*

Chapter 1
WHY YOU MUST HEED THE CALL

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book oflife: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Revelation 20:12, KJV).

God will never hold anyone accountable without first giving that person a mandate. It will be extremely unjust and an act of sheer malice for anyone to be judged without reference to preordained mandate or code of conduct. God who is the universal paradigm and benchmark for justice and righteousness has been careful and deliberate to provide a blueprint for each and every human life. According to the account of John in Revelation 20:12, judgment and accountability will be based on “…those things which were written in the books", a truth which is further corroborated in Daniel 7:10:

“…the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

There is a book kept in the vaults of Heaven for each and every human life, living or dead. This book has your name on the cover and contains the mandate of God for your life and your corresponding works on earth. Everyone who is a real seeker of God's will and mandate finds it, as confirmed by Matthew 7:7:

“…seek and ye shall find".

It will be so clear where you really stand on that day when your book is opened
before your very eyes, whether in deed you did justice to your predetermined
divine mandate or you deviated completely from it.

The battle of the wills: God's will versus the will of man

It will be naïve on anybody's part to think that we are here on earth simply to execute our own plans and do just about anything we want. Absolutely not! We have a Master, an Owner, and a Creator who created us and placed us here on earth deliberately for a pre-determined purpose. Nevertheless, these personalized blueprints which are contained in the books are heavily exposed to the risk of being overlooked, disregarded, ignored, or simply undiscovered by the very people they were designed for. This is because the human will is naturally set on a collision course with the will of God. Since the days of Adam until now, life has always been one big battlefield of the wills. The will of man is constantly engaged in a daily struggle for supremacy against the will of God. People naturally tend to do what feels good and right in their own eyes rather than what is expected of them by their Creator. The battle for supremacy between the will of man and the will of God begins the very moment we set foot on planet Earth, whether by means of direct creation like Adam, or by conception of the Holy Ghost like Jesus, or by normal delivery, C-section, or test tube like the rest of us.

Adam was not born of a woman but crafted directly by God himself. No human being was involved in the process. Yet, Adam succumbed to the temptation of letting his will override the will of God, albeit by the diabolical influence of a third party, Lucifer. Adam chose to disobey God by doing what felt good and right in his own eyes and not what God wanted.

Then comes the turn of Jesus, Savior of the world. Like Adam, Jesus was not conceived and
birthed by the will of man. He arrived here on earth through the virgin birth by the conception of the Holy Spirit. As holy and mysterious as his birth was, Jesus also had his fair share of the battle of the wills. He was seriously confronted with the temptation of choosing what felt good to do rather than what the Father expected of him. But unlike Adam, Jesus chose the will of the Father after a hard-fought battle in the prayer fields of Gethsemane. He emerged triumphant in life by heeding and fulfilling the call of the Father to lay down his life and save a perishing world. He chose to go to the cross and die for all humanity rather than save his life and have his own way.

Getting the multi-zillion dollar puzzle right

For the rest of us who are still here on Earth, the battle of the wills is relentlessly raging in our lives on a daily basis. Many people continue to choose the way of their own will and fall in the
battlefield of life just like Adam. They choose to fight this battle without ever considering and making sense of life's most pertinent questions, questions that have a direct bearing on their destinies. Battles are won by asking hard, difficult but relevant questions and finding answers to them. Battles are won by knowledge, wisdom, understanding and strategy, and the battle of the wills is no different. Among life's numerous puzzles, there is a very fundamental question that holds the key to victory in life. This is what I term the multi-zillion dollar question, and it is this: What is the purpose of my life here on earth? Anyone who gets this right has taken the first step to victory in life. No one, no matter his or her standing in life, will ever enjoy the luxury of being exempt from engaging and making sense of this puzzle. It will definitely cross the path of every
meaningful life in one way or another, whether invited or uninvited.

Religion, opiate of the masses?

In the attempt to make sense of this puzzle, many believers hardly progress beyond the stage of accepting the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. For such people, salvation becomes an end in itself and an excuse for nonperformance. They make of it a convenient smoke-screen behind
which they conceal their inertia and insensitivity towards their calling. They are simply content that they are saved and heaven-bound. Church activity and the multiplicity of it have also become synonymous with the pursuit of divine purpose and assignment. This is indeed a great error. The sum total of all your church activities is not necessarily equivalent to you engaging your God-given assignment and mandate. You can be in church all your lifetime and be gyrating
with zeal and fervor and still miss out on your divine calling. In other words,you can profess to be saved and still carry your assignment about without ever giving birth to it. You could even be the one that stays in church longer than everyone else and still miss out on your God-given purpose and assignment. It means that in spite of your salvation, you are not becoming what God made you to be. Simply put, you are not making judicious use of the resources and talent you are endowed with to impact God's creation and become a blessing and a genuine replica and representative of God on Earth. It also means that your knowledge of God has not yet provoked and propelled you to become the best that he made you to be, thus calling into question your salvation and Christian identity. Salvation or true Christianity is the re-awakening of man to his or
her true purpose. Everyone that is truly saved has become the workmanship of God created for good works in Christ Jesus, works that had been planned for you long before you were born. It is a very loud and great call signaling you to fulfill your portion of the greatest mandate on Earth.

Church, a means to an end

Church is a means to an end and not an end initself. It was never intended from its inception to become the essence of life on Earth. We were not created because of church. Rather, the church was instituted because of us. When God created Adam and placed him in the Garden, he gave him work to do, not a church (Genesis 2:15 - And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it). The concept of church came about as a result of the fall of man. Unfortunately, many Christians have made church the dominant and ultimate reason for life. They make church the whole purpose of their lives, thereby limiting their potential and evading their dominant assignments on Earth.Because they probably might be singing in the church choir, ushering or performing any other similar function in church, they are convinced and excited that they are answering to the Maker's call and fulfilling their divine calling and assignment. Much as these roles are very vital in the Kingdom, the truth is that Christ brought you into the church so you can begin to live out the true
purpose and calling for your life. He saved you for the assignment of your life, which assignment could be much weightier than just singing in the church choir.

The false self-perception

The members of the church of the Laodiceans as uncovered by John in the book of Revelation were deluded into thinking that they had arrived and were very much okay in God's scheme of things. But Jesus thought otherwise. Jesus describes them as blind, poor, miserable, naked, wretched and lukewarm. This is symptomatic of many mainstream Christian churches of today.
The true state of affairs is not easily obvious when you are so entrenched in your limited point of view and perception. If believers and God-lovers will pause and take a critical look at their lives, they will see a vast ocean of unfulfilled assignments beckoning for attention. The fields of assignment are ripe all over the Earth but the caretakers of these fields are beleaguered by the thief of destiny. They are grossly shortsighted or even blind, lacking the vision to see what the Creator sees in them and expects of them. They are also limited in their perception of salvation. While they continue playing church, their assignments lie unattended and unaccomplished. They are simply unable to see beyond the walls of the church building. The stark reality is that, only a
fraction of the human race and for that matter the church can be said to be in the very thicket of destiny, fulfilling their unique divine mandates and assignments. Why does only a few people find fulfillment on Earth while the majority continues to wallow in the sea of disillusionment? People simply do not know their individual roles on Earth. They are either seriously pursuing their own agenda or that of the adversary.

