GOD’S THREE MEN

MEMORY VERSE: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 1 Corinthians 2:14-15

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Timothy 3-4

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

The bible teaches that there are three basic types of men: the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man. The natural man is described in 1 Corinthians 2:14, where Paul says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The natural man is the unregenerate man; he has never been born of the Holy Ghost. He is spiritually dead and as such, he operates from his soul and body. He is sensual. In a nutshell, anyone - regardless of how principled he is or how much good morals he upholds - who has not accepted Jesus as His personal Lord and saviour is a natural man because he does not have the Holy Spirit inside him.The fellow may even observe the Christian lent yearly and answer to a Christian name because he was born into a Christian family. The natural man is at the mercy of the enemy. The natural man has a high appetite for sin, especially sexually sins. He is usually cunning and full of tricks.

The carnal man is described in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. Verses 1 says, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” The carnal man, therefore, is still a babe. Although he has given his life to Christ, he still enjoys a bit of the world. Although Christ now resides inside him, He does not posses him fully. The carnal man does not have a regular quiet time where he sits at the feet of Jesus to learn. He depends on others for spiritual food. The moment he faces any challenges he starts to blame God. He is cold today and hot tomorrow.The three marks of a carnal Christian are envy, strife and division. Verses 3 says, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? " Once in a while, he indulges in quarrels. He retaliates when offended. The image of Christ is not fully formed in him. He is impatient. There are still some parts of the bible that he has trouble with. He hardly forgives talk less of forget. Even when he forgives, he still refers to the offence from time to time to punish the offender or make him feel guilty.

However, there is the spiritual man. 1 Corinthians 2:15 says, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” He lives by the spirit. Christ has taken full possession of him. He is more concerned about what he can do for Christ not what Christ can do for him. The spiritual man discerns. He is able to detect false doctrine and false fire. Whilst the carnal man loves to show off, the spiritual man is not a 'show off'. The spiritual man is a broken Christian. He is a man of the word. He studies the word ferociously and obeys the word. These, then, are the three types of men (and women). This brings us to the question, which are you? Are you a natural man? It is true that you answer a Christian name, are you a Christian? Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour? This is not an issue of whether you go to church or not? This is not an issue of whether you went to a Christian school or not? This not an issue of whether you don't fornicate or steal. You may not steal but tell little harmless lies. Or you have given your life to Christ but you have remained at the same spot for a long time. You still don't have a place and a time where you meet with Christ daily to learn.

QUESTION : It is true that you have Christ but does Christ have you?

PRAYER POINT: Ask the Lord to help you to be a better Christian and also make up your mind to live a life that is pleasing to God.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

THE 'THREE' WHO MUST RUN FROM ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

MEMORY VERSE: Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Proverbs 31:6-7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 11-15

There are three groups of people who must stay away from alcoholic beverages. An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits (or distilled beverage). The first group are leaders, ‘heads’, kings or princes. Proverbs 31:4 says this: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:” When you go through the scriptures, you will see the level of havoc and embarrassment that can come one’s way if one consumes alcohol. According to Genesis 6:9, Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation. In other words, he was blameless before God. One day Noah became drunk and passed out in his tent. This righteous man lay stark-naked in his tent embarrassing himself. His children saw what they should not have seen. This is what happens when one gets drunk, people around will begin to see what they should not see. Lot, a disciplinarian, who raised two virgins in a corrupt nation,Sodom, got drunk and slept with his two daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). He was so drunk, when he woke the next morning, he could not remember what happened the night before. This man did what he should not have done as a result of wine. One may rightly argue that all this happened to these people because they got drunk. That’s true, but do you know that it is only when you drink that you will become drunk? Those who don’t drink don’t get drunk.

The second group are spiritual heads e.g. bishops, pastors, elders, etc. 1 Timothy 3:2-3 says, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;” Our God is sovereign. He can choose to speak at any time. He can choose speak to you whilst you are in the bathroom. He can choose to wake one up at 2am and speak to the fellow, probably to expound the scripture to the person. He can choose to speak whilst you are in conversation with people. And when He speaks, most times, it is in still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). If He decides to speak whilst one is sitted with a bottle of bear or a glass of wine, one may miss it. Or if one drinks a glass of wine and falls asleep and He decides to wake one up that night to intercede because a member is going through a spiritual attack, the fellow may not wake up. According to Isaiah 28:7, wine causes one to err in vision. God maybe saying ‘child don’t enter that blue car.’ Because of alcohol in the system, one may hear ‘child enter that blue car’. People may point to Paul's admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 as a reason to drink wine. That wine was for health not pleasure, just as an antibiotics is for health not for pleasure. The third group are those who want to stay alive and be strong and healthy. Proverbs 31:6-7 says, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” Studies have shown that alcohol kills more teenagers than all other drugs combined. Also, 39 per cent of all traffic deaths involved alcohol. In addition, 40 percent of violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol. One may argue that taking alcohol once in a while is not harmful. Well, according to Proverbs 23:32, wine bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Only one encounter with a snake is enough to get a snake bite. A glass is enough to increase one's chances of having liver cirrhosis.

NOTE: You may know a lot of people who have been drinking for donkey years who are still healthy. Remember we are not all the same. Some are allergic to certain things while others are not. Some people's liver are made of 'iron' while others are made of tissue. Unfortunately, you don’t know what type of liver you have.

FACT: According to 1 Corinthians 6:9, no drunkards will be allowed through the pearly gates!

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.