god's purpose for your life

8/9/2019 God's Purpose for Your Life

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GODS

PURPOSE

FORYOUR

LIFE

Okoye Uka


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ASV - AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION

CEV - CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION

RSV - REVISED STANDARD VERSION

ALL OTHER BIBLE QUOTATIONS WITH UNSPECIFIED VERSION ARE QUOTED

FROM THE AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION BIBLE.

CONTENTS

Introduction

God needs you

Your gift

Your call

The place of God's word

In conclusion


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This Page Is Deliberately Left Blank


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Gods Purpose for your life

Gods purpose for your life - 1 -

INTRODUCTION

I feel greatly privileged to write on this topic, Gods Purpose for Your Life.So many times, people ask, what is my purpose on this earth?, what am I

called to do? Its not wrong to ask such questions. In fact, it goes a long way to

show how devoted and focused a person is, or may wish to be.

Before I proceed, let me sound a note of advice. This book is purely written for

Born-again Christians. It is to enlighten Born-again Christians, specifically.

You know, the things of God cannot be understood carnally. The promises,

purposes, and procedures of God only apply to the Believer (Gal_3:22, But the

scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ

might be given to them that believe. ; Eph_1:19, And what is the exceedinggreatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his

mighty power). If applied otherwise, they cant yield the expected result. So, if

you are not one, kindly hand over this book to a friend, who is, or you may

become one, now.

As we proceed, let me say this: God did not save you just to take you to heaven

at the end of this world. God could not have sent down His Son to this Earth, to

pass through so much pain, just to save us only for that reason. Come on! If it

were you, would you do that? He saved us because he is in desperate need of us.

That implies that once you got born-again, you committed yourself to be usedby God to achieve his purpose on the Earth. We will go deeper into this, in

further pages.

As born-again Christians, there are two extremes we emphasize, which apply in

this context. A number of us believe that once we get born-again, we struggle

to maintain holiness and chastity before God, while we keep waiting for

heaven. The second group believes that we were saved so as to eat the good of

the land to the fullest. Now, I wont go deep into this, but a preacher once said

that prosperity messages (at the extreme) came as a result of too much

emphasis on holiness unto God, and that the result should be a balancebetween the two extremes. The fact is that the most emphasis should be laid on

the purpose of God in our lives, because someone once stated, WHEN THE

PURPOSE OF A THING IS NOT KNOWN, ABUSE IS INEVITABLE. If

every Christian can come to terms with the reality of the fact that God has a

purpose for his life, they will have less time for frivolous activities and the urge

to sin. As we all know, An idle mind is the devils workshop.

Many Christians, also, emphasize the issue of son-ship in Christ, rather than

Servanthood. If you read through the Bible, youll find out that Gods


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emphasis is on Servants, and not on Sons. On two occasions, Jesus talked about

two sons of a man; his emphasis was on the serving son.

Mat_21:28 30: But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he cameto the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and

said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the

second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

In the passage above, Jesus talked about two sons, one who obeyed (served) his

father, and the other, who disobeyed (did not serve) his father. Both were sons,

but the one who will be rewarded is the serving son. Sometimes, the Bible calls

them servants. These serving sons are those sons of God that go about doing

Gods purpose in their lives. Most of the blessings and promises, in the Bible,

belong to these serving sons. Get me! Son-ship is not the issue, Service is.

A favourite scriptural example isIsa_54:17- No weapon that is formed against

thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment

thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their

righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

So, you see! When you are serving Gods purpose, he puts in place so many

things for you. You have less things to worry about, and finally, you enter into

his rest, not just in Heaven, but here on the Earth.

Here is a vivid illustration of how many of us relate with God:

A rich man comes to a boy, who he adopted as a son, and tells him, Son, in my

hand is the key to the big house over there. Come and do this job for me and

Ill give you the key to the house, so that you can possess it. Then, the son

leaves the work and runs to the house without the keys. Isnt it stupid?

Shouldnt he go after the man, do the job, and then have the key to the house?

Matt_6: 33(CEV) says, But more than anything else, put Gods work first and

so what he wants. Then, the other things will be yours as well.

In the same manner, many of us run after prosperity, success, the blessing of

God, instead of running after God and seeking to do his purpose, and then he

can bless us. Prosperity, wealth, success, etc, are only a reward from God to his

serving sons. Therefore, if you must get them from God, you must be prepared

for service to him. Dont place the cart before the horse. Service comes before

a reward and not vice versa. Obedience begets blessing.


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I cannot emphasize enough, the fact that God made you and has the best

purpose you can serve on this earth. He made you in his likeness, with creative

abilities, but in a particular field.

Therefore, in this book, without outlining methods, I want to guide you into

discovering Gods purpose for your life. I trust the Holy Spirit will interpret

these things in your mind and give you the ability to stay at the centre of Gods

purpose for you.

Well correlate the fact that God needs you to your gifts and calling, and

then to wealth, Gods time, etc.

As you flip through the rest of the pages, may the Lord make you understand,

exactly, what he wants to pass across to you.


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GOD NEEDS YOU

Isa_6:5-8, Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of

unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyeshave seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto

me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off

the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy

lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the

voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said

I, Here am I; send me.

