1 Samuel 4:1-11
The Israelites were losing the battle and thought that if they brought the Ark of the Lord to the battle field, they would be assured of victory just like in the days of old.
When it arrived, they made a great noise that even the Philistines were scared when they head that the Ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp of the Israelites.
With great confidence they went into battle but they lost heavily, the two sons of Eli the high priest were slain and the Ark of the Lord was taken.
What went wrong? They were counting on their previous experiences with God and assumed that God was with them.
Their shouts were empty shouts, without the power and presence of God. These were vain religious repetitions and noise.
1Samuel 4:19-21
This situation was summed up by the wife of Phinehas when she named her son Ichabod meaning the glory is departed from Israel.
Many Christians and churches may be operating from this angle today. There are many churches that look vibrant, shouting, singing and making a joyful noise yet God has written on the doorpost ‘Ichabod’. What they may be practising would be well rehearsed repetitions of religious activities.
They may be doing all that seems on the surface to be Godly, they may be running all the religious programs but the spirit of God may have departed from them a long time ago. Ichabod means the glory has departed. The glory of God may have departed from these ministries and they may not even know it. The fact that God was with them in times past does not mean God is still with them. The fact that God used them previously does not mean God is still using them. Most of them are just holding on to their previous relationship with God.
There are many Christians today who also do everything called Christian yet on the door to their hearts, God has written Ichabod- the glory has departed from this person. He may be speaking in tongues yet it may not be inspired by the Holy Spirit. He may be professing to be Christians, they may be still used to heal the sick and great miracles may be taking place but the presence of God may have left him/her.
This teaches us that past experiences with God including miracles and answers to prayer are never a proof that God is still with us. People around him may not realise it because he may still be doing all the religious activities yet when God looks down into his heart, God sees an empty shell. No freshness of the relationship with God. That relationship has become dormant.
It is important that people who are called by God to fulfil purpose in this life make sure that they are always close to Him and do not blindly rely on the past or even on miracles that are happening today because;
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
The fact that He was with you yesterday does not necessarily mean He is with you today. That’s why we need to maintain a constant relationship with Him. That’s why our personal relationship with God must always be on a high tempo.
God is always doing new things. He is always making new wines which need new wine skins. You cannot put new wine in old wine skin. The problem with us is that we want the new wine but we want to maintain our old wine skins which cannot contain it.
What causes us to come to this point is self-centredness. The God who delivered them from slavery and from the hands of the enemy has now become an idol in the figment of their imagination. He is just there to do as they wish and nothing more or less.
Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not;
This means to acquire the truth by all rightful means and cleave to it, guard it and defend it even to the risk of your life.
Many have sold the truth, we have not held on to it even at the least challenge. We have forgotten so soon what our God did for us and is able to do in the face of the pending challenges
We have forgotten that we were made for Him alone and have to love Him supremely above all else. We are to lay aside our own plans, ambitions and purposes and seek to fulfill His will only. This will keep us coming to Him every day for fresh instructions on what He expects of us.
We have forgotten how to have compassion on the needy, do medical and disaster relief, help people in slums, take care of widows and the abandoned children, empower the poor, give water to those who don’t have i.e. wells, Bibles and literature to those who need them most, support missionaries, livestock for the needy etc.
How do we restore our relationship with the Lord?
1. We need to seriously repent from this sin which has separated us from the Lord and come back to Him. 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2. We have to humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord so that He will lift us up. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
3. We have to seek the things that are above only and not on the things of this world. Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
4. Love not the world neither things of the world that seperates us from the Lord. 1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Thursday 29 September 2011
Wednesday 21 September 2011
BROKENNESS
Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
What will cause someone to talk like this? Why would Job make this statement? Of what condition is his relationship with God to cause him to talk like this?
If we want to have a right relationship with God, then the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to His will.
Brokenness is the beginning of Revival in us. It is painful and humiliating but is the only way.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
“C” is a bent “I”
The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal Himself through us until the proud self within us is broken.
