Forged for Influence Tempered for Purpose

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09 15 2026

We're glad you're here. We're glad you're here. Fellowship is sweeter, knowing you're near.

It's so good to see you. We hope that it's clear. Everyone loves you.

We're glad you're here. Reading from Romans 8, verse 28, a favorite of many. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

That was Romans chapter 8, verse 28. O magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. It's Tuesday, September 15th, 2026.

Welcome to Mark & Friends. Today we begin a special two-day message from the Pinnacle Forum National Conference, where high-impact leaders who follow Jesus are encouraged and equipped to influence culture for him. Today's message by Kelvin Cochran asks some important questions.

What did God create me to be? What has he called me to do? And does God have a plan for my life? The answer is yes. So let's listen and consider how God has forged each of us for influence and tempered us for his purpose. Here's Kelvin Cochran.

I'm reminded of a statement that I believe it was Peter made when he was on the mountain, when Jesus was transfigured and standing with Elijah and Moses, he said, it is good for us to be here. And I believe that's appropriate to start off with this morning. It is good for us to be here.

I am honored to share from the topic on the second pillar, tempered for purpose. But I love our theme, forged for influence. And so I wanted to combine the two in my topic, forged for influence, tempered for purpose.

And of the objectives in conference pillar number two, my presentation will hit on three of those objectives. The one that says beginning with who we are in Christ, not what we do. The one that says living with eternal intentionality.

Then the one that says greater clarity and vision regarding our God given purpose. So some introductory thoughts on forged for influence in the context of tempered for purpose. I wanted to go back from the very, very beginning.

And in the beginning, as we all know, God created Adam and Eve, and he forged them for influence from the very beginning. And according to Genesis chapter one, verse 28, the first thing he did was he blessed them. In that context, brothers and sisters, it meant he empowered them to prosper.

And then he commissioned them after he empowered them to prosper. And these are the things he commissioned them to do. He commissioned them to be fruitful.

In that context, it was to work with their hands and bring forth fruit because they were gardeners. They were husbandmen. And then he commissioned them to multiply because he wanted them to procreate, to bring forth godly children.

He commissioned them to replenish, to fill back up anything that became empty. He commissioned them and blessed them to subdue, to go out and get anything that they needed that they didn't already have because they owned everything. And then he commissioned them with dominion.

And dominion is one of those words that certainly represents influence from the very outset. God forged Adam and Eve to have influence over the culture of the entire earth that he had created. Noah was then commissioned to be blessed, fruitful, multiply, replenish, and have dominion after the flood.

Sometime after the flood, Abram was also chosen by God and given a plan for forging influence by leaving his father's house and starting his own family. And that family would ultimately become a great nation who had a responsibility for forging influence. And God gave him a covenant standard, a covenant promise in Genesis chapter 12, verse three, when he told Abraham, I will make you a great nation.

I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. Verse three says, I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you.

And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish, to subdue and have dominion. He passed the blessing of forging influence on Abraham. Jacob's family, with all of his dysfunctions, and they had lots of dysfunctions, would ultimately grow to have 12 sons and their households would turn to clans and the clans would form tribes.

And the tribes will be forged to become the nation that God predestined to influence the culture of the world. While in Egypt, the nation grew to over two million people departing from the promised land, overwhelming Moses with family and civic complaints. To bring chaos and to order into their dysfunction, Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, recommended to Moses to choose men renowned in their congregation to provide leadership over tens and fifties and hundreds and thousands of households, to further God's cause, to forge influence in the new nation.

And he blessed them to be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue and to have dominion. It was passed on. So fast forward in the body of Christ.

The family is to be the most visible outward facing representation of the church. Churches are then to be comprised of households of godly families to forge influence by carrying on the charge that God gave Adam and Eve. He blessed them to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish, to subdue and to have dominion.

So it is that families were established to populate our churches, our communities, our counties. Unless you're in Louisiana, it's parishes. To populate our countries and to populate the careers of all institutions so that thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, would be accomplished from the beginning through the end by families who were blessed to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish, to subdue and to have dominion, to forge influence, to transform the culture for the glory of God.

Pinnacle Forum partners have been forged for influence, to do our part in thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we have been tempered for purpose. And that's a good place for me to pray.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to be here in Phoenix with my Pinnacle Forum brothers and sisters. I pray that you would use me in this moment to speak the words that you have given me to speak.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be a pleasing in your sight and an encouragement to my brothers and sisters in Christ's name. Amen. So to begin the tempered for purpose component, Romans 8, 28 through 29, the New King James Version, very familiar passage of scripture.

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose, for whom He foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn of many brethren. I love the translations that break it out that says that he might be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. Three of the most common questions in the quest for a meaningful life that forges influence and that transforms culture is what did God create me to do? What did God create me to be? And does God have a plan for my life? It is impossible to have a vision for a cultural impact without clarity around those three questions.

