The Christian’s Obligation To The Lord

Text: Matthew 25:14-30

All believers have a responsibility to fulfill the purpose of God for the Church in the world. Having accepted the gospel and becoming children, they must accept the obligation of passing the message of salvation to other people.

God expects every believer to join in the urgent task of rescuing those on the path of destruction.

The Lord has endowed every one of His children with certain gifts, abilities and talents to enable them serve Him. These talents, which include ability to preach, teach, evangelize, help, provide succor, etc., are to be deployed for the benefit of other people. Also, the blessings of God are not to be selfishly kept to ourselves, but to be used to expand His kingdom; we receive to give.

As love prompted God’s great gift of His Son, so His love in our hearts should prompt us to give, minister and engage in loving services in the church for the welfare and happiness of other people. Our commitment should constrain us to evangelize, invite people into the church, warmly receive and care for new church comers and cultivate their friendship.

We must also not default in paying our tithes and offerings for the support of the local church and mission work.

As committed members of the body of Christ, we must be true and faithful ambassadors of Christ by upholding the teachings of the Bible. If we are faithful and the Lord meets us so, we shall be greatly rewarded when He comes to take home His own.

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Welcome To August!

From The Truth Media family,

Happy New Month!!!

I’ve seen the ways of the humble and just,

How they March through grace to August;

Though sometimes are weary but never weak,

They in the Lord abide and remain meek.

When trials fester and persecutors pester,

They stand resolute and bold as Esther,

Confidence reposed in the King of kings,

Knowing that triumph is what He gladly brings.

Let this mind be in you this August

And not to delight in contention or lust;

Sow for yourself righteousness

And reap the fruit of love and God’s goodness.

Another month, another blessing,

Another month of progressing.

Welcome to August!

*** Written by Michael Olajubu alias Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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There Is No Wisdom In Sin

The world has divided men into two classes, the stupid good people and the clever wicked ones.

This false classification runs through much of the literature of the last centuries from the classics to the comic strip, from Shakespeare’s Polomus, who furnished his son with a set of good but dull moral platitudes, to Capp’s Li’l Abner, who would never knowingly do a wrong act but who would rather fall on his head than on his feet because there is more feeling in his feet than in his head.

In the Holy Scriptures things are quite the opposite. There righteousness is always associated with wisdom and evil with folly. Whatever other factors may be present in an act of wrongdoing, folly is one that is never absent. To do a wrong act a man must for the moment think wrong; he must exercise bad judgment.

If this is true then the devil is creation’s prime fool, for when he gambled on his ability to unseat the Almighty he was guilty of an act of judgment so bad as to be imbecilic, He is said to have had a great amount of wisdom, but his wisdom must have deserted him at the time of his first sin, for surely he grossly underestimated the power of God and as grossly overestimated his own. The devil is not now pictured in the Scriptures as wise, only as shrewd. We are warned not against his wisdom but against his wiles, something very different.

Sin, I repeat, in addition to anything else it may be, is always an act of wrong judgment. To commit a sin a man must for the moment believe that things are different from what they really are; he must confound values; he must see the moral universe out of focus; he must accept a lie as truth and see truth as a lie; he must ignore the signs on the highway and drive with his eyes shut; he must act as if he had no soul and was not accountable for his moral choices.

Sin is never a thing to be proud of. No act is wise that ignores remote consequences, and sin always does. Sin sees only today, or at most tomorrow; never the day after tomorrow, next month or next year. Death and judgment are pushed aside as if they did not exist and the sinner becomes for the time a practical atheist who by his act denies not only the existence of God but the concept of life after death.

History is replete with examples of men whose intellectual powers were great but whose practical judgment was almost nil: Einstein, for instance, who was a mathematical genius but who could not look after his own bank account and who absent-mindedly ran his little motorboat aground with the excuse that he “must have been thinking about something else.” We can smile at this, but there is nothing humorous about that other class of men who had brilliant minds but whose moral judgment was sadly awry. To this class belong such men as Lucretius, Voltaire, Shelley, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman and thousands of others whose names are less widely known.

