Living with Purpose

Ok, so you think you are about to leave the desert, what now? What are you going to do with your life – what is your purpose?

When Jesus emerged from his experience in the desert he went to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14). At Nazareth he entered the Synagogue and proclaimed that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to:

Preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18,19).

He understood his purpose, in these verse Jesus outlined the job description for his ministry on earth. He had received a commission from God and the equipping of the Holy Spirit and this was his purpose. In a similar way God has ordained a purpose for your life and mine. In fact Ephesians 2:10 tells us ‘we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them’. God has given you a Divine appointment and anointed you with the Holy Spirit so that you can carry out his plans, whatever they may be.

What is the purpose to which God has called you? We often assume ministry has to do with what we do at church – but it is much bigger than that. Your place of ministry or purpose, may be in the church, but it is also your workplace and your home. God calls you to serve him in the place he has appointed you. That may be as schoolteacher, banker, carpenter, shop assistant, housewife or even a pastor. This is the purpose for which you have been equipped and anointed with the Holy Spirit.

God’s ultimate purpose is that the gospel be presented to everyone everywhere. He intends that we fulfil that purpose in the place of his appointment. He wants you to walk each day in the power of His Spirit, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the places you serve. Our choice of vocation is not a matter of chance, nor should it be based on the financial returns it gives, the prestige it provides, the retirement plan on offer or opportunities for travel and advancement, but rather on how God may help us to use our talents and abilities to share the good news with those with which we come into contact.

The primary place of Christian service is not the church. It is the marketplace and neighbourhoods of which we are a part. It is as we live as ambassadors for Christ in these areas of life that we communicate the good news of Jesus Christ. If you ask him, the Holy Spirit will lead you to opportunities to share about your faith with your friends, neighbours and work colleagues.

As Jesus looks out at the world he sees people who need to be loved, to be encouraged, to be set free. He doesn’t just see these needy people in the pews of our churches but as the lives of men and women, doing business, teaching classes, tending families, playing sport and shopping in supermarkets. It is into this world he wants to send you in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Learn to see your job as the means by which you can fulfil the fundamental purpose of your life – allow the Holy Spirit to lead you and enable you in your daily tasks and in your relationships with those in your street, office or factory. God has prepared these good works for you – before the world was even begun and he has and will continue to enable you to complete them.