In the passage above, we see Isaiah go through his salvation experience. What

next? He heard God making a request is there anyone I can send? Will

someone go for us? The implication of this is that God saved him, so that, if hewas willing to subject himself, God would send him. It, also, applies to us.

Listen! Man is Gods extension on the Earth. If man does not make himself

available, God cannot do anything on the Earth. For everything God wants to

do on the Earth, he needs a man. The more every Christian stays away from his

purpose, the more we keep God stranded.

1Cor_12:27(CEV), Together you are the Body of Christ. Each one of you is

part of his body.

Eph_5:23, Christ is the head of the church.

From these two scriptures, we deduce that the head is Christ, while we form the

rest of the body. Relating this to the human body, the head carries out its

activities through the other parts of the body- the hands, legs, fingers, teeth, etc.

In the same way, Christ carries out his activities on the Earth through us. If we

refrain from this, we make him handicapped.

I once heard of a true story of a great man of God, Kenneth Hagin. Jesus once

appeared to him and they got talking about some important issues. Suddenly, asmall demon stepped in between them and began to raise a smoke, making so

much noise. Kenneth kept straining to hear Jesus, and Jesus kept talking like

nothing was happening. The demon intensified the distraction, until Kenneth

became grieved and shouted at it to stop, then he rebuked it. At that moment, it

disappeared. Then he asked Jesus why de did nothing about the demon. To his

surprise, Jesus answered, if you did not do anything, I couldnt have done

anything. Get my point! He rebuked the demon in the name of Jesus, yet Jesus

said He could have done nothing if Kenneth did not speak.


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Can you see how useful you are to Jesus? How he waits upon you so that he

can affect the Earth positively? In fact, for this reason he put a phrase in the

Lords Prayer, thy will be done on Earth as it is written in heaven, because we

have to say it before he can act on this Earth. This desire of God for people isnot restricted to Preaching, Evangelism, etc. He wants to use us,also, in

Business, Politics, Engineering, Tailoring, Medicine, Hair-dressing, to name

but a few. Even the whole creature is expecting and waiting for your

manifestation. They groan in pain awaiting you. The funny thing is that if you

fail to manifest, you delay the person who is to take over from where you stop,

just like in a relay race. For instance, how would Thomas Edison have invented

the Electric bulb, if Michael Faraday refused to invent Electricity?

Permit me to quote an excerpt from a great movie I once watched.

OUR DEEPEST FEAR IS NOT THAT WE ARE INADEQUATE.

OUR DEEPEST FEAR IS THAT WE ARE POWERFUL BEYOND

MEASURE.

WE ASK OURSELVES, WHO AM I TO BE BRILLIANT, GORGEOUS,

TALENTED AND FABULOUS?

ACTUALLY, WHO ARE YOU NOT TO BE?

WE WERE BORN TO MAKE MANIFEST THE GLORY OF GOD THAT IS

WITHIN US.

AND AS WE LET OUR OWN LIGHT SHINE, WE UNCONSCIOUSLY

GIVE OTHER PEOPLE THE PERMISSION TO DO THE SAME.

Like I said, God needs you. He wants to use you in many ramifications. All you

need to do, like Isaiah, is to yield yourself to his purpose, whatever it is. Even if

it is something you naturally hate, just obey him. The night before Jesus was to

be crucified, he told his Father in the Garden, See, Dad, I dont like the cross.

But not my will, your will be done (paraphrasing). That is, it is not wrong to

tell God that you hate a thing. The important thing is to obey him, willingly,

because you are not of your own. He bought you with a special price, the

Blood, to serve that particular purpose he reserved for you. Therefore, you are

indebted to him. Look at the illustration below.

Mat_21:28-30, But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came

to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and

said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the

second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

Youll find out that the first son actually said to his father, I will not,

probably, trying to convey the fact that he did not like the job, to his father.

Anyway, he still did it, in line with his fathers desire. The truth is that when


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you let him know your stance, he gives you the grace to carry it out, so that you

dont need to like or dislike it. At the long run, youll find out that his purpose

is the best thing that could have happened to you. The purpose of God is good,

acceptable and perfect for you (Rom_12:2). The issue with God is not exactlywhere you are going to but your readiness to go to that place. Dont go to God

with preconceived ideas; rather, go with the readiness to do his own purpose.

When he sees your love for him and for his work, then he begins to conceive

great ideas in your mind, in line with his purpose. Go to him with surrendered-

ness, that is, not my will, but yours be done. My favourite illustration is

about a man who gave his life to God, and then God said he would go to China,

probably as a missionary. The man hated China, so much that he deserted God,

since Gods plan for him centred on China. This happened repeatedly, until,

finally, he came back to God and said, O.K. If it is China, I will go. China,

here I come. Then, the Holy Spirit told him, you will not go to China. I justwanted to bring you to the point of willingness to do whatever I say.

Let this sink into your subconscious that God is watching out for you to come

to the point of not my will, but yours be done, before he unleashes himself to

this world, through you.

On a final note for this chapter, I want you to begin to see yourself as one of

Gods choicest Generals, and that is why he has reserved you for this end time.

