Good morning church! Daddy, thank you so much again sir for the privilege of standing before God’s people this morning, may the Lord increase you in grace sir, in Jesus name; mummy, I greet you too, God bless you ma.
Beloved, let’s open our Bible to Ecclesiastes 10: 1, it says “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor”. Praise God!
This morning, we want to share together on a message we’ve titled “Beware of Dead Flies”. We thank God for what God has been doing in our lives especially in the last church year, now this is a new beginning, praise God! Thank God for the grace to be alive; sometimes last week during the Sunday school, I think somebody asked a question, the question was whether the grace of God expires.
If you recall if you’re in Sunday School, please always attend Sunday School; definitely there’s a time (by the grace of God) in a man’s life when it comes to an end; when God is fed up, when He has given you plenty of rope and He finds that you just cannot change, then God looks elsewhere. You know the Bible talks about people that God calls ‘children of perdition’, but I pray that the grace of God in your lives will not expire in Jesus name.
That is why as we begin this new church year, it’s important for us to do some introspection so that we don’t take the grace of God for granted; that we’ll look at ourselves, do a self appraisal and see where we need to make amends, praise God! So that we can walk better with God, so that we can testify even as we stand in the name of Jesus.
Now, ‘dead flies’, what are dead flies? In the old days, in the Biblical days, the apothecaries were the equivalent of those we refer to today as chemists, those chemists that we – the modern day pharmacists are even more sustainable; the chemists, those drugstore owners. In those days, they sold medicines to people, but in addition they also sold all kinds of perfumes, ointments and oils and so on and so forth. They guided their oils and perfume so carefully to prevent flies coming into them, falling into them and dying, because they knew that just one dead fly can destroy a very expensive ointment, no matter how precious, one single dead fly, and oils that were supposed to bring out a good fragrance, once a fly falls in and dies, it destroys the odour, it destroys the aroma and it becomes undesirable, stench comes in, and God is saying in this scripture that just as a dead fly, as small as it is, can destroy a very expensive and precious oil; a little folly, a little act of foolishness.
Note that the Bible didn’t even say ‘sin’, there’s a reason for that; of course sin is included, but to say a little, that means the slightest act of indiscretion or carelessness or foolishness, tiniest, as tiny as a fly, can destroy a man a woman’s testimony, no matter how highly placed, no matter how wise they may be, no matter how honorable; it says it doesn’t take big mistakes, big errors, big sins to destroy; it says just as one little dead fly can destroy an oil, one simple innocuous mistake can destroy a man’s testimony, can destroy a man’s walk with God, it can adversely affect his destiny and those of his descendants forever, so that’s why we need to be careful what we do.
So therefore, dead fly is a symbol for those things that sometimes we don’t consider as serious because they are small, but which can have very dire consequences not only for us as God’s children, but also even as human beings. A small mistake, a small act of indiscretion, something that we just think is casual, we can just do it; we’ll say oh, this one is not a big, this is just – as small as a fly and then it can change the trajectory of a person’s life adversely. I pray that that will not be your portion this morning in the name of Jesus.
You’ll recall also, (to emphasize the point) that the preacher was making in that scripture, that in 1st Corinthians 10: 11 – 12, Apostle Paul speaking to the members of the church in Corinth, after he had gone back in the history to let them know where they were coming from, to let them know how God had dealt with their forefathers – the Israelites, right from the time that they left Egypt; because sometimes, history is very important, you need to know where you are coming from, so as to know how to proceed.
So after telling them the whole story, and then he said those things that happened to our forefathers are to serve as examples for us, so that things that destroy them, the dead flies that destroyed them will not destroy us also; he said therefore, let those who think they stand be careful; so let you and I who think we stand, even when we say we are born again; he says let those who think they stand be careful or else they’ll be destroyed by simple things, as small, as tiny like a fly.
Beloved, if you look back to history, you’ll find that so many great men and women have fallen for very simple things; you’d say how can he do this? So, dead flies represent those things in our lives that are capable of bringing us down, that are capable of destroying our testimonies, that are capable of affecting our walk with God. Whatever it is that can affect our relationship with God, that can have adverse effect on our journey to eternity, that can affect us and our generations, is a dead fly.
