Praise the Lord for another opportunity to glean from His Holy word. Today we consider how we can leverage on glorifying God especially in times of battle. He who takes the glory, fights the battle.
âAnd when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.â 1 Samuel 17:42-50 KJV
Many of us are familiar with this popular scripture where David gave God the glory and thus led Israel by the mighty hand of God to win the battle over the Philistines. He knew from his experience as a shepherd boy back in the wilderness of Bethlehem what God was capable of doing. He rode on this faith and confronted Goliath as inspired by the Holy Spirit ( using his sling and stones) rather than relying of the strength of man (the ammunition that Saul offered).
âAnd it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.â 1 Samuel 18:6-11 KJV
Notice how Saul was negatively stirred up against David when the women of Israel praised David for the victory over Goliath. That moment where the women ascribed to David more accolades (glory) than they did to Saul (the reigning king of Israel) started his battle with Saul. We learn however further down the line that Davidâs right standing in Godâs sight (for He called him a man after His heart), delivered him from that battle ultimately.
âTherefore David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly and said, âBlessed (praised, adored, and thanked) are You, O Lord God of Israel (Jacob) our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the GLORY and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion and kingdom, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your GLORIOUS name. âBut who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining].â 1 Chronicles 29:10-15 AMP
In the above scripture, we see how David (now king) returns all the glory to God Almighty. Just as he who takes the glory fights the battle, he who fights the battle must take the glory. Do not withhold Godâs glory when he fights your battles and delivers you from difficult situations. In the book of Exodus, the song of Moses also reflects this same principle after Jehovah Nissi won the victory over Pharaoh and Egypt.
âWho is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?â Exodus 15:11 KJV
If you are yet to experience any victory youâve been anticipating, praise while you wait. Praising God in your waiting season will stir Him up to fiercely intervene with any and all that contend with you. Always give Him the glory before, during and after the battle. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace, Amen.
Beloved, battles are part of the lives of great destinies. If you are a nobody the devil would not waste his time on you. And every great destiny attracts commensurate enemies. I thank God you are a special personality so count it all joy when you go through âdiverse trialsâ.
In my previous write-ups, we learned that until sacrifices become our lifestyles, there are many things that would become unreachable to us. If we remain the same person as we used to be in previous years, we should not expect any glorious destiny.
Among the types of sacrifice we mentioned were we ourselves, sacrificial prayers and the last one we would like to discuss is fasting.
Fasting is not about abstinence of food like some dieticians may prescribe. Biblical fasting is premised on abstinence of food to âseek the face of Elohimâ. Any spiritual exercise devoid of that seeking part is not biblical fasting. Jesus said â this kind goes out except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). This simply means there are some situations that respond to teaching or preaching alone, others may respond to you living a holy life among others but there is a particular kind that responds only to fasting and prayer.
Most stubborn cases respond to prayer and fasting. When does prayer and fasting become a sacrifice? When itâs done consistently. What do I mean? Some people may fast once a week especially during the day they were born; others may fast 3 times a week or less depending on their graces or seriousness. The emphasis here is how often you do it. It just has to be part of your Christian life. You know in the natural we canât live without food for sometime because we need bread on the earth but we shall not live by bread alone. What food does to our bodies is what fasting also does to our spirit man. My advice is letâs nourish our spirit man as we do to our body because we are spiritual people and if we want to be victorious here on earth we have to be like Jesus.
Remember that when fasting, we have to live a holy life. If we decide to live a life style that doesnât please the Lord during or after the fast we have wasted your time and sometimes this kind of situation is responsible for ulcer. âBe ye holy for Iâm holyâ says the Bible.
Accompany your fast with prayers and genuine repentance (Jonah 3:5). As you fast, use scriptures that relate to your situation. Stand on them and pray earnestly and expect God to move in your favour as the righteous judge.
One good thing that fasting does is that it corrects neurological disorders. Possible tumors are also corrected through the instrumentality of fasting. So you see fasting does not only have spiritual benefits but also physical ones.
According to the Bible, fasting engenders tremendous power for the believer. You know what! âNow unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in you – Ephesians 3:20â. There is power resident in our spirit man and until we activate it, it remains inactive in us. That divine power is activated via consistent fasting and prayers and the word of God. We are living in an evil world and day in day out, the devil unleashes malignant sicknesses and attacks upon the people of God and for us to reverse that, we need to build our spirit man and get power that can match his activities . The Bible says â and when Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungred â – Matthew 4:2 and in Luke 4: 14 it reads â And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round aboutâ. Itâs obvious Jesusâ fast wasnât in vain so will our fast too not be in vain. We may have been fasting for years and may not be seeing results now.
Brethren, letâs not be deceived by the devil or by what we hear or see did âwe walk by faith and not by sightâ. We have been accumulating raw power to our account without knowing. The day we will be given a microphone just to lead a prayer meeting or just sing, we will know who we have become as a result of our fast . The day, we will pray for the sick or afflicted and see tremendous results we will understand and know we have active power resident in our spirit man. Our family maybe in bondage and God may have been looking for a vessel to use like us because we are serious with church activities. Would we pay that price of sacrifice? We may feel like eating our favourite food but since people suffer from generational sicknesses or curses in our family, we may have to put that food on hold until we have dealt with that issue once and for all. No one will do it for us because destiny matters are personal issues.
