LIVING RIGHTEOUS IN AN EVIL WORLD

Gen 6:5-10

God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them."

8 But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.

9-10 This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 That's the Message version.

 Read and digest it

 So, the world was evil. And corrupt. And bad.

 Everything mankind did was evil.

But Noah had a testimony, he was different

 He had integrity and he walked with God

Job 1:6-8 The Message 

6-7 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan, who was the Designated Accuser, came along with them. God singled out Satan and said, "What have you been up to?"

Satan answered God, "Going here and there, checking things out on earth."

8 God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil."

Satan did not even mention Job, but God was so proud of him he flaunted him

These two men, despite the widespread corruption around them then, were different.

Are you different?

Does your lifestyle, character, reputation, thoughts, attitude match your profession?

That's who you profess you are..

Many Christians are not different from the crowd. They join the crowd because

1. The want to feel among

2. They desire respect and certain privileges

3. They want to stay/form woke

4. They are ashamed of the Gospel

5. Join the trend

So they compromise their values and faith and join the bandwagon

 Noah had a testimony. Despite the widespread corruption around him, he was different. Stayed true to his God. He's still a model for us, thousands of years after

You don't have to please everyone. Everyone does not have to like you. As long as God is happy with you, believe me, you are okay

Trends come and go, ideas come and go, respect comes and go, privileges come and go, wokeness come and go.. But the word of God stays forever.

 2 Peter  2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)* KJV

 That was Lot. He refused to participate in the evil of his time.

Because something is popular doesn't mean it's right. Because everyone is doing it doesn't mean it's right.

Balance everything on God's Word

Finally..

 Psalms  1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. KJV

Proverbs  1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. KJV

This is just a reminder to us all.. Remember the Son/Daughter of who you are

Don't be a victim of the times

The Devil is smart. Most things that were outright evil then are being accepted as cool today

Technology has made everything easier to access. The lines are so blurry right now it's hard to know what's right and wrong anymore.

 Still, be careful.

Compare everything with God's word

Thing is, it's gonna get worse. And the fashionable thing, to appear enlightened, will be to flow along.

Don't!!!

Stay true to God. Stay true to His Word. Stay true to the Holy Spirit.

The Lord will bless his Word in our hearts in Jesus name.
                             

 Amen.

OFFERINGS

Today we will be talking about offerings.

Offering according to the dictionary, is a contribution given at a religious service. It is that which has been offered I.e a sacrifice. It can either be a voluntary or compulsory donation to the church. Our offering pleases God.

People who go to church and don't drop offerings don't understand the importance of our offerings.

We'd first look at the types of offerings

1. Freewill offering: this type of offering isn't compulsory. It is determined by you  and the reward of this offering is dependent on how you mete it out.

Give generously and generous gifts will be given back to you, shaken down to make room for more. Abundant gifts will pour out upon you with such an overflowing measure that it will run over the top! Your measurement of generosity becomes the measurement of your return.”

Luke 6:38 TPT

38 b says "for with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured you again.

So the blessings of the freewill offering is dependent on what you give.

2. Collections and contributions: this type of offering is for ministerial purposes. That is for building of the church, evangelism etc. Acts 4:32-37

You can read that at your spare time

 3) Alms. It shows the extent of our love and care for one another. Giving to the poor is like lending unto God and God will always replenish you. Proverbs 19:17

4) Seed offering: I'm sure we all know this type. In our various churches we are always asked to sow one seed or the other. Now, seed offerings are given based on faith or when we want a change in situations. Let's say we want healing or we need financial breakthrough. Etc

Seed offerings make for "temporal" changes. 

b) Sacrificial offering: This type makes for a permanent change in a situation. This can be seen in 2Kings 3:27 where king Moab sacrificed his son in order to stop a war against the Israelites. In the subsequent chapter, there was no mention of that war.

