The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.” Proverbs 14:14

The concluding part of last week edition was the antidote to a backsliding heart. Five points were mentioned namely: Identity your current condition, Meditate on Christ and His Work, Pray to God for the grace you need, Repent of all known sins and Return to Christ in fresh dependency.

You will agree with me that backsliding is a gradual process which if not tackled could lead to Apostasy. Apostasy means to fall away from the truth.  Therefore, an apostate is someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God.  To avoid this, below are the practical steps to stay away from backsliding.

Practical Stepladder to Avoid Backsliding

1. Examine your faith-life regularly.  Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?  2 Corinthians 13:5
2. If you find yourself drifting away, turn back immediately. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  Hebrews 3:12-13  
3. Come to God daily for forgiveness and cleansing. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14
4. Continue daily seeking the Lord with your whole heart.  And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. I Chronicles 28:9
5. Stay in the Word of God; keep studying and learning daily.  Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Proverbs 4:13
6. Stay in fellowship often with other believers. You can’t make it alone as a Christian. We need the strength and prayers of other believers.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25
7. Stand firm in your faith. Expect difficult times in your Christian life. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22;  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
8. Persevere.  Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:15-17
9. Run the race to win.  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training ………… we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  1 Corinthians 9: 24-25. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness…  2 Timothy 4:7-8
10. Remind yourself of what God has done for you in the past. Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised … we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Hebrews 10: 32, 35-39

 Tips

• Develop a daily habit of spending time with God. Habits are hard to break.
• Memorize favorite Bible verses to recall in difficult times.
• Listen to Christian music to keep your mind and heart in tune with God.
• Develop a Christian friendship so that you’ll have someone to call when you feel weak.
• Get involved in a meaningful project with other Christians.

 Finally, the following are what you require:

• A Bible
• A Daily Relationship With God
• A Christian Friend
• A Bible Teaching Church

 God bless you real good.

 Deacon Mike Ben

Registration for Workers-in-Training and Baptismal Class is in progress.

Please, endeavour to register with Brother David Adeyemi and Deacon Akinyemi Akindele

The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.” Proverbs 14:14

Continued from last week.

It may be, dear Christian, that you have drifted somewhat but have never noticed it. You may be like Samson who “wist not that the Lord was departed from him” (Judges 16:20). We need to search our hearts and we need to watch and pray lest sin creep up on us.

What Does Backsliding Look Like?

1. When prayer ceases to be a vital part of a professing Christian’s life, backsliding is present.

2. When the quest for biblical truth ceases and one grows content with the knowledge of eternal things already acquired, there can be no mistaking the presence of backsliding.

3. When the biblical knowledge possessed or acquired is treated as external fact and not applied inwardly, backsliding is present.

4. When earnest thoughts about eternal things cease to be regular and gripping, it should be like a warning light to the backslider.

5. When the services of the church lose their delights, a backslidden condition probably exists.

6. When pointed spiritual discussions are an embarrassment; that is certain evidence of backsliding.

7. When sports, recreation and entertainment are a large and necessary part of your lifestyle, you may assume backsliding is in force.

8. When sins of the body and of the mind can be indulged in without an uproar in your conscience, your backslidden condition is certain.

9. When aspirations for Christ-like holiness cease to be dominant in your life and thinking, backsliding is there.

10. When the acquisition of money and goods becomes a dominant part of your thinking, you have clear confirmation of backsliding.

11. When you can mouth religious songs and words without heart, be sure backsliding is present.

12. When you can hear the Lord’s name taken in vain, spiritual concerns mocked and eternal issues flippantly treated, and not be moved to indignation and action, you are backslidden.

13. When you can watch degrading movies and television and read morally debilitating literature, you can be sure you are backslidden.

14. When breaches of peace in the brotherhood are of no concern to you; that is proof of backsliding.

15. When the slightest excuse seems sufficient to keep you from spiritual duty and opportunity, you are backslidden.

16. When you become content with your lack of spiritual power and no longer seek repeated enduements of power from on high, you are backslidden.

17. When you pardon your own sin and sloth by saying the Lord understands and remembers that we are dust, you have revealed your backslidden condition.

18. When there is no music in your soul and no song in your heart, the silence testifies to your backsliding.

19. When you adjust happily to the worlds’ lifestyle, your own mirror will tell the truth of your backsliding.

20. When injustice and human misery exist around you and you do little or nothing to relieve the suffering, be sure you are backslidden.

21. When your church has fallen into spiritual declension and the Word of God is no longer preached there with power and you are still content, you are in a backslidden condition.

22. When the spiritual condition of the world declines around you and you cannot perceive it; that is testimony of your backslidden stance.

23. When you are willing to cheat your employer, backsliding is apparent.

24. When you find yourself rich in grace and mercy and marvel at your own godliness, then you have fallen far in your backsliding.

25. When your tears are dried up and the hard, cold spiritual facts of your existence cannot unleash them, see this as an awful testimony both of the hardness of your heart and the depth of your backsliding.                                          (Taken from Revival, Richard Owen Roberts)

You may want to take issue with a few of the “evidences” listed above, but before you do that consider them carefully lest you miss identifying a real problem in your life. And what if you find some of these things true of yourself?