When we become a fasting machine, what terrifies others wouldnât terrify us at all because we would have become âas bold as a lionâ the Bible saysâ. If our sisters are still not married or our brothers are still not employed or we ourselves are always sick and we are still normal, letâs blame ourselves. Letâs wake up from our spiritual laziness or slumber and say to ourselves enough is enough. Sayâ oh Lord, help me become a serious Christian. I want to fast and see changes in my life and family. Help me Lordâ. If that prayer came from your heart, you have been helped by divinity. Now take that step of faith and learn to pray and fast consistently. When you receive that power, what kills unbelievers cannot kill you. Every genuine believer or man of God who is endowed with authentic spiritual power is a prayer and fasting machine. You canât deal with some altars without corrosive power from Jesus. A measure of that power we have as Believers but it would not be enough until we go for more through consistent prayer and fasting. Power can be likened to money. If I have say GHC 1000.00 I have money itâs true. That money can buy an article worth GHC 1000.00 but can it buy a brand new car for instance? The answer is no! Why itâs true I have money but my money is not sufficient enough to buy the car I need and for that matter I must go and get the money thatâs needed to purchase that car. Thatâs how the anointing or power functions. The power you have now may be able to heal headaches but can it heal cancer? If it canât then you may need more power to undo the works of darkness. Receive that power now!
By the unction vested in me, I declare and decree let that menstrual and erectile problem be corrected now in the name of Jesus. I bind the power behind that situation and I declare and decree, receive your healing in the name of Jesus!
If you have medical conditions and so you canât fast because your doctor advised you not to do so, kindly obey the medical practitioner. After your healing, you may fast.
On a flip side , if your faith allows you to fast irrespective of your conditions, may the Lord Jesus help you.
You know that feeling when your thoughts are jumbled and you space to think and an enabling environment to gather your thoughts?Itâs a similar reason why campus communities are built for students, why libraries designed especially for reading, why offices have been structured for workers. A studio is a haven for an artist or photographer to curate masterpieces and a certain mood is vital for intercourse or âknowingâ between spouses. You need to be in a certain space/ mind-frame/ atmosphere/ aura to experience and encounter the unusual.
Take a step back from life as you know it and separate yourself. This requires you to be very intentional about blocking a time every day to meet with God. âQuiet Timeâ is the time you spend with God alone. By making and spending time with God, you build and develop the most important relationship that can ever be. Quiet Time involves making time to read your Bible, meditating on what you have read (Saying it to yourself) and praying by yourself. In todayâs post I want to share with you how to make quiet time an important habit of your life.
Turn your frequency up a notch so you can connect /plug in. There are 7 secrets you should definitely take note of to understand the essence of having a personal quiet time:
1. During your quiet time you develop the most important relationship in your life. A natural relationship develops between any two people who spend quality time together. Spend quality time with God. Many Christians do not know the importance of this time with God. John 17:3 says, âNow this is Eternal Life: That they know you. The only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.â Proverbs 8:17 also says, âI love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.â
2. Having your quiet time makes you develop the most important personal habit of all time: a regular time with God. By having quiet time every day, you learn how to make time for the most important things in life first. You learn to prioritise your time and your goals and how you serve God. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember you creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when say. âI have no delight in themâ
3. During your quiet time you draw near to God and He draws near to you. By having quiet time every day, you learn how to dwell in the secret place of God. âThose that dwell in the secret place of the LORD shall abide under the shadows of His wingsâ. James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
4. A quiet time makes you read the most important book in the world. The Bible is the most important book in the world. It is the most outstanding volume known to the human race. Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
5. Your quiet time is your personal school of the word. During your quiet time, you sit and learn at the feet of the greatest teacher Jesus left us – the Holy Spirit. He will teach you many things and show you many wonderful revelations in the Word. John 16:12-13 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…and he will shew you things to come.
6. During your quiet time you increase in your personal knowledge of scriptures. By studying the word you show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15). We learn these also from the second book of Peter ââŚadd to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;âŚâ (2 Peter 1:5) and (2 Peter 3:18 ) âBut grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…â. Your personal quiet time gives you the opportunity to add knowledge to your faith.
7. During your quiet time you experience the presence of God. By studying the word you will know that thanksgiving is the foundation of all your praise and also know that God inhabits the praises of His people. Adam experienced the presence of the Lord in the Garden of Eden until he backslid. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God…( Genesis 3:8)
Drink deep or taste not the saying goes. Why hover on shallow waters when thereâs so much nourishment in the deep? If you really desire to encounter God and the beauty of His presence you may ask how do I do this? Below are 3 strategies to get you started:
⢠Strategy #1 â Set a practical, unchangeable and regular time for your quiet time. You must set a regular time when you meet God. It is very important that you set a regular time for your quiet time. Notice that Moses had his quiet time in the morning. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. (Exodus 34:2,3)
Strategy # 2 â Withdraw from the presence of other people. Although fellowship is good, it has its place. And no man shall come up with thee,⌠(Exodus 34:3). A quiet time is a time when you are alone with God. You cannot develop a personal relationship with someone unless you are alone with the person.
Strategy #3 â Create an atmosphere that is conducive for fellowship with God. You can do this by playing good worship music in the background.
If youâve read all the way to the end, then your hunger and thirst for intimacy with God needs satisfying. How about you pause right now and schedule your next private appointment with your Heavenly Father. He yearns to spend time with you too.
The best protection a believer can have from the devil and his schemes is a humble heart.
Jonathan Edwards
Let me share an incident that happened a couple of months back. A young lady was found having an exchange with an older man at a car park. It appeared something had gone wrong and for whatever reason she was unable to maintain her composure causing her to speak very rudely and disrespectfully to the man. The man on the other hand was calm amidst her ranting and insults because as a church worker (yes please, the incident occurred at a church car park while service was ongoing), he had been trained to manage such situations with decorum.
