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Showing posts with label sermon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sermon. Show all posts

Friday, December 21, 2012

VICTIMS OF LIES

Memorise: Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hanahiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Jeremiah 28:15
Read: Jeremiah 28:15-17
Although some people love to believe in a lie, yet God’s standard remains. If you enjoy being flattered, you are a lover of lies. Your self-deception will soon land you into trouble (Proverbs 29:5Proverbs 29:5
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV

5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

WP-Bible plugin
). Beyond lying to one another, lying has assumed another frightening dimension. How? Lying is now a common feature in the house of God. In fact, lying has become a big money spinner in the house of God. Since people love to hear lies, they flock around those who will tell it to them. If instead of hearing the undiluted Word of God you prefer to run from one prophet to the other; you are a lover of lies and you may soon be a willing victim of deception. Lying in the name of the Lord is a grievous offence. Worse still is giving a pack of lies which you brand prophetic declarations from the Lord. We all know that genuine men of God are revered, so satanic agents and merchandising prophets are also seriously engaged in the business of deception in order to get reverence from people.
If you are a lover of visions, beware or else you will become a victim of lies. Any prophetic declaration that has raised your hope, coming from merchandising prophets and pastors will surely disappoint you (Jeremiah 28:15). In some places, when a lady wants a particular man as husband, all she needs do is “settle” the prophet or prophetess and later in the service, the leader will go into acrobatics. At some point, he will say, “Thus says the Lord, Brother so and so, Sister so and so is your wife”. Thereafter, the sister will pretend to refuse it or even feign tears asking: “How could God be so unfair to me? Why this particular brother?” Meanwhile, the man at the centre of it all does not know that he is an unwilling actor in a script written by the church leader and the lady. Those of you who go to your pastor to pray for you and tell you who to marry, if care is not taken, you will become a victim of lies. You are simply lazy. No pastor or prophet should tell you who to marry. They are to pray along with you, counsel and guide you using the Word of God. If you fail to pay the price to hear from God on that matter, you may be deceived. God can use your pastor or a genuine prophet of God to confirm what He had already told you. Many homes have been established on falsehood and that is why things are falling apart and the centre can no longer hold.
KEY POINT:
Some pastors are seriously into match-making. They have taken over from the Holy Spirit. Match-making remains God’s prerogative and He has not delegated it to any pastor.

Monday, December 17, 2012

DEVOTION IN SPITE OF DECREES

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he ...prayed ... as he did aforetime."    (Daniel 6:10)

Prince Daniel was of a royal lineage from Judah, but he was also a rebel with cause. He was pious, principled, and plucky. No one dare intimidate nor scare him with any draconian decree.  King Nebuchadnezzar has just issued an anti-God-of-Israel decree forbidding the worship of any other god besides his man-made idol. Brother Daniel still continued to worship his God in defiance of decree outlawing religious freedom. Daniel’s life of doggedness leaves no room for compromise.
            As a young individual, before you can have fellowship with God, you must acknowledge your sins, forsake them, believe and accept Jesus as your saviour. After you have been born again, you can now live a life of devotion and discipline. Supposing there is no religious freedom in your school? Like Daniel, you have to remain resolute and dare anyone who wants you to deny Christ.

Challenge:  No quiet time, no breakfast
Prayer:        Help me Lord, to be consistent in my devotions.
Further reading: Psalm 55:16, 17
Quote:       You can live a life of devotion.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Godly Sorrow

Key verse: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
One day, students of the University of Virginia, United States of America, staged a riot that resulted in the attack of some professors, who tried to mediate on the issue. The following day, the university’s board called an emergency meeting to resolve the crisis. Thomas Jefferson, who was a member of the board, offered to address the defiant students. 
“This is one of the most painful events of my life,” Jefferson began. Suddenly, he could not contend his emotion and so, he burst into tears. Another board member, who took over, asked the rioters to repudiate their action. One after the other, they all did. Later, one of them said, “It was not Mr. Jefferson’s words, but his tears.” The preacher, who narrated this story, then concluded: “Just like the students were moved by Jefferson’s brokenness, so is God by ours. When we are truly broken and sorry for our sins, this leads to repentance.”
David, from our text, had such a contrite heart. When Nathan, the Prophet confronted him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, David admitted his guilt. He pleaded for mercy and asked for his sins to be blotted out. He acknowledged his sin, but noted he would not be able to deal with it without God. He did not blame the society or his fallen nature. Rather, he assumed full responsibility.
Some people, today, cover their sins. Once their pastor or spouses did not discover, they feel justified. Are you like that, covering your sin? You may succeed before men, but not before God. Remember that, “he that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). 
Thought for today: True repentance from sin begets total renewal.

God Of Comfort

Key verse: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort”
(2 Corinthians 1:3).
Lehman Strauss, a notable preacher of the gospel, was in sharp pain when his wife, Elsie, had a stroke. They had married for fifty-one years. Three months after Elsie was afflicted, her brain and body could not function normally. The stroke left her with brain impairment and paralysis on the left side of her body. She also had impaired vision, change in the pitch of her voice and excessive fatigue, among other side effects. In spite of the affliction and adversity, God comforted him and his wife. 
While recalling this experience, Lehman said: “I knew that we were facing the severest trial in our fifty-one years of marriage. For 45 of those years, I had been preaching and teaching the Word of God. Never doubted the truths I was called to declare, but I must confess that I had never experienced much of what I preached and taught. There are things that we can learn only through suffering. 
Paul, from our text, spoke about God of all comfort. Obviously, he was speaking out of his knowledge of God. He had passed through terrible challenges of life. He had suffered severe tribulation in Asia that he even despaired of his life. God’s comfort did not only help him to endure his trials, but it also made him to receive special blessings. So, Paul’s knowledge of God was explicitly rewarding.
A believer, who has one affliction or the other, needs God’s comfort, which is unique, infinite, inexhaustible, immutable and indestructible. Our afflictions are only temporary and transient, but God’s comfort is everlasting. Our trials, however slight or severe, will always receive God’s attention because He is the Father of mercies. It is God’s mercy that provides our salvation through Christ. It is also God’s mercy that gives us healing and deliverance. 
Are you afflicted? Are you passing through adversity? Please come to Jesus the “Author and finisher of our faith” for succor and comfort. 
Thought for today: When you cannot stand, God will bear you in His arms.m

By Pastor W.F Kumuyi

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