THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

John  8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

What is Truth?

Toye: the quality or state of being true.

Samson: Truth is the exact representation of an event/situation.

"In the dictionary, Truth is the quality--- or state of being true

According to Wikipedia: Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.

In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, propositions, and declarative sentences.

I’m not even going to lie when I started to study for this teaching, I actually wanted to change it to something else because it was becoming more complicated than I imagined it.... so we’re doing this together...

Are there types of truth? Can a truth turn out to be a lie?

When I was studying for this teaching, I discover that there are actually different types of truth... I’ll narrow it down to two, Empirical truth and Convenient truth

Empirical truth: Empirical truth is based on evidence, research and reason. It is the truth that scientists seek. It is the truth that people seek when they want to achieve predictable results.

I’m sure if you’ve gone to Uni or Poly... there’s a part in your project Chapter 2 where you talk about empirical reviews....

In relation to time, empirical truth is more about past proof and future value than any present purpose.

Convenient truth: This is base on need, desire and emotion. It is the truth that people seek when they want to be right, when they suspect they are wrong.

In relation to time, convenient truth is about now and bother less about the past or future. Does this mean a truth can be a lie... ????

In the theory of probability( sorry I studied Statistics in Poly😊)  it is either truth or false, there’s no half truth/ half fallacy 

That means if it’s not the truth then it’s a lie .... be it a convenient or empirical truth... if it’s proven to be false then it’s no longer a truth...

This brings me to another question can I be living a lie thinking it’s the truth?

Samson: Yes. Someone can take a lie and make it his or her own reality. However, truth should be absolute. It should be universal. If it isn't universal or absolute, it can't be truth.

Yes... it’s very possible to be living a lie as the truth until you come in terms with truth

Let me cite an example Isaiah 53:5  says 

...and with his stripes we are healed 

Do you know it’s possible to continuously live in the lies of the devil when we do not know that by his stripes we’re healed?

I was very particular about this topic, because there would come a time you may forget the truth you know and begin to believe the lies of the devil... I’ve been in this position several times... but there’s something about knowing the truth... It sets you free

How can the truth set you Free?

1. The first criteria for the truth to set you free is to know the truth

John 8: 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

It is the truth you know that will set you free... The truth you are not aware of can not set you free... and you know the truth by studying the word of God

2. After knowing the truth, you believe....

Acts  13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

It is one thing to know the truth and a totally different thing to believe the truth...

At the end of the day what you believe is what is true to you. What do you believe to be the truth?

The truth can set us free: 

* when we believe and come in terms with our reality in Christ not with our present situation

* Recognizing the truth, you’re liberated from the illusion of your present reality

* By seeing that the truth in the word should be one and the same with your reality you’re liberated from the conflict of self and other vices

* When you become one with this reality(your reality in Christ) you see that you’re god, and have become liberated from the bonds of mans law;

*Can truth be relative? What is true to you can it be different from what’s true to me? 

John  14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

To me there’s only one truth, but for it to be our truth it all bores down to our believe. 

For example, imagine someone having constant headache and this person keeps sleeping it off after ticking all the boxes (I.e you’ve taking your medication, you’re not stressing your self, etc.... because knowing the truth doesn’t mean not doing the right things, in fact you do the right things because you know the truth)... then it finally dawns on you that Christ is the balm of Gilead and you accept that truth and exercise your faith. 

You know that your present reality isn’t tallying with the truth God said to you... he is the balm of Gilead, sickness have no place in your body

Though your present reality says something else but you begin to confess God’s truth in your life

What Happens to you when you embrace the Truth?

*You learn how to see the world, shining and dazzling in its purity with new eyes, with fresh perspective.

*You do not let your current reality determine who you’re in Christ

*You live more at peace, You’re less troubled by what’s happening around you

Mark  4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

We see here that the Disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus was so at peace and sleeping even during the storm. Lol when you come to the reality of your truth in Christ people will marvel at how calm you’ll be in very tough situations... some will ask what kind of human being are you...

*You become more available for life to breathe through you. Yes you will stop being overly too conscious... you’ll begin to live your life to the fullest

*You become unstuck. The air around you begins to blow, there is movement...

