KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Kings 12:8 KJV “But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:”

The story in 1st kings 12 reveals the crossroad of the future of the kingdom of Israel after King Solomon. The son of Solomon, Rehoboam had the wonderful opportunity to preserve the unity of the kingdom and to establish his reign, but he chose an unwise counsel. Leadership is not about doing that which satisfies you, but serving the people by bringing them into their inheritance. 1Kings 12:7 KJV “And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever”. Rehoboam ignored this wise counsel and chose the unwise counsel of the youth. This should not be your portion.

Every servant of God must always act wisely. The fruit is the standard of our action. The Bible says against the fruit of the Spirit there is no other law. It means if you would allow the Spirit to lead you, you would be a good leader. James 3:17 KJV” But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy”. This kind of wisdom is what God’s word gives us. The above qualities described in James 3 :17 are the character traits that every good leader must show or manifest in his life.

Dear servant of God, you have no business failing as a minister of God. Do not fall after the mistake of Rehoboam. James 3:17 shows us the following wise acts that would establish you as a great leader. They are:

1.Purity of life

2.A man of Peace

3. A gentle man or lady

4. Easy to be entreated or reasonable about issues

5.Full of mercy

6 Full of good fruits

7 Without partiality

8 Without hypocrisy

In recent times there have been scandals about some ministers. I believe if you follow these character traits as listed above, you will never fall. You would be an example of light and hope to many.

 PRAYER

Dear heavenly father, I pray for every leader or minister to follow the way of the Spirit. Father break every evil bondage and let your servants be real leaders of your people into their destinies.

FURTHER STUDIES

1Kings 12:8 KJV “But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him”:

1Timothy 3:3 KJV “Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”

KEY SCRIPTURE :1Kings 11:6 KJV “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father”.

We continue with the life of King Solomon.

In today’s study we learn that he went after the gods of his strange wives. He did   not’ fully follow’ the Lord as his father David. The Lord was therefore angry with Solomon (1 Kings 11:9) Dear servant of God set your heart right and refuse to disobey God. Refuse to allow anything to take God’s place in your life. Idolatry is anything a man disobeys God to honor. What are you disobeying God to honor? If it is a girlfriend, then she has become an idol to you. If it is a boyfriend, he has become an idol to you. If it is lust for money, then it is an idol to you. Anything that gives you a cold heart towards God is an idol to you.

These things bring God’s anger against His servants. The verse ten says God instructed him to repent. He refused to repent. The Lord decided to divide his kingdom and give ten parts to another man and only two for him.  In 1 Kings 11:14, the Lord stirred up an enemy against him. Dear Minister of God if you decide to be persistently disobedient unto the Lord, He would give you up to the evil powers to attack you. . Mat 18:34 KJV'” And his lord was worth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him”.

 A number of troubles in some ministries come from acts of disobedience from the leader 1Kings 11:23″ And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah”: God allowed more trouble to hit Solomon. Dear servant of God, the troubles emanating from disobedience is simply unnecessary. They are self-inflicting burdens. Note there are other challenges that come as an aggression of the enemy, they come irrespective of your uprightness. This is normal and God is glorified when you hold your ground. If your oppositions come as a result of your stubbornness unto the Lord, then you are suffering unnecessarily. Repent and the trouble would cease.

CONFESSION

I am a child of God totally given to God. Nothing takes God’s place in my life. I have no idols in my life. Jesus is the only Lord of my life.

FURTHER STUDIES

1 Peter 4:15 KJV” But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.”

Proverbs 4:18 KJV” But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Kings 11:3 KJV “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart”.

My concern in this study is not to focus on what turned his heart from God, but the fact that his heart was turned away from the Lord. Proverbs 4:23, says

 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”. Your heart is the incubation center for the proceeds of this life. The heart must be solely dominated by God and His word. Every good thing is made or created by the word. Any other thing that takes over the heart produces all kinds of dangerous products that would mess up your life. To keep God’s word, is to protect or to guard it. Your failure to do so is your own destruction.

Now the question is, what is drawing your heart away from God? To Solomon it was women. To others it can be lust for riches, or sin in any form would draw your heart away from God. There are even some men of God who get envious of the success of others instead of getting motivated with the success of those who have made it for the Lord. Remember the heart is the center of incubation of the issues of life. Secondly the heart is also the seat for control of the life of an individual. Either God is ruling your heart or something else. Whenever you permit anything to draw you away from God, it controls you.

