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What Makes a Church Becomes a Denomination II
We are glad to bring you the review of the continuation of the sermon preached last week titled, ‘What makes a Church a Denomination’. The servant of God started off by telling us the importance of having a relationship with God. There is only one thing you will leave the earth with, and it is your relationship with God. If you don’t have a relationship with Him on earth here, you cannot have with Him when you get to heaven. Thus, it becomes imperative to strive to have a relationship with God, for that is the only tangible thing that transcends through to eternity.
See Also: What Makes a Church Becomes a Denomination I
TEXT: NUMBERS 23:9-10, DEUTERONOMY 14:2, DEUTERONOMY 7:6, 1 PETER 2:9, 1 SAMUEL 8:1, MATTHEW 16: 18, JEREMIAH 3:15, LUKE 22:29, GALATIANS 1: 1 – 12, REVELATION 17:1
The Peculiarity of the Nation Israel and the True Church of God
To understand the origin of denomination from the church perspective, we need to point back to the nation Israel, God’s election over them, and his demand over them as an elected nation. Israel is a nation called out by God
Israel is a type of the true church of God; we can get a picture of how the church of God operates from the conduct of the people of Israel. God is the one that gives his church laws and organizes them just like he gave the Israelites laws.
God separated the Israelites from other nations and He demanded that they should not be reckoned with those nations, why? For the purpose of His will! He wanted to be their God, He wants to rule them by His laws, according to His mind, He wants them to have their freedom in Him, he simply chose them for Himself amongst other nations; so they are to live for God, who chose them. God doesn’t need anyone’s knowledge to rule them for Him; their carnal intellectual prowess is not needed in leading and controlling them. This means that they were not to organize themselves by whatever, they are not to copy other nations to live. They are a special people designed by God.
This is the same case with the church of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, Apostle Peter tells us in His epistle that we are a chosen generation, and that God has called us out of darkness (world system) into His marvelous light (His word). Thus, the true church of God should not be a denomination. Because they are to be guided by the laws of God; they are not be reckoned with or administered by the knowledge of man gotten from one headquarter controlling every branch in the world.
The children of Israel forgot that they were not to be reckoned with other nations, and they requested to have a king over them ‘like other nations’ [1Samuel 8:4]. God was not pleased with their request. The church today has done the same thing, we threw Jesus out of His church, and made ourselves General overseers, having headquarters, and branches, wherein, these branches have to submit to the headquarters. God hates denomination!
In lieu of this, I would say that you should be careful of not doing what God has promised you in your way. The reason success is hard for us is because we fail to patiently wait for God’s ways and assume our ways. God is a God of miracle, but not in your way; He’s got His way! And if God has told you what to do, and suddenly you feel dryness(or unfruitfulness), go back to the God that spoke to you, he will tell you what step to take; He speaks she we call him. Allow God to lead you. God desires to lead His church by the Holy Spirit, and not by human wisdom; and don’t forget that you are the church.
The gate of Hell cannot prevail over a church that Jesus Christ built, and what is the gate of hell? It is worldliness. But today, we have politics in our churches, we have dogmas (what our church believes which is not according to the bible), we have football clubs, just to mention but a few. The gate of hell has prevailed upon such churches. A true church solely believes and lives the whole word of God, and it is impossible for a denomination to holistically believe the word of God. God organizes and leads His church by His word.
How the devil crept into the church
The devil rode on a white horse of religious deception, and began to suggest ideas appealing to sensual faculties on how to administer and bring people to the church. That is why they have football clubs, doctorate-degree-preachers eloquent in grammars but void of the revelation of the word of God, inviting comedians to the church, et al. God uses His word to draw His own, not things enticing the flesh. God does not cajole people.
The church of God is the kingdom of God. And you don’t enter in by going to church, but by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. So, the baptism of the Holy Spirit brings you to the kingdom of God.
Here are a few traits of denomination:
In our last review, it was stated that a church becomes a denomination she it is organised by anti-bible doctrines. Below are other traits:
- A church with a woman as the head,
- A church who baptizes her members in trinity titles(God the father, God the son and God the Holy spirit), and claims that the apostles made a mistake at Pentecost,
- Pastors trained by Bible schools and seminary,
- Churches with earthly headquarters.
All of these and many more are foreign to the doctrines of the Bible, we have churches who have ‘school of the prophets, ‘school of healing’, etc. The Bible talks of people whose god is their belly, that’s the condition of those who have a certificate that endorsed them as employable preachers, who are paid salaries for preaching.
Peter was not learned, neither did he go to a theological school, yet, he was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven for having gotten the revelation of who Jesus is. You don’t need to go to a seminary school to become a preacher. If God calls you, he will teach you and give you the revelation of his word.
