Eyes that see...ears that hear (Isaiah 32:3-4)

WARNING!

All readers and visitors will be at risk of losing their ability to live in hypocrisy, ignorance and covetousness. We have no denominational loyalties and care little for human approval. We respond to the voice of the One King – Jesus Christ. It is His will alone we seek to do. This site will seek to provide biblical teachings and answers on multiple issues that cause sincere seekers to stumble due to ignorant teaching and false prophecy. We all are ignorant as touching some topics and sometimes misrepresent God in our interpretation of revelation, so no self exaltation is intended here. We will never claim to know it all, but we have learnt a few things by sitting at the Lord’s feet.


https://g-lh.org

So today's study is on

CONFESSION.

If you have any questions during the course of the study, send it in

QUESTION

If someone sins and doesn't confess it, does it mean God hasn't forgiven that person?
Is God waiting for us to confess before forgiving, or we are forgiven before confessing?

WHAT IS CONFESSION?

From the Greek word, homologéō.

Definition

1. To say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with, assent

2. To concede:
a. not to refuse, to promise

b. not to deny
-to confess, i.e. to admit or declare one's self guilty of what one is accused of

3. To profess
a. to declare openly, speak out freely

b. to profess one's self the worshipper of one.

4. To praise, celebrate

From the above, we see that confession doesn't just apply to sin, as we all know.
[5/15, 7:46 PM] Lisa Ifechi GLH:

WHAT DO WE CONFESS?

♦️ OUR STAND WITH JESUS


_"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of GOD. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. - Luke 12:8-9

_“His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.” — John 9:22

_Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.-John 12:42-43

So from here, we see confession as declaring openly that you believe in Jesus, when it's favorable and when it's not. Confession isn't just through our words, but our actions too. And Jesus says that, if we declare him before men, he will confess us before the father.

What often makes us deny Jesus? Fear of man, as is seen with the rulers and the blind man's parents who refused to confess Jesus, because they didn't want to be put out of the synagogue.

Many times we find ourselves in this situation. We deny Jesus because we don't want to loose our reputation, a job, some material thing, or even a position in the church. You choose to compromise for your own selfish desires. You shouldn't expect that Jesus would proudly confess you before the Father.

♦️ WE CONFESS JESUS UNTO SALVATION

_that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.- Romans 10:9-10

We believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is lord, for salvation (justification). This is also making an open declaration that you are for Jesus, and for you to confess, you have to believe in your heart, because out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks.

Confession isn't just words, but the actions that follow afterwards, because the actions that follow after show whether that was a genuine confession you made or not.


♦️ SIN

_If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.- 1 John 1:6

Today, our emphasis is on the confession of sin.

♦️ WHY SHOULD WE CONFESS SIN?

♦️ TO WHOM DO WE CONFESS SIN?

♦️ WHAT'S THE RIGHT PROCEDURE/ATTITUDE TO CONFESS SINS

♦️ WHY SHOULD WE CONFESS SIN?

¶ WALKING IN THE LIGHT

_If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. - 1 John 1:6-10

If we want to fellowship with Jesus, we have to walk in the light, and when we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin. But how would you walk in the light? By confessing your sin. How would the blood cleanse if the sin isn't acknowledged and confessed? So if we hide sin, we can't say that we are walking in the light.


_For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.…But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. - Ephesians 5:8,11,13

Your being willing to confess sins shows that you hate darkness/wickedness and want to fellowship with light, rather than hide it, and keep fellowshipping with darkness.

¶ FORGIVENESS

_“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”— 1Jn 1:9

_'But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt-then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. -Leviticus 26:40-42

_“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah” — Ps 32:5


¶ MERCY

_“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” — Prov 28:13

This scripture also adds that it's not about confessing, you have to forsake the sin, if not you have not truly repented. Repentance is confession, with a change in your thinking, that produces fruits in keeping with that change.

So we confess sins to access God's mercy.

♦️ WHAT SIN SHOULD WE CONFESS?

_Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.- James 5:14-16

The above scripture may look like it refers to sickness of a body only, but understand that man is made up of spirit, soul and body. Your spirit is saved when you get born again, but you still get sick in your body. If your body can get sick, your soul can get sick too. So this scripture doesn't only refer to when you're sick in your body, but even when your soul is sick too.