The next morning at his place of work, he had an important role to play on a recruitment panel that was expected to carry out interviews to fill vacancies for their organization. And you guessed right, amongst the first candidates, in walked the very lady from the unpleasant exchange the previous day. Needless to say, she didnât get the job, not because of his influence or any incompetence on her part but rather because she was overcome with shame and embarrassment and could barely sit through the interview. She left!!!
âWhat causes fights and quarrels among you? Donât they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, donât you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.â – James 4:1-4 NIV
Jesus Christ came into this world to restore humility by being a humble person and being obedient. God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble. May we not go through this life with God being in opposition with us. What a terrible life that will be. In fact, I doubt anything would work in your favour should you find yourself in that place.
The loss of humility is the cause of every defect and failure in the human race.
Andrew Murray
âYou adulterous people, donât you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: âGod opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.â Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.â – James 4:4-10 NIV
3 Things to remember:
Wisdom avoids unnecessary conflict.
Wisdom is quick to ask God for help.
Wisdom does not play with the devil or try to push God away.
Now let us say this prayer together:
âLord I am thankful for the restoration of humility in my life because I have discovered that a lack of humility is the explanation for every defect, sin and failure in my life. I pray that through my humility you will give me grace. I am thankful that You will no longer resist or oppose me throughout the course of my life.
Restore me to the place of a son/ daughter that I may be humble to receive instruction, guidance, correction, chastening and rebukes through Your word, the Holy Spirit and any Spiritual Authority You have ordained over my life. May I bear the special fruits of righteousness and holiness as a result of being Your son/daughter through humility. In Jesus Name, Amen.â
Have you ever been at some networking event where someone avoided you because you were not dressed in fancy or expensive designer clothing? Have you witnessed discrimination in seating at an event in church because of social status/wealth or the lack of it thereof? Or have you ever been approached by someone and thought in your head that ânope, this person is not my typeâ. These are all examples of high mindedness and it is a sign of the lack of humility.
Slow down, Iâm not trying to be judgmental here. We have all been been guilty of such habits or victims of similar incidents at some point in our lives for varied reasons. Iâm only attempting to share lessons of humility drawn from the book of James with you. Now let us see what James says regarding this matter:
âMy fellow believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of partiality [toward peopleâshow no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery]. For if a man comes into your meeting place wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, âYou sit here in this good seat,â and you tell the poor man, âYou stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,â have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law? Do they not blaspheme the precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?â James 2:1-7 AMP
This scripture got me thinking though⌠âis it wrong to zone a person especially when for some reason your spirit does not âvibeâ with them?â How about if they have genuinely been rude to you instead or are just unpleasant (not just to you but confirmed by others who have interacted with them). I found the wisdom key in the below popular scripture:
âLive in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself. Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.â Romans 12:16-18 AMP
Certainly you canât be everyoneâs cup of tea, just as everyone canât be yours. The salient truth however is to ensure that whatever you do or say is led by the Holy Spirit and pleasing in the sight of God. Motives, goals, agendas, dreams, plans and objectives for every individual on this planet are different and inspired by several combinations or even permutations of influences that we canât even begin to analyze.
âIf, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, âYou shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]â you are doing well. But if you show partiality [prejudice, favoritism], you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as offenders. For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of [breaking] all of it. For He who said, âDo not commit adultery,â also said, âDo not murder.â Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become guilty of transgressing the [entire] Law. Speak and act [consistently] as people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that frees obedient Christians from the bondage of sin]. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.âJames 2:8-13 AMP
How dreadful it would be that a child of God be accounted as guilty of transgressing the law after living all your life diligently obeying all the laws but failing at only one. Oh may God help us by His mercies to also be graceful and merciful unto one another so that mercy will speak for us on the day of judgement. The highest concern for every believer who fears God should be to please Him and hear Him say well done when we give our lifeâs account. He sees our hearts and knows our motives. Remember our faith needs to be validated by works but also these works will be tried by fire.
âWhat is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficientâgenuine faith produces good works.] If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, and one of you says to them, âGo in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,â but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]. But someone may say, âYou [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].â You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terrorâthey have seen His wrath]! But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless? Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]? You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience]. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, âAbraham believed God, and this [faith] was credited to him [by God] as righteousness and as conformity to His will,â and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith]. In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? For just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.âJames 2:14-26 AMP
Interesting scripture above; Abraham was a just man who commanded His house based on Godâs instructions. He backed his faith with works and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Rahab on the other hand was a harlot but she also validated her faith by her works when she kept the Hebrew spies and covered up for them leading to her salvation and deliverance as well as the triumph of Israel over Jericho. The key emphasis here is not just having works, but having works of obedience (that conform to the word and will of God). Essentially having works to validate our faith is not a feel-good formula where we do things that satisfy our souls and present them before God. It is a glorify-Him instruction where we as children of God are humbly submitted to Godâs every leading as guided by the Holy Spirit. Donât forget, it is mercy that speaks for us, not our own righteousness. Selah!
It is said that pride comes before a fall but the above is proof that humility will not just prevent you from falling but will guarantee that you attain great heights. May we be humble enough to show love without bias and be gracious and merciful to one another. May we be humble enough to show kindness and not just show love in words but in deeds. May we be humble enough to not be high minded and esteem ourselves better than others. May we be humble enough to prove our faith in God by zealously working in Godâs vineyard. Let the word of God and itâs revelations thereof be so etched in our hearts that we never miss our way. Above all may the Holy Spirit lead us in all humility in Jesusâ precious Name.
Being humble can be a tricky choice to make, especially in a world where you are likely to be trampled on by others or even taken advantage of. But it is a wise thing to live in humility; most importantly in humility to the word and will of God and living in obedience to it.
A lot of us are quick to pray and ask God to reveal to us His will for our lives. We ask the Holy Spirit to order our steps and guide our feet and blah blah blah. Question is, when Godâs word is revealed are we humble enough to firstly accept it and then most importantly obey it by doing as is required of us?
