Understanding Your Destiny - Devotional

Bible Passages: Psalms 139: 14-18, Ephesians 2: 10.
Psalms 139 - ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.
Ephesians 2 - ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What is Destiny?
This is your appointed or ordained future as determned by God. It is Gods will for your life. The greek word for destiny is 'Poema' which means your life is thought out by God.
All through the bible we can see different people whom God had destined and preordained their lives, but somehow missed it along the way. Lets look at the lives of a few of them.
Saul - 1Samuel 9 -¹⁷ When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.” God had already spoken to Samuel about Saul even before Samuel met Saul without Saul knowing anything. God had chosen Saul to lead his people, he was destined to be a deliverer just like Moses. We all know what happened to Saul eventually as he fell out of favor with God. He lost his focus and took his eye off his destiny. 

Samson - Angels spoke about him to his parents and gave them his blueprint. He went about doing exploits for about 20yrs, but he didn't work on his character and eventually gave in to his lusts. Even in his death he still didn't understand his destiny as he asked God to avenge him against the people who gouged his eyes out.

Solomon - The richest man that ever lived according to the bible. He was destined by God to restore Israels faith in God. Solomon had purposed in his heart to rid Israel of its idolatry and sodomism. As we all know Sheeba knew the glory he had and she ensured he got entangled with her. He also ended many women of whom were priestesses of idols and he himself started worshipping idols. The very thing he was against was what he ended up practicing.

Demas - Philemon 1: 24, Colossians 4: 14, 2Timothy 4: 10. Demas was an aposle that was focussed on God and was with Timothy all through their journeys. But in 2Timothy 4: 10 it is said that he was no more in the company of Timothy.

The truth is God has pre-destined us even before we were born. In the new dispensation God changed the rules and he has one destiny for all of us believers. We can see from the following scriptures what truly our destinies should be:-
Colossians 1: 15-18 - This in summary says you are created by God and for him alon. You consist of Christ and he is pre-eminent in your life.
Romans 14: 7 - We are of God
1Corinthians 6: 20 - You belong to God
Psalms 22: 9-10 - You were cast to God froyour mothers womb
Ephesians 1: 10 - Gathering all in Christ

To sum up what our true destinies are, lets look at Ephesians 1: 4-6, 11
⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.

Our destiny is to 'live blameless and to be to his praise and glory unto his name'. You need to realize that you are an adopted child of the most high God. Be a soul winner by reason of your conduct. Any other agenda that we might have like building a massive church, or gathering the best choir, or starting a big christian charity - these are the burden of the Lord, and he drops them in our laps as we go along in his will for our lives.

The Devil Is Not After You - Devotional

Bible passages for sermon: 2Kings 7: 1-8, Luke 17: 11-18
2Kings 7 - ¹ Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’” ² So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

The Syrians Flee

³ Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” ⁵ And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. ⁶ For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!” ⁷ Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. ⁸ And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

The devil always looks for ways to hamper your relationship with God. The devil didn't like the fellowship Adam had with God and he did all he could to ensure the relationship was broken. After Adam fell, mankind resorted to the shedding of animal blood to reconnect man to God temporarily. Hebrews 9: 21.

From the passage above, the leaprous men had totally lost all their faith due to the famine in the land. Everyday they sit at the entrance of the gate and go through the motions, the devil probably keeps reminding them that they will eventually die and pretty soon too. The devil made them lose their faith and strong will. But suddenly, they realized that their sitting there at the gate entrance was not doing them any good. They finally tapped back into their faith, they reconnected with God once again. They made a conscious effort to go into the land of the syrians throwing all caution to the wind and hoping they might get some respite from the famine. And we read that God made a way for the men when they went into syria, God made the syrian army disperse leaving behind lots of food and loot. Their faith and reconnection to God caused God himself to bring the things their hearts desired to them.

We can see from the scriptures that our faith is what God desires and it makes much things availeth much. Romans 1: 17 talks about living by faith in connecting with God.
Hebrews 11: 6 - There is no pleasing God without faith.
Ephesians 2: 8 - We are not saved only by Grace, but by Faith also.
Romans 10: 9 - We confess by faith to accept the Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion: Grace is made available by Christ but you need to activate your faith to receive all you are trusting for. The devil understands how powerful your faith is, and the principles behind having faith. The devil is not after you afterall, he is after your Faith!

