Focused Purpose | Ps Teejay Davidson

Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast.

Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to

take hold of. So we hope this message inspires

you and build your faith, but it helps you have more of a God

perspective for your day. Enjoy today.

I want to talk to you about purpose.

We all know that word in the Christian world, but I want to

talk to you about a focused purpose.

Not just purpose for purpose sake, but focused purpose.

There's a man in the Bible. He goes by the Apostle Paul,

previously known as Saul, and he had focused purpose.

He had purpose before he met Christ too, and his purpose was

to persecute the Christians. I like to start off with the

Word. First, let's turn to our Bibles,

to Acts 26, verses 9. Follow me there.

Acts 26:9

Paul says this. I too was convinced that I ought

to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of

Nazareth. We sang that name Jesus.

There's something about the name of Jesus because it's above

every other name. There's no other name like it.

The power in the name of Jesus. And when you speak the name of

Jesus, there's miracles, demons go, there's healing, there's

power in the name of Jesus. And verse 10, follow me there.

And that is just what I did in Jerusalem on the authority of

the chief priests. I put many of the Saints in the

prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against

them. Many a time I went from one

synagogue to another, one church to another, to have them

punished, and I tried to force them to blasphemy in my

obsession against them. I even went to foreign cities to

persecute them. The Apostle Paul has got this

obsession on persecuting Christians.

He was a Pharisee, he was a Jew, a man that didn't believe that

the risen Christ and to Christ said he was.

So he thought I'm going to go fix him.

And he went on the authority of the chief priests.

Can I get some water, please? Oh, it's right there.

Sorry, I didn't see that. I have the authority to drink

water now. Thank you, Lord.

And he went and he thought this is my job.

Except for one event happened, one touch, one revelation, 1

moment in time, where he was travelling along to the road to

Damascus and there was the risen Jesus right before Paul.

And it says the sun shone, that Jesus had shone brighter than

the sun and him in his companions.

They fell down and Paul was blinded for three days and after

that something like scales had fallen off his eyes.

He had a revelation of the risen King, the one that was supposed

to be in the tomb, but the stone rolled away and he rose again in

three days. This is the power of the gospel.

1 moment Saul became Paul, and after that he had a revelation,

one touch. And that revelation led to Paul

going around preaching the good news of the risen King.

Now Jesus, he rose when he died. He rose again in three days.

He rose in victory. He rose as a conqueror.

For you and I sin. And let me tell you, I'm going

to give you an opportunity at the end.

If you don't know Jesus today, there's going to be a moment.

And just like Saul, you'll become Paul and you'll be

transformed in a moment. Just like that, you'll go from

death to life and that that opportunity will be given to you

at the end of the service. Paul was a troublemaker.

He loved to cause holy trouble. As pastor I said, And you know

what, we as Christians, when we go into our community, we cause

holy trouble. We come against what the Word,

what the world comes in and teaches, but Christ teaches

something else, and that's us as a church.

We stand up into this community and we go and influence it.

And that's what Paul did. And he was put on house arrest

in Rome because he tried to stand up against Caesar.

And he was there for two years, around 60 to 62 AD and Paul went

through some suffering. And I want to want to highlight

to you today and what Paul did in that moment, in those two

years in prison whilst he was on house arrest.

He writes and encourages four other churches or three other

churches. He writes the Ephesians, the

Ephesus church, the Philippians, the Colossians, and Philemon.

Or if you're real bougie, Philemon, whatever you want to

go with, that's fine. He was under house arrest.

And scholars say that it was possible that he was, he was

definitely in chain, but it was quite possible that he was

chained to a Roman soldier for 24 hours of the day with six

hours shift, a new Roman soldier coming in to take the shift.

And Paul suffered for Jesus. He suffered for the gospel.

It doesn't sound too good suffering, does it?

But here's the truth about suffering.

No matter whether you're with Christ or not, you're going to

suffer. But there's a big difference.

You can suffer over here without Christ in the world, but you'll

do it alone. Or you can come give your life

to Jesus and they're still suffering.

But you won't do it alone this time.

You'll do it filled with the Holy Spirit, the Helper.

You do it with God's strength. You do it with his joy.

You won't do it alone. Beloved, Christ didn't promise

us that we wouldn't suffer, but He did promise us that He will

be with us to the very end of the age.

That's a promise. And Two Corinthians Chapter 11,

chapter, Chapter 11, verses 24 just illustrates the sum of

Paul's sufferings. But see, long-suffering is part

of the fruit of the Spirit. I wish it was called short

suffering. I would even settle for a little

bit more suffering or middle suffering.

