Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: Pursuing Your Personal Freedom
Job 33:17
That he may withdraw man from his purpose H6213, and hide pride from man.
purpose
Today we look to the word-PURPOSE- H6213 ’asah--to do, work, make, produce; to act, act with effect, effect
The Torah testifies...............
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The prophets proclaim..................
Isaiah 14:26
This is the purpose H6213 that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
The writings bear witness...........................
Ecclesiates 3:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose H6213 under the heaven:
Pursuing Your Personal Freedom
Inventions demand freedom from convention.
The world's greatest and richest entrepreneur, and perhaps this century's premier computer software genius, William Henry Gates (better known as Bill Gates), has altered all of our lives forever because of his work in personal computer software. Janet Lowe, in her book Bill Gates Speaks, states, "Gates obliterated the incorrect yet persistent notion that big ideas come only from philosophers, writers or academic circles. As Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard explained, `The old distinction between ideas and products, between ephemera and ingots, is evaporating."" The question is, How did Gates achieve such success? It is directly related to his unconventional perspective of life as a teenager, which allowed him to explore the uncharted possibilities of a technological universe and, as a result, led him to invent the key software components that changed life on earth as we knew it.
In the sixth grade, Gates was underperforming in school, at war with his parents and generally struggling with his life. His parents decided to send him to a psychologist for counseling. After working with the boy for a year, the counselor presented Gate's mother with some disturbing news. He said that it was useless to force Bill to conform to traditional behavior or to be obedient. In other words, the psychologist recommended that the parents not force him to conform to the pattern of the norm, but make room for him to discover and be himself.
Discover and be yourself! This seemingly simple statement is the heart of the problem that is causing the world to be driven by the need to pursue one's personal freedom.
Bill Gates joins the ranks of great historical inventors like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. There are many other individuals whose work and passions changed the course of history. What was unique about these individuals that caused them to be significant in the shaping of the drama of human development? What unique trait separated each from the norm of humanity and rut of convention?
They all possessed a personal passion and conviction that separated them from the crowd. What was the source of this passion? Does everyone have this same drive? Why does it seem that only a few members of the human family rise to the heights of generational and historical renown? I believe the answer lies in the inherent capacity of the human heart for passion and the pursuit of personal freedom.
Defining Personal Freedom
The desire and passion for personal freedom is buried in the spirit and heart of each human. For most people, this passion cannot be defined or articulated, but it is the overwhelming drive that motivates human behavior. Freedom, as we have defined it in this book, is based on the historic biblical concept taken from Genesis 1:26. In this verse, the Creator states His primary purpose for the creation of man: "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth" (NKJv).
From this context, freedom is defined as "the liberty to dominate" or "the right and capacity to dominate a specific domain." Thus we have the grammatical construct, "freedom the freedom to dominate." True freedom, therefore, is the unrestricted, uninhibited access to pursue the specific area of one's gifts or talent, which is defined as one's domain.
Therefore, the key to personal fulfillment and satisfaction is the opportunity to pursue the development, exposure and maximization of the gifts and talents through which one dominates an area of work. When each individual can do that, collectively and individually we will positively impact the earth with the nature of the Creator. This is freedom!
Pursuing Freedom- Living Or Making A Living
Millions of people just like you leave home every day to go to a place they call "work." The reality, however, is that they simply go to a job. There is a difference between your work and your job. I define a job as a place of activity, which may or may not employ your gifts and talents. It may provide a source of financial income, but not necessarily fulfillment. A job may fill your life with activity, but not necessarily effectiveness. It might render you busy, but not progressive.
For countless millions, their jobs become social prisons that they endure rather than enjoy. These people have become "employed slaves" who sit through hours of emotional, physical and mental torture, longing for the freedomto be somewhere else, doing something else and finding joy and personal fulfillment in their lives. In essence, a job for many is a glorified form of slavery, one that imposes an acceptable form of oppression on the masses.
It might be noted that, from the beginning, the Creator's instruction to the first man He placed in the Garden of Eden was not to take a job-but to work. The idea of work, as used in this context, is "to become," which implies manifestation rather than activity. In other words, to work means to become and manifest all that you are on the inside. It means to release and expose your full potential through your gifts and talents. Simply put, you were created not to be employed, but to be deployed. The number one problem in our world is not unemployment, but under deployment. Because of the spirit of oppression, most people find is easier to be employed rather than deployed, because deployment demands too much personal responsibility.