And however, in Romans chapter 8, 28 through 29, there are cues and clues found in this passage to answer those three questions. What God created us to do, brothers and sisters, is a calling. What God created us to be, sisters and brothers, is a purpose.

And fulfilling God's predestined plan for our life is referred to as destiny. In many instances, purpose is used as a synonym for destiny and a synonym for calling. God made us on purpose, for a purpose and with a purpose.

And so it is when you look at the synonyms, destiny and purpose, and purpose and calling, and purpose means God's intent. But really, in this context, for us to be tempered, we have to look at them in their distinct context. For a purpose is related to calling.

On purpose is related to intentionality. And with a purpose is related to our destiny. Collectively, purpose, calling, and destiny, when we see them in Scripture in plural, purposes includes our purpose, our calling, and our destiny.

Whenever we see the word purpose pluralized. The biblical definition of purpose is the fine intention, plan, or objective that God has established for creation, humanity, and individuals focusing on His sovereignty. It involves fulfilling God's calling to love Him, to serve others, and to conform to His image.

All three of those words, purpose, calling, and destiny, is conveyed in that definition. The Britannica Dictionary defines purpose. Listen to this.

Number one, as a reason why something exists. Number two, the feeling of being determined to do something. And number three, a way that is planned or a deliberate way.

All three of those definitions reflect purpose. Destiny is God's way that is planned a deliberate way. It is human goings.

Purpose is God's reason why we exist, human beings. And calling is God-given feeling of being determined to do something, human doings. I've got some scriptures to back me up on these definitions.

Proverbs 20 and 24, listen to this. Man's goings are of the Lord. How can a man understand his own way? Talking about destiny.

Genesis 127 says, so God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God, He created them. Male and female, He created them.

Why we exist, what was God's intention, that is human beings. Jeremiah 32, 19, you are great in counsel and mighty in work. Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings, the work of his or her hands.

Destiny, what God created us to fulfill, human goings. Purpose, what God created us to be, human beings. And calling, what God created us to do, human doings.

To be forged for influence, our goings, beings, and doings are revealed in Scripture and through the Holy Spirit, conforming and transforming us through the discipleship in our churches and our forms, through teaching, reproofs, corrections, training in righteousness, and sharing life experiences so that as sons and daughters of God, we are thoroughly equipped to fulfill our purpose, our calling, and our destiny. I've got a scriptural case in point to back me up. In the book of Acts, chapter 13, verse 36, the Good News translation says, for David served the purposes, plural, of God in his own time, and then he died.

What the Scripture is saying, David fulfilled his purpose, what God created him to be. David fulfilled his calling, what God created him to do. And David fulfilled the plan that God for his life, and then he died.

You know what, brothers and sisters? I think we are all living so that our eulogy would be Acts 13 and 36. Can you imagine it? And Conor fulfilled all the purposes of God in his life, then he died. And Fred fulfilled all the purposes of God in his life, then he died.

And Bruce fulfilled all the purposes of God in his life, then he died. And Kelvin fulfilled all the purposes of God in his life, then he died. That's what we are striving for.

One commentary explained it this way, the Ecclesiastes 311 Scripture that says, God has placed eternity in the human heart. The reason why human beings have this innate longing, what did God create me to do? What did God create me to be? Does he have a plan for my life? It's because God has placed eternity in the human heart. A commentary I was researching on that Scripture says, the awareness of eternity points to a spiritual dimension that transcends earthly existence, indicating a divine purpose and destiny.

Those words, the eternal's perspective recognizes that God has placed a sense of eternity in our hearts, prompting us to look beyond the temporal and seek eternal purposes, plural, that everyone has been placed in their heart by God. Destiny is what God created us to fulfill. Purpose is what God created us to be.

Calling is what God created us to do. And to be what God created us to be and to do what God created us to do and to fulfill his plan, partners, we must be tempered. So to transition into the life application of tempered for purpose, I want to share you some definitions that I found on tempered to really add to what was shared in that beautiful prayer on last night.

Tempered is qualified, I love this, by the mixture or influence of an additional ingredient. I'm having to keep my composure right here because it immediately comes to mind is that the Holy Spirit and the word of God in us is a mixture or influence of an additional ingredient that helps us to fulfill what God created us to be, to do what God created us to do, and to complete the plan that God has for us in our lives. And then it gives another definition, conforming to adjustment by temperament.

I immediately think about the doctrine of regeneration and the doctrine of sanctification when I think about conforming to adjustment and temperament. It is what we experience when we immerse ourselves in the word of God and feel with the Holy Spirit and an ongoing interaction with other believers who are striving to fulfill their purpose, their calling, and their destiny. So for greater clarity, which was one of the objectives in this pillar, I want to walk us through three life applications of what it means to be tempered for destiny.

