IN OUR YOUNGER DAYS, WE DELIBERATELY PARKED OUR CARS AT HOME AND TOOK A BUS SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PREACH ON THE BUS.
TRUE LOVE MUST HAVE IN ITS MANIFESTATION A GOOD DOSE OF JEALOUSY.
GOD IS JEALOUS ABOUT YOU AND HE WANTS YOU TO BE JEALOUS ABOUT HIM TOO BECAUSE LOVE IS A TWO WAY TRAFFIC.
WE PROVE WE LOVE GOD BY HATING EVIL PASSIONATELY.
- Pastor E.A. Adeboye at RCCG Special Sunday Service || GOING HIGHER PART 53
Ancient of days we worship you, the Alpha and Omega, the One who knows the ending even before the beginning, we worship you. Accept our worship in Jesus name. We come again before you, please send your word to us and let the power in your word Lord God Almighty, bring healing to your children and solve all our problems in Jesus’ name we have prayed.
We are continuing with our series GOING HIGHER. We move on to Part 53. We will be looking at 1 King 19:13-14. Last week we told you that God asked Elijah twice, Elijah what are you doing here? I explained to you that God was asking the question not because He doesn’t know but He was like a teacher asking the student. Now the student is answering. The first thing he said was “I have been jealous for the Lord God Almighty”. Incidentally, there is a point there that we omitted because we wanted to talk about other points and that is that after Elijah heard the small still voice, he wrapped his mantle around his face. Church Gist. You may want to ask why he did that? He didn’t want to see God. Before him Moses had said “I want to see you” and God has told him if you see me you will die. If there is any beautiful thing there. It is that one day we are going to see God and the Bible tells us that when we see Him we shall be like Him. My prayer is that on that day you will be one of those who will see Him.
Let’s go to the answer of the student to his test.
Answer 1 – he said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts”. The outstanding word there is the word ‘jealous’. What does he mean by that? There is a saying at least when we were younger that “there is no true love without jealousy”. Jealousy and love go together. True love must have in its manifestation a good dose of jealousy. You say is that scriptural? Well, 1 John 4:8 says “God is love”. He loves intensely (John 3:16). Exodus 34:14 says “God is a jealous God” He will not tolerate rivals. When you are intensely in love with someone you don’t tolerate rivals. If you are keenly interested in a lady and you see another man fooling around her, if your love is genuine then jealousy will come forth. If someone tells you “I love you, I want to marry you” yet you see him fooling around with others you know that love is not genuine.
In Deuteronomy 6:5, God says I love you and I expect you to love me in return with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. What does that mean? Psalm 97:12 says you are to love what God loves and hate what God hates. He expects you to hate evil passionately. David said in Psalm 26:1-5, “I have hated the congregation of evildoers. I won’t even sit down with the wicked”. Church Gist. Talking about jealousy, if God were to ask you the question and said “Son, daughter, what are you still doing in the world? What are you doing with your life”. Many times we ask the question “how are you?” and the answer just comes without thinking: “fine”. My little grandchildren will say “I am good” and I used to wonder how good is good. That was the question God was asking Elijah. Elijah, how are you? How are things with you? And his answer was ‘I am still very jealous for you, Lord God of Hosts’.
Let me give you some examples from the scriptures of those who love God jealously and hate evil passionately.
Exodus 32:1-20
Moses went to be with the Lord to spend time with God and before he came back the children of Israel had made an idol. What was the reaction of Moses? He didn’t just break the tablets of the Lord. That is another story. What was his reaction to the children of Israel? He grounded the idol and poured it into the water and said “drink your god”. You want a new god? A god you can see? Go ahead and drink it. What about David in 1 Samuel 17:26-51, why is it that David said I will go and fight Goliath? Church Gist. He said why is this man defiling my God? I can’t stand this man insulting my God. If I have to die in the process of making sure that does not happen, I will die. That is jealousy. All the others were hiding, they didn’t want to risk their lives. What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:1-end. They said to the king the God who we serve is able to deliver us but if He does not, listen very well King: we will not bow to another god. We refuse to bow.
If God asked you, Brother, if God asked you, Sister, what is your relationship with me, how far are you willing to go? How close are we? Are you willing to say to God it doesn’t matter what happens, I am not going to bow to the world? Take Peter in Acts 4:10-20, they told him to stop preaching. He said that it is too late, if you think I should obey you rather than God you judge but take it from me loud and clear, what I have seen, what I have heard, I will tell. Brother when was the last time you preached to people. I remember our younger days, we deliberately parked our cars at home and took a bus so that we would have an opportunity to preach on the bus. If you think we will keep quiet, you are making a mistake. When I was at the University of Lagos as a lecturer, I started a little Bible Study in my office during the break. It grew, it grew so much that during break.., it wasn’t even for the big ones. It was for cleaners, messengers, it got so big that by break time you can’t find a typist at his or her desk. My Professor, Professor Chike Obi of blessed memory, called me one day and said “Adeboye, I know nobody can stop you from preaching” I said Thank you, Sir. ‘He said “but you are causing a problem for us in the faculty”. I said but I only meet during break time. He said occasionally we need a typist during break time”. Church Gist. So I said in honour of your position, we will move it to after office hours but I am happy that you know I am not going to keep quiet, if you have to take the job then take the job. Jealousy and love go together. I told you that we are beginning to get into deeper waters, it is going to get deeper and we go along.
