YOUR LOSSES SHALL BE TURNED TO GAINS
Luke 12:15 AMP "And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man's life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.".
The world measures a person's worth based on material acquisition therefore the more of material wealth a man possesses, the more recognition such a person receives from peers and society. This is the driving force behind self-aggrandizement .The world loves a person as long as they can receive some material wealth from him or her.
The scriptures says in Proverbs 14:20 AMP "The poor is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends." Those who come to us because of material benefits do not truly love us: an over -attachment to material things makes one vulnerable to emotional and spiritual manipulations.
Some preachers tend to accommodate the excesses of the rich for fear of losing out on benefits : this does not give room for healthy spiritual development because it is not founded on true love. For example 3 John 1:8-10 NLT says "So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth. I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church." The truth of the gospel couldn't be preached in this local church because of the censorship by Diotrephes; he was rich and controlled what came in and out of this church, it was his will and not God's will that was being done. There are many of such persons in the church who have gagged up ministers and turned the church into a puppets theater to display arrogance and presumptuousness. This was what led to Prophet Job’s downfall.
Prophet Job fell into Satan’s trap because he always sought for prominence among God's people due to his immense material wealth : he lost all of it in less than a week until he was rebuked by Elibu a teacher of God's word in Job 36:8-9 AMP "And if they are bound in fetters [of adversity] and held by cords of affliction, [Ps. 107:10, 11.] Then He shows to them [the true character of] their deeds and their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and self-sufficiency]." self- sufficiency is the tendency of placing yourself above reproof, it gives Satan the advantage and leads to depression and fear (Rev.3:17).
We are admonished not to build our confidence upon riches.Proverbs 11:28 AMP says"He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident in his riches shall fall, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like a green bough." Marriages hinged on material wealth tend to suffer tremendously as they are easy prey for the enemy. The just shall marry by faith and remain married by faith which comes from constantly hearing God's word. Faith is what sustains a marriage and not money. We can't love our spouses and money at the same time, it is absolutely impossible. You either love one and hate the other.
Love is the fulfillment of the law of God and generator of faith, thus when a believer in Christ places more importance on acquiring wealth than on the mission of saving souls he or she gets exposed to the enemy and suffers losses. God wants us to come to the point where we are not limited by the loss of material wealth( Acts 20:23-24) . We should be willing to sacrifice anything for a better fellowship with Christ ( Philippians 3:8) .
The joy of being committed to serve the lord shouldn't be hampered by an over -attachment to anything especially if we have suffered any loss of property (Hebrews 12:1) because of the tendency of material wealth to suffer depreciation and decay ( Prov23:5, Matthew 6:19-20). Jesus said in Lk 12:15 that a man's true worth isn't measured by how much wealth he or she has acquired but by the honour God has placed on him or her. Some of the most influential persons on earth do not have much. The lord desires that nothing competes with Him for our affection (Ps 73:25). When Job made God his first love, he began to experience a recovery and received more wealth than he ever had (Job 42:12-13) :his losses were turned into everlasting gains and so shall it be to you as you read this now in Jesus name. Prayer /counseling +2348098536911, +2348035536911
Email :Michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment