Purpose

By Glen Ferguson

"Purpose" can help you discover your reason for living. It examines the life of the biblical character Joseph, showing how his misfortunes turned to God's purposes, the salvation of Joseph's family in the midst of famine.

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Pastor Glen Ferguson skilfully takes you on a journey explaining the obstacles and pitfalls that one may have to encounter when fulfilling the purpose that God has for their life.

Using the life of Joseph as a backdrop, in his book he explains the pain that dreamers often experience and the rejection that many have faced in pursuing the purpose of God.

I recommend this book for people who are trying to discover their purpose in life.

Bishop John Francis
Ruach City Church London

• Language: English
• Publisher: Glen Ferguson
• Release date: Feb 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465900692

Glen Ferguson

Glen Ferguson is the founder and Senior Pastor of Faith Dimensions Ministries, a Pentecostal Church based in Wolverton, Milton Keynes, UK. He has served as its pastor for 26 years.He and his wife of 35 years, Lu, have two sons, Lee and Darren. “We are here to fulfill God’s specific plans and purposes within our community,” says Pastor Ferguson, who has watched the church grow from three members to 552 (including 52 nationalities). The church also has a television ministry which has a possible viewing audience of up to nine million throughout Europe, a food and clothing programme, a senior citizen luncheon club, a music and media ministry and a prison ministry. The book was developed from a sermon that grew from a two- or three-weeks lesson. “It became apparent that this was going to be a journey which both my Church and I would walk and discover together,” Pastor Ferguson says. “These series of messages lasted for fifty weeks and outlines what everyone of purpose must go through in order to fulfill God’s mandate for their lives. The life of Joseph perfectly illustrates this fact.”

Book preview

Foreword

There are many questions that people have asked when it comes to the subject of ‘Purpose’.

Pastor Glen Ferguson skilfully takes you on a journey explaining the obstacles and pitfalls that one may have to encounter when fulfilling the purpose that God has for their life.

Using the life of Joseph as a backdrop, in his book he explains the pain that dreamers often experience and the rejection that many have faced in pursuing the purpose of God.

I recommend this book for people who are trying to discover their purpose in life.

Bishop John Francis

Ruach City Church London

Acknowledgements

I would like to say a big thank you to Alicia Robinson who has laboured and helped with the compiling of this book. During the writing of this book I have often changed certain aspects of the book, but whenever asked Alicia was always willing to make the requested adjustments, thank you for your patience Alicia.

I would also like to say a big thank you to Sachel Grant and Joy Macdonald who have spent many hours proof reading this work, you are both tremendous assets, may the Lord bless you.

Introduction

I would like to dedicate this book to my Faith Dimensions family who have walked with me on this incredible journey of Purpose.

It has been the most amazing journey and after thirty one years of ministry and preaching I have to say it has been the most revealing and rewarding work that I have ever been involved in.

We have seen this story unfold week after week and eventually it became clear that this was not just a historical study about the life of Joseph and the sons of Jacob but rather a journey that we the Faith Dimensions Church were on and experienced together.

As we got closer to the end of these Fifty weeks of study we begun to see the unfolding of exactly what God had Purposed for us as a Church. We began to experience the supernatural provisions of God who has opened many doors for us within our community in order that we might fulfil the great commission of spreading the good news of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

This book is not written in a chronological order, it is written in the order that God gave it to me, so there are times that I will go back and revisit chapters previously covered, as greater revelations came.

As you read and study this work may it be a blessing to you; may it be a road map as you navigate your way through life, especially at those junctions when you find yourself at a cross road not knowing which way to go.

May you realise that in all things, good or bad, God has a divine Purpose and the journey will at times require you to go through dark and difficult places but please remember that whatever the enemy means for evil God will use and turn it for your good.

God bless,

Pastor Glen Ferguson.

Chapter 1: Joseph

PURPOSE (noun)

The word purpose means; the reason why anything is done, created, exists, or a fixed design.

Genesis 37:1-2, 15

Verse 1. And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

Verse 2. These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph being seventeen years old was feeding the flock with his brethren and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Verse 3. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age and he made him a coat of many colours.

The word purpose means; the reason why anything is done, created, exists, or a fixed design.

The name Joseph means; let him add, to continue to do a thing, to exceed, to give more, or to increase.

Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel, and twelve sons.

Six by Leah

Two by Rachel

Two by Bilhah - Rachel’s maid

Two by Zilpah - Leah’s maid.

Joseph being the seventh child (middle child) did not fit in as most middle born children in any household, as a result most will seek to find acceptance outside the home and often they are the first to leave the family home.

In Joseph’s case he was close to his dad but not his brothers. He was in his brothers’ opinion a dreamer; a misfit, an oddity, a square peg trying to fit into a round hole, he was just not like them, he did not want to be different, or go out of his way to be at odds with his family, that was just the way it was.

What made it worse for him was the fact that daddy gave him a coat of many colours; this further infuriated and isolated him from his brothers.

Our text picks up the story of Jacob and his sons when Joseph was seventeen years old; this highlights what I had previously said about the middle born child not fitting into the family unit. The number seventeen is not a multiple of any other number, it is an indivisible number and it is also the seventh in the list of indivisible numbers; 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17.