But long-suffering is one of the fruit of the Spirit.

Why? Because it helps us how we

respond in suffering is everything right and who we turn

to And suffering is everything. In Two Corinthians chapter 1124,

five times he says I received from the Jews the 40 lashes -1 I

reckon Paul would have felt the -1 that he didn't receive. 3

times I was beaten with rods. Once I was pelted with stones.

Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the

open sea. I have been constantly on the

move. I've been in danger from rivers,

in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in

danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the

country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false believers.

I have laboured and toiled and often gone without sleep.

I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without

food. I have been cold and naked.

That's just the glimpse of some of the things that the Apostle

Paul went through. Just a little snippet.

He endured hardship and suffering.

And I started to wonder in the text as I was reading this, as I

preached to myself too, way before I come here to get that

in my heart, to get it written on the tablet of my heart.

And I thought, what was Paul's perspective in this?

I thought, maybe this man's going to shrink back.

You could think that maybe he's going to pull back in fear, but

he didn't. And after Paul writes on how

much he had suffered for Jesus, watch what happens here.

His concern wasn't for himself. Watch the text right after this

verse after he explained what he went through.

It says this besides everything else.

Come on. I felt the anointing on that and

God speaking to me and say, TJ, do you have a besides everything

else, everything that it could ever happen to you and and

suffering and pain and and and the way that life goes?

TJ would you have a besides everything else, let me tell you

when you've got the living God in your life, when you've got

the Holy Spirit that's filled you, you've got everything, man.

It's besides everything beside the car, besides the, the the

the bills, besides the the frustrations, besides your

workplace of what's going on. God, I've got you, God, I've got

you and it continues. He said ready.

Watch this. I face daily the pressure of my

concern for all the churches. What a man, what a spirit filled

man. This is the Apostle Paul filled

with the Holy Spirit. His concern wasn't about

himself. His concern was about the

churches. His concern was to encourage the

churches and say come on church, you've got people to bring in,

you've got people to impact and that's you today, beloved you

being filled with the Holy Spirit man in your workplace in

this community when you go shopping should looks different.

Your concern for this community not in fear, but to say man,

there's people out there that no need to know Jesus and I'm

filled with the Holy Spirit. You are the answer the church to

this community that brings Jesus Christ to make an impact and you

all have the power to do that. Verses 29, he says who is weak

and I do not feel weak. Well, after going through all of

that, he says I don't feel weak. There's a scripture, it says in

in our weakness. That's when God's made

strongest, come on, His grace is sufficient.

Who was led into sin and I do not inwardly burn.

Paul viewed everything through a transformed life in Christ Jesus

and in the power meant by the Holy Spirit.

His suffering didn't break him. It clarified his purpose to

advance the church, the body of Christ.

And I know there's some people in here, you've got a dream.

I know that some people in here, you, you, you just want to bust

out of your seat and run into the community and, and making a

an impact. And our prayer should be this

God, would you make me an effective minister of the

gospel, an effective minister of the gospel for Jesus Christ and

for this community? Would you make me an effective

father in my in my home? Would you make me an effective

mother in my home, in my family and everywhere I go will

encounter the love of God. Paul had the Holy Spirit

inspired truth that saw past his physical chains and I just want

to highlight in piece of Scripture in Ephesians where

he's writing and he's encouraging them.

If we could turn our Bibles to Ephesians 6 and watch what Paul

does. But I started wondering.

Paul on house arrest, looking around his surroundings in the

rock walls that he was surrounded by, faced with the

Roman soldier. Possible with the change of the

guard every six hours. I know what my letter would have

been like. Dear brothers and sisters, bust

me out of here now. There's filthy Roman.

Shiny leather looking smelly. Filthy Roman is guarding me.

I need help. Would you bust me out quickly?

I'll be writing a letter. Help.

I'll be complaining. These rock walls are cold.

I'm cold. There's no blanket.

There's not much food, not much joy.

But watch what Paul writes, he says.

Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of

evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.

I'm wondering when Paul was writing, did he have a

revelation of when the Roman God was standing in that cell with

him? And he says, hold on, hold on

those shoes. There aren't just normal shoes

and an inspired truth coming from the Holy Spirit.

And he's had a revelation, he says.

And after you've done everything to stand, stand firm then with

the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate

of righteousness in place, and with the feet fitted with the

readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, it says in verse 16, take up the shield

of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming

arrows of the evil 1 and take the helmet of salvation and the

sword of the spirit of which is the word of God.

Paul had an amazing perspective. He had an amazing revelation, a

Holy Spirit inspired truth, and despite being physically chained

to a Roman soldier, his letters were not filled with sorrow and

grief. And it's amazing how Paul

encourages 3 churches in this time that he was in prison.

