I BELIEVE

As an Anglican, I grew up reciting the creed every Sunday. Same as almost all things I was taught growing up, I didn't understand the full implications of the creed I proclaimed every Sunday at that time.

Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Every Sunday of reciting this and it took a while for it to hit me.

Same with Psalm 23, most of us knew it since we were kids but some Christians are yet to understand fully what we are saying when we read these things

Today, if you ask me to introduce myself, I will most likely mention I'm a believer..
This will be part of my description of me. I believe most Christians will also

"Oh! My name is Olúrèmí, I'm 19 and the most beautiful person you know. I'm a believer in Christ Jesus"


Sounds so sweet and cliché

I've come to realize most people don't exactly know what they are saying when they tag themselves believers.

 Tonight, we will be talking on I BELIEVE.

What exactly does it mean to be a believer, in Christ Jesus?

Our opening scripture is John 3:16.

This is one of our earliest study of believing growing up as Christians.

John 3:16 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

John.3.16 - For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

The AMPC

Trust, cling, rely on.

To cling is to hold on to something strongly

To have a strong dependence on something/someone

Every Christian is familiar with this particular scripture.

Most tend to read or translate this verse as :
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that everyone who recognises and believe He is saviour will never perish but have life everlasting. The word believe used here means more than simply agreeing that Jesus, is truly saviour.

I believe that Donald trump is the president of the US, does that mean I believe in Him?

I believe and accept Paul Biya is the president of Cameroon, does that mean I believe in Him or accept him as my own president? No.

If we go by this analogy, even the devil believes

Let's read Mark 1:24 - “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Here is what demons had to say.

I know who you are

You are the Holy one of God!

If the devil knows and accepts that truly Christ is the son of God and this doesn't equal salvation to him, then it doesn't for us.

Knowledge and acceptance that Christ is the son of God is not all that our belief entails

This is where it begins though

Another instance is in the miraculous feeding of 5000 (John 6:5-13)

After the people saw the sign, the verse 14 says :
"After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.'"

This is in reference to the old testament's foretelling of the coming of Christ

These people even planned to crown him king (that's how much they recognized who he was) but Jesus left quietly.

The next day, they sought christ out.
They had to cross to the other side of the lake sef to find Jesus

They found him and a conversation ensued between them (we can read the full chapter for understanding)

This came up in their conversation:

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
John 6:28‭-‬29 NIV

They already believed Christ was sent from God.

Christ's reply here shows that though the statement above is true, it is not what is required.
They had to believe IN the one that was sent

After all the explanations, long story short, this happened:

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
John 6:66 NIV

They believed Christ was the Messiah sent from God but they did not believe or accept fully His words. Don't know if the picture is getting clearer

For many people, the concept of their belief is like accepting an applications terms and condition (without reading or knowing it). Just scroll down straight and click the I accept part. All I care about is my need for the software. For most, all they care about is to sha be counted as those who are saved. So let's just head over to the I agree part of the contract

Doesn't work this way.

Suppose a person of weight, let's say 100kg, sees people walking on a bridge made of tiny ropes.
Even some other people of weight are passing through. And this person believes that he can pass and the tiny ropes won't break or give way. He even goes ahead to tell other people of weight to pass.

How do we know he truly believes he can pass and nothing will happen?.

When he actually walks across it! When he walks his talks!

Another instance,

I believe Seun can finish 10kg of rice at once. I make mouth to everybody on Word Alive

"Ehn? Seun? I trust him die. E go chop am finish. Person wey fit chop dead body. Forget. Na my guy. I know wetin u dey talk. E sure me dieeeeee"

I'm not merely bluffing, i do truly believe Seun can finish the food

Usually, what goes on next is action.
Not action to make me believe
Action produced from my believe

I will put money down for the rice or bet sef

 If Bimbo says
 "ah! Remi you are lying. How can Seun finish 10kg rice? Oya buy the rice let's see"

And my reply is refusal to buy the rice. Everyone on Word Alive automatically assumes I don't believe what I'm saying myself


Do we get what I'm trying to point at?

I'm trying to use as much relatable terms as possible

Believing IN someone brings a special kind of stanning.

Look at those that believe in the ministry of Pastor Chris, most actually model his dress style.

Look at Kim Kardashian stans, they are getting surgeries to look like her.

We tend to model the lives of those we truly Stan and believe in. We tend to obey such people (Bey hive as example here)

Take note of these words, Follow, model, obey

Let's open to Acts 16:30-31

Acts 16:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

This is the jailer asking Paul, what must I do to be saved.

Believe IN the LORD JESUS Christ

It is really this simple.

Believe IN Christ (Saviour), who is also Lord (Master) and you are saved.

