You’re on a mission – Wednesday, 13 September

You do not exist to simply take up space, make money and consume. That’s great news! You have a very sacred and eternally significant calling and mission. As we previously discussed, our primary purpose and calling are to have a friendship with God; everything else flows from this place of relationship with God.
 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
 

When you receive Jesus and become a Christian, you become a completely new person – the old is gone and the new has come! What many people don’t realize is that you do not merely become a new creation and continue with the same course of life. Becoming a Christian isn’t like joining another club where you add it to your lists of clubs that you’re a member of – no! Christianity is a whole new life. You get a new life and a new mission.

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NKJV (emphasis mine)
 

2 Corinthians chapter 5 is speaking to all believers, not just a select few. Verse 17 emphasizes that you have a new identity; you are now a new creation. The verses that follow reveal that because you have a new identity, you have a new calling and a new mission. You’ve been given the ministry and word of reconciliation; telling people the good news of God’s forgiveness, and helping people receive God’s love and grace. Your new mission is to be an ambassador of Christ – to represent Jesus. Your new mission is His mission.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them (disciple) to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:19-20 KJV (brackets mine)

“He said to them, “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News to everyone.”
Mark 16:15 ERV
 

These instructions of Jesus (known as the Great Commission) are for all believers, not just those in church leadership. We are all called to be a part of God’s salvation plan in spreading His Good News throughout the earth.

“But the Holy Spirit will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me–in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”
Acts 1:8 ERV
 

Many of us think that the Holy Spirit’s purpose is to make us feel good –  and He is called the Comforter, so it’s true – but He is much more than your feel-good-fix. He empowers you to be an effective witness of Jesus wherever you are and wherever you go. The Holy Spirit wants to work through you to touch people’s lives and minister into their situations. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help us on our mission to focus on helping others, but sadly the enemy has deceived many Christians into a self-centered approach regarding the Holy Spirit.

As a new creation, you have a new mission. Your main aim and goal in life isn’t to merely make money and spend it – you’re a part of something much more significant than that. You’re privileged to be a part of God’s global salvation plan.
 

“For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”
Romans 10:13-15 NKJV
 

We are not all called to stand at the pulpit and preach, but we are all called to be witnesses for Christ and help share His Good News with others. Firstly, you will reach people at your office or in your classroom that I will never be able to reach through the pulpit. We all have a part to play. Secondly, you may not go to a foreign country to preach the Gospel, but you can help send people to do so. It’s not accurate to say that this month my wife and I are going to Albania to preach and teach and minister. The reason it’s inaccurate is that many people are coming on the trip with us through their financial support towards this trip – they are sending us. Without them sending us we would not be able to go. We all have a part to play. Some are sent and some send. We are all called to be a part of reaching the whole world, but we are also all called to reach the world we’re in (your area of influence in your workplace, your family, your social circle).

 

Your calling and mission are not about a vocation (a job). But your job is important and a vital part of your mission as a believer. Your vocation carries your calling…