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Bible & Prayer Nugget 0606

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Upward looking

Author: Esther Agbi

 

Bible Nugget 0606 [Colossians 3:2, KJV]

 

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

 

2. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.

 

God wants us to be focused on things above. The question now arises. What are those things above? This same passage tells us Christ is above, making intersession for you and me. We also know that God is above. He is sitting on his throne and the earth is his foot stool. The angelic host and the 24 elders are worshiping the most high day in day out.

Some of the definitions of the word “set” are to adjust, lay or stand in a certain position, make or become permanent.

 

As we begin to worship God right here on earth, we are positioning our selves for eternity, which will become permanent in due time. The love of God wells up in us and we continue to increase in our heavenly treasures. No little wonder the scripture says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let us as Christians risen with him continue to love what God loves and despise what He hates. The Holy Spirit will help us to adjust our lives to please Him as our aspirations, hope and our mental disposition is upward looking.

 

In the same manner, when Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples set their gaze towards heaven until the angels of God came to them and said, this same Jesus shall return in the same manner as you see him go.

 

I pray that the lord will not only allow us to be looking upward physically, but spiritually

also, until his coming in Jesus name. Amen.

 

Prayer Points 0606

  1. Lord, any cataract preventing me, from seeing you clearly, blot out from my way by your power.
  2. Father, make my affections to be in line with yours, in Jesus name. Amen

Bible & Prayer Nuggets 0602

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HANDLING CHILDREN

 

Excerpts from a sermon on GENTLENESS

DATE: 31st May 2009

Church: Champions Pariah, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Edmonton, AB Canada 

Minister: Joseph Agbi

 

Bible Nugget 0602 [Psalm 18:36; Hosea 11:1-4]

 

 36Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

 

Children are precious gift and blessing from God. Abraham was blessed with the birth of Isaac; Isaac was blessed with the birth of Jacob and Esau; and Jacob was blessed with 12 sons and a daughter.  The bible calls children heritage from God. Psalm 127:3

3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

 4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

 5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

 

Our focus today is how do you handle children whom God has blessed you with. We will draw our reference with the way God handles his children. Is God tyrannical towards his children? No. He created us in his image so can bring pleasure to him. David acknowledging God’s gentle character said in Psalm 18:36 that God’s gentleness elevated him from a nobody to somebody. We need to be gentle towards others, even if they do not deserve our gentleness because that is God’s character and it is programmed into our heart and  since he measures our heart by his heartometer he put in the inside of us, he expects the heart to be gentle towards all men just as he is gentle. Any thing the word of God says we should do it is because God has done it before and he knows  that we can do it too.

 

Peter asking Jesus said, how many times should a man offend me before I run out of patience or my barometer of forgiveness becomes empty and stop forgiving that person. Is it 7 times? Jesus said not 7 times but until 70×7 (490). That is a lot of counting. You either lose count or confuse the offences, so it is not even worth trying to count, that is what Jesus is saying. You can count offences of people easily. I find that when I try to do this at home against my wife after 3 offences I begin to confuse the offences or she reminds me that was on another occasion, so I stop even trying to count. From this it appears my threshold is 3 offences. But it is better to forgive the first time, because we are told in scriptures not to allow the sun to go down before your anger cools off.

 

God’s character towards man is an embodiment of gentleness. He showed this towards Israel despite their persistent rebellion.  Hosea 11:1-4

 

1When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

 2As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

 3I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

 4I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

 

How does a father treat a son? v 4 gives us the answer. Shower him with love.

 

Or what is the best tactic to lead a rebellious child to his senses, be gentle towards that child. Tell him to reason with you just as God told Isearl to reason with him. He said come and let us reason together “although your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, although they as red as crimson, they shall be as wool [Isaiah 1:18].

 

v2 shows the height of provocation. Imagine the mighty deliverance.

 

In v1, the sojourn in Egypt was compared to chronological age of a person. God covenanted with Abraham for a seed, conceived in the womb of Isaac, delivered as a baby in the person of Jacob, sojourned in Egypt as a child (in innocence, Hosea 1 v1], grew in adolescence sojourning  in the wilderness for 40 years offending God, God forgiving them, offending God again and God forgiving them. Then when they became fully grown, they rebelled completely and started serving other gods and God allowed them to receive punishment by allowing their enemies to rule over them. Yet, he continued to show mercy by sending judges, kings, prophets both major and minor and so on and so on until the fullness of time when he sent Jesus and Israel continues to enjoy God’s mercy, and when they rejected Jesus as their messiah, they became “cut off” so that we can be grafted into the covenant blessings of Abraham too.  His continued mercy towards Israel and towards any child of his for that matter is for a divine purpose, marked in God’s agenda with set date.

