It is an attempt to bribe the Lord for a man who God has called to be a missionary to refuse to go but instead went into business and decides to support mission work with his money.
The idea of so many people today about fulfilling purpose is to just find something to do for the Lord. “Just do something. Join the Choir or the Ushering department. Just ensure you’re serving the Lord.”
These people have always had their entire life planned out by themselves. And they have never taken the risk of asking God, “what will you have me to do?” because they are afraid of what His answer will be.
For some, they already know the answer because the Lord has clearly revealed His will for their lives but they didn’t like the idea. And so they clearly disobeyed, found a sumptuous job for themselves (which is not what the Lord said); but as a way of placating their conscience, they just find something to do for the Lord in their spare time and they feel God should be OK with that.
Fulfilling purpose is not just finding something to do for the Lord. Fulfilling purpose begins with a total surrender. A handing over of the driver’s seat of one’s life to the Lord with these words in your mouth, “Lord what will you have me to do? Whatever! However! Wherever! Whenever!”
A man who has rigidly planned out his own life by himself cannot have those words in his mouth. Only someone who understands the mystery of total surrender.
Yet, the duty of total surrender is not just a message for some special Christians; it is an imperative on everyone who has benefited or hopes to benefit from the death of Jesus. For He died for all, so that those who now live will no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them.
See what 2 Cor 5:14-15 says:
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
Friends, can you see the word of God? IT IS WRONG for anyone who has benefited from the death of Christ for his salvation to subsequently live for himself. If you like to enjoy the independence of living for yourself and as you like, then please you shouldn’t try to appropriate any benefit from the death of Jesus. You shouldn’t attempt to eat your cake and still have it.
Accepting the life of Christ through salvation which preserves you from the wrath of God to come automatically presumes a readiness to lose right over yourself; a readiness to forget yourself and your personal interests; a readiness to be part of his army and ready for deployment anywhere and anytime – prepared to suffer if need be and to die if need be.
Is that not what Jesus said in Luke 9:23?
“And He said to them all, if anyone wants to be my Disciple… let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].”
Luke 9:23 KJV + AMP + AMPC.
So if you didn’t understand before, let me explain the content of the offer of your salvation to you.
Jesus says, “come, I have made a sacrifice on the cross which if you key into, it will save you from the wrath of God which is coming upon the earth. Do you like to be saved from that?” I see everyone shouting, “Yes, Yes, we want to be saved from wrath, credit your death into our account.”
Now Jesus says, “no problem, but there is a consequence if you want to enjoy the benefits accruing from my death. You will have to agree to become my slave. To lose right over yourself thereafter. You won’t be able to finish NYSC and just decide where to settle or which job to take or what you will do with your life. I’ll be the one to dictate all of that henceforth. I may even ask you to take a job that is not so well-paying for reasons best known to me and you must not complain. You must actually be willing to accept whatever may come including suffering. Do you agree with these terms?”
We all shouted, “We agree sir.”
But did you see what happened; immediately he credited His death to our account and we were removed for the realm of wrath, we escaped with our life and refused to fulfil our own part of the deal.
But of course Jesus is not a fool. There’s a consequence for that breach of contract as Lawyer’s will call it. Those who are trying to keep their lives by not pursuing God’s purpose for them; they will lose it. That’s what Jesus said in the following verse to the one quoted above- Vs 24. Unfortunately some will lose it to eternal death because in their bid to gain the world (it’s wealth, its fame and pleasure) they’ll lose their souls to the devil.
Some who are able to save it from eternal death even though by a slim chance will still have so much to cry about at the judgment seat of Christ (the judgment of the saints) where every saint’s work on earth (works of stewardship) shall be tested by fire.
The bible told us that many people’s work shall be burned up by fire completely and they will suffer loss on account of that. See 1 Cor. 3:11-15, 2 Cor. 5:10, Rom. 14:10-12.
Even those who discovered their call but didn’t build with correct materials will have their work burnt up (See 1 Cor. 3:11-15) not to talk of someone who didn’t work on his purpose at all; either because he never cared to discover it or he neglected what God said to him.
Such people will have a low estate in eternity even though they are with Christ (for there are levels even in eternity- See Luke 19:11-27; Mat. 5:19; Lk 7:28) which will be a permanent reminder of their wasted opportunities. I don’t want to be one of such. My wish and labour is to the end I may be very great in eternity by the grace of God.
Now this is the crux of the matter and I wish you pay attention to it. You don’t decide purpose, you discover it. It means your purpose is already written somewhere, settled. In short often, from your mother’s womb, God has already written out what your life’s assignment will be as was the case for Isaiah (Is 49:1&2); Jeremiah (Jer 1:4-5); Paul (Gal 1: 15) and several others. So you have to get a revelation of what was written in your own case.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS, which God hath BEFORE ORDAINED that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 KJV (Emphasis mine)
See what God said about Jeremiah as it is true for all of us:
“Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 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.”
Jeremiah 1:4-5 KJV
And the assignment is always definite.
“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for THE WORK whereunto I have called them.”
Acts 13:2 KJV (Emphasis mine.)
The bible didn’t say…”for a work,” for that would have meant, “any work;” it said, “for THE work.” Specific!!! Definite!!!
The big question as we close is whether that which you’re spending your life upon; that which you’re calling your purpose; whether it was the Lord who introduced it to you as THE work whereunto you have been called.
You have to settle this matter once and for all my friend. I don’t want you to suffer loss on that day. You can’t just pick something that you like. You can’t say because it is your passion, then it is your purpose. Your passion can signal the direction of your purpose but not a conclusive proof of it.
You can’t ignore what the Lord clearly showed to you and then simply be pumping money into the church or doing some other church work and think that can bribe God. God can’t be bribed.
Saul tried that before and we know it didn’t fly. God told him by the mouth of Samuel, “TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE AND TO HEARKEN THAN THE FAT OF RAMS.” You know the punishment God melted out to Saul thereafter. May we not fall into the hands of the Almighty.
What will you do about this message? Do it now!!! Put your house in order!!! Grace and Peace be multiplied.
Your brother,
Peniela Eniayo, Akintujoye
©Peniela Eniayo, Akintujoye| hello@lovestraighttalks.com
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