Allow him, and let him take you places. He needs you so bad:

Luk_10:2, Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the

labourers are few

Eze_22:30, And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the

hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it:

but I found none.


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YOUR GIFT

Exo_31:1-6 (CEV), The Lord said to Moses: I have chosen Bezalel from the

Judah tribe to make the sacred tent and its furnishings. Not only have I filledhim with my Spirit, but I have given him wisdom and made him a skilled

craftsman who can create objects of art with gold, silver, bronze, stone, and

wood. I have appointed Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to work with him, and I

have also given skills to those who will help them make everything exactly as I

have commanded you.

Jer_1:5, 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.

Psa_139:13-16 (ASV), For thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover

me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and

wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right

well. My frame was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and

curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see mine

unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that

were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Psa_40:7-8, Then said I, Lo, I am come; In the roll of the book it is written of

me: I delight to do thy will, O my God; Yea, thy law is within my heart.

I love that sentence- Thou didst form my inward parts. Its a good rendition

for this write-up. If you went to a carpenter, and you told him to make two

chairs for you, one for a fat, weighty adult, and the other for a 2-year old child,

you can be sure youll get two different things. The chair for the adult will be

big, made of very strong wood, adhesive, nails, etc; while that for the child will

be made of a lighter material, not as strong as that for the adult. This, of course,

is because they are serving two different purposes. With this illustration, lets

look at the person of Bezalel.

Before God created Bezalel, he had in mind that Bezalel would be the chief

craftsman for the building of the sacred tents and its furnishings. Therefore, He

endowed/formed him with all the necessary requirements to fit that purpose. He

was formed to be a skilful craftsman, and was filled with wisdom in arts.

Therefore, Bezalel grew up, aware of the gift, and refined it by constant use,

until it became a skill. He became so good at it, that he could teach people. He

was a force to reckon with in that field.


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According to the third passage, Psalm_139:13-16, when God was forming your

inward parts, before you were born, he was taking into cognisance, the days

that were ordained for you (that is, everything you would do on this Earth-

CEV), which he had already written and documented in his book. Listen, hemade no mistakes about that. He built every part of you, as is required for your

purpose on this Earth, not smaller, not bigger than is perfect for you. No

wonder Jesus said that God knows the number of hairs on your head; imagine

how trivial it is! Verse 14 stresses that the way he created you was wonderful

and marvellous, without doubt (CEV).

We can deduce, therefore, that to get a glimpse of your purpose in life, you

ought to look into your inward parts, your gifts. Let me give an illustration that

will better drive in this point:

A Pastor, who has greatly influence me, Pastor Bankie Olushina, once usedhimself as an example. He said, since I was a small boy, people knew that I

talked a lot. So, that I am a teacher of the Word, is not a mistake. My friends

called me the Broker, which they derived from the Brokers Speech Centre,

a part of the human brain, as divided by Broadman, which is responsible for

speech. God has formed my inward parts to fit the teaching ministry. This man

refined the teaching gift by reading extensively (Christian books, Bible, etc),

and utilizing every opportunity to teach Gods word. When he was a young

man in his twenties, he would go outside his room in the night, to practice his

teaching ability, by teaching Gods word to the air, flying creatures, etc. He did

this to ventilate his soul, because the word was like fire shut up in his mouth, sothat he could not withhold it. Then he started teaching in a church

denomination he attended then. In fact, he thought at the slightest opportunity.

Today, he has a teaching ministry, which he runs at Enugu, where people sit

and listen to him teach the word of God. He is also a University Lecturer, who

has received an award from the University, where he teaches, as the best

lecturer in a particular field. God has started bestowing blessings on him.

What is that thing you are very good at and you love to do? What is that thing

that turns you on or that delights you, when you do it? What is it that is

inherent in you and that you have a passion for? Passion, here, does not refer tosomething you aspire to do because it is common. You see, that is one

misleading factor. The fact that music is common, and you see people

prospering in it, does not, in any way, make it your gift. That Jay Jay Okocha

prospered in soccer does not imply that you will. Take a moment off and look

in. It lies within you. Pay no attention to the external monetary or material gain

of the gift. The gift was not given to you to seek a market for. Just look inwards

and you will find it lying there. It is that stuff you are very good at and love to

do. I hope you understand. That is your gift. Get hold of it, develop it, refine it,

by constant use of it, then it becomes a skill.


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Hear me out! Whether the gift has the inherent ability to make you some cash

or not, should not be your worry. The truth is that God did not give you that gift

to make money. He gave it to you to see your faithfulness in its use. When he issatisfied with your faithfulness, the fruits from your gift, then he will bless you

so much that you will not contain it. God derives glory from the fruits produced

by the use of your gift.

Joh_15:8, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be

my disciple.

God gave you that gift for you to use it in blessing your fellow man. He gave it

to you to be a blessing to other people. When you begin to use your gift, if it

needs a market, God will provide it. But, remember, it is not your place tocreate a market for it. This is the plane truth. If you believe it and you walk by

it, you can never be average. Mike Murdock said, when you move away from

the place of your strength, you move towards your weaknesses. Use your gift;

it is the place of your strength. You are the best at it, that is, when it is refined.

