These messages are written to uplift and challenge you to reflect and take action. The page is presently updated monthly. Be blessed.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017
Dear friends and family,
As I reflect on my message for each year, I am conscious that I have enjoyed immense grace from God in the last year; this for me is always humbling. I am certain that there have been several occasions where this grace has been my only remedy – with or without my knowledge.
With this in mind, I would like to wish each one of you a very happy and prosperous new year. Particularly, I would like to wish you joy throughout this year. I am aware that many are suffering, tormented and weighed down by difficulties all around the world. Sometimes, we take joy for granted. However, if you have been challenged, then you will know that joyfulness is an important part of life.
2017 is a year in which God will offer many opportunities to serve Him, praise Him, honor Him, glorify, Him and so much more. However, service to God will be the biggest opportunity we receive this year and the key to our walk with God. Each one of us must constantly be on the look-out and recognize when an opportunity has been opened to us. Please read the book of Isaiah 22:15-24. In this chapter, the word of God says that mighty men will be pulled down and servants of the Lord will receive the key “to the house of David” (verse 22). More importantly, it goes further referring to God’s servant “… he shall open, and no one shall shut, he shall shut and no one shall open”. In order words, the servant of God shall decree a thing and it shall come to pass, and no one can change it.
I encourage you in 2017 to make this a year of service to the Lord; wherever He has called you to represent Him, you must vigorously defend the cause of Jesus Christ. Servants of the Lord will receive access to the “key” – i.e. unique opportunities that I believe will lift them up. I am optimistic that God will lead me into my opportunities to be of service to Him this year. My responsibility is to focus on the service that God has placed in my hands to humanity in ministry, vocation or calling. What about you?
Like I mentioned last year, we must keep God at the center of all that we do. His will must inform every decision and how we implement every plan and deliver on all expectations. When we allow personal needs to cloud our judgment, it makes it hard to fulfil the desire of God. Any service to God must be self-less, sacrificial and surrendered. This is how we align to His purpose and His plans.
My prayer is that each of us will find our place in the scheme of Gods plan this year so that He can lead us into our purpose and help us through the Holy Spirit. In conclusion, God sent His only begotten son to save the world so that we may live. In doing this, He demonstrated compassion, feed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, saved souls and helped the poor. He then asked us to continue this work of saving mankind and bringing relief to humanity. This is why we are alive in this era; to serve in the army of God and bring peace to a broken world system. I pray the Lord will open each heart to receive His call.
Let me again wish you a great year ahead and as usual, a wonderful year ahead, trusting that God’s grace will be sufficient for you throughout 2017.
ook
NOVEMBER 2016 MESSAGE
HOW GOD’S PEOPLE WILL RECEIVE THEIR INHERITANCE SCRIPTURE - HEBREWS 9:15-22
And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. A covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you." And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:15-22).
Why does God do this? Why does He use comparisons that could be misleading?
The answer is that every comparison could be misleading when the work of God is being compared to the work of man. God is unique. There is no human experience that perfectly fits the way he acts or the way He is. But if God wants to communicate with us, He has no other language to use but a language we can understand, a human language that has been built around human experience.
For example, when we talk about servanthood, we use human language that has grown up on the basis of our experience of servants or various human services. Well, if God wants to communicate something about His own service of us, or our service of Him, He will use this language. But, since He is God, who is utterly unlike us in many ways, this language of servanthood is going to be misleading in part. We will have to ask, "What part of this comparison is true with God, and what part of it is not true with God?" If we are servants of God, does that mean we are not children of God? Does it mean we are not heirs of God? Does it mean that we live in servants' quarters and have no place at the Father's table? What does God want us to understand when He calls us servants? That's just one illustration.
Well, in our text the bible introduces the comparison between the "new covenant" and a last will and testament. And so we need to be careful here to make sure we see what parts of this comparison are helpful, and what parts of it might be misleading.
The Nature of the New Covenant- First let us make sure we recall what the new covenant is, and how it is different from the "first covenant" that Paul refers to here in verses 15 and 18. The new covenant is the arrangement with his people that God promised in Jeremiah 31:31. The book of Hebrews quotes the terms of this arrangement in Hebrews 8:10-12. It says, This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people . . . for I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.
So in this arrangement God no longer writes His will on tablets of stone outside the heart; He moves, by His Spirit, inside and makes the will of God part of what we love. He changes us from the inside out so that we love His will. Not only that, it says that in the new covenant He is merciful to our transgressions and remembers our sins no more. In the old covenant there had been no sacrifice that could truly take away human sin. There had been animal sacrifices, but Hebrews 10:4 says plainly, "It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin." So the new covenant promises that these sins will be taken away which means that the foundation of the new covenant is a better sacrifice, namely, the sacrifice of God's own Son.
So the new covenant is all about how God deals with sin to make us right with him, how He deals with the guilt and condemnation of sin by sending his Son to die for sinners and bear our guilt so that there could be forgiveness and cleansing, and good consciences before God, as we saw last time. And how God deals with the power of sin by writing the law on our hearts so that we hate sin from the inside and love God's will and walk in His ways freely, not merely by external legal constraint. That's the new covenant. That's Christianity. And the death of Christ, the shedding of Christ's blood, is the basis of it. By His blood-shedding He purchased our justification and He purchased our sanctification. He took away our guilt and He is taking away our corruption.
Seeing the New Covenant More Clearly- Now in Hebrews 9:15-22 the writer gives a new slant on the new covenant. He compares it to a "last will and testament." Look at verses 15 and 16. In verse 15 He calls Christ the "mediator of a new covenant," and He refers to Christ's death that redeems from sins that the "first covenant" could not take away. And He says that this new covenant, based on this death of Christ, happened so that all who are called might receive an "eternal inheritance."
So far this sounds wonderfully familiar. But then in verse 16 He makes the comparison between this new covenant and a "last will and testament." Now you all know what that is. But maybe the children don't. A "last will and testament" is a very important and very official, legal paper that a person writes down to say what should be done with His possessions after he dies. That's a "last will and testament." Every adult should have one. That's the comparison with the new covenant that the writer makes in verses 16-17. He says For where a covenant is [RSV and NIV say "will," though it is the same Greek word as the one translated "covenant" in verse 15], there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant [a "will"] is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.
So you can see that the term "covenant" in verse 15 is given the meaning "last will and testament" in verses 16 and 17, which most translations show by translating it "will" even though it is the same word in Greek as "covenant."
Now why does this writer make this comparison? Why does He bring in this idea that the new covenant is in fact a "last will and testament"? I think there are at least five reasons.
1) This is the ordinary meaning of the term in the common Greek culture of those days: a "diatheke" was a "last will and testament."
2) The basis of the new covenant is the death of Christ. A death had to take place to give force and validity to the new covenant. So it is like a last will and testament. A death makes it come into effect.
3) Even the first covenant was associated with a death. Look at verse 18, "Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood." In other words, even though it wasn't clear in the old covenant that the death of the Messiah would be the foundation of the new covenant and the forgiveness of sins, yet there were pointers. Death was required of animals. And that anticipated and foreshadowed the death of Christ, and so even the first covenant was validated by a death, and was like a "last will and testament" in that sense.
4) The fourth reason the writer treats the new covenant as a "last will and testament" is that in verse 15 He has just referred to an "eternal inheritance." You see that: "Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that . . . those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." And we can all see that if there is an inheritance there must be some kind of last will and testament that tells who the heirs are and what inheritance they get. That is what He says the new covenant does.
5) Finally, He compares the new covenant with a "last will and testament" because a "will" is not something the heirs negotiate about. It comes unilaterally from the one who wrote it down and the heirs take it or leave it as it is. They can't change the decisions of the one who wrote the will. The new covenant is drawn up by God without consulting the heirs, or anyone else. It is a sovereign expression of God's will, not a negotiated agreement.
For these five reasons, at least, the writer says that the new covenant is like a "last will and testament." Yes, but this is a daring way to talk about God's relation to His people.
This analogy is fraught with possible misunderstanding. 1) Did God write a last will and testament because He would one day die, and wanted to leave His possessions to another? 2) Who is He executor of God's last will and testament? A will usually specifies that, and it is never the dead person who executes His own will. 3) Was this will not in force before the death occurred? If not, how did David and Moses and all the saints get forgiveness for sins? 4) Who are the heirs of this last will and testament? Often the heirs of the second generation are not known to the one who makes the will. Is the inheritance of God left to an uncertain, indefinite group? Or are their names written in the will? Let's look at the answers to these four questions and let each one have its powerful effect to deepen and strengthen our security in God and our confidence that the eternal inheritance, eternal life, is ours.
1) Did God write a last will and testament because He would one day die, and wanted to leave His possessions to another? The closest answer we get to that question in Hebrews is in 2:14. "Since the children share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless Him who had the power of death." In other words, No, God, as God cannot die. He is "immortal" as 1 Timothy 1:17 says. But Yes, He wills to experience death so as to destroy death from the inside and deliver those who are enslaved to death. How can the immortal experience death? He takes on the flesh-and-blood human nature as His own and in that nature experiences death. So the answer is Yes, God wrote a last will and testament because He intended to experience death in the death of his Son through the human nature that He took on in the incarnation.
Let this establish your faith and deepen your security and your assurance in God, because He wrote this will in eternity past. From all eternity God willed to pass on His "eternal inheritance" to you by grace (2 Timothy 1:9). The death is over and done that is required for the heirs to come into their possession. There does not need to be another one.
2) Who is the executor of God's last will and testament? A will usually specifies that, and it is never the dead person who executes His own will. The answer is that the comparison breaks down, and the same person who dies to put the will in force is also the executor of the will. How can this be?
Answer: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the installation of Him at the Father's right hand as High Priest of all the good things to come. When verse 15 calls Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, the last will and testament, it means not only that He is the one whose death releases all the inheritance of God for us, but also that once that inheritance is released, Jesus makes sure we get it. He is the one who dies. And He is the Executor.
You can see this in Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant [Jesus himself was an heir of the last will and testament that his blood set in force; see Hebrews 1:2], even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good things to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight [that's the new covenant promise], through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The new covenant inheritance of God's inner work in our lives is given to us, it says, "through Jesus Christ." He is the executor of the will. So let this establish your faith and deepen your security and your assurance in God, that Christ, the Son of God not only is the one who died to release the Father's inheritance in your life; He is also the one who rose from the dead and is the sovereign Executor of the Father's will and makes sure that you get all the inheritance in this life and the next.
3) Was this last will and testament, this new covenant, not in force before the death of Christ occurred? If not, how did David and Moses and all the saints get forgiveness for sins? Hebrews 9:17 says, "For a covenant [= will] is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives." That would seem to say, No, the forgiveness of the new covenant was not available in the Old Testament times before Christ died. But notice how verse 18 starts, "Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood." And then he goes on to show how Moses made the shedding of blood central to the old covenant.
What's the point here? I think the point is this: in the old covenant Christ had not yet died, but all the blood-shedding of animals was meant to point forward to the day when a death would occur that would indeed purchase once for all the forgiveness of God, and if those saints put their faith not in animals, but in the grace of God, they could have a foretaste of that experience now. In other words, some, but not all, of the last will and testament was inherited before the death of Christ (Hebrews 11:39-40).
Here again the analogy is not perfect. Yes, without the death of Christ there would be no forgiveness in the Old Testament. But, No, those saints did not have to wait thousands of years to experience the forgiveness that the death bought for them. In Exodus 34:7 God says, as part of the Old Covenant, that he "forgives iniquity, transgressions and sins."
So let this strengthen your faith in the greatness of Christ's achievement on the cross: it was great enough to release the inheritance of forgiveness not only forward two thousand years to us, but also backward two thousand years and more.
4. Finally, Who are the heirs of God's last will and testament? Most urgently, are you an heir? Are you listed in God's last will and testament? Does he bequeath to you the eternal inheritance? Is the inheritance of God left to an uncertain, indefinite group? Or does he have in view particular people that he loves as children, and to whom he leaves his eternal inheritance?
The answer is found in verse 15, specifically in the word "called." The writer says, "And for this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that . . . [leaving out the intervening clause] those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Who receives the eternal inheritance? "Those who are called." Called by whom? Called by God. In other words, God's last will and testament is not left to chance. God not only wrote the will; and he not only put it in force by the death of his own Son; and he not only raised his Son to be the executor of that will; and he not only spread the inheritance of eternal life backward for thousands of years and forward for thousands of years; but he is also today calling people out of darkness and death and unbelief to become fellow heirs with his Son. In other words, "from him and through him and to him are all things; to him be glory forever and ever."
Give heed to his call. Open your spiritual ears to the voice of your Shepherd, and your spiritual eyes to the glory of your God. And believe.
Dear readers - my apologies for the lack of updates for a couple of months now. I have been working out some technical details with the website. Going forward, there will be changes made to the postings on the Blog and Short Message tabs due to available web space (until this issues are resolved). Please continue to visit and share your thoughts and these messages. Regards and God bless. ook.
AUGUST 2016 MESSAGE NOT HERE OR THERE; BUT IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH (John 4:16-30)
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Now we will see Jesus as the Savior who unlocks the mysteries of true worship, and who is otherwise known as the Jewish Messiah (verse 26). And so much more.
Worship Not Limited to Location To get away from his prophetic probing of her heart, the Samaritan woman leads Jesus into a discussion about worship. But even here she wants to keep things on the external surface of worship not the heart of worship. She wants to talk about “where.” Verse 20: “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Jesus is willing to go with her into this topic, but is not willing to let her limit the issue to location. He will press into the heart of the matter. Verse 21: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.’”
Mountains Irrelevant for Worship Jesus starts with a denial. Ma’am there’s a day coming — sooner than you think — when both these mountains will be irrelevant for true worship. That’s amazing for a Jew to say. The day is coming, he says, when Jerusalem, the holy city, the city of David, the place with the temple of God, will not be the focus of true worship.
This is not the answer she expected. She expected a good argument that Jews defend Jerusalem as the focal point of worship, and Samaritans defend Mount Gerazim. But Jesus rejects the whole argument. Instead he says we are on the brink of something new: “The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”
Why Mention Worshiping “the Father”? Instead of where we worship Jesus focuses on whom we worship and how we worship. Notice the reference to “the Father” at the end of verse 21: “The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” She had not said that. He said that. Why? Why not say, “God” or “the Lord” or some other designation? Why “the Father”? — You are not going to worship “the Father” in either of these mountains.
1) God is “the Father” of Samaritans First he uses it to link with her reference to the Samaritan fathers and draw her attention to the one all-important Father. She said in verse 20, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain.” And she had already asked in verse 12, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?” (John 4:12). So she is very focused on the externals of place and tradition. The fathers seem very prominent in her mind.
Jesus shifts the focus. He doesn’t say: Well, the real Jewish fathers worshiped in Jerusalem. He says, there is a Father you should care about, namely, “the Father” — the Father who aims to be worshipped, but not in any particular place.
2) God is “the Father” of Children Who Receive Him Second, in saying that the one to be worshipped is “the Father” he points her to the fact that God has children. There is no such thing as father who doesn’t have children. Giving conception to children is what makes you a father. So when Jesus says that the one to be worshipped is “the Father,” he raises the question of who his children are.
The answer was already given in John 1:12, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Those who receive Jesus are the children of God. God is a Father to those who are born again and believe in Jesus. So Jesus is wakening her to the truth that when it comes to worship, place is not the issue, but whether you have God as your Father, that is, whether you are born again and believe on his Son.
3) God is “the Father” of the Son, Jesus Christ And that leads to the third answer to why he referred to God as “the Father” at the end of verse 21. It calls to mind — for us at least — that “the Father” has one unique Son who is “the Son.” The two terms are used together so often, it’s hard not to hear that here.
