Purpose in the Journey: Know Jesus and Make Him Known

Aug 16, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Half-Charged Batteries Reveal Divine Detours

The electric car’s incomplete charge became an unexpected signpost. Interruptions often feel like obstacles, yet they can signal God’s redirection. Purpose isn’t derailed by detours but refined through them. Just as a driver notices scenery when forced to slow down, believers learn to see God’s hand in disrupted plans. What seems like inconvenience becomes sacred space when approached with expectancy. Every delay carries potential for kingdom alignment. [01:15:10]

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Reflection: Where has an unexpected delay or disruption recently reshaped your perspective? How might this “detour” align with the good works God prepared for you?

Day 2: Ambassadors With Leaky Pens and Torn Maps

An ambassador represents their homeland’s authority amid foreign territory. Cracked phone screens and coffee-stained agendas don’t disqualify Christ’s representatives. The story of workplace conversations sparking spiritual breakthroughs reveals our ordinary moments as diplomatic outposts. Kingdom authority flows through cracked vessels who simply show up. Presence, not perfection, opens doors for divine encounters. [01:17:11]

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20, ESV)

Reflection: What “ordinary” environment or relationship have you underestimated as a platform for representing Christ? How might your cracks become conduits today?

Day 3: Appendicitis and Airfare – Obstacles as Ordination

Emergency surgery and tripled flight costs became confirmation markers for a mission. Resistance often confirms rather than contradicts divine purpose. Like Tracy’s story shows, the enemy attacks what he fears will bear fruit. Perseverance through practical obstacles becomes spiritual warfare. What looks like opposition frequently proves God’s endorsement. [01:28:05]

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” (John 15:16, ESV)

Reflection: What current obstacle might actually signal you’re on the right path? How could this challenge deepen your dependence on God’s sustaining power?

Day 4: Becoming Versus Arriving – Dusty Boots Theology

Life’s winding roads form our souls more than any destination. Paul’s Damascus Road blindness birthed his true sight. The pastor’s admission about forgotten conversations that later bore fruit reveals how God uses our unconscious faithfulness. Spiritual maturity isn’t measured in milestones reached but in Christlikeness forged through daily steps. [01:34:55]

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6, ESV)

Reflection: What seemingly insignificant daily practice or interaction might God be using to shape eternal fruit? How does this change your view of today’s ordinary moments?

Day 5: Weeding Rock Faces – Swirling Storms and Solid Stones

Weeds entangling a cliffside plant mirror life’s distractions threatening rooted faith. The pastor’s vision of believers anchored yet assaulted calls for community perseverance. Just as intercession sustained Pastor Brent through health crises, our shared purpose withstands storms. Purpose flourishes when we uproot lies choking our foundation. [01:41:18]

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: What “weeds” of distraction or discouragement currently threaten your focus? How can your church family help cultivate clarity in this season?

Sermon Summary

Purpose begins in a simple place: know Jesus and make him known. Ephesians 2:10 says God’s people are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works already prepared in advance. Purpose is not something locked away for a few special people with titles. Purpose belongs to every believer, because knowing Jesus already places a person in full time ministry.

Calling carries the same weight. Second Corinthians 5:20 names believers as Christ’s ambassadors, and an ambassador represents Jesus, carries his presence, speaks with his authority, and gets sent into the world to reveal him. God’s love is the foundation, because John 3:16 says God loved the world, not just prophets, evangelists, or teachers. The presence of God in an ordinary workplace, conversation, or anxious moment can lift heaviness because the kingdom is already present in the believer.

The journey means movement. A person cannot talk about a journey and never go anywhere. Every journey has great moments, tough moments, unexpected moments, and Holy Spirit moments. Interruptions may be enemy resistance, but interruptions may also be the Lord slowing a person down for someone in need. A task-driven heart can become so fixed on the destination that it misses the person standing right in front of it.

Hebrews 12:1 calls the believer to run with perseverance, fixing the eyes on Jesus. Perseverance does not mean never resting, but it does mean refusing to quit when the road gets hard. Detours are part of the journey, because God’s straight path often looks different from the straight line a person had in mind. The kingdom holds both purpose and people together.

The Solomon Islands journey shows that purpose often comes with pushback. Canceled flights, tripled airfares, emergency surgery, unrest, and danger did not remove the sense that God had placed that team there. The real gold of that trip came through things not on the agenda, because God’s purpose was hidden inside the journey itself.

Saul’s Damascus road shows a full God interruption. Saul was moving with one purpose, persecuting Christians, and Jesus stopped him, blinded him, redirected him, and formed Paul for fruitfulness among Jews and Gentiles. Purpose is not only discovered in big moments; purpose is discovered daily in small conversations, encouragements, prayers, and seeds planted in people’s lives.