5) Partnership offerings: This type of offering is given when we believe in a cause. The grace in this cause begins to work for us. Luke 8 vs 2-18

6) Prophetic offering or seeds: This type of offering is given to a man of God to get the anointing working in his life to move in our direction.

read 1kings 17:7-13 And Matthew 10:41

7) Special offering or thanksgiving offering: This type of offering is to show gratitude for something specific God has done

Now to the two most important types of offerings- *Tithes and first fruit*

8) Tithe: it's compulsory😊. Forget what people say, it's compulsory. It's for God. God has done all these amazing things in our lives and guess what he's asking for? Just 10% of our earnings. 10%

10% of our goods. 10% of what we've asked him for. Lets read Malachi 3:8

Malachi  3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.*

If you don't give your tithes, you're robbing God.

Malachi  3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.*

Why's it important to give our tithe? It's clear in the next verse

Malachi  3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.*

9) First fruits: our first fruit offerings are the best. Your first fruit is your first harvest. It is your first salary after you've gotten that job you've always wanted. Your first fruit is a honour unto God.

Exodus  34:19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.  34:20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

                            
                 IMPORTANCE OF OFFERING. 

Offering is very important to God. 

-We worship God through our offerings. 

-Our offering allows God to act on our behalf 

- offerings creates unlimited blessings 

- our offerings allows God to Get us out of trouble. 

- offerings disrupts the plans of the enemy.

I hope we do understand the different types of offering and it's importance

And when we are asked to give for one cause or the other we shouldn't grumble or complain. Our offerings open doors for us

Another thing I've come to realize is that monetary offerings or seeds doesn't necessarily translate to monetary blessings

That is, we shouldn't go and sow seed because we think that money will multiply in our lives. It can also come back to us in other ways. Health, protection, etc

Lastly, it is important for us not to owe God the compulsory offerings. Giving shows us how much we love our father.

EXPRESSING GOD'S LOVE

EXPRESSING GOD'S LOVE

Text is from Romans 5:5

Romans  5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

All Scriptures will be taken from KJV unless otherwise stated..

So from the text, we realize that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts

Means as Christians, we have the love of God flowing, existing, enveloping our

Since out of the heart springs forth the issues of life, it means as children of God, love should be flowing from us

We are love beings.

You are a love being

Tell yourself.. I am a Love being.

Means as Christians, we have the love of God flowing, existing, enveloping our

We are love beings.

You are a love being

Tell yourself...I am a love being

Say it over and over to yourself right now.

I'll give you about a minute to do so.

Okay let's proceed.

1 John  4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Check the last part.. Because as he is, so we are in this world

That is not a promise, that is what is happening currently

We are love beings

We don't have the capacity to hate.

Love is our nature. Love is who we are. Love is what God has made us to be.

I'm talking about the God kind of love

You can't fully love (Eros, philio) someone else if you don't walk in God's love.(Agape). 

You can't fully love your family, friends, babe, guy if you don't walk in the God kind of love.

Understanding that you have the love nature is one thing, actually living out that nature is another thing.

1 John 3:18 My little children,let us not love in word,neither in tongue;but in deed and in truth.

Love is much more that confessions. Love is actions!!

Let's talk about the characteristics of the God kind of Love

 2nd Corinthians 13:4-7 TPT version..

1. Love is large and incredibly patient.

Love is large. Patient. No hurries

It is not for short time. It is not conditional. You don't love today and hate tomorrow.

It is consistent.

[God loved us even while we were sinners. Sending his Son to die for us.

The people he came to die for were hard headed, yet, he longed to gather them like a hen gathers her chicks

It is patient.

2. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all.

The love is gentle. No gra gra. Considers others.

Everything is all about you. If you don't have a say, it cannot happen. If you don't approve, it won't work. You are the alpha and omega. That isn't love

You don't care about others. You rate people based on what they have or what they've acquired. That isn't love

Love is CONSISTENTLY kind TO ALL

3. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else.

