Walking In God’s Purpose
Hi guys, it’s been way too long but I’m back with another one!
I literally just got back from my church’s annual Bible Conference which was so powerful. The theme of the conference this year came from Romans 1:16 - “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”.
All of the sermons that we heard were based around this theme of being unashamed of the gospel. Every sermon was so uniquely powerful. One of the things I love about my church is that you’re able to hear so many different styles of preaching from so many different pastors around the fellowship that are all so sound. And what I find even more powerful is that these Pastors and their wives that we see when going to these conferences are simply men and women that have said yes to Jesus, and have allowed Him to use them to be unashamed of the gospel.
Even when I think of my own spiritual parents, my Pastor and his wife, seeing the impact of their yes blows my mind every time. Like sometimes I just sit and deep the fact that without my Pastor and Pastor’s wife’s yes - who knows if me and my family would have come to know Christ, be freed from our pain and be used to see others saved! Their sacrifice and yes to Christ is the reason why we have a church here in Birmingham full of broken people that have been made whole through Christ. That fact amazes me, and links into today’s topic of walking in God’s purpose.
A few days before going to conference me and my mom were having a conversation about the reality of the times that we are living in, the fact that Bible prophecy is literally unravelling before our eyes and that we are on the brink of the rapture. And in our conversation my mom was challenging me on what the focus of my life is, and that really got me thinking and caused me to ask myself some questions… What is it that Jesus would use me for? If Jesus was to take His church now, what would I have to offer Him? What story would my life tell?
The Bible says that we are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10) - and so if God has created me for good works that He has planned for me in advance - what are they? So before going to conference I began to pray that God would help me to know what it is that He wants me to do with my life, what are the good works that He has planned for me specifically to do? Because even though i’ve been saved for around 6 years now and have grown up in church if I’m being totally honest I don’t think I’ve ever really deeped God’s specific call for my life - or maybe I have but i’ve always just thought that I’d somehow gradually just step into it at some point in the future.
And so going to conference, hearing the sermons and seeing pastors and their wives really convicted and stirred me. It’s like Jesus has reminded me of the point and focus of my life found in Mark 16:15 which says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” I think a-lot of the times when i’ve heard this scripture my mind automatically goes to getting married and then getting sent out. But it’s like this week God has really been challenging me on how I can put this scripture into practice now.
Everywhere I go my life must tell of the gospel of Christ. Whether I’m at home, at church, at uni, at work - my life must tell of Jesus. Because when all is said and done - I don’t want to meet my Saviour empty handed. I don’t want to meet Him as someone that has just attended church, functioned in ministry but didn’t actually fulfil the personal call that He had for me. I want to meet Him knowing that I gave Him my yes so that He could use me to see broken hurting souls saved.
And this has to be the umbrella under which everything else in my life falls. If going into all the world and preaching the gospel is the point of my life then everything I have and do must fall under this and have that at the heart of it. My friendships, the way I carry myself, the way I speak, the way I treat people, the way I spend my time, my future marriage, the way I raise my children - everything - because if not that then it’s in vain.
Before closing, touching on marriage a little bit - this whole revelation has even changed my whole perspective on marriage. Growing up, marriage has always been a dream, as I’m sure it is for most girls raised in church. But God has really just been showing me that marriage is a propellor to further God’s will. It’s not just there to be all up in our feels - not that all the cutesy stuff doesn’t have a part to play - I’m pretty sure it does. But it’s like God has been showing me that aside from two people having personal relationships with Him, it’s also CRUCIAL that there is a like mindedness in having a vision to see souls saved. And it makes sense, because if that isn’t the focus, then what else is actually going to hold it together?! And if I want that to be the focus of my marriage - then it also must be my focus now.
So, as we know it’s God’s will that ALL of us go into the world and preach the gospel, but God also has a unique call for us all individually. So I encourage you to ask God what His call for your life is specifically? Because after genuinely asking Him for myself, He has given me such a clearer vision of what I should be doing with my life. And this is also helping me know how I should be redeeming my time daily, it reminds me that going to uni and work isn’t just for me to get a degree and get money - its also so that I can be used to bring those around me in those environments to Him.
I really hope that this blog has blessed you. I’ve linked all the sermons from the Bible Conference below so that you can listen to them - they were all so good. Until next time guys, byyeee :)
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” - Matthew 24:14
LINKS
Conference Sermons - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZVKZyWG2I_tcWiWrEIKC7XMcrfDu_kzi&si=9NPEEj-jv3bgBBam