TOPIC: LIVE BY HIS PRINCIPLES 1
MEMORISE:
But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. John 5:17
READ: Deuteronomy 28:1-6:
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
MESSAGE
Many Christians complain that things are not going well for them even though it has been a while since they confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The question I often ask such Christians is, “Since you received Jesus Christ into your life, have you been living by His principles?” It is a good thing to have Jesus in your life, however, you must ensure that you also live by His principles if you want to experience positive changes in all aspects of your life.
No matter how spiritual you are, certain principles must be applied for certain things to work in your life. For example, the Bible says that he that does not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). No matter how prayerful you are, if you are lazy, you may not escape poverty (Proverbs 6:10-11).
Shortly after I became born again, tapes of many pastors teaching the power of positive confession were circulating around the Christian community. They would say things like, “You will become whomever you say you are. Just confess good; say what you want to see in your life.” Although this message is correct, many took it the wrong way. Lazy Christians continued being lazy, while the uneducated ones did not pursue education to enhance their ability to earn. They all just kept confessing, “I am rich, I am not poor,” “l am a landlord, I will never beg,” and so on, but nothing changed in their lives.
If you want change, you must adopt the principles of God. One of His principles is in Luke 6:38; if you don’t sow seeds, you shouldn’t expect a harvest. Being stingy and yet praying for God to bless you is like being a farmer who did not plant any seed but who goes to his farm every morning to pray that yams should grow there. During the season of harvest, when he digs the ground to get yams, he will find nothing there because he planted nothing.
Some other principles of God which I will like to mention are: Do unto others what you want them to do to you (Matthew 7:12), exercise control over your mouth (Psalms 141:3) and your appetite (Proverbs 23:1-3), let others praise you, don’t praise yourself (Proverbs 27:2), always do things in steps, start small and grow from there (Zechariah 4:10), whatever you embark on, ensure that you plan properly for it to be achieved successfully (Luke 14:28). These and many more are principles of life that may not necessarily lead you to hell if they are not practised, but will definitely help you to live a better life on earth if they are.
ACTION POINT
Ensure that you live by Kingdom principles.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 18-21
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 30: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD
1. When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2. Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.
3. But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.
4. Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we'll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.
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