FAITHFULNESS IN VERY LITTLE THINGS MEANS FAITHFULNESS IN MUCH
"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? "No servant can serve two masters; ... You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:10-13 NASU
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Luke 16:10 NASU
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10-11 NIV
There are three critical issues the Lord raised concerning faithfulness which we will be sharing in three parts starting from this part 1.
The first point is that if a man is faithful when he is entrusted with a little responsibility, he will equally be faithful when he is entrusted with a bigger responsibility. In the same vein, if someone is not faithful with little responsibility, he will not be faithful in a bigger responsibility. Faithfulness is a virtue of keeping trust and staying true to what you believe. It means being reliable, loyal and trustworthy.
There are a lot of young people who desire to do “big things” for God. They want to suddenly become ‘great men of God’ but do not want to be under anybody’s instructions. They do not see any link between what they are doing today and what they believe God has called them to do tomorrow. They do not see what is presently in their hands as having anything to do with what God wants to place in their hands tomorrow. Hence, they handle what is in their hands now with levity. They behave anyhow now because they have the mindset, “this is not what I am cut out for. This is not where I am going to be anyway”. This makes them to be careless in what they are doing today.
They are waiting for when God will announce them. They are looking up to when God will make them great and lift them above their fellows. They believe that God has promised them a worldwide ministry though right now, they are in one obscure environment under an administrator they even feel they are better than. Because of the vision they have, they tend to be rebellious and despiteful toward their superiors. The truth is that they have failed to understand the principles of the kingdom the Lord Jesus is teaching us in the passage above. Many of us today wish that these principles sank into our hearts when we were very much younger.
In the kingdom, there are no short cuts, except you choose to remove yourself away from the covenant. As long as you are in the kingdom, these principles stand. When God begins to look for people to be saddled with greater responsibilities, He looks for those who have been faithful in the little things. This is because the kingdom believes that he who is faithful in very little things is faithful in much. Please note that He did not say that the person WILL BE. Instead HE IS faithful in much.
The little choices you make today impacts your destiny. What you are doing today defines what you will ultimately become. What you are doing today defines where you are going. Where you will be tomorrow is determined by the direction you are headed today. Never you think that circumstances will interrupt your life and suddenly you are lifted to be in charge of much when you are not faithful in the very little that is in your hand today. You are the one to interrupt yourself and begin to be faithful now.
What is in your hands today?
It may be much or little in your own eyes but what you do with it is what matters. What happens is that many a times people do not value what is already in their hands. They despise it and refuse to commit themselves to it. Greed, envy, jealousy and pride are the killers in this area. Why is it that you cannot concentrate and finish well what you are doing now? Why is it that you are neglecting what you are doing now meanwhile you want a higher place? What is that in your hands? It may be a position, a ministry or a job. Do not misbehave in it.
Now, it does not matter what people think about where you are right now. It does not matter their opinion about how lowly what you are doing now is. What matters is what you do with it. There are people who are running some businesses who are not eligible for promotion no matter how hard they pray or fast. God cannot give you a promotion that is bigger than your character. Each time God wants to lift their business and wants to start with moulding their character, they resist Him or bolt out of training half way. They want to remain the way they are. You cannot remain the way you are and walk with God at the same time. God cannot give a kingdom to a child to run. The few times He did it in the Old Testament, He placed them under some tutelage and guidance.
God orders the steps of the righteous.
This is a biblical truth every child of God has to believe. In most cases it is a bitter pill to swallow. Firstly, if you have been in a position whereby it is as if your mates have left you behind and moved on with life and you are faced with the challenge of either following the short cuts of unrighteousness and meeting up with them or obeying God and remaining where you are, you will understand how bitter the pills can be. The truth is that you cannot do righteousness and remain where you are. But already there is a big problem here. We are never encouraged to compare ourselves with ourselves. Secondly, if you are in an employment where obviously you are being paid lower than you think you are supposed to earn and you believe you should be somewhere else better, you may understand what I am sharing. However, the truth is that that seemingly lowly place is a stepping stone. God brought you there.
All I am doing is to make you see the connection between where you are now and where you are going. Even if you cannot see it with your physical eyes, see it with your spiritual eyes. Faith has eyes and can see. In fact, what faith sees is more of a reality than what the physical eyes see.
One who compromises in one area will most likely compromise in other areas. It will be very much easier for one who is firm against sin in one area of his life to have victory against sin in other areas of his life. Please never you play or despise what you are doing today. Humble yourself. Be faithful and committed to it. God will lift you up in due time.
Watch out for part 2.
Showing posts with label christian life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christian life. Show all posts
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Saturday 19 November 2011
Obedience is obedience, what do you think?
"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Matt 21:28-31 NIV
Religious languages and many religious rituals are going to become irrelevant the day we stand before God to answer for our actions. Pretense and hypocrisy will suddenly be exposed for what they are. A lot of boastings and strong claims will be found empty. Why? This is because the question will be, what did you do with your life? Did you obey the Lord or not? Did you do the Father’s will?
I have made this argument for years that in spiritual matters, obedience is obedience, as long as you did it with all your heart. There are many issues that people raise each time I say this. Some argue that the quality of your obedience will determine whether God will accept it or not. They say that you do not have to struggle when you hear instructions from God. If you struggle and later obey, it reduces the quality. Etc. Look at the illustration the Lord gave in our passage above. The first son struggled but later obeyed while the second son who people around saw as a ‘good’ son the time the father was speaking to them, did not actually do the father’s will. The Lord Jesus asked a question, "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Notice that He did not argue the answer the people gave to His question.
