BIBLE READING: Genesis 50:15-21, Psalm 133:1-3
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him. So they sent messengers to Joseph saying , before your father died he commanded saying; Thus shall you say to Joseph : I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you. Now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face and they said behold we are your servants. Joseph said to them, do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
Psalm 133:1-3
“ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious oil upon the head , running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing- Life forevermore.”
Majority of the problems affecting success in life is lack of continuity. Some parents who are rich do not do proper hand over to their children before departing to the great beyond. In this case, their children do not excel in life. In other words, no continuity, no success. There is no success without a successor . Children have to continue with the good business and other good things their parents were doing. Some families who were notable for charitable work must not vanish because God has ordained us to be kind to people. Continuity entails proper and successful handover of legacy from parents r to children. When King David left, he handed over to Solomon; Abraham handed over to Isaac. In Genesis 25:5, the Bible says “ And Abraham gave to Isaac all that he had. “ When God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the Bible says in Genesis 18:17-18 “ And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation , and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? God knows Abraham will command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” God was established in the family. Isaac transferred God to Jacob; Jacob transferred power to Joseph; Moses handed over the Law of God to the children of Israel. Isaiah 43:21 says “ This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. ” Again, Psalm 118:17 says “ I shall not die but live, And declare the works of the Lord.” God wants you to continue to imbibe those cultures that are good. He wants you to continue what you are doing to serve Him. John 5:17 says “ But Jesus answered them, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Again John 15:1-5 says “ I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Jesus is good and we have to be good. By His word, there should not be anything like separation or broken marriage,; husband and wife should forgive each other to ensure continuity in their marriage. Childhood friendship should not disintegrate; the relationship between Pastors and followers must continue, sisters in the Lord must continue to pray together. Discontinuity is one of the weapons the devil uses to destabilize the children of God. By continuing to be together, you are destroying his kingdom. Luke 11:17 says “ But He knowing their thoughts said to them: “ Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. ” If not for the grace of God in our lives, we will be doing something bad. Power of continuity means forgiveness. Joseph’s brothers asked for food and were thirsty. He made provisions for them. In other words, he put a ‘coal of fire’ on them. It does not matter if you do good to people and they repay you in bad coin. You are a lifter that is why you are disappointed. Some people tend to work against you with the money you gave to them. Nothing will happen to you because it is the grace of God that makes you to help people . So you should continue to do the good things you are doing without fear because God is with you. Psalm 130:4 says “ But there is forgiveness with You. That You may be feared.” Psalm 14:3 “ They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good. “ Roman 3:12 says “ They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is no one who does good, no not one. Do not condemn anyone because no one is righteous . Isaiah 54: 6 says “ For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused.” Because of your calling, persecution is in the package and disappointment is always there. Enemies want you to cry; they want you to be uprooted but with God , nobody can destabilize you. For every evil work against you, God meant it for good. Every evil work the enemies have done against you is cancelled in Jesus Name, Amen. One of the problems of African countries is lack of continuity. The government of day do not want to continue with the programmes of the past administration because they want something new. Generally, Africans has culture and their culture is to be respectful and obedient. They extend this respectfulness to strangers. They honor their Parents and elders. On the contrary, when Africans move to other countries , they forget their own culture and imbibe foreign culture, character, attitude that are alien to them. The will of God is for you to continue with the good things you are doing; serve the Lord and worship Him in order to fulfill His purpose in your life.
