THIS WEEK MESSAGE
Message of Hope & Voice of Fire.
2006 – Our Year of Overcoming Laughter & Enlargement Breakthroughs; Ps2:4; Ps 71:21; Eph.3:20
The Prophetic Picture of the Year 2006.
Dr. D. K. Olukoya.
The year 2005 was a year of serious rage of the enemy. There was rage in the waters, land and the skies. There was rage by fire and wind. It was a terrible year of wastage of lives, properties and other resources. Unfortunately, the word given by the Lord for last year is still valid for this year. And unless there is consistent and serious prayers this year, last year’s occurrences would be like a child’s play compared to what the enemy is planning to do this year.
The year 2006 is practically a year of twenty-five things but I will talk about only twenty-three in this message:
1. It shall be a year of mysterious conflicts. There would be unexplainable conflicts; nobody will know the cause and how they started.
2. There shall be strange appearances to men from the spirit realm. Those who are fond of attending night parties and roaming the streets at night will be in for a special surprise if they do not stop.
3. It shall be a year of the fight of the he-goat and the she-goat. And those around the he-goat and the she-goat will suffer.
4. It shall be a year of plenty of strange occurrences that will stupefy people.
5. Any peace-loving government must make conscious effort to invest in prayers this year. The Lord has a controversy with the nations of the world, and these nations are doing many things, which are not pleasing to the Almighty God. All the natural disasters that occurred last year was a proof that indeed man is powerless. There is no science or human intelligence that can arrest natural disasters. All that the elements need is a command from heaven to move and they will promptly obey; they cannot be stopped by any human effort.
6. It shall be a year of unbelievable surprises.
7. It shall be a year of disunity amongst people, even those from the same clan, tribe, town, etc.
8. Prayerless politicians and government officials will by themselves cause their removal from office this year.
9. This year, the secret behind spiritual and physical terrorism that harassed many people will be revealed. Secrets that some people believed would never be exposed would be revealed.
10. This year, the powers of the heavenly shall be thoroughly shaken up. So, you need to soak yourself in prayers.
11. It shall be a year of strange suicide cases. People, whom no one believed could do such a thing would go ahead and take their own lives.
12. It shall be a year of increased attack on people’s brains. There will be a lot of cases of insanity, unless arrested by prayers.
13. This year, the heavens shall wage war against the mighty and the wicked. It shall be a very bad year for wicked men unless they repent.
14. There shall be a divine defence of the poor, widows and the fatherless. Anyone who participates in cheating these groups of people will end up in tragedy.
15. It shall be a year the nakedness of many kings, that is, rulers shall be uncovered.
16. It shall be a year that all the enemies of Nigeria shall be in serious trouble.
17. It shall be a year of massive failure of occult powers. Those who believe in them shall experience failure and disgrace. It is only the power of God that cannot fail or be disgraced.
18. It shall be a year many great and new things will begin to happen in the lives of children of God who worship Him in spirit and in truth.
19. It shall be a year God will teach the hands of many of His children to prosper. And those who have been using evil tongues to arrest their prosperity shall be arrested.
20. It shall be a year of miraculous intervention for God’s children. Seemingly impossible cases and situations shall receive divine intervention.
21. It shall be a year of super abundance for those who are not stingy with God. Those who are stingy with God, even what they have shall be taken away from them since they are not utilizing it well.
22. It shall be a year of the beginning of a new era and a new order.
23. It shall be a year of accumulation of good things, advancement, strength and power for children of God who worship Him in spirit and in truth.
24. Not revealed.
25. Not revealed.
The Lord has given three scriptures to the members of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries for this year. These scriptures shall be their watchword for the year 2006.
They are:
a. Psalm 2:4: “He that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision.”
b. Psalm 71:21: “Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.”
c. Ephesians 3:20: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” I encourage you to memorise these scriptures.
So, for the members of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, it is a year of, “Overcoming laughter and enlargement breakthroughs.” It is a year that the children of God will laugh their enemies to scorn. Please, take notice that any prophecy given that is totally devoid of a way out of mercy, is unlikely to have come from the Almighty God. Therefore, God has strategies for success this year.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS THIS YEAR
1. You must break free from every ungodly thought pattern of the past. The Bible says that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
2. Do not blame others for your failure. If somebody is attacked, and he feels it, the first thing he should do is to find out why the attack was able to penetrate his body, and not to blame those who are firing the arrow.
3. This year focus on God and His unfailing promises. Remove your focus from men, prophets or men of God. Don’t go to church to play politics but go there to look for God.
4. Do not nurse your problems but nail them to the cross. Don’t fertilize them.
5. Do not embrace your curse but curse your curse.
6. Ensure that this year, you are always in the right company. If you go to the wrong company upon which God has ordained destruction, you will be affected. For example, if a first born of an Israelite was in the house of an Egyptian the day God asked the Israelites to apply blood on their door-posts, he would die because the angel assigned with that responsibility was not interested in who was inside.
7. Crucify your flesh this year. Do not yield to the commandments of the flesh.
8. This year, make Christ your model and leader. If you are in a position and need to take a decision, the first question to ask yourself is, “What would Jesus do if He was in my shoes now?”
9. Obey God’s word completely this year
10. Live by faith and grow in faith.
These are the strategies for success this year. If you follow these strategies strictly, it shall be a year of bigger testimonies for you.
PRAYER POINTS
Breakthrough prayer for this year.
There are at least 3500 miracles attached to each of these prayer points, therefore, I encourage you to pray them aggressively.
1. O God, arise and connect me with people that matter this year, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every arrow of infirmity, my life is not your candidate, therefore, die, in the name of Jesus.
3. My leg, hear the word of the Lord, carry me to my place of destiny this year, in the name of Jesus.
4. My body, reject every arrow of death, in the name of Jesus.
5. This year, I will get to the right position, in the name of Jesus.
6. O God, arise, bless those that bless me, and curse those that curse me, in the name of Jesus.
7. This year, the storms of life will not sweep me away, in the name of Jesus.
8. This year, my enemy shall hear of me and tremble, in the name of Jesus.
9. I declare that all my journey this year shall be safe, in the name of Jesus.
10. Every grave dug for me this year shall scatter, in the name of Jesus.
11. Every financial grave dug for me this year shall scatter, in the name of Jesus.
12. Every power assigned to waste my life, you are liar, die, in the name of Jesus.
13. O God, arise and put me in your envelope of fire, in the name of Jesus.
14. O God, arise and let my story change, in the name of Jesus.
15. O God, arise and let my Goliath die, in the name of Jesus.
I SAID AMEN. JUST SAY “AMEN”.
As we begin our moves in this New Year, of new beginnings may the Lord guide and guard us.
May HE uphold our faith and make this a more glorified new year.
Because you will see the invisible, You will do the impossible…
Because you will touch the intangible you will achieve the incredible…….
Because you will hear the inaudible, You will have the unimaginable………..
Because of you, your family will not know poverty You will go in and out of your house in peace,
Violence and crying of sorrow shall not be heard in your camp…
Because you are God’s Idea and God cannot fail, you shall not fail this year…
Favour shall overwhelm your endeavours, 2006 will be your year of unlimited greatness
You shall not struggle to be recognized, Your gift shall announce you.
You are entitled to daily fruitfulness
Every darkness in your life shall give way to the light of God
All your lack will give way to abundance
You shall enjoy uncommon marital bliss in the year 2006
The rejected shall become the selected
People shall hear your testimonies and follow you to God, In everything you do, you will succeed…
What you have never done before for good…you will do in the new year…
By the time this 2006 ends, you will look back with joy and ahead with great expectations….
You will take charge of your life as you master your time…
You will discover how to maximize your time and add value to it….
You will become the star of your family….and the hope of your generation….
Because you know where you are going….the whole world will step aside and follow u …..
May you find favour with God and men…
May you grow in wisdom and stature….
May you walk in dominion over every circumstance and situation….
May every day in the new year be for you, days of success and purpose….
In the new year 2006 never forget to act as if it were impossible to fail..
Because for people like you and me, the word failure does not exist…..
Your success is non-negotiable….
2006 will be the greatest year of your life and the beginning of unprecedented success in your life!
Those who laughed at you before shall come to laugh with you.
However bad it has been with you till this point, you shall from henceforth enter into the rest and God shall take you to the place of your greatness and destiny.
You shall have visions that are clear, virtues that are right and victory that is certain.
You are blessed beyond curse, raised above terror and established beyond oppression.
You shall not lack counsel and ideas.
You shall have eyes that see, ears that hear and a heart that understands.
In place of breakdown you shall have breakthrough, In confusion, you shall be Enlightened,
In weakness you shall be strengthened.
There shall be for you beauty in place of ashes, the oil of gladness in place of spirit of heaviness.
Every closed door against your goodness, greatness and destiny shall open of their own accord.
You shall be instructed and illuminated within by the Spirit of God.
You shall do the right thing at the right time.
You shall rise above every obstacle and be carried on the wings of eagle.
God will remember you for good.
You shall fulfill and not frustrate destiny.
Christ shall live in you. Amen
Alphabet of Success in Year 2006.
Happy New Year to you all, Happy that the Lord had grant us the opportunity to see another Year in the land of the living. God is worthy of our praises and thanksgiving, glory to God. Our theme for this year is:
My year of overcoming laughter and enlargement breakthroughs Ps.2:4; Ps. 71:21 & Eph. 3:20.
