COVETOUSNESS IS A KILLER. DESIRING TO HAVE EVERYTHING YOUR NEIGHBOUR HAS CAN RUIN YOU
THE VALUE OF YOUR LIFE IS NOT DETERMINED BY THE ABUNDANCE OF THE THINGS YOU HAVE
YOU ARE ONLY PERMITTED TO COVET EARNESTLY THE BEST OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS
THE THINGS THAT ARE OF VALUE ARE THE BEST OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS WHICH WILL HELP YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY TO ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN
PEOPLE WHO JUMP FROM ONE CHURCH TO ANOTHER, YOU MIGHT BRING IN POISON FROM OUTSIDE!
THE GREATEST WAY FOR THE ENEMY TO CATCH YOU MIGHT BE THROUGH YOUR HANDS. EVEN CORONA VIRUS TAUGHT US TO SANITIZE OUR HANDS
WATCH WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR HAND; THE UTMOST CONDITION FOR THOSE WHO WILL GO TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD IS CLEAN HANDS
BE CAREFUL HOW YOU TREAT OR HANDLE THE MAN OF GOD; DAVID HAD A HEART ATTACK BECAUSE HE TOUCHED SAUL – THE LORD’S ANOINTED.
THE GOD WE ARE DEALING WITH IS A HOLY GOD AND THE WIFE HE WANTS TO MARRY MUST BE WITHOUT SPOT, WRINKLES OR ANY BLEMISH
YOU MUST LEARN TO RESTITUTE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TAKEN THAT IS NOT YOURS; IF YOU HAD STOLEN MONEY FROM YOUR PLACE OF WORK, YOU MUST RESTITUTE
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT YOUR HANDS IS THAT GOD WILL RECEIVE YOU TO GLORY HOLDING YOUR HAND. IT MUST BE CLEAN HANDS
IF YOU USE YOUR HAND RIGHT, IT CAN PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE MIRACLE OF GOD TO COME IN
YOUR HANDS CAN BECOME A CONDUCTOR OF THE POWER OF GOD TO CONDUCT HIS POWER INTO THE LIFE OF THE SICK FOR THEIR HEALING
THE DILIGENT HAND SHALL BEAR RULE – HOW DILIGENT YOU ARE IS RELATED TO YOUR HANDS
– Pastor E. A. Adeboye on “FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN – Part 36” at RCCG Online Sunday Service || 21st January, 2024 ||
We are moving on to part 36 in our study where we are using Joshua as our illustration for someone for whom the Heavens opens. Church Gist. We were discussing in details what and what could represent Achan in our lives because we have emphasized that Achan must die, that anything at all in our lives that could lead us into trouble as we journey to our spiritual Promised Land must be thoroughly dealt with. Last Sunday we looked at Joshua 7:19-21 and I am going to read that again as we continue on our discussion with Achan.
Joshua 7:19-21. “He saw” – that’s what led to our discussion about the role of the eyes in our journey to our Promised Land, and then, “He took.” So today, we will be talking about the role of the hands in our journey to the Promised Land. It said, “I saw, I coveted and then, I took.” The Bible is very specific when it comes to the issue of covetousness. Luke 12:15. The value of your life is not determined by how much you have. How great you are is not determined by how many cars you have, how many houses, how much money you have in the bank, how many dresses you have – that’s not what determines your greatness. Church Gist. As a matter of fact, I’m sure some people must be frustrated because they have so much and there is no way of telling the people, “this is how much I have in the bank.” Some people if it were possible will like to have a way of writing, may be on their fore head, “this man is a billionaire.” No, what makes you great, important, a man or woman of value is not determined by the abundance of the things you have.
Covetousness is a killer. You want to have everything your neighbour has? That could lead you into some things you never have dreamt you could do. The only thing that the Bible gives you permission to covet according to 1 Corinthians 12:31 is the best of spiritual gifts. The Bible says you are to covet earnestly the best of spiritual gifts. Church Gist. If you say, “ah, God I want to have the ability to raise the dead, I want to have the ability to make the lame walk, to make the blind see,” God will keep on saying “Amen, ask for more.” You are allowed to covet, you are advised to covet earnestly the best gifts because these are the things that are of value, these are the things that will help you on your journey to eternal life in Heaven.
