DON'T BE QUIET!!!

It’s about the people of Laish. Have you ever heard or read about them? Incase you have not, you might have to do so very soon. The children of Dan desperately needed some people or individuals to subdue and exploit.They were ready to take their jobs, promotions, health, money, spouses and the very land they dwelt in. These people they were ready to exploit were no other than the peope of Laish. And so what did they do? they pretended to be their friends and studied their going out and coming in. With time, they were able to discover their weak points, values and believes and the next agenda on their list was TO STRIKE! And strike they did. They did not just get to fulfill all their intentions and plans, but it was after they had found out that the people of Laish lived carelessly, had no relationship with other people and lived a life of mediocrity and fear of taking risks and fear of being vulnerable to the betrayals of Men. One thing I must make you aware of before I conclude this story is the fact that the people of Dan were not slothful. They were so deliberate in their actions, planned very well and engaged the weapon of hardwork in actualising their dreams of displacing another! They were also positively minded that God had given them the desires of their heart and every good thing the people had because from the account, the people of Laish possessed a land that was not in want of any thing that is in the earth! WAOH.... they were so so rich and blessed. Worthy of note is the fact that while the people of Dan were desperately preparing and putting adequate plans into place to take over,with every kind of strategies and tactics put in place, the people of Laish never suspected a thing. Rather, they were secure in dwelling safely and in quietness. On the appointed day they had planned to strike, they burnt down the whole land without pity... the lands of the quiet and secure! However, the people of Laish would have been helped but their place was far from where other people lived and previously, they had no relationship with any man or people so, they were on their own! And so,when the people of Dan struck, it was kind of easy. The most important thing at the conclusion of this story, is to see how it relates to our lives. The truth is that as you are reading, there are people willing to take your place. There are people consistently working and ready to overthrow you and access the land that has been prepared and preserved for you, willing to take your job or career, health, finances, spouse, joy, just name it! Every good thing that will make life enjoyable and pleasurable for you is being eyed and contested , though you might not see it. Whether you are aware or not, it has always been like that and would forever be, as long as Jesus tarries, so it’s an ongoing battle. That is the reason you will see people living in affluence today and in a matter of years, it’s just as if they’ve never tasted wealth before. Be sure that the enemy does not want you to enjoy any good thing and that’s why he’s fighting tooth and nail. That is why we don’t have to offend anyone to be attacked or what have you done to have experienced all the challenges you’ve faced so far in life? Two major things I want you to hold on to in this story are: 1. DON’T BE QUIET: The poeople of Laish were so quiet and secure, yet they were subdued! How many times have we had the impulse and urge to embark on worthy projects and things that can be beneficial to our fellow men but we kill the voice within us because we don’t want risks, we don’t want to die, we don’t want threats and so, we continually live in our comfort zones. Remember, whether we are quiet or not, we are still going to be attacked. Mediocrity has never been known to be the way out. Quietnesss is not to be embraced in the raging battles of life. If we are on the offensive, we’ld be engaged in the battle, if we are quiet, we’ld still be attacked. Whichever way, WE MUST FIGHT but we are only going to win if we are on the offensiive and not quiet! We really must pay attention to our attitudes and the way we run or handle our lives. Like my status reads today...Our fears is not in that God cannot keep or save us in times of trouble but our fears is in our experience of evil things happening to good people. Looking at the people of Laish, we can get a good lesson from them. They were quiet and ‘’secure’’ people. This could mean that they were good people. So, why should they still be attacked and subdued? They were attacked and sudued as seemingly good people because THEY WERE QUIET! That is why you can see that the issue of being quiet is not something that should be taken lightly. We need to speak out and be violent in accessing our blessings. However,after God has given us what belongs to us, we still have to fight to keep it. To be noted again is that the account of this story says that the peope were careless. Relating this to us, what does it mean to be careless? We can be careless when we don’t pray, and we continually live in sin. Embracing and working out a quality prayer life involves being diligent and not slothful. Making sure we have close fellowship and communion with God in prayer and study everyday and going further to pray without ceasing. Nothing good comes easy and even the enemy is working so hard. If you continue to watch your life go the way it wantts to go, don’t complain when things turn out for the worst. Every good thing is conciously worked at. Weeds don’t need to be cultivated but fruits must be conciously cultivated. When we live a prayerless, non studious, compromising and sinful lives,both our physical and spiritual walls of defense is broken and the enemy will have free access to torture our lives regardless of how long we have been born again. But that will not be our portion in Jesus name because I know we are all going to take the required responsibilities after reading this. 2. EMBRACE FELLOWSHIP: I’ld look into the aspect of fellowship from two angles considering the fact that every relationship we enter into can either make us or mar us. That is why we need the grace for wisdom and the spirit of discernment to be able to recognise relationships worth clinging on to, those to be kept at a distance and those to be discarded outrighty. Being ‘’secure’’ by keeping away from asssociating with people does not guarantee our security and it is well portrayed in the story of the Laishites. There’s no doubt that we have to be vulnerable enough to allow fellowship. (a) Good Fellowship: Have you ever felt the need just to be alone and not associate with anyone, just because of the dissapointments you got from them? Have you ever felt there was no reason