LESSONS from the days of Noah and Lot - Luke 17:26-30 (2)

‘’And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.’’ (Luke 17:26-27)

‘’ likewise also in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.’’ (Luke 17:28-30).

Lesson 2   -   Rejecting the Ark of Salvation

God always warns men about an impending judgment and destruction for sin. Are we listening and heeding His calls to us for the salvation of our souls? He sent Prophet Jonah to warn the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh about the need to repent from their wicked ways or else they would perish in their sins. 

Repent or you perish in your sins is one of the messages of the Gospel (Luke 13:3). God warns men to repent because He is a merciful God who is not willing that men perish but that they come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He is merciful and more willing to exercise mercy than judgment (James 2:13).

In the days of Noah, God created an Ark for the salvation of men based on repentance. Unfortunately, only 8 persons entered into the Ark and were saved from destruction while the unbelieving multitudes that refused to repent perished in the 40 day floods due to their disobedience and unbelief in God’s Word.

The Ark of salvation that God has created to rescue men from eternal death in this Last Days is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the sacrifice for the sins of men. He is the one who died at Calvary, was buried but rose again from the dead and is living forever more (Revelations 1:8). Jesus’ resurrection conquered death and sin and is the assurance of eternal life to anyone who believes in Him.

As God warned in Noah’s days, He is warning and calling for all men to repent and be converted in this Last Day. He has set aside a day to judge this present world on account of sin and that day is the Day of Judgment also called the Day of Wrath or Day of Reckoning (Acts 17:30-31). 

Man born in sin is estranged from God and doomed to eternal separation if he dies in sin. He must be reconciled with God first before he can spend his eternity with God. The reconciliation is what salvation is all about i.e. sin and death must be conquered in the lives of men which Jesus Christ did for all men by His resurrection from the dead.

If men reject the salvation which God offers the world through Jesus Christ, there are several reasons as there were in the days of Noah and Lot. In the days of Noah and Lot, many doubted God’s calls for repentance and salvation. Therefore, one of the reasons is unbelief in God and what He says (His Word).

Unbelief was one major reason why the multitudes perished in the days of Noah and Lot. Many who perished in the days of Noah doubted the reality of the flood just as some today are denying the reality of Hellfire as an eternal place of punishment and torment for lost souls. Some even deny that God and Heaven are real.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-20 that the preaching of the Cross of Christ is foolishness to those that are perishing but to those that are saved, the message of the Cross is the power of God unto salvation.

The unbelief of men in the Word of God does not invalidate God and His Word (Romans 3:3-4). Salvation is personal and an individual decision as every man will render a personal account of his life before God on the Day of Judgment.

There are many false doctrines that are circulating, blinding the eyes of men from seeing the truth. ‘Rather than diligently seek for the truth that sets free, many are seeking and following after popular opinions instead of convictions and are being led astray by false doctrines.’’ (Warren Wiersbe).

The Bible writes in 1Timothy 4:1 that in the Last Days, many shall fall victim to seducing doctrines of demons that leads astray. Men are falling for other ‘gospels’ or ‘teachings’ that are contrary to the teachings of the Gospel of Christ.

Some deny the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some deny that Jesus is the Son of God. Some do not accept that Jesus is God who came in the flesh. Some deny the existence of the Trinity. Some do not accept the reality of the Holy Spirit as one of the Trinity.  Some do not believe the virgin birth and the deity of Christ.

Some believe in the false doctrine of eternal security or ‘Once saved, forever saved’ and the doctrine of good works which is religion without salvation. Some do not believe the reality of Judgment saying that because God is Love, He cannot cast unrepentant sinners who died in sin into Hell. They seem to forget that the God of love and mercy is also the God of Judgment (Isaiah 30:18)

Some deny the existence of a Heaven and a Hell. Some believe in a place called Purgatory where they say they would go after physical death to be cleansed of their sins and from there would be transported to Heaven. Some do not accept that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and that He died for the sins of all men. Some do not believe that the Blood of Jesus cleanses one from sin.

False and strange teachings of demons are one reason why many doubt the Gospel of Christ and are rejecting the Jesus Ark of salvation as in the days of Noah and Lot. These false doctrines are a leaven that corrupts the whole in the lives of those who believe them. False doctrines are a reason why those who subscribe to them will not be allowed into the Ark unless the leaven is purged out of them.

Admission into the Ark of Salvation is by faith in Christ. To inherit eternal life in Christ which is the only solution to eternal death, one must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and make Him his Lord and Saviour.

One must confess Jesus with his mouth and believe in his heart that He was raised from the dead and is alive forever more. One must surrender his heart and life to Jesus Christ and allow Jesus to be the director and controller of his life going forward (Romans 10:9-10) (Revelations 3:20).

