01122019 - 13 states struggle for 7.5 metric tonnes of rice

PAGE 38 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019
Supernatural transformation by God (3)
Sin will usher in sickness
and suffering, sorrow and
shame, poverty and pain, lack
and loss, oppression and depression
because sinners
have failed to apply the
knowledge of the word of
God in their lives. That is why
you should understand that
people go through suffering
because they allowed sin to
reign in their lives, which has
now caused them terrible ruins.
By Pastor Kumuyi
Because you have refused to accept what God loves and denounce
what He hates, He decided to let Romans 1:28 get
fulfilled in your life, which says that,
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over..."
Nevertheless, things could still change for the better, and your
prison doors would open today, if you let the power of God
dictate the narrative for your life and family. This can only
occur when you humble yourself before God and come to Him
for answers. Because you have the problem that needs solving
and He is the solution you need in solving that equation. Do not
let your day of supernatural transformation pass without the
proper encounter with the God of possibilities.
Also, you should understand that your problems have lingered
for such a long time because you pitched your expectations
on false hopes that would not bring the right result. Therefore,
it is in your own best interest to know that your solution is
not in the riverside nor is it in the hands of idols. Neither is it in
occultism nor Satan the despicable devil.
Come to grips because your help is on high in heaven above
and you are better suited with the Maker and He knows what is
best for you because He is the best life insurance policy that can
ever happen to you. This is because while others promise to pay
after you must have died, He pays dividends ever day; and there
is no salvation with Satan, except doom and gloom.
May be you are there thinking those alms giving, tithes and
offerings, and the generous contributions together with your
relentless commitment in the service of the Lord must have
carved a niche for you and helped cleared a path for you to
meet with the LORD; but the bad news is that your self righteousness
and enviable fits before men, in the house of God, are
like filthy rags before the LORD.
Is it not unfortunate that nowadays religion is fast becoming
the opium of the people and that there are so many churches in
our land, but the word of God has no landing in their midst, and
the law of God, and the word of God, has been relegated to the
backburner. Churches are now becoming disco halls and comedy
centres. The church, which was once a beacon of light in a
sin infested world and a holy ground for our feet, is quickly
assuming the role of nightclubs, where adultery and fornication
is rife and waiting to implode.
Honestly, majority of the people who claim to be churchgoers
and or who attend Christian meetings and gatherings, take
it from me, are not there to seek the face of the Lord.
To be continued
I
Rev. Emmanuel Awazie
*Assemblies of God Church Nigeria,
111 Clegg Street, Surulere,
Lagos.
The purpose of the Cross of Christ
— Propitiation(6)
t ought to be established that the only justification for the
forgiveness of God and of the inexplicable extent of His
forgetting of sin, is the Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross - "And
I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember
their sins."*Heb 8:12 (NLT). Propitiation simply means satisfaction;
it implies that which fulfils a need, claim or craving.
Propitiation is that which provides the satisfaction demanded
by God's justice, whereby the removal of sins or offensive issue
is attained. It has to do with the appeasement or pacification of
a crime.
Sin is an enigma that has disfigured and ruined the Divine
creation in humans - "For the mystery of lawlessness is already
at work; only He* who now restrains will do so until He* is
taken out of the way." 2 Thess 2:7; it twisted the genetic code of
the normal man, creating in its stead an abnormality that is
offensive to God. Sin is the outcome of the relationship contrived
in the Garden of Eden between man and the devil, whereby
man is to become independent of God his Creator. Jesus
Christ is the ONLY Answer to that horrifying, overwhelmingly
horrendous, and unmitigated destructive power of sin and the
devil. We know that the mystery and power of any relationship,
is to come into a oneness - "And don't you know that if a man
joins himself to a prostitute she becomes a part of him and he
becomes a part of her? For God tells us in the Scripture that in
his sight the two become one person." 1 Cor 6:16 (TLB). That is
exactly what took place in Eden, man became one with the
devil.
