THE SERIOUSNESS OF HEAVEN

§  BUT I WARN YOU—UNLESS YOU OBEY GOD BETTER THAN THE TEACHERS OF RELIGIOUS LAW AND THE PHARISEES DO, YOU CAN’T ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT ALL!

§  BUT I SAY TO YOU THAT EVERYONE WHO IS ANGRY WITH HIS BROTHER WITHOUT CAUSE SHALL BE LIABLE TO JUDGEMENT; WHO EVER INSULTS HIS BROTHER SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE COUNCIL, AND WHOEVER SAYS, ‘YOU FOOL!’ SHALL BE LIABLE TO HELL OF FIRE. SO IF YOU ARE OFFERING YOUR GIFT AT THE ALTAR, AND THERE REMEMBER THAT YOUR BROTHER HAS SOMETHING AGAINST YOU, LEAVE YOUR GIFT THERE BEFORE THE ALTAR AND GO; FIRST BE RECONCILED TO YOUR BROTHER, AND THEN COME AND OFFER YOUR GIFT.

§  SO IF YOUR EYE—EVEN IF IT IS YOUR GOOD EYE* —CAUSES YOU TO LUST, GOUGE IT OUT AND THROW IT AWAY. IT IS BETTER FOR YOU TO LOSE ONE PART OF YOUR BODY THAN FOR YOUR WHOLE BODY TO BE THROWN INTO HELL.                AND IF YOUR HAND—EVEN IF IT IS YOUR STRONGER HAND* —CAUSES YOU TO SIN, CUT IT OFF AND THROW IT AWAY. IT IS BETTER FOR YOU TO LOSE ONE PART OF YOUR BODY THAN FOR YOUR WHOLE BODY TO BE THROWN INTO HELL.

§  ...BUT YOU ARE TO BE PERFECT, EVEN AS YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT

§  IF YOU FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST YOU, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL FORGIVE YOU. BUT IF YOU REFUSE TO FORGIVE OTHERS, YOUR FATHER WILL NOT FORGIVE YOUR SINS.   

§  NOT ALL PEOPLE WHO SOUND RELIGIOUS ARE REALLY GODLY. THEY MAY REFER TO ME AS ‘LORD,’ BUT THEY STILL WON’T ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THE DECISIVE ISSUE IS WHETHER THEY OBEY MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.                       ON JUDGMENT DAY MANY WILL TELL ME, ‘LORD, LORD, WE PROPHESIED IN YOUR NAME AND CAST OUT DEMONS IN YOUR NAME AND PERFORMED MANY MIRACLES IN YOUR NAME.’ BUT I WILL REPLY, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU. GO AWAY; THE THINGS YOU DID WERE UNAUTHORIZED.*’

§  EVERY SIN OR BLASPHEMY CAN BE FORGIVEN—EXCEPT BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH CAN NEVER BE FORGIVEN. ANYONE WHO BLASPHEMES AGAINST ME, THE SON OF MAN, CAN BE FORGIVEN, BUT BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN, EITHER IN THIS WORLD OR IN THE WORLD TO COME.     

§  JESUS CALLED A SMALL CHILD OVER TO HIM AND PUT THE CHILD AMONG THEM. THEN HE SAID, “I ASSURE YOU, UNLESS YOU TURN FROM YOUR SINS AND BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN, YOU WILL NEVER GET INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THEREFORE, ANYONE WHO BECOMES AS HUMBLE AS THIS LITTLE CHILD IS THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN...      

§  ...WATCH THEREFORE, AND PRAY ALWAYS THAT YOU MAY BE COUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS THAT WILL COME TO PASS, AND TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.”

- JESUS (MATTHEW 5: 20, 22 – 24 RSV, 29 – 30, 48 NLT; 6: 14 – 14; 7: 21 – 23; 12: 31 – 32, LUKE 21: 36 NKJV).

THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

“During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God” (Acts 1: 3).

“If a town welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you and heal the sick. As you heal them, say, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now’” (Luke 10:  8 – 9).

What Is The Kingdom of God?

1.       It is a place, heaven – Luke 13: 28 – 29.

2.       It is an occupied space or territory – on earth; where a true Christian is or Christians are                               – Luke 17: 20 – 21.

3.       It is also the “New World” – Matthew 19: 28, 29, Rev. 3: 21.

4.       It is a personality, the Spirit of God – Matt. 12: 28.

5.       It is a Kingdom governed by three (3) main precepts or principles: Righteousness, Peace &; Joy                   – Romans 14: 17.

6.       It is a way of life or living; there are nine (9) main customs                                                                           – Luke 19: 11, 15, Matthew 5: 2 – 12, 48, Galatians 5: 22 – 25.

7.       It has a language of communication. In the Kingdom of God we speak in other tongues                               – Mark 16: 17, Luke 10: 21, 1 Cor. 14: 2, 14, 18, 39, Isaiah 28: 11 – 12, Jude 1: 20, Eph. 6: 18.

8.       It is good news, cheery information, glad tidings to you – Matthew 24: 14, Rom. 10: 18.

9.       Finally the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of heaven – Matthew 5: 3, 19, 20; 19: 23 – 24.

THE KINGDOM IS WITHIN YOU, Luke 17: 20 – 21

•   A true Christian is a citizen of a Kingdom 

•   Christianity is the message and lifestyle of a Kingdom

UNDERSTANDING! Which the devil does not want you to have brings Healing, Restoration, Breakthrough, Victory and Triumph. The people of God perish for lack of knowledge. The devil wants you to permanently remain an ignoramus. But the Holy Spirit is saying no, we are saying no, I am saying no. Get restored and healed today because the Kingdom has not only come upon you it is within you (Matt. 13: 10 – 17, Hosea 4: 6, Isaiah 5: 13 – 14).                                                                                                                                                             Jesus revealed and taught these truths (Luke 4: 43, Acts 1: 3):

1.       The Arrival and the Presence of the King of the Kingdom

Matt. 4: 17, Luke 4: 18 – 19, 21

2.       The Spirit of the Kingdom

Matt. 12: 28, John 14: 16 – 17, 26 – 27; 15: 26; 16: 7 – 15, Acts 1: 4 – 5, 8 

3.       The Gospel of the Kingdom

Matt. 4: 23; 9: 35; 24: 14 (all the message of the Kingdom is encapsulated in Matt. 5 – 7, John 3)

4.       The Signs and Wonders of the Kingdom

Matt. 4: 23; 9: 35

5.       The continual Citizenship of the Kingdom

Matt. 6: 33, John 3: 5 – 8

6.       The Attitude of the Kingdom

Matt. 5: 2 – 12, 20, Galatians 5: 22 – 25

7.       The Praying Expectation of the Kingdom for all times and every situation

Matt. 6: 8 – 13

8.       The Ambassador of the Kingdom

Matt. 10: 7 – 8, Luke 4: 18 – 19; 22: 29 – 30, Mark 16: 17 – 18

9.       The Gravity of the Ambassador of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 52; 28: 19 – 20, Mark 16: 15 – 16

10.   The Children or Arrow heads of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 24, 38

11.   The Words and Knowledge of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 11, 19

12.   The Importance and Value of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 44 – 45

13.   The Affluence of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 31 - 32

14.   The Influence of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 33

15.   The Preparedness and Task of the Kingdom

Matt. 25: 1 – 13, 14 – 30

16.   The Inheritances of God is the Kingdom

Matt. 25: 34

17.   The Ownership and Sorting of the Kingdom

Matt. 13: 41 – 43, 47 – 50

18.   Nigeria has a Special Task to extend the Kingdom

Matt. 21: 43 (Psalms 68: 31, Zephaniah 3: 9 – 10, Isaiah 18 (emphasis verse 7)