Please no matter what happens; no matter how you have messed up your life; the fact that you are still alive reading this means that there is hope for you and you can have a new beginning. You can start afresh with God. God will never say that you came too late and reject you. You may be among those that came at the first hour who started early. You may be among those who came at the third hour, fine. You may even be among those who joined the work at the sixth hour or even at the eleventh hour before the day ended. Let not bother you anymore. The question on that day will be, ‘who did what the Father wanted?’ What is of utmost importance is that you decide to obey God NOW. Remember that He gave all of them rewards for obeying Him.
For me, obedience is obedience. What do you think? God bless you!
See Matthew 20 for further study.
Religious languages and many religious rituals are going to become irrelevant the day we stand before God to answer for our actions. Pretense and hypocrisy will suddenly be exposed for what they are. A lot of boastings and strong claims will be found empty. Why? This is because the question will be, what did you do with your life? Did you obey the Lord or not? Did you do the Father’s will?
I have made this argument for years that in spiritual matters, obedience is obedience, as long as you did it with all your heart. There are many issues that people raise each time I say this. Some argue that the quality of your obedience will determine whether God will accept it or not. They say that you do not have to struggle when you hear instructions from God. If you struggle and later obey, it reduces the quality. Etc. Look at the illustration the Lord gave in our passage above. The first son struggled but later obeyed while the second son who people around saw as a ‘good’ son the time the father was speaking to them, did not actually do the father’s will. The Lord Jesus asked a question, "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Notice that He did not argue the answer the people gave to His question.
Please no matter what happens; no matter how you have messed up your life; the fact that you are still alive reading this means that there is hope for you and you can have a new beginning. You can start afresh with God. God will never say that you came too late and reject you. You may be among those that came at the first hour who started early. You may be among those who came at the third hour, fine. You may even be among those who joined the work at the sixth hour or even at the eleventh hour before the day ended. Let not bother you anymore. The question on that day will be, ‘who did what the Father wanted?’ What is of utmost importance is that you decide to obey God NOW. Remember that He gave all of them rewards for obeying Him.
For me, obedience is obedience. What do you think? God bless you!
See Matthew 20 for further study.
Tuesday 27 September 2011
Stop this sacrilege!
The Author sent me this write up and I think you will enjoy it. It is a warning to His Church. May God indeed send us revival as we await the coming in glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Ex 20:7-8
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17
It is alarming how our generation has so degenerated in her lack of fear of God. For those who plead the ground of season of grace, the bible states that Jesus Christ brought grace and truth. He did not bring grace only.
What am I talking about? I watched in shock as a senior pastor in Port Harcourt hosted some popular comedians in his church. These humor-mongers used his pulpit and the altar. They cracked jokes with the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Name of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and every other thing the Church holds sacred. To make matters worse this was repeatedly shown on popular TV stations in Port Harcourt. To add to the mockery \they showed my fellow pastor laughing deliriously as they made mockery of everything he stands for- that is if he stands for anything.
One would wonder how I knew all these. My children were watching this program and were also borrowing jokes from it. I had to sit them down to try to explain to them why what they were seeing was bad and dangerous and when I came to the point of, “Even if I or another pastor does this, it must not be accepted as a standard. It is wrong.” It was at this point that my children told me that what I was seeing was actually taking place in a church. I turned to the screen, and saw that they were right. I tried to stomach this as I have tried to avoid unnecessary conflicts as I did my job as a minister of the gospel. But now things are getting out of hand.
Gordon, a popular comedian in Port Harcourt rolled out an audio release of his comedy, and I was shocked as I heard this blaring out of the loudspeakers of a music shop. Every holy word and title of Jehovah, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit was used to crack jokes. As one would expect people were implicated in this sin as they listened and laughed. I saw a poster of a church program. You can guess what I saw. A comedian was posted alongside the speakers. Some of these comedians are notorious characters and drunkards whom these churches are only giving landing pads for the excesses of their reprobate minds.
I stand to say that this is ungodliness. Let everyone who cares hear me; this is sacrilege, it is an insult in the face of God. Whoever does this is drawing the anger of God to himself. We must not add to our many sins this evil also. Is it not enough the many gambling and manipulations with which we tend to make our churches grow? Are we not contented with our romance with murderers, prostitutes and fraudsters in the name of ministering grace? Is our display of shame in the name of fashion not enough? Why stir this hornet in the face of an ignorant and unsuspecting people?
This must STOP! God’s word does not change. Whoever does this is not innocent before God. Those who encourage this, also share in the sin.
I advise the comedians and those who do this to look for something else to entertain themselves. The pastors who are desperate for a large church should try voodoo. To be frank the consequence of involvement in voodoo is far less than the result of the retaliation of an angry God.
In my capacity as a minister of the gospel, a father of children in this generation and the President of Prayer Network for Universal Revival {PNUR}, I wash my hands off this evil. When I heard it I did not rejoice in it, it was not funny to me. Hence I or my family or members of my ministry who obey my teachings will not share the consequence of this abomination. I also ask everyone who does not share in this evil to openly make a public denunciation of this evil.
From the office of the President
Prayer Network for Universal Revival (PNUR)
9b Iriebe Street, D/line, Port Harcourt. Nigeria.
08035724526
pnurnigeria@gmail.com
www.pnurnigeria.org
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Ex 20:7-8
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17
It is alarming how our generation has so degenerated in her lack of fear of God. For those who plead the ground of season of grace, the bible states that Jesus Christ brought grace and truth. He did not bring grace only.
What am I talking about? I watched in shock as a senior pastor in Port Harcourt hosted some popular comedians in his church. These humor-mongers used his pulpit and the altar. They cracked jokes with the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Name of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and every other thing the Church holds sacred. To make matters worse this was repeatedly shown on popular TV stations in Port Harcourt. To add to the mockery \they showed my fellow pastor laughing deliriously as they made mockery of everything he stands for- that is if he stands for anything.
