Divine mandate
By Bayo Ayodele
In this message we want to examine closely how a person can locate and fulfill his/her divine mandate. Let us start by looking at the key words closely. Locate: to find or discover. Divine: ordained by God from heaven above. Operating: to walk in, to live to its fulfillment Mandate: A dictionary defines this as
“An authoritative command or instruction.”
One can further state concerning divine mandate:
It is the reason for a person’s existence.
Each individual has a unique divine mandate.
There are certain blessing attached to the life of each person that will not unfold until the person begins to fulfill his divine mandate.
Only God can determine what a person divine mandate will be.
A person’s divine mandate on earth can be likened to a company’s corporate mission/purpose. A scripture in the bible summarises the divine mandate of our Lord Jesus while on earth:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”(Luke 4:18)
ADDITIONAL FACTS ABOUT DIVINE MANDATE
Every person has a divine mandate.
A person who is not living out his/her divine mandate is like a minister without a portfolio.
The fact that you are a worker or a minister in the house of God does mean you have located your divine mandate.
The fact that you are an expert, or a specialist, that you are highly qualified in a particular field does not mean you have located you divine mandate.
It amounts to a spiritual disaster not to fulfill ones divine mandate
For you to fulfill your divine mandate the following aspects must be addressed:
Location, Vocation, Timing, Office or Portfolio.
We will use certain biblical personalities to explain each aspect:
LOCATION
This suggests that you must be at the right place. This could include where you live, work, the church you attend, or even where you are found on a daily basis.
The bible tells us that Mordecai sat at the king’s gate.And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate. (Esther 2:19)
Later on, we learn why. Though he was not a paid security guard of the king’s staff, by the design of God, it was important that he remained there:
Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. (Esther 6:10)
Imagine what would have been the fate of Mordecai if on the day in question he chose not to sit at the gate. If he was not at the gate when the king sent for him he would have missed the blessing. Haman would have gladly told the king that he could not find him. That would have been the end of the story. Haman was not told to go and look for him at home. The king said at the gate. So he was expected to be there!
Please take this prayer Point: Oh Lord, when my time of blessing comes let me be at the right location in the name of Jesus.
VOCATION
This has to do with your training. Paul was trained as a lawyer because his divine mandate was to expose the intricacies of the law to the Gentiles and church at large. There is secular vocation and divine vocation. God will use a person’s secular vocation to prepare one for his/her divine vocation.
When you allow God to control your secular vocation he will give you an insight into what you divine vocation will be.
An example is the life of Peter. His secular vocation was a fisherman but his divine vocation – in line with his divine mandate- was that of a spiritual fisher of men. He was designated by God to fish men out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God.
Another fact is that when it’s time to switch from secular to divine vocation a person’s skills will fail him in his secular vocation. One night, Peter a cast his net and caught no fish, but on the instructions of the Lord he caught multitudes.
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught(5) And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.(6) And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.(7) And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.(8) When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.(9)For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:(10) And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.(11) And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. (Luke 5:4-11)
Much later under his divine vocation as a “spiritual fisher of men” the bible says of Peter’s first fishing assignment:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.(Acts 2:39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.(Acts 2:40) And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.(Acts 2:41) Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 47) And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:38- 47
Rather than catching fish from the physical sea and putting them into the belly of man Peter and the other disciples were now catching souls from the hell and converting them to God’s Kingdom.
We also learn from Peter, to enjoy the spoils and fruits of your divine vocation, you must be willing to abandon the spoils of your secular vocation. The bible tells us in Luke 5:11 that they abandoned all to follow Jesus.
Saul the first King of Israel had a similar experience. The bible states:
And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. (1 Samuel 9:3-6)
Saul was faced with confusion. He did not know what to do. Many people, when about to be called by God, go through a crises period. He did not realize that God was directing his steps in order to prepare him for a divine assignment. We further read:
To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons. (1 Samuel 9:16-22)
At times when strange occurrences happen in the lives of believers it is God that is actually trying to get their attention. God attracted the attention of Moses through the burning bush. At that point God wanted Moses to abandon the job of caring for the flock of his father in law and go to save the children of Israel.
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (Exodus 3:1-4)
If a person finds himself going through a prolonged crises period despite much praying and fasting there is a possibility that the Lord is trying to get his attention. This could be the person’s burning bush. This is the time to surrender all, wait upon, and seek the face of the Lord for direction.
TIMING
The next aspect that needs to be considered for a person to locate and operate in his divine mandate is timing. Every divine mandate has it own time. A time to start, a duration to last, and a time to end. Back to the verse that we quoted relating to the divine mandate of Jesus:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4:18)
Jesus told his audience that on that day the scripture was being fulfilled. In other words that was the day of the commencement of his ministry. It is not the day a person starts preaching or is ordained a pastor, (if that is your calling) that your divine mandate commences. God still has to thoroughly test a person before He releases His anointing upon the person’s life.
There is also an age and time limit to commence the fulfillment of ones mandate. God may extend it and give you grace but if you don’t answer the call over and over again it could get to a point that God may give up on a person. In Genesis God said:
“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3)
Also, later on, concerning Ephraim the Lord said:
“ Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.” (Hosea 4:17)
In other words, God was saying here “I have given up on Ephraim. Stop trying to convert him. Leave him alone!”
You will also notice in the bible that most callings in the life of God’s children started between the ages of twenty to forty. Only Caleb seemed to have been given the grace to fulfill his at the age of eighty because his inability to do so, forty years earlier, was due to no fault of his.