âIf any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [Godâs willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides]. Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God]; and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away.âJames 1:5-11 AMP
Don’t try to earn your way. Grace is a free gift, but you ought to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. These are the two sides of the Christian faith. Works and virtues don’t earn you salvation or favour with God, but how will anyone know what you believe if it is not evident in your lifestyle?
âUnderstand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us]. So get rid of all uncleanness and all that remains of wickedness, and with a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying Godâs precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]. For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].âJames 1:19-25 AMP
It might sound like a ridiculous thing to stand in the mirror and see a reflection of yourself but forget what you look like a while after walking away. This is however a reality for many of us. We ask God to speak to us and when His words comes, we hear it but soon forget because we are not doers of it. Remember the parable of the sower where there were four types of ground that received the seeds the sower spread abroad. There was the wayside, the stony ground, the thorny ground and the good soil.
The wayside ground is too obsessed with the vanities of life making it easy for the birds of the air to steal the seed and indoctrinate them with foolishness. The stony ground is too proud and shallow minded and hence the word is unable to gain roots. The thorny ground accepts the word but allows the cares of this world to infiltrate their lives. They easily get distracted and lose focus making the seed wither before it has the chance to bloom. It takes a humble person who is willing to prepare their heart in readiness for the season of the seed to embrace the word of God and obey it.
Remember those days in school when it was believed that the smartest students asked the most questions? I wouldnât necessarily agree that that theory is valid. What I however believe is that their questions revealed one of two things: a hunger and desire to obtain knowledge just to satisfy some level of curiosity or their genuine interest in the subject matter not just for the moment but for a long term ambition. Either which way, they had a teachable spirit that was humble enough to seek knowledge.
And even for those who were shy to ask questions, most would make a conscious effort to read further and research to obtain more information way after the class is over. Going to the library, for tutorials and group studies were all ways to get a better understanding of a subject one was truly interested in or at least wanted to pass in. The life we live is a test on its own. Wouldnât you rather go the extra mile to have a better understanding of how to navigate it with ease while relying on the Creator (God) who has freely given us a blueprint/manual (The Bible)?
May we be humble enough not just to ask (seek, knock) but also to live in obedience concerning what God instructs us to do. May grace be sufficient for us to make our faith steadfast. May we also have humility to substantiate our faith with good works.
âO Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens. Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease. When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have established, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!â ââPsalms⏠â8âŹ:â1âŹ-â9⏠âAMPâŹâŹ
My emphasis today is on verse 4 of the above scripture. Who am I that God is mindful of me? As a new year begins, thereâs so much to glean on from the previous year and so much to anticipate in the new. However it is essential to be present in the moment and give thanks to God for how far He has brought you.
A lot might have worked out in your favour (or not). You might have made mistakes and be nursing regrets (or not). You might have experienced some loss(es) or even chalked some successes (or not). Whatever the disposition is for you though, only the living have a chance to praise God and be grateful here on earth.
Your heart might be swollen with gratitude; Praise God. Yours might feel empty and you may not have words to express it; Praise God. You might be confident in God due to a prophetic word received; Praise God. You might have a game plan and multilayered strategy for this year; Praise God. You may be confused and have so many unanswered questions, still praise God.
As you reflect, as you hope, as you plan, as you work, donât forget your purpose and why you are still here. Also remember to be grateful and thankful for the now, always!!! Have a fulfilling New Year.
In our previous message, we said when losing any kind of battle be it an altar, demonic or foundational issue, one needs to be a regular or consistent sacrificial person. The reason is that the problem you maybe going through may be an age long battle that came into being through a sacrifice. To demolish that altar you need a higher sacrifice made on a living altar. But before you start sacrificing, you yourself must be committed to a holy living otherwise your sacrifice will have no power. So, from the stage of holiness, we can now look at the next thing to do.
Acts 12 : 1 -5 â Now, about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church and he killed James, the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. ( Then were the days of unleavened bread). And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but *prayer was made without ceasing *of the church unto God for him. ( KJV)
From the above scripture, the Bible says, Herod (the enemy) stretched forth his hands against certain of the church (not all members of the church) but those who were a threat to him like you or me and he killed James. But when he ( Herod) realized it pleased the Jews, he went further to do more damages by arresting Peter too but the church woke up. Beloved, enough of the ugly situation you see in your life or family. If you donât get up and fight from the standpoint of victory nothing will change in your family, life, health, finances etc..and the enemy will always have dominion over you though you are a Christian but God forbid it shall continue no longer! When the church realized Herod was winning the battle, she prayed without ceasing for Peter. This means they prayed always and all the time for him and an angel was sent from heaven and he delivered Peter from prison. Glory be to God. No man could have brought deliverance to Peter in that prison except God himself. The Lord shall also deliver you! If you really want to move the hand of God and win your battle, learn to engage in long prayers. Please, Iâm not talking of prayers of convenience. No! I am referring to sacrificial prayers. Prayers of convenience or short prayers have their place in the life of a believer but when you want to demolish demonic foundations that have held you captive for years, learn to always be in His presence alone for hours. This is where speaking in tongues becomes very important. Without it, prayer becomes boring and limited. With the baptism of the spirit and the evidence of speaking in tongues, you can journey with God for hours. These kinds of prayers are said by people who are tired with their situations and the only thing that changes in their lives is their age and nothing else.
