Living Out Your Purpose
There are many books written today about living a life of meaning and purpose. One of the best selling Christian books of all time is titled "The Purpose Driven Life." One of the most famous passages of scripture is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
The search for purpose is a good thing because it speaks to the reality that because there’s a God in heaven, our life has meaning and purpose. The existence of man is not the result of random chance related to the big bang theory. Human beings are not an accident. God created us with a purpose. The Westminister Shorter Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” And the biblical answer is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Solomon, who was known for his great wisdom wrote that God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In the heart of every human is a God-given awareness that there is something more than this transient world. And that awareness of eternity produces a desire that we can one day find a fulfillment not afforded by the vanity in this world. It’s important to clarify that although in every human heart there’s an awareness that there’s something more, not everyone seeks to find that purpose in God. Others who do turn to the God of the Bible, often seek Him not to know His purpose, but for help to fulfill their own worldly plans and purpose for a better life now.
With this in mind, let me give you five ways that Jesus works in our lives to reveal His purpose and prepares us to fulfill it.
The search for purpose is a good thing because it speaks to the reality that because there’s a God in heaven, our life has meaning and purpose. The existence of man is not the result of random chance related to the big bang theory. Human beings are not an accident. God created us with a purpose. The Westminister Shorter Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” And the biblical answer is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Solomon, who was known for his great wisdom wrote that God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In the heart of every human is a God-given awareness that there is something more than this transient world. And that awareness of eternity produces a desire that we can one day find a fulfillment not afforded by the vanity in this world. It’s important to clarify that although in every human heart there’s an awareness that there’s something more, not everyone seeks to find that purpose in God. Others who do turn to the God of the Bible, often seek Him not to know His purpose, but for help to fulfill their own worldly plans and purpose for a better life now.
With this in mind, let me give you five ways that Jesus works in our lives to reveal His purpose and prepares us to fulfill it.
Jesus Calls You
When, Jesus selected the 12 Apostles for their foundational work of launching the church and spreading the saving message of the gospel, Mark records: “And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.” (Mark 3:13-15)
Although the authority given to the Apostles was unique to the establishment of the Christian Church and the advancement of His kingdom, the principles found in how he chose them applies to all believers. First of all, Jesus calls you.As Jeff Stott explained, “You are going to hear a call in your heart toward Jesus. There is going to be this tug toward knowing Him, learning of Him, and wanting to be like Him. You are going to feel this pull away from the world and wanting something different that only Jesus can give.”
Before Jesus called the disciples to come to him, He spent all night on the mountain alone with God in prayer (Luke 6:12-13). Living out God’s purpose requires that, like Jesus, we pray about everything, especially before making major decisions. Know that God wants to lead you in the decisions you make in life and He does so first and foremost in answer to prayer.
Right after Jeremiah prophesied about the plans God had ordained for His people, he wrote: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13). When you sense the tug of God upon your heart, respond to it. Seek Him with all your heart. When you respond to the light that He gives you, He will give you more light. When you begin to sense God calling you, surrender. Tell the Lord, “where you lead me, I will follow.” Like the disciples of Jesus, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
"When God calls you to something, He is not always calling you to succeed, He's calling you to obey. The success of the calling is up to Him, the obedience is up to you." -David Wilkerson
Jesus Appoints You
After the disciples responded to His initial call to come to Him, we read. “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles)…”
You have a divine assignment, a ministry that God wants you to fulfill with grace-filled efforts and excellence. The more you grow in Christ, the more you will sense the needs of this world, especially the enteral needs of people who Jesus came to redeem and restore.
“Recognition of need must be followed by earnest, persistent waiting upon God until the overwhelming sense of world need becomes a specific burden in my soul for one particular piece of work which God would have me do.” -Alan Redpath
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians wrote, “And say to Archippus, "See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17). Like Archippus, when you seek and surrender to the Lord, Jesus will reveal His specific short term and long term assignments that He has appointed you to fulfill. Every believer has a divine assignment from the Lord, and you will not be fulfilled in life unless you are fulfilling His plan for you.
You have a divine assignment, a ministry that God wants you to fulfill with grace-filled efforts and excellence. The more you grow in Christ, the more you will sense the needs of this world, especially the enteral needs of people who Jesus came to redeem and restore.
“Recognition of need must be followed by earnest, persistent waiting upon God until the overwhelming sense of world need becomes a specific burden in my soul for one particular piece of work which God would have me do.” -Alan Redpath
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians wrote, “And say to Archippus, "See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17). Like Archippus, when you seek and surrender to the Lord, Jesus will reveal His specific short term and long term assignments that He has appointed you to fulfill. Every believer has a divine assignment from the Lord, and you will not be fulfilled in life unless you are fulfilling His plan for you.