HOW can one keep his or her heart from being taken over by wrong influences? Solomon erred because he did not take heed to the instructions of scripture. Obedience to the word of God would always preserve you from being led away. Another thing you can do is to keep attention to the word. (Proverbs 4:20.) Keep listening to the word of God. There are messages of very anointed men of God which would keep you focused on course for God. As ministers do not allow your ears to be free of the word. Keep listening over and over again. As you do this you would never be drawn out of course for God, but you would be more and more fruitful in the Lord.

CONFESSION

My heart is for the Lord. Nothing controls my heart except the word of God. I give my total attention and focus on the word of God. My actions are always in line with the word of God. My faith is also very alert to stop every attack of the enemy or create whatever I need.

FURTHER STUDIES

Mark 4:19 KJV ” And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

Proverbs 4:23-28 KJV “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1 Kings 11:1 KJV “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;”

The servant of God must have one wife.

1Ti 3:2 KJV” A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” Solomon loved so many women and actually married seven hundred of them. Under the new covenant a minister cannot marry one and a half. I mean he cannot have a wife and a girlfriend. Some have argued that under the old covenant, the kings or fathers married more than one. Marrying more than one has never been the intention of God. The Lord said the minister should be a man of one wife. There is nothing ambiguous about that statement.

What most people fail to recognize is that, they do not know that under the new covenant, we cease to be ordinary humans. Romans 8:10 KJV “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”. The man in Christ is a spirit living in a body, which does not rule nor dictate to him. Your body does not rule or lead you, but your spirit. This goes for every Christian. The minister or leader in God’s house is an example to all. Dear child of God as much as you must not permit lust of any kind to lead you, you must not allow sicknesses to rule over your body.

What must the minister do so that he keeps himself from going for more than one wife?

1.You must acknowledge that God’s word forbids you to marry more than one.

2.Accept and say to yourself that you would not marry more than one. Not even a girlfriend.

3.Mortify or kill the flesh by acknowledging that the body is dead and does not or should not lead you in any way. (Rom 8:10)

4. Anytime the body suggests to you to go after another flesh quickly respond by saying you are in the Spirit and are only led by the spirit.

5. Always remind yourself that you would not want to miss heaven by acting against the scriptures

CONFESSION

I am of the Spirit; my flesh is my servant and does not dictate to me in any matter. I live by faith, that is according to the word of God and not according what I see or feel

FURTHER STUDIES

Titus 1:6 KJV” If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly”.

Ephesians 5:31 KJV “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh”.

KEY SCRIPTURE :1Kings 3:9 KJV” Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

King Solomon was offered a rare opportunity to ask whatever he wanted. He could quickly have asked for abundance of riches, or the destruction of his enemies. He said give me wisdom that I may be able to rule the people well. 1Kings 3:11 KJV” And God said unto him, because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; “The Lord gave him the wisdom he requested and then added wealth as well. He chose the interest of others first.

Somebody said the word JOY is the abbreviation of the words Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last. Putting others first always spells joy and fulfillment to anyone who does so. Every servant of God is called to be a blessing unto others. The number one task the Lord asked the church to do is to seek the salvation of others. The call to reach out to others is the result of various international missions. You have been called to serve others with the gifts and abilities God has given to you. It is a big error for any minister to take advantage of the people. It is unscriptural for a minister of the gospel to charge money before praying for them. 1Co 9:18 KJV” What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.”

Jesus gave His life for others. John 15:13 KJV” Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Everything about ministry is about others. The word minister means, a servant. One major way to keep yourself from blemish is to make sure that you do not allow any form of selfishness to lead you in anyway. Every scandal that has been made about any minister happened because that individual gave no regard to the principle of others first.  If it is an act of immoral acts, financial misappropriation or any offence of any kind, the underlying cause is SELFISHNESS.

 CONFESSION

I live for God and so I live for God’s purpose for my life. I put others before myself in all I do. God my father is excited with me about my love for others, and continually blesses me. Thank you, Lord.

 FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 2:3, 4 KJV” Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others”.

Matthew 28:19 & 20 KJV “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”.

KEY SCRIPTURE :1Kings 3:4 KJV “And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.”