Precious ones, prayer becomes a sacrifice when you start say in the morning and end the next morning. Because of your work, you may not have that time. In that case find a convenient time for yourself and do that consistently with the word of God that is in line with the issue at hand. Receive grace to pray for 3 hours for 21 days non stop, pray for 6 hours for 6 months, pray at midnight for hours consistently for the next one month and see something. As you do that consistently , your spiritual senses are activated, you ears and eyes open and you will begin to hear the Lord audibly for yourself and you receive direction accordingly. In fact, prayer that moves the hand of God becomes an altar or a sacrifice when you pray for hours nonstop. You may have to join a ministry that prays for hours at the beginning of your journey and also do same personally. You wouldnât be the same again! Remember your prayer will become effective when you are serious and are living a consecrated lifestyle. Oh brethren, there is an answer. Are you ready to pay the price? Donât let the devil fool you into believing that Jesus has done everything already and for that matter thereâs no need for long prayers and you remain at the same level. Did Jesus pay for our salvation? If yes, why are some still not saved? If you donât participate, you donât receive anything from God. The Bible says even Jesus prayed at some point till his sweat became as red as blood ( Luke 22:44).
As soon as Zion, travailled, she brought forth her children (Isaiah 66:8). Do you want to end the practice of sorcery in your family? Travail! Donât say you are not a pastor so you canât pray for hours. You can because you are a believer and you have the power to travail. Jesus asked his disciples, âŚâwhy could you not watch for just an hour with meâ – Matthew 26:40. This statement presupposes that, for Jesus praying for an hour is the minimum time a believer could give himself if they mean business. Most men and women who wield so much power in our kingdom are people who spend time with the Lord in prayer consistently. If you donât do it regularly and for hours, itâs prayer of convenience and not a sacrifice. This kind of prayer (convenience) can give you some results but not necessarily break ancient yokes.
I know of a certain man of God who prayed for 3 hours a day for 6 months and when he went to the crusade ground, untold miracles happened. In fact there was a deluge of signs and wonders. You can do the same thing provided you are ready. No need to wait for 2023 to start. Donât give the devil that time. Start now! Receive grace!
You may start by praying in tongues daily for an hour when going to work and when you come back you do same in the evening consistently and gradually you will ascend. One day, you will attract the spirit of prayer and when he comes, he will send you to a new dimension of prayer that will surprise you. You will have his presence with you wherever you go because of your consistency. He will give you a garment of power and favour. Doors will open for you whenever you find yourself because you will be assisted by His angel. What limits others wonât limit you because you have dismantled the iron gates. You yourself will see the glaring difference. No man does well or wins a battle on this earth unassisted by a spirit. Those assisted may not know it but itâs true. My Father rewards those who diligently seek him so He will reward you if you get serious. You may say I have been praying for years and I have not been seeing any results, I dare challenge you to say you have done well but you have not prayed enough. Pray until yourself you become a living altar to the extent that even in your dream you find yourself praying. –
At this stage, prayer will become a part of you. You will love to pray and a time will come your 1 hour will look like 5 minutes. My God, I feel a strong anointing now! Receive that prayer anointing in the name of Jesus! You wonât lose this battle because you are going into that satanic territory with different tactics and coming out victoriously. I await your testimonies. Praise Jesus!
2 Kings 3: 26 -27 : 26. When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led seven hundred of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom but they failed.
27. Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land.( NLT)
What makes God different from men is the fact that He never loses and has never lost any battle before but men, unassisted by the Spirit of God can and will always lose battles that are beyond their jurisdiction as mortals. Are you tired of life? Are you clueless as to what to do to change your story? Is it really true, thereâs nothing you can do to turn that situation around ? Have naysayers told you from the look of things you will never get married because you are old? My dear brother and sister, say there is a way out! Just believe what you are reading now and put it into practice and see whether that ugly situation wouldnât give way. If you believe thereâs no way, there shall be no way for the Bible says â whatsoever a man thinks so he isâ In other words, if you think you can never be cured of sickle cell anemia, you will never be treated of it so you will remain a sick person forever not because God wants you to be sick but because you have made yourself like that because of your mindset. I speak to you now in the name of Jesus, â have the mind of Christ now!!!â
The King of Moab tried fighting first through the instrumentality of his trained men but he failed. You know why? âŚâŚBy strength shall no man prevail ( 1 Samuel 2:9). You may have also tried solving the health issue with modern and traditional medicine to no avail. You may have even gone to see â herbalistâ without any positive results and yet you know you are sick. You reading now too may have used your human wisdom to think that with your cooking skills, sexual prowess you would sustain your marriage but you couldnât. Things are fallen apart. In fact, the more you try pleasing your husband to make your marriage work, the more you irritate him and the more he doesnât even want to see you. Beloved, another arsenal got to be used and this weapon Iâm talking about is so efficient that it never fails provided you use it with understanding and consistency. I know you are itching to know what it is. Please, get your seat closer and listen oh.
The Bible said when he realized his men couldnât help him win the war, he took his oldest son who would have been the next king and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. Please, take your time and ponder over what you just read. Picture what you just read for some seconds. How on earth could he do such a thing! Itâs an abomination right! I donât think you or I would have ever done such a thing in the face of a battle we might have been losing. My eldest son? Your eldest son? The apparent heir to the throne. Iâm sure, someone else would have said let me die and my son will take over my seat. But he did the opposite. He sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. Picture it now! And there was great anger against Israel and the Israelites withdrew and the Moabites won the war! Whaaaaaaat!!!! Why was this type of weapon so efficient that it made the Moabite king win the war as soon as he killed his son? Because he sacrificed! Blood was shed for all and sundry to see and that provoked the realm of the spirit to favour him. Ever since, you became a believer, what kind of sacrifice have you made to God to touch His heart to open that door of unemployment for you?