The Bible was intentional in using a fly, it didn’t say a lion or an elephant; it says small, the fly is one of the smallest things, just to emphasize the point that it doesn’t have to be a big thing. Most times we look for the big things, but the things that destroy men mostly are little things that we assume are not important. I pray that those little things that we overlook will not turn round to be our destruction in the name of Jesus.
Now let’s just look at a few examples in the scriptures to show us what dead lies can be; let’s see how men and women that we look up to, men and women that God worked with, that God used, men and women of great stature in the scripture, how they allowed little follies, little things; some of them didn’t commit big sins, they didn’t commit adultery, they knew the Ten Commandments by hearts, but out of sheer carelessness they did some things which became dead flies in their lives.
First, I want to talk about Adam’s inability to say no to his wife. Listen, I’m not saying we should always say no to our wives, but if you look at the real cause of Adam’s downfall, it was not the fact that he actually ate the fruit or disobeyed God, it was because he was unable to say no to his wife when he should have said no.
You know what happened, you wonder how that can lead to a man’s destruction. Genesis 2: 16 – 17, God had warned Adam, Eve was not there and He said you can eat every fruit of every tree but not this one of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; and then in Genesis 3: 6, the serpent didn’t approach Adam, you know the devil is very subtle, he won’t come to people directly and say go and commit adultery, go and do this, no; so the serpent went to Eve and had a conversation.
Conversations can be dead flies; evil conversations, know those you converse with, it’s not everybody that comes to you you’ll discuss with, you are not bound, you are not obligated, there are people you don’t have to talk with. So after discussion, the serpent introduced Eve to the forbidden tree and she ate.
Now, Adam came home and his wife said oh I’ve eaten this fruit, it’s very nice, delicious, she gave it to him, take it. Adam took and ate, that was the basis of his destruction. Imagine if Adam had said no, God said I shouldn’t, no, no, why did you eat it, and he had gone to God, the story may have changed, but because he didn’t have the strength of character, he probably loved his wife too much; some of us sometimes love to the point of destruction, we need to be careful; even to those that we love, sometimes we must have the courage to be able to say no, that no will save us and save them from destruction.
Our children, many times we say yes to things that we know are not good for them; so Adam’s not disagreeing was a dead fly, a dead fly that brought him down. There are people in your life that you need to begin to learn to say no. I remember many years ago, in fact it was a problem for me, if people came to me ask me for money and any other thing, I didn’t have the courage or the strength of God to say no; I would go and borrow, I would go and do things just to be able to please people and I would lose my peace, it was always a problem; after doing it I’ll begin to regret it and I’ll still do it again and do it again just because I couldn’t say no. But later on God opened my eyes, and if I don’t have I would say no, if I felt that purpose is not – I will say no and I’ll have peace of mind.
There are times when you need to be able to stand your ground and say no to some things; because refusing to say no and you are always saying yes, may be a dead fly that may lead to dire consequences.
Look at father Abraham also; father Abraham’s problem in Genesis 16: 2 again was his inability to say no to Sarah. They had waited for so long to be blessed with children, God had promised, but a time came, mother Sarah was as typical as to be expected; she said look, this thing is getting too long, my maid is here, Hagar, why don’t you go in to her and let her give you a child? Father Abraham said okay, and that little dead fly, that little act of that inability to say no, if I have to wait for you I’ll wait for you, but probably because he didn’t want to hurt his wife so that the Bible would not say – daddy Abraham could not say no, and that little dead fly is the cause of the problems that we have had in the world today arising from the descendants of Ishmael, the product of that weakness and descendants of Isaac.
Imagine if father Abraham had been able to say no; if he had recognized that offer by his wife as a dead fly, something that was meant to destroy, to tarnish his walk with God, a man that had been standing for so long. Sometimes we need to learn to say no; saying no sometimes is an act of love, not an act of wickedness; it’s not everybody that comes to you that you are supposed to say yes to. Many people have said yes to people and then find themselves committing crime; because you can’t say no to your children, to your spouse, you find yourself committing crime, doing things that are ungodly, compromising your faith.