A lot of us like Christ as Savior but not as Lord. There is a problem here

Trust that Jesus is truly saviour makes us rely on His death as the full payment for the debt of sin
This further translates into us depending on His own resurrection as the guarantee, that we would also be raised

And because we totally depend on Him up till life eternal, we follow His every lead as our Lord and Master

This is a brief sum up of I believe


The direct implication of I believe is that my believe is trust and dependence in what He has already done. To depend is to let Him lead

Christ is saviour - Fact!

I believe that Christ is my Saviour is me embracing the fact of Christ being saviour and all that it entails

Seeing Christ for who He really is. Embracing all that we see and allowing Him lead us in His path.

If we say we believe:

1. First, we truly know that Christ is Saviour

2. We accept Him as our own saviour and Lord

3. We accept His words and obey

4. We appropriate His works and rely on it completely.

5. We follow His lead

All of these produces the very character of Christ in us. Apostle Paul defines Faith, the one that saves as a decision to not trust in ones own works but rather in Christ who justifies us.

Our dear brother James, explains this (Saving Faith) further:

My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone. It is the same with faith. If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn’t do anything—it is dead.
James 2:14‭, ‬17 ERV

But someone might object and say, “One person has faith and another person has works.” Go ahead then and prove to me that you have faith without works and I will show you faith by my works as proof that I believe.
James (Jacob) 2:18 TPT

The author of Hebrews also had this to say:

And after being proven perfect in this way he has now become the source of eternal salvation to all those who listen to him and obey.
Hebrews 5:9 TPT

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46 NIV


Christ explaining what it meant to say He is Lord

Let's note that this doesn't mean we have to do to be saved


Rather that, our faith in Christ, that truly He saves us, produces these things, naturally.

If I want to know the man that believes in Jesus, how? It's in His obedience to Jesus. I don't know this by His words but by what his belief produces.

Do you believe?

If your answer is yes, then this is what it means for you:

You believe in who Jesus is (Saviour and Lord)

You trust in all what Jesus has done and rely on it completely

You obey Jesus and follow His lead

For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 TPT

I will end with this reminder, that it is only Christ who saves. not how good we are or the good works that we do.


But our belief in Him and all He has done for us

JUST AS CHRIST

Sometime in January, my phone got bad so I was offline for about a month. I still continued with the daily bible reading/schedule personally.

On the 23rd of January, we read Galatians 5.

I read mine personally. I got to verse 6 and it felt like something struck me. I checked so many translations on my laptop that day. I was on this one verse for over 5 hours.

Something changed in me.That particular verse gave birth to today's teaching. I'm hoping that it changes something in you also as I share all the Holy Spirit gave me

Please I'd like us to pay attention and allow the word do its thing

Galatians 5:6

*If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.*

Galatians 5:6 CEV

*All that matters is your faith that makes you love others*

*So if a man belongs to Christ Jesus, it does not matter if He is circumcised or not. He must show by His love that He believes*

. Gal 5:6 WE

Nothing else matters.

Not your speaking in tongues

Not your praying 20 hours daily.

Nothing else matters except your Faith that is expressed in love

What matters is your faith that makes you love others

Let me break the verse down. Your circumcision or not, what matters is faith, the one that works through love.

Whose Love? GOD'S LOVE. What matters is your faith that is shown through GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU.

So our faith works in reliance on God's love for us. But it doesn't stop there, it produces love in us

When the love of God hits us, the only way we can respond is in love

So now, what matters is Faith that is shown in the way we love others (which is only possible by first receiving God's love).

Faith in God is not expressed by how much we participate in religious activities, how much we minister, how much we adhere to a set of rules, or the law. Faith in God is seen in the way we love

A perfect example for this is Christ. We see His belief and Faith in the Father expressed in His love for us

To express our devotion to God, it is not entirely about what we say or believe or the church we attend.

It is demonstrated in our LOVE LIFESTYLE

The basis for Christian life/behavior is the Love of Jesus (the love of God)

As circumcision was to the men under the old covenant so is faith expressing itself through love is to the new covenant. Any Faith that is not shown in love is dead, dead faith. It is useless.

Needless

A waste of your time and deceiving of yourself. A perfect example of this is Jesus

Let's read John 13:33-35

*John  13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.  13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.*_

At this point, we see Jesus telling the disciples He is leaving them.

Let me translate to my understanding

*I'm going somewhere you can't really come with me. Everyone knows you people identify with me. You've been following me up and down. But you see, I'm going and where I am going, you can't follow the way you've been doing. So here is the new way I want you to identify with me: LOVE ONE ANOTHER JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU*

Jesus made this statement right after he talked about Judas betraying him and this is so significant for me.

Right after a knowledge of  betrayal, a charge to love

Jesus did something that has never been done before, an emotional one for me cos this is the foundation of Word Alive also.

He created a group identified by one thing: LOVE

So many associations in the world, some people wear black beret, white dress all through. People identifying in different ways : skin color (black students association), uniform, common interests, tattoos, piercings etc

But Jesus gave something unique to the church, to those that were to be identified with Him. He created a body whose identifying factor is LOVE

And nothing else matters

Not the skin color

Not the dressing

Not the beret

LOVE IS THE IDENTIFYING FACTOR.

