The grace of plenty
By admin | July 12, 2010
I am a great believer in hard work. Over the years, I have written on how I believe that God wants to bless the works of our hands and that His grace is available to us as we go about our daily business. I believe in biblical abundance, prosperity and riches.
I still hold on to these thoughts but a scripture ‘jumped’ out of the page at me recently and I realise that there is more to hard work.
The scripture that caught my attention is Deuteronomy 6:10-11
10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied.
Just to re-iterate, God was going to give the Israelites
- Beautiful cities which they did not build
- Houses full of good things which they did not fill
- Wells which they did not dig
- Vineyards and olive trees which they did not plant
God was in effect promising to prosper them without them doing anything. All He asked was that once they possessed these things, they were to remain obedient to Him and His commandments.
The question then arises: does this mean that we are to sit back and do nothing, just waiting for the blessing of God?
Well not exactly, for God did still expect them to work once they entered the land (Deuteronomy 8:12).
Let’s go back to Genesis for a similar example. God provided the Garden of Eden to man and then commanded Adam to work and till the land.
God was essentially saying that He will provide the basic raw materials and as long as they obeyed Him and worked hard, He will continue to bless them. God wants us to be blessed from an initial base of sufficiency. We continue to be blessed or maintain and increase the blessing through obedience and hard work.
The question is do you believe that God can give you what you have not worked for or like me, believe that it’s through hard work. I believe that God is still in the business of giving us things we have not worked for. This is what it means to experience God’s favour and I pray that we will all experience His favour in our lives. Remember God’s ways indeed are not our ways.
So until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
Ola Aroyehun
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
Topics: Giving, Prosperity | No Comments »
The penny dropped!
By admin | May 25, 2010
The words had come out of my mouth before I had the chance to think about what I had just said. I was at a Christian meeting and had been asked to open in prayer. As I prayed, I found myself saying ‘Father I thank you because I have access to the mind of Christ and so we will be able to make the right decisions today’.
Did this come out of my mouth (of course it did) but more importantly did I believe it and if so, do I actually behave as if I did.
For days afterwards, the thought baffled me. The thought produced more questions than answers. The scriptures state clearly that we have access to the mind of Christ, but I had a myriad of questions:
- What are the implications of having the mind of Christ?
- Is it possible to know what to do in all situations?
- What should my ‘conscious thought process be like?
- How can I develop this type of mind?
- Can I have God’s thoughts all the time?
As usual, the word of God is not silent on this issue and I would like to share with you some of the things I discovered.
1 Corinthians 2:9-16 states, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
To understand this text, we must look at the context:
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
As children of God, this means that we have the ability to be led by the Spirit of God at all times. “The Spirit of God searches all things, even the deep things of God.” The Holy Spirit knows the very thoughts of God. The Spirit is like a phone line from Heaven that connects us to God. All we have to do is listen. Jesus made this powerful line of communication with heaven possible when He sent us the Holy Spirit.
Someone once said ‘We have “the mind of Christ” because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit teaches us all things, even the deep things of God. God will reveal Himself to us in mighty ways. Let us be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice. We will be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and we will have access to the unlimited, all-knowing, eternal mind of Christ’. How true
So back to my initial questions. The implication of having the mind of Christ is that we now have the ability to make the right decisions when needed. I believe that it is possible (though there is a long way for me to go on this) that it is possible to think God’s thoughts at all times. We simply need to train our minds. A simple but important concept!
I realised that having a deepening relationship with the Holy Spirit will lead us to having access to the mind of Christ. I guess the question today is how deep is your relationship with the Holy Spirit?
I am being challenged by these words and therefore would like your assistance. I would like you to share your insights with me or recommend a good book you have read on this subject. It’s an area that I would like to study more about.
So until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed and hope to hear from you soon
Ola
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
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No man indeed is an island
By admin | April 30, 2010
Two things have informed this week’s post – one is a revelation from the word of God and the other is a personal experience.
