Enemies Of Purpose by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Worth of a Soul

In the spirit realm, your soul is currency. Jesus said: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? What can a man give in exchange?"

Think about what money is — a medium of exchange, a platform through which value can be transferred for something else. In those terms, your soul is the most valuable currency you carry.

Consider what it means that the devil offered all the glories of the world just for Jesus to bow. That alone should make you think carefully about any gain that comes at the expense of your soul.

Two Ways to Sell Your Soul

There is the direct bargain — where the devil comes and makes an explicit exchange. This happens more often than most people realise.

But there is a second, more subtle way. The devil does not always have to ask directly for your soul. If he can get you to bow to something that is not God, you have sold your soul.

Anytime you make choices to the detriment of the health and vitality of your soul, you are selling it. This is what Jesus meant in the fuller context: it is not only about bowing to Satan directly — it is about misplaced priorities that will inadvertently cause you to lose your soul.

There is a way you will get money and never be the same again. There are places you will go for healing and never be the same again. The devil waits for desperation. When you are desperate enough, his offer becomes attractive. That is when phone calls you would never have considered before begin to seem reasonable.

The Prosperity of the Soul as the Measuring Rod

In 3 John 2, the text says: "Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers."

This is not primarily a thesis on prosperity. What it is saying is that the prosperity of your soul has become the measuring rod for what other prosperity is legal in your life. Some people can handle billions and be okay. Others will be destroyed by the same resource. The difference is the health of your soul.

Good things can suffocate you. The soul's health is what determines how much blessing you can safely carry.

Definition of Purpose

Purpose is that one thing for which you were created, and at which you must succeed — otherwise nothing else you succeed at will count.

You can have many things bright and beautiful in your life and still not be in the centre of God's purpose for your life. Your career cannot be your purpose. A great doctor can also be a terrible father. A great doctor can die and go to hell. The one thing — that is what matters.

When you stand before the Lord, the questions he will ask will not be about your net worth or your position. They will be about the one thing.

Enemies of Purpose: The Daniel Test

The first way your purpose conviction will be tested is through your career — and the principle is to refuse, like Daniel, to defile yourself with the king's meat.

It does not matter how much they are paying you. Anything that job requires that can soil your conscience — refuse it. In fact, let them know ahead of time. Whether you say it verbally or not, let it be known: you will not do it.

At least once in your life, you will likely experience this:

• Someone will ask you to add an extra zero to a document
• Someone will pressure you to join a cult or secret society to climb
• You will be told that to advance in that industry, you have to "do things"

Propose it in your heart now. Rehearse it now. If you compromise, you have been cheated — you have lost.

Nothing could be found against Daniel. That is the testimony that should follow you.

If they say you cannot pray in the office — pray. Let me tell you something: especially in this part of the world, when someone pays you well, they can begin to believe they own your soul. The attacks begin subtly — casual remarks about your devotion, indirect pressure, a culture that normalises what you should refuse.

The Esther and Nehemiah Test

The second way your purpose conviction is tested is the opposite challenge: not just refusing to defile yourself, but using your position to add your voice even when it is unpopular.

Esther was in the palace. She could have stayed quiet and saved her own life. But Mordecai said: "If you keep silent at this time, deliverance will come from another place — but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

There is a way you can start pulling back from your responsibility. When you begin moving away from what God placed you there to do, you have already started the process of God looking for your replacement.

What if God put you in that position for such a time as this? Add your voice.

Christians are sometimes the only group that separates faith from career, as though the two exist in completely different worlds. Be respectful — but be vocal about who you are and what you stand for.

Standing with Jesus Always Wins

Sometimes you may go five years, seven years, ten years seemingly suffering the consequences of your refusal to compromise. But it is still true: if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, these things will be added.

I have been young and now I am older — I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

When you have a robust spirit, anything good can happen. You do not know the magnetic function of a healthy spirit — how the promotion you have been seeking can begin to seek you.

Keep Yourself from Idols

The final word of 1 John is this: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

It might be a job. It might be another human being. It might be a status. Anything that is demanding worship — keep yourself from it.

Cast down imaginations. Cast down every high thing exalted against the knowledge of God.

Jesus, I put you first. You are number one in my heart. You said to seek first the kingdom, and I seek you first. The very job you gave me will not take your place. I will not make a golden calf of the prosperity you gave me and say, "This is what brought me out." I put you first.

Train me. Teach me what I need to know so that I can walk the talk. My son, if sinners entice you — do not consent.

Fame will never be our God. Money will never be our God. We will not bow. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.