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THE JOURNEY 2

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Text : 1 Peter 2:11.  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul ; My family and I have been on missionary journey for some years now. We have to move from place to place. Whenever we get to a new place, we try as much as possible to buy only the needful, knowing well that we have to leave everything behind probably after a few years and move on again. We constantly remind ourselves how we need to travel light, because we are conscious of the fact that we are on a journey. In the same manner, believers are meant to travel light on this side of eternity in order not to be encumbered on their journey.  One terrible thing the devil has done to believers is to make them settle down here (on earth) as though this is our final destination.  No one goes to the market to build an edifice where he and his family will be living. No! People go to markets to  transact, buy or sell and they go back home. *This world is a market. Y
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THE JOURNEY

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Text : 1Peter 2:11.  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; If you are a child of God, then, you are a stranger here on earth. This place is not your permanent abode, you are on a journey, always live in the consciousness of this. You must constantly remind yourself that you are a stranger  here on earth, a temporary resident whose true home is with God in heaven. Everyday is a step further in the journey of life that should take you back to God. God has given everyone who comes to this earth his life time to journey back to Him.  Each new day offers you another opportunity to press in on this journey of becoming more like Christ.  There are many things waging war against your soul from journeying back to God. To make it home successfully,  you are to be on your guard. One way to be on your guard is to abstain from fleshly lusts- desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14 says ... *put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and ma
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ARE YOU A LEARNER?

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Text : Matthew 11:29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Jesus gave an open invitation in Matthew 11:28  to everyone. He said, "Come unto me , all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". This invitation is given to anyone who realised that: 1.He is labouring. 2.He is heavy laden.  3.He needed rest.  The truth is that, *it is not everyone who is labouring and heavy laden has come to the realisation of their need for rest, and it is not everyone who has realised their need for rest are willing and ready to receive REST.* But for you to receive rest, there is only one way to access it. It is by coming to Jesus. The moment you get to Jesus, He will give you Rest.  But for you to progressively experience the rest, you surely do have a part to play. Note that it is not everyone that receive the rest that Jesus is offering at the point of confessing Him as their Saviour and Lord.  
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SOW TO THE SPIRIT

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Text:Galatians  6:8  For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting . Since there is no middle ground between the Flesh and the Spirit, the moment you stop sowing to the flesh,  you've started sowing to the Spirit and vice versa.  The first step to sowing to the Spirit is to commit one's life to Christ. Having become a new creature (born again), the Spirit of God now communicates with  your spirit. You are no longer dead to God. You have been quickened.  2Cor. 5:17, Eph 2:1-3.  It takes one who has experienced second birth (Born again) to sow to the Spirit. If you are yet to commit your life to Christ, you will not only sow to the flesh, but you are practically  living in the flesh.  Ephesians 2:3 says *...Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even
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SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE-2

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Text : 2 Kings 5:13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'Go and wash and be cured!'" Taking heed to simple instruction is life. Naaman was simply given a one-sentence instruction: "Go and Wash and be cured".  For Naaman to be cured, he only had to do two things- Go and Wash! All the instructions God has given you is as simple as 'Go and Wash'. No price, no cost, and no sacrifice is required. Many like to offer sacrifices in the place of obedience, but the scripture clearly says that obedience is better than sacrifice (2 Samuel 15:22). You must be swift in obeying God than offering Him sacrifice. Naaman came with several gifts to Israel to pay for his healing, but prophet Elisha did not accept any of his gifts. All that was demanded from him was obedience.  In the same vein, all that God
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YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

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Text : Isaiah  49: 15   Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Sometimes it feels like God is not hearing your cries and prayers, but one thing you must know for certain is that; His promises never fail- He will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrew 13:5). While very few mothers have shown great wickedness by forsaking and forgetting their sucking babies, though, on a norm, mothers don't forget their sucking babies. Whichever way, God will never forget His own. His word made us know that even a mother may forget her sucking child, but He will never forget His own children. Are you God's child? Then, He will never forget you. *God is a Spirit, hence you can not ascertain His presence by your feelings or circumstances, but only by your SPIRIT and by FAITH.*  Though, God is always working in the lives of His children, they need the eyes of Faith and openness of Heart in
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OLD SCHOOL

