The Pursuit of Riches

There is a dangerous crave today for fortune and affluence. It is nothing new though. Two thousand years ago Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25 NIV)

Why is that? Jesus, who knew the human heart better than anyone ever has or ever will, understood that it’s a matter of priorities. Too often, rich people make wealth their number one priority instead of God. They spend most of their time making wealth, spending it, and increasing it. In a very real sense, money becomes their idol.

God won’t stand for that. He told us so in his First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3 NIV).
What Riches Can’t Buy
Today, we still believe the lie that money can buy happiness. Yet hardly a week passes that we don’t read about rich celebrities getting a divorce. Other high-profile millionaires get in trouble with the law and have to enter drug or alcohol rehab programs.

Despite all their money, many rich people feel empty and without meaning. Some surround themselves with a dozen hangers-on, confusing opportunists with friends. Others get pulled in by New Age beliefs and religious cults, searching in vain for something that will help them make sense of their lives.

While it’s true that wealth can purchase all kinds of thrills and creature comforts, in the long run, those things amount to high-priced glitter and trash. Anything that ends up in a junkyard or landfill cannot satisfy the yearning in the human heart.
Lifestyles of the Poor and Unknown
Since you have a computer and Internet service, you’re probably not living below the poverty line. But that doesn’t mean the lure of riches and possessions never tempts you.

Our culture constantly hypes the new–new cars, new music players, new computers, new furniture, new clothes. Wearing something that’s out of style pegs you as a misfit, somebody who doesn’t quite “get it.” And we all want to “get it” because we long for the approval of our peers.

So we’re caught somewhere in between, not poor but far from rich, and certainly not famous outside of our circle of family and friends. We yearn for the importance that money brings. We’ve seen enough rich people treated with respect and admiration to want a piece of that for ourselves.

We have God, but we want more. Just like Adam and Eve, we desperately desire to be bigger shots than we are. Satan lied to them then, and he’s still lying to us today.
Seeing Ourselves as we Really Are
Because of the world’s false values, we seldom see ourselves as we really are. The truth is that in the eyes of God, every believer is rich and famous.

We possess the richness of a salvation that can never be taken from us. This is the treasure that’s immune from moths and rust. We take it with us when we die, unlike money or fancy possessions.

We are famous and precious to our Savior, so much that he sacrificed himself so we can spend eternity with him. His love surpasses any earthly fame because it will never end.

It’s time to stop comparing houses, cars, clothes, and bank accounts. It’s time to stop feeling inadequate because we don’t own the outward symbols of success.

Instead, it’s time to turn our eyes to our intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s where we’ll experience our greatest fulfillment. That’s where we’ll finally find all the riches we’ve ever wanted

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

The concept of God’s sovereignty presupposes that He has absolute authority over all things both in Heaven and on Earth and that He can choose to do whatever He wants to whomever He wants at wherever time He wants it done.

The trend unfortunately today when spiritual matters are discussed almost on every subject is to magnify man and to dishonour and degrade God.

On the subject of prayer, there are many prayers today that many who call themselves believers are praying that are not only unbiblical but stands as an insult and a direct disregard for God’s sovereignty.

The idea that ‘’Prayer changes things’’ or that we can somehow persuade God to change His plans because of our many words or that by our prayers change our destinies is a direct disregard for God’s sovereignty.There is no inherent power in faith or prayer but there is in the God who answers them. In other words its not our emotions or our good speaking that moves God to answer. It is whether or not it is according to what he wants accomplished, his will!

If God indeed is all knowing possessing the attribute of knowing the ending from the beginning, then to suggest God changes His purpose through our praying is to deny His eternal wisdom.

Eph 3:11 speaks of God having an eternal purpose and Eph 1:11 says he does all things after the counsel of his own will. If His purpose is an eternal one, then His policy and plans cannot be reshaped by anybody’s prayers.

This God, is the unseen director behind every event in our lives.

Jeremiah understood this when he said in chapter 10:23 ‘’’O Lord I know that the determination of the way of a man is not in himself, it’s not in man, even in a strong man or in a man at his best to direct his own steps” (Amp).

No other scripture puts it better than Psalms 139:16.

‘’ Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.(Amp).

If God then is sovereign and He ordain all things, and if all events in our lives are suppose to be part of an eternal programme of God, what then do we intend to achieve through prayers. If all of His blessings, grace and indeed our salvation is not dependent on human input, of what importance then is prayer.

Why must we pray at all. We should pray, because God tells us to pray. God offers us prayer as a possibility and commands us to pray because He is a relational God who purposes to have a relationship with his people. It is not that God receives new data through our prayers, but that through our prayers information is clothed in love making it communication. God has ordained that He will be affected by our loving communication to him.

It must be understood that we do not pray to change the decree of divine providence but rather we pray to obtain what God has determined would be obtained by our prayers. The mystery actually is this ” that this Sovereign God has woven our prayers from eternity into all of His creation.That if our prayers are answered at all, they had been from the foundation of the world.

