you Well, good morning to you. Today I'd like to encourage you with the need of and the desire for a clear sense of purpose. What a blessing it is when we can get up in the morning and have a clear sense of purpose and a sense of vocation, of calling, that what we're going to go out in the world and do today, or even what we're going to stay in our home and do today, is that which God has given me to do, and he's equipped me to do. We see this beautifully illustrated in the lives of two individuals, one in the Old Testament and one in the New. And the Old Testament individual is Solomon. And you remember now, in 1 Kings 5, Solomon is now the king. He's assumed the throne from David. And when David was the king, he wanted to build the temple for the Lord. And it was in his heart to do so, and the Lord said, nope, you're not going to do it, your son's going to do it. Well, now his son's on the throne, and he understands, he has that sense of calling, that sense of purpose. We know that because In verse 4, Solomon says, Solomon realizes, this is what God has given me to do, to build this temple. And he does so with gusto. You read the details that Solomon put into the building, the construction of the temple, the beauty and the grandeur of the place. What drove him to that? I think it was this sense of purpose. God's put me on the throne for this, and so he was going to make sure that he fulfilled that calling and accomplished that purpose to the very best of his ability, and he did so. Well, now we turn to the New Testament, and we go to Acts chapter 19, and you see another man who also has a very clear sense of purpose, and it drives him. And this is the apostle Paul. We read in verse 21 of Acts 19, that when these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. Now, this isn't vacation. This isn't tourist destinations for the Apostle Paul. This is part of his calling. The Lord called Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles, and he knew, my calling is to take the gospel throughout the Mediterranean world and throughout the Roman Empire to the Gentiles. And so, this is what he's doing. And in his missionary journeys, he's taken the gospel to the Gentiles. And he gets to Achaia, and he says, I need to go to Jerusalem. He's got a mission to accomplish there. He's taking some charitable donations to the believers in Jerusalem. But he says, after I've gone there, I've got to get to Rome. I've got to get to Rome. And the thing of it is, when he was writing to the Romans and telling the Romans that he was coming, he says, after I come to see you, I want you to help me on my way to Spain. You see, Paul is just constantly looking, where do I need to go next to take the gospel to the Gentiles? Why is he so passionate about this? Well, because God has given him a clear sense of purpose and has given him a clear calling. What a blessing it is to have such a good understanding of what God has called me to do, how God has equipped me for the purpose that he's given me in life. You know, one of the prayers I pray almost every day, if not every day, goes something like this. What a death it is to strive and labor, to be always in a hurry and yet do nothing. Alas, time flies and I am of so little use. Oh, that I were a flame of fire burning forth in one continuous blaze. And then this, Father, fit me for singular usefulness in this world. God, may God give us, may God give us a clear sense of purpose fitting us for usefulness, singular usefulness in this world, and then may we pursue it with all our heart. Our Father and our God, we thank you for the calling that you give to each one of us, I pray that we would be eager and our heart would be fully in fulfilling that which you've given us to do. We pray in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen. All right, well listen, you have a good rest of your day and I do trust the Lord will bless you in it as you go about fulfilling your calling. God bless. you