It Was Always In His Plan - Devotional.

Scripture Passages - Numbers 27: 1-11, Luke 1: 30-38.
Numbers 27- ¹ Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: ³ “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.” ⁵ So Moses brought their case before the LORD. ⁶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁷ “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. ⁸ And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. ⁹ If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

Sometimes you feel you have been bypassed and forgotten by God. Events happen in your life that isn't in your favor, and you think "why me?". King David well before he was made king, but God had revealed to him he will be king, was almost killed 17 times by out of favor king saul. He must have been thinking 'how come i'm going through all this', but God was with him all along. Most times when God puts you in a position where it seems there is no breakthrough, it's God wanting you to trust in him alone to see you out of it.

From the main text, Zelophehad died leaving 5 daughters behind and no son. They had not yet entered into the promised land. Reading previous chapters we see that God made a promise through Moses that those that enter into the promised land will have land, treasures and inheritance shared among each family.
The girls had faith that what has been said regarding the land will come to pass, they believed. Their modesty in asking without murmuring was very evident. As we read there was no precedence for the thing they were asking for as inheritance was never given to women.
They took their case to the elders and people in authority and they cascaded it upwards as everyone of the elders rejected their case. They eventually requested Moses take their case to God as a last resort.

There are certain things God permits but doesn't back. 2Kings 1:14. Gods mind on this issue can be seen when Jesus' disciples came back to Jesus, asking him to rain down fire on the people who refused Jesus come to their city. Jesus' response was to reject their request stating that our God is now a God that saves souls (God of the new testament).

When Moses asked God regarding these 5 sisters issues, God spake to Moses commanding their possessions be given to them. And because of these 5 sisters, God commanded the rules be re-written.
3 answers that God will give when you ask:-

Yes - To bring glory unto his name. 2Corinthians 1:20
No - Not his will or plan for your life. Psalms 106: 14-15
Wait - Time has not come or you're not mature enough to handle the things. Galatians 4:1, Habakkuk 2:3
God has tied certain blessings to our Faith, you just need to ASK.

In conclusion:- God had the desire and placed it into the heart of the 5 sisters, that he may rewrite the rules for you and others. You need to have a relationship with the Father that he will give you his desire.

I Didn't Wait For Nothing.

Bible passages for the sermon Mark 11: 1-11, 2 Timothy 2: 20-21
Mark 11- ¹ Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; ² and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. ³ And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” ⁴ So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. ⁵ But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” ⁶ And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. ⁸ And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
      “ Hosanna!
      ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
       ¹⁰ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
      That comes in the name of the Lord!
      Hosanna in the highest!”
 ¹¹ And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

This life is a cycle. There is a process that defines your purpose. The trainings you get determines what you will be used for. We are vessels, carriers of Gods word and works.
2 Tim 2 - ²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. ²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

According to the text in Mark 11, the colt that Jesus asked the disciples to get had been tied at one spot for a long time. The colt was at a place where it couldn't go anywhere apart from round in circles. Other colts came and went by and this colt was always at the same spot. A colts normal lifespan is about 25yrs and this particular colt has not been used for anything or for what it's purpose is. This can be likened to our lives, our gifts sometimes need to be tamed in preparation for it's maturation, so as to fulfil it's full purpose.

Proverbs 22 - ²⁹ Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.
For Jesus who is the King of Kings to enter into Jerusalem, he had a enter in a unique way. He ordered the disciples to go and get the colt which everyone else had looked down upon as useless. Jesus stated the colts exact position, it's location, and it's exact coordinates.

Even though it seemed that the colt was good for nothing and tied down for years, when it's purpose was at hand, the cycle it had been known to was broken. It was used to transfer the King of all Kings into Jerusalem. Whichever way you look at it, the colt was in the picture with Jesus. The colt was not tied there for nothing.


In conclusion, for God to place his glory upon you, you need to go through the process to achieve your purpose. Delays is not denial.