YOUR UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
Walt Whitman.
What verse will you contribute?
What is your unique contribution?
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13-14
You are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. You were knit together in your mother’s womb.
“all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:16
You were created for a specific purpose.
How do you discover the purpose for which God created you.
John the apostle in the Bible discovered his God-given purpose. He went from being a fisherman to being a fisher of men, and one of the apostles Jesus chose to change the world. You can learn from his life what he did to discover his purpose, and learn how to discover yours.
How did he did he discover his purpose?
He was looking for the Messiah, and did 3 things as He pursued Him.
What are you looking for?
What are you pursuing?
Based on your daily activities what is the most important thing in your life?
John Did 3 Things That Enabled Him To Discover His Unique Contribution
I. He went to hear John the Baptist preach about Jesus.
John the Baptist’s message was “Make straight the way for the Lord.”
“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
John 1:23
It means removing every obstacle—internal and external—that keeps Jesus from ruling fully in your life.
No
The word for straight in Greek is “yooTHOOno”.
It’s used for the pilot of a ship. He steers the ship to go straight to its destination.
You have to define your destination if you are to get to it.
God has the destination of your life.
Steer your ship, straight towards God’s destination for your life.
Listen to God. He knows where the icebergs are. He can steer you clear of them.
What are the icebergs?
Sin. It promises pleasure, but leads to death.
Idolatry This is when we put things as more important than God. It’s when we substitute something for God.
Pride/Self-sufficiency. It’s when we don’t think we need God.
II. He followed Jesus.
He committed to Jesus’ words.
How do we follow Jesus today?
Devote time in the word.
Read the word.
Study the word. - Use ChatGPT & Copilot. Ask questions. [Not all info will be accurate. Make sure it concurs with Scripture.] Ask. What does this mean?
Meditate on the word.
Memorize the word.
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.”
Jeremiah 15:16
Delight yourself in God’s word. Ask God to increase your delight in His word.
It was through the word of the Lord that Jeremiah discovered His purpose. We also discover God’s purpose for our life through His word to us.
“The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’”
Jeremiah 1:4-5
We have to learn to hear God’s voice as we read, study, mediate, and memorize God’s word. The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, and He dwells inside us. He searches the deep things of God, and knows the thoughts of the Father. God can reveal His thoughts to us by His Spirit. We may not hear an audible voice, but He can impress His thoughts to our thought. Paul says we have the mind of Christ.
“these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
“for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:16
We must be diligent to test all our thoughts, and impressions from the Holy Spirit, an assure that they all agree with Scripture.
“but test them all; hold on to what is good,”
1 Thessalonians 5:21
God can speak to us as simply as thoughts come to our mind. We test them by Scripture. God will never contradict Scripture.
III. He Obeyed Jesus’ teaching
A simple way to define obedience is Listen And Do.
Think of Nike’s tagline “Just Do It”.
Jesus never separated believing from obeying.
To obey His teaching means:
- Taking His words as your authority
- Practicing His commands in daily life
- Letting His truth override your preferences
- Living the way He lived
The Holy Spirit guides us as we walk in obedience.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.””
Isaiah 30:21
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
John 14:26
“ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
John 16:12-13
Obeying means obeying the voice of the Spirit as we live our life. As we obey and are faithful in the small things, God will entrust us with more. As we serve God, He will give greater revelation on our purpose. It starts with faithfulness in the small things. Start by responding to current serving opportunities in your local church. As you meet needs in the local church, the big picture of what God has for you will become clearer.
Wrap Up
God has created you with a unique contribution. You will discover that like the apostle John did by learning to follow His example. There are 3 things he did that we can emulate.
- Make the way straight for God.
- Commit to the words of Jesus as you follow Him.
- Obey His word in your life.