THE LYING SPIRIT

Text: 2 Chr. 18:22, 26, 27, 34
Topic: THE LYING SPIRIT

Will be further considered with the following headings:

Introduction
King Ahab
Unholy alliance
God's mercy and Judgment

Introduction 

 It does not matter their numbers, position or placement evil and evil doers have a dangerous end Ecss 8:13 except God's offer of grace through Jesus Christ is accepted 2 Cor.6:2, eschew evil.

 (a) King Ahab:

- Seventh king of Israel since Jeroboam, husband of Jezebel of Sidon
- An evil king (he did more evil than his predecessors) 1 King 16:30
-accused Elijah of troubling the Nation 1King 18:17-18

-died abruptly because of his wickedness 1king 22:29ff

  (b) Unholy alliance: 

King Jehoshaphat’s unholy alliance would have killed him too flee bad association. 2 Chr 28:1, 31-32, 1 Cor 15:33

(c)  God's mercy and JUDGEMENT:

-Gives opportunities for repentance, gave Ahab but he was recalcitrant 2chr 16 ff

 -He Avenged his servant like he promised 1king 18:19-40,1King 20:42, 21:19:

-  LYING SPIRIT was permitted to lure him to destruction 2 Chr 18:34

 Conclusion

God is a merciful  God he sent Jesus to provide offer of salvation as an antidote against all wrath of God both now and in eternity (including all forms of lying Spirit amongst others) John 3:16. Heed His call today to be totally free from destruction. Shalom.

THE RICH MAN AND LESSONS FOR US

TEXT: MATTHEW 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30

THE RICH MAN AND LESSONS FOR US

·         Introduction

·         His strength

·         His weakness

·         Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour when He was on His earthly voyage lived to die and died to live Mark 10:45, John 12:27.Mark 10:45 says for even the son of man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. All He did between His coming and His death on the cross is to create a perfect example for us to follow/learn, one of such is His interaction with a rich man may God continue to open us to learning, give us the requisite humility to learn rightly and the grace to be a doer of ensuing priceless lessons in Jesus mighty name Amen.  

HIS STRENGHTS

ü   Was rich: The Bible is God’s inspired word 2 Tim 3:16, It is powerful sharper than two edged swords Heb 4:12 It is also fair to all irrespective of inclination/disposition to God/His people/His word. Consider the definitions the bible gave  to the following people:

Goliath  : 1 Sam 17:1-6 mighty warrior

      Naaman : 2 king 5 won several victories

      Herod    :  Matt 2:13-14 Joseph had to run away with Jesus  

If anyone is/has something the bible will equally affirm same.

ü  Sought God correctly: not minding His earthly riches he sought God

Can this be said of us today or will this be our testimony when God answers our prayers as touching materiality /wealth? Let us learn from this rich man. He also did not go to the Sadducees’ or Pharisee who were the front liners at the time (remember the story in John 9 especially verse 22). Lastly he asked the right question. Verse 16.  

ü  He knew the law and kept them: knowing God’s word, being anointed to teach it is not the herculean task (although the aforementioned is commendable no one can do what is not known/taught), the task is actually doing the word of God that is known.

HIS WEAKNESSESS

ü  He came with self-justification/self-righteousness: he probably thought of himself as perfect and a sure candidate of heave come any situation like the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector Luke 18:9-14.Rabbi revealed his imperfection. Matt 19:21 says if thou want to be perfect………..

ü  Stored worldly treasures only: vs 21 which says Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shall have treasure in heaven and come and follow me .Matt 6:20 Jesus speaking but lay-up not for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.(when we give our soul firstly to God in genuine repentance, then our time, talent, position, money and other belongings for the course of Christ we are laying up treasures in heaven).

ü  He chose his possessions above Jesus Christ: v22 when our imperfection is publicly revealed or what is that situation that will make us depart from Christ, lets prayerfully keep watch.

                     CONCLUSION

                        

                           Being rich is not only a plus to the custodian it is a plus to the body of Christ, but let us look at these words of Jesus Matt 19:23 then Jesus said to his disciples I tell you the truth it is very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, Matt 8:36  And what shall benefit if you gain the whole world(an impossible stance for anyone) but lose your soul, Matt 6:19 Jesus speaking says do not store up treasures here on earth. One problem with riches is ungodly pursuit/storing at the expense of Christ/His course ,losing focus on him/relationship with him and heaven don’t be caught in that web it will indeed be very hard to enter the kingdom of heaven in such state.   

  SHALOM.

### 1 Cor 13:9 for we know in part ……###

### Raising royal army for Christ 1 Sam 2:8 ###

 God is the raiser ….

