God: The Ultimate Determiner of Man's Promotion

TOPIC: GOD: THE ULTIMATE DETERMINER OF MAN’S PROMOTION

Read: Daniel 3:26-30
MEMORISE: _For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south_ (Psalm 75:6).

EXPOSITION
Promotion is an attractive word everyone likes to hear. Many lay more emphasis on the issue of promotion during prayer. That is fine, but divine promotion has little to do with how prayerful you are. It is God who determines it as it seems right in His own sight and in His own time (Eccl. 3:11; 1Pet. 5:6). According to our memory Scripture, no one on earth, either from east or west, from north or south, can promote another person, if God does not sanction it. Line seven of the same psalm says, “But God is the judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” It is only God who has capacity to enthrone and dethrone.

Having known that promotion comes only from God, we need to know the parameter He uses to do it, for He does not promote people at random. Whenever God has intention to promote anyone, He does the searching at the heart of the person for proper inspection. This is what He corrected Prophet Samuel for when he wanted to choose the king among the sons of Jesse with human yardstick (1 Sam. 16:7). Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

One important thing among the others that God looks for when searching man’s heart, is to know how faithful the person is to Him, especially when the going is tough. We have several examples in the Bible. For instance, Joseph, the young man, proved being a faithful person right from his father’s house to Portiphas’ house down to the prison yard. Eventually, he became the second in command in the land of Egypt. What of David? He became God’s preferable King in Israel because of faithfulness he displayed in caring for his father’s sheep. God counts the way we are dealing with others. If you fail to be faithful to a man you see, definitely you cannot be faithful to God you cannot see. We also have the three Hebrew boys as our example. They were promoted in the foreign land, because of their faithfulness to God (Dan. 3:30). Work upon your heart and let it be right before God. Sooner than later, your own promotion will surely come (Psalm 139:1, 23).

PRAYER POINTS
1. Help me, Lord, to do it right and to have it right in my life, in Jesus’ name.
2. Teach me, Oh Lord, to do your will and to maintain my relationship with you.
3. Nothing whatsoever will be able to delay my promotion again, in Jesus’ name.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
• I come against, all the curses issued against my future and progress, in the name of Jesus.
• Do not shrink away from people who have expertise or experiences that are new to you.
• If you can study your enemies very well, you will know how to defeat them repeatedly.
• A man who has one finger pointing at another has three pointing towards himself.
• He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. - 1 Samuel 2:8
• The word "Ruth" comes from the Hebrew word - rûth {רוּת}.
(https://goo.gl/bMDdKg)


QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What does the Bible say about soul ties?

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The phrase “soul ties” is not in the Bible; rather, the idea of soul ties is a man-made speculation which some teachers superimpose onto Scripture in an attempt to explain certain human behaviors. Soul ties are said to be connections from one person's soul to (or into) another person's soul, a concept that has no basis in Scripture.

The Bible does speak of close friendships, such as that of David and Jonathan. “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:1 KJV). This is simply a way of expressing Jonathan’s total commitment to, and deep friendship with, David. To try to make this passage teach a mystical binding of the actual soul is unwarranted.

The Bible also warns against entering ungodly relationships. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. … do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths” (Proverbs 1:10, 15). This passage and others like it caution us against the wrong types of friends but stop short of describing any type of spiritual union of souls.

We also have clear warning against fornication in Scripture. “Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’” (1 Corinthians 6:16). Note that the body is joined; the Bible says nothing of the souls being joined.

The Bible presents evil as addictive; however, nowhere does the Bible speak of “fragmented” souls or “dividing” one’s soul. In short, the Bible gives us clear direction for our lives, and we know the remedy for sin is to confess it and forsake it (1 John 1:9; John 8:11). There is no need for overly complex human theories such as “soul ties.”