Sunday February 28th, 2021
Memorize: Proverbs 24:24 Good News Translations (GNT)
« If they pronounce a guilty person innocent, they will be cursed and hated by everyone. »
Read: Proverbs 24:23-26 Contemporary English Versions (CEV)
23 Here are some more sayings that make good sense:
When you judge you must be fair.
24 If you let the guilty go free, people of all nations will hate and curse you.
25 But if you punish the guilty, things will go well for you, and you will prosper.
26 Giving an honest answer is a sign of true friendship.
Message:
Many times, we Pastors find ourselves in situations where we are faced with either speaking the truth or telling a lie to flatter someone who is influential or from whom we can get a lot of benefits.
At such times, we must ensure that we do not lie.
Our God has never been in support of respecting people to the extent of endorsing their wrongdoings.
It does not matter who the fellow is or how much you can gain from them, never lie to get their favor.
When God told Prophet Jeremiah that He would be sending him to nations, he knew that meant that he would be confronting some really influential people, so he responded in Jeremiah 1:6 GNT:
« I answered, “Sovereign LORD, I don’t know how to speak; I am too young. »
And God reassured him in Jeremiah 1:7-8NKJV thus:
« …And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you, »
says the Lord.
This message is still relevant today: fear not, God is with you to deliver you.
The elders have a saying that it is not the one who we are sent to that we must fear, but the one who sent us.
Now, when God has sent you to correct an influential person, you need to do it with wisdom.
John the Baptist confronted Herod and lost his head, but Nathan confronted David and the king repented, what is the difference between the way the two prophets carried out their assignment? John the Baptist was straight and direct with Herod. The Bible says in Mark 6:18NKJV:
« Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. »
Nathan, in his own case, decided to tell the king a fictional story about someone else who did something similar to what David had done, so he got David to judge the case by himself and when David acknowledged the fellow’s sin, Nathan turned it around and said “Sir, that fellow is actually you”. Thereafter, he went on to deliver the message God had sent him to deliver (2 Samuel 12:1-14).
If Nathan had come straight to tell the king that the sword would never depart from his house, that God would raise his own family members to go against him and so on, he may have lost his head too.
Key point: Make sure you delivered message that God has sent you with, but ask Him for the wisdom with which to present it.
Author: Pst E. A. Adeboye.
Text edited by Naomie
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