The devil will not come and tell you ‘go and steal, go and do 419, go and do this’, he will just say you know you love your children too much, don’t let them suffer the way you suffered; you know she’s your wife now, whatever she wants, spoil her with love, spoil them with love, whatever it takes, go to any length. Going to any length to please other people can become a banana peel for any man or woman of substance, that’s why some of us have been spreading to those who have been so blessed, don’t let what God has given you as a blessing become a dead fly that will destroy your children’s futures.
Some children are so spoiled because parents cannot say no; you spoil them that they don’t even have the motivation to live, they don’t have the motivation to do any work; you have not committed a sin by thinking of your children, but you have done a little folly, you have allowed what God has given you and over pampering to become a dead fly, not only in your own life and your own future, because your children are your future, but to their own destiny also. So when you’re talking about oh, look at these children, it’s not witches and wizards, it is you. You didn’t commit adultery, you didn’t do anything, it’s not witch, it’s because of act of foolishness, praise God!
We always say that Samson was destroyed by lust, but Samson’s real dead fly was inability to say no, praise the living Jesus! In Judges 14: 12 – 17, look, it didn’t start with Delilah, he had a wife; going to that woman, he gave a puzzle to some young men about a honey and the dead lion (if you recall the story, we can’t read now), and then he promised them something if they could solve the puzzle but they couldn’t, so they went to his wife; the woman pestered him, at first he said no, but after the pestering, he succumbed.
You must be able to insist, you must be able to put down your feet. Your husband is doing something wrong, as a Godly woman, you’ll put down your feet and say no, honey I know you are doing this for the family but I won’t support you in this, you need to stop this, don’t destroy our children’s future. He succumbed, his strength of character was weak, and the woman revealed the secret to those people and that was why they attacked him.
He didn’t learn a lesson from that, he went on and on and then he came to Delilah again, and when he was resting on the lap of Delilah, the woman said tell me the secrets of your strength; the enemies had come to Delilah to find out, he was in an enemy territory, he knew they hated him, they wanted to kill him; the woman pestered him, he didn’t even have the wisdom to begin to say but why is she questioning me, why do you want to know about this, why? What has it got to do with our love? He was blinded, the woman persisted, he told her a lie first, second, third times, but in the end he couldn’t stand.
Part of Christian characters is the ability to stand till the end on your conviction. Many of us as Christians, we stand and we stand, but when we get to the critical point when our faith is really tested, we succumb. We can declare that we are people of faith when we are in a safe environment, when our faith is not tested, when we are here in Lagos, everything is nice; oh my goodness, when you find yourself in a territory that is hostile and your faith is tested every day, that’s when you will know whether you are really a Christian or not, praise God!
So Samson’s real problem, even if he was lustful by nature, if he was able to say no, I’m not going to do this – the devil didn’t come and say come and do this or not, devil just used a woman to test his character weakness, and he knew that this man can’t stand, he can’t say no to the end, he will succumb.
Dead flies, the little act of follies that can destroy a man’s testimony, that won’t be our portion in Jesus name.
How about the anger of Moses? I’m just mentioning them, not in a particular order so that it can help us to be able to think of ourselves and we’ll begin to look inwards and say okay, what is my own potential dead fly? What is that thing that’s possible, that is likely to lead me into trouble if I don’t watch it now?
Look at Moses’ anger; Moses had had the problem of anger from beginning, remember, even as a young boy, anger led him to kill someone in Egypt, that led him to exile for 40 years. 40 years in the wilderness, you would have thought that he would have learnt the reason why he was in exile, but he didn’t learn; even at 80 when God called him, he was a holy man, Moses never committed adultery, he never stole, never did anything, he wouldn’t do that; the devil will not come to you to say go and do this, but he’s very subtle, he knows everybody’s banana peel, he knows the kind of dead fly that each person cannot resist.
So God called him onto an assignment and he went, he had done everything, he had gone very far and then that anger was still there, it was just hiding inside, waiting for a time that he will test it just as many of us are carrying about that deadly habit, that deadly character trait that is still there, it’s not been dealt with, it’s only covered for a while.
