The Pursuit Of Purpose 9.1

Wonderful Festive Greetings To You All!

These are incredible times to live in when people are just in their element in so many ways; from fashion to entertainment...it's all happening here in South Africa.

Well, hoping that you are doing alright; whether, like myself, you find yourself working during these holidays or chilling on the beach. It's good to be alive and we should always thank God for His Everlasting Love.

Without delay, let's continue.

On the last blog post, we began 'The Purpose Formula' and shared a bit about how Frustration is one of the greatest indicators of what our purpose is on earth.

I also shared a bit about what was and is still bothering, or frustrating me. You remember Hlogi, my friend from TPOP 8.5 and 8.6 right?

We had a discussion again about this matter of serving Jehovah God in times like these and what frustrates us the most.

He shared some of his own frustrations and mentioned how so many churches' administrations were letting them down, how personal growth in the church was so limited as well as how innovation among the youth was diminishing, particularly in Christian circles.

Another friend whom I met recently at a youth gathering in Soshanguve Block GG, by the name of Ofentse, spoke about his own frustration regarding how backward their church is in terms of technology. He alluded to the lack of infrastructure within the church to deal with development of the people therein outside of preaching and reading The Word.

Another of my friends out in Centurion, Refilwe, shared another frustration but specifically about me. She said to me that she wants to see the organization that I have been talking about for years, get on its feet and do what needs to be done for God. She was quite clear about that.

All these frustrations are pointing every one of us in the direction of our purpose and because we are the ones seeing the gaps and the lack therein, low and behold, we need to fill them...Not So?

How then do we deal with these frustrations and where do we go from here? [To Be Continued...]

Here it is...
It is critical to identify the things that frustrate us, especially when those frustrations are continuous and don't want to leave us.

On the next post...
What To Do With Frustrations That Won't Go Away
Stay Tuned...

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Pursuit Of Purpose 9

Heitha Heitha! Honorable salutations to you all.

I must say, this festive season is very different from those I have experienced before. I wonder how it's going for you guys... If I tell you all about mine, it will take up this whole post, so let's rather move on to TPOP 9.

Thus far in the series, we have been laying down critical building blocks as we continue our Pursuit of God's Divine Purpose for our lives.

Next in the series is what I call 'The Purpose Formula'

It simply goes like this:

1. Frustration
2. Desire
3. Seeking
4. Zeal

In this post and others to follow, we will discuss 'Frustration'

A lot of people that I've spoken to, seem to think that finding one's purpose is something we need a PhD for and is actually so difficult that it is avoided. The easier option is just to go with the flow and hope for the best. NO!

One of the best indicators of what our purpose is, comes from a very natural and prevalent feeling - Frustration. We all have it and it is different for all of us.

I grew up in church with a Pastor-turned-Bishop for a father and a Worshiper and Pastor for a mother. I had to learn the keyboard quite early in the years after 2000 in order to be the worship leader at church.

I remember being so frustrated when the worship team was out of tune in the middle of songs and it bothered me so much, I could hardly concentrate on singing Heavenward. Another thing that rubbed me up the wrong way was when I heard men and women of God preaching something that was not Biblical or effective. One of my other frustrations was how prosperity at home was just not coming, yet we serve The Most High God!

My frustrations were many and so were those of other friends that I will discuss in posts to follow. I tried to ignore these things and tried to just let it go and focus on my own business. It Didn't Work! Every single time, I was just really and truly bothered. To this day, those same things continue to give me issues.

What does this mean for me?

[To Be Continued...]

Here it is...
One of the very best indicators of what God called you for is hidden inside one of the most common and strongest feelings - your deepest frustrations.

On the next post...
A Continuation On The Frustration Matter
Stay Tuned...

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Purpose Of Purpose 8.6

Hey Everybody!

Well, my morning is going rather well in His Gracious Hand, and I hope you are rocking as well.

Right, we are now continuing from my last blog post with the story of myself and my friend, Lehlogonolo.