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TEXT: NEH 6:15

TOPIC: FULFILLING PURPOSE (NEHEMIAH A CASE STUDY)……2

PITFALLS WITH PURPOSE CONTD:

v  Lacking the will power to pursue purpose: Esther was clearly/divinely put in the palace in Susan to rescue the children of Israel from being exterminated by the evil man Haman alas Queen Esther had to determine to live that purpose. The last line in Esther 4:16 says and if I perish I perish, which summarized her determination to live up the purpose, God is too big to do man’s Job. He often adds His SUPER to our natural to equal SUPERNATURAL.

v  Neglecting the God factor: The greatest interest of the devil and God towards human is in the area of our purpose, our greatest trial and triumphs will be in the area of our purpose, God will always will available to save, salvage us and all that is ours and aid in discovering and fulfillment of purpose and the devil is always available to steal, kill and destroy purpose and life John 10:10,3 John 2,1 Pt 5:8.May we not miss our only life-line to fulfillment JESUS.  

SOME GUIDES TO FULFILLING PURPOSE:

v  Discover and dig deeply into your purpose: if purpose is not discovered abuse and wandering is inevitable. Adapted.

v  Right association: You are as strong as who God makes you to be and who you associate with. In the multitude of right counsel there is safety because the number of people doing a thing does not make it right, the only strength in numbers is when they are on course.

v  Be focused: if the devil can’t distract with bad things he distracts with good ones, some good things might be a distraction to the best which is God’s blueprint adapted, while reading through the thirteen chapters of Nehemiah I discovered the following were deployed to deviate Nehemiah’s attention from fulfilling heaven’s mandate over his life:

ü  Unnecessary meetings Neh. 6:2-4

ü  Fake prophesy Neh. 6:10 –as good as prophesy is it could be a detour enroute fulfillment.

ü  Slander Neh. 4:1-3,6:6

ü  Plots.  Neh.4:8, Rom 8:31 if you are not being plotted against it is either God has given you rest or you are not making any impact. But greater is He that is in/withand for us.

To be continued……………………..

         SHALOM.

### 1 Cor 13:9 for we know in part ……###

### Raising royal army for Christ 1 Sam 2:8 ###

 God is the raiser ….

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FULFILLING PURPOSE (NEHEMIAH A CASE STUDY)……1

TEXT: NEH 6:15

TOPIC: FULFILLING PURPOSE (NEHEMIAH A CASE STUDY)……1

INTRODUCTION: purpose is the why of a thing, person, activity and action. Fulfilling purpose is to bring to reality the why of a thing, to make happen the intention of the thing, person, and an activity/action. Ecss.  3:1 says to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. The quoted scriptures outlines three things about a thing viz: season, time and PURPOSE.1 Sam 17:29 says And David said, what have I now done? Is there not a CAUSE? Jer. 1:5 says before I formed thee in the belly I know thee and before thou camest forth out of the womb I SANTIFIED THEE AND I ORDAINED THEE A PROPHET unto the nations. Matt 1:21 and she shall bring forth a son and thou shall call his name Jesus for he shall SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.1 John 3:8b for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.

The bible is replete with various purpose which were by the grace of God fulfilled so also our text talks of an uncommon type of purpose these days both rhetorically and plainly building/mending broken walls (people would rather cast aspersions/mock/backbite whatever or whoever has a broken walls, or rather become Judge(s)) as a purpose that was fulfilled and finished by the grace of God may God help us all to fulfill purpose in Jesus mighty name.  

PITFALLS WITH PURPOSE:

v  Lack of knowledge on purpose: Hosea 4:6 there are two kind of knowledge that will make anyone’s perishing very fast and sure: not knowing/accepting Jesus as one’s Lord and personal Saviour, secondly not knowing purpose. Perishing will not be our portion in Jesus name Amen. No sane person can pursue with the requisite vigour what is not known.

v  Creating a mundane or quasi purpose: Gen 11 tells a story of men who wanted to build a tower of Babel, even with the understanding that the whole world was just wiped out and Noah and a host of others were spared in Gen 8, they created an anti-God purpose and paid dearly for it, one of such these days is making money as against impact/adding value. (That is why fraud, kidnapping and tricks are prevalent even in hallowed places).   

v  Diversion, most especially by externalities: one of the hardest thing to maintain is focus and a driver that will move fast must have mastered the act of focus, if landing safely is imperative. Few moment of loss of focus of one of the foremost apostle would have finished his existence cum ministry but for grace Matt. 14:24-33.

To be continued……………………..

  SHALOM.

### 1 Cor 13:9 for we know in part ……###

### Raising royal army for Christ 1 Sam 2:8 ###

 God is the raiser ….

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THE GLORY OF THE LATER HOUSE

                                                                            

                                                            TEXT: HAGGAI 2:1-9

THE GLORY OF THE LATER HOUSE

The topic will be considered under three headings:

(a)    What happened before the verse that houses this topic

(b)   The biblical nature of this statement

(c)    Lessons from the book of Haggai

(a)   What happened before the verse that houses this topic?

