For WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN…? (Looking Towards The New Jerusalem) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36) EPISODE SEVEN STUDY TO BE QUIET 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12) HEAD STONE: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:6-8) STORY LINE: Innocent was an ambitious young man, he got himself a job in a small scale cooperative bank in his community. He had always being looking for how to get rich quicker than any of his age mates since his primary school days. He got himself involved in so many shady deals in the bank in agreement with his manager per time. He was a rugged, shameless and heartless officer. He did some part-time courses in accountancy that got him qualified as an accountant in process of time. One of his managers got a better offer with an Agricultural bank and after some time, he paved way for Innocent to cross from the community bank to join the agric. Bank, still within the same community. The Agricultural bank was giving out loan facilities to depositors at variance. Innocent began to lure depositors into all kinds of loans facilities, even without tangible collateral. Over a long period of time, beneficiaries of such loans began to discover that there were fraudulent steps being taken by Innocent in so much that even his church members were the worst hit among his victims. 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. (Jeremiah 17:11) One day, external auditors came and so many things were discovered. Meanwhile, Innocent invested with all the fraudulently amassed wealth in poultry, commercial vehicles, real estates and several others. By the time the external auditors were through with all their assignment, an order was issued to arrest Innocent and after all the investigations, everything he could call his assets were all confiscated to settle debts and at the end he was dismissed. Innocent could no longer continue in that community because his wife divorced with him for denting her image and all the children disowned him as their father. Due to his dismissal from the bank after seventeen years in service, he became unemployable to other institutions, yet he had no savings to fall back on and he became financially, socially and materially naked in the end. He lost his career, prestige, good name and he became a fool at last. LESSONS TO LEARN: 1. No man can run beyond the speed of heaven for his life. 2. Vision should be given priority attention above personal ambition. 3. Only the help of God can last and outlast any human support. 4. Whatever you acquire by fraudulent means will surely fade away with time. 5. Every evil done in the secret shall be made opened. 6. God still punish evil doers, no matter how long. 7. When God is set to fight, no man can deliver you from His hands. 8. When God settles your case, you are eternally settled. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Innocent began his crooked way of life by thinking he was better off than his age mates and suddenly he began to view him in a class higher than all of them. Behind his wrong thinking was the plan to oppress his mates by having control of wealth. Innocent couldn’t have gone neck-deep into all the evils if not for an accomplice he found in a senior officer whom he thought would always be there for him. Everything he amassed in seventeen years was taken away from him by one sentence of judgment against him in the law court. He could not appeal or contest the judgment because all the evidences available against him were convincing enough to reprimand him. Innocent did all the evils alone but when the repercussion came, his family members were also negatively affected. WATCH WHAT YOU DO TODAY BECAUSE OF THE NAME OF YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR PERSONAL INTEGRITY TOMORROW. ADMONITION: AS A CHILD OF GOD, LET YOUR GOD BE THE FIRST IN ALL YOU DO AND LET OTHER THINGS FOLLOW AFTERWARDS. DON’T ALLOW YOUR PERSONAL AMBITION OVERTAKES YOUR GOD-GIVEN VISION IN LIFE. GOD CAN ONLY PROVIDE FOR HIS VISION FOR YOUR LIFE BUT YOUR AMBITION WILL ONLY REQUIRE YOUR PERSONAL EFFORTS WHICH IN MOST CASES MAY NEVER BE IN-LINE WITH THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE. STOP RUNNING AFTER MATERIAL THINGS AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR HEAVENLY ALLOWANCES. YOU CAN’T MAKE PEOPLE CRY ON ANY ISSUE OF LIFE AND EXPECT YOURSELF TO LAUGH ON OTHER AREAS OF YOUR PERSONAL LIFE. EVEN,IF YOU ARE A FRAUDSTER,YOUR CASE IS NOT CLOSED WITH GOD,YOU CAN STILL CHANGE YOUR WAYS AND ALLOW GOD BUILD YOU UP IN ALL YOUR ENDEAVOURS. GOD WILL SHOW YOU MERCY AND ALLOW YOU MOVE FORWARD IN ANY AREA OF YOUR STAGNATION. HEARTFELT PRAYERS: 1. May the Lord grant you access to renewal of your heart by His blood, IJMN 2. May every evil you might have done in time past receive the mercy of God for divine intervention, IJMN 3. May the power of the Lord destroy every form of instability in your life and destiny, IJMN 4. May the Spirit of the Lord overtake every form of irresponsibility in your life, IJMN 5. May the Lord deliver you from every character problem and eventual failure in life,IJMN (Courtesy: Sunday Adegoke Ministries International-SAMI) …..to be continued in the next edition
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 07:12:25 +0000
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