The Monday Memo from John Stanko

730 - Your Purpose Legacy

Let's' finish up this week with our purpose lessons from our study of Nehemiah. Last week, we looked at the tendency for enemies to appear when you start to pursue and fulfill purpose. External opposition is serious, but it may not be the most serious obstacle where your purpose is concerned. It is the opposition from within that is often the most crippling. Fear, doubt and anxiety all serve to disable and render you useless where purpose is concerned.  And that is our fifth point in Nehemiah¹s PurposeQuest:  Your purpose is bigger than anything you can accomplish by yourself.  We read Nehemiah's own account of the internal opposition the people faced: "They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, 'Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.' [But I prayed,] 'Now strengthen my hands'” (Nehemiah 6:9).

Nehemiah¹s enemies threatened him, and the people who were with him were fearful. Nehemiah recognized what was going on and he prayed for God to strengthen him. When you clarify your purpose, you realize that you can¹t fulfill your purpose in your own strength. If you behold the need and then assess your ability, you will probably say to God, "I can¹t do this!  I¹m not smart or gifted enough. Help me, Lord!”

When I went to Afghanistan in 2003, I said “no” to the invitation three times. I didn’t have the time, money or energy to go, or so I thought. I should have recognized, however, that all those things only proved that it was God¹s will for me to go; I faced the internal opposition of fear, doubt and inadequacy. All those simply caused me to trust God all the more. What is it that causes you the greatest fear and doubt? Could that be related to your purpose?

PLAN YOUR OWN FUNERAL

Stephen Covey wrote the classic book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In it, he described his second habit as “begin with the end in mind.” To do that, Covey recommended that you write your funeral eulogy today. His reasoning was that you must be doing today what it is that you want to be remembered for tomorrow. And that is the sixth point we can learn from Nehemiah¹s life is:  Your purpose is the legacy you want to leave behind.

• "Remember me with favor, O my God, for all I have done for these people” (Nehemiah 5:19 ).   
• "Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love” (Nehemiah 13:22).  
• "Remember me with favor, O my God” (Nehemiah 13:31).

I want to be remembered as a writer, so I must write books. I want to be a man who was organized, who always had time for people. So I have studied organization and teach time management. Do you get my point?  Nehemiah prayed regularly for God to remember Him. He knew that a legacy had to be more than a statue; he wanted to be remembered as one who did great things for God. Guess what? God heard his prayer, for here we are, 2,500 years later, talking about Nehemiah’s legacy. God did remember him!

So I ask you: What do you want to be remembered for?  What comments do you want people to make at your funeral?  The answers to those questions can provide additional insight into your purpose, for they help you identify what is truly important in your life.

LET¹S WRAP IT UP

As we finish our Nehemiah profile, let’s look at the points we learned by studying his life:

1. Most people don’t know their purpose because they don’t ask enough questions.  
2. Tears often go hand in hand with purpose.
3. You must be able to state your purpose and goals with clarity and conviction.
4. You will always face opposition when you seek to fulfill your purpose.
5. Your purpose is bigger than anything you can accomplish by yourself.
6. Your purpose is the legacy you want to leave behind.

Those six points give you a lot to think about as you continue your PurposeQuest. Take those points and write down the insights you receive as you meditate on them. Don¹t take mental notes; the ink fades too quickly. Instead, keep a purpose notebook or journal and record your thoughts, prayers and insights. Go back and review the lives of Samson and Esther from previous weeks and allow them all to shed light on your own PurposeQuest. As you do, you will develop your own purpose profile that will encourage and help guide others. If I can be of assistance, don¹t hesitate to write. Have a great week!

729 - Your Purpose Enemies

I returned from Kenya last Friday. It was a quick trip of only eight days, but it was highly productive as you can read from my report, complete with pictures. For now, I want to continue our purpose profile of Nehemiah to see what you can learn to help you in your PurposeQuest

Nehemiah faced a lot of opposition as soon as he began to rebuild Jerusalem, and that is the fourth point we can learn from Nehemiah’s PurposeQuest: You will always face opposition when you seek to fulfill your purpose - some of it from without, some from within.

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble-burned as they are?" Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building-if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” (Nehemiah 4:1-3). 

That’s how it is with people of purpose: your enemies don¹t show up until you get serious about doing God¹s will. Nehemiah wasn’t the only one to face purposeful opposition. Joseph faced the enmity of his brothers when he shared his dreams with them. David incurred the wrath of Saul after David was anointed king. Daniel was a faithful public servant in Babylon, but then one day people conspired against him that ultimately sent him to the lions' den.

And Jesus didn¹t have an enemy in the world until He preached and healed on the Sabbath. After He did, there was a group of men dedicated to see Him die. Your enemies are actually a sign that you are doing something right, not that you are doing something wrong. The Apostle Paul was a devoted Jew who then preached that Jesus was the Messiah. After that, old friends and even family became his enemies, some devoted to his assassination.