Bishop David Oyedepo said, There is a place where you are outstanding. What

are you doing where you are average? At the place of your strength, you are

outstanding. You can not be average. He also said, What is the use of speed

when you are on the wrong road? What is the use of struggle when you are at

the place of your weakness, at the place of your mediocrity? You should not

allow any responsibility that comes your way to hinder you from using yourgift.

Brother, you are gifted at teaching. What are you doing struggling as a

businessman? It is the spirit of corruption that has pushed you there. You have

placed emphasis on money. That is covetousness.

1Ti_6:10, Forthe love of money is the root of all evil: which while some

coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through

with many sorrows.

Go back to the place of your strength.

Sister, children love to see you. They are excited when you play with them.

What are you doing entangled in an unnecessary competition of trading? There

are many competitors like you, whose trading businesses have folded up

because they are not gifted there, but have indulged in it. Do you want yours to

fold up before you realize? Dont be covetous. Get back to the place of your

strength.


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We make a mistake when we entangle ourselves in an unnecessary, unrighteous

competition with other people. What is the use of struggle when you can only

be average there? You see, I hate the word average with a passion. I love

being extraordinary, being unique, being outstanding. That is what Godgave you that gift for. He has chosen you, filled you with his Spirit, given you

wisdom and made you very good at that gift, like Bezalel. To whom much is

given, much is expected.

Wealth is a reward from God for your faithfulness.

1Sa_2:7, The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth

up.

Psa_75:6-7, For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west,nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up

another.

It is unrighteous for you to pursue the reward, leaving behind the rewarder.

What God expects from you is faithfulness in the gift he has given you and in

whatever your hand finds to do.

(whatever you hand finds to do is any responsibility God has placed in your

hands, to be faithful in. In Davids case, as will be described in further

paragraphs, what his hand found to do was the work of a shepherd.)

Ecc_9:10, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is

no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou

goest.

Note the two things- gift and whatever your hand finds to do. To further

explain these, let us consider the lives of some people in the Bible.

DAVIDDavid was a gifted musician. He was a great singer, and he played the harp (a

musical instrument) with great dexterity. It does not imply that he was born a

harpist. No, it implies that he discovered the music ability, inherent in him, and

refined it by constant use of it. He must have been singing as he led the sheep

to pasture, daily. He also learnt to play the harp, to act as a back-up to his voice

when singing. He learnt the harp so well that, in the whole land of Israel, when

Saul fell ill with an evil spirit from the Lord, David was recommended as the

best harpist.


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1Sa_16:14-19, But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil

spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold

now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy

servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player onan harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee,

that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his

servants, provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then

answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the

Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man

of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with

him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy

son, which is with the sheep.

1Sa_16:23, And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul,

that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, andwas well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Looking at the book of Psalms, youll discover that only a highly talented

musician, filled with Gods Spirit, could pen down those Psalms (sacred songs

or poem). He used his gifts to serve God, in form of praises to God, worship,

prayers, etc. He became the man after Gods heart.

Another thing David exhibited was faithfulness in the use of his gift (without

remuneration), and in what his hand found to do. Like I stated earlier, what his

hand found to do was the work of a shepherd. He was so faithful in taking careof his fathers sheep that they increased in number. When a bear attempted to

take one of the sheep, he went after it, devoured it and recovered the sheep. A

lion also attempted, and David did the same.

1Sa_17:34-36, And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep,

and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went

out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he

arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy

servant slew both the lion and the bear.

In all the period of faithfulness in what his hand found to do, he never knew

that the Lord was training him to be a leader. All his part was to prove faithful

in what was committed to is hands, and in due time, God lifted him and blessed

him, as a reward for his faithfulness.

JOSEPHJoseph was gifted as a dreamer, and as an interpreter of dreams.


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Gen_37:5-7, And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and

they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this

dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the

field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, yoursheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

Gen_37:9, And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and

said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon

and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

He was also sent by his father, most times, to check the welfare of his brothers

and the sheep, in the field. That is, the work his hand found to do was

Administration. Even when he was in Potiphars house as a slave, he was still

an administrator.

Gen_39:4, And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he

made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

Joseph refined his dream interpretation abilities, until it became a skill. He

could easily interpret anybodys dream with Gods help. In Gen_40, he

interpreted the dreams of two of his fellow prisoners, and finally, in Gen_41:1-

32, he interpreted Pharaohs dreams.

It did not end at that. Joseph, like Daniel, had the ability to solve difficult

problems.

Dan_5:12(CEV), not only is he wise and intelligent, but he can explain

dreams and riddles and solve difficult problems.

So, after interpreting Pharaohs dreams, he offered solutions to the problems

revealed in the dreams.

Gen_41:33-37, Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise,

and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint

officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in theseven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that

come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in

the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of

famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the

famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all

his servants.

Therefore, correlating Josephs experience to his glorification, we see that he

was faithful as an administrator, throughout his training, and he was appointed


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as an Administrator over Egypt. That was Gods reward for his faithfulness in

using his talents and in what his hands found to do.

SOLOMONLooking at this character, when God met him in a dream, in Gibeon, and asked

him for his desire, he asked for wisdom.