Ayodele Adegbulugbe
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria
Phone:+2348035978352

The Sin You Are Covering (Proverbs 28:13)

Proverbs 28:13 says, ' He that covers his sins shall not prosper but whoso confess and forsake them shall have mercy.''

David's sin in 2 Samuel 11 to 2 Samuel 12 was adultery which was punishable by death in Leviticus 20:10. In connection with sin, there is always an unforeseen element that the sinner does not take into consideration that would expose the sin he thought had been perfected, requiring another sin to cover it up.

David did not know that Uriah would not go to his house to sleep with his wife Bathsheba. He had thought to use Uriah's visit to conceal his adultery. A second sin is required to conceal an earlier sin. David conceived of another plan to get Uriah drunk supposing that in a state of drunkenness, he would go home to his wife. The plan failed again to cover up his sin with Bathsheba. Making a man drunk is sin.

David became desperate and the only option he considered to be available was to plot the murder of Uriah and to use a means to make it look legal. He used his nephew Joab, the Army Commander to organize how Uriah would be killed in battle.

David may have thought to satisfy his passion by having sex with Bathsheba but never considered that she would become pregnant. He did not have the intention to kill her husband and take her over but when she became pregnant, his involvement could not be concealed so he opted for murder.

His first sin was adultery (2 Samuel 11:4-5)
His second sin was deception to cover up the first sin (2 Samuel 11:6-11)
His third sin was making Uriah drunk (2 Samuel 11:12-13)
His fourth sin was plotting the murder of Uriah to cover up the first sin (2 Samuel 11:14-15)
His fifth sin was his hardness of heart (2 Samuel 11:22-27), thinking that the sin had been effectively buried but he did not reckon that God would react to it. He quickly married Bathsheba after her 7 days of mourning to conceal the pregnancy.
The sin which King David legalised, God called it by its proper name, MURDER!

Ayodele Adegbulugbe
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria
Phone:+2348035978352

The Power of Your Tongue

Text: Proverbs 18:21

'' Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.''

God called Gideon a mighty man of valour though he was fearful and was hiding from the Midianites ( Judges 6:1-16). He also called Abraham the father of many nations while he was barren and had no child. Who God says you are is what YOU ARE!

Do not use your circumstances to describe who you are. Do not all yourself a failure, a victim, debtor, sickler or a good for nothing. Do not use words which signify defeat to describe yourself. Rather call yourself a victor, champion, winner, highly favoured, blessed, great, unbeatable and unstoppable.

Do not accept what men call you. Call yourself what God calls you, not what the events of life calls you. Call yourself what God says you are and not what the events of life says that you are. Do not permit the devil to discourage you or to kill your faith in Christ. Tell the Devil that you are a new creature and there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ( Romans 8:1) (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God says that you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a peculiar people to show forth his praises, who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. God calls you a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). Therefore live a holy life before God and let your life be a positive confession of the power of the Gospel that transforms lives (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Decide that the words that you will speak henceforth shall be faith filled words. Cancel every negative words that anyone has spoken against you in the past (Lamentations 3:37). Cancel any negative confessions that you made against yourself in the past. Open your mouth and confess loud, bless yourself and prophesy good things about yourself, family and ministry.

Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria
Phone:+2348035978352

From Affliction to Testimony

Texts: Luke 21:13; James 1:2-4

Affliction is a part of life. Everyone will experience some affliction in this life because every man will go through a wilderness in this life. It comes at different times and in different dimensions. However, one can convert his affliction to a testimony.

What is affliction?
Affliction means suffering, going through pains, state of lack and want, agonies, deprivations, oppresions, torments, torture, tribulation, persecutions, troubles etc.

Causes of Affliction:
1)Through personal sins where the Bible says that no sinner will go unpunished though forgiven. Therefore, chastisement from God for personal sins could be a source of affliction in the life of a man (Leviticus chapter 26).

2) Through inherited affliction where we may be suffering for the consequences of the sins of our forefathers. Lamentations 5:7 says that 'our forefathers have sinned and we bear their iniquity.' Also Numbers 14:18 says that God will visit the iniquity of a father on his children to the third and fourth generations.

However, we can reverse any inherited afflictions by crying to God for mercy to separate us from the consequences of the sins of our ancestors. James 2:13 says that mercy prevails over judgment and Deuteronomy 24:16 says that a child shall not be put to death for the sins of his father.

3) Decision to follow Christ can bring affliction. 2 Timothy 3:12 says that those who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer tribulation. Matthew 5:10-12 says that we should rejoice if we are persecuted for the sake of our stand for righteousness.