There must, therefore, be a satisfactory resolution of the sin
problem, for there to be the restoration of relationship between
God and man. Again, Jesus Christ is the ONLY Answer - "...for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His
blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because
in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were
previously committed,..." Rom 3:23-25. Because all else is contaminated
by sin, nobody and nothing else qualified to satisfy
the just requirement of a holy God, for a relationship with sinstained
humanity. Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, took
up the human flesh and entered into all the details of the human
life and vicariously expiated our sin -
It is, therefore an insult to God if we think we can be forgiven
just because we are sorry, and have done some form of penance
for our sins, or if we assume that any other religious act or
activity qualifies us before God. We cannot evade the Death of
Jesus Christ; it does not matter who or what we are, the death of
Jesus Christ, provides absolute satisfaction, and reinstates us
into harmonious relationship with God. It is not earned, it is
only accepted by faith. All the pleading which deliberately refuses
to recognize the Cross is of no avail; it is like battering at
another door, other than that which God Himself has opened
through Jesus Chris. Please accept God's offer of reconciliation
and forgiveness through Jesus Christ today, you will have
boundless access to all that God gives.
Faith in the Redemptive names of God (22)
JEHOVAH –ELYON (THE
LORD MOST HIGH)
TEXT: GEN 14:18-19
INTRODUCTION
ronounced ‘El-yon, the
Pword “elyon” is an adjective
and derives from the Hebrew
root ‘lh, meaning to “go
up” or “ascend”. In each case
in which the adjective occurs,
it denotes that which is highest
or uppermost. It is also used
to describe the following
things.
•The height of objects:
2 Kings 15:35 — “However,
the high [elyon] places were
not taken away. The people
still slaughtered and burned
incense on the high [elyon]
places.
•The prominence of persons:
Psalm 89:27 — “‘I will also
appoint him my firstborn, the
highest [elyon] of the kings of
the earth.’” (WEB)
•The prominence of Israel
as a nation:
Deuteronomy 28:1 — “And
it shall be, if you diligently
obey the voice of your Elohim,
to guard to do all His
commands which I command
you today, that your Elohim
shall set you high above [elyon]
all nations of the earth.”
(WEB). When applied to Yahweh,
the name “Elyon” stresses
His highest supremacy.
When the two names “El” and
“Elyon” are combined, the resultant
name can be literally
translated as “the Extremely-
Exalted, Sovereign, High
God”, as in Psalm 57:2 He is
the Most Excellency. Amen.
Astory was told of a na
tion that declared war
against witchcraft
practices in their country and
in the end many of the witches
were killed in order to sanitize
the nation from evil and
abomination. It means then
that the people of this nation
in question understood that
before their destiny could
move forward, all their enemies,
all the witches and wizards,
have to die. This is interesting
indeed. (This happened
in European country).
But you may want to ask
‘why would God, the lover of
men pass death penalty on
witchcraft? Let us see the reason
for this in the following
scriptures:
• They eat up people’s
Text: Genesis 37:7 – 10
here is a seed of greatness
Tin every of God’s creation.
The seed of greatness sown in
a person makes him successful
and destines him for a
bright future. Joseph, the
dreamer, was such a person.
His father loved him more
than his brothers. Joseph repeatedly
dreamt about his
greatness which, despite all
odds, came to pass. This vividly
shows that God does not
keep his people in the dark.
One key sign of greatness is
conspiracy even from members
of one’s family. Joseph experienced
this from his brothers.
His brothers so hated him
that they tried to block his way
to success. In a bid to truncate
his destiny, Joseph’s brothers
planned to get rid of him (Genesis
37:18).
• J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor)
Hallelujah!
DO WE REALLY HOLD
GOD DEAR IN OUR
HEARTS AS OUR MOST
HIGH ?
Understanding God as our
Jehovah-Elyon is the way to
our utmost worship and reverence
of His Holiness. He becomes
our utmost desire
above everything else.
The Bible tells us that God is
the Lord Most High, if He is in
our hearts as the highest desire
then our life is both blessed
and is also a blessing. There
is none greater or higher than
He, and therefore there is no
greater blessing! Our devotion
may reflect how high
in our hearts He truly is!
GOD OR MAMMON?
WHO DO YOU SERVE?
(Luke 16:13)
You can tell what a man
or woman holds highest in the
hearts by the devotion and sacrifices
they give to whatever
that is! How we decide our
budgets and our priorities says
a lot about us … and these
things are more than just secular
pursuits. It only takes a
small amount of silver to obscure
our view of others and
Pastor Isaac O'biyi Owolabi
*God's Own Sanctuary Gospel
Church, Nigeria. 101, New Ipaja
Road, Off Alimosho B/Stop, Lagos.
godsownsanctuary@yahoo.com
08067607671, 08180260444
Witchcraft and wickedness
By Pastor G.C. Osuigbo
CAC Madaiyese Regional Headquaters
Plot 701/702 Durumi District
P.O. BOX 2577
Garki, Abuja.
Contact us on: 08155555048, like us on
facebook @cacdurumi
Carrier of the seed of greatness
Naturally, people have nothing
to do with a seed that has
no fruits. This explains why
people with bright future are
always being attacked. If you
are experiencing any form of
antagonism in your family,
workplace or neighborhood,
it means you are a carrier of
greatness. You may not be there
when people are conspiring
against you but the omnipresent
God will fight for you to
ensure that your destiny is not
hindered.
Biblical characters whose
greatness were attacked include:
1. David: Nobody conspired
against David when he was a
shepherd feeding his father’s
flocks; or when he killed a lion.
However, as soon as Saul saw
the seed of greatness in David,
he sought to kill him(I Sam-
their needs and what God
wants us to see, we must be
careful to remember that material
things are simply temporal
in nature, not eternal.
The lure for the “stuff” of
this world can quickly obscure
our view of spiritual realities
no matter how well intended
we are.
BELONGING TO THE
MOST HIGH GOD (EL-
ELYON)
It is a great privilege to belong
to the Most High God. It
confers upon you the status of
peculiarity, which the world
does not know anything about.
We need to cherish and jealously
guide this enviable position
at all times, just like the
3 Hebrew children, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego in
Babylon.
The world can only offer us
temporal things, like food,
money, buildings & things, etc.
On the other hand, God offers
us better belongings, He
makes us rich in Mercy, Love,
Forgiveness, Joy, Faith, and
Eternal life!
ABRAHAM AND EL-ELY-
ON (Gen 14:21-24)
Abram didn’t even want the
world to think it could make
him rich! Only God could
really do that. God’s riches
are different than this world’s
stuff.
flesh, Psalm 27:2
• They rise up against God,
Psalm2:2
• They are disobedient to
God, Neh 9:26
• They smite people with
works of creation Psalm 91:5
• They steal, kill and destroy,
John 10:10
• They set traps for innocent
soul, Psalm 91:3
• They make people to
fall, Psalm 91:7
• They are serpent and
scorpions, Luke 10:19
• They cut short people’s
lives, Psalm 91:16
• They make families, cities
and nations to bleed,
Nahum 3:1
• They destroy maximally,
Nahum 3:3
• They sell people, families,
nations, Nahum 3:4
• They kill servants of God
and the saints, Rev 6:9-10
• They weaken and pollute
nations, Isaiah 14:12
• They are proud and arrogant
oppressors and adversaries,
Isaiah 14:13-14
There is hardly any family
whether living or dead that has
not suffered from the pains
and agony of witchcraft. They
have no respect for God, they
mock God and his anointed,
they defile and pollute. All their
evil enterprise is unlimited.
They explore and seize all opportunities
to destroy all men.
Mercy is a word far distant
from them in their operations
because their heart is seared
with hot iron.
In today’s world, they initiate
people into their fold
forcefully and control them at
will. They use all kinds of channel
to perpetrate and establish
themselves always trading on
people’s ignorance. This testimony
of a Christian sister in
Nigeria will help. There was
a whirlwind coining with terrific
speed to attack a lady but
a native doctor living close to
the place of the incident ran
out from his shrine to challenge
the evil whirlwind.
uel 19:10). Saul exerted a lot
of effort in order to end David’s
life but he never succeeded
(I Samuel 20:25-31).
