YOUR LOSSES SHALL BE TURNED TO GAINS
By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi
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 necessarily 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 arrogant and rich parishioners for fear of losing out on benefits : this does not give room for healthy spiritual development and it is devoid of true love. For example 3 John 1:8-10 NLT says "... Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with 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 , they have turned their pastors in to puppets especially when such preachers have no other means of income This was what led to Prophet Job’s downfall.
Prophet Job fell into Satan’s trap because of his desire for prominence among God's people due to his immense material wealth : he lost all in less than a week ;he was rebuked by Elihu 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 correction, it gives Satan the advantage over marriages and businesses (Rev.3:17).
We should 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 built on material wealth tend to be as unstable as the the stock markets. Believers 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 or sex. Money or sex cannot cure infidelity but faith can. 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 the 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 temptations 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 serving the lord wholeheartedly should not be hampered by an over -attachment to anything even if we have suffered any loss of property (Hebrews 12:1) because material wealth depreciates ( 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 the honour God has placed upon him or her. You do not need much to be a man or woman of positive influence . 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 unto you as you receive Jesus Christ as lord and saviour and read this now in Jesus name. Prayer /counseling +2348098536911, +2348035536911
Email :Michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
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 necessarily 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 arrogant and rich parishioners for fear of losing out on benefits : this does not give room for healthy spiritual development and it is devoid of true love. For example 3 John 1:8-10 NLT says "... Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with 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 , they have turned their pastors in to puppets especially when such preachers have no other means of income This was what led to Prophet Job’s downfall.
Prophet Job fell into Satan’s trap because of his desire for prominence among God's people due to his immense material wealth : he lost all in less than a week ;he was rebuked by Elihu 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 correction, it gives Satan the advantage over marriages and businesses (Rev.3:17).
We should 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 built on material wealth tend to be as unstable as the the stock markets. Believers 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 or sex. Money or sex cannot cure infidelity but faith can. 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 the 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 temptations 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 serving the lord wholeheartedly should not be hampered by an over -attachment to anything even if we have suffered any loss of property (Hebrews 12:1) because material wealth depreciates ( 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 the honour God has placed upon him or her. You do not need much to be a man or woman of positive influence . 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 unto you as you receive Jesus Christ as lord and saviour and read this now in Jesus name. Prayer /counseling +2348098536911, +2348035536911
Email :Michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
pics credit : pixabay
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