4) God may ordain an affliction in the life of a man to fulfil a divine purpose. For examples, the afflictions experienced by Job and Joseph were not caused by sinning. The Amalekite raid on David's camp at Ziklag was not due to sin. The man who was born blind in John Chapter 9 did not commit sin and neither did his parents commit sin to the effect that he was born blind.

Purpose of Affliction:
In every affliction, there is a purpose, lesson and a benefit. James 1:2-4 says that affliction in the life of a christian as a trial of faith works out patience and perfection. 1 Peter 5:8-10 says that God can use it to elevate, strengthen and establish us in the faith.

Tough times can create a better personality where some improve on themselves spiritually. During difficult times, people learn to become prayer and bible addicts. Some discover hidden talents and abilities.

Many great hymns, songs and books were written during periods of affliction. For example, Pilgrims Progress which was written about 400 years ago in the prison by John Bunyan, is the second best selling Christian book in the world after the Holy Bible. Also many of the epistles in the Bible were written by the Apostle Paul while he was in the prison.

Affliction is temporary. Psalm 34:19 says that God will deliver the righteous out of afflictions. Psalm 30:15 says that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God will make a way out of every temptation.

How to come out of affliction
Do not murmur against God during periods of affliction. The Jews who murmured in the wilderness perished in it and did not reach the Promised Land of milk and honey.

Serve God with a whole heart like Caleb and Joshua did in the wilderness of affliction (Numbers 32:12).

Rejoice always in the Lord like Paul and Silas in detention who prayed and sang praises to God despite their pains in Acts 16:25 which caused God to deliver them through an earthquake. When Hannah left Shiloh, her countenance was no longer sad and she became a mother of several children. Habakkuk 3:17-19 encourages us to rejoice in the Lord in periods of lack and want.

Be holy and righteous in the Lord. Job and Joseph had the opportunity to commit sin against God but they did not do so. Eventually, Joseph left the prison for the palace while Job's latter days were more glorious than his beginning.

Cry unto God in prayers. Psalm 34:17 says that when the righteous cry, God will deliver him out of all his troubles. Jabez cried unto God and he became more honorable than his brethren. The cries of Mordecai reversed Haman's evil plot to destroy the Jews in Persia and Mordecai rose from gateman to a Prince in the land.

Encourage yourself in the Lord which David did when it appeared that all hope was lost in 1 Samuel chapter 30 when his camp was raided by the Amalekites. He pursued them and recovered all he lost.

Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria
Phone:+2348035978352

Obedience to God - the Key Factor! (2)

In the previous part is the story of how God anointed King Saul and empowered him for service. He was directed by God to carry out a task designed to fulfil a purpose. To carry out the task required total, complete and unconditional obedience without excuses or constrains. However, King Saul failed in his call through his failure to obey God totally.

God's command to King Saul was the total destruction of the Amalek nation including its king and livestock. Saul proceeded to Amalek where he was victorious over the Amalekites but he was not assessed by God according to his military victory. He was to be judged according to his total obedience to God's call. He failed by sparing the King of Amalek and the best of the livestock presumably for sacrifice to God.

We must be careful to obey God who will not assess or judge us according to the greatness of our accomplishments but by our total obedience to his commands. Human reasoning as in the case of King Saul often leads to failure. Human intentions opposed to God's will, no matter how worthy cannot replace godly humility and obedience.

Fear caused King Saul to disobey Samuel's instruction to wait for him at Gilgal to offer sacrifice to God. Before Prophet Samuel's arrival, the Philistines had gathered for war while the chicken heart Israelis deserted Saul. Out of fear, he proceeded to offer the sacrifice by himself without consulting God. Fear does not allow a Christian to become king over his circumstances.

Lessons:
Disobedience brings rejection. Though Saul claimed that he had obediently done what God commanded him, he had been partially obedient based on the elements of obedience in his action. True obedience must be complete and total. Regardless of his great military victory over the Amalekites, his partial obedience amounted to failure. True obedience does not shift blames which Saul did (1 Samuel 15: 21).

The response of Prophet Samuel in verse 22 reveals the priority of obedience to God. Religious sacrifices for which Saul spared the livestock of Amalek is no substitute to full obedience. Saul's disobedience therefore meant a rejection of God. God rejected him as King and as a result, he lost the inheritance which his descendants forever would have benefited. Obedience to God, total and complete is the most infallible evidence of sincere and supreme love to God.

Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria.
Phone+ 2348035978352.

Obedience to God - the Key Factor! (1)

Our fellowship with God requires our obedience in a total, complete and unconditional form. To disobey God is to reject Him as Lord and Savior of our lives and to invite disastrous consequences upon ourselves.

The story of King Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-35) is a well known scriptural example of a man who was anointed by God for service but who fell from favor through the sin of disobedience, the consequences of this sin and how it applies to all believers today.

