 We're so glad that you're tuned in to Hope Today. We need the God of Hope like never before in our nation. I'm here with Tom and Angel. We're going to talk about the tragedy that happened in Nashville, Tennessee in just a moment. But before we get to that, Angel, we just want to share with our viewers today what is coming up on our show. Yes, we have a very hope-filled show for you today. A lot of us, all of us, really are seeking an understanding of our purpose and God's plans for our lives. Has this idea seemed too big to grasp or the journey towards purpose elusive at best? Today, we will dive deeper with authors Lejean and Valora Cole to help you discover your divine assignment. You don't want to miss this. I'm excited to talk to them about purpose and how we discover this because it's so important. I mean, it's what all of us are looking for in life, where we're seeking God continually. Lord, show me what I'm called to. What am I supposed to do in this world? How can I provide hope? Yeah, I mean, we're all meant to have that, to have that ability to provide hope. And of course, our nation is grieving and we are grieving today for what happened yesterday in Nashville, the shooting that took place at the Covenant School and again, a Christian school that was really doing everything right, and guys in terms of having things locked down and secure, but still the evil was able to take place. And we just want to lift up those families and just begin to see healing and help for them. I mean, what do you say? And how many times, how many times have we prayed about this? You know, one thing that I was just, I feel like I'll be completely transparent. I feel like a lot of us are very numb. We are processing. It's just, it's so senseless. And I was listening to reports yesterday. It is, I believe, the 129th mass shooting so far this year in our country. And I feel like we are at a pearl point in our nation where I just think a lot of us are just like, we have got to do something. I mean, three young children lost their lives. Three staff members lost their lives. It's just unfathomable to think about. And I think we're just all at a place where we really at a turning point in America, like no more, no more at Covenant Christian School, like our heart goes out to all the families that are grieving. I mean, Angela, I know you have young girls. Like, I can't imagine being a parent with children in school and having to talk about these things. No, it is, it's senseless. And as a parent, you feel hopeless. You feel scared. You feel nervous to send your child to school. But what I can tell you is that there is truly hope in Jesus. And this for me as a mother, this is where I say, man, my mama friends, my father friends, we have got to be on the front lines praying and covering our children. It doesn't mean bad things won't happen, but it will keep our focus on the eternal things. So right now we're just going to take a moment and pray for the families and for the victims who are suffering through this and for our entire nation that is really in a truly new and different type of pandemic. So let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for who you are. We ask that you who are the comforter, Holy Spirit, that you would comfort these families and these fellows and these faculty members, God, that you would surround them with your peace, cover them with your goodness, and shed your love abroad in them. Lord, we pray that you would awaken this nation and this globe to who you are. That those who are dead in you, God, those who want nothing of you, that they would be shaken to their core, their eyes open, God, and their spirit drawn by yours. We ask, Holy Spirit, that you would pour out your glory in a new way, that you would flood these earths with your goodness, that you would consume people with your righteousness, God. Change a nation and change a world back to you, God. Let those who are already walking in the way let them be on their knees seeking your face that are land be healed and the people raised with Christ Jesus. Bless, keep, and mend in this hour, God. Do what only you can do in the depths of who they are. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. It's so tough because it does cause us to, as Sidney said, we're frustrated. We're trusting God. We know that in the world we'll have tribulation, but this is not in the heart of God that these things would happen. And so what do we do? We need to continue to seek God for healing, but also for action in the right places. Amen. Right now, we're going to take a quick break, but join us so that we can figure out what it is that your divine purpose looks like in this hour to bring new hope to a world in desperate need. Just six months earlier, Laura was flipping through TV stations when she came across Cornerstone Television. She felt compelled to call. One of our prayer partners talked, listened, and prayed with her for 45 minutes. At the end, Laura said how much the ministry had helped relieve her fear. Praise God for how he's using CTVN. When you give, you become part of what he's doing. This month, when you give, we'll send wild expectants as our way of saying thank you. This book will inspire you to live your life as God intended. To give and request your copy, visit us online at ctvn.org slash donate or call us at 888-665-4483. Hope happens here. God has purpose for every