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There is Life After Death (Death is Not the End of a Man)
We started today’s sermon exploring in details Job’s question in “Job 14 vs 14”, where he asked that “If a man dies, shall he live again?”, before you run through this review, take a break and ask this question and personify it. If you die today will you live again? – Job had taken time to study the life of plants (trees in particular); how they are cut down and after some days they sprang up to life again is that mysterious? but the same doesn’t hold for a man. Why? The moment a man dies he’s laid low with no life after; the question now is life worth the aftermath? Why should I come on earth, die, and be laid waste in the grave, was that the mind of God for creation? These are the questions we answered in today’s review.
Today, we have people and several religious sects that believe in death and the different aftermath of death. Listed below are some views:
- There is no life after Death
- Some believe that when a man dies he just transits into another country or state
- There is Life after Death
Is there life after death?
The plain answer to the above question is simply “Yes” – and It is because of this we all need to give our lives to Jesus Christ. We are not giving our lives to Christ because we don’t want to die, neither are we believing Christ because of prosperity or marriage; of cos, we need these things, they are things that accompany salvation and this exactly is why we came to Christ, cos salvation is a provision made for us to define where we’ll be after death. A quick reference to “life after death” in the scripture is a scenario with Moses and Elijah in Luke 9:29, where they were revealed at the Mount of Transfiguration to Peter, James, and John. If death is the end of every man, then we should not have Moses and Elijah revealed. It simply means their Lives were not destroyed.
Another reference is Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:22), explaining life after death of the dual. They could see where they were after death; The bible says, “He lifted his eyes and he saw Abraham” This depicts that even the old testament saints had where they were after death, for the rich man to see Abraham and was lamenting about his regrets. You’ll agree with me that the rich man had everything on earth but lack a life spent for Christ on earth, he forgot that death was not his end and it has nothing to do with your money, morality, or your giving to the poor.
Note: Moral will never give you salvation, Only Jesus Christ gives salvation. You are saved to do good works, but your good works cannot save you, it is the blood of Jesus Christ That saves us.
Brethren, death is not our end. Individuals will die and their own time and go to a certain place, where will be your own place, what will be your own end? Cos right now we are working for our own end, what are you doing differently at the moment, or you are like the rich man who worshiped money in his lifetime? or mocking “a Lazarus” just like the rich man did?
All of us are indebted to the messenger of death if rapture tarries, so you better don’t look at your age; look at your faith cos death will not respect your age and your money cannot stop it. The fact that a person dies and is not in the grave doesn’t mean they are not somewhere. They have to be somewhere either at peace or suffering. If you are saved, then you should be at peace after death and vice versa. You better accept salvation now that it is available; as a gentile, salvation cannot be given to you in the grave, if you don’t accept it now if you die forget about it. Just like an angel piloted the rich man to his place it is the same way you’ll be piloted to your deserved place and position after death.
Revelation 20:12 – 15
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The above scripture shows that even the first death is not the end of a man, if you have refused salvation when you are alive, you are doomed to experience second death. The salvation we are preaching to you is not a lifeless assurance. There is resurrection brethren, just like Apostle Paul emphasized in I Corinthians 15:13 that if there’s no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is our faith; Contrary to this Christ is risen and has given us salvation and a provided way to escape second death, all we need to do is accept his outstretched hands and walk in his way.
A Borrowed Life – Bro Femi Stephen
We took our first text for the sermon from First John chapter one expounding on the fourth verse – “In him was life and the life was the light of men”. To get an in-depth background into the origin of life and its source, we must journey down to the book of Genesis (The beginning). Life outside this flesh (spirit) and also in this flesh started in the book of Genesis, God, in the beginning, started his process of life first in the spirit, he dealt and gave instruction to a man created first in the spirit, he was basically saying that “As you are in the spirit, have dominion over the earth”. But they can’t dominate if they weren’t given life, God had to breathe on them to have life, it was through this breath, their spirit had a soul that God feeds and took interest in.
