The Power Of Obedience

Read the Scripture: Acts 14:1-10

"In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, Stand up on your feet!At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. Acts 14:8-10"

Notice the amazing way God began to open up this city. Paul and Barnabas had no idea what they were going to do. They did not form a committee and say, Well, let's see if we can get the Chamber of Commerce report on the city's population distribution. Then we could divide it into squares and evangelize in a systematic way. They had no plans other than to be there and to do what God sent them to do — to preach. So they walked right into the market place and began, trusting the Lord to have prepared certain people, to have people of his choosing ready to open the door to the city.

As they proclaimed the gospel that is what happened. As Paul was preaching — probably for several days in a row — sitting in the marketplace was a man who had been lame from his birth, who had never walked. He was evidently well-known throughout the city, having been there all his life. He heard what Paul said, and believed what Paul declared about the power of Jesus, the mighty Son of God. Paul looked at him and saw in that man's eyes the faith to believe. Suddenly, unquestionably led of the Spirit, he said to him, Stand up on your feet. And the lame man, though he had never walked in his life, made the effort to obey. He had faith enough to try, and the moment he began to obey, the power to obey was given.

That is exactly the way the Christian life works. It does not make any difference whether the problem is physical, emotional, or spiritual; you are going to be held in its bondage until you begin to obey the Word of God about it. When you make the effort to obey, God will set you free. But he will never move until you obey. That is the way faith works.

Most people are kept from seeing God at work in their lives because they keep waiting for God to do something, in order for them to believe. No, he has already done all that he is going to do in advance. When you believe what he says, then he will give you the power to be free. This miracle is a mighty parable of the many who have been spiritually lame, unable to take a step toward God, but who have been set free to do so by the gospel. It cracked the city wide open. The whole populace immediately took note of Paul and Barnabas in their midst.

"Father, like the apostles, help me to trust in a living God who is changing people's hearts and delivering their minds from the grip and power of the evil one. Help me to rejoice as I, too, see the power of obedience to the Word of God in my own life."

Copyright | by Ray Stedman Ministries. | www.RayStedman.org

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Win Them One By One

If to Christ our only king
Men redeemed we strive to bring,
Just one way may this be done -
We must win them one by one.

So you bring the one next to you

And I'll bring the one next to me;

In all kinds of weather,

We'll all work together,

And see what can be done;

If you'll bring the one next to you,

And I bring the one next to me,

In no time at all we'll have them all,

So win them, win them, one by one.

Side by side we stand each day,
Saved are we, but lost are they;
They will come if we but dare
Speak a word backed up by prayer.

Only cowards dare refuse,
Dare this gift of God mis-use;
Ere some friend goes to his grave,
Speak a word his soul to save.

Not for hope of great reward
Turn men's heart unto the Lord;
Just to see a saved man smile
Makes the effort well worth the while.

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Tell The Whole Wide World

Tell the whole wide world of Jesus,
Bear the news from shore to shore;
Tell sinners of the Saviour,
Let the light spread more and more.

Tell the world, the whole wide world;

Bear the news from shore to shore;

Tell the whole wide world of Jesus,

Praise His name for ever more!

Send abroad the gospel heralds,
Let them take the blessed light
Into every land of darkness,
Piercing through the shades of night.

Yes, we'll send the joyful message
Over mountain, over wave,
Telling everywhere of Jesus,
And His mighty power to save.

While we pray for other nations,
Send them help with willing hand,
Let us not forget the home fields -
Jesus for our native land!

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Tell Somebody

Are you trusting the love of the Saviour divine,
Does His smile make the darkest day bright?
Are you laying on Him all the burdens that fret,
Does the cross that He gave you seem light?

Tell somebody, tell somebody

All of the wonderful love you know;

Tell somebody, tell somebody,

Christ and His goodness show.

Are you resting today 'neath the sheltering Rock,
Have you given your Lord full control?
Are you glad in the love that redeemed you from sin,
Has He spoken His peace to your soul?

Is there victory now where there once was defeat,
Blessed triumph thro' Jesus alone?
Tell somebody today of a Master and Friend,
And His wonderful mercy make known...

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Reach Them Before They Die

Text: Jonah 1:1-12, 3:1-5

Sinning Strippers - These ones mustn't die like this. Reach out!

In the opening verse of the book of Jonah chapter one, we are told that the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."

As the word of the Lord came to Jonah, so it comes to all believers today (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15). We must all go into the world and preach the gospel to all people before they die in their sins. But as in Jonah's day, some of us run to Tarshish or give one excuse or the other. Just as Jonah could not hide himself from God, so can we not, no matter how hard we try to evade this onerous responsibility to friends, relations, and indeed the entire humanity.

The excuses believers, Christian ministers and workers give today for failing to engage in the business of soul winning include: One, lack of formal education. Some say they are not learned. They forget that Apostle Peter and some other apostles of Christ did not have formal education; yet they won souls for Christ in their hundreds as was the case on the day of Pentecost or as was the case when Philip, the evangelist went to Samaria and turned the whole city to the Lord (Acts 2:14-41; 8:5-12).

Two, fear of persecution. Some believers fear that if they preach the gospel some people who did not know them as Christians will get to know and they will persecute them. They forget that persecution is nothing strange. The Bible says, "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).

Therefore, if we reach out to the dying sinner, we would have pleased the Lord. But if we neglect this divine responsibility for any reason, we will face the wrath of God.

Jonah (a prophet of God) learnt his lesson the hard way. Believers should learn from Jonah's ordeal in an attempt to evade the responsibility of reaching out to the people of Nineveh before God's appointed judgement.

Thank you for reading.

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The Pulpit, The Pew

The poorer the pulpit

The poorer the pew

The called are many

But chosen are few.

Dead are many

Whom to pride heed

Many are dead

Whom to greed heed.

Your piety I pity

If nursed by lust

Shall your soul be saved

When all return to dust?

Should you forget Golgotha

Astray will you go;

The Savior, Christ, is calling

Please don’t say no 

Let’s all voice the gospel

To make many the few

And the holier the pulpit

The holier the pew.

===Written by: Jacobs Adewale ===

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Swift To Listen, Slow To Speak & Slow To Anger

Hello,

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20)

This subject matter is a very sensitive one, in which everybody is guilty of it, in one way or the other. How many of us do obey the above bible passage to the letter? When others are talking, do we listen at all? When it is time to speak, do we rush to speak or speak from a thoughtful mind? Are we always in haste to return fire for fire or an eye for an eye? These and many other instances are what we are all guilty of.

Using myself as an example, I'm not easily enraged but I'm fast to speak. When somebody has done me wrong and such wrong has come to my realization, I usually fire from all direction, making sure that such person sees his or her wrongdoing, though I'm not necessarily angry. But this is very wrong, I shouldn't have verbally attacked my offender immediately.

The right disposition is for me to exercise patience and calm down for a while, allowing a wave of reflection to sweep across the mind of that person. After that, I can now approach that person, to press for the discontent I have against his or her action. At this point, I should also allow that person to do much of the talking, else, the person may feel intimidated and may not even concede to my inquisition.

One benefit of this level of rapport is that, my offender would no longer be on the 'offensive' but rather 'defensive.' This is very good for me in that, I would be able to gather a lot about what must have prodded such an action. And by so doing, I've won because the reality is unfolded and every abstract summation is no longer valid.

What about being swift to listen? We've got some jaw-breaking scriptural admonitions in Proverbs which I will be quoting:
"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

"Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them."

"Whoever guard his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from trouble."

"Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise, when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent."

One of the fundamental skills of communication is basically the act of 'listening.' How often do we listen to comprehend what we are being fed? Listening is equivalent to learning. When listening is going on, the mind is able to assimilate and process information, coming in form of codes to ascertain the reality of such algorithm. A non-listening mind may not be able to decode or decipher the messages thereof. Such inattentive person will eventually be asking unnecessary, unrealistic and irrelevant questions, bringing a draw back in communication.

In another context, if you are a good listener, you will be able to ask good questions. Good questions are asked to confirm or reaffirm the kernel of any premise, supposition or proposition, so as not to be confused. However, loquacious elements may not be that composed to pick every nuance of such communications. No wonder Proverbs 18:2 says, "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in expressing his opinion." Moreover, "fools speaks because they have to say something but wise men speaks because they have something to say."

How about being slow to anger? Very few of us know that unnecessary anger, restlessness, could induce a cardiac arrest. When one is angry, the heart is being forced to pump blood at a very high pressure rate, triggering the adrenaline hormone and causing some discomfort to the circulatory system of the body. If such situation persists and care is not taken, the host body may breakdown. And to make it worst, anybody with history of cardio-related problems or high blood pressure is really looking for trouble, when such a person willingly engages in skirmishes.

Anger is a very potent tool of the devil to destroy the life of man. Each time man is angry, there is tendency to destroy things unimaginable. Anger can ruin one's life if caution is thrown to the wind. "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1. Although, we can be angry sometimes, but not to the extent that the sun will go down on it.

Obviously, the biggest culprit in all of these, is the fiery tongue of man. The tongue is a powerful tool of man that can make or mar one's fate, either physically or spiritually. Guarding or bridling our tongue is such a necessity, required to getting away from unnecessary trouble, chaos, hatred and restlessness.

An angry man or woman is completely lost from reality. Such a person is usually enmeshed in pride and hatred, which could cause grave consequences if unabated. Anger is a SPIRIT. When one is angry, you are completely lost to that spirit world and until you are brought back, you may probably or possibly destroy your own life, the life of your loved ones, and of course, your supposed enemy.

Having self control is very essential. It gives room for the use of one's discretion to access a would-be crisis, before reacting. Let's take this life one by one and co-exist as one big family, created by God.

Remain blessed!

===Written by: Odunayo O. Emmanuel ===

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Who Rules Over Your Life?

THE SELF OR THE SAVIOUR?

The echelon of crookedness and pervasiveness of mankind have elevated to a state where one begins to dread what eternity holds for the human race. Friends, families, relatives, covered in the dust of death have left us with the onus to make things right and prepare a better tomorrow for generations unborn. Alas, what stares us all in the face are the ills our ignominy, enmity and immorality have spawned.

