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Our purpose is to fulfill Jesus’ mission in our unique sphere of influence and in this unique time in history. The Bible tells us that Jesus’ mission as the Messiah, Savior and then Lord of the world was fourfold:
1. To Explain God:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known” (John 1:14-18).
Jesus came to explain exactly what God was like. He did this by how He lived, what He said and what He did.
2. To Bring the Kingdom:
“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor”” (Luke 4:14-19).
In this Messianic passage, Jesus is saying, “I am the Messiah and I’m bringing God’s Kingdom to planet earth.” Unlike our world system, which defines those who are disregarded, poor, and downtrodden as worthless, in God’s Kingdom, they are valuable. Jesus came to show us what God’s Kingdom looks like and even modeled the characteristics of a Kingdom person as one who is humble, loving, and merciful.
3. To Make Disciples:
“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them” (Matthew 4:18-21)
Jesus came to teach others about God and then He commanded His disciples to do likewise. Jesus came and died for us willingly so that we could have intimate, free, voluntary fellowship with the Creator or God of the Universe. This gives us the right to become followers, co-laborers and citizens of God’s Kingdom.
It means that our responsibility is to explain God to wicked and perverse generation. Jesus met the needs in people and then He taught them about God. He also loved them and gave them opportunities to do that same. It also means that it’s our mission to bring God’s Kingdom to our homes, our workplaces, or our businesses. Whatever our sphere of influence might be, we all have the responsibility to be the salt and light in this dark world. For some of us, this means bringing God’s kingdom to the entertainment industry, or to our government, or to the marginalized. No matter who you are, or what you do for a living, your mission as a follower of Christ is this: To vividly explain God to your family, friends and co-workers. It means that each one of us is also called to go and “make disciples.” Jesus’ command is for each one of us: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age"" (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV). Each of us should be thinking of ourselves as walking billboards for Christ, whether we like it or not, everything in our life shows people what God is like (of course, imperfectly).
Finally, it means that, like Christ, we are called to daily surrender our lives. Our relationship with Jesus will require our sacrifice and humility. What many believers fail to understand is that being a Christian isn’t about being a good, moral person. It’s about denying our own agenda and selfish interests so that we can follow God’s agenda. Although this is sometimes painful, it also produces great joy. We are living in a time in history where we as the Church, the body of Christ will either take a step to be genuine followers at greater costs than ever before and make a tremendous difference, or we’ll be passive and watch this world continue to change and evil and corruption grow.Our high calling must always be understood within the context of the purpose of God’s kingdom. God wants His kingdom to go global. He doesn’t want it to be kept to a certain group of people or His current followers. He wants everyone in the world to know about Him and follow Him. Our job is to be His steward. We are called to advance God’s kingdom in this earth with the resources God has given us. The best way we can do that is by faithfully committing to the place in the body of Christ where it has pleased God to place us. It is there we will find the God-ordained launching pad for our lives and the high calling He has designed for each one of us.