Briefly, let us see how to make this covenant possible in your life this year.
I will call it the ‘alphabet of success in year 2006’
A-admit that only GOD is your source of help for anything this year.
B-boldness, be bold to tell people about Jesus. Do not shy away your faith form people.
C-courage, be courageous to forge ahead in all your plans this year.
D-discipline, be discipline this year in all aspect of your life, do not gamble with your faith.
E-endurance, do not give up easily, stay glued to Jesus Christ, seeing the glory of God needs endurance.
F-faith, you must put your faith into action.
G-goals, set goals for your self each day of the month and each month of the year, and pursue the goal until fulfilment.
H-honesty, be honest and transparent in all your dealing with people.
I-integrity, live behind a good thing to remember of you in all your dealings with people.
J-joy, do not allow Satan to capture joy, know that the Lord is with you.
K-knowledge, seek knowledge of the word of God this year, read, meditate on the Bible, design a scheme for reading the Bible this year.
L-love, love your neighbour as yourself, love your enemies also, make sure you hate no one and hold no grudge against anybody this year.
M-motivation, motivate yourself to go ahead and never give up easily. Motivation is power of self-discovery.
N-non conformity with the world, do away from the new commonly practiced norms and values of the world that does not conform with the word of God. Do not be follow, follow.
O-obedient, obey in totality the laws and commandment of God.
P-persistent, do not give up.
Q-quality, put in your best in everything you do, you will be blessed this year through your handiwork.
R-righteousness, constantly check your stand with God.
S-steadfastness, be unshaken in your faith and believes in God.
T-time consciousness, manage your time well, reduce the time for gossips, backbiting, time you spend watching unnecessary programs on TV, films and videos. Create time to read the Bible and pray.
U-uniqueness, have a life pattern that will glorify the Lord in your life.
V-vision, receive vision and pursue it.
W-wisdom, seek the wisdom of God and apply it in all your dealings with people.
X-excellent, pray and program excellent things in your life this year.
Y-yield, give the whole of your life to Jesus Christ.
Z-zeal, have the zeal for the work and things of God. Do not be a bench warmer in any ministry you belong. Be active in the work of God, in so doing you will experience the year of overcoming laughter and enlargement breakthrough.
God bless you.
Let My Morning Come.
Psalm 30:5 “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”. After going through the rigour of a busy day, one retires at night to rest and or sleep. It is at this time that a person sometimes thinks about all that he or she went through during the day. There could be regrets. It is possible for there to be pains. Sometimes, there would be a need for succour, consolation and solution to problems, which are not easily attainable at this time and so, one has to wait. This wait could be very strong. It would incite a desire to see the early hours of a new day, when solution and soothing will come to the pains that went on throughout the night.
From the text above, we can draw out eight (8) lessons:
1. Night of darkness represents weeping. It says: Weeping may endure for a night” Perhaps, as you are reading this message, the enemy has been making you to cry, l decree and prophecy upon your life, that your period of sorrow is over in the name of Jesus. Amen. The night is a convenient period for the powers of darkness. Darkness is a convenient environment for wickedness and it is a period weeping and grumbling takes place.
2. The morning represents joy. I decree and prophesy into your life, that if you are reading this message and the enemy has stolen your joy, it shall be restored to you today in the name of Jesus.
3. God Himself has not ordained that any night should endure forever. Whatever your situation might be today, there is no signal from heaven that will go on forever. The text says: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. It will not be long.
4. After every night, comes a glorious morning. I pray that your morning of joy will come in the name of Jesus.
5. The enemy does not have the last say on your life. In fact, nobody has the last say on your life. No condition is permanent. There is a God called the Almighty, the Greatest on. His power is the greatest. God is the only one that has the last say concerning your life. Once God says: “Let there be light”, It is finished; there will surely be light. All that is required is His command; a word from Him will make every stubborn situation to bow.
6. The powers of the night flee before the morning. This means that their activities are limited to the night and once the morning appears, they are exposed. So they prefer to flee.
7. If you have been weeping, stop crying. Stop it because your morning has come. That is what the scripture says, Beloved, get this fact right, crying will not appease the enemy neither will it move the hand of God. In fact, it could worsen the situation because it is a display of unbelief that strengthens the enemy.
8. Discouragement is a destroyer. It sees the obstacle but faith sees the way out. When you are discouraged, you are telling God that He cannot help you. Joshua sent out spies to spy out the promise land they brought back a report that discouraged the Israelites; they saw the people of the land as giants that they could not overcome. They had forgotten that it was God who said they should go and possess the land. They should have known that since He said they should go, He would be with them because the battle is the Lord’s and He will fight it. These people eventually provoked God to anger and they all perished in the wilderness. They did not get to the promise land. Only their children did. God would rather prolong the day, than the night. He will not prolong your darkness, Joshua 10:11-13 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
[12] Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. [13] And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book ofJasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
Joshua was fighting a battle and he was winning. When he saw that the day was advancing and it would soon be evening when evening would be dark, he commanded the sun to stand still and it did. That day continued and darkness was restrained. He did that because he wanted to obtain victory and God sanctioned it. As the day was prolonged on his side, the moon stood still on the other side of the continent. So, there was a prolonged night there. God allowed Joshua to prolong the day and this shows us that God is ready to sacrifice anything for the sake of His children. He did it with His only begotten son; and that has redeemed man back to Him. God does not mind destabilizing unbelievers to satisfy His children. While His children had daylight, the unbelievers for His children. While the Egyptians were being troubled by the plagues, the Israelites had no problem in Goshen. If the joy of the children need a longer day, He will grant it, even if it means darkness to unbelievers. God does not mind killing, removing, sacking, sweeping away anything or anyone to satisfy His children.
Isaiah 43:3-4 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. [4] Since thou was precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
There was a woman who had a school and she found out that her pupils were leaving for other schools. The children found her school boring; the other schools were thriving. One day, she attended M.F.M crusade, where she heard a message like this and found out that God could do what he did for the Israelites in Isaiah 43:3-4 for her. She made up her mind to receive it. On that day, she prayed the kind of prayers that l am suggesting below and something happened. It was on a Friday. She prayed violently, by the following week, the two other schools had started having problems with the government and they were closed down. The pupils from these schools rushed to hers and she now had a new but pleasant problem; she could not take all of them and she needed more teachers. The Lord God Almighty, who did hers, is ready to do yours. He has not changed. We serve a God who has no respect for human logic. The problem with many people is the fact that they allow their brains to get involved in their faith. They allowed what they have learnt in school to affect their reasoning against faith. When you want to trust God, you have to forget about logic or normalcy. When God begins to work in your life, what He will do, will be strange to you and it will look like pure insanity to your neighbours.
I worked in a laboratory where l was the only black man in the midst of Britons. As a scientist in that university, l could not minister, l could hardly witness, so l started praying that God should make a way for me. The day the opportunity came, the Lord was exalted. God is a god of signs and wonders. There was a lady who used to serve us tea and coffee in the mornings. She would go through the corridor with her tray, announcing her arrival by saying “Anyone for coffee, anyone for tea?” On that day, we heard her voice as usual and suddenly we had a big bang, with the clanging of teacups and saucers on the floor. She had fallen. By the time we got there, she had given up the ghost. The hospital doctor was sent for and he certified her dead. Everybody was puzzled; the lively lady that used to serve us tea was dead. Suddenly, I stepped forward as they bent to pack her up. I said I wanted to pray .It sounded ridiculous. They said l called myself a scientist and l said l wanted to pray for someone who is obviously dead. They asked if l had forgotten simple Biology that once there was supply of oxygen; the person was dead. If l examined why they said, they were right, but l did not mind them. I then prayed a simple prayer point: Let the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ; fall upon this body now, in the name of Jesus. Suddenly, the lady sneezed and opened her eyes. She sat up and said she heard the voice of Daniel (me) calling her from afar. I had not done that physically, but that was what she heard as the Lord revived her. The other people now flocked around me, asking if that was black magic. I told them that it was the power of the Holy Ghost. For the first time in their lives, some of them heard the Gospel they had never even bothered to listen before. That is why we always encourage people to get grounded in the Lord before travelling abroad. They could end up in the midst of people like that and before they know what is going on they have backslider. Spiritual death is very easy over there because most of them do not even know who the Lord Jesus Christ is, but they know the names of all the footballers in their national teams.
Beloved, weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning.
There was a woman who started coming to our services. Suddenly, her husband came home with a lady and asked the wife to prepare a meal for her. The wife wanted to put up a fight but she remembered our messages on brokenness. She kept quiet and saw them go into her matrimonial bedroom. She spent the night on a sofa in the sitting room. (I wonder how many sisters can do that today). The following day, the man came with another lady. Later, she sat him down and told him it was wrong to do what he is doing. He told her that it was his new style that she could either take it or leave it. After sampling a few women, he eventually settled for one, who moved in permanently. This wife continued praying and keeping her calm. That year, after the anointing service, she anointed the house and after they had gone to work, she anointed the bed on which they were committing their atrocity. She continued sleeping in the sitting room. That night she suddenly heard her husband’s voice, calling out to her. She ran into the bedroom and found the strange woman on top of her husband, dealing terrible blows on him. The wife started begging the strange woman to leave him alone. Eventually, the strange woman got up and said her husband was a foolish man and she left. That was the end of the relationship. The man never tried having strange women again. That was how their marriage was restored. The period of the night could be difficult to bear, it could be long but hold on to the Lord, the morning will soon come. Do not get weary, do no be discouraged; there shall be joy in the morning. When you continue to feed your discouragement, it will sap you to death. If you continue looking at the blackness of the night, you may not live to see the morning. Many people die not because of their problems but because of the state of their minds. Some people leave the Christian fold to seek solution from herbalists; such people are just aiding their household wickedness to finish their agenda on them.
