Introduction

In the first of this study, we saw how disobedience is a compound sin since it is the outworking of doubt and unbelief. We also saw how every sin is actually disobedience to the commandment of God. Moreover, we saw that God gave us clear instructions to avoid sin. For years, we have been living in half obedience to this commandment. Now, we shall begin to look at how we can obey God completely in this regard. May God quicken our understanding as we study in Jesus Name. Amen.

 There can be a Living Church in your Home

In the beginning of the church of Christ, there were many homes that housed living churches where prayers were answered, God spoke to people, and people got saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Healing took place and many people who were baptised in water then got converted in home churches. Examples include the house of Cornelius, the Jailor, Priscilla and Aquilla, Lydia, and Philemon. The same Head of church then is still our Head today.

Rom. 16:3-5, Acts 10:25,30,33,44,48, Acts 11:12-15, Acts 16:14-15, Acts 16:40, Rom. 16:3-5, Phile. 1:2, Mk.2:1-4, 9-12, Lk. 5:27-32, Acts 20:7-12, Acts 20:7-12, Acts 12:12-17, Acts 20:20, Lk. 10:38-48, Acts 1:12-14.

God can use a Woman too

A particular instruction of Paul to Timothy concerning women ministry has not only been misunderstood, but also interpreted in isolation of the scriptures. The same Paul highly recommended the ministries of several women. Some are Phoebe, Priscilla and many Tryphena & Persis. The Scripture is full of women who prophesied, such as Mariam, Deborah, Huldah, Noadiah, Anna and the daughters of evangelist Philip. There is of course scriptural proof that Paul is not against women prophesying and we know that the office of a prophetess is higher than that of a teacher. Paul wrote the epistle to the Galatians too!

I Tim.2:11, Rom. 16:3, 5-6, Exo. 15:20, Jud. 4:4, II King 22:14, Neh. 6:14, Lk. 2:36, Acts 21:9, I Cor. 11:5, Acts 2:17, Gal. 3:27-28.

Introduction

Every sin is the outworking of disobedience. In fact, another word for sin is simply disobedience. For example, pride is a sin because God commands us to be humble Jam 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6. Adultery is a sin because God commanded us not to commit adultery, Ex 20:14. Failure to evangelise is a sin because God commanded us to evangelise, Mathew 28:19-20, Mk 16:15. May the Lord quicken our understanding as we meditate on this important topic of disobedience. Amen.

Disobedience is a Compound Sin

Disobedience is not simple sin; it is a compound one because it is the fruit of doubt and unbelief. The original sin in the Garden of Eden came because Eve doubted the Word of God. That is why up to today the punishments for disobedience are very severe and involve God Himself in their executions. For example, these punishments include

• Curses from God
• Divine Opposition
• Divine Wrath
• Divine Vengeance
• Terrible rewards from the Almighty

Gen. 3:1-6, Deu. 28:15, 1 Sam. 12:15, 1 Sam. 28:18, 1 King. 13:21, Jer. 12:17, Eph. 5:6, 2 Thes. 1:8, 1 Tim. 1:9, Heb 2:2-3.

Half Obedience is Worse than Disobedience

There is no half-measure with God. You are either totally for Him or totally against Him. That is why He regards half obedience as being worse than disobedience. In fact, those who have suffered terribly after Adam and Eve are those who obeyed half-heartedly. They include among others, King Saul, Ananias and Sapphira and the disciples Mark 12:29-30, Rev. 3:16, Gen. 12:1-3, Gen. 15:10-11, 22-23, Acts 5:1-10, Mark 16:15, Act 8:3, 8:4-8.

An admin secretary is urgently required.
The person must be proficient in the use of Microsoft word, excel and power point applications.
Secondary School Certificate or Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holders are the minimum educational requirements.
Interested persons should send their CV’s or Resume to vacancy@rccgmiraclecentre.org or to Church Administration Office.
Receipt of applications closes at 12 noon on December 7th 2013.

There will be Holy Ghost Congress rally on 7th December 2013 at 7.00am, spreading from Miracle Centre.
All workers should endeavour to report at the Church premises at 7.00am prompt. We will walk through Ketu, Lagos to advertise the forthcoming Holy Ghost Congress.

Volunteers for the church holy police and traffic team are required to register with Deacon Akinyemi Akindele. God bless you as you do so.

Volunteers for sanitation work during Holy Ghost congress are required.
Interested persons should see Mummy Matilukuro or Church Administration department to register their names. God bless you.

There will be 3 days Prayer and Fasting for all parish members from Monday 25th November 2013 to Wednesday 27th November 2013.
There will not be prayer session in the church due to the on-going renovation in the church.
Break your Fasting at home at 6.00pm daily. God bless you.

Bible Text: 2 Cor. 1:18-22

Memory verse: Mk 11:24. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them

INTRODUCTION

God’s promises are great, precious and rich. Also God is not slack concerning His promises and all we need to do is to remind him of His promises anytime we need help and see that we hold fast to those promises in spite of any negative signs and symptoms we may be seeing or experiencing.

Let’s look at the followings: 1- The Nature of God. 2- The nature of His Promises 3- Obtaining God’s Promises. In this article, we shall discuss part 1- The Nature of God. May the Lord grant us understanding in Jesus name? Amen.

Part 1: The Nature of GOD

To use pronoun to qualify God is a problem to us because of limited language. The attempt to solve the problem with dashes and slashes is semantically awkward and artistically or visually repugnant, disgusting, distasteful and objectionable. Hence, one can only imagine His nature. To imagine His nature of course will take us to eternity as such we would look at some of His nature in relation to HIS- truthfulness, trustworthiness, reliability and faithfulness.

a)       He is truthful, trustworthy and reliable faithfulness is the habitation of His throne. Isaiah 25:1–O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. Read further to confirm how faithful HE IS.