1Ki_3:5-15, In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night:

and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed

unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before

thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and

thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit

on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thyservant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not

how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which

thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for

multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy

people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this

thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had

asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing,

and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself,

nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself

understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thywords: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there

was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and

honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy

days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my

commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem,

and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt

offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

Solomon asked for wisdom because David, his father, had instructed him in the

way of God and in the way of wisdom. These instructions birthed in him the

desire to serve God, by being a blessing to his fellow man, in leadership. He

asked for wisdom because he wanted to be faithful in what God had committed

to his hands. God was completely mesmerized by that act, and blessed him so

much. Again, that was Gods reward for faithfulness.


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We have studied the lives of three men that pleased God, and that God blessed

(rewarded). We have seen what actually pleased God in their walk with him.

Rom_15:4, For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for ourlearning

That implies that the Bible is like an expo for Gods interviews. If you have

passed through formal Education (school) in Nigeria, you should understand

that word expo. An expo is what a student slips into an Examination hall, in

an effort to cheat in that examination, which contains answers or clues to

questions in that examination. Therefore, if Joseph, David, Solomon, and a

number of other servants of God, pleased him by their service of faithfulness in

Gifts and in whatever their hands found to do, then you cannot be different. If

you do the same, you will please him, and he will bless you.

Service to God is birthed by love for him and for his desire on this Earth. And

love for God means love for your fellow man.

1John_4:20b (CEV), we cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we dont

love the people we can see?

Our part on this Earth is to use our gifts to render services to our fellow man

(humanity), thereby giving other people the opportunity to do the same. God

made this world in such a way, that one man may be a blessing to another.Until you are a blessing to your society (your fellow man), you cannot prosper.

What makes a man truly great is that he wakes up in the morning and asks

himself, what can I do to be a blessing to my fellow-man? That statement was

made by one of Americas former presidents. The notion of many people is,

how can my society bless me or give to me, today? That is entirely wrong.

The giver has the most blessing. If everyone wakes up everyday, expecting the

society to give him, how will the society prosper? Wont it get drained-up one

day? Moreover, that is a beggars mentality. It is what is known as poverty

mentality. And that has been the problem with Nigerians. They wake up

everyday with complaints about the society, the Government, their neighbours,not giving to them. Anyone, who does that, remains in the gutters. If you want

God to lift you up and to set you among princes, you must wake up everyday

and think as a giver, not necessarily of money, but of the gift that God has put

into your hands. Give your best to mankind and let God do his own part of

rewarding you.

God equips us (the saints) for the work of the ministry.

Eph_4:12(RSV), to equip the saints for the work of ministry (service),


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It is that work of the ministry (service) that he rewards, here on Earth, and there

in Heaven. When I say ministry, I am not referring only to church works

pasturing, teaching, Evangelism, etc. The truth is that not every Christian iscalled to be any of these. Instead, those who are called to those ministries do

their own work of ministry by equipping the other saints with the word of God,

to serve in their own respective ports of call. Your life as a Christian is an

epistle for people to read, daily. When people around you see your work of

faith, labour of love, patience of hope, and finally, Gods glory revealed in your

life, that is a greater evangelism (Moreover, in evangelising, it does not have

to be done by all Christians repeating the same sentence- repent or you will

perish. God expects that we individually use the gifts he has given to us to

evangelise. For instance, if you have a gift in singing, when you enter a bus and

you want to evangelise take permission from your fellow passengers and singunto God for them. You dont necessarily have to preach, especially if it is not

your gift). That will birth the desire for God in them, like in the case of Daniel,

in the Bible. Because of his godly service, furnished by grace, to Babylon,

Nebuchadnezzar and other succeeding kings recommended Daniels God as the

true God. You will notice that Daniel never had to say any word, in

evangelism, to the king. All he did was to render service to the kingdom, in

Gods way, even in captivity. If, as a Christian in business, you do not cheat,

nor use unjust weights, and you allow God to show forth Himself in your

business, then you would have done a great evangelism to others in your field.

That goes a long way to show that you are totally dependent on God for hisblessings and not on unjust weights. Therefore, God will bless you, in due

time, and cause people to marvel. They will, then, come to an understanding

that promotion comes from God, and God, alone.

My friend, what is important to God is that you use your gift in service to

mankind, and that you are faithful in what he has committed to your hands.

Then he will reward you with his prosperity, in due time. If you think you can

prosper through struggles or by any other means, dont conclude until you read

this statement: THE WAY YOU GET A THING IS THE WAY YOU WILL

PRESERVE IT. If you acquire by struggles, you must preserve by struggles,even until old-age. I hope youve got what I mean.

Let me round off this chapter with two stories.

The first is that of a great Nigerian gospel musician. Permit me to skip saying

his name. He got hold of his gift of music early in life, and learnt to play the

piano. When he was in the University, he went about using his gift of singing

and his skill in piano playing to serve God in his fellowships and church

denomination. He continued in it until he graduated. After his graduation and


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NYSC program, he kept doing the same thing. Then God placed in his

heart/hand, the responsibility to set up a number of choir groups (about ten

choir groups) in different satellite churches of a particular Church

denomination. This took several years of toiling and lack (hardship). And likePaul says,

2Ti_2:3, Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

When God was satisfied with his faithfulness, God brought him into limelight

by making him produce his first musical album. This album sold so much that

he became a millionaire in a few weeks. Today, people call him world over, to

sing in concerts. That is the blessing of God for years of faithfulness. Yet

people who are ignorant call him an instant success. That is false. They never

knew nor saw his work of faith, labour of love and patience of hope.