Jesus Transforms You
Notice that Mark records that Jesus appointed the disciples “…so that they might be with him…” It’s vital that we grasp wholeheartedly that if you’ve come to saving faith in Jesus, your first calling and assignment is to be with Him, to know Him, hear from Him, learn from Him, and be close to Him so that you might be like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).
To become like Jesus, we must be with Jesus. Pastor Vance Pittman testified: “I use to think that I was called to ministry. But then I discovered that my first calling is to intimacy. Ministry is the outflow of intimacy.”
How’s your prayer life? Are you seeking His face or just seeking His hand? What does it mean to seek His face? To seek His face means to cultivate intimacy with Christ which leads to the accomplishment of His purpose (John 15:1-8). So when you pray, get in the habit of focusing first on God’s attributes revealed in His word. When you see His worth, you will see your need and pray with faith and fervency. Seek His face first and then seek His hand.
Someone once said, “Our problem with following Jesus is we are trying to be a better version of us rather than a more accurate reflection of Him." Start your day praying with an open bible about the things that God is revealing to you about Himself and His will for your life. The scriptures exhort us to pray in the Spirit. And we pray in the Spirit when our prayers are shaped by the word of God who inspired the scriptures.
Prayer is more than one-way communication. God is ready to listen to us, but He’s more inclined to listen to us when we are listening to Him. (1 Peter 3:12)
To become like Jesus, we must be with Jesus. Pastor Vance Pittman testified: “I use to think that I was called to ministry. But then I discovered that my first calling is to intimacy. Ministry is the outflow of intimacy.”
How’s your prayer life? Are you seeking His face or just seeking His hand? What does it mean to seek His face? To seek His face means to cultivate intimacy with Christ which leads to the accomplishment of His purpose (John 15:1-8). So when you pray, get in the habit of focusing first on God’s attributes revealed in His word. When you see His worth, you will see your need and pray with faith and fervency. Seek His face first and then seek His hand.
Someone once said, “Our problem with following Jesus is we are trying to be a better version of us rather than a more accurate reflection of Him." Start your day praying with an open bible about the things that God is revealing to you about Himself and His will for your life. The scriptures exhort us to pray in the Spirit. And we pray in the Spirit when our prayers are shaped by the word of God who inspired the scriptures.
Prayer is more than one-way communication. God is ready to listen to us, but He’s more inclined to listen to us when we are listening to Him. (1 Peter 3:12)
Jesus Sends You
In addition to appointing His disciples to be with Him, Mark adds,“…and he might send them out to preach.”
Although the Apostles were sent out by Jesus in a unique way, all believers have been sent. We’ve all been sent to represent Jesus in our circles of influence and wherever God has planted us. Everywhere you go and every place where you have been planted, you are there to show and tell; to show people Jesus with your life and to tell them about Jesus with your lips (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Although the Apostles were sent out by Jesus in a unique way, all believers have been sent. We’ve all been sent to represent Jesus in our circles of influence and wherever God has planted us. Everywhere you go and every place where you have been planted, you are there to show and tell; to show people Jesus with your life and to tell them about Jesus with your lips (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Jesus Imparts Authority and Power
Notice that Jesus didn’t just call, appoint, and send His disciples, Mark writes also, “and have authority to cast out demons.”
When writing about his calling and assignment, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:28-29).
Where God guides, He will provide. He doesn’t send us to do His work alone. When we step out in faith, He goes with us (Matthew 28:18-20).
“Following Jesus is not about being a better you because you have to die to yourself. It’s about being more like Him. He must increase and you must decrease. Part of that decreasing includes Jesus calling you, appointing you, training you, sending you, and empowering you. As that happens in your life Jesus will increase and you will decrease.” -Jeff Stott
May we find God’s purpose in close communion with Jesus, and live it out in the power of the Spirit to the glory of His name.
When writing about his calling and assignment, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:28-29).
Where God guides, He will provide. He doesn’t send us to do His work alone. When we step out in faith, He goes with us (Matthew 28:18-20).
“Following Jesus is not about being a better you because you have to die to yourself. It’s about being more like Him. He must increase and you must decrease. Part of that decreasing includes Jesus calling you, appointing you, training you, sending you, and empowering you. As that happens in your life Jesus will increase and you will decrease.” -Jeff Stott
May we find God’s purpose in close communion with Jesus, and live it out in the power of the Spirit to the glory of His name.