LIVING IN GLORY II
MEMORISE:
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalms 37:25
READ: Genesis 26:12-14
12Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
MESSAGE
Glory is a shame terminator. Wherever the glory of God is present, shame will never be found there. Hence, anything that is shameful embarrassing and humiliating, such as sickness, poverty, a sinful lifestyle, backsliding, bondage, and failure, should not be identified with children of God.
Poverty is closely associated with hunger, nakedness, homelessness, begging for alms, and wandering. Indeed, poverty is evil, and it has a way of dehumanizing people. However, being a child of God or attending church services or programms does not automatically cast away poverty. To be free from poverty, you must be completely obedient to God. In today's bible reading, Isaac was determined to pursue greener pasture in Egypt in order to escape the terrible famine in the land. The Lord however warned him not to take that step, then showed him where he should dwell. Isaac obeyed and God blessed him greatly, as we see in Genesis 26:12-14:
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.”
In essence, the bible is saying that Isaac reaped the fruit of obedience. Furthermore, to be free from poverty, one must be diligent in business. Despite God's promises of abundant blessings in Genesis 26:3, Isaac did not fold his hands, waiting for the miracles. He cultivated, sowed, and labored hard on the field, then the Lord fulfilled his promise by blessing his labor. Also, we must persevere in the face of obstacles on our way to achieving our success. There is always an interval between sowing and reaping. It is usually a period when obstacles and challenges come at you from every angle; perseverance is highly required to overcome.
Finally, you must not be robber of God's tithes, first fruit and offerings. Obedience in all things is needed to live a glorious life free of poverty, shame, and all sorts of evil put together.
PRAYER POINT
Father, please let your glory fill me and set me free from poverty in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 17-18
HYMN 25: TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HATH DONE.
1. To God be the glory
Great things He has done
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the life-gate that all may go in
Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Let the earth hear His voice
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Let the people rejoice
Come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
Give Him the glory
Great things He has done
2. perfect redemption, the purchase of blood
To every believer the promise of God
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives
3. Great things He has taught us, great things He has done
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our worship, when Jesus we see