The second is that of R.G. Letourneau, the inventor of earthmoving equipmentand Engineering vehicles. He was a self-taught Engineer, i.e. he had nearly

zero formal education. He managed to do a diploma course, which certificate

was given to him at 76 years of age, after all his major accomplishments and

landmark achievements. Without a certificate or a degree, he went about

developing his gift, until it materialised into earthmoving equipment.

I encourage you to get hold of your gift and use it for the service of mankind in

complete faithfulness to God. Whether God blesses you or not should not be

your concern. Whatever he has committed to your hands should be done with

all seriousness there is. It is Gods place to shower his blessings on you, whenhe chooses to.


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YOUR CALL

Jer_1:5, 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 unto the nations.

This is where God has the greatest part to play. You almost do not have to

bother yourself about this, except you just are inquisitive or he chooses to let

you have a glimpse. Here is what I mean. Before you were born God had

ordained you to a particular place, for a particular purpose, to a particular

people. Therefore, when you begin to serve God with your gifts and your

faithfulness, He, by himself, will work out events in your life, to lead you to the

place of your calling (the place he has ordained you to be). Does this sound

strange? Is it difficult to believe? Well, you will understand it in a moment.

We studied about Joseph in the previous chapter, how he was faithful in his gift

and what God committed to his hands, without monetary attachment. Sit for a

moment and reflect on it. Do you think he ever knew that God was taking him

to the place of being a Prime Minister in Egypt? Never! He could not have

imagined that. Get real! After his dreams in his fathers house, his brothers sold

him, as a slave, to the land of Egypt. When it seemed like God was on his side,

and that the lines were falling in pleasant places for him, Potiphars wife lied

against him, and he was thrown into prison. My friend, put yourself in his

shoes. Is there still hope? At this point you would have been crying in despair,

lamenting, why has God forsaken me? I did not rape her., unknown to youthat God is the master minder of all those events. Somehow, the kings slaves

got into prison; he helped them with their dreams, and told them not to forget

him in the palace. The slave, who was restored, forgot him. What more would

he do? Yet he remained faithful, in there. Then God, the Game-master, finally

worked out events, such that, when Pharaoh dreamed, no other person could

interpret it. Then the Chief Butler, who forgot him, earlier, remembered him.

He gave the interpretations and proffered solutions, and then, CLICK! He was

appointed the Prime Minister (Governor) of Egypt. God used adversity to lead

him to the place of his calling.

Now, roll your mind backwards. When God gave him a glimpse of his calling,

by showing him the Sun, Moon and eleven Stars bowing down to him

(Gen_37:9, And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and

said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon

and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.), could he have imagined that God

actually meant to save Egypt, and indeed the whole world, through him?

Impossible! That is what Paul meant in the verse of the scriptures below.


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Eph_3:20, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that

we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us

He also emphasized it in this next verse:

1Co_2:9, But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have

entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them

that love him.

Joseph could never have imagined his calling. If you think you can imagine

Gods call exactly for your life, then that imagination is Gods starting point.

Gods calling for Joseph was to be the prime minister of Egypt to save them

and the surrounding countries from that period of famine. Notice that it was not

only to save Egypt, but to save the whole world, because other countries wentto Egypt to buy food.

When David was busy being a shepherd, could he ever have imagined God

calling him to be the next king after Saul? In his case, and in Josephs case,

they never knew that all that they passed through was Gods training and

preparation and his working of events for them to become rulers. But if we

correlate their experiences to their callings, youll find out that, for Joseph, he

was an Administrator in his fathers house, in Potiphars house, in the prison,

as well as, in the place of his calling. David was a leader, as a shepherd tending

sheep, at battle, and in the place of his calling King of Israel.

Ill like to illustrate this, a little further, with Sauls experience. In 1Sam_9

(please read it in your bible, its quite a lengthy passage to be placed in this

book), Kish, a wealthy man, had a son, named Saul. Kish owned some

donkeys, but they had run off. So he told his son, Saul and his Servant, to go

look for them. Meanwhile, God went to Samuel and told him that he will send a

man to him, and that when the man met him, he should anoint him. The man,

we find out in latter verses, was Saul. So, in essence, God never told Saul about

the whole plan about his calling. He just caused Sauls fathers donkeys to run

away, suddenly. Then he made Kish to send Saul to go find them. At a point inthe search, Saul wanted to give up, but God caused his servant to encourage

him to meet a seer (a prophet), and that seer was Samuel. God worked out the

whole events for Samuel to meet Saul. Worthy of note, is the fact that God

never told Saul about his calling, even till the last minute. Instead, he kept

telling Samuel. All he had to do for Saul was to arrange events in place, so that

they would lead him to his calling king of Israel.

