Men Growing in Christ (Evangelist Bedima Gonzwak) 22-03-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)

Area 1, Garki-Abuja

→ Mens' Fellowship Day

22nd March, 2015

SERMON

* Topic: Men Growing in Christ

* Speaker: Evangelist Bedima Gonzwak

* Theme: Growing Up in Christ

* Sub-Theme: Intentional Growth

* Service Leader: Mr. Danlami Jelka

 



Evangelist Bedima Gonzwak



 ★ Text: Ephesians 5:18-20

 

* It is impossible for anyone to grow without the enablement of the Spirit of God

* You must understand the role of the Holy Spirit in spiritual growth

* You must understand the Holy Spirit and His role the Church today

* Anyone who is drunk with wine is controlled by wine and anyone filled with the Spirit of God is controlled by the Spirit

* You cannot be controlled by the Spirit of God and be controlled by sin at the same time

* You cannot afford to allow yourself to be ruled by any ungodly influence as a believer in Jesus Christ

→ You are destined for dominion, not oppression

* There are people who are controlled by gold (money and the things money can buy) not by the Spirit of God

* NOTE: On earth, people exalt gold and place it above themselves, but in Heaven, the Streets are made of gold and are trampled underfoot

* The deliverance you need in your life is so that 'gold' will be under your feet and God will be in control of your life

* The Holy spirit has not only come to give you help in times of need, but to be in charge (to take full control) of your life

* The Church in Ephesus was one of the most powerful and efficient churches in the Testament (Acts 19).

→ They evangelized the whole of Asia for Christ and there were manifestations of the power of God. But Paul encouraged them to be filed with the Holy Spirit

★ Revelations 4:5 →"And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."

* The Seven torches/lamps of fire burning before the throne of God are the 7 (seven) dimensions of the Spirit of God

* The 7 (seven) dimensions of the Spirit of God are listed in Isaiah 11:1-2 and they include:

1. Wisdom

2. Understanding

3. Counsel

4. Might

5. Knowledge

6. The fear of the Lord

7. Judgement

* NOTE: The 24 Spiritual gifts revealed in the Scriptures can be compressed into these 7 (seven) dimensions if the Spirit of God

* NOTE: Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord

→ But, the Nigerian Church to a large extent delights in the manifestation of power (prophesies & miracles)

* It is an abomination for us as believers to take delight in anything that Jesus is not delighted in.

* The fear of the Lord is the empowerment that will take you to heaven

* When you fear the Lord, you will not only know the Holy Spirit as a gift, but as a person!

* The usage of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to believers in Jesus Christ for the promotion of the fear of the Lord in our lives

1. Faith

2. Hope

3. Love (fear of the Lord)

★ 1 Corinthians 13:13

★ Matthew 7:21 →"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

* In the kingdom of God, there are things that are 'major' and some that are 'minor'.

→ The devil is well aware of this fact and he would prefer you to major on the minors

→ there are people that operate in spiritual gifts with great effects and impact, but are not recognized by God

* Many Christians 'major' in great spiritual gifts, but are lacking in godly character

→ God looks at your character

* The fear of the Lord will:

(a) deliver you from living in sin

(b) deliver Nigeria from corruption and other vices

(c) help you to live in obedience to God consistently

* How to know that you are filled with the Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:18)

1. You will have a 'singing heart' regardless of what you experience in life

2. You will always give thanks to God

→ Thanksgiving delivers you from grumbling

3. You will always submit to lawful authority

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

* Many Christians are not sure of making it to heaven because they have allowed sin to thrive in their lives

* As a Christian, you must be serious about dealing with the issue of sin and removing every trace of it from your life

* Don't allow sin to take you down ...

→ deal with it (before it deals with you)


★ MISSION CHARGE

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall . . . the only man who never make mistakes is the man who never does anything"

→ Anonymous

★ QUOTES

"I shall pass through this life but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness. Let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall never pass this way again"

→ Etienne de Grellet 

 

Picture credit: Mr. Gideon Bewas

 

Ought to be Teachers (Rev. David Kwamkur) 08-03-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)

Area 1, Garki, Abuja

8th March, 2015

SERMON

* Topic: Ought to be Teachers

* Speaker: Rev. David Kwamkur

* Theme: Growing up in Christ

* Sub-Theme: Intentional Growth

* Text:

★ Hebrews 5:11-14

★ Hebrews 6:1-12

* Isaac Newton's 1st law of motion states that: "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."

* Isaac Newton made reference to "inertia" which is the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion.

* Inertia is the tendency for an object to remain unchanged as long as nothing moves it (if it is static) or stops it (if it is moving).

