I will take you through the steps from the birth of a God vision in your heart till the time you see yourself in the fullness of it.
First, let us go through four steps to fulfil God’s purpose for your life, which will help you realise your every God-given dream.
1. YOUR ONE THING.
How strong is your desire to make God happy?
Real staying power comes from how badly you want what is in your heart to do what He created you to do. In other words, how badly do you want it? It is that one thing that will make you so happy, you will even do it without any remuneration, payment, or profit.
You must want it with all your heart!
You must determine that before you are laid in your casket, you owe it to God and yourself to know what you are gifted by Him to do and go for it. And if it means putting one step after the other till you reach the other side of the world, so be it!
But, Bro John, I do not still know what God wants me to do! How can I know? I want to know!
OK, I will show you seven keys that will help you discover your gift and the direction to go. The rest is up to you. I can only teach, but it is your responsibility with the help of the Holy Spirit to understand.
An essential key to understanding your purpose (why you were created and why you existed at all) can be found in discovering the gifts (talents, and abilities given us naturally and supernaturally to serve Him). God has designed you with a plan and purpose in mind. So, the gifts He has given you will always be related to His plan and your purpose in some significant way.
Paul mentions these seven gifts in Romans 12: 4 – 8.
1. MOTIVATOR. vs6
Is a person with the gift of prophecy who desires to motivate people to serve God. In the immature stage of this gift, they may be prone to judging. So do not be discouraged. Just keep maturing and developing in the Love of God and your Gift.
2. SERVANT. vs7
This means one who attends as a servant or likes to serve.
They want to meet the needs of people on a practical basis. Before you know it, even in a restaurant with the waiter standing there, they will clean the table and wipe crumbs off it—a real server. But be careful to avoid the Martha Martha syndrome.
3. TEACHER vs7
The teacher loves to study and presents truths to people.
People with a teaching gift love to read, study and teach, and cannot get enough of God’s word.
They will teach in children’s classes and anywhere they can teach.
4. ENCOURAGER or EXHORTER vs8
Just love to exhort people and encourage people. No matter what you say, they will try to encourage you. If you say, “I just lost my job”. The exhorter will say, ‘Do not worry about it. You will get a better job”. If you say, ‘my house just burnt down’, an exhorter will say, ‘well, it was old anyway. God will give you a better home.”
5. GIVER vs8
A giver desires to meet the material needs of others. They love to give. They are thrilled when they have the opportunity to meet a financial need.
6. ADMINISTRATOR or LEADER vs8
A leader wants to help people through the gift of organisation and administration. This is the one who has their priorities organised, and if you get out of order, watch out!
7. SYMPATHIZER or MERCY vs8
Will identify with people and empathise with them.
So, let me explain these Gifts in Action in a way that will help you see yourself. 🤔
If you had a meeting of a sort, the meeting would be led by the Administrator, who will start by passing out an outline with detailed notes organising the structure of the meeting. During the meeting, if it was mentioned that Bro So-and so or Sis So-and so HAS JUST LOST THEIR JOB, you will see the different Gifts in ACTION.
The prophecy gifted person might say something like this: “They probably have sin in their life. We should confront them to help get rid of the sin”.
The teacher would say, ‘If he did what it says in 1 Tim chapter 3, he would be fine. There are seven principles in 1Tim that answer this problem”.
The encourager would already be on the phone, calling the person who lost their job. He will say something like this: ”I heard you lost your job, but it will be all right. God will get you a better job, and you will be happier”.
The person with the serving gift will have left the meeting by that time to help do something for that person—cook for them, babysit, or do something or anything.
The Giver would be trying to take up an offering for the man who lost their job. He will say, “OK, how much do you think he needs?” We could take an offering now for them”.
And the mercy-motivated person? Well, they would be sitting over in the corner, crying tears of compassion for that man and his family-and would already be thinking of picking up a card for him on the way home and mailing it!
Now, did you see yourself in there?
You may not have a SPECIFIC picture of your final destination-but you do have a gift. Once you know your gift, the rest is easy. Just begin moving in it right where you are. Use your gift every day. Be God-crazy, and do not copy anyone else-be yourself. You are the only one in all the Universe. There is no one else to do, only what you can and must do. And God is committed to being at work in you BOTH to do and to will of His good pleasure (concerning the reason for your being). – (Philippians 1:6).
Relax; God has you covered. Give Him credit.