Philippians 1:6 says God will carry his good work to completion. God’s purpose is not only external, in what a person does, but internal, in who that person becomes. John 10:10 names the enemy’s work as stealing, killing, and destroying, but Christ brings life to the full. Proverbs 3:5-6 holds the final shape of the journey: acknowledge the Lord, trust his direction, and let him make the path straight, even when that path has wonky curves, stop places, and changes in direction.

Key Takeaways

1. Purpose starts with knowing Jesus Purpose is not first a title, platform, or ministry position. Purpose begins when a person knows Jesus and lives to make him known in ordinary places. Ephesians 2:10 gives dignity to everyday life, because God has already prepared good works before the believer ever arrives there. [75:47]
2. Ambassadors carry God’s presence Calling is not just doing religious activity; calling is representing Jesus wherever life happens. Christ’s ambassador carries presence before carrying a program, and that presence can draw hidden pain to the surface. A simple word about being loved by God can become the place where heaviness lifts. [77:11]
3. Interruptions can be holy moments The journey often gets disrupted, and not every disruption is meant to be pushed aside. Some interruptions are people whom the Lord places directly in the path. A destination can become an idol when the person in front of someone gets treated as an obstacle instead of a divine appointment. [81:32]
4. Perseverance keeps purpose alive Purpose does not remove resistance; purpose gives a person reason to keep moving through it. Rest may be part of the road, but surrendering to discouragement is not the same thing as resting. Perseverance says the Lord is still with the believer in the great moments and in the hard ones. [83:34]
5. God forms people through the journey God’s purpose is not only about what gets accomplished at the end. God is shaping the person on the way, often through the hard places that reveal faith, humility, courage, and dependence. Great people are rarely formed in easy times, because pressure exposes what God is strengthening inside. [94:55]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:51] - Worship and Holy Spirit Invitation
[73:17] - Opening Prayer and Service Introduction
[75:10] - Purpose In The Journey
[75:47] - Know Jesus And Make Him Known
[77:11] - Living As Christ’s Ambassadors
[78:53] - God’s Love As The Foundation
[80:29] - Journey, Focus, And Interruptions
[83:34] - Perseverance In The Race
[84:54] - Detours, People, And Kingdom Purpose
[87:34] - Solomon Islands Missions Testimony
[91:48] - Saul, Paul, And God Interruptions
[93:38] - Purpose In Daily Small Things
[94:55] - God Completes His Work In People
[100:22] - Prayer For Jesus In The Journey

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [01:16:33]

2 Corinthians 5:20
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” [01:16:57]

Hebrews 12:1
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” [01:23:50]

Philippians 1:6
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” [01:35:01]

Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” [01:38:03]

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” [01:18:59]

John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” [01:37:03]

Observation questions

According to Ephesians 2:10, what does Paul say believers are created for, and what had God already done before they began walking in those works? [01:16:33]
In 2 Corinthians 5:20, what word is used to describe believers, and what are ambassadors understood to carry and represent? [01:17:11]
What kinds of moments were named as part of every journey, and what warning was given about becoming so focused on the destination that a person misses what is right in front of them? [01:21:32]
What obstacles and detours showed up in the Solomon Islands journey, and what turned out to be the “real gold” of that trip? [01:30:10]

Interpretation questions

If believers are God’s workmanship, created for good works prepared beforehand, how does that reshape the way ordinary days, jobs, and routines should be viewed?
If believers are Christ’s ambassadors, what does it mean that they carry presence before they carry a program? How might that change the way someone approaches anxious or hurting people? [01:17:57]
Hebrews 12:1 calls believers to run with endurance. How is perseverance different from simply staying busy, and how can a person tell the difference between healthy rest and giving up? [01:24:11]
Proverbs 3:5-6 promises that the Lord will make paths straight. How can that still be true when a path seems full of curves, delays, and changes in direction? [01:38:10]

Application questions

“Know Jesus and make him known” is a simple picture of purpose. In this season, which part feels stronger for you and which part needs more attention: knowing him more deeply or making him known more openly? [01:15:47]
If knowing Jesus means being in full-time ministry, where does that truth need to become more real in daily life right now: at work, at home, in friendships, or in a place that feels ordinary and unnoticed? [01:39:45]
Ambassadors carry the presence of God into everyday places. When has someone recently opened up unexpectedly around you, and is there a chance that the Lord was giving you a small assignment to listen, encourage, or pray? [01:17:42]
Some interruptions are obstacles, and some are holy moments. Is there a person, phone call, delay, or inconvenience that has mostly felt annoying, but may actually be a moment the Lord is asking you not to rush past? [01:22:35]
Perseverance means refusing to quit when the road gets hard. Where have you felt like sitting down in discouragement, and what would it look like this week to take one more faithful step instead of stopping? [01:23:58]
Purpose is often discovered in small daily moments, not only in big dramatic ones. What small conversation, act of service, or word of encouragement might God be putting in front of you this week? [01:33:38]
God’s purpose is not only about what gets done, but about who a person is becoming. What has a hard season been forming in you lately: deeper trust, humility, courage, patience, or something else? [01:34:55]

