In this piece we want to look at something that I believe will require us to pray by the time I am done. The subject matter before us is: Reviving Destinies by the Word of God. The question we could ask and start with is What Is a Destiny? When a farmer set out to start a farming season; the first thing the farmer must note and have at the back of his or her mind is the end goal. What is in this for me? This effort of mine that I will commit over the next three months on a process, what would I have at the end of the day? I'm sure many of us can remember what Peter said to Jesus, “Lord Jesus, we have left all, and we are following you, what shall we have?”
What Peter was focusing on was the destiny ahead of him. Not just him but everyone who was following Jesus. He didn't say, “I have left all” but he said, “Lord Jesus, we have left all, what shall we have? What shall be our end?” The Bible says, “Surely, there is a hereafter” hereafter means there is an end, “and the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut short.” Surely there is a future, that is another word. Surely there is a tomorrow, although, my today may be small, my latter end shall be greatly increased. That latter end is your destiny — the days ahead of you — the moments ahead of you. So, our goal of this piece is to look at how a destiny can be revived.
You see, it could be assumed that everyone has a destiny that is defined. Everyone has a future. Have you never heard a joke where they say, “Some people have no future ambition?” There is no man or woman they want to become. There is nothing they want to do in the days or years ahead of them. So, what do they do? They live for the moment. The Bible says, “God gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater.” So, what happens to a man who has no future; who has no destiny, yet, he is a farmer in a quote and he has been given seed, would the man plant the seed or he would eat it?
Why would you have a seed in your hand and choose to sow it instead of cooking it? I'm sure we know most seeds could be eaten. Why would you say, “I don't want to eat this particular seed, I want to sow it?” It is because you have an idea that there is a hereafter, there is a future. There is a tomorrow, even though this seed can meet my immediate need, it can equally solve my serious problem if only I can sow it for the future. I have this money, it can solve our family problem now, but if only I can invest it, it can settle us in days and years to come. Now, if you think there are no days or years ahead of you, you will want to settle yourself now, is that not? That's why we are looking at how can a future, a destiny that looks as if it is not existing, how can it be revived; how can it be brought to life, and how can it be even though it was not and it is not? Is it possible that you are a man or a woman, when people look at you, they can’t see a bright future? But in years to come, you become great, you become bright.
Now, that wouldn’t happen accidentally, it will happen because that brightness has been birthed by God; the greatness has been created by God. When you look around yourself today, you could see people who are old, yet they are nobody — nobody in everything. It is not that they suddenly got to that state of being nobody. It was produced from their past. You know, they say, “When you plan, that's good,” but “when you don't plan then you have planned to fail.” If you want to succeed, you can plan your success, but if you refused to plan your success, you have planned your failure. So, when a man chooses to be nonchalant about the days and years ahead of himself, when a woman chose not to care about 10 years to come, but only live for the moment, such an individual had planned to fail.
Look at this example really. Have you ever seen on your phone a woman who may be about the age of 20 or 30 naked or half-naked on social media and had no shame? If yes, but have you ever seen a President of any country or the prime minister, a lawyer, a successful person that is dressed naked or half-naked in such a manner — a woman? No! So, the person is telling you “Nor be future we go chop ooo, I need to eat now.” So, when people are faced with survival in the immediate, sometimes, they trade-off their future for now. But that's not what God wants for us. God doesn't want a disciple who will trade the future goods for immediate convenience. Do we understand, pls?
So, the first thing I want you to keep very close in your heart is if you leave your future unattended to at this moment, you have indirectly defined your future to be, perhaps, a dead one. But should your future had been tampered with, or it is a bit bleak, and you are like saying “Is there hope for me?” This is the focus the Lord is addressing in this piece.
Let's go to the Book of Job, Job chapter 14 from verses 1-9, and see what the Bible says:
“A man, who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue and do You open your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; you have appointed his limits so that he cannot pass. Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day. “For there is hope for a tree if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.”
May the Lord bless the reading of His word in our hearts in Jesus’ name. From verse 7 we were introduced to something that humanly speaking may look impossible, but the Bible says, “Even when a tree is cut there is hope for that tree.” It says, “Though its roots may grow old in the earth in the ground and is to stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.” What is another word for scent? If you read verses 7-9 in the Amplified Classic Version, it says: For there is hope for a tree if it is cut down, that it will sprout again and that the tender shoots of it will not cease. [But there is no such hope for man.] 8 Though its roots grow old in the earth and its stock dies in the ground, 9 Yet through the scent [and breathing] of water [the stump of the tree] will bud and bring forth boughs like a young plant.
Most versions except GNT give us the impression that even if it’s not the main water, that the water is passing around (the water is close) there is hope for it. But you know, the hope is not a baseless hope; it is not magic or “abracadabra”, it is not like that. There is something that produces hope — that it will come alive, it is not maybe or maybe not. It says, “At the scent of water.” So, when water is introduced into it, irrespective of its current state, there is a great possibility that it will come to life. So, should I have a destiny that is like this? Should I have an uncertain future, that cannot be trusted; if water can flow in the direction of my destiny, the Bible says, “It will come to life.”