What is the Message of Restoration?
In closing, I love to let you know that God has sent us the evening light which is the message of the hour (Rev. 10:7) through his messenger, William Branham. And we only come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ because God has sent us this messenger. In the book of Revelation, there are seven church ages. God started his church amongst the Gentiles through Paul in the Ephesian church age. Now, we are in the last, which is the Laodicea church age, and the message of the last age is the message of “Restoration.” Restoration is bringing back the exact thing that was lost, this means that the message of the first and the last is the same! So we are restored back to the faith of the apostles (Malachi 4:5-6).
In-between the first and last church age were five church ages, and their time was the time of reformation, thus, God allowed some things in their age, because they did not have the full revelation of the word of God, we did speak on how Romanism ravaged Christianity in our last review. So, God permitted them to have things which cannot be found in the first church age when the gospel started. They were reformers. But now is the last age, and God will harvest the exact thing he planted. Therefore, align your faith (belief) with the faith (belief) of the apostles in the New Testament. If they did not have deaconesses, lady evangelists, trinity doctrine, and cooperative organization and so on, then the church today doesn’t need them if they must be true to Jesus Christ.
Make sure you don’t believe what the apostles of the Bible did not believe. God hates denomination!
God bless you.
Read Also: Did The Apostles Make Mistakes at Pentecost?
What Makes a Church Becomes a Denomination
Shalom Aleichem to you who’s reading this, we welcome you again to today’s sermon review. We thank the Lord who has called us out of denomination into his truth. Although, many of us go about to say that we are not a denomination, we do not know what it is to be a denomination. It pleased the Lord through his servant, to explain extensively “What makes a church to become a denomination”.
TEXT: REVELATIONS 17:1-3,15, ISAIAH 55:7-9, JOHN 14:6, ROMANS 1:21, 2 THESSALONIANS 2:9-11, 1 TIMOTHY 2:11-12, 1 CORINTHIANS 14:33, EPHESIANS 4:10, ROMANS 10:13-18, HEBREWS 5:4, 1 TIMOTHY 1:2-3, TITUS 1:5, HEBREWS 10:20-21, HEBREWS 8:1-2, REVELATIONS 2:1, GENESIS 10:6, GENESIS 11:1, REVELATION 1:11, JEREMIAH 51:7
Many times, we judge wrongly by confusing good for right; as long as we see good results, we conclude that it is acceptable in the sight of God. Churches think that because they are expanding, they are in the will of God. But God has his perfect will in everything he does. The thoughts of God are not our thoughts and neither his ways, our ways (Isaiah 55:7). The thoughts of God are right and his ways, Perfect. In John 14:6, Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth…”, therefore it must mean that there are misleading paths and lies. What we do in our own way may yield results, many times, faster results. When Sarah proceeded to doing things her own way, she got result (Ishmael was not born deformed, neither was he born premature, he was a bouncing baby boy, but he was a devil). There is a perfect will of God and there is a permissive will of God. The permissive will of God cannot produce the righteousness of God (Read the story of Balaam).
If you want to know the will of God then search it in the word of God, God is not the author of confusion. The foundation of the gospel was set by the apostles and that is the standard for every believer. Anything outside that, is a denomination. You might be able to perform miracles, speak in tongues, etc. but that is not a true indication of the church, God gives his gift even to the rebellious. God can give his gifts to the stubborn and foolish in order to make them more foolish (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). Speaking in tongues does not save you, Jesus is the only way and Jesus is the Word of God. Calling upon the name, “Jesus” will not do you any good if you do not obey the Word of God (Matthew 7:21).
When the people of Israel were thirsty in the wilderness, God told Moses to take his rod and witnesses to behold the goodness of God, God ordered Moses to smite the rock once and he did it according to the will of God. As they continued, they got to a point where they needed water again and they murmured and complained. The same God told Moses to call elders to be a witness and speak to the rock, but because of the attitude of the church, Moses took his rod and smote the rock twice, out of anger. We see that despite Moses disobedience to the Word of God, the rock still brought forth water. Yes, you can disobey God and still see result but the truth is, God is not always concerned about the result but the process; Moses had result but he did not do it in the way of God and he paid dearly for that.
In other words, God has his reasons for telling you to do some things in a certain way even though another way will lead you to a good result; God has a thought when he establishes a church. To be a church is not simply to call upon the name, “Jesus”, every denomination does so. The fact that God hears your prayer does not mean you are saved, he can hear your prayers and not take you to heaven; God hears the prayers of everyone. A woman pastor can lay hands upon you when you are sick and you receive your healing, that doesn’t change the Word of God that a woman is not allowed to teach (1 Timothy 2:11). God is not the author of confusion, he will not say one thing in his Word and say another by any means. Salvation comes by the blood and that is the only standard; God will not save some by blood and save others by water, all must be saved by his blood. God is not doubled standard!
