How Can I Know My Purpose?

How Can I Know My Purpose? 

As I was spending time in the Word this morning, I found something that I had never considered before. I was reading in John 6, the story about how Jesus fed five thousand with only two fish and five barley loaves. Everybody knows this story. 

[John 6:1-12 NKJV] 1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is [the Sea] of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up [His] eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" 10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed [them] to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." 

That is a great story that speaks of the power of Jesus. It verifies His ability to perform supernatural feats. But that is not what attracted my attention this time. Instead, the Holy Spirit locked my eyes on the last 8 words of verse 6, “for He knew Himself what He would do.” I tried to move past that verse, but I could not concentrate when I moved past it. So, I said, “Okay Lord, help me understand.” 

As I considered those eight words, it hit me. That little phrase says something of Jesus that I had not considered previously. We get so enamored in the omnipotence of Jesus, the power He had to perform miracles, that we often lose sight of His omniscience, His ability to know all things.  

The Word Says Jesus knew what He was going to do. That may not seem like a big deal, but if you consider the sequence of events that led to the feeding of the five thousand, the magnitude of Jesus’ omniscience is on display; and it teaches us the importance of selflessness, obedience, and living subjection to Him. This is what I mean by that. 

• Jesus saw the crowds coming and He knew they were hungry.  

• One individual in that group, an unnamed child, was among the masses that was following Jesus. That is the first lesson to be learned; follow Jesus and good things will happen.  

• The young lad was selfless, willing to share what he had. That is the second lesson. 

• But the third lesson that I want to highlight is the lad’s subjection to the Lord. 

This is why the third point is so important. To make my point, we need to leap forward to verse 9. 

[John 6:9 NKJV] 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" 

Verse 9 tells us that the selfless lad was brought to Jesus with his gift AFTER Jesus already knew in His heart what He was going to do. Did you catch that?  

Jesus, in His omniscience, knew that lad was going to provide the sacrifice, his lunch, before the lad was brought to Him. Jesus could only know what He was going to do if He had created that lad for that very purpose. According to the sequence of events, Jesus knew in His heart what He was going to do. That means He knew He was going to feed the masses with the gift of the lad BEFORE THE LAD BROUGHT THE GIFT! Jesus, in His omniscience knew that the lad He had created in his mother’s womb was going to fulfill the purpose of offering his lunch so that the masses could be fed. That nameless lad wasn’t looking for a purpose in life; he was just following Jesus selflessly. But God had created a very special purpose for that lad and Jesus knew it. He knew the lad would provide the means for the miracle. That is the omniscience of Jesus hidden in the seemingly meaningless eight words, “...for He Himself knew what He would do.”  

That nameless lad had a purpose in life. That lad has been talked about for two thousand years and we do not know his name. But do you know who knew his name before he was even formed in his mother's womb? Jesus, and Jesus had a purpose for that young lad that the lad knew nothing about. 

If you are like me, you have probably asked God what your purpose is in life. I have thousands of times. But the point of this message is, God knows what He is going to do through you. He knows your purpose and you definitely have one. Your purpose will be fulfilled if you selflessly follow Jesus. He already knows Himself what He will do with your selfless obedience.  

Jesus is omniscient. Follow Him and what He has purposed for you, He will see come to pass. He Himself knows what He will do with your obedience before you even know what you are doing. 

I hope this helps you. Jesus loves you.