Open Heaven for Today 10 December 2019: [Tuesday] – Civil Litigation As A Last Resort
Memorise: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. Matthew 18:15
Read: 1st Corinthians 6:1-9 (KJV)
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Open Heaven for Today 10 December 2019 – Civil Litigation as a last Resort
Open Heaven for Today 10 December 2019 – Civil Litigation as a last Resort
Bible in one year: Psalm 105-106, Zephaniah 2, Sing Hymn 5
Message:-
One of the things we should know and accept is that disputes will occur amongst us in the Body of Christ. This is because we are made up of different persons from different backgrounds with different levels of understanding.
Open Heaven for Today 10 December 2019 – Civil Litigation as a last Resort
In today’s Bible reading, Paul was worried about the believers in the Church at Corinth who were taking their fellow believers to court. He wondered why they couldn’t settle their differences amongst themselves but preferred to go before a judge. He therefore admonished them not go to court but rather take their disputes to the elders for resolution. This admonition still applies to us today. It is shameful for two brothers of the same Father to take their family dispute to an outsider to settle. Not only does it imply that there is no wise fellow in their family who can settle their disputes, it also opens the door for cultures that are not theirs to influence the way they live their lives, because the fellow whom they take their case to will judge it according to the culture he or she is familiar with. This is what happens when we charge our brethren to court.
Open Heaven for Today 10 December 2019: [Tuesday] – Civil Litigation as a last Resort
If you have a dispute with a fellow member of the Body of Christ, your case should be taken to the elders of your Church for them to settle for you. When you take the case to court, the verdict will not be based on the teachings of the Scriptures, and the result is likely to affect your relationship with that person negatively. Even judges sometimes advise brothers to go home and settle their disputes with their family. The reason they do this is to avoid more severe issues within the family later.
Open Heaven for Today 10 December 2019 Tuesday: Action Point
I am not promising you that taking a case to the elders will guarantee that you are not cheated, but it will guarantee that you don’t soil the Name of your heavenly Father. Let your priorities be clear: God first before anything or anyone else. Always ask God for what He would like you to do before you make any move. It is only when the other fellow has acted contrary to the lifestyle of a child of God, especially by ignoring the instructions of the elders, that you can then take him or her to the law courts; otherwise, even if you feel like you are being cheated, it is better to keep your family Name intact than to take your family matter to be judged by outsiders.
Action Point:
Always seek to protect the Name of your Father in heaven.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.