In summary, there may be miracles, signs and wonders but the only vindication of a true church is the Word of God.
What Makes a Church a Denomination?
Denominations are human organisations that are intellectually and carnally administered and organised and God is not the author of it.
There are two primary things that make a church a denomination and these are:
- Anti-Bible Doctrine
- Man-made Organisation
The Word of God is what makes his church. If you claim to be a church and you do contrary to the Word of God, believe in three gods or make a woman preacher, then you are simply a denomination. It’s not your dressing that depicts holiness, holiness is believing and living the life of the Word of God; you cannot disbelieve the Word of God and say you are holy.
Denominations start when a church begins to have headquarters and branches, in which these branches must report every of their activities and financial account to the headquarters. There is a general overseer who is the head of the overall churches, every other branch must believe and preach what he believes ( and the day you teach contrary, you will be sacked); the general overseer has the final say. Also, denominations are governed by a set of rules and policies laid down by the general overseer. For instance, it is not found anywhere in the Bible that you must walk barefooted or wear white garment in the house of God but we see churches that are guided by these doctrines and profess that it was revealed to their general overseers by God [any dream or vision contrary to the Word of God is not of God].
Likewise, there is no place in the Bible where it is stated that you must pray with rosary or in the name of Mary, but this doctrine was laid down by the pope of the Roman Catholic; they have made the pope, overseer and not Jesus Christ. If you are a Roman Catholic, you cannot do otherwise (you have to believe what your leader believes).
The Church of God has been monetised. Many see it as a business organisation. Workers are employed as pastors and are paid salaries based on their academic achievement. If this is the case, then Apostle Peter is not qualified. But we see that when Jesus was to give the keys of the kingdom, he didn’t give it to Nicodemus or Gamaliel but to the illiterate Peter.
Again, each of these denominations have their Bible school where intending pastors have to undergo trainings according to the belief of the general overseer such that if you are trained in ‘Redeem Bible School’, you cannot Pastor in ‘Deeper life’ because they do not have the same doctrine. They can also be posted to various branches to minister. We cannot find any example of such in the Word of God. Every assembly in the body of Jesus Christ is autonomous.
So, even when a church is preaching the true Word of God but is still an organised religion it is a denomination and God is not in support.
The True Church of God
The true church of God is not an organisation but an organism in the same way that a human being is an organism; we have various parts of the body for various functions, organised by God himself (Ephesians 4:10-12). In the church of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is the general overseer because the church is one body, Christ being the head. He is the one that appoints his ministers and tells them where to go (they can minister in another church but God does not transfer them). Aaron was sent of God (Hebrews 5:4), it was not even Moses that called Aaron. Even Jesus did not make himself the high priest, God appointed him. You have to be called by God himself before you become a minister, but these days, it is joblessness that is calling many. The true church of Jesus Christ has no earthly headquarter but our headquarter is in heaven and our general overseer, the Holy Spirit. The true servants of God do not receive any prescheduled sermon from any earthly general overseer, they cannot have a scheme of what is to be preached but they are directed by the Holy Spirit according to the need of each local assembly.
At the same time, let’s not get it wrong. God is a God of orderliness and there is an order in the church of God, there is a pastor and there are elders, deacons, etc. and they all have their respective responsibilities. In this case, the general overseer is the pastor (he is the general overseer of his own local assembly) because God puts him in charge, he is responsible for the smooth running of the Church and will give account for everything that goes on in the Church, unto God.
Also, a pastor can pastor 2 churches if there is no one at the moment to take responsibility of the newly set up church until they can take care of themselves.
Brotherhood should abound and a local assembly should help when another is in need. It is true that every servant of God is called of God but seniority is still very applicable (you don’t expect someone who has been in the ministry for 15 years to be the same as another that has just started). In that case, an experienced servant of God can help a sister church when there is an issue that is beyond the capacity of the servant of God there. It doesn’t make him your general overseer. As earlier stated, the Body of Jesus Christ is one body but not one local assembly and every assembly in the body of Jesus Christ is autonomous.
The Origin of Denomination
To get the full understanding of this act of denomination, we have to dig deep into the beginning, answering the question – who started the act of organising people into worship? Genesis 10:1, gives a full background of its origin, Nimrod was the first to organise the act of worship, the bible talks about his kingdom which first started in Babel which represents his headquarter, and the true meaning of Babel is confusion, he operated using sorcery and all kind of works that defile the name of the lord. It was a kingdom with many system that were against God. A clearer picture is seen in Genesis 11: 1 – 8, where Nimrod gathered the people to promote an agenda of building a tower that will reach the heavens and make name for themselves, the same spirit is what we see today in our present G.Os and churches today, they are up there to make names for themselves instead of raising the name of Jesus Christ up, they are not different from their father, Nimrod who was the master mind of the “act of denominationalism”. God was against Nimrod’s motive and that is why it brought upon the earth destruction. He had to scatter them by giving them different languages. Brethren, the same holds in the denomination churches you see today making names for themselves; and that’s why it is necessary that a man who cherishes his soul to come out of denomination.
One of the things this act of organising worship does to the church is that it drives God away, and that’s why if you check the gatherings of an organised church, you’ll see that operation of the gift of God is restricted in their gatherings and they are far from hearing from God.
Roman Catholic a Pioneer of Denominationalism
Revelation 17:1 prophetically describes Roman Catholic Church and the destruction assigned to it, how its system of organising true worship crept into the church to kill the church spiritually. The bible describes her as (“A Woman”; which represents a church), to be a great whore that sited on many waters, which means that she has control over many waters. Water in this context means people, multitude, nations and tongues (Revelation 17:15). These are the people she has perverted with her abominable acts,creeds and doctrines. Brethren, you should not be carried away by the physical activities of the Roman Catholic Church (the great whore). She brought into churches perversions, she has fornicated with them and introduced into their midst abominations, and that is why today, we have wrong doctrines flying around all denominational churches. These abominations include; encouraging women to preach to mixed congregation, promoting trinity, adopting wrong baptism in the name of God the father, son and Holy Ghost.
Brethren, an end is coming to denominationalism, you cannot sit under that system and claim to be saved. In the sight of God, those in that system are spiritually naked, but there is provision for clothing if you are ready to open the door of your heart for him to enter.
God bless you, richly.
Let Your Light Shine
Shalom, saints of God. We bless the Lord for another privilege in His presence to partake of His divine table. As we bring you the review of today’s sermon, we humbly implore that you read with an open mind, so that you may be blessed of God. Come with us as we expound on a new topic titled, “Let your Light Shine”.
Jesus Christ, who is the salvation of God, had a prophecy upon Him as regards His mandate, according to Simeon; Jesus was to be ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles’ and ‘the glory of the people of Israel’. Just as we know that God divided the human race to two: the Jews and the Gentiles, with both factions being beneficiaries of the salvation of God. However, with God’s divine plan for salvation intact, would Christ be accepted by the Jews, and subsequently Gentiles? We draw an inference from last week’s review, where we pointed out the similarities between the Prophet Moses and the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses, at his first coming, was rejected by the Jews. Turning away from them transiently, he found for himself a gentile bride. In like manner, Jesus was rejected by the Jews, thereby taking for himself a bride amongst the Gentiles.
But this process of Christ’s choosing of a bride amongst the Gentiles cuts across the seven church ages. The first of the church ages was through the Apostle Paul, the man who brought the message to the Gentiles. But again, did the people so much accept him? Did he preach what they wanted to hear? Because the word of God will not suit our human flesh, as we love to be pampered and not to be rebuked –The mainstream, people with itchy ears, love cozy messages that cajole them rather than messages that point them to the righteousness of God.
However, in the sovereignty of God, having his purpose that must be accomplished in the Gentile time, God sent his seven angels to the seven church ages:
Paul (Ephesus) → Irenaeus (Smyrna) → Martin (Pergamos) → Columba (Thyatira) → Martin Luther (Sardis) → John Wesley (Philadelphia) → William Branham (Laodicea).
God used these messengers for the purpose of taking out a bride for Himself through their messages in their respective ages.
Brethren, it is expedient for us in this dispensation to understand God’s master plan of salvation for the Gentiles, and this pathway He has chosen to take for himself a bride. For there is a purpose why God does what He does. He sends his messengers for a purpose, as God will not leave a generation without a voice (message), and it is important to find and accept that voice if we must be in the purpose of God. Without this, we won’t understand and subsequently provide a proper response to the question, “Are you a bride?“.
Explanation on the Light
In Genesis 1:16, God created two lights: the sun and the moon. The sun is the husband whilst the moon is the wife. The moon doesn’t have a light of its own, as it’s a non-luminous body that only reflects the light of the sun when it lies diagonally to it.