God does not take pleasure in hiding your assignment from you

While some think that it is hardly possible to know what they exist for, others also believe that divine assignments can be discovered and fulfilled by the traditional method of trial and error because of the perception that God is highly unpredictable and does not often take you on
a straight course. However, the obvious truth is that the assignment-giver is humane enough to guide you himself onto the path of your assignment before demanding accountability because the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. In the parable narrated by Jesus in Luke 19, it is very evident that the Master gave to each servant adequate resources before embarking on his journey. It is also clear that he gave them a specific instruction – “Occupy till I come". If the Lord will hold anyone accountable after their short mission on Earth, it follows naturally that he will do everything possible to prompt people about their respective assignments because he is a just God. God does not take pleasure in hiding your assignment from you, knowing very well that he will require you to render accounts to him at the end. Nobody with results in mind ever delegates work without disclosing the basic parameters of the work. God is no exception. Most of the time, we are the ones who are not taking heed of the numerous indicators and instructions surrounding our respective assignments because he is always speaking to us and prompting us in many different ways, but we are just too busy doing our own thing to take notice. In most cases, we are stone-deaf to the call even though the signals would have been so obvious.

A wake-up call

In The Greatest Call on Earth, the truth is laid bare and broken down to a level that is very easy to appreciate. The greatest call on earth is the call to pursue and fulfill the purpose for which you were created. It goes beyond religion. It is a wake-up call to the most important reason why you live. It will guide you into finding the right mix and balance necessary to propel you into a life of
meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. It is a journey to the discovery and fulfillment of God's mandate for your life. This book would have failed in its mission if it did not trigger in the reader a high sense of duty and purpose and a realization that life without an urgent sense of assignment leads to the miscarriage of divine purpose and destiny.

Chapter 2
PURPOSE IS EVERYTHING

It is expected that by the year 2050, if Jesus tarries, the world's population will reach 9.6 billion. Potentially, this anticipated explosion in global population constitutes a major challenge and a genuine cause for concern for all people. The mere thought of it has triggered aglobal order with an urgency to drive the agenda on the sustainability of the Earth's resources with focus on water, food, land, housing, energy, waste and the environment. Without a doubt, these are very real and serious challenges that cannot be simply wished away by anyone. Nevertheless, there is another dimension to this problem that is even more daunting and extremely serious. At the mention of these huge numbers, nothing else resonates more than billions of souls that must
soon stand before their Creator to give account of their stewardship on Earth. I see these billions and the billions that have already passed on into eternity in terms of souls that must of a necessity answer to their Creator whether or not they kept faith with the purpose for which they were created. How many really will pass the test of divine accountability? We understand by the word of God that every one of us will face judgment right after disembarking the spaceship
called DEATH. Hebrews 9:27 states this clearly:

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die,but after this the judgment:"

Further detail regarding this judgment is
provided in Romans 14:10-12:

“But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, every one of us shall give
account of himself to God."

Most assuredly, every one of us shall give account to God sometime soon. But why this judgment? Why shouldn't life just be over and done with after death? No need at all for anyone to dare to play ostrich here because not even the naysayer who denies the existence of the Creator or divine accountability in death will be spared this judgment. Indeed the finest atheist
is guaranteed a rude shock on the other side when the veil of delusion is finally swallowed up in death and the judgment seat of Christ is the only real thing approaching from beyond. What a rude awakening that will be!

There will be inescapable and inexorable judgment and accountability even after death because:

1. We did not create ourselves. We have an owner who is GodAlmighty, the Creator. We are described in Scripture as his workmanship, in other words his work or product. We are not here on earth by accident.

2. We are eternal spirit beings with freewill and the power of choice. We are responsible and accountable for the choices we make and the actions we take while on Earth.

3. Earth is a temporary abode. We will continue to live on even after death because of our spiritual nature. Death only becomes a doorway for the spirit man to move on to face its Maker, and not an end in itself.

4. God Almighty, our Owner has a purpose and a reason for creating each one of us. We are not here on Earth just for nothing. The Earth is a mission field, a place of work, a place to fulfill God's purposes and assignments and not a place for our own schemes, rest or pleasure.

5. Our Owner is very much interested in us knowing our specific and individual roles on Earth so we can fulfill them. We live to please him and to do his bidding. His bidding entails work and this work must meet the dictates of his mandate for our lives.

6. It is for these reasons and purpose that we will give account of our stewardship to him when we appear before his judgment seat. No one can escape this judgment. After all we all belong to him.

Ephesians 2:10 puts it this way:

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them".

In plain terms, we are God's customized products created for certain works classified as “good works", and he is eagerly expecting each one of us to execute our portion of those good works right here on Earth before we eventually return to him. We are here just because we
have an Owner who placed us here on assignment. We did not arrive on this planet by accident. We are here deliberately by divine plan to carry out the Creator's purpose. Each one of us has a clear and specific role in this divine purpose. It is up to us to discover and fulfill it

The principle of purpose

Purpose defines essence. It is the raison d'être, the justification for existence. Nothing exists for nothing, and nothing is done for the sake of nothing. As a matter of fact, there is always a
valid reason and purpose for the existence of everything animate or inanimate. The principle of purpose stipulates that the value of anything resides only in the fulfillment of its purpose. For that reason, a thing only becomes valuable if it fulfills its ingrained assignment. We are valuable as human beings to our Creator if and only if we fulfill the purpose for which we exist. Other than
that, we are useless, worthless and good for nothing but Hell. Of what use are you to your Creator if you do not please him, do his bidding, and have a healthy working relationship with him?

The example of the obsolete aircraft

The main reason for building a passenger aircraft is not to beautify the tarmac or show how creative and ingenious we can be as humans. On the contrary, it is to transport people and goods from one destination to another within a relatively short time. Granted that after
building a passenger aircraft, it only sits on the tarmac all its lifetime, never accumulating any air mile. Just by the sheer effect of the law of degeneration, this aircraft would eventually become obsolete and absolutely unusable. Since its manufacture, this beautiful aircraft, in spite of its lofty
capabilities, was never air-borne except during its testing stage; neither did it convey a single passenger or kilogram of cargo. In fact it spent its entire life on the tarmac until it is declared obsolete and fit only for the scrap yard.

Question to ponder: Just like this aircraft, what will be value to God your Creator if you never arrive at carrying out the specific purpose for which he created you as a result of your inaction, apathy or inertia

The example of the unsuccessful Mathematics teacher

In a similar situation, a Mathematics teacher was contracted by a certain high school to teach its final year students core Mathematics for a period of one academic year. The purpose for hiring him was to help prop up the reputation of the school and rescue its sunken image, an image that resulted from a string of very poor results in that subject's external exams. At the end of the contract, it so happened that this teacher ended up producing the worst results the school had ever achieved in that subject. Just like the obsolete aircraft, this teacher did not achieve the purpose for which the school had hired him. Rather, he succeeded in further downgrading the record of the school and creating more casualties. In effect, he actually ended up as a disastrous disappointment to the authorities and the entire school.