God wants us to pray because He wants a relationship with us and by His sovereign right has choosen our prayers as a means of attaining the end which He has so determine before the foundation of the world.
Let us also understand that this same God who determined to grant a blessing or an event to occur also gives gives the burden and spirit of supplication to the one who prays and seeks the blessing. The burden to pray starts with Him and not with us. “” For its Him that worketh in us both to will and to do His good pleasure”‘

In Daniel, Chapter 9, the prophet fervently prays for the very thing that he is positive the sovereign God is going to accomplish. Daniel is told the exact time that God is going to fulfill a prior prophecy made through Jeremiah. Notice that Daniel’s knowing exactly what God was going to do and the precise time that He was going to do it, in no way kept him from pleading with God to actually accomplish what had been promised. In fact, the exact opposite is always true! The more certain we are about God’s sovereign promises and providence, the more we will plead for the very things we know belong to us in His covenant.

The first recorded prayer meeting in the early church after the day of Pentecost is a classic illustration of the biblical relationship of the sovereignty of God and prayer. Let us read the text in Acts 4:

23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For TO DO WHATSOEVER THY HAND AND THY COUNSEL DETERMINED BEFORE TO BE DONE. 29. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:23-31).

This special prayer meeting was in response to the first great persecution of the church.

Is it not amazing that they did not begin their prayer like we would normally have done. They started by worshipping and praising God for His greatness and Sovereignty. Inspite of what they were going through at the time they could praise Him and be sure God was in control even of that situation.

This is the foundation for true biblical prayer.

Faith in God’s Sovereignty. Absolute trust and confidence in God’s power and sovereign providence. They were so sure He was in charge no matter what.

Why did the church remind God of how David’s prophecy concerning the world’s hatred of Christ was so clearly fulfilled in the crucifixion? Everybody was against Christ. Every source of human authority determined to destroy Him forever. The Christians were reminding themselves and God that they were at that moment in the very same situation that their Elder Brother had been in before them. He was hated and in trouble; they were hated and in trouble. However , just as Christ was safe in the hands of His Father, so were they. The cause was God’s, not their own. They realized that they were only pawns and God Himself was the Master of the game.

Those besieged Christians saw no conflict between fervent prayer and God’s sovereign decrees. They knew that nothing could have happened to them that had not been decreed by God, any more than it could have happened to Christ.

If we could only trust and believe Him at all times, that He is always in charge even times when we have felt let down and hurt, if we could always approach Him with worship and thanksgiving knowing that nothing could happen to us without our Father’s permission, we would have established a true foundation for a true biblical praying that honours God.

Isn’t it also amazing that when they do finally ask for specific help from God that they ask for grace to boldly keep on preaching the very same message that got them into trouble in the first place. They leave the persecution with God and pray for boldness to declare what they know is the truth of God, regardless of the results. My friend, that is real prayer.

Real prayer is a joyful submission to a sovereign God to be used for His purposes. We are acknowledging that God has the right and power to do whatever seems good to Him. We are saying that regardless of what God does tomorrow, we know it is part of the “”all things” in Romans 8:28.

And the true test of prayer is in what is asked for. These believers were only concerned about God’s interest and not their safety.

How about praying for personal needs or for things we are not sure God’s decree or purpose in the matter is. Like praying for the healing of a loved one that is sick, praying for journey mercies or for any specific need.

Take David’s Prayer For His Baby.
Reading 2 Samuel 12:15-23, we find David petitioning the Lord to heal the stricken baby who was born as a result of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. In this case, God clearly revealed to David what is going to happen, the child was going to die, yet he still pleaded for the boy to live.

David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground’
(Verse 16)

David was grief-stricken as all of us would be; in great sorrow, he pleaded with the Lord for the small child. But did he use ‘positive confession’? Did he say, ‘I rebuke this illness in the name of the Lord. God is a miracle-working God and I claim the healing miracle right here and now!’?? No! There is no indication of that, rather a recognition that while he should fast and pray for the child, God’s will in the matter would be just.

‘Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
So he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?…”‘
(Verses 21-23)

Was David wrong in praying as he did? Had not God said that the child would die and therefore it was a waste of time to pray, or does that conclusion not necessarily follow?

Please notice that David had wept for the little child while petitioning the Lord. But today’s ‘positive confession’ kind of praying would say, weeping is negative – just claim the sick back! David recognised God’s sovereignty in the matter, so when the child died, he accepted God’s will.

How about praying for our daily needs.

Jesus clearly taught the disciples in Matt 6:11, that they could ask and trust God for their daily needs, and we are clearly instructed that we could ” ask, seek and knock” as long we do so with the “”nevertheless, not my will but your will” attitude of heart.

Real prayer is acknowledging that we realize our own insufficiency and need. We are confessing our total dependence upon God for each day and all it brings.

The Disciples Prayer

Jesus gave us a model for all forms of christian praying, though scripture also shows clearly that all prayers do not have to reflect every aspect of this model each time they are uttered, every prayer must however conform to the principles of Christ’s commandment for prayer as recorded in the Gospels.

And just before Jesus example he corrected the way the had seen the Pharisees and others pray. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him

This, then, is how you should pray: ””Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
This is a prayer that we are not told to repeat verbatim, in fact we are not to repeat it with vain repetitions (Matt. 6:7) but this is the prayer we can use as a model.

Our father in heaven-speaks of our relationship

“Hallowed be Your name”- speaks of worship, exalting him for who he is

Your Will be done- speaks of submission to his control in our lives and the affairs on earth.

“Give us this day- speaks of petition and dependence on him alone.

“forgive us Our debts” speaks of forgiveness.

“Lead us not into temptation”- speaks of guidance and protection in our daily lives.

‘Thine is the kingdom (the power and the glory forever)”- speaks of worship acknowledging everything comes from Gods hands and he is in control.

This model Prayer starts with worship and adoration of God, acknowledging His sovereignty and Kingdom. Missing in this form of prayer is the asking for blessings and breakthroughs, but rather the request for simple needs.

Conclusion:

Prayer is the means in which God gets his will done on earth not the means in which man gets his will done.

Many times God will impress us to pray a certain way or for a certain thing to be accomplished. The purpose is to have our hearts lined up with what God wants to bring to pass so that we are praying in the will of God. In this way we will have our prayers answered.

Matt 21:22 ” And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” must always be taken with 1John 5:14. ” And this is the confidence we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us”"

God hears us only If we ask “according To his will.” In other words, if we make a request that is not His will to grant, no amount of faith or confession can affect that petition. God does not want it to happen. since he is in control and we are not, we should not expect it to occur.

Standing Up to the Giants

During the last couple of years, The Lord really opened my eyes to see how critical the hour we live actually is.

I understand that you can place a frog in a pot of cold water and then slowly heat the water to a boil and the frog will never move from that pot. the change in temperature was slow, the frog never realized he was about to be cooked alive.

In the same very way, most Christians have gotten so accustomed to the darkness, they believe they are still living in the light. When you consider the past, you will soon discover how dark the times have really become.

Ours has become a generation of religious people, professing a form of godliness but without the power of God.

As I journey again through the Old Testament writings about the Kings of Israel and
Judah, I noticed something about King David. He was not yet king of
Israel, he was just a young man with a cause. Goliath was defying the army of
Israel and the living God. David catches wind of it and he is hot. Although he is not the greatest of warriors, he is not even in the army, his heart is stirred. His cause arises within him. He voices his disgust that the army of
Israel will not fight the giant, Goliath. David’s brother then rebukes him and accuses him of pride.

David says, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” (I Samuel 17:29)

There is a cause! David chose to be the one to fight the 9 foot giant. When man has a cause there is no obstacle too big for him. When God implants within you a cause nothing can stop you but you. David could have sat back and said, “I can’t fight the enemy here, I am not even in the army. It is not my place.” He chose, however, to fulfill his purpose. God had placed that passion in David not the army.

David could have sat back and said, i can’t fight the enemy, am not even in the army, it is not my place, he choose however to fight cause of God.

You don,t have to wear a collar or be a graduate of a bible college to stand up to these unregenerate people who claim to be saved but are not and have slipped into the churches and our homes through TV. They are very good at looking like they are believers and they freely use the name of Jesus. They make big prayers and can look very holy in their actions. But their false doctrines and false prophecies betray who they really are. They are not sheep that follow the Shepherd. They are wolves that follow their own path, or worse they follow the enemy.

Though they claim to worship Jesus Christ, their gods are of their own making – money and fame. They worship at the altar of power instead of humbly submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ. They use His name to their own ends. They make themselves famous and rich by seducing weak-willed Christians into following them.

We cannot allow to be intimidated either by their size, wealth or power. We most expose them for what they truly are and defend this gospel that was handed to us by the Lord.

It is so important for us to try to reach as many as possible today before judgment comes. We need to try to help people avoid false teachers. We need to try to reason with the false teachers in the hope that a few of them will repent. We certainly need to pray for them

Campmeeting 2010

Beloved,

I like to invite you to this year’s camp-meeting of the Crown Bible Church.
It takes place on the 10th-12th September 2010, at the Redemption Camp Kilometer 46 Lagos.

The theme of this year’s meeting is “The Sovereignty of God”. This is a massive and foundational doctrine which in all humility, we may not expect to fully grasp, this side of heaven. We could ask for no other speakers who with fidelity to Holy Scripture and fear of the Lord, will rightly divide the Word, such that Scripture will shed light on this divine attribute.

We will be look at God’s work in salvation, the covenants (old and new), how He gifts us by His Spirit, sanctifies, grants us fellowship of the suffering of His Son, and relates to us in prayer.

As listeners and partakers of this divinely appointed assembly, we pray and believe that we will be blessed with understanding, by the Holy Spirit and so grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus.

For further details please call 08038428942.

Peddling God’s Word for Profit

We see it everyday on TV and how it gets worse by the day.

In the second epistle of Peter, we read of a most serious warning about a particular sort of false teacher who would come in the name of Jesus Christ,

‘But there were false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.’ (2 Peter 2:1-3, NKJV).

In verse 3, ‘covetousness’ comes from the Greek ‘pleonexia’ (pleonexia) – [The actual Greek word is contained within the brackets if your browser supports Gk. Letters]. This word is derived from pleonektes [pleonekths] which is Gk word 4123 in Strongs. Its meaning is ‘desiring more’ ‘greedy for gain’ or, ‘avaricious.’ Avaricious, of course, is from ‘avarice’ which means ‘extreme greed for wealth and gain.’

The NIV renders the first part of 2 Peter 2:3 as,

‘In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up…’ (2 Peter2:3a, NIV). The NIV Study Bible note on this verse quite correctly states this:

‘In their greed: They will be motivated by a desire for money and will commercialise the Christian faith to their own selfish advantage.’

The Amplified Bible has this,

‘And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings; because of them the true Way will be maligned and defamed.
And in their covertousness (lust, greed) they will exploit you with false (cunning) arguments…’

(The Amplified Bible, 2 Peter 2:2-3a).

