HOW YOU CAN SECURE GOD’S BLESSINGS THROUGH GOV’T

Rev. Dr. Godwin Amaowoh
General Secretary, Assemblies of God

There is no reasonable human being who does not need blessings in terms of good things such as, good health, financial, spiritual, emotional and material prosperity. Interestingly, God takes great delight in blessing His people to become prosperous.
(Psalm 35:27, 3 John:2)

God created man and blessed Him to be Prosperous (Gen 1:26-28); the covenants He made with Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the covenants of blessing (Gen 9:1; 12:1-3; 15; 17; 22; 26; 28; 35).
The Abrahamic covenant of blessing was consummated for the New Testament believers through Christ(Matt 26:26; Act 3:25; 2Cor 8:9; Gal 3:13-14, 26, 29).

The issue has been that of some people, including believers, not realizing the blessings of God to live prosperously according to God’s word. Another issue is that of some people seeking blessings through covenant with Satan who claimed very imprudently before Christ that the wealth and all the glory in the world had been given to him (of course, by Adam, Gen 3).

These two issues stem from ignorance of God’s word (Hos 4:6; My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Matt 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
This article seeks to enlighten believers that apart from hardwork, diligence, prayer, righteousness, fulfilling financial obligations towards God and fellow men, maintaining a healthy relationship with the Government, whether Ecclesiastical or State, is one of the veritable ways ordained by God to bring blessings to His people.

Definition: Government is defined as “The body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization”. The implication of this definition is that Government controls all the natural resources, commercial, social, political and religious activities of any given political unit, whether Federal, State or Local Government, as in Nigeria.

Biblical accounts of the relationship between God and Government:
A. The slavery and redemption of Israel from Egypt(Gen 15:13-16). God told Abraham his descendants would be slaves and suffer in Egypt, that He would bring them out with great possessions after four hundred years. God used the Pharaoh of Egypt to first appoint Joseph as Prime Minister through whom Jacob and his children went to Egypt (Gen 40-50). Joseph underscored that it was God who sent him to Egypt for their sake(Gen 50:19-21).

Secondly, God used the Pharaoh of Egypt to adopt and train Moses the would be leader of the Israelites(Acts 7:22); and thirdly, it was the Government of Egypt that approved that the Israelites should leave Egypt, after superior power of Moses, and of course, in fulfillment of God’s word, they left Egypt with great possessions(Exodus 12:35-36).

Israel under the Government of Moses, Joshua, the Judges and Kings (Deut 17:14-20): God saw the importance of placing leadership over His people beginning from Moses through whom He solved their problems, met their needs, fought their battles and gave commandments to be obeyed for peace and order to prevail. They were charged with the responsibilities of judging matters, acquitting the just and punishing offenders. The people were not permitted to say evil against God and their Kings(Exodus 22:28). Whoever violated this commandment was to be put to death(1 Kings 21:9-13).
Kings influenced the entire fabric of the people, including the religious, whether positively or negatively depending on their relationship with God. People were either blessed, kept alive or killed by Kings depending on what they did, good or evil.

The Destruction of Jerusalem (2Chron 36:15-21; Jer 25:9). Here, God addresses Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, as His servant whom He would use in punishing His people for not keeping His commandments. Jerusalem was mercilessly and hopelessly destroyed and the inhabitants taken to Babylon as slaves for seventy years. God did not use angels to do this, but Government.

The restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem (2Chron 36:22-23): This is quite amazing. God raised up Cyrus, King of Persia, a pagan whom He called “My anointed”(Isa 45:1), to restore the exiles to their land rebuild the city of Jerusalem fully and totally funded by the Government of Persia (Ezra 1). One very interesting fact here is the phrase, “The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus”(2Chron 36:22; Ezra 1:1). This was in response to the prayer of Daniel(Dan 9). God can stir up the spirit of any ruler to bless you, set you free from death sentence, restore your inheritance, employ you, promote you, build a Church auditorium, give you a car, empower you for business, pay your school fees, build a house for you, etc.

