UNLOCKING YOUR POTENTIAL
/ UNLOCKING YOUR POTENTIAL 6 KEY 5: Build Godly Relationships
The devil wants to isolate a believer so he can be defeated while standing alone. The devil does all he can to remove an unsuspecting believer from the team of the Body of Christ so that no one will be able to help him when attack comes. The devil wants to destroy believers by discouraging us, by making us believe we can't take insults any longer.
Teamwork is dream work. When you see a home divided, know that the devil is there already because division is the devil's first ploy when he wants to destroy a family. Don't look for the devil far away; see the devil in a home divided against itself.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
James 3:16
There are three levels of relationship:
(i) Relationship with God: this should be the first priority of a believer. If you seek God with your heart, you will find Him. Even when men are not willing to help you because of your stand for Christ, God will touch their hearts to make them help you. The first person you seek to relate to should be God, after all those who turn against you will later change their minds under divine compulsion. If God is for you, He will force your human enemies to be at peace with you.
When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Prov 16:7
In II Chronicles 26:1-5, there is a story of Uzziah; a young man who was marvelously helped by God because he did not only have a mentor (Zechariah), he also sought God at his tender age.
And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.
Isaiah 26:5
God surrounded this king with intelligent people to invent things in their days. The Bible records it that King Uzziah was very strong, yet, the source of his strength was because he sought the Lord.
Beloved, your relationship with God is very important. Don't be too busy that you will neglect your place of fellowship with God; don't cut-off your flow with God, thinking God is secondary.
The reason many politicians of our days fail is because once they are in power, they neglect the source of their divine assistance; they become too busy to attend church services except when they are invited for occasion. They travel round the country for the whole period of four years until their tenure expires or until someone with demonic power attacks them. May you take your place in divine assignments and may you learn to relate well with God, Amen.
Your relationship with God should not be based only on what you can receive from God; it should also be on what you can do for God. When we come to God, God wants us to tell Him our merits. That is why the Bible says in Isaiah:
Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Isaiah 41:21
That was what Hezekiah did when the prophet Isaiah told him he would die. Prophet Isaiah was the man who prophesied the coming of Jesus and you can be sure the word of such a prophet is valid, but the king did not allow this particular prophecy to be fulfilled. It then means that God does not have a date of your death!
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.
Hebrews 9:27
We all have an appointment with death but no one has an appointed day to die. Death is a mere transition from a level to another and for we believers, we are going to a higher place after our exit from this world. Death is the shedding of the body to go to glory for eternity. The real you cannot die because we are spirit beings. Appointment means whether you like it or not, you will die one day. Yet, you can delay your way to the cemetery by what you do or what you refuse to do; by what you eat or refuse to eat.
King Hezekiah gave God his merits. Bringing your merits to God does not mean you claim you are holier than the other person. No, it is recounting what you have through God's mercy. Many don't know that it is part of prayer to tell God your merits.
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came
unto him, and said unto him, thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order: for thou shalt die and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord...
Isaiah 38:1-2
Hezekiah knew he could pray to the immortal God who has life; the God who has never diminished in strength, the eternal God who will never know death because there is no death in Him. Hear Hezekiah's merits:
And said, remember now, oh Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Isaiah 38:3.
Hezekiah was not claiming to be a saint that was why he said perfect heart not perfect life. It means his heart wants to please God always even though he is sometimes wrong. After Hezekiah's prayer, did God accuse him of pride? No.
Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
Isaiah 38:4-5
Do you think you are making God happy when all you do in prayer is to always tell Him about your failure and weakness? Calling yourself a miserable sinner in prayer does not mean you are humble; you are only making God unhappy. How many of us as parents will love our children to always talk about their mistakes and weaknesses?
Likewise, God is not impressed when His children sin against Him and you can be sure He also doesn't want to be reminded of the weaknesses of His children. Instead of that, thank God you are His righteousness not by what you have done but through Jesus. Give Him glory for sending Jesus to die for you. Bring forth your strong reason, tell God your merits.