- “The Father loves the Son” (John 3:35). - “Whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19). - “TheFather judges no one, but has given all judgment to theSon” (John 5:22). - “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:23). - “As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (John 5:26). - “The Father [is] glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).
The one to be worshipped is “the Father.” This woman is dealing here with “the Son.” And we are going to see: his presence is far more important in worship than what mountain you are on, or what city you are in.
Not Where, but Who Remember he had already said in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” In other words, he had already said that he himself was the new temple — the new meeting place with God. The temple was about to pass away as the focal point of worship. And what would be in its place? A new mountain? A new city? A new building? No. A new Person. The Son.
This is what he is getting at in saying, “Not in this mountain, Ma’am, nor in Jerusalem.” Not where, but who is what matters. The Father and the Son. The living water, the prophet, the Savior, the Messiah.
“You Worship What You Do Not Know” Then verse 22 comes at the same thing another way. “You [Samaritans] worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” This is blunt and painful: the problem with you Samaritans is not that you worship in the wrong mountain, but that you don’t know whom you worship.
Why not? “Because,” he says (verse 22b), “salvation is from the Jews.” What does that mean? Does it mean that all Jews knew whom they worshipped? No. Listen to what Jesus says to the Pharisees in John 8:19 (the really serious Jews): “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” They don’t even know God. They’re just like the Samaritans. “You worship what you do not know.”
All such worship Jesus says is “vain,” empty (Matthew 15:9). It is not “true worship” (John 4:23).
“We Worship What We Know” So what does Jesus mean in verse 22b: “We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” He means that Jews teach that a Savior is coming into the world. He is coming as the Son of David, the Messiah, the servant of the Lord. And because there will be a Savior, true knowledge of God and true worship of God are possible. The very last clause of this whole story (that runs from verse 1 to verse 42) is the announcement of the Samaritans in the town of Sychar: “We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” (verse 42).
When Jesus says (verse 22b), “Salvation is from the Jews” and because of that “we worship what we know,” he means a Savior is coming into the world who will make it possible for sinners (like people who have been married five times and are living with their boyfriend) to know God, call him Father, and worship him in truth.
You don’t know whom you worship because you are not depending on the Savior — the salvation that is coming into the world. The Savior is the Jewish Messiah. You Samaritans don’t believe that. And therefore your worship is not true worship.
No True Religion Without Jesus It’s very important that we see the implications of this for our situation today — in regard to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and any other religion that does not embrace Jesus as the divine Savior of the world who comes to die for sinners and rise again and become the Mediator between God and man. It’s important because the glorious, unique, supremacy of Jesus among all the religions depends on it. And because many Christians are abandoning the truth that knowing and honoring and loving and believing on Jesus is necessary for salvation.
No True Worship Without Jesus On the contrary, Jesus’ point here and elsewhere in this Gospel is that there is no true worship apart from receiving the Savior that comes from the Jews. Not only did Jesus say in John 8:19, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also,” but he also said to the Jews in John 5:23, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” And in John 5:42-43 he said to them, “I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me.”
In other words, whoever does not know who I really am, and honor me for who I really am, and love me for who I really am, does not know or honor or love God. And therefore whatever they do on their mountains or in their temples or shrines or mosques or synagogues, they do not worship God.
You Can’t Worship One You Reject That’s the point of Luke 10:16, “The one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” It makes no sense to say they worship when they reject. And Matthew 10:40, “Whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” It makes no sense to say they worship the one they do not receive. And John 5:46, which is especially relevant for the Samaritans and the Jewish people, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me.” In other words, if you refuse to own who I truly am, then you don’t really believe Moses and the “worship” you do in response to Moses is not true worship.
In a pluralistic, multicultural, relativistic, shrinking world like ours this will be harder and harder to believe in the years to come. The more people you know personally who are very religious but who do not embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the harder it will be to believe that their worship is not true worship. But if the courage of your faith gives way, you will forsake the Jesus of the New Testament and join the world in creating your own.
The Hour Has Come Then in verse 23 Jesus makes it explicit that the hour has come — the hour when worship shifts from the temple in Jerusalem to Jesus himself. Verse 23: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
Just a few closing comments to show how this fits together. The hour is now here because the Savior is here. The Son is here. Jesus is the way the Father is seeking worshippers. That’s why he came into the world. Not to condemn, but to save. Jesus is God seeking the worship of God. (Another sermon at this point is needed to show our being saved and God being worshipped are one.)
True Worship Requires New Birth When it says that this true worship happens in spirit and truth, it means at least this: you must be born of the Spirit in order to worship God, and you must come to him through the truth, that is, through Jesus, who said, “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Remember, Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” To worship God in spirit means to be born of the Spirit and therefore to be a living spirit. Before the new birth all we do is go to church or go to the synagogue or go to the mosque or the temple and act in the flesh. Whether we call ourselves Christians or Jews or Muslims or Hindus or Buddhists, we have no living spirit. We are dead and we don’t know God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.”
But when through faith in Jesus the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual life, we are born again. We have a living spirit. We can worship in spirit; our spirits are alive and we have God’s Spirit within. And now we can see and embrace truth — the Truth, Jesus Christ. Now we worship the Father in spirit — our Spirit-given, living spirit — and in truth — God’s supreme Truth, Jesus Christ the sum of all truth.
Living Water, Prophet, Savior and Messiah Now the woman walks up to the edge of this mystery and says in verse 25, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” And Jesus says to her in verse 26, “I who speak to you am he.”
And he is saying it to you as really as if he were standing here in the flesh, “I am the living water you were made to drink. I am the prophet who knows everything thing about you and still wants you. I am the Savior who has come into the world and died for sinners to make true worship possible for you. You ask about the coming Messiah, I who speak to you am he. Trust me."
JUNE 2016 MESSAGE BE CONVINCED IN YOUR OWN MIND (ROMANS 14)
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
In Romans 14, you may recall that one of the most striking things about verses 1-4 was how Paul used huge theological truths to minimize little church squabbles. The issue in verse 2 was “One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.” So there are tensions between meat eaters and vegetarians. The issue probably was not nutrition or animal love, but whether meat was associated with sinful behavior like sacrifices. At any rate some Christians felt free to eat the meat (Paul calls them the strong), and some did not (Paul calls them the weak). And his main point was negatively (verse 3), “Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.” And positively (verse 1), be accepting and welcoming to each other in spite of such matters. That was the situation and the exhortation.
Paul pulled out three big truths to handle this little problem. 1) In verse 3b he says that we should not pass judgment on a brother in such things “for God has welcomed him.” The very meaning of being a Christian is justification by faith. God has justified the brother by faith. He stands righteous and accepted by God. Beware lest you treat him any other way. 2) In verse 4a he says, “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls.” So his second big truth is that your brother will give an account for his life before his own Master, and it isn’t you. Judgment is coming. Better take heed to yourself. 3) In verse 4b Paul expresses his strong view of the perseverance of the saints—the disagreeing and imperfect saints—we will be made to stand in the judgment. “And he will be upheld [literally: be stood (by God)], for the Lord is able to make him stand.” The future of believers is not up for grabs. God will keep us and make us stand at the last day.
Now today in verses 5-9 Paul does the same thing. He brings up minor differences, tells us to make up our minds (even if we differ) and then puts the whole minor thing in a massive context of life and death. You start to get the idea that Paul’s solution to being ruined by small things is to get the really big things front and center.
Verse 5: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.” That’s the first issue. Disagreement about how to think about and what to do on certain days. My plan is to address next week the relation of this verse to the issue of Sabbath-keeping and the Lord’s Day. For now let’s just see it as a broad reference to celebrations people disagree about.
I have heard of Christians who reject the celebration of Christmas and Easter and all birthdays for religious reasons. Paul had to deal with a whole range of such issues in the Galatian and Colossian churches. Galatians 4:10-11, “You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” So the first issue he brings up today is what to do about disagreements in the church over what to think about certain days and what to do on those days.
The other issue he brings up is the old one of eating certain things or not. You see it in verse 6b: “The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
Each One Should Be Fully Convinced in His Own Mind
So in this text we have two kinds of disagreements among Christians: What to think about certain days, and whether to eat certain foods. What is Paul’s counsel? In verses 1-4 his counsel was, Don’t despise each other and don’t judge each other. God has received the brother, the Lord will be his judge not you, and God will make the brother stand. Here he says something different. He says (verse 5b), “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” This is remarkable because it seems to make the problem worse not better. Let’s be sure we see it. Verse 5: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”
This is not what I would have expected. He is not saying as a kind of concession, each one can have his own conviction. He is saying, each one should have his own conviction. It’s a command, not a permission: “Let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind”. It’s the same word used in Romans 4:21 where it says that Abraham “grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully ‘convinced’ that God was able to do what he had promised.” It’s the same idea that we find in Romans 14:23, “Whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” In other words, minor matters do not call for mushy faith or flimsy convictions. They call for clear faith and full conviction.
Now the reason this is not what I expected is that this seems to make the problem worse not better. Here you have groups in the church disagreeing over what days are sacred and what do on those days, and disagreeing over what foods should not be eaten. And their feelings are strong about this, and they are starting to say things and do things relationally that are destructive to true fellowship (despising, judging, not accepting), and Paul comes along and instead of saying, “Lighten up, these things are minor and don’t merit strong convictions,” he says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” That looks to me at first like trying to put out a fire with a bucket of gasoline: “OK all you squabblers over less important issues, let’s all get a firm conviction! No wafflers here. No fence-sitters. No shilly-shallying. Everybody come to a clear conviction! Everybody take a stand.”
Therefore I conclude from what Paul says that the way for disagreeing Christians to get along with each other in a truth-honoring, Christ-exalting way is not to breed indecisiveness on minor issues. The answer to being judgmental and despising others and not accepting others is not vacillation, wavering, indecisiveness, and uncertainty about what to do. That might create a kind of peace. People without opinions tend to be able to get along pretty well. But evidently Paul does not believe the solution to Christian disagreement is for all of us to become wishy-washy—even on the minor issues! When Paul weighs the risks of the mindset that can’t come to a conviction and stand for it, versus the risks of the mindset that has convictions on all minor matters, he chooses the second set of risks. In fact, he advocates for the second set of risks: “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”
So what is Paul’s remedy for the tensions created by strong-minded Christians who have firm but differing convictions about non-essential matters? How does Paul keep firm convictions about minor matters from becoming divisive? If he’s not going to solve the problem of division by telling us to lighten up, what is his solution?
“Each One Should Be Fully Convinced . . .” of What?
The first part of the answer comes from clarifying what we are “full convinced” of. “Each one should be fully convinced . . .” of what? I think the answer is this: I am fully convinced that what I am committed to is 1) not sinful, 2) honoring to Christ, and 3) the best way I can think of for me to act in this situation. That’s part of the solution because Paul is not saying that we must be fully convinced that our way is the only to honor God or the only way to avoid sin. It’s the best way we can see now for us to act.
But that’s only part of the answer because, even though we may try to be theoretically open to other possible ways of behaving than the one we have chosen on this matter, it is really hard not to see other options as seriously defective and then begin to judge or despise or separate. So what Paul does mainly to answer this question is go again to the huge truths of the glory of God, life and death, and crucifixion and resurrection. Let’s watch how he does this in three steps. Let this have the effect God intends: to help you have firm convictions while believing that on minor matters Christ can and will get glory form those who differ from you.
Step 1: True Christians on Both Sides of These Issues Are Glorifying God in What They Do First, in verse 6 Paul simply makes the radical claim that true Christians on both sides of these issues are glorifying God in what they do: “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” Now this is not easy for us to believe. We have come to our full conviction by asking, What will honor the Lord in this situation? And we have decided: Not to drink this will. Or not to eat this will. Or not to do that or wear that or go there will. And it is simply not easy for us to believe that someone who chooses the very opposite behavior that we have chosen can do it “for the honor of the Lord” and that Jesus will be magnified in their behavior.
Of course, you can’t do everything to the glory of God. You can’t murder to the glory of God or steal to the glory of God or commit adultery to the glory of God or be arrogant to the glory of God or covet to the glory of God. But there are a hundred things we can disagree on in which both ways can be done to the glory of God. So Paul’s first step in his answer is to make the radical assertion that Christians who disagree on non-essential things can both do opposite things to the glory of God. They can eat and they can abstain to the glory of God. They can eat with thanksgiving to God for what they are eating. They can abstain from eating with thanksgiving that God is able to satisfy them, even though they don’t eat.
Step 2: Things as Opposite as Eating/Not Eating and Death/Life Can Both Honor the Lord Then, in his second step, Paul does something surprising as he tries to help us believe what seems so hard to believe—namely, that things as opposite as eating and not eating can both honor the Lord. He brings up life and death. Verse 7-8a: “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.” Why does he bring up life and death like this? I think it’s because life and death are the ultimate opposites of eating and not-eating.
If you are alive you have a body that can enjoy the pleasures of life (food, drink, exercise, sex, cool fall air). But if you are dead, your body is in the grave and you don’t eat or drink or exercise or have sex or feel the cool fall air. Death (for a time, until the resurrection) is the ultimate abstaining from what the world offers. So Paul reaches for the ultimate: Life and death. And he says that both, not just one, but both, are experienced by believers “to the Lord.” That is, to the glory of the Lord. To show the infinite value of the Lord. And the point is: If life and death—as radically different, even opposite, as they are—can both display the great worth of Christ, then Christ can get glory from your little differences over meat and days. And he will.
Step 3: Through the Resurrection of Christ, Both the Living and the Dead Can Show the Infinite Value of His Lordship Then, in his third step, Paul gives the deepest foundation for this confidence that he has. He says in verses 8b-9, “So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” When someone asks, How can a person who is alive with a body that can enjoy all this world’s good things and give thanks to God, and a person who is dead and whose body is in the grave with no ability to eat or drink or taste—how can these two radically different relationships to the world both display the infinite worth of Christ? Paul answers: Christ died and rose again from the dead to destroy the power of death and make the living and the dead his own possession. Therefore, the living lives to his glory, and the dead live to his glory. The living display his worth by how they use his creation for his glory, and the dead display his worth by how they rejoice in the superior worth of Christ over all his gifts of creation.
Summary
So here’s the sum of the matter: Paul is dealing with disagreements over non-essential matters like days and food. Instead of saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” or “Lighten up,” he says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” He believes people with conviction and decisiveness are better risks than the other kind.
So how does he handle the risk of conflict when lots of people are “fully convinced” that their way is not sinful, and honors God, and is the best way they can see for themselves in this situation? He boldly asserts that opposite behaviors—eating and not eating—can both show the worth of Christ. To support that radical statement he says its true of the ultimate condition of opposites: life and death. And to support that radical statement he goes to the greatest event in history: “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
The living display the infinite worth of his lordship by valuing him in all his good gifts. The dead display the infinite value of his lordship by valuing him above all his gifts when they are taken away.
Therefore, I do not say to you, “Lighten up.” Or, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Rather I say, “Stand in awe of the risen Christ who will get his glory from the living and from the dead and from the eaters and the abstainers and from the day-keepers and the non-day-keepers. Stand in awe of Jesus Christ. And whatever you do, whether you eat or whether you drink, do all to the glory of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:31).
MAY 2016 MESSAGE LOVE YOUR ENEMIES(Text: Matthew 5:38-47)
TREAT YOUR ENEMIES LIKE YOUR NEIGHBORS From a human perspective, loving your enemies is an
unnatural choice. It makes perfect sense to us that we should hate our enemies.
But if God does good to both the righteous and the wicked, then it makes sense
for us to do the same.