Love celebrates others. Is genuinely happy for others

You see your friend making it, you are happy for them. That's love. You celebrate them. That's You see someone "you don't like" succeeding, anger begins to flood your heart. You begin to throw shade. Pour sand into their garri. That isn't love.

Love is happiness for others when they prosper.

4. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.

Love is humility

See Paul, see what he achieved as an Apostle.

Philippians  3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;  3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.  3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

That is humility

That is love.

You use an iPhone.. Nobody can talk to you again. Your parents can't send you message.

You earn above your peers, nobody can talk to you again

You have MSc and PhD, we can't talk to you again

You have Lexus, pastor must fill form before he sees you.

Because you are staff, contract workers and gatemen can't talk to you

I'm just giving examples... I'm sure y'all get the gist?

That isn't love.

Love is humble. Love does not brag. Love doesn't magnify or inflate its importance

5. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense

I get angry easily.

I don't take nonsense

Nobody can ride me

They know me in my street, I don't take nonsense

Anybody crosses my path, I will give them fire for fire

Na small thing dey make me vex...Yen yen yen

This is not love.

Love is not easily irritated, because it's patient

Imagine God has anger issues or he has short temper 😁

We won't be here today

But God loves us. And he has poured that love in our hearts. We need to begin to walk in that love

We need to begin to express our nature as love beings

Finally

6. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.

Love is honest. Love seeks what is good, and does it. Love is not evil

Whatever you do that brings pain to others is not love

Love is holy. Love is pure. Love is sacred. Love is godly

In our relationship with the opposite sex, whatever you do that is contrary to God's word is not love.

That's why I said...If you don't fully walk in God's love, you can't truly love others

Lemme rephrase that

That's why I said.. If you don't fully walk in God's love (agape), you can't truly love(Eros, Philio) others.

A man that doesn't walk in God's love won't love you truly

A woman that doesn't walk in God's love,won't love you truly.

Who Should We Love?

Matthew  22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  22:38 This is the first and great commandment.  22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

We are to love

1. GOD

How do we love God, someone may ask?

Since love is in actions.

I'll show you a Scripture

John  14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Simple 

Now, what are the commandments? 

I'll show you another Scripture

1 John  3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1. Believe the name of his Son Jesus

2. Love one another

I believe as long as you are part of the family, number 1 is a done deal

Takes us to number 2

2. LOVING OTHERS

See, the love of God is in your heart

You are a love being.

Because you are living a hate-filled life right now doesn't negate that truth

 Romans  5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us! TPT

That love is being poured. Extravagantly. In heavy measure

You are a love being. That is your nature.

God is love and you have his Holy Spirit in you. You need to begin to walk in that reality.

Relating with others, you CAN express all the qualities of the God kind of love. Because that's who you are

Number 3

3. YOURSELF

You got to love yourself

As humans, we tend to love something or someone that has a high value to us

You need to know that God places the highest premium on you

1 Peter  2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

1 Corinthians  6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

That's how God rates you. You must begin to rate and love yourself the same way

You can't live your life anyhow. You can open your life to every Tom, Dick and Harry

Value yourself. Respect yourself. Be good to yourself.

See yourself the way God sees you

If you begin to see yourself and others the way God's sees you and them, you'd love easier

Love God. Love Others. Love Yourself.

Before I conclude, take another 3 minutes and begin to confess. 

I'm a Love Being

I love effortlessly, because that is who I am

Love is my nature

Love overcomes anger, envy, jealousy, hatred-whatever negative emotions you want to be done away with

I don't have the capacity to hate, because Love is my nature

I don't have the capacity to hate, because Love is my nature

 Let's make those confessions 

Pray in the Spirit too for a minute or 2

In Jesus Name we've prayed 

Amen?

In Conclusion

1. You are a love being. That's your nature 

2. You need to know, understand and begin to walk in that reality

3. Love God. Love Others. Love Yourself 

4. Loving is not by mouth. It's action

1 John  3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Amen

Thank you for this opportunity.