Recording through the book of Luke, we come across the following statement. Luke 1:39
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
Have you ever wondered why Mary got up immediately and went to Elizabeth her cousin? Well let’s backtrack a bit and look at Elizabeth’s experience in Luke 1:36
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For a start, there were differences between the two women. Mary was a young unmarried woman from the tribe of Judah whilst Elizabeth was an old married lady from the Aaronic priesthood
However, they both had supernatural encounters of God that they could each relate to. Mary could share her story about the visitation of the Lord in a way that Elizabeth could relate to. What God was doing in both Mary and Elizabeth’s lives was so precious that they could not share it with just anybody.
Elizabeth had gone through a period of reproach (Luke 1:26) because to be barren In Israel in those days was a sign of reproach. Mary on the other hand, was to go through a similar time or period of reproach. An unmarried woman, who was engaged to Joseph, is being suddenly found to be pregnant.
No doubt Mary would have been greatly blessed by Elizabeth’s situation and vice versa. Remember that Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband had been made mute by God and so communication was limited! Though Mary would have found some encouragement from her cousin Mary, it was now time for Elizabeth to give birth and for Mary to go back home.
But returned to what? Return to another source of encouragement.
Well again God had stepped in and Joseph in the meantime had an encounter with an angel of God. (Matthew 1:20-24). Joseph, we know had wanted to divorce Mary privately but changed his mind because he had a supernatural experience with God and now he could relate to Mary and somehow now they were in this together.
Mary found encouragement with Elizabeth and Joseph. We all need encouragement and God will always connect us to people that will understand what we are going through.
Now to my personal experience. For the past 2/3 years, I have subscribed to a number of internet marketing newsletters – most of which have provided content and a source of encouragement. I used their tactics to develop an action plan to reach as many people as I could through my writing.
However, at the beginning of the year, every time a newsletter appeared in my inbox, it was deleted even before it was read. Recently, I realised that my subscriber list had not grown as I had anticipated and then I realised that because I was not as encouraged as I used to be and therefore was not acting much.
Reflecting on both of these occurrences, I realised that no man is an island. God would put you in touch with people who will compliment and encourage you. We all need encouragement, particularly from people who have been where we are going or have experienced what we are about to experience.
I pray that God would bring people alongside us along the journey of life that will encourage us.
So until I appear again in your inbox with some more insight into the scriptures, stay blessed
Ola
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
Topics: encouragement | No Comments »
What are you prophesying about?
By admin | April 18, 2010
A couple of weeks ago, the kids had just gone to bed and my husband had gone out. I was thinking of tidying the house for the night when I started to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. The next thing I knew I went to each of the kids room and though they were asleep, I started to prophesy over them. When the presence of the Lord lifted, I knew that I had encountered a special moment with the Lord. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, I knew that this was a moment I would always cherish in my heart.
I did not think much of the incident after that until recently when I was reading Luke 1; the story about the birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus. We all know the story of how Zacharias the father of John of Baptist, how the angel Gabriel spoke to him and because of his unbelief, God made him mute until after the birth of John the Baptist. The people came to Zacharias to enquire about the name of the baby. He writes down the name and his tongue was loosed. Then in Luke 1:67 we read
‘Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying…….’
When I read this statement, it stirred up something inside me and then I had a context for the experience I had with my children, where the Spirit of God moved in prophecy. If you have been a reader of mine for a while, you would know that I love the phrase’ We live by revelation and not by information’.
Can I ask you a question? What are you prophesying over your business? To prophesy means to speak God’s word. This is different from quoting words from the bible. It is about the direct utterances that God gives to us for certain circumstances. There are so many words either spoken to us or that we are speaking. Somebody is always speaking all the time, let’s make sure that it’s the divinely inspired word of God which when it falls down to the ground without accomplishing that for which it was sent.
So what are you prophesying over your children? over your parents? over your life? your ministry? your spouse? your business?
We cannot conjure up prophecy at will. Only God can divinely inspire a word but if we do desire to prophecy, then all we need to do is ask as we are encouraged to in 1 Corinthians 14:1
‘Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophecy’
So until next time I appear again in your inbox with other encouraging words, stay blessed
Ola
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I lost my time!
By admin | March 1, 2010
This week I’d like to share a practical experience with you that I hope you’ll be able to learn from.
