Directive # 19
May 19, 2014
SCRIPTURE
John 18:37 Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
OTHER SCRIPTURES
John 4:34-38 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
John 5:30, 37 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.
John 17:14 “Father I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do”
John 20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
INTERPRETATION
Jesus lived with divine purpose. He told Pilate as he faced the cross “for this reason I came into the world.” His purpose guided him, kept him on track when faced with distractions and temptations and ultimately gave him a great sense of fulfillment – from the cross he shouted, “it is finished!” So clear was his sense of mission that he prayed, “Father I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:14). Our purpose is his purpose. He said, “as the Father has sent me I am sending you” (John 20:21).
PRAYER POINTS
- That we would glorify God by daily pursuing His purpose and not our own.
- That we would stay focused on His work and not get distracted or remain discouraged.
- That we would allow God’s presence to energize us for His work.
- That we would find fulfillment in doing His will even though society does not applaud it.
- That we would walk in the truth and obey the initial promptings of the Holy Spirit.
- That we would always rejoice in the fact that we have been “sent.”
- That we would be glad as we work together to reap the harvest.