WHAT TYPE OF CHRISTIAN?

Ephesians 5:23 – for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of church: and he is the saviour of the body.

The world has changed to the extent that it is hard to single out a believer in a crowd. It has gotten to the point where believers are now invisible in the midst of a crowd. According to Matthew 5:14, we are the light of the world. If the light now becomes invisible in the midst of darkness then there is a problem. As big as the city of Antioch was, the disciples stood out despite the fact that they were very few in number. They stood out in the way they conducted themselves. They were men of integrity. They were open, sincere and trustworthy. They dazzled the whole city with their humility and good character.

The most important part of the human body is the head. The head is used for identification. That is why when we apply for a visa or a job, we are required to attach a passport photograph of our head not our arm, neck or leg. In Ephesians 5:23 the bible describes Christ as the head of the church. The church is not the building but the members in it. When people come to us or when they see us, the first thing they should notice is Christ not a celebrity or a circular musical artist. The question we need to ask ourselves as believers is what are we promoting- kingdom lifestyles or worldly lifestyles? When we enter a room, what do people see? Is it our achievement, wealth, degree or business success or Jesus? Many of us have bought into the thinking that Christianity is a thing of the heart, and people around do not need to know. It is impossible to live a life of holiness and people around will not notice. When everyone is having sex before marriage and you say 'no' to sex before marriage they will notice. When everyone is accepting bribes and you say 'no' they will notice. When everyone around is using offensive words and swearing and they never hear you swear or curse they will take notice of you. When they invite you to club on Friday night or disco and you politely refuse and stay at home to study your bible they will notice. Are you a Christian brother who is single and still keeps condoms in the house or wallet? Or a sister who still keeps pregnancy prevention pills. The bible has said no to sex before marriage, what is the need of condoms and pregnancy prevention pills? What are we doing with  nude pictures on our mobiles or pornographic materials ? All these materials only pollute the mind. Christians should not be found with these things. You call yourself a Christian and you have never invited anyone to church, how do you evangelize then? We all need to ask ourselves, are we really practicing Christianity as outlined in the bible?

KEY QUESTION:  When people see us, what do they see? Is it our head which is Jesus or us?

WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY?

Revelations 22:13 - I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

One of the interpretations of the name Alpha and Omega is the One who decides the beginning and ending of a season. He also determines the duration of a season. According to Matthew 10:29 a sparrow will not fall to the ground without His knowledge.

A synonym for the word Omega is the One who has the final say. Whatever situation you may find yourself today, i want you to know that God who has the final say. Death does not have the final say. A dead man in the coffin can still be brought back to life, Luke 7:11-17. Even the one that has been buried for four days, John 11:38-44. It is only God that decides when a man’s ministry is over. The dry bones of Elisha raised the dead, 2 Kings 13:21. It is God that helps or support not our support network. It is also God who decides if you will receive help or not. Those in David’s support network abandoned him for his enemies. They took all the help David could get with them. They thought it was over for David so they came to kill him but God used trees to fight for David and his enemies lost , 2 Samuel 18:8. The One who has the final say over curses whether generational curses or not is God. The source of the curse could be unknown or the one who place the curse might be dead. I want to tell you, such curses can still be cancelled by God. The woman who placed cursed on Jabez was nowhere to be found but he ran to God and God cancelled the curse, 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. The whole world can make up their mind not to show you mercy; just ignore them because it is God has the final say on who receives mercy. The whole community decided that the woman caught in adultery did not deserve a second chance but when she was brought before Jesus, she received a second a chance, John 8:1-11. The One who has the final say on the subject of marriage is God not your place of birth, your parents or social status. After all Esther was an orphan in a foreign land and ended up as the queen. Your case might be similar to that of Gideon, who was disadvantaged in all areas - he didn't look the part, lacks boldness, came from the smallest tribe, smallest family and the least in the family. It is God has the final say on who becomes a leader not physical quality or eloquence or status. The enemies can try but they cannot decide your end. They put Daniel in lion’s den but God said it is not over. They put the three Hebrews boys in the fire, God said it is not over. It is God who has the final say not sickness or status. The One who has the final say wants me to tell you fear thou not , for i am with thee: be not dismayed ;for i am thy God. I will strengthen thee;yea, i will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, Isaiah 41:10.

