And the iron gates opened on their own accord by Pastor Gbenga Aluko

                                                                                 

Text: Acts 12:1-10

Topic: And the iron gates opened on their own accord

The study will be done with the following headings:

·       Foreword

·       James was killed

·       The church prayed

Foreword

The persecution of the church or her leaders is not a new phenomenon and did not start in the referenced text, however this tranche is peculiar and worthy of note. 

The devil, his agents and representatives in various forms and shapes has been against God, His: plan, purpose, people. The good news is God has always triumphed. Hallelluyah.

The devil is a known and an unrepentant looser, loosing consistently to God and all that are His. Rom. 8:31, 1 John 4:4,1 John 3:8, Rev.12:11.

James was killed

James was one of Jesus’ disciples, an Apostle, it also worthy of note that he was the first apostle to be martyred. Some scholars believe his death fulfils the consequences of his mother’s hot desire for juicy position/title. Matt. 20:22 , let’s all be led by God and be thoroughly mindful of our mad desires for positions. Rom.8:14

His proximity to Jesus didn’t prevent him from being killed by the sword of king Herod. We are not immune from the perils of the world, but He will always be with us and make a way of escape.1 Cor. 10:13, Is. 43:2.

King Herod was bent on doing anything to please the Jews and he found a way with killing James. There is the dire need for prayers and vigilance and prayerfulness for anyone who wants to fulfil destiny, there are still Herod’s around Matt.26:41.

Herod’s who doesn’t value human lives, who are not interested nor concerned about people’s hopes, career, children, dreams but are ready to do anything to please or perhaps oppress a faction/sect. Matt. 2:16. Little wonder the scripture says woe to a people whose leader are children/kid. Ecss.10:16. Be sober and vigilant we are not in heaven yet.1 pt 5:8

The church prayed

As painful as the death of one of the recent graduate of Jesus’s discipleship school was, there was no record of the church or anyone praying for him, (who are your friends,  what do you do together?). it is a dangerous plight not to have anyone praying for you and it becomes extremely dangerous not to be able to pray personally, we didn’t learn prayerlessness from Christ or our forebears.wake up from the slumber of prayerlessness in Jesus mighty name.

Immediately Peter was picked the church sprung into prayers, not just a session of prayers but ceaseless prayers Acts 12:6. And God answered:

·       He intervened just before the enemy hits again vs. 6

·       Sent an Angel who came to bring to the incarcerated a lot of divine and immediate changes vs. 7  :

-light from heaven

- rising

-chains fell off

-Gates opened on their own accord.

Prayers

 Every restriction against me or anything that is mine give way in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

 Shalom.

 

Replacing Gold with Bronze by Pastor Gbenga Aluko

                                                                                    

Text:2 Chro.12:1-10

Topic: Replacing Gold with Bronze

 

The message will be done with the following headings:

·       Background

·       Meaning (context)

·       Rehoboam goes off the radar

·       Biblical examples/ references of replacing Gold with Bronze

·       Conclusion

Background

The kingdom of Israel became divided into two after the reign of King Solomon: the Southern Kingdom largely referred to as Judah (with the seat of power in Jerusalem King ‘David’s original seat) and the Northern Kingdom known as Israel (had the seat of control changing at some points from Sheckem to Tirzah and finally Samaria)

The scriptures in book of 2 Chronicles was written after the exile, is focused on the deeds of the kings of Judah, the sons of Solomon, the importance of worship ( there were some revivals and major awakening to true God and His worship)and consequences of lack of same to the true God, the book concludes with the destruction of Jerusalem and exile of God’s people to Babylon, may we not get to the point of exile /abandonment/being replaced before we heed God’s call to righteousness and true worship in Jesus mighty name Amen. 2 Cor.6:2, Col.3:6

Meaning (replacing gold with bronze)

·       Settling for less than God’s best.  Abram on Hagar Gen.16:2ff, Children of Israel with God on kings. 1 Sam. 8:11-18. Are we not caught in same web?

·       Anything done instead of relying on God’s provision, favour, Prosperity, Strength, Power and Presence. Samson Judges 16:20ff.

·       An attempt to cover/fill up a lacuna created by wrong choices or God’s punishment for same or both. King Rehoboam 2 Chro 12:10.

Rehoboam goes off the radar

Rehoboam is the 4^th king of Israel from Saul, he ruled the divided kingdom of Israel for seventeen (17) years from 975 BC, he was the son of Solomon.

The scriptures succinctly states that after he had established the kingdom and himself, he abandoned the Lord, His laws. 2 Chr.12:1, all Israel followed him.

Who is God to us? a means of achievement or a father to be loved and followed, how we see and relate with Him determines what happens to us now and how/where we will spend our eternity. Who is God to you, a means to survive through the church?

May God give us leaders who only influence people positively by both who they are and what they say in Jesus mighty name. Rehoboam was a negative influence on the people he led. What kind of influence are you having on God’s people? God is watching and he will reward.

The recalcitrance of Rehoboam was very expensive for him and the people he led:

·       God abandoned him    vs.5

·       God allowed Shishak king of Egypt to invade their land  vs.5

·       He (Shishak) took away everything of value from the treasuries, gold and gold shields

Have we not abandoned the Lord, (Rehoboam was still king but abandoned the God who made Him, His father and Grand- father king), His laws, our first love for Him, this is a plea for us to retrace our steps before God’s judgement locates us.

Biblical examples/ references of replacing Gold with Bronze

The bible is replete with examples of men and women who replaced gold with bronze some even replaced their gold with sand or even ashes as the case may be, let’s look at very few of them:

·       Aaron and the children of Israel abandoning their God for a make-shift golden calves. Ex.32:1ff

·       Judas Iscariot, choosing to deny Jesus because of 30 pieces of silver, His three years learning from Jesus, all the signs and wonders that he saw didn’t build discipline, faith and loyalty worth more than that token to him, he exchanged Jesus and his relationship to him for 30 pieces of Silver. Matt.26:14-16. what are you exchanging Jesus for?

·       Martha was distracted by household task and preparations(bronze) that she couldn’t make time to learn from the greatest rabbi at this instance. Luke 10:38-42

·       Samson a Nazirite unto the Lord, willingly donated his gold to disobedience to God, no razor shall touch your head. Judges 13:4ff

·       The Young prophet who heard God clearly heard God and whose work/ministry was filled with signs allowed the bronze the old Prophet deceive/mislead him with “the voice of the angel”.1 kings 13:1ff

Conclusion 

Anyone doing anything asides God’s purpose/mandate/ordination for his or her life, anyone staying anywhere outside of God’s direction, anyone who has abandoned God: His word/ways for whatever excuse or replacement, anyone using any evil/demonic powers outside the Holy Spirit to achieve something especially for God’s work among others is replacing Gold with bronze. Return to God today before it is too late. 2 Chr.7:14