LOSING RELEVANCE?

READ: GENESIS 39:1-5

Being a believer entails a lot. It makes you occupy a position of relevance wherever you are. It also makes you the measure of the volume of blessing that could come to a place or people. Genesis 39:1-5 says the moment Joseph became a servant of Potiphar, the climate of his blessings changed. He began to experience a windfall of divine blessings because he was in favour with God. The Lord, because of you, will make a way for your believing or unbelieving parents, employers and employees in Jesus name.
Believers are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14). If you are a believer, your presence should make a positive difference wherever you are. Some young believers worked in a particular company and things went well. It got to a point that the company became a leading firm in that particular line of business. Unfortunately, the owner of the company, an Alhaji, though it was the charms he used that made his business tick. He ill-treated the believers and denied them some of their benefits. After their departure, the company ran out of favour and became history.
Your presence in that family should benefit members of your family. The fortune of members of your family can change because you are there. Like Paul, lives could be saved because you took a bus, taxi, boat or aeroplane (Acts 27:24). Your co-tenants can enjoy absence of armed robbery attacks because you are there. Death and destruction could pass over others because you are there. The reign of sicknesses, diseases and curses should end in your family because you are there. What benefit are others receiving by your presence? If your presence in that organization is not providing progress and blessings on your employers and the organization as a whole, it is an evidence that something is wrong with your relationship with God. Your salt is losing its savor, your light is losing its shine; you are fast losing your value. Run back to God’s examination table and find out what’s gone wrong. Make amends and occupy your place of relevance again.

MEMORIZE: GENESIS 39:3 –And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

VISITOR OR RESIDENT

READ: LEVITICUS 26:11-12

A victorious Christian is full of victory because he is not an ordinary person. Such a Christian is much more than what you can see on the outside. What makes him powerful and victorious is beyond the ordinary eyes. In other religions, adherents carry their gods about in their pockets, under the seat of their cars, on their heads or necks or even tie them around their waist. A ‘god’ you can physically carry abut like that can be forgotten, stolen or lost. But my God is inside of me and that is why He cannot be stolen from me.
Several years ago, somebody asked me, ‘You said nobody can kill you now that you are born again; but you don’t look any different. How can you substantiate your claim?’ I told him if you bring two identical pieces of wire, one with electric current while the other has no current, you cannot tell the difference by mere looking. To know which one is carrying current, touch them. If there is a witch or wizard who wants to kill a bonafide child of God, let him go ahead and try. It is then he will know that some fire can burn without being seen. Are you a child of God? If yes, then you are not ordinary. What you carry is far too dangerous. Never mind that you do not see or feel Him sometimes. He is always there.
According to our reading, in those days, God loved to visit His people. He would come and go at the end of each visit. But now God has decided to make us His permanent dwelling place. We are now the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). 1 Peter 2:5 says: “You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” God builds His house with living stones like you and me and not with physical stones. What makes you untouchable is the God you carry on the inside of you. From today, any agent of darkness who wants to touch you will be spiritually electrocuted. For God to continue to make His abode in you, your life must be free from sin in its entirety. 2 Corinthians 6:6 says you must be separate from every form of defilement so that God will continue to dwell in you. What are those dirty thoughts, deals and habits that will not let God become a permanent resident in you? Flush them out today!

MEMORIZE: 1 PETER 2:5 –You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

HIS MASTERPIECE

READ: 1 KINGS 19:19-21

If you ask an artist, he will tell you they have showpieces but beyond that, they have something better – the masterpiece. A showpiece is a great work of art but a masterpiece is unique and eternal. A masterpiece is a priceless treasure. God wants you to become a showpiece. But beyond that, He wants you to become a master piece – something of inestimable value. Are you prepared for it? However, there are certain conditions you must satisfy to become a masterpiece. First, you need to be totally consecrated to God. According to 1 Kings 19:19-21, after God called Elisha, he never looked back, not even for one day. He was completely sold out to God.
Second, you must be unspoilt and unspoilable by success. Elisha had had his fair share of success in farming before the Lord called him. He managed that success very well. After he became the national prophet, and God used him to perform great signs and wonders, he still found time to go regularly to the mountain top of God’s presence to recharge his battery. He managed his spiritual success very well. It is easier to manage failure than success. For the one at the valley, there’s only one way up. But if you are on top, there are several angles you can go. Elisha spent years under Elijah. The latter was a rough man yet Elisha served him for years before becoming the masterpiece.
According to our reading, because Elisha managed his success perfectly well, the anointing followed him to the grave and remained potent years later to the point of raising a dead man to life. Some Christians particularly ministers have no future in the ministry because of pride. The trickles of the anointing which they are receiving get them tickled to the point of wanting everybody to hero-worship them. Do you love the praise of men? It will cost the praise of God. To remain relevant in God’s plan, you must remain 100% humble, submissive and dependent on God. Humility and pride are two contrary attributes that can play a key role in your walk with God. While the former provides you an empty container for God to continue to fill, the latter provides you an already filled container for God to take from. You are not yet your best. Whatever you are now you can be better. You are worth all of God’s investments. Remember He wants you to be His masterpiece. Your action, response and humility will determine how soon you get there.

MEMORIZE: JAMES 4:6 –But He gives more grace. Wherefore He says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.