Prophetic Destiny
From the Pastor’s heart Prophetic Destiny
Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Act 26:17Delivering thee from our glory: Act 26:18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
The concept of something prophetic in our lives means we have to pay more attention to the prophecy and prophetic purpose of our lives. In every sense, the Church is prophetic as much as Israel was. Abraham received the prophetic word of destiny for Israel and Jesus for the Church. Neither of them shirked their responsibility and believed God for what He had already decided. Obedience to the heavenly vision is the very essence of true prophetic destiny and prophecy. However, many do not understand it, refuse it and even go so far as to hide from it. Others give excuses to God, like Moses, Gideon and Jeremiah. Those who have whole heartedly accepted their destiny in life have gone on to achieve great things. Those who initially refused but later accepted also went on to achieve great things. The trials and tribulations that accompany prophetic destiny is not to be sneezed at. I suspect that many realise the cost of accepting such a commission from the Lord and so hesitate.
I have realised from the scriptures and my personal life that nothing is more satisfying in life than realising one’s true purpose in life. Once this is realised, all striving ceases and focus comes into play. Direction and knowing what to do become so much clearer. Prior to this, there is a vying for something that is not meant for us, a comparing of life and ministry calls and even attempts to create a calling and destiny for oneself. All this usually ends up in disaster and some burn out completely. That is why Apostle Paul wrote about the different members of the body and purposed that each member should do their part so that, the whole Church may achieve its destiny. The alternative is, to fall into the hands of the living God and be plucked out as the unnatural branch that once was grafted into the natural Olive tree to be replaced by the original branch before time.
We must realise who we are, where we came from and where we are going. Otherwise, we will run around in circles all our lives trying to figure out who we are and what it is we are meant to do. I have met many people who have lost their way, before and after coming to Christ because they did not understand this concept of prophetic destiny. The chosen generation and people are always chosen prophetically by God. We are not an accidental find. We did not wake up one day and decide to accept God. God had been reaching out to us and wanting us to respond to His calling. That prophetic calling can be lost when we do not respond. If we transfer it or sell it like Esau did or assume it like King Saul, we will certainly be lost.
Every call of God is specific and has certain things to achieve in it. No one can escape that. This is where the real understanding begins. A seed is planted by God through His word, which is given and then allowed to outwork itself. Most of us do not understand this and go about misdirecting our lives in ways that will delay or deviate from God’s path chosen for us. Many such people have not understood the ways of the Lord wherein He allows certain things to happen, that bring us to our destiny. People like Joseph and Moses found that out when they were driven to wilderness experiences. It did not make sense after having received such a great word from God. Joseph had two dreams and Moses was given a word that he would be a great deliverer. Yet, God had to break them as human beings and make them willing spiritual beings who would do things His way. He also wanted to show the devil the foolishness of his ways in the light of God’s wisdom. Many a warfare has been fought like this by God, using foolish vessels such as ourselves, to show His wisdom to principalities and powers and to people who do not believe. Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, Eph 3:11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: What is more foolish than the Church which is made up of ex- drug addicts, prostitutes, murderers and bad people who are sinners. The devil must be bald by now, pulling out his spiritual hair, realising that God forgives sinners without taking into consideration their true state. I have often balked at God’s choices myself but soon realised that I had no ground to stand on. This has helped me accept a lot of things that I would not have accepted through my own understanding.
When God saved me in my mother’s womb and separated me to the gospel, I had nothing but problems in life. I was wrong in every way and yet, God saved me, washed me clean and gave me a prophetic destiny that I have been working out ever since, trying hard to take steps in the right direction. It has not been easy, it has been confusing at times and at other times it has been glorious to realise that I am a chosen vessel. It boggles the mind and defies all of my enemies and critics opinion and accusations against me. The secret to fulfilling a prophetic destiny is righteousness. Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Heb 1:9Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
When Christ came, He came as the Son of man and the Son of God. He fulfilled all of God’s expectations and conditions that propelled Him to His prophetic destiny on the throne. The throne was not occupied till then and the devil was trying to get it in so many evil ways. He began by deceiving Adam and Eve, then he worked against Israel all their lives and finally he came to the Church to stop us as he realised that this prophetic destiny was much more than anyone thought. The seed that had begun in Adam was fulfilled in Jesus. The devil did not know that and tried his level best to be number one the evil way not God’s way which is righteousness. Jesus fulfilled His destiny through righteousness and took back the keys to the Kingdom and gave it to us, the Church.
Now, our prophetic destiny is in operation. All the struggles we go through in life and the warfare that we experience is because of it. 1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:1Pe 4:13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. These verses are clear. They encourage us to go through life’s trials because of the glory that is about to be revealed. My friends, don’t try to work it out. Try rather to accept your calling and purpose in life and realise that you are a child of destiny and prophetic at that. When you do that, you will realise that God’s plans for you are the best plans. Everything from the country and generation you were born in, the way you came to Christ, the wilderness experiences you have suffered after coming to Christ and the things that are now happening around you and to you in one sense has to do with this prophetic destiny. Not everything that is happening is because of it because we do make mistakes in life as well.
I think of my grandson with regard to prophetic destiny. I prophesied over his life in the womb about 10 days before he was born. About 2 weeks after he was born, all hell broke loose around him and he left his home with his mother and grandmother at 1.30am in the morning under police escort due to the possibility of domestic violence. By the time he was one month old, he had been to three police stations with his mother who had to file charges against her husband. The husband filed for divorce and after two years of a hard fought battle in prayer and believing God while hiding, the victory took place. The victory came in December 2016 just as it had been prophesied. Before all this happened, God told me that it was going to happen through dreams and my hearing the voice of God. When it all happened, I could not understand the intensity of warfare and difficulty that followed that affected not only my family but the Church I was Pastor off. It all made sense, when I was offered Calvary Assembly. God had said all along that it was about the grandson, the next generation.
I do not know what is coming next, but I am excited about it. Prophetic destiny also has about it a mystery that is really not a mystery if one is listening to the Holy Spirit. One of favourite passages in the Bible are as follows: 1Co 2:7But we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world…... 1Co 2:9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen,nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1Co 2:10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. These verses always speak about what has been revealed and yet unknown. I am always chewing out these verses and allowed them to digest. They have worked so many times in my life taking me to prepared places I had never dreamed of. Yet, when I got there, I realised what was happening. Though it was not always clear, the undertone of it was clear. The warfare that ensued always clouded what was revealed in the Spirit. Perseverance of faith through life’s journey based on prophetic destiny brought to pass what could not be understood.
One classic example of such an event is in Act 23:11And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. Though Paul had already received the commission of preaching the gospel to the gentiles, he did not know about Rome till Jesus appeared to him when he was in chains. That was his final prophetic destiny. He suffered more because of this final destiny call. My friends, you may be going through stuff; not all is of the devil or of your own making. Jesus has invested in you a prophetic calling. Please respond and stop thinking about this world, your family, your job and yourself. Start thinking about why you are here on earth.
The cost associated with one’s prophetic destiny is quite high at times. I am determined that if that price is to be paid, it must be paid. I know I do not have the wherewithal to pay the cost but I do know that Jesus has already paid for it through His own prophetic destiny. This is what makes it all worthwhile. In the true sense of paying for it, I can only thank God for His Son Jesus who paid the ultimate price for us all.
I think, if the Church really understood its call and prophetic destiny, it would not struggle so much. It would not indulge in worldly things but be like the early Church who understood the cost of being Christian. I am hoping that we can rise above our circumstances in life, put aside petty things and thoughts and seek God in earnest. There will always be a battle, a cost and lack of full understanding in this journey we call life. However, one thing is sure, Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Lots of love
Pastor Noble