Why do you need to break free from every evil covenant or agreement to lie?
You will be doing yourself a great favor to break free from evil covenants before the judgment day comes because it must surely come as it was revealed.
‘Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication‘. REVELATION 17:1-2
‘And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues‘. REVELATION 17:15
Through the telling of lies, the falsifying of accounts, manipulation, divination, bewitchment, enchantment, chaos and violence, the killing and shedding of innocent blood, reining wicked balances and keeping bags, the wicked sit on people’s destinies and destroy God’s plans and purposes for families, cities, and nations. If you are hearing my voice today, whether you are still active in service or retired, please repent that it may be well with you and your generations to come.
‘The same way ‘Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel, saying, if ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve Him only: and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only‘. 1 SAMUEL 7:3-4
God’s judgment is imminent and only genuine salvation will guarantee your safety. If the children of Israel could heed the call of Samuel in their day, you can do the same.
Today is a day of grace, mercy, salvation, and complete deliverance. The judgment day would be terrible and fearful because the present earth where you now invest and the atmospheric heaven would run away. Everything that identified with sin would burn completely, and every sinner who refused to repent would face judgment and God’s wrath. All sinners, including those destroyed or devoured by voracious fishes, shall be raised or resurrected for judgment (see Revelation 20:5, 12-15). How would you fare on the day of God’s judgment?
Does stealing and lying go hand in hand?
Beloved of God, do not be in a hurry to claim that you are not a thief or have never been one. Listen, no one can steal proficiently without telling lies because lies and stealing go hand in hand. Those who lie deny those they lie to the right to know the truth, thereby stealing from them. So, if you have been convicted as a liar, you might as well be guilty of stealing.
What God expects of those who stole or have been engaged in stealing
Nevertheless, there is good news today. The Scriptures admonish us, ‘Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs’ (Ephesians 4:28).
The city of Ephesus and its lifestyle
Our world today is more developed, just as Ephesus was during the time of Paul. He spent three years ministering at Ephesus, and before he left Ephesus, Paul handed the church over to Timothy. Ephesus was the most developed city, making a famous Roman historian refer to Ephesus as the light of Asia, the marketplace with the most splendid harbor. It was also a place for big games, and many people went to Ephesus from different parts of Asia for games. Ephesus was also the center for worshiping goddess Diana, and her temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The selling of idols was big business, and little gods were sold to thousands of idol worshippers.
The idolatrous nature of the city of Ephesus
Idolatry, a willful departure from the true God, is terrible. It is hateful, vain, foolish, bloody, defiling and unprofitable. Paul knew that most members of the church in Ephesus, especially senior citizens at the time, belonged to the cult. Most were idolaters, liars, and thieves who made their money by stealing human destinies. There was the story of a certain damsel possessed with the spirit of divination, which gave her masters much gain by soothsaying (Acts 16:16). After encountering this damsel, Paul and Silas cast out the demons in her. To show you how determined wicked enslavers at the time were in keeping their victims in bondage, ‘When the masters of the same damsel saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers’ (Acts 16:19).
The rest is history.
The majority of the prominent people at Ephesus were idolaters, liars, and cultists who practiced witchcraft and bewitchments and used peoples’ destinies to gain much. They stole the money meant to develop their communities, cities, and nations while denying their people their rights, benefits, and entitlements.
How Paul admonished the people of Ephesus
Paul knew that such people used church membership to cover up their crimes. Did he condemn them? No, he did not. Instead, he admonished them to stop stealing and help the needy (see Ephesians 4:28; Leviticus 19:11, 13; Isaiah 61:8). Today, many people in high places steal and embellish their crimes with beautiful names to cover them up. Even some educated and well-informed senior citizens are no better. This is a call to end any form of stealing and lying in our midst that we will live holy and acceptable lives to God.