Recently whilst the kids were on half term, I came back from work at the usual time and sat down and watched TV for 5 hours straight. I was watching a game of football, which took about 95 minutes, sat through the commentary;at the end of the match, saw highlights of the same programme on another channel and then listened to the commentary on the other channel. Before I knew it, 5 hours was gone. I know the scriptures in Ecclesiastes 11 that there is a time for everything under the sun. I know that watching TV is not of itself a bad thing and I do enjoy watching TV programmes but I knew that this was not a time for leisure but time wasting. What’s interesting about this experience is the fact that I intermittently told myself to get up and do something more fruitful with my time.
I eventually got up, did a few things and headed straight to bed. Then something interesting happened. The following day I found it difficult to pray. To cut a long story short, before I knew it, I had to repent to God for wasting the time He had given me. I realised that time, resources and talents have been given to us to use wisely. We are custodians of time and time is one of the few things in life that once lost can never be regained. Of course, God can restore to us the things that should have been done (following repentance), but time as an entity (24 hour cycle) cannot be regained. It is not a resource that you can store and use later. Therefore cherish time. Sensitivity to God’s timing is crucial on a daily basis.
For some of us, time wasting can involve social networking sites or just surfing the Internet for hours. For others it might be meaningless chatter on the telephone for hours or even watching endless hours of TV,
This post is not about you thinking of how you spend every moment of your time but to identify, through the guidance and sensitivity of the Holy Spirit (and this is the important thing) - know when we are wasting time.
I am praying for the grace to use my time more wisely and hope that this post has been a source of blessing to you to think about how you use your time. Where we have lost time, let’s ask God to help us redeem the time i.e. redeem what we would have achieved during that time.
So until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
Ola
www.christianbusinessmagazine.com
Topics: Christian Business | No Comments »
Have you made this connection?
By admin | February 13, 2010
Recently I asked myself a question ‘why do I want the anointing? At the time I was meditating on Numbers 13. After careful consideration of the question (you know when God gets your attention), my honest answer was that I wanted God’s power live an empowered and victorious life. Whilst this is a noble answer and indeed I think that the answer is right but God wanted to show me another perspective, I believe that when we call out for God’s presence, His glory, anointing or even gifts of the Spirit, the primary purpose should be so that we can serve God.
Let’s consider a few scriptures to this effect. I have underlined the ‘connection’ in these scriptures.
Numbers 33:11-12.
12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation [is] Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go [with you,] and I will give you rest.”
The conservation that took place between God and Moses which ended with Moses asking to see God’s glory, started with Moses wanting to serve God (verse 12 – i.e. leading God’s people into the Promised Land). Moses already had a good relationship with God but now he was asking for God’s empowerment so he could serve God better.
Second example: Mark 16:15-18
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Here the Lord Jesus is giving last minute instructions to His disciples. Look again at the word at beginning of verse 17 ‘And’, Jesus is saying here that we an go out and preach the gospel by the power of God. This view is further reinforced in Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Coming back to the question that we started with, when you ask for God’s supernatural assistance, is it for the purpose of serving Him? What I have tried to show through these scriptures is that the anointing is for service. Basically God empowers us to serve Him.
Whatever the reason that you are seeking God’s presence, make sure that serving Him is one of them.
I trust that this post has also been a blessing to you, so until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
Ola
www.christianbusinessmagazine.om
Topics: assignment | No Comments »
What we can learn from the way Moses handled criticism
By admin | February 3, 2010
The Moses way of handling criticism
One of my favourite bible characters in recent years has been Moses. His knowledge and experience of God and His glory encourages me to know God more.
Reading through the book of Numbers recently, I was struck by how Moses reacted to the constant complaints and criticism by the children of the children of Israel. What I found particularly interesting was that whether the criticism was justified or not, Moses’ response was always the same. He would take it to God in prayer. When the people were wrong and God wanted to judge them, he would stand in the place of intercession for them. He always prayed to get a Godly perspective and in some cases Godly instructions. He never acted alone.
Let’s consider a few examples:
Numbers 12:1 Here his own brother and sister rose up against him because of the Ethiopian woman he had married. So angry was God at this revolt that he caused Miriam to have leprosy. To have leprosy in those days was to be an outcast. So you can imagine Miriam the prophetess being an outcast in the house of God. So what did Moses do? He prayed (Numbers 12:3) and God removed the leprosy. Remember, Moses was the guy who was wronged.