One would wonder how I knew all these. My children were watching this program and were also borrowing jokes from it. I had to sit them down to try to explain to them why what they were seeing was bad and dangerous and when I came to the point of, “Even if I or another pastor does this, it must not be accepted as a standard. It is wrong.” It was at this point that my children told me that what I was seeing was actually taking place in a church. I turned to the screen, and saw that they were right. I tried to stomach this as I have tried to avoid unnecessary conflicts as I did my job as a minister of the gospel. But now things are getting out of hand.
Gordon, a popular comedian in Port Harcourt rolled out an audio release of his comedy, and I was shocked as I heard this blaring out of the loudspeakers of a music shop. Every holy word and title of Jehovah, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit was used to crack jokes. As one would expect people were implicated in this sin as they listened and laughed. I saw a poster of a church program. You can guess what I saw. A comedian was posted alongside the speakers. Some of these comedians are notorious characters and drunkards whom these churches are only giving landing pads for the excesses of their reprobate minds.
I stand to say that this is ungodliness. Let everyone who cares hear me; this is sacrilege, it is an insult in the face of God. Whoever does this is drawing the anger of God to himself. We must not add to our many sins this evil also. Is it not enough the many gambling and manipulations with which we tend to make our churches grow? Are we not contented with our romance with murderers, prostitutes and fraudsters in the name of ministering grace? Is our display of shame in the name of fashion not enough? Why stir this hornet in the face of an ignorant and unsuspecting people?
This must STOP! God’s word does not change. Whoever does this is not innocent before God. Those who encourage this, also share in the sin.
I advise the comedians and those who do this to look for something else to entertain themselves. The pastors who are desperate for a large church should try voodoo. To be frank the consequence of involvement in voodoo is far less than the result of the retaliation of an angry God.
In my capacity as a minister of the gospel, a father of children in this generation and the President of Prayer Network for Universal Revival {PNUR}, I wash my hands off this evil. When I heard it I did not rejoice in it, it was not funny to me. Hence I or my family or members of my ministry who obey my teachings will not share the consequence of this abomination. I also ask everyone who does not share in this evil to openly make a public denunciation of this evil.
From the office of the President
Prayer Network for Universal Revival (PNUR)
9b Iriebe Street, D/line, Port Harcourt. Nigeria.
08035724526
pnurnigeria@gmail.com
www.pnurnigeria.org
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Purpose-driven Church or Poverty-driven People?
For the past 21 years, I’ve been actively involved in the Body of Christ serving in different capacities by God’s grace. However, a few things have kept me bothered especially some developments in the recent past. I read the books by Rick Warren “The Purpose-Driven Church” and “Purpose-Driven Life” and have kept asking myself: Is the Church purpose-driven or poverty-driven? Are the preachers Spirit-driven or driven by the fear of poverty?
When I see the nature of a lot of prayer points that we pray in churches today and others that are being distributed in Prayer Bulletins and Devotionals, I ask myself, are we being pursued by poverty so strongly that everything we do in church revolves around money and power? Almost all the prayer points are geared towards how Christians can ‘make it’, dominate other people and be on top. They all gear towards asking God to give us money, give us high income jobs, help us own our own houses and high-class cars, help us be promoted and crush our enemies. It is rare for you to attend a church service or prayer meetings and see people guided to pray for personal holiness, righteous living, asking for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit so as to live victoriously above sin and corruption and power for service. It is rare to hear people groaning and interceding for the salvation of the unsaved sinners. From the pulpit to the pews, nobody cares about what breaks God’s heart.
Not only are our prayers concentrating on how to collect materials and power from God to get what we want and live the way we want, the pulpits have been the driving force behind all these vain pursuits. Most pulpits have been turned into podiums for business seminars and self-consciousness motivational talks. Everywhere, people are taught principles of coming out of ‘poverty’ and we are stuck in a web where people take advantage of one another. Preachers tell the hearers that the key out of poverty is by bringing money to them while members mop up as much as they can from the society in order to live as ‘people whom God has blessed.’ Unfortunately, in all the cases, they are progressed at the expense of the poor in the society and nobody cares.
Nobody wants to be poor. Prosperity is good and where we see a deficiency in our members, we teach them principles that will help them; but not at the expense of eternal things. We should desire God, fear Him and pursue after righteousness and holiness. The fear of poverty should not drive our prayers and preaching. Our Father has promised to take care of us and we are safe in His hands. Let us trust Him and focus on World Evangelism and Building the Body of Christ unto maturity as we await the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I see the nature of a lot of prayer points that we pray in churches today and others that are being distributed in Prayer Bulletins and Devotionals, I ask myself, are we being pursued by poverty so strongly that everything we do in church revolves around money and power? Almost all the prayer points are geared towards how Christians can ‘make it’, dominate other people and be on top. They all gear towards asking God to give us money, give us high income jobs, help us own our own houses and high-class cars, help us be promoted and crush our enemies. It is rare for you to attend a church service or prayer meetings and see people guided to pray for personal holiness, righteous living, asking for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit so as to live victoriously above sin and corruption and power for service. It is rare to hear people groaning and interceding for the salvation of the unsaved sinners. From the pulpit to the pews, nobody cares about what breaks God’s heart.
Not only are our prayers concentrating on how to collect materials and power from God to get what we want and live the way we want, the pulpits have been the driving force behind all these vain pursuits. Most pulpits have been turned into podiums for business seminars and self-consciousness motivational talks. Everywhere, people are taught principles of coming out of ‘poverty’ and we are stuck in a web where people take advantage of one another. Preachers tell the hearers that the key out of poverty is by bringing money to them while members mop up as much as they can from the society in order to live as ‘people whom God has blessed.’ Unfortunately, in all the cases, they are progressed at the expense of the poor in the society and nobody cares.