Therefore, it's important to remember that your opposition is not a sign that you are doing something wrong, but rather something right! So where is your greatest source of external opposition? Is it from family, friends or associates?  Identifying what you do that attracts the greatest opposition may give you a significant clue concerning your purpose.

Next week, we will talk about what attracts the most internal opposition from your own heart and mind, but for this week, just reflect on what you do that seems to rile people up the most. See if that can help you clarify your purpose and I'll be back next week to continue the discussion. Have a blessed seven days until we are together again!

728 - Purpose Clarity

 It's time to look at point three from Nehemiah's purpose profile. I am sorry this did not go out yesterday, but the hotel I was at in Kitale, Kenya did not have working wireless services, so this Monday Memo will be to you on Tuesday. I have had a great visit here so far, as I always do, and will update you via my blog soon. If you live in Kenya, I am asking that you consider a contribution to my MPesa account to help me as I help your people and your country. My account number is 072 722 5766.

Right now, it's time to look at Nehemiah.

WELL, I SORT OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE . . .

Nehemiah prayed and fasted to clarify his passion and direction forward. Then his big break came. One day he was serving the king and the king noticed that Nehemiah was sad. Let’s read the rest in Nehemiah’s own words. 

The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God 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." Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me (Nehemiah 2:4-9).  

The third point is that you must be able to state your purpose and goals with clarity and conviction.  When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, Nehemiah had a ready answer. The king understood what he wanted and could then either say yes or no.

People often ask me questions to help them clarify their purpose. At times, I will ask them what they think their purpose is. It’s then that I see just how hard it is for some people to talk about themselves. They will often say, “Well, I think my purpose is, sort of, like to help people. Yeah, that’s it. And I probably, you know, encourage other people, but of course it’s not me, it’s the Lord.” 

Does that sound like clarity?  You can’t state your purpose and preface it with phrases like “I think,” “probably,” or “maybe.” You either know your purpose or you don’t. And if you can’t overcome the natural hesitancy that many have talking about themselves, you will always struggle to come up with a clear statement.

LET’S REVIEW.

In this series so far, we have learned three purpose lessons from Nehemiah’s profile. They are:

1. Most people don’t know their purpose because they don’t ask enough questions
2. Tears often go hand in hand with purpose
3. You must be able to state your purpose and goals with clarity and conviction.

Next week we will continue our Nehemiah profile. Until then, I want you to get your notebook, journal or a sheet of paper. I want you to write down all the questions you can think of concerning your purpose.  Write them all down, even if one question is, “What should I be asking?” Focus your search through good questions and I promise you will have a better chance at good answers. And get comfortable not only talking about what you can’t do, but also what you can. Remember, your objective is to be able to clearly answer anyone who asks, “What is your passion and purpose?”  Have a great week!

727 - Purpose Tears

Last week, we continued our purpose profile series with a lesson from the purposeful life of Nehemiah. The first point we made last week was

1. You don’t know your purpose because you don’t ask enough questions - and keep on asking until you get an answer.
   

This week, we want to move on and focus on the second purpose lesson from Nehemiah's life. Here goes.

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?

When Nehemiah heard the answers to his questions to the visitors about the conditions in Jerusalem, he was deeply moved: "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 1:4-5). 

I sometimes substitute the word passion for purpose. Passion is a driving force that activates your creativity and will to do something. Tears of joy and sorrow often accompany that passion as you respond and make yourself vulnerable and available to a need that exists in the world. The first time I spoke about purpose, people in the room wept. I have seen thousands more cry over the years. Tears and purpose seem to go together hand in hand.

In 1998, I was watching a television documentary about the suffering of women in Afghanistan and began to cry. I remember praying, “Lord, why am I crying? I don't know anyone there but if you need someone to go to Afghanistan, I’m willing.” In 2003, out of the blue I received an invitation to go to Afghanistan from people I didn’t even know. I went and it changed my life and the course of my ministry.

So my second point is this: 2) Tears go hand-in-hand with purpose. What makes you cry? I’m not talking only about tears of sorrow when a loved one passes or you receive bad news. Can you sit and listen to some kind of music and cry?  Do you cry during a sad movie? Cry with joy when someone is blessed? If you do, then go back to the first point in this Memo and ask the Lord questions like, “Why am I crying? What was touched in me that moved me to tears? What does it mean, Lord?” The answers may surprise you and hold clues that will help you clarify your purpose. It certainly did for Nehemiah.

Purpose is not just a head thing, it's a heart thing. You need to involve your entire being as you search for purpose. That means you must pay attention to your feelings - it's called self-awareness - and seek reasons for what you are thinking and feeling. This week's point goes hand-in-hand with last week's and next week I will add one more that will create a powerful trinity of purpose points that will help you find and fulfill your purpose. Next week I will be writing from Kenya, so please be praying for safe travels and purposeful work. Have a great week!