FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST BLOG (foc)

Monday, April 3, 2017

THE MIX

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: John 10:27

Read: Mathew 25:31-46

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Unclad, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or Unclad, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: Unclad, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or Unclad, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

MESSAGE

"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house if Israel" Matthew 10:6

The Lord deliberately refers to His own as "sheep". He affectionately calls them "My sheep". From the above scripture, we can see that even when He is referring to sinners or those yet to be saved, he calls them "lost sheep". The Lord's parable in Luke 15:3-7 makes it clear that His sheep can get lost. It also illustrates that the shepherd goes looking for the lost sheep until they are found. This means it is possible for sheep to go astray, but when the shepherd goes searching for them, he finds them and brings them back to the fold. In John 21:15-17, in His post-resurrection appearance to Peter, Jesus repeatedly asked him to feed His sheep and His lambs. A lamb is a baby sheep. Jesus does not pastor goats but sheep. He never said feed my "goat." Never! This is why I tell my children not to call themselves "Pastor kids" because kids are offspring of goats and rams. God has no place for goats.

However, in our Bible reading today, you will observe that the sheep and goats got mixed up together. This is so because wherever the sheep gather, goats would subtly infiltrate their fold (Mathew 13:24-30). This is why some people are heading for Heaven while some others are heading for Hell in the Church. The final separation will take place on the last day. God allows the goat to coexist with sheep, but on the last day, He will separate them: the sheep will be on the right, while the goats will be on the left. He will address them separately and send them to their separate eternal destinations. This is very serious!

Furthermore, this co-existence of sheep and goats gives room for pretence. That means the fellow sitting next to you might be a goat pretending to be a sheep. You also might be a goat pretending to be a sheep. This calls for self examination. Jesus gave the criteria for discerning a goat from a sheep in John 10:27 He said

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"

Do you pass the test of hearing His voice and following in His footsteps? Does He know you? I was telling one of my sons recently how my father in the Lord used to ask me to pray for patience. In those days, when I saw someone not fully complying with what we were taught, I would go to Papa, compelling him to do something about it. He would just ask me to pray for more patience. Today, I understand better. God allows goats and sheep to co-exist. Are you goat or a sheep?

Action Point:

Use the Criteria set by Jesus in John 10:27 to judge yourself on whether you are His sheep. If You have strayed from the fold, return to His loving arms and surrender your life to Him.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 35-36 and Jeremiah 4:3-18

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

SEASON OF DOMINION

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. - Psalms 72:8

Read : Psalms 72:4-9

72:4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

72:5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

72:9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

MESSAGE :

Beyond fruitfulness, part of the first mandate of God to mankind is to subdue and have dominion over all creatures He has made. Genesis 1:28 says,

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

To dominate is to be in charge or to take control. If God did not want you take charge, He would not have mandated you to dominate. By the time God stepped into the appalling slavery situation of the Isrealites, Pharaoh, who was once in control, became the one begging for help (Exodus 12:30-32). He even asked Moses to pray for him. In that situation where you have been the underdog, God is turning things around and putting you in charge in Jesus' Name. It is now time for you to suppress your oppressors and tormentors, and to subdue under your feet those who had earlier taken you captive. I command the tables to turn for your good today in Jesus' Name!

Meanwhile, it is good to know that since God has once turned around the situation of the oppressed, He can do it again. Even if nobody has ever had dominion before in your Family, it will start with you. Fear not! In Joshua 10:12-14, while fighting the Amorites, the sun was about to set when Joshua interrupted it.

The problem is that most of us run from the enemy rather than confront him. David did not run from lion, the bear or even Goliath. Rather, he confronted and fought against them all. In January of a particular year, I went to preach in Denver, Colorado. At that time it was very cold, and I don't like it cold. Maybe that is partly why God made me a Nigerian. I prefer the Nigerian weather. On receiving the invitation, I asked my Daddy if I should go, and He said yes. I asked Him, " What are we going to do about the cold?" God then assured me that He would go with me. From the first day I arrived until the day I left, people were wearing T-Shirts because summer replaced winter. To know that this was not just a coincidence, within two hours after my plane took off at 5pm, more than 10cm of snow fell. You too can tap into God's mandate to dominate situations and circumstances around you from today.

You will dominate sin, your passions, your body and your finances from today in Jesus' Name.

PRAYER POINTS :
Father, because it is my season of dominion, please arise and subdue all contrary forces working against me.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR :
Exodus 37-38;
Jeremiah 4:19-31

HYMN 4: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR

1. Through the love of God our Saviour,
All will be well.
Free and changeless is His favour,
All, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
Perfect is the grace that sealed us,
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
All must be well.

2. Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
All, all is well.
Happy still in God confiding,
Fruitful if in Christ abiding,
Holy, through the Spirit's guiding,
All must be well.

3. We expect a bright tomorrow,
All will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All, all is well.
On our Father's love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
In living, in our dying,
All must be well.