Other Kingdom issues Jesus revealed or spoke about can be found in the following scriptures: Matthew 6: 20 – 21; 7: 21; 14: 19; 16: 17; 16: 19; 18: 18 – 20; 18: 1 – 4;18: 21 – 35; 19: 11 – 12; 19: 13 – 15; 19: 21 – 24; 20: 1 – 16; 20: 22 – 23; 21: 25 – 26; 22: 30; 22: 31 – 32.                                                          When the realization of what Christianity is about, the message and culture of Christianity and who you really are hits you, then you will agree with Dr. Myles Munroe; I quote him: You go to work realising I am a country. Heaven just walked into the office. You see when you understand the Kingdom then your attitude changes. If you have been conferred by the Kingdom of God to be an Ambassador of Christ and Heaven, how dare you think He isn’t going to pay your bills... Understanding brings healing. You cannot appropriate what you don’t understand. They have eyes and they cannot see. They have ears and cannot hear... The devils number one hope is that you don’t understand the Kingdom. He doesn’t mind if you are Christian, just don’t become a citizen of the Kingdom. Where are you from? I am in the world but not of the world... This mandate will make you free so that you can preach freedom. End of quote.

THE CHURCH UNDERMINES ITSELF BY REJECTING THE HOLY SPIRIT

Why would a man undermine himself? Why would the Church undermine itself? There are many answers or reasons, but the Bible says, “A man in honour and does not know it is like a beast that perishes” (Psalms 49: 12, 20). This is what Myles Munroe said, “The most important person on earth right now is still the Governor, the Holy Spirit. Why? Because where the Governor is, the Kingdom is. That is why Paul said, the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but it is love, joy, peace in the Holy Spirit.” The most wonderful thing to have happened to the Church of Jesus Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Church of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God on earth and the Holy Spirit is the Governor of this Kingdom.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Concerning the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor,* who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.  No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you...  But when the Father sends the Counsellor as my representative—and by the Counsellor I mean the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid... But I will send you the Counsellor* —the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me... But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counsellor* won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you.  And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.  The world’s sin is unbelief in me.  Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.  Judgment will come because the prince of this world has already been judged...  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.  He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me.  All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me” John 14: 16 – 18, 26 – 27; 15: 26; 16: 7 – 11, 13 – 15 (NLT).                                                                                                                                                                                    “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven” Luke 24: 49 (NLT).                                                                             “In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with* water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit... But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” Acts 1: 4 – 5, 8 (NLT).                                                     