His anointing was a tremendous one just as his fall was one of the most tragic moments in the Scriptures. King Saul was the first king of Israel after the era of the Judges. During his coronation, he was anointed at Gilgal in 1 Samuel chapter 11 and through his anointing, he was divinely and highly empowered by God for service.

The fall of King Saul was a gradual process which began in 1 Samuel chapters 13 and 14 and it affected his spiritual and moral life. He was however warned by the Prophet Samuel who reminded him of his anointing and gave him a last chance to be faithful and obedient to God. Obedience to God is vital for continuous anointing.

The Holy Spirit the believer receives at the time of his conversion is the evidence of his anointing which is for service and power but total obedience is vital for a continuous flow of the anointing in the believer's life. We must take note of this fact as we work and serve the Lord according to his will.

The anointing is based on a call which is also based on what God purposes to be the best for His people. In Exodus 17:8-16, the Amalekite nation did an injustice to Israel and God had promised to punish Amalek for this injusticce. King Saul was to be used to fulfil the promise.

Therefore, God's call to Saul was based on the remembrance of that injustice to Israel by Amalek.
Saul's obedience was to determine the working of that call. Likewise today, our total obedience to God will determine the working of His purposes for our lives.

Based on his anointing for service and power, God commanded King Saul to totally destroy the Amalekite nation just as He had commanded Joshua in Deuteronomy 7:1-6. The instruction to Saul was not new and there was to be no excuses or constraints. Unfortunately, King Saul failed to obey God in accordance with His Will which was the last straw that broke his back.

To be updated
Ayodele Adegbulugbe.
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos, Nigeria
Phone: +2348035978352

The Bread Alone Message

Matthew 4:4 says, " Thou shall not live by bread alone.''

Questions to ask yourself as a Christian:

What is Christianity all about? Why am i a Christian? Why am i following Jesus Christ? Am i following Jesus for eternal life or is it for the miracles, the signs and the wonders alone? When God blesses me or fails to bless me, will i turn back from following Him?

In Matthew 4:4, the Devil tried to derail Jesus from His mission by tempting Him to turn stones to bread. Today, the Devil is still using the same tactic to derail the focus of men from the things that are eternal or have everlasting benefits to the soul.

Bread as food for the body has temporal value and no eternal values to the soul and spirit. Both the body and the bread nourishing it are mortal and perishable. Bread in this context includes money, riches, fame, pleasure and power which men run after in this world.

We need bread to sustain the mortal body and God has made abundant provisions in His Word for our physical comforts and well-being in this world but not at the expense of the welfare of our eternal, immortal souls. When a man dies the physical death, his body that is mortal returns to the dust but his spirit returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7) because the spirit is eternal and immortal.

Though God is interested in our well being in physical terms regarding the needs of the body, He has much more interest in our spiritual prosperity which is the reason why He sacrificed Jesus for our salvation. He wants us to live by the whole Word of God and not by bread alone.

Many Christians are running after signs and wonders. Though the Bible says that without signs and wonders, men will not believe, the ability to perform miracles is a proof of calling and ministry. However, the Devil too can perform miracles. If we focus our attention more on the seeking of the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, the miracles, the signs and wonders will surely manifest.

The strategy of the Devil is to make men concentrate on the bread for the body alone and neglect the welfare of the eternal and immortal soul. Many ministries are preaching and teaching a 'bread alone message' which do not point their members to heaven. Their mainly earthly prosperity messages address the vanities and the mundane attractions in the world for the mortal body but not for the immortal soul of man.

These ministries usually operated by satanic agents and false teachers do not teach the whole word of God. They focus much more on fanciful topics while avoiding the topics that address sin, repentance, holiness and righteousness, discipleship etc. They teach that God will bless them as they are - worldly and unrepentant. The Bread Alone Ministries are leading their congregations to eternal destruction by making them comfortable in sin.

We need to devote much more time and attention to the things that have eternal values, which will count much more at the end of our lives on earth. Labor not for the meat that perishes but for the meat that endures unto everlasting life ( John 6:27). Labor not to be rich. Cease from thy own wisdom. Do not make the acquisition of riches or other matters of temporal values your chief end in this world (Proverbs 23:4).

Rather we should labor more to enter into eternal rest (Hebrews 4:1)
Labor to help the poor (Ephesians 4:28)
Labor to win souls (Philippians 2:16)
Labor to support the weak (Acts 20:35)
Labor to perfect the saints (Colossians 4:12)
Labor to be accepted of God (2 Corinthians 5:9)

Ayodele Adegbulugbe
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com.ng.
Lagos Nigeria
Phone: +2348035978352