Do Something Positive In The Midst Of The Storm

12-07-2017 HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY PRAYERS

SCRIPTURAL READING: GEN. 42:18. “on the third day Joseph said to them, I am a God-fearing man, and I will spare your lives on one condition…”

THEME: DO SOMETHING POSITIVE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM

I want to begin by saying that the most important person in any crisis is you! How you respond to it is very important. If challenges stop you or have stopped you, you then need to be rejuvenated. I pray this message tonight rekindles that spark within you in the name of Jesus.

In the moment of crisis, how you respond is very key. If you respond positively, you will pull through that challenge. If you respond negatively, you will be drowned in the challenge.

A healthy mind, is a healthy person and shall perform actions. If you poison your soul either through action, speech, thought, you will suffer the consequence. Why? This is because action, speech and thought go hand in hand. These three characterize every person and much more the life of a Christian man/woman.

The origin of every word is thought. After thinking comes speech, which reveals in words the idea which has been conceived in the mind. After thought and speech in the third place comes action, which realizes the thought in deed. So, when in the course of life we are brought to think, to speak or to act, it is a good rule to keep a careful eye on those divine principles by which the Lord is conceived or named, that our action, word or thought may never miss the implication of those noble titles.

Friends there are several things in life which affects us as Christians and want to make us take a course of action like pagans especially in the moment of deep and great crisis. Crisis does not inform you when it is coming and when it does come, in most case scenario you may never fully recover for the crisis may have a long lasting and damaging effect on you as in the case of accident and death trap trauma as in the case of a loved one especially when both parties are young and truly love each other even middle aged couples sometimes go through this experience-these can be for a life time. Sometimes the crisis may be short lived but having you go through serious and several stages of pain resulting from such moments of crisis. How you respond is very key.

To respond positively in such situations is key. We can see the quality of life and strength of character of Joseph in Gen. 41:18. Joseph made a decision to do good to his brothers even when he had the power to do evil and repay them eye for eye for their conduct. His brothers had put him into the horrible experience of been enslaved, been far from his father’s love and warmth of brothers. But he didn’t not count all these, all that was topmost in his mind was to reunite himself with his family and give them a great sense of belonging in the land of Egypt.

His response was a positive one and not a negative one in the most needed moment. That act of positivism brought a change in the attitude of his brothers. They began by self blame. Blaming themselves for the evil they did to Joseph because of their envy-envy is a serious disease which kills you slowly without you even knowing it.

Scripture says in proverbs 25:21-22 says- “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. You will make him burn with shame, and the Lord will reward you.”

Decision must be made to do good-joseph made a decision and the result was great. We must note that any action, thought or word which involves passion is out of harmony with Christ and bears the mark of the devil, who makes muddy the pearl of the soul with passions and mars the luster (brightness) of that precious jewel.

That which is pure of every inclination to passion tends towards the source of tranquility-peace, namely Christ. If a man draws from him his thoughts, as though drawing water from a spring which is pure and unconfined, he will reveal in himself the same likeness to his pattern as there is between two sorts of water, that which is in a gushing stream and that which is drawn from the spring and confined in a jar.

Purity has only one nature, both that which is in Christ  and that which is seen in the one who shares in him: Christ is like the spring which gushes  out, the one who shares in Christ draws from him, as it were, and brings beauty of thoughts to his life. And so there is a harmony between the hidden inner man and the outward appearance when decency of life is joined with thoughts which are inspired by Christ.

So friends in Christ, the whole process of been victorious in the intense moment of crisis is you. The question is how do I overcome it?

1. Determine and say to yourself that this moment of crisis will not overwhelm me. It may be difficult, but it will not crack me. I may cry but I will not be torn apart. I may feel weak but sure I am strong on the inside to go through. I may feel disappointed but God is always ready to lift me up. Remember! remember!! Remember!!! The gospel passage of today has spelt it out already for you in Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.”

You share in that authority by the very instance of your baptism. The Lord gave you the authority. Exercise the authority as a believer over that situation.

There certain things that make you as a child of God not to exercise that authority.

1. Sin: When we habitually sin, we come under Satan’s authority, and he has legal rights over us until we repent. That is why Jesus said in John 14:30- The ruler of this world is coming, and has no power over me. Jesus was able to declare that because he was without sin, so the devil could not get a foothold in his life.

Scripture says let us serve the Lord in holiness and he will deliver us from our enemies. So holiness of life is key to exercising your authority as a believer.

James 5:16 says-so then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.