 

God’s word says “know that God’s continued goodness (or gentleness) is for that person to have an opportunity to repent.

 

Rom 2:4

4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 

 

Rom 11:22

22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

 

Even till now Israel continue to enjoy the goodness and gentleness of God because God’s continued goodness will eventually lead them to repentance and accept Christ as their Saviour.

 

Hosea 3:5 

5Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

 

So the best way to bring a rebellious child to his senses is to continue to show him love, gentleness and goodness, because he will ultimately come to his senses, before which he periodically reaps a variety of punishment for his action.

 

Prayer Points 0602

  1. Father Lord, thank you for your gentleness towards me. I will not take your love for granted in the mighty name of Jesus.
  2. Oh Lord let your gentleness distinguish me in the land after the order of Isaac in the land of the Philistines and David to all Israel in Jesus Name.
  3.  Oh Lord, mold in my heart the character of Gentleness towards my children; my spouse; the brethren and as many people you bring my way in Jesus Name.

Bible & Prayer Nugget 0601

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God’s “Heartometer” in Man

Excerpts from a sermon on GENTLENESS

DATE: 31st May 2009

Church: Champions Pariah, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Edmonton, AB Canada 

Minister: Joseph Agbi

 

Bible Nugget 0601 [Ezekiel 11:19]

 

19And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

 

 

The world has become so scientific that a lot of things are measured by instruments. For example, in a good auto diagnostic centre they you could be told how much life is left of your car engine. By using instruments you can tell whether the engine is brand new or it is so bad that it is at the verge of “knocking” or completing breaking down. Similarly, meteorologist measures atmospheric pressure by a barometer, a doctor measures blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer [simply called blood pressure monitor].  These are all in the physical world we live in.

           

In the spiritual, the gauge for measuring how much divine life is inside a man is the heart. God measures how good the heart he put in man is by the level of good things that heart generates. God’s measures “good” and “evil” by a standard heart, or new heart he put in man [the perfect heart or what in a term the Holy Spirit ministered to me called the “heartometer”].  If it generates good things such as the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace gentleness being some of them, that heart is performing well. Jesus speaking to the Pharisees said in Matt 12:34b-35

 

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.     

 

Everybody has the capacity to receive a new heart from God. A perfect heart like the one in Adam and Eve before the fall in the garden of Eden. Every good gift and perfect gift comes from God and the heart is one great gift because the spirit of God makes a clean heart his dwelling place.

 

Ezekiel 36:26-27

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

 

When you become born again, you receive this regenerated heart created for righteousness as said in the book of Ezekiel

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Even after making a decision to follow Christ, you need to continue to make that heart to produce good and not evil. To do this you need to walk in the spirit [or following the leading of  the Holy Spirit]. In fact, the Holy Spirit is there to help you succeed and live a victorious Christian life. The malfunctioning heartometer begins to function and receive signals from the Holy Spirit. You begin to want to please God by making good choices and not bad choices. When we walk in the spirit, we will not walk in the flesh. You life begin to produce the fruit as you become more mature and become more sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. You begin to bear the fruit of the spirit. It begins to ripen. People begin to see you and see Christ.  All these because your heartometer is producing good and not evil.

 

Prayer Points 0601

 

Pray the following prayers meaningfully and with all seriousness.

  1. Oh Lord, lead me in your path of righteousness. Let my heart be a place where you Holy Spirit loves to reside. Fellowship with me in your spirit and power in Jesus name.
  2. Lord Jesus, Let your overpowering light overpower me just as it did the apostle Paul on the way to Damascus and he never remained the same again in Jesus Name.
  3. Holy Spirit, make my heart to churn out tons of good things. Evil will not dwell in my heart and I will not compromise with evil things or evil men in the name of Jesus.
  4. Oh Lord, let the blessedness of the man who walks in the counsel of the godly be mine today in Jesus Name.

Bible & Prayer Nuggets 0504

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Acquaintance then Friendship with the Almighty (I)

Bible Nugget 0504 [Job 22 v21-30]

  21Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

 22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

 23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

 24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

 25Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

 26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

 27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

 28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

 29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

 30He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

Enmity, Acquaintance and friendship are three levels of relationships. Friendship with somebody is a deeper relationship than being an acquaintance of that person. If you are an acquaintance, you may know that person in different degrees and your knowledge of that person may be limited to any or all of the following: name, where he lives, his family members, where he works and other peripheral information about that person.

Today we will focus on acquaintance, a step away from enmity. God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Acquaintance with God means having a general knowledge, not having perfect knowledge or full intimacy with the Almighty. Acquaintance is the first step in friendship with God. It is the means to an end, not the end in itself.

