@Danbrilliant 25 July 2020 more from that month

Fear Of Men

Text: Matthew 10:25-33 We could have different reasons to be afraid of men but Jesus warns against it. First, He says that if He was called the prince of demons, we, His children should not be afraid of being misrepresented as well. The Jews who had not seen such display of power in their ignorance and hardness of heart created a wrong impression about Jesus and tried to poison the minds of others. Therefore, Jesus in this passage tells His disciples to be ready for such misrepresentations. We must not be afraid because '...there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known' (Matt 10:26). People will have wrong impressions about us on account of our faith in Christ but we must not be discouraged or afraid. For some Christians their fear is about the schemes of evil men. Yet, Jesus says that it is no reason to be afraid of men. He says that sparrows do not just die and we are of more value than sparrows. God will not allow the wicked to make mincemeat of us and our families. He is able to to keep us safe(Psalms 12:5,7). Again many Christians fail to represent Christ at their places of work and business because they are afraid of losing people's acceptance or being sanctioned. That was what happened to Peter when he denied Jesus three times. Thank God He repented because Jesus will deny whoever denies Him out of fear or for whatever reason. That is one of the reasons many will say on that day that they cast out demons in His name and performed miracles too but Jesus will say He doesn't know them. Many have fallen away from the faith because they are afraid of what will happen when they declare to be God's children. In order to be accepted by the world, they live below the standards set by God. They are afraid of losing the goodwill of people. Therefore, repent and ask God for grace to stand for Him and with Him even when the people of the world and friends turn their backs at you. Shalom *Prayer Points* 1. Worship Him, praise Him, enter His presence with praise and worship. 2. Give thanks to Him for the privilege to be in His presence. 3. Give thanks to Him for yourself, your family and church members for His mercy and grace and for bringing us to the end of the week. 4. Give thanks to Jesus because He has overcome the world for us. 5. Give thanks to Him for the victory that He has given to you, your family and church members over the challenges experienced so far this year. 6.Give thanks to Him for Nigeria, for His peace and because He will not allow wickedness to prevail in our country. 7. Repent from all your shortcomings. Ask God to forgive us for every unrighteousness in us. 8. Oh Lord, help me to understand who I am in you so that I will not live in fear of men. 9. Oh Lord, preserve us and members of our families from the schemes of evil men. 10.Oh Lord, vindicate us of every misrepresentation and falsehood aimed at robbing us of the things that belongs to us. 11. Ask God to search out every form of wickedness against your life,family and in Nigeria to bring an end to them and to judge those behind them. 12. Ask God to continue to shield us and members of our families from every form of evil and attack. 13. Pray that in the second half of the year, we will experience new good things that will help us recover from the set backs of the previous months. 14. Pray that at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, we shall have testimonies of God's goodness in our lives and families. 15.Pray that God will give us hearts that will steadfastly be stayed on Him regardless of the pull from the world; reject the spirit of compromise, unbelief, disloyalty, lack of trust in God, and backsliding over the lives of members of the church. 16.Present every need in life of church members to God – children, marriage, healing, employment, financial/business breakthrough and so on. 17. Commit Jubilee 2020 into God's hand. Pray that the power of God will be evident upon our lives and families.