SUNDAY SERVICE
★ MY SERMON NOTES
@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)
Area 1, Garki-Abuja, Nigeria
1st February, 2015
SERMON
* Speaker: Rev. David Kwamkur
* Topic: Growing Up
* Theme: Growing up in Christ
* Sub-Theme: Intentional Growth
* Service leader: Mr. Stephen Barthner
* Moses' parents demonstrated faith for the protection of their child even in the midst of danger
* You can destroy your future if you disregard your past.
* Parents have a significant role to play in the life of their children's spiritual growth and maturity
→ Note: Moses' parents were not afraid of the verdict of the Pharaoh. They trusted God to preserve their son
* One thing that is destroying many people today is fear
★ Matthew 10:28 → "Stop being afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell."
* If you are interested in growing deeper spiritually, you should study the life of Moses - His life Was a life of faith
* Benefits of Studying the life of Moses:
(a) It will help you understand that God is greater than every evil scheme or person in the world
(b) It will help you to focus on God, rather than on your circumstances
(c) It will help you understand that God is faithful and will never fail to keep His promises
→ The most dangerous thing you will ever do in life is to doubt God's faithfulness
→ Hold on to God until your situation changes
(d) It will help you let God work through you
→ God will not force you to do anything (including submitting to Him) that you don't want to do willingly
(e) It will help you realise that you are not an ordinary person
→ NOTE: You are the Child of the King of the Universe & you are important to God
* Moses made faith decisions:
→ if you are ever going to grow spiritually, you must walk by faith all the time
→ Children cannot make certain decisions on their own because they are immature
→ The quality of your decisions is an indication of your maturity (or immaturity)
→ If you do not know how to make decisions, other people will decide for you based on what they want for you
* Decisions You Must make if you want to grow in Christ:
1. Refusing the wrong
→ It is not enough to know what is right or wrong, but you must be courageous enough to out-rightly refuse to do what is wrong in the sight of God
→ When faith comes into operation, your ability to recognize and refuse to do anything that is contrary to God's will is strengthened
* Examples of persons who refused to do what was wrong, even at the cost of their lives:
(b) The 3 Hebrew boys
* Daniel 3:12 → “Certain influential Jewish men whom you appointed to manage the city of Babylon — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—have neither paid attention to you, your majesty, nor served your gods. And they won’t worship the golden statue that you set up.”
* It did not make any (reasonable) sense why they would choose to disobey the King's express orders at the detriment of their political positions and even their lives
*NOTE: When faith is in operation, your reason is inactive.
(c) Daniel refused to obey a Royal ban on prayer→ Daniel 6:13
"Then they told the king, “Daniel, who is one of the Judean exiles, pays no attention to you, your majesty, or to the written decree, since he is still praying three times a day.”
- They did not allow themselves to be intimidated by the Jewish Council (the most powerful and influential entity in Israel at the time)
* You must always refuse to do the wrong thing, even when it is the most popular thing to do
* Nobody grows in Christ by doing the wrong thing
* If you don't want evil to multiply, you must always refuse to do what is wrong
* Don't follow your reason; follow your faith
* God is calling you to refuse anything that is contrary to your faith
2. You must choose to do what is right
→ It is Impossible to choose to do what is both right and wrong at the same time. You have to choose only one
* Sometimes, the right thing to do does not appeal to your reasoning, But you must always follow faith, rather than your reason
* You must be wise in making your decisions
* Always make decisions in the light of tomorrow and eternity
* Don't mortgage your tomorrow for the brief pleasures of today
* If you choose to be a believer/disciple of Jesus, You Must be willing to pay the price:
★ The cost of Discipleship
* A person who is not a faithful disciple of Christ cannot enter His kingdom in eternity
* Making the right decision would always cost you something (time, privileges, relationships, possessions, advantages, certain pleasures, your life, etc.)
3. You must run away from any appearance of wrong/evil
→ Running away from evil does not mean you are a coward
* Temporal things are just temporal - they will not last
* Amos 5:14-15 →"Pursue good and not evil, so that you may live, and this is what will happen: The LORD God of the Heavenly Armies will be with you, as you have been claiming. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in court— perhaps the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, will be gracious to the survivors of Joseph.’
* Titus 2:11-12 →"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age."
→ As a Christian, God expects you to always renounce all forms of ungodliness
→ Renunciation must be total: You're not expected to go back to something you have renounced already
→ It is the by the grace of God that you are able to renounce every act of ungodliness, not by your own power or will
★ 2nd Timothy 2:19 →"However, God’s solid foundation still stands. It has this inscription on it: “The Lord knows those who belong to him,” and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.”
→ Departing from evil is a prerequisite for serving God faithfully and effectively
→ People that have a form of godliness but deny its power must be "quarantined" from your life before they infect and pollute you too
* 2nd Timothy 2:22
→ "Flee from youthful passions. Instead, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart."
* Mark 8:36 →"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
→ It is foolish to mortgage your life and eventually loose/destroy your soul
* Romans 8:17 →"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
→ There is an eternal glory that comes after our temporal sufferings here on earth
* Look beyond your senses and depend or your faith
* If you have faith, you have everything!
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
MISSION CHARGE
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming"
→ Ephesians 4:14
QUOTES
"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety".
→ George Mueller
"Sadness takes you away from true worship of the Lord."
→ Rev. David Kwamkur
"Satan will always make you feel that there is no reason to be happy. He will give you reasons to be angry at everyone, everything and even at yourself."
→ Rev. David Kwamkur
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