DANGERS OF SIBLING RIVALRY

MEMORY VERSE: And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Genesis 4:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Second Corinthians 12- Galatians 1

The agenda of the enemy, the thief, can be summarized as follows: to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10). When he wants to steal from, kill or destroy a family/a family member, one of the tools he employs is sibling rivalry. Friend, sibling rivalry is not a small thing, if left unchecked; it has the potential to truncate destinies as we will see shortly. The first thing I want you to know is, when there is rivalry between siblings, everyone suffers. The siblings involved suffers, their parents – father and mother suffers, in some extreme cases, the children of the siblings involved in rivalry suffers.

In Genesis 4:1-15, we find the first instance of sibling rivalry in the world. Two brothers, Cain and Abel, brought an offering to God. God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s offering. The bible records that: “And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5). Friend, why are you wroth and why has your countenance fallen? Is it because a sister is getting married soon and you are still single? Is it because God bought that family a house and He is yet to buy you a house? Because Abel’s offering was accepted and Cain’s offering was not, Cain got angry at Abel. The question is this, is it the fault of Abel that God accepted his offering and rejected his brother’s offering? Friend, do not get angry at that fellow because God is blessing him or her, instead ask the Lord to bless you too. Besides, God has not forgotten you. You will testify soon. Cain became angry and he killed Abel. Genesis 4:8 says, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” Because of Cain’s action, he was cursed and banished from the presence of the Lord.

The rivalry between Cain and Abel led to the death of Abel. If sibling rivalry is left unchecked, it can lead to loss of lives. The destiny of Abel was truncated courtesy of the rivalry between him and his brother. Not only that, their rivalry brought untold pains and sorrow to their parents. Adam and Eve lost Abel forever. Cain too suffered because he received a curse. Cain’s children also suffered from the curse that was placed on their father. If the ground fails to yield her strength to Cain, how will Cain feed his wife and children? As you can see, everyone – father, mother, siblings, sibling’s children, etc, suffers when there is sibling rivalry. Do you know ministry also suffers and at times truncated as a result of sibling rivalry? By God’s grace we will look into that soon but in the mean time, it is obvious there is a need to raise prayers for families. Families are the fabric of our nation, if sibling rivalry continues to thrive in them; our nations will continue to suffer.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please put an end to sibling rivalry in our families.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.         

SIBLING RIVALRY

MEMORY VERSE: And the children struggled together within her, and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. Genesis 25:22

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Second Corinthians 9-11

Sibling rivalry can be defined as competition or animosity between siblings. It often starts even before the second child is born, and continues as the kids grow and compete for everything from toys to attention. Every one of us, except if you are the only child, can relate to this. Am sure you will be able to remember a time in your life when you and your brothers or sisters fought, argued, or tried to outsmart each other. Sibling rivalry has brought division in some families today.  You see brothers and sisters not talking to each other, working against each other, blaming each other for their problems, and so on. Let us look at some instances of sibling rivalry in the bible. In Genesis 4:1-8, is an instance of sibling rivalry between two brothers of the same parents, Cain and Abel. Also in Genesis 27 is another account of sibling rivalry between two brothers of the same parents, Jacob and Esau. The rivalry between Jacob and Esau started when they were in their mother’s womb. Both of them fought morning, afternoon and night. Rebekah, their mother, had no peace, when the jostling became unbearable, she ran to God. Genesis 25:22 says, “And the children struggled together within her, and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.”   In Genesis 21:8-9, an account of sibling rivalry between two step brothers, Ishmael and Isaac, is recorded. Sibling rivalry is also common in ladies. In Genesis 30 is a record of sibling rivalry between two sisters of the same parents, Rachel and Leah. The case of Joseph and his eleven brothers is another instance of sibling rivalry. Sibling rivalry is also present in extended families. For instance, in Numbers 16, an account of sibling rivalry is recorded between some sons of Levi, certain Reubenites, 250 Israelite community leaders, Moses and Aaron. In Numbers 12:1 -10, we see an instance of sibling rivalry between aged prophet and prophetess of God - Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

Sibling rivalry is a tool the enemy uses to breakup families. When he wants to rob a family of something good, kill or destroy them, he employs sibling rivalry. As we will see later in these series, he uses it to inflict pains on siblings and their parents. Friend, is there a rivalry between you and your siblings? Hebrew 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men…” Unless you do something about that rivalry between you and your siblings, you may miss heaven. Is there a brother or sister you are not in talking terms with? Brethren, make peace with him or her. Parents, has sibling rivalry begun to grow between your children? Pray that the Lord will give you the wisdom to quench it. Also, pray for the spirit of love between your children. That sibling rivalry, if left unchecked could break up your family.