Question to ponder: How sure are you that you are not turning out to be a liability and a disappointment in life rather than an asset, a curse rather than a blessin

The example of the heartless deliveryman

A deliveryman was contracted to deliver a parcel of vital medical supplies to a remote village for an emergency health care treatment. On realizing that the consignment could fetch a fortune on the market, he aborted his original mission, diverted his course and ended up in another country, having sold the package for a fortune. Secretly, he returned later to his country and spent his ill-gotten fortune on luxurious living. The rest is left to your own judgment.

Question to ponder: How far have you deviated and strayed from the original course that God ordained for your life?

Deviating from your ordained divine path

The three scenarios illustrated above painfully depict the lives of billions of humans on Earth. Many people spend their entire lifetime engaged in things they were not created to do. This is outright departure from divine purpose. Because each one of us has a will, we sometimes
allow our will to override the will and purposes of our Creator. Many have traded their God-given assignments for dreams that are fueled mainly by parochial and self-centered interests. Others too have simply succumbed to the pressures and myriads of distractive temptations of this world. For example, some people who were marked to become great physicians, engineers, inventors of witty devices, entrepreneurs, psalmists, counselors, ministers of the gospel,
intercessors, philanthropists, motivational speakers, composers and great leaders of our time are regrettably locked up in brothels, street corners and hotel rooms prostituting their lives away. Millions have also turned out in life as professional murderers, thieves, armed robbers and drug addicts, opposing the very nature and purposes of God without inhibition.

And what of the seemingly harmless God-lover who appears on the outward to be doing so well but in reality is on the road to nowhere in God's scheme of things? Remember the unprofitable servant that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 25:30. He is actually a servant of God appareled in the appropriate costume of servants and has his portion right in the Master's estate, but unfortunately he turns out in the long run to be unprofitable. Unprofitable means barren, fruitless, unsuccessful, useless, unproductive, good for nothing. In a worst case scenario unprofitable can also mean that you are not only doing anything about your Master's
assignment but also becoming a stumbling block to the progress of others. This is the real state of the unprofitable servant. This particular servant did nothing about his master's assignment. He buried the resources entrusted to his care. He chose not to do business with what he was given. This resulted in the depreciation in the value of his Master's resources. In effect, he despised his calling and assignment. He was of no use to his Master. And like all unprofitable servants, the end result is dismissal, expulsion, relegation, termination, incarceration or even death. In Matthew 25:30, we read about the consequence of the unprofitable servant's apathy towards his assignment:

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The broad way versus the narrow way

Many God-lovers and servants of God are extremely
inactive and torpid in relation to their God-given talents and resources just
like this unprofitable servant. They are so endowed but have nothing to show
for it. They have literally buried their talents just like the proverbial
unprofitable servant. They have become unprofitable to God. Others too are involved
in all sorts that do not have the slightest semblance of their God-ordained
works. In Matthew 7:13, we read:

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

The broad way is the place of misdirected desires and extreme liberties. It is the place where you are totally controlled by your feelings and your own will. On the broad way, God's resources and talents are misapplied, abused, misused, wasted or even untouched. Many so-called Christians are actually living their lives on the broad way. They simply do not understand what it means to fulfill divine purpose. It has never dawned on them that they are supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, setting the standards and showing the way to the world. On the contrary, the narrow way is the place of directed paths. On the narrow way, you
stay within the confines of your God-given assignment. On the narrow way, you are not led by what you want but by what your Creator expects from you. On the narrow way, you deliberately place your will in the will of God. On the narrow way, you are passionate about your divine calling and consumed by the zeal to accomplish it. Unfortunately, just a few God-lovers and servants of God are on the narrow way where there is true fulfillment while the majority locate
themselves on the broad way where there is eventual disillusionment and destruction. To escape the destruction of the broad way, it is crucial to understand God's general and specific purpose for your life and what divine purpose does not mean.

What the pursuit of divine purpose does not mean:

1. Being busy or earning an income is not necessarily equivalent to pursuing divine purpose.

Don't be deceived into thinking that because you are a very busy person earning a very generous income, you are actually on the path of your God-ordained assignment. Some people who are very busy and hard-working are actually actively paving their own road to Hell.
They have actually chosen the way of perdition. It all depends whether you are profitable to the Lord or not. That is the bottom line. The onus is not on whether you are working or busy, but rather what work you are doing and whether it is profitable to the Lord. Is the Lord profit-minded? Absolutely! He is always looking for fruits, for profit, for increase and for dividends. It is very possible to be very busy and occupied with a lot of activity and still end up as an unprofitable servant. Some so-called servants of the Lord will definitely end up as unprofitable servants just because they have strayed completely from their God-ordained path doing the direct opposite of what God expects of them. The only way out is to carry out a genuine self-assessment and introspection just like the Prodigal Son and do a complete U-turn, retracing your steps back to the Lord for a second chance. For if we would judge ourselves, says the Holy Scriptures, we should not be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31). This way, you can
pick up the pieces and get back onto the path of divine profitability by getting to terms with your divine obligations and assignments and fulfilling them. That is the only way to avoid the outer darkness experience. Jesus said in Matthew 25:30:

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outerdarkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

2. Driving a nice car, living in a posh house and having a fat bank account do not necessarily mean that you are in the very thicket of divine purpose.

There are many people on the Devil's assignment who live large and have a lot of material possessions. The source of their wealth is anything else apart from God. Such people would
normally sacrifice anything; including time spent in God's presence and their God-given talents to amass material wealth. To such people, life consists in the abundance of material possessions. They enjoy being tagged with their wealth and they love to bask in the glory of the status they have acquired by their wealth. But Jesus said in Luke 12:15 that life does not consist in the abundance of the things that a man possesses. This does not mean that you
cannot be rich and be so pleasing to your Creator. As a matter of fact, the Creator wants you rich and not poor. But the question to genuinely ponder is whether God is the reason and the source of your wealth and whether you consider this wealth as God's resource to you for the work of the Kingdom. Jesus said in Luke 18:24-25:

“How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

3. Ministering in a church choir or serving as an usher in the church is not necessarily equivalent to the fulfillment of your divine assignment.