* In order to overcome inertia, you have to apply force

* Force will make something that is static or still to start moving; and it will stop a moving object by applying/engaging resistance

* Many Christians have remained in the same condition since they gave their lives to Christ - They were experiencing "spiritual inertia".

* A person who becomes a believer is expected to grow to a level that he or she will become a teacher or mentor to others.

* Spiritual laziness is the main cause of spiritual inertia.

* Laziness may be defined as:

→ idleness;

→ sluggishness (or slothfulness);

→ procrastination;

→ carelessness;

→ forgetfulness;

→ negligence,

→ disorganisation.

* The features of Christians who are 'infected' by Chronic Spiritual Laziness (CSL) include the following:

1. They major on minor things; and minor on major things.

→ Earthly things should not be the major things for a Christian. Similarly, acquiring many educational degrees, building houses, having money are not as important as knowing God and having a personal relationship with Him

★ Matthew 6:33

2. They are inactive over active; and active over inactive

→ There are things that believers are expected to be active in and some others that they are expected to remain inactive

→ Spiritually lazy Christians always reverse expected roles just to please themselves, not God

3. They are satisfied with dissatisfaction and dissatisfied with satisfaction

4. They value short term gains over long term gains

5. They do nothing about spiritual their spiritual condition

6. They undermine spiritual things

7. They don't want to engage in spiritually oriented activities (such as Bible studies, fellowships, prayer & fasting, evangelism, etc.).

8. They are afraid to engage spiritual things because they feel they are inadequate.

* E.g.. They prefer to 'contract' other people (like their Pastor) to pray for them on every single issue

☆ Symptoms of Chronic Spiritual Laziness (CSL):

→ Feeling sluggish to get out of bed to pray;

→ Too busy to read Bible and pray;

→ They are tired of coming to Church (especially for weekly activities);

→ They are perpetual late comers to Church;

→ They don't want to give offerings or tithes

→ They sleep during Church services, especially when preaching is in progress;

→ They are insensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit (the Comforter)

* Warning against Laziness

→ Proverbs 6:6-11

→ Proverbs 10:4

→ Proverbs 18:9

→ Proverbs 26:13-16

* It is better to know your condition (that is, your true spiritual state) so that you can diagnose it properly

☆ The Solution to Chronic Spiritual Laziness:

1. Study your Bible frequently and diligently (Joshua 1:8)

2. Pray fervently (James 5:16b)

3. Maintain a close relationship with God.

* God is more interested yon being with Him, Than you serving or doing things for Him (Luke 12:41-42)

4. Give frequently and generously for the work of God

(2 Corinthians 9:7)

* Your father's business is also your business and it must be your priority

5. Attend church Services regularly and on time

* Be doers of The Word, not Just hearers (James 1:22)

* Unless you deliberately apply 'force', your condition will remain unchanged

* You have to do something about your spiritual condition

* Personal discipline is the antidote for laziness

* You must make a definite commitment to overcome spiritual laziness in your life

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

PASTORS' CORNER

The writer of Hebrews had many things to say of Christ but the Christians were spiritually lazy. This is very sad but often, this is the deplorable condition obtained among many Christians today.

* The Symptoms of spiritual laziness are:

1. Feeling sluggish to get out of bed to pray

2. Very busy to read the Bible and pray

3. Being tired of coming to Church

4. Perpetually coming to Church late

5. Slack in giving offerings and tithes

6. Sleeping during Church Services

7. Insensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit

* Solutions to Spiritual laziness are:

1. Diligence in studying God's Word

2. Fervent in prayer

3. Maintaining close relationship with God

4. Spending time with God and his word

5. Giving generously for God's work

6. Attending Church regularly and on time

* Are you okay being a lazy Christian?

 

* Be determined to follow Christ no matter the matter!

Flourish like a Palm Tree (Pastor Victor T. Amos) 01-03-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)

Area 1, Garki - Abuja, Nigeria

1st March, 2015

SERMON
* Topic: Flourish like a Palm Tree
* Speaker: Pastor Victor T. Amos
* Text: Psalm 92:12-15
* Theme: Growing Up in Christ
* Sub-Theme: Intentional Growth
* Service Leader: Elder Katlong Boniface

* The basic notion of being righteous refers to a person who is sinless or morally upright

→ Those who are righteous have Christ's nature in them and it empowers them to overcome their Adamic nature.

→ The primary focus of those who are righteous is to worship and serve God at every opportunity, and with every resource they can get; They are totally surrendered to God.

