1. The GOSPEL preached in the name of Jesus Christ is the POWER of God to JUSTIFY, REDEEM and establish you in EVERLASTING LIFE “For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God; Being JUSTIFIED FREELY by his GRACE through the REDEMPTION that is in Christ Jesus” [Romans 3:23-24] SALVATION is FREE, and many people do want to be free of SIN and RECONCILE with God but are disillusioned by religious HYPOCRISY, as it is written: “… HYPOCRITES! for ye SHUT UP the KINGDOM of heaven against men: for YE NEITHER GO IN yourselves, NEITHER SUFFER YE THEM THAT ARE ENTERING TO GO IN” [Matthew 23:13] Jesus Christ is the DOOR of ETERNAL LIFE; you will be disappointed if your eyes are on any man or religious organization, “I AM THE DOOR”, says the Lord, “… BY ME IF ANY MAN ENTER IN, HE SHALL BE SAVED, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” [John 10:9] The offer of SALVATION is PERSONAL, Jesus said “ANY MAN”; the vilest SINNER is welcome to SALVATION preached in His name. SALVATION is primarily between you and Jesus Christ, and the ball is in your court to “… WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION with fear and trembling. For it is GOD which WORKETH IN YOU both to will and to do of his good pleasure” [Philippians 2:12-13]
2. SALVATION is of GRACE, it cannot be bought or sold “For by GRACE are ye saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT OF GOD” [Ephesians 2:8] All men are born subject to SIN, and none by contemplation may deliver himself. In due season God showed up in Jesus Christ, “Herein is LOVE, not that we loved God, but that HE LOVED US, and sent his SON to be the PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS” [1 John 4:10] SALVATION is the finished work of God’s LOVE; the MYSTERY of God manifest in Jesus Christ to DIE on the Cross in fulfilment of our DEBT of SIN, “And without controversy great is the MYSTERY OF GODLINESS: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, … ” [1 John 3:16] GRACE is God’s LOVE revealed in the finished work of Christ, “For God so LOVED the world, that HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that WHOMSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE” [John 3:16] If we BELIEVE, not doubting, that God was in Jesus Christ to RECONCILE the world to Himself, GRACE is released for FAITH to, “… come boldly unto the THRONE OF GRACE, that we may OBTAIN MERCY, and FIND GRACE TO HELP in time of need” [Hebrews 4:16] “THRONE OF GRACE” is the Cross, SEAT of MERCY, where “To wit, GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING the WORLD unto HIMSELF, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” [2 Corinthians 5:19]
3. Proof of FAITH in Christ is REPENTANCE; if any man claims to have SALVATION but continues in SIN, he is a liar “… SHALL WE CONTINUE IN SIN, that GRACE MAY ABOUND? God forbid. How shall we, that are DEAD TO SIN, live any longer therein?” [Romans 6:1-2] REPENTANCE is not REMORSE; REMORSE is a mental reaction to guilt, REPENTANCE is heart-rending SORROW occasioned by the WORD of God, “… PIERCING even to the DIVIDING ASUNDER OF SOUL and SPIRIT, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart“ [Acts 4:12] REPENTANCE is not without PAIN, as the WORD of TRUTH repudiates who you were and ever wanted to be, “For GODLY SORROW WORKETH REPENTANCE TO SALVATION not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” [2 Corinthians 7:10] The more of the WORD you BELIEVE, the more the SOUL is degraded in readiness to be CONVERTED in the likeness of Christ, by the Holy Ghost. Friend, it is not enough to REPENT, you must be CONVERTED in the image of Christ, and “… EXCEPT YE BE CONVERTED, and become as little children, YE SHALL NOT ENTER into the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN” [Matthew 18:3] We are CONVERTED by the Holy Ghost, the SPIRIT of Christ, that we may be established in him and CONFORM to Him, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be CONFORMED to the IMAGE OF HIS SON, that he might be the FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN” [Romans 8:29]
4. SALVATION is not a SCAM or religious franchise, it is the PROMISE of God to all men, “In HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE, which God, that cannot lie, PROMISED BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN” [Titus 1:2] It has nothing to do with the lifestyle of a Pastor or shenanigans of religious charlatans; It is about your ETERNAL RELEVANCE, “REPENT ye therefore, and be CONVERTED, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of REFRESHING shall come from the presence of the Lord” [Acts 3:19] All you need God has provided, His GRACE is available if you will BELIEVE the GOSPEL, REPENT and be CONVERTED by the Holy Ghost, as it is written: “… REPENT, and be BAPRIZED every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall RECEIVE the GIFT of the HOLY GHOST” [Acts 2:38] Are you BORN AGAIN and established in the Holy Ghost? Refuse to be discouraged by vicissitudes of the present world, the season of REFRESHING is so close “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; for we shall see him as he” [I John 3:2] Friend, that day is imminent, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION, amen