The only thing that will qualify a servant of the Lord to be cast into outer darkness is deviation from his or her ordained path. Deviation from divine assignment can emanate from disobedience, apathy, dishonesty, ignorance, abuse of purpose, presumption and
pride. Pride will make ushers, choristers and even intercessors in the house of God feel that by their ushering, singing, and intercession alone, they have solved the problem they were created to solve on earth. They are often content that they have found something doing in the house of God and so neglect the other crucial components of their calling and assignment. Jesus said in Mark 8:11-12:

“And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

4. Looking sanctimonious and holy does not mean you are fulfilling your God-given assignment.

Outward appearances are most often deceptive. They could mean the direct opposite of what is being portrayed outwardly. You could appear sanctimoniously holy all your lifetime and still end up in outer darkness. What matters most to your Creator even in your sanctimonious state is whether you are carrying out his will for your life. Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23:

“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity."

5. Being a pastor is not necessarily equivalent to the pursuit of divine assignment. You could be fulfilling scripture that leads to damnation.

The work of a pastor is not the only work that can be classified as divine assignment. There are many uncountable works, good and mighty works apart from the work of a pastor. God
specifically instructed Adam to dress the Garden of Eden and to keep it. In dressing the garden to keep, Adam was required by God to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish the earth, to subdue it and to exercise dominion over God's creation. This is equally a good example of divine assignment. However, Adam ultimately failed in carrying out his divine mandate because in the end, he was driven out of the garden by God as a result of disobedience. Bezaleel, the son
of Uri was equally a man on divine assignment because he was specifically gifted by God with the special skill of a designer. God intentionally filled him with his Holy Spirit and with wisdom, knowledge and understanding not so he can become a pastor but specifically so he can become a highly skilled craftsman and architect designing all manner of artifacts and ornaments for the
sake of His Kingdom. Bezaleel would have made a bad pastor if he had switched roles. It was said of him in Exodus 31:1-11:

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; The tabernacle of the
congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest,
and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office, And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do."

Jesus said in Matthew 24:24-25:

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before."

Many things that appear nice, beautiful, flashy, shiny, holy, sanctimonious and godly are not necessarily things that are automatically approved of God for you. Some things also may seem right to do and feel good to pursue but you will be contravening God's will and purpose if you pursue them. Just like King Saul who ignored the specific will and instruction of God and did what felt good by his own judgment, you will be courting the anger and displeasure of your Creator if you actually set aside his will in order to pursue yours because his will and what he wants supersedes your will and what you want. Does what you do meet God's approval? Are you profitable to the Lord? You know it too well whether you are walking in his will or outside his will? Is your life pleasing to God your Creator? Do you have peace as an umpire in your heart confirming that your will and God's will are actually on the same frequency? Remember, all that glitters is not gold. Lucifer may even shine as the angel of light but he is not that which he appears to be.

Especially for Christians, it is very easy to spend a whole lifetime worshipping God and still miss out on your assignment. This will normally be the case if you have the wrong motives or you are not sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit which is actually the voice of your Creator. You will be missing out on God's specific plan and purpose for your life if you get your motives wrong. You must note that your specific assignment on Earth is determined by the reason and purpose for which God created you. God's reason and purpose for creating man are mainly twofold: the general purpose and the specific purpose. These two are not mutually exclusive. Together, they form the framework within which every divine assignment must be executed. If your motives contradict God's general purpose, then you've actually got it totally wrong no matter how specific and focused you might be in life.

God's General Purpose for Man
God's general purpose for man is stipulated in his written word. Man was created basically to show forth the glory of God, and everything in the written word of God is geared towards this purpose. That is why it grieves God when we deviate from glorifying him in every sphere of life. The Bible declares in Genesis 1:27 that God made man in his own image:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

In Isaiah 43:7, we read:

“Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”

The image of God is the image of glory. In most cases when God manifests himself, what becomes visibly obvious is his glory. Glory stands for magnificence, splendor, beauty, wonder, grandeur, power, wisdom, brilliance, honor, etc. To be created in the image and likeness of God is to be created in glory. He created us to show forth this glory on Earth through the mandate of creativity and dominion as we interact with each other and exercise sovereignty over Earth. He created us to glorify him through righteous living. Showing forth God's glory covers our relationship with Earth and nature, with fellow humans, and also with God. Every one of us has been generally called to love God, worship and serve him, to look to Jesus for salvation, to love one another, to show kindness to people, to love justice, to propagate the gospel of the Kingdom, to be forbearing and forgiving, to be considerate and non-judgmental, to pursue peace and righteousness, etc. This fundamental and basic role of letting our lives glorify God is a general rule for all mankind.

Because people neglect to share the good news of salvation through Christ, many will spend the rest of eternity in Hell; because people shy away from showing love, many will backslide and choose the way of perdition; because people become mean, chauvinistic, racially prejudiced, inconsiderate, highly judgmental and abusive, many will live their lives in perpetual fear and bondage or even commit suicide; because people are immoral, sexually perverse, lascivious, inordinate, excessive, ravish and carnally minded, many will remain perpetually scarred and disoriented in life by the wounds of abuse, rape, and exploitation. Whatever you do in life to earn a living, whatever activities you carry out daily, whatever routines you play out, in all that you do, you are to show forth the glory of God. It is what separates a human from other creatures. For example, humans are not created to cannibalize one another, whereas some species of fish and beasts feed on their kind. Can you imagine humans behaving in like manner? What glorifies God is certainly not the “pull him or her down so I can look good” syndrome. What glorifies God actually starts to manifest as you genuinely ask the question “what positive contribution can I make to someone's life today?”

You must find your exact spot in God's general purpose
The general purpose of man on earth as spelt out in the written word of God is meant to lead everyone to his or her specific purpose in life. As much as fulfilling the whole counsel of God as stipulated by his general purpose is very vital, it is also of crucial importance to find your particular unique spot in the big picture. Fulfilling God's general purpose without arriving at his specific assignment for your life leads to disillusionment and the miscarriage of destiny. If you are following the greatest book on Earth (The Bible) properly, it will lead you to your exact spot in God's big picture. It is very easy to find in the church today a whole army of Christians without any particular aim in life. How can it be that your knowledge of the truth in the written word of God is not able to set you free to become exactly what God made you to be?

The general purpose of God represents the big picture of what God expects of everyone, but the specific purpose of God is your exact spot in that big picture. For this reason, it is extremely vital for everyone not just to be submerged in the general purpose and will of God for all humanity but to identify their specific roles in the big picture and fulfill them. Were you created to be a great philanthropist on Earth and you are ending up as a security guard in a London television station? Were you supposed to be a great composer of kingdom-inspired music to affect millions of souls for God and you are struggling to make ends meet with your civil service job? Or can I ask whether God actually created you to become one of the greatest entrepreneurs on Earth offering employment to thousands of people and you have been seriously job-hunting yourself for years now? There are probably over six billion questions that could be posed in this same manner. By now, you can tell by yourself that there is a lot more to your life than all that you think you have already achieved. There is a scripture in the Bible that you need to meditate on for further insight and revelation. It is Ecclesiastes 10:5-7:

“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.”