Nobody wants to be poor. Prosperity is good and where we see a deficiency in our members, we teach them principles that will help them; but not at the expense of eternal things. We should desire God, fear Him and pursue after righteousness and holiness. The fear of poverty should not drive our prayers and preaching. Our Father has promised to take care of us and we are safe in His hands. Let us trust Him and focus on World Evangelism and Building the Body of Christ unto maturity as we await the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friday 22 April 2011
'New Birth' without Repentance?
“19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19 (KJV)
There are many things that keep me scared in the church today. As I listen to several preachers and teachers around us both from the pulpit and other media outlets, and then reading the preaching and teachings of the Apostles and several church fathers, I see a world of difference. One wonders why we are having different results from what they experienced. We live in a generation where sin is rarely mentioned and everybody is taught how to appropriate the blessings of God and live comfortable here on earth but no emphasis is made on how to live a life of victory over sin and self, which determines one’s eternal future. Nobody is saying that a Christian should not work hard and live comfortable here on earth as much as God allows him, but comfort should not be pursued at the expense of eternity. An ungodly life with all the wealth and comfort that this world can offer is wasted and doomed as long as the Kingdom of God is concerned. A life that is lived for pleasure and self has no hope and cannot end up in the bossom of the Lord no matter the positions and power it commanded on earth. Just being religious cannot make a soul experience "a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord".
The Apostles did not frequently use the word ‘born again’. Reading through the epistles, I have not seen anywhere where someone was asked “Are you born again?” But were people getting born again? Sure! Were people’s lives being changed? Sure! Were Christians living in victory over sin and self? Absolutely yes! Now, what is the difference between their preaching and ours today? What was the content of their message that we have abandoned today? I want to share just one of them.
The Apostles vigorously preached against sin and asked people to repent and be converted. As I just opened the Concordance and typed in the word ‘repent’, it came out to be a word that is widely spread through both the Old Testament and the New Testament. (See Acts 2: 38; 3:19; 8:2; 17:30; 26:20). I have asked myself several times, “Is it possible to get born again without repentance?” The answer is NO! But unfortunately, the kind of gospel we preach today seems to tell people that it’s possible to be ‘born again’, experience all the blessings of God without repentance. We invite people to give their lives to Jesus we have not told them Who He is or what He has done to save them. We only present Him as if He is a tool to be used to achieve our dreams. So after preaching about ‘reigning in life’, ‘how to dominate over others’ and ‘how to destroy all our enemies and win in the war over poverty etc’, we then tell them that they cannot experience the blessings except they get ‘born again’. They would walk the aisle and ‘give’ their lives to the Jesus they do not know. They only know Him as the One to help them achieve all the things mentioned to them. Hence you find Christians who confess being ‘born again’ doing all kinds of terrible things in their workplaces so as to make money. You meet Christians who are as hardened as a rock in the Churches who the Word of God does not shake. They speak the language, do the activities and pray all the prayers but their lives are not different from their average countrymen.
As if that is not enough, some pastors make them feel that all they care for is their money and some are even given positions of authority. By doing this, their hearts are deceived that all is well. They are puffed up and they close every door to humbling themselves in repentance to God. Some of them resort to doing everything possible to just make sure they defend and please the pastors thinking that doing so ultimately grants them favour before God. What a great deception! The pastors allow it so because it feeds their relevance and pays their bills.
Indeed, we are in deep trouble and I’m deeply scared! Sin is still sending many to Hell and nobody seems to be shouting on top of his voice for people to hear, “repent and be converted”.
For more information on the New Birth, download my book here free of charge. Or write me: chrisekwedam@gmail.com.
HAPPY EASTER!
There are many things that keep me scared in the church today. As I listen to several preachers and teachers around us both from the pulpit and other media outlets, and then reading the preaching and teachings of the Apostles and several church fathers, I see a world of difference. One wonders why we are having different results from what they experienced. We live in a generation where sin is rarely mentioned and everybody is taught how to appropriate the blessings of God and live comfortable here on earth but no emphasis is made on how to live a life of victory over sin and self, which determines one’s eternal future. Nobody is saying that a Christian should not work hard and live comfortable here on earth as much as God allows him, but comfort should not be pursued at the expense of eternity. An ungodly life with all the wealth and comfort that this world can offer is wasted and doomed as long as the Kingdom of God is concerned. A life that is lived for pleasure and self has no hope and cannot end up in the bossom of the Lord no matter the positions and power it commanded on earth. Just being religious cannot make a soul experience "a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord".
The Apostles did not frequently use the word ‘born again’. Reading through the epistles, I have not seen anywhere where someone was asked “Are you born again?” But were people getting born again? Sure! Were people’s lives being changed? Sure! Were Christians living in victory over sin and self? Absolutely yes! Now, what is the difference between their preaching and ours today? What was the content of their message that we have abandoned today? I want to share just one of them.
The Apostles vigorously preached against sin and asked people to repent and be converted. As I just opened the Concordance and typed in the word ‘repent’, it came out to be a word that is widely spread through both the Old Testament and the New Testament. (See Acts 2: 38; 3:19; 8:2; 17:30; 26:20). I have asked myself several times, “Is it possible to get born again without repentance?” The answer is NO! But unfortunately, the kind of gospel we preach today seems to tell people that it’s possible to be ‘born again’, experience all the blessings of God without repentance. We invite people to give their lives to Jesus we have not told them Who He is or what He has done to save them. We only present Him as if He is a tool to be used to achieve our dreams. So after preaching about ‘reigning in life’, ‘how to dominate over others’ and ‘how to destroy all our enemies and win in the war over poverty etc’, we then tell them that they cannot experience the blessings except they get ‘born again’. They would walk the aisle and ‘give’ their lives to the Jesus they do not know. They only know Him as the One to help them achieve all the things mentioned to them. Hence you find Christians who confess being ‘born again’ doing all kinds of terrible things in their workplaces so as to make money. You meet Christians who are as hardened as a rock in the Churches who the Word of God does not shake. They speak the language, do the activities and pray all the prayers but their lives are not different from their average countrymen.
As if that is not enough, some pastors make them feel that all they care for is their money and some are even given positions of authority. By doing this, their hearts are deceived that all is well. They are puffed up and they close every door to humbling themselves in repentance to God. Some of them resort to doing everything possible to just make sure they defend and please the pastors thinking that doing so ultimately grants them favour before God. What a great deception! The pastors allow it so because it feeds their relevance and pays their bills.
Indeed, we are in deep trouble and I’m deeply scared! Sin is still sending many to Hell and nobody seems to be shouting on top of his voice for people to hear, “repent and be converted”.
For more information on the New Birth, download my book here free of charge. Or write me: chrisekwedam@gmail.com.
HAPPY EASTER!
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Beware of liars
This is another year that the Lord has granted us the privilege to enter. He has ordained everything that concerns you and all that are yours. As you walk with Him in relationship and obedience, He will perfect all that relates to you and bring you to a place of fulfillment. He has promised, “Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you”. Heb.13:5
However, you have to ‘beware of dogs’ Phil.3:2. Those wicked and mutilators of God’s Word. They come in different garbs and tend to speak for God but the truth is that their god is their appetite. They will speak and declare all kinds of things even when the Lord has not spoken.
At the beginning of every year, people are full of expectations. By our make up, we want new beginnings and look forward to better things. This is not bad in itself. But if you do not remember that the God that saw you through 2010 is still alive and watches over you and will definitely see you through 2011, you will become gullible. Nothing makes January more divine than February. Nothing makes March more divine than April and every other month. After all, we must not forget that the world has used all kinds of dating systems before now and what we are using today was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582. There is nothing divine about it.
The fasting that many of us do at the beginning of the year is for us and not for God. It is for us to prepare ourselves for whatever God may want to do just like every other time we set apart to seek His face. It is not a way to bribe God for the year. Some of these liars may even confuse us to sow some certain ‘seeds’ for 2011 as if we have to invest for the year and go and sit down with a hand-fan telling our hearts that we have paid our bills.
There is nothing that makes January different from December in divine agenda. What God does in our lives is an ongoing thing. This January and in fact 2011, God will continue what He has been doing in your life in December 2010 and through the past years. They are all connected. For example, if there is any demand of obedience that God was making on our life last December, He will not suddenly change it just because one man declared 2011, ‘A year of laughter’, or ‘A year of new favours’ or any other tag like the ones you see on car and door stickers. For your personal spiritual health, the best thing to do is to listen to God’s instructions and obey them. If you do, you will be blessed.
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 NIV
Your life here on earth is like a single string that connects your birth and your death. It has no breaks. The plan God has for your life connects from one end to the other and beyond. It is only by following Him will that plan be accomplished. 2011 is only a part of the piece where the plan works out. God bless you!
However, you have to ‘beware of dogs’ Phil.3:2. Those wicked and mutilators of God’s Word. They come in different garbs and tend to speak for God but the truth is that their god is their appetite. They will speak and declare all kinds of things even when the Lord has not spoken.
At the beginning of every year, people are full of expectations. By our make up, we want new beginnings and look forward to better things. This is not bad in itself. But if you do not remember that the God that saw you through 2010 is still alive and watches over you and will definitely see you through 2011, you will become gullible. Nothing makes January more divine than February. Nothing makes March more divine than April and every other month. After all, we must not forget that the world has used all kinds of dating systems before now and what we are using today was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582. There is nothing divine about it.
The fasting that many of us do at the beginning of the year is for us and not for God. It is for us to prepare ourselves for whatever God may want to do just like every other time we set apart to seek His face. It is not a way to bribe God for the year. Some of these liars may even confuse us to sow some certain ‘seeds’ for 2011 as if we have to invest for the year and go and sit down with a hand-fan telling our hearts that we have paid our bills.
There is nothing that makes January different from December in divine agenda. What God does in our lives is an ongoing thing. This January and in fact 2011, God will continue what He has been doing in your life in December 2010 and through the past years. They are all connected. For example, if there is any demand of obedience that God was making on our life last December, He will not suddenly change it just because one man declared 2011, ‘A year of laughter’, or ‘A year of new favours’ or any other tag like the ones you see on car and door stickers. For your personal spiritual health, the best thing to do is to listen to God’s instructions and obey them. If you do, you will be blessed.
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 NIV
Your life here on earth is like a single string that connects your birth and your death. It has no breaks. The plan God has for your life connects from one end to the other and beyond. It is only by following Him will that plan be accomplished. 2011 is only a part of the piece where the plan works out. God bless you!
Wednesday 29 December 2010
Finishing Strong: As you run the race of life, have the vision of the finish line
What does it mean to finish strong?
It means that you will come to the end of your life with a strong and close relationship to Christ. It means that, unless God has taken your wife ahead of you, you will be married to the same woman that you are today. It means that you are a man who is in the Scriptures and living the Scriptures. It means that you are a man who has fought some battles for the kingdom and has the scars to prove it. To finish strong means that you are leaving your children and grandchildren the priceless heritage of a godly life.
Steve Farrar, Finishing Strong (Oregon, USA; Multinomah Publishers, Inc., 1995) Pg 215
As I and my wife wish you all Merry Christmas, I pray that we celebrate, keeping our eyes on the finish line of the race of life so that we are not distracted from the Lord Jesus. He stands at the end of the journey waving and encouraging us to move on and make sure that we finish strong no matter what.
It means that you will come to the end of your life with a strong and close relationship to Christ. It means that, unless God has taken your wife ahead of you, you will be married to the same woman that you are today. It means that you are a man who is in the Scriptures and living the Scriptures. It means that you are a man who has fought some battles for the kingdom and has the scars to prove it. To finish strong means that you are leaving your children and grandchildren the priceless heritage of a godly life.
Steve Farrar, Finishing Strong (Oregon, USA; Multinomah Publishers, Inc., 1995) Pg 215
As I and my wife wish you all Merry Christmas, I pray that we celebrate, keeping our eyes on the finish line of the race of life so that we are not distracted from the Lord Jesus. He stands at the end of the journey waving and encouraging us to move on and make sure that we finish strong no matter what.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Who discipled Apollos?
We were going through this passage in our Morning Devotion when suddenly a voice asked me this question: who discipled Apollos? I couldn’t answer the question because there is no other place in the Bible prior to this time when Apollos was mentioned. I couldn’t see who he came into contact with before he became a Christian. In fact, this passage is his introduction. However, I started to meditate over the question, relating my lessons to our church of today and began to see that there are a lot of young ‘Apollos’ all around us today. Some are already in positions of authority while others are exhibiting several gifts of the Holy Spirit and are held at very high esteem. Now look at how Apollos was introduced:
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor b and taught about Jesus accurately
He came from one of the major cities in the Roman Empire, Alexandria in Egypt. Obviously, that was where he gave his life to Christ. Nobody knows the number of years he attended church or the positions he occupied, but it’s obvious that for him to be vast and have ‘a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures’ and ‘had been instructed in the way of the Lord’ shows that he was not a recent convert. He must have gone through the Beginner’s Class or what some people call Follow-Up/Discipleship Class. He must have sat under his pastor’s ministrations so many times. But in spite of all these credentials, I still wonder why is it that he knew only the baptism of John. Why is it that he needed the way of God to be explained to him more adequately?
So what happened? He seemed to have come to Ephesus with missions in mind and probably with the blessing of his church in Alexandria. He continued to Corinth and was greatly used by God, but that was after his encounter with Priscilla and Aquilla. The credential He had been instructed in the way of the Lord seems to be part of the referral letter that he came with from his church. But, how come that he knew only of the baptism of John? So I ask again, who discipled him? Who brought him up? Who was his pastor?
For Apollos, he was fortunate to meet seasoned men like Aquila and Priscilla his wife, who brought him to the house, sat him down and explained to him the way of God more adequately. Apollos took some time out to learn, but for a lot of people today, they have run very far with half-baked theology. Their doctrine is warped and they are shouting around. The gospel that gave birth to them was ‘inaccurate’ and they continue to spread inaccurate gospel. If you listen to some of them, you discover that they do not understand the basics of the gospel of Jesus. They talk about Jesus they have not experienced and are not willing to allow rule as Lord in their lives. They are speaking very boldly and with fervor but both their experience of God and doctrine are not definite and are inaccurate. A generation that has these set of people as the ones that dictate doctrinal direction for the church is really in trouble. Unfortunately, many of them are already in positions of authority and think themselves as something and no longer listen to counsel.
Monday 1 February 2010
A celebration of life: Glenn Penner passes on to glory
I have read materials from this great man of God and his balanced views on persecution and Christian suffering for some years now since I came in contact with The Voice of the Martyrs. His ministry was like swimming against the tide.
In a generation where suffering is viewed as ungodly and Christians are pressured to pursue the world and its pleasures. Glenn tried to present the Scriptures, the way it is. Indeed, thank God for his life.
May God help us to finish strong also.
The report is here.
Thursday 9 April 2009
Brokenness: Study two part 2. Weaning of a baby
Later, you will be able to download the study format for this topic.
Weaning is a process to accustom an infant to food other than its mother's milk. This disengage oftentimes is by enforced discontinuance. There are a few babies that take weaning lightly. In most cases, they cry and refuse to eat any other food. They want to continue taking the familiar milk. However, no matter how the child likes milk; no matter how the mother loves the child and does not want to see the child’s tears, she must wean the child. This is for the good of the child. If the child continues to take milk when he is supposed to be chewing bone, it becomes unhealthy.
See an example of a baby who is supposed to be chewing meat but unfortunately, refuses to grow.
“1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
1 Cor 3:1-3 (KJV)
Paul, who planted the Corinthian Church, desired it to grow unto maturity and so did God. But they wanted to continue serving God in the flesh. The same word translated ‘carnal’ in King James Version can also be rendered, ‘fleshly and worldly which refers to the lower side of man as apart from God’s touch or influence and estranged from God and prone to sin’ (from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft. Emphasis added).
These are believers who are trapped in this kind of fleshly living. Paul in addressing this matter did not pamper the Corinthians. In fact one of the brethren was suspended from the fellowship for a season. (See 1 Cor.5:11-13). Direct rebukes were given over specific issues. There is no other option, they have to learn and grow.
When God decides to wean His child, it can take varied dimensions. He can challenge us to stop our way of life which is not pleasing to Him like He did to the Corinthians. He can also remove us from our familiar ground or remove our familiar experiences from us with the intention that we will seek Him more fervently and more intimately. In the course, we begin to learn Him again and get to know more about Him that we had not known before. Oftentimes, we stay too long at a place of a miracle to the extent that we begin to roam round a circle. We begin to build ‘ministries’, doctrines, and tabernacles around a place of encounter with God. We stay there and refuse to move forward even when God has moved on. We become self-conceited and develop thick skin against change. Before long, you begin to see all the fleshly attitudes exhibited in the Corinthian church in our midst. Pride, familiarity that breeds contempt prevails. ‘Ministries’ can still be clothed with some spiritual garbs but the truth is that God is no more there. God wants us to move on and do something different, we tell Him that “we have ‘arrived’ here and have no intention to leave this familiar place”.
