Introduction:
The Lord has directed us as a parish Church this year to choose “ Manifesting the Fruit of the Holy Spirit “ as our theme. The text that this is hinged on is John 15:5, where Jesus said that “ Yes, I am the vine , you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, bear much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” This is also a follow up on our theme for last year “ Dead to self and alive in Christ.” It is only when we have been totally possessed by Christ and are being strengthened daily through in the in dwelling Holy Spirit that we can truly manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We shall do the exposition of this year’s theme next month by the grace of God and then all that we need to know concerning it will be revealed to us.
Today, our focus is on ‘ Destiny ‘ and it is a very controversial topic that needs our total concentration and the wisdom of God. Many people struggle to find their identity in life and to really be what God wants them to be. In an attempt to find relevance and show to people how superior and how important that we are, there is a lot of competition. In the course of competing we tend not to bother or care about whose horse is gored. We rubbish and malign each other. This topic is to enlighten us that most of what we struggle for and try to become in life can only materialize if we align ourselves with the will of God concerning our lives and understand that God had already programmed what each of us will be in life.
Definition of Destiny:
Cambridge dictionary defines destiny as the force that some people think controls what happens in the future, and is outside human control.”
Oxford dictionary has this to say about destiny “ the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.” The hidden power believed to control the future events. Destiny is the preordained path of one’s life. It is the seemingly inevitable or necessary succession of events. It is a predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control. It is the fixed order of things: invincible necessity; irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future.
The Bible is our resource book on this all important discussion. The Bible is a collection of Christian Scriptures that have religious authority for Christian belief and practice and are regarded as ‘ the word of God’ to God’s people. The word of God reveals the mind of God on every issue that concerns human beings both here and in the hereafter.
We read in Genesis the accounts of the creation of both the world and Mankind and also about the fall of Man. God destined Man to be great and to have dominion over His entire creation, but through disobedience Man lost this heritage. It is not impossible for one to forfeit his destiny as a result of carelessness and disobedience. God has always given Man the opportunity to make choices and therefore God will never force anything through Man’s throat. In Genesis 25:19-26, we have the account of the conception of Jacob and Esau and what God told Isaac their father about what they were going to be in life. We could see that what each of us would be in life is preordained right from when they were in the womb. Note also that Isaac prayed unto God for the interpretation of the struggles between the children while in the womb. The place of prayer in our lives as Christian cannot be over emphasized.
In the same vein, when Jeremiah was called to be a prophet and declined on the grounds that he was not a good speaker and was underage, God told him that he had been ordained and dedicated right from his mother’s womb – Jeremiah 1:5-6.
Examples abound in the Bible concerning the prophecies that preceded the birth of many people concerning their mission on earth. Some of these personalities were able to fulfill destinies while a number of them wasted theirs. Some of these individuals among others are :
- Jacob as already discussed in Genesis chapters 25 -35.
- Moses : Hebrews 11: 23-28 & Exodus chapters 2- 14.
- Joseph the son of Jacob : Genesis chapters 37, 39 – 45 ( 45: 1- 8 ).
- Samson, the son of Manoah : Judges chapters 13 – 16.
- Jeremiah : Jeremiah 1 : 3-19.
- Jesus Christ : Isaiah 7 : 14, 9 : 6-7, Luke 1 : 26-37.
- John the Baptist : Luke 1 : 8-25.
Furthermore, as we examine all the characters that we have mentioned above critically, we discover that there are some things that are inevitable for us to note. They are as follows:
- God’s salvation plan is for all people all over the world : John 3: 16, 1 John 4:9 & John 6 : 40.
- We must understand the purpose for which God created us : Revelation 4 : 11.
- We need to guard against the wiles of the devil – Genesis 3:1ff, 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 4 :1-11.
- It is not all those who are related/close to us that are friends/trustworthy – Genesis 37:1-36. Note: a. We must avoid favouritism in the ways we treat our children; b. We should keep certain information (dreams/visions/prophecies) to ourselves until their fulfillment/physical manifestations, c. We must also avoid envy/jealousy as Christians knowing that fingers are not equal. We all have our individual and different destinies, d. We must avoid competition as much as possible but always strive to give our best to God. We can learn from those who are better than us but not to aim at being exactly who they are. We must appreciate who and what God has created us to be, appreciate our uniqueness and remain ourselves.
- We must learn to pray, fast and be watchful like Jesus Christ- Matthew 26 : 36-45 & Hebrews 12 : 1-2.
- We must not take anybody as our enemy but know that all things work together for the good of those who love God are the called according to His purpose- Romans 8:28, Genesis 45:1-8 & Jeremiah 29:11.
- The plan and purpose of God concerning us will be fulfilled against all odds and despite all positions if only we remain in the will of God without any distractions- Job 42 1-2, Habakkuk 2:3 & Isaiah 46:10.
- We must understand that what we shall be is entirely in God’s hand and is by His grace alone- Romans 9: 16, & 1 Corinthians 3:6.
- We must strive at discovering ourselves and our calling so that we don’t go into what we are not created to become.
- We must learn from people like Samson, King Saul, etc who wasted their destinies through disobedience and nonchalant attitudes. We should not give the devil any foothold in our lives.
- Patience and perseverance are required for us to accomplish our destinies. For everything in life, God has ordained a season and a time – Ecclesiastes 3. Habakkuk 2 : 3 talks about an appointed time for the fulfillment of every vision that concerns us. We must key into God’s timing.
Conclusion :
Our destiny is God’s purpose for our lives. It is our God ordained future. Destiny is what God has destined us to become in His divine will and wisdom. Each of us is also destined to play specific roles in the ordering of His world – cf 1 Corinthians 12 1-7 on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. People talk about luck which is not in line with the word of God because whatever happens to us as faithful children of God has been pre- arranged and this is what is referred to as ‘ ‘ Providence.’ We are encouraged in Psalm 37 : 4- 7 to patiently wait on God even as we put our total trust in Him, He will surely fulfill all His promises and grant all our heart desires. We also have to maintain good relationships as we proceed in our life journey because people will always be used as vessels to actualize God’s plans concerning us. The use of our gifts, commitment to the work of God and diligence in our profession have fundamental roles to play as well. We can see this in the life of Joseph as he interprets dreams, which eventually took him to the zenith of his destiny. Let us be mindful of how we treat people, relate with people, what we say about people especially when they are not there because they will always get to hear.
It must also be noted that nobody is predestined to go to hell and that is why we have continued to preach so that people will not have any excuse on the day of reckoning. Nobody is also predefined to fail because everybody is given the opportunity to pull their weight. God will never impose His will on us but we enjoined to remain steadfast in Christ and He will give the victory.
Our walk in the Christendom is by faith- 2 Corinthians 5:7. We must not patronize wrong places that have no collection with Christ. There is no need struggling to know what the future holds for us but put our total trust in God knowing that He is faithful and dependable enough to fulfill that He has promised. We have fake prophets today who are the gullible Christians and must hold on to our faith and courage which will be greatly rewarded- Hebrews 10:35.