Identity and Purpose 2

The questions: ‘Who Am I?’ and ‘What Am I Doing Here on earth?’ is common and universal, and intrinsic with our make up as human beings.  People of diverse culture, colour, language, creed and experience are frequently asking these questions irrespectively, whether consciously or not. Generation after generation have pondered and reflected upon these queries and the consequences are reflected on both the good and bad of our history. Our interpretation today of these very same questions will determine the present and the future development of our lives, families, communities, nations and the world. So it is absolutely imperative that we answer these questions wisely and correctly because a lot is at stake if we get it wrong.

Identity always precedes purpose and it is the best foundation for any charitable and enduring work on earth. It energises any effort for the goodwill of mankind and its fruits will outlive any other humanitarian works built on a less robust foundation. A strong self-belief based on one’s knowledge of oneself can lead to great innovating, life-changing and impacting endeavours. Consider Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King. These were ordinary individuals who accomplished extra-ordinary feats with global consequences. The hidden secret to their prodigious accomplishments that were visible for all to see was ‘identity’. They knew who they were and they gladly embraced it. Their self-belief and confidence were tested many times but what kept them going regardless was their deeply anchored belief in ‘who they were’.  They had the same attitude as Christ of Whom the bible described as: 

“A bruised reed He will not break and smoking flax He will not quench”

 Isaiah 42:3 NKJV

The true strength and power of every individual lies within, and this is aroused and emboldened when Jesus becomes Lord. The great achievers mentioned above can trace their success to the unbending will and resilience of their inner resolve because their ‘God encounters’ resurrected their true inner-self. It was the realization of who they were, accompanied by deep satisfaction and exhilarating joy of one’s identity, that moved these people and many alike in the world to perform astounding works that became the marvel of many. Jesus was a bruised reed but unbroken because He knew who He was. A smoking flax but unburnt because His strength and resolve was not in what He did, but in who He was.

Primacy of Salvation 

God’s primary work in our lives is to restore our identity before the outworking of His purpose. This is His commencing point with people, and it is inherent with His nature. When Moses enquired of God about His name for the great deliverance of Israel from Egypt, God’s answer was “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). He didn’t say “I think I am” or “I am the God of this and that”. God went straight to the heart of the matter and identified Himself not by His great power to deliver Israel, but by Who He is. Jesus followed the same pattern by making bold statements like “I am the way, the truth and the life; I am the light of the world; I am the bread of life” and much more. The ‘I AM’ part was the essence in the identification of God and Christ to man and the same pattern is expected of every serious pursuer of God. Identity was the first thing God gave man in creation and it was the first to be lost in the Garden of Eden. Man was created in God’s image and likeness and when sin entered Adam and Eve, the image and likeness of God in man was severely crushed and distorted and the grace of God through Christ today is to reinstate man’s identity in God again. Without a thorough renovation of identity, our lives and works on earth will be on makeshift and shaky foundation. Matthew admonished us to ‘hear’ and ‘do’ His word for by doing, we are building our house (life) on a rock-solid foundation that life’s myriad of pressures cannot prevail. The hearing and doing of God’s word equates to the restoring of our image and identity in God because in this process, we are partaking of His divine nature. And the more we take on God, the more His nature becomes ours and we are surely transformed into who we really are in Him. As we find and behold God in hearing and doing His word, we are finding and beholding ourselves at the same time. This is the sure foundation for life. 

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock”

Matthew 7:24-25 NIV

From Simon to Peter

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 

Matthew 16:13-17 NKJV

When Jesus addressed His disciples about the question; “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” He was engaging them in a dialogue on the issue of identity and subtly including them in the people category. It didn’t take long for the disciples to respond; “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets”. Jesus again made His intention clear by saying “What about you…Who do you say I am?”. And while they were pondering on the question, the Spirit of the Lord inspired Simon Peter and he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”. This is exactly what Jesus waited for; the capturing of His identity by His disciples where their identity would also be reflected and apprehended. We can only find ourselves when we can truly find God by the revelation of the Spirit. The result for Peter was that Jesus instantly changed his name from Simon the reed to Peter the rock. When Peter grasped who Jesus was, Peter also grasped who he really was and Jesus knew that a name change was necessary to suit his new identity. Peter instantly moved from Mr Unstable, inconsistent, oscillation and always speaking and acting on impulse; to Mr Stability, consistency and trustworthy. This was always the Peter in Christ’s mind but Simon needed a personal revelation of Christ in order to have a personal revelation of himself. He was not a reed as the name Simon designated but a rock in which the work of God could predicate. What happened after this was absolutely amazing. Jesus announced to Peter the very purpose of this encounter which was:

1.    The erection of a foundation for the building of His church so that hell could not prevail against it

2.    The entrustments to man of the keys of the kingdom

3.    The gaining of heaven’s response and endorsement on whatever Peter bound and loosed on earth

See how critical identity is? God wants to reveal His purpose and endow us with His divine authority, but the church must have a fresh authentic encounter with Christ in such manner, that we truly secure who we really are. An attainment of our true identity will warrant us the right to serve God’s purpose with all the resources and the backing of heaven. Let us press deeper into God until heaven declares upon us a name change, for we have attained the true us.

Identity and Purpose Part 1

The primary work of Christ through His word and the Spirit is to restore man’s identity before he is commissioned to serve His purpose. This is the correct order of God’s divine work because the consequence will either be devastating chaos or colossally positively life changing! Restoring our   identity or who we are should be the chief pursuit of every Christian or anyone who desires to live a successful and overcoming life on earth. Identity is the foundation for any noble and enduring work. When man is confused and fragmented in his perspective about himself, the same nature and fragmentation is reflected in all his dealings and relationships. Nothing he does carries a true sense of authority, fullness and conviction. In fact, his work might have the appearance of authenticity and legitimacy, but a closer scrutiny only reveals hollowness, illusion and misperception. His relationship with people may seem candid and genuine, but underneath this veneer is much perplexity and discontentment.  He is like an impressive edifice with state of the art design built on a fractured and cracked foundation.  Over time, the true character of this edifice will emerge much to the horror of those who were once bewitched by its beauty!  

You may have come across many in your life whom at first impression are all-inspiring and next to none!  They appear to have it all together and emanate great confidence in themselves and their destiny in life. But after a season of close acquaintance and the establishment of a certain level of trust, those impressive walls begin to give way and the actual person inwardly diametrically contradicts everything that astounded us in the first place outwardly. There are many disappointing stories like this all around the world and the saddest of them is; it is so prevalent among Christians, the very people who should embody the cohesive and wholesome life of God.     

In this present season of reformation, God is recalling many Christians back to the quarry of His reforming work so that Christ may be fully formed in them before any further kingdom endeavours. Apostle Paul agonises over this critical issue with the Galatian church when their growing ignorance of the gospel of grace sabotaged God’s intention of a fully formed Christ in their midst, from which their identity derived. 

“My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” –Galatians 4:19 NKJV

Our identity is intrinsic with our knowledge of Christ Who accurately reflects our very image and who we really are. Our knowledge of Christ parallels our knowledge of ourselves. To know Him is to know us and fully knowing Christ is to fully know ourselves. On the flipside, our partial and deficient knowledge of Christ distorts our image and perceptibility of ourselves. Our identity is inextricably linked to Christ Himself! We find ourselves and who we truly are in Him. The closer we get to Christ the closer we get to ourselves. And the further we are from Christ only increases the distance between us and our true identity and it intensifies the blurry perspective of our true self. That’s why Paul called for more apostolic labouring in the Galatian church till Christ was fully formed because it galvanised their individual and corporate identity, leading to empowerment and increased authority in the entire church for a powerful execution of their purpose in God. 

Christ, who is also the Word, is the mirror that gives the perfect and actual image of our selves. As we calculatingly and explicitly behold Christ in His perfect word, the clearer our image becomes, and reflects in the beauty of His holiness.  Increasing identity crisis among believers and non-believers alike is due to much time spent on literature that distorts and gives false knowledge about our self-image rather than digesting the truth of God’s word that sets man free! We will forever be in self-delusion if the bible is at the bottom of our library and other literature and popular opinion takes precedence and shapes our thought life.  God’s absolute truth liberates man on all levels and anything outside this only imprisons and enslaves us starting with our mentality.