These illustrations have all pointed out the fact that God may never tell or show

you your place of calling, until you are nearly there. One of the reasons for this


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is that it beats your imagination, flawlessly. In fact, if he shows it to you, you

may pass out, because it is completely beyond your imagination (note that I did

not say thinking. Imagination is wider and wilder than thinking). All he expects

you to do is, be faithful with the gift/talent I gave you, and in the work Icommitted to your hand, and I will direct your path to your calling.

Pro_3:5, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own

understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Many of us have misinterpreted the word direct, in this context, to mean that

he will talk to you. Well, the truth is that that will not happen most times, and

to most people. God does not advise people. He tells you what to do or he will

lead you to do that thing without expressly telling you. Most times the people

he talks to are his prophets. To average Christians, all he does is to direct them.

Assume you wanted to embark on a project, and there were four of its kind.

You woke up one morning and told God (in prayers) about it, and asked him to

direct you on which to do. Most times, what God will do at this junction of life,

is to close down three roads and leave the one that he wants you to pass, open,

so that you have no other choice than to take that road. He doesnt have to

speak to you. You would just find out that out of the four projects you wanted

to do, three failed to work out, and only one did. That is how God deals with

most Christians. I never knew this, also, until God used a man of His, to reveal

it to me. Since then, I have come to understand Gods ways better. Remember,your calling may actually be the place of your blessing.

That is how God deals with most of us in leading us to our callings in life. At

the beginning of this chapter, I said that we almost have no role in this whole

thing, except in the faithful use of our gifts and what he has committed to our

hands. But the little other part we have to play, I will write on, in the next

chapter (The Place of the Word of God).

Lets round-off this chapter with a parable of Jesus in the Bible.

Luk_19:12-27, He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country,

to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called ten servants of

his, and gave them ten pounds, and said unto them, Trade ye herewith till I

come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, we will

not that this man reign over us. And it came to pass, when he was come back

again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, unto

whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what

they had gained by trading. And the first came before him, saying, Lord, thy

pound hath made ten pounds more. And he said unto him, Well done, thou good


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servant: because thou wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority

over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Thy pound, Lord, hath made five

pounds. And he said unto him also, Be thou also over five cities. And another

came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I kept laid up in a napkin:for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that which

thou layedst not down, and reapest that which thou didst not sow. He saith unto

him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou

knewest that I am an austere man, taking up that which I laid not down, and

reaping that which I did not sow; then wherefore gavest thou not my money

into the bank, and I at my coming should have required it with interest? And he

said unto them that stood by, Take away from him the pound, and give it unto

him that hath the ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.

I say unto you, that unto every one that hath shall be given; but from him that

hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. But these mineenemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay

them before me.

The above passage tells us about a nobleman who had ten servants and gave

them ten pounds to trade with (do business with), while he went to possess a

kingdom. Reading through that passage, you will find out that all the servants,

but one, gave all their best to the multiplication of that money, thinking that the

master was so interested in that money. It was unknown to them that the master

was looking for faithful men, who he will appoint as Governors over the cities

in the kingdom he went to acquire. So they did their best, and on his return, heassigned them to the place of their calling as a blessing and a reward to them.

He gave one of them ten cities to govern; the other, five cities. When it got to

the last servant, the master was angry with him, not because he did not get

more money, but because he was unfaithful in the use of what was given to

him. Therefore, the master punished him for unfaithfulness.

Like we stressed before, these servants never knew their calling, until the

master was satisfied with their faithfulness and assigned them to their callings.

May you be found faithful by God and be assigned to your calling.


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THE PLACE OF GODS WORD

You may be wondering, what has Gods word got to do with all these? The

answer is, EVERYTHING!

Act_20:32, And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his

grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all

them which are sanctified.

Let me go on by saying, what God wants to do in your life is to manifest

himself in whatever he has committed to your hand to do. That is, he wants to

do it by himself, with your instrumentality.

Hear me! God does not take back the gifts he has given.

Rom_11:29, For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

That implies that, when God gives you a gift, even if you misuse it, he will not

take it back, rather he will judge you for its misuse. That judgement can go as

far as death. So, dont be surprised that there are many people misusing Gods

gifts, and still have it. It was possible for Bezalel, who we read of earlier, to use

his craftsmanship in making idol images, building temples for Baal, and all

worth not. Therefore, in order for God to keep you within his plan, he has to

infuse you with his word. The little problem there is, is that, again, it is withinyour will. It is your role to play. It is your part of the journey towards your call

to imbibe Gods word, to give him more space to manifest his grace in you.

Grace is that power that is released to you once you are conformed to the image

of Jesus. The Word of God conforms you to Christs image.

As Paul said in the passage we read, I commend you to God, who you will

know/conform to, by the word of his grace. That word will build you up to the

stage of maturity, of being conformed to Christ, after which, it will hand over

your inheritance (what belongs to you) as Gods servant (paraphrase).

Rom_8:29, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be

conformed to the image of his Son

Listen! God wants to infuse you with his word, so that, in the use of your gift,

and in faithfulness in what was committed to your hand, you will not need to

struggle. Do you know why? No word of God shall be void of power. When

God told Ezekiel, Stand up, Ezekiel said, I would have loved to stand, then


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the Spirit of God, which always accompanies his word (making it potent), set

him on his feet.

