Jesus the Joy Giver (Pastor John K. Abiodun) 08-04-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District

8th April, 2015

 

SERMON

* Speaker: Pastor John K. Abiodun

* Topic: Jesus the Joy Giver

* Text: Psalm 16:11 →"You will show me the path of life.

In your presence is fullness of joy.

In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore."

* Joy is in different levels
→ Only Jesus gives fullness of joy

☆ Conditions for getting joy (cont.)
2. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
→ NOTE: Joy is the second fruit of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23
→ Without the Holy Spirit, life becomes a struggle
→ You cannot be a successful Christian without the Holy Spirit
★ Romans 14:17 → " For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
→ Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost are condition precedents for inheriting the Kingdom of God.  

3. Winning Souls for Christ
★ Luke 15:6-7
→ Every body who is born again is expected to win souls for Christ
→ It is not the job of only the Pastors
→ Anytime you win a soul for Christ, there is joy not only in your heart, but in heaven (Luke 15:7) 
→ "A container that brings water will never lack water." - African proverb
→ It is not possible for you to cause joy in the lives of others and to God Himself and your heart will be deficient in joy
→ Those who win souls are wise (Proverbs 11:30  and Daniel 12:3)
→ You must always use every opportunity to preach the gospel
→ If You want to experience unending joy in your life, then you must be consistent in preaching the Gospel of Jesus
→ Every Christian is called to be a soul-winner
→ Your greatest preaching is by your character
→ There are so many things you can do to win souls to Christ

Chaplain's, Patrons, Captains, FCT Executive, Battalion and Group Executives Workshop (Lecture 2) 28-02-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

Boys' Brigade (BB), Nigeria  

Chaplain's, Patrons, Captains, FCT Executive, Battalion and Group Executives Workshop

@ All Saints Anglican Church,

Zone 5, Abuja

28th February, 2015

LECTURE 2

* Topic: The Chaplains, and Patrons as Mentors to the Boys' Brigade

* Speaker: Mr. Kanly Yusuf

 

Mr. Kanly Yusuf

 

* The young boys in the BB look up to older members for guidance

* A BB Chaplain is an Officer of the BB and should be encouraged to:

→ Wear uniform (A)

→ Attend Officers meeting

* All Bible Studies programmes in the BB should be addressed to the Chaplain  

* The Chaplain should have time to attend meetings of the BB

* The Chaplain is the spiritual head of the BB

* Patrons are devoted Christians who are committed to influencing and supporting the work of the BB

* Patrons, Chaplains and Officers should be men (and women) of solid Christian character

* Any person that should advance Christ' kingdom should necessarily "know" and have a personal relationship with Jesus

* As a Patron of the BB, someone somewhere is modelling you

* The Difference between a Mentor and Role Model

→ People want to be like a role model without his or her knowledge

→ A mentor knows that his or her life is being emulated, and makes conscious effort to guide the mentee

* Qualities of a good Mentor

→ Authentic

→ Willingness to share his skills, knowledge and expertise

→ Personally involved

→ A good listener

→ A character builder

→ Respected and appreciated

→ Positive/optimistic  

→ Continues to learn and grow - is not stagnant  

* Challenges of Mentoring

→ It is time demanding

→ It is energy consuming

→ It requires resources especially finances

→ It requires extra patience

* Benefits of having a Mentor

→ It gives confidence to the mentee

→ It guarantees high success and minimal or no failure

→ It ensures security

→ It promotes good relationship that could lead to further good or better relationships

→ It gives mentees the opportunities to redress their steps

 

Growing up in Christ (Mr Ishaya Manji) 30-11-2014

SUNDAY SERVICE

MY SERMON NOTES
Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)
Garki Area 1 - Abuja, Nigeria
30th November, 2014

* SERMON

* Speaker: Mr Ishaya Manji

* Topic: Growing up in Christ

* Theme: Knowing the Will of God

* Sub-Theme: Blessings of Doing God's Will

* Service Leaders: Mr Timothy Pam

* Text: Ephesians 4:14-15 - "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 people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."

