph is in prison, a prisoner and a slave – sure doesn’t look like the dream that he had. He runs the whole prison. Joseph did not deserve to be put in prison for he had not committed the crime he was accused of, but he says, “Yes God, so be it.” Sometimes when we are in tough situations we are NOT THERE BECAUSE OF LACK OF FAITH. Sometimes we have to just go through the tough situation, and know that the Lord will deliver us out of it. The righteous come out.
  
  Two prisoners have dreams and tell Joseph their dreams which Joseph correctly interprets, and the interpretation pans out – one is restored to his position, and the other is killed.

  Because Joseph is committed to God, before he got put in the pit, became Potiphar’s slave, before he got into prison, no matter what comes or goes, Joseph remained committed to God. The wine bearer promised Joseph when he got out that he would tell Pharaoh about Joseph, and the man lied, forgetting to mention Joseph. God made a promise to Joseph and God will not go back on His word. Joseph knows that he might be in prison, but God promised to elevate me. I know I am coming out, even though what is happening now doesn’t make sense to me. When you get down, when you go through a trial, you have to remind yourself of God’s promises to you, keep telling God.

  The Pharaoh has a dream that he can’t interpret, nor could his astrologers and magicians. But God was using that dream to set Joseph up. The Cup bearer remembers about Joseph, and Joseph is called up to interpret the dream.

  Joseph did not get through these trials without having made his mind up to trust God, before he started. Joy was already in him, destiny was already in him. He knew he was coming out, he just didn’t know when or how.

  Joseph interprets the dreams, telling Pharaoh about the 7 years of abundant harvest and the seven years of famine. The Pharaoh wants to know what to do, and Joseph gives him a plan about storing up wheat against the famine. The only logical candidate to fulfil that position is Joseph.

  It was the right time. We don’t know when, but God will speak at the right time for us, God will lead us to our destiny at the right time. The words will be put in our mouth by God.

  The Pharaoh tells Joseph, “Joseph you are the man.” Joseph knew that, God showed him this 15 years ago when he was back in his father’s home. Joseph held onto the truth that God showed him.

  Pastor Copes told us that we need to keep holding on for we don’t always know God’s time. Things may look desperate, they may look horrible, and we don’t now that there are only five more hours of this. Things still look desperate and horrible, and yet we are only four hours away from our breakthrough. Don’t cast away your confidence, you don’t know it, but you are only three hours away from your breakthrough. Then you are two hours closer, and it still looks empty and like it isn’t going to be fulfilled, but you are only one hour to go until you reach your destiny – 1/2 hour, 10 minutes, 1 minute and your whole life will change. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN your destiny arrives.

  DON’T GIVE UP. DON’T GIVE IN.

  Don’t let your mouth kill your destiny. You don’t know how close you are to your destiny. Your destiny can be only seconds away.

  God can use an inmate, a slave, someone who barely escaped with their life. Joseph chose to give Potiphar’s wife his robe, and honor God. The cost of his clothes ripped off was not worth losing his destiny. The King gave him new clothes, royalty, authority, money. He got it all. He got double, and God gave him rewards, houses, lands, a wife, children.

  By focusing on God’s destiny for your life, over immediate circumstances, know that God will pay you back. Joseph became the second in command, lower only to Pharaoh. He married Pharaoh’s daughter, and became royalty. In the natural you may not think it is worth it to go with God, and satan agrees. But God will pay you back for your obedience.

  Joseph had two sons, Ephriam (which means God caused me to forget all my sorrows in my Father’s house) and Manassah (God calls me to be fruitful in the land of my afflictions for the Lord delivers me out of them all). God paid Joseph back and used Joseph to preserve the line to Jesus. Joseph went through all the heartaches for Him, (not the hardheadedness – for hardheadedness is your own). God will cause us to be fruitful in the middle of our afflictions. He will not forget what you went through. We have to believe God.

  Pastor Copes prayed over people and prophesied over them for the rest of the service. The Holy Spirit appeared with great power.

  Praying your day is blessed.

  Heather

  • 11:02 pm
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