CHAPTER 5

FALLING FROM GRACE looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled Heb.12:15. BE NOT WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES Isa.5:21; Prov.3:7; I Cor. 1:18-31. To be wise, is having or showing good judgment, it is a consideration of the choices you have at hand with the aim of choosing the most favourable; the one with the best consequences. Wisdom is a distinguishing trait amongst human being. A wise man suffers minimally, because he is careful in risk and plans for the worst. But when it comes to relating with God; when it comes to dealing with the All-wise Creator, we ought to be exceptionally foolish. Being wise in your own eyes towards God is a foolish suicide game. It only serves to destroy the player without hope. Now, what if the Bible is wrong? What if there is no God; no heaven; no hell? What if Jesus Christ did not die and the Christian faith is the false one after all? What if you die as a Christian and discover you have been deceived? (What a terrible thought). If this unimaginable happens, the reactions of Christians will broadly be in two dimensions. There are Christians who can never recover from it. Eternity will only reveal their foolishness and stupidity, because they have put all their eggs in one basket; they have been totally wasted on God without reservation. But there are those Christians, who will almost not be able to bear it; they are as broken as the first group. But somehow they find themselves recovering; they find little courage to keep up; they begin to discover they have not been totally foolish after all; they were a little wise, even though it might have been only in their heart. This wisdom might be the distinguishing factor/trait between the Christians who endure to the finish line and those who do not. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. Provb.3:5-7. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! Isa. 5:21. King Saul, the son of Kish, was wise in his own eyes. He was a man with an exceptional start: his father was a man of standing; Saul was impressive; he dwarfs everyone in Israel; he was humble and knew how to carry people along; he was zealous for God, the Spirit of God comes upon him and God moved through him in great work. But even with all these, he was a casualty. He had a way of covering up for God when he feels God was not up and doing, as if there were loop-holes in God. When the Philistines gathered to fight Israel and they had to make a sacrifice before going to fight and the Man of God was not coming as scheduled, obviously divinely orchestrated, Saul waited for sometimes and his wisdom manifested in covering up for the man of God by making the needed sacrifice. He told Samuel, who arrived short afterwards, when I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, I thought, now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lords favour. So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering. I Sam.13:11, 12. What wisdom! But listen to what Samuel told him. You acted foolishlyyour kingdom will not endure V. 13, 14 (NIV). Again God sent him to totally destroy the Amalekites, which he went. But on getting there and seeing the spoil, the things to be destroyed, he once again tried to cover up for God as if God did not know the spoil will be that good

before he sent for them to be destroyed or as if he was not wise enough. So Saul helped him again and brought the best of the Sheep and Cattle, the fat Calves and Lambs to sacrifice to the Lord, not for any personal gratification. And he protested, But I did obey the Lord. Then finally when God rejected him as king over his people, he still wanted to take the place of God and act as though all was well; He wanted to hide the broken state of his relationship with God and his rejection as king, he said, I have sinned. But please honour me before the elders of my people and before Israel I Sam.15:30 (NIV). Being wise in your own eyes is first a thing of the heart; a secret and may be unintentional. But even at the heart level, God still sees it and understands the ways of a man. People who are wise in their own eyes, especially towards God, often make plans and arrangement or alternatives, just in case God fails (as if he does!). They have a way of escape if the worse of worst happens in their walk with God. They will feel the impact if it happens, but some how they find themselves recovering from the shock faster than others. It is however, not coincidental as they had made the preparation and/or mind set. Judas Iscariot had his expectations of Jesus Christ. So that when Jesus was not meeting up to them, Judas felt he had to try his own alternatives by betraying Jesus Christ. This was not surprising because, apart from allowing Satan enter him, he had other ways of meeting his needs stealing from the Purse he was wise in his own eyes. His last wisdom showed up, when after he betrayed his Master, guilt struck him. Instead of turning to God in repentance, seeking forgiveness and mercy, he decided to put an end to it all by committing suicide. Being wise in your eyes is something that manifests or tries to manifests in our daily lives. What do you do when it seems God is not up-coming? Or when it seems his prescriptions are not working? Do you attempt to help God in your own intelligent ways? Hardship comes to test this. Disappointments; extreme situations; watered down faith; delayed or un-answered prayers; fruitlessness in ministry; Satan seeming to be in control; God seem no where close etc. The three Hebrew boys said the God we serve is able to saveand he will but even if he does notwe will not serve your gods or worship the image Dan.3:17-18 (NIV). They made it very clear that if God does not help them, they had no other alternatives other than to roast. They preferred to die; be humiliated if God does not show up, than live outside him. Through the years, this has been the mind set of Christian martyrs and it ought to be ours also, that even in little things, we will choose to remain un-helped if God chooses not to help us. Heb.11:15, 16, 35. Here is a description by Charles Spurgeon: "The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot." Genesis 8:9 Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you. If you profess to be a Christian, yet find full satisfaction in worldly pleasures and pursuits, your profession is false. If your soul can stretch herself at rest, and find the bed long enough, and the coverlet broad enough to cover her in the chambers of sin, then you are a hypocrite, and far enough from any right thoughts of Christ or perception of His preciousness. But if, on the other hand, you feel that if you could indulge in sin without punishment, yet it would be a punishment of itself; and that if you could have the whole world, and abide in it for ever, it would be quite enough misery not to be parted from it; for your God--your God--is what your soul craves after; then be of good courage, thou art a child of God. With all thy sins and imperfections, take this to thy comfort: if thy soul has no rest in sin, thou are not as the sinner is! If thou art still crying

after and craving after something better, Christ has not forgotten thee, for thou hast not quite forgotten Him. The believer cannot do without his Lord; words are inadequate to express his thoughts of Him Morning and Evening These wise people like to keep secret the dealings of God in their lives and happenings in their lives, so that they will be put to shame if things do not turn out as expected. Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 wanted to be wise and yet known as exceptional givers, you know their end is not enviable. This is the time to examine your self; look inward, it is better to wept now in prayers before God than to miss out later: 1. Pray -That God should reveal your heart to you continuously -That God should remove every other wisdom from you and flood your heart with his wisdom. -Pray for God to give you grace and show you mercy. -Commit your needs and questions to God and leave them with him. -Reverence him, and hold him in high esteem. -Dont try to explain everything; acknowledge that you are limited; that you are but a human being. -Do not be wise in your own eyes.

2.

Fear God