Copyright 2012 Theresa Harvard Johnson
READ PART I: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Father is amplifying the voices his apostles and prophets right now. You will hear them as they continuously come forth expressly calling forth righteousness and integrity in the midst of His people. I am praying that the prophetic scribe, the scribal apostle and the scribal prophet arise like never before. We need to hear from God!
The need for understanding concerning what it means to “MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS” isn’t just for those in the pews, but equally for leaders.
1 Peter 4:15-16 (AMP) defines, “15But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or any sort of criminal, or as a mischief-maker (a meddler) in the affairs of others [infringing on their rights].”
When I was young in the Lord, I often took the description of the murderer, thief and criminal from its literal meaning. I thought of people who were jailed for committing crimes in the natural that stirred up legal trouble. You know what I mean. But in the infinite wisdom of Jesus Christ, we learn as we grow in trust and belief that murder and criminal activity comes in many forms. In truth, the greatest pain and hurt I’ve experienced in my life didn’t come from things that happened among people in the world or even among family relationship. They’ve come from among saints in the body of Christ.
In this HOUR, Father is beginning to prick the hearts of his sent ones to begin flooding the sanctuaries and the bible studies with truths that build loyalty, character and integrity in His people. YES! It has come to this in the hour in which we walk. Fear of the Lord must be restored to the Tabernacle within us that houses Holy Spirit.
A murderer, in any culture, is defined as a criminal who commits homicide (performing the unlawful, premeditated killing of another human being.) It also means to “mangle” or to make unrecognizable. The term thief, in any culture, means to take property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it for personal use or selling it for personal gain. The word meddler, in any culture, means to interfere in something that is not of your concern.
I have been a murder at times in my life, but conviction and change came. But like anyone who is really seeking the heart God, we’ve must face some deep rooted truths concerning ourselves and allow the Lord to GUT them out of us. Now, with these definitions made plain, I challenge you to reread 1 Peter 4:15-16 and place the full definitions in place of the word. For example, the first part of verse 15 would now read: But let none of you suffer as a criminal who commits homicide, performing the unlawful, premeditated killing of another human being.
I've also had things stolen from me in the natural as well as on other levels. I've also had to fight MURDERERS who've set out to destroy my character, godly relationships, my marriage, and MINISTRY! It doesn't feel GOOD to be on the TAIL END of a meddling person's plot.
People of God! This is what we do when we do not learn to MIND OUR OWN BUSINESS. You see, in HEBREW CULTURE – the perspective from which these scriptures were originally presented – had great meaning. A murderer in the time of Moses would suffer a horrible death or punishment. A thief would run the risk of having their hands or feet chopped off in public. Remember now, it was a common practice to stone people to death for perceived sins during that time – and in Iran/Iraq today, some of those practices still exist. We do not have time to go over this in detail here, but CONSIDER the spiritual consequences of suffering as an unrepentant, unchanged murderer or thief in the spirit.
1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 (AMP): 9Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
The bottom line is this: We cannot claim to walk with God and practice meddling on a daily basis or on any level. We must make a conscious effort to MIND OUR OWN BUSINESS. We have to PRACTICE THIS. WE HAVE TO RESIST THE DEVIL! Satan is clever.
He is leading saints to the slaughter by engaging their ungodly imagination and unrenewed curiousity. Don't you know we have to put on the mind of Christ daily so that we can resist the snares of this world! It's not blatant sin that's getting the believer in trouble. It's the stuff like this that have become normal to many. Again, if you watch reality television — especially those that show you folks corrupted lives — you are feeding into the TRAP. You are being conditioned to MEDDLE AND MURDER.
Walking in NOSINESS & MEDDLING is a rejection of brotherly love! It is an outward act of FAILING to walk in the TRUE LOVE OF GOD. This should be a wake-up call for pastors who gossip about their flock, other leaders and break the confidentiality of their members. Someone must stand and say: You’re walking as a murderer before God. Repent. You do not have the RIGHT or the AUTHORITY to enter into this place before God. Why? Because leaders are held at a greater level of accountability than the sheep.
All must take heed, but the SHEPHERD must “most assuredly” be focused of keeping clean hands before the Lord. Remember what the priests went through in the Old Covenant just to get into the Holy place.
Entering into this place of “infringing on the affairs of others” causes immense PAIN in the lives of those on the receiving end. That pain can be devastating to their walk with God if we PROPEL IT AND MEDDLE IN IT verses being the kind of saint Father says should HELP RESTORE OUR BROTHERS IN THE LORD. This is HARD FOR PEOPLE OF GOD TO HEAR, but I tell you – we have a hand in seeing even the most broken men of God restored to Father as the assignment is placed before us.
Spiritual wounds can run far deeper than the kind that comes from the world. I used to ask God why did hurt from the body run so deep in people? He simply said to me, as I walked out my own pain in Him, “When you come into me as a Son there is a place of oneness and unity and the spirit that the true believer cannot receive anywhere else, and that this world has NEVER known. When one among you breaches or breaks that unity, it causes a rift in the realm of the spirit that supersedes human emotion and understanding. It is literally a rip in me. I say to you clearly that anyone who sins against the least of these have done it unto me.”
In other words, the hurt is deeper because it HURT’S GOD that something like this is taking place in His Kingdom. It is a reflection on the chaos and division the adversary tried to bring into Heaven. Because live and move and have our being in a HEAVENLY PLACE we can also experience spiritual wounds that can derail His people.”
Even Yahshua, hanging on the cross, brought a SINNER into the Kingdom. That man didn’t have a chance to do anything for the God accept BELIEVE. But guess what, in that instance, it was enough and His soul was saved. This QUIET LIFE is a requirement of maintaining our RIGHT STANDING with the Lord! Remember, meddling is like murder and thievery.