“For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing” – James 1:23-25 NRS     

            

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" – John 8:32 NKJV

Looking intently in the mirror of God’s word brings us into a head on confrontation with the naked truth about God and ourselves, the truth that eternally sets man free. Identity derived from our knowledge of Christ is true and permanent freedom and liberation!  

In the beginning, God knew that man’s identity was crucial and that it was the ultimate precondition to serving His purpose.  So He issued a command that man must first be made in His image and likeness before he is endowed with authority to rule the earth. Authority on someone with an identity predicament is a recipe for much trouble and disaster. Our authority and effectiveness in what we do, increases with every degree of identity acquisition and consolidation. God created the perfect man in the beginning by making him like God. This is the state of perfect identity for man, and God is inviting us to come back to that standard through Jesus so that we can restore the earth back to His original intention. 

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" 

– Genesis 1:26 NKJV

The word image and likeness are synonymous with identity and it is worth noting that God used these words as preludes to dominion and rulership.  Christians can and should rule the earth and all created things, but it comes when our pursuit of God’s image and likeness becomes our highest priority, even in the 21^st century. Many are chasing power and authority over identity and this is a clear violation and evasion of God’s divine order. Identity naturally attracts power and authority, but the opposite of this leads only to much corruption and abuse! 

In closing, let us aggressively run after the restoration of our identity in God at the beginning of 2012, for it is the only foundation for a prosperous and successful year. Let’s find God again in a fresh way so as to find ourselves afresh also. We can’t find ourselves by moving to new geographical locations, new relationships, changing churches or jobs, acquiring lots of money and whatever other methodology others have employed for apprehending one’s self. We will only find ourselves by finding God deeply and for real, and not superficially. We are hidden with Christ in God and we need to press deeply in to God to truly and fully embrace who we really are.

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”—Colossians 3:2-3 NKJV  

What we need in 2012 is a new us that enhances and empowers all that we do in God.

God bless you and see you next week….

David K Vaka      

       

Script and Process - Episode 5: The Epic Ending (Joseph's Pattern)

Joseph’s life script was revealed by God through a dream. Immediately after, Joseph was plunged into a vigorous and heart wrenching process which was an integral component to the ultimate fulfillment of his script.  In the previous episodes, we have looked at how Joseph endured the low points of the process (pit, slavery, false allegation, prison) and the outworking of kingdom invariables which heaven puts much significance on, to sanction and authorise our continuous perpetuation through the various phases of the script. Some of these were gratitude, forgiveness, hope and trust, fear of God, excellent spirit, and unflinching commitment.  But transcending them all is the constant companionship of the Almighty in all that we do and go through. Many may question God's proximity in the lows of their process, but as long as we bear the pressure of the journey and stay faithful, God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrew 13:5). His presence will always accompany us whether we feel Him or not.  It’s a truth that our faith is now being enhanced by the process which it is now acquainted with.  The process elevates our faith above emotion, circumstances and other natural navigational devices, to become the predominant leading torchlight of our journey.  This makes every earnest seeker of the script life live not by bread (natural) but by the proceeding word of God (spiritual realities). 

"It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" – Matthew 4:4 NKJV

In this episode, we will look at the thrilling culmination of Joseph’s script and how God is unwaveringly committed to the methodical materialization of our script and our success on earth. If truth be known, God is more committed to our success than we are ourselves! 

They Bowed Down

"Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf." And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me." So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind"
-Genesis 37:5-11 NKJV 

The very reality that Joseph saw in his dream came to pass in 17 years. What started with a vision in mind was now a reality before His eyes when his brothers and father literally kneeled and gave him the highest honor and respect. He was now the prince of Egypt and the entire nation itself held Joseph in high honour, third highest to the King. And for his father and brothers to witness this was deeply humbling and I am sure joyful at the same time.

"Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.  Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!"
- Genesis 45:1-4 NIV

When Joseph revealed himself, his brothers were terrified in his presence. Joseph now had the upper hand and his brothers were literally at his mercy. A picture far removed from that first scene of his script when his brothers were filled with hate and murder and wanted him dead (Genesis 37:18-20). It's funny how unique and colourful the multifaceted scenes of our life script can be and how it can dramatically change from bad to great success if we give it time and endurance! It’s just like watching a movie where the main character starts out weak, defeated acquiescent and hopeless; but nevertheless possesses a dream with a great promise and future. But after his rendezvous with his process in the movie, he becomes the embodiment of power, strength, victory and hope at the end.  

Joseph witnessed firsthand the reversal of fortune and his brothers immediately crashed into the pit of guilt and condemnation for what they had done to him. Joseph could have put a lid on that pit and kept them there as they had done to him in the beginning, but the man of hope and dreams who lived for the total manifestation of God's plan understood that the achievement of his finished script was for the good of many, even his enemies!

"Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive”
- Genesis 46:29-30 NIV

"So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children"  - Genesis 47:11-12 NIV

Now it’s very clear from the above scriptures that even Joseph’s father had joyfully succumbed to the glory and power of Joseph. The aged man Jacob was ready to resign from this life as he laid eyes upon his son and recognised the tremendous favour and authority God had given. I am sure that Jacob was not surprised at all with what he saw, for he had kept the dream Joseph spoke of in the beginning in his heart (Genesis 37:1). And now that Joseph had reached the pinnacle of his life script, Jacob declared that he himself was ready to die. Joseph achieving the height of what God had planned for him also meant the fulfillment of his father's script. See how life is very much interconnected and how everyone and everything symbiotically depend on one another? This is God's great wisdom from the beginning and it puts the onus on us to ensure the we arrive at the ultimate place of our purpose in life, for it can potentially close the last chapter on someone else's life script. My finish means your completion and your finish means other people's completion of their life's script.  And if we don’t ever finish, many whose assignments and scripts overlap with ours will not have the completion and the sense of fulfillment they deserve. Let's not ever forget this principle and please don’t let your fellow pilgrims in life walk without you and you without them. We need one another to have an epic and grand ending to life!

Salvation and Preservation of a Legacy

Joseph’s epic ending not only saved his entire family from the worse famine of their time, but it preserved a legacy and God's divine purpose for the inauguration of the nation of Israel and the birthing of the Saviour of the world – JESUS! Our total finishing in God is so far reaching even beyond our time and generation, but that's how the economy of heaven works. God had a nation called Israel in Jacob's loins and God orchestrated the future to ensure that no natural disasters would hinder the formation of this divine intention.  Hence Joseph came forth in the right time for the right mission. God always sees the end from the beginning and the big picture of life from eternity to eternity is always before Him. We mere men, are mostly preoccupied with what's before us naturally and only on what the natural eyes can fathom. But if we lift up the eyes of our spirit, we can see what God sees. That Jacob’s script overlapped and was in continuum with Joseph’s and both men represented different generations serving an unchanging divine mandate of heaven.

On this note, I'd like for us to appreciate the generations that have gone before us, whether they arrived at the zenith of their purpose in life or not. The fact is, their lives (success and failures) have played into who and where we are today. We must learn and appreciate the past in order to build the future that God had divinely invested in our scripts. Without a genuine gratitude for the past which includes our parents, family, friends, spiritual leaders, life models and anything else that has formed, shaped and inspired who we are today, then our future could be far worse than our past. What you don't appreciate you will tend to repeat!

We must remember that our total completion in God not only completes the script of the former generation but it helps set up and initiate the next generation and their purposes in God. The baton of God's unchanging purpose is being passed from generation to generation, and we like Joseph will be saving many from the detrimental circumstances of life and preserving the legacy of heaven for the Joseph's of the future!

Salvation of a Nation

It is amazing how a Jew (Joseph) could be so powerful and influential in Egypt a heathen nation, and how his divine script brought salvation to that nation from the devastating famine that struck the world at that time! God's script affects and blesses even unbelievers and heathen nations. Because of Josephs’ faithfulness, God blessed Egypt’s political, economic, social systems and beyond. The impact of God’s script in our lives affects all things around us. I believe that one of the most effective ways to bring sinners and goat nations to God today is to live out our script openly and publicly before the eyes of the world. And as they witness our faithfulness, our 10 times better success and our uncompromising character and integrity, they will turn to God and be blessed by the Almighty. The King of Egypt recognised this in Joseph and even paid homage to the God of Joseph because of this!

Let the church of Jesus today pursue our divine script like Joseph so that our success in God's purpose saves nations also. We are supposed to be a blessing to the world by bringing God to their doorsteps through the quality of our lives, conduct and our unbeatable standard of our work ethics and success. Who we are and what we do is the best form of propagating the gospel to unbelievers today. The world does not want to hear more about Jesus but see Him through us. We are the word of God personified. Joseph, who is also a type of Jesus, exemplified this truth in his lifetime and that is why the King of Egypt acknowledged God and His blessing enveloped all of Egypt.

Global Impact

Josephs’ life had a global resonance and impact. The famine that affected his family was a global crisis and the bible said that many from the nations of the world came to Egypt seeking food.

"So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the lands"  - Genesis 41:57 NKJV

And as the nations gathered for their provision, it was Joseph that they had to deal with because the King had given Joseph authority literally over the entire nation.

Global impact has always been God's intention for those who are serious with His plan and purpose. We don’t necessarily have to travel the entire globe to do this, but our faithfulness and obedience to God's script releases global power and anointing from wherever we may be. The power to change the world is in our faithfulness, obedience and commitment to finish our script on earth regardless of the unpleasant nature of the process. We, like Joseph, can be sought by the world according to the unique aspect of God's inheritance we are destined to manifest on the earth. It may not be natural food they are seeking from us but divine food like; wisdom, revelation, creative and innovative ideas, business and financial models, political ideology, family and church solutions and so much more.

This is our time to rise up and continue our pursuit of God and the fulfillment of His script for us until we reach the apex of our success and impact that consequently affects families, communities, cities, nations and the whole entire world.

Let the OG Revolution continue....

   

    

Script and Process 2 - Episode 4 (Joseph’s Pattern)

In my first 2 blogs I started off by highlighting the dream Joseph had about his grand future and how 17years later, what began with a divine revelation of his life script, came to pass to the finest detail! God will always begin by revealing to His people the end of His plan from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) and the details are worked out along the way when faith and obedience are applied to the revealed script. Those who refuse to move with the initial impartation of the script of heaven but would rather linger for the specificity will lose out on the adventurous faith journey, witnessing the power of God altering the natural elements, being appropriated for more, and living out a prolific kingdom life. These folks will eventually manufacture their own script and mediocre, average living would be their portion for life. 

We are not supposed to know everything about the script from the onset. God will give us a glimpse of it from the start and invite us on a faith walk, trusting entirely on Him to bring it about. Remember that God’s script for us will far exceed our comprehension and expectation. It has to be far beyond us so that we resolutely cling to Him for its outworking and give Him the glory for its accomplishment!  But those who are crafting miniscule dreams enough for their own ability to fulfil are not dreaming God’s dream. God’s script always has national and global significance attached to it, whether we are singularly changing the world or affecting and influencing city shakers and world changers. Secular folks like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson exude more of the God kind of dream than many Christians today. The reason is because most Christians are in the church bound up by parochial thinking and fearfulness. Sometimes I wonder why they even entered into a covenant relationship with God Almighty the Creator of all things, if they are not willing to believe the impossible and earth shattering power of God?

In this blog, let us look at constant factors that accompanied Joseph’s pursuit of the dream and its dramatic culmination and epic ending!

Though Joseph went through a real natural process necessary for the fulfilment of the dream (pit, slavery, false allegations and accusations, prison), there were also constant ethical values and character traits that were indispensable for his whole journey. The 21^st century Christians must embrace these divine commodities in order to finish our journey(s) also.

1. Gratefulness—in spite of the gruelling and challenging nature of the process, Joseph maintained a high level of gratitude for the multifaceted complex nature of the journey, and especially for the people involved. His heart did not get bitter but better with every scene of the script and he possessed a high tolerance level for the things that stretched and broke him in the journey far above many in the church today. This is the internal capacity necessary for our survival and longevity in the kingdom. It’s the ability to readily forgive and forget and reach forth to apprehend that which Christ has apprehended for us (Philippians 3:12). It’s not getting personal with the process and people within but understanding its facilitative purpose to direct us to where we should go. Many get stuck on this level because they magnify the ‘affects’ rather than the ‘purpose’, it’s ‘pain’ rather than its ‘benefits’. We must not get personal with the process nor amplify its impact but flow with it regardless of its unpleasant nature and the process will work for us and not against us. For gratitude is the attitude that numbs the sting of the process and quickens our arrival at our next pit stop! God is looking for people that rejoice always in the good, bad and the ugly of the journey for it is the sustainable juice of the kingdom.