Discouragement sees the darkest night but faith sees the appearance of the day. Discouragement is a sin. Make up your mind that you will encourage yourself in the Lord.
The story was told of Satan having wares to sell, pride, envy, deceit, talkativeness, all sorts of disease etc. Of the wares, discouragement was the most expensive and most demanded. When asked why Satan said it was the most useful and with it, he could operate easily in the lives of people especially Christians.
Make up your mind today that you will not give in to the wooing of the enemy. Can you consider asking a motor mechanic to work on your car and when you get back there to collect your car, you meet him discouraged, lamenting and worried that the car is in such a bad state, that he does not think he can do anything about it. You would not want to leave your car with such a person. So also, God cannot commit anything serious into your hands, if all you can see is the dark side of life and not the light at the end of the tunnel. The same applies to a sick person who goes to the hospital and finds discouraged doctor. If he stays there long, he is likely to die in his illness because that discouraged doctor cannot help him. You must make up your mind that your morning must come. Make up your mind that you will not wage war against yourself.
How can the morning come?
What to do.
1. Focus on the lord Jesus Christ: remove your eyes from your situation and circumstances. Know that as you take prayer points bellow, God will arise for your sake. Know that God can go thousands of miles away to trouble the hearts of those that will help you. They will be restless until they have helped you.
2. Cast away every spirit of discouragement. Jesus tells us in John 14, that we should not allow our hearts of those that will help you. We should believe in God and in Him.
3. Wage war against the powers that does not want you to prosper. The prayers that l am suggesting below will surely bring results. They are not for the feeble-hearted. A sister was about 39years old and was not married. . One day, she took part in a “power must change hands program where there was word of knowledge concerning a person who had been kept in bondage by the three strongmen of their family. The word was a warning that if they did not let go of her the three of them would die one after the other. As at then, this word of knowledge did not mean anything to her. However, when she got home, she made a cup of tea to break her long fast. As she finished praying, her phone rang and she was told that her mother just died. She hung the phone and wept herself to sore. She could not even break her fast again. As she was there sobbing, the phone rang the second time and she was told that her uncle in the USA just died. It was then that it dawned on her that there was a word of knowledge concerning family strongmen. She now consoled herself and said it was God at work. She got up to drink her tea. Shortly afterwards, her phone rang informing her that another prominent member of her family had just died. By the end of that year, this sister, who had every comfort in life but was unmarried at the age of 39, got a proposal for the first time and within a short time, got married. Close your eyes and pray these prayer points:
1. Every power of my father’s house that has refused to let me go, your time is up die in the name of Jesus.
2. Every power of my mother’s house that says l will die in this condition what are you waiting for die, in the name of Jesus.
Beloved, these are serious prayers and must of a necessity bring results. How ever, if you are yet to be born again, you are still in darkness and you cannot command your morning to come. If you had never at one time or the other asked the Lord to come into your life, you are not yet His. If you are ready, you can surrender your life to Him, right there where you are. All you need to do is acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner and that you cannot approach God in your sinful state. Confess your sins to Him, ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Claim the redemptive power in the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross at Calvary, for the remission of your sins. Invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your life and ask him to come in and become your personal Lord and Saviour. Renounce the world of sin and Satan and make sure that you not go back to them. If you did that seriously, the Bible says you are now in Christ and as such, you are a new creature, old things have passed away and all things are become new. I congratulate you on this important decision that you have just taken. It is the most important in life and I pray that it shall be permanent in your life in the name of Jesus. I pray that the Lord will uphold you and will not let you fall in the name of Jesus. I pray that your name will be written in the Book of life and it will never be blotted out in the name of Jesus. I would like you to make this confession out loud, before you start praying
Isaiah 8:9
Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word and it shall not stand, for God is with us.
Beloved, I want you to examine your life and identify those things that the enemy has stolen from you. Make up your mind that you want them back and make sure you get them. Meditate on those things that should be your lot and be sure that you get them. Be sure that you get in touch from the Lord. Now, take the following prayer points with all the aggression that you can gather;
Prayer points
1. My helpers in captivity come out by fire, in the name of Jesus.
2. By fire, by thunder, O God arise and disgrace my confusion in the name of Jesus.
3. Every clock and timetable of poverty working against me, be buried today in the name of Jesus.
4. The enemy will not drag my life to the ground in the name of Jesus.
5. Every ancestral wall, built around my glory crumble in the name of Jesus.
6. My glory under bondage, receive deliverance in the name of Jesus.
7. Every bird of darkness holding vigil against me die in the name of Jesus.
8. O God my father, change my present speed to divine speed in the name of Jesus.
9. Every witchcraft agent of my father’s house die in the name of Jesus.
10. Every witchcraft agent of my mother’s house die in the name of Jesus.
11. Every battle against my destiny from my foundation die, in the name of Jesus.
12. Every architect of affliction from my foundation die in the name of Jesus.
13. Stones of fire, locate the forehead of my foundational Goliath in the name of Jesus.
14. Every foundational strongman causing problem for my life die in the name of Jesus.
15. Every familiar spirit stealing my virtue scatter in the name of Jesus.
16. Every strange power, gathered against my advancement die.
17. Every satanic panel set –up against me scatter unto desolation in the name of Jesus.
18. Every evil decree passed upon my life, release me and die in the name of Jesus.
19. Every embargo of stagnancy upon my progress, disappear in the name of Jesus.
20. My glory, arise and shine in the name of Jesus.
21. O God of Elijah; fight my battles today in the name of Jesus.
22. Earthquake of deliverance shake out the evil covenant and curses in my foundation in the name of Jesus.
23. Foundational strongman release me and die in the name of Jesus.
What is a school?
1. A place where people are educated.
2. A place where people can study a particular subject either verbally or through written means. The following are different types of schools that every human may likely go through:
1. Life: The number one school in the world is life itself. My question to you is this: Are you learning from the school of life?
2. The school of failure: Man should learn from his failures; are you learning from yours?
3. Marriage: In the olden days, ladies were always told that the husband’s house is a school. Are you learning from the school of your own marriage? Are you getting better in your marriage with each passing day?
4. The school of problems: If you want to make progress in life, God may first of all send you to the school of problems. In fact there is nobody who wants to be great in life that will be able to evade the school of problems.
5. The church: This is a school in which we learn about God and the operations of the kingdom of the satanic.
6. The life of men that have passed by. If you can sit down and start to learn from the life of men, you will gain a lot. You can talk of the school ofBrother Paul, the man that started out as an enemy of God but ended up better than that of those he met in the church. The life of Joseph too is a school. If only you can learn from his life, you will realize that it is good to run away from sin; although you may suffer for it.
7. The school of Bartimaeus.
21 Lessons from the school of blind Bartimaeus
Lesson 1: Life presents different things to different people. This means that what life presents to one is different from what it presents to another. While you are shouting “Why, o God?” somebody else would be reacting differently to his/ her own situation.
A man felt that his life was the worst ever and he decided to end his woes by jumping off a bridge. Just before committing the act, he was a man who had no hand (two hands had been cut off) who was dancing. This man looked at himself and thought that if he that has two hands and two legs wants to kill himself, what should the man without hands do? If that man could see a reason for joy and dancing in life, then he should not kill himself. He then went down to where the armless man was and spoke to him. He said “Mr., it was your dancing that stopped me from killing my self”. The armless man replied “Me dancing! I was not dancing. My back is itching me and I do not have the hands to scratch it. That’s why I was shaking and rubbing my body against the wood”. This is a case of life presenting different things to different people.
Beloved, that thing that life is presenting to you, God knows about it and can help you to overcome it.
Lesson 2: There is no challenge that your life is facing now that has no solution. Let me make a confession to you. I would have written problem instead of challenge, but I made a discovery. I carried my Bible and I was searching for the word “problem.” I discovered that the word ‘problem’ does not exist in the Bible. I have checked my Bibles and even used the computer to do this search but there is no ‘problem’ in the Bible. Therefore, dearly beloved, those things you are calling problems are no problem in God’s opinion. There is no challenge that your life is facing now that has no solution. There is a solution somewhere.
Lesson 3: To overcome the challenges of your life, you need to be desperate. Bartimaeus had a problem and he exercised holy desperation. So get a solution. The Bible is full of men and women who were desperate for solution to their problems. For you to overcome that challenges, you need divine desperation.
Lesson 4: If you blind up your inner man, it will help you to overcome the limitations of life. Can you imagine it, Bartimaeus was blind but he knew what people who were not blind did not know. All others arise could see, but only blind Bartimaeus knew that Jesus Christ is a God of mercy. Those whose eyes were open did not realize that Jesus had the power to heal.Though he was to develop your inner man and blind up your spiritual life.
