A God of Purpose Pt 3
Every church has an intended purpose for them to operate in that is according to His will. Many use Jeremiah 29:11 for encouraging individuals with the truth that God has great things for their lives, and that’s true— but this scripture is intended for the chosen ones of Israel. For our context this could be applied to the church more than to the individual. Jerimiah 29:11–14 reads,
I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
Those who are called into this purpose of God are those who in Christ and have been called. Second Timothy 1:9 tells us that it is Jesus who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. It was not because of our meritorious works that we are called but rather by God’s intended purpose and grace for the world.
We became God’s chosen and called through the means of the gospel. By having the gospel preached to “every creature,” the call is made available to all: He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15–16). God’s purpose for the church is to carry out this mission to everyone around the world. This is consistent with God’s desire that all men . . . be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). It is consistent with God’s offer of His Son as a ransom for all (1Timothy 2:6). And this is consistent with the Lord’s unwillingness that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
As the church, we recognize that our responsibility in accepting this call that we fulfill our part. This requires much diligence. Otherwise, we will be like the Israelites in the wilderness wandering around. The tragic part of that story is that all were called by God to enter the promised land of rest, but most were unable to enter because of unbelief, which led to lack of diligence!
Much like the churches that let chaos enter, a church that needs revitalization has allowed its purpose to be lost according to its call. We have personal responsibility to remain “preserved in Jesus Christ.” Jude uses the same word for preserved in Jude 21, meaning “keeping yourselves.” This indicates that we must cooperate with God. Peter indicated that we are kept by the power of God through faith (1 Peter 1:5). God provides the power to keep us safe, but we must provide the faith to walk in it with Him.
The church and its members who are in Christ are indeed richly blessed: We have been “called” by the gospel of Christ, to which call we responded when we obeyed the conditions of the gospel (faith, repentance, confession, and baptism). We have been “sanctified” or set apart for a holy purpose by God the Father as He works upon us through His Holy Spirit in conjunction with His holy Word. Based on our faith, we are “preserved” in Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Church leaders please know this: forces of Satan are very much at work. They seek to undermine our faith in Christ. They seek to harden our hearts and to develop an evil heart of unbelief. They seek to make us spiritually lazy and not to maintain the diligence necessary to keep ourselves in the love of God, walking with Him daily.
Churches needing revitalization have allowed some form of chaos and loss of purpose to creep in and diminish the effectiveness of the church body. In the following chapter we will look at the reasons of lost order and purpose in churches that are plateauing and declining.
The purpose of the church is to act as a beacon of hope and faith, providing an avenue for people to come together in fellowship around the love of Christ. As members of this body, it's our responsibility to ensure that we remain devoted and diligent in our walk with God so that we can live according to His holy calling. We must continually strive towards fulfilling the mission set forth by Jesus: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15–16). If we are faithful in upholding these principles, then no matter what challenges may arise or how chaotic life becomes, we will be able to stay focused on God's plan for us and persevere through any trial.