Lehlogonolo, "Ok Bishop, I've opened John 4.1, it says, "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John"
Gabriel, "Errrr, that's not the one I'm looking for. Yoh, I must have that wrong...let's try the Corinthians."
Lehlogonolo, "Ok, uhm, 1 Corinthians 14:9...it says, "So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air"
Gabriel, "Hai, go down to like verse 30 or 31."
Lehlogonolo, "Ok...maybe you are looking for verse 31, it reads, "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted."
Gabriel, "Yes, in fact the NIV translation says, '...so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. Let's try the last one...gosch I hope I'm not far off with that one as well."
Lehlogonolo, "U huh, alright, Jeremiah 28...Hmmm, wait I remember this story. It's about Prophet Hananiah who spoke a false prophecy to the people of God in Jeremiah's time and he pretty much paid the ultimate price."
Gabriel, "That's right my friend. He wasn't a false prophet, he prophesied falsely, There's a difference. Prophesy is a Gift just like teaching, being an apostle or evangelist. And hearing from God is a constant activity that needs to be done very well and sensitively. Now receiving a Word from a Prophet is a necessary part of a Christian's life and happens quite often. It's just that Paul advises us in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to check the Word that is given because if we come across a Hananiah who gives a Word as a prophet but misses it...we can be accused of not making sure of the Word ourselves."
Lehlogonolo, "Wait, let me see what it says. 1 Thessalonians 5:21...I've got it here it says, 'Prove all things; hold fast that which is good' Prove all things?
Gabriel, "Yes Hlogi. In one commentary of this scripture, this guy says that we must scrutinize what we hear to validate it being from God. We do this through a personal relationship with God. After getting a Word, we need to go back to our private room and ask God to confirm His Word and show the provision for its manifestation. God does speak through His Prophets many times, so we shouldn't discard what they say...we should just go back and ask God to direct us in the way we should go.
Sometimes, the Word may have come now but will only manifest two years from now. Sometimes it may happen in a way that we would not expect. If it is God's Word, He will bring it to pass as long as we believe and are willing to follow."
Lehlogonolo, "Oh, like just now when you sounded pretty sure about John 4.1 but after checking, we saw that it had nothing to do with what we are dealing with."
Gabriel, "You get it..."
Lehlogonolo, "So in my case, I should go and pray, asking God to confirm this Word, show the provision for it coming to pass and ask for His direction in it."
Gabriel, "That's it..."

Here it is...
Pray about any Word received from a man or woman of God pertaining to your life and in particular, when it's an instruction. At times it could be a confirmation of what we may have heard before and at times it's something new that we need to ask God for guidance.

On the next post...
We Discuss The Purpose Formula
Stay Tuned

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Pursuit Of Purpose 8.5

Blessed children of my Father in Heaven, greetings from the North.

I hope preparations for this blissful season are well underway and fun awaits you as we draw closer to the end of 2014.

Ok, I want to add another way that The Holy Spirit speaks to us and this one is one that is spoken about a lot in both good and bad ways.

On my way to Wonderpark Mall in my car, I see my friend Lehlogonolo walking in the same direction on First Avenue. I stop next to him and ask him to hop on. He tells me he is heading to the mall and so we go.

Lehlogonolo, "How's everything going Bishop (that's what he calls me)

Gabriel, "The Grace continues to hold me up Moruti. How are you doing?"

Lehlogonolo, "Just fine man of God. I was at church yesterday evening and the Prophet spoke a Word of Wisdom to me about my future."

Gabriel, "Oh is it? That's great man..."

Lehlogonolo, "Not really hey. He said that my ministry is in Gweru, Zimbabwe and that is where God wants to take me. I've never heard of the place and I'm thinking about all the preparations that need to go into me moving that side."

Gabriel, "Oh wow.."

Lehlogonolo, "Jah, and he even said that I will find my wife there. So I'm just worried and wondering about all this and why on earth God would take me all the way there..."

Gabriel, "I hear you. Now hold on a second my friend. So what he was talking about was absolutely brand new information to you?"

Lehlogonolo, "Yes, I have never thought of it before and well, whatever He says, I need to do right?"

Gabriel, "Sure my friend. However, a Word of Knowledge normally comes to confirm what is already there or what God has already said. Not only this, but having heard the Word of Knowledge, it's important to then go and check with God if this is surely from Him."

Lehlogonolo, "Whoa wait, what do you mean? I should doubt the word of the Prophet?"

Gabriel, "Oh no no, Hlogi, don't doubt the man of God. What I'm saying is that you still need to check because if the Prophet has missed it, and you follow his word, then God has to rescue you instead of lead you and carry you there."