So on to Numbers 14 – this time the turn of the leaders. The Israelites in disbelief, because of the bad report of the spies, had refused to proceed into the Promised Land. So the people complained against Moses as if it was Moses’ idea in the first place to take them out of Egypt. The people then decided to turn their backs on God, return to Egypt and before they went, decided to stone Moses and his brother (Numbers 14:4). Stoning Moses could well had resulted in Moses death, if they had gone ahead. Moses’ reaction is exemplary. In response to this, Moses and Aaron prayed and bowed before the Lord (Numbers 14:5, 11-20)
Moses prayed a prayer of intercession: “Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of your mercy, just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now”. How often do we pray for those that have wronged us, especially when we are in the right?
Fast forward to Numbers 16:1-3 – the sons of Korah were now up against Moses. The sons of Korah were responsible for the tabernacle, the house of God. Remember the ark of covenant, representing the presence of God, was in the tabernacle. The sons of Korah stated that Moses had exalted himself above the people The people responsible for ensuring ‘God’s presence’ was carried in the right manner ,were fighting for more position. They did not realise what an honourable position they actually had.
So they complained against Moses and what did Moses do? Yes, you guessed, he prayed to God (Numbers 16:4). This did not avert the judgement of God as the ground opened and swallowed them up.
You would have thought that by now, the people would be in awe of God and Moses and stop their complaining, but after seeing what happened to the sons of Korah, they complained against Moses, stating that Moses had killed their leaders (Numbers 14:41)., As was his custom, Moses turned to God in prayer.
Unfortunately the people’s criticism and complaints were too much for Moses, so much so that he acted in anger when God told him to speak to the rock. Instead he struck it, thus leading to him disrespecting and dishonouring God before the people. As a result, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
Moses is a great example to us today. We need to examine our reaction to criticism. The question is whether we pray before we do anything? And when the people who criticise us are wrong, do we stand in a place of intercession for them? This is what it means to be partakers of the divine nature.
May the Lord cause and enable us to walk according to these truths. Let’s learn from Moses and ensure that people’s constant criticism does not wear us down or get us to the point where we jeopardise the best that God has for us. I pray that the Lord will help us in Jesus’ name.
Just a thought for another day, but until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed and feel free to share this with anyone that might be blessed by it
Ola
Topics: Prayer | 2 Comments »
Your divine assignment - the journey
By admin | January 26, 2010
Thank you for all the comments received from the post ‘assignment, purpose, destiny….somebody help me’. Your comments were overwhelming and I must admit some of them brought tears to my eyes.
If you are new to the newsletter or didn’t have an opportunity to read it, I recommend that you do. The post is on our two websites: www.christianbusinessmagazine.com and www.purposeforchrist.com. I am trying to put my detailed understanding of the subject into an ebook, so watch this space.
In my last post, I mentioned the importance of ensuring that your natural skills has God’s supernatural enablement or ‘grace’ as it is referred to in Romans 12: 5-8
In this post, I want to share another perspective on our divine assignment. I find that so many times, we are encouraged and told to find our assignment but oftentimes, we are not told how to find it. In the post mentioned above on assignment, I stated that it comes by revelation. We must remember however, that whilst we would have an overall notion of our assignment (after God reveals it to you), there are steps that we need to take to get there. It is a lifelong journey.
So the next question is how do I know that my daily activity is taking me towards my destiny? Once again the scriptures are not silent on this and this is the subject of today’s post.
The text is taken from Romans 12:1-2
Living Sacrifices to God
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Notice the word ‘that’ in verse 2.. We are commended to do certain things in verse 1 so that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God – this is what I call ‘The Requisite’. Could it be that many of us are not walking in our assignment or even know what it is because we are not fulfilling the conditions of verse 1.
So let’s take a loser look at this verse. We are commanded to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. We are to present it in a holy and acceptable way to God because this is what God wants – the scriptures call it our reasonable service..
The language of worship in the Old Testament was sacrifice. In coming to God, the worshipper brought a sheep, a bull or a pigeon and sacrificed it on the altar to God. In the book of Romans, Paul is encouraging us to develop a lifestyle of daily worship and a daily laying down of our lives – as long as we are ‘living’. The offering of our bodies is not the offering of our bodily parts but our bodily behaviour.
