Thursday, November 8, 2012

Purpose Part 1

Call and Purpose
As we read the Bible we see that there are both the call to salvation and a call to following God's purpose There are many examples of God's call to his people. The disciples were called by Jesus when they were doing their work as fishermen. Jesus himself was called to the ministry and set apart from birth. Paul, in Acts 9 was called directly by God and was set apart for ministry when Ananias prayed with him. Timothy was called to work with Paul and to partner with him. 


Each of these people had very different roles to play in God's plan and purpose. There are many and varied ways that people are called but God calls each of us to his plan and his purpose.


What does this mean for us?

1. Called by God
We are called by God to salvation. God's call is to us to follow his plan and his purpose for our life.We have a call from God to salvation and to a life of following Jesus, in relationship with him. It is our choice as to whether or not we follow the call, and choose to believe. In Luke 5:1-5 Jesus calls the disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew. They gave up everything they had to answer the call of "Come follow me."


We understand this as their call to ministry. Jesus was very deliberate in his call. These men chose to act on the call and to follow Jesus. The rich young ruler of Matt 19:16-22 also received the call to follow Jesus.
This young man was called by Jesus to follow him, but because he did not understand that life is about relationship with Jesus, he turned away from the call. He was sad because he was rich and could not see past giving up his "good life" for a greater life of relationship with Christ. 

The call requires us to give up our old way of life and to embark on a new life of relationship with Christ.
In Corinth, Paul says that they were called by God. God's call is the call to salvation, the call to believe in Christ and to follow Jesus. It is the call to relationship with Christ.

What is our response to the call?

What is God asking us to give up, so they we fully answer the call to relationship with Christ.


2. Chosen
Matt 22:14
Many are called but few are chosen. 


What is the difference between being called and being chosen. Jesus said many are called, but few are chosen. Jesus put out the call to many to follow him, but not everyone did. But when we answer the call and believe, we move into the life of "Chosen in Christ".


1 Peter 2:9
We are a royal priesthood and a chosen people.
What does it mean to be chosen?


Simply, those who believe are those who are chosen. In fact the Bible has a lot to say about what it means to be chosen. It all stems from relationship with Christ Jesus. God has a plan and a purpose for each of us and we step into that plan as chosen people when we believe. We were chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless

Eph 1:4
Even before he made the world God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Eph 1:11-14
Further more, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance and makes everything work out according to His plan. God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit he promised long ago. The Spirit is God,s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so that we would praise and glorify him. 
When we believe, we become part of God's chosen people, and his blessings become active in our lives, we move from "called" to "chosen", from outside of his people to become his people. We move into all that God has planned for us.

Are you living as God's chosen, taking hold of all that he has for you?

3. Purpose
God's purpose for us is related to his desire for people to know him and live for him, in all that he has planned for them. His main purpose for us is to go and make disciples of the nations, to go and preach the gospel to all the world. (Matt 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15). This is actually the main reason for the Call we have and why we are to live as his chosen people. This is also where the second sense of "calling" becomes relevant because God has a plan and purpose for each of us.

John 15:16a
You didn't choose me, I chose you, I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last,

We are chosen by God, chosen to bear fruit for the kingdom, and chosen to glorify God. There is a twofold reason for our call. 1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a royal priesthood, a chosen people, that we are to show others the goodness of God and to declare the praises, of God who "called you out of darkness into his wonderful light". We are called to praise God and to glorify his name before others, living a life that honours Him. There is a purpose in this. We are called to honour God and to bear fruit for the kingdom. 

How do we do this? We declare God's goodness to the people we meet. This is built around relationship with people, with honouring God in how we live and in what we say and by showing God's love and kindness to people. Eph 1:11-14 says that our salvation, our new way of living, is to bring praise and glory to God. In Col 1:9-11 Paul prays that we would have a complete understanding of his will, of what he wants to do in our lives, so that the way we live will honour and please him and that we would continually do good kind things for others. It is about God's purpose for the world.

As we seek to honour God with our lives, as we start to do things for the purpose of God, the individual "calling" our particular part in that becomes clearer. As we gain an understanding of these things, in our relationship with God, we begin to get a sense that there is a more specific thing that God has in mind as his purpose. Paul was called to be an apostle to the gentiles. His initial work was within the Jewish world. He had been persecuting Christians, but once he heard God's call, once he became "chosen" he went about speaking to others. (Acts16)

Timothy was raised in a Christian home and in Acts 16:1-2 we see him respond to the purpose of God by joining the Apostle Paul. It was a beginning, but it took many years for it to become fully active. Timothy worked in partnership with Paul, towards the same purpose, the salvation of others, but they had different roles. Timothy was pastoral and was given the role to teach and to train others, but it was all so that there would be fruit for God's kingdom; people saved and living for God each day.


What purpose are we fulfilling in our lives, our own purpose or God's purpose?

If we want to know what our purpose is, then we need to get about sharing God's love and kindness with others. 

Who am I sharing God's love and kindness with? 

Who is on my heart? Who needs to hear about God's love?


How will I do that?


Conclusion
The call is to relationship. We can ask ourselves: 
What is my relationship with Christ like at the moment?
What needs to change?


We respond to the call by believing and by entering into a relationship with Christ, by following him.

The purpose is to show God's love and kindness to the world.
We can ask ourselves:
Who am I showing God's love and kindness to?

As we get about this, as we respond to the call, living as a chosen people, as we build relationship and seek to follow Christ, he will take us on deeper into his calling and purpose.