It therefore identifies with two other numbers; seven and ten. Seven is the number in the Bible associated with perfection, for example God rested on the seventh day of creation. It signified fullness, nothing could be added, it was perfect and complete. Ten is the number associated with testing, God gave man ten commandments. These are guidelines concerning how man is supposed to conduct himself as a child of God, man is asked to give one tenth of his income back to the Lord, thus recognising that God is his source and provider. As you look at the life of Joseph, you cannot but conclude that what happened to him was not due to any wrong doing on his part.

Chapter 2: Your Ornamented Robe

ROBE (-noun)

A long, loose or flowing gown or outer garment worn by men or women as a formal clothing, ceremonial dress, an official Vestment, or grab of office.

You begin to realise that there was more going on than what may at first be apparent. The first thing to note is the fact that Jacob made a mistake in showing favouritism amongst his children, for who would be happy if daddy is so unwise as to make it obvious that your brother is preferred more than you?

It is a naive parent who shows partiality and gives preferential treatment to a favourite child, this is a recipe for trouble and breakdown within the family and, why would a parent do this?

There may be many reasons, but I want to highlight what I believe are the two main reasons:

1. The parent him/herself was the victim of his/her own upbringing and as such try to overcompensate with their favourite child, they want to ensure that this child does not suffer and go through what they have gone through.

2. That among their children this individual child’s character and behaviour is more pleasing to them than the others. Comparatively it is therefore easier to show love to this child than the others. It takes a strong and wise parent to show equal love to all their children in spite of their differences.

Joseph may have been the victim of his father’s naivety and the scorn of his brothers but God saw something in him that He could use. This rejected and despised son would eventually become the saviour of his family.

Genesis 37:23-24

Verse 23. And it came to pass when Joseph was come unto his brethren that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him.

Verse 24. And they took him and cast him into a pit and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

In the days of Joseph many wore cloaks or robes, these were mainly worn for practical reasons, for example they were worn to keep an individual warm, they were also used for carrying personal belongings, for the most part these were long and plain garments.

The one given to Joseph however was different; it was bright, multi-coloured and attractive, it was the kind of garment only worn by royalty and dignitaries.

In Joseph’s case it represented his father’s favour and approval, it represented Jacob’s love for his son, and it was a token of his blessing.

Verse 3 of Chapter 37 reads Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age and he made him a coat of many colours.

This act and display of affection, however; separated Joseph from the rest of his brothers.

Make no mistake, in stripping Joseph of his coat and casting him into a pits his brothers intended to kill him, their intention was not to simply hurt him, they wanted him dead.

Verse 20 bears this out, Come now therefore and let us slay him and cast him into some pit...

Cast him into some pit, it doesn’t matter which pit, just as long as he is dead any pit will do. The level of jealousy and hatred for Joseph by his own brothers was extreme, they simply could not stand to have him around or be anywhere near him.

Those coming from humble or poor beginnings struggle when one of their own becomes successful, they do not appreciate or understand why or how this one who is often the least likely member of the family to make a difference can escape the pattern and example set by other family members, how can this be?

Verse 23 Coat of many colours (Ornamented robe)

The word ornamented means anything that adorns something or someone; a decoration, a person whose character or talent makes them an asset.

Oh Joseph’s ornamented robe was like a blinding light in the eyes of his brothers, this adornment, this decoration, this symbol of his outstanding character and talent was too much for them to handle. It represented everything that they were not; it was a shocking reminder of who their younger brother was.

Verse 23 And it came to pass when Joseph was come unto his brethren...

This reminds me of another who came unto His own; all that was happening to Joseph was a prototype of a greater one, Jesus Christ.

John 1:11 says, "He came unto His own and His own received Him not"!

That coat, that ornamented robe, that glory, that brightness, that favour, we cannot handle it, it is too much, we do not like what it represents, let’s strip it from him. What the brothers failed to realise was the fact that the ornamented robe was simply a symbol or token of something much greater, something that they could not remove or erase.

The second part of verse 23 says ...His coat of many colours that was on him.

They stripped the outer but they could not strip the inner. You see, there was an inner covering which Joseph had on him which his brothers could not see. They knew nothing about this coat which the outer cloak was merely a representation of; they certainly could not remove or destroy this garment. They may have removed the temporal but the permanent favour they were unable to remove.

Unbeknown to them when they threw their brother into that pit thinking that was the end of him, this was simply the beginning of what would be the ultimate of adventures for young Joseph.

Isn’t it amazing to know that your own family can rise up against you in such a ferocious manner? When this happens you have to be careful not to resort to the arms of flesh. 18

It requires spiritual insight and the grace of God to realise that often it is not so much that your family is against you, it is more God’s favour that’s on your life which they do not like or understand. The devil uses their shallowness and fills their hearts with jealousy and rage towards you. He uses them as instruments in plotting your downfall and demise, but what a great joy to know that our wonderful Lord will not allow their plots and schemes to destroy us, rather He uses these terrible things as stepping stones to get us to where He has purposed us to be.

Verse 24. And they took him...

What was about to happen to Joseph was not something of his own making.

First of all he had nothing to do with the fact that his daddy gave him an ornamented robe. He didn’t ask for it, neither did he work for it; daddy chose to give it to him.

Secondly his brothers had arrested him and taken him by force, I’m sure Joseph in his naivety must have asked What’s going on, why have you arrested me, what have I done?

This is not due to some wrong doing on your part Joseph; this is because of the favour of God on your life. If the favour of God on my life is a problem to you, does that mean you do not have the same favour on your life?

For everyone who knows that