single one of us, but finding it through the muck and the mire of life can be difficult. Today, Lejean and Valora Cole, authors of Divine Disfatch, are going to share some practical tools, beautiful insight, and godly strategy to help you discover your divine calling. We are so glad both of you have joined us today here with Sydney and I. We can't wait to dive into this. Well, it's such a pleasure to be here and just so honored to be a part of what God is doing in the earth and thank you for having us. Oh, thank you. Well, now we know that you guys are pastors. So tell us a little bit about where you pastor and what that looks like. We pastor a church called Contagious Church in Tampa, Florida. And I always have to explain what the word contagious means. So contagious is a combination of two Greek words, which is meta and doticos. And it means to, meta means to change and doticos means to freely give. And so our passion and our mission, our mandate is to freely give the love, faith and worship of Jesus Christ and make it contagious. Yeah. Well, it doesn't get any better than that. I love it. So let's hop straight in. Tell our viewers, tell Sydney and I, how do we begin this process of discovering our purpose? You know, one of the things that we always say is that you discover your purpose by either what you love or where you hate. That's what you kind of, that's how you develop passion. So you find things that you, that you love or you find things that you hate. Like, like for me, I hated poverty. I grew up in a, in a very, very poverty, a stricken environment. And so I discovered that I did not like it and I had a passion to help people change it. And so I think that that's how you can begin to develop your, your purpose and kind of find it because you, all of us are going to find something that we love or that we genuinely hate. And because of that, that's how you develop it. Yeah. I love that following passion or hate. I mean, both of those are strong emotions and those are good indicators of where we should be and what we should be changing, right? Don't be, as my, as my dad used to say, don't complain about, be about it. You know, your book, I love your book. I mean, it is such a powerful, powerful book. And as every believer, they need to understand these principles that you share. Tell us a little bit about what you mean by divine dispatch. The title of your book, what does that mean? Elora? Well, it means, you know, understanding who you are and why God created you. God sent you. He divinely dispatched you, all of us, into the earth. And some people are like myself. I did not know really who I was. I went through a lot of different things, verbal abuse, being bullied in school, different things that I went through. And so I didn't know who I was. I didn't think I could do really anything for God that he wouldn't want me because of all the rejection that I encountered. But then God would have different people to really speak into my life and say there's a great call of God on your life and you're going to do great things for him. You're going to be a mouthpiece. And so I could not even imagine that because I was so shy. I didn't want to talk in front of people. I never wanted to hold a microphone. But as I began to seek God, I found that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. That was created in his likeness, in his image, that he had a plan for my life. And so I was like, wow, this is amazing. Okay, I want to learn more. So I just really began to seek God, began to seek my assignment. I went into nursing because I wanted to help people that was such a passion for me because I didn't like to see people sick. So I wanted to be a part of the solution. But in that process, growing up in church, I began to discover different things. Sometimes I would teach. Sometimes I would be a part of the youth ministry as a youth pastor. And so for me, that became my understanding. So my eyes began to open up as to the great call of God in my life. And God placed leaders, pastors in my life that could help cultivate that. And so for me, my husband and I were passionate about helping others discover why they were born. I mean, what a great calling and so needed. I know Sydney and I, we walked our own journey just like you all, you know, trying to figure out what it is that we're called to. Why did God make us how he made us? You share a little bit about understanding like your message and the mandate in these four areas. Could you speak to us about what that looks like? What are those four things and what that looks like? And how do we begin to know? You said somebody spoke to you, oh, you're going to be a mouthpiece. What are some of those things that we can look to that say, hey, that's it. Go in that direction. You know, I think that many times there've been those clues that God has given us. Like she said, somebody speaks to you or you find that this is your passion. Like you find a thing that you're passionate about. Like you, like when you go to sleep, you think about it. When you wake up, you think about it. Like all day long, you're thinking about it. And then what happens is along the way, people begin to identify that, hey, you're really good at that or you're really passionate about this or it seems like this is something that's like a continual theme in your life. And so that's, you know, again, one of the ways that you begin