Examples of soul sickness: Anger, Greed/Covetousness, Lust, Filthy language etc.

What happens when you have a wound, and you cover it up, instead of taking care of it? It persists. It gets infected and can even get gangrenous/decayed, and the infection can spread to other parts of the body that were healthy.

This is the same case with sin that isn't confessed. It keeps on growing, till you're swallowed up by it, and you can't get out of it.

You may wonder, is it everything I must confess?

You may do something the first time, and you immediately ask God to forgive you, because you know it's wrong. It may happen another time, and you catch yourself, and you ask God to forgive you. But when this thing that started small becomes persistent, then it's no longer a minor problem. There's a root cause that you haven't dealt with, and if you don't deal with it, you'd keep on falling and wondering why. YOU ARE SICK. YOU NEED HELP.

Well, how do you go about this then?

We would look at that shortly.
♦️ TO WHOM SHOULD WE CONFESS SINS?


¶ TO THE ELDERS

_Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. - James 5:14-16

You don't go about confessing sins to just anybody. What's the typical attitude? You meet a close friend, that you're comfortable with, who wouldn't scold you, but pity you, and then you come out feeling exonerated rather than remorseful for what you did. How is this going to be effective? How are you going to be healed, especially if the close friend has the same issue too?

When we suffer illnesses in our bodies, we immediately rush to a medical doctor to get treated, and we're very willing to undergo every procedure they put us through. Do you to a quack to get help? No!

Why can't it be the same for our spiritual illnesses?

You have authority above you, and it is wise that you acknowledge that authority. Elders are the authority over us. The leaders, your shepherd, those that are older. It's humility that you don't cover up your sin, but go to the elders so that you not only confess, but get healing too. How willing are you to be embarrassed, so that your wound can get healed? It's the humble that receive more grace.

When you are willing to undergo the process of healing, you get strength to fight another time.

The more you let light in by confessing, the more darkness flees.

That shame you feel, that makes you want to hide your sin, isn't of God, it's pride, and it's demonic. Resist the urge to do so. Humble yourself!

♦️ TO THE SPECIFIC PERSON YOU MAY HAVE WRONGED

_Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.Never pay back evil with more evil.Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
-Romans 12:9‭-‬10‭, ‬17‭-‬18



It is humility to accept that you have wronged someone, and go and tell the person, and also apologize.

It is love!

It is pursuing peace with all men!

You don't want someone to find out the wrong you did, after days have passed.

It seems foolish to go back and say tell someone that you lied to them. Or that you slandered them. Or that you stole their belonging. But it's this humility that God wants, and he gives more grace to you, and enables you not to do these things again.


♦️ WHAT IS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE?

First you most acknowledge that you're not fine, and you need help. Don't follow your deceitful heart and say, I can deal with it, not when it has happened multiple times.

_But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. -Matthew 15:18-19

_“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”— Luk 6:45

That heart you want to follow, is the root of your problems. Why would you sin, if your heart didn't have a problem?
Ask God to search your heart, and lead you in the right way.

Next thing is, go to the authority over you, this could be a pastor, the a leadership figure within the church.

For our church group where we have Shepherds, that's the person you should go to. You don't have a shepherd for nothing. This is the humility that will give you more grace to overcome in the future. Don't hide! Bring it to light!

To be on the safe side, when it's little, talk about it. Make it a habit, and you'd find it easy to tell, when it's a big fall. Maintain openness on a normal day.

QUESTION

If someone sins and doesn't confess it, does it mean God hasn't forgiven that person?
Is God waiting for us to confess before forgiving, or we are forgiven before confessing? Does it mean God hasn't forgiven the person, when the person sins and doesn't confess?

If you the passage here, it clearly says that, when we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive. And that confession isn't just by saying, for example, God I confess that I committed fornication or, God I confess that I stole Joshua's pen or God, I got angry and called Ephraim a fool

For stealing Joshua's pen, you need to go and tell Joshua that you stole his pen, and apologize for doing so.

For committing fornication, go and talk to your leader/Shepherd. Confess to them, because it is as the Bible says, a sin against the body.