Text: John 1:1-4, Genesis 2:4-7, Genesis 1:25, John 12:25, Luke 17:33, Matthew 25:14
The greatest thing God gave Adam was life, he didn’t give him an ephemeral life, and by that understanding, Adam realized he was God on earth. The question is how did the ephemeral life become borrowed, and how are we supposed or going to spend this life? Because practically all that God called to existence in Genesis was for Adam, then why the struggle? You must know that before God created Adam and Eve, he made provision for their sustenance, the same holds for us as believers, but sin brought about our struggles, what they had in excess became what they had to toil to get, all these came because of their fall in the garden, it was after the fall of Adam what God made unlimited became limited. What a life!!! – After the fall, the life God gave became borrowed. Now let’s journey through this review:
Life and light walk hand in hand, in fact, we can interchange both, at the point of fall, God had to give them a borrowed life measured in time, and the unit measurement of life is time. now it has nothing to do with the spirit of a man because a spirit does not die, but embedded in the spirit is the soul that God deals with, a compartment of a man that would give account (A soul that sinneth shall die) – your flesh is not in context here, God is relating with the spirit that carries the soul – There’s no way Adam would have partaken in the sin without being in the flesh, it was when he transited from being spiritual to carnality he fell. The devil cannot relate with you when you are spiritual, he can do this when you are carnally minded.
How are we supposed to live our Borrowed Life?
The first thing God gave a man is his word, is the word of God letters? The word of God is the manifestation of the mind and the will of God, the only reason why Adam could fall was that he rejected the word of God. Every time we fall short of God’s glory as Christians is because a particular word of God has been neglected, and that’s why the scripture says that the word that I speak to you is spirit and it gives life. We lost continuity of life because of the fall. The question now is – This borrowed life of yours how are you going to spend it? How are you currently spending it?
Going by how the financial world provides loans to requesting customers, they put into consideration the 5 C’s of credit (CHARACTER, CAPACITY, CAPITAL, COLLATERAL, and CONDITIONS). what do you think they are doing? They are basically checking to make sure you can pay back their loan, nothing more, nothing less. You can’t make a profit from the money you are saving, it is until you invest that money you can make a gain, people who excel in business today, invest. The same goes for the life God has given us. that life was loaned to us, and we are meant to pay back the loan – when you save your life you will not gain for God, Because God borrowed you a life for investment.
That life you have was given to you to invest so you can pay back, how are you spending your borrowed life? how are you investing the borrowed life you have? when the chief businessman comes to ask what you have realized with the life you are borrowed, what will you give? The greatest form of income is gotten from investment, and even the investment done into a promising business is naturally at risk, but Jesus’s “proposal call for investment” is not into a business that is at risk. (At all) He’s saying if you invest your life with me, you won’t lose it (Colossians 3:3). (Amen)
For any loan disbursed to you, there is always a tenure, there’s always a payback plan, do you have your payment plan for the life you are borrowed by God? The Life God has given you, he’s expecting a return from it, are you totally sold out to God? Are you investing in that life? Today we have people invest solely into their flesh and expect a return in their spiritual life, is that how it works? Hope you know that there are rewards for every investment we make and rewards can be either positive or negative. In this life That we are borrowed, we must live by the rules, and play by the rules, most people don’t lead their life they only accept life, when you accept your life and live outside Christ, you are living a risky life, a life prone to death, you must be intentional about this life given to you living according to the rules of God.
The number one rule of life God gave Adam was “do not touch and do not eat”, the moment he broke the rule there came death. Don’t live your life following trends, God is calling us to live this borrowed life according to his rules because he has made provision for the things we need to live that life. Don’t be deceived by peer group definition of life.
Lessons From The Parable of Talents(Matthew 25:14)
Those whom God gave talents in Matthew 25, were first given the ability to invest and that is why none of them had an excuse of not being profitable. The man with five talents multiplied what he had because he chose to invest, he chose to lose them so as to gain, and he chose to ignore what the world called pleasure to gain more for Christ, unlike the one with one talent that decided to hide what God gave him. God is a businessman, he always wants to do a profitable business, and that’s what he did with the Lord Jesus Christ, he gave Christ by losing the life in him to gain the life of his children.
You need to ask yourself, if the life you’re living is worth living, the consistency you have in sinning is it worth it. the time you are spending here on earth, how are you spending it? if you don’t sow into your spirit man, you cannot gain anything, you are losing, you cannot expect a return from a company you have not invested in, you cannot expect to be spiritual when you have not invested in your spirit man.