The acclaimed Bible commentator Matthew Henry made this comment upon the false preachers outlined in these verses,

‘…(They) who make a gain of those whom they make their proselytes, serving themselves and making some advantage of them; for all this is through covetousness, with a desire and design to get more wealth, or credit, or commendation, by increasing the number of their followers. The faithful ministers of Christ, who show men the way of truth, desire the profit and advantage of their followers, that they may be saved; but these seducing teachers desire and design only their own temporal advantage and worldly grandeur.’ (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible; 2 Peter 2:1-3a comments).

But apart from Peter, the apostle Paul also makes a comment about those who were, or would be, motivated to preach the gospel for financial gain:

‘Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.’ (2 Corinthians 2:17).

Personally, I find that comment by Paul astonishing! Why? Because in a day in which it was dangerous to be a Christian, Paul already condemns those who ‘peddle the word of God for profit’! While such deceivers and manipulators were obviously already around, I believe that Paul’s words are largely prophetic and that the Spirit in him was able to look over a thousand years down the road and perceive the prosperity teachers of our own age!

So while many false teachers would come, a particular group of these would simply be motivated by greed and by the desire for personal financial gain. This group would exploit the naïve with ‘stories they have made up’, in other words, with false doctrines which they would craftily introduce in order to financially enslave somewhat naïve and trusting people, thereby making themselves wealthy. Of course, this is nothing new; for many centuries even the established church in many parts of Europe allowed “bishops” (who were often really politicians) to live in comparative luxury among people who (while they struggled even to survive and to feed their families) were nevertheless ordered to pay a tax to support the often lavish lifestyles of the former. The ordinary poor were taught that it was their ‘biblical duty’ to pay this church tax (totally, of course, without any biblical support.)

All genuine ministry for the Lord cannot have an advanced price tag to pay before the ministry is given. Why? Because then it is no longer ministry, but commerce, employ, trade or entertainment.

The love of God and our love for God has no price tag attached to it. Peddling God’s word for profit is shameful and disgusting.

Him that has an ear to hear, pls hear this and together we can run these imposter’s out of business.

God’s Sovereign Working

The book of Job for me is one of the most remarkable books in the bible, and we must be grateful to God that this divine drama played out in the book was recorded for us.
In the past we have been scared away from the reading of the book, there is a believe that you can go insane reading the Book .
The very thought that Gods word can lead to such is insane in itself. I cannot count the number of times I’ve had to read the book of Job and i thank God that i still have my mind intact.
The first thing of note in this drama is to understand that it was God who took the initiative. He was the unseen director of the drama.

” Now there was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before The Lord,and Satan came also among them. And The Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then Satan answered The Lord, and said from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And The Lord said unto Satan hast thou considered my servant Job,that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:6-8).

It was the Lord that drew Satan’s attention to that which was of significance in the life of Job and submitted it to Satan’s attack.

Why would a holy and loving God do that to a person He spoke well of. The principle set out in this drama is true and same for God’s dealing with every of His children.

There is always a thing of value or of great significance that The Lord attaches or permits in every life. For some it could be their intelligence that brings them out and makes them unique, it could also be some talent, power, wealth or any other thing. Sooner or later, this God, is going to draw Satan’s attention to that thing of value and significance to be tested and attacked.

He does that primarily to bring out that significance to His Glory.

The second thing of note in this drama is the discovery that God deals with His people according to a deeper knowledge of the man, a knowledge deeper than the man had of himself.
Job did had a conception about himself of his righteousness and good deeds. He defended himself well against the wrong suggestions given by his friends, that the calamity which befell him could have been the result of a secret sin in his life. And the truth was Job was right. If it was a matter of outward righteousness and good deeds, this guy was perfect. God testimony of him in Job 1:8 proved this.

But he had problems that he never thought were there, and God dealt with him based on that knowledge. This is the key to understanding the book. That God’s end is getting Job to see that part of him. Until we come to the point where we can stand with Apostle Paul to confess ”For i know that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing”, we are yet to get to that place where we live and use our giftings for the glory of God.

Job was oblivious of who he really was on the inside, but as he was made to pass through he fires, he began to acknowledge things he would never acknowledge before. In the end, the man who said so much in defense of his right standing with God had this to say of himself. ” Wherefore i abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6).

“Behold, i go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but i cannot perceive Him. On the left hand where 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”. (Job 23:8-10).

This is another twist to the story. At the time Job needed God the most, he could not find Him. For God hid Himself from His servant. There could be no greater suffering than this for this man.This is the man God had spoken well of in Chapter one, the one who was perfect with respect to outward righteousness, and when he needed God’s intervention, all he got was silence.

Oh that we will understand God’s dealing with His children.

“He hideth himself.” That is one of our greatest occasions of suffering, the fact that the Lord hides Himself. Our cry all the time is that He will show Himself, come out into the open, let us see Him and see what He is doing. But “He hideth himself.” He was enshrouded in the mystery of His ways with His beloved servant.

Have you had one boil? You know the misery and the pain. Job was a man covered from head to foot with these things. That was only one phase of his suffering. Children gone, flocks and herds gone, camels gone, his home gone, his friends gone, and his wife turned against him saying, “Renounce God, and die.” Job was left like that. And God, affirming this man’s perfection and integrity, still hides Himself. “He hideth himself.” What is our case compared with Job’s? The Lord deals with us in the same way; He hides Himself. He must have an object which far outweighs all the dangers of the possibility of His being misunderstood and misinterpreted. His servant was given plenty of occasion to say, God is unfaithful, unloving, unrighteous; He has turned against me; and so on. But God ran the risk of it because He saw something of value which far outweighed all that. He knew that in the long run He would be justified and not condemned. “He hideth himself.”

