A LITTLE YONDER
To God be the glory for bringing us across into the third quarter of this year (2018). Many began this quarter but are no more, etc. But God has been merciful and gracious to you. Do not take it for granted because no man prevails by reason of strength. It is not by your strength that you have gone from strength to strength in your journey unto your inheritance. It is not because of your brilliance that passing through the valley of Baca you found it a place of springs and Heaven sent rains to make pools in it available for you and your family. Friend, acknowledge Him Who bore you through your journey last quarter and brought you safely into a new quarter. Thank and praise Him for His mercies endure forever and trust Him to bear you through this new quarter.
Now as we enter this quarter we must press on relentlessly.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you;
(Gen 22:4-5 KJV).
You must take your journey unto the place the LORD has ordained for you. It is not an endless journey and you must move on. I do not know how many days you have been on this journey but the days are counting. It was on the third day that Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked up and saw the place afar off. There comes a day and time when God will begin to show you the place so that you can know that destination is near and take courage. You must begin to lift up your eyes more and more for a clearer revelation of your destination and where you are going. Friend, it is yonder and we must go a little yonder this quarter also. Unfortunately some peoples journey terminated there. Abraham said to the young men (servants), Abide here with the asses. They had to abide (stay there) with the asses. They are servants and their preoccupation is with asses (which can mean concentration on the things of this world, etc.) not with the Divine destination and heavenly things. It was only him and his son that went yonder and experienced God and had a new revelation of Him. Friend, if you must not Abide here then you must be a son and not a slave – a slave to sin, slave to lusts, slave and worshipper of men, entangled by the web of the world, etc. So, now, you must repent and confess every sin and every entanglement and pick up your victuals and take your journey unto new revelations and experiences of God. Just a little yonder will bring you to a new peak of revelation, etc., as you steadily march towards your inheritance. God speed!
YOUR DAY VII – Stewardship
The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
(Ps 24:1 KJV).
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
(Ezek. 18:4 KJV).
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
(Luke 19:11-13 KJV).
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
(1 Cor. 4:1-2 KJV).
The first thing that needs to be established and settled in the heart of every man, especially those who are born of God and have understanding, is the Divine ownership of all things. The earth is the Lord’s and everything it contains. Every one that dwells in this world belong to him. The Lord declares unequivocally that, all souls are mine. Since after the fall, man thinks that what he has belongs to him. So everyman wants to hold and possess land, wealth, children, time, etc., for himself. He thinks of himself as a landlord and owner. This is wrong thinking. The man whose field brought forth plentifully in the parable Jesus told in Luke 12:16-21 is called the rich fool. He thought of what to do with his abundant harvest. He concluded that he would pull down his barns and build bigger ones and store his produce there. Then he said he would say to his soul that he has much goods laid up for many years. Therefore he thought he should take his ease and enjoy himself and be merry. But God called him a fool and told him that he would die that very night. The question is who will all those things now belong to? Jesus concluded it like this: Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. This rich fool was not thinking well because there was no God in his thoughts. Who made him and raised him to manhood? Who gave the land on which he planted his crops? Who gave him the seeds he sowed? Who gave him the strength to clear the ground, till it, sow the seeds, weed it, who gave him good health? Who gave rain? Who gave him skill and expertise to know what to do at different times until the plants grew and mature? Who preserved the seeds underground and kept the unripe fruits from being aborted? Even the soul making all the plans about storage, who does it belong to? When a person thinks and speaks only of himself and does not take account of God and so has no relationship with God, then such is a fool. All natural men think like this and most boast of their achievements, etc. It is unfortunate when a child of God also thinks like this. Friend, you are merely a caretaker, a manager, an accountant, a steward, etc. You yourself belong to God and He can ask for your life anytime He likes. Everything you hold is his and you are holding it on his behalf. If you did business or planted a field or worked and earned wages, etc., all the proceeds are His, mercifully put in your hands to use for Him. You will give Him an account of your life and all He has given you.
There are many people who have remained poor, stagnant and little because they do not understand stewardship. Stewardship can grow. If you are faithful in little things God will put you over much. If you want your stewardship to grow then understand that you are merely a steward of the manifold grace of God in your life. Then serve Him faithfully with your life and what He has given you and He will give you more.
Then from the parable in Luke 19:11-27 you will see that between Jesus’ first advent and His second advent He has given His servants some things with which to serve Him. Here is says He delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. So each of them had one pound. In some other place, like in Matthew 25, the servants did not receive the same quantity. So, there are somethings that God has given His servants equally and there are some He gives them differently as He deems fit. For example, He does not give us the same gifts nor in equal ‘quantities’. We do not all have the same talents and abilities. But each of us have one body, the same time – 24 hours every day, and so on. So time is one thing that everyone has been given the same; nobody has been given a 22 hours day or 25 hours in his day. All men have 24 hours everyday. So why are some people more effective than others; and why do some people produce more than others, etc. There may be diverse reasons but one of the reasons is that so many people do not appreciate time and its nature and so do not know what it is for. Note that Jesus said it is to be used to occupy till He comes. Occupy means to do business with your pounds, talents, etc., till He comes. Occupy means to do business and those pounds are like capital for the business. The Master expects profit when He comes. But, alas, so many are not business minded and are lackadaisical or lazy or use their capital to pursue wrong things. Friend, though we have said it before we need to emphasize that the time God gave you is for you to live and occupy for Him and make profit for Him. It is not for you to use it for yourself as you please. No! It is for you to invest for Him and make gain for Him. You need to be business minded from now onwards. Real businessmen are ever profit minded. They are not sluggish and foolish. They do not waste time, money, etc. They are not careless and presumptuous but are disciplined and keep accounts strictly. They are committed to what they are pursuing and set their hearts and faces to get it. They are frugal and live simply and spend all for the purpose for which they received it. They apply themselves and are whole heartedly and purposefully pursue their mandate to accomplish it. They know they will give account so they are watchful and keep records and accounts. They do their very best with the ‘goods’ given them. Friend, one of the key ‘goods’ or ‘pounds’ that have been given to you, like to everybody, is time. It is not to be squandered on frivolities or slept away but to be used maximally for maximum profit. Some people are always sleeping. Not only physical sleep but mental and spiritual sleep. They are not awake and alert. They are never really conscious and consciously engaged. Their hands cannot handle and hold things strongly but soon become slack. They put their hand to the plough and keep looking back. You must wake up and be fully alert and be whole heartedly engaged and use your days to do business for the Lord and bring Him profit. Don’t always be asking: “What did I do today?” Do something tangible with your time and so be a good steward. Always have a check-list of what to do to pursue your mandate, pray about it and be doing it. Be up and doing for the wasted time cannot be recouped.
Paul said they should be adjudged as ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had particularly committed His revelations into their hands. Therefore they had become His stewards (trustees) of His secrets. Now, Paul says it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful (trustworthy). Friend, are you faithful with time? Are you doing with time what God ordained for you to do with it? You must bend down from this time henceforth and be faithful with time if you want to be fruitful. Pray about your days and do not allow the enemy to steal your hours and minutes; even your seconds. Be earnest. Maintain your devotions and be disciplined and self-controlled. Be at your duty post. Move in time and on time. Do the right things at the right time. Use your time effectively and maximize your day and bring profit to the Master. God bless you.