to develop that, you begin to see it, you begin to do it. Then you begin to do it. Like for me, I love discipleship. I love helping other people. It's not always, it's always just about the big, you know, the platforms or preaching or things like that. But it's more about the discipleship, helping people to develop and discover what they're called to do so that they can find life. They can find hope. They can find joy in doing the thing that they're called to do. Yeah. Can we talk for a moment, because you said something you highlighted, the hidden things that God reveals and sometimes it's prophetically through dreams. Can you dive into that, the other clues that God gives us to point us to our destiny and our direction? You know, for me, I was very, very afraid. I dealt with so much fear. So for most of my life, fear ruled my life. And so with that, it silenced me. It paralyzed me. And so, but as God began to really deal with me, I'm going to tell you what happened that really, really caused me to give God a true yes. I had a dream that I was in this beautiful place outside. The beautiful grass was so green. And so I saw these little white animals and I went to play with them. And so someone said, no, they're not puppies. They're lambs and you know, sheep and you have to feed them. And so that kind of started a journey that particular day. God sent three people to me at different times. One at like nine o'clock that morning, 11 o'clock and then three o'clock in the afternoon saying, you've got to do what God called you to do. There are people that are waiting for you. They're waiting to hear your voice. They're waiting to be set free. They're waiting to find out who they are and you've got to walk in your purpose and do what God called you to do. And so I was at that place. I was like, okay, God, whatever you want me to do, I'm going to give you my yes. I'll say yes, yes. And so that began such an amazing journey of total surrender because I was always comfortable in the background. People will ask me to speak and I'm like, oh no, I can't do that. Of course. No, no, no, I can't do that, but I'll help you. I'll support you. So I'm a great supporter. You can put me in the back row in the overflow room and I'm good, right? But God was calling me to a different level. He was calling me. He had given me a mission and that was to go and that was to teach. That was to inspire. That was to encourage others. That was to help them to discover their gift. That we, and my husband and I, we helped develop that gift so that that gift can be deployed because we've all been sent by God, been divinely dispatched to do something like no one else can. Right, like no one else can. We both are teachers and we preach the gospel, but he has a way of doing it that I can't and vice versa. And so we have to understand who we are, what our assignment is and own it. So good. I love in the book you talk about how important, not only just to like fulfill it because others are on the other side of it, but for the sake of your own life. And you use the analogy of David and say if David had been where the kings were at the front lines of war like he should have been, he would have never seen the nakedness of Bathsheba. And I thought that was such a powerful, powerful illustration. Are there other spaces besides just following that mandate, besides just not being where you're called to be, that you feel like a believer today, one who you call a sent one, should know that they can operate in? You know, I think that believers, I think that no matter what or how somebody is born or I don't think that, I think that no matter who you are, you're called by God and you're sent by God. So that means if you're a businessman, you may not necessarily operate in the church, but no matter who you are, or you guys are sent to do television and you guys are amazing at it and there are people all over the world that would never know God and would never know him like they know him without you guys. So I think everybody, no matter who you are, if you're in business, if you're in politics, wherever you're at, God is using you as an instrument to see his glory be fulfilled in the earth. Can you just take a moment and look in the camera and just speak to that person because I feel like there's somebody who's watching right now that it's like I've been hearing this word about purpose, I'm seeking it, but I just don't know. Or begin, just take a moment to minister and speak to the heart of the person that is watching. You can look in the camera. Well, I just want to pray over you today for those of you that say, you know what? I really don't know what I've been called to do or you're at a place in your life. You're at a crossroad in your life where you've been doing something and it's been great, but you say, God, there's a next level. What is my next level? So I declare even now, Father in the name of Jesus, I thank you for your son, for your daughter. I think that you're opening the eyes of their understanding that they will know what is the hope of your calling in their life and what the exceeding greatness of your love is towards them. God, make it clear, make it plain. I thank you for the grace that you've bestowed upon them, God. Even in ministry, in the marketplace, whatever that looks like, I thank you, God, that they will not walk in fear, but they will walk in faith. They will trust