The Cure for Backsliding

 1. Identity your current condition

You cannot return if you do not know you have lost your way. “Remember therefore from where you have fallen.” (Rev. 2:5);

2. Meditate on Christ and His Work

If we are to be captured by the glory of Jesus, led to worship Him for all He is and has done for sinners, then we must see these things again and again. There is never a returning to Jesus apart from the word of God. When we respond to Him we are responding to his word. We find ourselves in a backslidden state because, in part, we lost sight of the glory of Christ. So we must see it again.  “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2)

3. Pray to God for the grace you need

That we can return is grace. That we will return is a promise made by God! Are you aware of your condition? Do you want to be revived? Perhaps you’re so cold you don’t even know if you really want it. Pray that God will do what He has promised, that He will heal your backsliding. “I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. …They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine.” (Hos. 14:4-7)

4. Repent of all known sins

The backslider is one who has forgotten the grace of repentance. His heart has become insensitive to his sin, and he has lost sight of his desperate and immediate need for Jesus. Returning to Jesus necessitates the painful awareness of and the turning from our sin. “Repent, and do the works you did at first.” (Rev. 2:5)

5. Return to Christ in fresh dependency

Those who know Jesus know a trustworthy Savior. Those who have wandered from communion with Him have lost a sense of dependency on Him for sustaining grace. We have lost sight of just how needy we are of grace; grace to come to Christ, grace to keep us with Christ, grace to return to Christ. It is as we recognize our current condition, see the glories of Jesus, seek the Lord for grace, and repent of our sin that we return to our first love. “Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zech. 1:3)

Next week we shall look at Practical Stepladder to Avoid Backsliding.

God bless you real good

Deacon Mike Ben

Parish members who have not gone through the School of Disciples training should quickly register, for 2013 School of Disciples training, with Brother David Adeyemi

There will be no service in the morning on Christmas day, 25th December 2013.

JACOB Service will still hold at 6.00pm on Christmas day. See details in Events menu.

The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) will be visiting RCCG Region 11 Headquarters in Lekki on Boxing Day, Thursday, 26th December 2013.

Thereafter, the Church Elders will visit the Lets-Go-a-Fishing venue in Lekki

Let Go a Fishing commenced on Saturday, 21st December 2013, and will end on Thursday, 26th December 2013.

On Sunday, 22nd December 2013, the Church bus will depart the Church premises at 12 noon for Lekki.

On Monday, 23rd December 2013, there will be film show at the Go-a-Fishing venue in Lekki.

On Boxing day, Thursday, 26th December 2013, the Church bus will leave by 8.00am for Go-a-Fishing in Lekki.

The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.”  Proverbs 14:14

Continued from last week.

Last week, we looked at the background of the subject and few examples that should humble us and teach us that even the mightiest of God’s saints sometimes backslide, fall into sin, and so lose the sweet joy that every Christian ought to have.

It is worthy to note there are some people in the Bible who did not backslide. For example, Adam, when he fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, was not a backslider. He had never been born again. He had never been saved and so could not backslide. In the Garden of Eden he had been created a perfect man and had perfect fellowship with God as one of His creatures, made in His image. But, he had not been redeemed by blood. Up to that time in the Bible, blood had never been mentioned as a remedy for sin. There had never been an animal sacrifice picturing the coming of the Saviour. There had never been a gospel message nor any need of one. There had never been a prophecy of the coming Saviour.

Adam, as a sinless being in the Garden of Eden, like Eve his wife, was not a Christian. He was simply a perfect man, as she was a perfect woman. When Adam fell into sin and ate the forbidden fruit, he was not a backslider. He was, for the first time, a poor lost sinner who had never been converted, who had never been born into God’s family, who had never been born again, who had never been redeemed by the blood.

And so fallen angels are not backsliders. Angels in Heaven are perfect and sinless and have fellowship with God, but they are not Christians. Angels, who have never been saved and given everlasting life as forgiven sinners, cannot backslide.

Judas Iscariot was not a backslider. In John 6:64, 70, 71 we are told that Judas did not believe in Christ, was not saved but was a devil.

“But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him … Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”  

Judas heard the preaching of Jesus but never repented. He was a moral man who evidently depended on his morality and would not turn to Jesus in saving faith. At last, he fell into grossest sin and betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. But Judas was not a backslider. No one can be a backslider who has not first been a “frontslider.” Only Christians, born again children of God, could backslide.

Strange as it may seem, all Christians backslide, for all Christians sin. In I John 1:8 we are told, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Every Christian is taught to pray daily in the Lord’s Prayer (that model prayer for all who can look up in the face of God and call Him, “Our Father which art in heaven”), “And forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4). All Christians sin, and that means that all Christians backslide.

When you remember that “the thought of foolishness is sin” (Prov. 24:9), that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23), that “to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17), then it becomes clear that all of us have fallen short even after we are saved. We have all had foolish thoughts; we have all done some things without any special faith about them; we have all left undone things that we knew were proper and right for us to do. Who will say that every minute of your life you have loved God all you ought to, that you never pray a second less than you ought to pray, that you never leave undone a single thing that God wants you to do? You cannot say that; neither can I. And that is proof of sin.

Christians grow old. Our teeth decay, our hair turns gray or falls out, we grow decrepit in body, and finally even Christians die. That proves that Christians are sinners. For everywhere in the Bible we are told that death is the result of sin.

Adam was warned that if he sinned, “thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). James 1:15 says that “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Ezekiel 18:4 says that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Romans 6:23 plainly says that “the wages of sin is death.”

Oh, we Christians are yet frail sinners; so it is clear that all Christians backslide. And that is the reason why God must save us by grace and keep us by grace. We did not earn salvation, and we cannot keep it. We did not deserve it when we got it, and we do not deserve it now.  It is a pity that most Christians are taking the Grace of God for granted.

Brethren, will you test yourself by this simple rule? Was there ever a time when you were nearer to God than you are now? Was there ever a time when you read the Bible more, or enjoyed it more than now? Was there ever a time when you prayed more, when you had your prayers answered more frequently? Was there ever a day when you won more souls than you have won today? Was there ever a time when you were more completely absorbed in the Lord’s business? If there was ever a time when you were nearer the Lord than today, you are a backslider. You have slid back from that close intimacy with God, from that high place of blessing which you once had.

Remember that our text in Proverbs 14:14 says, “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways.” Backsliding is not necessarily getting drunk nor committing adultery, nor any outward course of sin seen by the public. Backsliding is in the heart!

Next week we shall consider what Backsliding looks like

God bless you real good.

Deacon Mike Ben

Bible Text: Daniel 1:1-16, Daniel 5:11-12, Daniel 6:3.

Prayer Point: Lord, make me what you want me to be so that I can produce what you want me to produce.

In part one of this series, we gave an insight to what excellent spirit is in reference to Daniel. Excellent is not a destination. It is a state of mind, a life style. To be excellent is to be the best among the best. It means condition of being extra-ordinary, more than best, something that can’t be faulted.

And before you can become excellent, you must have the spirit.

• Daniel was preferred above presidents because of this spirit.  Dan. 6:3.
• The traceable godly spirits that Daniel possessed include: Holy Spirit like Paul; Full of knowledge, great understanding of time like men of Issachar- I Chro. 12:32; Spirit of purpose like Esther that refused to be defiled- Esther 2:7, 17; defending the purpose of God for his life like Joseph who refused to do evil against God when tempted- Gen. 39:7-9.

All these summed together made him to exploit his generation, but not without facing challenges.

Challenges faced by Daniel (caused by Unexpected Change)

• Daniel was taken away into captivity from his parents. Unexpected change bends us out of shape especially when they are interfering with the general peace and security of our families.
• Confronted with drugs, sex, absorption, violence and even pornography in our society, including our public schools, we get angry, depressed and confused.
• We supposed that unhappy changes in our world violated our rights and just were not supposed to happen.
• This is not in the case of Daniel. He was forcefully uprooted from his parents and home land. He did not panic. Yet he did not cease to be godly.
• In a situation that could produce bitterness, he did not become an angry man, all because he has been taught to honour God and trust him.
• Godly training at home remains the key factor for producing fruitful Christian in a Christian world.

  Qualities of Daniel

• Daniel was good looking, gifted and smart. He was handpicked by Babylonia for a unique educational programme.
• He was trained in Babylonia but not by Babylonian.
• He was not absorbed into their culture and became one of the faceless cronies.
• Daniel’s home training for God could not be erased by his subsequent training.

Just say ‘no’ gracefully- I Cor. 6:17-20

• Daniel’s next crisis came wrapped in attractive package. His special training programme included wine and delicacies.
• Daniel could not have easily found several good reasons for saying ‘yes’ to this. The king expected it, others were doing it and it would taste good. How about your being lured to ungodly things.
• There was only one reason for saying ‘NO’ – it would defile him in the sight of God. (Many of our youths had lost their virginity years back).
• Daniel said ‘no’ but in a worrisome way.

Fuel for ego

• Temptation can come in all shapes and sizes and from any direction. In fact, our very victories can trip us if we become over confidence or proud.
• Daniel knew this – Dan. 1:17-19
• Daniel and his friends did not abuse the success and abilities God gave them by taking off an ego trip. (How are you using your talents)

What made Daniel Excellent?

• He purposed. Dan. 1:8-11. You need to determine what you will do.
• He had excellent spirit. Dan. 5:11-12.

VACANCY IN THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA FOR MIDDLE LEVEL OFFICERS (OFFICERS AND ASSISTANT MANAGER)

Main Specification

1. At least a good Bachelors degree or HND in relevant discipline
2. Must have performed his/her one year Mandatory National Service satisfactorily or exempted
3. Membership of relevant professional affiliation.

Interested candidate should forward their handwritten applications, C.V., and other copies of credentials to Head, Human Resources Department, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, 82 Murtala Mohammed Way, Ebute-metta,  Lagos on or before January 10, 2014.

NB: You may also apply for this job by using the resources menu of our church web site.