Purpose with Pastor Adebayo Bello
I was asked to speak on Purpose and I’d try to be obedient tonight, somehow.
Ephesians 1:11 and 2 Timothy 1:9. These two key scriptures.
Your perception of the giver affects your reception of the gifts. Imagine an enemy that hates your guts threatens to show you and because you watch African Magic, you understand the import of what he says. When he comes to you later and gives you a meal as a gift, what will be your conversation with that meal when you return to your house?
Your perception of the giver, determines your reception of the gift…purpose, grace, everything.
Numbers 23:4
James 1:17
Malachi 3:6
The first thing we must realise is God is unchanging. His purposes don’t shift. He’s not making it up as we go along or editing it. Every thought God has for you has existed before the foundations of the world. God didn’t start thinking about you when He stated interacting with you as a believer. He had precision thoughts long before.
When scripture says God repented, it doesn’t mean there was a flaw in His thinking.
Look at Jonah, God’s original intention was not to kill anyone, it was Jonah who wanted the people to receive the judgement.
People struggle with purpose because they struggle with God. It’s as easy as ABC to find purpose. What keeps us out is when we take it out of His hands and the rules and regulations we keep ourselves in.
So you have outlined 14 steps to walking into TSP, which in reverse is 14 reasons why you cannot walk into TSP.
Who told John the Baptist his purpose? What church did he attend? You have the opportunity to go to church and hear deep rhema. Those guys didn’t have all that and yet they walked in purpose.
Joseph didn’t even have a specific revelation of purpose from the sun and moon bowing down to him. But eventually he knew he was sent to preserve.
God does not change. Your purpose is not being crafted. You were born in purpose. Not even when you were born again because He knew you before you became born again.
God thought about you and had specific thoughts.
The purpose of a thing is crafted into the thoughts of the creator. A Maserati cannot determine what it likes. As a luxury car, it can’t say it prefers to tow cars or go to Wuse market because there’s something about Wuse market.
God works all things after the counsel of His will, not after the imaginations of your heart. And prayer does not change it. What prayer does is help you align.
There is nothing like glorious or unglorious purpose. Everything in God is glorious. There are just different levels. It’s like tools in building, they all have their place from tools for construction to tools for finishing. If you use a wrong tool for finishing, you’d get a house but it just won’t be fine.
See your father is love. There’s nothing He crafts that He does not do in love. Your first purpose is crafted in love. There is something about you that delights Him and He specifically gives you an assignment.
There are two ways purpose is communicated;
1. Sometimes God gives you direct instructions. Paul knew what He was sent to do. So there are times God instructs you.
2. There are other times when God just commands. Look at the story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarepath who was clueless about who Elijah was and what she was supposed to do for the man of God. She was even explaining how the meal was her last resort.
The manifestation of God’s purpose was that in spite of the foolishness of the conversation, she still gave him food and look how God turned that into an answer and a miracle.
Joseph progressed from his dreaming to interpreting.
Sometimes, some people are so fixed on the glorious calling, that they miss out out on the step God is taking them to get somewhere. You may not achieve that high calling if you don’t pay attention to where God has put you.
We are so fixed on the star and moon that we miss out on the steps.
They were in the prison. I don’t know any prison where they are excited but Joseph noticed that they were downcast and that’s how he was able to provide interpretation to dreams. And even though the butler forgot him when he left the prison, Joseph didn’t cut out by a prison break.
Scripture says, “…at the time appointed” The king was not going to dream anytime sooner. If Joseph prayed harder, it would only have given him strength to endure and receive comfort to go though it.
Sometimes you’re in a space, you don’t like it there but God is saying to stay there, but when you cut out out of frustration, that’s how people mess the moves of God.
See, I cannot be in error. Whether i hear a voice or not. I just know what to do by the Holy Spirit. Don’t undermine the way God speaks to you because you’re intimidated by someone else’s way of hearing God.
God is eternal. It’s not when you want God that He is speaking. God has spoken. At the appointed time, you’ll begin to hear His voice and instructions.
You have an unction of the Holy one and you know all things. These thoughts already existed. Your duty is to plug in. As you align yourself, you will continue to the goal.
Jesus didn’t have the full mission plan when He came. He had to read to Himself what was written concerning Him in the law.
David didn’t have a revelation plan. He was just singing in the desert and God said he a man after His heart. You know, it’s a good thing David wasn’t the one who said that he was the man after God’s heart because by his later actions, we could judge his man-ship . Lol.
You’re not supposed to chase purpose. It should pursue you. But when you’re chasing it, it becomes afraid. Lol
God’s word is potent enough to complete what he said. God is the master orchestrator and He will orchestrate things to bring you to where you ought to be.
Don’t be intimidated by people’s vision books. Don’t get discouraged. We are different people.
If the guy is an eye, he will see, if the hand is not hearing, its fine. Just stay where God has placed you. Your destiny is as glorious as anyone else. The only difference is in expressions.
The one who leads is glorious. The one who follows is glorious also.
Did Enoch have the knowledge that at some point, God will take him as he followed Him?
Abraham never had a prayer crusade for wealth yet he was as prosperous as prosperous can be.
If you follow God, you can’t miss your purpose.
When God spoke to Samuel, it was Eli’s voice he heard. Why? Association, environment.
Be careful of voices. There are many voices. You can hear even yourself and think it’s God’s voice.
You are safe in God’s word. Stay here. All you’re doing with prayer is to connect with what God is saying about you.
God is not evolving. Your prayers don’t make Him wiser or more benevolent towards you. You were not there when He decided to love you. If you did, you would have talked him out of it. Lol.