                               I.            King David wanted to build a house for God after he had settled in his own house 1 Chr. 17:1-11, good intention it appears but God rejected it. He however made requisite provisions. 

                            II.            King Solomon built the temple before building his own house 1 king 6:1-2 & 14

                         III.            587BC King Nebuchadnezzar 11 destroyed the temple 470 years,6 Months and 10 days that it was constructed.2 king 25:8-17.(there are however archaeological evidences of that temple till today).

                           

                            IV            The temple was rebuilt and was the basis for the prophecy cum topic.

(b) The nature of that statement:

 THE GLORY OF THE LATER HOUSE” the statement when studied properly can be said to be prophetic, two things lends credence to this assertion:

 One- which house was being referred to? For example in John 2:19 the bible says Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. Jesus referring to his body but was misconstrued as referring to the physical temple.

Two- the newly built temple wasn’t better than Solomon’s, a study of the following scriptures reveals this: 1 king 6 &, Hag.2:3ff.

However the following can be inferred from the verse as the temple being referenced:

                   I.            Jesus’ coming and the promise of another comforter at His departure to be resident in us, this makes us His temple carrying Him in us. John 14:16-17, 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19, Eph. 2:19. (A latter stance to when it was prophesied, then clearly better than Solomon’s Temple)

                II.            Was referring to His return to harvest the saint and other events to follow as that’s the only time there will ever be peace in the world. Hag. 2:9 says the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts. (Also a latter situation to when it was prophesied better than Solomon’s Temple).

 III.            The popular usage to depict my latter will be better than my former as also stated in Job 8:7 which says though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. Also can be gotten from the scripture, as the prophesy were clearly for a later time and as such applicable.

(c) Lessons from the book of Haggai:

       I.            God is the first (infinite and ultimate) and demands to be first in our lives and affairs: although the children of Israel did contrary most time and the referenced text is not an exception and were dealt with Hagg. 1:6-8 are we any better today? Matt 6:33 says but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

    II.            God is interested in holiness, purity and obedience: Hagg. 2:13& 14, God is more interested in these than in any other thing we may think we have to offer unto Him the source and owner of all good things Jam 1:17,Ps 24:1. Obedience is better than sacrifice 1 Sam 15:22, our God can’t be bribed.

 III.            God can restore: whether it’s us, or anything that we have lost provided it is His will to do so, he can restore anyone and anything. HE IS GOD AND UNQUESTIONABLY SO.2 Chr.7:14, Ps 126:1, Joel 2:25.

  SHALOM.

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### Raising royal army for Christ 1 Sam 2:8 ###

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THE NEW YOU MAKES THE NEW YEAR

                                                                               

                                                   TEXT: EZEK. 11:19, LUKE 15:11-20

THE NEW YOU MAKES THE NEW YEAR

If there is no change in us there may be no change around us: it doesn’t matter whether it’s a new day/month/ year, a career, a vision, an enterprise or ministry no newness or freshness except it emanates from inside. Prov. 23:7a for as he thinketh in his heart so is he, so if our thoughts and ways are old we may not be in any New Year altogether. May we receive grace for new thought in Jesus mighty name.  Amen.

It is a waste of effort, time and resources to celebrate New Year with an old heart: it is like the parable pouring of new wine into old wine skin Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-39 it is a waste that will lead to a further waste. It is like trying to change a product without altering the process.TO CHANGE A PRODUCT WE NEED TO CHANGE THE PROCESS.

Things to avoid to really experience a new year (drawing lessons from the parable of the prodigal son).

v  Over ambition and pride: verse 12, to ask for an inheritance before the demise of the father is a big taboo, not to talk of the request coming from the younger son. Prov. 16:18 says pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.  

v  Uncultured freedom from everything and everyone: verse 12 one of the things that easily finished the prodigal son is want of freedom from a loving/caring father which some of us display against God these days. Even Jesus Christ didn’t and wouldn’t give us freedom from Him, we only have freedom in Him.  Matt 11:29a Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.

v  Waste: verse 13-16, waste and want are twins, when we see anyone who continually wastes any form of resources will soon be in want of same resources he/she wastes. Even Jesus Christ didn’t and wouldn’t condone wastage. John 6:12 when they were filled, He said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

v  Unrepentance: verse 17, all known sins must be sincerely and thoroughly repented and forsaken. Or else there is nothing new about the year.

v  No self-evaluation: verse 17, Luke 14:28-29 says for which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it. Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him.   

v  Not taking the right steps: verse 20, at times we are waiting on God when He is also waiting on us like the loving father for us to take the right step and enjoy the rousing party and celebration.   

  SHALOM.

### Happy new you ###

### 1 Cor 13:9 for we know in part ……###

### Raising royal army for Christ 1 Sam 2:8 ###

 God is the raiser ….

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### Blog: freshlogosexperience.blogspot.com.ng ###

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