★ Round up & Summary of the COCIN Community Missions Week 2014

* The problem of the Church today is that many Christians still remain as infants even after many years after becoming believers.

* The desire of God is that we all grow up to become mature believers

* The Church has a bunch of Christians who are physically growing older, but remain Spiritually immature

* Spiritual maturity cannot be measured by your eloquence, or Physical appearance. It can only by demonstrated by displaying the Characteristics of Jesus (that is, the fruits of the Spirit).

* Growing in Christ entails the following:

1. A Continuous willingness to develop & display the character traits of Christ

2. To remain Connected to Christ

3. To be rooted and grounded in order to bear fruit that will last

4. To hold onto the truth and share it boldly, regardless of the consequences.

* The genuine Christian life is magnetic.

- You will automatically attract people to Christ if your life radiates the love of Jesus

* The difference between a mature and immature Christian:

→ A mature Christian produces the fruits of the spirit, the immature Christian does not

→ Galatians 5:22-24 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

* Every mature Christian is a missionary.

* Anywhere you find yourself is your primary mission field (office, family, community, etc.)

* Essential Elements for growing up in Christ:

1. The Character of Christ

→ Galatians 5:22-23

* God's plan is for you to be transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ

2. Commitment

- This entails a willingness to work hard and to give your energy to the discharge of a given duty

- God requires Christians to be committed in missions and support it by all means possible.

* As a Christian, You are expected to grow not only physically, but also spiritually.

*When you spend time with God and His Word, you will grow in love and Spiritual knowledge of God's Will.

* You must be ready to give every fibre of yourself as an instrument to honour and Serve God

* Everything you have been entrusted with (e.g.. Your job, talents, resources, possessions, opportunities, experiences, etc.) are tools for serving Christ and advancing His kingdom here on earth.

* You must show the love of Christ to everyone, especially those who are under Satan's bondage

* If you must grow spiritually, you must study to know the mind of God so that you can project that same mind through mission work and liberate those in darkness and translate them into the Light of Christ.

* It is expected that once you give your life to Christ, you must grow spiritually, just as a new born baby is naturally expected to grow and become strong & independent

* The Church cannot be able to grow into a holy temple if every Christian are not ready to play their parts in God's plan

* Encouragement: we need to encourage each other (especially the Missionaries) by prayer, visitations, generous giving etc.

* Three things that the devil will never ask you to do:

1. give (in support of the advancement of Christ's kingdom)

2. pray

3. preach

* Causes of Spiritual Immaturity:

1. Sin

2. lack of Self-Control

3. lack of humility

4. lack of Spiritual balance-diet

   - This results in Spiritual stunted growth

   - God's word is our spiritual food (the balanced-diet)

   - You cannot give what you have. You must know the word for yourself

5. lack of submission to authority

6. lack of Spiritual discipline (e.g. through prayer and fasting & Bible Studies)

* If you really want to be effective in God's scheme of things and influence your generation for Christ, you must determine to grow Spiritually and be committed to knowing God's Word

* Allow God to work in you and through you

* Your life should sparkle (for Christ) like a diamond

* Spiritual infancy results in lack of effectiveness on the part of a Christian

* Practical ways by which you can be involved in Missions:

1. You can go to the Mission fields to preach personally

2. You can Support Missionaries through:

   -   Your financial gifts

   - Your consistent prayers for the success of Missions & Missionary endeavours

The Building of a Life (Dr. Yakubu Usman) 03-05-2001

* MY SERMON NOTES

@ Arts & Speakers,

Elratam Network  

Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN),

(now, Church of Christ in Nations)

Hwolshe, Gigiring – Jos

3^rd May, 2001  

SERMON  

* Speaker: Dr. Yakubu Usman

* Topic: The Building of a Life  

* The Three Things That Happen During the Teaching of the Word of God:

1. Some do not understand the teaching 

2. Some misunderstand the teaching  

3. Some understand but will respond with anger because it exposes their lifestyles

4. Some understand and are inspired to change their lives

 

* How wise are you?

- Is it possible you can be wiser?

- Are you as wise as you can be?

 

* If you had everything in your power (finances & resources) where will you site your building in Jos?

 

* Matthew 7:24-27

* These two builders represent types of Christians

* Being wise means living in accordance to the Word of God

 

* NOTE: The Sermon on the Mount is a compilation of the teachings of Jesus delivered at a particular period (not necessarily at one sitting)

 

* What is a parable?

- It is a story with a hidden spiritual meaning that may not be obvious at the first instance

- It is God’s special revelation to believers seeking more light

 * The FOOLISH BUILDER (in Jesus’ parable) used sand to make his foundation

* The location and quality of a foundation determines the survival of any building

 * The WISE BUILDER chose the rock as his foundation

- Great effort is required to move building materials up a rock

- It takes tough and deliberate effort to live by the Word of God

 

* NOTE: Every Christian is a builder, having some sort of foundation

 

* Note the Similarities between the two (2) builders:

1. They were both builders

2. They had the same wood from (probably) the same source

3. They were subjected to similar challenges – wind & rain

    - There is ample evidence that good and bad people suffer alike  

* Matthew 5:45 – These are challenges:

    - Rain represents blessings in scriptures

    - If the foundation is not solid, rain which is supposed to be a blessing would become a curse

 

* Both houses represent five (5) things:

(a) Character  - (the stuff you are made up of)

(b) Lifestyle – (things that portray you/your life’s priorities)

(c) Goals of your life (things you want to accomplish in life) 

(d) Dreams – (things you wish you had)

(e) Conduct – (behavior)

* The only thing that they had as a variable was the foundation

* On what foundation are you standing on?

* If you are faced with a situation, how many scriptural principles come to your mind?

* You cannot lay a strong foundation if you don’t hear clearly from God

 Some ‘Building Materials’ available to Christians:

1.   Righteous acts (Matthew 6:1-6)

2.   The Knowledge of God (Matthew 5:5-8)

    -  This always results in producing humility in your life 

3.   Dealing with your weaknesses (Matthew 7:1-5)

    -  This prepares you to withstand the storm of temptations whenever they arise  

4.   Doing God’s will

5.   Appreciating God’s forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15)

6.   Rightly handling material possessions (Matthew6:19-42)

7.   A consistent life of integrity

    -  The fruits of God’s Words and your lifestyle must tie together, if not, something is definitely wrong

 

Important Questions you need to ask yourself: 

* How rich or poor are you spiritually?

* How often do you mourn over your sins and those of others?

* To what extent do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?       

* Do you deserve God’s mercy judging from how you treat others?

* How pure is your heart?

* Do people call you a child of God?

* Are you experiencing some form of persecution because of your faith?

* How meek are you?

* Are you hiding your light or are you shining it?

* How wise are you?

* What extent are you willing to go in order to become wise?

 

* NOTE: A life committed to Christ will never fall

 

* What you do about the Word of God that you hear reveals whether you are wise or not

* Psalm1:1-6

 

* Are you so knowledgeable that you think that there is nothing new to learn?   

 

 

 

The Spirit of God and Character 31-08-1997

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN)

Area 1, Garki -Abuja, Nigeria

31st August, 1997

SERMON

* Speaker: [No Data]

* Topic: The Spirit of God and Character

* Text: Isaiah 54:6-8

* Charisma opens the door; Character keeps it open

★ 1st Corinthians 16:9 →"For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."

* Sin is an adversary

* Sin kills dreams and visions

★ 1st Corinthians 15:56 →"The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."

* The anti-venom of sir is repentance

★ 1st Corinthians 15:33 → "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."

★ 1st Corinthians 15:36 → "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:"

* watch what you see, hear and talk

* Ways of wickedness defile the mind of the Christian, his body and soul

* Unless you die to your will, the will of God cannot be done in your life