Critically observing the evolution of man in recent times, I would want to categorize the human race into two: The Slave and The Saved. The saved are true believers of Christ, living their everyday lives by faith and leaning on the Holy Spirit; bringing forth the works of righteousness; building goodly and godly homes, and ensuring that the unborn generation meets a legacy of righteousness till the coming of Christ.

The slaves, on the other hand, are the multitudes basking in the luxury of immorality, impiety and unrighteousness; driven by lust and evil passions to gain the world and care about nothing else but themselves. They are the prisoners of life with an acute poverty of the mind; shallow rooted souls, ignorant of what will befall them when it’s all been said and done.

Truly, by their fruits you shall know them. “For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit; the figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a bramble bush” (Luke 6:44). However,  Galatians 5: 19-21, 22-23, juts a reflection of what the saved and the slaves are like by their fruits.

THE SAVED bear fruit of: love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), and self-control.

THE SLAVE bear fruit of: immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, division (dissensions), party spirit, heresies, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the likes. And to these set of people, “God’s righteous decree is that they deserve to die…”

The self is the product of the flesh, ruled by the devil and it enslaves. The Saviour, Jesus Christ saves and freely gives life eternal to them that will accept, believe and trustingly endure by His grace till the end. What shall it profit you to remain a slave, gain the whole world and eventually lose your soul?

Dear friend, read the hand writing on the wall and tell me if the end isn't near. Read papers, watch T.V. stations, check the internet and all you see are depraved minds ignorant of what life really is all about. Sex, money, fame, love of power, corruption, entropy, etc are the orders of the day.

Very few care about what the 'dash in between' would report about them when the end of age comes. No wonder "many are called but chosen are few". Should you crave to be among the few that will make it to heaven and live eternally with Christ in His glory, now is the time to examine your life and answer for yourself the question: "who rules over your life?" "Are you a slave or saved?"

Tomorrow may be too late for you. Repent today and find peace and salvation for your soul in Christ. He (Jesus) alone has the power to save. "And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved than the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 4:12).

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy-laden, and I will cause you to rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek), and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest for your soul" (Matthew 11:28).

Allow Christ rule over your life, "cast all your burdens, worries and anxieties upon Him, for He cares about you." The world is rushing on to perdition, should your soul be saved, Christ alone must you seek. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears an listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him and will eat with him, and he will eat with Me." (Revelation 3:20).

In the end, it is the saved ones who have fought the good fight of faith, and won the race that will be entitled to the crown of righteousness. Is that individual you? If yes, The Saviour is reaching out to you today; only surrender and let faith guide you.

For more help you can contact us via email: getthetruth2@gmail.com. Or check the 'CONTACT US' on the home page on how to reach us. We would love to hear from you.

Jesus loves you and we love you too.

== Written by: The Admin,

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A Crown Of Thorns

His garb was stripped and torn

His life was good as gone

A crown of thorns He wore

And all our sins He bore.

They nailed Him on the cross

His life He counted loss

That you and I may know

How much He loves us so.

For us He chose to die

And left His home on high

And all these did He do

Even to shed His blood for you.

Don't take His grace in vain

And make Him weep again

Remember a crown of thorns He wore

And all our sins He gladly bore.

Should you choose to ignore

Him standing at the door

Knocking to sup with you,

I guess it's hell for you.

=== Written by: Jacobs Adewale (The Admin) ===
Thank you for reading.

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Bringing Men To Jesus

Text: John 4:27-30, 39-42.

evangelism

Everyone who has received salvation from Jesus Christ has the responsibility of telling others about Christ and bringing them to Him for salvation from sin.

In our text above, the Lord Himself preached the gospel to the Samaritan woman who in turn brought many people from the city to Christ (verse 29,30). Today, many born again Christians give excuses why they cannot reach out with the gospel message to sinners around them. Some complain of persecution, trials, or personal needs and problems. We must remember the example of our Lord Jesus Christ who, though He was hungry, yet fulfilled His responsibility to the Samaritan woman

In like manner, the early church, in spite of the persecution they suffered, went everywhere preaching the gospel (Acts 8:4). We must not allow our present needs and problems- accommodation, financial needs, joblessness, persecution and ridicule from people to hinder us from bringing sinners to the Lord.

The present condition of our society should stir us up. Multitudes are sick and dying in sin daily without Christ and without any hope of heaven. Perilous times are here. Iniquity is abounding everywhere. Believers must awake to the divine call to bring sinners back to God before it is too late. We must work now while it is day because "the night cometh, when no man can work" (John 9:4).

We can bring men to Christ through personal relationship, friendship, literature, hospital and prison evangelism. We can also organize crusades, street meetings and lunch hour fellowship in offices as means of reaching the mass for Christ.

For a fruitful evangelism, we must take time to be holy, prayerful and study relevant passages in the Bible on salvation. Like Christ, we must have compassion for lost souls, be persistent and patient. We must also depend upon the Spirit of God for assistance always.

Above all, we must lift up Jesus alone in our messages, for He says: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." If we neglect this duty, many more will be lost but if we obey, more souls will be saved from eternal damnation.

Thank you for reading.

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