The following statement reveals the enlarged capacity of Joseph’s heart through the process and his gratefulness in all that he had been through when he revealed himself as the prince of Egypt’s to his brothers who were once bent on killing him...

“And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance” – Genesis 45:7

Joseph is now seeing his brothers bowing to him as in the dream and rather than demanding revenge for the wrongs done unto him, he uttered God’s wisdom and benevolence in the whole ordeal.

2. Forgiving —when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers as the overseer of all the wealth of Egypt, you could probably have heard a pin drop as the reality of what they had done to Joseph dawned on them. They must have felt the sentence of death at Joseph’s revelation because at their last encounter, they had planned to kill him. Again Joseph knew better and had seen the prophetic manifestation of his dream that though his brother’s intention was to harm him, God used it to move him forward in His purpose. Joseph played the forgiving card! 

“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me’, so they came near. Then he said, ‘I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life” 
- Genesis 45:4-5 NKJV

Urging his brothers not to be grieved nor be angry with what they had done to him means Joseph had forgiven all grievances and evil intent against him. Embracing forgiveness in the trailing moments of our process will push us further into the fulfilment of our script swiftly. This is the quintessential quality God looks for when we are tested beyond our ability, because it is needed for the administration of His grace in the kingdom. Those who master forgiveness especially toward the most horrendous people in their lives are called overcomers and God will entrust them with rulership authority over multiple spheres in His kingdom.

Jesus like Joseph also experienced the worse betrayal in his life when His very own (the Jews) sentenced Him to death on the cross. In the midst of His agony and pain on the cross, moments before He died, He uttered something so astounding that should have staggered the imagination of those who were witnessing His death and even for Christians today:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do”
–Luke 23:34 NKJV

It is easy to forgive when all is well around us; but to forgive in the midst of when death is strangulating us administered by people you loved and who are screaming for your blood, requires a higher dimension of God in us. Joseph and Jesus knew the power of forgiveness and its integral part in manifesting God’s purpose in their lives. Can 21^st century believers have the same gutsy attitude and throw off their self pity parties, fluffy and shallow spirituality, murmuring and moaning over minor issues – and carry their cross all the way to Calvary hill so that others might live? The church of Jesus today is full of soft-bodied amoeba Christians that complain, moan and groan about insignificant things, blaming and accusing everyone for their predicaments rather than making a heap of all these issues, standing on top of it and plunge  deeper into the purposes of God!

3. Hope and Trust—hope and trust in God is a must ingredient because of the daunting and colossal nature of His plan for us. God always desires to do BIG things through us although He may start off small like the size of a mustard seed. There is always excitement and ecstasy when we receive His prophetic declaration for our lives, but sooner or later, the rubber will meet the road and that’s when our journey gets roughed up, challenged, rocky and unpleasant. This is where many hearts fail the litmus test of faith and trust, and even the hopes of many are dashed! Hope and trust are much needed when the journey becomes blurry, uncertain, confused and makes no sense, because it certainly will. Christians need to be aware of this and use the torchlight of hope and trust as their navigational tool in such perilous times. In aviation, sometimes pilots navigate toward their destination using visible landmarks and natural contours that the natural eyes can see, but when clouds, storms, thunder, lightning, heavy rain and turbulence affect their visibility, they suspend the natural sight and employ the plane’s electronic apparatus. This is the equivalent of hope and trust to guide us in God when there is so much natural changeability and chaos.  

Reading through the life of Joseph, hope and trust were clearly evident in his pursuit of God’s script. The bible said that the word of God (script container) tested him but his heart failed him not.

“He set a man before them Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word comes to pass, the word of the Lord tested him”
– Psalms 105:17-19 NKJV

The trials and tribulations in God’s process are divinely designated to grow and build our hope and trust muscles so that we can reach a point of walking entirely by faith and not circumstantially. Christians are called to not walk by sight but by faith, and as long as sight dominates our navigational mechanisms in God, storms will continue until we learn to lean exclusively on the apparatus of the Spirit such as hope and faith. 

  “For we walk by faith, not by sight” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

           

4. Fear of God—what kept Joseph from yielding and succumbing to the various temptations in the process was the fear of God. Many claim to love God but still compromise their Christian position at the drop of a hat.  But it is the fear element of love that keeps us from sinning against God, others and ourselves.

