TOP CAROL SERVICE 2012

JESUS CURSED THE LYING FIG TREE

Beloved,

FOCUS: And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it (Mark 11:12-14).

I worked for 6 years in a remote area in West Africa. One of the disturbing things I encountered was that they had a major health centre that serious cases were referred to but the place was not well staffed. I saw very ill people who travelled a long distance through dirt roads only to meet untrained and ill-equipped staff. That was false hope and at best wickedness. What was Jesus attitude to such deception? We saw it from his attitude to the lying-fig tree. Jesus cursed the tree. Are you who you say you are or just deceiving people like the fig tree? Are you giving the output that you represent?

Christians are light of the world. We are solution to our fellow Christians and the world at large. When we find a hundred and one reasons why we should not fulfill our role, we disappoint God. For instance, the Bible says this of the church: Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King (Psalms 48:2). Anytime anybody comes to a church where we belong and goes away same, we are partly responsible for that failure. People enjoy answering big names but do not realize it carries implication: pastor, bishop, apostle, prophet and born again but had no realization of the implications. Friend, each of are expected to give account. Just like Jesus approached the fig tree, if people come to you and you are found wanting, you become a lying bishop or pastor or prophet or Christian. And for the tree that gave false hopes, Jesus cursed. Friend, we shall not be cursed in Jesus name.

We need to sit down and ask ourselves some questions. If it were in my time, would Jesus have sent me to restore the sight of Saul and tell him what he ought to do like he did Ananias (Acts 9:11-16)? Could God has been confidence in my faithfulness to send Elijah to me as he did the widow (Luke 4:25-26)? Could I have sold my land as Barnabas did so that the brethren could have food (Acts 4:36-37)? Yes, could God have depended on me to be the mother of the Savior? I mean, could Naaman have been sent to me because I am anointed and ready to use it? I am a Christian, so what (Luke 4:27)? This is what the scripture said: And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Luke 3:9). Friend, Jesus cursed the fig tree! We shall not be hewn down in the name of Jesus Christ.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17). Negligence to equip yourself to do the work you are called to do, according to the Bible is a sin. Hey, do you realize that the whole creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19)? Are we working towards fulfilling our purpose here? We have been so busy in our own things that we are almost not useful to God. Think! And just like was done to Jesus, church members actively shut-off the anointing on their pastors through their unbelief (Mark 6:5). Others refuse to commit themselves to any responsibility whatsoever. What is it really that you are after?

Now is the time to sit up. Are we born again? Then let’s bear fruits that befit our repentance. Let’s live the kind of life that Jesus typified. His environment recognized the virtues that he carried. He displayed a life that had passion and commitment. Friend, his meat was to do the will of him that sent him, and to finish his work (John 4:34). We need to make a choice on where we belong.

Jesus committed himself to study the Word of God (and found where it was written concerning him Luke 4:17). He committed himself to prayer and fasting (and returned in the power of the Holy Ghost Luke 4:14). Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38). He loved righteousness, hated wickedness and spoke only the Word (Psalms 45:7, John 3:34). The result was that he was anointed above his fellows. Friend, these are how to get on key with God.

Who do we represent? Do we represent who God has called us or are we living a lie like the fig tree?

God has loaded you with his nature. You have a lot to give to this generation. Don’t waste it.

Shalom

TOP CHURCH FOR KIDS AFRICAN DAY - 21ST OCTOBER, 2012. YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS OUT

EDEN IS GOD'S IDEA

Beloved,

FOCUS: And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5  

Get this straight: God’s idea has never been suffering. Don’t let anyone confuse you and refuse to endure adverse situations. They are never God’s idea. Till eternity comes and last, God’s will is that we prosper and be in good health (3 John 2). Let economies fail and earthquakes happen, none changes God’s purpose for his children. Let science proclaim their discoveries, and let their analysis say what they like: they can never change God’s idea. Friend God’s idea is Eden.

