SEEING MEN AS TREES WALKING?

MEMORY VERSE: And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. Mark 8:24

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 13

STUDY: Mark 8:22-26

Jesus arrived at Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch this man (Mark 8:22-26). I hope you will beg Jesus to touch you this hour. I hope you will beg Him to touch that son that is always telling lies. I hope you will beg Him to touch that wife of yours who is not interested in the things of God. I hope you will beg Him to touch that husband of yours that is always coming home late and drunk. I hope you will beg Him to touch those that will be interviewing you for that job or visa. The bible records that “they besought Him to touch him”. Jesus took this man by the hand, led him out of the city, spat on his eyes, touched his eyes, and asked him, “do you see anything?” Mark 8:24 says, “And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.”

How you see a thing will determine how you will relate to that thing. How you see a man will determine how you will relate to the man. Also, how you see a woman will determine how you will relate to the woman. How you see your wife will determine how you will relate to her, so also how you see your husband will determine how you will relate to him. How you see your pastor will determine how you will relate to him or her, so also how you see your pastor’s wife or husband will determine how you will relate to him or her. In addition, how you see people will determine how you will treat them. There are people you will never believe what they say; i mean there are people when they say good morning to you, you check your watch to make sure it is morning indeed because they are not honest. When they tell you something costs 30 dollars, you know the price of that thing will be at most 15 dollars because of your past dealings with them. The blind man saw men as trees, in other words he saw men as something to use and dump. This brings us to the question how do you see your wife ? As trees walking? A brother who sees his wife as a help meet for him, helper sent from God, will not treat his wife as a punching bag. Someone once said, “A woman’s heaven is under the foot of her husband”. This is not biblical at all. A sister who sees her husband as her head will not treat the brother as her opponent – always competing with him. A brother who sees his wife and himself as one will not put his junior brother or parents as his next kin. If you and your wife are one then your next of kin should be your wife not your junior brother. So also a sister who sees her husband and herself as one will not build a house secretly without telling her husband. When couples begin to see their marriage as God sees it, the word ‘my’ will be substituted with ‘our’. My money becomes our money. My house becomes our house. A brother who sees his wife and himself as one will do everything possible to escort his wife to the hospital for medical check up. If you and your wife are one, how come she is always going for medical check up alone? A sister who sees her house help as someone’s child will treat her as such. She won’t treat her like an animal. Jesus knew the danger of that man seeing men as trees so He touched his eye again and everything became normal.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please touch my eyes.

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GOOD PEOPLE OBTAINS FAVOR FROM THE LORD

MEMORY VERSE: A good man obtains favor of the LORD: but a man of wicked intentions will he condemn. Proverbs 12:2

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 87-89

The word ‘good’ is relative. For example, to the French ‘white’ means purity, cleanliness and honesty. The bride, on her wedding day, puts on a white gown which symbolizes innocence and purity of the bride. In china, ‘white’ stands for mourning. During any festival or celebration, ‘white’ is avoided. If you want to give money to a newlywed couples or children, you are expected to use red envelopes. As you can see, ‘white’ is perceived in different ways. In the west it is good but bad in China.

Man’s definition of the word ‘good’ is relative. Man’s definition of the word ‘good’ changes with region (as you saw in our example of ‘white’ in the west and in china), time, instances, etc. According to man’s law, killing is a crime but in some instances it is not a crime e.g. mercy killing or Euthanasia. (Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering). Although man’s definition of things keep changing and it will continue to change, God’s definition of things never changes. We live at a time where being good according to God’s own standard is gradually becoming a taboo. We live at a time where honesty is no longer rewarded. We live at a time where everyone is looking for short cuts and all that. We live at a time where the end justifies the means. How you get the result does not matter, just get the result. As a marketer, it does not matter how one gets customers, all that matters (to the people above) is just get customers. As a manager, it does not matter how one drives up the sales, all that matters is sales going up. As a student, it does not matter how one gets good grades, all that matters is get good grades. As a daughter or a son, it does not matter how one succeeds. All that matters is succeed and look after your family. Friend, it matters. How you get the result matters. As far as God is concerned, the end does not justify the means. As a marketer, how you get customers matters. As a manager, how you drive up sales matter. Proverbs 12:2 says, “A good man obtains favor of the LORD: but a man of wicked intentions will he condemn.” God will not favour the wicked. There are a lot of single men going to church because they are looking for a good wife. The honest truth is this; they are only wasting their time because the Lord will not give any of His daughters to men who are not ready to serve Him in spirit and truth. Many a time, such single men end up marrying someone just like them in church – a lady who is also in church to pick up a man too. God loves good boys and girls. He loves good men and women and He favors them. Wherever they turn to, they will find favor with God and with men.