Don’t live continually in sin, make an effort to go for regular confession. Psalm 32 3-5 says “when I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all day long. Day and night you punished me, Lord; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat. Then I confessed my sins to you; I did not conceal them to you, and you forgave all my sins.”

1. Ignorance. In Hosea 4:6, God declares, "'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'" The Lord showed me that His people are being destroyed by the ignorance of their authority in Christ. Yet the Bible makes it clear that we are not powerless against the enemy.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 states, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do   not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Many believers today tend to be frightened at every small scratch by the enemy but you must know that when you are in God, Satan has no power or stronghold over you. That is why the word of God in Psalm 91: 1-2 states clearly “whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, can say to him, you are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.

One factual statement in reality is that Satan is a loser. He is a created being, one of God's fallen angels. God, is the uncreated Creator who always has been and always will be-He is self-existent. To a believer who is walking in God's authority, Satan is like a toothless lion. It is not that Satan doesn't have some real power-he does. But when we compare his power with God's-there is no comparison.

When David confronted Goliath, Goliath compared his physical prowess with David's. Goliath was insulted that the Israelites would send a mere shepherd boy against him.

However, David didn't compare himself with Goliath; he compared Goliath with God. God was so much greater than Goliath that the match was over before it had a chance to begin (see 1 Sam. 17:41-50).

In any challenge you find yourself, compare that challenge with God and declare my God is bigger than this challenge in the name of Jesus.

C. Unbelief. Unbelief is a serious sin. Romans 14:23 reads, "But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin." The book of Hebrews also calls unbelief sinful: "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God" (3:12). Unbelief is so serious that Jesus could not do many miracles because of the people's lack of faith (see Matt. 13:58).

We can measure the level of our belief or unbelief by asking ourselves, Do we really believe that Jesus defeated the enemy? If we don't, we are unlikely to see the results we desire when we lay hands on the sick.

4. Fear. Second Timothy 1:7-8 declares, "God has not given us a spirit of fear." Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from wielding the authority we have in Christ to bring healing to others.

First John 5:18 teaches us that "the wicked one does not touch [whoever   is born of God]" (see also Luke 10:19). But some people have suffered backlash from the enemy when they engaged in spiritual warfare and are now afraid.

There are many reasons for backlash. Here are some ways to guard against it: Be led by the Spirit; make sure that Satan has no legal right to attack; and obtain prayer covering that is, prayer against the retaliation from the devil.

After taking these steps, we can confront the darkness because we have the authority to do so. We need not be afraid of obeying God's directives even if it requires engaging in strategic warfare.

Luke 12:32 gives us wise counsel: "'Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is  your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.'"

5. Prayerlessness. Luke 18:1 establishes the importance of prayer: "Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up" (NIV).

Ephesians 6:18 elaborates on this point: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Prayer gives you the ease to exercise your authority as a child of God. Friends When we know who God is and the authority He has, and when we know who we are in Christ, having faith is not that difficult. And when we have faith, we will begin to release the spiritual authority necessary to perform signs, wonders and miracles.

1. Practice self-affirmation daily: self-affirmation simply means having a positive attitude toward yourself. It is valuing who you are and believing you have a purpose. Its being confident in you.

To practice self-affirmation, you must reduce regrets to the berest minimum by asking the most important question at the end of your days work such as;

1. Am I happy? B. am I excited for life? c. is this the life I envisioned for myself? D. am I making decisions today that will positively impact my life tomorrow? E. is my daily routine allowing me to achieve the long term goals I have set for myself? F. is today a step that helps me towards the goals I want to pursue? G. am I making the most of opportunities? H. am I proud of where I am at in life? I. Has today made me feel unfulfilled or fulfilled?

These set of question helps you take the right course of action if you are not fulfilled at the end of the day and if you are, it increases your level of confidence.

1. Track your progress, and review every milestone: keeping track of your progress is beneficial for several reasons. First, it allows you to see your progress overtime. Second, it allows you to accurately pinpoint what works and what doesn’t work. frequent feedback increases your chances of hitting a specific goal and helps keep you on track and adjust when necessary.

Prayer:

1. Lord Jesus, reawaken in me that strength and vitality to pull through this challenge that has confronted me today.
2. Lord Jesus, give me the grace to remain focused and avoid distractions that tend to take me off my goal in life.
3. Lord Jesus, help me overcome sinful habits in my life.
4. Lord Jesus, help me to overcome fear and doubt.

Lord Jesus, give me the strength to remain positive minded in all I do and the courage to do that which is right always.