How often do you talk to your children about scriptures? Your life 5 years ago, you have spent it on something what is it? What influence are you impacting on your children? Brethren, there’s tenure to the life we have now, and a time will come when it will end, how well have you spent your loaned life, were you able to pay it back? Is your character tenable to make you a ruler in the world to come (eternity)? If you are not faithful here on earth, God cannot trust you in eternity.
This is not a sermon to condemn you, it’s a message to get you to reflect on your life, if you need to change something, please do, if you need to continue in the good work keep pressing cos God is counting on us to live a fulfilled life here on earth
I pray God grants us grace to invest our life to gain eternity.
MERCY AND TRUTH – PASTOR AUSTIN OKOLO
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:1-7
We all desire mercy, and God is ready to show mercy to any and everyone who is ready to embrace both mercy and mercy’s brother –truth. You can not wish to obtain mercy and forsake the truth. Let’s get into the scriptures.
Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Psalms 89:13-14
10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Psalms 85:10
You cannot murder truth and expect God to show mercy; they are mutually inclusive –you cannot separate one from the other. In a family where prayers are made daily, crying for mercy but forsaking truth cannot see the blessings and righteousness of God, in fact, if there is a problem in a family, someone in the family is not saying the truth. The devil comes in most cases to sell logic to us, yet we expect to see the mercy of God. Mercy does not thrive with logic. Logic is the instrument for justifying an argument; this can be all right with the world, but not with God. When God asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother”, he responded by asking if he was his brother’s keeper. Yes, this is very logical, if he was before a national judge, he would be free of the allegation. Would he be expecting mercy and forsaking the truth, he would be joking; his logic deterred him from obtaining mercy from God.
You cannot forsake the Prince of Peace and know peace. Friends, it was by grace that we are engrafted in the commonwealth of Israel, heed the warning –let not mercy and truth forsake you. The salvation door for the Gentiles will soon be closed, and everything in the world is speaking toward the Middle East, because something is about to happen in Israel. God has made Israel a cup of trembling, all of those fighting are just wasting their time, and expecting disgrace.
The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. Zachariah 12:1-4
There is a storm coming, and that is why God is perfecting our imperfections, the Bride must be perfected. This takes discipline, not logic. You can’t deceive God with your knowledge. David would have obtained absolute forgiveness except that he added logic to his confession.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Psalms 51:4-6
He was correct when he said he had sinned against God, but he added logic when he said “In sin did my mother conceive me…” It’s no news that we are conceived in iniquity, Joseph was conceived in iniquity as well but he did not fall for the beautiful Portipher’s wife. You need to discipline yourself as a child of God; this is the way to ensure that mercy and truth do not forsake you. Scripture says God desires truth in the inward parts. Let your cry for forgiveness be sincere from your heart. When your deep cry, there is a deep to respond to you. Do not draw close to God with your lips while your heart is far from Him.
Hannah may have been boasting against Penninah because she was more loved by her husband, and God closed her womb. She continued to be barren until she realized the need for mercy, and what she did was accept the truth. Maybe her prayer at Shiloh was asking God for forgiveness and confessing all she did against Penninah, and God met with her.
Friends, let not mercy and truth forsake you, seek the Lord genuinely, He is our hiding place.
JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS CHRIST IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE BIBLE -PASTOR BILLY JOSEPH
PREACHED BY: PASTOR BILLY JOSEPH
We want to rightly divide the word of truth regarding the position of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Is John the Baptist the Pastor of Jesus Christ? Let’s go into the scriptures.
Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. John 3:25-31
A Pastor is a Shepherd, he guides your spiritual life and teaches you the word of God. Someone that preached to you, or baptized you is necessarily not your Pastor except he is one. God has got His spiritual gifts which He gives His body to profit from, and everyone in the body is a partaker of this –both men and women. God can use a woman to preach to you, He can use a woman to give you a prophetic message, a woman can prophesy, and a woman can interpret in a service. The nine spiritual gifts are given to everyone in the body but the fivefold ministry is strictly given to man. Jesus Christ did not and cannot have an earthly pastor, here is what the Bible says;
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 1Corinthians 11:3
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalms 23:1-3
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. Jeremiah 3:15-16
A Shepherd is a leader and that is the office of the pastor. He is by God the food you need to become spiritually stable and mature. But Jesus went to John to be baptized, not as an act of repentance, but to fulfill all righteousness –the scriptures needed to be fulfilled. John’s message was clear in the scriptures;
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:1-6
John preached repentance, but Jesus did not need to repent of anything, in fact, if any, it should be John because he came from Adam. The reason John was skeptical when Jesus appeared before him was that he didn’t know what to do. He was at his crossroad because the one standing before him is greater than him. Jesus Christ did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it.
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. Matthew 3:10-15
Just like Aaron and his children had to be washed before commencing their responsibility in the temple, Jesus had to be washed first, as a High Priest and then as the Lamb that would be slain;
30 And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Exodus 40:30-33
If we should place it right, Jesus taught John the word of God, because John didn’t know what to do when he saw Jesus; he wanted to be baptized by Jesus instead, but Jesus told him the right thing to do. Let’s see the position of Jesus in the scriptures;
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1Peter 5:4
Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. John 3:28-34
John the Baptist was the friend of the bridegroom, just like Eliezer was the friend of Isaac. They bring the good news of the bridegroom to the bride.
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:1
God bless you as you heed the voice of God.
THE FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD -BRO FEMI STEPHEN
Man was created at the beginning to be in a state of innocence, this freshness in mind and spirit helps to run on God’s program which is the word of God –the tree of life. He never wanted man to run on another principle, but there was the serpent in the garden –and even now in the garden of our hearts. How can we be restored to the original life of having the faith that pleases God? Follow through.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Genesis 3:1-4
God had beautifully created everything and place them in their position, but God needed someone to guide and be lord over all He made on the earth, so He made man and gave him dominion. This dominion was predicated upon a principle –he was to live by the Tree of Life. This is not a difficult exercise because the man was made in a state of innocence. There was no reasoning in him, no other law known, all he could do was say “yes” to God because he was feeding on the tree of life –the word of God. This is the state of a baby when born. He knows nothing from his beginning, but as he progresses in life, he begins to receive instruction that molds his life into whatever he would become. Adam and Eve were in this state. They were innocent, thus, when the word of God comes to them, there is no reasoning in them, they know no other law except the word of God –they are simply perfect in themselves –perfect until the Serpent came.
The serpent sowed a seed by thwarting the word of God, he dislocated the word of God and misinterpreted it to Eve, and no sooner than they realized, they saw themselves operating by another principle that is not God’s. The Serpent made sure to tell them that the word of God is not as true as they think it was. Meanwhile, in their initial state of innocence and feeding on the word of God, their response was faith, but when the Serpent came, logic came in, and till today, because dominion has been lost, we think God is incapacitated to do things for us. This is not physically alone, even spiritually. The problem is knowledge. The devil fed them with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As good as it looked to Eve, she forgot that it has an element of falsehood to it, and that evil is the reason everything is spoilt today. The first time the mind of man was contaminated was when Eve listened to the Serpent.
The limitation of faith is knowledge. The mind of man is powerful, you can become everything that is conceived therein. You probably won’t feel any symptoms until you are told that you have a terminal disease, and you will begin to nurse death. Everything that the word of God is given for is to correct the knowledge the Serpent sowed to us.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:2
The devil is busy distorting your mind and shifting your focus from the word of God because he knows the power of the mind –the essence is to fight your faith. Yet, scripture says God framed the world by His word through faith, to tell you that there is nothing you can achieve with God in this life outside of faith. Scripture says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. You need to understand that everything of God is by faith –up to your salvation, up to you receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You need to be a child with God to enjoy Him, but when you grow in knowledge, you limit yourself. God has perfected praise in the mouth of babes.
To have perfect faith, you need to begin to mold and build your mind with the word of God; faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. You need to keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life. And diligence should be about the word of God, for if we diligently seek God, we will find Him. Friends, there is nothing impossible with God, but you need faith to see the word of God alive in you.
The sacrifice Christ made on the cross is a contract, the contract is not binding if you don’t accept it. There has to be an acceptance for a contract to remain binding. Christ has offered a sacrifice, but people are not saved today, because their guilt has made them believe there is work to do to be saved. The Bible already told us that we are saved by faith, and not by works, but when we listen to the Serpent, we fight against our salvation. If you believe the word of God in your heart and confess it in your mouth, you will soon begin to see the outcome in your life. The sum total of your life is the conglomeration of what you have deposited in it over time.
Everything is possible with God for a man that can have perfect faith. Faith does not make sense to human reasoning, in fact, when it begins to make sense to your carnal mind, it is not faith. Scripture gives us an injunction: if we are carnally minded, the end result is death, but if we walk in the Spirit, we would have life and peace. Choose today the path to thread.
THE INFALLIBILITY OF GOD’S WORD – PASTOR NEWMAN JAMES
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:1-11
The subject for this evening’s fellowship is “The Infallibility of God’s Word” and we picked our text from Isaiah 55. An appointment with the word of God should not be taken lightly. We all know how we would appear if we are invited to stand before the President of our country, God is more than all the Presidents of the world, therefore, if you desire to be acknowledged by God, then appear in a manner that acknowledges Him first –in your thoughts and actions.
Scripture already told us that heaven and earth will pass away but His word will not. This gives us a clue as to what we should heed for perfection. The word of God is complete and in it is embedded all that we need to be perfected. The Bible tells us of five offices that God has ordained for our perfecting. Ephesians 4 tells us that these offices –the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers are responsible for building the church of God; the office of the prophet is a measure, the office of the apostle is a measure, and also for all. But when all come together in their respective offices, the church of God grows in the unity of faith.
It’s important that God restore us to His word; that is His equipment for perfecting our love, our faith, our healing, our revelation, and all that is needed for our successful spiritual walk. Therefore, the unity that the fivefold ministry brings is the unity that is sponsored by the word of God. People are united in several things, we cannot speak our word and claim to be united unto God –it is our unity in the word of God that ensures our unity in Christ –thus, rapture. This is what the scripture says;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:27
Christ has started washing His Church, His word has been around for eternity; what you need is to accept the washing. God is not washing you for you to return to your vomit, only pigs do that. Have a desire to be washed and perfected unto Christ.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Ephesians 4:11-15
Heaven has one way, if we are going to the same heaven, we have to believe the same truth –and the word of God should be the meeting point. There is no other way. These gifts were given to us to bring us into alignment by the revelation of God gives to them.
There is a unity that the devil has ensured in denomination, a unity for security and connections –they hold unto man’s interpretation of the word and mold a wall around it, and everyone that must walk with them must believe what they uphold –this is not the unity of Christ. The revelation of the word of God is progressive, our growth is supposed to be unto Christ; we must keep growing until Christ is perfected in us. But when you molded a wall around yourself and denominate on it as though that’s all there is to God, then you have deviated from the way that leads to life.
If we live in the Spirit, we must also walk in the Spirit. Perfection is a daily walk, you don’t assume it; the Spirit leads you through. And as the Spirit leads, you also become a witness. The essence of preaching is not just to win souls, sometimes, it is also to witness. We live in an age where no one wants to be God’s mouthpiece, because we don’t want trouble. The good news or bad news is, if you’re not looking for trouble, trouble is looking for you. You must be ready to speak confidently of your faith and hope in Christ, and just in case you don’t want to, the stones will speak. If you desire to save your life, you will only lose it. Lose your life and you will gain it, the gospel is worth dying for brothers. The three Hebrew brothers lose their lives to stand for God –they were determined to die, even if God was not willing to save them. But God did, and they gained their lives. God will defend the truth, if you uphold it, He will defend you.
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude 1:3-4
You can’t be quiet about your kingdom, except you’re not living in it. You shouldn’t hear something against the word of God and walk past it. The scripture said we should not be afraid of what we would say when we stand before kings and magistrates, for the Spirit will give us utterance. It tells you that the church house is not the only place to speak and defend the gospel of Jesus; defend it everywhere you find yourself.
Create quality time for the word of God, that’s the only assurance of your salvation. Blessed are those who dwell in the word of God, God told Joshua to meditate on the word day and night. The word of God cannot fail. It has been proven through the ages, it is still authentic.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalms 1:1-3
God is still in the business of healing, He is still in the business of deliverance, and He still does miracles; all you need is to give yourself to that word of God that cannot fail, and taste the infallibility of God’s word.
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