PRAYER POINT: Father, let love grow in our families.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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HIDDEN FOR A PERIOD

MEMORY VERSE: And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.( Matthew 2:13).

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Second Corinthians 4-8

The Lord protects His children in different ways. He can destroy their enemies. In Second Kings 18, Sennacherib, King of Assyria, plotted to take the children of Judah captive. To protect the children of Judah, His children, the Lord sent an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian army (Second Kings 19:35). When Sennacherib woke up the next morning and saw the dead bodies of his men, he abandoned his plans and returned home with the remaining soldiers. Asides sending an angel, He can cause the enemies of His children to fight each other and destroy themselves. In Second Chronicles 20, the enemies of Judah, the Ammonites, the Moabites and the inhabitants of Mount Seir, fought each other and killed themselves. To protect His children, He can put their dread/fear in the heart of their (potential) enemies. He told Moses: “This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee. (Deuteronomy 2:25)”. To protect His children, He can cause their enemies to live at peace with them. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

Better still, He can hide His children from their enemies. For instance, after Elijah, the Tishbite, prophesied against the land of Israel because of their idol worship, the Lord hid him, from the wicked King Ahab, by brook Cherith (First Kings 17:3). When Esau wanted to kill Jacob, his brother, the Lord hid Jacob at Laban's place (Genesis 27). When Herod sought to kill baby Jesus, God hid Him in Egypt. Matthew 2:13 says, “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” Friend, is God trying to hide you? If the One who will protect you asks you to hide, you had better hide as commanded. Do not play James Bond with your life. Except God hides you, you will be putting your life at risk trying to hide yourself. Urijah, a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, tried to hide himself (Jeremiah 26:20-24). His enemy, Jehoiakim the king, sent men to Egypt to fetch him out and kill him. The reason why you keep running from place to place, to hide from household enemy, and yet, they keep getting you is because you are using your wisdom to hide yourself. Friend, why not run to Jesus today. As you sit for those exams, ask the Lord to hide your exam papers from wicked examiners. As you apply for that visa or permit, ask the Lord to hide your application form from racist immigration officers. As you put in your application, maybe for a job or mortgage, ask the Lord to hide your application forms from wicked HR officers and assessment officers. Daily, ask the Lord to hide you from wicked men, bag snatchers, thieves, kidnappers, reckless drivers, people looking for whom to stab or shoot, etc.

NOTE: Except He hides you, no one can hide you.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WORSHIP OR ENTERTAINMENT

MEMORY VERSE: Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Matthew 5:23-24

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Corinthians 14 – Second Corinthians 3

The line between a worship session and an entertainment session is so thin that people take them for each other. Majority of our gospel artists are entertainers not worshippers. Their prime goal is to sell albums not to worship God. This is why majority of them are concerned with danceable beats not bringing down the presence of God. No wonder we see a lot of club beats in gospel albums. Fans now come first not God. Wonder why we see all sorts of collaboration between ‘so- called’ children of God and unbelievers in gospel tracks? A lot are only concerned with winning worldly awards not heavenly awards. Every award a man or woman wins on earth is useless if he or she does not make heaven. You may receive a Grammy award; will you receive the Crown of Life?