 In spite of all that Jesus informed us about the Holy Spirit, the most tragic thing to have happened to the Church of Jesus Christ is the rejection and relegation of the gift of God to His Church, the rejection of the Holy Spirit. Much of the Church leadership have rejected or relegated the Holy Spirit by not allowing Him His proper place in the Church.                                                                                                                                                Graham Fitzpatrick was spot on when he said in his book: How To Recognise God’s Voice. I quote: Much religious activity in the Church at present is merely the flesh busy doing a lot of things supposedly for Jesus. Much evangelism, prayer meetings, building projects, teachings, school activity and so on, is not controlled by the Spirit of Jesus, but by fleshly minds. This is why so much effort at present in the Church activities achieves very little. Galatians 6: 8 predicted that this would happen. Partly because of the lack of emphasis on obedience to the Holy Spirit (Obedience is one aspect of being controlled by the Holy Spirit), there are thousands of people in the Church at present who have not got their reason and common sense made subordinate to the Holy Spirit. They decide who to marry, where to live, how to run their church, what to teach their church members, who should help with the singing at church and so on. Instead, they should ‘sow to the Spirit’ by allowing the Holy Spirit to show them what to do. Then as Romans 8: 6 and Galatians 6: 8 say, they will see spiritual life released from God into their lives and local congregations. Much religious activity is a great sowing to the flesh, which will reap decay, ruin and destruction for those churches and for those individual churchgoers who continue to do it. God in Galatians 6: 8 said this would happen. Meditate on this verse! End of quote.                                                                                                                                For the Christian, it is vital to let your mind and activities be controlled by God. In the same vein, it is expedient that the Church and her activities be controlled by the Spirit of God. God wants the Church to change back to how it was in the Bible book of Acts of the Apostles. They had their challenges and mistakes but they were largely dependent on and controlled by the Spirit of God corporately and individually, especially the leadership.                                                                                        When you study the Bible book of Acts of the Apostles well you will see or observe that fantastic manifestations of God’s power occurred in their time, not only in the lives of the church leaders; they occurred in the lives of thousands of ordinary church attendees. These manifestations occurred because more people in the Church in those years day by day sought to know what the Holy Spirit wanted them to do and they obeyed these instructions.                                                                                 Where He told them to go, they went. Where He told them not to go, they declined. What He told them to do, they did. Whomever He told them to choose or appoint, they did. They waited on the Holy Spirit and were sensitive to His voice. They were eager to always obey Him.                                                    This is not so now and it is a shame. This is the reason the Church appears lame duck. The Church now is a sleeping giant and she must wake up from her deep slumber.  The point to note is that the great expansion of the Church of the Acts of the Apostles and the occurrence of many miracles of God show that there was more sowing to the Spirit and a willingness to obey His voice in those times.                                                                                                                                                                                       That was their secret and it hasn’t changed. The Church of this present age must go back to the basics and surrender the Church back to the Holy Spirit who is the rightful person in charge and control. All usurpation of the role of the Holy Spirit must stop. All usurpers must be kicked out because time is running out and the devil is preparing the world for the government of the Anti- Christ and the man of sin. Bible prophecies say this man will war with the Church and lead many to hell and perdition.                                                                                                                                                                         If you look at the statistics – the 7 billion people of earth, how many are converts, how many are Christians, how many are real disciples of Jesus and so on, then you would know that we have a very long way to go. But this gap can be bridged by the Holy Spirit. The task of the Great Commission can only be successfully and speedily carried out when we listen to the Holy Spirit. Only Him can give us success and make the obstacles we are presently faced with surmountable but only through His voice, His ways, His wisdom and His choice. Anything else is just flesh and the Bible says the arm of flesh and human wisdom will fail inevitably.                                                                                       According to Graham Fitzpatrick these ill of undermining the Church is a problem at the door step of both the laity and the clergy. He says those who decide to rely solely on the Holy Spirit will not be liked. I quote from his book again: Some churchgoers are too apathetic or lazy to learn how to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. This must change. Other churchgoers are too proud, self-sufficient and independent of God, to want to know how to recognize the voice of God the Father and God the Son speaking to them in the Person of God the Holy Spirit. They don’t want to learn because they want to be their own lord, even though they go to church and call Jesus “Our Lord” or “My Lord.” Many pastors and preachers, who preach the idea that the Holy Spirit must control our decision-making (which is the same as making Jesus our Lord), will be persecuted by members of their own local congregation or their denomination who sow to a mind of flesh. They must expect this if they preach as God would want them to. They should not let this worry them. This is because Jesus said in Mathew 5: 10 – 11 that you are blessed when people including churchgoers who sow to the flesh and are not controlled by the Holy Spirit, persecute you. In fact, Paul said that all people who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus must expect persecution (see 2 Timothy 3: 12). Persecution includes great criticism and lies against one (see Mathew 5: 10). In fact, if you are a church leader and you are not being criticised, Jesus, in Luke 6: 26, suggests that you are possibly no better than the false prophets. You had better check your spiritual life if unbelievers and fleshly churchgoers speak well of you. You are possibly not controlled by God very much (if at all). End of quote. In conclusion, I leave you with the following scriptures to think on:                                                                  “But I say, walk not and live habitually in the (Holy) Spirit – RESPONSIVE T and CONTROLLED and GUIDED by the Spirit, THEN you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh of human nature without God” Galatians 5: 16 (Amplified Version).                                                                                 “Now the mind of the flesh (which is SENSE and REASON WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT) is death – death that comprise all of the miseries arising from sin; both here and hereafter. But the mind of the (Holy) Spirit is life and soul peace (both now and forever)” Romans 8: 6 (Amplified Version).                                              “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to PLEASE THE SPIRIT, from Spirit will reap eternal life” Galatians 6: 8 (Amplified Version).                   “For all WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD are sons of God” Romans 8: 14 (RSV).                                                                           “If we live by the (Holy) Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit – if by the Holy Spirit we have our life (in God), let us go forward walking in line, our conduct CONTROLLED by the Spirit”                                                  Galatians 5: 25 (Amplified Version).                                                                                                                              “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who REMAIN IN ME, AND I IN THEM, WILL PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT. For APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.  Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.                          Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you stay JOINED TO ME AND MY WORDS REMAIN IN YOU, you may ask any request you like, and IT WILL BE GRANTED!  My TRUE DISCIPLES produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father” John 15: 4 – 8 (NLT).

