THY KINGDOM COME (4)

“Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”(Luke 4:42-43 NKJV)

Pursuit of purpose is the essence of life. A purposeless life is a meaningless life. God has a purpose for everything He does. He puts each of us on earth for the purpose of establishing His kingdom. When people fail to recognise their purposes in life, they live carelessly and squander the opportunity God allowed them to make meaningful contributions as kingdom builders. The Father sent Jesus on earth for a clear purpose establishing His Kingdom. The ultimate goal of Jesus is to present to the Father a gift of the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:23).  While on earth, our Lord worked tirelessly to fulfil this purpose of God for His life. The people of His days on earth loved His ministry and different communities wanted Him to settle in their midst and continue to minister to them.  This would imply a measure of comfort for Him and minimize the hazards associated with too much travels on the difficult terrain of the primitive Israel.  However, our Lord rejected the offers because it went contrary to the purpose of God for sending Him to this world.

He restated the purpose of His life on earth saying, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” He was sent to preach the kingdom of God to the cities of Israel and that automatically precludes Him from settling permanently in any city. Mark recorded the nature of our Lord’s ministry saying, “He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching” (Mark 6:6 NKJV). His heart burned with the ardent desire of spreading the gospel of the kingdom to as many people as possible in as many towns and villages as He could. His zeal for spreading the word of God was such that pleasures of life could not douse.  His commitment to see the gospel of the kingdom dispersed to people in different places blazed like wild fire in harmattan.   He was totally sold out to the purpose of God for His life on earth –to raise for the Father a kingdom of priests on earth.  What a great example He is to us!

Upon His resurrection from death, He visited the disciples and made the following great declaration. “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:21-23 NKJV).  He bequeathed His purpose on earth to us. With that post resurrection declaration, His purpose for visiting the earth becomes the purpose of our life on earth. We are all here to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God irrespective of our profession or occupation. The Christian has no other assignment apart from this. Whatever else we are involved in is meant to serve as a vehicle of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God.

He blessed us with His Shalom –“Peace to you.” Shalom encompasses every blessing in heaven and on earth that will be necessary for the performance of our assigned duty.  It includes divine protection; supernatural provision and empowerment to enable us preach the gospel of the kingdom. Then He breathed on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  In this way, He imparted on them the very anointing that was on Him while on earth.  As the Father anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power, so He now anoints us to carry on the ministry of reconciliation –“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  God therefore expects us to live for the overarching purpose of spreading the good news of His kingdom in our different spheres of influence.  Are you doing this? Remember the promise of God, “Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever” (Daniel 12:3 NLT). God’s purpose for your life is to lead many to righteousness that is in Christ. Take up the mantel of Christ and go out preaching the gospel of the kingdom.  His present blessings are guaranteed and His eternal reward is certain. May God depend on you to invite some people into His kingdom this week.