TIME AND PURPOSE AUDIO LINK
To further
confirm this we read in Ecclesiastes 3…
Ecclesiastes 3: 14 - 15
14 I know that, whatsoever
God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken
from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is
now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is
past.
Ecclesiastes
is full of words like vanity and foolishness and how man is to spend his days
here in wisdom, enjoy his portion received from the Lord, but know one thing…He
will stand before God. The whole time
the words “under the sun” is mentioned.
As if the writer had a bird’s eye view, an overall or summary of life.
John 21: 18 - 22
18 Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and
walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch
forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou
wouldest not.
19 This spake
he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken
this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
20 Then Peter,
turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned
on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
21 Peter seeing
him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
22 Jesus saith
unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow
thou me.
Peter was just told what he would endure for the Lord and he looks to John
and cannot help but to ask…”What about John?”
From this we are admonished to focus solely on what He has placed before
us and not before another. We are not to
compare ourselves with all the great revelations, visions and dreams other
people get. We are not to compare
ourselves with how they are used by the Most High. We are not to compare ourselves period.
2 Corinthians 10: 12
- 14
12 For we dare
not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
13 But we will
not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the
rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
14 For we
stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you:
for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
I have found that discontentment with where we are, are often the result
of an unwillingness to let go or an unwillingness to embrace. And so we long for a season to end, or just
for another season in general where He can use us, where we at least in some
form or shape can be of use to the Kingdom of God. At least we will then have a testimony,
right? And so we will obey Him in what
He asks of us in the season, but not joyfully.
We are willing to pay a price for whatever He asks, willing to suffer,
but deep inside of us sits a discontentment with this stupid season taking so
long. “Why can it just not end already?”
we ask. We are unwilling to accept.
And so the same is true once we go to a new season. He reveals a bit of the season to come and
tells us that we will have to count the cost.
And what do we do when we hear those words? We run.
Just like a jack rabbit we are out there. And we hide.
Because the moment He says count the cost we are faced with the reality
that we know we will not be able to do it.
Not even for a second. And so we
decide not to make a choice. We make
sure that we are busy with everything else, except that very thing He wants us
to do. Make a decision to let go. Let go of the season where it has been cozy
and loveable, and come into the valley with Him. We are unwilling to let go.
We have to let go the one season to embrace the next and we have to
embrace the one we are in, in order to obey Him joyfully and not begrudgingly. Neither can we secretly desire abundance in a
season of healing or suffering. Every
season requires a certain disposition of mind and determination to allow the
season to take its course. When we are
of two minds, we are double-minded and the word says we will then be unstable
in all our ways. With every season there
will be a surrendering, an acceptance, a time to be still and a death. The season following, will be the life that
comes out of that season of death that will require you to walk in obedience to
what He taught you. Then the season
after that will again bring you into a greater degree of death, with the one
thereafter bringing you in a greater degree of life and obedience in Him. But you can forget about going into the next
without learning what you were supposed to learn in the previous.
We read the following also in Ecclesiastes 3…
Ecclesiastes 3” 16 -
17
16 And moreover
I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the
place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
17 I said in
mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time
there for every purpose and for every work.
Who are we? We are nothing. We
cannot even breathe without him or sit up straight. The mere fact that He even thinks of wanting
to use us should blow our minds. But no,
true to human nature, we want more.
Always more. Never considering that He does not even have to use us and for
that matter even think of us. Psalm 40
ends with the words:
17 But I am
poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my
deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
It is important that you understand and can articulate exactly what
season you are in and what He is teaching you.
Very often He will let you know by His Spirit exactly what He is busy
with. Contentment is both a choice and a
disposition. A sweet spot of complete
fulfillment in whatsoever state or season you are in. This produces fruits of righteousness of
which love, joy and peace are foremost.
Every season is given by Him so that we may be exercised in it.
Ecclesiastes 3: 10
I have seen the
travail, which God hath given to the sons of man to be exercised in it.
Sometimes, we may not know exactly what He is producing in us, but we can
know that He determines the seasons of our life and choose to be content with
our lot and our portion so that we may work with Him and not against Him, being
exercised by whatever He deems necessary.
Not being content will cause us to slow down and resist Him. He will then have to discipline us and
correct us as a loving Father. We can
either accept and surrender joyfully, or resist and long for the former season
or the seasons of other’s. However, this
will not change the season we are in. It
will however affect our disposition - Joy and contentment or unhappy and
miserable whilst going through the motions.
We are nothing and this is what we lose sight of. We lose sight of the very 3 things He wants
us to remember in every season:
·
To whom you are called (That would be
Him, not man or ministry)
·
Unto what you are called (Your
specific calling, even if you are not sure about it now, He knows what it is)
·
For what you are called (In what
particular way He will use you)
All three of this is His blueprint in what He is doing in you, in every
season. I think this is a very important
lesson, because if we lose sight of this, we will lose sight of Him, our call and
purpose. And that is what we by all
means necessary must never lose sight of.