In the meantime, pray Colossians 1: 9-11 every day. It is a powerful Holy Ghost-inspired prayer that will enable you to know what God’s WILL is and have the Wisdom and understanding to carry it out.
2 LEARN TO WAIT.
”The vision is yet for an appointed time, though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come (Habakkuk 2:3).
God has scheduled an appointed time to bring to pass His Agenda and mandate concerning you in the greater scheme of things only known to and by Him.
He is like the traffic controller, controlling and coordinating all the planes in the sky to their landing. You are only one plane in the sky. Problems arise when you try to rush God’s timing.
First, the seed, then the pregnancy and development within the womb, and finally, the day of delivery.
Here, the enemy will try to focus on your circumstances, rather than God’s faithfulness.
Do not let Satan deceive you into sacrificing the Glory of God in your life for a few moments of self-indulgence and sin. Restrain your thought life. Meditate constantly on the Word, and His specific Rhema promises to you. Always journal and document any such promises, as you will need to return to them when all hell breaks loose around you. You will need to remind and encourage yourself.
The solution is to learn to focus on what God has said and to be patient.
Patience (or being consistently constant) is the power twin of faith. They work together to ensure that the promises of God are fulfilled in your life.
Meanwhile, continue obeying God in the little things. ‘He who is faithful in a very little (something) is faithful also in much”. (Luke 16:10 AMP).
Know that nothing is too hard for God, no matter what you see with your five physical senses.
Do not make a mistake most people make by expecting instant, miraculous results. And when they do not see them, they are disappointed and fall away.
Do not do that. Be patient. Give the Word time to work. The results will come!
We are told to STAND and having done all to STAND (Ephesians 6:13-17).
We are to Occupy every ground in righteousness, every hour of every day, till Jesus comes for you and me. Keep the devil on the defensive using all God’s weapons. (2 Corinthians 10: 4 – 5).
3. EVERYTHING IS WORKING FOR YOU.
”Our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us. (2 Corinthians 4:17). There are times when everything seems to be going wrong. You cannot pray away God’s seasons. Despite your faith and consecration, adversity will come.
But because you cannot change them does not mean you cannot survive. Each season has its purpose. A crisis never surprises God. When you believe God for something, it may take time to become a reality. As a result, the spirit of ”discouragement” will try to drag you down but remember God will or has never said anything to you that He will not back up in your life. And if God be for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8: 31).
Remember, when you come against the seasons of intense attacks, humans multiply; demons do not. Satan does not have enough demons to assign them all to your case, so he picks his times and places carefully.
God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. Always remember that.
There is only ONE person in the wide Universe who can STOP you-and that is YOURSELF…No one else.
PRESS IN.”Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” (Colossians 3:16).
Always ”count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; KNOWING THIS, that the TRYING of your FAITH worketh PATIENCE.” (James 1:2-3). Did you see the Holy Ghost sequence? 1,2,3. In that order…Lol.
When the pressure is on, mentally, financially, emotionally, and in every other way possible, and you do not seem to know what to do, I double dare you to SOW A Sacrificial SEED. And praise God like mad.
It will break every satanic pressure. That is even the highest form of satanic aggressiveness when their backs are to the wall. (2 Kings 3: 26-27). And you know, the devil knows a few things about what works in the spiritual, except he has perverted them to his twisted and stinking ways.
And lastly, be full of JOY. (Deuteronomy 28:47-48). Serve the Lord with Joy; and you will not fall to the devil’s discouragement when things are flying off the handle, and the centre seems not to be holding.
4. BE A FINISHER.
Give God glory for everything bad and evil planned towards you that could have happened, that should have happened, that was meant to happen BUT did not happen. All goes to show that God was and is always on your side, and You can count on Him till we see Him face to face.
The time God has given you now is a precious gift. Use it wisely. You will not pass this way again.
Make yourself available to God and watch Him show you what He can do with your life.
”His Divine power has given us everything we need (2 Peter 1:3).
Let me conclude again where I started, and that is,” Develop HOT PASSION” for God and His Kingdom.
Listen to what the stinking devil told one of his scrawny, skinny demons the other day. ‘I, the devil, will always see to it that there is a bad person. Your only job, you this imp, is to provide me with the people who do not care. So, always BE STIRRED UP! constantly encourage yourself.
As John Wesley said of why great multitudes heard him preach, ‘I set myself on FIRE, and they come to watch me burn. ‘So set aside time today to wrestle with God, get into God’s presence till you begin to be ABLAZE with Holy Passion.
Every Blessing.
John Ryan.