Solomon made an extravagant sacrifice unto the Lord. He gave a thousand burnt sacrifices unto the Lord. The verse preceding this key scripture said, and Solomon loved the Lord. One may give without love, yet you cannot love without giving. Ministry is all about receiving God’s approval or endorsement on you. Solomon through his great sacrificial giving attracted the presence of God to furnish him with all he needed to succeed as a king. 1Kings 3:5 KJV” In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee”.

 The Lord responded to Solomon’s generosity with a limitless request form to him. He asked him, whatever you desire, ask me and I will do it for you Dear ministers and children of God, I believe many crying and agony for certain things would cease if we would cheerfully make generous sacrifices to God. The truth is that most people don’t sincerely love the Lord. They would rather use God to achieve the things they want. This is the wrong order, and a very selfish approach. It is also an insult unto God. God must rather use us to get what He wants.

In ministry, one always needs a divine touch. Sacrificial giving is one of the ways to attract God’s manifested presence to your life. There are certain ministers who are just expecting their members to be giving. They do not give offerings nor pay their tithe. Even if they are to give any offerings at all, it is just the leftovers. You are unfortunately deceiving your very self. Dear Minister or child of God, you have an option to permit God’s manifested presence to be with you, by making some lovingly ‘brutal’ offerings or sacrifices to God. The next verse tells us the effect of a bountiful sacrificial giving to us. 2Corinth 9:8 KJV” And God is able to make all grace abound towards you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work”

CONFESSION

I love the Lord. All that I have is His. I joyfully and bountifully give to Him. I have His approval on my life. I do not lack any good thing. His divine presence is always with me. Thank you, Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Corinth 9:6-8 KJV” But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 7:26 KJV “For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.”

Today’ s key scripture refers to the harlot, yet in a more practical terms, it refers to the spirit of Fornication. It entices, deceives and finally slays it victim. Pro 7:26 KJV” For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her “. Many great, powerful and gifted servants of God have been brought to ground zero by this spirit of Fornication. Apostle Paul calls it our members (Col 3:5). Some men of God may be tricked by her to fall and others willingly jump into her courts. Every fall is a fall, whether you slipped or willingly decided to fall.

Every servant of God must be aware of the very high stakes that the calling demands. You’ve got to know that the eternal salvation of many rests on your obedience. Samson was anointed to bring deliverance to the children of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. His failure was the loss of the whole nation into the hands of their enemies. To be a minister is to render service or to support others. You are therefore never free to do what you want. If you choose to disappoint those you have been called to serve, you have sadly decided to destroy your very self.

The Lord Jesus knowing the above principle said the following, John 17:19 KJV “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth”. The truth is your way out of failure to success. Samson was a Nazarene, which meant he was totally devoted to God. The strength of any child of God to win the battles of life, is a heart wholly given to the Lord. You are prone to be defeated, if you have a divided devotion. There is an unqualified joy and satisfaction in your inner being when you give all of your heart to Him.

CONFESSION

I am totally given to the truth. Jesus my Lord is the truth. That keeps me always sanctified. My mind is never occupied with wrong pursuits. I live in true freedom and satisfaction because the spirit of Fornication has no part in me.

FURTHER STUDIES

1Corith 6:18 KJV “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body”.

Ephesians 5:3 KJV “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;”

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Samuel 11:4 KJV “And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.”

King David was an excellent man in many ways, yet had a great weakness towards women. His son Solomon’s case was worse. He married seven hundred wives and three hundred girlfriends(concubines) 1 Kings 11:3. It was also reported of David in 2 Samuel 5:13 that ” And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. “Despite all these wives and concubines, he went in for Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. She became pregnant, and so king David tried to cover up, by killing Uriah.

What was the cause of David ‘s weakness towards women? Could it be a case of family inheritance? David’ s family tree could be traced to Judah, one of the sons of Jacob.

In Gen 38, we read of Judah who went in for his daughter in law, Tamar. Tamar had been married to Er who was Judah ‘s son but died. Tamar put off her widow’ s garment acted like an harlot. She disguised herself and sat at a location where Judah could easily see her. Judah indeed fell into the trap. This trend of events was replicated in the family line of Judah: As shown in our first paragraph. David definitely, had a real challenge with women. When Abner the military general of King Saul came to David to broke peace between the house of Saul and David, he (David) said in 2 Samuel 3:13 that he would not listen to anything from him until his wife Michal, Saul’s daughter who was given to another man, was brought to him.