For getting angry, you should confess, and ask God to help you deal with anger, and also ask for counsel on how to deal with it from your shepherd, especially when it's reoccurring. And for insulting Ephraim, you should go and apologize if you said it to him directly.

```OBEDIENCE VERSUS SACRIFICE```

_(1 of 3)

When you read the books of the prophets in the Old Testament, you will hear the Lord God Almighty complaining. God would complain about their sacrifices and say that He was weary of them. Have you read these in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos? (Isaiah 1:11-15, Amos 5:21-23, Jeremiah 6:20, 7:21-23).

This is because the people only want to give sacrifices and carry out activities; jump and shout, dance, scream, and pray without listening, without understanding, like the Jews of old. They would carry on with their activities so much that so many times, the Lord would say, “What are you doing? Take away the noise of your festivals, take away the sound of your musical instruments, My soul is tired.”

Sometimes, He would say, "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth be quiet. Keep quiet." (Habakkuk 2:20, Zechariah 2:13, Zephaniah 1:7). I know we don’t interpret that passage like that; but I think that God was likely saying, “Stop making noise,” [/b]because we are noisy.

Ecclesiastes 5 says, [b]Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools; [/b]for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2).

In other words, that’s the Lord saying, [b]“When you come into My presence, be quick to keep quiet." He says, "Be silent, don't talk much, for I'm in heaven, you're on earth. Let your words be few."

However, a lot of Christians believe the exact opposite. It's practiced everywhere. In many congregations, what you'll hear is, "Brethren, let us pray. Our only answer is prayer."


No, it's not. Prayer is not the strategy. Obedience is the strategy and what God wants from us is for us to obey.
The LORD said to the people of Judah, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, but I did give them this command: ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.'" (Jeremiah 7:21-23)

God said to them, "When I brought you out of Egypt, what did I say? Did I say offer me sacrifices?" In Ecclesiastes 5, He calls those kinds of sacrifices ‘the sacrifices of fools’. That's what He calls the sacrifices of those who disobey Him.

It isn’t about being in church and singing, "We bring the sacrifice of praise…" That sacrifice is only fine and acceptable if you're obeying Him; other than that, it is a sacrifice of fools.

If you don't care about what God thinks, you do not have a regard for Him. For instance, in a conversation, if someone starts telling you,
"Well, brother, I think if you know what the Bible says…,"
and you go,
"Leave Bible [talk]! Forget [the] Bible!"
then whatever sacrifice you brought would be a sacrifice of fools. You don't have any regard for the Almighty God.

In Psalm 50:21-23 God says, "When you did these things, I was silent, so you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will condemn you and state my case against you! Carefully consider this, you who reject God! Otherwise I will rip you to shreds and no one will be able to rescue you. Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver."

– ```Pastor Ita Udoh
14th October, 2020```


For the full teaching, visit https://g-lh.org/obedience

_For more teachings and other edifying content, visit https://g-lh.org

© God's Lighthouse 2020

What's the favour of God?

Favour means goodwill, benevolent regard. Favour is the grace of God in a person. It's God's kindness to a person. A person has God's favour when He looks at them fondly, and when He does things that will be beneficial for them.

¶ People that were shown God's favour

Mary:
And the angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus.
Luke 1:28‭, ‬30‭-‬31

Mary had to find favour in God's sight before God picked her to birth the Holy one.

Joseph:
Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him? ” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as intelligent and wise as you are. You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”
Genesis 41:38‭-‬40

Joseph found favour in the sight of God. This made God reveal Pharaoh's dream to him.

¶People that were shown God's favour

Jacob:
As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. And the man became very rich. He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.
Genesis 30:42‭-‬43

Jacob was faithful with Laban's sheep. This made him find favour in God's sight–God multiplied his resources.

Daniel
" He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling.
Daniel 10:11

God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.
Daniel 1:17

Daniel feared God and found favour in God's sight and God made him find favour in the sight of men.

There are many more e.g. Abraham, Enoch, Nehemiah, Ruth, Esther etc.

¶ How to receive favour from God?

Obedience/Righteousness
In the kingdom of God, "Obedience is the strategy". To receive God's favour, one must be OBEDIENT.

there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today, and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.
Deuteronomy 11:27‭-‬28

My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands;... Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:1‭,4

A person who keeps God's instructions will find favour in God's sight. We should learn to have a regard for what God says. Then we will find favour on His sight.

For You, Lord , bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield.
Psalms 5:12

Righteousness means doing right. When we keep God's commands, we do right. Some people believe in being unrighteous and doing fasting, prayer, and other religious activities to find favour from God. Although it's not bad to fast, pray, and do good activities, they should stem from obedience to God.

Obedience will achieve more results than the fasts of a disobedient person. My point is: Look for the instructions and obey in the little, and you will find favour from God.

A person who constantly does unrighteousness should not expect much favour from God. God loves us because we are His children. He would want to favour us for that reason, but the ones that will be given more favour and authority are the obedient ones.

For one to be righteous, they have to know the right thing to do. It's easier to be righteous when one reads and knows scriptures. That's why we are encouraged to have a relationship, not only with Jesus, but also with His words.

¶ How to receive favour from God?

Humility
Humility is lowliness in mind. It's being submissive; It's submitting to others because God wants you to.

In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
1 Peter 5:5‭-‬6

It's the humble people that will care about God's instructions. They are the ones that can go lowly things. God loves humble people. They go where He tells them to go. They say what's He tells them to say.
Jacob was submissive in Laban's house. So was Joseph in Potiphar's house. God exalted them in due season.

Humility will enable one see themselves as a slave/servant of God.


Pride is refusal to bend your will when God has asked you to. It's not submitting to an earthly person that God has asked you to submit to. It's rebellion to any kind of authority that God has placed over you. It's refusal to take instructions. These people won't find much favour in God's sight.

