TEXT: EPH 2:10; JER 1:5; JER 29:11; RM 8:28-30
INTRODUCTION : Eph 2:10 “ for we are God’s [own] handiwork, (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined, (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which he prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. [AMPLIFIED]
There is the reality of a divine master plan for your life. There is a book written for you bearing your name indicating the Purpose of God for your Existence. Ps 40:7 “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,”.
This is not a general will of God; it is precise detailed programme that God has marked out for you. Jer1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
Welcome into this awesome journey of discovering your own Purpose in God and the Destiny that God has marked out for you. This is the reason why you came! It is the only thing that makes life sizzle in the midst of multiple disappointments among men.
WHEN A MAN DISCOVERS GOD’S PLAN FOR HIS LIFE
· He finds a rewarding spring of fulfillment as the details of God’s plan unfolds to him
· Every potential problem, challenges or battle he would ever face is already taken care of by the details of God’s purpose for him. He constantly access, Answers, Help and Solutions from heaven as he runs God’s agenda for his life.
· It unlocks the peculiar beauty that God has reserved in your creation. You are created, called and prepared for something unique and beautiful in God’s agenda
· It makes your life count beyond time – in eternal Excellency and a joy of many generations
· You become a blessing and God’s Answer to your generation
· You are privileged to become a significant part of the eternal activities and program of God on the earth
· Your very living begins to bring constant Joy and Pleasure to the Heart of God like no one else is created to do
· This is the ONLY true life to live. It is the reason why you came!
Then, the next question to ask is this:
HOW DO I LOCATE THE VISION OF GOD FOR MY LIFE?
1. Be born again.
A man that has not come to God for the salvation of his soul cannot even know that God has a Grand plan for him talk less of seeking for and working in it.
2. Develop a sound relationship with God.
After being born again, cultivating a sound spiritual walk with the Lord brings you into fellowship with His spirit and into the knowledge of the ways of God.
- Your prayer life
- Your bible study life
- Your practice of obeying God
It is in intimacy with God that God begin to communicate His counsel and purpose for your life.
Many believers are afraid to SEEK the mind of God concerning His vision for their lives because they think finding God’s vision for your life always mean the pulpit ministry! Sure, that may be true for some but it is not always so. God has always called men into various capacities in life according to His plan for their lives e.g.
- Joseph was an anointed administrator and public leader who served the purpose of God.
- Daniel was a policy maker (politician) and government administration who was also an anointed prophet.
- Mary was anointed peculiarly for the Family to raise Jesus with Godly values in a Godly atmosphere.
Many examples abound. You may be called of God to be a kingdom financier as a major business man advancing kingdom values among men and bringing men to the knowledge of the truth.
And yes, you may be called into the pulpit ministry or into the Helps ministry e.g. a music minister or minstrel But the most important thing is that you discover that peculiar purpose of God for you as you continue in an intimate fellowship with His Spirit not that you carve out one for yourself- that would be ambition. It won’t take you too far!
3. Go all out to serve God’s purpose in the kingdom Exercising yourself to serve in the kingdom
- Sharpens your sensitivity and makes you more open to uncover further details of God’s plan and purpose for your life.
- Brings upon you the GRACE you need for the things that God has marked out for you in life.
If you are asking how will serving well as an usher or in the outreach group have anything to do with the fact that God has called me into anointed leadership among men? Then you will need to ask what tending the sheep faithfully had to do with David’s becoming an administrator of men as a king and a policy shaper of a nation; you will need to ask what has Joseph faithfully serving others as a head prefect of slaves and prisoners got to do with becoming the man ruling the affairs of important nobles and even the economy of the nations of the earth in his day as God’s representative? This is the wisdom of God in preparing you and making you fit for what He has marked out for you.
4. Enjoy and give yourself to spiritual activities that will sharpen your sensitivity to the mind of God for your life.
God will always communicate His plan to a man that seeks His will to follow him. Yours can’t be an exception. He may communicate it by
- A vision / Dream that shows you a glimpse of His purpose for you (don’t however base your leadings solely on dreams)
- It may be by a definite word from the Lord in your fellowship with God
- It may just be a persuasion born out of your walk / fellowship with the Lord
- It may be by a revelation or a word from the anointed that God has placed in your life ( not just any prophet that comes around you seeing a vision for you)
*(Get the book the reality of the spirit man)
5. And this is why you need a Father!
An anointed voice over your life whose depth of wisdom in following the ways of God and whose matured spirit will help set your feet aright on the path of destiny. You can’t afford the steep price of living the TRIAL and ERROR kind of life when God has made a divine provision of FATHERS for us in the kingdom; Is 51:1-2 “Isa.51:1-2a “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone and blessed him, and increased him”.