God is waiting for us to change; the Bible says blessed are those whose sins are covered; God is waiting, giving us grace – change, I love you; Moses, I took you to 40 years journey so that you can change yourself, so that you can look at yourself and you can think back to what led you here. He did his assignments faithfully but a time came, there will always be a time when God will want to find out what we are, because God builds our character, and then there are moments when He tests our character.
And then the children of Israel were looking for water, Numbers 20: 8 – 12, they cried onto Moses, Moses cried to God, God said okay, go and speak to the Rock; God knew that this guy, that thing is still there, for 40 years, he didn’t deal with it. There was nobody in the wilderness with him, he had animals, that period of being lonely should have been enough, but suddenly when the test came, the thing came out again. There’s something that is in me, that is in you, that is dead and that is hiding, today by the mercies of God, God will kill it in Jesus name.
God will open our eyes, because listen again, it’s one thing for God to kill, but there are some things God will not kill because He has given us the grace, the enablement, He has taught us so much that He expects us to be able to deal with them; and God was looking at him that this anger issues, you are the one that will deal with it yourself, I’ve taught you enough, I’ve walked with you enough.
He said speak to the Rock; you know God could have Himself brought water from the Rock, He said speak. There will be a time that God will be asking you and I to speak to something [inaudible].
So all these while you think it’s gone, what did he do? A maid that was coming to clean his office, cleaning his room, this man grabbed her. That untamed lust, that brought him crashing, destroyed his testimony, destroyed his chances of becoming the president of France, and before long, that was the end.
You remember the story of Bill Clinton, who arguably was one of the best presidents of America, but of course you know the story of Monica Lewinsky. That dead fly, that potential dead fly lurking in the corner to bring you down at the highest peak of your glory, may God give you the grace to send it out in the name of Jesus.
What of Esau’s lack of self-control? Esau, the firstborn of Isaac; in Genesis 25: 29-34, Esau could not control his pang of hunger, he sold his entire birthrights to his brother for just one plate of food. He couldn’t even bargain for years supplies of food; I’m sure Jacob would have been ready to give him anything to say I will be your servant, I will serve you food free for 10 years or for as long as we live, I’ll provide food for you because Jacob knew the significance of the right of the firstborn; to Esau, it was just something; he’d say what is the birthright, go and be the first born. It was a dead fly, lack of self-control.
Self control in eating, self control in sex, self control in how we pursue money, self control in any area of life. A man or woman who does not have self control, no matter how high they’ve gone will soon come down, because devil put something, he’ll know that that’s their weak point, it will become the dead fly in their ointment. The higher you go, the more temptation comes near you. Bible says the devil only goes away for a season, he’s always lurking around; he doesn’t look for men or women who have nothing, he looks for men and women who are great, who God is using, who people are clapping for, because his joy is in bringing them down so as to destroy their testimony, that won’t be your portion, it won’t be my portion in Jesus name.
How about Hezekiah’s carelessness? I’m just picking them so that you’ll begin to search yourself; Hezekiah’s carelessness – you know the story of King Hezekiah in 2nd Kings 20; a man that was sick but he was so good in working with God, that when he was sick, God sent Prophet Isaiah to come and say you are going to die, the man said no, God; he had the courage to look God in the face and say I’m not going to die, I’ve worked with you well; he challenged God and God said you are right, I’m not only going to heal you, I extend your age by 15 more years.
But suddenly after, ah, we pray for long life, sometimes God takes people away (Bible says) from the evil that is to come; maybe that extension, if it had not happened, the story would have been different. No sooner than God extended his life, the king of Babylon sent emissaries to come and visit him, ah, e ku oriire o, you are now healed, praise God! Well done, this your God … Hezekiah was just entertaining them and saying thank you so much.
You know what Hezekiah did? Pride, he wanted to show off, he told them don’t sit in the parlour, he took them to the Palace – the inner of inner, he showed them all the beautiful things, all the vessels of God; everything in his house, he exposed everything. They said ehn ehn, okay, and then they went back to tell the king; very soon the king raided Judah, took everybody captive, but the king’s targets were the things of God in the palace, so he raided the palace and took away everything – the vessels of the king, everything in the palace.