• God is true in spite of man’s deceitfulness. Rom.3:4- God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
• God is faithful to make an escape from sin.1Cor.10:13.There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it

b)       He does not lie because he cannot lie. (Num 23.19). God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?.

•  God is not a man- One of the greatest and most comprehensive promises and revelations of God in Scripture. Truly God is not a man but a spirit being, as taught by Jesus. Jn 4:24.God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
• That He should lie-This bothers on His integrity. 1- He cannot lie like man. 2-He does not change His promises whether convenient for Him or not. 3- He will fulfil His obligations in all covenants and promises. 4-He will make good His promises; e.g. when Balaam and balak needed to curse Isrealites for reward. God simply told them His promises and covenants with Isreal have already gone out.

c)       He is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:11). The Author and finisher of our Faith (Heb 12:2). Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. The joy set before Him was the redemption of creation through doing the Father’s will.

Love is the ‘Alpha and Omega’ of redemption, the love of God to man. Read it in the journey of the Mediator from Heaven to earth! Read it in His pilgrimage through the land of sorrow! Behold Him ‘nailed’ to the shameful tree! See the blood and water gushing from His side! Hear the sound of the water-discharges as the floods of wrath roll over Him! Then ask the reason. The answer is God is Love. That was the point of the beginning and end of the covenant of life, the privilege of faith and the promise of heaven.

The coming of Christ to the world, his death and resurrection was a perfected desire of God to make the earth the colony of heaven i.e bringing down what is obtainable in heaven to the earth. (essence of model prayer) Mat.6:9-10.1Jn.3:8. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

God bless you.

Deacon Wole Bodunde

“Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end” (Prov. 19:20)

Last Week, we considered “the wise and the foolish in the use of the mouth”. I am certain that the Lord has spoken to you.

Today, we shall briefly look at how to be Wise the rest of our days.

Are you wiser today than last year? Than ten years ago? These are important questions to answer. How wise will you be later in life? A godly man greatly desires to grow in wisdom. And the way to increase wisdom is easy – you need to hear the counsel of wise men and accept their teachings. You need to appreciate and apply instruction from others.

 Today is your opportunity to change your latter end. Will you be an older wise man, sought by family and others for sage advice? Or will you be an old fool, more a burden than a blessing? What you do today determines what you are tomorrow. You are not too young, and you are not too old. Consider your latter end, and receive instruction today.  Purse and ask yourself, as a dependable parent what instruction did I receive during the Family Weekend especially on Sunday service?

 The children of God were adopted by grace. But they were not adopted to squander their lives in folly. They were adopted to grow up and live as the sons of God in a crooked and perverse world (Matt 5:43-48; Rom 8:29; Eph 5:1-2; Phil 2:14-16). You can waste the grace of God, or you can use it to be great for Him (“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me”- I Cor 15:10) ; (“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain”- II Cor 6:1) ; ( ^“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen”.- II Pet 3:18).

 How much do you love the private counsel of holy and sober saints? How much do you crave the public preaching of God’s word? Noble men and women receive it with a ready mind (“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”- Acts 17:11). A eunuch, a centurion, a businesswoman, and a preacher  were all very thankful for teaching they received (Acts 8:26-40; 10:33-48; 16:14-15; 18:24-28).

 Brethren, examine yourself! Are you truly wiser than last year or ten years ago? Have you grown in graciousness, so that you have more godly friends? Are you in better financial condition by learning and applying the rules of Bible economics? Do you know Jesus Christ and His doctrine better? Are you sought out by more saints to obtain your counsel? Can people confide in you?

Examine yourself! Does your spouse rejoice at the changes in recent years? Is your employer thankful for many work improvements? Do you handle adversity better than in times past? Can you answer the words of truth to those that ask? Do your parents and children esteem you more? Are you able to give God’s answers for modern dilemmas? Is your pastor thankful for the visible progress and contribution you have made in the Church of God? Could you run for office and win? 

Life is short. What can you do? “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps 90:12). When? “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Pr 8:17). Why? “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Pr 4:7). How? “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom” (Pr 18:1).

 What do you think of preaching? Paul knew that Christians would stop enduring it (II Tim 4:3-4). Churches today prefer rock and roll music with lyrics about an effeminate hippie guru – they call it contemporary Christian music. If you want a wise latter end, then you will reject fables and demand intense preaching of God’s word (II Tim 4:1-2). God sends preachers to teach knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:15). Listen to them!

 What do you do with preaching? Peter told his readers to desire the sincere milk of the word to grow by it (I Pet 2:1-3). He exhorted them to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (II Pet 3:18). And Paul rebuked the Hebrew Christians for not developing into teachers (Heb 5:12-14). Make sure you pray, prepare, pay attention, and apply what you hear (Luke 8:4-18; Jas 1:21-25). Hear and receive teaching that you might be wise.

Finally, talk to someone about Jesus today, advertise the Holy Ghost Congress. Daddy G. O said let’s use every means to publicize the program. (Evangelism is the heart beat of God). How many people did you call and encourage to come to Church last week? God sees the effort you are making. Ask yourself this noble question, if everyone is like me how will the Church of God look like?

God bless you real good for taking out time to read this piece.

Dcn. Mike Ben

The New Classes of Workers-in-Training and Baptismal Students will start soon. Please, if you have not passed through these trainings, see Brother Demola and Deacon Akande for registration.