But now let us consider briefly the role of the hands because this man said, when I saw, then I took. You know in Genesis 3:6, in the original sin, it was after Eve saw that she took. Church Gist. You know there is a statement of the wise; they said, “the one who is fond of toying with the leaves will reach for the fruit at last.” You keep on admiring the leaves, one day you will reach for the fruit.
The hand can bring in death to the owner. 2 Kings 4:38-41. You know, when we say to people who jump from one Church to another, there’s the danger that you might bring in poison from outside and the poison you bring in might not only be there to kill you, it might be there to kill others with you. Be careful what you touch with your hand. Psalm 105:15 gave a great warning that has to do with how you use your hands. When you read 1 Samuel 24:1-5, in case you think that it has only spiritual implication nothing physical, you will discover that when David had an opportunity to kill King Saul, he refused to kill him saying, “no, he’s the anointed of God but I will cut a little piece of his dress.” Church Gist. The Bible said after he cut that little piece, he had a heart attack. “His heart smote him” – that’s what the Bible says because he used his hand to cut a little bit of the dress of a man of God. “Oh yes, he is a backslidden king. Oh yes, God has forsaken him,” but the anointing was still there. Be careful how you treat the Man of God; be careful how you handle the Man of God.
The Bible says again and again, “touch not the unclean; watch what you do with your hand.” 2 Corinthians 6:17. If you touch the unclean, you defile yourself. How important is your hand? How important is what you touch with your hand? Why don’t we learn a lesson from what happened during the Corona Virus pandemic? What was the emphasis throughout that period? It was your hand. “Wash your hand; use sanitizers on your hand.” They did not ask you to use sanitizer for your face, they simply said, cover your face. But when it comes to your hand, you shake hands with somebody? Church Gist. Ooh, You must use sanitizer because they know that the greatest way for the enemy to catch you might be through your hands. Watch your hands! Psalm 24:3-5. Number One of all the conditions for those who will go to the presence of God is clean hands. That’s why, those of you who are true children of God, be careful what you do with your hand in your place of work because whether you know it or not, God is watching. God is keeping a record. That’s why when we were talking about restitution, you must learn to restitute everything you have taken that is not yours, everything you have possessed that should not belong to you because what you do with your hand can determine how far you will go. That’s why if you had stolen money from your place of work, you must restitute. If you have taken what is not yours, you must restitute.
I told you the story before: when I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos, because of my position in the department, we had envelopes and sheets that when we want to write official something, envelopes to put them in, etcetera. I wrote a letter – personal letter and I stretched forth my hand to take one of the envelopes to post the letter in and the Almighty God said, “stop it. That envelope is for official letters not for personal letters.” I said to the Almighty God, “how much is an envelope?” Church Gist. He said to me, “if you know an envelope is that cheap, go and buy your own.” Envelope! Many of you, you can see the glory and I thank God for the glory of God in my life and I’m praying for all of you my children because you’re the one I’m talking to specially today, “In the name that is above every other name, you will be greater than I.” But if you see the glory you must know the story. The God we are dealing with is a holy God and the Wife he wants to marry must be a wife without spot, without wrinkles, without any blemish.
If you have some restitutions that you haven’t made, go ahead and make them. Church Gist. If you think you have done certain things that nobody knows, nobody sees, what about God? He knows, He sees, He’s keeping records.
Yet, the hands are very precious parts of the body. If you use your hand right, it can bring in your miracle. For example in Mark 5:25-34. “If I can just touch the hem of his garment,” it didn’t say, “if I can just tear his garment.” Church Gist. You remember King Saul tore the garment of Samuel and Samuel said to him, “the Kingdom is torn away from you.” The woman with the issue of blood touched and as she made contact with her hand with the One carrying the power that made Heaven and Earth she got her healing.