to go to church again because of those you’ve held up in high esteem but who ended up dissapointing you because of their ungodly character? (your pastor inclusive) Then,you’re not alone. However, that is not enough reason to be without fellowship. The dangers of being without it are more! The people of Laish had nobody to deliver them when their day of trouble came because they were far from Zidon(a community of people) and moreso, they had no business with ANY MAN. Simply put, they were far from fellowship. Who says it’s just enough to be a christian without going to church as long as you’re living right? NEVER! It’s beyond living right because the people of Laish probably lived right too. Who says there’s no value in church or fellowships? Not to go to church or fellowship with people because of the atrocities we discover they commited, is a deception of the devil. You know why? At the end of the day, we would not be judged as a church but as an individual. Infact, the devil intentionally makes those you look up to in terms of character and values to fall flat thus bringing down your faith alongside. Every wise man or woman should better know that it’s every man for himself. Be quick to understand that it is your people, your fellowship and your church that will stand for you in the times of your greatest attack. It’s not a prophecy of doom. Times of adverse challenges will always come up in every life. Times when you might not even be able to pray again but rely on the prayers of others. I might hear you say, what of those that are nowhere to be found during these challenges. The truth is that if your church is not there, your fellowship will be there. God will always provide a way for you when he knows your strength is small. If everyone ends up discarding you, then that means God knows that you have been equipped with the required strength. Remember he has said that you’ld not be faced with situations more than what you can bear. I remember a time when I was terribly ill to the point of death. I ended up not being able to sum up the strength to pray again. I could only mutter few words while I looked up to God in my lying state for his mercies to prevail. At that time, my fellowship was contacted(Winners Campus Fellowship, University of Ibadan) and they continued in prayer for me. I want to use this oppoutunity to say a big thank you to them again. They are my families for life! One striking thing that happened to confirm the reality of the power in their prayers was a revelation that was given to one of my friends. In that dream, a course mate of mine who had died earlier in reality came with some loads in his hands, telling my friend that he was ready to come and take me on the journey. However, I was in the bus with my friend and she told him I was not going and for what? Looking at the sides of the bus we were both in,was the inscription... ‘’WINNERS CAMPUS FELLOWSHIP’’ I was held secure from death under that umbrella! Friends, the benefits of fellowship is real and far outweighs our non inclusion because a sister gossiped about us or a brother is sleeping with your girlfriend.... give me worst scenarios.... Pray... ‘’Lord, let not my fears of the betrayals of Men, keep me from the benefits of fellowship’’ (b)Wrong Fellowship: Like I use to say, when God wants to bless or change a life, he sends someone. So also the devil sends someone when he wants to destroy a life. Our wisdom is in being able to differentiate between the two. Though some might start out with us so well, they end up being a memory we don’t ever want to remember. That is why it is very important for us to also ask God for the spirit of discernment. A person might look so perfect, yet we have this uneasiness in our spirit! Watchout!!! It might be that the person is not in our lives for good. Please, forget about the handsome face or pretty looks. It’s quite disturbing that we seem to be carried away with the physical happenings and interpretations around us, forgetting the fact that there are spiritual undertones to everything in life. If you like, you might continue to join the train of those that claim not to want to ‘’overspiritualise’’things. There’s nothing like that. We are all spirit beings, simple! And we should walk by the spirit and not by the flesh. The people of Laish were not aware that the very people that seemed to be their friends were spies who were going to end up destroying their entirety! Have you seen the movie... Apocalypses? They allowed the spies to pass across their territory thinking they were friends. They were even given a gift! What a deception. The end was agony unlimited. Be careful of those hanging around your life too. Do a sincere and prayerful appraisal while you let go of those that need to be away from your life. Wisdom cannot be traded for anything in the journey of life. In conclusion, DON’T BE QUIET, BE AT ALERT AND EMBRACE FELLOWHIP WITH GOD AND MAN! It’s your security in this world. You can read about the people of Laish in the book of Judges, chapter eighteen. Meanwhile, if you are not a born again christian, I can assure you that you have no lasting security anywhere else outside the blood of Jesus.Worthy to note is that regardless of the success on earth, we’d be of all men most miserable if we spend eternity in hell.So why not accept Jesus into your life right away, he ensures your safety here and in the world to come. Say this prayer if you’re ready for him. Dear Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and personal saviour. I believe you died for my sins and rose again on the third day that I might be justified. I confess that I’m a sinner. Right now I pray, come into my life and wash me with your blood .I believe I’m saved and born again, thank you Father for saving me. Now that you’re saved, congratulations because I see you fulfilling destiny, go forward there’s nothing stopping you now. It’s a whole new start.ALSO, KEEP THIS… “KNOWLEDGE ONLY QUALIFIES YOU TO BE ON TRACK FOR THE RACE. THE RACE BEGINS ONLY WHEN YOU ACT ON WHAT YOU’VE LEARNT, AND THEN YOU GO TOWARDS THE FINISHING LINE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PRIZE” Gird your heart with all diligence, and make sure as often times as possible you go over what you’ve read, not just for the purpose of this write up, but also for other materials and books you’d get to read. Thanks and God bless you for reading. I commend you to the grace of God to enable you to put into practice everything you’ve read in Jesus Name. Also, you can write down at least three things you’ve decided to do as a result of the insight you’ve gotten from this write up, that way you can be determined to change and measure your progress. I Love you.