He died not just for our sin and to redeem us, but to prepare us for His
Kingdom and our function in His Kingdom.
It is not just about now, it is about eternity. When you lose sight of unto whom you are
called to, what and for who, you lose sight of eternity and only think of
now. What you can get out of now. Having narrow vision and basically miss the
point. If you do this long enough, you
will eventually get sidetracked and start adding or subtracting according to
what you think must be and make your own way prosperous, which is nothing but
flesh.
And the reality is that we always measure ourselves with others. “How do I rate against that person?” Even sub-consciously. It is then that we miss the crux of the
matter. That all of your life was made
to serve Him. Not man or yourself. Only Him.
You miss out on the fact that the Most High, the creator of all things,
the All-powerful and Almighty God actually wants to use you. Heck, just really contemplating that and meditating
on that should cause you to say that you are willing to be a rag to wash
someone’s feet, if only this rag lies in His hands. Those precious hands that was pierced for you.
You will be willing to wash floors and toilets,
it really does not matter what, as long as you can serve Him. Then we would not compare ourselves to
ourselves or to anyone, but know that we are nothing. And that our only worth is in the fact in
whom is using us and not what He is using us for. Our hearts would be overjoyed and overwhelmed
in gratitude. The problem is that we do
not value the fact that it is actually Him that uses us more than what He uses
us for. And so we fall short of the
glory we so desire. Our eyes are still on ourselves and on
man.
About a month or so ago Father led me to give a message to someone very
dear to me. This was not easy at
all. It was a message of judgment, but
also of restoration. I had a choice to
make. Am I going to obey Him and be
willing to let go of this person in my life, or am I going to hold onto this
person and disobey Him. I obeyed Him and
trusted the person into His hands.
Before Father gave me the word He wanted me to tell this person, He gave
me a vision. This was whilst the person
was at my house. I saw a pocket watch
fall to the ground and the lid flipped open.
As it crashed to the ground, all the small parts of the watch fell out
with barely anything intact. At that
moment the Spirit said to me…The pocket watch represents our life. When someone dies, we say, “His time is up.” The lid represents whatever we use to keep
everything nicely together. But that he
is going to fall like this pocket watch and the season, time and purpose of his
life will be broken. This person was
called to be a missionary, and even though he made a vow to be just that, he
broke this vow. And now his life will be
broken. But the Lord will restore him
when he returns to Him. There is more to
the word, but this makes the point.
Later the Spirit showed me a valley full of watches, all broken. All the purposes and seasons of people’s
lives wasted. Broken promises and people
who wanted to do it “their way”.
Refusing the voice of wisdom.
Refusing the Creator who Himself created every time, season and purpose
or their life. What we forfeit from
moving out of season and being stiff-necked in the one we are in, affects
generations and eternity, because when a purpose and call is lost or broken, He
has to raise up another. But more than
that, it breaks the “Watchmaker’s” heart.
I cannot help but to think of Corrie Ten Boom whose father was a watchmaker. As a family they hid many Jews from the Nazi’s
during the World War and she was eventually captured and led many to Yeshua in
the concentration camps. The “Watchmaker’s”
daughter was exactly where He wanted her, but she would never have chosen it.
Philippians 4: 11 –
13
11 Not that I
speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content.
12 I know both
how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Words that catches my attention in these verses are: learned; know and
instructed. This speaks of a clear
directive from the Lord. Nothing is by
chance. Paul had to learn what it meant
to go all over the world and preach the gospel.
However he spent 3 years in the desert.
For 3 years he was hidden from all where the Most High had to deal with
him. It is not that Paul did not know
scripture, but rather, Paul had to learn wisdom and the ways of the Most High. There will also come a critical time in your
seasons just before He uses you, the way He intended and purposed, which will
require you of giving everything up. You
will be asked, “Are you willing to be never used by Me? Are you willing to be nothing in everybody’s
eyes, including yourself?” You see,
significance is something we all want to feel.
We all want to feel that we are part of the group, or can make some kind
of mark in society. We want to be able
to add to life and be of value. And the
question He is asking is, “Are you willing to give that up, forever?” Once He knows, really knows that you are
willing, and have in fact done so, He will cause you to wait. The waiting season is fairly difficult, but
it is the proverbial corn of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, and only
He can raise you up. Only He decides if
you should ever come out of the dark soil which He has planted you in. For everything there is a season. A time to plant, and a time to uproot that
which was planted. You have to be
willing to be nothing.
And so a whole field of watches find themselves broken. Unused.
The purposes of the Most High frustrated, because we wanted to climb the
spiritual ladder. We were more concerned
with where we are going and lamented the season of preparation. Seeing it as a means to an end, forgetting
that obedience in every season is the end in itself. He is the Beginning and the End and every
season has a beginning and an end and He is that in the season you are now in. You miss your season, you miss Him. For every season He will reveal Himself to
you in a way that no other season can do.