Let’s read a text in John chapter 12 from verses 23-24: “But Jesus answered them saying, the hour has come that the Son of man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat,” a grain of wheat is a seed unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” The question is, how will it produce much grain? In the Book of Job, the Bible says, “At the scent of water.” As water is introduced to it, if you leave it there without water, there will be nothing to show for it. But as soon as the water is introduced to it, it comes to life.
Now, let's go to the Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 37 from verses 1-9, the Bible says, “The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down amid the valley and it was full of bones.” It was full of bones; it was not full of men and women — it was full of bones. You cannot hug a bone, and neither can you laugh with bones. You can see a bone and see a future in a bone. It looks like a dead-end; nothing will come out of this that is what will come to your mind. “Then He caused me to pass by them all around. And behold, there were very many in the open valley. And indeed, they were very dry.”
The situation looked very hopeless. “And He said to me, son of man, can these bones live?” Can these destinies become resuscitated? Can there be a future for this man, for this woman again? Can there be a future, perhaps, for Nigeria again? Can there be a future for this generation again? “So, I answered, oh, Lord God, you know. Again, He said to me, prophesy to the bones and say to them, Oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord, thus says the Lord God to these bones, surely, I will cause breath to enter into you.” When we were looking up the meaning of scent, some Bible translations referred to it as breath, the breath of water. And the place we read in Ezekiel says, “Surely, I will cause breath to enter into you are you shall live”, not you may live.
So, as the breath comes, life comes. Keep or withhold breath to yourself, then there will be no life for them. Release breath into them and life will go into their future, into them.
I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” So, I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also, He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on this slain, that they may live.” So, I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Despite their present reality, despite their present predicaments, the moment I looked beyond what I was seeing, the moment I began to look at the things I want to see, and I spoke the word, I released the word that described the future I desire, I began to see things. Suddenly there was a noise, suddenly, there were rattling. It was not like that before I began to speak. But the moment I began to speak, I began to see. That is why if any man's future will be revived, is going to be by the spoken word. God said it, I believe it, that settles it. Is that not it? By now you must realize that God said it. I believe it, I confess it. You have to speak the word.
If the word will affect your life, if the word would go far to determine and configure your future for you; it must be spoken by and from you. In Romans chapter 10 from verses 6 to 9, the Bible says:
But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (That is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Your future will be bright, and the children that God has given you will become great. What has happened? You believe it! You confess it, and then you see it. Of course, we are used to miracles; something we didn't plan, we just see something, but it doesn't go like that on a normal day. If you must see it, then you must have said it. If something must become visible to you today, it is because you said it before. And if your tomorrow will be as God has ordained it, it is because you have spoken it. In the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established.
God has said it, you must become the second person that confesses what God has said. God has said, “You are the head and not the tail.” but what do you say about yourself? God said, “You are a city that is set upon the hill, you shall not be hidden.” What do you say about yourself? So, if my future will not be accidental, it must be because I've created it by the word of God that comes forth from my mouth. So, if your future must live, you must speak life into it. If your marriage must be settled, you must speak life into it. If nothing must stop you academically, it is because you have said it: “I will finish my education, I will excel, I will be on top, I will not be beneath”. “I am the head and not the tail.” I am not a victim, I'm a victor.” “I rule amid my enemies; I'm not apologetic.”
When Ezekiel was brought to the place, he did not see an army immediately, he saw the dry bones. If he had kept quiet, he wouldn't have seen any army. He began to speak as commanded. He didn't know the future of these slain, he didn't know their future. That's why he said to God, “Lord, you know” You are the one that created these people; You knew what you created them for. “Lord, as you speak to me about them, I speak to them about themselves.” “I declare their future to them, and as they believe it, and they agreed to it, it becomes their reality. So, if your pastor will prophesy into your life, he needs God to reveal your future to him. Can't you go to God, “Lord, show me my future?” “What is the future ahead of me?” so that you know how to agree with God on it; it is not as if God is showing you something that requires you to turn to the right, but you keep turning to the left.
Let us go and conclude with Ezekiel 47:1-10. There is the water that flows from the right side. Anywhere it passes, whatever is there lives. It says:
“Then he brought me back to the door of the [a]temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. 3 And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
7 When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. 8 Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. 9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.”
I believe it’s a good time for us to pray. Wherever you are reading this article from, go to God and our Father and inquire of what He has said concerning you and what have you received from Him? Whatever you have received from God is what He has commanded. Can you go ahead and declare as you have been commanded. This is a good time to call upon God and declare concerning your life, your future, your marriage, your children, concerning the works of your hands, declare has you have been commanded.
Amen!