Abraham was a humble man. He left his comfort in obedience to God. And God favoured him immensely. Abraham's favour didn't stop at earth, but it continues in heaven. So the acts of humility we do will fetch us favour from God in this age, and in the one to come.

“I assure you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children, or fields because of Me and the gospel, who will not receive 100 times more, now at this time — houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions— and eternal life in the age to come.
Mark 10:29‭-‬30


¶ How to receive favour from God?

Faithfulness
This is a problem for many children of God because it's linked to hardwork. To be faithful, one has to exert oneself.

The Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time? That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded. I tell you the truth: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk, And that slave who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it will be severely beaten._
Luke 12:42‭-‬45‭, ‬47

Jacob found favour in God's sight and God gave him many goods. But before he got these goods, he went through this:
I’ve been with you these 20 years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock. I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night._There I was — the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. For 20 years I have worked in your household — 14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks— and you have changed my wages 10 times!_
Genesis 31:38‭-‬41

Jacob was faithful even though Laban was unfaithful to some extent. Some of us are not faithful under the authority above us, even when they are nice, and we expect the favour of God.

Laziness will prevent us from exerting ourselves. That's why we should be willing to be hardworking. We should be willing to put in the extra effort required to get a job done. This will make us find favour in the sight of men and God.



Reverence/Fear of God

Reverence is veneration, (profound awe and respect for God.)

think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don’t consider yourself to be wise; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:6‭-‬7

Now the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him — those who depend on His faithful love
Psalms 33:18

Who is the man who fears the Lord ? He will show him the way he should choose. He will live a good life, and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.
Psalms 25:12‭-‬14

Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord [and understand the importance of obedience and worship], we persuade people [to be reconciled to Him]...
2 Corinthians 5:11.

The fear of God is to depart from iniquity. The fear of God is healthy and it comes by obeying God. Without the fear of God, a believer will act lawless. A great desire w must want is the fear of God in our hearts.

Daniel and his friends respected and feared God. God also honoured them. God honours the ones that honour Him.

At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name. “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him._
Malachi 3:16‭-‬18

Fear of man: fear of being rejected by men, fear of their opinions, fear of being persecuted, etc, are things that prevent us from fearing God. We must cast these cares on God and choose to fear Him at all times.

¶ Do we need God's favour?/Advantages of God's favour

Yes, we need God's favour. We should not treat it lightly. With God's favour, one can do a thousand more things than his contemporary. One will shine out among his peers.

Daniel and his contemporaries enjoyed God's favour. Through them, laws in nations were changed.

Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, so the king planned to set him over the whole realm.
Daniel 6:3

For You, Lord , bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield.
Psalms 5:12

The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.Psalms 34:7

God will protect the ones that have found favour in His sight.


¶ Conclusion

As Christians, we have a benefit of enjoying God's favour. However sin limits the extent of God's favour we can receive. Let your focus rest on being more obedient, humble, faithful and reverent of God. These are the primary things.
In turn, God will cause His rain to fall on us.


¶ Prayer

I pray we find favour in God's sight. I pray that this message sinks in. I pray for grace for us to accept corrections and do the needful.

May God help us. Amen.

LOSING TO GAIN (1)

"I am no fool to lose what I cannot keep in order that i may gain what i cannot lose"

Yes! This is an expression from a heart that is being sold out completely in pursuit of eternal life. A heart whose hope and worth of living isn't built on the hopes or promises of a boisterous life here on earth but has found rest and satisfaction, comfort, confidence and has built solid Faith in God in anticipation/eager expectation of the establishment of a Kingdom and City whose builder and maker is God!

This heart has no regrets, no shame, no second-thoughts, no longing for the former life He left just to embrace the One most dear to him...for now he's well aware and has accepted the fact that even if he doesn't walk away from these things (especially as they continue to contribute to the weights holding him back from fervently pursuing eternal life)... they'll one day definitely "walk away" from him (if not in living,at death- he can't take them with him; the money, friends, luxury, reputations,positions, status e.t.c).
It's a heart that speaks, live, breath resolute faith!

benzyluv:
LOSING TO GAIN (1)

"I am no fool to lose what I cannot keep in order that i may gain what i cannot lose"

Yes! This is an expression from a heart that is being sold out completely in pursuit of eternal life. A heart whose hope and worth of living isn't built on the hopes or promises of a boisterous life here on earth but has found rest and satisfaction, comfort, confidence and has built solid Faith in God in anticipation/eager expectation of the establishment of a Kingdom and City whose builder and maker is God!

This heart has no regrets, no shame, no second-thoughts, no longing for the former life He left just to embrace the One most dear to him...for now he's well aware and has accepted the fact that even if he doesn't walk away from these things (especially as they continue to contribute to the weights holding him back from fervently pursuing eternal life)... they'll one day definitely "walk away" from him (if not in living,at death- he can't take them with him; the money, friends, luxury, reputations,positions, status e.t.c).
It's a heart that speaks, live, breath resolute faith!

Hebrews 11:8-10,13-16
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.

Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

This heart is not afraid to leave his known and yield God's call to the unknown, for it has stopped clinging to the "insecured securities" of this life and now lives in reckless devotion to God saying: "because He lives, i can face tomorrow...."

So he's content to hope in God and throws all his energy in seeking first..first..first the Kingdom which lasts, content to wait for these things to be added to him on the path of seeking God's kingdom without having to greedily, desperately, fearfully pursue after these things! (Matthew 6:33)

Oh Jesus help my heart to be strong and courageous, resolute and firm in my choice of you!

(To be continued)