Are you perhaps a prince walking as a servant upon the Earth? This is food for thought. Whereas you can readily find the general purpose of God in his written word, the Bible, God's unique and specific purpose for your life must be deciphered. You must become a conscious and a serious seeker of God's specific mandate for your life if you will ever arrive at the place of fulfillment in life. You must yield and totally submit to God and become hungry and desperate enough so you can discover and fulfill your God-ordained assignments.

God's Specific Purpose for Man
Specific in this particular sense means customized, peculiar, distinct, precise, personalized, unique, individualized, particular, and tailor-made. Much as God sees people in terms of nations and generations, his favorite inclination is to deal with people on a personal level and to relate with them as individuals. Apart from the general purpose of God for all humanity, there is a purpose that is specific and precise for each and every human life. This tailor-made or peculiar purpose of God for the individual thrives within the context of his general purpose and is geared towards solving a particular problem or meeting a particular need on Earth.

Your entire life is about meeting a specific need on earth
God's specific purpose for everyone is distinct and varies from person to person. For this reason, God wires everyone differently from birth with peculiar endowments that are specific to their unique calling. God created you to solve a particular problem or meet a particular need on earth, a need that fits into his general purpose. For some people, they were probably created to establish successful businesses that provide employment and livelihood for many. Others were probably wired to become inventors of new technologies and pioneers of great movements, establishments and organizations. And still for other people, they were probably created to give birth to divinely inspired books and show the way for many more people, or build hospitals, schools, orphanages, compose and sing divinely inspired songs, become full time preachers of the gospel, etc. The list is just inexhaustible.

Misapplying God's resources
There are enough resources on Earth to cater for all humanity. Sad to say however, that the Earth's resources seem not to be enough to cater for the needs of all mankind. Many children are not in school today just because some people in privileged positions of assignment have failed to play their role either by not building schools to cater for the teaming mass of unschooled children or not funding the education of these children. Some people are living in the streets today just because some others have traded the establishment of orphanages, care homes and other similar facilities for self-centered and seemingly prestigious ventures. Some people are dying of hunger and malnutrition today not because they did not take their education seriously but because some others who should be using the resources at their disposal to cater for the poor and show them the way are spending lavishly on extravagant holiday trips, cruises, extreme luxurious living and other self-gratifying adventures. No matter what you may think and how hard you try to justify your lifestyle, you must understand by the wisdom of God that every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights who is your Creator. When you spend on those things that matter to him, you are simply acting in his stead to touch lives. You have actually become an extension of his hands and his love. God's resources include time, money, your talents, spiritual gifts, materials possessions and the love of Christ which was purchased by his blood. At the moment, whose life are you touching and impacting in a positive way?

Humans are made to be interdependent
Interdependence is the natural buzzword for humanity. Humans are made to be interdependent. Interdependence means sharing and being one another's keeper. Destinies are meant to interlink across the globe. No one has been created to thrive alone, which is why God made a companion for Adam, the first man to be created. The entire human race would have been extinct if humans were to be living in isolation of each other and surviving as islands. Everyone will need help along the path of life no matter how resilient or self-reliant they may feel. But what happens if that vital help does not come? Millions of people just need a little push in life and they will become a blessing in themselves to many. Regrettably, the destinies of many people are being held captive by a few because this few either despise their calling or are simply ignorant of it and misapplying the vital resources and talents that are supposed to be deployed in the service of humanity and in helping others discover their path to fulfillment.

The bubble of playing church
The bubble effect makes you live in a state of delusion for a very long time. If care is not taken, you risk living your entire life imbibing a false sense of security and fulfillment, and neglecting the weightier matter of actually discovering and accomplishing your true calling. Jesus equates this to hypocrisy. He once said of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
Many Christians are caught up in the bubble of playing church. They equate only church activity to the fulfillment of their divine calling. They spend a great deal of time to have a good time in church. While they spend time doing that, their assignments lie out there in the world unattended. God wants everyone to enjoy his presence twenty-four hours a day, but the traditional church building is not the only space in which to worship or enjoy the presence of God. You can literally carry his presence with you anywhere on Earth. In the mission field and on every field of assignment, you can attract and maintain the presence of God. God is not just interested in you enjoying his presence in a church building. Rather, he wants many more lives to be saved, and he desires many more souls to be rescued from the valley of indecision. He simply wants peoples' assignments to be fulfilled.

Jesus challenges us to greater works
We have all been called by Jesus to the ministry of greater works. This is indeed a big challenge. Greater works encompass many great works. Greater works have room for a lot of works inspired by the Spirit of God. “Greater works” means greater works in relation to the works of Jesus. Greater works entail rolling up our sleeves and engaging our God-given assignment with all the zeal and fervor it deserves. “Greater works” means less fun and more work. There are billions and perhaps trillions of works waiting to be accomplished under the ministry of greater works, each calling for a peculiar gift and talent which are deposited in specific people. “Greater works” calls for doers of very great works. But where are the people who are doing greater works in our day? Where are the accomplishers of divine mandate? There is definitely a lot of room for everyone to find their role and fulfill their portion within the mandate of greater works. Will your portion be found in this honorable mandate of greater works? Are you engaged in some work that can be classified under greater works?

God hates underachievement and mediocrity
Jesus said in John 14:12:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father.”

The gauntlet has been thrown down to every believer. This is one great statement by Jesus that should stir up the God-lover into extraordinary achievements and excellence."Greater works” also means remarkably superior in character and quality. It is directly opposite to underachievement.

Jesus was never a static man. He was a man on the move in the fields of assignment. He worked under a bill of urgency. Everywhere he went, he literally carried the presence of the Father with him. The word of God admonishes us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. But the word did not say that assembling ourselves together is equivalent to fulfilling our God-given assignment. Godliness with contentment is great gain, but godliness with contentment in mediocrity and underachievement is unimpressive before God.

Jacob was an achiever. Though he was not qualified to receive the blessing of the first-born son, he was not content with a life without the father's blessing. He was looking for significance and meaning to life. Life meant more to him than just being content. He had a sense of mission. He had eternity in mind and he would not take no for an answer. He answered the call to assignment and everything about him took a dramatic turn. He found a way to the blessing. Even though it is generally felt that his approach was illegal and illegitimate, we are all nowtoo familiar with the significance attached to the name “Jacob” in God's Kingdom. We know the “God of Jacob” but not the “God of Esau”.

