DANGERS OF FREEDOM

MEMORY VERSE: take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls, Matthew 11:29

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Sam 11, 2 Cor 4, Ezek 18, John 19 

BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 34:1-2

BACKGROUND: Dinah was bored at home; there was no one to play with, no one to chat with, and no one to have fun with so she decided to go out to see the daughters of the land. On her way Shechem took her and raped her. Later Shechem was killed. 

ANALYSIS: Dinah was safe at home. Her Dad had several guards who watched after her and the family. If she had remained at home, she would not have become a victim of rape. Because she wanted a bit of fun, she left home (a safe territory) to see the daughters of the land (an unsafe territory) and was attacked. Dinah saw staying at home as living under a yoke, but she failed to realize that living under that yoke afforded her safety.

The day you give your life to Christ, He puts His yoke on your neck. You are no longer free to do whatever you want to do. You are no longer free to dress the way you want to dress. You are no longer free to say the things you want to say. At times people will talk to you rudely and you want to respond but you can’t because of the yoke of Christ on you. You know as a Christian you are not allowed to be rude. At times you want to take revenge but you can’t because of the yoke of Christ on you. You know as a Christian you are not allowed to take revenge. At times you want to relax with a pint of beer but you can’t because you know Christians don’t drink beer. At times you are so stressed and you desperately need a fag or smoke a cigarette but can’t because you know Christians don’t smoke. The yoke of Christ restricts in a lot of ways. You want to go to clubs but you cannot. You want to do the things your friends do but you cannot. Brethren, I want you to know that the yoke of Christ may restrict you but it keeps you from a lot of harm. The Christian life maybe boring, but it keeps you safe. That is why you will never hear that the police arrested a believer for a drink driving offense because a true Christian does not consume alcohol. That is why you will never hear a true Christian having sexually transmitted diseases because a true Christian will not fornicate. You will never hear that a true Christian was stabbed at the club because he won’t be there in the first place. It is impossible to hear that a Christian lady got pregnant and the man refused to accept the baby because a Christian lady will not have sex until she is married. Inside Christ your marriage is safe and it is almost impossible for the man to cheat. Where is the time to cheat? He will go to work, attend all the church programs and come back home tired. Where is the time to cheat when he is concentrating on winning souls for Christ?

POINT: The Christian life maybe boring but it gives peace of mind.

Bro Samuel - Reaching the world for Jesus.

RECOGNIZING AND RESPECTING EXPERIENCE

MEMORY VERSE: Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set, Proverbs 22:28.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 4, Ps 38, Sng 2, Heb 2

BIBLE STUDIES: Esther 2:7-17

The story of Esther is a very popular one. Queen Vashti suddenly became too big to entertain her husband- King Ahasuerus. Because of her beauty, she forgot her role as a queen and began to take the advantage she had in the kingdom for granted. Since she was not serious and ungrateful, the king decided to replace her with a serious and grateful queen. During the search for a queen, everyone brought their daughters including Mordecai. He brought her young cousin who was like a child to him. The practice was that these young virgins would be trained for a year. They would be trained on how to behave like queens, how to attend to royal dignitaries and how to please the king. They will also be looked after physically.
All the virgins were put under Hegai- the king’s eunuch. After this training, each virgin is brought before the King to examine and choose. Before been presented to the king, each virgin had the opportunity to ask for anything she desired to take along with her – maybe shoes, clothes, e.t.c to the king’s palace. So each virgin requested for whatever she wanted. When it was Esther’s turn,she requested for nothing but what Hegai advised. At the end she found favor in sight of all who saw her.

No one knows the king like Hegai. This man had been responsible for training queens for quite a long time. Other virgins ignored the experience of Hegai and requested for what they thought the king would like but Esther sought for Hegai’s advise and did as she was told. At end she found favor in front of the king. This virgins saw themselves as too important to seek the opinion of an ordinary eunuch. In life wherever you may find yourself, humble yourself and learn from those you meet there. In your place of work, the most experience person there could be the cleaner who have been there for over twenty years. Forget about all your qualifications, humble yourselves and be her friend. To you she may be a cleaner but i can guarantee you that she is a custodian of great secrets – secrets of what led to the fall of those before you. Most of the people will look down on like drivers and cooks are not to be joked with at all. They know your boss and spend time with him more than other staffs. They know how you can present your request in a way that it is nice. You might be the most qualified in your department but don’t look down on the staffs you met there. If you don’t value their experience they would frustrate you. The problems many are facing in their places of work today are as result of not recognizing and respecting the old staffs. They may be old or junior to you in positions but they know a lot of things you don’t know. The virgins looked down on Hegai the experienced queen maker and they paid for it dearly.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to humble myself before that will help me