"For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, he also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified" Romans 8: 29-30 (Apostle Paul)
Apostle Paul in the statement above is suggesting that for those whose name are in the Lambs book of life, God has set them apart for a purpose, the necessary ingredients for that purpose has also being supplied (personality, abilities etc) so that God would be glorified on their behalf through their purpose here on earth. This statement really come to life when we look at the life story of many Bible people, such as Moses, David, Gideon, Ruth, Esther, Peter, Paul etc (in-fact everybody). It is also true of people in ministry today from the current Pope, to Pastor E.A. Adeboye of the RCCG, Archbishop Peter Akinola, Rev. Billy Graham and others. And since God is not a respecter of persons, He brought all of the above men and women from obscurity, He can and has actually purposed your destiny, so that He can be glorified.
Knowing one's purpose is not as easy it sounds (my older son told me "my purpose now is to find my purpose" - Haha); it is also very distinct from personality and abilities (those help along the way). Moses discovered his destiny as a 40 year old but it was not fulfilled till he was 80 years old, Saul of Tarsus had a different purpose designed by himself until God decided to show him the real deal on his way to Damascus. Dr. Enoch Adeboye was a mathematics teacher in a university until God revealed his purpose, young Joseph Ratzinger was a Hitler youth (a requirement for all 14 year olds in his days) who is now a pope, go figure that out.
Many times our purpose is discovered later in life and getting there or discovering it is usually a divine orchestration that no man can claim the glory for. I can attest to that in my own life, my primary purpose as a young lad in Nigeria was to join the military (because they were the ruling class then), when that failed, I was to be a transportation expert, which I did become. What I'm now engaged in is a by-product of my life experience and God orchestrating circumstances to move me into ministry (believe it or not, I still have reservation and often feel - what I'm I doing?). Is this my purpose? (I believe is God has called me to restore the marriage and family institution back to the original purpose in the body of Christ) Looks like it, but time will tell.
You are already gifted and programmed for your purpose, and the best way to find out, is to ask your creator and let Him lead you. Some of you might have an inclination of what it is, Prince William of England (Prince Solomon of Israel too) kind of have an idea what his purpose is? For the most part the clear picture would come into frame when we are gone from the world or we are at the end of the journey, for instance we can say without a shadow of doubt that God blessed Rev. Billy Graham with the ability to speak and also purposed him to be an instrument through which thousands would come into the kingdom of heaven, the interesting thing about this purpose is that God made the purpose of others (such as Cliff Barrows and Bevely Shea) to work alongside Billy Graham and such purposes where never seen as less important than the visible person.
Our purposes is not always going to be up on stage like a lot of people, some are purposed to intercede without a pulpit ministry (like my mother), others are to build things like Oholiab and Bezalel who carved the ark of the covenant in the days of Moses or Gutzon Borglum who carved the faces of four American presidents on Mt. Rushmore (son Lincoln finished it). Please allow me to share the story of three people who were led by the Holy Spirit to what they believe is a purpose for their lives.
By Pastor Femi Awodele, USA
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Measuring performance of the public sector-problems and appraoches
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