KEEP YOUR OFFICE

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

AUGUST 26, 2022

TOPIC: KEEP YOUR OFFICE

BY T. O. BANSO

“And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6 New King James Version).

One of the tragic stories in the Bible is that of Judas Iscariot. Jesus, after He had prayed all night, called him along with eleven others to be his disciples (Luke 6:12-16). But he went to conspire with the religious leaders who wanted to kill Jesus. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-15).

But when he saw that Jesus had been condemned to death, his conscience condemned him and he returned the money to the chief priests and elders but they rebuffed him. Judas threw down the money and went to hang himself. The chief priests took the money but said it was the price of blood, which they couldn’t put into the treasury. Therefore, they used the money to buy the potter’s field for the burial of strangers (Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1:18).

Judas didn’t keep his office or position as a disciple or an apostle, so he lost it. He became a betrayer. After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples gathered to choose someone to replace him. Addressing about one hundred and twenty disciples, Peter said the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. He said Judas was numbered with them and obtained a part in the ministry, but he betrayed Jesus and committed suicide thereafter (Acts 1:16-18).

Quoting from Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8, Peter said, “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it’; and, ‘Let another take his office’” (Acts 1:20 New King James Version). Take note of the phrase: Let another take his office. That became necessary because Judas allowed Satan and greed to displace him. Matthias was chosen to replace him (Acts 1:26).

Keep your office or position. Avoid doing anything that will cause you to lose your office. The Bible says, “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6 New King James Version).

The Bible does not tell us much about these angels. But from this scripture, it is evident that they didn’t keep their office; they left the place God had assigned to them. Consequently, they were punished. The Amplified Bible puts Jude 6 thus: “And angels who did not keep (care for, guard, and hold to) their own first place of power but abandoned their proper dwelling place — these He has reserved in custody in eternal chains (bonds) under the thick gloom of utter darkness until the judgment and doom of the great day.”

2 Peter 2:4 says, “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” (New King James Version). Keep your office – care for, guard, and hold to it. Thus, you will save yourself from the consequences of losing your office.  

Keep your office; don’t let another person take your place as it happened to Judas or Eli the Priest and his father’s house because of his children and his failure to discipline them appropriately. “Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed’” (1 Samuel 2:30 New King James Version). That was God’s word concerning Eli and his father’s house. His father’s house eventually lost the priesthood as God had said.

Saul didn’t keep his office by disobeying the LORD’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites. “So Samuel said to him, ‘The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you’” (1 Samuel 15:28 New King James Version). God took the kingdom from him and gave it to David, a man after his heart (1 Samuel 28:17; 13:14; Acts 13:22). God took His mercy from Saul and removed him from the throne (2 Samuel 7:15).  

Obedience will preserve you in your office but disobedience will cost you your office. Saul is a case study as we have seen. Earlier in 1 Samuel 13, he had also disobeyed the Prophet Samuel’s instruction to him and intruded into the office of a priest by offering a burnt offering, which Samuel was to offer (1 Samuel 10:8). Thus, Samuel told him, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13-14 New King James Version).  

Keep your office in your marriage or family, in the ministry or church, at work, or in the community. Have nothing to do with any office that violates the Word of God and does not honour God. If you’re occupying such a position, repent and quit now. Obey the Word of God. Also, obey the rules or code of ethics of your profession or of your ecclesiastical office. Because of King Solomon’s disobedience to God, He took away from him ten of the tribes of Israel during the reign of his son, Rehoboam. He left him with one tribe for the sake of David, His servant (1 Kings 11:31-35).

Keep your office so that you won’t regret it later. The unjust steward or shrewd manager in Luke 16 said, “What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg” (verse 3 New King James Version). But he shouldn’t have been wasting his master’s goods, which made him want to sack him. Those who lose their offices face different challenges.

If you love your office, keep it. Obey the Word of God and He will establish you. “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9 New King James Version). Do what is expected of you. Fulfil the demands of your office. Don’t overstep the bounds.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to keep my office. Guide me against anything that will cause me to lose my place. I will not take any action or make any error that will cost me my office in Jesus’ name. Father, have mercy on those who have lost their offices and restore them.

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org