Do not think, my beloved, tried, pressed brother or sister, that the fact that Satan assails and things are so difficult and hard means of necessity that you are under judgment.I know many have been taught that in Christ,we are not to experience any any pain or disappointment. We are taught we can enjoy heaven while here on earth. Im here to tell you this is not true. There is nothing like Heaven on earth. We look forward to our inheritance that is reserved for us in Heaven, and do not think strange brethen while on this earth you are made to go through some difficult times. “For the trial of your Faith can be adjudged to be more precious than the gold by God. And if He does so decide to allow you pass through some rough times and you are able to say you are not persisting in a known course of wrong over which the Lord has a controversy with you; even if you are able to say, I stand not on any ground of my own, but on the ground of His righteousness through faith, and I repudiate all known, habitual sin: even then it does not mean that God is necessarily coming out to you to show Himself always very wonderful. He may hide Himself, and those who mean well may interpret that fact the other way. It is one of the most difficult things to bear when calamity falls; people will come along and say, The Lord must have some cause for judging you, you must lie under some condemnation for Him to allow that. “He hideth himself.”

But that He is hiding does not mean He is forgetting or ignoring. He is watching from His place.

Oh, He is not only hiding and looking out and knowing all about me, but He is instigating it all. “He performeth that which is appointed for me.” He is not only a hidden watcher, He is a hidden actor, the prime actor, because the cause, the author, the perfecter. “He performeth that which is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.” Oh, the faith of Job in the sovereignty of God through it all! “He hideth” – yes; but “He knoweth” – yes; but more, “He performeth.” Let us take all the comfort these words should bring to us as individuals and as the Church as we pass through the time in which God is doing things of which we have no knowledge. He is answering a whole universe in His dealings with us, getting through to issues of tremendous account. May our faith be sufficient to believe it and to hold on to this – that “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

Hope for the Truth

Inspite of the great delusion and deception in the Church today and which perhaps is on a unprecedented scale, i believe very much there is yet Hope for the elect, even if decieved at the moment.

From my own study of scripture, there is one recurrent principle i see in God’s dealing with His people. He spends a long time getting something new ready, focusing more on quality than on quantity. Once the quality has been founded, then the quantity comes.

The Truth and those who stand to defend it is obviously in the minority at the moment, but make no mistake God is at work, and He knows how to deliver the righteous and also preserve them unto the day of Salvation.

You will notice God normally will not allow the old thing to fall until He judges that the new thing is ready to take its place. God told Joshua that He would not give the whole land to him all at once; He allowed the Philistines, Canaanites, Jebusites and so on stay in the land for a season, ‘lest the land lie fallow’. God will even let something bad stay in place until He has made something good ready to take it over.

Look at the history of Saul and David , God does not remove Saul all at once; God let Saul go on and on and on, while David was growing stronger not until David is ready to take over – and by David, we don’t simply mean David himself but his men as well, the outcasts of Israel whom God had trained up in the wilderness. Then and only then did Saul fall

In my discussions with some brethen over the issue of deception in the Church, many seem to believe that God will suddenly cause large denominations and their Pastors to fall overnight, but it dosn’t happen that way.

What happens normally is that they fall progressively for a time, and then something comes which precipitates their going into a nosedive. God will keep them in place until something new is ready to take over.You will also notice that all of David’s choice men did not come to him at once, and two things had to occur before all Israel came to him. First, David and his men had to be made ready. Those outcasts of Israel had to become leaders.

This ofcourse is a challenge to those who hold and defend the Truth. God is at work and may you be ready for Him when He bids you to step into bigger responsibility.

What the Scriptures says about Flase Teachers

2 Peter 2:1-3

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

1 Timothy 6:3-12

3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions
5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Timothy 4:3-5

3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

How to recognize False Teachers

Know the Word of God. One good way to study the Word of God is to first read it in order to outline it and be familiar with the content of each book of the Bible. Too many believers have never read the entire Word of God, are unfamiliar with the Word of God and are thus not able to recognize a false teacher.

Know a teacher’s background. In an information age, it should be easy to discover a person’s doctrinal background. Be suspicious of anyone who is not clear on their doctrinal position. If a person comes from a particular church or group and on that group’s website their is no clear doctrinal position, that should cause red flags. If on a person’s website their is a claim that a particular Bible school or ministry is well known and respected, and yet their is no doctrinal statement, then it is not trustworthy.

Ask the person specific questions about themselves and their teaching. If they answer in general terms, or If you do not get answers, it is a warning that they are hiding something.

Know the person’s position on the doctrine of Christ. Ask questions concerning the Person and Work of Christ. Who is He? What is the position on the bodily return of Christ; the Pre-existence of Christ; the Incarnation of Christ; His Deity, Humanity; the unity of the Person of Christ; the functions of Christ; His earthly life; His sinlessness; the Atonement; the present ministry of Christ and the future work of Christ.