In every season, apart from everything you learn in it, He is your
reward. It does not matter where someone
else is, it only matters where you are and whether you are obeying Him. Because the person in a season way ahead of
you may be able to do great exploits that you long for, but live in
disobedience, and the Most High will look on your season and be well pleased
because of your obedience. Obedience is
His love language. Did you know
this? He says in John 15, “If you love
Me, you will do My commandments”. Your
season, whether it is your first season in your walk with Him or your 48th
season, it does not matter, is for Him exceptionally important. Because if He ordained it for now, His will
is accomplished.
Ephesians 2: 10
10 For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.
Wanting to be in another season, running ahead of Him or being over eager, will only delay the season you are in. You will have to turn around with hat in hand and see Him waiting there ever so patiently for you so that the teaching and learning can proceed. He does not measure things the way we do. His scale is completely different and this is why He wants us not to lean on our own understanding. He will not let us go into the next season until we have learned in this season what He has purposed. So you might as well get comfortable and put your learning cap on. At the right time, usually when you think it will never happen…He opens the door that nobody can shut. And He makes all things beautiful in its time.
All our days
were written in His book. This book is
in fact our DNA. He is never in a hurry
and also never late. The Spirit inspired
me to write the following and I pray it blesses you.
I am aware
that like a clock, there are seconds, minutes, hours and a day. Every day we get the same amount of
time. And like a clock there is a
beginning and an end of a book. A book
is in itself a journey. As I see a book
before me with its pages spread open in a half circle, I realize that every
page of my life is open before Him. He
sees every dot and every line. Just like
He is with us every second and every minute of the day. He alone is the Author of this book and
nobody else have ever written in it.
Only Him. He holds the book in
His hands and nobody can snatch it out of His hands. Nobody can grab it, write something in it or
even take something out. In His
sovereignty He has decided what is to be written in this book. He has planned every single day beforehand
and has written it already. Nothing must
still be written in my book. For just
like He predestined what would be written in the life of the Living Word, his
Son, so He predestined what would be written in mine. He alone determines the end of my book,
because He alone is the Beginning and the End.
He alone has decided the boundaries of every page, knowing exactly how
much I can handle for each day. He will
never write more on a page that what the page can allow. The length of my book already
established. I can trust Him. Every single page, a day, every single chapter
a season and one day the book of life, and all our books will be opened and
read. Every word that was said, every
act of kindness, every time we laid our lives down for another, every moment of
a secret glance upward to love Him, every time we considered another, every
time we did not strike back, every time we were willing to speak the truth in
love to save another, every hour or second spent searching His Word and holding
it dear in our hearts. Every time we
loved the unlovable and every time we chose faith over doubt. All those hours spent in prayer in the middle
of the night. All these will be read in
His presence. And yes, we can make choices to not follow the “Book”, but even
those choices He knows of before they even are a thought in us. He uses even that. Every single day He opens this book and
desires that we would come and listen to His voice leading us on the paths of
righteousness for His name sake. He
knows the end from the beginning and therefore He knows how my story ends. He knows how your story ends. It is a love story of a sinner saved by grace
and that sinner taking the hand of his Savior and walking with Him every step
of the way. One word, one sentence and one page at a time. It is
story of how that sinner often let go of that hands that held him so lovingly,
and how the Savior never left His side.
A story of how that sinner fell helplessly in love and gave up all so
that He may be with her/his Savior even now and forever. A story where the Savior fell in love with
the sinner and said, “You Are Mine”.
This is my story and laced within my story is my purpose. He has determined it in His great love and
right through every page He decided whether good or bad needed to happen in
order to prepare me for this purpose. For
I do not want to miss the purpose He has written in my book. Not because I want to fulfill it for myself,
but because it originated from His heart for His ends and purposes. For His glory and not mine. It is His desire that I want to fulfill. And so every day is working towards that
purpose and I want to be conscience and totally surrendered to it in everything
He has written for that day. We read one
word at a time, one page at a time. And
so, every day will have a specific purpose I do not want to miss, because it
has eternal value, for Him. Often I have
not understood, but in spite of this my love for Him grew and just like a vine,
it grew stronger and stronger through every trial. The most loved chapters are not when
everything went well. The most important
chapter’s titles are: THE THORN, THE
SORROW, THE NIGHT I THOUGHT I WOULD DIE AND LONELY DAYS. Many more chapters like these formed the
backbone or the spine of the book of my life and only He wrote it. Not the enemy, not those who hate me, for
nobody can take the book from the Author, THE BEGINNING of my life. And only He can write the words of the last
page…THE END.
Ecclesiastes 3:14
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever:
nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that
men should fear before him.
Jeremiah 29: 11 - 13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith
the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto
me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for
me with all your heart.
We are never
to forget that our greatest purpose is to find Him and in finding Him, we will
find His purpose in every season.
TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON, AND A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER
THE HEAVEN. (Eccl. 3: 1)