And he's telling the church, you know what?

I know you've faced some some kickback.

I know that you've faced some challenges, but he's telling the

Ephesus church, we just stand your ground because you're not

cold and naked. You've got something that God's

helping you to give you a focused purpose.

You've been equipped with the belt of truth.

You've been equipped with the breastplate of righteousness,

with the shoes of the gospel of peace, with the shield of faith,

with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

I'm wondering is there people in here today that don't like this

surroundings and maybe you feel like the walls encapsulated in

but maybe just very maybe that's not the devil who put you there.

Maybe that's God who put you in there to stand firm then to be

known it when you walk into a place that you're equipped with

the armor of God and people can say, hey, Christian, what do you

have that I need? And guess what, beloved, that's

the power of God on your life that you were equipped.

You're equipped in every circumstance, no matter or even

if you're in the lowest of the low valley or the highest of the

high mountain, you are equipped and you're not equipped with

nothing. God equips you.

I remember past the Gray when I before I went to Bible college,

he said this something to me that carried me on.

He said, TJ, if God's called you, he's also equipped you.

Let me tell you, beloved, give God a shout.

If you're called by God, let me tell you, you're equipped by God

today. You're not cold and naked.

God has equipped you, beloved. He's not only equipped you to

sit on this chair in this church, but he's equipped you to

go out there and get some people who don't know Jesus.

Come on, give God a clap offering.

Give God some praise. Moving on from verse 17, we go

to verses 18. Watch this.

Don't you just love the word of God?

And Paul says this. He says and pray in the Spirit

on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all

the Lord's people, human mind, even in His prayer, even in Him

writing this. Can you see how He's not

writing? Woe is me, I have been wronged,

I have had this and I am innocent.

I've been put in jail for two years.

Woe is me. But he says He gives us a key

here. He says pray in the Spirit on

all occasions. Let me tell you, there's a gift

that God has given and that's the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And today, if you can't speak in a heavenly language, that today

can be your chance, your opportunity to get filled with

the Holy Spirit. If you haven't been filled, let

me tell you, you're missing out, man.

When you start speaking the language of heaven, you realize

when you're praying in that language, you're seated in

heavenly places with Christ. That means you're no longer

coming from the ground and looking up to God and asking him

for help. You're coming from a heavenly

perspective, a heavenly place that says to those situations,

get beneath me, Satan. They'll tell those things get

beneath me. You are beneath me because I am

with the living Christ seated in heavenly places.

And let me tell your church, beloved, we as a church are

seated in heavenly places and this community along with it is

seated in heavenly places. When you go into your workplace,

when you go into your spaces, when you drop off your kids to

church. You will go.

You don't go seated on a low place.

You go seated in a heavenly place, which means you can bring

a heavenly word to that place. You can bring a heavenly word to

your neighbor. Come on.

Am I talking to somebody today? Is somebody got a heavenly word

in them, a prophetic word to speak into their community and

into the places that they influence?

Paul's life was fueled by prayer, the kind of prayer that

had purpose, focused purpose. Not just help me God, help me

God, help me God. And I know I've prayed those

prayers, but I'm talking about focused purpose prayers.

Paul prayer requests revealed his character.

Who knows? When you go through some things,

it starts to reveal some things. It reveals your character.

I know that God has shown me my fruit many times in the, in, in

the hard times, in the challenging times.

And I got to see the, the fruit that on my life.

And it helps me see myself because sometimes the hardest

person to see is yourself. It's why marriage is so good, so

coming to church is so good as your brothers and sisters will

edify you and lift you up. You ever been to Pastor Henry's

life group? So challenging but so beautiful.

He helped draw her out. God used him to disciple many

and still today, if you're looking for a life group and you

haven't been through foundations, let me tell you,

get into foundations. It goes for 10 weeks.

Is that right? Pastor Henry, let me tell you

foundations, if you're a new Christian, it is a must.

If you've been saved here in the last year and you haven't found

yourself a place, go to foundations.

It is incredible. It'll give you a head start and

it will help you understand the word of God.

Paul wasn't asking for comfort in his prayer.

You notice that he didn't even ask for rescue.

He wasn't saying pray for me for rescue.

He wasn't asking for the suffering to stop or even the

fire or fall on his enemies, but rather he goes on to say in

verses 19, ready, what's this? Pray also for me.

What for? That?

Whenever I speak, words may be given so that I will fearlessly

make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an

ambassador. That's an identity key.

You're an ambassador today, Church, a representative of

Christ Jesus in chains. And he says this.

Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.

He wasn't saying pray, woe is me, I need help.

I need rescue God. I don't know how I'm going to

make it out. I don't even know if we're going

to make it past these two years. I don't know how I got in here.

I just innocently, innocently went to Caesar.

I was telling him about Jesus and I got thrown into this

place. I'm innocent.

No, he's saying, pray also for me.

Pray that I may declare God's word fearlessly.

Pray that I declare the gospel fearlessly.

That's why we can't hide behind this title called I'm an

introvert anymore. We have no excuse because we've

been filled with the Holy Spirit.

I know I'm an extrovert and I want to go talk to everyone as

well, but it challenges me too because I know that I can't do

it on my own. When I walk into a place, I say,

Holy Spirit, would you use me? Oh, Holy Spirit, I know that

it's not on my power, but yours. Come on.

Have I got any people in this place today that would go into

their war workplace? Not on your own power, but the

power of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is not a friend that

you call up when you need help. I've been there.

How many times walk into movies, walk into places, that Holy

Spirit, here I am again. I haven't spoken in three weeks,

but I really need you now. Yes, I know, and I hate you

being good, good, good, but the Holy Spirit wants relationship

with you to bring you into closer communion, closer

intimacy in relationship with Jesus.

That's the Holy Spirit. He helps you come into a greater

relationship with God and then by that intimacy, by that

relationship, you get to step out into this community.

You get to influence your world for good and for God to see this

community be transformed for Jesus.

Come on, I'm looking. I'm not just preaching to you.

I'm preaching to the people that should be here.

I've been seeing a lady in prayer for years that I've been

praying for and I'm waiting to me to hear.

And I'm wondering, have we got some prayers in this place

today, people that they've seen that aren't here yet?

Keep on praying. Keep on praying for Morton City

because God will use you to impact our world, to influence

our world, to transform this community for Christ.

Your purpose is not just coming on Sunday and having

relationship with him on church. Your purpose as a living child

of God, a representative of God, is to influence, to bring God

glory to every sphere of influence and places and spaces

that you find yourself in. Paul wanted prayer to declare,

to declare the good news, the gospel news boldly to those

around him. Paul's focused purpose and

prayer was not God. Get Me Out of this.

You're ready. Paul's purpose, focus was this,

God use me in this. I'll say that again.

Paul didn't come to God and was like, God, Get Me Out of this.

Get Me Out of this situation, this mess that I'm tied up in.

Paul's prayer and focus purpose was God, would you use me in

this? And I'm wondering, beloved, do I

have some people here today bold enough with the Spirit filled in

them that says God, would you use me in this?

And what you thought you were chained to And to say that God

would you Get Me Out of this doesn't do the justice and the

love of God that we have for this community.

No, no, no, we are not to shrink back in fear, but we are those

people at City Point Caboolture that says this.

We are prayers. God use me in this.

Maybe your finances don't stack up the way you thought it would

stack up, but do we have some people would say God use me in

this? Do we have some struggles that

are coming your way, maybe things that you didn't

anticipate for 2025, but God use me in this.

Maybe you got a workplace that you're not happy with at the

moment, but in that workplace, you know, you're the only

Christian. God use me in this.

And then we have a group of people, a cohort of

collaboration. We have a mission, a vision for

this community. Do we have a people here today?

And if you do, give God a shout to say God, use me in this

community. He asked for prayer centered in

focus. Purpose, not problems.

His prayer wasn't based and focused on problems.

He was focused on purpose. I know I'm going through this,

but God, what's your focus purpose right now in this

situation? What's your Rhema word?

What's your now word? What do you have me in right now

that I can impact people? I'm not just a Sunday Christian.

I don't just commune with God on a Sunday at church.

God, what am I doing here and how can I be more effective for

your Kingdom? Paul's entire purpose in Christ

was to represent Christ as the band comes up to be an

ambassador of the gospel, a representative, to speak

fearlessly, to declare the good news of Jesus, anyone within

reach, even the Roman soldier that was potentially chained to

him. Could you imagine Paul chained?

He's talking to know Jesus. Do you know Jesus?

Could you imagine a Man on Fire and joy with the power of the

Holy Ghost chained in that room and a Roman soldier coming into

that room? Imagine what he would have been

thinking. I'm chained to this man and he's

preaching to me. Hope.

He's encouraging me. He's writing letters to

churches. Who is this man?

This is different to what the world acts.

How is he doing this preaching the good news?

Jesus is risen for your life, beloved.

Jesus has taken away the sin of the world for all that take upon

and have faith in Christ and all that give their life over to

Jesus and that's available to you now.

