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SUNDAY VANGUARD, DECEMBER 1, 2019 , PAGE 39
Rejoicing over counterfeits
The kingdom of men is
the antithesis of the
kingdom of God. In
the kingdom of men, the successful
man is that man that
has achieved something for
himself. In the kingdom of
God, the successful man is
that man for whom Christ has
achieved everything.
Success in the world is measured
by wealth, prestige and
status. Success in the kingdom
of God is determined by
“the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians
4:13). Worldly success
is temporal and ephemeral.
Godly success is eternal and
real.
Those who recognize the
godly despise the worldly.
They realise that the worldly
is counterfeit and quickly reject
it. Thus, Paul says: “What
things were gain to me, these
I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all
things loss for the excellence
of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I
have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them as rubbish,
that I may gain Christ.”
(Philippians 3:7-8).
Jesus presents this in an
even more challenging manner.
He says: “The kingdom
of heaven is like treasure hidden
in a field, which a man
found and hid; and for joy
over it he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant seeking
beautiful pearls, who, when
he had found one pearl of
great price, went and sold all
that he had and bought it.”
(Matthew 13:44-46).
The million-dollar question
is whether Christians
have you found this treasure
of inestimable value hidden
in the field. If so, what have
we sold, or what are we prepared
to sell, in order to acquire
it?
Counterfeit joy
The 70 disciples of Jesus
returned from their evangelical
mission full of excitement.
They eagerly reported back
to Jesus that even the demons
were subject to them in his
name. However, Jesus quickly
poured cold water on their
excitement. He said to them:
“Do not rejoice in this, that
the spirits are subject to you,
but rather rejoice because
your names are written in
heaven." (Luke 10:20).
This statement is loaded.
Jesus says, in effect, the only
thing that is worth rejoicing
about in this world is salvation.
That means we have got
it all wrong, even in Christendom.
Like the Chaldeans:
“who rejoice in their ships”
(Isaiah 43:14); we have been
guilty of rejoicing in our cars,
and in our houses and children.
We rejoice when we are promoted
at work. We rejoice
when we excel at some human
endeavor or the other.
Sin is the only
legitimate
cause for
sorrow in the
world.
We rejoice when we win the lottery.
We rejoice; oblivious to the
reality that there is nothing worth
rejoicing about in this world. We
rejoice, ignorant of the fact that
the only true joy is the joy of the
Lord.
Exceeding joy
When barren Hannah finally
had a child, she did not rejoice in
Samuel; she rejoiced in the Lord.
(1 Samuel 2:1-10). The psalmist
says God himself is our “exceeding
joy.” (Psalm 43:4). The joy of
the Lord is not limited or temporal.
It is “the joy of the whole
earth;” (Psalm 48”2); “a joy of
many generations.” (Isaiah
60:15).
Paul says: “Rejoice in the Lord
always. Again I will say, rejoice!”
(Philippians 4:4). Significantly,
Paul wrote this to
the Philippians while he
was in prison. He was
incarcerated and yet he
says we should rejoice in
the Lord always. Then
he repeats it again for
added emphasis.
This is because the
man who rejoices only in
Christ can do so always.
The Lord does not
change. He is not good
today and bad tomorrow.
He is not kind today
and mean tomorrow.
He is the same yesterday,
today and forever
Ḃut if you rejoice in
anything or in anyone
outside of the Lord, you
cannot do so always.
The joy of the world is
transient; it does not last.
The same thing that
brought you this counterfeit
joy can bring you
grief because it can be
lost, stolen or destroyed.
But the joy of the Lord is
the blessing of the Lord.
He makes one rich, and
he adds no sorrow with
it. (Proverbs 10:22).
Practical
Christianity
So, what should we
do? Thank God for
earthly things, but please don't
feed your soul on them. Rejoice
only in the salvation of
Jesus Christ. Enjoy the things
of this world but don't let them
get into your heart. Don't set
your heart on them. Reserve
your heart for the Lord.
You cannot be a citizen of
the kingdom of God and continue
to thirst for the things of
the world: “for we are the circumcision,
who worship God
in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3).
Nothing else but Christ
should matter to the believer.
Only Christ is needful. Nothing
else is of any significance
whatsoever, save Christ and
him crucified. That is why
God, in his favour of life, has
made Jesus our life; so that we
may have a life that cannot be
lost. Rejoice in the Lord always,
confident that nothing,
absolutely nothing, can separate
you from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus. (Romans
8:39).