Lesson 5: if you cry unto God, your cry can bring miracles. This is why David said :when I cry unto God, so shall my enemies turn back. This I know for God is with me, “I know that the early training we were given in the church is that when you are praying don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. The school of Bartimaeus teaches that if you want a miracles, cry out loud, do not mind who is listening to you.
Lesson 6 : If you want to succeed in life focus on your goals and not on your enemies. The enemies told Bartimaeus “Hold your peace; keep quiet”. If he had listened to them, Jesus Christ would not have been attracted to him. The world we live in today is one in which you cannot do without having enemies. They would want to stop, humiliate, hinder and harass you. If you waste your time attending to them you will miss your goal.
Lesson 7: There are some evil spiritual garments which you must cast away from your life if you want to lives victoriously. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus Christ was calling him, the Bible states that the first thing he did was to cast of his garments. That was the garment of restrictions. If you want to live a victorious life, there are some garments that you must first cast off e.g. garment of sin, garment of worldliness, garment of pride, garment of anger, garment of adultery and fornication. Bartimaeus teaches that if these garments are still in your life, you are not ready to live a victorious life yet.
Lesson 8: General prayers bring little but specific prayers bring much. “O God, bless me and my family” is a general prayer, which is as if you have said nothing in particular. Bartimaeus cried into Jesus “Thou son of David have mercy upon me.” The truth is that there are many mercies in the Bible. Jesus had to ask Bartimaeus what specific blessing he wants. Then he said, “That I might receive my sight”. In the school of Bartimaeus, we are taught that we must be specific. If you want a miracle from God, name it specifically unto Him because general prayers bring little but specific prayers bring much.
Lesson 9: For you to succeed in life, you must take responsibility for your life. Those who fail to do this remain trampled underfoot by others. If you are still blaming your life on your father or mother, you are not helping yourself. Blind Bartimaeus took his destiny in his hands and shouted for attention. A man called us to pray for him, he said he was reaping the harvest of adultery. I asked what he meant and he said in 1966 his wife went to London for a course. Before she came back, he had put one of his teachers in the family way. The boy that resulted from this action is now about thirty years old. This boy is the cause of the father’s present problem. At age thirty, the father still feeds him clothes him and give him “pocket money”. Any time he fails to do this, the boy will get hold of a cutlass and threaten to kill the man. Truly, this man is reaping the harvest of adultery.
Are you over twenty years yet you do not know where you are going in life? Or you are above thirty years yet you are still waiting for someone to tell you what to do; you have no direction? Are you waiting for a rich member of your family to come and help you? Your life will just be wasted if you are waiting for this.
Lesson 10: Any opportunity that comes your way please do not waste it. If blind Bartimaeus had said “I’ve heard about this Jesus of Nazareth, when he comes next week, I will call upon Him”, it would have been another story. The Bible makes it clear that, it was the last time that Jesus passed by that way because He was on His way to the cross. Bartimaeus would have been blind for life. Any good opportunity that comes your way, grab it!
Lesson 11: You must believe that whatever condition you may be in right now, there can be a better change. No matter the condition you may be in right now, there is still opportunity to be better than what you are.
Those who sit comfortably, assuming they have achieved all they can are not helping their lives.
Lesson 12: I f your enemies succeed in silencing your prayers they have overcome you. What Blind Bartimaeus did that day may not seem like a prayer to you but it was. He said: “Thou son of David, have mercy me: Then his enemies spoke out, don’t pray again and keep quiet. Your prayer is disturbing us; this is not the time for prayers.” If they succeed in silencing your prayer life, they can overcome you. At this time, I want you to look at your own prayer life, has the enemies succeeded in silencing it? Is the way you pray today better that last year’s version?
Lesson 13: If you know that your life is right with God, you can ignore the crowd. If your life is right with God, you will not be with the crowd. Those who want to please others -‘the crowd pleasers’, are definitely moving away from God; the two cannot go together.
Lesson 14: These who look back after setting their hands on the plough always end up in the school of failure. If Bartimaeus had looked back, he would not have received his miracle. Those who have decided to live a totally Christian life, if they look back, will end up in total failure. A sister came to me one Sunday and said “I want to send you to God”. I was surprised but I asked what her message was. She said “Tell God I am giving Him just threes weeks. If within three weeks I fail to get pregnant, I will do what my colleague in the office did.” What did her colleague do.She said “The two of us were the only barren in our office before she went to the herbalist and she is now pregnant”. What do I tell her? I told her I was not going to give God such a message if she wants to backslide. This Christian life is a life in which you cannot afford to took back.
Lesson 15: Prov 16: 7 “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him”. When you make your ways right with God, those who are mocking you today will surely come back to bow before you. When Bartimaeus was shouting unto Jesus, those who were mocking him were the ones who later told him, “rejoice, he calleth thee”. They may be shouting you down or mocking you now, the time is surely coming when they will bow down to your Joseph.
Lesson 16: God sometimes needs your faith before He can connect you to your miracles. That is why Jesus Christ sometimes says “Your faith healeth thee”. God is asking you today “Where is your faith?” Hebrew 11: 6 says “Without faith, it is impossible to please God”.
Lesson 17: If you do not know what you want in life, you will short-change yourself before God.
Lesson 18: Ps 6: 2 “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed”. God does not resist the cry for His mercy. He will not resist your cry today in the name of Jesus.
Lesson 19: Mark 9:23, “Jesus said unto him “if thou canst believeth”. With God and your believe in God Almighty, all things are possible.
Lesson 20: Prov 10: 22 “The blessings of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he added no sorrow with it”. When God blesses your life, he will not add any sorrow to it. The opposite is the blessing Satan which will only harm your life more than you can imagine. Why not decide that you will only take the blessings and miracles of God.
One woman woke up one day and vowed thus “I have been waiting upon God for a long time. Even if God does not give me a baby, I will keep on serving him.” Within one year thereafter, she became pregnant.
Lesson 21: The last sentence in Mark 10:52 says, “And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way”. For you to keep your miracles, keep on following Jesus.
My prayer is that you will keep on learning from the school of Bartimaeus.
Prayer points
1. O God arise; have mercy upon my life today in Jesus name.
2. O God in this month, Locate me the way you located Bartimaeus in Jesus name.
3. The miracles that men cannot stop, O God send it unto my life in Jesus name.
21 Prayer points for Christians today
(A)Prayer against the spirit of fear and depression
1. Anything planted in my life to make me to be afraid die.
2. Any power that wants me to be afraid of tomorrow be paralyzed
3. You spirit of depression, I eject you out of my life.
(B) Paralyzing the Spirit of untimely death
4. You spirit of death delegated to pursue me, be paralyzed
5. Any power that wants to kill me before my time, fail.
6. I fire back to the sender, every arrow of death fired against my life.
(C) Praying Against the Sickness and Infirmity
7. O God arise, protect me from every sickness of the Egyptians.
(Lay your right hand on your chest)
8. Every seed of sickness and infirmity that is growing in my body now die.
(D) Power against fetish attackers
9. Every fetish power targeted against me die
10 Every sacrifice of darkness made against my life, fail.
11. Every incantations uttered against my name by my enemies be paralyzed by fire
(E) Praying against spiritual robbers.
12. Every agent of darkness arresting my goodness, be paralyzed.
13. Any power conspiring against my destiny scatter in Jesus name.
14 Every spiritual robber that has attacked itself to my destiny be exposed, be paralyzed.
(F) Praying against the force of evil conspiracy
15. Every power conspiring against my destiny scatter in Jesus name.
16. Every arrangement of my enemies to turn my life upside down, fail.
17. O God arise; deliver my life from the conspiracy of men.
(G) Prayer against witchcraft attack
18. Any witch wizard that wants to attack me die in Jesus name.
19. From this morning, every witch/ wizard around my life, receive the torture of fire.
20. I fire back to the sender, every witchcraft problem directed at my life.
21. I cover my body, my soul and my spirit with the blood of Jesus.
MARRIAGE!
MARRIAGE PRINCIPLES
1) WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT MARRIAGE?
BIBLE READING: Genesis 2:1-25
KEY BIBLE VERSE: This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. (Genesis 2:24)
MARRIAGE IS A COMMITTED PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN.
God’s creative work was not complete until he made woman. He could have made her from the dust of the ground, as he made man. God chose, however, to make her from the man’s flesh and bone. In so doing, he illustrated for us that in marriage, a man and a woman symbolically become one flesh. This is a mystical union of the couple’s hearts and lives. Throughout the Bible, God treats this special partnership seriously. If you are married or planning to be married, are you willing to keep the commitment that makes the two of you one? The goal in marriage should be more than friendship; it should be oneness.
MARRIAGE IS A COOPERATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN EQUAL PERSONS.
God forms and equips men and women for various tasks, but all these tasks lead to the same goal-honouring God. Man gives life to woman; woman gives life to the world. Each role carries exclusive privileges; there is no room for thinking that one sex is superior to the other.
MARRIAGE IS A GIFT FROM GOD.
God gave marriage as a gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was not just for convenience, nor was it brought about by any culture.
MARRIAGE WAS DESIGNED BY GOD.