In Summary I’m very particular about us knowing our reality in Christ cause this is our truth, our current situation don’t determine this, devil will continuously poke his ugly head to make you forget this truth... he will show you all the difficulties and the terrible things happening to make you forget the truth.... but in all these DO NOT FORGET YOUR TRUTH IN CHRIST, YOU KNOW THIS TRUTH BY CONSTANTLY STUDYING THE BIBLE

GOD'S PLAN ARE BLESSED

1. When God guides, He provides
What God directs, He protects.
Blessings untold are waiting for you,
As God guides and directs the things that you do.

2. Trust in the Lord with your heart, I say,
You will hear His voice, "This is the way."
Desires from Him, they will come,
Your heart bears witness, this is the one.


3. Vision accomplished, desire achieved,
Results of a heart, willing to believe.
God's plans unfolding as a dream in the night
Your acceptance guarantees His power and might.

4. The struggle is over, the battle is done,
When you've waited in prayer, to hear from the son.
His voice is clear, the captain has spoken,
'Go forward now! - the enemy's power is broken!'

5. Rest - for you a way of life.
Gone are the days of worry and strife
You've come to the place of knowing His way,
God's plans are blessed, for you to believe and obey

Today, with this confession as a guide (it was actually shared as a poem or so, not as a confession but it became by confession), we will be talking on God's plan with the reminder that His plans are indeed blessed

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV

Sometimes we are in doubt of the plans of God for us, but here is a reassurance from God. He is very sure of the plans He has for us, He knows definitely that they've not changed.

They are of Good and not evil. They are blessed and aimed towards a future filled with Hope

 We all know that truly God's plans are blessed. We know our papa loves us so much. This is so easy to agree with when things are going well and visible in accordance with what we know about God's plans for us individually

But what happens when everything is not looking like the plan and it is repeatedly so.

The vision we've been given and our current realities are so much far apart.

We are even beginning to question if we are truly running with the right vision or we missed something along the line

you've just been diagnosed of this life threatening disease and it's changing your whole life

You got to work last week only to meet a dismissal letter

Your parents' health just went from 100-0. You might need to crowd fund to take care of them. Chances of survival are still slim

You've been searching for a job tirelessly, yet nothing

So much debt hanging on your neck but inside the plan that you've been told God has for you, you are the one lending to nations

Your friends have progressed in life/left you behind  and it seems like everyone is deserting you

You and rejection mails have been 5 and 6 for a while

The partner you've been praying with for years just worked out on your relationship

For someone, the Lord has said do xyz. You've been so faithful to it but it looks like nothing is coming from it.

You wrote down the vision. You are sure you heard it clearly.

You've been running by it but things keep going wrong.

You take 1 step forward and it feels like a win only for something to happen and drag you 10 steps backwards

Any spiritually minded person sees you and immediately they tell you: you are such a great person. God's plans for you are amazing. He will use you so much for His glory

It's sweet to hear but you've heard it so many times, it is becoming tiring. For decades, messages like this have come but nothing has come out of it.

Truly, life has a way of throwing challenges, so much that we are trusting o but we are not really trusting.

We are "frustratedly trusting"

Don't know if anyone can picture this or understand what I mean

I can relate to these things.

I've been here a lot of times

I get really tired and I'm wondering, when exactly will this thing happen

Especially when it feels like I'm close to something and everything scatters. I look at the vision and I wonder again, did I miss anything?

Because at this point, local man is tired.

I don't know where you fall in all of these. I don't know what is going on in your life. But the Lord has sent me to you, He has sent me to me. He says His plans are blessed, they truly are, even with all of these plenty challenges.

I'm reminded of Joseph. At 17, he dreamt of becoming king. He was sure of the vision, so sure that He even told it to his brothers. It took 22 years for this dream to come to pass (His brothers coming to bow before him).

First, he had to be a slave then next a prisoner.

This was not in the outline he received.

All he saw was his family  bowing before him.

I wonder if Joseph ever thought of his dream  while in prison. How did it make him feel? How much of an irony that'd have been.

Some things happen to me and I'm just there like, God we didn't discuss this part. Is this one supposed to be part of the t & c too cos I'm tired.

God's plans are blessed

Let's look at the story of Daniel briefly. The King had gathered young men in the city to learn the language of the Chaldeans. Daniel and his friends were part of these young men.

(Daniel 1:17).