Jesus said, you have heard that it was said, “Love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He
causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will
you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your
own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
(Matthew 5:43-47).
Who are your enemies? Pray for their well-being. Pray also
for God to give you the supernatural ability to love them as he does.
CHANGE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH FORGIVENESS The injustices we suffer in life are real and serious, not
to be taken lightly. Yet Jesus told a story that puts them in perspective
(Matthew 18:21-35).
It started with a question posed by the disciple Peter, who
wanted to know how many times he should forgive someone who offended him. Peter
and the other disciples had their whole perspective mixed up. It wasn’t about
putting limits on forgiveness, even generous limits; it was about being utterly
permeated by the spirit of forgiveness, as God is.
In the story, a servant (representing ordinary sinners like
you and me) owes an immense debt to his master—far more than he could pay back
in a single lifetime. The master (representing God) forgives that debt. Yet
instead of emulating the master’s mercy, the servant goes out and tries to
shake down another servant who owes him a much smaller amount. He hasn’t
learned the lesson of forgiveness.
The debts that others owe us are molehills compared to the
mountain of debt we owe to God because of our sin. And if God has forgiven us
in Christ, who are we to withhold forgiveness from others?
As Colossians 3:13 says, “As the Lord has forgiven you, so
you also must forgive” (ESV).
If offenses committed against you by others are rankling in
your soul, begin to set yourself free from the hatred and to start over in your
relationship with these others by forgiving them. You won’t be able to love
your enemies until you have forgiven them.
Jesus forgave those who put him on the cross (Luke 23:34).
SAY NO TO REVENGE AND YES TO MERCY When we have been unjustly treated, we naturally bristle
with indignation. We want to get back at those who have hurt us. But once we
have forgiven them, we can give up our schemes of retaliation.
As God tells us, we are to leave vengeance in his hands.
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is
honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath
of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
(Romans 12:17-19, ESV).
If we aren’t supposed to right the wrongs ourselves, what
are we supposed to do? The next lines in Romans tell us:
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he
is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning
coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
(Romans 12:20-21, ESV).
We’re supposed to actively do good to our enemies, meeting
their needs. This is the triumph of good over evil.
What can you do to serve and help your enemies?
CONCLUSION When someone treats us unjustly, we are to love them and not
hate them, forgive them and not seek revenge, and do good to them instead of
try to punish them. In this way, we will be like our Father amd our Lord, Jesus
Christ. This isn’t easy, but His grace is available if you surrender to His
will.
The grace of God is sufficient for us all.
APRIL 2016 MESSAGE Go and Tell, It Is Finished!
One of the greatest things Jesus ever said was, “It is finished” (John 19:30). My obedience is finished and perfect, and you need it. My suffering is finished, and you need it to cover all your sins. I have finished removing the wrath of God from my people. I have finished striking Satan with a death blow. I have established the new covenant for my people. It is finished. And because it is finished, the mission begins.
What is so overwhelmingly amazing about the mission is that it happens through you and me. We could wish that Jesus hadn’t left, because he was so powerful, so impressive. And yet he says, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). He says, “Whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20). These were stunning words for the emissaries of the news. The mission begins where redemption ends, at the cross. And our great task is to spread this news with all of our might to every nation on the planet.
Let’s look together at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20. Jesus says,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What is the nature of that commission? What is the scope of it? What is the authority behind it? And what is the encouragement behind it?
The Nature of the Mission First, the nature. “Go . . . baptize and teach them to observe.” Baptism is the outward expression that I belong to Jesus. I have full and complete allegiance to Jesus. I am dead to me, and alive to him. I am walking in newness of life, marked by trust in his promises. I have moved from darkness to light. Baptism is that line drawn for others to see what has happened in us. We are moving in the world to draw people into that kind of relationship and that kind of symbol — to baptize.
Then, after you have baptized them, teach them to do everything. Draw this people not just to have an allegiance to Jesus, but to be like Jesus in the way they live. Bringing them to the point of baptism is to bring them to justification by faith. Bringing them to the obedience of everything said is to bring them to sanctification. So the Great Commission is: Let’s go preach the gospel in such a way, with such fullness, that people are made right with God through faith in Christ and utterly transformed so that everywhere churches rise up, everything gets changed. That is the nature of this mission.
The Scope of the Mission What about the scope of our mission? He tells us to do that for all the nations. That does not mean nations like Germany, England, Brazil, Japan, and Indonesia. It means nations like Moabites, Jebusites, Edomites, Cherokee, etc. There are 13,000 different peoples, ethne is the Greek word, meaning ethnic groupings. He means for us to go and get them all. Find them all. Preach to them all. Build the church into all of them. I want my kingdom to have that much diversity.
The scope of the mission is all the peoples. Today, the Joshua Project says we have got about 6,000 people groups, give or take, that are still unreached. They don’t have a self-sustaining church in their midst. Some are totally unengaged. Let’s be part of changing that in our day. Let’s reach all the people groups of the world with this news.
The Authority of the Mission What about the authority? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” Jesus says. So go. My wife and I are reading a book out loud together about the mission to the Nosu people in southern China among conservative Baptists during the early part of the 20th century. I think they are called the Li people today. The book was describing the monotheistic, syncretistic, animistic mix of this people a hundred years ago. I thought to myself: A missionary is going to walk in there and say, “I have listened to your understanding of God. Two of the things you said about him are right, five of them are wrong, and you need to change what you believe about God.” We live in a world where that is called imperialism, and labeled absolutely audacious.
So, how can we do that? How can you, a mere human being, walk out of your culture into another culture and tell them five of their views about the Almighty are wrong? You are to do it because Jesus says all authority is his, and he has put it right here in this Book.
That means only Bible-believers do missions. Nobody else has the gall to walk into another culture and start pointing out that their views of God have got to change — only people who believe God has spoken, and that he wants them saved, and that they can’t get saved with a wrong view of God. The authority piece here is massive, and we have it from Jesus.
Let’s go do this. Let’s trust his complement. Let’s bank on his authority. And let’s go make disciples of all the nations, and teach them everything Jesus demanded from the world.
YOUR "UNREMARKABLE" DAY
If you read the book of Genesis, you are likely to be confounded, humbled and encouraged all at the same time. It has more wisdom in it than can possibly be extracted in a lifetime. It speaks to me in the things that it explicitly says, and also in what it doesn’t say.
Genesis covers an incredible span of time. More time as the rest of the books of the Bible combined, and possibly much more. After the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26–2:25), we learn about the fall (Genesis 3), we learn about Cain’s murder of Abel (Genesis 4), and then we are provided genealogies until we get to Noah.
Between Noah and Abraham (chapters 6–11) there are centuries. And besides the flood account, the only things the Bible tells us about these years are a few events regarding Noah and his sons, more genealogies, and the story of the tower of Babel. Then with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the patriarchs (chapters 12–50), Genesis begins to give us a lot more information. Although, considering that these 39 chapters span about 360 years, most of those years also go without saying.
God Does Not Waste Time or People
What was God doing during all those unremarkable years — all those years we know nothing about and all those people who were “eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage . . . [and] buying and selling, planting and building” (Luke 17:27–28)? All those years of wonders and horrors, some of which we’ve unearthed in archeological finds? Were they throwaway years and disposable people?
Not at all. Every single one of those days was a unique, priceless, irreplaceable creation of God (Psalm 118:24). And every single person was a unique, priceless, irreplaceable creation of God, each bearing God’s image (Genesis 1:27), however distorted, each had a unique story, each playing a role in the Story whether for good or evil (Romans 9:21), and each having meaning to God, though they lived and died. The destiny of each, whether resulting in mercy or judgment, we entrust to the Judge of all the earth who only does what is just (Genesis 18:25). Many wasted their lives, but God did not waste theirs.
God was not wasting time or people during these unrecorded days. He was holding all things together by the word of his power every moment (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) and he was working in every detail of history and human experience (John 5:17; Acts 17:26–28) so that in the fullness of time he might enter history and human experience as the second Adam and complete his plan to redeem what had fallen on that horrible, remarkable day in the garden (Galatians 4:4–5; Romans 5:17). God was not absent or distant (Acts 17:27–28), neither was he silent (Romans 1:20).
God Does Not Waste Your Time or You
Let the unremarkable years of Genesis speak to you. A few days of your life are remarkable, containing events and experiences where you see God’s wisdom with clarity and when your faith and life course are indelibly and memorably shaped. But the vast majority of your days — likely a day like today — will pass into obscurity unrecorded and irretrievable to your memory. But though today may be unremarkable, it is not unimportant. It is unique, priceless, and irreplaceable in God’s plan.
Today God is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Today God is at work in you to advance toward completion the good work that he began in you (Philippians 1:6). Today, though unseen and unfelt by you, God is at work in every detail of your history and experience and the history and experience of possibly thousands of others, to bring about answers to your long-requested prayers, to open the door that seems impossibly closed to you, to turn the prodigal homeward, to save your hard-hearted loved-one, to deliver you from the affliction, or to make you an unexpected, remarkable means of grace to someone else.
God does not waste a day, and he will not waste you.
Today is a day that the Lord has specially made (Psalm 118:24). He has planned it for you. It has a purpose. No matter what it holds, give thanks for it (1 Thessalonians 5:18). God does not waste a day and he will not waste you. And if you love and trust him, you will one day discover that today, unremarkable as it now seems, will do you remarkable good (Romans 8:28).
FEBRUARY 2016 - HEART OF GRATITUDE
Romans 1:18-23 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles”.
The passage above describes what is universally true of all people who have not come under the power of the gospel. They perceive truth about God from creation but their natural inclinations are so strong against this truth that they suppress it (v. 18). People who love sin hate the light and will not come to the light so that their deeds should be exposed (John 3:20). But the light of God's truth goes on shining in the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4–6); and it shines, for those outside the gospel, in the work of creation.
Creation Teaches That God Deserves All Thanksgiving
"The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech and night unto night declares knowledge" (Psalm 19:1–2). "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made" (Romans 1:20).
If there is such an all-powerful, infinitely glorious God who made all things, then I, too, am his creature. And everything I have is from him. Who but the Creator gives to all men life and breath and everything (Acts 17:25)? Standing before the irresistible logic of the lesson book of creation, I have to admit that everything is a gift. It is inconceivable that the Creator should ever owe me anything. For when could I ever give a gift to him that I should be repaid? "For from him and through him and to him are all things" (Romans 11:35–36). I am not my own; I belong to my Maker. My existence is owing to him, and therefore my existence must be for him.
But what can I give my Maker? If he were hungry he would not tell me, for the world and all that is in it is his. The birds of the air, the bugs in the field, the cattle on a thousand hills belong to him (Psalm 50:10–12). Everything that is, is God's. I cannot improve him. I cannot enrich or add to him. I am utterly and inescapably and always the recipient. "He is not served by human hands as though he needed anything" (Acts 17:25). How, then, shall I live for him? How shall I please him?
Thanksgiving Is the Message of Creation
The answer to that question, too, stands written in the lesson book of creation mirrored in our own conscience. I must be thankful to him! If I cannot add to his glory, then I must honor his glory. If there is an eternally powerful and infinitely marvelous God who made all that is, then there is only one righteous destiny for his creatures—to live for the praise of his glory . . . to join our Maker in his manifest purpose to make his power and glory known and loved among the nations. How shall a mere creature honor the glory of his Maker? We all know the answer to that question: We honor his glory by cherishing it and being thankful. "He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies God" (Psalm 50:23).
Gratitude honors God. Gratitude is the echo of grace as it reverberates through the hollows of the human heart. Gratitude is the unashamed acceptance of a free gift and the heartfelt declaration that we cherish what we cannot buy. Therefore gratitude glorifies the free grace of God and signifies the humility of a needy and receptive heart.
It is really amazing how much we can know of God and our duty simply by honestly pondering the lesson book of creation: that there is an infinitely marvelous Being who made all things, who has eternal power, to whom we owe life and breath and everything, and therefore whom we should glorify and thank from the bottom of our hearts day and night. Nobody who will own up to the reality in which he lives needs the Bible to know that he should glorify God and give him thanks. It is written in the sky and in every human heart—but nobody does it.
Everyone Has Fallen Short of This Calling
"Although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him" (Romans 1:21). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images" (Romans 1:22–23).
Proud People Hate the Lesson of Creation
The reason the human heart hates the truth that creation teaches is because it is too humbling. From sea to shining sea the creation shouts that God has eternal power, God is the infinitely marvelous Being, God is the Maker of all that is, and we are utterly dependent on his absolutely free choices to create and sustain our life or not, and we should therefore glorify him and not ourselves and give thanks to him and not take credit for ourselves.
But proud people don't say thanks. Gratitude is the echo of grace reverberating through the hollows of the human heart. But proud people don't need grace. They don't think their hearts are hollow without God. They are filled with wisdom! So "claiming to be wise, they exchange the glory of the immortal God for images." Proud people don't say thanks. Tight-lipped, they take the diamond of God's glory, enter the pawn shop of pride, and hock it for the broken marble of self-reliance. Then they take this little idol home, set it on the mantle of their mind, and bow down to it in a hundred different ways every day. "Although we knew God, we did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him but became futile in our thinking . . . claiming to be wise." Proud people don't say thanks.
A moment's reflection will humiliate virtually all of us. Our hearts are alive and quick and sensitive and responsive and full of emotion toward things that concern our material pleasures and our ego. But O, how slow and dull and unresponsive and dryly intellectual we are toward the reality of God. Therefore, let us not point our finger at others who hock the glory of God for the cracked marble of self-reliance. There is ample evidence in our own emotional life to prove that we, too, have barely begun to set our affections on the diamond of God's glory.
Sinners Are Redeemed Through Contrite Faith
We have need of deep contrition and repentance. The reason I stress this on the Sunday before one of the happiest holidays of the year is because I want you to experience the maximum amount of joy from hearts of deepest gratitude on Thursday. Proud people don't say thanks, and we are deeply afflicted with pride. If we do not preface our holiday with contrition, we will simply join the world in the ironic holiday exercise of trying to pump up a genuine feeling of gratitude for the cracked marble of self-sufficiency.
God Gives Grace to the Humble and Contrite
My desire for you is that your gratitude to God this Thanksgiving be very deep, very authentic, and very joyful. And the reason it can be is that God gives grace upon grace to people who hate their pride and are broken because of their sin. David tasted this grace and said, "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17). And God himself testifies to his grace with similar words in Isaiah 57:15, "I dwell in a high and holy place and with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite."
For the true child of God the repeated discovery of his own sin brings godly grief which produces repentance and leads to salvation and brings no regret (2 Corinthians 7:10). I have no ability to understand people who say that we should not urge contrition and poverty of spirit upon people whose sins have been forgiven and who are being made new by the indwelling Christ. It is precisely because Christ loves me so much that the coolness of my zeal in prayer and meditation and worship and witness grieves me so deeply. Shall we take the half-heartedness of our devotion lightly because he is so kind? Have you never been driven to tears of remorse precisely because you are forgiven?
I pray that there will be great heart-felt thankfulness to God in all your homes this week. I pray that some of you will find yourselves singing to the Lord, and that some of you will write a prayer of praise in your journal, and some will compose poems of thanksgiving, and some will make a long list of blessings, and some will spend special time alone with Christ, and some will say to wife or husband or friend, "I am thankful to God for you."
Three Truths for the Sake of Your Thanksgiving
1. The first truth: nature teaches us that an infinitely marvelous, eternally powerful Being created us and all we have. Therefore we are his creatures. He owns us. Our life, our breath, and everything we have is a gift. Our duty is simply to be thankful to him from our heart and to cherish his glory.
2. The second humbling truth is that all of us have fallen short of this duty. We have not consistently prized the diamond of God's glory with an affection anywhere near its value but have exchanged it again and again for the cracked marbles that in our great "wisdom" we have determined are more valuable.
3. The third humbling truth is that God, in his great mercy, sent his Son to suffer the judgment of people who are broken and contrite in spirit and who trust in him.
Proud people don't say thanks. But people who believe these three truths do. Empty your heart and fill it with thankfulness to God.
2016 IS UPON US... WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR!!! I hope that this new year will begin well for you. The short message for JANUARY 2016 will be posted on the Weekly BLOG page as the New Year Message. Simply follow this link => BLOG or click "Weekly Blog" on the left navigation pane to access. God bless and see you here again soon. - ook
DECEMBER 2015 - GUARD YOURSELF WITH GRATITUDE
A Song Which Defeats the Enemy Imagine for a moment that your city is surrounded by enemy forces who aimed to destroy you. And you are aware that enemy sympathizers live and work in the city with a view to undermining the city's defenses. And suppose you discover that there is a song which the enemy and their sympathizers cannot tolerate. Whenever they hear it, they pull back and run in the other direction.
Isn't it certain that you would want to learn this song? And after you learned it, you would sing it whenever you are threatened. And as your confidence grew you would even venture outside the city and sing it as you walked boldly through the enemy lines on your way to another town. The more deeply embedded in your mind the song became, the more steady and deep and serene and fearless your life would become. Others would see and hear and learn the song from you. And in the end you would conquer the enemy, and there would be no threat at all.
Satan, the Old Self, and the Weapon of Thanksgiving We are surrounded by the enemy—namely, Satan and his forces. He is "the father of lies" (John 8:44). His weapons are deceit and delusion. There are enemy sympathizers inside the city of our souls—namely, the desires of the old self.
And there is a song that Satan and his sympathizers cannot tolerate or approach—namely, the song of thanksgiving to God.
So what I would like you to be persuaded from Scripture that God has appointed gratitude as the one of the essential guardians of your soul, and to kindle in you a deep feeling of thankfulness to the Lord as we approach the holidays.
Exposition of Colossians 2:1–8 Paul begins chapter 2 by calling attention to how hard he struggles for the Colossians and Laodiceans: "For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen my face." We know from 4:10 and 18 that Paul is in prison as he writes. So the "striving" he refers to must be tremendous struggles in prayer (cf. 4:12), and perhaps writing and preparing Tychicus and Onesimus (4:7–9) to minister in his absence.
In verse 2 Paul tells us the reason why he is calling their attention to his struggles, namely, "that their hearts may be encouraged." Paul believes that if they know how he is suffering for them (verse 24—"my sufferings for your sake"), they will be encouraged and strengthened in their faith.
Knitting Hearts Together How does this work? He says that it works through a "knitting together"—"that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love." Paul is saying "as their hearts are knit together with his heart and with each other's." In other words, by telling them of his suffering and struggles for them, he hopes that they will feel themselves drawn to him (and to each other) with cords of love. So Paul is trying to create a beautiful quilt by sewing the hearts of individuals together with the threads of love, especially his own love as he suffers there in prison.
Stronger Affection and Stronger Understanding But there is something very unusual about this quilt. When love knits hearts together into a beautiful quilt of unity, the result is not merely stronger affection, but also stronger understanding. This is one of the great and strange facts of Christianity: a deep and confident understanding of Christ comes not merely from thinking, but also from loving. Notice how verse 2 proceeds: Paul hopes that their hearts will be knit together in love, why?—"to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
In other words the way to get assured understanding about the mystery of God, namely, Jesus Christ the treasure chest of wisdom, is to have your heart knit together in love with other believers. The deepest and most certain insights into the character of God and the wisdom of God come into heads that are attached to loving hearts.
Encouragement and Protection from Delusion Now remember that all of this is intended by Paul to encourage the Colossians and Laodiceans. Verse 2 begins: "that their hearts may be encouraged." Their love for one another and their deeper assurance of understanding is all for the sake of their encouragement.
But now verse 4 shows what is behind this special concern that Paul has to encourage these believers. "I say this in order that no one may delude you with beguiling speech." So his immediate concern is to guard these believers from delusion. Someone is trying to mislead them. So how does Paul seek to guard them? He tells them (first) of his tremendous struggles on their behalf, in the hope (second) that this will knit their hearts to his and to each other's in love, and that out of this bond of love would grow (third) a deep and fully assured understanding of God, and that out of this love and understanding would emerge (fourth) a strong encouragement of faith, and that this encouragement would be (fifth) the power that guards them from the delusion of beguiling speech. Sacrificial struggle leads to love. Love leads to assured understanding of God. Assured understanding leads to strong encouragement. And encouragement guards from delusion.
Paul's Delight in Their Faith Now we have almost arrived at our main point, but not quite. In verse 5 Paul expresses his motive for wanting them to stand firm and not be deluded: "For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ." Paul wants them to stand firm in their faith against deceit and delusion because he takes such great delight in their good order and firmness of faith. His whole ministry is aimed at this. The faith of his churches is his joy and glory.
On Guard Against Deceit In verse 6–8 we have basically the same argument as we had in verses 1–4 only with different words. Notice that verse 8 corresponds to verse 4. It's a warning against being deceived. Verse 8: "See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ." Verse 4: "I say this in order that no one may delude you with beguiling speech." Both verses warn the Colossians to guard themselves from traditions or philosophies or words that lead away from Christ.
Then verses 6–7 correspond to verses 2–3. Both of them show us how to guard ourselves from deceit. Verses 6–7 say, "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Notice four steps:
1. First, they were taught the truth of Christ (verse 7 at the end: " . . . just as you were taught"). 2. Second, they received him (verse 6: "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord . . . "). 3. Third, they became rooted and built up and established in him (verse 7: " . . . rooted and built up in him and established in the faith . . . "). 4. Fourth, they are to live a certain way (verse 6 at the end: " . . . so live in him"). And that way of life is defined at the end of verse 7: " . . . abounding in thanksgiving."
Gratitude Is the Completion of Encouragement
In verses 2 and 3 the deep assurance of our knowledge of Christ leads to strong encouragement that guards us from the deceit mentioned in verse 4. In verses 6 and 7 being rooted and built up in Christ leads to an overflowing gratitude that guards us from deceit mentioned in verse 8. If you were to ask me how the guardian of "encouragement" (in verse 2) relates to the guardian of "gratitude" (in verse 7), I would say that gratitude is the completion of encouragement.
It is possible to be encouraged and not be thankful. All of us have had that experience: something good happens to us and we feel a new breath of hope and joy, but we don't even give a thought to the Source of the encouragement, to thank him. I don't think that's the kind of encouragement Paul has in mind in verse 2. Surely he has in mind humble encouragement, the kind that is completed by gratitude to God.
Gratitude the Essential Guardian of the Soul So my conclusion from Colossians 2:1–8 is that thankfulness is an essential guardian of the soul, and therefore we should guard ourselves with gratitude. Evidently we are fair game for the devil when we don't abound with thanksgiving. Unless the song of thanksgiving is being sung in our hearts the enemy outside will deceive his way into the city of our soul, and the enemy sympathizers within will make his job easy. So for the sake of your own safety, strive to fill your heart with thanksgiving! Guard yourselves with gratitude!
Romans 1:21 in Agreement Let's look at one other text in Romans to confirm this truth and then focus on some practical implications. In Romans 1:21 Paul accuses those who have seen the evidence of God's power and deity in nature but have not responded with gratitude: "Although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened." In other words if your heart does not respond to God with gratitude, your mind with be darkened. You surrender yourself to the blinding work of Satan. Gratitude is the guardian of the lamp of the soul. If the guardian dies, the lamp goes out. Guard yourselves with gratitude!
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Receive the wealth of his grace in Jesus Christ. Fill your mouth with thanksgiving. And guard yourselves forever with gratitude! MERRY CHRISTMAS IN ADVANCE!!!
NOVEMBER 2015 - FEATURE MONTH
GOOD MORNINIG MRS. PERFECT By Uduak Ita Edet
This month we feature the brilliant efforts of a friend whose work is touching the lives of women all over. She is using the web to share her passion for the role of women using her gift of writing. In her new e-book which will become available November 23rd 2015, the author shares her personal experience as a mother and celebrates the role of women. Join us in supporting this work and share with families everywhere.
Preview:
“Good Morning, Mrs. Perfect” is a useful resource for mothers and anyone who appreciates the role of a mother in their lives. It will help mothers acknowledge the amazing influence that is available to us and how we can channel this in a constructive way to work for ourselves, other women and for our children.
As a mother, it can be such an overwhelming process to have another person rely on you but as events unfold and repeat themselves, you find that you will know how to approach issues better.
This book will take us through how to feel better about ourselves as mothers, cope with the different phases of motherhood, how to support our children as well relate with other mothers.
We will appreciate the benefits of being a mother; understand the power of speaking positively to our children and our role as they go through different phases of development. We will also learn to harness the power of networking with other mothers. We will see that no matter our cultural differences and beliefs, we mothers are very alike because we share a common goal which is to love, protect and nurture our children.
Available formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
About the author:
Uduak enjoys reaching out to women and mothers and gives them an exciting opportunity to discover and share the delights of motherhood. She also uses her web platforms to celebrate women and promoting her publications (via e-books and blogs). Uduak is married with two children and currently lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
OCTOBER 2015 - GREAT QUESTIONS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (Francis W. Dixon)
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO LORD? SCRIPTURE REFERENCE ACT9:6 KJV- One of the most amazing truths in the Bible is that God has a perfect plan for the life of all His children. An architect will prepare an accurate and detailed drawing for each new building that is to be erected under his instruction; and God, our Father, has a perfect, accurate and detailed plan for each Christian. Nowhere in God’s Word is it more clearly brought before us than in the brief conversation which took place on the Damascus road when Jesus apprehended Saul of Tarsus. At that very moment of his meeting with Jesus, Saul asked, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Did his conversion happen by chance, or was there a divine plan and purpose? Acts 9:15 tells us for it all took place according to God’s plan. How may we know that plan?
1. God has a plan for the life of every one of His children.
How can this be true? (a) It is reasonable to expect it. God is a God of order and of method. Is it unreasonable to think that God, our Father, our guide, our Lord, has a design for the pathway of those of us who are His children? (b) It is according to experience. Read about Abraham (Hebrews 11:8-10); Moses (Hebrews 11:24-27); David (1 Chronicles 17:7); Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8); Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5-8); Paul (Acts 9:15). These are just a few examples of the plan that God implemented in the lives of people. (c) God’s Word teaches it. One of the most wonderful statements in the New Testament is found in Ephesians 2:10. After reading this verse look up Psalms 27:11; 37:23; 73:24; 143:8; and then compare Proverbs 3:6; 15:9; 16:3; Isaiah 30:21; James 1:5. Could there be any doubt that the Lord has a plan and a purpose for the life of each of His children?
2. God’s plan has three very important characteristics. (a) It is a personal plan. Notice the personal pronouns in Acts 9:4 and Acts 9:6. There is no-one else in the world like you – God’s plan for you is unique. (b) It is a perfect plan. In Romans 12:2 (which should only be read in conjunction with Romans 12:1) we are told that the will of God, or God’s plan and purpose in the lives of His children, is good and acceptable and perfect. (c) It is a practicable plan. In other words, it is workable and thoroughly related to everyday living and service.
3. Our first concern should be to discover God’s plan for our life. It is sadly true that some Christians fail to discover God’s plan and find their days, weeks, months and years are filled with disappointment, defeat, frustration and failure. How wonderful it is to feel that we are achieving something worthwhile, not for ourselves, but for and in accordance with the will of God! Every unbeliever is living a self-planned life, as Saul was until the time of his conversion (Acts 9:5); but it is also sadly true that many Christians plan their own lives. We make decisions and choices which afterwards prove to be wrong. There is nothing greater or more comforting than to know that we are in the center of God’s will.
4. We enter God’s plan when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Saul entered the plan of God when he said – Acts 9:6. The Lord revealed Himself to Saul in verse 5, “I am Jesus…”, i.e. Savior. It does not mean He was not interested in Saul or not watching over him prior to his conversion, but He had an eternal purpose for him.
5. We continue in God’s plan by daily obedience to His revealed will. God reveals His plan to us step by step (Psalm 37:23). The human condition that has to be met if we are to know His will increasingly is total submission and a strong desire to obey Him. This is indicated in Saul’s question (Acts 9:6), and this enquiry as to what God’s will is involves four things:- (a) Communion with Him in prayer. A suitable prayer is recorded in Psalm 27:11. It is when we know what it is to go regularly into that place alone with the Lord that He graciously reveals His plan to us step by step. (b) Studying and searching His Word. How wonderfully all God’s saints have been led as they have read and submitted their lives to the commands and guidance of the Word of God – Psalm 119:105. (c) Prompt and unquestioning obedience. God reveals His will to us when we obey Him – 1 Samuel 15:22, John 2:5. (d) Complete and implicit trust. Rarely can we trace God’s working in our lives because we are living by faith, not by sight. The Lord spoke of Saul as a “chosen instrument”, and Saul had to trust Him in all that He permitted in his life in the way of suffering, stoning, imprisonment etc. See 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, also 1 Peter 4:12-13 and 19.
6. God’s plan for our life is an eternal one. All who belong to the Lord, of any age, have a glorious eternity before them, and God’s plan has an earthly part which is like the foundation of a building, and a heavenly part which can be likened to the structure of the building. We are apt to have a very limited conception of God’s plan. If a Christian dies at the age of 30 or 40 and we say, ‘What a tragedy!” – and so it is from earth’s limited viewpoint. But God’s loving plan for His children is eternal. Look up 1 John 2:17, and compare 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
SEPTEMBER - FEATURE MONTH
OVERCOMING PAINFUL EMOTIONS By Adebola Oni
This month, we are featuring a book written by one of our friends Sis. Adebola Oni (Dayspring Discipleship & Helps Ministry). The book is presently available in hard copy and download from www.amzon.co.uk - link provided below. The book is recommended and makes a perfect gift for women all over, and thier friends.
Overcoming Painful Emotions: A Guide to The African Woman's Blueprint for Overcoming Painful Emotions and Maximizing God-given Potential through Christ's Love. Published 10 May 2015
Preview - A lot of African women are unable to reach their maximum potential as wives, mothers, professionals or in other spheres of influence. Jesus Christ designed us to be women of strength and courage, but a lot of us are living below what He planned for us, which is a life of abundance and fulfillment. This deficit is largely due to painful emotions, broadly categorized into three streams: anger, fear and guilt. Like women all over the world, we are wired to experience deep levels of emotion, and when unidentified and mismanaged, these painful emotions serve as a hindrance to full expression of our personalities.
Overcoming Painful Emotions: A Guide is a hands-on, practical book. Part One helps us identify the painful emotions. Part Two helps us overcome the painful emotions by pointing us back to our Source, who is Jesus Christ, while Part Three helps us unleash new found energy and points us to how to maximize our God-given potential. The book is replete with Biblical and other case studies and contains a practical application section at the back.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10; "Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the savor of his knowledge. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other, the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, who corrupt the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ." 2 Corinthians 2:14-17.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10; "And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong."
What Do We mean, When We Say God Is All Sufficient? We mean that no matter what happens to one of His children, He can and will take care of them, if we but trust Him. Can this be true? Can God see me through my times of trial? Can He send me comfort when it is needed? Can God take care of my financial needs? Can God be my "All Sufficient Lord?" Yes, and yes all the way! He can and will take care of our every need. He has for thousands of years taken care of His children’s needs. Millions could testify of the great things that God has done for them. Even some men and women in the Bible can show us His All Sufficiency. Let us look at some of them.
Sufficient For Salvation In Genesis chapter three, one can see the story of the fall of man and woman. After their fall, God shed’s the blood of an innocent animal to clothe their nakedness, with coats of skins. Then there was a man named Saul in Acts chapter nine, who while traveling on the road to Damascus was struck by a blinding light and there he met the Saviour Jesus Christ. His name was changed to Paul, and his statement was this; "He was the chief of sinners." 1 Timothy 1:15. In His sufficiency God saved Saul, who was, "before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." 1 Timothy 1:13.
Once there was a young boy wadding at the edge of a river, his mother sat at a picnic table gathering the left overs from the table when she heard the boy screaming for help. Help! Help me I’m drowning. A man standing on the bank took off his shirt and stood there until the boy cried Help and went down for the last time. At that the man jumped in the water and swam out and rescued the boy. After getting back to shore, the mother frantically looked at the man who had saved her son, and asked; "Why did you wait so long before you saved my boy?" To which he answered; "Had I gone to rescue him any sooner, while he was still struggling, we would have both drowned, but when he gave up, then I could rescue him."
People are like that too. They try every means possible to get salvation by there own struggles, but it is when one gives up all self-hope and truly puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ that they are saved.
Sufficient For Material Needs "To the one we are the Savior of death unto death; and to the other the Savior of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things". (2 Corinthians 2:16). Will God take care of our material needs? Yes, He will! The children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness, needed no shoes, clothes, food, not water for forty years. God took care of their material needs and He can take care of ours today too. The story of the children of Israel can be found in Exodus chapters 16 and 17.
In 1 Kings 19:4-7, Elijah was feed by an angel after the battle with the false prophets. He was very hungry and God was sufficient to provide him with material needs. In 1 Kings 17:2-7, Elijah was feed by ravens again showing that God can take care of material needs. In 1 Kings 17:8-16.
In Matthew 14:15-21, Jesus feeds a hungry multitude of people after they had followed Him throughout the day. Mr.. George Muller, who founded an orphans home told of many times when God provided for the work there. God’s promise to us today is found in Matthew 6:25, "Therefore say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"
Sufficient For Times of Trouble Is God sufficient when we are in dangerous situations? Again, Yes He is! I think of the story of the children of Israel at the Red Sea in Exodus 14, How wonderfully He protected His own and destroyed those who were set against them. Rahab the harlot’s story of God’s protection, is found in Joshua chapter 6. Again In Joshua 10:1-14, Joshua and his army of men, when God made the sun to stand still so that they could win the battle. Think of that, The sun was made to stop, just for Joshua and his army. Gideon trust’s God for the victory over the Midianites in Judges 7. Three Hebrew men were cast into a fiery furnace because they refused to worship an idol, and God was sufficient to keep them from harm while in the fire, why He even visited these men in that fire, because the king stated, "I see four men walking in the fire, and the fourth is like the Son of God."
Daniel was cast into a lions den in Daniel 6, because he would not compromise his faith. Peter the disciple of the Lord, was with the other disciples in a ship, when Jesus came walking toward them on the water, and Peter cried out, If you are Jesus bid me to come to thee, to which Jesus replied, "Come." Peter stepped out of the ship and began to walk on the water too, until he looked at the waves around him, then he began to sink, his cry was, "Lord save me." Jesus immediately reached out and saved Peter from a watery death. Then there was Paul and Silas in the prison in Acts 16, their faith was so strong in the Lord that they began to sing and praise God at midnight, God’s response was to send and earthquake to open those prison doors. God will take care of you is you are trusting in Him. God is sufficient in times of trouble!
Sufficient In Tribulation And Temptations 2 Corinthians 12:9, says, "And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Again in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." God is sufficient in testing!
Paul had great trials because of a thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, "and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." And then Paul goes on to exclaim in verse 10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in distressed for Christ sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong." What Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, we are not sure. Some have suggested that it was his eye sight for Paul said in one place, "I write such a large letter," speaking of the size of his words. Paul was almost blind when he was martyred. Others say that it was some false prophet that continually followed him in his missionary journeys. Whatever his torn in the flesh was, after asking God three times to remove it, God’s reply to Paul was, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
God is sufficient in times of testing and trials in one’s life, Yes, He is an "ALL SUFFICIENT GOD!
Read, John 3:15-36, John 1:12, Acts 16:30-31, Romans 10:9
JULY 2015 - A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT
To get us started, let us look at what a contract is defined as in general terms:
A “con·tract” is an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified. It could also be called a “cov·e·nant”; i.e. an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified.
One thing I know is that when we ‘accept Christ’ we have entered into a legally binding contractual agreement (covenant) with Him. There is a “quid pro quo” clause involved. God made provision for this offer and fulfilled its prerequisites by sending His Son to die on the cross for us. Thereby He gave us free access into this contract. The short version of this contract is John 3:16 (KJV) – “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. God is offering us eternal life if we believe in His Son. But this contract has certain conditions that we have to fulfill.
Amos 3:3 (KJV) says “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
If we accept these terms we must adhere to the stipulations of the contract. Let me mention here that there was an “OLD” contract before the coming of Christ. That old covenant/contract required adherence to the law written (on tablets of stone). That contract had several laws; with consequences and repercussion. However, we are no longer under the law. The new covenant/contract requires adherence to the laws that are now written upon our hearts by the presence of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:3 KJV).
John 1:1-2 (KJV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God”.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. Our belief in Him is not as a child believes in Santa Claus or the Easter bunny; it requires us to take action. We are justified by our faith (Romans 4). The bible is the Word of God in print – provided by the leading of the Holy Spirit to serve as a guide for those who enter into the binding contract with God. Within it the specific terms and conditions (or “small print”) of God’s offer of salvation and everlasting life to us are outlined.
A Conditional Contract Philippians 2:12 (KJV) “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”.
Being required by God to work out our salvation with fear and trembling clearly demonstrates that we not only have a part to play, but must indeed strictly adhere to the conditions of this contract. We must comb over our bibles and make certain that we understand every minute detail of this contract we have entered into with God.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.
But understanding this legally binding contract we have entered into with God is not enough. We must bring our lives into alignment with it as outlined in His Word; point by point, as the Holy Spirit leads. This contract we have entered into is never to be taken lightly; after all, Jesus signed it with His own blood. At the end of this life there is a Judgment day. Seeing as we have entered into a contract with God this is the day we all must stand before our Supreme Judge as He determines whether we have held up our end of the deal. Hopefully, there will be no “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
Proverbs 27:6 (KJV) – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful”.
If only we were all working out our salvation. Then when a brother or sister pointed out an area we need to work on we would be examining ourselves instead of calling it legalism. But sadly we make excuses for our behavior and try to cover our sins. We accuse them of judging us and try to make them feel bad for our own faults.
A Contract between Two Parties 1 John 2:2 (KJV) – “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”.
Another essential point of this contract is to understand who exactly the involved parties are. When Jesus died on the cross He didn’t die for sinners collectively. He died for every single human being ever born, whether they accepted His offer or not, as individuals. He died for you, and me. This is very significant in the sense that each of us has equal opportunity to engage in this contract as the other.
1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV) – “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”. Why is this important? Modern Christianity treats this contract as if they could hand it over to their church or pastor to handle for them, like a lawyer. But Christ is our one and only Mediator before our Judge, there is no other who can represent us before Him. As stated above we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling - as individuals. We must personally study our Bible and obey it to the best of our understanding; we must personally get upon our knees and talk to our Heavenly Counselor. There is either a personal relationship or none at all. If we leave it to someone else then it is they who are working out our salvation, not us. God has no step children.
A Non-Negotiable Contract Some of us try to reject God’s offer to us and make our own contract. Does God entertain offers? How much will you offer God for the blood of His Son to wash away your sins? What will you offer? Good works? Money? Salvation can only be obtained on His terms. We have a name for man’s attempts to reach God on his own terms: Religion.
In conclusion, a time must come that we all come to the realization that we belong to God and that we need to be contractually obligated to Him – by accepting Jesus Christ into our lives. Once we make this all important decision, we then need to demonstrate our commitment to the contract by living out our lives the way Christ stipulates. We can find this in the Bible and the Holy Spirit will also minister to our hearts how we ought to live.
In your patience posses ye your souls (Luke 21:19)
In our modern culture, the virtue of patience is becoming less and less common. We are becoming more and more “an instant gratification” society to the point that when things don’t go according to our timetable or plans, we get frustrated and sometimes angry – bringing out the worst in us. Sometimes in a “curse God and die” syndrome we take it out on God. It is incredible to see how much in a hurry we are in life.
Today, the average young person wants to be a millionaire yesterday and everybody seems to be in a rat race to outwit the other. We have suddenly forgotten that life is a journey that consists of series of steps and ladders which must be taken one at a time. Experience and lessons of on one step will surely prepare us for the challenges of the next.
Patience is derived from the Latin word “pati”, which means to suffer, to endure, to bear. Patience builds up our inner fortitude. It strengthens us and keeps us from giving up when the going is tough. It is a product of our absolute resolve to trust God in every situation and circumstance of life. King David says in one of the Psalm “they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever”(Psalm 125:1-2) .
Permit me to ask, have you ever gone through the agonizing experience of biting your tongue in the course of eating? I am sure many of us have gone through this unpleasant experience. It hurts terribly. It is worse when we are in the middle of an appetizing meal. We usually feel bad. The most we can do is to leave the food and go hungry while we mourn our hurts and pains. Sometimes in such instances, we are left with no other choice but to cautiously continue with our meals, though distressing. We become gentle and patient with ourselves. We don’t want to make a bad situation worse. We simply look for a cure. While the healing process is on, we consciously wait on time for healing.
Patience is associated with time. It is a virtue that we must to develop if we are to succeed. It is the active force that energizes our hope. It speaks to certainty; a definitive belief that we will get to where we are headed. Prophet Isaiah says, “Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not go weary; they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
This month, let us practice patience and build it into our being. Study how God has so patiently dealt with us and continues to endure our miss-steps. See how, in your little way, you can be patience in different areas of life and watch how you grow and blossom into who God has made you to be.
MAY 2015 - MY DEAR MOTHERS
Proverbs 31:28 "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her". Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you".
In this month of May, it is apt to remember our mothers and take the opportunity to give back to them the love, care and attention they have so sacrifically given to us over the years. For most of us, our mothers are like "icons". They are like the statue of liberty that stands tall to welcome, encourage and protect..
It is with this in mind that I remember my mothers; Madam Magaret Arinade Adekanmbi and Mrs Cecilia Olayinka Okunnu who I can easily say were the icons of motherhood throughout my formative life. These wonderful women demonstrated extra-ordinary courage, strenght, wisdom, compassion and devotion. They gave so much of themselves to ensure that others could have. Their lives were given up literarily to realize the dreams of others. Now thier lagacies go on in our hearts and in all our lives.
I thank you both for being "mothers in deed" and promise never to forget your labor of love as I pray that you continue to find rest in the arms of my God.
All my love!
APRIL 2015 - RENEW YOUR FAITH
As we walk with Jesus through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, it is a good time for us to immerse ourselves in this sacred journey and deepen our commitment to follow the path of Jesus day by day. The Scripture story is not just about the journey of Jesus, but also about our journey and how we live the message in our world today. It is about bringing hope, healing and peace to our world. The Gospel story is not only about God’s power in raising Jesus from the dead. That same power is available to us at all times, and we are called to make good use of it.
We are familiar with the use and misuse of power in our society. We see how power, privilege and superiority of cultures over another, have led to racist attitudes that deprive many of a full and meaningful life. We see how technological advances prevent us from relating to the human family in a life-giving way and of living a Spirit-filled life. We need to tap into a greater power – the power of God’s Spirit always available to us.
The Easter season invites us to look deep within our own lives, our community life, our nation and our world. The promise that is offered to us by Jesus is that “all may have life and have it in abundance.” Watching the evening news, we see daunting challenges. There are endless wars, failed relationships, budget deficits, and much political conflict. There is very little mention of the common good. We must know by now that what we have tried up to this time is not working very well for most of the human family. Paul offers us this sound advice: We are not to keep festival with the old dough but to find and use a new dough that will offer a new way of living and relating to the whole human family. This does not mean we will not have challenges. It does remind us that challenges and failures will not have the last word in our lives and relationships.
We are called to live a Spirit-filled life through the power of the Resurrection. We have God’s promise that we will never walk alone. We need to take time each day to get in touch with the Spirit within. We draw on that power and pray that the stones in our lives will be rolled back from our individual, community, and national lives and let the Spirit of Easter shine in and through us. Are we ready to allow this to happen and to walk in the light of the Risen Lord? If we do this, we will bring light, hope, peace and justice to our own lives and our broken world. The question is what are we waiting for?
We are told in 1 Corinthians 6: 14, that God who has raised up Jesus from the dead will also raise us up by the same Spirit that dwells in us. This promise of life everlasting must give us great hope. We will live a life that continues beyond the grave with our loving God forever. How do we bring this message of hope to the people we are serving? This calls for our energy and fidelity in sharing the Word about the Easter promise of unending life. There is indeed many reasons to rejoice and be glad.
May all the efforts made to renew and deepen our faith, enable us to choose God’s plan and work to make it a reality and to choose life for ourselves and for generations yet to come. Through the power of the resurrection, a new light will shine in our minds and hearts, directing us toward a new way of thinking and relating, of being and doing, and solving problems in such a way as to bring life and not death and destruction, and bring healing and hope to our wounded world. We can do it in the name and power of the Spirit. May the hope and energy of Easter fill our minds and hearts as we welcome the life-giving presence of God who guides and sustains us every step of the way. Easter Blessings to you!
MARCH 2015 - YOUR “UNREMARKABLE” DAY
If you read the book of Genesis, you are likely to be confounded, humbled and encouraged all at the same time. It has more wisdom in it than can possibly be extracted in a lifetime. It speaks to me in the things that it explicitly says, and also in what it doesn’t say. There is so much information in all the years spanning between God’s recorded historical achievements.
Genesis covers an incredible span of time. More time as the rest of the books of the Bible combined, and possibly much more. After the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26 - 2:25), we learn about the fall (Genesis 3), we learn about Cain’s murder of Abel (Genesis 4), and then we are provided genealogies until we get to Noah.
Between Noah and Abraham (chapters 6–11) there are centuries. And besides the flood account, the only things the Bible tells us about these years are a few events regarding Noah and his sons, more genealogies, and the story of the tower of Babel. Then with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the patriarchs (chapters 12–50), Genesis begins to give us a lot more information. Although, considering that these 39 chapters span about 360 years, most of those years also go without saying.
God Does Not Waste Time or People
What was God doing during all those unremarkable years — all those years we know nothing about and all those people who were “eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage . . . [and] buying and selling, planting and building” (Luke 17:27-28)? All those years of wonders and horrors, some of which we’ve unearthed in archeological finds? Were they throwaway years and disposable people?
No. Every single one of those days was a unique, priceless, irreplaceable creation of God (Psalm 118:24). And every single person was a unique, priceless, irreplaceable creation of God, each bearing God’s image (Genesis 1:27), however distorted, each had a unique story, each playing a role in the Story whether for good or evil (Romans 9:21), and each having meaning to God, though they lived and died. The destiny of each, whether resulting in mercy or judgment, we entrust to the Judge of all the earth who only does what is just (Genesis 18:25). Many wasted their lives, but God did not waste theirs.
God was not wasting time or people during these unrecorded days. He was holding all things together by the word of his power every moment (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) and he was working in every detail of history and human experience (John 5:17; Acts 17:26–28) so that in the fullness of time he might enter history and human experience as the second Adam and complete his plan to redeem what had fallen on that horrible, remarkable day in the garden (Galatians 4:4–5; Romans 5:17). God was not absent or distant (Acts 17:27–28), neither was he silent (Romans 1:20).
God Does Not Waste Your Time or You
Let the unremarkable years of Genesis speak to you. A few days of your life are remarkable, containing events and experiences where you see God’s wisdom with clarity and when your faith and life course are indelibly and memorably shaped. But the vast majority of your days — likely a day like today — will pass into obscurity unrecorded and irretrievable to your memory. But though today may be unremarkable, it is not unimportant. It is unique, priceless, and irreplaceable in God’s plan.
Today God is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Today God is at work in you to advance toward completion the good work that he began in you (Philippians 1:6). Today, though unseen and unfelt by you, God is at work in every detail of your history and experience and the history and experience of possibly thousands of others, to bring about answers to your long-requested prayers, to open the door that seems impossibly closed to you, to turn the prodigal homeward, to save your hard-hearted loved-one, to deliver you from the affliction, or to make you an unexpected, remarkable means of grace to someone else.
God does not waste a day, and he will not waste you.
Today is a day that the Lord has specially made (Psalm 118:24). He has planned it for you. It has a purpose. No matter what it holds, give thanks for it (1 Thessalonians 5:18). God does not waste a day and he will not waste you. And if you love and trust him, you will one day discover that today, unremarkable as it now seems, will do you remarkable good (Romans 8:28).
FEB 2015 - THE CONVICTION WE NEED
Scripture Passage: I Corinthians 8:1-13
From scripture, we discover that apostle Paul had two great desires in life; the first was to live his life for the Lord. Secondly, he was passionate about helping other people. Incidentally, these two also form the essence of the Christian religion. He said in Rom. 10:1: "Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayers to God for Israel is that they might be saved".
Paul left his mark on human history because he had good convictions and he lived by them. A conviction can be described as "a strong persuasion or belief", and everyone has convictions from time to time; the thing is some are right and some are wrong.
What is a Right Conviction? Conviction must be based on the word of God. A proper conviction will produce proper character. Character defined as the will to do what is right in God’s eyes, regardless of cost. Therefore, in order to possess a God honoring, God type character you must adopt God honoring.
If you read Acts 2:40-47: With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day”.
The Fellowship of the Believers Early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. They were convicted to put their spiritual welfare above all else, this led to putting God first in their daily lives (they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrines), then God blessed them and they enjoyed the fellowship of one another and a steady and rapid growth in their numbers.
WRONG CONVICTIONS -- Achan (stole gold at Jericho), Annanias and Sapphira (desired recognition without sacrifice). WEAK CONVICTIONS -- Judas, Pilate
These are the kind of convictions we need:
1. PERSONAL CONVICTIONS. A. Paul said, "I will eat no flesh while the world standeth." (vs. 13) "I will not do anything that will cause my weaker brethren to stumble." I will not offend my brother.
Paul had a personal conviction here against causing a weaker brother problems. He was willing to give up something for that conviction.
True convictions are not just worth fighting for; they are also worth sacrificing for.
Our convictions must be personal as opposed to corporate. Many people have convictions about what others should do and be. These are improper convictions.
B. The convictions we have from God will always be personal convictions. God has choosen to work with each of us in a personal manner.
Salvation is personal. God will speak to your heart personally. Your experience in grace may be different than mine but that makes one no more or less real than the other.
The call to service is personal. God may call you to preach; or He may burden your heart to teach or work in music or visit the prisons or any number of other things that He knows you are suitable for. Your field of service is a personal calling and conviction between you and the Lord.
C. The Bible is filled with men and women who left evidence of their convictions:
Joseph -- He preferred purity to popularity. His convictions cost him his coat of many colors but not his character. (Gen. 50:20) -- "You meant it for evil but God meant it for good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive."
Daniel -- Purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s meat or drink.
Three Hebrew Children -- They would not bow, bend, or budge from their convictions.
Joshua -- "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve, but as for ME and my house, we will serve the Lord."
John the Baptist -- Before Herod, John stood for the convictions that marked his ministry: "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife."
Simon Peter -- "We ought to obey God rather than men."
2. PERMANENT CONVICTIONS. A. Some people have convictions that are like the so called, "permanent waves". They are nice to see for a while but they are only temporary. They have to be renewed over and over. We need convictions that will stand throughout our lives. As Paul said, "while the world stands."
Preachers quit because of weak convictions - missionaries, evangelists, workers, and teachers.
Many saved people quit coming to church, stop teaching or giving because of weak convictions.
But strong convictions will not let you stop. (Jer. 20:7-10) He tried to quit preaching but he couldn’t, his convictions would not let him.
We need strong convictions that will stand to sustain us. Like Job had, "I know that my redeemer liveth."
3. PRACTICAL CONVICTIONS.
A. Convictions that deal with daily living. The Bible will give you convictions that will make you different from the rest of creation. You are not a tree or river. You are not a cow or horse. You are not a child of Satan. You are born again child of the living God Rom. 12:1-2.
Study the Word of God and let your convictions be settled by the Bible. (II Tim. 2:15)
Believing the Bible (which is in itself a conviction) will bring you victory over 1) sin, 2) the world, 3) Satan and 4) death. (I Jn. 5:4-5)
B. Christians need practical, Bible based convictions that will not stop just because the door gets slammed in our face or our feelings get hurt. A chip on the shoulder means wood higher up. Any dead fish can float down stream; it takes a live one to swim against the current.
4. PLEASING CONVICTIONS. A. Not man pleasing but God pleasing. (Gal. 1:10) - "For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men I should not be the servant of Christ.
He told Timothy, "Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." We are commanded to please the commanding officer.
We mostly think we must please mom, dad, preacher, school mates, employer, husband or wife. I Thess. 4:1
It is said of Enoch (Heb. 11:5) that he was translated so that he would not see death because He pleased God.
If your convictions please God that is all you need. "When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." (Pro. 16:7)
5. POWERFUL CONVICTIONS. A. Convictions are powerful only if they are Christ centered. They will make strong Christians and save homes and families. Christ centered convictions will turn us from sin and compromise and will make us faithful to God and His service.
B. Without conviction we can never bring honor to God. Salvation cannot be had until you recognize a strong conviction about sin.
C. Baptism will never be observed until you get convicted that you are being disobedient to the commands of God.
D. Convictions about service must be personal. Your rewards, your satisfactions in worship and service, and your belief in yourself all depend on your conviction toward God.
It is my hope that this month we will grow our conviction in God based on His word and allow the Holy Spirit to rule in our hearts.
When we have conviction based on the word of God, life becomes much easier and we can become instruments in the hands of God for His use at all times.
God bless you.
JAN 2015 - WHEN GOD SEEMS TO BE FAR AWAY (By Yinka Antwi).
Scriptural References:
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man can do unto me”. Hebrew 13:5-6
“And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob and I will look for Him.” Isaiah 8:17
Why standeth afar off lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of troubles? Psalm 10:1
“Behold I go forward He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the left hand he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: but He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold”. Job23:8-10
It is very much easy to worship God when things are going well but there are times when things are really difficult and despite all that you have done, nothing seems to be changing. You have fasted and prayed but it looks as if God’s is so far away listening to someone else’s cries.
You have probably come to a conclusion that God surely have some favourites to which He gives His best attention. You struggle hard to worship and praise God but it seems your worship keeps bouncing back on you. Present circumstances of your life are not in any way pleasant.
In the book of Job, we are told that Job lost everything he had in a single day – WHAT A GREAT TRAGEDY? But beyond this, he reached out to God and yet he could not get a grasp of Him. He however realized that this was a test that would help him to mature, “I cannot see him: but He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold”. Job23:8-10
David,”a man after God’s own Heart” also had a similar experience. He complained in some of his Psalms about God being at a distance. King David said “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.”Psalm 22:1-2.
He said again, “Lord, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me? Psalm 88:14
David complained about Gods aloofness in matters affecting him. He wanted an urgent answer. This period is the dark night of the soul; the need is usually stretching too long for the soul to bear. This experience may go on for days, weeks, months or years and in your desperation for God you may cry out WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.?
Many thoughts at this time may flood your heart and you probably feel God is angry with you and disciplining you for your sins.
Yes, sin actually disconnects a man from God, but often this feeling of abandonment has nothing to do with sin and it is simply a test of faith.
The question thrown at you is “will you continue to trust, obey and worship God even when you have no sense of His presence. The mistake is that the Christian’s walk is a walk of faith not of feeling.
We often look for feeling rather than holding unto our faith in God- He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. The scripture affirms” that we walk by faith and not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7
The trials and challenges of our lives help us to grow up into maturity. Apostle Paul has this to say to us when it comes to the issue of challenges or trials to our faith, “knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:3-4.
It also grows our experience and increases our understanding of the will and ways of God.
We need to realize that God is omnipresence and His manifestation are two different things. His presence whether we feel Him or not is a fact. He promised not to leave us nor forsake us. This promise accordingly was repeated 365 times in the bible to take care of our needs every day of the year. You may not be able to see Him yet His very presence cannot be denied. In the furnace of fire, the three Hebrew children had His presence; they were not burnt to their amazement and others.
I remember vividly in my own life when things were low and I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel of life, God said to me, “My faithfulness will count for you”. I have lived long to bear witness to the faithfulness of God at all time. It’s been the rejoicing of my heart even when I cannot feel Him.
God’s presence is as real as the air we breathe. God want you to know that He is always around and by your side even when you cannot feel His presence.
SO WHAT DO I DO WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY
Tell God exactly how you feel, pour out your heart to God. It is good to be very open with God. Job expressed himself, when he said, “therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”Job 7:11. This is not however to suggest that God does not see you in your trials and challenges or that He does not understand what you are going through, your openness to God on the matter only shows your absolute faith and confidence in Him. It shows that you know He will listen to you. Your faith truly excites and brings pleasure to God, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Hebrew 11:6
Secondly, focus your attention on who God is – his unchanging nature. Regardless of circumstances and how you feel, hang on to God’s unchanging character. God is good, he loves you, and He has a good plan for you. God said” for I know the thought that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thought of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” Jeremiah 29:11.
We cannot afford to lose sight of His character and thought of goodness towards us in whatever adversity we find ourselves.
Raymond Edman says “never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light”.
Thirdly, trust God to keep His promise. During times of spiritual dryness you must patiently rely on the promises of God, not your emotions. The promises of God are embedded in the word of God, they are the things He intends to do and will also do.”God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent: hath he said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall not make it good? Number 23:19-27
God wants to take you to a deeper level of intimacy and maturity with Him. He wants to take you into the promise land, hold and stay focus on Him. You will need to wait on the Lord to bring His promises to pass in your life. Prophet Jeremiah said, “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the lord.” Lamentation 3:26
Finally, bring to remembrance all that the Lord had done in your life. As men we are often quick to forget all that the Lord has done for us, we are quick to forget all of His faithfulness to us. To remember means to bring to recall a thing to mind or become aware of something that had been forgotten. It is for this reason that God said to the nation of Israel, ”but thou shall remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish his covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” Deut 8:18
In difficult and challenging times of life; bring to memory all that God had done for you in the past. Never lose sight of His faithfulness.
The greatest thing we have to remember is the work of salvation that God did in our lives by sending His son to die for our sins. Apostle Paul says “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him all up all for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Remember, He gave Christ to you and with Him will give you all good things. Remember He promised not to leave you nor forsake you. He is a good God and will only do good in your life. His very presence is as constant as the North Pole star. He has your back, don’t give up on Him. He is closer than you can ever imagine.
Dear readers- my apologies for the lack of updates for a couple of months now. We experienced some technical difficulties on the site that have now been resolved. The monthly postings will continue in January 2015. Regards - Administrator.
OCT 2014 - HOW TO HANDLE FAILURE SUCCESSFULLY (PART 2)
Passages - James 1:1-7, Job 22:21-28, Psalms 19:7-11
Success can also be described as fulfilled expectations. Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope”. Clearly, God has a plan for us which includes achieving measures of success in different areas of existence. However, we find that despite these obvious facts, mankind still fail and continue to fail in many areas of life and ministry. The most important thing though is not the failures but what we do about the failures we experience. It is not what happens to you, but how you handle the situations that come your way.
Let’s consider a popular example in Joseph – His story is well known, and saw him go from being the cherished son of his father to a slave sold off into Egypt by his brothers. It didn’t stop there because he landed in prison shortly after for an offense he did not commit but then God elevated him to success by bringing him to the palace next to the pharaoh.
There are many areas of failure that humans typically experience- we go through financial, marital, academic, relationship, social, and spiritual failures. Sometimes, we are so good in certain areas, but fail woefully in others. At the end of the day a failure is still a failure.
There are different types of situations when we talk about failures. There are those who just can’t seem to get a hang of things and everything they do turns out in failure. Failing is a way of life for them and they have not learnt how to avoid failure. There are those who fail in particular areas only – perhaps they have attitudes or habits they just can’t overcome and causes them to fail specifically. Then there are those who have had such a long string of successes that a failure a catastrophic event for them.
A failure is a malfunction or breakdown in the process and many people who fail do so because they fail to realize God’s plan for them or refuse to follow His instruction for them. Psalm 19:8 NKJV says “The statutes of the Lord are right …. enlightening the eyes”. Verse 11 says “Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward”. Before we take any action, we must first of all count the cost of what we are about to do (Luke 14:28-31). Be sure that this is what God is saying about that situation. We must also be well prepared for, well informed about and well intended in anything we do.
When we face failure, most of us expect the worst. But it is best to remember God’s thoughts for you (Jeremiah 29:11). Don’t hide the failure or hide in your failure. Be open about it and confront it, so you can fail forward and be stronger on the other side. Proverbs 28:13a NKJV “He who covers his sins will not prosper…”. Psalm 32:3a NKJV “When I kept quiet, my bones grew old…” Don’t blame others. You are the problem, so fix yourself and look inward. Be like the prodigal son who came to realization of his errors and corrected his own ways.
You can succeed in failure by doing the following things-
1: Get to the root of the failure, and then destroy the root. 2: Repent genuinely before God for any errors you made. 3: Make necessary adjustments to your ways and attitudes. 4: Find the lessons in the failures and take them to heart.
By taking these simple steps, you can become a champion in failure and help others to see that life is all about failing and then succeeding once you learn from the failure. Most importantly, keep in mind what God says in the book of Joel; He alone can restore whatever has been lost. May the word of God take hold in your life in Jesus’ name, Amen.
SEPT 2014 - HOW TO HANDLE FAILURE SUCCESSFULLY
Passages – James 1:1-7, Job 22:21-28, Psalms 19:7-11
Let me begin by saying – God’s plan is that mankind should enjoy “successful” lives. However, our definition of a “successful” life may vary from God’s definition of the same. Therefore, we can use this study to gain some insight into what God says about living a successful life.
Every principle in the word of God is directed at making our lives successful in light if God’s plan and purpose for each individual life. Joshua 1:8 tells us that God’s intention is to grant us good success. Furthermore, Job 22:21 AMP says “Acquaint now yourself with Him (agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will) and be at peace; by that (you shall prosper and great) good shall come to you”. Success for a Christian is not something to attain, it is something we obtain through favor with, and knowledge of God.
What is success? In a sense, success can be considered as the favorable outcome of an endeavor. Favor being the product of God’s intervention in the process. Psalm 5:12 AMP “For You, Lord, will bless the (uncompromisingly) righteous (him who is upright and in right standing with you); as with a shield you will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor)”. This is the kind of favor that was on Jesus during His ministry on earth and with Samuel as a child (Luke 2:52, 1 Samuel 2:26). We understand that both of them grew in favor with God and with man.
(Next month, we will complete this important study on how to better handle failures as a Christian).
AUGUST 2014 - WHAT SHALL I RENDER UNTO THE LORD?Opening Passage: Psalm 116:12-14
"What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people:.
Almost on a daily basis, we ask this question in response to our appreciation of the Lord’s loving kindness. Like David, we cry unto the Lord in our lowly, sinful hopeless state.
What a grand opportunity the God of the universe has extended to us. Not only did he made the ultimate sacrifice of his son so that we and the world might have life, but he offered to make us his son s bride and give us his nature. What a magnificent offer to someday be a member with God and Christ. Psa. 45:17: "I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever”, should make us realize that even now we are one of the "blessed ". It is almost too much to believe or comprehend
"What shall I render unto the Lord," therefore should be the natural response of every consecrated child of God. But what to give in return is the real question.
If we had a great financial benefactor whom we wished to honor how would we go about it? Our first job would be to find out what would make him happy.
The Cup of Salvation
To David, a faithful Israelite and man after God’s own heart, God s presence and help were found in the temple and its associated services. It was the only way an Israelite might approach God and receive forgiveness and help (1 Kings 8). Therefore, David sought to express his thankfulness to his God by inquiring what he should I render unto the Lord and the answer was "I will take the cup of salvation."
The cup of salvation calls to mind the memorial supper. Here Christ chose the emblem of a cup to symbolize not only his sacrifice as a sin offering, but also our part in filling up that which is behind.
The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
We can see that in the cup of salvation, a vow is followed by a declaration of fulfillment. David vows to fulfil it in the presence of his people, here the nation of Israel. It is termed a sacrifice of thanksgiving, but it is all part of the same original vow. Here David assumed a vow as an expression of thanks to God for his recent deliverance from trouble.
A Living Sacrifice
How can we repay such wonderful gifts? Our first duty is to search the scriptures to see what would make our Father happy. Proverbs 23:26 provides the answer for us: "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways." Romans 12:1-2 elaborates: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Every morning we present ourselves afresh to the Lord and ask his blessing that we may discern His will for us; therefore, it is a constant surrender of self-will and a daily waving of our offering before the Lord. It is not a grievous matter with us, but rather our daily delight, just as it was it our forerunner and example.
Daily Duties
Heart-loyalty to the Lord means continual effort to bring all the conduct of our lives, our thoughts and intents of our hearts, into subjection to the Divine will (2 Cor. 10:4,5). This is our first duty, our continual duty, and will be the end of our duty; for "This is the will of God concerning our sanctification."
In practical terms how do we carry out this sacrifice of thanksgiving in our daily lives. First, we must learn to do His will. Do we find time to daily study his word? Do we truly believe that every issue of life can be resolved by going to the word of God, not only in the large matters, but also in the small? Have we a prayer life that is one of continual thankfulness? Are we approaching him less and less to grant our desires and more and more to thank him for life’s circumstances? Do we find some way each day to give comfort to the sin-sick and heavily burdened world? Do we desire to find more opportunities in service and once finding them, heartily put our hand to the plow?
Finally- In the opening text, David wanted all the people to see him make his vow. He wanted to influence his nation toward God. My question to you is “How about you”? What are you willing to do in the presence of God's people and in God's House to influence the people and the nation?
May the Lord grant us wisdom and grace to fulfil His word. Amen.
JULY 2014 – OUR STEPSARE ORDERED BY GOD
Nothing in life is a coincidence. The phrase; “what are the odds” issimply another way of saying: this is God’s plan and purpose at work.
God wants to guide us in every thing and every way. However, there are three things we can do – if we truly wantdirection from God: 1. Believe in God- God can provide you with His guidance if you beleive (Ephesians2:8-10). 2. Sell yourself to Christ (Psalms 37:23 – God ordersour path). Proverbs 20:24, 3:5-6. If you want to be guided, you must trust Godwith all of your heart, not just some of it. (Jeremiah 29:11-13). 3. Behave like Christ. You are created in Christfor good works. Don’t miss the opportunity to do that work.
The Lord bless yo. Amen
JUNE 2014 - BEAUTY FOR ASHES. Opening Passages – Esther 2:2-9, Isaiah 61:1-3.
Whenever we talk about ashes, the first thing that comes to mind is the waste produced when items are burnt by fire. In the Bible, ashes are mentioned several times and in many situations. For example; with regards to humans in Genesis 18:27 NIV when Abraham said to God “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes”. Ashes were also used to signify humiliation. This was done in Ezekiel 28:17-18 concerning Lucifer. There is another reference in the book of Esther 4:-1-3 where it signified mourning. Overall, ashes are not desirable.
Today, I want to talk about a woman’s role in the family. A lot hinges on the woman playing a significant and stabilizing role in the home (Gen 2:21-24). God has put women and mothers in our lives to create a desired balance for successful living. When women fail in their role, there are usually very dire consequences for the family. Obviously, because of this enormous responsibility, women have to be in constant partnership with God – otherwise, the chances of success will be slim. The level of success a woman gets in their home (using God’s standard) is dependent on the level of her submission to God through the person whom God has placed at the head of that home. Let’s be clear, women are not heads of households (by God’s standard). It doesn’t mean they can’t hold leadership positions. However, that is another issue.
Ephesians 5:15-17 NKJV says- “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is". Wives have a part to play as much as the husbands do. I believe that when a woman is outside the will of God for her life, the tendency is that she will lose sight of her purpose (and possibly her destiny). This misstep is the reason why at times it seems like families are struggling with achievements individually and collectively. The question then becomes; why should a woman walk in the will of God? The answer can be as simple as understanding that it is in fulfilling the will of God in marriage that God can add His beauty and wipe away the ashes.
We may all have different destinies, but I believe the will of God for marriage is universal. Christ has appointed the man as head, a role he must dutifully perform and execute well. While the woman is appointed a help-mate to the man to ensure that he doesn’t miss his way or become over-burdened in his role. Both parties must be diligent even if the other party is failing.
There are clear instructions in the bible, enough to convince most that a wife’s role is to be beside her husband, not ahead of him (1 Peter 3:1-6 explains this clearly). However, it is the next verse that personality opens it up for me (See also Proverbs 31:10).
If a woman wants to be truly beautiful, she must first seek to be a reflection of whatever character she wants to see in others. It is through sowing that you can be assured of a harvest. Beauty is satisfying and attractive. God is beautiful. If you surrender to His will, His beauty will become evident in your life. Your husband will find you attractive, even if you are physically ugly. Your children will trust and obey you despite peer pressures and your friends will turn to you for support on issues they think you are not affected by – but for the grace of God. God will give you beauty for ashes; He will provide abundant grace during hard times. A virtuous woman is a great advertisement for her husband, but especially for God. Her character is a magnet to draw people to the Lord. She will be an epistle read and studied by all.
Each woman must seek to work hand in hand with the Holy Spirit to accomplish destiny. Be a co-laborer with God (1 Corinthians 3:9a). I know it is not easy. However, once you answer the important question - what is the will of God for me in this home or marriage, things become clearer. Study the word of God for direction (Psalm 47:4), because knowing Gods will requires submission, and we are constantly battling to do the opposite. Many times, we just cannot let go, but happiness eludes and we lose control. There is much ado about appearance and posture rather than humility in the open and prayer in secret places.
When denial is coupled with rebellion, it is a dangerous combination. If any woman wants to have a happy home and enjoy the goodness of God, it is time to break through the barriers and seek the will of God. If you want beauty for your ashes, seek God and His beauty will be revealed in you.
May 2014 - Psalm 90: A Prayer of Moses (the man of God)
1. Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. 5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: 6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered. 7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 11 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.17 May the favor[a] of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.
Apr 2014 - A Psalm of David, A month of praise ! Psalm 101:1-8
I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.
I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it.
The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil.
Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate.
My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.
No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.
Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.
Mar 2014 - GOD WILL DO IT Opening Passages – Job 8:7,
Haggai 2:7
We live in a world that puts a high premium on getting
things done quickly. Everybody wants to get results fast – either for the right
or wrong reasons, the fact is we all want things done quickly. In Ezra chapter 7,
you see sense of urgency in getting the kings command done. Quite often, and
similar to this; we expect God to act speedily on our behalf as we see in Luke
18:7 (NIV).
After some consideration, I have concluded that there are
a number of reasons why we may want God to act quickly. Firstly, it could be
because we have experienced God acting promptly on our behalf in the past, and
so we have a strong faith that He can do it again. This happens a lot to new
converts (Psalm 69:17 NKJV, Psalm 22:19 NIV). It could also be that we have
seen God acting promptly on behalf of others. Consequently, we expect the same
of God (1 Timothy 5:21 NIV). It could also be that we find the situation
uncomfortable, so we are anxious for a relief or a rescue (Psalms 102:1-2 NIV),
therefore we expect God to take action promptly. Finally, it could be that we
are holding on to a revelation from God’s own word and exercising faith that
God can do what He has said.
When I consider all this, it always seems that there is
one step most people tend to miss and that is the stage where they need to “prepare”
to receive from God. I happen to think that the preparation is just as
important as the receiving itself. What I mean by that is - we need to be in a
state of constant fellowship with God before we make a demand on God. We must
know the will of God for us and consequently, how it concerns what we are
expecting from God (2 Chronicles 27:6 NKJV). Every Christian should know that
there is seed time and harvest time – it is a principle that God holds dearly.
Therefore, the question then becomes, what have you sown and what are you
expecting to reap?
Psalm 105:9 says - God did not act on behalf of Moses
until he was in the desert, He did not act concerning Joseph until he was in
prison and God did not act on behalf of Daniel and co until they were in the
lion’s den. However when the time came, God rose up on behalf of these people
because the time was right, and they were in the center of Gods will for their
lives. Although your time may also have come, the question is; are you prepared
for what you are asking God to do? Have you taken a root before trying to grow
a shoot? Always keep in mind; quickly does not mean surely. You should never
seek the gift but the “giver”. In other words, if the focus is on getting “things”,
you are bound to miss the essence of the relationship with God – if you ever
had one to begin with.
God is waiting for those who will answer His call, He
wants men, women and children who will obey and carry out His instructions at
all times, so that His limitless power can be released into their lives for the
sake of His kingdom – not just for a benefit. God is calling you into a life of
service where he can use you to change the face of the world and positively
impact lives for Him. Remember 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV) “The
one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it”. The Lord is with you. Amen!
Feb 2014 – S.M.A.R.T. SPIRITUAL GOALS & VISION
Whenever we have to opportunity to begin
again; like when a new year begins, it is good to take stock of the old and
make solid plans for the new. In 2 Cor
13:5 – the bible tells us to examine ourselves whether we are still in the
faith. God is very big on self-evaluation. In other places it says we should
judge ourselves before we are judged. The reason for that is so that we can see
our wrong ways and make the necessary amends before the consequences come upon
us.
In other words – are you faithful to the
cause / the purpose or goals that were set for you through the purpose of God?
Have you tried to understand the plan of God for your life and walk in it?
Also, if you have discovered the purpose, are you committed to driving the
ideals and core focuses of that goal?
Certainly, you must have an idea what
that thing is – that God made you for. The reason why you are. It is when we
know this that we can create spiritual goals that are proper and in alignment
with the will of God for us.
In 2014, one of the things God said to
the church is that it is a year of TOTAL
TRANSFORMATION, and Romans 12:2 (NASV) says:“And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so
that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect”
These are very important strategic words
by Apostle Paul. They are like game changing words designed to redirect a team
already losing in the field of play. Basically, he was saying: stop going in
the path you’re going now, rather go this other way, which is the way you
should have been going, so that you can win the prize. Of course we know also
that the christian life is a race, and no athlete going for the prize should
bother with anything but the how to win the prize, otherwise, they will not
succeed.
Paul gave these particular words to lead
Gods people to a successful end.
I encourage you to read the preceding 11
chapters which details conducts, behaviors, practices etc. that every christian
must embody to be diligent children of God.
Most
importantly, Paul uses chapter 12
as a CALL TO ACTION. In order to
actualize the first 11 chapters we must take steps regarding the ultimate call
to act. To be totally transformed, you must “renew your mind”, and there are
steps you have to take because your mind will not renew itself.
One of the things we don’t do when it
comes to setting spiritual goals is to set performance indicators for
ourselves. That is; we don’t often measure ourselves to see how we are doing.
Particularly, we don’t purposely set guidelines to check our progress on set
goals.
When Paul talked about “’Proving’ what
the will of God is”, he was saying - that
a will of God which exists in this particular case. He was basically saying total
transformation is THE will of God, now prove it.
Therefore, we should ask ourselves:
1). In what specific
areas can I be a practical doer of God’s word so that I can be truly
transformed as Paul is describing? Remember that James 1:22-25.
2). Titus 3:5, 2
Cor 3:18 say it is the Holy Spiritwho does the work of renewing. However, what
is my part in the process? Why is it so hard to retrain my mind and abide by
the spiritual goals that I have set, and can I become a source of inspiration
to others in setting and fulfilling spiritual goals as a Christian?
3). What does it mean
to prove the will of God when I create spiritual goals and in what areas do I
desire to know Gods specific will – and what are I doing about it?
When we begin to ask ourselves these
really provocative open ended questions, we will begin to have an understanding
of what we need to do to transform our lives into what God wants for us.
In the same light God says to us in 2 Timothy 4:1-8; preach the word, but
we don’t take up the call in a serious way. Many times, we are very lukewarm to
reaching out to lost souls – which should be a number one priority and the most
important goal in a christian life.This is a vision that connects to the total
transformation vision because only a transformed life can perform the
activities that are described in the passage mentioned above.
If we know what our calling truly is and
we have set our goals and priorities right then our focus ought to be constantly
on winning souls into the kingdom.Do you
think you are committed enough to the cause – even with the unique
opportunities we have this year? Do you have the right perspective of what your
core spiritual goals should be? If you don’t, why not?Preaching the word of God
is a sacrifice, it is an offering to the Lord. See 2 Sam 23:15-17.
In the eyes of the world, it might seem
like a transformed life (that is the true Christian life) is a wasted life.
However, we have an assurance that in Gods eyes, that life is a worthwhile life
that deserves a reward far greater than anyone can obtain here on earth.
Think about these:
1). What is the
relationship between our attitude to God and our in actions when it comes to
preaching the word?
2). What is the
relationship between a totally transformed life and winning souls?
I pray that God will give us
understanding so that starting this February we can re-start our race to honor
God in everything this year. Amen
Welcome to January 2014 !! I trust the year is starting well for you. The short message for this month is on the Weekly BLOG page. Just follow this link => BLOG or click "weekly blog" on the left hand column. God bless and see you here again soon. Happy New year.
DEC 2013 - THE KINGDOM SPIRIT Opening Passages – Matthew 21:12-14, 6:31-33, John 2:13-17
If you study the bible, you will quickly realize that God has given us clear instructions about what we should or shouldn’t do as Christians. Instructions like how to live and develop relationships, ministry, vocation, marriage, children, finances, prayer, reading the word and many other aspects of life. Furthermore, He provides specific guidelines on HOW we are to carry out these instructions. When it comes to prayer for example, 1 Timothy 2:8 (NKJV) says “I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or doubting”. So God wants us to pray and do so consistently (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV).
In today’s church, we need to pay attention to the way we carry out God’s instructions. The reason is because, unless an instruction is carried out the way that God intended, that task remains undone in God’s eyes. In 2 Chronicles 25, it is recorded that although Amaziah (a kind in his days) did what was right in the sight of God, he did not do it with a loyal heart. He eventually turned away from the Lord to his own detriment. There is a similar account in 1 Samuel 15, when God asked Saul to totally destroy Amalek. However, Saul decided not to complete the mission by sparing Agag their king and some choice items. This led the God to eventually rejected Saul as king. We need to be mindful not to take the instructions of God lightly because God is always clear and specific about what He wants done and how.