– I’m praying for those of you who need a miracle today that by faith your hand will touch the hem of the garment of Jesus Christ!
John 11:39-43. You need hands to roll away stones. They used their hands to do what human beings can do and then, they opened the way for the Almighty God to do what He alone can do. Occasionally, the Almighty God will give you an opportunity to use your hands to prepare the way for a miracle that he wants to perform in your life. For example, when we come to the Convention we always say that those of you who are around, you must pick up every dirt that you see on the floor and we always add, “as you’re keeping the house of the Lord clean, he will keep your life clean.” Church Gist. Some of us will say, “well, I’m too big to bend down to pick any dirt,” you don’t know what you’re missing. Your hands can prepare the way for the miracle of the Almighty God to come in. Use your hand correctly and you will get a reward from the Almighty God. Consider 2 Kings 2:9-15. Elisha used his hands to grab the mantle of Elijah. He used his hands when he got to River Jordan to roll the mantle and to smite the Jordan and said, “where is the Lord God of Elijah?” He used his hand profitably, in the correct way and you know the result – he became someone that other children of prophets came to bow down to.
Your hands can become a conductor of the power of the Almighty God. For example: Mark 16:17-18. Your hands can conduct the power of God into the life of the sick so that the sick can become healed. God is not saying that you will be the healer; he says, you lay your hands that they can feel and then my hands that they cannot see will be laid on your hands and the power will flow. But what kind of hands do you think that can be laid on the sick and get the sick healed? It cannot be dirty hands, it cannot be unclean hands. What kind of wire is used to conduct electricity? Pure wire. Church Gist. They don’t use iron wire to conduct electricity. There was a time they were using copper wire because that was the element that was very pure compared to iron in those days. But then they moved on from that when they discovered there is fibreglass; they’ve discovered that the purer the conductor, the more easily the current will flow. What kind of hands are your hands? Can they conduct the power of God freely? It’s not everyone who can lay hands on the sick and see the sick healed. What’s the problem? The problem is a matter of the hands. How clean are your hands?
Then, another thing about your hands is found in Ecclesiastes 9:10. In other words, how diligent you are is related to your hands. Are you a lazy person? Are you a hardworking person? Are you someone that God will give the opportunity to bear rule? Church Gist. The Bible said the diligent hand shall bear rule. How are you using your hand? Do you use your hand to play all day long or you use the hand to do something precious for the Almighty God? Think about it. Is your hand reaching out for something that is wrong or it’s reaching out to transform other lives?
The most important thing about your hands is actually to be found in Psalm 73:22-24. If you read Psalm 24:7-10, you will discover that when we are talking about entering into glory, there is a door there called the Everlasting door. That door does not open to just anyone, it opens only to the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the Lord of Hosts himself will answer questions when he gets to that door. My spiritual Daddy used to tell me, “Son, when a man dies in Christ, the Angel will come and take him and carry him to Heaven. Church Gist. But when the Angel gets to a certain level, he will tell you, “I can’t go further than this.” I get too close to God, the glory of God will wipe me out. He said that’s why the Angels who stand before Him cover their faces with wings, cover their feet, so that the glory of God will not wipe them out. He said the Angel will say, this is how far I can go and then the Son of God himself will come and take you from there on and lead you all the way to where the Father is. David said it – “when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for thou art with me because I know you will receive me to glory holding my hand.” Church Gist. You think God is going to hold a dirty hand? You think that the Almighty God whose eyes cannot even behold sin will hold a hand that is unclean and lead him into glory?
You will cry to God today and say, “Lord God Almighty from this day onwards, don’t let my hand touch anything unclean. Church Gist. Anything that I’ve been toying with that is not going to allow you to hold my hand and receive me to glory, Father let me put an end to it today.”
As for those of you who are not yet born again, it’s not even your hands alone that are dirty, it’s your entire body. So you better come to Jesus Christ now and ask him to please wash you clean in his blood. Church Gist. Ask him to save your soul because there is a place you can’t go on your own except the Lord leads you in.
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