Prevention is better than cure
Prevention is better than cure
Life is about learning better ways in God that lead us to walk in wisdom and victory. This benefits everyone concerned. It is through learning from mistakes that one prevents repetitive mistakes in life. However, learning from someone else's mistake is better than learning from one's own mistakes. That is why Apostle Paul wrote stating that the nation of Israel in their relationship to God and what transpired between them should be an example to us. When we learn and submit to the lesson, we can become a blessing as God intended. Since blessings are already given in Abraham through Jesus our Lord, we must choose blessings and not curses. Through Jesus we are no longer under the curse but we can easily place ourselves under a curse by breaking God's commandments. Though the grace of Jesus operates in this period when we go astray and acts as an agent to bring us to repentance, we will continue to suffer if we do not repent or return tour transgressions.
Curses are real and applicable to all who are out of the will of God. This is a universal law and cannot be changed. Curses can only be avoided by keeping God's commandments. This world is still under a curse and so are all who live in it who are not saved through Jesus. What about Christians? Well, they fall under a curse when they do not follow the commandments of God. The curse is dependent on how you choose.
2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 2Pe 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 2Pe 2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 2Pe 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
We can see from these verses that the children who live lives as though they are Christians but lead double lives are cursed. The time has come to change everything about ourselves. We have to move away from bad decisions, rebellion, and pride to walk humbly before God, before man and before our circumstances in life. Making right decisions no matter what it costs will save us all from problems that come unnecessarily further down the track. It is human to err but it is pride to continue to err and not learn from mistakes. The time has come for us to stop making character mistakes. By that I mean, all of us should teach and train ourselves to make right choices in life knowing that we have faults in our character. The only way character can be corrected is through the fruit of the Spirit and the word of God.
1. Firstly, we must realise that we are capable of making mistakes.
2. Secondly, we must acknowledge that one is wrong when the Holy Spirit convicts us or we know through the word and often time even through common sense.
3. Thirdly, one must repent of one's ways before God and seek His guidance on all decision making.
4. Fourthly, one should be open to and receive wise counsel from those who are God's people chosen to influence our lives; i.e. parents, pastors, gifted people and those who love us and care for us.
5. Finally, one has to make right decisions based on the proven ways of God.
6.
Fighting battles all the time that are created through constant and repetitive mistakes is not the way to live life. We have other battles to fight that require our energy. If we are always fighting battles that come out of mistakes, it means we have learnt nothing. It also means, we cannot grow in the Spirit nor can we pass on anything good to our children, society or others. As a result, we become a liability to everyone and cause unnecessary problems that cost time, effort, and money. Furthermore, emotional strain, stress, and trauma take place which has to be borne by oneself and everyone that is affected by these mistakes. This kind of life is unnecessary.
The jails are full of people who have made terrible mistakes. Quite a lot of them will probably never make the same mistake again but I do believe that many will continue to make mistakes repeatedly because they do not have the Holy Spirit in their lives. Guidance is the true purpose of the Spirit of God in us. Psa 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psa 32:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Psa 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about
Without the guidance of the Spirit of truth who illuminates the word, we are walking in darkness. When the Bible speaks of wisdom, it speaks of the Spirit of God. God's Spirit gives man wisdom to make the right decisions in life. Life is full of decisions and we must choose carefully since there are consequences to bad decisions. That is why prevention is better than cure. When we
spend time with the Holy Spirit and walk with Him, we will see His ways and know what to do. He is the perfect guide to all our need. Many have made bad choices in marriage, jobs, ministry, and investments. Others continue living a life of sin justifying their continued bad decision-making based on pride.
Most times, simple mistakes have been costly mistakes. The mouth is one area where the cost of making a mistake with words have proven costly to many and in quite a few cases even started wars. Preventing the tongue requires the supernatural strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. It is better to listen than to speak
The book of Proverbs is full of preventative wisdom. The medical field is full of good advice on prevention. Washing hands, hygiene, dieting, etc. are all designed to act as prevention. The experts believe, if people will take care of themselves, they will not fall sick, thereby eliminating cost to themselves and the nation in money and wasted production time. I am told that billions of dollars and man-hours are lost because of the lack of prevention. "Safety first" is a slogan that speaks of prevention When you investigate why people make the same mistakes repeatedly, you will find that it is because of stubbornness and pride and not usually out of ignorance. So, educating them is not the answer but correction. That is why God has a rod of correction and that can be quite unpleasant. He also goes on to say,, His Spirit will not always contend with flesh. Meaning, a day will come when He will no longer attempt to reconcile. This is the real danger man faces.
In Church life, we find that believers make mistakes repeatedly. No matter where you go in the world, the mistakes are the same. History repeats itself is a statement that is so true, it is unbelievable. The Apostle Paul wrote to us, warning us, that we should not repeat the mistakes of the Jews especially the type of mistakes they made when they were in the wilderness. He wrote this because of the consequences that followed their kind of disobedience. Many Churches are in trouble worldwide because they repeat the same mistakes of allowing sin, gossip, witchcraft, legalism, infighting, politics, stubbornness, pride, and the pursuit of worldly standards to gain a foothold in their churches. In addition to this, many entertain evil spirits in the Church knowing the danger of doing so. One Pastor in Indonesia entertained two witches in his congregation because they brought him souls. Since the Church was his rice bowl (provision) he needed the witches. God rebuked this man severely and when he was delivered, demons manifested in a green liquid that came out of his mouth. This was what Jesus was upset about in the letters to the seven Churches in the book of Revelation. He said some of them were entertaining jezebel and satan. Today, many churches are willing to compromise in allowing world standards and dictates to come into the Church. Being politically correct is compromise.
Churches worldwide repeatedly make another mistake, which is to let their guard down when things seem to go well. It is always a wonderment to watch the histrionics of repeated mistakes play out all over the world consistently as we come closer to the return of Jesus. What has the Church learned in all the years of its existence? Repeated mistakes only serve to destroy what God took so long to teach and build in us.
A great man of God in South Korea with nearly a million people in his church was recently indicted by his own government officials for misappropriating funds from the Church's coffers to the tune of millions of dollars. What did he learn from all the mistakes of others who had done similar acts? He was a man who spoke of holiness and righteous living and had conducted himself impeccably until he made this mistake. The devil (the god of mammon) had set him up through the love of money. It is not money that is evil but the love of it. One can only know the difference by what one is willing to give up in their lives. When Jesus asked the rich young ruler to give up his possessions, he could not do so. He deemed them more important than salvation.
What about Church conflicts and the repeated mistakes of such conflicts? Churches split because they never learn to humble themselves. One large church split because the members did not agree about doctrine. The disagreement was over whether Adam and Eve were created with a navel. Then the ones who split saying that Adam & Eve were created with a navel, split again because they could not agree about whether the navel was concave or convex in shape. Though this sounds ridiculous, if you look into many splits in Churches, you will find that the mistakes committed are the same and repeatedly so.
God has called us to grace to enable us to walk in peace and joy without the hang- ups of doctrine and one-upmanship (ego). I am sure that if we practise prevention, we will find peace, good health, and joy. We can all rest assured that no one is perfect and hence
mistakes will be made. The secret is to prevent mistakes and reduce them until you find your joy and peace increasing. Wise counsel is always only a prayer away and God who is the Wise One will guide you by His Holy Spirit.
My hope for us is that we will not make repeated mistakes. In every area of our lives we must walk in prevention. Prayer is a great preventer and so is wise counsel. When we choose love over rejection, frustration, anger and self promotion, we will find that it conquers a world of evil. To grow in love requires much humility. May God give us an understanding of humility without having to humble us. Let us learn to walk in humility as it is incumbent on us and not God.
There are great opportunities for us to grow and walk in this love. We have to practise it. That in itself is prevention. Marriages and other types of relationships always need love. Even when we love, there seems to be more need for love. My prayer is; 'God, teach us to love and not attempt to be what we are not nor should not be. Keep all our character faults under check by the Holy Spirit and cause Him to speak to our conscience. Help us to listen to Him. May the attacks of the enemy only drive us further to become overcomers and more than conquerors. Let the love of God that is incomprehensible become known to us by the increase of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Thank you Lord" Praying through to completion like the time Daniel did for 21 days is preventing disaster, delays, lost opportunities, and further attacks of the enemy
With love
Pastor Noble