QUESTION: This brings us to the question, are you a good man? Are you a good woman? Are you a good child? Are you a good student? David was a good man. Despite all Saul did to him, he never rebelled against him. Are you a good person? Do you hear both sides of the story before passing comments? Are you fair? Do you divulge confidential information people share with you when you have a misunderstanding with them?

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me good heart

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THE GOD OF LAST MINUTE

MEMORY VERSE: Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 16-20

God answers prayers. Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” He has answered prayers in the past, and He is still answering prayers. There are times you will receive answers to your prayers whilst praying - before you finish praying. A typical example can be found in 1 Samuel 7:7-10. The Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together and they came up against them. When Samuel heard this, he ran to God. Whilst he was praying, reporting the matter to God, the Lord responded. Verse 10 says, “And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.” Another example can be found in 1 Kings 18. Elijah had not finishing praying before He received an answer to his prayer; fire came down from heaven and consumed his sacrifice.

There are times you will receive answers to your prayer after praying - maybe an hour later or a day later or month later. For example, after Solomon had finished praying during the dedication of the temple, fire came from heaven and consumed the sacrifice (2 Chronicles 7:1). The early church was under threat and the disciples gathered one day to pray for boldness. After praying, they received an answer from God. Acts 4:31 says, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

However, there are times the answer will not come until the very last minute. This was what at happened in the case of the three Hebrew boys. Nebuchadnezzar threatened that if they don't bow to his image of gold, they will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Because they refused, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. I believe whilst they were heating up the furnace, these boys must have been crying to God for deliverance but nothing happened. When they were being tied up about to be thrown into the fire, i believe, they must have intensified their prayers at this point and still nothing happened. The Lord waited until they were thrown into the burning furnace, before sending deliverance to them. At times, God will deliberately allow situations to get worse before intervening. He does this so that man will not be able to take glory over what He will do. Whenever God uses a life to demonstrate His awesomeness and power, He compensates the fellow. After God used the three Hebrew boys to demonstrate that He has control over fire, He compensated them by promoting them. I want to encourage you not to give up because you don't know what God is up to. Don’t backslide or lose hope because God has not forgotten you.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please use my life to demonstrate your awesomeness.

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UNDERSTANDING AUTHORITY 7: AUTHORITY CAN BE WITHDRAWN

MEMORY VERSE: Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.1 Samuel 2:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 19-21

As we conclude these series, “Understanding Authority”, I will like to remind you that authority is not force. It is not shouting at people or intimidating people. It is not harassing people or bullying people. It is not issuing threats. Authority is not tangible i.e. it is not something you can hold, touch or feel. There is a difference between authority and power. Authority has tenure. Whatever you do during your tenure is what you will be remembered for. You will not be the vice chancellor of that university forever. You will not be the chief executive of that organization forever. You will not be a manager in that office forever. You will not be the area pastor forever. Even as a parent, one day you are going to return to God. Authority must be exercised. The One who delegated authority to you expects you to exercise it on His behalf.

