Jesus Courageously Completed His Mission Series

Jesus Courageously Completed His Mission

TEXT: Various Texts

Sunday, March 24, 2002

We have been taking a fresh look at Jesus and seeing what makes him so attractive to people and what draws people to him to this very day. So far, we have talked about Jesus’ spiritual connection, that Jesus was a person without prejudice, that he loved people and drew out what was best in them, and that although he was God he did not use his authority and position over people but instead served them with humility. He spoke God’s word in a language and a way that allowed people to relate to it. My hope last week was to model the preaching of the gospel in a way that you could relate to and experience.

Another quality about Jesus that impresses us is what we see as he enters Jerusalem knowing that he would give his life for us and knowing that this would involve a lot of pain and suffering. Jesus courageously completed his assigned mission when he entered the city that day. It took great courage, great focus, and a great sense of purpose. I wonder if we have such focus and determined perseverance in our own lives.

Do you know your purpose in life? Do you know why you are here? Do you know what God wants to do in your life? Jesus did. Knowing it, he fulfilled God’s purpose. There is something attractive about people who have tremendous focus and purpose in their lives.

I think this is one of the reasons we like March Madness. We see teams who have tremendous focus, and we know that the team that desires it most will achieve the purpose that they have in their minds and hearts.

We are drawn to people like William Wallace portrayed in the movie “Braveheart.” He was a Scottish revolutionary who freed Scotland from the oppression of England. We are amazed by the graphic nature of the film, but we are also amazed by what one person with vision and purpose can do. A person like Mother Theresa inspires awe because of what she accomplished.

Do you have a good sense of God’s vision, God’s focus, and God’s purpose in your life, or are you like Forrest Gump? All through the movie, Forrest Gump asked one question, “Mama, what’s my purpose?” As people, I think we have a need to live beyond the here and now. Our lives are more than being born, routine living and dying. We want to find some meaning, some focus, some purpose, something greater than ourselves. Do you know what that is, or are you confused?

Many of us are confused because we are not sure what God’s will is for our lives. I hope to help you discern God’s will and purpose for your life. When people talk about this, they mean one of two things: There’s God’s general purpose for all our lives, and then there is his specific purpose. I can tell you right off that God’s general purpose for all our lives is The Great Commission and The Great Commandment. The Great Commission is stated in Matthew 28:20: To make disciples. The Great Commandment is stated in John 15:12: To love another.

If you want an easy way to remember this, just remember Show and Tell. Everyone has played show and tell in school. You are proud of something so you take it to school and show it and you tell about it. That’s what we are to do as disciples. We love our Lord, he is something we are proud of, we show his love to others, and we tell others about him and what he means in our lives.

This morning, I’d like to focus on God’s specific purpose for our lives. This is where we get hung up because we don’t know exactly what God wants to do in our lives. There are four passages that will help you to discern God’s specific call on your life, and I’d like to look at those and pose some questions to you.

The first passage for discerning God’s specific will for your life is in Isaiah 6: 8. This is the calling of Isaiah, and it happens in church. He has been in church all his life, and all of a sudden God shows up at this one worship service. God announces that he has a need, and he asks, “Who will go for me? Whom shall I send?” Isaiah probably looked around, hoping someone else would raise their hand. Finding that no one did, he said, “I’ll go. Here am I, Lord. Send me.” In that passage, I think we see that God presents specific opportunities in which he says there is something that needs to be done, and who will go? Are you responding to his call?