True freedom is moving beyond your job into your work. It is not being employed, but being deployed. In fact, if what you are doing is not deploying and releasing your gift and talents to the world, then you have discovered the source of your frustration and depression in your job. I do believe that jobs are important and should be the prerequisite for discovering and fulfilling your work. However, I also submit that until you find your true work, you will never be truly free. Jobs prepare you for your work and should be embraced always as temporary.
Recently I interviewed a young lady who was very depressed over her job situation. I asked her, "What is your occupation?"
She replied, "A secretary."
I then asked, "Are you happy and fulfilled with your job?"
"No!" she replied.
Then I said to her, "Then your job is not your occupation, but rather your preoccupation."
This is why so many people hate their jobs. Their jobs are not their occupations. You were created to be occupied by your gifts and talents. This is your work and the key to your freedom. Study any successful, prosperous and fulfilled individual, and you will see that that person pursued his or her gifts, talents and passions-not materialism or fame. We must learn that wealth, materialism, prosperity and a credible reputation are by-products of true freedom-not freedom itself. Great personalities like Michael Jordan, TigerWoods and others have achieved exceptional levels of success and impact on their generation and the world.
It is important to note two significant similarities with all successful people: First, successful people have pursued their talents and gifts and have invested time and energy in developing their skills in those areas. Second, their ages were not a factor. Why is this important? Because freedom does not come with age-it comes with the discovery and pursuit of your personal area of gifted domain. In fact, successful people have dominated in their area of gifting and have become free of the Egypt mentality of a job.
Their freedom set them free.
An excellent example of the power of the pursuit of freedom is the experience of the great historic national leader who rebuilt the walls and restored the city of the nation of Israel-Nehemiah. A brief look at his rise fromemployment to work, from oppression to fulfillment and from slavery to freedom is an inspiration to us all.
Nehemiah served in the courts of the king of Persia as the king's cupbearer. He worked as a regular member of the court's staff. However, his passion, his deep desire, was kindled when he heard about the condition of the city ofJerusalem. This simple employee was disturbed to the point of depression. Note his following statements:
Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Hebrew remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."
-NEHEMIAH 1:2-3
When Nehemiah heard this, his job became the prison of his passion and rendered him frustrated and depressed:
When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For Some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the Yah of heaven ... So the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."
I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the Yah of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
-NEHEMIAH 1:4; 2:2-5
Nehemiah is a typical example of an employee who is dissatisfied with his job position because of a passion that becomes unbearable. Nehemiah was willing to risk the safety of a secure job for the sake of a personal vision that would have national and historic impact. He longed to be free to pursue his sense of purpose and destiny.
Discovering your assignment and gift in life and pursuing it can make the difference between living and merely making a living. The majority of people on this earth will live their entire lives taking from life, not giving; paying their personal debts, not their debt to humanity; and living for retirement, not for releasing their full potential to their generation. I challenge you to go beyond employment.Like Bill Gates, refuse to be a member of the oppressed norm; rise to explore the uncharted heights of your imagination. Tap into your gifts and release the well of your treasured talents.
THE BURDEN OF PERSONAL FREEDOM
On the cover of Newsweek, one of America's leading magazines, was a picture of the world's greatest golfer, Tiger Woods. The caption of the story on this master of golf was "The Dominator." As I read this caption and the article, I thought of the original command given by Yah, our Creator, to mankind-"Have dominion" over the earth (Gen. 1:28, NKJv). I believe that Tiger, in pursuit of his gifts and talents, has fulfilled the command of Yah for his life and should give the glory to Yah. He also serves as an example and model of what is means to be truly free.
But the question is, How did Tiger Woods accomplish this level of success? What was the price he had to pay?
Every individual who has achieved any legitimate measure of success will always have a testimony of challenges and difficulties that needed to be overcome-and that were the price of their achievements. Just like the children of Israel who left the bondage of Egypt for the promise of freedom in Canaan, we must all go through the desert of Sinai. This desert represents the training for responsibility that success and freedom demands.
