I wish you a wonderful day and good morning. My name is Oyisi Okatahi and welcome to overcoming temptations. I would like to share with you on an important topic called “Losing your place in life”. My prayer is that God will give you the grace not to loose your place in life.
Our text take from Genesis 49: 1- 4
Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. 3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honour, excelling in power. 4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
You see Rueben was the first son and by Jewish tradition he should have inherited both a double potion of his father’s wealth Deut 21:17 and also the mantle of leadership. Also all first borns were dedicated wholly to God Exodus 13:1-2 and remember Jesus too was also a first born.
So when Jacob was blessing his sons he acknowledged that Rueben was the first born but did not give him any of the blessings as a matter of fact he even cursed him. Why did Rueben loose his place, it was because he slept with his father’s concubine, the sin of sexual immorality made him loose his place. So many people are busy committing adultery, fornication, homosexuality and incest and think that it does not really matter, however they are loosing their place in life. Some people keep on struggling and do not know why, they struggle to pay house rent, struggle to further their education, struggle to get married, struggle to have children. They don’t realize that they are struggling because they have lost their place in life due to SIN. For many of us God had very great plans to establish and make us successful however like Rueben we have lost our place in life due to sin, not only sexual sins but any kind of sin. We have all sinned and fallen short of Gods glory Romans 3:23, but the problem Rueben had was not just because he sinned but there was no record that he ever confessed or regretted his sins.
I have a friend who was a first born son, however he was stubborn, rude, disobedient and ungrateful, I kept telling him that his behaviour would affect his future, his parents, relatives and friends kept advising him but he refused to change. One day this young man during a quarrel hit his mother. His father was so angry about it that he cursed him and said he was no longer the first born and he shall be cursed. This man never asked for forgiveness and later on his father died. Today this man had failed in marriage, failed in work an all his younger brothers are more successful than him. He lost his place in life, maybe you are like him, people have been begging you to change from your bad ways and you have refused, remember you are only loosing your place in life. Yes you may even think that you are successful to some extent but you could have been far greater than you imagined. So if you are a first born son or daughters do not be to proud of it, if you live a sinful life you will certainly loose your place in life and another would take your position.
If you feel you are loosing your place in life then today’s message is for you. I would like you to close your eyes and if possible get on your knees and I will pray along with you. Father in the name of Jesus I pray for your child, your word says that you know the plans you have for us, plans of good and not of evil to give us hope and an expected end. Father have mercy on us, forgive our sins, restore us to your original plan, may we not loose our place in life. Thank you Lord, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Tomorrow we shall take part two of this topic. Have a blessed day.