What then is a sacrifice? A sacrifice could be the offering of anything to a god, a consecratory rite or the destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else; the devotion of something desirable to something higher, or to a calling deemed more pressing. To sacrifice also means to give away ( something valuable like your time, money, some friends, anything that can serve as a tool of destruction ) to get at least a possibility of gaining something else of value ( such as healing, deliverance, marriage, employment, children, good business etcâŚ) to avoid an embarrassing situation.
Altars, patterns, demonic yokes are humanly speaking difficult to deal with because it took periodic sacrifices to empower them by human beings so if you too must come out of some seemingly impossible situations learn to be a man or a woman of multiple sacrifices.
When you are losing the battle, the first sacrifice God requires from you is not money or any other thing you may think of. Itâs simply U. Before God can receive a sacrifice from you, He must first accept your person and thatâs the reason why we talk about consecration. You that need something special from Elohim, must be accepted first before your transactions can have any effect in the eyes of God. If a man is not accepted, his sacrifice cannot be accepted by God. Men or the church can take the sacrifice but in the realm of the Spirit, it will be rejected. The song writer said â Oh, speak from the heavens and the earth will hear ( 2x) my altar is calling you oh God, my sacrifice is calling you oh GodâŚ.
The Bible said concerning Cain, that God rejected him and his sacrifice. Samuel understood the power of sacrifices for he offered a young ram as a sacrifice in a dry season and rain fell. You must understand the effects of the sacrifice you are offering, what sacrifice to offer under certain circumstances for David said â I wonât give the Lord, that which wonât cost me anythingâ. Have u seen a curse manifest in your family and you desired to change it before? I have seen them and defeated them. Have u noticed patterns? You can pretend and say itâs just natural. Brother, faith does not deny the presence of mountains. Donât think you are walking in faith living in self denial and be thinking thatâs something thatâs obvious doesnât exist. Consequently, some people say â Jesus said itâs finished so why are we still looking for demonsâ? This is my question to you â Did Jesus pay for your sickness? Is that not true? Do you sometimes fall sick? The priesthood of Jesus isnât a substitute for our priesthood. If you decide to be unproductive, Satan will dominate you even though you are a Christian. God wonât do for you what he placed you to do on this earth.
You being a sacrifice goes beyond saying â Iâm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesusâ or salvation which is true. This acceptance has to do with consecration. You can say you are the righteousness of God and live a life style that doesnât honour God at all. You will have to live a deliberate and consistent holy life to attract God as the merciful One. If you want to break the yoke of having children outside wedlock in your life, you must ask God to give you grace to stop fornicating. If you donât, no matter the sacrifice you give to the Lord who is Holy, that sacrifice wonât have any effect in the spirit. This is because, God loves the sinner but hates sin so if you decide to dwell in sin, your sacrifices canât move the hand of God. You canât be happy to be an alcoholic and say everyone drinks so for that matter everyone is like and think without genuine repentance your sacrifice will be accepted by God. No!! You canât be visiting Juju men and send a sacrifice to the altar of God and expect it to work for you. You canât be cheating people, insulting or always criticizing all men of God, stealing or defrauding people, committing abortions and think when you sacrifice without repentance God will accept you and your offering. This is one of the reasons why some people feel their sacrifices arenât producing any results. If we are not living for God, letâs check that. Nevertheless, if we are, letâs wait patiently for God for in His time, He makes all things beautiful. Remember, the purpose of this write up is not to judge anyone but to wake us up to the reality of life and do what is needed to put to shame our enemies and ultimately give God all the glory! I hope you are not angry with me because we are all learning. If you get offended with me and close your heart, you do yourself a great disservice for thatâs the work of Satan. When this basic principle is in place, I mean the life of consecration or holy living you can confidently apply other types of powerful sacrifices that we will discuss in the next write up and win your battles. You just canât miss that one. You will displace the devil and his cohorts with the knowledge you shall receive from God Almighty.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your word. Thank you for the knowledge I have received. Help me live a holy life from this very day so as to move your hand in my life when I sacrifice. Thank you for answering my prayer in Jesus name! Amen!
âBless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul, And all that is [deep] within me, bless His holy name. Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits; Who forgives all your sins, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.â Psalms 103:1-5 AMP
As I picked up the girls from school earlier this week, an incident happened that taught me a little lesson. Iâd usually drop them off and pick them up everyday unless for days when I have so much work to finish up or their father is already in town and can fetch them on his way home. That was the case a day prior to this and they were very excited (especially the older one) that he got them instead.
So on this day, the younger came out first and I strapped her in while we waited for her sister. As soon as the older one came out and saw me, rather than her happy self she broke out in tears. I was taken aback and my first instinct was that something might have happened in school that made her sad. So I tried to probe to understand the reason why she was crying and then she dropped the bombshell; âI wanted daddy to pick me up instead!â I was so surprised how such a little thing (to me) had gotten to her so much. So I tried to calm her down and explained why he wasnât available to make it that day. She wasnât having it. Then I asked her why the preference and she didnât have any reason, all she knew was that, thatâs what she wanted. I was beginning to get upset and I asked if she would rather I left so she found her own way home (hilarious because sheâs just four years old) and she exclaimed no! Then I asked if I should leave her in the school so daddy could get her later while I left with her sister but she didnât like that idea either. I asked her to stop cry and wipe her tears.
As a slowly backed up and exited the school, I had to calm down and process my own emotions because I was getting upset with her tantrum. And then I found the words to say. I told her how when I was her age my parents couldnât afford the âluxuryâ of dropping and picking me up from school every day due to the nature of their jobs. It was either someone they could trust did that for them or I joined a neighbour who also had children in my school. As my siblings and I grew older, we eventually learnt to find our way around.
