THE BIG PICTURE OF PURPOSE
In the search and pursuit of your purpose, you need to have the big picture of what purpose is all about. Purpose can be summarized in the fact that all men are lost because of sin. Hence, God wants to reconcile all men back to Himself through the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ whom He sent to die for our sins and redeem us back to Himself. This is the broad and primary meaning of the purpose of God. Therefore, I must find out how God wants to use me in reconnecting and reconciling men back to Him. I must find out the place and the platform through which God wants me to fulfil His purpose for my life. Unfortunately, we have erroneously thought that the only place and platform to fulfil God’s purpose is the pulpit. The church, for a long time, has been plagued by the menace of the sacred-secular dichotomy. We seem to believe that once you are not doing something in the four walls of the church building you are not fulfilling purpose. So people go to their daily activities and works just as a means to make ends meet and r u n b a c k t o c h u r c h o r fellowship to do ministry. This is a parochial view of what it means to fulfil God’s purpose.
God’s goal is getting people into the kingdom and so He needs His people to be in any place where there are people so that through His own people interacting with these people, He can get them into His kingdom. There are billions of people out there who have never heard of Jesus and who will never come to the church but with whom we can relate on the platform of academics, finance, sports, transport, health, politics, business, music and our different professions. These are platforms on which we can stand and meet people and through our interaction bring them to Jesus. This is the big picture! While God is calling people into the pulpit ministry, He is calling people also into business, music, politics, sports, academics, health sector, finance, etc. You will do more harm and havoc to the kingdom of God if you ended up in the pulpit when you are supposed to be in politics or sports for Jesus; becoming a pastor or prophet when God’s original plan and purpose is for you to be Professor or Pilot is an aberration. Capture the big picture of the purpose of God. Be open-minded and sincere as you ask the Lord, “What will you have me do?” …Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest. “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields”.
He may want you to be a coach, a businessman, a lecturer, or an accountant for Him and if He will, he may send you to the pulpit. All these callings are all sacred and the same before God; every man is only fulfilling the purpose for which God has called Him. Politics, sports, academics, business etc. that we have seen as secular, for a long time, are as spiritual and sacred as the pulpit ministry.
Jesus in John 4:35 said: “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
Note that Jesus said, “The fields” not just a field. I believe he was talking about different fields where the harvest of the souls of men can be found – the field of sports, the field of business, politics, etc. Our responsibility then is to locate which field the Lord has appointed us to work. Jesus said, Stop looking down to only one direction, look on the fields. Look at millions of souls who loves sports today and who will never come to church but who needs to be reached for Jesus. It could be that some of us need to go into sports either as a player or as a coach and reach these millions of souls for Jesus.
All the examples given were examples of men who were called into one pulpit ministry or the other. Jeremiah, Elisha and Amos were all prophets while Peter, Paul and the disciples were all apostles of Jesus but there are other scriptural examples of men who fulfilled God’s purpose on other platforms apart from the pulpit. For example; Joseph fulfilled God purpose as a political administrator. He was the prime minister of Egypt who saved the whole world from the onslaught of a serious famine. David served his own generation as a king and warrior. He was neither a priest nor a prophet. He had men like Nathan and Gad around him who played the role of a priest and a prophet. ·Nehemiah fulfilled purpose as a re-builder of the walls of Jerusalem. He left his profession as the king’s cup bearer in the palace to become a governor in Jerusalem who led a national transformation.
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Daniel and his companions began to fulfil God’s purpose on the platform of academics and they eventually got political appointments in Babylon that gave them opportunity to witness to the power and glory of the God of Israel. There was no way Nebuchadnezzar would have known God except through these representatives of His. ·Esther fulfilled God’s purpose as a Queen. She had to marry a king and become influential so that through her, the Jews, which is the race through which Christ was going to come, will not be annihilated. All these examples point to the fact that God needs men in those fields that we have named secular for a long time. There is also a pulpit in all those fields. This is the big picture!
PURSUING GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE
How then do we pursue purpose? How can we discover and fulfil God’s purpose? The following are the process of pursuing God’s purpose.
1. RECONNECT TO YOUR PRODUCER – GOD.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23); we have been disconnected from our Source and Creator when Adam, the first man sinned against God. All of us sinned when he sinned because we were all in his loins. By that single sin, we were all disconnected from our Producer and all that we did to ourselves from then was an abuse of the original purpose for which He created us. No man can fulfil purpose in disconnection from the One who produced him. Jesus said, John 15:5. In disconnection from Him, we amount to nothing. This beginning of the discovery and pursuit of purpose is to reconnect to our Producer through Jesus whom He has sent as a propitiation for our sins. Paul began to discover God’s purpose for his life when he encountered Jesus on the road of Damascus. I need to ask you, when did you encounter Jesus? Have you been reconnected back to Him? Have you been glued back to God by the blood of Jesus? Remember, anything you do outside Jesus is an abuse of your life.