"So it's no more, I'm a Christian, I attend CCC"

"I'm a Christian and Oh, I love JUST AS CHRIST"

You see what Jesus was saying to them: Though I just spoke of one of you betraying me, Love is still our identity

The same way I extended love to you Peter even after you refused to believe and almost sank, love others.

The same way I (will) run to you hug you Peter even after denying me thrice in a few hours, not shouting "I told you so", that same way, Love others.

The same way I picked you up Remi even though you kept falling every minute, that same way, Love others

What binds us to Christ is our love. It is our identity.Christ gave a NEW Model: LOVE

God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him.*

1 John 4:8 CEV

Love is the evidence of my belief. If I tell you that I believe, then my love is the witness. My lifestyle of love shows that I'm truly of the faith.This was how Christ identified with God.

Love is the confirmation that my proclamation of faith is real

If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them.

1 John 2:9‭-‬10 CEV

Let's open 1 Peter 4:8

Above all, constantly echo God’s intense love for one another, for love will be a canopy over a multitude of sins.

TPT

Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins.

1 Peter 4:8 CEV

Love will be a canopy

A covering.In love, there is forgiveness for sins, without number. Like endless forgiveness of sins

There are some people that are so difficult to love.They do things to hurt us always. Getting on our nerves

And we just want them out of our space. But here is what we've called to do; Love them

We've not been called to just love, we've been called to Love the way Christ Loved, the way God loves

In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:5 NCV

In your relationship with others, have the same  mindset as Christ

You've not been called to Love people out of reverence or respect for them or based on what they do, we've been called to Love others based on how Christ loves me and them

Samson is a very nice and helpful person to me, but I'm not supposed to love Samson because he is good to me

I've been called to Love Samson because Christ loves me. The day Samson stops being nice and helpful, I will still love him. Because my love for him was never about him but about Jesus.

“If you love me, you will obey my commands.

John 14:15 NCV

Do you love Jesus?

If you say you truly love me, you will keep my commands. If you truly love Jesus, then you will keep His commands. You've been empowered to

Now what is this command you are keeping?

“This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 15:12 NCV

AS much as

This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you.

John 15:12 AMPC

The standard is Christ, the way He loves us

How has Christ Loved you?

This is a question I want you to write down answers to.

Write down every way you've felt Christ's love especially in times you messed up.

Then extend that love to others when they mess up

MY PRIMARY DUTY IN LOVING OTHERS JUST AS CHRIST

1. CARE: I'm to care for others just as Christ cares for me, regardless of them deserving it or not.

2. ACCEPT:

 Romans 15:7

You will bring God glory when you accept and welcome one another as partners, just as the Anointed One has fully accepted you and received you as his partner. TPT

Accept and welcome others. Christ accepted us with all of our faults. Don't push people away because they are not living a Christ like life yet. There was a time you were there but Christ accepted you still. It is the person you are accepting, not their sins

Jesus accepted you with all your guilt, imperfections, mistakes. He accepted you completely.

He showed you His love regardless.

Accept others

3. BEAR WITH OTHERS

Some people will frustrate you after accepting them. You will almost regret accepting them.

They will keep making the same mistakes over and over and it will be irritating.

But remember, Jesus was patient with you also.

There was a time you kept going back to you sin and He bore with you

Bear with others just as Christ did with you

4. CARRY THE BURDENS OF OTHERS (Just as Christ):

When we go through things, God comes through for us. He stays with us through it all. Our burdens become His.

We should do same for other believers and even unbelievers 

Carry their burdens.

Most of us Christians are quick to help fellow believers but care less about outsiders.

Jesus didn't do that

Even if those people keep hurting you, carry their burdens as Christ did yours.

5. FORGIVE (Just as Christ)

No matter how many times they repeat the same mistake, Forgive them just as Christ forgave you while you were also doing the same thing over and over.

Remember that time you will ask for forgiveness and do the exact same thing again?

Like you never really meant it. You were just asking forgiveness for the sake of it?

God knew but He still forgave you. He didn't cancel you.

Now do same for others.

Forgive them even when they are not apologetic just as Christ did you.

6. SUBMIT (Just as Christ)

Submit to others out of reverence that Christ submitted Himself to us all on the cross for our sins.

That Sacrifice is the inspiration and standard for us towards others

Submit to others even when they are proud and try to ride you or think you are a fool for submitting.

Jesus submitted till death and some people still take Him for granted.

So submit even when you are taken for granted (this is how Christ Loved)

7. ENCOURAGE(Just as Christ) 

Let your words lift and encourage others. When we fall, we look to God for words that will lift us up.When we are sick or in trouble we got ourselves into, we pray to God to send word.We feel so relieved when we get a word of encouragement.We should do same to others.