There are a lot of ministers or Christians who demonstrate such weakness towards women. Some of these people exhibit such weakness as a trait they inherited from their family line.  Does one’s status as a new creation in Christ make him exempted from such problem? Legally Yes, yet experientially the devil will not leave without staging a resistance. You must be violent and resist him steadfastly in the faith. 1Peter 5:9 KJV ” Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world”.

There are some brethren who exhibit such weakness towards women, not as a condition, they inherited, but just lack of discipline. Everyman will naturally want to go for more women, yet we Christians are not natural people, but supernatural. A minister may just be natural and not discipline himself. He may not discipline his thought life, be indiscipline in his relationship with the opposite sex, as well as what they watch. Dear man of God, live in the Spirit and you would not be controlled by the flesh.

PRAYER

Lord I pray for all ministers to arise and deal with any foundation problems, especially that which had to do with the opposite sex. Grant them to come to terms with the truth on how to break free.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 24:16 KJV” And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”

Job 31:1 KJV I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:22 KJV “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will”

(Read 2 Samuel 1:1-27)

The above story reveals the selflessness of David. It shows how he continually demonstrated respect and honour to king Saul who was the ordained king, even after Saul had been killed in a war with the Philistines. David expressed his sincere love for Saul and Jonathan, by slaying the Amalekite boy who brought the news that he killed King Saul. He was expecting to receive an acknowledgement and praise from David. The scriptures said in 2 Samuel 1:12 that” And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword”.

David acted with a pure heart of love. Love for one another purifies our souls from all vile. As ministers or children of God we must continually allow the love of God in our hearts to lead us in all we do. The natural reaction from most men   to the news of the death of a man who has persistently persecuted and pursued their life to kill them, would have been instant jubilation. One’s tendency to hold himself against any selfish responses comes from a heart that pursues after God. May we be pursuers of God and not after our self-centered longings.

Every child of God is a man or woman of the Spirit. Rom 8:9 KJV” But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”. Being in the Spirit means the fleshly persuasions unto bitterness and victimizations are no more controlling us. Dear servant of God and fellow Christian, let’s express this love of Christ to all. Let’s honor all those who are our fathers, leaders, or those who have been anointed to play any special role in our lives. Don’t ever be tempted to dishonor them in any way. You do that at your own peril. Just as David never attack king Saul, do not attack any of your superiors in ministry.

CONFESSION

I have the love of Christ. I do not rejoice over the pain and lose of any brother or sister, no matter what they said or did to me.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 5:44 KJV “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” ;

Ephesians 4:32 KJV “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 20:31 KJV” For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die”.

(Read 1 Samuel 20:1–42)

At the beginning of the new moon or month, King Saul had a meal or feast with the elite persons in his kingdom. King Saul expected David to be at the feast so that he would have the opportunity to kill him. David planned with Jonathan to escape. Saul had rebelled against God and was set on killing David so that his son Jonathan would be king. When Jonathan managed to cause David to escape, Saul got mad with his son and said, 1Sam 20:30 KJV “Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? “Saul was so outraged with his son as a result of this, such that, he attempted to kill him with a spear. (1 Samuel 20:33)

There are some ministers who have fallen out of the will of God. They are ready to do anything to get their evil desires to pass. They will tell lies, manipulate, and do anything possible to get their evil desires fulfilled. This kind of thing can also be manifested in the life of any person who has dethroned the rule of God from his or her life. One may bear the title that he or she is a Christian, yet in practice he is far from being one. He would do everything to achieve his evil desires, yet would claim God is blessing him.

What is the meaning of life? Life is all about revealing the glory of God in you. It is about doing and achieving that which pleases the Lord. Revelations 4:11 KJV “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Anything you do that does not please Him is a rebellion against God and a destruction of your very life. Those who live for God’s pleasure are His delight and He will do everything to reveal His glory in them. Don’t be a self-willed minister. You must be without blemish.

CONFESSION

I am a servant of God committed to reveal His glory in me. I do only that which pleases God. My life is extremely blessed. God is with me and I am highly favored.

FURTHER STUDIES

Galatians 1:15 KJV “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:”

2 Samuel 5:10 KJV” And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.”