you and they will give you their all. They will surrender all to you, God, in their mind, their will, their emotions, so that you can do what only you can do so you can use them, God, to heal, to bless, to deliver others, to bless others, to show them the way. And so, God, we give you praise and honor and we thank you that you've heard us and you've answered us because we receive when we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Lejeune, is there anything that you would like to add to that? You know, I just want everybody to know that you were not just born. You were born with purpose. You were born with destiny. There is something specific that only you can do. I don't care if you have an identical twin. There is something about you that's different from them and there's a way that you can articulate the message and the mandate that's on your life like nobody else can. So I want you to really wake up. I really want you to know that God has a purpose for you, that you were not just born, but you have a purpose and you have an assignment and God is waiting on you to wake up and do it and to arise and be all that you were called to be. Just as you were just speaking, I just really felt in my spirit that there's like a breaker anointing that's upon both of you to just break off the shackles and what's holding people back from walking in the fullness of their destiny because we know the enemy comes to kill, still destroy, but with Christ we have life and life more abundantly. So can you just speak to that person who may be shackled, who may be bound by certain things, by certain lies in the season and in this moment so that they can be released to the fullness of all that they've been called to be? Amen, Father, we just thank you that you are the deliverer. You are our healer. And so for you that are watching today and you say, I just feel so broken. I don't think I can do anything for God. And I declare over you, I break and I destroy everything that is tried to keep you bound. I break the spirit of fear off of your life. I break the spirit of intimidation off of your life, the spirit of condemnation. You are everything that God says that you are. You will do everything that God says that you will do and you will have everything that God says that you will have. I declare over you that today is the day of new beginnings. Old things are passed away and behold, all things are becoming new. You have a new walk. Come on. You're going to look at yourself differently because you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. And so this is your time. This is your season. This is your moment to arise, to go forth and to conquer and to recover all. Amen. Y'all are fired. Thank you so much. Thank you for what you're doing with your community and your church. Thank you for this beautiful book that has helped me, like even just the language that you give of recognizing and knowing your message, your mission, your mandate and your mantle. Like those four things, the way that you break them down are so powerful and that they're different. It's helping to direct my life. So I really thank you for your ministry, truly. Thank you for having us. Thank you for coming. We'll be right back after this short break for a time of ministry and some scripture. Tom, what you doing? Oh, I can't find anything good on YouTube to watch. The commentaries, the blogs, the tier videos, the gaming videos, it's all boring. Oh, have you thought about subscribing to Cornerstone's YouTube channel? Cornerstone has a YouTube channel? Of course it does. Hold on. Taking a pause to remind you to subscribe to our channel. Hit that like button and ring that bell for notifications. Now back to the video. I'll show you how to subscribe. Just search for Cornerstone Television Network and hit the subscribe button so you can stay up to date getting filled with the Holy Spirit with consistent uploads every day. Keep up with your favorite moments and never miss a beat. Will you help us as we race to 100,000 subscribers? We can't do it without your help. The content is never ending with countless hours of entertainment. So subscribe to the Cornerstone YouTube channel today. Hope happens here. Well, I hope you will go to the YouTube channel. There's wonderful content. There are lots of it. You'll enjoy it. And you'll enjoy this scripture as well. It comes out of Ephesians and guys, it goes right along with what we've been talking about here today about our purpose. Listen to this from Ephesians 3, 16 and 17. I pray that from his glorious unlimited resources, he will empower you with inner strength through his spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down deep into God's love and keep you strong. What I love about this guys is the depth of roots. Because look, we've all seen it where we can get ahead of ourselves and get our gifts can make room for us. And that's biblical. But the depth of knowing Christ in that scripture, it talks about you will know him. And I pray that you do know him. I pray that you know him as Savior and Lord. I pray that you know him as the one who leads and guides you. But as you grow in him, just like a tree, you know, they say that when you look at a tree and you see all that foliage up that there's roots exactly that deep down. Because before we can grow and grow well, we need deep roots in Christ revealing ourselves to ourselves and revealing