We think of purpose as God having a chart where he randomly slots people in positions or circumstances or territories based on actions. God is not like that.
There is the will of God. All of our purposes are tied to that will. You can’t choose how you want to do it. Some people can’t trust God with their marriage or life partner. It’s perception. Sometimes, you think because He’s the ancient of days He can’t give you a soji guy.
See, if you know God’s thoughts towards you, you’ll drop yours like hot potato and run towards Him.
Scripture says His thoughts are higher than yours, than your wildest dreams.
So God calls Dr. Phil to Maitama. Dr. Phil is always in God’s mind, going to Maitama. And on the premise of this predestination, He calls and then He justifies, making sure that nothing stops you on the way and then He glorifies you. You are not responsible for glorifying yourself.
It is God that takes you from Point A to Point B.
These are the kind of thoughts about your purpose. If you think God is taking you there, you’ll get there.
Some people resist God and submit to the devil because sometimes the devil flashes things and sometimes the move of God doesn’t look like the move of God.
Everything is in the plan. His brothers had to have him. It was part of the plan. That some people are persecuting you, it’s not their fault. It was the job of the Pharisees and Saducees or Christ wouldn’t have died.
If it was only people like Peter, Jesus won’t have died. Look how he skilfully sliced the ear of one of the guys who came to take Jesus.
In fact, when He had the revelation of who Christ is, he began to resist the will of God for Jesus concerning His death.
Sometimes God hides things from us because we will resist them.
God is the lifter up of your head. You are one phone call away from your lifting. It’s not hard for Him. He knows how to turn the heart of kings and give them sleepless nights. It’s his job.
But He needs you to go through the process. So stop stressing yourself about the process.
Very few people will receive the ministry of angels. Many times, God will put you in the hearts of people. This is why referrals are important. No matter how gifted or skilled you are, if you’re not diligent, when the need for your expression arises, they will give the second best.
Wherever you are now, just stay there. Pray in the Holy Ghost, it might be difficult no doubt but just stay there. Give Him praise.
All things have to work together for your good. It’s not a prayer. It’s who you are.
You are called with a glorious calling. The purpose of God upon your life is beyond your wildest dreams. Don’t chase shadows.
Your calling is glorious.
■Declaration
My calling is glorious.
I’m called to do majestic things.
There’s nothing wrong with you. Just flow with the position.God will qualify you.
What qualification did Joseph have to get to that position?
Nothing in His track record qualified him, From being labelled a rapist(remember he wasn’t vindicated?) to slave boy to outcast/foreigner.
Just begin to walk with God. Anything He places in your hands, do it with all the best of your abilities and might.
How it works is that you are diligent in what He has placed in your hands because you know in whom you have believed. When it’s the appointed time, God will begin to orchestrate things whether you prayed it through or not.
Despite his “credentials” , God still lifted Joseph.
Don’t let what you’ve been through become where you’re going through.
Who you are is whom God has called you to be. Don’t define yourself.
So everyone around you is getting blessed except you. Don’t worry, there are no errors with this God. It’s all in the plan.
The fact that the Egyptians were chasing the Israelis was why they went through the red sea. If they weren’t being pursued, they’d have gone round the shore and crossed on the other side.
The challenge was the reason why the miracle happened.
Sometimes God moves you though phases and you feel confused but God will eventually establish you where He wants to.
You already have direction. It’s impossible for a believer to be confused. It’s an illusion. If you’re called of God, you can’t be confused. Confusion is coming from a sense of lack or deficiency.
Jesus had an abundance mentality. Everytime you call on God, His response to you is abundance.
Even when confusion shows it’s face, there’s direction there. Just stay there and have conversations like,
“I know what to do. I cannot be confused.”
God commands your steps. You don’t really have a choice. You’d just find out after you’ve stepped in that you are supposed to be there.
Sometimes there are nudges and impressions in our heart. You never know what opportunities you’ve missed because you didn’t heed them.
It’s better you move and fail than you don’t move at all. They were all in the boat. Peter was the only one who had the guts. When Jesus asked him to come, there was no Peter on that command. He just said, “Come!”.
Anyone could have jumped out and walked on water.
It’s better to move.
How was it God’s will? Did Jesus say to Peter that it was God’s will or His own idea for Peter to walk on water? Who thought about it? Peter. How? He saw Jesus.
The Bible says God works in you both to will and to do. Philippians 2:13
Proverbs 16:9
When the impressions come, don’t go about looking for counsel. Sometimes counsel is what causes the delay because they end up placing you in a box and determining how that nudge God gave is not real.
What made the difference is the instruction God gave Naaman. He couldn’t have gotten the miracle in another water body and if his cousin tried it for example, he wouldn’t have gotten the same result.
Stop looking for people to validate what God is telling you.
That was Joseph’s problem.
God has a great plan for your life but you have to believe it and receive it. Your perception is important.
God knows how to take people from where they are and place them in destiny. Jesus was confident that no one could pluck us from His hands.
He is the author and the finisher.
God crafted you in purpose. It’s not possible for you to be direction-less. Just do it with all of mind.
Go with the flow and do every segment or activity purposefully until you get to the fullness of the calling.
It was when Jospeh became a Prime Minister, that he understood what God is calling him to be.
■Declaration
I have direction
The Holy Spirit is in me.
He leads me. He guides me.
I can never be confused. I know what to do with the anointing.
I am in the right place at the right time with the right people.
Jesus is the author. He is the finisher. Whatever He has spoken about me, He will bring to an expected end.