The notion that the careless sinner is the smart fellow and the serious-minded Christian, though well-intentioned, is a stupid dolt altogether out of touch with life will not stand up under scrutiny. Sin is basically an act of moral folly, and the greater the folly the greater the fool.

It is time the young people of this generation learnt that there is nothing smart about wrongdoing (sin) and nothing stupid about righteousness. We must stop negotiating with evil. We Christians must stop apologizing for our moral position and start making our voices heard, exposing sin for the enemy of the human race which it surely is, and setting forth righteousness and true holiness as the only worthy pursuits for moral beings.

The idea that sin is modern is false. There has not been a new sin invented since the beginning of recorded history. That new vice breaks out to horrify decent citizens and worry the police is not really new. Flip open that book written centuries ago and you will find it described there. The reckless sinner trying to think of some new way to express his love of iniquity can do no more than imitate others like himself, now long dead. He is not the bright rebel he fancies himself to be but a weak and stupid fellow who must follow along in the long parade of death toward the point of no return.

If the hoary head is a crown of glory when it is found in the way of righteousness, it is a fool’s cap when it is found in the way of sin. An old sinner is an awesome and frightening spectacle. One feels about him much as one feels about the condemned man on his way to the gallows. A sense of numb terror and shock fills the heart. The knowledge that the condemned man was once a red-cheeked boy only heightens the feeling, and the knowledge that the aged rebel now beyond reclamation once went up to the house of God on a Sunday morning to the sweet sound of church bells makes even the trusting Christian humble and a little bit scared. There but for the grace of God goes he.

I am among those who believe that Western civilization is on its way to perishing. It has many commendable qualities, most of which it has borrowed from the Christian ethic, but it lacks the element of moral wisdom that would give it permanence. Future historians will record that we of the ‘twenty-first’ century had intelligence enough to create a great civilization but not the moral wisdom to preserve it.

** Written by Aiden Wilson Tozer (A.W. Tozer) **

*** From the Book - "Man: The Dwelling Place of God" ***

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The Will Of God For Believers

A remarkable difference between a believer in Christ and the unregenerated is the former’s total yieldedness to the will of God.

The sinner by nature cannot obey or carry out God’s will. He or she is controlled by self-will – the will of man – and daily desires to satisfy the cravings of the flesh. But as for the believer, his/her heart thirsts and pants after God’s will for therein lies his or her victory and success in life.

The true believer, like his/her Master and Saviour, declares plainly to all and sundry in words and deeds: “my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work. I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 4:34, 5:30).

To glorify and worship the Lord in thoughts, words and deeds are the believer’s ambitions. Moreover, through prayer, diligent searching of the Scriptures and counseling from Spirit-filled Bible believing Christian leaders, the true believer finds out what the will of God is for him/her in every area of his/her life. His/her understanding of what the will of God is for his/her makes him/her to be more committed in doing it.

However, God’s revealed will for us may be contrary to our expectations, unpleasant to the flesh and dissatisfying to well-wishers and sympathizers. Yet, true believers will receive this with joy and “in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

It is God’s will that we should be sanctified and live in holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Also, the uprightness of character that God expects us to maintain in our relationship to sinners and rulers is explicitly outlined in 1 Peter 2:11-17. Our consecration and commitment to holy living and obedience to civil authorities, as much as this does not conflict with the Scriptures, is part of God’s will for us in order to silence the ignorant and the foolish.

Nevertheless, we are not to be conformed to this world as we are but strangers and pilgrims here on earth. Essentially, whatever will take salvation from us, defeat our testimony in Christ or diminish God’s glory in our lives is not the will of God.

As Christians, it behooves on us to daily examine ourselves whether we are still in the faith and doing the will of God. For those who know and do God’s will are those that Christ recognizes as His brother, sister and mother (Mark 3:35; Matthew 12:50; Luke 8:21).

Mere profession of Christ as Lord, regular church attendance, giving of tithes and offerings, attending vigils and engaging in other church programs do not guarantee entrance into the kingdom of God. Only those who do the will of God will abide in the presence of the Lord forever.

Now, in all honesty and sincerity of heart ask yourself this question: are you doing the will of God for your life?

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Search Me, O God

Search me, O God, and know my heart today;

Try me, O Lord, and know my thoughts I pray;

See if there be some wicked way in me,

Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord for cleansing me from sin;

Fulfill Thy Word, and make me pure within;

Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame

Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;

Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;

Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;

I now surrender - Lord, in me abide.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;

Send a revival - start the work in me:

Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;

For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

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Is Your God Able To Deliver?

A Christian who cowers with fear and trepidation at all threats and challenges of life really doesn’t know the God he or she claims to serve.

Such a Christian is one the Lord describes as, “O, ye of little faith” and is not deeply rooted and built up in Christ nor established in the faith that moves mountains. The body of Christ doesn’t rejoice in cowardice for we have not been given the spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

We should know that there will always be oppositions and daunting times in every believer’s life. Daily, our adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He is still in the business of killing, stealing and destroying the souls of men (John 10:10), and his major and only target are the very elects of God who have chosen to live by the Spirit and are dead to the works of the flesh.

It is undeniable that our Christian walk can never be devoid of trials and adversity, “for we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Even the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Truly, only in Christ do we have lasting victory over the world’s difficulties and troubles. To trust in the arm of flesh is to settle for disappointments, depression and despair. But no true child of God ever knows defeat for his or her trust and confidence is in the Lord, God Almighty (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

This brings to memory the uncommon and uplifting story of the three Hebrew brothers – Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah – and how mightily God works for them that solely trust in Him. There’s no one who ever reads the Bible, even the book of Daniel 3:1-30 and would doubt the unrivaled power of the Most High God.

King Nebuchadnezzar openly put to test the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (as we all know them to be called) and wanted to know if their God was able to deliver. As the incident was recorded, King Nebuchadnezzar had made an image of gold and ordered all his provincial officials to worship it and warned that whoever does not worship the image will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.

The three Hebrew brothers with knowledge of God’s clear command in Exodus 20:1-5, 34:14-17, knew better not to worship a man-made god with eyes but cannot see, with ears but cannot ear and with mouth but cannot talk. To shorten the story, these brothers defied the King’s order and were thrown into the furnace. Then the miraculous happened afterwards.

What, however, strikes the mind is the Kings query when the brothers defied his order. King Nebuchadnezzar asked, “Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hand?” (Daniel 3:13-15).

Have you ever been in a situation where your faith is put to severe test? Your salary hasn’t been paid for months and your rent is due, your partner’s business isn’t as vibrant as it was, your child’s school tuition fee is impending and you are running out of stock for food. You ask a colleague for loan and he or she is requesting a nonnegotiable thirty percent interest on principal every month. Your siblings and relatives all exhume excuses with global economic cash crunch.

For want of alternatives, you ask few neighbors around and one of them puts it straight to your face, “but I thought you are a Christian and all these are happening to you. Don’t you pray? Why not ask your God for help?” You look at all sides and see no one to turn to. And here the devil rejoices at your calamity, asking you this same question, what god will be able to deliver you from my hand?

Dear brethren, learn from the Hebrew brothers and be strengthened by the example of their faith. And they responded, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

Time and again has history revealed that they that know their God are strong and shall not be moved by the schemes of mean men or by threats and trials from the evil ones. They are not one to faint or falter in the days of adversity and times of troubles (Proverbs 24:10).

They are as brave lions that are never shaken. They have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they have no fear and in the end, they always look in triumph on their foes (Psalm 112:6-8). Now, the question is do you know the God you claim to serve? Is your God able to deliver?

But for those who do know their God and trust in Him, this is what He says to you, “I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you… I will give you praise and honour in every place you have suffered shame… and among all the people of the earth when I restore your fortunes before very eyes,” says the Lord (Zephaniah 3:18).

Don’t you believe it? If truly you do, then, have faith! The Lord is at work and He is able to deliver and save you from all your troubles.

*** Written by Michael Olajubu aka Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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Is Your Church A Lifeboat Or A Love Boat?

Aside the huge, ultramodern edifices, massive congregations, popularity of denominations and reputation of pastors that characterize the cynosure of modern day churches, is there an ounce of assurance for your church to be seen as a lifeboat church or a love boat church?

Such a thoughtful question as this requires an urgent response from church leaders and pastors on whom the destinies of several lives rest upon their shoulders by their calling (Acts 20:28).

Image Credit: Christian Media Magazine

Morton T. Kelsey, an Episcopal priest and religious writer, once said, “The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.” This assertion depicts the church as a lifeboat launched to rescue the helpless, depressed, hopeless, weary, and all manner of troubled souls needing resuscitation.

I couldn’t agree more with this stirring portrayal of the church as lifeboat (though some see the church as a love boat), for the Lord of the church did say “come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

History reveals that the church is depicted by the symbol of a boat, and in view of its maiden conception, a vessel of salvation (lifeboat); but to add plausibly in view of present realities, a vessel of entertainment and pleasure (love boat).

From the standpoint of the 21st century church, the concern that begs attention is whether the church is conscious, fervent and dutiful about the “Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). We are, sadly, in an era where it has become difficult to place a clear distinction between worldly organizations and the church.

There is an obvious but saddening shift in priority where the focus and consistent message from the pulpit is on prosperity and not power of the Triune God; mammon and not meekness and mercy; ease of life and not eternity; happiness (secondary and transient) and not holiness of life and joy in the Holy Ghost.

These are some of the concerns where, in fact, the world is in dire need of a lifeboat church as opposed to a love boat church. What then is a lifeboat church or a love boat church?...Please click this link to read full article: http://bit.ly/2uktyzq

** Written by Michael Olajubu alias Jacobs Adewale (Admin) **

*** Originally shared on Christian Media Magazine ***

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The Cure For A Fretful Spirit

The Holy Spirit, in Psalm 37:1-2, admonishes us to beware of irritation in our religious lives:

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.”

The word “fret” comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon and carries with it such a variety of meanings as bring a rather pained smile to our faces. Notice how they expose us and locate us behind our disguises. The primary meaning of the word is to eat, and from there it has been extended with rare honesty to cover most of the manifestations of an irritable disposition. “To eat away; to gnaw; to chafe; to gall; to vex; to worry; to agitate; to wear away”; so says Webster, and all who have felt the exhausting, corrosive effects of fretfulness know how accurately the description fits the facts.

Now, the grace of God in the human heart works to calm the agitation that normally accompanies life in such a world as ours. The Holy Spirit acts as a lubricant to reduce the friction to a minimum and to stop the fretting and chafing in their grosser phases. But for most of us the problem is not as simple as that.

Fretfulness may be trimmed down to the ground and its roots remain alive deep within the soul, there growing and extending themselves all unsuspected, sending up their old poisonous shoots under other names and other appearances.

It was not to the unregenerate that the words “Fret not” were spoken, but to God-fearing persons capable of understanding spiritual things. We Christians need to watch and pray lest we fall into this temptation and spoil our Christian testimony by an irritable spirit under the stress and strain of life.

It requires great care and a true knowledge of ourselves to distinguish a spiritual burden from religious irritation. We cannot close our minds to everything that is happening around us. We dare not rest at ease in Zion when the church is so desperately in need of spiritually sensitive men and women who can see her faults and try to call her back to the path of righteousness.

The prophets and apostles of Bible times carried in their hearts such crushing burdens for God’s wayward people that they could say, “Tears have been my meat day and night,” and “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain daughter of my people!” These men were heavy with a true burden. What they felt was not vexation but acute concern for the honour of God and the souls of men.

By nature some persons fret easily. They have difficulty separating their personal antipathies from the burden of the Spirit. When they are grieved they can hardly say whether it is a pure and charitable thing or merely irritation set up by other Christians having opinions different from their own.

Of one thing we may be sure, we can never escape the external stimuli that cause vexation. The world is full of them and though we were to retreat to a cave and live the remainder of our days alone we still could not lose them. The rough floor of our cave would chafe us, the weather would irritate us and the very silence would cause us to fret.