I realize that being a Christian does not mean we will do things the right way all the time. But it requires that we set our mind of the things of the kingdom and weigh whatever we do and how we do it against the word of God and remain sensitive to what God is saying about everything. The way to do that is to have a special relationship with the Holy Spirit who can lead us unto all truth. God spoke to the people of Israel through Moses in Exodus 19:5 (NKJV) and said “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people…..”.
The same way, in the new testaments Jesus shed light on how to do many things. How to pray, give alms, fast, have compassion, give to the kingdom etc. In all these things He set an example for us and asked us to do likewise. We are charged in Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NKJV) - “Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going”. When we carry out God’s instructions carefully, we demonstrate that we love God with all of our heart and soul. Even all the way down to how we relate with each other on earth.
However, the first thing we must do is in Matthew 6:33. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness so that all other things can be added unto us. The way we conduct ourselves when God is asking us to do anything is a reflection of the condition of our heart. Just like the account in Luke 21:1-4, Jesus is always watching over the offering. Are you ready to fulfill His instructions even though it may not be convenient for you? Or are you doing it as you find convenient. Do not overlook the kingdom of God. God values the body of Christ here on earth. He said He is coming back for the church and the church must be ready for Him when He returns. The only way to truly prepare is to have a heart that is focused on the kingdom. Such a heart is always ready to carry out the instructions of God, and carry it out to specification. Romans 12:9-11 (NKJV) “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord”. Our problems is not financial, physical or emotional, rather our major problem is aligning ourselves with the will of God and obeying Him and all times. If we can get over that, all other things will correct itself in time according to His desire for us.
My prayer is that all of us will come to the true knowledge of Christ and forge ahead in our desire to please Him alone. Without this key element of being able to hear from God and committing ourselves to obeying Him all the time and in detail, we will always tend to fall short of God’s expectation and things may not always go the right way. Personally, I struggle with this as well and daily I pray that God will grant me courage to always be in step with His instructions. Every day He reminds me that He has called me with a holy calling and the way to remain attentive to Him is to be disciplined before Him. This requires a lot of dedication and knowledge of God; particularly a realization that He will ask us in the end to give account of our stewardship. So I pray every day for another chance to be worthy of the call. Ask yourself today; am I worthy of the call of God? Am I worthy of the price that was paid for my ransom? Am I worthy?
NOV 2013 - THE NAME ABOVE ALL Opening Passages – Philippians 2:5-11
Philippians2:5-11 NIV – “In your relationships with one another, have thesame mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not considerequality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he madehimself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in humanlikeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself bybecoming obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted himto the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that atthe name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under theearth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory ofGod the Father”.
In biblicalcultures, names are critically important and they have an impact on the courseof a person’s life. That is why God changed Abram’s name to Abraham in order toput into perspective the promise to make him a father of many nations. Beforelong, Abraham’s faith in God’s ability to perform increased and continued tostrengthen.
As believers, we ought to develop thatsame kind of faith in the Name of Jesus. To help us, we must understand whatthat Name really means and realize that it is truly the Name above all names.
Jesus’ Name is so powerful and exalted,there is only one other name that even comes close to it - the holy,unspeakable name of the Father God Himself. That is the awesome name Godrevealed to Moses when He spoke to him from the burning bush. When Moses askedwhat he should say when the Israelites asked the name of the God who had senthim, God answered: “I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto thechildren of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover untoMoses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of yourfathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sentme unto you: this is my name for ever…” (Exodus3:14-15 KJV).
To most of us today the phrase “I AMTHAT I AM” doesn’t mean very much. However, to a Hebrew person it says, “Iam impossibly deep. I am everything. I am unsearchable. I have no beginning andno end. I am all in all”. It communicates something very strong and carriesweight.
So what does all that have to do with the Name of Jesus?Everything! The power that resides in the Name of GOD is what enabled Jesus todo the miraculous works He did when He was on the earth. He said so Himself. Atthe beginning of His ministry, He walked into the synagogue and declared: “TheSpirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach thegospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preachdeliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set atliberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).
It was the Spirit of the LORD thatenabled Jesus to go “about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed ofthe devil; for God was with him” (Acts10:38). In other words, God so fully indwelt and rested upon Jesus duringHis earthly ministry that Jesus’ Name carried the power and authority of theName of the LORD Himself.
When Jesus went to the cross and tookon Himself all the sins of the world, the unthinkable happened. The Spirit ofthe LORD that had rested upon Him departed for a time (Matthew 27:46).He died, not because He had sinned but because He sacrificed himself for oursin in obedience to God. No doubt, at that moment He could hear the demonsscreaming in triumph. But it was a trap andSatan fell for it. He boldly opened the door of hell and took Jesus in. Therein that pit, Jesus paid the full price for sin. He bore the curse of damnationfor all mankind. But God didn’t leave Jesus in the pit.When the penalty for sin had been fully met, the voice of the LORD Himself raisedJesus from the dead. He said: “Thou art my Son, this day have I begottenthee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” (Hebrews 1:5).
With those words, the very glory of Godshot into Jesus’ spirit. He rose up in power and majesty, coming out inglorious victory over all of hell, death and every devil and “made a show ofthem openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians2:15). When Jesus went back to heaven, He returned as a conqueringwarrior. He returned as the hero of the ages who had by Himself purged oursins, stripped the devil of His weapons, and taken back the keys of death andhell.
In honor of Jesus’ great victory, Godbestowed on Him the greatest title that could be given. He highly exalted Himand gave Him - the name which is aboveevery name. With this act Christ received every name by which God has beenknown throughout the ages. His Name represents the Champion of champions!. When we pray by faith in that Name, allof heaven—including angels, the Holy Spirit and God the FatherHimself—responds. When we utter that Name in faith, the earth obeys, all ofhell and the devil buckles at the knees. There’s nothing else they can do. Theforce released by Jesus’ Name exerts so much pressure on Satan that he has toflee. He can’t function in the presence of that name!.
Now you can see why Jesus so boldlysaid, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”He understands the power of His own name and we need to understand it too. It’stime we reverence it, develop faith in it and put it to work for the kingdom ofGod here on earth. When we do, the will of God will be done on earth as it isin heaven.
As you meditate on thismessage, consider these powerful statements from the word of God.Matthew 28:18 NIV – “Then Jesus came tothem and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth hasbeen given to me”. Luke 9:1-2NIV – “When Jesus had called the twelve together, He gave thempower and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent themout to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick”. John 14:12 NIV – “ Verytruly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to theFather”. Matthew 13:58 NIV –“And he did not do many miracles there because of their lackof faith”.
As a child of God, you must seek to truly know the name of Jesus. May the Lord give us theability to understand His name, trust in Him daily and act on our faith in thename of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Whenever a person chooses to surrender their life to
Christ, there is a general expectation that they will enter into a process of
personal spiritual transformation (1 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). This in turn will be
reflected in the way they (now) live and conduct their affairs. There is a
measure of God’s ‘goodness’ which now ought to be revealed in them (Isaiah
61:3).
A life lived in obedience to God is beautiful, (just like
God is beautiful). Psalm 27:4 NKJV says “One thing I have desired of the Lord,
that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my
life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple”. Also in Ecclesiastes
(3:11) the bible records that God has made all things beautiful. Therefore, surrendering
your life to Christ beautifies your life. Isaiah 4:2 NKJV tells us in the (a)
part - “In that day, the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious…”. Remember, we are the branches of Christ (Read John
15:1-8 NKJV).
Notwithstanding, no matter how beautiful our lives may
be, it is always prone to storms and trials. Keep in mind that a storm could
manifest as a sudden and vigorous attack in our lives. When these life storms
occur to a Christian, they feel like being under constant opposition by the
devil and his cohorts. We interpret it as the spiritual attack that it is. An
example is the storm suffered by Job in the biblical account of his life story.
In the book of Job (16:11-12), we read that Job felt shaken to pieces (as a
result of the storms he was experiencing). In that case, Job assumed he was
delivered into this tribulation by God, and he also trusted that God would
bring him out of it. However, as children of God, we need to be prepared for
the storms of life that God allows in our lives and not be ignorant. (Read 1
Peter 4:12 NKJV).
Now, whenever people (Christians or not) are faced with a
life storm, they tend to react in several ways: for some they feel helpless or
fearful and even surprised. During these episodes, they may pray and question
God. These are not uncommon reactions, after-all even the disciples asked Jesus
during a heavy storm - “don’t you care if we perish”? It’s normal to look
outward for reasons.
I want to encourage you that despite the storm, you can
still rely on God. The GOD who “allowed” the storm can also take away the storm.
Simply realize that there are a few things you must remember whenever you
experience difficult times as a child of God. 1) God
sees the storm – all your trials, problems and pain are before Him – Psalm
34:15, Jeremiah 24:6. 2) If
you call upon God in the day of trouble, He will hear you – 1 Peter 3:12, Psalm
116:1-2. You do need to ensure that you are in obedience to God. 3) Finally,
God knows. He is not unaware of our tribulations – just like natural storms,
spiritual storms can only last for so long. They will pass, and God is right
there with you all the way - Matthew 6:5-8.
In order to get to the other side, you need to take your
eyes away from the storm. Just like Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness to give healing to the people, God will come to your aid when you keep
your focus on Him. Look unto Jesus; the author and finisher of your faith
(Hebrews 12:2 NKJV). Never make the mistake of magnifying your problems over
the WORD of God (Philippians 2:9-11 NLT). Always remember the promises of God because
they never fail (Read 2 Peter 3:9). You should also remember that most storms
are designed to test your faith and your commitment to God. They help us to
grow in our walk and relationship with God as the Holy Spirit works on our
heart and draws us closer to the Lord. It could be a time of refining. (Read Job
23:10, James 1:2-4).
Here are my final remarks to you about this – commit to remaining
faithful to God in the face of any life storm or tribulation. Believe that God
is able to fulfill His promises through faith. Never rely on the flesh; it will
ONLY (and always) fail you. Therefore, a good child of God must seek to build a
relationship directly with Him, which can only be achieved with the leading of
the Holy Spirit as a teacher of the word of God. The Lord watches over all even
in the center of a storm. Therefore, you can give God praise for
what He will do – 1 Chronicles 29:10-13. The Lord is your strength! Amen.
Every decision or action
we undertake as human beings has at least one reason behind it. We call them “motives”.
There is a reason why we work, get married (or not), live in a place or worship
at a particular church. Not many rational humans make decisions without a reason
attached. As a Christian; someone who has accepted Jesus Christ, you
probably have a reason why you have chosen to serve the Lord. The reason(s) can
be specific to you or connected to other factors. Whichever side you’re on,
have you ever stopped to really consider why you are serving the Lord or seeking
a relationship with Him?
Many Christians have
reasons why they’ve chosen to serve the Lord. A simple survey of Christians often
reveals that the reasons vary extremely. Unfortunately,
many of the reasons fail to truly take into account what it means to serve the
Lord. As a reminder, “to serve” means – to be used of, or to function for someone else. Usually, the entity being
served has a higher authority than the one who is serving. It would be expected then that anyone serving in such a situation will render the service in a way that is acceptable to the person who is being served.
Job 36:11
explains that people who serve the Lord spend their days in prosperity. So it
is possible that a lack of obedience will result in the opposite. To serve God
appropriately, we MUST serve Him on His terms – the way He dictates. That kind
of service is mentioned in Romans 1:9a.
Many other passages mention this kind of deep commitment to the Lord. Many
passages also instruct us to serve God with respect; see Deuteronomy 6:13. Certainly, the Bible is filled with all kinds of instructions
for us to serve Him. Unfortunately, many of us have a moving target when it
comes to our service of God. We go back and forth based on our needs and personal
interpretations. Singles serve so they can find spouses, the poor serve so they
can be rich, while the oppressed serve for deliverance or protection. To so
many, God is just an insurance policy to be secured and the way for most to get
that done is to "pretend" to serve Him. But be not deceived, and God knows that we have
needs - if only we have faith enough to trust Him, He will work things out for us as we keep our focus on Him (Psalm 57:1, Isaiah 54:17, Hosea 5:15).
Remember, that if your
love for God is not well grounded or
if it is tied to a need that is temporary, then your service and commitment to
Him will fizzle out once the need passes. Consequently, there is need to ask yourself
some important questions: 1) Do I love God more than my own life – only dead
people can serve God diligently, i.e. they “give” their lives over and live the
life God gives them back (Galatians 2:20, 6:14). 2)
Do you love the GIVER or the gift? (Matthew 22:37, John 14:15, Luke 14:26).
Ultimately, the gifts will fade away, but the giver endures, and it is better to be with
the giver than to simply be a receiver.
Today is the day of
decision, why are you serving the Lord? Is it for the benefits or so that you
can be a benefit to the kingdom? You can contribute a part to Gods business by reaching out to lost souls. God is looking for those who will listen to His voice and do
His will.
August 2013 - WHATMUST I DO LORD? Opening Passages - Mark10:17-22
Weare all born with the ability to make sense of right and wrong. Some of ussimply choose to be better at one than the other. Likewise, many believer alsounderstand what the will of God is; at least as it is written in the Bible (2 Timothy3:16 NKJV - All Scripture is given by inspiration ofGod, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, forinstruction in righteousness), but often we opt to remainignorant. It is a fact that many Christians are in a process of Spiritual growthand we are all at different stages of our walk with God. Job 8:7 NKJV says – “Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end wouldincrease abundantly”. Consequently, embedded in that process ofdevelopment is everything we will need to be good ambassadors of Christ (2Peter 1:3 NKJV “His divine power has given to us all thingsthat pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him whocalled us by glory and virtue”).
As we begin to move forward in our relationshipwith God, He expects us to engage at higher levels of interaction, i.e. thereshould be significant signs that we are getting “older” in our faith. After-all,to whom much is given, much is also expected.
When the rich young ruler in Mark 10 asked Jesusthat question, the Lord already knew that the road to eternal life was not aneasy one – many unforeseen obstacles exist. The test Jesus gave rich youngruler was designed to reveal to him the state of his heart. It was now evidentthat he had not learnt to fulfill what is described as the most importantcommandment of all. That account is connected to Matthew 22:37-39 which essentiallysays we should love our neighbors as ourselves. The only problem for this manis that he failed a higher test – a test which was beyond the ordinary level ofcompetence (1 Corinthians 3:2). Psalm 139:23-24 NKJV says – “searchme, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 andsee if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the wayeverlasting”.
The statement “follow me” which Christ made (inMark 10) underscores the entire reason for His coming into the world. It was amission to disciple and show us the way back to God. He came as our example andhas asked us to go and show that example to others (1 John 2:3-6). Once Jesusasked the rich young ruler to sell all his possession and follow the Lord, itmade him sad, as it would many of us today. This shows that even as good Christians,we can be derailed by our personal (or selfish) desires. Being self-minded is asure way to lose focus of what God is calling us to do. I know I struggle withit daily. More importantly, it took an interaction with the Lord for the man toreally see the kind of person he really was – in his heart, and God looksclosely at the heart.
Remember, every human being was created on thisearth with a purpose. That purpose can only be fully expressed in God throughthe intervention of the Holy Spirit once we submit to the lordship of Christ.We all need to examine ourselves from time to time against the standard of Godand allow that self-assessment to shed light on what we need to do in order tofall in line with the plan and purpose of God when we were saved and calledinto His kingdom of light.
Ask yourself (as I do) the hard question today – What Must I Do Lord?
