Fulfilling God's Purpose For You Series

FULFILLING GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOU—Mark 1:29-45

***A man in Kanpur, India holds the Guinness World record for the longest ear hair. He had set the previous record of 5.2 inches, but 5 years later, he more than doubled his record with a length of 11 inches. One of his relatives praised his accomplishment, saying, “This is a great achievement. At first society used to taunt him…that he won’t receive any record for this….but then by gods grace Bajpai made a record and the same people today say that he really achieved something in his life.” (c. 2010 United Press International)**

I don’t know about you, but I think I am on this earth for something greater than making an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. What ARE we here for? How do we find our purpose in life, and how do we fulfill our purpose?

We might look for our purpose in our circumstances, our abilities, or the needs we see around us. We might also find purpose in fulfilling our dreams, our passions, or the expectations people place upon us. Yet today we ask…

WHAT IS GOD’S PURPOSE FOR US?

-GOD’S PURPOSE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS IS TO EMBODY THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

What is the kingdom of God? The short answer is that the kingdom of God is life under God’s rule as king.

There are hints of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament: When King David and his descendants ruled as God desired, the kingdom of Israel was, to a limited degree, as it was meant to be. Yet the kingdom of Israel never fulfilled God’s intentions, and the prophets envisioned a greater kingdom where everything would be made right. Isaiah 11:1-9 gives a vision of that kingdom: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse (David’s father); from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

When the line of OT kings was reduced to only a stump, Jesus was the shoot, the Branch—a descendant of Jesse and David—the ideal king. As the Messiah, he launched God’s kingdom of righteousness. In Mark 1:15, Jesus began his ministry by saying, “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Now Jesus is in Capernaum. It is a Sabbath, and Jesus and his disciples had gone into the synagogue. Jesus taught the congregation, and the people were amazed at the authority with which he spoke. There was a man in the synagogue with an impure spirit, and Jesus cast out the spirit. The people were even more amazed at his authority and power.

Read Mark 1:29-34.

Imagine how Peter’s wife is feeling, after hearing and seeing Jesus in the synagogue. Now Jesus is coming for dinner, and her mother, who was going to help serve the meal, is sick in bed with a fever.

Jesus goes to the mother, takes her hand, and helps her to her feet. The fever is gone, and she hurries to the kitchen to serve dinner. When she comes out of the kitchen, everyone is talking about what happened at the synagogue.

This is the best day ever! They hang out for the rest of the day, watching football. Well, maybe not—but imagine the warm, peaceful feeling, with the mother-in-law beaming, and Jesus bringing joy into the home. Jesus embodied the kingdom of God, just by being in the house.

At sundown the Sabbath is over, and people start coming to the door. They line up to see Jesus, hoping for miracles. There is a lady with cancer, a man with a bleeding ulcer, and several with intestinal parasites. There are several possessed by demons. (What are the symptoms? Are some crying out in rage, mutilating themselves, or out of touch with reality?) Every person gets Jesus’ full attention, hears his words of healing and peace, and is restored to health.