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Text:  Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. *Many things may and will become old fashion, but God's words can never be old fashioned.*  Many styles had gone into extinct and many more will still. This is why you are not to follow the trends of this world, because what is trending today will be old fashioned tomorrow.  What you are calling old school today was once 'new school' at a time. The truth is, this whole world will ultimately go into extinct, the only thing that will transcend this  world is God's word.   Psalms 119:89 says, For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. The word of God is the only thing that will last forever.  Another thing that will last forever is the soul of man. Man is an eternal being. After the fall of man, death was introduced to mankind, however, death is not the end of man.    One of the lies of the devil is to make man believe that death is the end of everything. However, life continues
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SELF CONTROL

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Text: 2 Peter 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. SELF CONTROL Self control is the ability to control oneself, particularly one's emotions and desires, especially in difficult or pressing situations.  A believer, just like any other person has emotions, feelings and desires. The distinguishing factor between the two is the ability of one to control his.  Little wonder our text opens up by admonishing us to give all diligence to this matter, because without diligence, it is easy to give in to  temptations.  Ultimately, a Christian is controlled by the Holy Spirit, and not by his emotions. Romans 8:14. However,  this is not "autoplay", you have your part to play. *The Holy Spirit is present in a Christian's life to lead him, but such Christian must also do hi
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THESE THINGS 2

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Text: 2 Peter 1:5-7. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. We are enjoined from our text to give all diligence to this matter of necessary additions as we established yesterday.  The Contemporary English Version, renders the verse thus: Do your best to improve your faith by adding ....  That is, primarily, the onus is on you to do the addition. It is your responsibility as a child of God to ensure that these necessary additions are added to your FAITH. Anyone who claims to be a child of God and is lacking in any of these is only paying a lip-service to the faith. Today,  we shall be looking at the very first Addition.          *VIRTUE*  Other words that were used for 'VIRTUE ' in the  Bible are Goodness, moral excellence, good character and integrity.  These are big words
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THESE THINGS

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Text: 2 Peter 1:8.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  There are things that will make a child of God to be fruitful and productive in the Christian race. If these things are lacking, barrenness in the Spirit is inevitable.  The second book of Peter itemised these seven things, which I refer to as necessary additions. Beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith *virtue* ; and to virtue *knowledge* ; And to knowledge *temperance* ; and to temperance *patience* ; and to patience *godliness* ; And to godliness *brotherly kindness* ; and to brotherly kindness *charity.* (2Peter 1:5-8.) A number of Christians' lives are not giving glory to God because they refused to add these things to their faith. Your faith is the foundation, these necessary additions are the materials for the building structure of your faith.  Second Peter  chapter 1 verse 9 says, "the perso
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BEWARE -2

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Text: Matthew 7:15  “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are savage wolves." A child of God cannot afford to be ignorant. This explains why Proverbs 4:7 says, *Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.*  At this end time, you really need to know the tactics of the numerous false prophets and teachers we have in our days so you will not fall prey to their gimmicks. Jesus Christ gave us a hint about how to spot these false elements. He says in  Matthew 7:16 that, "You will know them by their fruit. Grapes aren’t gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles, are they?" You can't know someone simply by what he says only but by what they do. This is why our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, was not just a 'speaking' teacher but a 'doing' master. He lived this way to show us an example of how we should live. Anyone who says 'do what I say but not what I do,  is dang
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BEWARE

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Text: Luke 12:1. In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Jesus used the word "beware" nine times in the new testament. Eight out of these nine, He was telling His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. In Jesus's time they are the custodians of the law. In those days, these custodians were referred to as Pharisees, Scribes, teachers, Prophets etc. In this present time, all the corrupt Pastors, false prophets, false teachers and deceitful workers in God's vineyard can be likened to the Pharisees in Jesus' days. Jesus doesn't play with words; He meant what He says, and He says what He meant. So, if He told you to beware, you will do well to take heed. At no point did He (Jesus) tell us to be cautious of witches or wizards, because if you are in Christ
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COSTLY DISOBEDIENCE

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Text:Numbers 20:8 &11. "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals..." Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.   Though disobedience generally results into punishable consequences, but  certain acts of disobedience do result in grievous results.  Moses had endured the Isrealites' murmuring and disobedience on many occasions, but for this particular contention.  At the wilderness of Zin, the Isrealites contended with Moses and Aaron because they had no water. They said to Moses, "If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!(Numbers 20:3).  God gave Moses an instruction to take his rod and go speak to the rock before the people. Moses took the rod
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DO WHAT YOU HEAR