Superimposing this point on its spiritual relativity and significance, the Church (which is you and me) represents the moon with no light of its own, but depends on the Sun (the light of Christ) to reflect His light. Thus, until we choose to reflect the light of God we will remain in darkness. This we can see from the actions of the Jews towards the prophets God sent to them to reflect His light; they rejected Christ and have remained in darkness till now, as the light of the sun has rotated to the Gentiles, and is being reflected upon them. God did this (choosing a bride from amongst the Gentiles) by specifying a process, as highlighted above, and allotting a timeframe. Brethren, this timeframe allotted to the gentiles will soon end, because we are in the last dispensation (the Seventh church age).When the message came through Paul to the Gentiles, it was the day time, because it was the beginning of the message of salvation to the Gentiles. Gentiles are idolaters, which depicts darkness; but the light of God shone through them, illuminating their lives in the process. And this light of Christ has been moving from the first church age down right to the last church age, even the one we are in now. And guess what, we are no longer in the day time, we are in the night time, and the responsibility of shining the light at night is given to the bride!! Are you then shining? Are you reflecting His light, same way the moon is reflecting the light of the sun? Can the world see the light of Christ through you?
The world is in gross darkness, and the devil has taken over everything: politics, education, religion, etc. The only property God has on earth is His church (the bride). Though we claim to be the bride, are we not ashamed to shine His light to in this dark world? We are not supposed to blend with the world system, we are supposed to be odd to them, that’s your purpose, that’s my purpose – to shine the light! Don’t compromise because of money. You as a member of the body of Christ, this is your time to shine the light in the midst of darkness. From the way we live amongst our unbelieving friends, can we boast of reflecting Christ’s light? Selah.
The wedding garment
One key factor needed to reflect Christ’s light is the baptism of the Holy Ghost, i.e, the indwelling of the Spirit of God in you. Anything outside this is a waste of time, and your security is not guaranteed, as the Holy Spirit seals/guarantees our salvation in Christ. God is having intimacy with His bride through His word, and one inevitable thing you need to be a partaker of the marriage feast is the wedding garment, which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit! Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you don’t belong to God. You should desperately seek for until you have it, for that is what guarantees your staying in the marriage feast. The Spirit of Christ in you keeps your life under check from sin, and grooms you for the coming of your Groom.
Why Many Don’t Have the Holy Spirit
Listed below are reasons why many do not have the Holy Spirit:
- Unrepentant sins: God detests sin, get out of it, and work your way towards receiving His Spirit.
- Wrong water baptism: we have gone contrary to the laid down baptism formula, which is the immersion in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have substituted the name of Jesus Christ with titles of father, son, Holy Ghost.
- Iniquity: Iniquity is something that you know you’re doing, that you ought not to do, but you still won’t repent of it. This could serve as hindrance to you receiving the Holy Spirit.
- Cares of life: what do you prioritize in your heart: the need for the Holy Spirit or how to make it in life?
- Not allowing the eunuch to dress you: Only eunuchs know the heart of the king, and that is why they are placed in the position to dress the bride that is to come before the king, so that the bride will meet up the king’s standard. We read the story of Esther and how she was accepted after Vashti was rejected by the king. Esther yielded to the directives of the Eunuch of the king, knowing fully well that the Eunuch would definitely know what the king likes. She didn’t put on whatever she liked but she told the Eunuch “It’s whatever you give me…”. The Eunuch of God to us is the servant of God, the pastor after God’s heart. God has His shepherds that He has placed in the position to dress His bride who will be ready for the marriage feast, and neglecting them is neglecting your garment.
How do we reflect God’s light, when we are still yoked (or glued) to the world? How can we produce the fruits of the Spirit when we have refused to be dressed by God’s words coming from his chosen Eunuch?
Brethren, we must be ready, and we must do it now, we need the wedding garment to shine the light. We need oil in our lamp to shine the light. It is up to you, brother! You’ve got to make yourself right and ready for Jesus and His coming.
May God help us! Amen!
Do Not Frustrate the Grace of God
God, has always been His manner, to bless His children whenever they come before His presence; it has pleased him again to continue to build our minds to accept the Grace of God available for us to walk with Him. The Christian race is an individual race, and thus, there should be a burning desire to grow in Christ, with the much needed impetus borne out of a personal, deliberate and conscious effort to grow daily. Let’s get deep into the review and God bless you as you read.
Text: Galatians 2:21, Titus 2:11, Genesis 3:22, John 14:6, Deuteronomy 18:15, Luke 13:34-35, Jeremiah 7:1-4, 11, Psalms 78: 58-64
Personal conviction and determination cannot be overemphasized for a man who wants to go with God to the end. Consider what could possibly be so fiercely burning in the minds of the disciples to want to gladly die for the gospel of Jesus Christ, so much so that someone like Peter would refuse to die like his master but to be turned upside down in crucifixion. Brethren, it takes revelation, as no man would literally want to lay down his life if he does not have revelation.
The grace of God has appeared unto all men, but here comes the big question, how do you respond to it?
Let’s take a brief look at the salvation of God:
In the beginning, before the fall, there was a connection between God and man, and this connection availed man of five things from God his creator:
- Relationship
- Title deed
- Glory of God
- Dominion
- Domain
But all these benefits were withdrawn when he fell. He lost all! As part of this great loss, he was driven out of his domain; which meant that man lost hope completely of regaining his connection with God, because the very day Adam left Eden (his domain), he died ( i.e, he was spiritually separated from God).