Lehlogonolo, "Bishop, speak from the Scripture regarding this, I need to understand..."

Gabriel, "Take your Bible out on your Ipad and open John 4.1, 1 Corinthians 14:9 as well as Jeremiah chapter 28..."

[To Be Continued...]

Here it is...
Even today The Holy Spirit DOES speak through Prophets and the Bible tells us to believe His Prophets when they speak. There are terms and conditions though, because we need to check that what the Prophet has said is indeed in line with what God said or something else which He didn't.

On the next post...
A Conclusion On This Matter Of Prophets And Words Of Knowledge
Stay Tuned

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Pursuit Of Purpose 8.4

Heya Everybody!

The festive season is really hitting a new dimension with the kind of heat we have here in Pretoria! But nonetheless, it's a beautiful time to enjoy ourselves. Let's not forget though, that Jehovah still holds our lives in His Hands and we need to acknowledge Him in all we do.

Ok then, this series has been an eye-opener and I am blessed to have these insights by The Holy Spirit, shared through me on this platform.

So a friend of mine, Jody from Rustenburg calls me one morning in a panic! He is just losing it and I can hardly hear what he is saying. In wait a few minutes until he calms down and then ask him what on earth the problem is.

He gets mad that I haven't heard a word he said since he started talking but eventually gets to it. He says, "Gabe, listen, I had a dream and in it, my friends and I were at a Church Conference in Mafikeng. When we driving home, I was sitting at the back and somehow the car spun out of control. We rolled a few times and eventually came to a stop.

I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DIED GABE!! I then woke up sweating."

"That is terrible..." I said.

He continued, "I know, but that's not all...I went to sleep after an hour of wondering about it and in the second dream, those same friends of mine were with me at Maponya Mall to bungee jump. They all went and I was the last one. THE ROPE CUT OFF AND I FELL AND DIED. At that I woke up.

So I know that it's clearly my time to die and wanted to spend as much time with those I love and ..."

I stopped him immediately and said, "Cut that out! No one is going to die here. That was The Holy Spirit trying to tell you something. And when you get dreams like that, it simply gives a warning that you should watch the kind of friends you are with and pray against that thing happening. You have that power within you through Christ!"

Here it is...
At times, The Holy Spirit does speak to you with dreams and visions, and yours is to either pray for or against what is in there at His leading. If you remember it, write it down because it may mean nothing to you at the time, but will make sense at a later stage. Always be weary that He can speak in many different ways and dreams are no exception.

On the next post...
Another Way, He Speaks Last Edition For Now
Stay Tuned

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Pursuit Of Purpose 8.3

Good Day All!!

It's been a very hot day on my side and man I hope the second half  of December isn't this heated.

Anyway, one or two more examples in this great series and I will move on to the next step in finding our Purpose in Christ.

A friend of mine who is a Gospel Artist, Kgomotso, was recording her first LIVE DVD in Soshanguve a few months ago and it was quite the event!

I noticed that both her dresses were tailor made for her by an amazing designer, whoever he or she is. And sure enough, they looked perfect for her.

Many people love to have things tailor made for them and being exclusive as a result. The Holy Spirit is no different in this regard. He tailor makes communication for each of us.

Today I will tell you about the story of young Skhumbuzo, who loves movies, TV shows, and really anything related to filming.

 

He had heard a few Christian friends talk about being fearfully and wonderfully made by God for a purpose, in a taxi from town to Garankuwa.  He didn't know these people and of all they said, he remembered just that. He got off the taxi and thought about the struggle he had been having the past few months. That being trying to find his gift and talents to hone them.

 

He had been asking a lot of people about what they think of him in this search and their answers ended up confusing him.

 

He gets home now and watches Kung Fu Panda. At the end, Po realizes that there is 'No Secret Ingredient, Its Just You'

 

And Skhumbuzo sees the light right there that all that he needs to succeed in what God has ceated him for, fearfully and wonderfully, is ALREADY inside of him and doesn't need to go looking for it elsewhere. Viva Holy Spirit Viva!

 

 

Here it is...
Just like any marriage has two people communicating in their own unique way, even amongst other people, The Holy Ghost wants to have that with us and we need to spend time with Him just like we would our spouses to achieve it.