Authority can be withdrawn temporarily. King Nebuchadnezzar’s authority was temporarily withdrawn because instead of giving glory to God, he attributed all God had done for him to his might. By my might I have achieved this, by my power I have achieved that…. God didn’t argue with him, He just took the kingdom from him. Daniel 4:31 says, “While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.” Within minutes, King Nebuchadnezzar turned into an animal and was driven out of the palace with sticks to live in the forest. The same people who were bowing down to him, drove him out of the palace because his authority had been withdrawn. After several years, Nebuchadnezzar repented. Sir/ ma, when do you intend to repent? After he repented the Lord restored him and he returned to the palace as king again. If your authority has been withdrawn as a result of pride, repent and ask for mercy and the Lord will restore it. Authority can also be withdrawn permanently. For example Eli’s authority was withdrawn permanently. His sons were terrible. These boys slept with women inside the temple. They did not regard God at all. Despite the warnings from God, Eli left his children to carry on with their terrible works. After a while, the Lord withdrew Eli's priestly authority. 1 Samuel 2:30 says, “Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” I pray that your authority will not be withdrawn in Jesus name, amen. If you don’t want God to withdraw your authority, honour Him and teach your children or people under you to honour Him.

PRAYER POINT: Father, as long as i live, help me to honour You daily.

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UNDERSTANDING AUTHORITY 6: ONE’S AUTHORITY CAN BECOME ERODED

MEMORY VERSE: Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. Luke 23:34

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 23-24

As I mentioned yesterday, real authority comes when one practices what one preaches. When Jesus taught (according to Matthew 7:9), He taught with authority. Why? He practiced what He preached. In Matthew 5:44, He taught people to love their neighbors, bless those who curse them and pray for those who despite-fully use them and persecute them. A year or two later when He hung on the cross of Calvary, what did He do? Luke 23:24 says, “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” Jesus will never ask any man to do something He (Himself) doesn't do. Sir /Ma, if you are teaching people to forgive please make sure you forgive too. Just as authority comes when one practices what one preaches, authority becomes eroded when one does immoral things, disobeys human authority or God. A man whose authority became eroded was King David. The whole nation including his mighty men respected him until he committed adultery with Uriah’s wife. Shortly after that, one of his sons dethroned him. To cover his evil act, he ordered Joab (one of his top soldiers) to place Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and withdraw so that he might be smitten (2 Samuel 11:14-15). Joab did not argue but from that day, David lost all the respect Joab had for him. From that day, Joab began to publicly disrespect the king and there was nothing the king could do.

The authority of some senior managers has now become eroded because they tried to sleep with one of their female staffs. Authority becomes eroded in different ways. If you borrow maybe from your young ones and you refuse to pay, your authority will become eroded. The next time you speak, they won’t pay attention to you. One’s authority also becomes eroded when one is dishonest. Another way one’s authority becomes eroded is by promising so much and delivering little.It is better to promise little and deliver much than promise much and deliver little. Authority becomes eroded when one does not uphold godly standard especially in the presence of one’s subordinates. As a mother, if you are taking your daughters for abortion or buying contraceptive pills for them, your authority over them will erode away. If you are encouraging them to dress hot and expose their bodies, your authority over them will become eroded. As a father, if you are paying people to sit for exams for your son, your authority over that boy will become eroded. Authority also becomes eroded when one lives a careless and carefree life. A Father's authority becomes eroded when he refuses to look after his children. One way to keep one’s authority as parents is to live a godly life. As a leader, if you accept bribe or you are corrupt, your authority will become eroded. Also, if you are a tribalist, your authority will become eroded.

NOTE: Regardless, one must respect people in authority .

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UNDERSTANDING AUTHORITY 4: YOU CAN GROW IN AUTHORITY

MEMORY VERSE: So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. 2 Samuel 5:3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 31-36

Although at the beginning of these series we defined authority, we would like to define it again. Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines authority as a “legal or rightful power; a right to command or to act; power exercised by a person in virtue of his office or trust; dominion; jurisdiction; authorization; as, the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children; the authority of a court.” Authority is not shouting. Have you noticed that when Judges pass judgement they don’t shout or scream at the top of their voice? Authority is not bullying or making threats. A man or woman who has authority doesn’t need to do all that. There are several categories of authority. We have authority at home, church, place of work, school, state, nation, etc. In the class room, the teacher has a delegated authority from Christ over his or her students. Parents, Christians and non- Christians, have a delegated authority over their children. Even if your parents are unbelievers, they have a delegated authority from Christ over you. As a wife, whether your husband is a believer or not, he has a delegated authority from Christ over you. This is not negotiable ma. As the head, he can ask you to break your fast because he wants to make love to you and you cannot say no! This is why i encourage our single sisters to pray seriously before accepting any proposal from a man. Pray about the brother, and ask your leaders in church to pray along with you. Whoever you accept his marriage proposal will be the one who will receive the delegated authority from Christ over you. Also, this need to be mentioned: every man or woman with delegated authority from Christ will give account to Christ one day.

As you already know by now (from these series), authority belongs to Jesus. Matthew 28:18 says, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Christ has delegated some of His authority to us – fathers, mothers, leaders, teachers, etc. Proverbs 8:15 says, “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.” Another point i will like to make concerning authority is that one can grow in authority. An example of a man who grew in authority is David. He started as a shepherd boy who had authority over sheep. Because He was a man after God’s own heart, God increased his authority and he became Saul’s armour bearer. 1 Samuel 16:21 says, “And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour bearer.” The Lord increased his authority again and he became a captain over a thousand.1 Samuel 18:13 says, “Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.” The Lord continued to increase his authority until he became the king over Judah and then over Israel. 2 Samuel 5:3 says, “So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.” As long as David obeyed the Lord and behaved wisely, the Lord kept on increasing his authority. The bible is filled with several examples of young men like Daniel and Joseph; young women like Esther and Ruth; ordinary men like Peter, Stephen, Philip, etc, who the Lord increased their authority. To increase in authority one must obey God and live holy. If you obey God's commandments , everything God created will obey you even demons.

NOTE: There are two basic conditions for growing in authority: obey God and obey people in authority. Anyone who is fond of disobeying people in authority will not grow in authority.

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UNDERSTANDING AUTHORITY 5: ONE CAN LOSE HIS AUTHORITY

MEMORY VERSE: The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. Daniel 4:33

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Colossians 3-4

We have looked at few categories of authorities. We have talked about authority in a Christian home, church, school, etc. At times, authority comes with experience and knowledge. Lawyers, Dentists, Pharmacists, IT guys, and other professionals all have authority although it is only in their respective fields. Pending when your faith grows to the point of living above drugs and enjoying divine health, follow your doctor’s prescription. If you are asked to take two tablets daily, don’t take four. Don’t abuse drugs. Asides obeying God and obeying human authorities, one way to increase your authority is by getting a skill or a degree.

Just as one’s authority can grow, one’s authority can also erode away. Genuine authority comes when one practices what one preaches. Paul, in his epistle to the church in Rome, asked some interesting questions. Romans 2:20 -23 says, “An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?” It does not matter what position one is holding, if one is not practising what he or she is preaching, one’s authority would become eroded. As a youth leader, if you are telling the youths not to fornicate and you are fornicating, your authority will become eroded. If you are telling people to give 100 percent and you are giving only 50 percent, your authority will become eroded. No one will listen to you. Matthew 7:9 says, “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus taught with authority because He practiced what He preached. He taught about fasting with authority because He fasted almost every day. He taught about praying with authority because prayer was His hobby. At a point He prayed until His sweat were like drops of blood. He could teach on giving with authority because He gave His life. He could teach on mercy because He showed mercy. He could teach on forgiveness because He forgave. As a result, whenever He opened His mouth, people held unto every word He uttered. It was not so with the teachers of law because their authority had become eroded. Matthew 23:4 says, “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their hands.” A Pharisee will teach other women to submit to their husband, but she won’t submit to hers . If her husband says one word, she will respond with two. A Pharisee will declare 7 days fasting and will not fast.

NOTE: The fact that a person in authority is not doing what he or she preaches is not a reason to disobey him or her. They will answer to God but one must still obey them and respect them. See what Christ had to say to the people about the Pharisees: "all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." ( Matthew 23:3).

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