Finding Your Purpose | Pastor Michael Mattis

Devotional

Day 1: Anchors in Eighty Feet

Jesus sent seventy-two ordinary followers ahead of Him, pairing them like sailors securing lines before a storm. They carried no extra supplies—no bags, no sandals—just His authority to heal and proclaim God’s kingdom. Like divers trusting an anchor line in murky depths, these disciples clung to Christ’s command rather than their preparedness. Their purpose flowed from His voice alone. [07:49]

The disciples’ effectiveness didn’t come from resumes or resources. Jesus chose untrained fishermen, tax collectors, and zealots because their identity began with His call. When storms hit, anchors hold not by their weight but by what they’re fastened to. Your stability comes from being tethered to Christ, not your achievements or possessions.

How often do you measure your worth by productivity instead of Christ’s declaration over you? Write down three statements starting with “In Jesus, I am…” Keep them visible today. What false anchor have you been gripping lately?

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.”
(Luke 10:1, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one area where you’ve anchored your identity in something other than Him.
Challenge: Write your name followed by “child of God” on a sticky note. Place it where you’ll see it hourly.

Day 2: Lambs Without Luggage

The seventy-two carried no wallet, no backpack, no spare sandals. Jesus stripped them of every crutch to prove His provision. Like lambs among wolves, they entered towns vulnerable, dependent on hospitality. Their lack became their strength—forcing them to rely on God’s power, not their preparedness. [10:32]

Jesus didn’t send professionals. He sent ordinary people willing to walk empty-handed into chaos. Their authority came from His name, not their expertise. When you feel unqualified for God’s work, remember: your adequacy starts with surrender, not skill.

Who do you know that needs to hear “Peace to this house” today? Not a sermon—just a kind word, a prayer, a moment of presence. When did you last step into a task feeling underequipped, yet saw God show up?

“Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals.”
(Luke 10:3-4, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one fear about being “unprepared” for God’s calling. Ask for boldness to go anyway.
Challenge: Text someone this phrase: “God sees you, loves you, and has purpose for you.”

Day 3: Names Over Noise

The seventy-two returned exhilarated: “Demons submit to us!” Jesus redirected their celebration: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” He swapped their performance-based joy for identity-based awe. Like a diver fixated on a false anchor, they’d mistaken temporary victories for eternal security. [28:58]

Miracles fade. Ministry fatigue comes. But your name etched in heaven’s ledger remains. Jesus prioritizes who you are over what you do. Your greatest accomplishment isn’t a healed body or changed life—it’s Christ’s finished work claiming you as His.

When stress rises, do you default to proving your worth or resting in your belonging? List three moments this week where you chased achievement over intimacy with God.

“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
(Luke 10:20, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for writing your name in heaven before you accomplished anything for Him.
Challenge: Silently repeat “I am His” every time you check the time today.

Day 4: First Love, Full Hands

Jesus distilled life’s purpose: “Love the Lord your God… love your neighbor.” The order matters. Like the Ephesus church, we risk serving tirelessly yet abandoning our first love. The seventy-two healed and preached, but their power flowed from sitting at His feet first. [39:16]

You can feed the poor, lead Bible studies, and still drift from intimacy with Christ. Purpose without identity becomes burnout. Love for God fuels love for people—not the reverse.

When did ministry or routine duties last feel more urgent than quiet time with Jesus? What one adjustment would protect your daily connection to Him?

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”
(Revelation 2:4, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one way you’ve prioritized productivity over affection for Christ this month.
Challenge: Set a 5-minute timer today to sit silently, holding only a Bible—no reading, just being with Him.

Day 5: Dusty Feet, Eternal Feet

Jesus told the seventy-two to shake dust from their feet when rejected. The gesture wasn’t spite—it was surrender. Like wiping sand from a diver’s wetsuit, it symbolized releasing outcomes to God. Their job was obedience, not results. [45:45]

You can’t control how others respond to God’s message. Your calling is faithfulness, not fruitfulness. Chorazin and Capernaum ignored Christ despite miracles, but the disciples kept walking.

Where are you clinging to a outcome God hasn’t promised? What step of obedience have you delayed, fearing others’ reactions?

“Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.”
(Luke 10:11, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to highlight one relationship where you need to trust Him with the results.
Challenge: Write “God’s job, not mine” on your palm. Pray it each time you glance at it today.

Sermon Summary

Luke 10 sends Jesus as the actor who appoints and sends. Jesus chooses seventy-two, not because they are trained or tidy, but because he is forming them. The text puts identity before assignment. Their “anchor” is not skill, youth, or résumé. Their anchor is belonging to King Jesus and being sent to “prepare the way.” The number seventy or seventy-two nods to Moses’s elders and the Sanhedrin, signaling that Jesus stands as the true Moses, fulfilling Torah and building a people who carry his presence.

The harvest speaks with urgency. It is plentiful, the workers are few, and prayer precedes movement. The image “lambs among wolves” strips bravado. Dependence, not swagger, is the posture. Travel light and stay content land like spiritual detox. Peace enters homes, hospitality is received, the sick are healed, and if resistance hardens, dust is shaken and feet keep moving. Love is offered without coercion. Freedom to refuse is real.

The woes over Chorazim, Bethsaida, and Capernaum expose a sober mystery. Proximity to power does not guarantee repentance. Whole towns can admire the works of Jesus and remain unchanged. Judgment falls hardest where light was brightest and still scorned. The return of the seventy-two tempts triumphalism, but Jesus re-anchors joy. Authority over darkness is not the point. “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Identity outranks impact. Pride and its mirror-twin insecurity make the self the center. Jesus breaks that circle with heaven’s registry.

Then the Father and the Son stand at the center. Revelation is given to “little children,” not the self-assured. Blessed eyes see what prophets longed to see, because the Son reveals the Father. Sentness flows from sonship. Matthew 22 clarifies the sequence. Love God with all heart, soul, mind, and strength, then love neighbor. Deuteronomy 6 chimes in. Write this love on doorframes, hands, and foreheads. Identity births purpose. Purpose without identity becomes noise, even when it looks good.

A later church, Ephesus, shows how drift happens. First love can be lost while ministry hums. So the call lands plain. Surrender to Jesus. Take identity from him alone. Live as sent ones. Refuse the shrug of Chorazim and the swagger of the seventy-two. Let gratitude, not achievement, set the inner weather. The anchor holds where identity in Christ and purpose from Christ meet.

Key Takeaways

1. Identity and purpose are the anchor Identity in Christ precedes everything and steadies a person like an anchor on open water. Purpose then flows from that identity, not from anxiety, résumé, or comparison. Without this anchor, the soul drifts and breath burns fast like a diver in panic. Jesus offers rootedness that stills the inner seas. [07:49]
2. Jesus still sends ordinary people Jesus entrusts his work to underprepared, imperfect disciples because transformation rides with obedience. The sending dignifies the young and the unpolished, not as experts but as those being formed. Authority rests in the Sender, not the sophistication of the sent. Availability outruns adequacy. [09:56]
3. Travel light to guard allegiance “Lambs among wolves” and “take no bag” call for focused dependence. Lighter hands cling less to false identities, making room to receive and to give. Contentment in the house that welcomes prevents the quiet idolatry of upgrade chasing. Simplicity protects first love. [18:07]
4. Heed the warning over unrepentant places Chorazim, Bethsaida, and Capernaum saw much and stayed unchanged, proving nearness to miracles can harden if it does not humble. Judgment is proportionate to light received. Love allows refusal, but refusal has weight. Respond while the kingdom draws near. [23:29]
5. Rejoice in inscription, not impact Power over darkness is real, but joy belongs to those whose names are written in heaven. Pride and self-contempt are the same coin with self at the center. Gratitude recenters the soul on the Giver, not the gifts or results. Boast in belonging, not in outcomes. [28:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:20] - Building search update
[01:18] - Why a sabbatical now
[03:22] - Finding Your Purpose in Luke 10
[04:50] - Scuba anchor parable
[07:49] - Identity and purpose as anchor
[09:56] - Jesus appoints the seventy-two
[12:37] - Why the number matters
[15:37] - The harvest is plentiful
[18:07] - Lambs among wolves, travel light
[22:41] - Shake the dust and keep moving
[23:29] - Woes to Chorazim, Bethsaida, Capernaum
[28:06] - Rejoice your names are written
[36:31] - Identity before purpose, the Shema
[38:50] - First love warning from Ephesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Luke 10:1-24 (ESV)
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (ESV)
Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV)