Eze_2:2, And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set meupon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

Rom_8:11, But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in

you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal

bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

When God said, let there be light, it was the power (his spirit) in that word

that brought the light to existence. When Angel Gabriel met Mary (Luke_1:34-

37), and told her of Gods purpose for her, she said, How shall this be, seeing

that I know no man?. Gabriel replied, the Spirit of the Lord will come uponyou, and Gods power will overshadow youNo word of God shall be void of

power (most Bibles say this as with God nothing shall be impossible). All

those manifestations were in that word of God from the angel.

Therefore, when God tells you, Arise and Shine (Isaiah_60:1), he doesnt

mean, struggle to stand up and shine. He means, If you are willing to do as I

have said, then the word I have spoken to you will enter into you (by my spirit),

set you on your feet and emit my light through you so that you will shine.

My friend, the word of God in your spirit is what will get you acting at thecentre of Gods purpose, with your gift, in faithfulness to God. If not, you will

keep struggling, all the days of your life, and God hates struggles. He said,

1Sa_2:9, for by strength (struggle) shall no man prevail.

That is, we cannot get a victory by our own strength.

2Cor_12:9(CEV), my gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is

stronger when you are weak(when you are surrendered).

Phi_2:13, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good

pleasure.

God works in you through his word. The word becomes flesh in you and causes

you to will and to do according to Gods desire (Rom_8:11).

Joh_1:14, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us full of grace

and truth.


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Mat_11:28-29, Come unto meand learn of me and ye shall find rest unto

your souls.

The learn of me, as said by Jesus in that verse, is by his word.

What more conviction do you need to know that God want to infuse you with

his words, so much that that word becomes flesh in you, causing you to

manifest your purpose? If the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead

dwells in you, he that raised Jesus from the dead will quicken your mortal body

to use your gift, by his Spirit that dwells in you. That Spirit in you is activated

by the infusion of Gods word all the time. Hell make you use your gifts right,

and that, spontaneously.

Therefore, desire the sincere milk of Gods word. Go for it voraciously. Whenyou pick your Bible to read, ask for wisdom and understanding from the Holy

Spirit, and he will give you. Then, you will see yourself grow from grace to

grace.

GODS TIMING

Let me say something about this, in passing, and I hope it benefits you.

2Pet_3:8-9(CEV), Dear friends, dont forget that for the Lord, one day is the

same as 1000 years, and 1000 years is the same as one day. The Lord is not

slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is

patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.

I felt a burden in my heart to tell you what you ought to know about Gods

timing, so that you can understand his way. As you go along fulfilling his

purpose in your life, you may encounter some delay in his blessing upon you,

or in taking you to the place of your calling. If you understand him, you will

have no worry about that.

In verse 8, Peters statement there implies that, what you expect God to do in a

day for you may take him 1000 years; or, what you expect God to do in 1000

years for you, may take him a day. The reason is that our timing is not exactly

the same with his. Gods timing is in the sequence of events and not in minutes,

hours, days, months, etc. Therefore, if you asked God, say for a car within 6

months, and he hears you, He arranges a series of events for you to pass

through before you can have the car. If you pass through those events in one

month, you get the car in one month. If you pass through them in ten years, you


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get the car in ten years. By that, God is not slow, God is not fast. He is just

right on-time. Those events he arranges for you are to prepare you to be able to

handle that car without having to displease him, especially by leaving the

centre of his will or purpose. God is patient not, not willing that you perishfrom your desires, but that you go through the requisite training before he

bestows on you a blessing, otherwise, you will misuse it.

So, Gods timing is like this: the flood never came until Noah entered the Ark;

the Sun did not go down until Joshua finished the battle; the parted Red sea did

not return to normal until the Israelites passed through; Joseph remained a slave

until his own words had come true, and the Lord had finished testing him

[Psalm_105:19(CEV)].

Moreover, Paul advises us in the verse below, as soldiers of Christ, to endurehardship.

2Ti_2:3, Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Gods timing is the best for you.


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IN CONCLUSION

Ecc_12:13-14, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and

keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bringevery work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or

whether it be evil.

The CEV renders verse 13 as this: Everything you were taught can be put into a

few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about.

What more can I say! Respect and obey God. This is the whole duty of man.

Matt_6:33 says it as, more than anything else, put Gods work(purpose) first

and do what he wants. Then, the other things will be yours, as well. Serve

Gods purpose on this Earth. If you do, you can never be average!

Let me leave you with these few words:

Psa_110:1, A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my

right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Here, God, the Father, said to Jesus, sit at my right until I (through my

servants on the Earth) make your enemies a footstool for you. Jesus return to

this earth depends on you (that is, if you are one of Gods servant; people

serving Gods purpose in their lives). Are you serving your part in Gods planof making His enemies Jesus footstool? Make straight the way of the Lord,

so that he can come to receive his people. Until the kingdoms of this world

become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (by his work through you),

then shall he reign forever and ever (Rev_11:15).

Let your prayer to God, like Solomon, be:Lord, there is a place in life you

have made me king. There is something you have given me to do, that no one

else can do. Make me an effective king. Give me wisdom and knowledge to

serve effectively as a king in that purpose. Amen.

The End.

god's purpose for your life

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