Many times we are the ones who opened the door to the devil’s attack because of our carelessness, because of sense of pride; you keep boasting, oh, my children do this; oh, this one just got first class; people are saying ha, well done, and some are saying ehn ehn, okay, we’ll see. You have not even done what you want to do, you are still planning a business, everybody is already aware, you can’t shut your mouth; you have a testimony, you don’t wait until the testimony is completed, you are already announcing everything.
Sometimes we give testimony and I just listen, let God complete it, the devil is always waiting. Hezekiah’s indiscretion affected not just him, but the descendants; that was what led to people like Daniel and others being taken to Babylon for many years and all the things in the palace being taken to Babylon. Little act of indiscretion, carelessness that we do carelessly can have repercussions for our generations yet unborn, praise God!
As we begin to wind down, how about Ammon’s bad company? One of sons of David was named Ammon, you’ll find the story in 2nd Samuel 13: 1- 29. Ammon was the half-brother of Absalom; Absalom had a direct sister called Tamar; Ammon began to have lusty feelings towards his half-sister, but that wasn’t really his problem, he had that feeling but he didn’t know what to do, so he was just there; but he had a bad friend called Jonadab, God won’t give you a friend like Jonadab; your children will not have any Jonadab in their lives; every Jonadab in the lives of your children, God will remove them in the name of Jesus.
Jonadab said my friend, why are you so glooming, why are you so sad? So he said ah this is the problem, my step sister, I like her; he said oh don’t worry, let me teach you, you don’t know anything, we know what is happening; he said, pretend that you are sick, tell your father that it’s only Tamar you want to come and attend to you, when she comes in, grab her and rape her. He said oh, and that was what Ammon did.
Thereafter, Tamar’s brother, Absalom, became upset, even though their father intervened; Absalom was not happy, in fact, that was what brought the grudge of Absalom even against his own father, how the father handled the case of Ammon, what happened? Absalom went to plan and killed Ammon and revolted against his own father. You can see, just that stupidity of harboring a bad friend, the Bible says ‘evil communication corrupts good manners’; a bad company, that friend you are keeping that does not add value to your life, that gives you bad advice, you are a believer and that’s why the Bible says what have you got to do in the company of unbelievers?
Yes you work with them but you need to draw the line, what has light got to do with darkness? You are a child of God, you need advice, and it is unbelievers that advise you; who are your advisers? Some of us, our best friends are unbelievers, people who don’t serve God; they make dirty jokes and you join them in making dirty jokes because you want to be part of the happening crowd; you’re in every club, you’ll say I don’t drink with them I’m just there, it’s only pepper soup I’m taking; you see those bottles, I’m not looking but you know I have to – they’re my friends; they are potential dead flies.
I remember one day many years ago, I was working with a particular boss, so that boss said ah, we always have party, boys out every weekend – Saturday, me that I wasn’t used to party; so I didn’t want to offend him, so I would go; my wife would say this place you are going, I would say I would go; but what I would see there, I would say my God, I can’t cope with this; after two or three times, the things they were doing which I was seeing and I knew that if I continued, I would join, after a while I went to tell him, it took me a lot of courage and I said oga, sir, I’m sorry, I’m a Christian o, I’m even a minister in the church.
He said oh, (he knew before) I’m sorry, I’m sorry, we can excuse you; if I didn’t have the courage, he knew, he was just saying all of you are liars, praise God! You must be able to stand, even if it’s going to cost you something, they will abuse you, they will call you names, you must be able to stand.
You must be able to say no to some relationships; any relationship that will give you discomfort, unease, that will affect your worship of God, it’s of no value, it’s a dead fly waiting to destroy your oil of gladness.
King Ahab’s greed: you know the Bible says King Ahab was one of the most wicked kings, you’ll see the story in 1st Kings 21, but what made his story worse was his wife, Jezebel. The man was bad enough, but his wife was badder, praise God! Wow, what a combination! Some couples are like that, wow! They first of all do 419, they come together…
Recently I read a story of a couple, they were even Christians in the church; they said they had a scheme and they gathered billions from people and then they japa-ed; I asked even the wife? They said even the wife is the stronghold.
