The Three Encounters Jesus Experienced as He Began to Fulfill the Father’s Purpose.
- The best way to settle the question of Purpose is to look at the scriptures and the example Jesus gave us.
- We need to distinguish between our spiritual purpose and our natural purpose.
- Our natural purpose is to be a son/daughter, father/mother, a family leader, and a provider to our families.
- Spiritually speaking, we are to worship the Lord, have fellowship with Him, and be “about our Father’s business!”
In my last post, I started to talk about purpose, and now it is time to see how to find your purpose in Jesus Christ. Show More
The Process of Finding Your Purpose.
One of the challenges of finding your purpose in Jesus Christ is realizing that it takes time. The Lord is not limited to our timetable, 2 Peter 3:8, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Finding your purpose is a process, and there are steps in the process that are common to everyone called to be a disciple of Christ.
Speaking of disciples of Christ, we need to recognize a difference between a disciple and a follower of Christ. A follower is a person who is not mature in their relationship with Jesus.
- Often Followers are attracted by the earthly benefits of being a Christian and are satisfied to accept a very shallow relationship with the Lord.
- Followers are more attracted to what they can gain instead of what they can give.
- They accept Jesus as Savior but have not learned that He must be Lord of their lives as well.
Let me be clear when I used the term mature, I am not speaking about how long they’ve been a Christian, but I am talking about how deep and far they have traveled in their journey with the Lord! A carnal Christian is an immature Christian. Look at what the Apostle Paul says about baby Christians in 1 Corinthians 3: 1, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”
All Christians start as followers; the Lord’s intent is that all followers become disciples. In the Great Commission, Jesus’ charge is to “Go and make disciples.” Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” So, Jesus is looking for something deeper or more profound than followers.
A disciple is a soldier of Christ.
A disciple differs from a follower in that a disciple is committed to the cause of Christ, and is willing to pay any price to follow Jesus. The Apostle Paul likens a disciple to a soldier when he writes to his young disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: 1, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”
- When I was much younger, I was in the military, and I understand the concept of the “Chain of Command” or being under authority and “obeying the orders I am given.” Those are the keys of a good soldier, understanding what it means to be under authority (Matthew 8:9), and how to follow orders.
When you look at the disciple of Jesus in the New Covenant Testament, you see that they gave up everything to be a disciple. Jesus started with twelve, then 70, then 120 and revolutionized the world. Today the largest religion is Christianity. Most of the world’s population would define themselves as Christian, that would be 31% of the total world’s population.
Jesus as our example.
Once you have made a distinction between followers and disciples, you can then take a closer look at purpose. Remember, I said that finding your purpose was a process. So, how do we begin this process? I think the best example of this process is to look at the life of Jesus and see how He came to understand and embrace His purpose!
Jesus’ Early Years
We have a glimpse of Jesus growing up in Luke 2. (read the account in Luke 2:41-52). Recall that the family of Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Passover. The family returned to Nazareth after the Feast, and on the way home, they discovered that Jesus was not with them. They were probably traveling in a caravan of pilgrims, and it was common that family members might drift apart. After some time, they discovered that Jesus was not in the caravan and became concerned. They started a search for the young boy and found Him teaching in the Temple. The Temple leaders and scholars were amazed at the 12-year-old boy’s understanding of the scriptures.
What does this first glimpse of Jesus as a boy show us? This look into Jesus’ life reveals that Jesus must have studied the scriptures. This is our first step in the process of finding our purpose. We need to be diligent in the scriptures. Not simply a “head knowledge” or intellectual understanding, but a personal spiritual revelation of the logos and rhema of the scriptures.
Timing in Fulfilling Our Process.
We know of nothing else about Jesus until He turns 30 years old. We know that Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses which means that He choose to follow the Law. In Judaism, at that time, a person could not be a priest until age 30. We know of His birth, according to the Gospels, and we have a picture of Jesus when He was 12, then nothing until Jesus turns 30. This tells us that there is a timing in God’s Kingdom that only the Lord can control. The Lord is never early, never late, but always on time.
The Humanity of Jesus.
Jesus’ call to the ministry at age 30 shows that He was ready to take on the discipleship role with His Father in Heaven. This would be a good point to recall that Jesus was fully human, that while Jesus was all God, He was also all man. I speak from a Trinitarian point of belief. There is only one God, but in three persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this is a mystery that we accept by faith!
- Philippians 2: 5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
- Hebrews 2:18 For in that He (Jesus) Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
- Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest (Jesus) who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Question; if Jesus was fully human how did he perform supernatural signs, wonders and miracles which confirmed the Kingdom of God?
- Jesus received the Holy Spirit at His baptism.
- Jesus received the authority and Power of the Holy Spirit in the wilderness experience.
- Jesus received His Mission Statement which made clear His purpose. All of this following the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus in His humanity needed the authority and power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill His mission. How can we expect to do anything less.
More in our next Post.