The marriage relationship that God designed has three basic aspects:
(1) The man leaves his parents and, in a public act, promises himself to his wife;
(2) The man and woman are joined together by taking responsibility for each other’s welfare and by loving the mate above all others;
(3) The two become one flesh in the intimacy and commitment of sexual union that is reserved for marriage. Strong marriages include all three of these aspects.
MARRIAGE IS INTENDED TO BE A RELATIONSHIP OF GROWING OPENNESS.
Have you ever noticed how little children can run naked through a room full of strangers without embarrassment? They are not aware of their nakedness, just as Adam and Eve were not embarrassed in their innocence. But after Adam and Eve sinned, shame and awkwardness followed, creating barriers between themselves and God. We often experience these same barriers in marriage. Ideally a husband and wife have no barriers, feeling no embarrassment in exposing themselves to each other or to God. But, like Adam and Eve (3:7), we put on fig leaves (barriers) because we have areas we don’t want our spouse, or God, to know about. Then we hide, just as Adam and Eve hid from God. In marriage, lack of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual intimacy usually precedes a breakdown of physical intimacy. In the same way, when we fail to expose our secret thoughts to God, we break our lines of communication with him.
BIBLE READING: Ephesians 5:21-33
KEY BIBLE VERSE: This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Eph 5:32-33)
MARRIAGE REQUIRES SUBMISSION BY BOTH PARTIES.
Submitting to another person is a concept that is often misunderstood. It does not mean becoming a doormat. Christ-at whose name “every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10)-submitted his will to the Father, and we honour Christ by following his example. When we submit to God, we become more willing to obey his command to submit to others, that is, to subordinate our rights to theirs. In a marriage relationship, both husband and wife are called to submit. For the wife, this means willingly following her husband’s leadership in Christ. For the husband, it means putting aside his own interests in order to care for his wife. Submission is rarely a problem in homes where both partners have a strong relationship with Christ and where each is concerned for the happiness of the other.
MARRIAGE IS A CHALLENGE TO EACH PARTY.
Why did Paul tell wives to submit and husbands to love? Perhaps Christian women, newly freed in Christ, found submission difficult; perhaps Christian men, used to the Roman custom of giving unlimited power to the head of the family, were not used to treating their wives with respect and love. Of course both husbands and wives should submit to each other (5:21), just as both should love each other.
MARRIAGE IS A RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH BOTH PARTIES ARE SERVANTS.
In Paul’s day, women, children, and slaves were to submit to the head of the family-slaves would submit until they were freed, male children until they grew up, and women and girls their whole lives. Paul emphasized the equality of all believers in Christ (Galatians 3:28), but he did not suggest overthrowing Roman society to achieve it. Instead, he counselled all believers to submit to one another by choice-wives to husbands and also husbands to wives; slaves to masters and also masters to slaves; children to parents and also parents to children. This kind of mutual submission preserves order and harmony in the family while it increases love and respect among family members.
MARRIAGE IS A DIVERSITY OF ROLES WITHIN PARTIES OF EQUALS.
Although some people have distorted Paul’s teaching on submission by giving unlimited authority to husbands, we cannot get around it-Paul told wives to submit to their husbands. The fact that a teaching is not popular is no reason to discard it. According to the Bible, the man is the spiritual head of the family, and his wife should acknowledge his leadership. But real spiritual leadership involves service. Just as Christ served the disciples, even to the point of washing their feet, so the husband is to serve his wife. A wise and Christ-honouring husband will not take advantage of his leadership role, and a wise and Christ-honouring wife will not try to undermine her husband’s leadership. Either approach causes disunity and friction in marriage.
MARRIAGE IS HELPING EACH PARTY GROW.
The union of husband and wife merges two persons in such a way that little can affect one without also affecting the other. Oneness in marriage does not mean losing your personality in the personality of the other. Instead, it means caring for your spouse as you care for yourself, learning to anticipate his or her needs, and helping the other person become all he or she can be. The creation story tells of God’s plan that husband and wife should be one (Genesis 2:24), and Jesus also referred to this plan (Matthew 19:4-6).
MARRIAGE PROBLEMS.
WHAT SOLUTIONS DOES THE BIBLE OFFER FOR COMMON MARRIAGE PROBLEMS?
BIBLE READING: Ezra 9:1-15
KEY BIBLE VERSE: The men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. To make matters worse, the officials and leaders are some of the worst offenders. (Ezra 9:2)
MARRIAGE MUST BE A SPIRITUAL AS WELL AS EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL UNION.
Some Israelites had married pagan spouses and lost track of God’s purpose for them. The New Testament says that believers should not marry unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Such marriages cannot have unity in the most important issue in life-commitment and obedience to God. Because marriage involves two people becoming one, faith may become an issue, and one spouse may have to compromise beliefs for the sake of unity. Many people discount this problem only to regret it later. Don’t allow emotion or passion to blind you to the ultimate importance of marrying someone with whom you can be united spiritually.
BIBLE READING: Matthew 5:31-32
KEY BIBLE VERSE: You have heard that the law of Moses says, “A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a letter of divorce.” But I say that a man, who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31-32).
LOOK FOR WAYS TO RESTORE A MARRIAGE RATHER THAN LEAVE IT.
Jesus said that divorce is not permissible except for unfaithfulness. This does not mean that divorce should automatically occur when a spouse commits adultery. The word translated “unfaithful” implies a sexually immoral lifestyle, not a confessed and repented act of adultery. Those who discover that their partner has been unfaithful should first make every effort to forgive, reconcile, and restore their relationship. We are always to look for reasons to restore the marriage relationship rather than for excuses to leave it.
BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 7:1-40
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:1-2)
SEX WITHIN MARRIAGE PROVIDES STRENGTH AGAINST TEMPTATION.
Sexual temptations are difficult to withstand because they appeal to the normal and natural desires that God has given us. Marriage provides God’s way to satisfy these natural sexual desires and to strengthen the partners against temptation. Married couples have the responsibility to care for each other; therefore, husbands and wives should not withhold themselves sexually from one another but should fulfil each other’s needs and desires.
Spiritually, our bodies belong to God when we become Christians because Jesus Christ bought us by paying the price to release us from sin (see 6:19-20). Physically, our bodies belong to our spouses because God designed marriage so that, through the union of husband and wife, the two become one (Genesis 2:24). Paul stressed complete equality in sexual relationships. Neither male nor female should seek dominance or autonomy.
A CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON AN UNBELIEVING SPOUSE.
Because of their desire to serve Christ, some people in the Corinthian church thought they ought to divorce their pagan spouses and marry Christians. But Paul affirmed the marriage commitment. God’s ideal is for marriages to stay together-even when one spouse is not a believer. The Christian spouse should try to win the other to Christ. It would be easy to rationalize leaving; however, Paul makes a strong case for staying with the unbelieving spouse and being a positive influence on the marriage. Paul, like Jesus, believed that marriage is permanent (see Mark 10:1-9).
*****MARRIAGE, GOD’S WORDON*****
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister says. The bride and groom look lovingly into each other’s eyes. Family, friends, even casual acquaintances feel like cheering. Two people have found each other, pledged to each other a lifetime of commitment, vowed to be devoted and loving, and promised never to leave or forsake each other. Vows of faithfulness are the bedrock of marriage. Through those vows two people, in a miraculous way, become one. Then begins a lifetime of working together, worshiping together, playing together, loving together, raising children together, building a home together, and solving problems together. God’s loving relationship with his people is so similar to the marriage relationship that he uses human marriage to illustrate his covenant with his people in the Old Testament and Christ’s love for the church in the New Testament.
WHERE DID THE IDEA OF MARRIAGE BEGIN?
Genesis 2:18-25 . . . The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.”
Mark 10:6-9 . . . This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Marriage was God’s idea from the very beginning. It is as old as Eden yet as fresh as the last wedding. Marriage is ordained by God, a sacred relationship, one not to be entered into lightly.
WHY DID GOD ESTABLISH MARRIAGE?
Genesis 2:18-25 . . . The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.”
God established marriage for companionship.
Genesis 1:28 . . . God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”
Malachi 2:15 . . . Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union.
God established marriage as the best environment for raising children. Marriage was designed to help children learn about love by being born into a loving relationship. How tragic when parents fail to model Christ’s love before their children.
Ephesians 5:31-32 . . . As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
God established marriage as a symbol of Christ and the church. A marriage under God should teach the couple much about how God relates to his church.
WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP SHOULD A MARRIAGE BE?
Genesis 2:18 . . . The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 . . . Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one. . . .If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.
1 Corinthians 11:3 . . . There is one thing I want you to know: A man is responsible to Christ, a woman is responsible to her husband, and Christ is responsible to God.
Matthew 19:4-6 . . . “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.”
Marriage at its best is a relationship so close and intimate that the two of you work together as one. It involves mutual trust, mutual support, mutual defence, mutual comfort, mutual vulnerability, mutual responsibility.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO A HAPPY, STRONG MARRIAGE?
Joshua 24:15 . . . Choose today whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.
*A united purpose to serve the Lord is a key to a good marriage.
Proverbs 5:15 . . . Drink water from your own well-share your love only with your wife.
Proverbs 5:18-19 . . . Rejoice in the wife of your youth . . . Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.
Hebrew 13:4 . . . Give honour to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
*Faithfulness is a key to a good marriage.
Without faithfulness there is no real trust or intimacy.
Matthew 19:4-6 . . . Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.
*Commitment is a key to a good marriage.
Romans 15:1-2 . . . We should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord.
*Sacrifice is a key to a good marriage.
Romans 15:5-7 . . . May God . . . help you live in complete harmony with each other-each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God.
*Understanding each other’s differences and celebrating them are keys to a good marriage.
Ephesians 5:21-33 . . . Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
*Mutual submission is a key to a good marriage.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 . . . Love will last forever.
*Love is a key to a good marriage.
James 5:16 . . . Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other.
*Communication is a key to a good marriage.
Proverbs 31:31 . . . Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
*A constant desire to build each other up enhance each other’s value is a key to a good marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:3 . . . The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy . . . nor should the wife deprive her husband.
Song of Songs 1:2-4, 12-13 . . . Kiss me again and again, for your love is sweeter than wine . . . Bring me into your bedroom, O my king . . . My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.
*A healthy sex life is a key to a good marriage.
HOW SHOULD A HUSBAND TREAT HIS WIFE?
Proverbs 18:22 . . . The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and receives favour from the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 . . . Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you in this world. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.
1 Peter 3:7 . . . In the same way, you husbands must give honour to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. If you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.
Ephesians 5:21 . . . You will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Husbands should love their wives sacrificially; with the depth of love that Christ showed when he died for us.
HOW SHOULD A WIFE TREAT HER HUSBAND?
Proverbs 31:11-12 . . . Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She will not hinder him but help him all her life.
Ephesians 5:22-24 . . . You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Saviour. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.
A wife should love her husband sacrificially, helping and supporting him, believing in him and submitting to him as he submits in Christlike love to her (Ephesians 5:21).
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF LOYALTY IN A MARRIAGE?
Malachi 2:15-16 . . . Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard yourself; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.
God commands a husband to be loyal to his wife. He does not merely suggest this.
Proverbs 5:15, 18-19 . . . Drink water from your own well-share your love only with your wife. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving doe, a graceful deer. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love?
1 Corinthians 7:2-4 . . . The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband also gives authority over his body to his wife.
Hebrew 13:4 . . . Give honour to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
Husbands and wives must be faithful to each other, seeking to satisfy and honour each other.
A GOOD WIFE OR HUSBAND BRINGS MANY GREAT BLESSINGS TO THE OTHER.
Proverbs 31:10-31 . . . Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies.
Proverbs 31:11 . . . Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
Proverbs 31:12 . . . She will not hinder him but help him all her life.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 . . . Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life . . . The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.
The next time something irritates you about your spouse, keep in mind the blessings your mate brings to you as well-precious times, trust, satisfaction, fulfilled needs, helpfulness, happiness.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT SELECTING A MARRIAGE PARTNER?
WHY SHOULD WE BE CAREFUL WHOM WE MARRY?
Judges 14:3 . . . His father and mother objected strenuously, “Isn’t there one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry? Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She is the one I want.”
1 Kings 11:2 . . . The Lord had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry with those nations, because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods. Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.
Ezra 9:2 . . . The men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages.
2 Corinthians 6:14 . . . Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness?
The person we marry can build us up or destroy us. The Bible encourages us not to marry someone who is an unbeliever, because it is too easy for that person to tempt us away from our faith. And if we are marrying another believer, we still must be sure we are marrying for the right reasons.
BUT WHAT IF A CHRISTIAN HAS ALREADY MARRIED AN UNBELIEVER?
SHOULD THEY STAY TOGETHER?
1 Corinthians 7:12-16 . . . If a Christian woman has a husband, who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.
Don’t leave your mate just because he or she doesn’t know Christ. If possible, win that person to Christ and then both you and your children will greatly benefit.
HOW DOES GOD COMPARE MARRIAGE WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM?
Isaiah 54:5-6 . . . Your Creator will be your husband . . . For the Lord has called you back from your grief-as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband.
Jeremiah 3:20 . . . “You have betrayed me . . . You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband,” says the Lord.
2 Corinthians 11:2 . . . [Paul writes,] “I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ.”
Our relationship with God, like marriage, is based on mutual love, faithfulness, and permanent commitment.
IS MARRIAGE GOD’S WILL FOR EVERYONE?
Matthew 19:10-12 . . . Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “Then it is better not to marry!” “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made that way by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom ofHeaven. Let anyone who can, accept this statement.”
1 Corinthians 7:1-2, 7-9 . . . Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness. Now I say to those who aren’t married and to widows-it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
God created marriage and called it good (see Genesis 2:18-25). Marriage is also the only way through which God intended children to be born and raised. But the Bible also makes it clear that marriage is not for everyone. Sometimes, because of certain cultural or spiritual reasons, marriage is best avoided.
PROMISES FROM GOD:
Ephesians 5:31 . . . As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
SERIES ON FORGIVENESS.
SOF-001
1. Healing the Hurt We Never Deserved Means.
Healing the Hurt We Never Deserved Means; Releasing them, and Youwill be set free.
Matthew 18:21-35 (Good News Bible)
Mat 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
Mat 18:22 “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,
Mat 18:23 because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts.
Mat 18:24 He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.
Mat 18:25 The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt.
Mat 18:26 The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!
Mat 18:27 The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.
Mat 18:28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and started choking him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.
Mat 18:29 His fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’
Mat 18:30 But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything.
Mat 18:32 So he called the servant in. ‘You worthless slave!’ he said. ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to.
Mat 18:33 You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.’
Mat 18:34 The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.”
Mat 18:35 And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Please don’t be the EVIL ACCOUNTANT
This is the first time I read in a series I never planned to preach on Forgiveness. Is the Story I read (Please quoting exactly the writer’s word )of how it came to be starts in February when I spent a week preaching at Word of Life Florida. One day I ate lunch with George This, former executive director of Word of Life. He told me about a book called Total Forgiveness by R. T. Kendall, the long time pastor of Westminster ChapelIn London. “Ray, you need to read this book and then you need to preach itTo your people,” he declared. From time to time people say things like that to me and I generally tend not to take them seriously. There are lots of good books out there, and I can hardly read them all, much less preach them all. But on the other hand, George This is a man I respect greatly, in part because he’s not the sort of person who would say something like that lightly. He told me that he had been recommending the book to others, and had been preaching its message himself with great impact in various churches.
So I said I would read it, which I eventually did. I found the book powerful and convicting. In the very first chapter Pastor Kendall tells of a time when someone very near and dear to him hurt him greatly. He doesn’t say who it was or exactly what they did, only that the pain was deep and the hurt profound because he had looked to this person as a surrogate father figure. The anger that he felt overwhelmed him. At length he talked it over with Josif Tson of Romania. After he poured out all the sordid details of what his so-called friend had done to him, he paused, waiting for PastorTson to say, “R. T., you are right to feel so angry. What happened to you was awful.” But he didn’t. After listening to all the details, Josif Tson said simply, “You must totally forgive them.” Pastor Kendall was dumbfounded. So he started to tell the story all over again, this time adding more details.Josif Tson interrupted with words that would change R. T. Kendall’s life, “You must totally forgive them.
Release them, and you will be set free.”
Release them, and you will be set free.
This is the first of five sermons on the topic of total forgiveness, Buteverything I have to say will be nothing more than that one sentence: Release them, and you will be set free. The very moment we say those words, the mind begins to argue:
“But you don’t know what he did to me.”
“They lied about me over and over again.”
“She intended to destroy my career-and she did.”
“You can’t imagine the hell I’ve been through.”
“If you knew what this has done to my family, you would be angry too.”
“They deserve to suffer like they’ve made me suffer.”
“I’m going to make them pay.”
“My daughter was raped. How do you forgive that?”
“I was sexually abused by a priest. How do you forgive that?”
“I will never forgive those people. Never!”
It was C. S. Lewis who remarked, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.” There are two parts to that observation and both of them are important for us to think about:
1) Forgiveness is a truly Christian virtue.
Consider these words from lips of our Lord:
”Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said it very plainly:
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).
The Apostle Paul put forgiveness into a slightly different framework inEphesians 4:32.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
He said a very similar thing in Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
When Peter (a man who knew from experience the value of forgiveness)Wrote his first epistle, he summed it up this way: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” That’s 1 Peter 4:8.
There is another to say it, and it comes from the “Love Chapter”-1 Corinthians 13. While describing the greatest virtue, Paul declared that
“love . . . keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5). That little phrase deserves a closer examination. Eugene Peterson (The Message) says it this way, “Love . . . doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.” I call it the EVIL ACCOUNTANT.
Love doesn’t keep score because love has a bad memory. It finds a way to forget the sins of others.
Finally, we have the greatest, most profound statement on this topic in the entire Bible, the finest, purest, highest example of forgiveness.
When he hung the cross, condemned to death by evil men who plotted to murder him, who produced lying witnesses to convict him, as he surveyed the howling mob assembled to cheer his suffering, Jesus the Son of God, the One who knew no sin, the only truly innocent man who ever walked this sin-cursed planet, in his dying moments uttered words that still ring across the centuries: “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Those ten tortured words sweep away all our shabby excuses. They reveal the barrenness of our heart; they rip the cover off our unrighteous anger and show it for what it is. Many of us say, “If only the people who hurt me would show some remorse, some sorrow, then maybe I would forgive them.” But since that rarely happens, we use that as an excuse to continue in our bitterness, our anger, and our desire to get even.