Stop doing *I told you so* everytime

Jesus did not do *I told you so* to you.

Use your words to lift and not condemn

8. RESTORE (Just as Christ)

When people make mistakes, help them get back on their feet. Even if you are at the receiving end.

Even if they do not care that you are hurt

Even if they are not Acknowledging their fault.

Help restore them just as Christ did you, regardless of their countenance

These things are difficult of course.

And the only way you can give this kind of love is if you have received /experienced God's kind of love

How can you accept others when you don't feel accepted?

I'm praying for everyone reading this, that you come to know God's love in a way you've never before

Till it becomes a standard for your living and relationship with others.The only thing that counts is our faith expressed through love

How do you love?

Is it exactly as Christ as loved you?

The freedom we have in Christ is to serve others in love. This love we've been called to is Extreme. I made a note of everyone I needed to love more (those that know how to get on my nerves).

 I reached out and for some it felt like they were still trying to hurt me.

 But I've been called to a standard so high: putting every other person above me because that's what Jesus did for me. 

And it doesn't matter if they like me back or not. I've been called to be a servant to all men, just as Christ was.

 Every Christian has been called to this standard. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Paul knew what he was doing here because some people don't deserve my submission.

But Christ submitted regardless, up till death

Now imagine a world where people actually identify Christians by their love.

Where you see people love so much as Christ and you ask, are you a Christian?

Imagine a world where everyone is envious of how we followers of Christ Love (even though they don't really like us)

Imagine a world where even atheists will prefer to hire Christians

Where people will prefer to be our neighbours, colleagues, friends, all because of How we love

That is the world Christ wants us to live.

And it starts with you and I

*Love others JUST AS Christ loves (loved) you*

We can care without letting them draw us into sin/ their sinful acts if the other person is a sinner

I'd always thought of of this and here's my theology: Love is basic and Christ compels us to love but association is a choice. Like say I have a colleague or neighbor who is plain silly and is always involved with immoral things. We can show love to them without association. We just keep praying.

That's what I've always thought but I'm now encouraged to do more. To act the love out daily

The love of Christ. It is what compels us to

On our own, we can't love

But you see the love of Christ, it enables us

Remember Vampire diaries, the vampires look in the eyes of their victim and make them do things they will not do normally

That compelling is what the love of Christ helps us to do.

Let us pray

Thank you for your word Lord.

We pray that your love abounds in us and we are able to live this word that you have shared with us.

If there be anyone around us difficult to love, step in and help us.

Everyone of us will be known by the way we love.

This will be our identification as your followers going forward and it will draw men to you.

We spread your love everywhere.

Amen

IS GOD GOOD? (A Question And Answer Based Teaching) ( PART 1)

A lot of Christians find it very difficult to reconcile the old testament God to the one in the new testament. I mean, how can the God who comes off as angry, vindictive, ruthless, raining fire and brimstone be same with the loving, patient and forgiving new testament God.

How?

So many are confused as to what to believe.Same God?

Is there a consistency in personality?

Did God change along the line or with the coming of Christ. I believe every Christian has asked these questions at some point in their life (I have). In fact, I always knew God had to be the hero in all of these narrative  He just had to be good but I never knew how to explain it to myself talk more of others. A lot of people have also turned away from God because they couldn't come to an understanding of this. Today, we will be answering questions that have been asked regarding this. As time goes on, we will treat each point as a topic on its own gradually.

I will like to say this before we start,

*God is Good

*God is Love

*God Did not create evil

*God is not responsible for any evil/wickedness in the world

*God has no atom of wickedness in Him.

God Did not create evil. Remember, after creation God looked at ALL He created and they all looked good. He saw that they were good. Sin/evil could never have been hidden in all that goodness.Sin and all it brings came as a result of fallen creatures. God never intended for an evil world or one filled with sin, God wanted/wants man to be just like Him.

           For us to understand the full extent of Grace, we must be able to understand God's Holy Wrath against Sin and His (Righteous) judgement of those who engage in sin. A lot of what we term as God being evil is His Holy Wrath/Righteous judgement in display. All the questions we had during the week are questions about God's Character and understanding His person helps us to know why some things are;

God is just and holy.

Gods anger/wrath is righteous in nature

Gods anger is Holy distaste towards EVERYTHING that is contradictory to His nature; Holiness*

Romans 1:18 But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth.

Here we see what brings God's wrath, wrong doing. Wrong against what?Wrong against that which is Just? God's anger/Wrath is not bad,of course it looks bad to the sinner. But no, God's wrath is His love in action against Sin. I once read somewhere that God's wrath is a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil. If there is no judgement of evil, God would not be God. His Holy nature which is in contrast to Sin justifies His wrath towards sin and sinful men.God's nature and character has remained Constant from the old testament to the new. He is the same righteous God. His Holy anger will someday be unleashed upon the world.

Questions and answers

We have 12 main questions with some part  questions in them also.