SEASON OF DOMINION

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. - Psalms 72:8

Read : Psalms 72:4-9

72:4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

72:5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

72:9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

MESSAGE :

Beyond fruitfulness, part of the first mandate of God to mankind is to subdue and have dominion over all creatures He has made. Genesis 1:28 says,

You will dominate sin, your passions, your body and your finances from today in Jesus' Name.

PRAYER POINTS :
Father, because it is my season of dominion, please arise and subdue all contrary forces working against me.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR :
Exodus 37-38;
Jeremiah 4:19-31

THE WAYS GOD FIGHTS

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.Mark 16:20

Read: Isaiah 54:16-17

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

MESSAGE

Psalm 24:8-10 reveals our Heavenly father as the Lord of Hosts, who is mighty in battle. As a Man of war, there are some battles He may fight for you, while there are some others He may fight with you. He may also fight some battles through you. In Exodus 14:13-21, when the children of Israel were confronted with the Egyptians and the Red Sea, they thought their end had come, but Moses told them to be quiet, to wait and watch as the Lord would fight for them. Sure enough, God parted the Red Sea for them to go over, and He drowned all their enemies. The reason why some people are in defeat is because they are trying to fight the battles that only God can fight for them. You may want to ask this question: how do I identify such battles? May God open your eyes to know the battles meant for Him alone! I also pray for that God will not ignore the battles only He can fight on your behalf. The Lord will arise for you, as you give Him quality praise and worship, and He will drown your enemies.

In a battle against the Amorites in Joshua 10:9-14, while Joshua was busy fighting, God also was busy hurling stones upon his enemies. God and Joshua fought together and victory was won. This is an example of a battle where God fights with you. In this case, God may just be waiting for you to start the fight before He joins in. Consequently, if you wait for Him to start the battle, He may never do so. Take for instance the battle for the salvation of souls; God expects us to go and preach the good news of the gospel to sinners, and then He will back us up with signs and wonders (Hebrews 2:4). If you don’t go out to evangelise, you may never see the signs and wonders promised by God being manifested in your life.

Finally, there are battles God will fight through you. In such cases, God will be behind the scenes while He puts you forward. The enemy will then examine you to see how vulnerable you are. He will be attracted to attacking you because to him, you will appear to be an easy prey. However, when he attacks, God will quietly tell you what to do, and the enemy will be floored. In Mark 11:23-24, Jesus said you are the one to speak to mountain in faith, and God will move it into the sea. You are the one to condemn any tongue that rises against you while God frustrates every weapon designed against you (Isaiah 54:17). In all of these, are you correctly playing your part?

Prayer Point:

Father, teach my hands to war and my fingers to fight only the battles You want me to fight. Also, grant me the grace to engage the enemy the way You want it done.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 39-40 and Jeremiah 5:1-17

LADEN WITH CAREER BURDENS?

For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. Psalms 107:16

Read : Luke 5:1-11

1 AND it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Message

One of the method devised by the devil to impede our forward march on the straight and narrow is to steal our joy and happiness. To achieve this,our enemy may make use of career burdens. The presence of career burdens might be the reason why you see someone person who were not as intelligent as you were during your school days, even those who graduated several years after you did, now far ahead of you career-wise. A fellow under this yoke may want to hide when he or she come face to face with an erstwhile junior, who is now better placed. Many years ago, while still lecturing at University of Lagos, a professor applied for an advertised job and was invited for interview, when he got to the boardroom where the interview panel was sitting, he soon discovered that the chairman of the panel was one of his students who had recently graduated. He therefore said to the panel,I am sorry, it seems I came to the wrong room? You are not in the wrong sir replied the ex-student. But he insisted and left.

You need to periodically take stock of your career to ensure you are where you ought to be. If you are deeply unhappy at your job because you are not positioned at the level where you ought to be, the devil might be playing firstly tricks on you. Are you in a situation where some people you interviewed for employment are now superiors in the same office? Have you been denied your promotions for several years inspite of your hard work, and as a result, not only are your mates now your superiors, even your juniors has become your superiors? If you are experience any of these, you might be operating under a career burden from the pit of hell. The aim of this burden is to make you frustrated and disillusioned.

Similarly, when your efforts are not receiving commensurate rewards like Peter in our Bible reading today, You might be carrying a career burden. Peter toiled all night long but caught nothing. I can relate with his experience because I love fish. When I want to relax sometimes, I go fishing with my hook. From experience, within five minutes of casting the hook, a fish is taken; but occasionally, I spend hours without catching a single fish. Not too long, after spending some considerable time, I eventually caught a fish, but while pulling it out, it jumped back into the river, and there was nothing I could do about. You might have failed in your career or business, not because you wanted to fail or because you were lazy: The presence of a career burden might be the cause. In the Name of Jesus, in any way you have been a victim of this wickedness of Satan, you are delivered today! That burden is destroyed and taken away from you! All you have lost over the years is restored to you this season!

Prayer Point:

I command that every career burden in my life and family be lifted now in Jesus'Name!

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Exodus 29-30 and Jeremiah 2:20-32

HYMN 4: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR

1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.

2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.

3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
'All, all is well.'
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.

ARE YOU GROWING?

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. - Hebrews 5:13

Read: Hebrews 5:11-14

5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

MESSAGE :

Attaining maturity in the Kingdom of God is a process that occurs in stages, the first of which is babyhood. When a person becomes born again, he or she has to first learn the basic principles of life in Christ. Believers at this stage are fed with the milk of Gods word (1 Peter 2:2) They cannot take anything hard because they are babies. They depend on others to simplify processes for them. Just like babies in the natural realm, other people must carry them and clean them up; all they do is eat, play and sleep. If you are too dependent on others, you are most likely still in the babyhood stage spiritually, irrespective of your biological age. If you are very selective of the word of God you read, believe and practice, you are a baby.

If you are always complaining about other people, what they did and how they did it, you could just be a baby. Spiritual babies are so dependant on the prayers of others. When confronted by the storms of life, if instead of going on your knees to pray, you find yourself pursuing one pastor or prophet around to pray for you, it is because you need to grow up.

Another level of maturity is adulthood. Christians in this stage are mature and no longer depend on milk but eat strong meat. Hebrews 5:14 says this about them :

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

One major difference between those in babyhood and those in the adulthood stage of maturity is their level of discernment. Babes cannot discern anything. Anywhere people erect a signpost and call it a church, a babe will go there to worship. To him or her, every church is a Church of God. On the other hand, adults are more discerning. They are able to test every spirit they come in contact with by comparing the character of such spirits with the Holy Scriptures. They are also able to apply the “fruit test”, for every tree will be identified by the fruit it produces. An adult Christian is able to differentiate between good and evil. He or she can tell who is a servant of God and who is not.

Can you call yourself an adult Christian? How sharp is your ability to discern? Are you able to discern between right and wrong? It is amazing that some Christians, who claim to have been saved for several years, still cannot discern between true and false prophets. Are you fellowshipping with people you should not be fellowshipping with? Can you differentiate the Holy Spirit from unclean spirits at any point in time?

PRAYER POINT :
Father, grant me grace to grow to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR :
Exodus 28;
Jeremiah 2:1-19

Friday, March 24, 2017

SIN

What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the Law of God. And what is the Law of God? The Law of God is that we love one another by doing unto others as we would have them do unto us; whether family, friend, foe or stranger.

Sin is a comfy cozy prison cell where the door is wide open until time runs out and the door slams shut!

we have been put into a mortal prison house where we are the keeper of our prison until we pay our debt, or time runs out and death of the mortal coil slams the door shut on redemption. WE can continue living in our prison cell of sin, or we can change that dirty prison garment of sin suffering and death for the wedding garment of righteousness freedom and Life.

The teachings of Jesus are to open the eyes of the blind who reside in the darkness of their prison house and turn them from the sin of Satan to the Righteousness of the Living God: to quicken the dead so they can see the law of sin ruling their mind.

Everyone commits sin because they are connected to a soul which is full of all subtely and all mischief; connected to that child of the Wicked One, the enemy of righteousness, doing all he can to covertly pervert the Law of God.

The way of the soul is sin and death, but the way of the Living God is righteousness and Life through applying the original teaching. We think, say, and do the sins the soul shows to our mind. The soul subtely injects its thoughts into our mind by making the thought sound just like our own voice. The soul uses rationalization to justify the sin as harmless, thereby establishing our own righteousness. A man's foes are the thoughts of his own soul.

Circumcise the soul from your mind. Cut it off from controling your thoughts through its' emotions, moods, and feeelings. Stop servering it's law of sin by becoming the "doer" of Jesus' teachings, not just another reader paying lip service but a doer.

If we are carnally minded, running after the things of this world, we will continue in sin because we will always have the temptations of mammon. Remember? - you cannot serve both God and mammon. But to be spiritually minded and walking in the righteousness of the Living God is Peace and Life. This is a most difficult choice each one of us must make on our own; to suffer the slings and arrows of criticism and continue with the masses marching unto war, under the captivity of sin, or take control of the soul and sin no more, enjoying that Peace which passeth all understanding..

We think we have been living our own life; fighting occassionally with ourself to be good, and do the right thing, and yet we haven't always been able to do that which we wished we could have done. In reality we have been battling the soul, unaware. We have been obeying certain lusts and desires of the soul, thinking the voice in our head is our own voice; it is so convincing it easily snares us and slays us with sin time and time again, even though we want to do right. For this reason was the Son of God manifest, that he would reveal the works of the soul: that we commit sin because we are the servant of the Wicked One's child, the soul.

Call upon the Father to help; call with all your mind; ask that he sends you the revelations you need to eventually overcome the soul.

Learn how to rule over your own soul first, and then you can show others the way that is not of mammon.

Free your mind from sin by becoming the servant of righteousness; develop an obsessive complusive disorder when it comes to righteousness.

Your sins are forgiven you as you have forgiven those who sinned against you (for they know not what they do). Let your WILL exceed the strength of Samson and do not let the soul cause you to sin.

Be not deceived, the Kingdom of God is Righteousness.