Know the fundamentals of faith. The fundamentals are: The doctrine of the Trinty; The incarnation, virgin birth, subsitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit; The resurrection of the saints to life eternal; The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death; The fellowship of the saints,who are the body of Christ

Observe the fruit of the teacher’s ministry. You know who true and false teachers are by their fruit.

So much about Signs and Wonders

Miraculous signs followed the preaching of Jesus and the apostles (Mark 16:17-18), but they were not the point of attraction. In fact Jesus discouraged crowds from following him to look for signs. Far from seeking a mass of people who would tag along with his movement for what they could get out of it, Jesus put off would-be followers with a radical call to commitment even to the point of being willing to lose their lives for his sake: “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-5 — see also Matthew 10:16-42, Luke 9:57-62, John 6:60-71). He told his disciples to give freely as they had received freely (Matthew 10:8). Interestingly in the Didache, an early Christian manual, it was considered a sign of a false prophet to ask for money. Also it has to be said that Jesus’ miracles recorded in the New Testament were selective. He did not heal every sick person in Israel (although everyone who came to him seeking healing was completely healed). There was a multitude of sick people at the pool of Bethesda, but Jesus only healed one lame man there (John 5:1-15).

Today’s healing evangelists appeal to the needs of people offering the sick a chance to get well through the miraculous powers which are supposed to be present at their rallies, and promising wealth as a reward from God to those who donate to their ministries. Since almost everyone in the world would like to have better health and better living conditions, it is a powerful appeal. The question however is whether they deliver on their promises. Clearly something does happen at these rallies, as people respond to the evangelists by falling on the floor and a variety of physical manifestations, some of which do appear to bring relief (mostly temporary) from pains they have previously suffered. The TV programme attributed this to hypnotic suggestion in the lives of people who have been psychologically prepared to respond in this way before attending the rallies.
This may be so, but Jesus also spoke about wonders being done in his name by people to whom he will say “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practise lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). He also said that false prophets doing signs and wonders would be a feature of the last days before his second coming (Matthew 24:24). This will prepare the way for the man of sin or the Antichrist whose coming will be “according to the working of Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

Generational Curses is it Right for today?

I must admit, since our arrival in the country couple of months ago, it has really become so tempting to join the wagon of Covenant and Curse Breakers in Nigeria.

This heretic Yes! i mean Heretic doctrine of Breaking Covenants and Generational curses is selling like hot cake, infact nothing sells more now in Nigeria than telling people they need curses broken in their lives to hit a jakpot.

Pastors and teachers in churches and on TV tell their listners that they made so many covenants before they got saved and because of this, curses are following them and this is the reason why they are NOT GETTING RICH. They are told that their businesses are not succeeding because of these covenants. They are told that they are not getting jobs because of curses and covenants that need to be broken.

They are told that they are not building their own houses, they are not buying cars, they are not marrying and getting married, they are fornicating and having sicknesses because of generation curses.

I must also admit and confess i use to be a proponent of this fallacy untill The Lord opened my eyes to the error and danger of this doctrine.

Now before i introduce scriptures to bring the error in this doctrine, i would only like to ask the Apostles of this doctrine two simple questions.

If breaking of generation curses is so central and serious as they proclaim, how come the Lord Jesus Christ never talked about it? How come apostle Paul never told Christians in the early church to break covenants and generation curses? How come that this was not an issue at all for the early church?

You would have expected the Apostle to have atleast said something about this topic with all the revelation and insight he had, but not a word from him, nor did any of the Apostles said or mentioned anything on breaking generational curses. No where in the new testament would you see any word on generational curses, infact the word ”generational Curses” is not in the scriptures at all

2. One question I have repeatedly asked those who believe in “GC” teaching is this: If there is a generation curse, who placed the curse? Most evade the question. Some say, “The parents did,” but then they realize Scripture never says that. Furthermore, there is no Scriptural basis for saying Satan places a curse (despite all the harm he does do). Finally, the answer is: God places the curse. Then I ask, “Do you think you can break a curse God placed?” The usual reply is, “I had not thought of it that way before.”

The solemnizing fact is that God has indeed cursed sin and sinners (Matthew 25:41). The original curse of Genesis 3 affects every human being and all of creation (Romans 8:19-23). Some examples of specific curses placed by God are: Cain (Genesis 4;11); all who would curse Abraham or his seed (Genesis 12:3); all Israelites who were guilty of sins enumerated in Deuteronomy 27-28; God-robbers (Malachi 3:9). There are others, but none is “generational.” No one can break a curse placed by God except God Himself! He delights in breaking curses as soon as people turn to Him in repentance. A prime example is Nineveh (Jonah 3:10).

The people who teach this doctrine take Exodus 20:5-6 as their scriptural basis.

Lets look at it and see if that scripture actually supports the idea of generational curse.

“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:5,6)

The above scripture is obviously a warning to the Isrealites of the grave consequence of worshipping other gods.
Even this warning is tempered with a greater promise of God’s mercy: “But showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (verse 6).

At Sinai, God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel and took her to be His own people. They were to honor that covenant from their hearts, by loving God and obeying Him. Worshiping other gods was covenant-breaking in its worst form, analogous to spiritual adultery.

They were persistently warned of the consequences of such behavior, yet it was all too common. The consequences would even mean that God would “visit the iniquities to the third and fourth generation.” What does this mean? On the surface it appears that God would punish the children and grandchildren for sins that they did not personally commit. But Deuteronomy 24:16 provides good reason to reject this interpretation: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own

Is the Blood line cursed?

