IGNORING GODLY COUNSEL?
November 17, 2009Bible in One Year:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
(1 Cor 1 - 1 Cor 3)
Memorise: "Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God" (Prov 2:17)
Read: Proverbs 2:16-22
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
"Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence" (Ps 91:3). As a born again child of God, you are a divine eaglet. It is customary for eaglets to soar the heights, hence it is difficult to catch them. Anyone riding on eagle's wings - that is, the wings of Jesus, will also fly high. It takes an exceptional hunter to set a trap that will catch an eagle. When the hunter prepares a trap, he will also include a bait - something that looks good, sweet and alluring that would attract the animal to the trap. Some of the baits Satan employs in ensnaring believers are the love of money and lust of the flesh. Another bait is stepping out of God's counsel. There are Christians who decided to shun godly counsel of their parents and leaders as Samson did. But after the latter lost his eyes, he remembered that he had been warned. I once had a friend but we are no longer close. One day, he told me he was going to divorce his wife and marry another woman. I warned him not to but he laughed and said: "From the day I married this lady, I have been in hell. Since I am already in hell, let me get accustomed to hell before I go there". Inspite of my advice, he divorced his wife and married another lady. It is better to be single than to marry the wrong person. If you fail to take godly advice, you cannot escape from the fowler's snare.
Another bait is an unforgiving spirit. The moment the hunter - Satan discovers you have a problem with forgiving your offenders, he will arrange people who will step very hard on your toes so that you will say, 'It is only Heaven that will settle the quarrel'. But it is that quarrel that will keep you from entering Heaven. The devil knows what the Bible says in Matthew 18:23-35. A woman once came to church and told me that she had lived in 22 houses in Lagos State alone. When I asked her what happened, she said she once had a quarrel with her husband and he apologized but she refused to forgive him. Eventually, God sent her the spirit of fear. Ever since, she has lived in fear of someone wanting to kill her, hence she has continued to move from house to house. Has somebody offended you to the extent you find it difficult to forgive? Please forgive the person for Christ's sake, or for the sake of Heaven. If not, you will remain in Satan's trap.
ACTION POINT:
List the names of those who begrudge you and those you hold a grudge against. Prayerfully seek reconciliation with them.
Posted by Pastor E. A Adeboye. Posted In : NOVEMBER 2009
Fondly known as G.O or Daddy G.O, Pastor Adeboye became the General Overseer (G.O) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in 1981. Sheer curiosity and the search for a solution to a personal problem led Pastor Adeboye to worship at RCCG – Ebute-Metta in 1973. It was a most unlikely place of worship for a professor of Mathematics as the church had very few educated people and it lacked the comfort and grandeur of the Orthodox churches.
His desire to reach the ends of the earth is captured in this statement, “I would love to have a breakthrough to such a height that I can lend to nations and preach on every television and radio station at least one hour per day.”