Esau who was qualified to receive the father's blessing by virtue of his position as the first-born child rather turned out to be an underachiever. He had everything well cut out for him but he despised and misappropriated his destiny, trading it cheaply for the lust of the flesh and for temporary relief. He was happy enjoying the meal which he actually paid for with his birthright from his younger twin brother, Jacob. His birthright meant nothing to him at all. He did not value what he was given from birth. He aborted his God-ordained destiny from the very moment he traded in his birth right for food. God only declared ahead of time what he saw about the future of Esau and this is captured in Genesis 25:23:

“And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

Esau who was the elder was to inherit the blessing due every first born son, but God knew ahead of time that he would despise his calling and mortgage his assignment for a few minutes of pleasure. It was Esau himself who chose to despise his birthright. To despise means to hate something very much, to loathe, detest, scorn and abhor. This is the exact picture of how most of us treat our calling in life. Like Esau, our calling and purpose in life mean nothing to us compared with the temporary needs and pleasures of life. We easily choose carnality over spirituality, temporary things over eternal things, triviality over essentials, and convenience over divine assignment. This is the vivid account in Genesis 25:29-34:

“And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”

You are defined by your purpose
Every human being is defined by the specific purpose for which he or she was created. That is the more reason why Mr. Quanteris Zagaroza will never be the same as Mr. Pantumino Bebelosa. Assignments are also peculiar in dimension and enormity. They vary in size and content from person to person. This is dictated mainly by the quantum of resources each and everyone is gifted with. While some people may have been programmed to execute very colossal tasks, others too may have been wired to execute seemingly small assignments. This is exemplified in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) where we see variations in the size of resources and tasks that were apportioned the servants. One servant received five talents, another received two, and the third received one, a scenario that brings to mind a verse in Luke 12:48:

“…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…”

There is more to your life than what you see now
No matter how big or small your assignment, what counts in the eyes of God and determines your significance in eternity is how faithfully you have carried it out. If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that there is more to your life than you have already achieved. Spend some time to ponder over your life; ask God to open your eyes and grant you the vision to see things the way you ought; then lift up your gaze and look beyond your limits. You will see a vast expanse of territory still waiting to be conquered by you.

A person can genuinely and sincerely be a believer in Christ without ever achieving a fraction of his or her God-given purpose. David was a church person. He said in Psalm 27:4:

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.”

His passion for the house of God was not in doubt at all. In Psalm 84:10, this truth is further strengthened:

“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

I do not know of anybody in my church whose passion for the house of God comes anywhere close to that of David. Unquestionably, David was a very genuine church person but that was not his purpose or assignment in life, and he knew it. He was created to be king over Israel, and for this singular purpose was he anointed by the Prophet Samuel. The church was full of him but he was not full of the church. He was full of the kingdom. He became King of Israel and fulfilled his specific purpose and destiny. He could have just stopped at church, making it his whole purpose on Earth and never become King of Israel. He could have easily despised his greater calling and achieved so little compared to what God had planned for his life. He needed to fulfill the whole counsel of God for his life, and he did. What about you? Are you an underachiever by any chance? Do you think that you have given your best to the purposes and assignments of God for your life? Have you discarded your dominant gift or are you misapplying it in any way? Are you doing what you have been anointed for? Do you think that you have been taken in by the Esau syndrome by trivializing your birth right and trading it cheaply for a temporary convenience? Have you just stopped at church, marking the register Sunday after Sunday, weekday after weekday, convention after convention, camp meeting after camp meeting, fellowship meeting after fellowship meeting, all night after all night? Have you just frozen your true calling in life and substituted it for religiosity?

Religiosity, the spiritual blindfold
Religiosity is going through the motions Sunday after Sunday, midweek after midweek, convention after convention and what have you. Religiosity makes you feel good and kind of gives you a false spiritual high. Religiosity numbs the sense of urgency required for your assignment and makes you hide behind the Church of Jesus Christ to conceal your inaction and indifference to your God-given assignment. Religiosity is a lot of church activity without any mighty or good works to show for it. If God's divine assignment for us is all about church then we are doomed. Then who should produce the food we all eat before or after church? Then who should sew those dresses and manufacture those shoes we all wear to church? Then who should design and manufacture the vehicles we drive to church or the ones that take us to church? Then who should create those businesses for us to get employed, earn an income out of which we pay tithes and give offerings? Then who should build the houses we live in? These are but a few of the questions that must become food for thought for everyone. It is all about becoming what God made us to be. It is about maximizing our divine potential and fulfilling the whole counsel of God for our lives. It is as important as the gift of salvation.

Fulfilling your purpose determines your reward
One cannot talk about fulfilling divine purpose without talking about reward. Jesus is reigning in power and glory today, having earned for himself a name that is above every other name in Heaven and on Earth and a permanent seat next to the Father's right hand, all because he succeeded in fully accomplishing the purpose for which he was born. It takes the successful accomplishment of your God-given assignment to earn a reward in eternity, and that reward is commensurate with the enormity of your assignment. It is said of Jesus in Hebrews 12:2:

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

To have a permanent position at the right hand of the Father does not come by wishing for it. Neither did Jesus earn this position merely because he was the Son of God. Beyond being the Son of God, Jesus had to stoop so low by accepting to be born as a human being and going to the cross to die a painful and shameful death. He had to shed his sinless blood and give up his life for the atonement of the sins of all mankind. Fulfilling your purpose and assignment in life is what truly determines your reward in eternity. Jesus himself said in Matthew 16:27:

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

Our works will determine our reward. Reward is an automatic outcome and a natural consequence of faithfulness and steadfastness. A steadfast and a faithful person is one who stays true to his calling, assignment, delegated work, or employment. He stays the course to its very logical conclusion without any deviations, shortcuts or underhand dealings. He does the work with zeal and passion, knowing that his Master deserves nothing but the best. Such a person can only hear “well done, thou good and faithful servant” as seen in Matthew 25:21.

Rewards will also be commensurate with the enormity of our respective divine assignments. We see this distinction clearly in the parable of the talents where the servant who had gained five talents more received a higher reward that the one who had gained two talents. That notwithstanding, it must be pointed out that the yardstick for determining rewards is solely the Lord's prerogative. At one time, in Mark 12:41-44, Jesus was observing what the people were giving as offering in church. He commended the offering of a certain poor widow even though she only gave two mites. Jesus remarked to his disciples that this poor widow's offering was far more than what anybody else had given.

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

Indeed, the prerogative to determine what each one deserves rests with the Lord. He knows the hearts of men and he judges all motives. His judgment is always right and just.
This point is further buttressed in one of the parables Jesus narrated about the Kingdom in Matthew 20:8-15:

"So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the Goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?"

Certainly there will be surprises in Heaven.