The arqurment that says iniquity is passed to persons through the family blood is wrong for the following reasons

1. The only family totally affected by sin (iniquity) is the human family. By one man sin entered the world (Romans 5:12). As a result of our first parents’ sin, all humans have been born with a nature that is inclined to sin (Ephesians 2:3).
2. Every baby is conceived with this sinful nature inherent (Psalm 51:5), but children are not held accountable until they personally commit sin. “Sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Romans 5:13). Paul describes coming to “the age of accountability” (Romans 7:9).
3. The only bloodline that is involved with the sinful nature is that from Adam (Romans 5: 17-19) and Eve (1Timothy 2:14). “God has made of one blood all nations” (Acts 17:26, ). Human blood may transmit physical diseases, but it cannot carry spirits or iniquities. A blood transfusion from the vilest sinner could not defile one; likewise, blood from the most Christlike saint cannot make one holy.
4. There is cleansing in the blood of the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45)! By His blood the Church is purchased (Acts 20:28), justified (Romans 5:9), and purified (Hebrews 9:22).

The covenant breaking apostles argue, that God is a respecter of covenants and so if a born again Christian entered into a covenant before being born again , God will do nothing about that covenant until the Christian who entered into it breaks it.

Surprisingly they keep breaking these covenants over and over again using the blood of Jesus. This contradicts John 19:30, where Christ guarantees that it is finished.

This is a mockery of Christ’s finished work on the cross. If Christ became a curse for our sake, how can the generation covenants and curses fail to be succumbed by the blood of Jesus once and for all.

In 2Cor 5:17 it is written that, ‘’Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’’ But the covenant and generation curse parrots are saying that, when you are in Christ you became a new creature but generation covenants and curses still remain. What kind of logic is this??? If a born again Christian can be under a curse, this logically means that he/she did not become a new creature in the first place and all things never became new.

Ezekiel 18:2, 3, 20) says:2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?

3As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

But the covenant and generation curse proponents use(Duet 9:5) to argue fallaciously that , even when sin is forgiven, covenants and the consequences of sin remain. They use the example of David in 2 Samauel 12, 13 etc to show how the generation curse of womanizing followed David’s descendants although God had forgiven David. They do not seem to understand that David lived before the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross and therefore there is no way this example can be applied to truly born again Christian today.

These people do not seem to understand the distinction between LAW(old covenant) and GRACE(new covenant).

This is what the New Testament teaches.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
2Cor 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed

The Arm of The Lord

‘’To Whom is the Arm of the Lord Revealed?’’

‘’Who Hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.’’

The word arm is used symbolically many times in scriptures to signify that upon which man relies for strength and support.
The arm represents the person, sometimes the person is in weakness, and his arm is described as being weak. Sometimes it is in strength. The arm is the symbol of the person, or sometimes of the people in the Nation, but always indicating the state of strength or weakness.
The phrase ‘’ the arm of the Lord’’ when used in relation to men or nations implies the giving of His strength and support to that which is according to his purpose, the showing of Himself in power on behalf of it.

To whom then will the Lord show Himself in power? To whom will the Lord make bare His arm (Isa 52:10)
Biblical examples

There are many incidents in which the arm of the lord is shown, for instance in the bringing of Israel out of Egypt we found repeated reference to the barring of His arm, the stretching forth of His arm (Is.30.30) to bring them out, the arm of the Lord was revealed. If you read and consider the whole story of God’s dealing with Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of His people, you will find that it is all summed up in this—- it was the revealing of the arm of the Lord.

Again, take Israel deliverance from Babylon, that was another occasion when the arm of the Lord was revealed. The arm of the Lord, stretched out over Babylon, brought down her rulers and overthrew her forces, in order to bring the people back from captivity.( Isa 43:14). And again, that was symbolic, the recovery of a pure testimony amongst the Lord’s people.
But it is in the raising of Jesus, and in His exaltation to the right hand of the Majesty in the Heavens, that we surely see the supreme example of the revealing of the arm of the Lord.

In those succeeding early days of the Church, how wonderful was this revealing of the arm of the Lord. When they were suffering persecutions, a few met together for prayer, and prayed ‘’ Grant unto thy servants—— boldness while thou stretcheth forth thy Hand—and that signs and wonders may be done . (Acts 4:29-30).
Herod came under the impact of that arm, Saul of Tarsus came under it’s same impact, many things happened in many places, because the Lord was revealing His arm.

Now you will notice that many of these instances have certain features in common.

Firstly, there was the exalting of world powers against the God, the lifting up of the head on the part of the powers of this world against the Lord and against His anointed.

Secondly, there was the involvement of the Lord’s glory and the Lord’s purpose, through a condition of weakness and apostasy among His people. After the covenant that the Lord had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob , it was altogether contrary to the revealed purpose of His heart, that He should have the sons of Israel in bondage in Egypt, giving their strength to the powers of evil. How often do we see in scriptures the Lord revealing His arm because of a condition amongst His own people.

And then thirdly, there was a cry from within on the part of an instrument of intercession. There was Moses, in touch with God right from the inside in relation to that situation in Egypt. There was Daniel, and a few others with him, right on the inside of the situation in Babylon, crying to God, and there were those prayer meetings recorded in the books of Acts the cry of the elect to be avenged. This was a feature common to the intervention of God again and again. A cry from the inside.
Some questions arise in relation to all of this in our own day. Is there a situation in our time which corresponds to these situations, in that threefold connection? Is there a connection like that today?

