A sermon preached
by Nigerian Minister
Fortune Emerence Chinemerem Nwaiwu on 18th February, 2018.
"A gossip
goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a
confidence"--- Proverb 11:13 NLT
Introduction
A man was seen at the front of a bank inserting his ATM card into an ATM machine, and he was using his
hands and body to cover where he was putting his ATM secret PIN (security code).
His reason for doing that was that he did not want people to know about his PIN, to avoid being swindled or defrauded. He could tell people the bank he operates
with, but he would never disclose his secret PIN to them. He knows that his PIN
is a password to his blessings and a source of his livelihood. If he tells
people about his secret, he could be ruined and doomed.
I then remembered a man
who told his son all about his ATM card PIN, and his son secretly took it to
withdraw money. Thank God that the son was apprehended by police on the way, when the police discovered different ATM cards in his trousers pockets. They
called his father on the phone through the phone number the child provided. The
father came, and he knew that his son was in a big trouble. When he was asked
if he was the one that gave his son his ATM card to withdraw money, the man – having
realized that he was the one who would have to bail out his son if he said no
to the police question – admitted that he was the one.
From the Proverbs 11:13, there are two classes of
people that one may encounter in life. First, the gossip, and second, the
trustworthy.
The Gossips:
This set of people have flippant mouths. Their mouths
leak their friends' secrets like a roof of a house leaking water during rainy seasons.
Their intention of telling your secrets could, perhaps, be to ridicule you,
disparage your reputation, or making you become an object of laughter. In most
cases, you may be humiliated and begin to say, "What a world! Had I known,
I wouldn't have shared my secrets with them!"
Perhaps this thought resonated
in the mind of Sampson when Delilah finally betrayed his secrets to the
Philistine men. We see here that your secret is your life. Sampson revealed the
source of his power to Delilah, a woman he thought loved him, a woman who
decided to betray him to her people because of 1,100 pieces of silver. What
about you, do you tell people's secrets because of money? Or food? Or to please
people? Have you been betrayed by the revealing of secrets you told friends?
Note: When Sampson shared his secret to Delilah: "My
hair has never been cut," Judges 16:17,
Delilah called a man to shave his hair, scraping away the source of his power,
and his strength left him. This time she knew that Sampson had told her his
secret, and she invited in the Philistine rogues. Sampson thought he would do as
usual to escape from them, but without realizing that the Lord had left him.
His eyes were gouged out, and he then became completely blind. What a great
tragedy! Telling of a person's secrets to people can destroy him, and if you
are sharing your internal infirmity, how you're unable to feed well, how you
suffer or what is your next good plan to achieve, my dear, you are selling your
worth and at the same time destroying your future.
In Matthew 9:30, Jesus Christ charged two blind men He healed to keep the
healing secret. In His word, He says, "Don't tell anyone about this."
The reason Christ was charging these men sternly not to tell anyone else about
this miracle is not known. Perhaps, He did not want to receive vainglory, or He
did not want people to know Him by this miracle. Whatever may be the case, we
see He needed a secret to be kept.
The Trustworthy Persons:
These people are men
of integrity. They are reliable, and they can keep a secret. But do such men still
exist? “Everyone beware of his neighbor,” as Jeremiah 9:4 says, “and don’t trust in any brother; for every
brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go around like a
slanderer. God is the only trustworthy Lord, for He knows every secret in the
heart of all men.”
Our society needs
trustworthy persons. They will never tell your secrets to people, but they can
disclose evil plans to the light. Yes, if you make your sin secret, you can
never prosper unless you confess.
Mordechai and Esther were
trustworthy people. Mordechai told Esther not to reveal her identity and nationality
to the King of Persia, (Esther 2:10),
and Esther kept her identity and nationality secret. But the moment Mordechai
heard about the evil plan of two of the King's eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh, who were
planning to assassinate the King, he made the evil plan known to Esther and the
King. Also, when Saul wanted to kill David, it was Saul's daughter, Micah. the
wife of David. that revealed the plot to David, and asked him to run away for
his dear life.
Where are the Mordechai
and Micah of this generation? Who is to be trusted at this perilous time? Our
political and religious leaders of this generation, are they reliable? Christians,
can we rise up and reposition ourselves and be people of integrity? Can we will
rise up and do the work of He Who called us into faith?
If no one tells you of
his secret, know that you are not reliable, and unworthy to keep it. Perhaps
you have betrayed someone's secret before. You've been mocked because
of wrong, untrustworthy fellows, who spread mostly the odd parts of your life.
Today, God will pay them back. He paid back the Philistines for what they did to
Sampson, after Sampson prayed, “Lord, let me die along with my enemies.” We learn
that 3,000 people died. You shall not perish along with the gossip, the wicked,
nor will you die along with your enemies of progress.
God bless you.
For comments and
suggestions email the Man of God via fortune.nwaiwu.fn@gmail.com
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Rev. Nwaiwu's sermon has been slightly edited. [WriteYourBookWith Me.com]
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