In the beginning God created everything that will make man comfortable before he created man. This was what he said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth (Genesis 1:26).  To ensure that man did not miss anything, God carved out the garden of plenty with every good thing you can imagine and put man into it. Let nothing confuse you, God’s intensions has always been for us to enjoy good. Think about it, who among us wants suffering for his household or relations? If we don’t, why do we call God wicked by thinking that he wants us to suffer? Friend, Eden is God’s idea; not just an idea of supplies. God’s ideas included man operating in power and glory. The glory was so much that Adam and Eve did not know they were naked. They had the power that controlled their environment.

God has not changed. Even when man messed up and listened to the devil, God set mechanisms through which man can get back to living the life in the Eden. The difference was that this time, man would work it out using the tools God gave him. I mean he set tools to lead us back to that edenic life. This is clearly detailed in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, but for space let’s see verse one:  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. So to get back to the Eden, man needed to diligently hearken to God’s word and obey them. There is no other option. This was how he put it to Joshua. 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). Good success and prosperity were at their reach, and at their command. “Thou shall make thy way prosperous and successful”, God told them. So Eden has always been God’s, but now man had to work it out using the tools God provided.

Let’s fast forward to Jesus. The son of God brought back Eden with a different kind of work. This was what he said about his coming: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The more abundant life is life in the presence of God: delivered from the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13). So we are not going to have eternal life. We already have eternal life. To avoid any confusion, the scripture said These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13) . But a different kind of work is required to enjoy the fullness of eternal life. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent (John 6:29). Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all (Romans 4:16). I see from these scriptures that the fullness of eternal is sure and available to everyone and how much of it anyone enjoys in this side of eternity is defined by the person. Do challenges come?  Plenty but the tool of faith can deprive them of power to harm you (1 John 5:4). Hallelujah!

The beauty of it is that a time is coming, and very soon too when there will be no challenges for those in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation22:1-5). There shall be no tears or suffering or pains. The question is: how well are you preparing to be there?

Eden has always been God’s idea. Fight the good fight of faith, so that you can lay hold on that eternal life from now on and till eternity (1 Timothy 6:12)  

Shalom

BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS AND YOU SHALL PROSPER

By Brother Godwin

Beloved,

He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward (Matthew 10:41).

Every word of God is for a purpose, and it is only God’s way or no way. Now we are not talking about how you feel. Actually feelings have nothing whatsoever to do with the things of God. Jesus Christ, God’s son appeared with all his anointing in his village. This was the commentary: And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief (Mark 6:5-6). This is the same Jesus that the woman with the issue of blood touched and got her healing (Luke 8:43-44); the Jesus that the wind and storm obeyed (Mark 4:41); the Jesus that the fish obeyed (Luke 5:4-7). Friends, the dead heard his voice and rose up from dead but Jesus could do no mighty work in that environment.
This is one lesson we must learn: don’t just go to church or fellowship or meet any servant of God with nothing in your heart. Don’t go to be spoon fed. Go with your faith because no matter the anointing on the life of any minister of God, it can be shut-off by an unbelieving congregation. I mean, go with your faith. There are a lot of commentators and spectators in the house of God today. We need to be in church busy working. While listening to the teaching, you need to be busy working. What is the work? Faith is the work (John 6:29). This is why the scripture enjoins us to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12).
Now note that Jesus could not do any miracle. Jesus wanted to do miracles but he could not. Someone might ask, I thought all things are possible with God? Yes, all things are certainly possible with God but this possibility is only where he finds faith. God or even devil cannot have access in your life unless you permit (Philemon 14; Ephesians 4:27). True! This is why Jesus asked “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)? God is everywhere looking to find faith in order to manifest his goodness and love. His eyes are everywhere looking to show himself strong in the life of those whose hearts are perfect toward him (2 Chronicle 16:9).
But someone may ask but they recognized he was Jesus. Yes, they did but they did not accept his prophetic office. Remember he that recognizes a prophet in the name of a prophet. The prophet may have been your classmate just like Jesus was to many of those folks but you need to recognize his office as a prophet. This means accepting him with the anointing of God upon his life with full recognition that God sent him or her for your good. Am I encouraging the worship of men? No Sir. I am talking about what the scripture says. Let God be true and all men lies (Romans 3:4). As I said earlier, it either God’s way or no way. We all have the Spirit of God but God has set ministers in our mist for our good….and no man takes this honor to himself accept he that is called (Hebrews 5:4).
We have examples in the scriptures. In Ezra 4:24, the building of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it needed the help of the Prophets of God in Ezra 5:1-2 to resume. See this:  And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo (Ezra 6:14). How did they prosper?  They prospered by the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. Look at this And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved (Hosea 12:13). What is it that has locked you up? Perhaps you need a word from someone with the anointing of God on his life. Is there a sense of insecurity about anything in your life? Remember by a prophet was he preserved. Here is what Paul told Timothy; this charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18). We need to be Bible-wise.
Now I am not talking about white garment stuff. At times God brings people our way but we are more concerned with comparing what they know and miss out on the blessings of God they carry. Measuring ourselves with ourselves is foolishness (2 Corinthians 10:12). This calls for sensitivity and believe. Potiphar was sensitive to discover that Joseph was not an ordinary person (Genesis 39:3). Laban was observant to recognize that the presence of Jacob in his household has been a blessing (Genesis 30:27). God gives us gifts of men but we need to be sensitive to take the delivery of the blessing they carry.
Remember, Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20).
God shall crown 2011 with his goodness for you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

WAITING TO BE GIVEN ACCESS

Brother Godwin

Beloved,
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20).

I went to a men’s fellowship meeting yesterday and what I heard made so mcuh meaning to me. That is what I will document here. I am sure my brother would not mind. Brother Chijioke shared the above scripture which is a popular scripture for evangelism. First he pointed out that Jesus Christ was knocking at the door of a church, as clearly defined by verse 14 “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God”. So the scripture was not referring to unbelievers. As it were Jesus was outside his own church, and virtually begging to be allowed in. Now think of it, this is supposed to be the church of the living God (1 Timothy 3:15) and Christ is supposed to be the head of this church. Yet he did not have a free access to his church. How did it come to the level that Jesus did not have access to his own church?

Such is the nature of a lot of places today. There is no God in our hallelujahs. There is no fruit of the Spirit and clearly no manifestation of gifts of the Spirit. I mean no virtue and no power. We entertain one another without any regard for God. You know what? That was also happening in the days of Jesus Christ. In Luke 13:16, Jesus asked, And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? I mean this daughter of Abraham was suffering and instead of being healed, she was being entertained in the synagogue. No one sought to know God; no one wanted to experience his power. Yet the house was supposed to be the house of God. There was the worship of the god of money and god of position and the god of tradition. And because God is a purer eyes than to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13), he excused himself. You know what? He wishes to come back and is "begging" us to allow him in.

And Brother Chijioke continued: notice that God wanted access into individual’s life. “If any man hear my voice”. So we could rush to condemn the church as a body but the church is made of individuals. So Christ is saying by implication that when individuals like you and I give him access into our lives, Christ would have access into his church. When Adam sinned, God was driven out of fellowship with man. God finally found a man who would allow him back, by obeying him. Abraham made himself available, and through Abraham, God made a covenant that allowed him back into fellowship with the man he made in his image (Genesis 12:1-3). God wants you and I to make ourselves available. He desires to use you and I. He is not sitting down about it: For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him (2 Chronicles 16:9). This means God is ready anytime we are ready.

