Over the last few days, I’ve been sharing with you that we are a church that is on purpose across the aisle, across the street and around the world. The statement is true, but the church isn’t a building. It isn’t Southern Illinois Worship Center, it’s you and it’s me. We are the church! If the church is going to be a place that is on purpose, then we must be on purpose. In order for that to happen, we must first know our own purpose.
If you don’t know who you are or what you were born to do, you will always live in limbo, frustrated, and even depressed. In the back of your mind, there will always be questions of what if? The I could’ve, I should’ve or I would’ve, are the statements of people that don’t know,or won’t go, after the purpose of and for their life.
Mark Twain stated, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why.” While Mr. Twain was speaking in the natural, the same is true in the spiritual. The two greatest days in your life is the day you are born into the Kingdom, and the day you discover your purpose in the Kingdom!
When Pilate asked Jesus, If He was a king…
John 18:37 (ESV)
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world.
Now literally everywhere Jesus went and spoke about His purpose, people struggled to see that Jesus was the one! He was the one to change the very nature of mankind.They struggled to see that Jesus was the Messiah. His purpose boggled the mind of those who were around them. Could it be they couldn’t see the forest for the trees?
There was one moment when Jesus was speaking that he laid out some serious truths! Just in this little stretch of ministry, Jesus lays out the parable of the sower, the parable of the wheat and the tares, the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the leaven, the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl of great price, and the parable of the dragnet.
After He speaks all that truth, He leaves that place and comes back into His own country, his hometown.He taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished and asked, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?”
Jesus is walking out His purpose, but they cannot overcome their view of the person to see the purpose.
Here comes the doubt, the familiarity, the disbelief. Mark wrote about this same incident and stated that Jesus could not do any mighty works for their disbelief.
Here is Jesus, from their own hometown! He was born to be the change they had prayed for, but because of familiarity they missed out on the benefits of His purpose.
I wonder how many people have been praying for an answer, a change, or a blessing, but when it comes we turn it away because of the package, the vessel, or the person that God used!
Just maybe you have rejected the answer or the purpose because it included you.
You have become so dissatisfied, disgusted, or disenfranchised with yourself that you reject the notion that you can be the change others and yourself have been praying for.
Many will forfeit the real destiny over their lives because they reject that they are the one. Not only do we forfeit our purpose because of self-rejection, but others will reject us as well. So, we stop doing or we never start our purpose because of what others, mainly those who are close to us, say or what we perceive they will say.
Our example is Jesus! He knew His purpose, He fulfilled His purpose, and He handled those who rejected Him. Not all people are like Jesus when it comes handling rejection. He fulfilled His purpose regardless of their rejection. Look at the powerful response that Jesus gave to those that were in His hometown and rejected Him. He stated that a prophet is not without honor except in His own country. (Matthew 13:57)
We should keep in mind that we are human and when we reject or criticize, or make fun of people because they are launching out into their purpose, the impact of that rejection can often be too much to overcome. And what happens is people with purpose then sit on the sidelines and never fulfill what they were born to do.
Can you imagine if the rejection that Jesus suffered in His hometown had derailed His purpose? This happens more often than we care to admit when people are trying to find their purpose. They either reject themselves or others reject them, and then the church is robbed of the benefits of their purpose. The world is robbed of their purpose. Can you imagine what the world would be like if you found your purpose and then fulfilled it? But maybe you’re the one asking, how do I find my purpose? We tackle that question next!
You have a purpose to reach out to people like me, that are searching for a better life. Somehow what you say or write really speaks to me. Thank you!