It will affirm that your cultural impact plans are on track, or it will inform you of some adjustments that you need to make. So the first point is to be tempered for purpose, to fulfill our destiny, we must be forged for influence and be faithful to the plan that God has for our destiny. Again, Romans 8, 28-29 explains that God planned our calling and our destiny before the foundation of the world and used the word predestined.

Predestined means that God planned every day of our lives from beginning to end. In fact, David says in the book of Psalms 139, verse 16, all the days of our lives were written in God's book before one of them came to be. Imagine that, there's a book in heaven that God has written all the days of all of our lives in that book before one of them came to be.

I love Acts 17 and verse 26, the New King James Version says, and he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling places. Predestination is all throughout the scripture, that God in this context has predetermined the days that we would be born, where we would be born, how long we're going to live there before we move to another location, and then when he's going to call us home to be with the Lord. But I've recently been able to look at that from another perspective that I think will encourage us as Pentecostal partners and disciples.

The part that says he has established the allotted periods and the boundaries of our dwelling places, not only just applies to our birth date and the day he intends to call us home to be with him, but every assignment we have in between our birth date and the date he calls us home to be with him has a start date and an end date. And God is the one who determines the day you get hired and the day you resign to take on another assignment. He determines the day you get hired and the day you get fired before he puts you into another assignment.

He determines the allotted periods and the boundaries of our dwelling places. Some of the plans that God has on our lives has caused us to relocate from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Atlanta, Georgia, from Atlanta, Georgia, to Washington, D.C., and from Washington, D.C., back to Atlanta, Georgia, and from Atlanta, Georgia, now to Northern Virginia. God wasn't making those relocation plans up as things go along.

He determined the boundaries of our dwelling places, brothers and sisters, before the foundation of the world. All of our goings. So it is that all of our goings are leading to God's destiny.

Our achievements and benchmarks along the way is not destiny. I love Joseph's story. When Joseph was at home tending to the grains, they were harvesting sheaves.

Harvesting sheaves was not his destiny. God sent him on an errand to go check on his brothers. When he arrived at that location, that was not his destiny.

His brothers decided they wanted to sell him off because they despised the dream that God had given him, and he arrived at Potiphar's house. That was a going to Potiphar's house. Potiphar's house was not his destiny.

Even though he was so successful, Potiphar says, I got to put this boy over everything that I own. And then he was unjustly incarcerated. But the jailhouse was not his destiny.

And then he was in the jailhouse still using the gifts and calling that God had on his life, ultimately became in Pharaoh's house. But Pharaoh's house was just another going along the path to God's plan. It was not his destiny.

But because he shared his gifts in Pharaoh's house, Pharaoh made him the prime minister of Egypt. So he went from harvesting wheat, being sold into slavery, being unjustly incarcerated, and now in Pharaoh's house, and now the prime minister of Egypt. While he was there, he got married, he had two boys, and he rescued his family from a famine.

Joseph is a good example of he was created to be in his family relationships, what he was created to do, ultimately becoming the prime minister, and his destiny was to save Israel and Egypt from a famine. Joseph fulfilled all the purposes of God in his life. Then he died.

So our benchmarks along the way are not our destiny. We fulfill our destiny when we fulfill God's complete plan. All things work together for good to them that love God.

Even the bad things work together for good to them that love God. I tell you, I got to share this concluding Scripture with you, because it's the icing on the cake for destiny, and it should be the decree of every partner in Pinnacle Forum, Job 23, 10 through 14. We should say this from our hearts.

I would challenge you to recite it at least once a week. It says, but he knows where I am going, talking about God, and when he tests me, I will come out as pure gold. For I have stayed on God's path, I have followed his ways and not turned aside.

I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food. But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does. So he will do to me whatever he has planned.

He controls my destiny. God controls our destiny. Tomorrow, Wednesday, we'll discover how God can use our everyday work as a divine assignment.

You've been hearing a message delivered by Kelvin Cochran from the Pinnacle Forum National Conference April of this year, and perhaps the question to carry with you today, listening friend, is what has God created you to be? What has he called you to do? And are you faithfully following his plan for your life? Today we heard our achievements and even our present assignments aren't necessarily our destination. Like Joseph, God may use every stop along the way as part of something much larger. And we're not finished.

Tomorrow, during Mark & Friends, we'll continue this message and discover how our jobs and careers can become divine assignments and why fulfilling God's purpose begins much closer to home than we may think. You can learn more about Pinnacle Forum at PinnacleForum.com. That's PinnacleForum.com. If you missed a part of today's broadcast, listen again under the Mark & Friends tab at GreatNewsRadio.org or WLUJ.org. There you'll also find the program's transcript, talking points, scriptures that have been referenced, keys and tips to follow Jesus, and a special prayer for you today. Find these under the Mark & Friends tab.

Thanks for listening. Thanks for being a part of our radio listening family. This is Mark Burns with the Ministry of Great News Media.

God bless you and have a great day and night.