As I thought about Brother Chijioke’s sharing, I remembered that he also said that a lot of times we call stuff accidents when actually they were full blown manifestation of a process that started a long time ago. This is a truth I will encourage you to get hold of. Nothing in life happens by accident they all come in the process of time. The preacher puts it this way:  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:  So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man (Proverbs 24:33-34). The house is the full blown manifestation of the first shoveling. David committed adultery and murdered Uriah, but it started by refusing to go to war when kings go to battle (2 Samuel 11:1-19). Is it wrong to rest? No it is not but it was not the time to rest and  stroll around the house. It was when kings go to battle. It was a small decision, but the consequence was very huge. David drove God out of his life and did a lot of wrongs for cover up until God sent Nathan to as it were knock on the door of his heart. Judas Iscariot did not start by planning to sell Jesus. It started by his love for money, then stealing from the purse and finally thought “Let’s get it big, 30 pieces of silver would be some money” (John 12:1-6, Matthew 26:15). So let’s watch it. When we choose to miss fellowships, forego our morning prayers, avoid our personal Bible studies, pick offences on minor issues and toss our lives into the hands of people we do not know much about, we might be laying the foundation for something huge. Elimelech decided to move due to famine and that cost his life and the lives of his two sons (Ruth 1:1-5). Eve first started with a simple chat and that was what put God’s creation in jeopardy (Genesis 3:1-24). See this scripture Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21). So vanity of imagination started simply; by not giving thanks to God. Now read that passage to verse 32 and see. Verse 30 says that ungratefulness is the building block to becoming Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, and disobedient to parents. Did you notice all those? They basically became Satan incarnate and these started from a simple thing; refusing to be thankful.

 This is Brother Chijioke’s conclusions: We need to watch the choices we make because they have consequencies. Did you read that?
Receive grace today to make good choices
God shall crown 2011 with his goodness for you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ

WHAT ARE YOU SERVING GOD?

By Brother Godwin

Beloved,

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1)

A lot of us think that we serve God only when work in the church: I mean church as a place of worship. While that is service to God, it is perhaps a very small part of our service to God. Except for Pastors and those that run churches, the time we spend in church is very small compared to the total time available to us in a week or a month. A better mentality is to take service as working on the church. This is because the church is a living being, consisting of Jesus as the head with every believer as a member. So if you are a believer, everything you do in every minute of the day is working on the church of God. This is true whether you are conscious of it or not.
Romans 12:1 said that your reasonable service is to present your body unto God. First it says you should sacrifice your body. This implies giving yourself over; you do not have an opinion or choice as it were. Secondly, note that this is your reasonable service. This is the level of service acceptable to God. So the question is, the things you do with your body are they acceptable? Imagine for a moment that you are a waiter in a restaurant, and God is the customer, what you are presenting to him is it acceptable? In other words, what are you serving God?
Let’s take this from another angle. Colossians 3:17, 23-24 says “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ”. First note that service is defined as whatever you do in word or deed. This means whatever you say, think or do in activity, is service. Secondly, note that ye serve the Lord Christ. So all your words, thoughts and actions whether good or ugly are services unto God. If that is true, could you for a moment think about what you have been serving God?
Am I just talking or do we have examples in the scriptures? See this But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). Did you notice “every idle word”? Words are to be spoken with good purpose and intension to have positive impact. This means someone is taking note. Now what about the day of judgment? It does not refer to judgment seat of Christ. It refers to the here and now. It refers to what we experience  today.  1 Peter 3:10 says  “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile”. This means that what you will experience here has a lot to do with the words of your mouth.  Friend, your words are services to God, and Colossians 3:24 says of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance. So what are the rewards? The life and the good days as stated by the scriptures. Would you want to read verse 11 of that scripture?
We had a couple that did something, without the consciousness that they serve the Lord Jesus Christ. They wer called Ananias and Saphira. We know the story but let’s see what the Holy Spirit said to them through Peter:  why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land (Acts 5:3)?  Remember, whatever you do in words and deed? They lied and kept back part of the price of the land.
You are serving God, whether you know it or not. We sit in churches and judge everything from the songs to the message. We sit in our houses and destroy people with the words of our mouth. We have killed so many people in our thought. Here this, Ananias and Saphirah may have kept back part of the price of the land. True, but are we keeping back part or all of our tithe? For instance, we remove our insurance money, our mortgage and other commitments, whatever remains, we offer the 10% of it as tithe. That is offering part of the tithe. I told myself a long time ago, “if I do not come late when I have an appointment with man, why should I come late to church which is an appointment with the King of Kings”?  I don’t want to offer part of my time to God.
The purpose of this write-up is not to make anyone feel guilty. It is to point out that God’s word remains the same forever. Whatever we do in word or deed is service to God. Take time to do everything well and in that consciousness because of the Lord we shall receive the reward of our inheritance.
God will crown 2011 with his goodness for you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Godwin