Sermon Clips

41s

#UniquePurposeGift

“So he says he can keep interrupting with all this, but I'm gonna keep going because god's got purpose for me still. See what happens when you have purpose? You don't stand back in a corner and go, I've been defeated. What you do is go, I've been through a bit of a storm. I've been knocked around. But you know what? God's got purpose for me. He's got an ability for my life. He's given me something unique that nobody else on this planet has. I have a uniqueness that can touch people's lives, and we all have it right in different ways. Some of you, it's friendships. Some of you, you just do things. Some of you, you serve others. But there is a uniqueness in each and every one of us because we have purpose.”

35s

#AmbassadorForChrist

“Now an ambassador is a great name, isn't it? And I think of that sometimes going, well, what does that mean for my life if I'm an ambassador for Christ? What an ambassador means is you represent Jesus, you carry his presence, you speak with his authority, You live in his purpose, and you are seen you are sent into the world to reveal him. So think about that. If you're going into the world that you're an ambassador, you're going in there to represent the kingdom of God, to represent Christ in everything and everywhere you go.”

40s

#RunWithPerseverance

“Can I say the main thing in that verse? Run with perseverance. In other words, don't stop on that journey because you've got you're going somewhere. Find a way to keep going or to get someone to help pick you up again, and then we're off again. Because sometimes in our journey, we stop and think it's getting a little hard now. So I think I'll just sit down and just have a little rest. It's okay having a rest sometimes. It's part of the journey. But because we've got purpose, we need to say, no. I really feel the lord on this. I'm going to keep going. I'm gonna keep going, and I'm keep going. So we push through. We break through.”

48s

#PurposeShapesCharacter

“God's purpose is not just external what we do. It's internal. It's again who we become. When we go through difficult can I tell you say this to you? Great people are never formed through easy times. It's always the tough times that really form great people. If you look at our senior leader, Pastor Brent, he has been through some really tough times around his health and other situations. And you know what I love about pastor? Whenever he goes through something, he's always believing for the next thing. Always. He holds that faith internally going, god, I'm here for a purpose. And he keeps he's told me this past prayer many times. He's, I'm still here today because god's still using my life.”

36s

#StartYourJourneyWithJesus

“if your journey doesn't include Jesus and you've been journeying alone, I'd really like to pray for you today. In other words, you really you maybe have heard of Christ, know, but few things around him. But if your journey doesn't include Jesus, I'd love to pray for you today. Because Jesus is not just he doesn't just have a a journey for you. He's got purpose, and he's got hopeful. He's that's a hopefulness in what you do. And if that's you, I'd like to pray for you. I think there's other people here today, and some of you”

34s

#KnowJesusMakeHimKnown

“Because whenever get distractions like that, I know God's moving. Let's define purpose. The greater purpose is simple and foundational. You're ready for this? People come to me all the time go, I'm just trying to find out my purpose. You're ready for this? This is very deep. Know Jesus and make him known. Easy, isn't it? Know Jesus and make him known. A lot of people are saying, I just wanna know my purpose in the kingdom. If you know Jesus and you make him known, you're already in the ministry.”

35s

#EverydayMinistry

“Destination is one of those things where we're gonna get there, but the purpose in everything we do is a critical point. And I just wanna finish on this, say this one more time. If you know Jesus, you're on full time ministry. I want you to think about that. Now we we have pastors and leaders in that because we wanna encourage you, wanna build you, wanna train the saints. We wanna see our communities transform. I get all of that. But if you know Jesus, you are in full time ministry. It is your life.”

42s

#LovedAndSecureInGod

“Because you see, if you know you're loved by God, it makes a massive difference. Because when you know you have this God who loves you, it gives you a security and a peace that only the Lord can really give you. Anyway, I ended up saying to this person, look, I'm gonna I'll be praying for you. And the next day, they phoned up and said, how are you going? They said, actually, it lifted. This whole thing lifted off me because we carry the presence of God. Right? And so in our journey and where we're going, if we know what we're carrying all the time, it is effective in so many levels, and some of them we will never see. Some people's lives, we're never gonna see the differences that go on, but we are effective.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Encounter Church NZ This sermon · AI assistant

What is the simple definition of purpose?

How should interruptions be interpreted during journeys?

What does being an ambassador for Christ mean?