PRAYER POINT - Lift up your hands and begin to thank God He has the final say over your challenges . Thank Him because He has promised to help . Thank Him because you all will be help at last.

FASTING VERSUS HUNGER STRIKE

Matthew 17:21 – Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Fasting is not an option for Christians but a must. When Jesus was addressing the subject of fasting with His disciples in Matthew 6:16, He said “moreover, when you fast...” not ‘if you fast’ which means He expected them to fast. Fasting has so many advantages. It is used to increase spiritual strength (Matthew 17:14-21). Fasting disciplines the body and makes it a useful instrument to God. 2 Timothy 2:21 says if anyone himself cleanses from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for good work. Fasting gives us victory over fleshly desires. Paul said “i keep under my body, and bring into subjection: lest that by any means, when i have preached to others, I myself show be a castaway”, 1 Corinthians 9:27. Fasting has been found to be helpful when dealing with addiction e.g. smoking, drinking, masturbation e.t.c. It has also been used to treat anger problems. By saying ‘no’ to natural appetite (food), you are building up the willpower to say ‘no’ to fleshly appetite. Fasting builds our inner strength and diminishes the power of the flesh over us, Romans 6:12-16. This was why before Jesus began His ministry, He set aside time to pray and fast. Matthew 4:2 says and when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. There are victories or breakthrough that does not come except through fasting. We can work hard and read all the books on success. Without fasting one will be hitting his head against a brick wall. That was why when the disciples could not heal the man’s child; Jesus told them that this kind does not go except through fasting and prayer.

Fasting must be done in consonance with obedience to the word of God. When fasting is done in sin it becomes a hunger strike. In Zechariah 7:3-7, the people fasted on the 15th and 17th of every month for seventy years and saw no results. When they inquired of God, He told them they were on hunger strike not fasting because of they were living in disobedience. Fasting period is not a time to seek pleasure but to be sober. It is also not the time to fight or partake in unnecessary debates. It is a time to pray and study the bible not to spend four hours watching your favourite drama or sitcoms. It is a time to excel in good works – feed the hungry, give clothes to the naked. When you fast wear nice clean clothes, be radiant and smile not look angry and haggard and people begin to ask if you are alright. Fasting can turn to hunger strike when one keeps a sad countenance or disfigure his or her face so that people can inquire what is wrong and he can boast to them that he has been fasting and will be break by 6pm. What are the results of fasting? Isaiah 58:8-9 says your light shall break forth like the morning, healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall your rear guard and when you call to him He will answer.

KEY POINT: In the middle of the December celebrations, set time out to pray and fast for God’s protection. Also feed the hungry and homeless.

GREATER TOMORROW

Job 8:7 – though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.
 For every beginning, there is an ending. For every first, there is a last. For every start, there is a finish. The only One who has no ending is God because He has no beginning. Colossians 1:17 says He is before all things. One common feature of every beginning is they are always small. Huge lions are born as little harmless cubs , mighty giants are born as little babies. Contrary to popular beliefs, your beginning  has nothing to do with your end. How a man starts a race does not determine how he will end the race. Saul started as an ordinary farm boy but he ended up on the throne. One’s position at the beginning does not necessarily determine one’s position at the end. Joseph started as the second to the last born but  he ended up as the first in the family. Gideon started from the smallest tribe in Israel, smallest family in his tribe, least in his father’s house but he ended as the first in the whole nation. One’s status or role at the beginning has got nothing to do with one's future . Daniel started as a slave in a foreign land and ended up as second in Command to the Most Powerful man in the world! By the special grace of God i have seen a toilet cleaner become a manager in the same company. So the beginning has got nothing to do with the ending. Rahab started as a prostitute in Jericho but ended up as the great grandmother of David in Israel.

  Your end is not determined by the support network around you or your experience or what you know or who you know. It is decided by two factors – God and you.Zechariah 4:6 says it is not by power nor by strength but by the spirit of the living God. Strength can fail – Isaiah 40:30, Riches can develop wings and fly away – Proverbs 23:5 but our God remains. God has made up His mind to give you a great future. Jeremiah 29:11 says for I know the thoughts i have towards you says the Lord of Host, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. God’s part is settled, it is our part that we need to worry about. To have a greater tomorrow it takes our willingness and obedience. Isaiah 1:19 says if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. It takes strong faith in God. Mark 9:23 says all things are possible to him who believes. It takes humility and submission to God and authorities. Proverbs 16:5 says a proud heart is an abomination to God. It takes prayers and fasting. Matthew 17:21 says howbeit this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. There are some breakthroughs that come only by fasting and prayer. It takes a life of Holiness. Hebrew 12:14 says without holiness no man shall see God. You want to see God in that challenge? Live holy. God is ready and waiting to take you to the top. Are you ready?

PRAYER POINT: Father , I am ready please give the grace to pay the price to reach the top.

LOVE OF CHRIST

Romans 8:35 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution , or famine , or nakedness, or peril , or sword ?

God is love – 1 John 4:8. Out of His love, He gave His only begotten son – Jesus as a sin offering to die on the cross. Out of the same love, Jesus decided to offer His life on the cross – John 10:18. No one can love you the way Christ loved you. Not even your children, husbands or wives, not your friends or families .John 15:13 says greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus did not love us because we were perfect or saints. He loved us because He is love just as the father is. Romans 5:8 says God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Out of love, Jesus allowed Himself to be beaten and hung on a cross like a criminal so that by the stripes sustained from the beating, we will be healed in all areas of our lives. Today He is calling drug addicts , the forgotten ,the cast away and forgotten , the helpless and downtrodden to come to Him so that He might give them life and life in abundance. Out of this same love, He said “whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son -John 14:13.”

1 John 4:19 says we love Him because He first loved us. Because of Christ's  love to us, we are expected to reciprocate this love back to Him. We should not be a summer friends to Him – friends when everything is rosy, jolly and nice. We are expected to love Him when we are under pressure, in great anxiety and distress of mind, in danger, when we are persecuted even when our lives are in danger. What happens when we love Jesus during challenges and trials  is that He loves us more. In Daniel 3:1-30, the love of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for God were tested .Nebuchadnezzar gave them the option of bowing down to an idol and living or refusing and be thrown in a burning furnace. These three men remembered how God out of love had promoted them from slaves to become administrators in a foreign land. They decided to reciprocate their love to Him by choosing not bow to any idol and be thrown into the burning furnace. God was so moved by their love for Him that He left His throne in heaven  to come and fellowship with these boys in the furnace. By the end of that day, God had so much glorified Himself in their lives , Nebuchadnezzar had no other option than to promote them. Whatever it is you are going through, please do not forsake God. Do not seize serving him. In that present challenge, do not seize to give him praises and show your love to Him. As you proof your love to Him in difficult situations, He will come through and glorify Himself in your life.

PRAYER POINT – Father, help me to love you regardless of what i may be going through.