But if Christ is not everything
for you, you can be sure what
you consider to be something
will be taken away from you
at one time or the other. Martha,
Martha, you are careful
about too many things. And
all the things that you are careful
about will be taken away
from you. But no one can take
Christ away from you.
Fullness of joy
The gospel should give the
believer a totally new perspective
of life. While it
might not change his outward
condition, it should
have a salutary effect on his
state of mind. It is not so
much about saving a man's
life as it is about saving his
soul. Therefore, it refreshes
the soul even if it might not
refresh the body. Received
in prison, on death row, in
affliction or even in bereavement,
the gospel provides
great comfort.
Thanks to the gospel, sorrow
no longer has a basis in
the believer. Since Jesus has
borne our grief and carried
our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4),
we no longer have any
grounds to be sorrowful. Sin
is the only legitimate cause
for sorrow in the world. Being
godless is the only legitimate
cause for grief.
The principal problem of
life is not, as many presume,
lack of a job, or of money or
of means. The principal
problem is sin. Once Jesus
dealt conclusively with the
sin problem, he declared
that: "it is finished." Jesus
came, not to provide jobs or
to put money in people's
pockets, or to find husbands
for wives. He came to reconcile
man back to God.
Beyond that, nothing else is
valuable.
There is nothing that God
can do for us in this lifetime
that can exceed what he has
already done in Christ. He
cannot give us a more superior
Holy Spirit. He cannot
appoint us to a better
inheritance in heaven. God
gave us the best first by giving
us himself and everything
that pertains to him.
Therefore, our joy is already
full.
Setting your house in order (2)
ICORINTHIANS 3:16-
17 says: “Know ye not
that ye are the temple of
God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man
defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are.”
Brethren, our hearts including
our physical church are
the holy places of God. The
purity, wholesomeness and
sanctity of the temple of God
in you should be of paramount
importance to you
and if that is not the case in
your life, the Lord is asking
you today to, ‘set your house
in order’ make it the way it
should. You must not take for
granted the temple of God
because God’s presence is in
everywhere His temple is
found. And you are carrying
the temple of God, even your
brother, sister, and members
of your local church. Today,
God is asking you what attention
you are giving to His
temple so that it will be in the
form it ought to be.
If your house is in order in
relation to your soul then the
temple of God in you is in order.
But if not, God is telling
you through this message to
set your house in order. Those
that defile at will the temple
of God, either by wilful sin:
fornication, adultery, stealing,
abortion, kidnapping,
robbery, are provoking God
to anger them.
Acts 17:28: “For in him we
live, and move, and have our
being; as certain also of your
own poets have said, For we
are also his offspring.”
The scripture says, it is in
God that we live and have
our beings. God lives inside
us and we live inside Him.
He is the original Fountain
of our life. That we live at all
is His gift and our continued
and prolonged existence is
also His gift. He lives in every
one of us, so where we are,
there He is.
Mathew 18:20 says: “For
where two or three come together
in my name, there am
I with them.”
Wherever two or more assembled
for His service, for
the purpose of doing anything
connected with the advancement
of His kingdom,
in the place of prayer, worship
and praises, in obedience
to His command, and with a
desire to promote His glory,
He is present to quicken their
prayers, guide their counsels,
and answer their petitions.
So when we call upon Him
or gather in His name, He is
there with us. Therefore,
where you gather to pray is
the house of God and it is
your duty to keep it in order.
You must ensure the house of
God is set in order, because
no matter where the house of
God is located, the presence
of God is assured.
John 20:19 says: “Then the
same day at evening, being
the first day of the week,
when the doors were
shut where the disciples
were assembled for fear
of the Jews, came Jesus
and stood in the midst,
and saith unto them,
Peace be unto you.”
At the pick of persecution,
after Jesus was
buried, when all hope
was lost in seeing Him
again, the disciples
gathered in a closed
door and Jesus appeared
in their midst.
No obstacle can hinder
the presence of God. It
does not matter whether
the doors where the
gathering takes place
are closed or not,
whether it is in the cave
or in prison, as long as
the meeting is a desire
to promote His glory,
His presence is assured.
No door can
shut out Christ's presence
in a house where
His people gathered,
but that house cum
heart must be an abode
set in order. Any house
that is not set in order
cannot host the holy
presence of God. It is
therefore pertinent that
we must ensure that our
house is set continuously
in order so that the
presence of God will
not depart from us. And
as we do this we shall
be blessed in Jesus
name.
