DIVORCE NOT AN OPTION- SUNDAY SERVICE

DIVORCE NOT AN OPTION

As a member of the Kingdom Family, there is something that should not be allowed to cut across our minds in marriage; this is divorce. Unfortunately, this is a cold fire that is ravaging homes today. Many think it is the solution but it is a pollution in the system. The Bible is against it. It is never an option to solving that problem.

Note the following:

Mal. 2:14-16      -   The Lord watches over the relationship in marriage. He expects a conjugal love with the wife of your youth and He says, He hates divorce.

Mk. 10:9                -   No man is allowed to cause separation.

Mt. 19:7-9             -   Some use this passage to support divorce, but a careful look reveals that it was because of the hardness, stubbornness, and the pressure of the people on Moses that it was thus stated; and that “from the beginning it was not so.”

                             

                              Our God has not changed even though there are even greater pressures today. Even in the case of (fornication) sexual immorality, you are taught to forgive.

I Cor.7:1-3      -   this passage is explanatory on this issue because it says Paul’s suggestion not a command from the Lord, but at the close of the passage he gave the Lord’s instruction emphasizing peace-God has called us to peace not separation.

                                    The Devil’s work is to push man to sin against God by causing him or her to be an adulterer or adulteress knowing that it is written, “no adulterer shall inherit the kingdom of God” (I Cor.6:9). Heb. 13:4 says God will judge them.

For future peace in the home, the older ones have the duty to teach the youths to seek the

face of God before going into marriage because it is not all that glitters that is gold. Youths must marry in the perfect will of God, build on the solid foundation Jesus Christ, because all the building on sand shall crumble in the face of the marital storm (Mt.7:24-27).

The youths should go into marriage with the determination that it will work for them; there should not be a plan B. There should be total commitment with prayers and the Almighty God will honour His name in our marriages.

For those having problems now, I counsel you go back to God in prayers. Trace

 Your steps and identify where you have missed it. Be sincere with yourself. Our God is

the God of the second chance. Marriage is planned to be a blessing depending on how you

have handled or are handling it. It is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.

Trust God for peace in that marriage and the storm shall be stilled in Jesus Name.

FOR THE FAMILY- Be fruitful and persevere

FAMILY WEEKEND SPECIAL

BASICS FOR THE KINGDOM- MAKE A DECISION (II)

Your decision also covers the conditions for inheriting the kingdom. You must be involved in the service of the Lord, especially as prescribed in Matt. 22:37-39.

The first part is to love the Lord by giving yourself in worship to Him and causing your family to wholeheartedly love and worship Him. The second part involves loving your neighbor. This is the call to service: showing love to the less priviledged, using your position and whatever God has given you to benefit others; and winning souls and persevering in the kingdom journey.

(1)               Mt. 25:34-40 - There are a lot of the hungry, naked, sick, and thirsty around us. What are we doing concerning them? The church is also supposed to be involved in social services.

This sympathetic service is very crucial to our inheriting the kingdom.

Lk. 10:33-37   -   Develop a ministry of help to your neighbours.

Rom. 15:1     -  The strong (physically, financially, socially etc) are to help the weak

Jam. 1:27         -   This, God accepts as being heart of pure religion.

(2)               Make a decision to bear fruit

Your family must be such that will bring other families to the Lord by your exemplary Christian living and evangelism. The life you live, both parents and children, must bring glory to God, in order to inherit the kingdom of God, and stimulate others to seek your God.

God’s Expectations:

Jn. 15:1-2        -   As branches in the vine, fruit bearing must be our goal.

Mt. 3:8                        -   Fruit of repentance must be seen in us.

Psa. 92:13-14  -  Soul winning is for all the period of our lives. It is both for the young and old.

Lk. 13:6           - Unfruitful life disappoints Him but much more, it brings judgment and rejection (Mt. 3:10; Heb. 6:8) so be fruitful.

(3)               Persevere on this way

This has to do with one’s maturity in the spirit. It is one aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit. The journey to the kingdom requires a degree of perseverance or long suffering, but unfortunately many, today on this way, have the microwave mentality which is far from it.

Eph. 6:18         -   Be watchful to the end with perseverance.

Lk. 9:62           -   There must be no looking back.

I Kgs. 18:21    -   Never operate between two opinions. Stay put with God.

In whatever situation you are passing through, He will surely prove Himself strong on your behalf.

Hos. 6:4       -   No display of immaturity or instability. Stay put with the Lord. Teach the children that the race to the kingdom of God is a marathon, not a sprint; hence they have to be focused and be prepared to face situations squarely.

Perseverance is handled with prayers.

Eph. 6:18 says praying ALWAYS with ALL PRAYER and supplication in the spirit. Perseverance is far from the CARNAL; only for the spiritual (Rom. 8:6-8).

It is my prayer that the Almighty will help us to develop spiritually; bear fruit and make humble services for Him to inherit the kingdom.