Truly, “The King’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes”(Prov 21:1). Incidentally, these have been the good happenings under the Government of His Excellency Pastor Dr Umo Eno, in Akwa Ibom State. It was an amazing display of love, empathy, sympathy, compassion and distribution of the wealth of the land during the Happy Hour held on Thursday 6th February, 2035.

That day, I saw the real and true meaning of Government. Congratulations to all those who benefited in various ways in which God stirred up the spirit of His Excellency to empower them out of poverty and stagnation.

The Birth of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem
(Micah 5:2; Luke 2:1-7): It was prophesied long ago that Christ would be born at Bethlehem, the Royal City of David. At the fullness of time(Gal 4: 4), God passed through the Emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, to promulgate a decree compelling people to go to their land of nativity and register, may be for census, taxation or voting at an election.

In spite of the distance and the many inconveniences of pregnancy, Mary followed her husband Joseph to Bethlehem not knowing that the prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ would be fulfilled there. Thank God it was a “decree”, and in politics we know what that means. That is why the Bible says, “Let every soul be subject to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God”(Rom 13:1). God wants to use the Government to fulfil His good prophecy in your life as He did concerning His Son, so submit yourself to the Government of the day.

How to get God’s blessings through the Governor:

Be loyal, faithful and submissive to the Government of the day.
It is foolhardy to dare any Government in any way, knowing that Government controls all the forces, except the spiritual, in the political unit. The Bible says Government will positively reward the citizens who are submissive and punish those who resist it(Rom 13:1-7).

Seek the favour of the King
(Prov 14:35; 29:26). Biblical accounts of Joseph’s uplift and prosperity and those of David, Daniel, Esther, Mordecai, Nehemiah, Mephibosheth, etc, are predicated on the favour of Kings. It is the same in the contemporary period. Those who desire to be blessed by God should be wise in their relationship with the Government of the day, beginning from the Traditional Rulers, to Local Government, State and the Federal. The same applies to Church where spiritual leaders who do not have military powers can curse those who are rebellious to become useless in life.

Pray for Rulers (1Tim 2:1-4). Pray for God to be with your leaders because the burden of governance is huge, that God should give them wisdom, protection and good health to govern well. Pray that God should stir up their spirit and not allow them to sleep until they attend to your matter(Esther 6; Luke 18:1-8).

Love, honour and respect your leaders (Matt 6:24). These are very important spiritual variables in the equation of success. Hating your leaders blocks your success in the spiritual realm, just like hating your teacher will never allow you to benefit from their lessons.

Avoid harsh and destructive criticisms (John 12:1-8). There are people who must criticize leaders very harshly and very destructively in whatever they do, even when there are no reasons for criticizing them. Among these people are petition writers, betrayers and fault finders. John records the criticism of Judas Iscariot against the LORD Jesus Christ for allowing Mary to “waste” the oil on Him which could have been sold to provide money for the poor. The Bible noted that he said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief who used to help himself to the funds which he kept, being the treasurer. This in fact, is the real personage of critics. They are thieves and non performers. This is why most of them look wretched and poor.

Give gifts to your leaders (1 Kings 4:27-28; Mal 1:6-8). See how various people were bringing gifts to King Solomon. Malachi says such gifts should be of high quality.

God works with men and institutions to fulfil His purpose:
God will use men and institutions like the Government to fulfil His promise to bless you and supply all your needs according His riches in Christ Jesus(Phil 4:19).

However, the onus lies on you to relate well with God, Government and fellow men. Christ has defeated Satan and he is no more in charge of the wealth and glory of the world. God will stir up the spirit of your leaders to bless you if you walk according to His word in relating with them.

Conclusion:
Let no Akwa Ibom person miss out in the prosperity of this GOLDEN ERA of the Government of our God given Shepherd, His Excellency Pastor Umo Eno, who is leading his people to the green pastures, still waters, providing security in the valley of the shadow of death, anointing us with the oil of peace and gladness, providing tables before us in hard times, and making our cups of happiness to overflow (Psalm 23). In style of leadership, His Excellency Pastor Umo Eno is a Tupocrat par excellence, leading by positive example according to the Bible (1Pet 5:3).