Pastor Oloruntimilehin
Joshua Daramola
LOT of people have died
A while others have perished
or in bondage just as many are
begging and praying for death
to come.
Anyone who takes his/her life
shall be blamed by God. Imagine
Judas Iscariot did not allow
himself to be judged before he
hanged himself. A wealthy businessman
in India committed
suicide because his business
crashed and he was unable to
offset his debt despite his wife’s
advice to improvise and turn
around the business. This man
had lost all hopes and judged
himself to be a failure.
A person who thinks he or she
will die in sickness has already
submitted himself or herself and
lack the faith that healing can
come.
Brethren what is the problem
confronting you, is it lack of job,
Childlessness, sickness, no husband
or wife, are your children
wayward or any problem whatsoever
that will make you decide
to commit suicide? Remember
that all these are temporary set-
Don’t give in to setbacks
backs. Don’t think these setbacks
can never be changed
for good.
Have lost your job? Remember
that your life is not lost even
if it lost, it can be restored as
Jairus’ dead daughter (Luke
8:49-55) and Lazarus’ four
days dead body were revived
(John 11:1-16). It is my strong
conviction that if Judas Iscariot
did not hang himself and instead
cried for forgiveness,
Jesus would have appeared to
him and forgiven him because
he is merciful and compassionate.
Peter and Judas committed
similar offence: betrayal.
What is betrayal? Betrayal is
when two or more parties are
in understanding of something
and one of the parties negates
on it. It was during the Lord’
Supper that Jesus told his disciples
that one of them would
betray him. At that point all the
disciples knew who was to betray
Jesus because of Judas’ response
to that allegation and
Jesus’ reply in Matthew 26:25
says “...Surely not I, Rabbi, Yes
it is you.”
In another occasion, Jesus
told his disciples that all of
them will fall on account of
him (Matthew 26:31-35) Peter
replied that if all fall that he
will never fall. Then Jesus told
Peter that he will deny him
three times before the cock
crows. Therefore there was
similarity in what Jesus said
to both Peter and Judas. While
Jesus was being subjected to
BSN holds Bible Quiz for the Deaf
By Sam Eyoboka
LL is now set for the maiden edition of
ABible Quiz for the Deaf organized by The
Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN).
The Bible Quiz, which will be conducted in
Nigerian Sign Language, holds at the Christian
Mission for the Deaf, Shomolu, Lagos on
December 5 in fulfillment of the Society’s mission
to meet the scriptural needs of every Nigerian,
including the Deaf, and to help people interact
with Word of God.
Contestants are expected to answer questions
from the 32 out of the 110 Chronological Bible
Stories translated for the Deaf in Nigerian Sign
punishment and torture in
cold weather, Peter was
warming himself beside a
bonfire. As Jesus was being
taking away Peter was following
them until he was
identified and alleged to be
one of Jesus’ disciples.
Eventually he denied
knowing Jesus thrice to an
extent that he cursed himself
(Matthew 26:7). After the
third denial, a cock crowed
and immediately he realized
what Jesus told him and he
wept bitterly in the manner
with Judas. He had the opportunity
to repent before the
third denial but he failed. In
fact Peter was supposed to
commit suicide. However he
felt all hopes were not lost.
Brethren, as there was
similarity in both cases also
there was a difference and
the difference was that Peter
had wisdom and Judas did
not. The wisdom is the fear
of God. If a person has fear
of God he or she has wisdom.
The day a person falls, the
fear of God will lift him or
her up.
Psalm 111:10 says: “The
fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom…” Imagine it
was the same Peter and other
disciples Jesus appeared
to after resurrection to help
them to catch fish miraculously
and reinstated Peter as
leader of his followers. (John
21:1-23).
Language by the Bible Society of Nigeria.
The BSN has a Deaf Translation Centre in
Ibadan, Oyo State where the Bible is being translated
into Nigerian Sign Language for the Deaf.
The Bible Society of Nigeria is a not-for-profit
interdenominational Christian organization
that translates the Bible into local languages,
publishes, distributes and raises funds for the
Bible work. It also organizes life-transforming
programmes that help people engage with Word
of God. So far, BSN has complete Bible in 26
Nigerian languages and 110 Chronological Bible
Stories in Nigerian Sign Language for the
Deaf.