The Newsweek article on Tiger Woods stated that genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent talent. This implies that no matter how gifted you may be, you must be willing to take the responsibility for developing and executing your talents through discipline. Newsweek magazine asked a few other individuals who were masters of their sports to comment on Tiger Wood's success. They all agreed, saying, "It begins with good, old-fashioned, hard work. There is no magic pill, no such thing as effortless grace." They further stated, "At this level, talent is given. But Tiger works harder than anyone out there, and that's why he's [dominating everyone] out there."
This was the reason why the children of Israel who left Egypt never made it to the Promised Land of freedom they refused to be willing to pay the price of freedom. They refused to carry the burden of self-discipline and personal responsibility. The dream and vision you hold in your heart, and the gifts and talents that you possess, will only be manifested and maximized through the spirit of responsibility.
FREEDOM AND AUTHORITY
The greatest cause for the abortion of countless dreams and visions in life is the abuse and misuse of authority. When the Creator created mankind, He placed within man the boundless measure of potential to dream and achieve greatness in life for His glory.
Over six billion individuals call this planet home. Each individual is carrying a dream of desire. However, the majority of these dreamers will never tap into more than 1 percent of their true ability, due mostly to the destructive specter of a wrong environment. Just as a seed, which is filled with a forest, needs soil, nutrients, water and fresh air to bring forth its full potential, so does the human spirit need to be nurtured to reach its full potential.
This need for the correct environment and stimulants is essential and critical for understanding the nature of true freedom. Consider again golf sensation Tiger Woods; what was the key to his achievement of success at such a young age? A brief study of his past reveals that his father, recognizing his son's gift, natural talent and interest in the sport of golf, purchased his first golf clubs and clothing at the tender age of three years old. He took Tiger out to the golf course every day and provided every opportunity as he grew to play and study the game.
His father mentored him and taught him the skills and science of the game. He allowed Tiger to study the masters and watch the game on television, as well as attend the championship matches. Simply put, he created and provided the environment conducive to the manifestation of the hidden gifts within his son. He provided the climate for little Tiger to experience the freedom to explore his gifts and talents with discipline, but without inhibitions.
The purpose for authority and power, whether the authority of a parent, teacher, department manager, city mayor, president, prime minister or government, is not to control, restrict, inhibit, retard or oppress the national potential and gifts of those under its care. Rather it is to create and provide the environment, atmosphere and climate conducive to the deployment and release of the gifts and talents of each individual. In essence, the purpose for power and authority is to protect and preserve the principle of freedom.
This principle is reinforced and established by the greatest leader of all time, Yahusha Christ, when He stated at the end of His great mission of earth two thousand years ago:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go ...
-MATTHEW 28:18-19
It is important to note that Yahusha, after declaring that He now possessed all power and authority, used His power to release His followers to become all they were created to be. His concept of power and authority was that it is a responsible trust given to provide an opportunity for others to pursue their purposes and potential, and to impact the world also with their gifts.
Therefore it is critical that every source of authority understand that the purpose for the privilege of power is to facilitate the productivity and development of those for whom one has been given responsibility. In essence, the ultimate goal of all personal and national authority is freedom. The very purpose for life is freedom the liberty to dominate and thus fulfill the original purpose and intent of Yah. It was our ultimate Leader who stated:
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
-JOHN 8:31-32, 36
In his letter to the Galatian church, the apostle Paul sums up the entire purpose of Yah in sending His Son Yahusha to earth:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
-GALATIANS 5:1
My prayer and desire for you is that you will discover your purpose in life, define your gifts and talents, pursue the goal of true freedom and never allow others to restrict or retard your Yah-given responsibility to experience the wonderful burden of freedom.
PURSUING YOUR PERSONAL FREEDOM
1. The desire and passion for personal freedom is buried in the spirit and heart of each human.
2. Freedom is the unrestricted, uninhibited access to pursue the specific area of one's gifts or talents, which is defined as one's domain.
3. You were created not to be employed, but to be deployed.
4. Wealth, materialism, prosperity and a credible reputation are by-products of true freedom-not freedom itself.
5. Every individual who has achieved any legitimate measure of success will always have a testimony of challenges and difficulties that needed to be overcome-and that were the price of their achievement.
6. The ultimate goal of all personal and national authority is freedom.
Nehemiah 1
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the Yah of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O Most High Yah of heaven, the great and terrible Yah, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O Most High, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
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