Consider Jesus on the cross. No one seemed very sorry. Even as he said those words, the crowd laughed, mocked, cheered, jeered. Those who passed by hurled insults at him. They taunted him. “If you are the King of Israel, come down from the cross and save yourself.” Let us be clear on this point. When he died, the people who put him to death were quite pleased with themselves. Pilate washed his hands of the whole sordid affair. The Jewish leaders hated him with a fierce, irrational hatred.
They were happy to see him suffer and die. Evil was in the air that day. The forces of darkness had done their work and the Son of God wouldSoon be in the tomb. No one said, “I was wrong. This is a mistake. We were such fools.” And yet he said, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they are dong.”
That is precisely what we must say if we are going to follow Jesus. We must say it to people who hurt us deliberately and repeatedly. We must say it to those who intentionally attack us. We must say it to those who casually and thoughtlessly wound us. We must say it to those closest to us, to our husband or wife, to our children, to our parents, to our friends, to our neighbours, to our brothers and sisters, to our fellow Christians.
2) Forgiveness is difficult in part because we do not understand it properly.
At this point it is necessary to clear up some of the misconceptions about forgiveness. In some ways, it is easier to say what forgiveness is not than what it is. These misconceptions matter because sometimes when we say we can’t or won’t forgive, we are actually talking about something other than biblical forgiveness.
Let me list a few things forgiveness does not mean:
It does not mean approving of what someone else did.
It does not mean pretending that evil never took place.
It does not mean making excuses for other people’s bad behaviour.
It does not mean justifying evil so that sin somehow becomes less sinful.
It does not mean overlooking abuse.
It does not mean denying that others tried to hurt you repeatedly.
It does not mean letting others walk all over you.
It does not mean refusing to press charges when a crime has been committed.
It does not mean forgetting the wrong that was done.
It does not mean pretending that you were never hurt.
It does not mean that you must restore the relationship to what it was before.
It does not mean that you must become best friends again.
It does not mean there must be a total reconciliation as if nothing Everhappened.
It does not mean that you must tell the person that you have forgiven them.
It does not mean that all negative consequences of sin are cancelled.
Let’s say you are the coach of a major college football team. And let’s suppose that you go to a topless nightclub and engage in activities that embarrass your university. When your activity is exposed, you confess what you have done and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness may be granted to you, but you will still lose your job, which is exactly what happened to the head football coach at the University of Alabama yesterday. Forgiveness does not cancel all the negative consequences of our foolish choices.
SOF 002.
The Positive Power of Forgiveness:
“THE GOOD ACCOUNTANT”
“I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins”
“LOVE THINKS NO EVIL; GOD IS LOVE 1 Cor. 13:6.”
1 Cor. 13:5-6
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no (record, keep track of wrongsaccount; of wrongs, thinks) no evil; taketh not account of evil; does not impute evil; [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Psalm 130:3-4
If Thou, Lord, (if you keep in mind our sins; kept records on wrongdoings; shouldest mark iniquities, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? [4] But there is forgiveness with Thee, That Thou mayest be feared.
If you know a bit about church history, you know that before Martin Luther became the father of the Protestant Reformation, he was a Catholic priest. As part of his training, he spent years studying Greek, Hebrew, Latin, the church fathers, and the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
By all accounts, he was brilliant, devout, and very devoted to his studies. But his soul was deeply troubled. Burdened with the haunting sense that his sins were not forgiven, he felt that God’s judgment hung over him like a heavy weight he could not lift. Being a priest only made matters worse. No matter what he did, he never felt the assurance that his sins were forgiven.
In desperation, he went to Rome, hoping to find answers, but he came away even deeper in despair. Several years later, while studying the book of Romans, he encountered the phrase,
“The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17,Hab.2: 4,Heb.10: 38,Gal.3: 11).
Slowly his eyes were opened and he saw clearly that God forgives us, not because of anything we do, but solely on basis of what Jesus did for us when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. He called that truth the gate to heaven. So it is not surprising that Luther said that the phrase, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins” was the most important article in the “the Apostles’ Creed”. He wrote, “If that is not true, what does it matter whether God is almighty or Jesus Christ was born and died and rose again? It is because these things have a bearing upon my forgiveness that they are important to me.”
We need to see the great practical importance of believing in “the forgiveness of sins.” Before we look at what this phrase means, I want to make two general observations: First, we are near the end of the creed.After today, there are only two phrases left–”I believe in the resurrection of the body,” and “I believe in life everlasting.” Second, our phrase for today summarizes the entire Christian life. That’s amazing when you think about how the creed is constructed. I started preaching through the creed in January. We spent a month on God the Father, several months on Jesus Christ, and then a week on the Holy Spirit. After that came three weeks on the nature of the church. But when we come to the realm of the Christian life, it’s all summed up in seven words: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” The Apostles’ Creed is a God-centred statement of the Christian faith. I’ve spent six months preaching basic Bible doctrine to you–nearly all of it about God himself. When we finally get to the Christian life, the creed sums it up with this one phrase-”the forgiveness of sins.” That’s certainly not how we think about things today. Go to any Christian bookstore and you’ll see a small shelf called “Bible Doctrine” or “Theology,” and then you’ll see a huge section called “The Christian Life.” There you will find books on prayer, growing in faith, enduring hard times, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, overcoming temptation, sharing your faith, and growing in holiness. Then there are books on marriage, books for men, books for women, books on the family, raising children, overcoming addiction, forgiving others, spiritual warfare, singleness, sex, health, the purpose-driven life, and the end times, to name only a few. To us the Christian life is all about these different categories. But the creed takes the whole Christian life and boils it down to this one essential thing: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” As if to say, “If your sins are forgiven, everything else is just details. And if your sins are not forgiven, nothing else really matters.”
I find that a liberating way to look at the Christian life. It’s simple, clear and direct. So let me ask you a question that I will ask again at the end of this message: Are your sins forgiven and do you know it?
Let’s talk about that for a moment. I’d like to ask and answer three questions about forgiveness in this message.
We will focus on Psalm 130:3-4 to help us answer these three questions.
1) Why Do We Need Forgiveness?
Verse 3 says, “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?” Novelist Franz Kafka wrote in his diary that the problem with modern people is that we feel like sinners, yet independent of guilt. We sense that something is amiss in our lives, something is wrong. We live in a society that tells us to get rid of guilt by getting rid of the rules that make us feel guilty. So we do our best to ignore pesky things like the Ten Commandments. All those “Thou shalt nots” make us nervous. And why not? Guilt comes when you break the rules and you know it. So the best way to get rid of guilt is to get rid of the rules–or so we think. We do away with the rules, but the rules won’t go away because they weren’t written by man in the first place. It’s as if they are written in indelible ink. Even when you try to erase them, the image keeps comes back. So we cheat and steal and lust and sleep around. We mock God by killing the unborn and trying to redefine marriage to fit our own twisted desires.
But the rules don’t change! You can’t get rid of guilt by pretending the rules aren’t there anymore. When God makes the rules, he doesn’t ask for our opinion. God has spoken–and he did not stutter. “Thou shalt not” still means, “Thou shalt not.” Have you had this? Even trustees!
Even so we feel like we can ignore the rules and get away with it. That perfectly describes life in Oak Park. Last Monday night the village trustees voted to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment that would limit marriage to a man and a woman. In Oak Park we’re against limiting marriage to one man and one woman because we’re liberated, we’re hip, we’re in tune with the times. We’re progressive. On matters of sexual freedom, we’ve been on the cutting edge of societal evolution for a long time. The trustees also voted to name June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. We already know the truth about homosexuality because God has revealed the truth in his Word. The trustees cannot change the truth any more than they can cancel the law of gravity.
But that’s only one illustration of the larger trend. Rom.1: 21-32 In today’s society, if we don’t like a rule, we vote it down or we simply say, “I’m going to do whatever I want to do and no one can stop me.” So we make up the rules as we go along. And true moral guilt goes out the window.
But it’s never as simple as that. After we’ve changed the rules so we can do what we want, we still aren’t happy. We’ve relativised the rules, normalized guilt, but still something is wrong. Despair, shame, restlessness, dissatisfaction are rampant.
Kafka was right–we feel like sinners, but independent of guilt. We know something is wrong with us, but we don’t know what, and we don’t know how to fix it.
Psalm 130 points us in the right direction.
This psalm has a long history in the Christian tradition. It’s called DeProfundis-a Latin phrase that means, “Out of the depths,” taken from verse 1, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.” The whole psalm teaches us that we will never fix ourselves because we lack the inner resources to solve our own problems. That flies in the face of Oprah and Dr. Phil and a host of other self-help gurus who say that the answer is within us. The Bible says the opposite is true: The problem is within us. The answer lies outside us. As long as you think you can solve your own problems, you can only get worse. When you finally say, “Lord, please help me. I can’t do it on my own,” then you’re a good candidate for salvation.
