COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Prayer:

I pray for you today that every suffering you and your  family are going through because of your disobedience or mistake which is causing the enemy to have an upper hand in your life, the Lord Almighty shall looked down on you in His mercy, forgive and turn things around for your good in the name of Jesus……Amen!!

 

One lesson from God’s dealings with Pharaoh and the Egyptians is the consequences of disobedience of man. Sin has wide spread consequence. God told Pharaoh to release the children of Israel whom he had enslaved for 430 years but he refused. When the judgement on his defiance came, it affected all of Egypt – men, beast, vegetation; even the sun shining upon the land was affected. One man sinned but a whole nation suffered for it. That was in a nation that did not know God. What about a godly nation? In 2 Samuel 24: 1-17, after David regained his throne and was established, he forgot he got there by God’s power and so requested a census of his people. Joab saw this as an act of self-will and reliance on the arm of flesh and warned him against that exercise. If I may ask, what action are you about to take that is contrary to God’s word of which may open doors for the enemy into your family? The king paid deaf ears to Joab’s plea knowing it was against God’s will and went on to take the census. The following morning the Lord sent Prophet Gad to ask him to choose one of the three judgments. Thereafter, David realized his sin and asked for forgiveness. But do you know that at least 70,000 people died of pestilence, and more were to follow if not that God showed mercy. Many innocent Israelites died, even though the culprit King David was spared. This is what I call “COLLATERAL DAMAGE.” When the head of a family sins, his family can be brought under judgment. When a pastor sins, the whole congregation can be judged. When a president sins, the whole nation can suffer for it. When a leader sins, his cover over the flock is weakened or compromised.  

Permit me to say this; when God speaks to you to do something of which nobody will be there to hear and you refuse, when you start suffering the consequences the world will see what you are suffering. Guess what you will not have the boldness to tell anybody what actually happened of which it was because of your disobedience. For example, in the Book of Daniel 4:28–36, God warned king Nebuchadnezzar of his pride, using dream to communicate to him and Daniel to do the interpretation of the dream yet he refused to yield to the warning. God withdrew wisdom from king Nebuchadnezzar. Immediately the king became an animal. You know the rest of the story: how he roamed the bush like an animal, eating grass for seven years before God restored him back to the throne. Samson’s tragic life was also written for us to be aware that God who gave can still take away in a day. All that the person have will go, and calamity will befall the family or the people working under him. Samson was living in sin until he broke his covenant. When it was announced that his enemies were upon him, Samson rose in bravado, thinking God’s power was intact. He shook his body but felt light and ordinary. He did not know that the owner of the power has withdrawn it. He paid dearly for it and so did the people of Israel.

 

Beloved, God is no respecter of man (Acts 10:34). John 2:23-25 says because of Christ’s knowledge of what is in the hearts of men, He found it difficult committing Himself to them. Besides the fact that man lives in an evil and wicked world manipulated by Satan and his hosts, it further reveals our need for God. From experience, Jesus knew that Satan can go to any length to pull down a leader that has been appointed by God. When there is a vacancy in the top echelon of the church, know it is time to pray. If you do not pray or pray enough, the wrong person may occupy that position and God’s purpose will be aborted. For your information, in the kingdom of darkness there is a price tag on the heads of church leaders, and this is why prayers need to be made on their behalf every day. Leadership is a serious issue. Some leaders who started with good intentions ended where they never expected. If a leader fails, it is most likely that those who are under him will end up in the same pit. One reason for failure of leaders today is because of little or no prayer for them. Our leaders both those in the church and in the circular world are not spirits but flesh and blood, subject to the same conditions as other mortals. Rather than criticize these men and women lets pray for them. Your prayer for them can make a positive impact in their lives. Praying for them will make you as a better citizen/follower not be a victim of collateral damage.

God keep you and your family as you keep praying for our leaders.

ref: Open Heavens vol 11 by Pastor E. A Adeboye