I further explained to her that she had to be grateful to God that somehow either of us were able to make the time to do this ourselves. As she processed all that I was saying (which was quite a lot frankly), I asked her to say a short prayer with me to ask God to forgive her for being ungrateful. She lightened up as I got them a snack on the way to cheer her up.
So while they enjoyed it in silence, I reflected on the conversation and realized that, her reaction was just a representation of how we individually and collectively as Godâs children sometimes show ingratitude for certain circumstances we donât foresee. Sometimes we expect life to turn out a particular way for us and so when things donât happen as planned by our human strength we lose hope and forget the good things that we are currently enjoying.
Iâm here to remind you (and me âumble self because eno easy laidat ooođ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Ł), that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and walk according to His purpose. That second bit right there is heavily important (emphasis intended). If and when youâre walking in the purpose of God for your life, even when the storms are raging high you have have a hope that it will all work out in your favour. When your are out of his will for you then there should be cause for alarm.
âAnd we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.â Romans 8:28 AMP
Oh, so the story doesnât end there. Later that night while doing our usual routine for bedtime, I took our earlier conversation a little deeper. I attempted to explain to her the benefits we enjoy as children of God. So I asked her if she knew that people had eyes but couldnât see all the beautiful things around us, had a mouth but couldnât talk, had ears but couldnât hear, limbs but couldnât walk and so on. She looked so confused. So I told her that we were privileged to enjoy these things not because we deserved better but only because of Godâs grace and mercy. She still had the confused expression on her face as she admitted that she didnât know people couldnât do all those things. As I saw the look in her eyes while she processed all the information, I realized she felt âluckyâ for lack of a better word that she is able to enjoy all this without a struggle.
Our prayer time that evening was different. She repeated each line of thanksgiving a little more enthusiastically. I felt satisfied because although she may not have grasped the full scope of being grateful, a little seed had been sown.
Below is a link to our new favorite school commute song – 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redmann. I hope it encourages you to be more grateful.
As the Yuletide draws near and the year comes to a close, may we be intentional with our gratitude and remember to be thankful for everything. Bless the Lord oh my soul and FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS!!!
What does it mean to âbe circumspectâ? A dictionary definition explains it as being wary and unwilling to take risks. The latin root implies to look around, to be careful or cautious. Another definition was âliving by the spirits powerâ. In todayâs exposition, weâll define it simply and being led by the Holy Spirit.
As we read a few scriptures today, I hope they serve as a gentle reminder that our time here on earth is a pretty short journey. Each day you wake up with breath in your lungs in proof that there is still a purpose and mandate that you, in particular, need to achieve.
âSo be careful how you live. Donât live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Donât act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Donât be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.â – Ephesians 5:15-20 NLT
Be thankful for where youâve come from and what youâve been through. Be grateful for where you are today and what you currently do. Never forget however to also honour God for trusting you enough with more time and a future to fulfill that purpose for which you were created. If ever you feel lost, confused or incapable (all deceptions from the pit of hell by the way), donât hesitate to seek wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit and through Godâs holy word.
âIf you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.â – James 1:5 NLT
âUnderstand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But donât just listen to Godâs word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and donât obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and donât forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.â – James 1:19-25 NLT
The following sentences sum the above scripture up. Be careful what you say and do. Be careful what you see and hear. Be humble to receive and obey the purpose God has mandated you to execute for that is where your blessing will come from.
âAnd it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.â – Luke 2:15-20 KJV
Let people see your works and be witnesses of what God is doing through you to impact the lives of others. The shepherds became witnesses of what they saw after visiting Mary and Joseph. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Oftentimes our âokro mouthâ may endanger us and our purpose/destiny or lead us on a journey of self-sabotage. I digress!!!⌠but itâs the bitter truth. You mustnât always blow your own trumpet.
May the Holy Spirit lead us in all truth, teach us when and when not to talk, what and what not to say, how and how not to live. That we will not be tossed about by the tempest of this world but rather that we might live purposefully for the glory and honour of Adonai.
We continue our lesson on spiritual authority with more in-depth focus on loyalty and disloyalty. What does it mean to be loyal? What does a loyal person do? To whom must you be loyal and more.
Loyalty & Disloyalty What is Loyalty:
The word Loyalty means a number of things such as being faithful, trustworthy, dependable, committed, having an unwavering allegiance, being truthful, dedicated, constant and reliable. Being trustworthy and reliable also means, we are as good as our word.
Examples of loyal people in the Bible
âFor the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.â 2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV
âMost men will proclaim every one his own goodness: But a faithful man who can find?âProverbs 20:6 KJV
God looks for Faithful and Loyal people; those whose hearts are perfect or loyal. Daniel and his three friends were good examples and very loyal when they were in Babylonian captivity. Moses was the meekest man on the earth and was very faithful. Paul the Apostle was very faithful and referred to himself as a bondservant of Christ.
âAnd Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;â. Hebrews 3:5 KJV
âPaul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,âRomans 1:1 KJV
Loyalty in the Church
To be loyal and faithful in the church is to be in a fruit bearing relationship with Christ and also faithfully carry out responsibilities given us.
We must be faithful in attendance to Church, in carrying out responsibilities assigned to us and this means we don’t come up with excuses. It also means we are truthful in character, not double tongued, double faced or pretentious. Loyalty and being dependable means we come to church early and on time and leave when church closes. Doing things to the best of our abilities makes us dependable and committed.
âNow as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and Lords many,)â. 1 Corinthians 8:1-5 KJV
Reasons why we have to be Loyal in the Church
âWherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.â Acts 1:21-26 KJV
Loyalty is required when choosing people for roles in the church. Faithfulness was a criterion in choosing a replacement for Judas and still is today. Our commitment to Church must not be dependent on certain factors such as who we like or whether we are in the good books of some leaders. It must be total and unwavering. God’s principal requirement in choosing leaders or stewards is faithfulness, not charisma, exciting preaching, gifts of the Spirit, as important and good as these gifts are. Being faithful means loyal, unwavering allegiance.