```How the Thief's Partner Acquired a Curse```

A man who takes part with a thief has hate for his soul; he is put under oath, but says nothing. BBE

Whoever is an accomplice of a thief is an enemy of his own soul. He takes an oath, but dares not testify. NHEB
(Proverbs 29:24)

A thief is a person who claims something that's not his. A thief wrongly takes something that is not theirs. When you take something that was given to you, that's taking it rightly.

An accomplice is anybody that knows about, helps and assists someone to accomplish an offence. So an accomplice to a thief is the person who helps the thief in any way to carry out his act of stealing. Think about the thief in this instance as the devil or demons. The thief's accomplice is the person who assists the enemy, the thief – the one who steals, kills and destroys (John 10:10).

The Bible says that if you're the accomplice of a thief, you are your own enemy. This is because, if you've committed yourself to support anything that the devil wants, you're his accomplice and you are bringing judgement and punishment on yourself. In a sense, you have made an oath.
Demons would say to Jesus, _"Have you come to torment us before the time?"_(Matthew 8:29). There is the time when demons will be tormented and if you're one of the assistants to those demons, you will be tormented. So, never ever be in agreement with the devil.

The fear of man will prove to be a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe (Proverbs 29:25). If you tried to cover up something because you were afraid of what people would think, say, or how you would be punished, you will get in trouble with God.