If you have a quarrel with somebody, the first stage in reconciliation with that person is to strike an accord of peace with that person. You become an acquaintance with that person. Even if you had been the best of friends before the quarrel, the separation strains your relationship and your knowledge about that person during the period of conflict is highly limited. That is what the writer of the above passage is talking about. Make peace with the Almighty; do not be an enemy of God. Why? Because he created you in his own image and likeness.  It’s like the story of the prodigal son. He had a father and had an inheritance in the father’s house but decided to stray away to live like a bastard far away, until his life degraded to that of living and feeding with swine [Luke 15:11-24]. The number one issue that strains our relationship with God is friendship with the world. The book of James states it bluntly as follows:

4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. [James 4:4].

The above verse is not necessarily about sexual immorality because the preceding 3 verses at the beginning of that passage talks about conflict between persons and the reason prayers are not answered. If you “love” the world, the Love of God is not in you. “Love” of the world means “lust” for the things of the world as stated in 1 John 2:15-17

15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The first step in building healthy relationship is to believe in that person. You are willing to listen and accept that person’s speech or words. So for you to have a healthy relationship with God, you have to be thoroughly separated from the world if you want God to turn his face towards you or be acquainted with him. Reconcile with God today and believe the word of God. Let your heart be a fertile ground to receive the message of salvation.  Job 22 v 22 says

 

22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

 

There are immediate benefits when you acquaint yourself with the almighty. You have peace, you are built up, iniquity or sin will be strange to you, physical and spiritual blessings will pursue and locate you. Much increase in physical wealth will be your portion because the word of God says the earth is the Lords’ and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. The Lord will also be your surety or defense. Job 22 v 26 says you can even lift up your face to God, not hiding it in shame or fear of punishment or judgment of God. God begins to hear and answer your prayers and your vows become a holy oblation or sacrifice to God. Your prayers become very potent, you begin to decree what will happen and that is what will happen. You become an encourager of other people and lead them into acquaintance with God. All these are still at the level of acquaintance with the almighty. How glorious will it be at the level of friendship? Re-emphasize Job 22:28-29 yourself as you step into better relationship with God;

 

 28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

 29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

 

Wouldn’t you like to be fully acquainted with God today? Would you not like to draw near to him. James says draw near to God and he will draw near to you. It means take a step away from God and he will take a step away from you. Woes betide that person if the step God decides to take away is a giant stride. He is calling you today in love. “Acquaint yourself with Me” and have peace and rest for your soul. Come to Jesus and be saved. That is your first step in your journey of acquaintance with the almighty because Jesus is the revelation of the fullness of God to man. In closing read James 4:8-10 and purpose in your heart to draw nearer and nearer to the Almighty in Jesus Name.

8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

 9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 

Prayer Points 0504

Pray the following prayers with a penitent heart and believe you are in stride with the Almighty.

1.       Oh Lord forgive me for walking away from you and your ways in the past. I ask and receive full restoration of sonship with you today in the mighty name of Jesus.

2.       I come against every prodigal and vagabond spirit. Be banished from my life in Jesus Name.

3.       Oh Lord I place the cross before me and the world behind me.  I refuse to be in any bondage to the world and the lust thereof. I live in the world but not by the standards of the world in the mighty name of Jesus.

4.       Oh Lord, I claim your peace and full rest for my soul in Christ.  Holy Spirit do your work of reconciliation of my heart to God in the mighty name of Jesus.

5.       Oh Lord let the benefits of acquaintance and full salvation in Christ begin to rub on me and my household in Jesus Name.

6.       I receive the full blessings of Christ by virtue of my spirit being born again by the Spirit of God. All my rights and privileges in Christ I receive in the mighty name of Jesus.

7.       Oh Lord, let me experience your lifting up. Let me be a divine encourager to those who are cast down. Fill my heart with the spirit of humility in Jesus name.

8.       I shake off every spirit of sadness, sorrow and mourning away from my life. Joy everlasting shall be my portion in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible & Prayer Nuggets 0502

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The Fruits of the Spirit Series: Gentleness II

Bible Nugget 0502 [Galatians 5:22-23]

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

Fruit Triangles

  1. Love, Joy and Peace
  2. Longsuffering, gentleness and goodness
  3. Faith, Meekness and Temperance

 

 Putting on Gentleness, God’s Character:

Gentleness is part of God’s character. He deals with the tender hearted with his spirit of kindness. We will see this when we look at the life of Abraham. Abraham had a tender heart, a kind heart towards his brother Lot. So was David towards King Saul even though Saul wanted him dead.  When David had opportunity to revenge, this is what he said in 1 Samuel 24:6

 

6And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.

 

David loved him and was especially very good friend with Saul’s son Jonathan.

