FACEBOOK ON SUNDAY FROM RFWO PULPIT [2/08/14] Rapture Consciousness [48]: Friend, welcome to another glorious Month and Week the Lord made. Devil made no Month nor Week and so does not have any legal right to cause you any pains except you allow him. I therefore decree and declare in the Name of Jesus that this is the best of all the months and weeks you have ever seen in your life, Amen. Therefore be glad in the Lord and rejoice as you mobilize everyone in your domain to worship the Most High God today in the beauty of His holiness. I encourage you to go to the nearest Congregation of the Living where the Spirit of the Lord ensures there is liberty. Friend, when you get there, be actively involved, join a Department. Do not be an observer, be a participant and you will fulfilling the desire of the Most High. Friend, how are you engaging yourself as we await the Lord’s return? Your attitude, entire behavior while in the waiting mode is important in helping you determine how you stand before your Maker. According to James 5:7-12 (NLT), ‘Dear brothers and sisters,* be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! 10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. 12 But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.’’ Friend those Holy Scriptures, we can pick key lesser but significant commandments positive response to which will earn you approval of the Most High. We can underscore them as:- No. 1.Patience- The injunction is be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return …. You must be patient (Verse 7 & 8). Friend, Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit- Galatians 5:22-23(NLT), ‘But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!’ Several graphical illustrations of functional patience can be gleaned from our Text:- • A farmer plants and patiently waits for to harvest at the appropriate time. A farmer that attempts uprooting his yam before due season will only invite hunger. • The story of Job, a just man we know quite well. God allowed Satan to afflict him but He did not permit Satan to kill him. His closest friends who claimed to know God more than him, were harsh in their language of condemnation of Job. They blamed a ‘blameless’ man for being responsible for his woes. At a point Job called them ‘Physicians of no value’ ‘As for you, you smear me with lies. As physicians, you are worthless quacks.’ Job 13:4. • Even Job’s wife chose to be a voluntary widow as she told Job to curse God and die. ‘Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.’ Verse 10 says, ‘in all this, Job said nothing wrong.’. In actual fact, Job’s attitude was, ‘God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.’(Job 13:15,NLT)….. Job 13:15, NLT, ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.’ Patiently Job saw a super beautiful end to his travails. • As per Job 42:10- 16 (NLT), ‘When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money* and a gold ring. 12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers. 16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.’ Friend, similarly like the farmer awaiting harvest, the day you gave your life to Jesus, you started a heavenly race. Like Job, no situation or circumstances ought to distract you from hooking tenaciously to your Maker. Are there Believers on earth today who have suffered more than Job? When you fail to exercise patience, you will automatically become impatient. Impatience is a strategy of the Devil to kill, steal and destroy. • Some homes and good relationships have broken-down as a result of impatience, someone evidently misunderstanding the reason for what seem to be denied. • Some persons changed jobs or businesses only to regret later. • Some persons have turned back on God for their perceived unwillingness of God to deliver their expectations. Such persons appear ignorant of the ‘Principle of Appointed time with God’ or they pray outside the will of God. • The Hymn ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’ was composed by William Cowper (1731–1800). He was beset with emotional problems throughout his life. His mother died when he was six, at school he was teased and ridiculed, and his father prevented him from marrying the girl he loved. Forced to study law, he panicked when he learned he would have his bar exam before the House of Lords—and tried to commit suicide. He had planned to jump into River Thames one foggy evening which was a 45-minute drive from his house. He boarded a Cap and because of the heavy fog, the driver drove in a circle and the journey was prolonged. After 90 minutes, William Cowper became so impatient that he asked the drive to stop hoping to trek the rest of the journey. He was shocked to discover as he alighted from the Cap, he was standing right in front of his house. God had a Hand in it to spare his life. He abandoned his suicide bid, went into his house and composed this Hymn[SSS 516]:- ‘God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.’ Beloved, to make heaven, you have to allow yourself patiently go through the Mill of God. Allow His Word carry out surgical operation on your heart in order to cut away every stuff that will hinder you from obeying Him. As per Hebrews 4:12-13(NLT), ‘For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.’… Again in Ezekiel 36:26-27(NLT), ‘And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.* 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith exercised the greatest patience to bring us Salvation. As per Hebrews 12:1-3(NLT), ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.* Because of the joy* awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;* then you won’t become weary and give up.’ • Jesus did not lose His temper as He was about to be arrested rather He cautioned the overzealous Peter for cutting off a perceived enemy’s ear. As per John 18: 10-12 (NLT), ‘Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?” Jesus at the High Priest’s House 12 So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.’’ • Even as Jesus was led for crucifixion, no one heard His Voice. As per Isaiah 53:7(NLT), ‘He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.’ Friend, • how do you respond to insolence? Even unwarranted insolence? • Do you charge at your attacker impulsively? • Or exercise the greatest restraint even as Champion or Author of our faith did and expects us to do? • Have also forgotten what Jesus said in Matthew 5:39-41(NLT), ‘But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile,* carry it two miles.’ • How many words per minute do you deploy at your attacker on provocation? • A popular opinion that has high percentage of truth is when a man asks in 3 (three) words-‘Who did this?’, a woman replies with 3 (three) paragraphs. Does this describe you? • The Holy Scripture says, ‘as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.’ • How then are you standing, friend? No. 2. Grumble. Another injunction from our Text is to avoid grumbling. ‘Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door.’ (James 5:9, NLT). • To grumble is to make ill-natured complaint. • It is to murmur. • It betrays underlying bitterness or discontent. • Grumble is a deadly ‘little leaven that leaveneth the whole lump’ (Galatians 5:9). • Grumble is a ‘little fox that spoils the whole vine’ (Song of Solomon 2:15). Friend, meditate on the grammatical functions of the 2 (two) key words in those 2(two) Scriptures to appreciate the havoc grumble can cause. Grumble was the sin - the little leaven or the little fox that moved God to Judge the children of Israel in the Wilderness. As per Numbers 14:28-33(NLT), ‘Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. 29 You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. 30 You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 “‘You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised. 32 But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness. 33 And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.’ Friend, the injunction in Question is, ‘‘Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door.’ (James 5:9, NLT). • It carries a serious warning. • God told the children of Israel, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.’ • Jesus says, ‘You will account for every idle word you speak’ (Matthew 12:36). • Suppose God decides to deposit whatever issues you have against your brother or sister on you, can you resist Him? In all we do, we are to avoid grumbling as an evidence of perfection. According to Philippians 2:5, 14-18(NLT), ‘You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had………… 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God,* just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.’ Friend ignoring those injunctions would make your status remain sinner and no sinner will enter the Jesus Space-craft at Rapture. As per James 4:17(NLT), ‘Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.’ • Are you still standing? Recall, my mission is to guide you in your readiness to meet with your Maker. Therefore, ‘….and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.’(Amos 4:12b). • With each passing hour, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ draws nearer. This is why you need be on ‘Red Alert’. Steps to take are clearly spelt-out in the Holy Scriptures See Romans 13:11-14(NLT). • My candid advice to you this morning is, ‘.. get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.’(James 1:21, NLT). Friend, my prayer is that the dragnet of the devil will not catch up with you and you will remain determined to go with your Maker, Jesus, in the favourable Name of Our Lord Jesus, Amen. You can begin to amend your ways right now. There is a way of ESCAPE for you. As per Acts 4:12, ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ Friend, do not be ashamed, do not delay any longer. Sincerely agree with Jesus you have been living in disobedience or in darkness as a result of deceit by religious organisations, but now you have decided to invite Him into your heart to be the Lord and Saviour of your life. God will answer your short but sincere prayer. Then help yourself to grow and maintain your Salvation by locating and joining a living Church closest to you. Do not allow anyone distract you. Friend, because you enjoy reading this Column, which prompts you to meditate on the Word of God, day and night, • May God in His kindness restore all that the enemy damaged in your life. • May God support and strengthen you. • May God settle you. • May God place you on a firm foundation • May you experience the full joy of our Lord Jesus Christ from now on. • May you indeed be like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. and because their leaves never wither, you are ushered into a life of endless thanksgiving • May you prosper in all you do. • May the Voice of the Lord swallow up every contrary voice speaking against your life and destiny. • May God spoil all machinery the enemy activated to use against your progress and • May your defeated enemies be like the Midianites of Gideon’s days as they will never recover to fight you again in your lifetime? • May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. • May the name of our Lord Jesus be honored because of the way you live, and • May you be honored along with him for He says:-‘But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me’ (I Samuel 2:30b). • May divine favour invade your finances this Week. • All the enemy has taken from you is coming back to you double. • You’ve been in the valley of degradation for too long. You’ll get back on top. • May your glory not be truncated nor dimmed. • May you enjoy ‘total victory’ on every front and May God be gracious to you IJN, Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 05:05:33 +0000
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