Reward can also be unpleasant. It can be something that is given in return for an evil done. It therefore sounds both logical and scriptural that not fulfilling your God-given assignment on Earth equally comes with a reward, and an unpleasant one at that. We know by the account of the Lord himself that the servant of the nobleman who had nothing to show for the one talent he had received ended up in outer darkness. In Matthew 25:30, Jesus said:

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Some servants of God are actually going to reap outer darkness as their reward just because of how they treat their God-given assignment. They actually have nothing to show for all that God has invested in them. Unfortunately, they are still going about their business as usual. What type of reward is your work leading you to, a bouquet of outer darkness or a bright morning star?
In Galatians 6:7-9, we understand that we can actually reap corruption as a reward.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Rewards will always be commensurate with the extent to which you solve the problems you were created to solve on Earth. You could be the most prolific and the most successful footballer in your time and be under the erroneous impression that playing football was your God-given purpose. Being a great footballer may not be your purpose in life but it may certainly be the means to fulfilling your real purpose on Earth. The fortune you probably made as a professional footballer must now empower you to take your rightful position as an extension of God's arm and a custodian of God's wealth to be a blessing to hundreds or even thousands of people to whom you have been sent unawares. Child of God, don't just feel good because you are a star who is making it big in life but rather feel good because you are touching lives. How many lives have you touched with what God gave you? How many people can testify that you brought joy to their soul or you are their source of happiness? It is not enough to be a star or make it in life. Rather, it is more important how many lives you are touching in a meaningful way. Read the account of Cornelius in Acts 10 and you will get the revelation

Chapter 3
OCCUPY TILL I COME
The parables of Jesus always convey profound truths that bother on the core message of the gospel of the Kingdom. This one is no exception. The statement “Occupy till I come” is an extremely profound command given by the Nobleman to his servants as narrated by Jesus in the parable of the Pounds in Luke 19:11-27. When you read this parable carefully and meditatively, you will begin to understand why this is perhaps one of the greatest mandates of the Christian faith, sitting right at the heart of the greatest call on Earth. This parable is very much similar to the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. It also shares everything in common with the declaration of Jesus about the believer being the light of the world and the salt of the Earth in Matthew5:13-16."Occupy till I come” is a bold and a loaded statement. To occupy means the following:
1. To take up a place
2. To take control of
3. To hold possession of
4. To fill up
5. To reside in as owner or tenant
6. To have dominion over
7. To subdue
8. To take up all available space
9. To march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation

In practical terms, Jesus, who is himself that Nobleman, expects his church, his servants in the Kingdom, his children to deploy their God-given talents and resources which come in diverse forms but represented figuratively by the pounds for the establishment and enforcement of his Kingdom right here on Earth until he returns. If we will not occupy, then we really have no use here on Earth because that is our core mandate. He does not expect believers to be stargazing or serenading the world. He was deliberate in his choice of words. He says we should occupy till he comes. He is looking at the big picture. Again, I say that Jesus is looking at the big picture. He does not expect his church to just stare at the world while the devil holds sway. He expects his church to fight back as a superior force, exercising dominion over the Earth in practically every sphere of life. He expects believers to be the light of the world and the salt of the Earth. The statement “Occupy till I come” makes evangelizing the world not a mono-dimensional commission. Taking the gospel of the Kingdom to the world is a multi-dimensional and a multifaceted mandate of strategically and deliberately invading and permeating the systems of the world and enforcing the Kingdom of God though spiritual and physical means. It is both a spiritual and a physical fight. Jesus did not only cast out devils but also fed the people with physical food and drove out deviants from the synagogue by the use of a whip. It is far more encompassing than just the “traditional” method of preaching or teaching the gospel and filling the church building with souls. The church must be more like an invading superior force, a Kingdom force that occupies a piece of territory and begins to exert Kingdom rule that affects every sector and sphere of life in that territory. The church's territory is the world. Our influence and impact must be felt by the world. We are the salt of the Earth and the light of the world! The real stage on which we must stand to perform is the world and not that narrow space defined by brick and mortar. For, how many days and hours can we spend on that narrow and limited stage within the walls of a church building compared to the world out there where we sleep, and work, and mingle with everyone else on a daily basis? The greatest call on Earth is not a call confined to the walls of a church building. It is a call that must be enacted with the mindset of latitude, height and depth on a world stage, cutting through every sphere of life, including industry, culture, politics, education and what have you.

1. The Call and the arts
The devil is an expert at hijacking the arts to promote his hellish agenda. Must the church just stare while the airwaves are inundated and polluted with ungodly and satanic stuff? Satanic movies and music enjoy the greater chunk of airtime in our world today. It is also no secret that he who rules the airwaves rules his world. The nation with the most formidable air force is the nation that cannot be toyed with by anyone. It also works the same when it comes to the things of the supernatural. The global marketplace is so flooded with assortments of ungodly and satanic material so much that it will take a conscious and deliberate effort on the part of God-lovers to make a good showing and impact. Remember that the best always comes from the Kingdom of God. Music and movies can and should become a very potent evangelistic tool deliberately deployed to neutralize the marauding demonic influence unleashed on the world by Satan and his agents. There is a lot of catching up for the body of Christ to do in this area in spite of the existence of good Christian movies and music. The airwaves must be deliberately saturated with healthy evangelistic stuff. There are many more talents within the body of Christ waiting to be harnessed and deployed on the world stage. The Master is waiting for his servants to occupy the music and movie industries and touch many more lives which can't be reached through the traditional method of speaking through a microphone to a sitting congregation. Without a doubt, it is the divine calling and mandate of some believers to become great gospel musicians, movie directors and actors for the Kingdom's cause. Where are these people whose calling is definitely not to stand in the pulpit to preach? Where are the great composers of the Kingdom? Where are the great actors, actresses, movie directors, producers, and script writers of the Kingdom? Where are the Hillsongs of our time who must draw souls into the Kingdom and influence the nations through soul-inspiring music? Where are the Andrae Crouches of our time? And where are the Mel Gibsons of our time? Arise, take up your positions and shine forth the light because time is ticking on your divine assignment.

2. The Call and politics
What a shame for the church to think that the gift of good governance and administration are solely for church work and not for national politics and secular governance. Fellow believers are often wary of their kind who sense the call into national politics. Was David, the man after God's own heart not into national politics as King of Israel? Was Moses, a God-fearing man not chosen by God to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt? Did Joseph, a devout believer not become Prime minister in Egypt? And what about Gideon, Joshua and Daniel? The list is endless. Only the best should be fit to govern a nation, and the best certainly does come from the Kingdom of God. Those who are the light of the world and the salt of the Earth must begin to strategically occupy the political landscape of the world in order to enforce the will of God in our societies. Christ has tarried because the Earth is not yet saturated with the gospel enough. Do you sense a call into politics? Go for it and become a shining light in the midst of the darkness. Do not let God down.

3. The Call and business
Is God concerned about business? The answer is an absolute yes. God remains the most astute businessman of all time. His business acumen can never be surpassed. He is the wisest investor and entrepreneur to ever exist and there will be no other ever like him. He lives in a city state called Heaven, and this city whose streets are paved with gold is the most beautiful and peaceful ever to exist. This place is a paradigm of order and prosperity. This is the city whose architect is God. God knows exactly how to combine resources for profit. His word is inundated with examples and principles of sound business. He creates one man Adam and he reaps billions of human beings. He invests one man Jesus and he reaps millions of Christians and the numbers are still rising. He is always profit-minded and he wants humanity to be aware of this. The parable of the talents and the pounds are all business-related stories that are meant to warn us about the Kingdom and accountability. The story of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is a classic example of how God sees virtue in being industrious. Let's take a journey into the world of this industrious woman.
“Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,
So that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax,
And worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it:
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,
And strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
Her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle,
And her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
Her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her own works praise her in the gates”(Proverbs 31:10-31).