Deliverance from a fretting spirit may be by blood and fire, by humility, self abnegation and a patient carrying of the cross. There will always be “evildoers” and “workers of iniquity,” and for the most part they will appear to succeed while the forces of righteousness will seem to fail. The wicked will always have the money and the talent and the publicity and the numbers, while the righteous will be few and poor and unknown. The prayerless Christian will surely misread the signs and fret against the circumstances. That is what the Spirit warns us against.

Let us look out calmly upon the world; or better yet, let us look down upon it from above where Christ is seated and we are seated in Him. Though the wicked spread himself like “a green bay tree,” it is only for a moment. Soon he passes away and is not. “But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.” This knowledge should cure the fretting spirit.

** Written by Aiden Wilson Tozer (A.W. Tozer) **

*** From the Book - "Man: The Dwelling Place of God" ***

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Following Peace With All Men

Text: Romans 12:17-21, 14:17-19

As soon as a person confesses his or her sins, repents of them and accepts Jesus as his or her Lord and Saviour, he or she becomes a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) and is empowered by grace in the Holy Spirit to live a new life of peace with everyone.

Such a regenerated person finds it difficult to retaliate when offended and in as much as it lies in his or her power, he/she lives peaceably with all men. In words and deeds, he/she tries not to offend anyone and is quick to apologize in meekness when someone is wronged.

The Bible enjoins us as Christians to “follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). There are many reasons why we need to pursue peace in all our dealings: One, God commands that we live peaceably with all men. Two, it is not good to avenge ourselves as that right solely belongs to God. Rather, we are to promote peace at all times, giving place unto wrath (Romans 12:19).

A third reason is: to live peaceably with our neighbours is to enjoy peace of mind as well. By entertaining no injurious thoughts in our minds towards others helps us to stay healthy most of the time. Whereas, friction, quarrels and bitterness generate high blood pressure and hypertension which in turn impedes the health.

Moreover, in a world wrecked by hostility, hardheartedness and rancor, we shine as light to other people around (Matthew 5:16) when we follow peace with all men despite provocations to do the contrary. Thus, we become a source of encouragement and inspiration to others who find it challenging to live peaceably with their neighbours.

We make a ridicule of Christ, of our Christian profession and faith, and become a hindrance to others who would want to come to the Lord when we do not maintain a peaceable and cordial relationship with our neighbours.

The world is polluted as it is and as such, is in dire need of a different breed of individuals, men and women of clemency and modesty who would live for righteousness, love and holiness in obedience to the commandments of God.

As Christians, the truest evidence of our faith in Christ is in the lives we live both within and without the church. We are the living Bible the world sees and should our daily lives at home, at work, in the street and everywhere contradict the person, nature and character of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, then are we unfaithful servants and false in our devotion.

Beloved, look around you; people are hurting everywhere, people are dying every day; conflicts and wars thrive and the hearts of men brew daily with rage. But who has the unfettered will, might and power to make things right, mend broken hearts and salvage depressed souls?

This one thing I know that there is no other person under heaven given among men than can truly save and deliver from all shackles of sin and sorrow other than Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. But He will only do this through you and me by living peaceably with everyone today and every day.

So let’s walk the talk we preach and profess; shining our godly lights before men that they may see our good works born of faith and love, and glorify our Father which is in heaven.

*** Written by Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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Welcome To July!

From The Truth Media family,

Happy New Month!!!

A heart in pain, a soul with strain,

Though days before that bred July

Is fraught with loss and weighty lack,

Be grateful still, the Lord will supply.

Your nights be full of fears and groans,

So hard the tides, you wonder why;

And though despair defeats your smiles,

Be hopeful still, the Lord will supply.

The Lord will supply,

Even in July;

The poor man called, He answered him;

No shame befalls who trusts in Him.

Bestir your faith, wait on the Lord;

Trust in His word, delight in July;

Though folks around denigrate you,

Be faithful still, the Lord will supply.

*** Written by Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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