OUR FIRST LOVE

Revelations 2:4 - Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

In Revelations 2:1-5 God expressed His disappointment in the Church in Ephesus. At the beginning they were very passionate for Jesus. They were committed in the things of God, they loved holiness and righteousness. Out of their zeal to please Christ they worked extremely hard at keeping the church free from false prophets. Somewhere along the line, their commitments to the gospel of the cross began to come into question. Their passion and love for their saviour began to dwindle at an unbelievable speed. The state of this church can be compared to the walk of many in Christ at the moment. Many of us when we first gave our life to Christ, we were very hot for Jesus. We will not miss church services. We will get to the church before the door of the church was opened. When some first gave their life to Christ, they were so pure they will never look at any man or woman lustfully. They will never entertain any rude joke or give place to ungodly thoughts in their heart. They will never swear or curse anyone. They were always busy witnessing on the buses, in the streets, at college, university even at work. Many used to wake up at night to pray and intercede. They will do morning and evening devotion. They will take time out to spend quality time with Jesus just singing praises and worship .They never miss bible study or any other mid week service in the church. Today many no longer serve God the way they used to serve God when they first gave their life to Christ. They have forgotten their first love. When you ask them why? They will tell you they have been busy.

I was taking my bath one morning when the Holy Spirit began to remind me how i used to spend at least an hour singing praises and worship. He reminded me how at times i will spend lunch singing praises but i no longer do that. I began to give flimsy excuses of how i had to this and do that. He apologised for my so – called busy life. I immediately knelt down and i apologised to Him. I forgot that that the dead are not busy neither are the sick. Are you like me who became so busy that He forgot to say thank you? Thank God i am wiser now. Never be too busy to say thank you Jesus. Is yours different in that you have forgotten your first love? You no longer witness as you used to; you no longer wake up to pray; your punctuality is not as it used to be. Are you a shadow of what you used to be in the Lord – holy and pure? Or is yours completely different in that when you were seeking the face of God over your life partner or job or promotion you were fervent but today you are no more. You were a choir before the Lord provided the brother, now you are too busy to even attend choir practice talk less of minister or you were an usher before the big contract , now you have a car and a big house , you are too big to usher in the vine yard of God. Please repent today! The Lord is calling us to go back to our first love.

KEY POINT: Repent and go back to your first love.

ACCEPTING REBUKE OR ELSE

Proverbs 29:15 – The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Rebuke and chastisement are not to be used for victimization or bullying. They are not to be used to oppress or force people to do things that are wrong. Doing this is an abuse of power and God greatly disapproves of this. Rebuke and Chastisement are to show love. When we notice a son or daughter treading the part of destruction or doing things that may incur the wrath of God out of love let us rebuke and chastise them. The Lord said in Revelations 3:19 ‘as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. God often rebukes and chastens those He loves .One of the advantages of rebuke and chastisement is that it brings about wisdom. When we are rebuked and chastised over a matter, instead of getting angry or take offence, let’s change. It is for our good because once we accept correction and change, we will become wise. Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory. Daniel 12:3 says those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens. You want to shine in your chosen field of endeavour or marriage or business or ministry? Be ready to change and accept correction when rebuked and chastised over a matter . From time to time, God uses our parents physically or in the Lord to rebuke us, instead of arguing and getting angry let us humble ourselves and change. It is pride not listen to correction.

Proverbs 29:15 says the rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. One of the biggest disservice an individual or a family can do to themselves is to refuse to be rebuked. When such individual or family does that, they are left alone and shame is not far from such. In 2 Chronicles 26 is the story of Uzziah the king of Judah. He became so big that He was willing to discipline men of God when they rebuked him for trying to offer incense in the house of God. God became angry with Uzziah and leprosy fell on him. In 2 Kings 13:14-19 Joash was given an opportunity to completely deal with all his enemies. Because of the way this king dealt with the opportunity, Elisha rebuked him and corrected him . Instead of accepting correction and changing ,he became angry and refused. That was how he lost the opportunity to wipe away his enemies . Today,how are you dealing with that opportunity God gave to you to work in His vineyard. Do you get angry and decide not to work again in God's vineyard when rebuked? If you have been rebuked over a matter instead of leaving and courting shame, why not change and be wise so that you can have a glorious future.

KEY POINT: Ask God to forgive you for refusing correction. Every area where you have been corrected, begin to make corrections.