Apart from the word “industrious”, if there is one good word that perfectly describes this woman in Proverbs 31, then it is the word “enterprising”. She is full of works, and not just any kind of work but good works. She is priced above rubies and she is likened to a merchant ship. She invests in land, manufacturing, agriculture and commerce. So then it becomes clear that God is not averse to business. Surprisingly, nothing is mentioned about her service to God in the church, whether she ministers in the church choir or not. The most prominent thing we know about her spirituality is that she fears God. The whole account of the virtuous woman is centered on her works. So then it also becomes clear that divine assignment is not just limited to church work. Absolutely not! God desires for every servant to earn a decent living and not to eat the bread of idleness. God expects his servants to work and support the work of the Kingdom. Work comes through creativity and God created his children to be creative just like him. God desires for his children to walk in works, in good works. “Good works” means good deeds and good businesses. It has room for walking in the supernatural to heal the sick and cast out devils. It has room for preaching Christ to the unsaved. It has room for industry, science, technology, education and commerce. It has room for witty inventions. It has room for great architectural engineering. It has room for charity, philanthropy and ministering to the needs of the poor. Just name it. We live in a world in which the children of the Kingdom are increasingly looking up to unbelievers for employment when it should rather have been unbelievers looking up to believers to earn a living. This is so because the children of the Kingdom erroneously think that the world of business is the preserve of unbelievers. This is another ploy from the camp of the adversary. We know by the Holy Scriptures that believers are to take up their role as salt of the Earth and light of the world. This divine command is not just limited to preaching the gospel or winning souls for the Kingdom but cuts across every sphere of life on Earth, including the world of business. An unbeliever who puts food on your table will naturally despise you and the message of the Kingdom because he is exercising dominion and authority over you as your employer. This ought not to be so. Many Christians have been called by God to become great entrepreneurs and business moguls of our time, pioneering great and noble enterprises that offer employment to millions and billions of people. That is their specific divine calling. Unfortunately, these potentially great Christian entrepreneurs appear to be locked up in church, using all their God-given talents and resources to only sing in the choir, play an instrument or usher in the church, just to mention these few. To them, working for the Lord means such things only. The church has turned itself into the number one suppressor of destiny and human potential. The unbeliever has been left to do all the thinking and the creation of viable businesses while the church keeps playing church with the members. The church which should serve as a natural liberator of potential has rather been hijacked and turned into a maximum security prison for divine potential. The teaming millions of idle hands dotted across the globe who should have been absorbed into genuine Kingdom businesses have become a fertile recruiting ground for satanic agents and suicide bombers just because God's business moguls have become adamant to the call into business. Indeed the devil does find work for idle hands.In the very beginning, God called man to be fruitful upon the Earth, and he has not changed his mind yet. How can one be fruitful without work and enterprise? In the book of Genesis, we see God assign work to Adam in the garden.
In Genesis 2:15, we read:

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and
to keep it” (Genesis 2:15).

It is time for the church to awaken its sleeping giants and unleash them on the world stage. The Kingdom of God is not a Kingdom of weaklings, paupers and non-achievers, neither is it a Kingdom of only preachers. The big question is, as a servant of God, what garden are you tending on Earth? No need to over-spiritualize.

4. The Call and your desires
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4)

When you genuinely delight yourself in the Lord, an open check is offered. You can fill it with any amount you want and cash it and God will be pleased with you. At this point, the Lord knows too well that that cash in your hand is as good as money in his own hands. When you delight yourself in the Lord, all your desires fall in place. You start thinking like the Lord and desiring what he desires. Your desires become conformed to the desires of your Creator. You now become a true ambassador and representative of the Lord. When you delight in the Lord, he beats your motives into shape and moulds your desires into his will and your wants and desires are as good as his. At this point of your relationship with the Creator, your assignments become so clear and burning. You just simply want to go where he wants you to go and do just what he has assigned you to do. At the end of the day, it is his will he wants done and not your will. You can never go wrong in your steps when God becomes your delight.Cornelius was a man who delighted himself in the Lord. The Bible describes him in Acts 10:2 as:

“A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”

He was also described in Acts 10:22 as “…Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews...”
Significantly, Cornelius fulfilled his role as an effectual door through which the message of the gospel was sent to the Gentiles. He was that link between God and the secular world. He succeeded in fulfilling his destiny just because he was a man whose delight was deeply rooted in God. His origin did not matter. His background could not prevent him from accomplishing his divine mandate on Earth. He was able to attract angelic visitation in spite of his Gentile roots. What put him on destiny's course was his devotion to the things of God. He reverently feared God and loved to fast and pray. And to top it all, he was kind-hearted, philanthropic. He just loved to give to the cause of humanity. He had a large household of dependants made up of kinsmen, servants and friends. He positively impacted the lives of the poor and needy. He was deeply involved in helping the cause of his community and nation. He even had a good report among the Jewish community as a result of his generosity and devout character. He endeared himself to his natural enemies. He was described as a just man. Remember God also describes himself in Isaiah 45:21 as a just God.

“…have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me.”

The example of Cornelius teaches us clearly that divine assignments are naturally birthed when you genuinely commit yourself to loving God. Obviously, his desires were exactly what God desired; he desired to be a blessing to others and he desired to connect to God. As a matter of consequence, he activated and fulfilled what Jesus said in Mark 11:24:

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

His desires became the object of God. His desires attracted God's attention. The desires of Cornelius are not the desires of a wicked man. His desires were the desires of a devout man, a just man, one that feared God. God was bound to look his way. Whatsoever he desired became God's obsession to fulfill. He desired to deepen his relationship with God by praying always. He desired to be a blessing by cultivating the habit of giving much alms and doing good to people. God was bound to keep his word.It was not surprising therefore that Cornelius began to live in the supernatural: he had visions and angelic visitations. He received the gift of salvation by believing in the message of the Gospel. He received the gift of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Through him, many people got saved. He accomplished his divine purpose and mandate. His lifestyle became a memorial in the courts of God and before men... He was a true friend of God and highly approved by men.Cornelius did not have to become a pastor or a preacher to fulfill the divine call; neither was he a chorister or an usher in the synagogue to accomplish his divine purpose and assignment. But right there where he was, even as a centurion he was useful and valuable to his Creator, fulfilling the very purpose for which he was created; to be one of the major bridges between the gospel of the Kingdom and the Gentiles. Indeed God is no respecter of persons. When he locates anyone with a heart like that of Cornelius, he facilitates the execution of that person's divine assignment by deploying both supernatural and natural resources to favor the person's divine cause. He is just standing by for you to engage the right buttons and you can't help but court his approval. Simon Peter put it this way in Acts 10:34-35:

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

• Update #2 - Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Jan. 1, 2016

  

  The cover may differ from the final at the publisher's discretion.

  ---

• Update #1 - Day 1 of my campaign Dec. 30, 2015

  My campaign is now live! Be the first to pre-order and receive a worthy reward!

  

  
  

  ---