âLet a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.â 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 KJV
1. God requires Loyalty in every area including Financial Fidelity.
God requires financial fidelity from leaders. God gives us gifts but rewards faithful people. Matt 25 Jesus said âthou good and faithful servantâ. We are required to be Faithful in all our Monetary responsibilities in the house of God such as payment of our Tithes and offerings- If we are unfaithful in unrighteous Marmon, God will not give us true riches. Mal 3:10; Luke 16:10-11
2. God is looking for people with Integrity
God looks at the heart of men and we must be men and women of integrity. Men may admire us for our gifts, but God looks at our heart and motives and therefore we must have integrity. Integrity comes from Integer, whole numbers. Not simple fractions nor mixed ones. What I say must be what I do. Our public lives must be same as private lives. We should not have double standard lives.
3. We close opportunities for Satan to destroy the church from within
Most of the lethal stories about men of God come from those who live with them, from within. Similarly, bad press about the church or ministry normally starts with some disgruntled or disloyal church members being the source of sending out the information. As loyal church members we ought to be disciplined enough to keep confidential information to ourselves. We must be careful not to leak confidential information when we have access to them. Gossiping, Backbiting, foul mouthing are indicative of spirits of unfaithfulness. If we are faithful to others, we won’t say bad things about them.
âA talebearer revealeth secrets: But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.â Proverbs 11:13 KJV
4. Allows the church to operate in love and unity*
Loyalty is the extreme form of love and commitment. Our first and highest form of Loyalty goes to God, then cascades down in levels to church leadership. In church our loyalty is to our Pastor who serves as the spiritual authority over us. If you are loyal to someone, you will be protective of the person. It is worthy of note that Loyalty brings out our Christian maturity. It takes Christian and spiritual maturity to walk in loyalty/ love.
âBy this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.â John 13:35 KJV
5. It creates limitless possibility for church growth:
Jesus started a ministry and it was continued by the disciples who were loyal to Christ and to His Vision, and today we have a mega church. If you want the church to grow, you need loyalty. We can grow without bounds when there is loyalty. Without loyalty there are church break-offs, disintegration, stalemate, etc due to offence, disloyalty, greed, etc.
Sheep/Goat Members
âand before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:âMatthew 25:32 KJV
People go through three stages when becoming members of churches. The Deer, Goat and Sheep stages. In the deer stage, they are newly converted and swift-footed and difficult to keep in one place and also difficult to track down/handle. Goat members are better than the deer ones, but they do what they want to do and are less likely to follow. It is difficult to have loyal members at this stage although these are a lot friendlier, but these can have traces of stubbornness. Sheep members are more devoted and follow the shepherd. They stay together and move with the group and are easier to pastor. Some characteristics of sheep members are such as: they are devoted, committed, faithful, dependable and loving members. Sheep members are loyal and make the shepherd happy.
How can we be loyal
Firstly, we must be fully persuaded about the person, vision or ministry because loyalty is a matter of the heart. When there are doubts and uncertainties in the heart it is difficult to be committed to a vision or mission. Full persuasion comes with right information and communication.
We must not base our persuasion/decision on information from the grapevine but rather make an extra effort to get information from the right sources.
âFinally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.â Philippians 4:8 KJV
Secondly, we must not withhold information from leadership when the information is needed for the good of the church or ministry. On the Corinthians church, Paul dealt with the situation of fornication and so averted God’s judgement on the people. He also handled reports of contention by Chloe, who was a church member, not even a Pastor.
âIt is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.â 1 Corinthians 5:1 KJV
âFor it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.â 1 Corinthians 1:11 KJV
Thirdly, loyalty must be to the highest authority. Fourthly, Loyalty must be based on Principle, not Emotion. Emotion is an expression or voice of the soul. Emotions include anger, happiness, sadness, grief, etc. Emotions result from belief systems and vacillate sometimes.
Jonathan did not side with his own father Saul against David even though he was the heir apparent. Jonathan displayed a high level of loyalty by allowing Principle to guide him and not emotion. Jonathan knew it was God’s will for David to be the next king instead of him. Jonathan was loyal to a higher authority which is God, though he had emotions towards his father and possibly towards the dream or possibility of being the next king himself.
Those who follow emotions instead of principle(s) normally perish. Examples are the Israelites who followed Absalom in his rebellion. Similarly, those who followed Korah & Co. on their revolt against Moses. The angels who followed Lucifer in their rebellion against God were cast down with Lucifer and are awaiting their final judgement of being cast into hell fire.
Last but not least, Loyalty will cost us Relationships and Friends You cannot be loyal to everybody at the same time. For instance when you are in a relationship that is not helping you as a Christian, you cut off that relationship. Your loyalty is to Christ 1John 2:15-17; Like 14:26
Loyalty goes both ways, from the greatest to the least and the least to the greatest. The spiritual authority or shepherd has to be loyal to the sheep in order for the sheep to build trust for them. If the shepherd is disloyal towards the sheep and is coercing them to get from them there is no way any sheep in the flock will be loyal to the shepherd, at the slightest chance of opportunity they will leave. If the shepherd also fulfill their portion as a spiritual authority feeding the sheep, leading them beside still waters, etc, the sheep will equally be loyal and will continually stay where they are assured of growth and sustenance.
âAnd when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.â John 10:4 KJV
Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and the strangers voice they will lot heed. Let he who has an ear hear what the spirit is saying.
Virtuous Living 