HAPPY WORKERS’ DAY! YUSUF RUFA’Is THOUGHT ON THE DAY IN FOCUS

Today, Workers, employed or self-employed are remembered all over the world; whether you are a worker in the office, factory, field, home, in the sea, in the church etc. Today I join in remembering my colleagues all over the world and I say remain as constant as the sun, as twinkling as the star and as illuminating and bright as the full moon. To those truthful and loyal to their call or vocation or profession, there is grace, joy, pride and triumph in what you do. God is watching and humanity is experiencing it. At the end the ultimate arbiter and dispenser will give the prize that is deemed fit. I leave you with a green old piece titled: “REFLECTIONS: WAGE” written by Kelly Elisha, one of my senior and respected Editor and Journalist I worked with some years ago in Africa Independent Television (AIT).

Reflections: Wage                                                    by Kelly Elisha

Tuesday this week, the labour community remembered with nostalgia an incident which happened far back in 1809 in Chicago. That day provided an opportunity for workers to analyze themselves and to reflect on their living condition. The fact is that labour is not only cheap here, it is exploited.

Imagine a God created human being who resumes on his duty post at 8’o clock in the morning and signs off twelve hours later and he does that seven days a week, only to go home at the end of the month with            N5, 000. What can be cheaper than this? Samuel Johnson once said that “Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labour of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.”                                                   

I agree.  But what is it that we throw at our labour as wages? Pittance: Just the little that puts that worker perpetually at the subsistence level. Labour is cheap. In other words, those who hire labour for pittance are callous. If indeed they are callous, what will one call those who withhold the pittance? Some persons give them the name true capitalists.

When I read Henry George I thought he was being emotional, but on reflection I think he was being realistic. Let me quote him:‘‘it is but a truism that labour is most productive where its wages are largest. Poorly paid labour is inefficient labour.’’ It is difficult to subtract from this truth and if somebody cares to admit it, poorly rewarded labour impacts poorly on the products. I like this saying of our contemporary elders that, “from whom much is expected, much is given.” This has a semblance to what farmers believe in. If you throw a small sized yam to the ground, you reap a piece of pebble.             

After reflecting on this issue, I could not resist the temptation of borrowing Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s opinion. Let me say it the way he puts it. “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.” I underlined in my mind the words “less than living wages.” This description is nothing other than the wages paid to hired slaves because slaves were never conferred with the right to life. Their living was at the whims of the slave master.                    God Himself did not forget to warn that the labourer is worthy of his wages.

God agrees with Roosevelt that a business which holds back the wages or opts to pay a price offered in a cheap market does not deserve to exist. I am in a reflective mood. I do hope labour hirers are listening to me. Think about it.