If we read the chapter fully, we see that God gave Daniel and his friends special ability that others learning did not have.

In the second year of the King's reign, he started having dreams.

None of the Chaldeans and wise men the king was training people to be like could tell him his dream or interpret.

But Daniel and his friends prayed to God who revealed to them.

This led to Daniel becoming the Chief Magi. He was to train all magis in the reading of stars, interpretations, dreams, vision etc since the wise men and Chaldeans were not up to the task

Daniel began a new "school" sort of for training magis (of course he'd have done it as God wished)

600 years before Christ but all of these was a setup towards the acknowledgement of Christ as king and the visitation of the magis. Magis trained in the ways Daniel had laid down would someday see a star in the sky and know exactly what it means.

They'd leave all and come in fulfillment of scripture to bow before the one born king.

Did Daniel know this? No!

Was it part of God's plan? Yes

We see that truly God's plans are blessed and even they span over time.

When God guides, He provides

 What God directs, He protects.

Blessings untold are waiting for you,

As God guides and directs the things that you do.

When God guides, He provides

We see the story of Abraham. God asked him to satisfy his only son, Isaac. Abraham didn't question, not because he was not sad but he had been in God's plan for a while. He had walked in it and he understood that there were blessings in it no matter how absurd the instruction is. No matter what the next step took from him. He knew that regardless, God had a plan and whatever it was it'd be to his advantage.

Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God. So Abraham gave that place a name, “The Lord Provides.” Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord, he will give us what we need.”

Genesis 22:13‭-‬14 ERV

The ram was not provided at the point where Abraham got the instruction. He was already on the move when the ram came.

He did not know who was bringing it before time. Abraham was not busy trying to figure it out. He went out with the instruction.

Also, I believe the ram had been there before Abraham got to the place.

He just did not see it. The bible says "Then Abraham noticed a ram.. "

I don't know what God has asked you to do and probably it is looking like there is no resources.

God has told you xyz but no provision to accomplish

Know this: On the mountain of the Lord (Inside the plan of the Lord), there will SURELY be provisions

The Lord will give all that you need, when you need it

(not one minute late)

When God directs, He protects.

We see that Elisha was following God's direction. Even the people benefited from the protection that came from following God's directions

But the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Be careful! Don’t go by that place, because the Aramean soldiers are hiding there!”  The king of Israel sent a message to his men at the place that the man of God warned him about. And the king of Israel saved quite a few men.

2 Kings 6:9‭-‬10 ERV

Because of the directions God gave Elisha, the king of Haram sent an army to surround and kill him.

But God protected Elisha still

Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”  Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.” The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:15‭-‬17 ERV

Sometimes, we are like these servants, crying : "Lord, what shall we do"

But the Lord is telling us to look around, we are protected

For the remaining days of this year, our eyes are opened to God's protection that is always around us.

Amen

Trust in the Lord with your heart, I say,

You will hear His voice, "This is the way."

Desires from Him, they will come,

Your heart bears witness, this is the one.

Like Abraham, put all your trust in God. Knowing that He will provide, that He will lead, guide and direct

Knowing that truly the vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarries, surely it will come to pass.

Though everything happening is not looking like the vision, trust that God's plans are truly blessed

March 2018, the Holy spirit showed me something.

I was sitting on a stool, no handle or place to rest my back.

The stool was placed at the edge of a cliff.

The Cliff was very high, like really high and tiny.

All around it, deep waters.

Then the Spirit told me to rest my back.

Me: on what?

He told me to lean backwards

On what?

I'm already so scared sitting on that cliff, now I should lean completely as if there was a chair I'm relaxing on?

I'm going to fall inside the deep waters, that was certain.

I couldn't even look down properly cos I was scared. Now I should lean.

Then the Spirit told me, that this is what it is to depend on God, trust in His word and know that His love will not let me fall inside that water waiting to swallow

This is what it means to trust.

You know that leaning is the end of you but you also know that the one you lean on will not allow such end

It is very difficult to allow ourselves fall back with hope that someone will come and hold us.

From personal experience, I've come to know our trusting in God is our last resort

Like we've tried other cards that didn't work and it's just the God option left. Just like the woman with the issue of blood, she had exhausted all resources before Jesus. 12 years of carrying that problem.