Please take this prayer point: It shall not be too late for me to fulfill my divine mandate in the name of Jesus.
OFFICE.
This refers to a person’s divine calling. These include the fivefold ministries such as the Apostle, Prophet Evangelist Pastor and Teacher as listed out in Ephesians 4:11.
However, despite the foregoing, a person could locate any or all of the above mentioned and still not fulfill his/her divine mandate. A biblical example is that of Miriam.
MIRIAM LOCATED HER OFFICE AS A PROPHETESS
“And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. (Exodus 15:20)
SHE WAS AT THE RIGHT LOCATION
As the children of Israel came out of the Red Sea she was right there at the forefront leading the women as the Lord had designated her to do.
SHE HAD THE RIGHT VOCATION AND TRAINING
We read in Exodus 15:20 that she sang, leading the women, which means she was vocal, had a good voice, was bold, and could speak. She had the gift of oratory and leadership, prerequisites for her calling.
TIMING
Her timing was right; She did not tarry in fulfilling her role to lead the other women. She knew that she was to take the initiative and she took it without being prompted by anyone else.
But despite all of this she ended up being a leper. Why?
MIRIAM COULD NOT SEE WHAT GOD WANTED HER TO SEE
A prophet is supposed to see visions and the heart of God. Miriam was seeing the faults of Moses. Though what she saw was true. (Moses did indeed marry a non- Jew, contrary to God command) it was not her assignment to point that out!
MIRIAM COULD NOT HEAR WHAT GOD WANTED HER TO HEAR
A prophet is supposed to hear the voice of God. Miriam was listening to the voice of Satan. the voice of her pride.
MIRIAM COULD NOT FEEL WHAT GOD WANTED HER TO FEEL
A prophet is supposed to feel to move of God and move along with Him. Miriam was feeling indignation and envy towards God’s chosen-Moses. probably she felt: “Look at my younger brother. He alone is taking all the glory. Who does he feel he is? And come to think of it, if it was not for me he would not be alive now,” or something along such lines!
The story of Balaam is another case study. Balaam, though a prophet of God, allowed greed and the love for reward divert him from his divine mandate.
HOW TO FULFIL YOUR DIVINE MANDATE
What is the secret of fulfilling your divine mandate—Wait upon the Lord. The bible says:
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31)
QUESTIONS
There are certain questions you need to ask yourself in order to fulfill your divine mandate. They include:
*Are you where God wants you to be or you where you want to be?
*Are you seeing what God wants you to see what the enemy (or you) want you to see?
Are you hearing what God wants you to hear or what the enemy wants you to hear?
Are you saying what God wants you to say?
Are you doing what God wants you to do with your skills and talents?
Is God work or business the main thing in your life or is it just a part time vocation for you?
Are you more interested in the gains of your secular vocation than fulfilling your divine vocation?
Are you ready to abandon all like Peter and follow God?
In today’s fast-paced secular world we are taught of the need to have our personal short and long-term plans and goals detailing what we want to be and how we want to get there. Though such exercises may have their own merits when held up to the word of God they do not seem to hold water. If you indeed are of much value to God He desires to do all the planning and goal-setting concerning your life.Also He is not obliged to tell you the details until He feels like. Concerning Jeremiah He said:
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jeremiah 1:5)
But in verse six Jeremiah replied by saying:
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child. (Jeremiah 1:6)
This response indicates that Jeremiah had know idea about God’s plan for his life. he was caught unaware.
The same could be said about Paul the apostle who while going around seeking to prosecute Christians never knew God had pre-chosen him to take the gospel to the gentiles:
Then Ananias answered Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to thy saint at Jerusalem (14) and he had authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name (15)But the lord said unto him Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and Kings and the children of Israel (16) For i must show him great things he must suffer for my name sake. (Acts 9:13-16)
Jesus even went as far as saying we should not even bother about tomorrow! God Himself is a life planner and a goal-setter. He is just looking for people who will totally trust in Him (can you trust God enough to do your goal- setting for you?) and are willing to act out his pre-ordained script!
In conclusion, there are certain people in the bible that when God wanted to give out particular assignments He called them by name:
See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:- filled with wisdom understanding, in all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 31:2)
This indicates there was no one else that could fulfill such roles. It also reveals that as far as such people were concerned they were just awaiting to answer God’s call. They were ready for God and could not see themselves doing anything else. God knew they were waiting and that is why He called them by name.
If you are prepared and ready the Lord will also call you by name. He will not give the assignment He has earmarked for you to another person. He will specifically refer to you when he gives out such duties.
The Lord will call you by name.
Please take the following prayer Points:
1. Oh Lord help me to locate my divine location in the name of Jesus
2. Oh Lord help me to locate my divine vocation in the name of Jesus
3. Oh Lord help me to flow in your timing for my life and destiny in the name of Jesus.
4. I shall fulfill my divine office and calling in the name of Jesus
5. Another person shall not replace me in my divine calling
6. OH Lord , in your scheme of work and divine assignments call me by name
7. Please shout this out loud and clear- My God, in your mercy concerning my assignment on earth call me by name in the name of Jesus.
Postscript: Repent and believe, Remember Hell is real Heaven is real.(Matthew 11:23) No matter how long we spend here on earth it cannot be compared to the time we shall spend in eternity. Hebrews 12:14 states: Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.Jesus is the way, truth and life. No man cometh to God except through Him. (John 14:6)