him to us in his fullness. I just I love this scripture and I love this whole topic, Sid. You know the one thing that is just really that Holy Spirit just highlighting to me and it's so interesting. I know it's no coincidence. I was, I've just been in a season just asking God to like make his heart his like making his home in me. And I love this as in Christ will make his home in your heart as you trust him. What would it look like in our lives if Christ was really at home with us? I really truly believe if we just like to take that in for a moment of that him being in your heart as your home as you trust him. I think we miss that so much because a lot of us we have broken homes. We have broken families. We don't know what home looks like. So if the whole idea for Christ being at home with us is kind of foreign, but I truly believe in this season that's what he wants to do with us. This is the awakening. This is the whole point of we seeing moves of God happening in our nation and in our earth and around our world is because he wants it's always been about that Christ being right here the hope of glory in my heart. He's a manual God with us. He's walking in the midst of it. And I truly believe Angela that if we, when we gain this revelation and we understand that he is at home with us that he is with us in every moment of the day and he wants to commune and he wants to fellowship with us then things would start shifting in our world that things would start breaking in our world that we would see the darkness begin to flee. Do we really understand and do we really understand and recognize the power that's within and making home because wherever he's at home with us and we go out whether it's the grocery store whether it's a school whether it's our church wherever it may be we're carrying Christ with us. Yes and he's unlimited. That's what the scripture says in his unlimited resources. So you may see lack around you or even feel lack within you but he is abundance itself. So when your eye is fixed on him when you know that that Christ who is in you has unlimited resources he can do anything from that confidence you can know okay God you've got me in this that you're going to hold me in the midst of the storm you're going to speak peace to my soul that it truly is well that my roots may grow deep in the love of Christ Jesus. I love this scripture because it's so full of faith like it bolsters me it gets me fired up Tom. It's funny because Angela and I were just talking before the program about how we grew up and our different personalities and how how God takes and he reveals things to us you know we talk a lot I'll use a different analogy here from the roots one is we talk a lot about opening the door of our heart you know to let Christ in but when he goes in he doesn't stand at the threshold he goes in he goes in and he looks around and he begins to make changes just as if you were moving in there he's the Lord master and you might fear that and you say oh I don't know if I if I want him going in that room but you know what when we begin to open up those different rooms of our life those different areas of our life that he might fulfill what he wants in us you know sometimes he's got to pull the old wallpaper down off off the place and if you've ever pulled down wallpaper it's not fun and it's not it's not fun in our spiritual life either sometimes but he's got to pull away the layers that the world has put on us and begin to put his stamp his approval his purpose in our life when we let him do that because it is a let it is part of us to let him do that that's our part when he goes in then he empowers us and then we're a fit place for him to dwell and to minister out of yes just as you were speaking Tom the one thing that was just in my heart and in my spirit is maybe today you have to do something new and just say over yourself God renovate me what are some places that you need to do demolition what are some places that you need to remove what are some old outdated things that are within me will you allow him to do that in your heart today because he truly wants to make his home in that special place he loves you will you open up the doors will you let him go into those hard cracks those hard places and allow him bit by bit just to start working and doing a deep work on the inside because can I tell you friend when he starts to renovate when he starts doing demolition when he starts pulling out the things and removing thisbestis or whatever things are in there it's truly beautiful the things that he can do and as you allow him to go deep within as you allow him to renovate as you allow him to renew your mind then you will begin to easily walk out your purpose and your calling and your destiny and that's what it's all about and we are so grateful that you joined us on hope today and we pray and hope that this is encouraged and uplifted your spirit and that you know that God has a plan and a purpose for you to be a shining light in this world because you know what the world needs you on today On tomorrow's hope today dive into a deeper understanding of the Enneagram and how it impacts your life Author and certified Enneagram coach Elizabeth Bennett takes you on a journey of discovery that examines how your personality type affects all aspects of your life That's tomorrow on hope today Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible