Word of the week
Joshua 4:14 AMPC
“On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him, as they stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.”
This account was given or Joshua shortly after the river Jordan had parted for the children of Israel to cross over.
Joshua found himself in a situation where he was being accorded the same respect that Moses, the great leader had.
But who was Joshua?
Joshua was Moses’ servant. He served Moses faithfully. He was very loyal to Moses.
God had been observing his service to Moses and then his day of elevation to leadership came.
He wasn’t just elevated to leadership, he was empowered to be a leader by God.
God admonished him to be strong and courageous.
God helped Joshua to replicate the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea by leading the children of Israel to cross the river Jordan.
The summary of the story is that one of the quickest ways to be great is to climb on the back of the great. Piggy backing is just like a child carried by the father on his shoulders. The child will end up seeing like the father, or probably seeing more than the father. But it comes at a cost; the cost of service, humility and loyalty.
We saw also in 2 Kings 2 how service, humility and loyalty empowered Elisha to obtain a double portion of the anointing on Elijah.
The problem though is that many people despise the great, they disdain the great, they speak evil of the great.
It is a great error that keeps one small in life.
Another problem is disloyalty.
Many don’t want to serve the great. They want to use the time that they could have used to serve the great to serve themselves and further their own agenda.
Serving the great is not weakness or stupidity. It is wisdom for moving ahead quicker in life.
The story of Joshua solidified this. Serving Moses gave him a fast track to greatness.
Within a very short time of his leadership, the people of Israel began to accord him the same honour that they gave Moses because God magnified Joshua in their sight.
The story of Joshua and Elisha solidifies the fact that serving the great is a quicker way to greatness.
May God give us the wisdom to move ahead faster in life in Jesus Name.
Message of the week
1 Corinthians 6:7 AMPC
“Why, the very fact of your having lawsuits with one another at all is a defect (a defeat, an evidence of positive moral loss for you). Why not rather let yourselves suffer wrong and be deprived of what is your due? Why not rather be cheated (defrauded and robbed)?”
I will focus on the b part which reads thus: Why not rather let yourselves suffer wrong and be deprived of what is your due? Why not rather be cheated (defrauded and robbed)?”
Something happened to me less than a week ago. I engaged the services of someone to do a job for me and the work was done shoddily.
I had already paid this person a deposit.
So, I told this person, ‘When you redo the work and it is of the standard I want, then I will pay you your balance in full’. That was the last communication between us before I went to sleep.
To my surprise, in the night God woke me up and instructed me to pay the person the balance of the money right away. Part ofvthe Scriptures God quoted to buttress Himself is what I shared with you today.
I want you to know that it was very hard for me to obey the instruction to pay the balance in full but God gave me the grace to obey.
You see, the bid to be right has overturned the lives of many people.
‘I will show you I’m not a fool’ has ruined many homes, marriages, relationships, careers etc.
Sometimes in life, be a fool.
Turn the other cheek like Jesus admonished. Turning the other cheek does not mean you are weak and the other person is strong.
One of my friends said recently that when you have power be careful how you use it.
When I have the power to hurt you but choose not to use it, then I’m turning the other cheek.
This is what that Scripture is saying when it says ‘allow yourselves to be defrauded.’
It doesn’t mean that you should walk willingly into a fraudulent transaction.
It means that allow yourself to be cheated for the sake of Christ.
It’s very hard to do. It means you have to soft pedal for your husband, your wife, your boss, your friend etc for the sake of tomorrow
Believe me, you won’t be a fool forever. Sometimes, you will assert yourself.
If you are usually a peaceful person, the day you assert yourself, everybody will sit up and listen and shape up.
The Bible says to allow yourself to be defrauded
There’s greatness in your future.
Don’t stop your future today by saying or thinking ‘I will show you I’m not a fool’
Instead, be a fool so that you can attain the glorious future God has for you.
God is a God of judgement and by Him actions are weighed.
In Daniel 5:27, the Bible says concerning Belteshazzar , the son of Nebuchadnezzar, that he was weighed in the balances and found wanting.
God scrutinises our actions and thoughts. He knows why we do what we do.
I pray that when God weighs our actions, none of us will be found wanting in Jesus Name.