(ii) Relationship with Mentors and Teachers: In II Chronicles 26, Uzziah succeeded because he had a godly mentor. Having a spiritual leader is very important for a Christian. God creates a mentor for you so you can succeed. Though Uzziah was a young man when he became the king, he succeeded because he had a mentor who showed him the godly path to follow. Behind Uzziah's success was a man who had an understanding in the vision of God (Zechariah).
It is a pity that some don't know why God has planted them in the church.
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jer 3:15.
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It then means having a pastor is a gift. A minister placed over you is God's gift for you. Don't turn against your gift; if you do, you are turning against God who has set him over you. There are ancestral household wickedness set against a believer; it is therefore necessary to be under divine covering to be free from such evil flow.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom. 10:17
If faith comes by hearing, how would you hear if you are not in church?
And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. Hosea 12:13.
Paying your tithe in church is not enough; are you in the church to hear the word of God through your pastor? If you do, do you obey the word of God you hear? What some so called Christians do is to give money in church while they refuse to listen to God's word. Beloved, money is the least seed you can sow; so don't ever think giving your offering or paying your tithe is to bribe God.
Whoso despise the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
Prov 13:20
(iii) Relationship with people: God's love for humanity is expressed in the gift He gave the whole world. God loves people and you also need people around you.
In Luke 5:17-19, there is a story of a paralyzed man who would have died in paralysis if not for the good people around him. This man couldn't help himself but he had people to help him. It is ironical to know that most times, people turn against those helping them because of the pain they are going through. They turn against the neighbour or relation taking care of them. Don't fight your helper, don't become an enemy to those trying to help you.
It is a sad thing that many often make their friends enemies and their enemies friends. It is wrong for you to hate those who love you simply because things are not going as you expect. The man in Luke 5 looked helpless but he had helpers; he had people around him. If not for the love those four men had for the paralysed man, they would have given up out of discouragement when they could not gain entrance to the house where Jesus was.
Though they could not gain entrance through the door, they went an extra mile by removing
the roof top. They were determined to get their friend to Jesus anyhow. It demanded their extra effort and strength but they did it all the same.
If you are not there for people; if you are not there when your help is needed, how would you expect others to also help you in your times of challenges? Your seed of access is honour; you won't have access to the person you don't honour. If you don't honour God in your time of comfort, how would you have access to Him when trouble comes?
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jer 33:3.
Despite the above promise, do you realise you can't call on someone you don't know? You may have everything somewhere but you can't have everything everywhere. You may have money yet in need of good health. You may have health but need wisdom.
What I don't have is what you have and what you don't have is what I have; so you need me as much as I need you. Even God, as self- sufficient as He is, still needs human beings to preach the good news. We are all important in God's programme. That is why it is important to have a vibrant relationship with others.
Also in John 5:5-9, there is a story of another man who had challenges but had no relationship. Though the Bible was silent about the nature of this man's problem, but what is sure of is that even his relatives abandoned him because they didn't like him.
You will only know the true test of friendship when you are in trouble. Those who claim to like you in your moment of comfort might not be sincere. Those who are there for you in your struggling times are those who actually like you. In verse 7, the man complained to Jesus that every attempt to get healed was in futility because he had no one to help him.
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another stepped down before me.
John 5:7
This man missed many chances of divine opportunity because he was alone. May you not be alone in Jesus name, Amen. That is why you must not allow the devil to divide your home. You can't claim you love your wife when you have a secret you are keeping from her. It is shocking that some even build houses without telling their spouses. Why is this so? It is because there is disharmony and distrust in such homes. No wonder the devil seems to be winning in the battle he is waging against many homes today.
The man in John 5 was abandoned by his relatives probably because of his sins because even Jesus told him to sin no more after he was healed. It then means that it was sin that caused him 38 years of problem. If not for the mercy of God that came to him, he would have died in his infirmity.
Your seed is very important; the seed of living is giving so, give as you have the grace. The most miserable believer is someone who is stingy; all he wants is what he can get, not what he can give. Relationships break down when it is based on only what you can get, not what you can give.
As a lady, marrying a man because you want someone who can feed you is no marriage at all. The purpose of marriage is much more than that. Your question should be what will you contribute to where you are involved? Build relationships but let them be godly.
REFLECTION
Don't look for the devil far away; see the devil in a home divided against itself.
Chapter end
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