2. REGISTER A CONSISTENT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PRODUCER.
It is not enough to reconnect back to God; you need to develop your relationship with Him. You need to grow in your knowledge of Him. You need to know how He speaks and deals with you. Many people are saved but they just stopped there. Salvation is the admission letter into the school of purpose fulfilment; there are classes to attend and examinations to write if you must fulfil purpose. Hence, you need to develop your relationship with God because pursuing the knowledge of God is pursuing your purpose; the more you know God, the more you realize the reason why he created you. Jeremiah, Amos, Peter, Paul, etc. discovered their life purposes through their relationship with God. How did Amos knew God wanted him to be a prophet if he did not have a good relationship with God? They knew God’s purpose for their lives when the Word of God came to them. They knew God’s Word as a result of a relationship built with Him over time. The discovery of purpose and its fulfilment is located in developing concrete, consistent and covenant relationship with Jesus. We need to relate with God through prayers, Bible reading, fasting, obedience, etc.
3. DISCOVER THAT PURPOSE.
We have emphasized the fact that purpose is discovered; it is not determined or decided by you. It is not your idea or imagination but a call of God, a heavenly vision from God which may never occur to you until you discover it. It is not your ambition or the goal you set for yourself but God’s plan for your life. This is why the first two points highlighted are important because there is no way you can discover your “….without me ye can do nothing” purpose in disconnection from the One who made you.
Meanwhile, what are the means through which a man can discover God’s purpose for his life? a) A direct call, voice or vision from God just like it happened to Abraham, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos and many other people. This is why it is important to know God so that you will know when He speaks to you. God can give you a vision from heaven or speak quietly to your heart about what He will have you to do. b) Our passion most of the time is an indication of God’s purpose for our lives. What do you hate with passion or love with passion? What is that thing that you do not want to see again or want to see happen? It could be that that is where your purpose is located. There was no record to know whether Nehemiah had a call from God but a passion was ignited in his heart when he heard of the state of things in Jerusalem and that became his life’s purpose and destiny. c) Your gifts and talents. Yo
ur gifts and talents are divine tools or implements placed naturally within you for the accomplishment of your purpose. This was the way Joseph fulfilled his purpose as the prime minister of Egypt. It was the gift of the ability to interpret dreams that landed him in the palace eventually. d) Through the witness of spiritual leaders and counsellors around you. You can locate your purpose through destiny leaders and friends around your life. Sometimes, people that look at us tends to see us better than the way we see ourselves. We need to pay attention to the testimony of sincere and spiritual people around us. This can be a pointer to the reason for our creation. This was how Saul emerged as the first anointed king of Israel.
ur gifts and talents are divine tools or implements placed naturally within you for the accomplishment of your purpose. This was the way Joseph fulfilled his purpose as the prime minister of Egypt. It was the gift of the ability to interpret dreams that landed him in the palace eventually. d) Through the witness of spiritual leaders and counsellors around you. You can locate your purpose through destiny leaders and friends around your life. Sometimes, people that look at us tends to see us better than the way we see ourselves. We need to pay attention to the testimony of sincere and spiritual people around us. This can be a pointer to the reason for our creation. This was how Saul emerged as the first anointed king of Israel.
4. OBEY THE CALL OF PURPOSE.
Once purpose is discovered, there is need for immediate and urgent response to that purpose. Paul said in Acts 26:19. “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” In another place, Paul said; “I conferred not with flesh and blood” Paul gave an immediate and urgent response to the call of God upon his life because he knew the shortness of time and the quantity of what is there to be done. If God has shown you what He wants you to do, you need immediate obedience if you will fulfil the call of God upon your life.
5. PREPARE AND TRAIN FOR THE PURPOSE.
Fulfilling purpose requires proper preparation and planning. You need to be trained and equipped with the necessary tools needed for implementation of God’s purpose. When Jesus called Peter, he did not become an apostle immediately; he had to go through a season of training for at least three and a half years. It was this training that equipped him for the apostolic ministry he was called into. Jesus told them when he called him and his brother Andrew while they were casting their nets; They all went through a process of making to fulfil God’s purpose. It was that making that prepared and equipped them and made them effective to fulfil God’s purpose. Note that this making is basically an informal training which is conducted by God himself through life experiences and exposures. This training and preparation also involve submitting to men who have gone ahead of you in life and in the fulfilment of purpose, so that through them God can prepare and equip you for your own fulfilment. However, this preparation may also include formal training in a secular school or seminary as the case may be. You may need to get a degree or do a professional course that will equip you to fulfil purpose. You need training; you need preparation for purpose fulfilment. Remember, Elisha was trained under Elijah, Ruth was trained under Naomi, Moses received his preparation under Jethro and Esther was trained under Mordecai. All who fulfilled purpose had the periods of training and preparation for that purpose.