Even in our churches, what we do most of the time is entertain ourselves not worship God. During praise and worship session, you find people sending and receiving text messages. Others are busy talking and chatting away. Is this how to worship the Most High? Sister, you are meant to lead the congregation into the presence of God through praise and worship but there are people in the congregation you are keeping malice with. Can I inform you that you are not fit to lead people into the presence of God? All you will be doing is entertain the congregation not praise God. Church organist, you had a little misunderstanding with the church drummer and you have refused to greet him. Brother, let me be real with you, whatever sound that comes out of that organ will be noise unto God. The congregation, who can not see your heart, will dance as you entertain them with your piano skills but that will be it. Then, what is the point of playing instruments when the sound it produces is noise unto God? Matthew 5:23-24 says, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Before you mount the altar to offer anything to God, first of all, go and make peace with those you are not in talking terms with. We are not in church to entertain ourselves but to worship God. The kind of dresses, short skirts and tight dresses we see in our churches today, I wonder if the people wearing them are in church to worship God or seduce men or add to the figures. The kind of haircuts and jeans cut we see at times, you wonder if these brothers came to worship God or represent. The sad thing is many of them cannot wear those rag-like jeans or demonic looking haircuts to a job interview, why wear them to the place of worship? We cannot dress anyhow to the presence of God and expect Him to meet us with open hands. NO!

PONDER: If God were to be physically present in your church service, how will you conduct yourself?

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

LIVING FOR THE MOMENT?

MEMORY VERSE: Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Hebrews 12:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: First Corinthians 11-13

There are two kinds of people in the world today: those who live for the moment and those who live for the future. Those who live for the moment act hastily. They do things without thinking of the consequences. They talk without thinking. They talk without weighing their words carefully. Whether their words reduce people to tears or not, they do not care. They cannot delay gratification. They are sensual not spiritual. They only think of themselves not others. They are easily angered. They are reckless. Many of them are impulsive shoppers. People who live for the moment find it hard to apologise because they only think of their ego. They are always rude. They are always wicked. Recently, a pastor friend met his ex-boss who was very wicked to him. The ex-boss, now unemployed, could not look into his face. People who live for the moment are impatient. They cannot endure pain at all. They cannot endure pain for an hour. The moment they have a tiny headache, they take painkillers. Friend, too much painkillers leads to painkiller addiction. Why not drink more water. People who live for the moment find it hard to take no for an answer. If you tell them no, they will start to ignore you and treat you as an enemy. Friend, that fellow who could not borrow you 10 dollars today could end up dashing you 100 dollars tomorrow. Why get angry over 10 dollars and loose 100 dollars? Those who live for the moment find it hard to control their body or appetite. They drink, smoke, and humanize.

Many of those who live for the moment end up selling their birthrights for a morsel of bread. One of them was Esau. Hebrew 12:16 says, “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright”. Because Esau lived for the moment, the bible described him as a profane person. Many have exchanged their glorious destiny for five minutes of pleasure because they lived for the moment. They felt like having sex so they went to a brothel where they slept with a strange woman. Many have dropped out of school because one boy in their neighbourhood pestered them to proof their love for him by fornicating with him, without thinking of their future, they agreed, and became pregnant after the affair. A lot of fervent brothers and sisters have lost ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit because they lived for the moment. A sister, mightily used by God, received an invitation to a program. Whilst she was praying, the Lord warned her not to go. Because she did not want to displease those that invited her, she decided to go and spend ‘only’ ten minutes. Immediately she entered into the building, she felt something leave her body. She lost the gifts of the Holy Spirit. A lot have resigned from their posts, divine assignments, because of a little misunderstanding with their heads or pastors. Unknown to them, they worked out of grace! Friends, do things with God’s plan, for your life, in mind. Do not live for the moment and indulge in exam malpractices. You may pass the exam today; will you pass the job interview in the future? Sister, i hope you have not joined the group of women who wear skimpy clothes and tight dresses. Anyone wearing such is living for the moment. Besides, men who are attracted to you today because of your tight dress and skimpy clothes will leave you for other women in skimpy clothes and tight dresses when your short and skimpy clothes begin to look funny on you because of old age.

PONDER: Are you living for heaven?

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

A RESPONSIBLE FATHER

MEMORY VERSE: Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Isaiah 49:15

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: First Corinthians 8 -10

God is always on time. He is never late. To you, it may appear as if He is taking forever. It may appear as if He has completely forgotten you. God has not forgotten you and He does not forget His children. He is a responsible Father. He said in Isaiah 49:15, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Even when the bible says, “and God remembered ‘so and so’,” He never forgot ‘so and so’ in the first place. ‘And God remembered’ implies that God had been quiet about ‘a’ matter or ‘a’ person for a brief period not that He forgot the fellow or the matter. Exodus 2:24 says “and God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” Although God did not speak about the covenant for over four hundred years, He had it in His mind. When the children of Israel cried to Him, He decided to take steps regarding the covenant.