Sometimes, we prolong some phases inside of this blessed plan of God for our lives, because we refuse to trust completely.

Our realities, natural senses, situations etc tilt us to walk by sight.

But you see God's plan, as blessed as it is, human sight cannot catch a glimpse of the process..

It takes trusting the one that gave the plan

Ignore your reality

Ignore the doctor's report

Forget the economy and absence of "provision"

Leave yourself at the complete mercy of God.

It's sweet to talk about o but very difficult. I know this because the decision to trust is daily. Even I sometimes forget to.

I know I'm to trust God but a problem comes up and I'm worried. I'm springing into action trying to fix or work it out.

Hmmm. God's plans are blessed but you need to trust Him to work it out. And you will hear Him when you do. He will show you the way. You will be certain of the steps to take.

I will leave verse 3 & 4 for us and jump to the last.

This is the most beautiful part of this confession for me. 

Rest - for you a way of life.

I changed the you on the paper at some point to "me".

When we learn to believe that truly the plans of God for us are blessed, that He will provide, protect and all we need do is trust, we experience peace.

We come to a place of rest.

Gone are the days of worry and strife

We are not worrying or struggling, not because there is nothing to worry about but because we are at the complete mercy of God.

The plan does not belong to me. If it looks like it is not working? The owner of the plan should do the worrying 😁

You've come to the place of knowing His way,

And when we stay here, we already have expo. It becomes easier. Struggles are no longer struggles. We are almost cruising through it all.

People will look at you and wonder how you have it all together but you know you don't have it all together, only God does.

God's plans are blessed, for you to believe and obey

Hmmmm..

Indeed, God has plans for you. God has plans for me.

And they are really blessed plans

Regardless of circumstances, please believe this. Never ever doubt it

Life will tell you otherwise o. Things will not make sense but don't ever doubt

God's plans are blessed, first for you to believe then obey the instructions He gives.

If you do not believe and obey, you can't walk with the plan talk less of enjoying the blessings from it.

I will like us to google William Cowper. This man had life deal with him seriously. He was heavily depressed. Nothing made sense to him. He had experience a whole lot of pain, a whole  lot. Life had no meaning. He became a believer through John Newton (author of amazing Grace) and it was John who encouraged him to write poems to be Sung by the church.

God moves in mysterious ways was written by William Cowper. He didn't write this song when everything became rosy.

If we look at this hymn from the pain Cowper was going through, just maybe we will understand the hymn better.

(funny enough, my dad sent same hymn to me 2 days ago)

“God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines, of never-failing skill; he fashions up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, the clouds that you much dread, are big with mercy and will break in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.

The verse 4 says to judge not the Lord by feeble sense

The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine.  Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8‭-‬9 ERV

Whatever is going on in your life, God's purposes will ripen very fast. Don't forget to trust God's plan and His wisdom to see it through.

God's plans are blessed. He is the interpreter of His plans and He will make it plain.

Let us Pray

Spirit of the Living God, we thank you for teaching us so much in such little time. 

Lord, we thank you for your blessed plans concerning our lives.

We thank you because we know that despite all that might be going on, we are safe inside of your plans.

Help us to always knows this

Help us to trust in you be at your complete mercy.

Help us to follow your lead and rest in your promises.

Help is to never forget that truly we are inside of your blessed plan

Amen

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 4)

IS GOD GOOD?
(Part 4)

To reiterate what we've said in the past teachings, GOD IS GOOD.
There is no atom of evil (sin) in Him so He cannot do evil. Evil is sin and God is Holy, its not possible to have such contrasting nature.

If we say that God does evil then it will mean that God is not good.

God is good not because good things happen around us. GOD IS GOOD because that is His nature.
So even when bad things happen, always remember GOD IS GOOD.

In the old testament, there were times God presided directly over the people and their affairs.
He was like the president/ Ruler, so He was in charge of execution of laws in those times. Hence, the parts where we see God directly asking His people to kill those that stood as a threat to the land or went against the law

In this time, God does not rule directly over the affairs of nations. We now have so many arms of government, presidents, governors, local government chairman etc, all protecting the interests of the  land and the  people in it.


The laws of our land in this time also gives punishment to those that err, as stipulated already.