PURSUING THAT VISION FOR YOUR LIFE
Having a call or the knowledge of the vision of God for your life is not enough to automatically make you to fulfill that purpose. You need to be trained for it, equipped for it and prepared for it according to God’s training schedule which He maps out for you and this is His pattern in bringing you into it:
He gives you a Father, a Coach who he has given a schedule for equipping and training you on the practical road of destiny.
1. Find your destiny Father and follow Him
- He has what you lack but need in life
- He has been to where you are going
- He has walked and or is walking on what is troubling you. Mk 4:35
- He has answers to the questions agitating your heart
- He carries the spirit you need to fulfill your destiny
- Ha has the jigsaw puzzle of your vision from God
- He has conquered enemy you’ll still face
- He has the commanding assignment / vision that contains or influences yours. Acts7:46-47
- He has the strength and depth to correct you for excellence in the purpose of God.
Learn from him, receive actively into your life, the values and virtues you learn from him, HEAR him, observe and SEE his manner of life, then follow and do the same things.
Examples of Biblical Fathering for destiny
Ø Moses and Joshua
Ø David and Solomon
Ø Elijah and Elisha
Ø Mordecai and Esther
Ø Naomi and Ruth
Ø Paul and Timothy
Ø Jesus and the Disciples
2. Be fully planted in the kingdom (church) family that God has placed you for your destiny to happen.
This involves submitting the details of your life to the KINGDOM STRUCTURE IN THE HOUSE by which God will equip, train, shape, sharpen and mould you for your place in destiny. (We have considered some of these steps earlier and it will be fully considered in the seminar classes).
THE DISTRACTIONS THAT WILL SURELY COME!
When you determine to follow the plan of God for your life, setting your face like a flint to follow the road of destiny, there are some DISTRACTIONS that will always show up, threatening to break your focus. You must be aware of them and choose rather to yield to the PROGRAM of God for your life.
1 The Enticement of pursuing a “Good Life” Naturally, as against yielding yourself to the demands of your road of training and equipping in destiny.
2 The Reality of Emotional Pressures from people who ‘love’ you but lack an understanding of your Destiny / Purpose in God and God’s road to take you there.
a. Family Pressures: Many times such pressures seek to excuse you from the demands of the road that God has chosen for you.
While you must respect and appreciate their genuine love you must never trade or compromise the details of demands of the road that God has chosen for you.
b. Pressure from Friends and acquaintances: if you must keep an acquaintance bring them to respect the details of God’s demands for your life. Else, you rather need companion who are also journeying with you on the road of destiny and not those slowing you down or hindering you.
c. Strong general opinions / societal dreams, expectation or goals for you: for example A young man with 1st class who had the call of God upon his life into full time ministry who was persuaded by colleagues, professors who taught him, the university and his parents that he had a better prospect to pursue his masters and get a “well paid job” before “doing the work of God”!
d. Enticement of personal plans / personal idols or self will: those things you have chosen in preference to or above the will of God for your life.
3. Pressure of Career / Profession : almost every career demands 28 out of your 24 hours, demands in increasing attention and commitment which you can be quick to explain and justify, but you must ask yourself some destiny bothering question
“What exactly are my priorities in life?”
“Will career use the substance of my destiny or will God use it?”
When you know and determine what is important {of greater priority to your existence on the earth} you will learn the wisdom to restructure your life in such away that the pursuit of destiny takes the priority.
Never plunge yourself into any job or work or posting that will bury the program of God for your life. That is against divine order!
Examples of those who got distracted
· Jonathan – Emotional (Family) distraction
· Samson - Personal pleasures / self will
· Demas - Pressure / love for the world
· Rich young Ruler – Enticement of good life
Dear Achiever, do not add your name to this list by yielding to any of these DISTRACTIONS on the road of destiny. Consider men who refused to be distracted like Joseph, like Daniel, Like Paul and follow their path.
CONCLUSION
Beloved, a Joy and a Glory in God awaits you if you follow through the road and the program that God has marked out for you in destiny. As you set your face like a flint to follow the program of God all the way, may you turn out as that MASTER PIECE that God has designed you to be in destiny in the name of Jesus .Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment