Christian Living

Recognition of your God Given Purpose Part 2

by Eyvonne Black
02/21/16
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

In parts of this article, you will find that I have used Jesus Christ's original Hebrew name, Yeshua Hamaschiah, and LORD God [where these titles are used]; replaced with God's original Hebrew name Yahweh, Elohim.

THE APOSTLE PAUL The Apostle Paul [Saul], as he was known then] was a religious advocator of Judaism and a relentless persecutor of Jesus Christ and very committed to both causes.

The Bible accounts that Saul watched and approved the stoning and death of Stephen. Stephen was a Jewish man who was a follower of Christ and was said to be 'full of faith and of the Holy Spirit' (Act 6v5). He lived outside Israel, and Jesus' disciples gave him the responsibility to care for widows and those in need (Acts 6v1-5).

Yeshua met Saul on his way to Damascus to continue his quest to persecute Christians. The Bible account states 'As he travelled, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him [displaying the glory and majesty of Christ]; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice [from heaven] saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting and oppressing me?' And Saul said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He answered, I am Yeshua whom you are persecuting, now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do' Acts 9 v3-6 (AMP).

After Yeshua confronted Saul, Saul gave no further thought to his conversion. He embraced his new conviction as his God-given purpose to preach the Gospel of Yeshua Hamashiach. He further changed his name from Saul to Paul as he knew the name Saul [a popular Jewish name] would not be widely accepted amongst the Gentile nations. The name Paul, Latin, meaning small and humble, would be more readily accepted, and his commission was to go and preach to the Gentiles.

Paul considered himself small and unworthy of his commission, but he still carried out his purpose. He spoke with humility. 'For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's Church. 1 Corinth 15v9 (NLT). Paul further wrote to Timothy, saying 'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has granted me [the needed] strength and made me able for this, because He considered me faithful and trustworthy, putting me into service [for this ministry], even though I was formerly a blasphemer [of our Lord] and a persecutor [of His Church] and a shameful and outrageous and violent aggressor [toward believers]. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. The grace of our Lord [His extraordinary, unmerited favour and blessing] flowed out in superabundance [for me, together] with the faith and love which are [realised] in Christ Jesus' 1 Tim 1v12-14 (AMP).

Yeshua wanted a committed man, full of conviction and relentless to his cause to lead the early Christian congregations to salvation. Paul was put into prison countless times, where he continued his purpose through letter writing. Paul felt he had fulfilled his God-given purpose at the end of his time.

In his last letter to Timothy, he stated, 'For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure [from this world] is at hand, and I will soon go free. I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, [and] I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. In the future, there is reserved for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and completing His rightousness], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day, and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing' 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (AMP).

A MODEL FOR US TO FOLLOW As Kingdom Citizens, we are expected to follow the model Yeshua, Hamashiach set for us to live. The Evangelist John [Yeshua's much-loved disciple] wrote in 1 John 2:4-6 (CEB), 'The one who claims, 'I know him,' while not keeping his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. But the love of God is truly perfected in whoever keeps his Word. This is how we know we are in him. The one who claims to remain in him ought to live in the same way as he lived.'

We have been given Holy Scriptures for teaching, reproving and encouragement and, most importantly, to show love and support to one another. Yeshua was specific in what He required us to do as His followers; in John 15 v15-17(ISV), He states, 'I don't call you servants anymore because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I've called you friends because I've made known to you everything that I've heard from my Father. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. I am giving you these commandments so that you may love one another.'

As Kingdom Citizens, our universal assignment is to 'make disciples of all nations', as Jesus appointed us to do in Matt28v19-20 (NIV). We read about the gifts that some of us don't even realise we have in (1 Corinth 12 v3-27), but for those who do, we are expected to use them for the Glory of Yahweh our Elohim and our Salvation Yeshua Hamaschiach.

Some of these gifts are Spiritual. Paul writes: 'We have different gifts that are consistent with God's grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful' Romans 12:6-8 (CEB). Our God-given purposes will embrace our spiritual gift.

RECOGNISING MY GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE:

I had a speech impediment [stuttering] as a child, but that did not stop me from singing. My parents were devoted Christians, so going to Church was the main focus of our lives. At 4 years old, I wrote my first song, 'When I look up to Jesus, I see plenty Things When I Look.' I wrote it down in what I saw then, as joined-up writing and proudly presented it and sang to my parents. Brutally as I saw it then, they made me go up on the platform in our Church to sing it accompanied by my older sister.

Later, unfortunate circumstances led me to be away from my parents, and when they separated, writing became necessary to keep in touch with them. It then became my passion.

As an adult, I wrote for people passionately, winning various court cases, up to Immigration High Court, Rent Tribunal cases, regaining payments for defective retail items, Bank charges wavered, and many more, to name but a few. I did not know then about my God-given purpose; I advocated for justice, used my Bible as an anchor and wrote countless prayer journals.

With the internet boom, I now write on Christian websites and WhatsApp spiritual words of encouragement to close friends and families.

At the beginning of 2015, I began attending a weekly prayer meeting that inspired me enormously. My spiritual life was elevated to another level, and my eyes opened to possibilities. Since then, I began reading books that revealed my future was in my hands, with the guidance of Yahweh's Holy Spirit and read scriptures that I was profoundly drawn to (Deut: 28v8 & 12).

Examining my life's journey, I accepted my passion for writing as my God-given purpose. I sincerely believe if everyone recognises their God-given purpose within their passion, they will find the strength and willingness to resonate with the words of the Psalmist Kind David, who says, 'Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart' Psalm 37:4 (ESV).

Written by: Eyvonne Black [Revised 03.08.23]

References Bibles ~ Translations /Versions used: AMP ~ Amplified Bible ASV ~ American Standard Version CEB ~ Common English Bible ERV ~ Easy-to-Read Version ESV ~ English Standard Version ISV ~ International Standard Version NIV ~ New International Version NKJV ~ New King James Version NLT ~ New Living Translation