God's Purpose And Destiny For Our Lives

We have spent the last two lessons talking about how God created us for a mission. A big piece of why we are alive on this earth is so that we can tell others what the Lord has done for us, and help them step into that same saving relationship with Jesus Christ that we have. Part of our destiny is to reach the lost for the Lord, to throw them a life-line that will give them eternal life in Christ. This is very important to the Lord, and He has given us a formula for this in Acts 1:8, "You shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to all the ends of the earth."

We already talked about Jerusalem (the place where we live and work and play). We also looked at the "Judeas and Samarias" in our life, learning how to reach out to those who are a little different than we are. But that is not enough, there is more that the Lord expects of us.

We must care about the whole world--the whole world. Mark 16:15 says, "Jesus told His followers, 'Go everywhere in the world and tell the Good News to everyone.'" Now, He wasn't talking just to pastors, He wasn't just talking to missionaries. Jesus is talking to all of us. And, you can do that--you can go to the whole world. I mean, what did they have to go with? They walked. Okay, maybe they had a donkey following them with their baggage--I don't know how it worked. But all I know is that today, we have all kinds of ways to travel. We have cars, we have buses, we have planes. There are all kinds of ways to get to a place to minister, and I believe that this commission is for us. We need to be the ones who go.

There are many opportunities to go. Have you ever considered saving up your money and go on a short term mission trip? It says in Mark 8:35, "If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for My sake, and for the sake of the Good News, will ever know what it really means to live". Those who give up their life--that's real living.

I guess the question I have to ask is this: Is anybody going to Heaven because of you? Is there anybody who you know, when you get to Heaven is going to say to you, "Thank you for taking the time to tell me about Jesus? Thank you for extending yourself, thank you for getting outside of your comfort zone. Thank you for telling me about the Good News of Jesus Christ." God wants all of those people in our lives.

Acts 13:36 says, "David served God's purposes in his own time". In other words, when David was alive, he fulfilled the purpose for which he was put on this earth for. It is a legacy that he has; he did what he came to do. I think that the question for us today is: Have you done what you came to do? Have you fulfilled the purposes for which God put you on this earth? Part of those purposes is telling other people about Jesus--none of us can escape that one.

Some of us may have an anointing and a call for it more than others, but the truth is we're all called to be witnesses. We are all called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. And when that call comes upon us, we have several ways that we react to that call. We can react like Moses did, he said, "Who me? You want to use me? You don't know who I am! Are You sure that You want to use me?" Or we could be like Jonah: "Not me! I don't want to go!" We could be like Habakkuk: "Why me? Why?" Or we can be like Isaiah who said, "Send me! Send me! I'm ready, send me." Who will you be like today?

Psalms 67:2 says, "Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind."

"Send us around the world". Is that your prayer today? You know, the most dangerous prayer you can pray today is this: "Lord, use me." That is dangerous because God will take you up on it, but it will be the most exciting life you'll have. "Lord, use me."

Can you say that to God? "God, use me? Lord, I want to be used by You. I want to fulfill the purposes for which You've created me. God, I want to be able to finish this life, knowing that I've done all that you've called me to do; that I've fulfilled my purposes."

Pray this, if you can:

Lord, give me Your eyes, let me see the people around me that I need to love in Your Name. Give me eyes to see people around me. Give me the courage to get out of my comfort zone and just share You with those in my Jerusalem. And then me share with those in my Judea and my Samaria.

Lord, I want to be used of you. I surrender my heart to You in Jesus' Name - and I say, "Lord, use me! Use me, use me!

God has made you for a Mission. Are you willing to say, "God, what do you want me to do?"

Wrap Up

We have spent the last 20 lessons looking at the areas of our destiny that overlap with each other. That is because God created all of us for certain things, and in order to fulfill our destiny, we have to do all of these things. There are certain things that God has created each of us for.

First, we were created for God's pleasure, so that He could love us. God wants us to respond to His love by loving Him back and by worshipping Him.

Second, we are created to fellowship and learn to love one another. God has created us to be a family in Him, and we are going to spend eternity together. That means we must learn to get along well with each other and learn to genuinely care about our spiritual family. We can't draw close to God and push away our brothers and sisters in the Lord, because God has called all of us to be one in Him.

Third, we are to become like Jesus. That was God's original creation plan and we were created in God's image. But sin has marred us, we have been twisted and contorted by sin, and now we must begin the process of being transformed to be like Him again. We have to grow and mature in the Lord, so that our carnal nature might be changed to be more like Him. We call that growth and transformation process "discipleship."

Forth, we were created for ministry, or serving God by serving others. God shaped us in a certain way in that we are to be able to do ministry. Jesus said that when we feed the hungry or clothe the naked, He receives it just as if we were doing it for Him personally. He wants us to take care of the needs of others because we love Him so much. He wants us to serve Him by serving others in the body of Christ--not out of a place of duty or obligation, but because we love Him and are grateful for what He has done for us.

Fifth, we are created to help expand God's kingdom, to bring the Good News of the gospel to the Lost. God wants us to step outside of our comfort zone, outside of our Church and build bridges to reach those who would not normally come to Church. He gave us a formula for that: start at home first, reaching those in your immediate life. (That is our Jerusalem). Then begin to reach out to those who are still in your sphere of influence, but who are a bit different than you. (That is our Judea and Samaria.) Finally we need to reach out and care about everyone else as well. One of our highest priorities should be bringing the Good News of salvation to the lost.

While you share these five common threads of destiny with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, you are also specially and uniquely created. You are not "just like" everyone else, God has made you special and distinct. He has customized you for the specific things that He created you to do, and you are "just right" for your assignment. There will be people in your life who will listen to you, but they won't listen to anyone one else. God has created you and put you there so that you can reach them. There are people who are going to need your help--specific things you can do that no one else can do. God created you to be just right to meet there needs.

Yes, you share a common destiny with others in the body of Christ--but your piece of it is special and it is unique to you. There are things that God has created you for, and if you don't do them, then they simply won't get done. They will be missed, because your individual contribution to God's plan is very important.

You are not an accident, and you are not "just another laborer" in some divine work force. You were carefully created for a specific destiny. That destiny will include all of the things that we have been talking about, but it will also be customized specifically for you. And you will find your greatest contentment and sense of fulfillment when you are actively fulfilling your destiny.

I would like to close with a passage from Psalm 139 that underscores how God has given you a destiny and created you especially for it. It is verses 13 to 16:

"For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them."