GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 3

 GODLINESS AS A LIFESTYLE - PART 3

HALLELUJAH!!! This week, we have been looking at understanding Godliness as a lifestyle. Until Godliness becomes the way of a man, such a life is never pleasing before God. 1Timothy 2:4 "who will have all men saved and come to the knowledge of his truth". God will have all men saved and come to the knowledge of Righteousness. He will have us come to the understanding of how to live holy. As the scripture admonishes us in Romans 12:1 "that we should present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before God which is our true service". We must understand that we are created to serve the Father. One reason He created man is for service(Ephesians 2:10) and this service to God is daily. A man who will therefore not live holy daily will not be a useful servant unto God. 1Timothy 4:8 makes us to also understand that Godliness is profitable unto all things. 1Timothy 6:6 "Godliness with contentment is great gain".There are no curses in righteousness; only blessings abound. 

Psalm 112:1-3 "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever".

Beginning the week, we see what Righteousness is from God's word. By now, we should understand that if God gives an instruction, there is always a provision for it. If He calls us on an assignment, He has already made the provision for it's fulfilment. Two things we need to do is to then know this truth and ask for the provision. We do not just stop there, we must continue to remain a beneficiary of the source of this provision. If God is the provider of that thing, then to continually be in supply, we have got to stay and remain with Him. Remember a tree cannot abide by itself; it needs the roots to continue growing. The provision for the growth of the tree is in its root but if such a tree is taken away from it's root; though the root may possess all that is needed; the tree however cannot make use of them. We also saw that God's commandments are not grievous. His instructions are gateway to our high places in life. If He has commanded do it, then it means there is a profiting for us in that thing. Isaiah 48:17 "Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit and leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldest go". We must understand that every instruction from God is not for Him to profit withal but for us to. He told Abraham "leave your father and mother's house to a place I would show you". It was because there was profit in it for Him. That you are not seeing the blessings now does not mean they will not come unto you. We just must judge Him faithful who has declared the word; knowing that He will never fail. Isaiah 55:11 "so shall the word be that goeth out of my mouth, it shall not return to me void but accomplish that which I please and prosper in that whereto I sent it". Thus, if God says be ye holy for I am holy, then there is a profit to it.

However,  we must understand that for every instruction from God, there is always a war waged against it by the enemy. If God has spoken a thing, the enemy tries to interfere with it. There was a purpose for which God created man and put him in that beautiful garden but the devil, being who he is, came to interfere. We must understand that God and devil are sworn enemies. And for every one who follows after God; that very day the decision is made, you are declared wanted by the devil. He sends all his weapons and instruments out to you to see that you fall. We must understand that the devil never wants blessings for God's people even for humanity as a whole. If a man prospers in ways that are evil, it is that in moments to come, he suffers for all these things. But we see from God's word, "the blessings of God are the true blessings. They make rich and add no sorrow. This means every blessing not from God will come with sorrow. Therefore, we must understand that the enemy has plans to hinder a man from being blessed of God. We see this in Daniel 10 when he stopped the answers to Daniel's prayers. For every believing child of God, know that the fiercest battle we have to fight is against unrighteousness which is Sin. 

Earlier we mentioned the devil deploys certain mechanisms just to derail a man from God's plans for His life. This instrument is the weapon of sin. When Paul was speaking in  Ephesians 6:13-19 "that we should see that we stand firm, having our loins hurt about with truth, the breast plate of Righteousness...". It was in fact against this instrument of Sin. The devil knows God the Father hates sins though he loveth sinners, hence, he puts these in His people and makes them abominable unto God. 1Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil". But God is not cruel neither is He unjust. Hence, he gave man one thing that is the power of choice. You can either choose to sin or choose to live a godly life. This power is given to us after salvation when we are transformed and now by the working of the Holy Spirit in us. We now have the power to subdue the flesh and live according as God instructs. But still we can choose to live in that spirit or in the flesh. Galatians 5 tells us if we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfil the deeds of the flesh. It doesn't mean if we have the Spirit, we will not do the deeds of the flesh but we must see that we live by the Spirit; we also walk in the spirit. And to this, there comes the power He gave us. When we decide to take the stand for righteousness, there is a choice we are making. Yes, the Holy Spirit helps us but also we must be receptive to His helping hands.

We must understand that the same way, there is the Spirit of God which is the Spirit of Righteousness and Holiness; in the same vein, there is a spirit of UNGODLINESS which is the spirit of the devil and which works in man by causing Him to sin. Ephesians 2:2 "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience". God's Spirit brings a man to profit, the spirit of the devil brings a man into destruction. Proverbs 14:34 "for righteousness exalts a nation, sin brings shame and reproach". Sin leads a man into captivity from God's word but the righteous is liberated. Psalm 112:1-10 shows us this(please let's read). In Psalm 12:7, we see also that the Lord will keep the righteous and preserve them from the wicked forever.

What then are these tools deployed by the enemy against God's people?

Proverbs 6:16-19; Galatians 5: 19-21

✓a lying spirit: 

✓spirit of pride

✓ a wicked heart

✓ a heart that lusts

✓ a seducing tongue

✓ spirit of dishonesty

✓ spirit of incontentment

✓ sin of stealing

✓spirit of idolatry

✓ sin of witchcraft

✓ spirit of adultery

✓ spirit of fornication

✓ spirit of hatred

✓ spirit of envy, wrath and strife

✓ spirit of covetiousness

✓ rebellious mind

✓ a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations

✓ a heart that loves mischief

✓ spirit of falsehood

✓ a heart that soweth discord

✓ hands that shed innocent blood.

The above amidst many others are weapons used by the devil to lure men out from God's plan and purpose for their life.

TO BE CONTINUED...

THE MEN THAT LEAD

Building manhood...