ONE PURPOSE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES
“And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them to preach.” “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain… “And HE said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature…And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” “And He said unto them…. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “And with great power gave the apostle witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all.” Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the presentation that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenix, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word… And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”
The foregoing scriptural references show the records of the commission, the commitment and the consecration of the early Apostle of Christ to this single purpose for which Christ came to die and for which they also were called. Having first been bought, saved and rescue from the depth of the ruin of sin, they responded with the same love by which they were saved to seek and save the lost sinners in like manner. In fact, the book of the Acts was actually written because the Apostle acted in response to the great commission of going into the whole world to preach the message of Life to the dying world. These they carried out with great fervour, tenacity, and zeal as passed on to them by their Master-The lord Jesus. They were men of single focus and pursuit. They knew the purpose of their calling and were ready by all means to make their calling an election sure. They knew the priority and would not allow anything, no matter how legitimate it appears to hinder or distract them from focusing on the primary assignment. Persecution and scattering for them were a means of spreading the good news of Christ in the unreached places. Travelling and relocation were opportunities to establish Christ’s Kingdom in new territories. And knowing what great sacrifice Jesus paid, no amount of sacrifice was too great on their part to give to bring the lost out of the darkness into the marvelous light of Christ. They were dead to personal ambition and worldly pursuit; endure strong opposition and intense persecution in the course of fulfilling this great commission. In fact, they all sealed their testimonies with their lives just for this one cause of soul winning. And so the scripture says that we are built upon the foundation of the Apostle. “Now ye are no more strangers and foreigner, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” The church today owes her existence to the undying commitment of these apostles to the great commission of saving the lost souls.
One God One Purpose! “ Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth even in Him.” God has a global purpose for the earth. God is gathering everything in heaven and on earth together in one, under Christ. Everyone purpose must be connected and be in line with this, otherwise, we are not justifying the reason for living. One God one purpose! In what way will your life be made relevant? God has a purpose for every human he brought into this earth and the way we are made is connected to this purpose.
One God one purpose! How will your life contribute to achieving this purpose of God? God gave His only begotten son, Jesus laid down His life, the Apostle gave themselves…. What will you give to see Jesus preached among every nation? To live and die without contributing to this purpose is to live an unprofitable life. “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…” (Act 13:36 NIV)
One God One Purpose! When will your life be made relevant? The night cometh when no man can work. And when the night comes, NO man-no matter how energetic, zealous, anointed and willing can work. What a matter for a sober reflection. The night for some is death and for another is old age. The night time of inactivity for some is a loss of opportunity. And opportunity lasts while life lasts. Only one life and it will soon be gone. Only what’s done for Christ will last. Every other labour outside the kingdom of God amount to vanity. God wants to use all of us (every Christian) to fulfill this purpose. God also wants to use all of us (everything we have, own and become) to fulfill this purpose. Everyone is saved by Christ through His church to be used by God to fulfill His purpose. We are saved to serve. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose,” says Jim Elliot. Is this cause worth-living for? Rather still, is it worth dying for? I said yes! David living stone said and I quote, “In this service, I hope to live; in it, I wish to die.” Only One God! Only One Purpose! Only One Life! What will your life contribute to the kingdom advancement? To fulfill this one purpose, God needs you and me. Again I say, there is no justification for living if your life and my life are not relevant to this purpose.