Question 1

So I’ve heard bible teachers say God was not responsible for the evil in the Old Testament. E.g the children of Israel constantly being given into the hands of oppressors when they sinned against God.

My question is, did those who write the account of the Old Testament also misinterpret all the laws and punishments God wrote out, for those who walked in disobedience? 

If God isn’t evil, why ask people to stone,shoot,kill etc when they walk in disobedience?

 Answer

To start with, the bible is not the revelation of God, Jesus is.Of a truth, some people in the old testament had a flawed interpretation of the person of God and/or His actions (We will see some of them as we answer the remaining questions)

But I say to you, there is no Misinterpretation of laws/command of God.

All Scripture (though written by men who might not have a full understanding of God's nature) is God-breathed and useful for shaping our lives. Useful for our living.

Do you think God will ever allow an error be passed down as a tool for shaping lives? It took long before these manuscripts became the bible. It would have been destroyed. God would have destroyed everything.This brings us to the question *Killing of people when they walk in disobedience.

Will use the following examples.

 Laws of the land.

If you kill, you will be arrested and most likely the judge will sentence you to death if found guilty.

Is the Judge guilty of killing the man who disobeyed the laws of the land?

Is the judge evil for pronouncing or bringing to actualization the consequences of breaking that law?

Let's use the Student Illustrative.

You write an exam and fail. Most students will say, "the professor failed me" or "the professor gave me F o".But it's the student that failed to meet up to the standard used as a yardstick of judgement. So we can't blame the professor

Next is

The Law and its implications

The law came with consequences.The law is required for people to live right and not commit atrocities.Every body, country, organization has laws and rules governing them.

When people go against these laws and they are to pay the penalty, is it not the person that erred we blame? Do we blame the sitting president for the carrying out of this law? Do we call the judge evil?

NO.

There is a reason there are laws. Laws are there to actually protect citizens.these laws are for our own benefits.If we see cases where countries were destroyed in the bible, you will see mention of their atrocities.It is always because people did something that was against the law (based upon God's Holy nature).

 But when you take cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you must kill everyone. You must completely destroy all the people—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. So then they will not be able to teach you to sin against the Lord your God or to do any of the terrible things they do when they worship their gods.*

Deuteronomy 20:16‭-‬18

Destroy the people who sin so they will not also teach others to sin. Does it sound like our cry for rapists to be brought to be book so it can sound as a warning to Other rapists that they can't continue their evil ?

The Lord GOD says, “I don’t want evil people to die. I want them to change their lives so that they can live!  “Now, maybe good people might stop being good. They might change their lives and begin to do all the terrible things that evil people have done in the past. (The evil people changed, so they can live.) So if those good people change and become bad, God will not remember all the good things they did. He will remember that they turned against him and began to sin. So they will die because of their sin.  “You people might say, ‘The Lord isn’t fair!’ But listen, family of Israel. I am fair. You are the ones who are not fair!*

Ezekiel 18:23‭-‬25 ERV

God never intends for evil people to perish. He wants them to change their ways. Look at the Canaanites, God destroyed them.The plan to destroy them had always been there.But do you know God waited 400 years before?And so many Canaanite came to God within these period. For example Rahab. Rahab is even in the ancestral lineage of Jesus Christ

God gave the Canaanites enough time to change, to turn back before destroying them.More like before allowing them reap that which they sowed. The same is happening in the world today. Judgement is coming. Man has time to repent, to turn away from evil and turn to God

Some people will still blame God and call Him evil when judgement comes. And if we advocate for God to destroy immediately, Even you and I will not be standing.

 God is Just

          QUESTION 2

.

We know God is 100% good and if this is the case then these punishment laws and other events in the bible wasn't given by him.

On the contrary God is balanced. And though he is a good God he will punish where there is disobedience.

Biblical references

 The place where He asked for an evil Spirit to go deceive through the prophets Ahab, so he could go into battle and die there. 1 kings 22:22. Second instance is where the Bible records An evil spirit coming from God to torment Saul. 1 Samuel 16:14. Now the question is,was it actually God who sent this Spirits as the Bible says or there is another explanation please?

Answer

God did not send any evil Spirit to Saul.

Let's read 1 Samuel 16:14

The Lord’s Spirit left Saul. Then the Lord sent an evil spirit to Saul that caused him much trouble.*

1 Samuel 16:14 ERV

God's spirit occupied Saul's body initially. God later withdrew His spirit (We all know why) so Saul's body became empty. Saul had lost his spiritual protection. His body became open for any evil Spirit passing by to enter.

God's withdrawal of His spirit is an open invitation for whatsoever spirit to come in since the house is now empty. Since God knew His withdrawal of His spirit is proportional to open invitation for demons, it is easy to translate this to God sending the evil Spirit. But that's not His doing. He only packed His bag and left.So God did not send any evil Spirit. The evil Spirit entered because God's spirit wasn't there. This part is one of the flawed interpretations of God in the bible.

it was automatically assumed that God sent that spirit.

 Saul’s servants said to him, “An evil spirit from God is bothering you.*

1 Samuel 16:15 ERV

Saul's servant telling him it's an evil Spirit from God, did he even know God? This one is also not on God.

So in essence he let Hitler perpetrate evil? 

God created man for His pleasure. God created Hitler, Terrorists, good people and bad people, all for His pleasure. And they were none of these things at creation.

Man has a will,Man has choice.To choose who or what they give pleasure.

God is happy when we choose the right path but He is not responsible for whatever choice we make.

He can make the Choice turn out for good also.But that choice is still ours to make. God's permission of men's choices (Both good and evil, especially evil) does not in anyway translate to His approval of those choices. Adam chose to eat of the forbidden tree.

God could have done some magic and appeared to toss the fruit away but He did not.

Does this mean God approves of Adam's choice/decision to eat the fruit? NO

Back to Hitler and the Holocaust.

The blame for this is solely on the shoulders of sinful humanity.

The Holocaust was a pursuit of sinful choices made by men deep in sin against God whose nature is Holy/Just.

 Reading about the Holocaust is painful to be honest. What hurts me the most is this, Millions of people followed Hitler. And this was just few years after the World War 1. Do you know how devastating the first war was? How could people support Hitler and follow him to perpetrate such evil?

We want to blame God that didn't take part in the war. But what of the people that joined Hitler?The few people that still think He was on the right cause

Man's evil is never to be blamed on God.Man chose that path.And evil has consequences.

Consequences that sometimes hurt the innocent

 So the question should be:

Why did men let Hitler perpetrate such evil?

Why did people support Hitler? Because they chose evil,And this choice is not on God.

God bless you all

Let us pray

Thank you for your word Lord.

Thank you for clarity

Thank you for speaking to us

Dear Lord, All we want is to know you.

If there is anything we still do not understand fully, please reveal all to us.

As we continue during the week, help us answer these questions rightly and also understand them.

Amen

HEARING GOD

 Today, we will be talking about something very important : HEARING GOD

 There have been a lot of questions as regards this and we try to answer then bit by bit but today we will talk about it fully

 *Have you heard God speak before?

 *Have you felt it that God is asking you to do something before?

 *You hearing from God personally and God using others to speak to you,  which happens more often?

*Do you sometimes find it difficult to know if it's God speaking?

  One thing I've come to see about most Christians is this,  we talk to God always (more like talk at)  cos we usually don't expect a reply or wait for any.
Even if He gives one,  we are not certain if it's God speaking or it's just our mind.
I think every Christian has been here at a point In their life and so many of us are still there

I'm reminded of the altar erected by the Greeks in Acts 17, with the inscription "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD"
A lot of us still relate with God this way

As if He were unknown
 One of the greatest benefits of the coming of Christ Is a relationship with God,  one where we get to rub minds together. Both parties sharing themselves with one another

 That image of the strict father that wants to send you to hell the minute you mess up,  first of all cancel it.

That's not what Christ came for.
He is the loving father that wants to gist with us,  wants us to know Him and even though He already knows us,  He still allows us to tell Him things about Him

He carefully pays attention while we talk with so much love and adoration.
And He expects same from us.

What Christ brought is Intimacy.

 But what is Intimacy when it's just one person talking every time?

For all our questions about hearing God,  it's never a case of God not speaking.  It is usually us not hearing (more like not listening)

 Game of thrones is showing every Monday from tomorrow.
  If I fail to tune in to watch,  does it mean the show is not going on?

 If I fail to tune in to Bond Fm's daily morning show,  does it mean the speaker did not come or did not speak?
No

God transmits,  He speaks.
The problem usually lies with the receiver.

Sometimes,  we go to God,  ask and ask and ask.  Then we end.

Praying without listening is like switching off your phone after calling for help.

The people you called for help,  how do they reach you?

Like AW Tozer will say: It is God's Nature to speak

 In hearing God,  We need to check the following things. If we do not understand them,  we might have a challenge hearing

•  Know that God speaks and that you can hear

The first step is knowing and accepting that you can hear from God.  If you do not believe that He can speak to you,  you will most likely not hear whatever He has to say to you.

John  16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

 The Holy Spirit,  the seal of our relationship with the father,  our engagement ring,  When He comes (He is here already), His job will be to guide us into all truth.  He will tell all we need to know

All that the Father is saying.

It did not say The Spirit of God will speak to a select people

Everyone of us can hear

My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me.*
John 10:27 TPT

So first,  know and accept that you can hear God speak.  Don't doubt it.
Don't think it's just for some certain people or leaders in church.

• Understanding that hearing from God is not a luxury.

Now we know we can hear (from) God but we also should know that we NEED to hear God.

Because,  the Shepherd will always speak to guide the sheep, it is very important for the sheep to hear

 We don't just wait to stumble upon hearing God.

