DAGON MUST FALL 1C

The children of Eli trivialized God, they were not worshippers. Adam failed because he was not a worshipper. Those who are not worshippers will end up taking God for granted. Those who take God for granted cannot obey his instructions. If you don’t obey God’s instructions, you will live anyhow. It is the corruption in the Church that brought the nation to where it is today. Show me the direction of the Church and I will show you the direction of the nation. Show me the status of a nation and I will tell you the state to the Church. The Church is supposed to give spiritual direction in a nation, a healing agent in a sick world. The smallest unit of the Church is the home and the husband is the priest of the home. You can see how everything is tied up.

What a sad commentary that the sons of Eli who are supposed to be role models following after their father’s footstep, Eli, who has shown them the way and officiating at the highest ecclesiastical office in the land. There was corruption. (Read the entire story in chapter two and you will see the extent of the corruption in the home of the high priest).

Corruption in the Church leads to national tragedy. How does it start? It starts from the home. Corruption of the home starts from the man. When man is busy chasing money thinking that money will train his children, there is bound to be tragedy. Money can send you to Harvard but it cannot transform you. Secular education does not have the capability to transform a human beast into a human being. You can be refined but remain a human beast.

The adamic nature of man is wickedly evil, the only thing that can transform it is the blood of Jesus. You need to define the kind of education that you want to give to your children – Godly education. Education cannot be good unless it is Godly. Education that throws away the Bible cannot regenerate. It is only the blood of Jesus Christ that regenerates. That is God’s prescription.

It is only at the cross that you can crucify the old man. It is only the cross that can crush the flesh. It is only at the cross that you can say like apostle Paul said in Gal. 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” It is at the cross that lust is crucified – lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and pride of life. The only person that can defeat lust is the one who has been to the cross.

You don’t commit sin not because you don’t want to get caught but because you love God. That is why the Church must get back to the business of producing worshippers. The only place a true worshipper can commit sin is where God cannot reach or see if such a place exists. What restrained Joseph from committing adultery with Potiphar’s wife when he had the opportunity to do so? The reverential fear of God! Receive that grace in the name of Jesus.

Take note that you have not trained your child properly if that child is not consolidated in the Lord. If your child has not learnt to flee from every appearance of evil no matter the number of degrees that child has acquired, if the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of sanctification is not indwelling that child, that child is not consolidated in the Lord.  The Holy Spirit was not inside of the sons of Eli and as a result they began to commit atrocities – greed, lust and so on. Eli had the opportunity to correct his sons after a man of God confronted him and delivered God’s intention concerning his household. Eli continued to condone the sins of his son and that was why God released his judgment.

We must be very careful of the kind of messages that are coming from some pulpits today which stretch grace to mean what it wasn’t meant to be. Any message that is not warning you to flee every appearance of evil, treat sin for what it really is and bring you on your knees to have a reverential fear of God, that message is definitely not preparing you for heaven but for this earth. When you succeed here on earth and fall short of heaven, you are a failure at last.

Pray –

• Everlasting and most merciful Father, thank you for the generous provisions you have made for my well being here and hereafter. I ask you to make it impossible for me to deviate from your divine prescriptions for my success. I trust you to work out your plans for my destiny in Jesus’ name. Amen.

TO BE CONTINUED……….