This verse therefore means that our daily act of worship, of surrender, of focused thoughts, of Godly behaviour, of being separated unto God (being holy) positions us to a place where we can know His will. This is echoed in Colossians.
Colossians 3:2 encourages us ‘to seek those things which are above, where Christ is , sitting at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on things of the earth’. BY focusing on God, we will have a Godly perspective on things.
Secondly, we are not to be conformed to the standards of this world but instead renew our minds through the word of God. We are to let the word of God influence our lives. In order words, the word of God has the power to transform our lives to His flow
A holy lifestyle and mindset and a life dedicated in sacrifice to God is the prerequisite to the ongoing revelation of what God wants for our lives. This is what positions us to hear God’s instructions
All of this might seem like a tall order. We almost want to ask the question, do we have to be perfect before we can know His will. Is it not impossible to live such a lifestyle?
The answer is No. One thing I have learnt about Christianity is that God wants us to come to Him as we are. As we do, He in turn will empower us. Remember ‘His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which we have been given great and precious promises, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust’ (2 Peter 1:3-5)
I am praying for God’s grace to live a holy and sacrificial life. Won’t you join me? Please read and re-read the bits that speak specifically to you, and pass it on to your friends. All I ask is that you include the link where they can also subscribe to the newsletter.
The link is www.christianbusinessmagazine.com and www.purposeforchrist.com
I hope that you have been encouraged and blessed by this article. Until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
Ola
Topics: assignment | No Comments »
Skills versus spiritual gifts
By admin | January 13, 2010
Still reflecting on the theme of ‘supernatural living’ (and many thanks to all those who wrote in following the last post on assignment), in this post I want to concentrate on the subject of skills and spiritual gifts.
Most of the work we do either in the church or out in the world involves a certain degree of skill. I meet many skilful people, who have worked at developing their skills. Whilst this is important, I believe that the scriptures encourage us to seek God’s empowerment on all we do. Let me explain.
We need interpersonal skills to be an usher or greeter, listening skills to be a counsellor, flower arranging or balloon skills to beautify the church, teaching skills to be a teacher, administrative skills to organise the church, music skills to play an instrument, even good reading skills to read the scriptures in an engaging way and the list goes on.
Most of our work and church activity involves using various skills and rightfully so, but I am increasingly concerned that people are encouraged to develop their skills and almost nothing is said about spiritual gifts or spiritual empowerment. Without spiritual empowerment, a lot of what we do becomes hard work and our effectiveness is limited.
Spiritual gifts are supernatural assistance given to us to make our work easier. If you are a counsellor, having revelation gifts e.g. the word of knowledge or wisdom makes the task easier, if you go out on evangelism or find it difficult to witness, having a word of knowledge or the gift of healing would make the work easier.
By spiritual gifts I am referring to scriptural references in :
- 1 Corinthians 12:14-27,
- Romans 12:3-8
- 1 Corinthians 14:1-40
- Ephesians 4:7-16
- 1 Peter 4:7-11
These scriptures refer to a number of spiritual gifts but of particular relevance to this post are the gifts mentioned in Romans 12:3-8. These include serving, teaching, encouraging, contribution to the needs of others, leadership and mercy. These gifts can also be considered to be skills. We refer to teaching skills, leadership skills et. We say that some people are encouragers, are merciful etc. I would like us to pay attention to the text. The book of Romans informs us that these are gifts given to us by the grace of God. The word grace here refers to spiritual enablement or assistance.
To establish whether we are referring to a skill or a gift, you need to ask yourself whether you experience the supernatural assistance of God when the ‘gift’ or ‘skill’ is being manifested.
I believe that we can only obtain these gifts by waiting on God and asking for it. The simple truth about Christianity is that all we need to do is ask.
Knowing that spiritual gifts make our work a lot easier, we should be actively seeking them. Walking in the gifts of the Spirit would require that we stay in constant communion with God and we can only do that by maintaining a prayerful life. We are responsible for the use and development of the skills He has given us. In other words, there can be no laziness in the kingdom of work. There can be no short shorts. Let’s not be tempted to go and use our ‘skills’ without seeking for God’s divine empowerment.
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Spiritual gifts are given to us to enable us to fulfil His will on earth.
God wants to empower us supernaturally to get His work done. The qualification to get spiritual gifts is quite simple- all we need to do His ask. Skills alone are not enough, otherwise God would not have given us gifts.