 Hearing God is a must for as many of us that call ourselves sons.

When you meet your partner or your friend and you talk to them,  do you think in your mind,  "maybe he will talk.  Maybe he will not talk?"

No,  you don't.

If you say something while you are talking on phone and the person on the other end says nothing,  you will be worried

 Are they okay?
Is this person ignoring me?
Is something wrong with the connection?

The same way we know we have to hear our friend's voice when we are gisting,  is the same way we know that we need to hear God.

Let's Read Romans 8:14

Romans  8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

It says,  For as many as are led.
If we say we are children,  then there has to be a leading.
To lead is to direct,  to guide,  to show.
"Follow this path"

"We might not be able to follow that path again o,  the road is bad. we stop at that junction and turn left"

 "Let's wait for the car to pass before we cross"

 I don't know if we've had encounter with a tour guide before.

They are always speaking

 "You can't climb this part of the Olumo rock at so and so time"

"If you take that route,  you will get lost"

 And sometimes,  the tour guides even gist with us outside the instructions on what to do and what not to do

 The tour guides are not just there for decoration or so you have someone to gist with.
Usually,  it is to avoid mishaps

This is another reason why we NEED to hear God.  To avoid certain things happening to us.
To help us walk through this journey of life smoothly.
To tell us stop,  move,  wait,  hold on

 It is very important we know what God is saying about every situation in our lives.

Now you know that you can hear Him and you need to hear Him

Next is:

• Listen to God and expect to hear him.

 If you are expecting someone to speak, you wait for a minute and just listen to hear what they have to say

 Even when they don't speak immediately. As long as there's an expectation, you wait

Let's read Ecc 8:3a

Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence/sight

 God gave me a book late last year for 2019 (unpublished yet)  but I will be sharing from the book in this part.

One thing most Christians are yet to understand is sitting and waiting in prayer.
Prayer is communication,  a 2 way street

We are having a conversation.
Expecting the other to day something and listening to what they have to say is just as important as the part where we talk.

For most people, prayer is just talking. God is not dumb, He speaks (in so many ways). Imagine meeting with a friend and they go on and on about themselves, every time you try to say something they are still speaking. You wait for them to finish so you can speak but they pack their bags and leave the date as soon as they are done. If anyone does this to me, I won’t meet with them again. Sadly, we do this to God always. Always in a hurry to leave His presence.

 Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go, stand in front of me on the mountain. I, the Lord, will pass by you.” Then a very strong wind blew. The wind caused the mountains to break apart. It broke large rocks in front of the Lord. But that wind was not the Lord. After that wind, there was an earthquake. But that earthquake was not the Lord. After the earthquake, there was a fire. But that fire was not the Lord. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle voice.*
1 Kings 19:11‭-‬12 ERV

God told Elijah,  go to so so so place,  I will speak with you.

The same way God is telling us,  I want to speak with you.  I want you to listen
 Elijah gets there,  wind blew,  No God.
Earthquake,  No God.
Fire,  No God.
Before the still voice of God

 This brings us to one thing.

*Waiting to listen*

Don't be in a hurry to leave.

 Elijah could have left after the wind blew and nothing.
"Ah!  God I went there o,  but no show"

 A lot of us do not wait long enough to hear God most times.

We should never forget communication is both ways. Be open to listening to Him speak.  Cultivate the habit of listening (total silence in your mind, no activity whatsoever) and you will surely hear God. He could respond with a hug, a word of knowledge, scripture, peace, an assuring conviction or you could even hear Him loud and clear like He is sitting right in front of you.
Till you do, sit quietly, no matter how long it takes.

Also,  in our expectations to hear from God,  it shouldn't be for when we are in difficulty only

Does the tour guide speak only when you are in danger?  No.
He speaks even before you get there (of which,  he is the only one aware of where Danger lies,  that's why he is guiding you in the first place(

We should be willing to hear God on any and every thing.
Not just when there is trouble,  we are desperate or need something

God craves relationship

He wants to walk with us.

 And we benefit so much from hearing God.
It is not Him benefiting
We are saving ourselves from a whole lot of suffering,  troubled minds,  tribulations etc

And we are also building intimacy with Him.

Sometimes,  He is not telling us turn left or turn right.  He is just there reminding us we look beautiful today

 Same way,  the tour guide can randomly tell you your hair is nice or you have a lovely smile

 Sometimes,  He is reminding us of His love.
Of our identity in Him.
Or He is asking us to help someone else (probably by praying for them)

 He also reveals Himself to us in the place of hearing Him.

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
Romans 1:19 NLT

 Now that we know why we need to hear and the things to have in mind

Let's move to the big question.

HOW DO WE HEAR FROM GOD?

 I once tweeted years ago that God is a speaking God and someone replied that He is not.  He already said all He has to say in the Scripture.

Truly,  the Scripture is very complete,  it is God breathed and our number one source of all we need to know.  It is also a check for whatever we hear from God.