THE KINGDOM FAMILY

FAMILY WEEKEND SERIES

BASICS FOR THE KINGDOM- MAKE A DECISION (1)

Jos. 24:15

In the process of decision making, there is resolute determination. Joshua was resolute about the decision, so it should be for every one of us. It’s very important to prepare our houses to serve the lord, thus the couple should pray and encourage one another and the children. Now that everybody is trying to do his own thing in his own way, we as Christian families need to take our stand and live by example.

(1)         BE AN EXAMPLE OF A GODLY COUPLE

WIFE

• Wife should be an example of submission (Eph.5:22;Col.3:18).
• Should give honour and respect (Est. 1:20; I Tim. 3:11;Eph 5:33).
• Should be hospitable and home-maker (Prov. 31:27; Tit. 2:4-5).

HUSBAND

• Should be an example of love (Eph. 5:25).
• In leaving and cleaving (Gen. 2:33-24; Eccl. 9:9).
• Honouring his wife (I Pet. 3:7).
• Striving to understand her (I Pet. 3:7).

(2)         BE GUIDED BY BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES

Let your actions and decisions be guided by the word, because:

Psa.119:105 -              The word is a lamp unto your feet for guidance and the light unto your path that you never slip.

Psa.119:130 -              It gives understanding of every situation.

Psa.119:89 -                The word stands firm; never wrestle with it.

                                    Let the word always have its way.

BENEFITS:

Jer.15:16 -       When the principles of God’s word are well taken, they bring joy and rejoicing to your heart.

Jn. 14:21 -       You will experience God’s love and manifestation.

Areas of constant wrestling: submission, finance, dressing, adornment, holiness etc. Only

learn to submit to the Lord; He is superior to man in all ways. You must take Bible-based

stand.

(3)         BE A GOOD INFLUENCE ON YOUR CHILDREN

The parents have a great influence on their children. Some have impacted children negatively while others have, positively. The children watch you from cradle; that is why they concentrate on your face when you carry them. Your lifestyle impacts them greatly. How are you impacting your children?

Note the following:

Prov.22:6 -            Train up a child in words and by example practical in your Christian life.

Eph. 6:4 -              They should be trained and admonished in the Lord.

Gen. 18:19 -          This is the testimony of God concerning Abraham.

I Kgs. 22:52 -        Ahaziah the son of Ahab and Jezebel did evil because of the negative influence of his parents. The parents committed atrocities, wickedness and demonstrated worldliness.

Jer.9:14 -               It is mostly whatever you teach the children that they do; especially by your lifestyle. Do you still take alcohol in secret, smoke, or are a redefined/rebranded prostitute in your dressing and social life?

2 Chr.17:3 -           God was with Jehoshaphat because he followed a good example. God will always manifest strongly in the life of those who walk in the kingdom principle.

2 Tim. 1:5 -            The influence of the grandmother and mother of Timothy was great on his life, hence he became a great instrument in the hand God.

Be of a positive influence on these children because you will give account on the last day. What you sow in them today will determine your harvest tomorrow! Mind how you sow.

Marriage Equation- Food for thought

MARRIAGE EQUATION

Gen. 2: 24- 25.”Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh”

Today’s reading deals with fundamental issues that no married couple can ignore. Anytime they are compromised, troubles result in any home. First, it talks about a man leaving his parents before joining his wife. This is very important. The marriage equation is: The man + His wife = One. Neither of their parents is in that equation. Anytime you add another individual, father, mother, an uncle, a niece or another man or woman, you will get a different result other than what god originally planned. If you want to have a happy home, you must not involve your parents in the day to day running of that home. A man who is still tied to the apron string of his father is not a man but a boy. Marriage is not for boys but for men. This speaks about maturity. To a large extent, you should be independent financially, morally, socially and spiritually before contemplating marriage. Marriage is responsibility and not just fun. Many marriages have broken down just because either partner is heavily dependent on the parents for advice. If you run to your dad or mum each time a mosquito bites you, you are immature. You are not yet ripe for the marriage institution.

When the wife misbehaves at home, some husbands will immediately take a phone and call her parents to report the matter. That is immaturity. Your ability to contain and resolve misunderstandings between you and your partner makes you mature. You do not need to inform either of your parents whenever something goes wrong. First pray and discuss on how to resolve it amicably between you and your spouse. But when it goes beyond your control, go to your pastor to help out. There is no challenge that a family faces that cannot be resolved. If couples can learn to ask counsel of the Holy Spirit over certain challenges, they will enjoy their home. A man must be financially independent before going into marriage. Having rich or wealthy parents is no excuse. Before you enter into marriage you must have a viable source of livelihood. It is only a wicked man that would enter marriage when the fellow knows he has no reasonable source of livelihood. Do you want to bring your wife and children into lack, shame and untold hardship? It is wisdom to settle basic needs of feeding, housing etc before wedding. Be separate from anyone capable of hindering your oneness.