I have started to review my own life and ask for more of His ‘empowerment on my skills’ and I want to encourage you to do the same. Remember, supernatural empowerment makes life and His work a lot easier. Skills are not enough
Just some more thoughts to share with you, but until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
Ola
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Purpose, destiny, assignment….somebody help me!
By admin | December 20, 2009
There are so many words that we find ‘floating’ around and sometimes we mix the meaning of these words up. Words such as purpose, assignment, destiny, desire, goals, talents, gifts and the list goes on. We use these words interchangeably sometimes, without pausing to think about the true meaning.
Recently, I found myself asking one question, all said and done; do I know the reason why I am here on earth i.e. what is my assignment on earth? By knowing, I mean knowing beyond a shadow of doubt what God has called me to do.
I have been asking many people this question and it seems a lot of people are hoping that through the use of their gifts and talents, they will fulfil their destiny. But the question still remains, what exactly are you here to do? I believe that if you can’t articulate this in a matter of fact manner, the chances are you really do not know. If you cannot tell your basic assignment in a sentence or two, you probably do not really know your assignment
I am not asking about the gifts and talents you have. The more I have studied this subject and thought on these words, the more I have come to the conclusion that a lot of us are hoping we get to our destiny and fulfilling God’s will, without actually being sure of what it is.
I believe that everyone has a purpose. Purpose is the assignment you are called to born to deliver. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that we are born for a purpose.
Substitutes for assignment
Of course, there are certain things that can give us an idea or clue to our destiny, but remember, they are only clues and you still have to find out the destination. Clues only point towards a destination. So, we have clues or indicators such as:
- Desires of our hearts. God said that He would give us the desires of our hearts. Our desires can tie in with our assignment but it is not our assignment.
- Things we like/dislike and would like to change
- Your past
- Things we have a passion for
- Circumstances
- Things that have humbled us
- Things that inspire us
- Experience and education
- Things that make us proud
In addition, God has also given us talents. We are meant to use our talents to fulfil our destiny. However, talents are not the same as an assignment. The recognition and use of talents is not the same as knowing what your destiny is. Talents are destiny helpers. Talents, anointings and others are clues to our destiny. Spiritual gifts also help you fulfil your assignment.
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A lot of us have substituted the clues for an assignment. You use your gifts, talents and treasures to complete your assignment.
Revelation of the assignment
So how do we know our destiny? How do we know beyond a shadow of doubt what God has called you for?
Let’s start with Jesus. Jesus came to do the will of His Father and He knew what that Will was. What exactly was God’s will for Him? His Will was to ultimately die for the sins of the whole world.
John the Baptist recognised Jesus as the Lamb who will take away the sins of the whole world.
After serious consideration of the scriptures, I have come to the conclusion that only God can tell you what your assignment is and you owe it to yourself to find out what it is. Your purpose can only come about by revelation.
Ephesians 1:11 in the message says “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are looking for”. You discover your identify and purpose through a personal relationship with God. You have to spend time seeking God for it (even if it takes month), so you are assured that your life is aligned with God’s eternal purpose.
Destiny is moving toward a purposed end. Destiny is imparted individually (Jeremiah 1:5). Ask God what He wants you to do and don’t let go, until He answers. Life is too short to take chances with it. Destiny or purpose is not guess work. If you don’t know your destiny, you will not fulfil it. You have a responsibility to find out what your assignment is.
Only the creator of a thing can say why he or she created something. Only God can tell you why He created you.. You need to spend time seeking your assignment. John 17:4. Jesus completed the assignment that His Father gave Him to do.
Some of the ways in which revelation comes include:
- Direct communication from God – divine communication
- Prophetic utterance
- Confirmation from other people
- Laying on of hands
- Generational pronouncement and blessings
- Visions
- The word of God
- Inner witness
You can only develop life goals i.e. the direction your life would take and planning for it, after you know your purpose. Goals are set to help fulfil the assignment
God forbid that we get to the end of our lives and think, if only I had known that I was born for this.
In conclusion, seek, find and fulfil your life’s assignment. David served God’s purpose in his generation, may you also serve God’s purpose in your generation.
Until I appear again in your inbox, stay blessed
Ola
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