Of note here is the fact that your domain is vital to your survival. Every creation of God have their God given domain, and neglecting your domain is embracing death. Would the big shark ever survive outside its domain? How about the mighty eagle, is its survival guaranteed outside its domain? As aquatic animals have their natural habitat in water bodies, and birds are made to fly and not to swim, so is man; he has a domain, and being in that domain ensures his survival. But Adam lost it. Adam lost the way to the tree of life, and both him and his descendants could not live up to a day before God (as a day before God is equivalent to a thousand years), evidenced by the fact that the oldest man on earth, Methuselah, died aged 969.
But glory to God for his amazing grace, who sent Jesus – the Way that man lost, even the way to eternal life! Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, Amen!
The disciples, understanding this grace embraced it so dearly till their lives mattered no more to them. Paul, having thought so deeply about this, concluded that “nothing is able to separate me from the love that is in Christ Jesus”
And this is the same revelation we need to embrace dearly: the revelation of how hopeless man is to eternal life, without the way-paving effect of the death of Jesus, and through that sovereign grace, we gained access back to the tree of life. And that revelation should help us value the grace of God that brought eternal life to us. We should not take that for granted!
Jesus, a Prophet like unto Moses
God promised the Jews that He would raise a prophet like unto Moses, and that man is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s highlight a few other similarities:
- Moses was born when the Jews were in bondage in Egypt; in the same vein, Jesus’ birth occurred while the children of Israel were in bondage in Rome.
- When Moses was born, children were killed (in a bid to decimate the children of Israel). When Jesus was born, in like manner, children were killed, in a bid to get rid of the ” to be Messiah “.
- Moses was rejected by his people at his first coming; so did the Jews reject Jesus at His first coming.
- When the Jews rejected Moses, he went to a gentile land to get a bride; Jesus, when rejected by the Jews took a bride for himself amongst the Gentiles.
- Moses was accepted at his second coming; so would Jesus be accepted by the Jews when he comes back to them.
- Moses was the mediator of the Old Testament; Jesus is the mediator of the New Testament.
Indeed, Jesus is a prophet like unto Moses. But guess what? The Jews, who had the promise, missed him when he came. They set their minds on the big things, oblivious of the fact that God works in simplicity. Please, don’t make the mistake of letting your minds envisage how you think God would act, for His ways are not our ways. He bypassed the imagination and expectations of the Jews, and came in a way so simple that the high-minded ones missed him. God will not follow your plans, you have to follow His, if you are His. And this is one way to avoid taking God for granted.
Jesus said the Jews did not know the way of peace, that was why when he came, they disdained him, and this made them take God and his grace for granted. Ignorance and lack of revelation made them frustrate the grace of God.
Brethren, you and I need to continually examine ourselves, first because we should not be ignorant of God’s word and work, and second because we should not be familiar with God’s ways. Examine yourself, brother, examine yourself, sister!
Check your allegiance to the laws of God, is your life not frustrating the grace of God? How accordingly have you ordered your life with the grace of God to make your life a sweet-smelling savor to God?
Every child of God has a limitation, we are not without boundaries, and our prophet, William Branham said that we can cross the line. You will need to make a determination daily to follow God, even if no one is with you. Don’t enjoy the friendship of the world at the expense of eternal life.
The Three Exodus
- God taking out the Jews out of a nation, Egypt. The people of God called out of Egypt formed a nation called Israel. With the prophet Moses being the messenger.
- Jesus Christ, as a Prophet came and brought out a church out of the nation Israel, calling them out of their denominations (Pharisees, Sadducees etc.).
- Jesus Christ taking a bride for himself out of the churches of the world, through the prophet to the last church age, William Marrion Branham. (Rev. 1:20)
The one that is of utmost importance to us is the third, which pertains to God taking out a bride for Himself through the message of the hour. This is not because the bride are a group of people inherently holy or better, rather His grace (unmerited favor), which counts us worthy to be among the called out ones. This Grace is still made very much available, as God is still calling out His own out of the creeds and doctrines of men. It is expedient that we locate the way to partake of the tree of life, and God in His benevolence has sent forth a message to restore us to that Way, even Jesus Christ. This grace that is made available to us cost God his only begotten son. He was ridiculed, left his glory above and became without beauty on earth just for you. What then is your attitude towards this grace? Are you convinced of it? Are you concerned about it? Are you trading this graceful salvation with the cares of life?
Brethren, God’s grace does not abound in unseriousness, no! Not in sin, not in worldliness. You cannot continue in sin and expect grace to abound. Can you speak like Paul and say that you have not frustrated the grace of God?