I think the answer is obvious. Are world powers lifting their heads against the Lord?
Was there ever a time when the throne of God was more challenged by world powers than today?
Is there a condition in Christianity which brings much dishonour to the Lord?
Is The Lord’s true testimony today, involved in a spiritual state which is contrary to His revealed mind?
The answer is self evident. It is impossible in these days to move about this world without meeting these two things and being almost overwhelmed by them. The tremendous force of evil that is set against God. You feel it, you meet it, it comes out at you everywhere. And if that is distressing, without exaggeration, even more distressing is the sate of Christianity generally, which is such a contradiction to what God has revealed as to His purpose. Sometimes you are almost compelled to say that the greatest enemy of Christianity is Christianity.

The level of deception in the Church today is so alarming, and even more alarming is the apparent disregard to the advice given us by the Apostles to discern and test every spirit. The greatest single danger in these end times is not sickness, nor poverty , nor persecution. It is deception. If anybody says it could never happen to me, I’m afraid, it has already to that person, because that person is saying something that could never happen that Jesus said would happen.

The first thing Jesus said about the events leading up to His return, in Matt24, and verse 4 ‘’ take heed that no one deceives you, and in verse 5 ‘’ for many shall come in My Name saying I’m the messiah (that is Christ), and would deceive many. In verse 11, He warned, many false prophets will rise up and deceive many and in verse 24, He also warned “ For false messiahs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect.
Anybody who shrugs off that warning or treats it lightly does so at the risk of his own soul.

What about the third feature? Is there a cry from the inside? I believe Yes.
There is a growing sense within the heart many of God’s children that things are not right in the real sense, that what we are experiencing and witnessing in the Church today is not what the Lord purposed for His body.
There is an ongoing deep cry down in the hearts of many for some changing of the spiritual condition among His people.
It is a response to that cry and prayer that has brought us back to Nigeria after many years overseas doing the Lord’s work.

Dull of hearing

” Of whom we have manythings to say and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing for when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principle s of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.” (Heb 5:11-12)

The whole book of Hebrews had the High Priesthood of Christ as it’s central theme.

The writer of Hebrews presents Christ, like the priests of old appointed by the Father to the position of High Priest. However, unlike the priests of old, Christ as our great High priest is the source of eternal salvation for all who follow Him (Heb 5:9-10)

Of particular interest to me in the passage is the phrase in verse 11 which begins with the clause ” Of whom we have many things to say”

The Priesthood of Christ and Melchizedek is the subject in view here, and there is indeed much that needs to be said about these two figures, but you will notice, the author will not pick up the subject again until the very end of chapter 6.

Why did the author delay or paused the teaching about Christ and the Melchizedek priesthood?

The answer to that question is found within the same verse.

” They are hard to be uttered”. Another translation puts it as these things are hard to explain.

Now this does not necessarily mean the subjects are just deeply mysterious as some would want us to think when bragging on their experiences in Christ. We are assured in scripture that the Holy Spirit searches all the deep things of God and reveals them unto us.(1 Cor 2:9)

The audience to which the writer of Hebrews was addressing could simply not understand the teaching not because it was mysterious, but because their understanding had become weak and imperfect.

You will notice the rest of verse 11 which places the blame for the difficulty of these subjects not with the subjects themselves, but with the readers and their dullness of hearing. You will also notice from that verse, that this ” dullness of hearing is not the original state of the readers, rather they had become dull of hearing. They started out alright like we all do, but somewhere along the way, they got wearied of hearing the truth and switched to those things that appeals to their selfishness and pride.

At the time of the writing the writer expected his audience to have become teachers, but no, they still needed and looking forward to teachers that will teach them the basics of the gospel all over again. (Heb 5:12)

They were fully responsible for their degeneration into this state. It was basically their failure to  wisely and honorably respond to scriptures that got them into the state. They became dull, apathetic and disinterested in spiritual truth. They became okay with whatever that was thrown at them.

No wonder many today are trapped in the cobweb of deception, discerning the Truth from Error is a non issue, these ones become easy prey to deceitful teachers who lay in wait to deceive.

We have a generation of believers today who get bored at anything done in Church except when presented in an entertainment format, and because these ones have lost the zeal and the interest they started out with in their walk with God, understanding and pursing after Him, they departed after those who would satisfy their fleshy desires.

Having become dull of hearing the Truth, they heaped to themselves pastors and leaders who would scratch their ears and make them fell good. These are the conditions that gives rise to false preachers in the Church.

Apostle Peter warned in 2Peter 2:1-2 ” But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”

With the erosion of moral values, the acceptance of the break up of the family and divorce as normal, the selfish pursuit of money and status, that even now has a separate gospel identified with it ” the prosperity gospel”, these false teachers are having the time of their lives.

Many fail to realise that error is never taught in an obvious way, because it will be exposed and found out easily. Error usually comes mixed with a little truth, it’s usually dressed up in pretty clothes and made to look so good and attractive and presented as truer than the Truth itself.

There is so much the writer of Hebrews wanted his audience to know about Jesus, but they dulled their hearing and would not understand. How many today for the same mistake and and failure of good discernment have missed out on God and what he has for them.

” Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee Light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise redeeming the time, because the days are evil, wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:14-17)