On the next post...
Just One or Two More Examples Of How He Speaks To Us.
Stay Tuned

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Pursuit Of Purpose 8.2

Hello There Everybody!

I'm back with another episode in this incredible series of finding our purpose in Christ.

Right, so we have been dealing with ways in which The Holy Spirit Speaks to us.

Let's explore this a little more...

Let's consider Robert, Thendo and Suffocate. These gentlemen all work for Obi Steel.

• Now, Thendo has been reading my posts and has taken to reading the Bible when he makes time for it and has been reading out of this passage this past week; Matthew chapter 8 from verse 23

23	¶ And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24	And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25	And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26	And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27	But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

So he had been thinking about it and how it would apply to his life today because he doesn't fancy himself going on a boat anytime soon.

At work three days ago, their manager called them in and told them that there will be retrenchments because the company has not been doing well. Being the bread winner in the home, together with his friends Robert and Suffocate who are also heads in their homes economically, the matter was quite distressing to hear.

The normal way that he would have reacted before, to such news, would be to panic and to see a bleak, near future, worry about his new born child and the wife who left work six months into her pregnancy to focus on raising the child. 

Robert and Suffocate started seeing themselves in debt a whole lot deeper than they are now and started worrying and talked about the worst that is to come and how the company was just horrible that they have been working so hard and now they are being rewarded with this!

Thendo however was in the toilet when the scripture he had been reading came back to mind. He received a revelation right there because now he was in a storm of his own and he wasn't alone. He then remembered that last week Sunday, he had received Jesus Christ into his heart to be born again. And all of a sudden, he became calm and did what the disciples did, and called on the Jesus in the boat. Unless, you call on Him, He remains asleep, so He awoke Him inside and prayed, not only for his job to be safe, but for all of the people in the company. He started speaking that the company would be ok, and no one would be retrenched.

The Word spoke of how Jesus calmed a raging storm with just words and he chose to believe that the same Jesus inside of him would breathe life back into a 'dying' company.

This morning the same manager came and informed them that they had just secured a new investor and all will be well for everyone.

Here it is...
Thendo now saw just how The Holy Spirit can use the Word of God to show forth in a situation today and also just in time. The Holy Spirit sees things that come in the future and gives us the tools we need to face them when they come, even if we don't expect it.

On the next post...
Another Way The Holy Spirit Speaks To Us Today - Peace.
Stay Tuned

TGBTG!
The Messenger

The Pursuit Of Purpose 8.1

Heitha Daar Everybody!

I hope you are doing excellently this lovely day!

In TPOP 8, we started out with the steps one should use to get to know The Wonderful Holy Spirit. The First thing is to know His Language, The Word of God. We will move on to the next step in time but before that, I want to explore the application of this step that we were given the last time, for clear understanding.

Let's consider a situation faced by Lerato this morning.

She had started with the step of reading The Bible and wondered what implication reading would have and how This Language Matter would be put in practice.

She had read through Proverbs chapter 1 through 5 and had closed her Bible yesterday morning. A friend of hers, Tumelo, who always talks about books saw her at the mall today and greeted her. As always, she spoke about the latest book she read and so forth. Lerato has always been bored by the way Tumelo always did that but as Tumelo continued talking, Lerato remembered some of the verses in Proverbs. 

1	My son, if thou wilt receive my words,          and hide my commandments with thee;
2	so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom,          and apply thine heart to understanding;
3	yea, if thou criest after knowledge,          and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4	if thou seekest her as silver,          and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5	then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD,          and find the knowledge of God.

Something changed because she then realized that books are another place where she can acquire wisdom and since she has been looking for information about starting a particular business, she could go ahead and get it there. The Holy Spirit spoke to her in this manner and she followed the direction. He brought the scripture to her mind and there it was, the beginning of hearing Him Speak.

This is one of the ways that this happens. Perhaps what I should do now is continue with some more examples and applications of what we learned in TPOP 8 and make this very clear because many times people ask me, "How do you hear God Speak to you?"

After that, we will move on to the next step.

Here it is...
The Holy Spirit uses The Word that we read and store in our heart in giving us direction and instruction in any situation that we face. The more we read, the more He can use to lead, guide, discipline and develop us as His children.

On the next post...
More Examples To Understand How The Holy Spirit Can Speak To Us
Stay Tuned!

TGBTG!
The Messenger