KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 12:24 KJV” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils”.

The Lord Jesus set a demon possessed man, who had the Spirit of deaf and dumb, free. The Pharisees responded by saying that, Jesus cast out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub. Beelzebub is the Chief of demons or another name of Satan. What made the Pharisees say these things about Jesus? The proceeding verse can give us a clue.

John 12:19 KJV “The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him”. The Pharisees met together and said, they have not been successful in preventing Jesus from making the level of impact He was making. These men were simply envious of Jesus. Envy is an evil emotion that one suffers when another person or people are privileged, advantaged or successful, wishing for the failure, destruction of that person or group of people. Envy can drive a person to go to any learnt to destroy the one he is envious about. Every envious person is a tool in the hands of the devil, but know that, Satan never uses an object and leaves it as he met it. He would always destroy whatever he uses.

What does envy do to a person or a people?

1.Envy will keep you from acknowledging the truth about the one you are envious about.

2.Envy makes you afraid of the one you envy.

3. Envy makes you inferior to him that you envy. Saul was the king, yet envy robbed him of that confidence as the king.

4.Envy will prevent you from enjoying any blessings or the potentials of the one you envy. David was sent to assist Saul overcome his emotional as well as military challenges, yet envy deprived him of that assistance. He was killed in a battle that David could have easily fought and won for Israel.

5.Anyone who envies his neighbour becomes the ultimate loser. Eg Joseph’s brothers, the Pharisees against Jesus, King Saul against David.

6. God will oppose anyone who envies his fellow brother or sister.

7.You fight with God who blessed that individual or group of persons with the gift or ability.

ENVY can easily creep into any body’s heart, if you allow it. You can be envious of any body. A husband can be envious of the wife and the wife, envious of the husband. A pastor can envy another gifted or successful pastor. A senior pastor can be envious of a gifted member in his congregation. It is a trap of Satan against you.

HOW to be free of envy.

1.Be content with who you are, and what you have. Heb 13:5

2.Understand you are not in competition with anyone. Your competitor is the vision or task God gave you.

3.See the gifts and potentials in others as God’s gifts and thank God for blessing them with those gifts.

4 Pray for anyone, you are tempted to envy and that spirit of envy would lose its grip over you.

5 Know also that you are a partaker of whatever you celebrate. Celebrate successful people

CONFESSION

I am free of the Spirit of envy. I see every gifted person as God’s ability in that individual and I thank God for such an ability. I celebrate the success in others although I strive to fulfill whatever task God has given to me.

FURTHER STUDIES

 Matthew 27:18 (KJV) “For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.”

 Proverbs 14:30 (KJV) “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.”

  Acts 7:9 (KJV).  “And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,”