It’s not time to be weary, or to think of taking a rest. The young prophet from Judah, after having experienced the supernatural, the manifestation of God’s great power, he felt he had done enough, he was entitled to a rest. And so he decided to take the much needed rest under a tree, and the rest is history. Truly, you might feel you have served God, but you have not done enough until you lay your sword at his feet. Oh Christian, seek not yet repose, remember that the devil always takes advantage of our unguarded hour. So there should not be a time when we think we need to rest, the journey is still far, and the one who will be crowned is he that endures to the end.
Brethren, forge ahead, press on, let God be willing to multiply his grace in your life because you’re not frustrating it.
May God revive us! Amen!
Choosing A Spouse
Last year, the Lord spoke to us that there would be many marriages this year and the Lord is faithful to his Word. Another wedding ceremony took place in the church on Saturday and we’re very grateful to God for the success of the wedding. The servant of God in this atmosphere, was led to speak about marriage and what it entails. We therefore bring to you again the review of the sermon. Stay blessed!
TEXT: HEBREWS 13:4, 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1, PROVERBS 31:10
Marriage is a journey of no return, it requires prayer, patience and conviction before proceeding. Every other thing may change and may be done in haste, doing it as you please, but not marriage. Marriage is not done anyhow, not in your own way, neither in haste; marriage is ‘until death do us part’- a vow unto the Lord. Therefore, knowing that marriage is permanent, every man or woman in their right mind ought to choose their spouse very carefully. Every man should think carefully and pray earnestly before he chooses a wife; a wrong choice can ruin your entire life. Also, one must seek godly advice before proceeding with marriage. If you sense that your partner is not fit to be yours and yet you go ahead to marry, then it is your fault.
The kind of person you marry, shows what is in your mind and how your future will be. Whatever your wife is, shows how she will raise your children. God is the one that started marriage, so God is still in it. Natural things type spiritual things; if the choosing of a bride was such a serious action in the Bible then it shows how it should be taken, naturally. A Christian should not focus on the outward appearance of a man or a woman, but look for a Christian character.
Marriage is very sensitive, it can cause problem in the family, community or church. Hence, you don’t enter into marriage unadvisedly; one must seek godly counsel and be properly guided by spiritual authorities. Prayer is also very imperative; you’re not praying about whether or not to marry but whether the person you have in mind, is the right person for you- who should I marry? You have to be convinced by God before proceeding to marry, marriage is not a thing of uncertainty or skepticism. Even God provided a woman that was meet (suitable) for Adam.
Every brother in the church cannot be your husband, neither can ever sister be your wife; God has a choice. Two people may be children of God, but that doesn’t make them compatible; you have a helper that is meet for you and you can only find it through prayer, patience, obedience and humility, then God will bring his choice to you. You may see what you like in a person and yet God is saying he/she is not for you. God sees differently from us, his ways are not our ways, what he sees as beauty is not what we think. The beauty that God recognizes is your character!
There’s no shortcut in marriage; the Bible says that marriage is honorable in all. Every protocol must be observed. When one is fasting or very hungry, he/she tends to eat whatever is presented to him, but marriage should not be done that way.
Prayer should be continuous, even in courtship. And if you realize halfway that you can’t continue, then put an end to it before you go too far. Although in such a case, it means that God was not the one that gave a go ahead because if God is not in it, it will never break. But a broken heart is better than a broken marriage. A broken heart can be healed, but who will heal a broken marriage? The fact that two people disagree doesn’t mean that they are evil or not children of God. Sometimes God gives us signs to withdraw from a relationship, but because of youthful exuberance, we ignore. Other times, even when both parties involved, love each other, God can say ‘no’ even after you’ve gone far. It is still the love of God, God wants us to know that the final decision of marriage is still in his hands. We see the now, but God sees the future. That is why, prayer and patience are key when choosing a spouse.
Don’t emulate anybody, let God lead you, talk to him in prayer (he wants to hear your own voice), wait upon God and pray without ceasing. Don’t look at material things when choosing a spouse, look at what God is looking at. We have seen cases of people who see what they like in their supposed partner but refuse to look at what God likes, we have seen the end of their marriage.
Parents also have their roles to play. Mother especially, don’t push your daughters, don’t put pressure on your children, pray to God for them, talk to them as they become of age, teach them what they need to know, teach them the Word of God, let the Holy Spirit fill them up. We Christians are fond of taking the Word of God so lightly, placing education, money and other things before the word of God. See how the Muslims train their children, allowing them go through qur’anic schools from a young age, watch how they dress and take their religion seriously. We need to wake up and act. God instituted marriage so he is still very interested
Don’t Take God for Granted
We bless the Lord who in His great mercies saw the lukewarm state of his people and spoke through His servant to revive us again back to our first love. Indeed it was a message of love and correction, making us see the need to strive lawfully and not to serve God the way we want. And we are pleased to bring you the review.