Several years ago, an ‘acting’ position, with the possibility of being made permanent after six months, was advertised in my place of work and i applied for it. Whilst praying, the Lord spoke through a pastor that He had given the job to me. I said amen! I went for the interview and was unsuccessful. The first year passed, nothing happened. The second year, nothing happened. Towards the end of the second year, the same ‘acting’ position was re –advertised because those who were acting in the position left the organisation. I could not apply as i was working part time then. Around eight months later, the 'acting' position was re-advertised again, for the third time, because the people acting up in that position were sacked. By this time, i had forgotten what God said three years earlier. Few months later, they decided to make the ‘acting’ position permanent. I applied and was shortlisted for an interview.

During this time, the establishment decided to put a freeze on employment. For the next three years, no staff would be employed into any permanent positions, but there would be secondment opportunities and temporary staffs would be brought in to fill any vacant position. The permanent position, i applied for, would be the last before the three - year freeze kicks in. I prayed and went for the interview. Two months later, the result was announced and i got the job. Friend, i do not know what God has promised you. I do not know what vision or dream he has showed to you. I do not know what He has said, through a man or woman of God, concerning your life, but one thing i know is this: God has not forgotten you and He will do that which He has promised. Friend, in that three years period, i saw horror. To make matters worse, during that period, God never spoke a word, concerning that position, either to encourage me or remind me that He has not forgotten me. Not a single prophesy or dream! The fact that God has not spoken about that matter recently does not mean He has forgotten it. You will not die single. You will not die childless. He will do it, God who said it, will do it.

NOTE: If He says it, He will do it. Remain steadfast and do not backslide.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ADVANTAGES OF HIS PRESENCE

MEMORY VERSE: and they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. Judges 15:12

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: First Corinthians 5-7

One of the things you benefit from spending time in God’s presence is fullness of joy. When you spend time with Him, He fills your heart with joy. Psalm 16:11 says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” A lot of us are full of ‘happiness’ not ‘joy’. Happiness comes when something good happens, maybe your wife delivers a set of twins, or you are promoted at work. Joy is that exceeding gladness in your heart regardless of your situation. In the face of serious challenges and problems, you will still be smiling. The only place to get such joy is in the presence of the Lord not in smoking cannabis or consuming alcohol. I remember when i had challenges at work and people were worried because of the ‘so-called’ evidences against me, i told them, “do not worry, i will be back because Christ in me the hope of glory.” I was able to say that because of the joy of the Lord in my heart.

Another thing one benefits from spending time in His presence is unshakable confidence that all will be well. After the Lord gave Samson victory over the philistines, he retired to the top of rock Etam, a natural stronghold, to spend time with His maker (Judges 15:8). When his brethren came to bind him and deliver him into the hands of the Philistines, he did not panic because he knew that all would be well. All he was concerned about was his brethren not attacking him, because if they tried it, he would be left with no other option than to defend himself and that could result in their death. Judges 15:12 says and they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. When you spend quality time in God’s presence, what others see and run, you will see it and smile. The men of Judah saw the Philistines as the alpha and omega; Samson saw them as lunch. The men of Israel saw Goliath as an indomitable giant, but David, a man who had spent quality time praising God, saw him as a little dog (First Samuel 17:43). Do you know, when you spend quality time in His presence, how you perceive your problem changes? What others see and panic, you will see it and smile. What others see and say, “it is over,” you will see it and say, “this is just the beginning”. When you spend quality time in the place of prayer, what others call a challenge; to you it will be an opportunity. What others call threats, you will call it opportunities. When other sees blood during pregnancy, they panic but when you, who have spent quality time with our Father in heaven, see blood, you smile because you know it is the blood of Jesus not that you have had a miscarriage. A sister who recently put to bed testified how, every time she saw blood, she would confess that it was the blood of Jesus. This happened several times during her pregnancy. At the end, she gave birth to a baby girl.

NOTE: For you to spend time in His presence, you need to bring down His presence first through praises and worship. Psalm 22:3 says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”  Bring down His presence into that hospital ward by praising Him.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.