In Acts 5:35-41, the Bible said when they beat up the disciples for preaching the gospel, they went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ. What a privilege that I am being beaten for someone I love. Some of you remember me telling the story of something that happened in 1961. A young schoolgirl who fell in love with her school teacher. The parents said no, you are not going to marry this man. Church Gist. The girl said I am in love, it is this man I want. The parents said we will beat you to death and she said go ahead. They beat her till her skin peeled off and she did not change her mind. Finally, the parents had to surrender. Paul said in Philippians 1:20-21 “for me to live is Christ, for me to die is gain” provided that Christ is magnified. Jealousy.
What is expected of you my brother and sister if you truly love God, the Bible said you must abstain from every appearance of evil, not just evil anything that slightly looks like evil. In Matthew 5:29-30, Jesus Christ your best friend says if it is your right hand that is going to cause you to offend God, he said cut it off. That is serious advice. If it is your right eye, pluck it out. When we were in the University in those days, when you are looking in the wrong direction we say you are committing ‘lookery’. Church Gist. Jesus says instead of committing lookery, pluck out your eyes. I told you of a young man who said that he was always committing adultery and then he became a Christian and he prayed a prayer “Lord the next time I commit adultery, make me impotent”. That’s jealousy, that’s love for God. If I am going to do that nasty thing again, if I am going to love anyone else more than you, take drastic action, Lord.
What is expected of us? We are supposed to depopulate the kingdom of Satan. That is how we prove our love for God. Matthew 28:18-20. Acts 21:8-14. You are meant to do it beyond the call of duty. A prophet came and told Paul, if you go to Jerusalem you are going to be bound there, he said is that all I am going. He said not only am I willing to suffer, but I am also ready to die. That’s jealousy. That’s how you demonstrate your love for God. You know the story of one of my sons, a Pastor somewhere in the North and Boko Haram came into his house when he was out, the wife had just given birth to a set of twins. Church Gist. They came to kill him because he was a pastor who wouldn’t keep quiet and he wasn’t around. So they decided to leave a message for him by slaughtering the twins. The wife was in tremendous agony. When I heard about it, I told my son “come home, you have paid a price. God now knows that you love him tremendously”. You know what he said? “Daddy you are the one who taught us not to run from darkness, it is darkness that is to run from light. I am staying here unless you compel me”. That is jealousy. In living or in dying, I am yours oh Lord.
In 2 Timothy 4:1-5, the Bible said you are to preach the gospel in season and out of season, every time, everywhere. 2 Timothy 4:7 the Bible said you are to fight the good fight of faith, you are to finish your course. You don’t deny God for anything. Quite a few I have heard of who I am not sure if they are Christians or not, who are ladies working in financial institutions, they will give them a target to bring in whatever millions in a certain period of time. Church Gist. They will go looking for people who will come and open accounts and some of these people will say don’t worry I will open an account with you provided that you sleep with me. There are some children of God, I hope they won’t compromise. I know people who will say to them, keep your money. I love my God more than my job. That’s jealousy.
Jeremiah 6:16 says ask for the old path and walk in it. The old path says whatever it is going to cost. I will belong to God. That’s the meaning of surrendering to Him, whatever you want to do with my life is up to you, I am yours. Revelation 2:10 says be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.
John 15:13
I still remember like yesterday, a Head of State here in Nigeria was visiting the Western Region and some soldiers came, they were about to stage a coup and they wanted to kill the Head of State and the Military Governor in Oyo State then said: “No, he is my guest” they said we do not quarrel with you. Church Gist. He said if you want to kill him, you have to kill me first. He died for his boss. They killed the boss, they killed him too. How many of us are willing to die for God? He said greater love has no man than this to lay down his life. You should respond with equal love.
Years ago when we wanted to bring the Church to Congo, we were told when we got to Zambia. We were told, “there is a war on, you can’t go. You may die”. We laughed and said, “that would be a pleasure that we die on the field working for him”. Sir, you are a black man, they won’t know whether you are a Congolese or Nigeria, they don’t write Nigeria on the face”. It does not matter. Church Gist. Thank God today the Church in Congo is doing fine. Proverbs 8:17 says I love those who love me. Love is a two way traffic. If God asked you, Brother, Sister how are you? Will you be able to say “I am very jealous for you”? May that be your answer in Jesus name.
Those who are yet to surrender their life to Christ, I want you to know that you are already under a master and that master is the devil. Jesus is offering you an alternative. He is a God who loves you so passionately that He already died for you and He is asking you to come and surrender your life to Him and He will take over from there. Church Gist. If you want to give your life to Jesus Christ just tell Him “I will rather submit to you, I will rather submit to a God who died for His own children than a god who doesn’t care about me and is ready to drop me when there is trouble. Jesus, here I come please save my soul”. Bow your head if you mean that and cry to Him.
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