For This Purpose – Good Friday

Reading: John 18; Psalm 78 36 Then Jesus answered, “I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” 37 Pilate replied, “You are a king then?” “You say that I am a king, and you are right,” Jesus said. “I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” (John 18:36-37 NLT) A few years ago Rick Warren wrote a book called “The Purpose-Driven Life.” The book was a runaway best-seller and had a profound impact on a huge number of churches and people. The thing that drew me to commitment to Christ in my 20’s was that in serving Jesus and his church, I found a purpose worth living for.

Jesus went to the cross because he had a purpose worth both living for and dying for. His purpose fulfilled created purpose for his followers, for millions upon millions of people since, and for me!

If we live selfishly, then it can be pleasure, or greed, or recognition, or fame, or security—it can be such a variety of things that drive us. But if we live for Jesus the Christ, it will ultimately be the same purpose he followed that keeps us going until we’re done—until we’ve fulfilled our destiny and served our God-given purpose. How’s your purpose, friends? Is your purpose clear and burning bright, or is it blurry and hazy and smoldering, like a lamp running out of oil?

Jesus kept his purpose clear through personal prayer.
• Sometimes it was clarifying prayer, like the night he prayed before choosing the Twelve.
• Sometimes it was communing prayer, like his John 17 prayer.
• Sometimes it was strengthening prayer, like his prayer in Gethsemane. Prayer: Father, My prayer for my friends and me is that your purpose will burn clear and bright in each of our hearts. May your purpose move us through every obstacle and trial until we can say, as our Master said, It Is Finished! Amen.

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