DCLM Daily Manna 16 December 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Envy Is Dangerous
TOPIC: Envy Is Dangerous
TEXT: Matthew 12:22-37 (KJV)
22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
KEY VERSE: “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” – (Matthew 12:24)
MESSAGE:
D.L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day, the bird saw a sportsman with a bow and arrow and said to him; “I wish you would bring down that eagle up there”. The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow. So the jealous eagle pulled out one of his feathers. The arrow was shot but it did not quite reach the rival bird. The eagle pulled out another feather, then another, until he himself could not fly. The archer took advantage of his situation, turned around and killed the helpless bird.
From the text, Jesus healed someone who was possessed with a devil, blind and dumb. He both spoke and saw. The people, on seeing this, were amazed but the Pharisees were enraged. They allowed envy take the better part of them. They accused Jesus of casting out devils by the prince of devils. Jesus would not join issues with them. He spoke of God’s readiness to forgive all sins, but not the sin against the Holy Spirit because attributing the work of God to the prince of Satan was a grievous misdeed. He also warned against speaking idle words for which we shall give account on the day of judgment.
Envy is dangerous, especially in the church. We must learn to give praise to God when someone else is being used by Him to do more signs and wonders, and minister to the needs of the flock than us. When Satan comes into the church, he fills the heart of preachers with envy against their fellow ministers. This will result in various clandestine attempts to destroy the gifted and anointed minister through uncomplimentary reports and even witchhunt. This would incur divine judgment.
We should avoid envy like a plague and pray that God gives us a heart of gratitude to appreciate those He chooses to use.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Envy self-destroys!
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Habakkuk 1-3
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