Do you know what the fear of God is? It is when you're afraid of what God thinks more than what people think. When you are more afraid of what people think [than what God thinks], it's called the fear of man. If you have the fear of man, you'll lack the fear of God. *The extent to which you care more about what people think is the extent to which you lack the fear of God*. But if you're always considering what God thinks, that's the fear of God.

The accomplice of a thief can help himself: *simply by choosing not to fear man more than God.*

*You can help people, but never at the expense of what God thinks*. The Scripture says that you'll be under a curse. Zechariah 5:3-4 says that a curse is in the house of the thief and the liar. There is a curse for the thief and the liar. *The accomplice is the liar.* He didn't commit the offence, but he lies. The accomplice is asked, _"Who knows? Do you?"_ and he doesn't answer.

Many people do things like that in this world — from family, with siblings. So you know your brother or sister did something and you lied and covered it up. This is how many people who go to church and have Christian parents, are under curses all over the world.

A curse stays in your life. It is like sickness, like a disease that gives you a problem here, a problem there. In your body, in your soul, in your spirit, there are different problems all over, and many times, no one even realises it.

_"I don't know what is happening here. Let's pray, let's fast..."_

Physically, people have problems. They have things coming out of their bodies, eyes, ears, etc., their skins go bad; their money is affected, all sorts of things are happening. That's how curses work. If you want to understand how a curse works just look at *Deuteronomy 28.*

People think a curse is when someone says, _"It will not be well with you."_ No.
A curse is anything that takes away God's blessing.
That is to say, that in a certain area, God would have blessed you but you're not blessed. Instead, something is taken away from you.

The curse is in the house... Your body is a house (1 Corinthians 6:19). Curses will destroy the timber and the stones. Picture a life where things are tampered with because of covering up wrong doings. Just imagine how many people this passage is referring to. And this is so normal. If you go to an office, everyone is telling lies. It's lies upon lies. Meanwhile, everyone is attending church, praying and pursuing God.

So you see a man who is an accountant in his office and he lies, cheats, covers up theft (or he steals himself). The devil sees all of those things, and worse still, God sees all of it.

Don't steal or tell lies. Don't join the devil who is stealing and lying to cover up what he is doing. The devil is the thief, don't be his accomplice. When you are asked, "What happened here? What is the truth about this sin that was committed here?"_tell the truth. Always tell the truth, or you're an accomplice of the thief, the devil.

Remember, the more blessed you are, the fewer the curses you're under. Remember also, that God said _"Put them on the mountains, these will stand here and they will say these are the curses... And these will stand here and say these are the blessings..."_l (Deuteronomy 11:26, 29; 27:10-26).
People will say that under Jesus there is no curse. This is true; under Jesus there should be no curse, just like under Jesus there should be no sickness. Jesus took away your sickness. But do Christians get sick? Do you ever get sick? Yes. So do you ever get cursed? The answer is "Yes".
As it is with sickness, so it is with curses. In Jesus, in obedience, if you abide in Him and His words abide in you, ask what you will, it shall be done (John 15:7). All your curses will be removed but you must first abide in Him. You must be obedient to Him.

- ```Ita Udoh```

For more teachings and other edifying content, visit https://g-lh.org

© God's Lighthouse 2021

benzyluv:
LOSING TO GAIN (1)

"I am no fool to lose what I cannot keep in order that i may gain what i cannot lose"

Yes! This is an expression from a heart that is being sold out completely in pursuit of eternal life. A heart whose hope and worth of living isn't built on the hopes or promises of a boisterous life here on earth but has found rest and satisfaction, comfort, confidence and has built solid Faith in God in anticipation/eager expectation of the establishment of a Kingdom and City whose builder and maker is God!

This heart has no regrets, no shame, no second-thoughts, no longing for the former life He left just to embrace the One most dear to him...for now he's well aware and has accepted the fact that even if he doesn't walk away from these things (especially as they continue to contribute to the weights holding him back from fervently pursuing eternal life)... they'll one day definitely "walk away" from him (if not in living,at death- he can't take them with him; the money, friends, luxury, reputations,positions, status e.t.c).
It's a heart that speaks, live, breath resolute faith!

Are you certain you are born-again? What evidence do you have that you are?