Author: tegoadesulure
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HOPE IN A HOPELESS GENERATION
1. The most powerful nations were HOPELESS against COVID-19 even as cutting-edge technology is HELPLESS against CLIMATE CHANGE. The glory of human civilization is demystified as the world settles into a NEW NORMAL. There is palpable fear and frustration on many faces, but I have GOOD NEWS for you, “WHEN MEN ARE CAST DOWN, then, then thou shalt say, THERE IS LIFTING UP; and he shall save the HUMBLE PERSON” [Job 22:29] Are you trapped in generational poverty, cast down in sickness, lost your livelihood or devastated by loss of a loved? The situation looks HOPELESS in the face of daunting global DISTRESS, listen, there is HOPE in Jesus Christ, “For there is HOPE FOR A TREE, if it be CUT DOWN, that it will SPROUT AGAIN, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. … Yet THROUGH THE SCENT OF WATER IT WILL BUD, and BRING FORTH boughs like a plant” [Job 14:7-9] HOPE in this HOPELESS GENERATION is the heritage of HEIRS of the
PROMISE made to Abraham “WHO AGAINST HOPE BELIEVED IN HOPE, that he might become the FATHER OF MANY NATIONS,according to that which was spoken, So shall thy SEED be” [Romans 4:18] We
are the SEED of Abraham through FAITH in Jesus Christ and are BLESSED in Him, notwithstanding the rot in the world, as it is written: "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14)
2. The woman in Mark 5:25-34 found HOPE in a HOPELESS SITUATION; she found Jesus Christ after twelve years of sheer agony “And had SUFFERED MANY THINGS of many physicians, and had SPENT ALL THAT SHE HAD, and was nothing bettered, but rather GREW WORSE” [Mark 5:25] When she HEARD Jesus was in town, HOPE was kindled in her; HOPE furnished FAITH and FAITH, a strong determination to break the shackles of HOPELESSNESS, “For she said, If I may TOUCH HIS CLOTHES, I shall be whole” [Mark 5:28] She battled through the crowd and pushed aside detractors to TOUCH Him, “And he said unto her, Daughter, THY FAITH hath made thee whole; go in PEACE, and BE WHOLE OF THY PLAGUE” Mark 5:34] Whatever your situation; are you terribly sick, in prison or about to commit suicide? There is HOPE for you, reach out to Jesus Christ by FAITH right now. As long as that woman was without Christ, she was enslaved to terror of DARKNESS perhaps as you are;
Jesus Christ is the LIGHT of the world, listen to Him “… I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me SHALL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS, but shall have the LIGHT OF LIFE” [John 8:12] While that woman in DARKNESS, “SUFFERED MANY THINGS”, including but not restricted to hospitalization, drug addiction, loss of livelihood, diverse fears, demonic afflictions, etc,. Your situation may be worse, notwithstanding, there is HOPE for you in that seemingly HOPELESS SITUATION; the worst offender is welcome to SALVATION in Jesus Christ, as it is written: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and HIM THAT COMETH TO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT" (John 6:37) If you will REPENT of your SINS and BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will have PEACE in His SALVATION and experience His glorious LIFE, “… Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest BELIEVE, thou shouldest see the GLORY OF GOD?” [John 11:40]
3. Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, had a decent Jewish upbringing else the Bible would not mention his father’s name, but he was BLIND and a BEGGAR Mark 10:47-52] You know, sometimes, those who know and serve the Lord find themselves in what looks a HOPELESS SITUATION but are never ashamed of Christ or lose HOPE in Him because they know He has the solution to their challenges “And HOPE MAKETH NOT ASHAMED; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” [Romans 5:5] When it seemed all HOPE was lost, Jesus showed up, “And when he HEARD that it was JESUS OF NAZARETH, he began to cry out, and say, JESUS, THOU SON OF DAVID, have mercy on me” [Mark 10:47] Listen closely, whereas the crowd chanted “JESUS OF NAZARETH”, Bartimaeus said “JESUS, SON OF DAVID”. You do not know the difference; the multitudes spoke what they heard from men, Bartimaeus spoke by REVELATION of DEEP THINGS of God pertaining to Jesus Christ, as it is written: “He shall be GREAT, and shall be called the SON OF THE HIGHEST: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of HIS FATHER DAVID” [Luke 1:32] By prophetic utterance, the embers of HOPE in him exploded into flames of FAITH and caught the attention of the Lord, “And JESUS STOOD STILL, and COMMANDED HIM TO BE CALLED. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, RISE; HE CALLETH THEE” [Mark 10:49] No one told Bartimaeus what to say and none spoke for him; as a child of God, I challenge you to dig deep into the depths of Christ in you and speak to that HOPELESS situation.