Text: Jeremiah 30:10-11, Exodus 12:29-32, Joel 1:4-6, Jeremiah 45:3-5, Jeremiah 9:23, Deuteronomy 28:1-2,15, Jeremiah 29:17-19, Jeremiah 9:22, Job 23:12, Jeremiah 44:16-23, Jeremiah 36:21-30, Jeremiah 38: 4-6, Deuteronomy 48:63.
Truly, we are living in the age of lukewarmness as prophesied by the Bible, however, the message of God in every age will always rise to lift people out of the spirit of their age, thus making them worship God in the way that pleases Him. And that is why we are called -to serve Him! So if God by His divine love has elected you out of several people to serve Him, your effectual response is needed, otherwise, you will not be profitable to Him.
God called the Israel out of the nation of Egypt, and in Jeremiah 30:10, God made a handful promises to them saying that he will save them, he will deliver them, he will make them fearless, etc. but we see in verse 11 that God said that he will discipline them and they will not go unpunished when they offend.
THE GOD OF MERCY IS THE SAME GOD OF JUDGEMENT
God is a God of mercy, but God is also a God of discipline. Israel was a chosen nation but when they took God for granted, God did not take it lightly with them. The fact that you’re a predestined seed of God does not mean you can do anything you like, you should fear God and submit to him else he will show you the other side of him, , apparently this is not a threat but it is factual from the scriptures how God has dealt with the same people he has once showed his measureless love, and this is more reason why we need to fear him more because he is the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
The reason why God set you free is because he wants you to serve him, not yourself. Whatever you have should be beneficial to God, your money, education, etc. God gave you these things so that you may use it for him. Whatever you have that God does not benefit from is vain.
Many of us are yet to know the value of salvation, and maybe that’s why we still don’t prioritize Him above all we do. Yes, you may not lack, you went to school and are doing fine, all of that is on earth here. Even, many who are not saved have so much more than believers have, so that is not what salvation is about. God has given us what money cannot buy, something with eternal value. If only we could just imagine what eternity looks like, then maybe we’ll understand. We may not be as rich, but we have salvation, eternal life (nothing is greater than that) – Jeremiah 9:23. All that we have on earth is temporal and will fade away.
As a child of God, don’t try to modernize your faith, don’t turn the service of God into a social activity. God has done so much for us to take him for granted; the Bible says that he gave his only begotten son and we see how he suffered on the cross because of us, we see how the apostles suffered and lay down their lives for the gospel, we read stories of many who wholehearted served God, so we must know that we also have our parts to play, God is not going to watch you rubbish all these efforts. The ministry of Jesus is a persecuted one; if you are not persecuted as an individual or church, then you’ve probably not gotten it.
Sometimes, the challenges we face are not necessarily a result of our sin- it may be God taking you through a training, a test, to show if you really love God. If the devil does not leave you in time, don’t be weary, God wants to show his power. God said he will harden the heart of Pharaoh so that the whole world will know his power.
When you take sides with Jesus Christ, the enemy of Jesus becomes your enemy, the reproach of Jesus Christ becomes your reproach and ours, his. But if you love the world, then you would have to forsake Jesus Christ. You cannot take sides with Jesus Christ and be popular in the world.
Value what you have now because a time will come when it will become history. Know what is happening in your time so that you can tell the next generation. There is time for everything, if you miss an event when the time comes, you might never witness it again. For instance, a generation will come where women might not know what is called wrapper due to new inventions. Also, there was a time when preaching in buses was rampant in Nigeria but that time is past, you hardly see anyone rise to preach in buses or train anymore, the time of the prophet cannot repeat itself.
Because of Israel, God killed all the firstborns of a nation, held up the sun for three days, parted the red sea, caused darkness in the land, and many such wonders. After all of these, the people of Israel quickly forgot the goodness of God. God said he will not destroy them but they will not go unpunished. God is our father, he loves us, but he is the same God of discipline and judgement as much as he is a merciful and loving father.
God will not judge you if he has not, first, been merciful to you. God warned the nation of Israel severally and gave them countless chances to repent but they refused until it got to a point when Jesus had to say ‘I leave your house unto you desolate’. If you take God for granted, he will show you his judgement!
We read from history how the Jews suffered in the hands of the Germans- the holocaust, this was the result of the Jew’s disobedience, the fulfillment of Jeremiah 9:22, because they took him for granted. God is faithful and he will fulfil every Word of his.
Our prayer is that it will not be too late before we understand. May the Lord help us all!