Could you imagine the Roman soldier thinking, what is this

guy on? What does he have?

Christianity is attractive. Your testimony, Paul's testimony

of Christ. Wherever Paul went, he bring the

gospel. The good news.

Paul didn't waste his suffering. Are you ready?

He assigned it focused purpose. Did anyone catch that here

today? Paul didn't waste his suffering,

he assigned it focused purpose. And I know that sometimes even

in life, we, we encounter this. I know that, that, that that

usually suffering isn't preached about.

But let me tell you, beloved, when you are going through the

valley, are you going to assign it purpose today?

Is that your purpose to assign it focused purpose?

And let me promise you today, we are a church that when, when

persecution rises, we're going to assign it focused purpose

because we have the gospel. Good news, the Holy Spirit was

within us. That means you've been sealed

with purpose, you have greatness within you, power within you,

that you alone can step out in faith and God will use you today

just like He's used me. I know I have a testimony too,

just like Paul. And I'm up here because I said

yes to Jesus and I knew the power, and I'm so grateful for

my salvation because I was a dead man before.

And now I've encountered Christ and I'm alive in him.

And am I still being transformed?

Yes. Am I still being sanctified?

Yes. But that's the beauty of the

journey. And today, beloved, that's for

you and I today that we don't do this alone.

We do it as a community as well. A common unity, something that

we have common in is we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I'm saying this today as we land this plane, don't waste

your suffering. Don't waste what it looks like

you're chained to because the very thing that you're in is the

very focused purpose that God has placed you in to see people

being impacted in your world. Maybe it's that Christmas dinner

for us. We don't want to see those

people. Maybe don't want to go to

Christmas this year because Uncle Mike is going to start his

stuff again. But let me promise you, you

don't go into those places like that with that thinking.

You go into those places, in the spaces and you step out and you

say God, I'm going in here with you because it's a relationship.

It's not performance. It's not even coming to church

on Sunday. That's not your relationship

with God. That's that's your overflow.

It's where you come to God and you, you get to come in the

house and enjoy his presence and enjoy the community of God

through your relationship. But not only that, you know

where else I come to church because I know that when I

walked through those doors seven years ago, God had used another

servant to welcome me and my family in the House of God.

And it changed our life in an instant when we give our life to

Christ. You have a purpose.

Sunday has a purpose. Don't you miss church?

Because when people get to come through that door, you will be

used by God and God will use you if you position yourself in such

a way. So I say this, please don't go

out to the cafe and just speak to the same people every Sunday.

Would we as a church look around and say who is new here today?

Who is here going to be transformed by the living God,

by my yes and my obedience? Who today can I speak to?

Can I encourage, even know you? Maybe you've walked through

those doors feeling discouraged. Maybe you've walked through

these doors not feeling right. But would you say God, I'm not

gonna let my feelings get in the way of somebody else's

salvation. I'm not gonna let my life, my

feelings get in the way of somebody else receiving a now

word of God. And let me tell you, when we

start doing this kind of thing, man, we start seeing the

flourishing life of the church, man, who can I grab today?

Who can I have coffee with next week?

Who can I call? There's always a new person that

you can bless. Your chains become your mission

field, not your misery. The things that we've been

praying and asking God, please Get Me Out of here.

Maybe that's the very thing that God has got you into.

Let's not give the enemy the glory things that God has done

in your life and put you in in situations.

Pray with purpose, not just comfort.

Ask yourself, am I praying for comfort right now?

Am I praying with a focused purpose?

Let's suffering clarify your purpose, not weaken it.

Represent Christ well in every circumstances.

And to finish with this church, you are an ambassador for

Christ. You are a representative of

Christ. Come on, say it after me.

We're going to say it three times because I want to declare

it over this town. I want to declare it over Morton

City. I wanted you to declare it in

your workplace, in your family home.

Come on, say it after me. I am an ambassador for Christ.

Come on two more times. I am an ambassador for Christ.

Come on. I am an ambassador for Christ,

come on. Do you know I spoke about Jesus

and how he rose again? But do you know why he went to

the cross? The whole reason why he came to

earth, the living God in flesh, Because he had a focus purpose.

That focus purpose was to go blameless and innocently and get

on that cross and die a brutal death only to be risen again.

And that focus purpose was for you and I beloved, that focus

purpose was to defeat sin at the cross, because sin is

destructive in all its ways. Scripture says there is a way

that seems right unto a man, but in in the end it leads to death.

That's in Proverbs. And maybe you're thinking you're

living the right way and I'm going the right way, but in the

end it leads to death without Christ.