So why don’t we confess our sins and find the forgiveness we need? We fear punishment. We’re afraid that if we own up to our own stupidity, the Lord will send us straight to hell. So we lie about our lies and we cover up our cover-ups. We pretend that we didn’t do what we know we did. No wonder we’re so messed up. We think guilt is a bad thing so we avoid guilt at all costs. Our children learn to make excuses by watching us make excuses. We blame everyone except ourselves. But Psalm 130 liberates us from that self-destructive cycle. Verse 3 says that God doesn’t keep a record of our sins. But the Hebrew literally says that God doesn’t keep an eye on our sins. That is, he’s not looking for a reason to send us to hell. Many people picture God as some kind of cranky old man with a long white beard, hoping to catch us messing up so he can send us to hell. But that’s not the God of the Bible. He is willing to forgive those who repent of their sin and cry out for mercy.
We need forgiveness because we are sinners who try to change the rules so we can dodge the guilt question. But since the rules can’t really be changed, we end up extremely messed up on the inside. Here is the bottom line: We need forgiveness and we cannot live without it. Without forgiveness, we are hollow men and women, empty and conflicted on the inside. The one piece of good news is that God doesn’t keep an eye on our sins. If he did, we’d all be in hell already.
2) What hope do we have of forgiveness?
By that I mean, what are the chances that we can be forgiven? Is it just a distant dream, some kind of long shot? If the Vegas bookies laid odds on our forgiveness, what would the number be? 50,000 to 1? 100,000 to 1? 1 million to 1? Look in the mirror and consider your own soul. If you do, the outlook will not be hopeful. One British writer put this way: “There is no man who, if all his secret thoughts were made know, would not deserve hanging a dozen times a day.” To which I reply: Only a dozen times? I would think it would be much more than that.
The first part of verse 4 brings us some very good news; “But with you there is forgiveness.” Or to say it another way, God makes a habit of forgiving sin. He does not delight in punishing our sin. He looks for chances to forgive us because forgiveness is in his nature.
That’s a huge insight because it touches how you see God.
He is eager to forgive.
He is ready to forgive.
He wants to forgive you.
Exodus 34:6-7 calls him “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
If you are in the pit, you need to know that sin is real.
You can’t break the rules and get away with it forever. But whenever you are ready to come clean, the Lord is right there waiting for you. It’s never easy to confess your sins, but listen to the invitation God makes in Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” Okay, so maybe you don’t like that word “wicked” or the word “evil.” Maybe that sounds harsh to you. But that’s God’s description of the whole human race. That’s what you and I are apart from God’s grace. We are wicked and evil. Get used to it because that’s the plain truth about all of us. Don’t get hung up on the negative words and miss the invitation. Turn to the Lord and you will find mercy and pardon.
Picture two doors, each with two words emblazoned across the top:
Door # 1
Evil
Wicked
Door # 2
Mercy
Pardon
Now which door do you like better?
Answer: We all like mercy and pardon better.
God says you have to go through the door marked Evil and Wicked to get to the door marked Mercy and Pardon. You have to go through the first door to get to the second door. But someone says, “I’m going to skip Door # 1 and go directly to Door # 2.” It doesn’t work that way. You can’t “skip” Door # 1. And you can’t climb through a window either. The only way to reach Door # 2 is to go through Door # 1 first.
When you go through Door # 2, you discover that “he will freely pardon.” Freely means without cost. No charge. You want mercy? You’ve got it. You want a pardon for all your sins? You’ve got it. You can go in evil and wicked, and you can come out with mercy and a full pardon from the Lord. That’s the best deal in the world.
3) What happens when we are forgiven?
The last part of verse 4 has the answer: “Therefore you are feared.”Another way to say it is, “Therefore we worship you.” Once we are forgiven, that vague feeling of unease is removed.
Our slate is wiped clean.
The prison cell swings open and we walk out.
We’re free at last. Sometimes that’s the hardest part to accept. Each week I receive letters from prisoners who have read “An Anchor for the Soul” and then write to tell me their stories. I got a letter this week from a man who committed a particularly heinous crime. He said he is afraid to go to church because he worries that people will find out what he did and will shun him.
That kind of shame works in all of us to keep us in bondage.
The devil whispers to us, “You’re no good. If people knew what you were really like, they’d have nothing to do with you.
How can you call yourself a Christian and treat your wife that way?
Your children that way? Your husband that way? You hypocrite.”
The only way to deal with Satan’s accusations is go back to the character of God:
“With you there is forgiveness.”
Have you ever worried about the day when you stand before the Lord? ON THAT DAY!
Some Christians fear that God is going to project all their sins–even the sins of the mind–on some huge screen for the entire universe to see. We have this mental image of God pressing a button and then our life begins to unfold on a giant screen so huge that millions of people can see it.
We fear that in that day all our ugly words and deeds, all our secret sins that no one else knew about, and every dark thought filled with anger, lust, pride, hatred, rage and greed will be displayed for the whole universe to see. How could we endure such a moment? And how could God ever welcome us into his kingdom after putting our depravity on public display?
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, if you gazed on our sins, who could stand? No one.
We’d all be doomed and damned. But that’s the whole point of Psalm 130.
We cry from the depths of shame and guilt, and God says, “Good news. With me there is forgiveness.” The Bible uses a number of images to describe how God deals with our sins:
God blots out our sins as a thick cloud (Isaiah 44:22).
God forgets our sins and remembers them no more (Jeremiah 31:34).
God puts our sins behind His back (Isaiah 38:17).
God buries our sins in the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).
God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
When God forgives,
He forgets our sins,
He clears the record,
He erases the tape so that when he pushes the button, nothing shows up on the big screen in heaven. Our sins are forgiven, forgotten, removed, buried, and blotted out. They can never condemn us again. Let that thought grip your soul, and you will never be the same. But how could be it this way?
How could God forgive us?
Why doesn’t he look at our sins?
Here’s the answer: A long time ago God fixed his gaze on the cross of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are honest enough to admit that we are wicked and evil, a stream of mercy flows out from the cross of Christ and his blood covers our sins. We discover in one shining moment that with God there is forgiveness.
That’s why Luther said this was the most important part of the Apostles’ Creed.
That’s why this is the only part of the Christian life mentioned in the creed.
This is the whole ballgame right here. Everything else is just details.
If you are full of vague uneasiness because of the way you’ve been living,
If you are guilty and don’t know what to do about it,
If you are in the pit of despair, you don’t have to stay there.
Run to the cross! Run, don’t walk, run to the cross and lay hold of Jesus Christ.
Trust in him as your Lord and Saviour.
With God there is forgiveness. That’s why the creed says, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” Nothing is more important. So I come back to the question I asked earlier:
Are your sins forgiven and do you know it?
Softly and Tenderly
Late on Friday afternoon President Reagan was laid to rest at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California. While waiting for the hearse to arrive for the burial service, a military band and chorus performed a number of gospel songs that were favourites of the president. Included on the list was the old invitation hymn, “Softly and Tenderly.” One of the verses goes like this:
O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Then the chorus makes the appeal:
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home
That invitation isn’t just for presidents. It’s for all of us.
“Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon. Pardon for you and for me.
“ God has done everything necessary for you to be forgiven. All you have to do is come.
Come home to God. Come in Jesus’ name. Come by way of the cross and you will be forgiven.
If you come in through Door # 1, you’ll find Jesus as you pass through Door # 2.
May I suggest a simple prayer for you to pray?
Even while I encourage you to pray this prayer,
I caution you that saying words alone will not save you.
But you must be born again; It’s a doorway to salvation, Deliverance….
Just saying Prayers doesn’t save. Ps 66:18
Only Christ can save.
But prayer can be a means of reaching out to the Lord in true saving faith.
If you pray these words in faith, Christ will save you. You can be sure of that.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. And I know that I cannot save myself. No longer will I trust in my good works or in my religion for salvation. By faith I gratefully receive Your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for taking my sins away. With all my heart I confess you as Lord and Saviour both now and for eternity. Amen.
Did you pray the prayer? If you prayed it and really meant it, welcome to the family of God.
One final word. Sometimes Christians can hear a sermon like this and wonder how to apply it. If you already know the Lord, let me tell you how to apply it: Get on your knees and say, “Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving my sins.” Or stand up and say, “I bless the Lord for taking my sins away.” Don’t take your forgiveness for granted. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. If God has forgiven your sins, rejoice and be exceedingly glad.
This is the good news of the gospel. Amen.
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE COME TO:
MOUNTAIN OF FIRE AND MIRACLES MINISTRIES IRELAND.
CHURCH OFFICE:
740 South Circular Road, Dublin – 8 Tel: 01-6359779, -6359780, 0872315380
Worship-centre:
13 Prussia Street, Dublin 7, Republic of Ireland.
TO WORSHIP WITH US, TAKE BUS-39, 37; FROM CITY- CENTRE STOP @ TESCO – SUPERMARKET Bus stop.
Services follow:
Sunday 10:00am – 1:30pm
Wednesday 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Night Vigil 3rd Friday of every month 9:00pm -12:00 MIDNIGHT.
Power Must Change Hand Programme 10.30am – 1.30pm 1st Saturday of every month.
Deliverance-Programme 2nd Week of every Month
PRAYER – RAIN 10am – 12 pm; 2nd Saturday of every month.
**Spinsters & Bachelors Prayer
Meeting…(Singles) … 3rd Sat. of Every Month (Coming Soon)**
Email mfmdublin@yahoo.co.uk
Office@mfm-ireland.org
pastoranthony@ mfm-ireland.org
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth (John 17:17)