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Text: Matthew 7:26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: It's simply foolishness  when you hear so much, and you do next to nothing about what you've heard. Wisdom is only found with those who hear and act on what they've heard. It is also self deception for you to keep hearing God's words every now and then without making necessary adjustment under the grace of the revealed truth. James chapter 1 verse 22 encourages us not just to be hearers only. *"But be  doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves"*   *Until what you have heard is translated into action, you have not truly heard anything.*  Jesus likened those who hear His words without acting on them as being foolish . Though no one will ever agree to be tagged as being foolish, but the truth is  we sometimes act foolishly by disobeying God's instructions which offer us great. promise
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Redeem the Time

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Text:Eph 5:15-17. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time,because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Time is the most essential resource God has given to man on earth. Your future is simply defined by how you are able to invest your time today. The difference between world changers and spectators is simply in the usage and Investment of their time. *While so many people spend time, only very few invest and convert time.* No one on earth has more than 24hours per day, but some people are able to produce more with their 24hrs than others. This is what we call efficiency and effectiveness.   To be effective and efficient in life, you must learn how to convert your time. While some folks are jumping from pillar to post, some have learnt to sit down, think and invest their time in a worthy cause. Don’t ever be deceived by thinking that you still have more time. Anyone who spends his time lav
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THE POOR

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Text: Proverbs 17:5 The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker,  and the one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished. The poor needs no definition, when you see one you will know. Jesus Christ said, the poor you will always have with you (Mark 14:7). So, the poor are always around.  The question however is, what are you doing with the poor around you?  Don't be too quick to mock anyone. Specifically, the scriptures warns us not to mock the poor, because that's as good as insulting your Maker. The following are God's instructions concerning the poor: 1.Intentionally leave a portion of your produce for the poor and stranger to benefit from. (Leviticus 19:10, 23:22). Don't just live for yourself,  set a portion aside for the needy. 2.Don't oppress your employee, (or anyone who renders you service)  especially the Poor ones. (Deuteronomy. 24:14, Proverbs 28:27). 3.Show pity to the Poor,  because in so doing you are lending to the Lord. (Proverbs 19:17). 4.Do
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WAY MAKER-2

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Text: Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing: now it shall spring forth: shall ye not know it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness,  and rivers in the desert. God promised that He will do a new thing for you, and that He will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. He has done this before, and He will do it again even in your own life.  When the children of Israel left Egypt, the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them, encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.(Exodus 14:9). Just like anyone would react, the Isrealites became so fearful because there is neither way forward nor back for them to escape. Before them was the red sea, behind them were the Egyptian armies. They became perplexed and began to murmur against Moses. It is possible you are also in a situation like the Israelites- No way forward, and no way behind. Things may appear like you are stranded. Desp
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WAY MAKER

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Text: Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing: now it shall spring forth: shall ye not know it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness,  and rivers in the desert. Our God is a God with uncountable names. Each of His names spells out dimension of His personality, strength and Power.   Our God is called a Way-maker because He makes ways where there is none. As far as God is concerned, there is no roadblock. (Isaiah 43:19). This dimension of His name as a Way-maker is beyond what man could think or fathom. For instance, when the Israelites were leaving Egypt for the promised land,  the Way-Maker showed up for them. He intentionally led them by the way of the wilderness and made a  way for them through the red sea.  (Exodus 13:18). Now, the Way-Maker is saying to you that He will do a new thing. New thing is new way!  He is the God that takes delights in making the impossible possible. (Matthew 19:26). Today, the Lord shall make a way for you where there is none in Jesus name.  Jesus
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WORD WAR!-2

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Text: Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." God gave victory to Isreal over the Philistines because David understood how to fight the word-war. Goliath referred to the Isrealis army as the servants of Saul (1 Samuel 17:8) but David called them the armies of the living God. (1 Samuel 17:26). To engage in any word-war and come out victoriously,  you must first and foremost know your true identity.   *Having a true identity of who you are in Christ will position you to answer and respond to life challenges appropriately*.  David asked the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1Samuel 17:26. Unlike the rest of the Isrealis armies,  David saw Goliath for who He truly was,-'an uncircumcised Philistine.' Regardless of his stature and the e
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WORD WAR

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Text: Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Every war starts with words, watch your words. Goliath (the champion of Philistines' army) had held  Israel up in fear for 40 days and 40 nights. He did this not only because of his height and stature, but by his words. He kept releasing fear into the atmosphere of the armies of Israel by his words.  ...He cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to line up for battle? [Am] I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us." (1 Samuel 17:8 & 9).   Goliath defined the real war by his words. He further said,  "...I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together." (1 Samuel
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