Love at times can be an exhilarating sensation that makes us feel good in God, but the fear of God will move us beyond sensationalism to a deep heart commitment that causes us not to hurt God by our sins. This is the fear that Joseph possessed and it’s much needed when we are squeezed to a corner and all our natural support systems are unavailable. Portiphar’s wife picked the right moment to make her advances towards Joseph when no one was in the house. Though Joseph’s back was against the wall, the bible said that the fear of God busted Joseph out of this situation!

“And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said ‘Lie with me’.....But he refused and said to his master’s wife....how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”  - Genesis 39:7-9 NKJV

Many Christians when in a tight spot similar to Joseph, would probably welcome this sexual or pleasurable opportunity for they think that grace is sufficient to bail them out afterwards. Sin now and repent later is the common language of the church today and no wonder many potential Josephs are falling by the wayside. They love God but have no clue of the reverential fear of God that can keep them from sinning.

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil” –Proverbs 3:7 KJV

Such Christians would never advance far enough in the pursuit of their divine script, because their low tolerance to temptation is galvanising compromise, which is the constituent for average living and spiritual abortion in God.

May the fear of God fall on the church again so that we can escape the fires of temptation unscathed and unburned!

5. Excellent Spirit—one area that we must pay special attention to in the midst of our process, even in the most challenging times, is faithfully executing our responsibilities, whether small or big, to the highest degree of brilliance and distinction! This was an obvious characteristic of Joseph’s life. 

In Potiphar’s house, he was given rulership over the entire estate because he did everything exceptionally well.  And in prison, he continued to prove himself trustworthy with the duty given to him, that the prison keeper eventually put all the prisoners under his care. The church today is in dire need of this characteristic which must be proven in our private lives before we are given public exposure. Many put on the spirit of excellence when the spotlight is on them and they are under the scrutiny of others.  But behind closed doors they are shoddy and sloppy as a hog wallowing in the mud of recklessness. 

The spirit of excellence is what heaven looks for during our process, because our faithfulness even in the little, sets the platform for our promotion to the much bigger things of God.  When we are in the lowest ebb of our process, we must continue to perform diligently what God requires because heaven seeks faithfulness and excellence, for it is the key to opening the door to the next phase of our destiny.

6. Commitment to the End—a laser- guided missile that locks onto its target first before it is released, will guarantee a bull’s eye all the time. This will ensure to the pilot that the missile will hit and destroy its targets, even the moving ones without fail. Our commitment to the fulfilment of God’s script works the same way. Many times the script will elude us like a moving target. And just when we think we have all things figured out, unexpected intrusions and interruptions strike and throw many into ever ending disorientation, confusion and frustration. Such moments can bring doubt, defeat and thoughts of quitting the mission. However, if we have a laser-guided commitment to our goal of fully manifesting our script, then all contradiction and incongruity to the purpose of God will not dampen the commitment of our spirit to the script. Our Spirit guided spirit has been locked in to the target and no matter how long and challenging the opposition may be, we will smash our target with   bulls-eye accuracy and see the explosion of God’s purpose through us globally!

Again, the life of Joseph exemplified this principle clearly and we would do well to emulate this high level of commitment strongly in the 21^st century.

7. God with Us—the most striking feature in the life of Joseph that constantly manifested through his highs and lows was—God was with him. This is truly amazing! I believe that faithfulness to our life script and endurance will guarantee the constant companionship of God throughout our voyage. We don’t have to feel God to know He is there.  He is always there as long as we stay true to the plan. Sometimes we may feel Him and sometimes we might not, but the eyes of faith will comfort us in knowing God is always with those who stick to the process and are determined in their hearts to fully execute His plan on earth. However, if we abandon His plan, knowingly or not, we are on our own and God is not obligated to follow or support us in our selfish pursuits. His love for all Christians will remain the same but the manifestation of His presence and support hinges on our faithfulness to His will.

“The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian”  - Genesis 39:2 NKJV

“Then Joseph’s master took him and him in the prison....but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy...” – Genesis 39:20-21 NKJV

So what shall we do to attract God’s presence all the days of our lives? Stick to the script and endure its process and God will always be with us until the end!

Until next time...   Join the OG Revolution