King Ahab, a rich man, a king with palatial everything, his eyes entered the vineyard of one poor man, Naboth. He said I want your vineyard, I want to use it to grow flowers in front of my palace, can you imagine? The man said ah no, king, I can’t give you, this land is our ancestral land; he said I will buy it, he said you can’t buy it. So the king came home and was upset, the wife said why are you worried, don’t worry, leave it to me.
Many wives are like that, you push your husband; you’ll say leave it to me, I will solve it; you’d say how will you solve it? You’d say don’t worry, just let’s enjoy, God has done it; God has not done anything, He will find you out one day.
She went and organized – they assassinated Naboth and came and said my husband take your land; he said really ah, that’s why I love you, you are a wonderful woman. Very soon, God arose and said aha, you see, they ended up being eaten by dogs, not only they themselves but also their children.
Finally, how about the lust of David? David sat at home when he should be at war; laziness can be a dead fly. That’s why this remote work, these people that do remote work, you’re at home, you’re not in the office, be careful; when you are doing your remote work, devil will be talking to you – do this do that because you’re alone. David was supposed to be at war but he was at home; the devil came and said ah, come and exercise your leg now, go to the balcony, stretch, do some exercise, stretch your neck, look on the right, he said ha ah, that was the beginning of the downfall of David.
Let’s rise to our feet; these are just examples to open our eyes, we can’t deal with them on our own but there are things we can do. The first starting point is we have to give our lives to Jesus, to God; without God you can’t help yourself, but with God, God can have mercy. If you don’t give your life to Christ, these things are there, they are waiting for you, the devil is waiting; it may not have happened now, he’s waiting for you to blow and then devil will now come in; he knows that God is not with you, then you are alone; the most endangered person in this world is a man a woman without Christ, especially when they are becoming successful, you are just like a chicken or a pig being fed, awaiting the day of destruction.
Don’t say don’t worry oh I’m doing well, I’m committing fornication, I’m doing well; hey, a day is going to come when the devil will come and take an account of you. So the first thing, make sure you give your life to Christ; two, if you’re born again, the dead flies are still there lurking in the corner, continue to ask for help of the Holy Spirit, wash yourself in the word.
The Bible says in John 17:17 that “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”; many of us don’t pray anymore, if you have to pray you pray, if you have to fast you fast; you soak yourself in the word of God every day, don’t rely on your strength, don’t say I’m a Christian I can stand; sometimes you have to run, many occasions I run, even in church sometimes, when I see some things I just close my eyes, don’t say this man is spiritual, no, I’m closing my eyes because I don’t want to see some things; because sometimes in the church like this, there are dead flies sent by devil to come and pull people down, when I see I close my eye; I’m not praying o, I’m just saying I won’t see this dead fly, praise God!
You have to exercise self-discipline; you have to speak truth to yourself, you know the secret things that you do that God sees but nobody knows, bad habits, social media, all manner of things, they are potential dead flies. Self-indulgence because God has blessed you; some people spoil yourself with indulgence and they meet with disaster, that won’t be your portion in Jesus name.
Let’s bow our heads; as you pray, say Father, just help me, I confess my weaknesses Lord, help me. If you are here this morning, you want to give your life to Christ, you have heard the word, there’s no need for long story, you want to say Lord Jesus help me, I can’t help myself, help me.
Let us say Father, every dead fly in my life or lurking around me, by Your mercy, remove them on my path, in my life, in the name of Jesus. Every dead fly in my life right now lurking around me, Father give me the grace, help me to get rid of them in the name of Jesus.
Say Father, open my eyes to see the potential dead flies around me and to deal with them; open my eyes Lord to see them, give me the courage to deal with them that I may not be destroyed in the name of Jesus.
Thank You precious Father; Father we receive grace to walk with you to the very end; we receive grace to sustain us till the end, we will not fall we will not stumble; the devil will not make a mess of our testimony in the name of Jesus.
Thank You everlasting Father, in Jesus name we pray.