 

Because God is gentle, we enjoy his benevolence. In acknowledging the help from God in promoting him from obscurity to greatness, David said it was due to God’s gentleness to him.

 

2 Sam 22:33-36

 33God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

 34He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

 35He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

 36Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

 

Jesus was gentle. He showed compassion in ministering to the needy, we must manifest this Godly character to others, to believers and also to unbelievers if the world is to listen to us – the message or good news of the gospel.  The world, indeed the whole creation, is travailing in pain waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God       

 

Colossians 3:12-14 [NIV]

12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 

These are garments of righteousness to put on to make us become like Christ everyday, because as the Apostle Paul said, I die daily. One of the cloths to put on to become more like Christ is gentleness. God is not coming to put it on for you. It is a command from God. Put on….. Gentleness (being tenderhearted or mild is a garment to put on, cloth your spirit man with it)

Jesus our Perfect Example

Jesus in Matt 11:29 says:

29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 

There is a song that goes like this. Sing it of you know it. The words are very meaningful.

       

“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity,
Oh, Thou Spirit Divine, all my nature refine,
‘Til the beauty of Jesus is seen in me,”

 

All his wonderful passion and purity needs to be in your life and my life for us to be gentle. No two ways about it. Put on more of Jesus and you become gentler.

 

PRAYER POINTS

Pray the following prayers aggressively:


1. O God, fill my heart with your Holy Spirit. Fill me with Love and the fine characters of humility, meekness (gentleness) in Jesus Name.

 2. Oh Lord, let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.  Refine all my nature and purity in the name of Jesus.

3.  Strife will not rub me of my eternal blessings. I bind the spirit of strife with myself, my family and loved ones, and in the church of God. 

4.Lord make me a blessing to my generation. I will be a nurse in the household of God to men and women who do not know the truth in JN. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible & Prayer Nuggets 0501

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The Fruits of the Spirit Series: Gentleness I

Excerpts froma sermon on 3rd May 2009 at Champions Pariah, Redeemed Christian Church of God Edmonton, AB Canada 

Minister: Joseph Agbi

 

Bible Nugget 0501 [Galatians 5:22-23]

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

Fruit Triangles

  1. Love, Joy and Peace
  2. Longsuffering, gentleness and goodness
  3. Faith, Meekness and Temperance

 

 Introduction

What is Gentle or Gentleness?

Oxford Dictionary:

Not rough: mild or kind

 

Gentleman: well-bred man

Gentlewoman: a woman of good birth or upbringing

 

            These are very kind words to say of somebody or a group of people. Because it has become very common to use these words people do not know the weight or take time to reflect on the meaning of these words.  Therefore what an irony if you are addressing an audience and you call them ladies and gentlemen and in the midst of them are murderers, adulterers and fornicators, liars, thieves, etc. all the sins of Gal:5: 19-21 a stack contrast to Gal 5:22 – 23

 

Gal 5: 19-21

19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

Implying non-well bred or people without good upbringing are those living in the flesh:

 

The root word Gentleness in Greek [original text of the new testament] in v 22

 Gr. Chrestotes and it means a disposition to be gentle, soft spoken, kind, even tempered, cultured and refined in character and conduct.

           

            Because, you can identify the character of somebody by the words they say or their actions or by their behavior, gentleness is a character that can easily be read by others. It is a fruit and you know a fruit when it is ripe because it is attractive. When you see a bunch of yellow bananas they are very attractive and inviting to a hungry man. So is the character of gentleness. It is mild, very affective.

 

Source of Gentleness

            The source of the fruit gentleness is the Holy Spirit Gal 5:22, so as children of God if you are walking in the spirit, or a man living in the spirit, the fruit becomes more ripe everyday as you submit yourself to the Holy Spirit. You become gentler to yourself and others. You become more even tempered.  Pleasing the Holy Spirit is all you become interested in. Things that easily harass you and make you soil your testimony as a Christian such as anger, strife, and bitterness have no meaning to you. You become more broken, thoroughly broken. When you get to that stage, then you can truly say yes, I am a gentleman or gentlewoman. The secret of gentleness as a Christian is to be led by the Holy Spirit because against such there is no law.  Compare

Gal 5:18

18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

and

Galatians 5:22-23

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

Implying walking in the spirit makes a person to walk free from the law of sin and death; the punishment awaiting those who break the laws of Gal 5:19-21.

To be continued

 

Prayer Points 0501

  1. Oh Lord, saturate my spirit with your Holy Spirit. Make me to walk in harmony with your Holy Spirit always in Jesus Name.
  2. Gentle Holy Spirit; make me a friend of God all the days of my life in Jesus Name.
  3. Jesus, I want to walk like you, talk like you have compassion like you. Give me the grace to be your good ambassador in Jesus Name. Amen