4. There was a man at the Pool of Bethesda, sick for THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS! His situation was by outward appearance HOPELESS, but he kept HOPE alive, HOPING against HOPE, “For an ANGEL went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity THIRTY and EIGHT YEARS” [John 5:4] This man was there before Jesus was born on earth and HELD ON in PATIENCE, BELIEVING God for his deliverance. As he was at the Pool of Bethesda, rejected and subject to vicissitudes of living in a dying world, I charge you to be PATIENT as he was. PATIENCE is our anchor whose HOPE is in Christ for REDEMPTION in stormy seas of this world, , “For surely THERE IS AN END; and thine EXPECTATION SHALL NOT BE CUT OFF” [Proverbs 23:18] As the world staggers from confusion to palpable frustration, our PATIENCE is strengthened by FAITH in His PROMISE of REDEMPTION: “And when THESE THINGS begin to come to pass, then LOOK UP, and lift up your heads; for your REDEMPTION draweth nigh” [Luke 21:28] As the world settle into NEW NORMAL of “THESE THINGS”, I charge you to renew your HOPE in Him, PATIENTLY preparing yourself for His appearance, “For YE HAVE NEED OF PATIENCE, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the PROMISE” [Hebrews 10:36]
5. Finally, if you are not BORN AGAIN, you have neither ACCESS nor HOPE in the SALVATION preached in the name of Jesus. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour today and be established in HOPE of ABUNDANT LIFE, now and in the world to come amen -
NEARLY IS NEVER ENOUGH
1. NEARLY IS NEVER ENOUGH, for those who shall wear the crown of glory. There is a MARK, and the STANDARD is Jesus Christ; we must be like Him to reign with Him. We are as ATHLETES in a race, let us run in certainty of TRUTH, putting aside ignorance and extra luggage of LUST, “I therefore so RUN, NOT AS UNCERTAINLY; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I KEEP UNDER MY BODY, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” [1 Corinthians 9:26-27] Beloved, KEEP UNDER YOUR BODY and be not IGNORANT as to imagine LUST is DEAD. We must constantly contend with TEMPTATIONS in this BODY, and avoid setting personal STANDARDS of FAITH, which some do and Paul warned, “Brethren, I COUNT NOT MYSELF TO HAVE APPREHENDED: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” [Philippians 3:13-14]
2. Esau, was the first born and by law entitled to the BLESSING [Genesis 25:25] He NEARLY got it but when it mattered most, he slipped at the altar of LUST, as it is written: “Lest there be any FORNICATOR, or PROFANE person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the BLESSING, HE WAS REJECTED: for he found NO PLACE OF REPENTANCE, though he sought it carefully with tears” [Hebrews 12:16-17] For the records, Esau did some good and was approved by his father and NEARLY got the BLESSING; Isaac said: “... make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that MY SOUL MAY BLESS THEE before I die”, [Genesis 27:4] Esau was approved of his Pastor, as many of us, for our mouth-watering offerings and regular attendance in Church, but God was not deceived. Where Isaac saw a doting son, God saw a SOUL overtaken with fleshly LUSTS, a man polluted with SEXUAL SINS and PROFANITIES, “How are the THINGS OF ESAU SEARCHED OUT! how are his HIDDEN THINGS SOUGHT UP!” [Obadiah 1:6] Beloved, the COMING of the Lord is at hand, every SECRET SIN shall be exposed and NEARLY SHALL NOT BE ENOUGH to compensate for INIQUITY, “… The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ DEPART FROM INIQUITY” [2 Timothy 2:19]