ACHIEVING POWER OF CONTINUITY
- CHARACTER:
You should have a good character. Some people have good characters but no anointing. Anointing will do the work and character will take you to do the work. It is character that brought Joseph to Egypt while the anointing manifested. His brothers hated him but he did not curse them. His character did not change when his brothers visited him in Egypt. They were of the same father but different mothers except Benjamin. Joseph wanted the relationship to continue. He forgave them, gave them food, gave them good things (putting a coal of fire upon them). God favored him in the land of Egypt. . If God makes you a lifter, you must encounter disappointment. Abraham lifted Lot but he disappointed Abraham by choosing the best vegetation instead of allowing his uncle to choose first. . Jesus lifted Judas but he betrayed Him. Jesus lifted Peter who was an ordinary fisherman but he denied Him. Jesus lifted Thomas but he doubted the resurrection of Jesus. ( All disappointments). People may have disappointed you but God never disappoints.. Luke 11: 4 says “ And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one.” Jesus wants you to forgive and continue with His good works. Forgiveness is divine. You cannot avoid persecution in the package. You may feel so bitter in your heart but God says you have done more to Him. Isaiah 64:6 says “ But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf , and our iniquities like the wind, have taken us away.” Again Psalm 130:3 says “ If you Lord should mark iniquities , O Lord, who could stand?” God wants you to forgive. God is a master planner and He knows the reason why you are where you are today. When there is forgiveness, there is blessing. Joseph forgave his brothers and God blessed him. Enemies threw Daniel into the den of lions. Daniel had neither offended nor cursed them and God elevated him. With God, you excel, you are successful, you are established in your marriage, you have undistorted journey and so God says your fellowship with Him must continue.
FORGIVENESS BRINGS ABOUT:
- BLESSING
It brings about the blessings of God; expansion of your territory. Forgiveness between husband and wife attracts Spiritual, financial and physical needs of the family.
2.PEACE AND JOY
If you are at peace with everybody, you will not entertain any fear from anywhere. On the other hand, if you are not at peace with people, fear sets in as a result of expected attack from the enemies. You tend to resort to retaliated curses.
3. ESTABLISHES THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN OUR LIFE.
If your heart is free and pure, then you will be able to speak to God. Isaiah 54:16-17 says “ Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coal in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.” No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn.” If what people say against you is sanctioned by God, then you will not be alive.
4. IT MAKES OUR LIVES TO BE SECURED
If you are not at peace with people, you may feel threatened by enemies. You may even sleep with a weapon by your side because of insecurity. The Lord says you should forgive so as to fulfill the purpose of God in your life and not having some ill feelings in your heart. If you offer me some food to eat , I will gladly accept it and bless you. But I will not eat if you are bearing grudges or having a strained relationship with me. . Roman 2:11 says “ For there is no partiality with God” The Bible says in Galatians 2:6 “ But from those who seemed to be something- whatever they were, it makes no difference to me. God shows personal favoritism to no man – for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.” If God allows wicked people to prevail over righteousness, then God is not righteous. If evil people fail to release what belongs to you, the thunder of God will scatter them. Every incantation in your life is broken down in Jesus Name. Amen. 3.
5 .IT FORTIFIES OUR KINGDOM
Through forgiveness, our ministry will wax stronger. Our family will grow stronger too. It gives you expansion of your coast.
6 . IT PUTS ENEMIES TO SHAME
Enemies are not happy when the children of God are fighting them spiritually because you are a terror to them.. You have to stand together to put the devil to shame. Enemies to your marriage must not stand. Husband and wife must forgive each other. If you love yourselves, then you are doing what God has established. Marriage is a contract ordained by God. Do not hide things from each other. You should be hungry to call each other quite often from work and even hungry to see each other . . Because wives are weaker vessels, husbands should hold their wife like eggs, value their wives like diamond/gold. Your wife must be special in your heart. Your marriage must work. God will put those intimidating you to shame in Jesus Name. Amen. You have to forgive yourselves in marriage. God is not an author of confusion . Ephesians 4: 6 says “ One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all. How are you comfortable when husband and wife are fighting.? It then means you have not discovered true love. Why should you be hiding your phones from each other when you know you have signed a contract. If you are not ready to share things, then don’t go into marriage. You must be one. You have to forgive each other and discover genuine love, true love so as to put your enemies to shame.
7. IT SETS CONFUSION IN THE CAMP OF THE ENEMIES
Forgiveness is divine. It is a commandment of God. If enemies see a lovely and peaceful marriage, they are confused. Joseph said to his brothers “ Am I in the place of God. They planned to kill him but God meant it for good. Their evil conspiracy led to his elevation in life. May you stand out in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