When we are in this kind of state, oftentimes, God can take some serious steps to move us forward. It happens also to people that got born again newly. They can testify that any time they cry during prayers, God answered hastily. Anytime they fast, it works like magic because God will just answer everything they requested for from Him. There are some that have a place that they have sanctified as a ‘holy place’, out of their love for fellowship with God and desire to pray and see Him do things only He can do. None of the prayer points taken to the ‘holy place’ comes back without an answer. Sometimes it is the way God used to speak to them. They do like Gideon; God responds and gives them direction. Everything is like ‘plug and play’. Their faith is boosted and they grow in the Lord.
However, after two, three years or so, things change. None of those ‘things’ works again and the child of God is confused. He has a problem and he tries all those ‘methods’ he is familiar with and none of them works. He fasts like before but the problem refuses to go away. He tries the ‘ways’ he used to get ‘words from God’ and they do not work any more. He goes to the ‘holy place’, but the familiar feelings he used to get are all gone and it’s like nothing has happened. He searches himself and cannot find an apparent sin I his life. He tries to confess even some sins he did not commit and none of those things work. Now, does it mean that God has abandoned His child? Not at all! Does it mean that the kingdom of darkness is having ‘upper hand’? Never!
God is growing His child to become a man, a grown servant He can trust and use for His purposes. He teaches His child that waiting unto Him is part of worship. He teaches him that He delights in a continual fellowship which can take place any where other than the ‘holy place’. He is the God that is everywhere and you can call on Him in your inner room, he will hear. You can call on Him standing up or kneeling down, He hears. Anywhere you call upon Him, He will answer, and not because of the feelings you develop each time you go to the ‘holy place’, but because you trust Him, even when you do not see any sign. He teaches you that it is not the ‘method’ that works but He. He will want you to get attached to Him instead of to the works He does around you. The primary reason why God saved you is for fellowship. Every service you render to him is still within the fellowship. Look at the reason He chose the apostles:
“14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:” Mark 3:14-15 (KJV)
He called the twelve to be His regular companions and as they relate to Him, He sends then out to preach and teach. Any time somebody loses the fellowship which is the primary calling, the second part of the calling becomes of no kingdom value.
God can decide to wean His child and accustom him to things he was not familiar with because He wants him to grow and be a mature son who can handle issues of inheritance.
We have a lot of people in God’s service today who do not reflect their Master in character because we have rebelled against training. We refuse to entrust our lives into the hands of the Master Goldsmith so that we can be refined. Like soldiers that gave up in training and ran away, some of us have abandoned God’s dealings and ran away doing our ministry our own way. Like begets like and no wonder on the last day, the works will not survive (See 1Cor.3: 12-14). Whatever is not tested here is likely not to withstand God’s test on the last day. Decide from today to move forward in your Christian experience no matter what it may cost you.
Weaning is a process to accustom an infant to food other than its mother's milk. This disengage oftentimes is by enforced discontinuance. There are a few babies that take weaning lightly. In most cases, they cry and refuse to eat any other food. They want to continue taking the familiar milk. However, no matter how the child likes milk; no matter how the mother loves the child and does not want to see the child’s tears, she must wean the child. This is for the good of the child. If the child continues to take milk when he is supposed to be chewing bone, it becomes unhealthy.
See an example of a baby who is supposed to be chewing meat but unfortunately, refuses to grow.
“1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
1 Cor 3:1-3 (KJV)
Paul, who planted the Corinthian Church, desired it to grow unto maturity and so did God. But they wanted to continue serving God in the flesh. The same word translated ‘carnal’ in King James Version can also be rendered, ‘fleshly and worldly which refers to the lower side of man as apart from God’s touch or influence and estranged from God and prone to sin’ (from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft. Emphasis added).
These are believers who are trapped in this kind of fleshly living. Paul in addressing this matter did not pamper the Corinthians. In fact one of the brethren was suspended from the fellowship for a season. (See 1 Cor.5:11-13). Direct rebukes were given over specific issues. There is no other option, they have to learn and grow.
When God decides to wean His child, it can take varied dimensions. He can challenge us to stop our way of life which is not pleasing to Him like He did to the Corinthians. He can also remove us from our familiar ground or remove our familiar experiences from us with the intention that we will seek Him more fervently and more intimately. In the course, we begin to learn Him again and get to know more about Him that we had not known before. Oftentimes, we stay too long at a place of a miracle to the extent that we begin to roam round a circle. We begin to build ‘ministries’, doctrines, and tabernacles around a place of encounter with God. We stay there and refuse to move forward even when God has moved on. We become self-conceited and develop thick skin against change. Before long, you begin to see all the fleshly attitudes exhibited in the Corinthian church in our midst. Pride, familiarity that breeds contempt prevails. ‘Ministries’ can still be clothed with some spiritual garbs but the truth is that God is no more there. God wants us to move on and do something different, we tell Him that “we have ‘arrived’ here and have no intention to leave this familiar place”.
When we are in this kind of state, oftentimes, God can take some serious steps to move us forward. It happens also to people that got born again newly. They can testify that any time they cry during prayers, God answered hastily. Anytime they fast, it works like magic because God will just answer everything they requested for from Him. There are some that have a place that they have sanctified as a ‘holy place’, out of their love for fellowship with God and desire to pray and see Him do things only He can do. None of the prayer points taken to the ‘holy place’ comes back without an answer. Sometimes it is the way God used to speak to them. They do like Gideon; God responds and gives them direction. Everything is like ‘plug and play’. Their faith is boosted and they grow in the Lord.
However, after two, three years or so, things change. None of those ‘things’ works again and the child of God is confused. He has a problem and he tries all those ‘methods’ he is familiar with and none of them works. He fasts like before but the problem refuses to go away. He tries the ‘ways’ he used to get ‘words from God’ and they do not work any more. He goes to the ‘holy place’, but the familiar feelings he used to get are all gone and it’s like nothing has happened. He searches himself and cannot find an apparent sin I his life. He tries to confess even some sins he did not commit and none of those things work. Now, does it mean that God has abandoned His child? Not at all! Does it mean that the kingdom of darkness is having ‘upper hand’? Never!