3. Jonathan was not ignorant of DIVINE AGENDA, when he said to David, “… THOU SHALT BE KING over Israel, and I SHALL BE NEXT UNTO THEE; and that also Saul my father knoweth. And THEY TWO MADE A COVENANT before the LORD: …” [1 Samuel 23:17-18] He knew God had chosen David to be king and made a COVENANT to establish his place in the PROMISE of God. He did many things right, but they were not ENOUGH to SAVE him [2 Samuel 1:23] Jonathan was a victim of EMOTIONAL DISSONANCE; he had one EYE on the PROMISE of David, and the other EYE on the fast-fading empire of Saul. Brethren, the error of Jonathan must not be found in us, who despised the PROMISE to please his father. Listen carefully, your effort to please God will never be ENOUGH if you fail to deal decisively with relationships outside of Christ, for “He that LOVETH FATHER or MOTHER MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” [Matthew 10:37] This is a hard saying, but TRUE. As long as we are in this world, we will live or work with family members and others outside the FAITH. We do well to love them, very much aware those without Christ are potential tools of satanic distraction and affliction. Let us, therefore, be careful at all times not to look or SEE through their eyes, but “WALK IN WISDOM TOWARD THEM THAT ARE WITHOUT, redeeming the time” [Colossians 4:5]
4. Friend, NEARLY IS NEVER ENOUGH; it is not ENOUGH to attend Church and listen to the best preachers in town. King Agrippa listened attentively to Paul, but it was not ENOUGH, “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, ALMOST THOU PERSUADEST ME TO BE A CHRISTIAN” [Acts 26:27-28] It is good to change your mode of dressing, eschew adultery, pay tithes, etc., but not ENOUGH to SAVE your SOUL. The rich young man in Mark 10:17-21, did all these and more yet had not ETERNAL LIFE, as it is written: “… all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, ONE THING THOU LACKEST: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, TAKE UP THE CROSS, and follow me“ [Mark 10:20-21] The ONE THING lacking was the CROSS, the emblem of our perfection through FELLOWSHIP of Christ’s SUFFERING, as it is written: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” [Philippians 3:10] The CROSS is the symbol of determination to put aside LUST, PERSECUTION, REJECTION, LACK and many more “NOT AS THOUGH I HAD ATTAINED, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 3:12] Now more than ever, as we look forward to the appearance of Christ, I charge you to take the CROSS and “… LET HIM THAT THINKETH HE STANDETH TAKE HEED LEST HE FALL” [1 Corinthians 10:12]
5. Accept Jesus Christ today, as your Lord and Saviour, amen -
FAITH WITHOUT PAIN IS DELUSION
1. FAITH is the currency of our relationship with God, and God, not any man is the REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him, “… behold, I COME QUICKLY; says the Lord, and MY REWARD IS WITH ME, to give every man according as his WORK shall be” [Revelation 22:12] As long as we are in this BODY, there is no REWARD of FAITH; but GIFTS to WORK in the Lord’s Vineyard in HOPE of His COMING when we shall be duly REWARDED, as it is written: “Now FAITH is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED FOR, the EVIDENCE of THINGS NOT SEEN” [Hebrews 11:1] SUBSTANCE of our HOPE is the Holy Ghost, “the EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE”, the EVIDENCE is the PAIN of the Cross [Ephesians 1:13-14, 1 Corinthians 15:30-31] FAITH is not a doctrine but a decision to daily CRUCIFY the FLESH and live in the POWER of Christ’s RESURRECTION. The EVIDENCE of Christ’s LIFE in us is the PAIN of FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERING, as it is written: “That I MAY KNOW HIM, and the POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, and the FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, being made conformable unto his death” [Philippians 3:10]
2. By FAITH we are born anew in the likeness of Christ, “Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the WORD OF GOD, which LIVETH and ABIDETH FOR EVER” [1 Peter 1:23] The SPIRIT of Christ is in us both to will and do His WILL, but the FLESH is contrary, “For the FLESH LUSTETH AGAINST THE SPIRIT, and the Spirit against the flesh: and THESE ARE CONTRARY the one to the other: so that YE CANNOT DO THE THINGS THAT YE WOULD” [Galatians 5:17] As long as we are in this BODY, the SPIRIT in us is at war against the FLESH; every time we submit to the HOLY SPIRIT, the FLESH is battered with PAIN. When we pander to the FLESH, the HOLY SPIRIT is GRIEVED, and we are at grave risk of perdition, “And GRIEVE NOT the HOLY SPIRIT of God, whereby ye are SEALED unto the day of redemption” [Ephesians 4:30] The PAIN of walking in the SPIRIT, daily CRUCIFYING the appetite of SELF is the EVIDENCE we are ALIVE in Christ [Romans 7:6] Let no man deceive you, proof of FAITH is not material GAIN as some preach, “… destitute of the truth, SUPPOSING that GAIN IS GODLINESS: from such withdraw thyself” [1 Timothy 6:5] The EVIDENCE of our FAITH is the fortitude with which we bear the PAIN of denying PASSION and AMBITIONS which though LAWFUL are not EXPEDIENT and do not EDIFY, as it is written: “All things are lawful for me, but ALL THINGS ARE NOT EXPEDIENT: all things are lawful for me, but all things EDIFY NOT” [1 Corinthians 10:23]
3. The PAIN of FAITH in a world addicted to wickedness and corruption is sheer AGONY, “We are TROUBLED on every side, yet not DISTRESSED; we are PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED, but NOT FORSAKEN; CAST DOWN, but NOT DESTROYED, … that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” [2 Corinthians 4:8-9] Though HEIRS of everlasting glory, we are not immune to AFFLICTIONS occasioned sometimes by erstwhile friends and family, whose mouths and hands Satan employ to mock and provoke to no end. The PAIN runs deep, considering the years spent together and memories shared, but we do not DESPAIR; we pray and have HOPE of their SALVATION, “And HOPE MAKETH NOT ASHAMED; because the LOVE OF GOD is shed abroad IN OUR HEARTS by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” [Romans 5:5] We are the righteousness of God in a generation caught in the tailspin of a dying world; our natural senses are daily assaulted with worldly pleasures and our souls VEXED to breaking point, even as Lot “… (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, VEXED HIS RIGHTEOUS SOUL from day to day with their UNLAWFUL DEEDS;)” [2 Peter 2:7-8] At a time like this, how do we reconcile our FAITH with the righteousness of Lot, without EVIDENCE that our “RIGHTEOUS SOULS” are VEXED by what we SEE and HEAR in this wicked and adulterous generation, “And why stand we in JEOPARDY EVERY HOUR? I PROTEST BY YOUR REJOICING which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I DIE DAILY” [1 Corinthians 15:30-31]
4. PAIN is not defeat, but a reminder this BODY is temporary, “For which cause WE FAINT NOT; but though our OUTWARD MAN PERISH, yet the INWARD MAN IS RENEWED day by day. For our light AFFLICTION, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY;” [2 Corinthians 4:16-17] Those who allure and entice you with mantras of false PROSPERITY sell you LIES from pits of hell, “For when they speak great swelling WORDS OF VANITY, they allure through the LUSTS OF THE FLESH, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error” [2 Peter 2:18] Listen carefully, profession of FAITH without EVIDENCE of PAIN of rejection, persecution and mockery is DELUSION occasioned by LIES, “And for this cause God SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, that they should BELIEVE A LIE: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had PLEASURE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS” [2 Thessalonians 2:11-12] As the day draws near when we shall be free of this BODY of SIN, our in ward man GROANS more than ever to be clothed with our heavenly BODY, “… a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be CLOTHED UPON WITH OUR HOUSE WHICH IS FROM HEAVEN” [2 Corinthians 5:1-2] Friend, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour today and you will not be naked at His appearance, amen
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