Every form of me, myself and I must give way for His will.
The hard unyielding self, which justifies itself, wants its own way, stands up for its rights, and seeks its own glory at last must bow its head to God’s will. It must admit it is wrong and give up its own way to the way of the Master Jesus Christ.
It must surrender its rights and discard its own glory, that the Lord Jesus might have all and be all.
This implies dying to self ant its attitudes. It is self which tries to live the Christian life ( the fact that you use the word try means that is self)
It is self too who is often doing the Christian work.
It is self which is irritable, envious, resentful, critical and worried.
Self is shy, it is self conscious and reserved. No wonder we need a breaking. So long as self is in control, God can do little with us.
We need to crucify self and resurrect with Christ.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Our Lord Jesus was willing to be broken for us and this the more compelling reason for us to be broken. Why do we call ourselves Christians and yet are not willing to be broken.
Philippians 2:6-7 Who, being in the form of God,, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
He who was in the form of God, counting not equality with God a prize to be grasped and hang on to, but letting it go for us and taking upon Himself the form of a servant-God’s servant, and man’s servant.
Jesus was willing to have no rights of His own, no home of His own, men reviled Him and He did not retaliate or defend Himself.
Prayer: Lord bend this stiff necked I, help me bow to the will of Christ. Help me die to self and let Christ rule and have dominion over my life.
Dying to self is not a one day thing but it is continual. We constantly die to self.
2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
It means every day, we are confronted with choices in a thousand ways, we need to die to self and let Christ do the choosing.
It means constant yielding to the will of Christ.
No longer my will but the will of Christ. As we are confronted with challenges that tempt the self in us, that is God’s way of breaking us so that we will be deeply rooted in Christ.
Every form of self centredness must die because it is the exact opposite of wht the will of God is.
We must be prepared for God to break this self-centrednes so that His will will grow in us.
We must cooperate with God to achieve this.
It is in the process of brokenness that we find strength;
It is in the process of brokenness that we find victory;
It is in the process of brokenness that we find the faithfulness of God;
Goodness and mercy follows us as we go through brokenness;
Unstoppable favour becomes our portion as we go through brokenness.
What will cause someone to talk like this? Why would Job make this statement? Of what condition is his relationship with God to cause him to talk like this?
If we want to have a right relationship with God, then the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to His will.
Brokenness is the beginning of Revival in us. It is painful and humiliating but is the only way.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
“C” is a bent “I”
The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal Himself through us until the proud self within us is broken.
Every form of me, myself and I must give way for His will.
The hard unyielding self, which justifies itself, wants its own way, stands up for its rights, and seeks its own glory at last must bow its head to God’s will. It must admit it is wrong and give up its own way to the way of the Master Jesus Christ.
It must surrender its rights and discard its own glory, that the Lord Jesus might have all and be all.
This implies dying to self ant its attitudes. It is self which tries to live the Christian life ( the fact that you use the word try means that is self)
It is self too who is often doing the Christian work.
It is self which is irritable, envious, resentful, critical and worried.
Self is shy, it is self conscious and reserved. No wonder we need a breaking. So long as self is in control, God can do little with us.
We need to crucify self and resurrect with Christ.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Our Lord Jesus was willing to be broken for us and this the more compelling reason for us to be broken. Why do we call ourselves Christians and yet are not willing to be broken.
Philippians 2:6-7 Who, being in the form of God,, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
He who was in the form of God, counting not equality with God a prize to be grasped and hang on to, but letting it go for us and taking upon Himself the form of a servant-God’s servant, and man’s servant.
Jesus was willing to have no rights of His own, no home of His own, men reviled Him and He did not retaliate or defend Himself.
Prayer: Lord bend this stiff necked I, help me bow to the will of Christ. Help me die to self and let Christ rule and have dominion over my life.
Dying to self is not a one day thing but it is continual. We constantly die to self.
2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
It means every day, we are confronted with choices in a thousand ways, we need to die to self and let Christ do the choosing.