Observation Questions

In Luke 10:1-3, why does Jesus send out the 72 with specific instructions to travel light and avoid distractions? How does this contrast with worldly expectations of preparation? [09:56]
What does Jesus mean when He warns the unrepentant towns of Chorazim, Bethsaida, and Capernaum that “it will be more bearable for Sodom” than for them (Luke 10:12)? [23:29]
How does Jesus redefine success for the 72 when they return excited about their authority over demons (Luke 10:20)? [28:06]
According to Deuteronomy 6:4-7, what practical steps does God command for keeping identity rooted in Him?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus compare His followers to “lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3)? What does this reveal about the posture He expects from those He sends? [18:07]
How does the rejection of Jesus by towns that witnessed His miracles (Luke 10:13-15) challenge assumptions about proximity to God’s work guaranteeing spiritual transformation? [23:29]
Jesus ties identity (“your names are written in heaven”) to joy in Luke 10:20. Why is this connection vital for resisting pride or insecurity in ministry? [28:06]
How does the order of “love God” before “love neighbor” in Matthew 22:37-39 guard against purpose becoming disconnected from identity?

Application Questions

Where do you most often look for validation—achievements, roles, or relationships? How could regularly reminding yourself, “My name is written in heaven,” shift your daily focus? [28:58]
What “bags” or distractions (e.g., materialism, overcommitment, or self-reliance) do you need to lay down to travel lighter in your walk with Christ? [19:21]
Have you ever experienced spiritual complacency despite being near God’s work (e.g., church involvement, answered prayers)? What practical step could help you rekindle humility and repentance? [40:02]
How might writing Scripture in visible places (Deuteronomy 6:9) or creating daily rhythms of gratitude help anchor your identity in Christ?
When have you prioritized “impact” (results, recognition) over “inscription” (belonging to Christ)? What would it look like to celebrate faithfulness over outcomes this week? [28:06]
The church in Ephesus lost its “first love” (Revelation 2:4). What habits or relationships could help you guard against drifting from intimacy with Jesus? [38:50]

Sermon Clips

22s

“Stop taking your identity from what you have done or not done. Whether you think you're a failure, whether you think you're great. Stop it. Take your identity from him and him alone. Your name, if you're in Christ. If you're not in Christ, can start that journey today. Your name is written in the lamb's book of life. If you're gonna brag about something, brag about that.”

25s

“Take your identity from me and me alone and the rejoice is that your name is written in the lamb's book of life and that you will stand in eternity with me. And here's the secret church, when Michael's life, when my life is filled with the joy of the Lord and gratitude, And I'm not focusing on what I have or don't have, where I've succeeded or haven't succeeded. I am so full of joy. Like it erupts out of me. Here's the invitation.”

31s

“Walk out. Walk back. Another live under the holy overshadowing of God. Write them on your arms. Write them on your forehead. Like, this is so important. In other words, your identity, New Testament, is forged in Christ Jesus. If you don't take your identity from him, you are a boat on the on the sea just being tossed around. No telling where you are or where you're gonna end up. This is your anchor, your identity in king Jesus. Your purpose flows out of that identity, and then go your way and let him do all manner of good things in you and through you. Sent ones.”

31s

“Let's put it all together. Here we go. Number one, Jesus issues a call for us to surrender our lives to him. That's where you start everything. That's where the whole journey begins. Number two, Jesus issues a call for us to take our identity from him alone. Luke 10. We just read it. Number three, Jesus issues a call for us to be sent ones and take up the authority and the purpose of king Jesus in our life. What if you actually believed everywhere you walked, you were full of the spirit and the presence of Yahweh was moving with you?”

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Finding Your Purpose | Pastor Michael Mattis

Devotional

Day 1: Anchors in Eighty Feet

Day 2: Lambs Without Luggage

Day 3: Names Over Noise

Day 4: First Love, Full Hands

Day 5: Dusty Feet, Eternal Feet

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Finding Your Purpose | Pastor Michael Mattis

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