Our soldiers kill those that come to threaten the land and its safety (eg boko haram)

The soldiers are not evil for protecting the people, neither is the person that drafted the laws for protecting the people.

All they are doing is keeping the land safe, upholding the law

There are so many places in the old testament (we mentioned in previous teachings) where God asked that some enemies of his children be removed cos they'd pollute the land and the people.

He was keeping them safe, protection

God is Good, God is righteous and very importantly GOD IS JUST

12. It's just like the Fall of Adam and Eve in Eden....


Does God proclaim blessing and curses out of the same mouth??

Does the Judge only discharge people or declare them not guilty? The answer is a fat NO

For those that break the law, he pronounces the punishment for their sin and sentences them.

Please note the highlighted word.

The judge doesn't just wake up and make the law.
The law already existed with punishment for each broken law

This is to ensure JUSTice

So the law with the punishment is not made after people offend but before

The Judge must be JUST and pronounce the right judgement for that case, in accordance with the law

It is this judgment/consequences of actions that most people refer to as God cursing men

The Judge doesn't just wake up and start punishing people.

You have to offend before you are punished.

God didn't just wake up, look at Adam and say let me curse man.

The first curse in the bible was on Adam. And this came as a result of breaking the law, as a result of disobedience

Adam was aware of this law and its consequences. He was told but He broke it still

 And God cursed Him (the curse was the already revealed consequences before man sinned)

What we call curse is God's righteous Judgement
It is Him carrying out Justice as a JUST GOD

Is God still judging people?

God is presently not judging anyone.

To judge us for the evil we do is to give sentence to us.
To give immediate sentence is to say there is no chance for us to be saved

This is what the Coming of Christ did.

Allow everyone chance to be removed from the curse of the law before the day the wicked ones will be sentenced
Time for repentance

Does this mean there are no consequences for sin?

No.

When the first man sinned, he brought a curse on not just Himself but man

More like Human

Sin brings effects
Good cause = Good effect
Bad cause = Bad effect

There is a consequence for our actions.

When people come to God and live according to His bidding in obedience, there is a consequence here on earth : THE FRUIT THEY PRODUCE

And it affects the people around them in a good way

When people continue in sin, there are also natural earthly consequences.

If you have fornicate around  with someone that has HIV, you will pack the HIV.
This is action and the dangers in the action

 So though God is not judging at the moment, Sin still has natural dangers.

 God doesn't have to pronounce the dangers for every sin a man commits.

This danger came with the curse

 But you see this danger, they are in no way close to the Judgement of God.

For those that choose to live a life of breaking the law, of disobedience, there will be gnashing of teeth, there will be weeping (weeping that won't end)

The sufferings in this world will look like Child's play

And for those that lived in Christ (in obedience and submission), they are charged not guilty

Not guilty of the law and the curses that come with it.


Acquitted before the righteous Judge.

Galatians  3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.”

Galatians 3:13 ERV

For us that are in Christ, we actually look forward to the coming of the Lord cos this curse has already been taken away by Christ.
We are not under the law anymore and the ripple effect

Those that are under the law will keep breaking the law and because the law has been given already with punishment, it comes on its own.

The second coming of Christ is not to judge every sinner according to their sins o.

For example, the person that stole should get 5 strokes of cain. Nah

He is coming to actually destroy sin itself. A total wipe out.

For those of us in Christ, we live above the law.

Note that this is not to break it.

We've talked about Grace and what it really means

Let me break this down.

We are not bound by do this and do that

If you don't do A, B will happen to you

Nah. We crossed that part already

 That is no more our life

Here is the life we now live:

I, Oluremi I am strengthened and enabled to do A (the will of God) and submit fully to Him. Because of the life I now have in me.

The life of Christ, it is the enabler, the strength.

It is what helps me to have no other answer than Yes to submitting to God's will.

You and I, we do not live a life of fear anymore.

We live Grace!

We do not live a life of trying to choose between right or wrong daily.

In accepting Christ, we chose RIGHT (Righteousness, Right standing with God).

Now that we have chosen RIGHT (EOUS) ?

WE LIVE RIGHT!

This is to all of us and in conclusion for these SERIES. We've all said this growing up but I'm sure by now, we understand it way better when we say it.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME
 Even if anything bad happens to me tomorrow   whatever it is,

ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!

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