2. Jesus: King Herod was
never troubled until the birth
of Jesus. He even ordered that
all the children of that time be
killed (Matthew 2:16). The
devil also tried hard to ensure
that Christ’s destiny did not
come to pass but failed (Matthew
4:1ff).
Practices that break the
walls that protect greatness
Greatness is jealously
guarded by God. However,
certain activities can break
this wall of protection. Some
of these are:
1. Sin: Sin is an enemy of
greatness. Do not allow sin to
overcome you. Joseph would
have rot in jail if he had yielded
to the advances of
Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:6-
8). Samson was a victim of
this kind of circumstance. Instead
of looking for a shortcut,
simply look unto Jesus, the
maker of destiny. Like Joseph,
flee from sin and temptation.
2. Unforgiving Spirit: It is
not wise to keep grudges. The
sons of Jacob did not forgive
Shechem, the son of Hamor,
who defiled Dinah, their sister.
Despite his repentance,
a. Abram wasn’t saying he
didn’t need earthly things,
b. He was just saying by refusing
the King of Sodom’s
offer of the world’s goods that
the things of this world can’t
make a man truly rich.
c. This is demonstrated by
the fact he allowed the other
men to receive the goods.
He was happy however with
just God!
d. Abram wasn’t interested
in the wealth of this world, his
confidence and trust was in
God Himself.
e. When Abram could have
the blessings of God through
His servant the King of Salem,
why settle for the wealth
of Sodom which will soon
pass away!
BELONGING TO GOD,
MOST HIGH (EL-ELYON)
The Lord Jesus said, “Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God and
His righteousness…” (Matt.
6:33). What are you seeking
for in this life? If our happiness
lies in our relationship to
God, then we belong to Him
and we find our happiness in
Him. So, Abraham said he
wouldn’t take anything less
than the best! God Most
High! How about you ...
are you settling for something
less? Accept Jesus Christ into
your heart today, and El-Elyon
will be dwelling with you
as Emmanuel. We will conclude
on this Name next episode.
J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor)
The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), Living
Word Cathedral, Oluyole Estate, beside Total Petrol Station,
off Ring Road, Ibadan. (Telephone: 08033376660,
08055405095)
Physically the native doctor
started wresting with the wind
attacking it with his own power,
at the end, fresh human
blood littered the spot to the
amazement of onlookers. The
next day, a woman whose
house is not far from the incident
died physically, this
means that witches have the
power to transform into wind
to attack unsuspecting persons
or targets. They transform
at will, they have the entering
power into any living or dead
man or woman, youth or baby.
They can even materialize self
or dematerialize self. Where
do witches get these powers
from? It is from Satan their
father, who was with God in
the beginning. Rev 12: 7-9.
WAY OUT OF WITCH-
CRAFT
There is only one way to be
delivered from the plague of
witchcraft and it is through the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that the name
of the Lord is a strong tower,
the righteous runs into it and
he is safe. It is only by the name
of Jesus Christ that you can
receive liberty, deliverance,
victory, healing, dominion and
authority over massive network
of witchcraft pollution.
Shechem and his family
members were killed due to
lack of forgiveness (Genesis
34:1ff). Therefore, Jacob’s
curse brought Simeon and
Levi down (Genesis 49:5-7).
Do not allow unforgiving spirit
to hinder your success in life.
Weapons for fighting the
attackers of greatness
1. The word of God: The
Bible enjoins us to gird ourselves
with the word of God,
the sword of the spirit, so as to
be able to fight spiritual battles
(Ephesians 6:17).
2. The infilling of the Holy
Ghost: You must be spiritfilled
to be able to crush the
attackers of your destiny.
3. Prayerfulness: As a
Christian, you must labour in
prayers for your greatness to
be delivered to you.
Everybody has a seed of
greatness in him. Just as the
enemies of Joseph and David
failed, your enemy’s efforts
against your life will be futile.
The destiny of Jesus himself
was attacked. Since Jesus
overcame all obstacles, your
case will not be an exception.
You will not die until the seed
of greatness manifests in your
life to the fullest in Jesus name
(Amen).