It means constant yielding to the will of Christ.
No longer my will but the will of Christ. As we are confronted with challenges that tempt the self in us, that is God’s way of breaking us so that we will be deeply rooted in Christ.
Every form of self centredness must die because it is the exact opposite of wht the will of God is.
We must be prepared for God to break this self-centrednes so that His will will grow in us.
We must cooperate with God to achieve this.
It is in the process of brokenness that we find strength;
It is in the process of brokenness that we find victory;
It is in the process of brokenness that we find the faithfulness of God;
Goodness and mercy follows us as we go through brokenness;
Unstoppable favour becomes our portion as we go through brokenness.
DEALING WITH THE AFRICAN MENTALITY
For us to do this, there is the need for a change in our mindset. Our mindset about our situations and circumstances must change. You are where you are because of the choices you made yesterday. Your future is dependent on the choices you make today.
Deuteronomy 30:19 “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”
Common perceptions of Africans
Permanently portraying themselves as victims? (More than 50 yrs of independence, we have to stop blaming the white man).
They work hard, but not enough to live beyond their means. (Laborers work the hardest but are paid the least)
Our attitude towards work has always been wrong. We are apathetic, lackadaisical, unmotivated and cannot work without supervision. We think bribery is the order of the day and cannot earn an honest day’s wage. Prov. 6:6-9
We don’t show initiative and when someone does that and is successful, everybody wants to copy.
We are not competitive enough in the market place. We think we can produce any shoddy goods and still make money from it. We accept mediocrity, we don’t strive for perfection. Anyone who pushes for perfection is called too known.
We have entitlement mentality. We think everything must be done for us. We can build an 8 bedroom house and think that the government must provide public toilets for us. Every development we do must be funded by the white man.
THE TURN AROUND
Despite our weak position, God takes the weak things to confound the mighty. 1Cor. 1:27-29.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
God expects us to just take little steps out of the situation we find ourselves. Those are the steps He will use to confound the mighty. Just like the 4 lepers as they took steps to come out of the situation they found themselves in. God magnified their steps that the mighty Syrian army was scared and ran away.
David fought Goliath not because he was strong but because he partnered with God. That the same God who helped him overcome the lion and the bear will help him overcome Goliath. All he took was five little stones and God used only one to confound Goliath.
Like the Israelites when they were asked to spy on the land of Canaan in Numbers 13.
In Numbers13:27-33; 14:6-9. The twelve brought their reports. 10 brought an evil report. In fact they spoke about the facts on the ground. But Joshua and Caleb had the truth. The fact on the ground may be that your financial situation is horrible, but the truth is God can use that weak situation to confound the mighty.
The fact on the ground is doctors can tell you, you have a short time to live. The truth is God can heal you of that disease.
The fact on the ground is we Africans have a weak position economically. The truth is God can use this to show how mighty He is. In our weakness is He made strong. If we learn to partner God in such times as this and take steps as He directs us. He will surely take us to the top of the mountain. He will make a way where there is no way. All we need is to have the right attitude. We need to take little steps which God in turn will magnify it.
PROGRESS COMES WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
Steps like learning the values of self-reliance, self improvement and risk-taking. Steps like having the values of drive, discipline, temperance and hard work. The values of self responsibility.
These values are rooted in a basic optimism about life and faith in free will—confidence in the fact that through hard work, sweat and tears, each of us can rise above circumstances of our birth. You may have been born in poverty but you do not need to remain in poverty. You may be born in a difficult situation but you do not have to remain there.
Steps like having a single mind focused on good work ethics, using technology and education as a right.
Steps like learning how to create wealth.
The West is not rich due to plunder or slavery -wealth is created through the development of saleable products which get sold to, and stimulate, external markets; consumers globally realise the value of items which enrich their lives, and change their behaviour to afford these.
Steps like having a can do attitude towards any work that confronts us and saying together with Obama that yes we can.
A never say die attitude. A readiness to what is humanly possible and let God do what is humanly impossible.
When we partner with God and take such little steps, we will be surprised what God will do with that. Just as He magnified the steps of the four lepers to confound the mighty Syrian army, He will do the same for your efforts. As you confront your Goliath in your life, God will use the little stones that you will pick to overcome your Giant. God will make you mighty. He will make you an achiever. He will make you more than a conqueror.
Never give up. Never accept the status quo. Never say never. God bless you.
Deuteronomy 30:19 “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”
Common perceptions of Africans
Permanently portraying themselves as victims? (More than 50 yrs of independence, we have to stop blaming the white man).
They work hard, but not enough to live beyond their means. (Laborers work the hardest but are paid the least)
Our attitude towards work has always been wrong. We are apathetic, lackadaisical, unmotivated and cannot work without supervision. We think bribery is the order of the day and cannot earn an honest day’s wage. Prov. 6:6-9
We don’t show initiative and when someone does that and is successful, everybody wants to copy.
We are not competitive enough in the market place. We think we can produce any shoddy goods and still make money from it. We accept mediocrity, we don’t strive for perfection. Anyone who pushes for perfection is called too known.
We have entitlement mentality. We think everything must be done for us. We can build an 8 bedroom house and think that the government must provide public toilets for us. Every development we do must be funded by the white man.
THE TURN AROUND
Despite our weak position, God takes the weak things to confound the mighty. 1Cor. 1:27-29.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
God expects us to just take little steps out of the situation we find ourselves. Those are the steps He will use to confound the mighty. Just like the 4 lepers as they took steps to come out of the situation they found themselves in. God magnified their steps that the mighty Syrian army was scared and ran away.
David fought Goliath not because he was strong but because he partnered with God. That the same God who helped him overcome the lion and the bear will help him overcome Goliath. All he took was five little stones and God used only one to confound Goliath.
Like the Israelites when they were asked to spy on the land of Canaan in Numbers 13.
In Numbers13:27-33; 14:6-9. The twelve brought their reports. 10 brought an evil report. In fact they spoke about the facts on the ground. But Joshua and Caleb had the truth. The fact on the ground may be that your financial situation is horrible, but the truth is God can use that weak situation to confound the mighty.
The fact on the ground is doctors can tell you, you have a short time to live. The truth is God can heal you of that disease.
The fact on the ground is we Africans have a weak position economically. The truth is God can use this to show how mighty He is. In our weakness is He made strong. If we learn to partner God in such times as this and take steps as He directs us. He will surely take us to the top of the mountain. He will make a way where there is no way. All we need is to have the right attitude. We need to take little steps which God in turn will magnify it.
PROGRESS COMES WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
Steps like learning the values of self-reliance, self improvement and risk-taking. Steps like having the values of drive, discipline, temperance and hard work. The values of self responsibility.
These values are rooted in a basic optimism about life and faith in free will—confidence in the fact that through hard work, sweat and tears, each of us can rise above circumstances of our birth. You may have been born in poverty but you do not need to remain in poverty. You may be born in a difficult situation but you do not have to remain there.
Steps like having a single mind focused on good work ethics, using technology and education as a right.
Steps like learning how to create wealth.
The West is not rich due to plunder or slavery -wealth is created through the development of saleable products which get sold to, and stimulate, external markets; consumers globally realise the value of items which enrich their lives, and change their behaviour to afford these.
Steps like having a can do attitude towards any work that confronts us and saying together with Obama that yes we can.
A never say die attitude. A readiness to what is humanly possible and let God do what is humanly impossible.
When we partner with God and take such little steps, we will be surprised what God will do with that. Just as He magnified the steps of the four lepers to confound the mighty Syrian army, He will do the same for your efforts. As you confront your Goliath in your life, God will use the little stones that you will pick to overcome your Giant. God will make you mighty. He will make you an achiever. He will make you more than a conqueror.
Never give up. Never accept the status quo. Never say never. God bless you.
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