 But there is a danger in assuming that God doesn't speak other than Scriptures.

We will not be paying attention to other ways He is using to speak with us

Imagine that I assume the only way I can communicate with my partner is written letters 😓

 What we do is limit ourselves and our hearing Him

 I remember hearing a testimony.

God told a certain pastor to go back and change his clothes,  to a blue shirt and a suit.

Someone in church asked this as a sign from God

The pastor didn't know why but He obeyed.
That someone in church has a very large ministry today.  Gave their life to Christ

Let's imagine the only way God can speak is the Scripture,  please where did they wear blue shirt and suit in the Bible,😂

 So first,  God speaks in so many ways and we will be learning about them tonight

1. THROUGH HIS WORD

The word of God is God. To hear from God,  we have to understand and know Him,  His character,  perspective,  how He does His things.
All these is made available in Scriptures.

 Sometimes,  you are going through something and you pick your Bible.  You are reading John 3:16.
You've known this verse all your life o but somehow you get a new revelation in relation to what God wants you to know at that point

 And you are wondering if this is the same verse you've been reading all along

And you are wondering if this is the same verse you've been reading all along

Don't know if we've experienced this

Are you sick?  God has a word for you in His word

Are you tired?  Same

Are you happy?  Same

The word of God is the most powerful book ever because it is God Himself

 You want to hear God speak?  Then hear what the word (which is God)  is saying.

 This is the easiest and most common,  everyday means of hearing God.
It is a must

You can't say you hear God and never through His word.
That's a big problem

 2. THROUGH OUR THOUGHTS

This is the part where people get confused.
"I'm not really sure which spirit is speaking o"

 "Maybe it's my mind or the Holy Spirit"

"Or I'm just over thinking things"

 This is where the place of our *inner witness* comes in.

The reason we tag it thoughts is because we are not so sure it's the Holy Spirit talking.

 Listening to our thoughts,  inner witness or conscience can be very tricky. I miss it sometimes too.
It takes a lot to be able to able to recognize this


Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking.*
Colossians 3:15 aERV

Let Christ's peace control your thoughts.

 If there is no peace in what you think you are hearing,  then safe to say you cancel

Another way to check is the written word.
If you are not sure it's God saying this through your thoughts,  take your Bible and check what God has already said

If you are still not sure,  ask God to speak more clearly.

I do this and it works

If I'm not certain about what I'm hearing God say.
I go back to Him and ask Him to speak more clearly in a way He cannot be misunderstood

If your teacher says something and you don't get it,  a simple "Excuse me ma,  please can you come again and probably break it down" does the magic

 Whenever you are in doubt,  ask God

           3. CONVICTIONS

Some people call this Sanctified desires.
Like you just know in your heart that you have to do xyz.  You just have that strong desire towards this.

We need to understand that there is only one spirit in us,  the Holy Spirit.
You can't have evil spirit and Holy Spirit at the same time

 So we need to learn to trust that He is leading.

 But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.
John 14:26 ERV

He will cause you to remember. That knowledge will just come.
You just know it

 But how do you know it's the Holy spirit that is talking?

The sinful self wants what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against the sinful self. They are always fighting against each other, so that you don’t do what you really want to do.*
Galatians 5:17 ERV

 The Spirit will never lead in the direction of the flesh

So trust it whenever you get that leading or conviction.

4. THROUGH THE SMALL INNER VOICE

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Isaiah 30:21 KJV

Sometimes,  you hear a voice inside your head.
Like someone is speaking to you inside your head and only you can hear.
A lot of us should have experienced this?
That's the Holy Spirit.

5. THROUGH THE AUDIBLE VOICE

Very few people hear God this way.
You hear a voice in real life but you can't see this person and you know it is God. You are the only one hearing also


 Some Pastors I know of got their call this way.
It's okay if you don't hear this one.

Remember God speaks in diverse ways,  as long as you are hearing.

 Other ways God speaks to us

• Through Others
• Dreams,  Visions,  Prophecy and trance
•  Nature,  surroundings
• Circumstances

You can add ways you've heard God speak to you also

 To end the teaching.
The place of Obedience in hearing God

Obedience happens one step at a time.

I wanted to tell you everything I knew and give you all my knowledge, but you didn’t listen to my advice and teaching.
Proverbs 1:23 ERV

It doesn't stop at us listening.  Obeying opens us to hearing more and trusting more.

We show that we are His intimate friends when we obey him

You show that you are my intimate friends when you obey all that I command you.*
John 15:14 TPT

 And this brings more intimacy,  more ability to hear clearly.

 If I talk to you and you never do what I say to you,  I will most likely lock up.

Continual Disobedience is us out rightly saying we don't rate God or whatever He has to say

 Staying in this phase affects our hearing

Now that you know that you can hear God,  please take out time to (in the place of prayer also) and obey all that He tells you.




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