6. HARD WORK
This is a critical factor in purpose fulfilment. Without hard work, you may discover God’s purpose and even pursue it but you will never fulfil it i.e. you will not get to the full potential of your purpose without hard work. Hard work is what will make the difference between you and others who have been called to the same field. Paul was a late comer in the apostolic ministry, Jesus appeared to him last but he ended up as a high flier and fore runner because he worked very hard more than the other apostles he met in the faith. In I Corinthians 15:10, he revealed the secret of his great success; It was more abundant labour, than other apostles that gave Paul an edge over them and this was the reason why he was the only one who could boldly and openly say; Hard work is the secret of finishing and fulfilling the purpose of God that has been discovered.
7. PASSION
This is an unquenchable love for what God has called you to do that helps you to do it well. Passion is closely linked to hard work because only the passionate will work hard to fulfil purpose. You need passion to keep your vision of God’s purpose alive. Passion is the fuel that keeps your spirit moving in the journey of purpose fulfilment. Jesus was passionate right from age 12 about his Father’s Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Mathew 4:19. By the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7. It was passion that made him to evict out of the temple those buying and selling. Paul was passionate about preaching the gospel. That was a man with passion. Nehemiah, Elijah, Moses, Esther, Deborah and all others who fulfilled purpose were passionate. They were ready to give what it will take to do what they believed in.
8. PERSEVERANCE
You will encounter opposition in the pursuit of your purpose but perseverance will help you to stay true to your vision. You
must endure and suffer if need be to see the realization of purpose. You must learn to manage pressure and stand true to the vision of your purpose. You may face lack, failure, discouragement, disappointment, etc. in the pursuit of purpose but perseverance will sustain you to the end. Remember that popular saying, “winners never quit and quitters never win”. Only those who endure to the end will win the prize.
must endure and suffer if need be to see the realization of purpose. You must learn to manage pressure and stand true to the vision of your purpose. You may face lack, failure, discouragement, disappointment, etc. in the pursuit of purpose but perseverance will sustain you to the end. Remember that popular saying, “winners never quit and quitters never win”. Only those who endure to the end will win the prize.
DON’T BE AN UNCONSCIOUS/PASSIVE RUNNER
You are already in a race – the race of life. Your birth is your enlistment into that race and you are running on a daily basis even when you are living carelessly. However, I counsel you; don’t be a passive and an unconscious runner in the race of life. Be deliberate about your life and how you want it to be lived. Paul said; Once Paul discovered God’s finishing line (purpose) for him, he began to make deliberate efforts to accomplish that purpose and he will eventually cross the finishing line. He finished and fulfilled his life mission. Finally, there are four categories of people in relation to the discovery, pursuit and fulfillment of purpose. You can decide which category you want to belong henceforth. The four categories include: 1. Those who never discovered the purpose of God for their lives. These are the generation of Methuselah, who lived so long only to give birth to children. There was nothing tangible recorded about his long lengthy life. Millions of people are in this category including the so-called Christians. Life is not measured by its duration but its donation to the world. Jesus lived only 33 years and we have not forgotten what He did with His short life. 2. Those who discovered God’s purpose but who were disobedient to the heavenly vision. They refused and rejected it and pursued their own course. These are the category of men like Judas Iscariot, Esau and Gehazi who despised God’s purpose because of what they will eat or get. Many have neglected God’s purpose in pursuit of what to eat. 3. Those who discovered God’s purpose, pursued but did not fulfill or complete it. They did an uncompleted work. They finished before they reached the finishing line. Men like Joshua are in this category. He was already old and there was no more strength to conquer the nations and God told him, Samson is also in this category. They got entangled with something else – women, money and the world in the pursuit and their strength was supped such that they couldn’t finish. 4. Those who di s cove red, pursued, fulfilled and completed their life’s assignment. Men like Paul are found in this category. Jesus also is found in this category. They completed the work God gave them to do on the earth. They finished the work before they finished. Friends, decide where you want to be today. Do you want to be in category 1, 2, 3 or 4? Your life is short; it is like a vapour or like a flower which appears beautiful in the morning but withers before the close of the day. Let your life be spent in the fulfillment of the reason for your creation. Don’t die a debtor! Pursue God’s purpose for your life.
God bless you.
Pastor Femi Babalola is the Publisher of Fresh Bread- a top-notch Christian magazine
Pastor Femi Babalola is the Publisher of Fresh Bread- a top-notch Christian magazine