P.S: Every family faces conflict. While conflicts make some couples understand one another better, they separate others. What do you allow conflict to do in your home?

50 Most powerful people in the world- Newsweek Magazine

Thank God for our Daddy 50 Most Powerful People in the World

49: E. A. Adeboye You may never have heard of E. A. Adeboye, but the pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God is one of the most successful preachers in the world. He boasts that his church has outposts in 110 countries. He has 14,000 branches—claiming 5 million members—in his home country of Nigeria alone. There are 360 RCCG churches in Britain, and about the same number in U.S. cities like Chicago, Dallas, and Tallahassee, Fla. Adeboye says he has sent missionaries to China and such Islamic countries as Pakistan and Malaysia. His aspirations are outsize. He wants to save souls, and he wants to do so by planting churches the way Starbucks used to build coffee shops: everywhere. "In the developing world we say we want churches to be within five minutes' walk of every person," he tells NEWSWEEK. "In the developed world, we say five minutes of driving." Such a goal may seem outlandish, but Adeboye is a Pentecostal preacher: he believes in miracles. And Pentecostalism is the biggest, fastest-growing Christian movement since the Reformation. One of the strangest images from the 2008 campaign was the YouTube clip of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in church, head bowed, palms turned up toward heaven, standing silently as Thomas Muthee, a Pentecostal preacher from Kenya, prayed for her freedom from witchcraft. The clip (and a NEWSWEEK article about it) triggered its own little culture skirmish, with secular observers calling Palin a "wack job" and conservative Christians responding "There's nothing wrong with her church!!!" Few commentators on either side noted how normal that scene was to hundreds of millions of Christians around the globe. The world now has about 600 million Pentecostals, the largest group of Christians after Roman Catholics. In Asia, the number of Pentecostals has grown from about 10 million to 166 million since 1970, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. In Latin America, Pentecostals have expanded from 13 million to 151 million; in North America, from 19 million to 77 million; and in Africa, from 18 million to 156 million. By 2050 most of Africa will be Christian, estimates Grant Wacker, professor of Christian history at Duke University—and most of those Christians will be Pentecostals. Modern Pentecostalism was born in America in the early 20th century, when a former Methodist minister named Charles Parham began teaching that Christians who were filled with the Holy Spirit could, like the disciples of Jesus, speak in tongues. (The sound, for those who have not heard it, is extraordinary: like crooning or keening or jibber jabber.) From the start, the faith appealed across ethnic lines to the poor and the marginalized. Its lack of denominational structure meant "you didn't have to have a highly trained and educated clergy with a long graduate education," says Vinson Synan, dean emeritus of the divinity school at Regent University. "Common people [were] pastoring common people." Televangelist healers like Oral Roberts helped keep the movement growing. Pentecostals believe that the Holy Spirit is always at work in the world and that certain people possess its gifts: speaking in tongues, the healing touch, the power to cast out demons and witches. An emphasis on prosperity and healing attracts converts without savings accounts or health insurance. The emphasis on Biblical inerrancy and on rigid social rules—no drinking, no smoking, no premarital sex—offers structure for people whose lives have been devastated by addiction or illness. In places like Africa (and indeed, like Palin's Alaska at the turn of the last century), Pentecostalism finds fertile ground among adherents of native religions who already believe the world is alive with spirits. By Pentecostal standards, Adeboye is mainstream. Formerly a mathematics instructor at the University of Lagos, he began working at RCCG translating the previous pastor's sermons from Yoruba to English. He took over the congregation in 1981. His success, he says, is rooted in his message. "Pentecostals have such an impact because they talk of the here and now, not just the by and by, he says. "We pray for the sick, but we pray for their prosperity, for their overcoming of evil forces and so on. While we have to worry about heaven, there are some things God could do for us in the here and now." At a recent revival meeting in London, Adeboye and his ministers preached 12 hours straight to a crowd of 30,000. At the altar call, hundreds of people rushed toward the stage from every corner of the arena, visibly filled with euphoria. They call their pastor "Daddy." Behind Adeboye's extraordinary success is his reputation for honesty. While other Pentecostal pastors (including some Nigerians) have been accused of financial misdeeds or faking supernatural powers, Adeboye remains above the fray. Nigerian government leaders seek his input on pressing social issues. He recently made a public-service announcement condemning discrimination against people with HIV. He distributes his message globally through Facebook and MySpace, a self-published magazine called "The Mandate," and a digital-cable channel called Open Heavens TV. His appearance is straitlaced: he always wears a pinstriped suit, a gleaming white shirt and a bow tie. Adeboye experienced a miracle recently on a long and dangerous stretch of highway near Lagos, he says. His car was out of gas, and the gas stations were empty. Then God spoke to him, clearly, and said to keep driving. Adeboye drove 200 miles on empty. Could his gas gauge have been broken? No, he insists, God intervened "because of the need … in a crisis." Adeboye knows well what some in the West have forgotten: in today's world, everyone needs a Daddy.