God is growing His child to become a man, a grown servant He can trust and use for His purposes. He teaches His child that waiting unto Him is part of worship. He teaches him that He delights in a continual fellowship which can take place any where other than the ‘holy place’. He is the God that is everywhere and you can call on Him in your inner room, he will hear. You can call on Him standing up or kneeling down, He hears. Anywhere you call upon Him, He will answer, and not because of the feelings you develop each time you go to the ‘holy place’, but because you trust Him, even when you do not see any sign. He teaches you that it is not the ‘method’ that works but He. He will want you to get attached to Him instead of to the works He does around you. The primary reason why God saved you is for fellowship. Every service you render to him is still within the fellowship. Look at the reason He chose the apostles:
“14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:” Mark 3:14-15 (KJV)
He called the twelve to be His regular companions and as they relate to Him, He sends then out to preach and teach. Any time somebody loses the fellowship which is the primary calling, the second part of the calling becomes of no kingdom value.
God can decide to wean His child and accustom him to things he was not familiar with because He wants him to grow and be a mature son who can handle issues of inheritance.
We have a lot of people in God’s service today who do not reflect their Master in character because we have rebelled against training. We refuse to entrust our lives into the hands of the Master Goldsmith so that we can be refined. Like soldiers that gave up in training and ran away, some of us have abandoned God’s dealings and ran away doing our ministry our own way. Like begets like and no wonder on the last day, the works will not survive (See 1Cor.3: 12-14). Whatever is not tested here is likely not to withstand God’s test on the last day. Decide from today to move forward in your Christian experience no matter what it may cost you.
Saturday 7 February 2009
Enjoyment and joy: Are they the same?
We were in a Bible Study yesterday in the Church and an argument ensued. It was whether Paul had in mind. enjoyment/pleasure when he was asking the Phillippians to rejoice again and again as they live their Christian life.
I want to ask the same question here to get other opinions from you.
To me, I think that there is a world of difference between the two words. You can have tribulations and trials and still have peace and joy but you cannot have enjoyment in the midst of pains.
Remain blessed!
I want to ask the same question here to get other opinions from you.
To me, I think that there is a world of difference between the two words. You can have tribulations and trials and still have peace and joy but you cannot have enjoyment in the midst of pains.
Remain blessed!
Tuesday 5 August 2008
TOPIC: BROKENNESS
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ON BROKENNESS:
General Memory Verse “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” Rom.8: 28
To break means to subdue, keep under, train or discipline, be brought to a disciplined state, oftentimes by force, blow or strain. When a horse is broken for example, it means that it has accustomed itself to wearing harness and therefore trained and under control. A broken child is a child that has responded positively to training and discipline.
Brokenness is the painful process of training and discipline it takes to be totally kept under God and fully submitted to Him. They are those actions taken by God in order to produce character, self-control and habits of obedience in His child. God does not only deal with the visible habits but also the hidden thoughts, attitudes and intents of the heart. Men may ask questions and be confused when they see God subjecting His faithful child to training and discipline because they judge by appearance. However, God always knows what He is pursuing in every man’s life, though men do not often see it.
The devil does not discipline any of God’s children because he has no right to do so but he can be used by God to achieve His purpose. Each process of brokenness a child of God goes through is allowed by God with good intentions and purposes. Anything can be used instrumentally but God is behind it all. It is entirely the working of God, hooked to His sovereignty and accepted by our faith for His divine purposes. These purposes are oftentimes neither explained nor understood by us in the midst of the process but later. Faith accepts it by saying, “not what I want nor my way but your way and your purpose, Lord”
As we go through this series of studies, it is very important that you settle it in your heart that the devil’s activities are not dominant. It is God’s activities that are dominant and in control of your life as a child of God. The devil’s activities, as far as your life is concerned, are contained and controlled within the activities of God to work together for your good, to the glory of God and the total shame of the devil. Let’s pray and open our hearts unto God so that at the end of this series, He must have achieved the willingness and yieldedness in us to make us what He wants us to be.
General Memory Verse “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” Rom.8: 28
To break means to subdue, keep under, train or discipline, be brought to a disciplined state, oftentimes by force, blow or strain. When a horse is broken for example, it means that it has accustomed itself to wearing harness and therefore trained and under control. A broken child is a child that has responded positively to training and discipline.
Brokenness is the painful process of training and discipline it takes to be totally kept under God and fully submitted to Him. They are those actions taken by God in order to produce character, self-control and habits of obedience in His child. God does not only deal with the visible habits but also the hidden thoughts, attitudes and intents of the heart. Men may ask questions and be confused when they see God subjecting His faithful child to training and discipline because they judge by appearance. However, God always knows what He is pursuing in every man’s life, though men do not often see it.
The devil does not discipline any of God’s children because he has no right to do so but he can be used by God to achieve His purpose. Each process of brokenness a child of God goes through is allowed by God with good intentions and purposes. Anything can be used instrumentally but God is behind it all. It is entirely the working of God, hooked to His sovereignty and accepted by our faith for His divine purposes. These purposes are oftentimes neither explained nor understood by us in the midst of the process but later. Faith accepts it by saying, “not what I want nor my way but your way and your purpose, Lord”
As we go through this series of studies, it is very important that you settle it in your heart that the devil’s activities are not dominant. It is God’s activities that are dominant and in control of your life as a child of God. The devil’s activities, as far as your life is concerned, are contained and controlled within the activities of God to work together for your good, to the glory of God and the total shame of the devil. Let’s pray and open our hearts unto God so that at the end of this series, He must have achieved the willingness and yieldedness in us to make us what He wants us to be.
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