* A righteous person does not entertain sin in his or her life.
→ His/her heart bleeds whenever he or she falls into sin and there is always immediate repentance and restitution

* NOTE: Coming to Church will not take you to heaven; You need to have a personal relationship with Christ

* CAVEAT: Unless you have a personal relationship with Christ, this Sermon will not make any meaning to you

* No matter the situation you are facing in life, you can get an answer in God's Word - especially in the book of Psalms

* God will not rest, until your case is settled

* As a Christian, believe that God has made every provision for you to flourish in every area of your life

* 'Flourishing' here does not mean that you will never face problems or challenges in life. It refers to the peace of God that rules your heart regardless of what you experience

* The two trees mentioned in Psalm 92:12
(a) Palm Tree
(b) Cedar of Lebanon

☆ THE PALM TREE
* Palm trees are evergreen, ever showing signs of life;
→ The longer the righteous is in the way and will of God, the more the Lord will beautify his/her life
→ Proverbs 3:5-6

* The Lord uses those who are righteous to beautify the world by influencing the lives of other people for good

* If you are righteous, you will not only stand tall, but you will stand taller than all your peers

* Palm trees have a reputation of living longer
→ God blesses those who love and serve Him with long life

* A palm tree grows straight and upwards:
→ The righteous person's focus is heaven

* The palm tree casts the least shadow among other trees in the forest
→ Those who are righteous do not overshadow others in their quest for prosperity
→ They focus on depopulating the kingdom of Satan and building others to become what God wants them to be
→ They are not threatened when those around (or even under) them succeed and prosper

* Unlike other trees, the palm tree is soft:
→ the heart of the righteous man is tender and filled with God's mercy & love

* The Palm tree is resilient
→ Persecutions, afflictions etc cannot hinder the growth of the righteous child of God; instead, they make him/her strong

☆ THE CEDAR OF LEBANON
* They were usually found on mountains, not on the low lands
→ Nahum 1:5
→ Righteous people are mountainous people: they are people of prayer
→ They understand the call of the Lord to wait on Him

* Cedars are the strongest woods in the forest
→ King Solomon used the Cedars to build the pillars of the temple (See: 1st Kings 6:9)
→ Righteous people are dependable, durable, consistent, committed and have both spiritual and physical vitally

☆ FLOURISH
→ God is committed to beautifying the lives of those who are righteous and are faithful in serving Him

* NOTE: You can not flourish by your own strength; You are a product of God's grace and mercy

→ You are what you are today (experiencing success and prosperity) because the Lord said "Amen" to your prayers

* The Psalmist did not make reference to other trees, because they are not evergreen; during the dry season, they shed their leaves and withered away
→ the Lord does not want His people to look dead (wither), but to flourish consistently (physically and spiritually)

* Even in old age, those who are righteous will still flourish and continue to bear fruit
(Psalm 92:14 → "They will still bear fruit even in old age; they will be luxuriant and green.")

* If you are not flourishing in life, don't blame any body; blame yourself!
→ Stop building barriers and limitations for yourself

* Young people must realize that God has provided all that is needed for them to flourish in life

* Christian couples should not live in division and compete with each other
→ Let people see the grace of God upon your marriage & family
→ Learn to be proactive in your marriage by always seeking out how to make your marriage union work
→ You are supposed to love your spouse to the extent of dying for him/her

* The children of God are the most priviledged people on earth!

→ Christians must always pray, instead of complaining and grumbling

* When you flourish, realize that it is not by your power
→ God helped you
→ God used other people to help you; therefore, you must also help others to be strong

* Do not allow pride to govern your life
→ Everything you have belongs to God

* Remember that one day you will be required to give an account of God's blessings upon your life

                    **********************************************************

☆ PASTORS CORNER
Palm trees are known for their long life. The stately date Palm and Cedar are highly valued by people in the Near East, the palm is known for its fruit and the cedar for its wood. Both were appreciated for their beauty and both trees can survive for many years.

For the righteous to flourish like a palm tree means to stand and stand tall and also live long. The ceders of Lebanon grew 120 feet in height and are up to 30 feet in circumference, thus, they were solid, strong and immovable. To stay fresh and green in old age and not spend one's life complaining and demanding is a mark of God's Special blessing and grace.

The Psalmist saw the believers as upright, strong unmoved by winds of circumstances. Those who place their faith firmly in the Lord Can experience this divine strength and vitality. The question is, do you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus?

☆ MISSION CHARGE
"Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important and the best years of your life are the ones in which you decided your problems are your own. You don't blame them on your mother."
→ James Mason

☆ QUOTE
"Oh believer, learn to reject pride, see that you have no basis for it. Whatever you are, you have nothing to make you proud. The more you're in debt to God, and you have no reason to be proud of what makes you a debtor."
→ Charles Spurgeon

Growing Up (Rev. David Kwamkur) 01-02-2015

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

* Text: Hebrews 11:24-26

* The life of Moses began as a Journey of faith. (See: Exodus 3)

* 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

* Hebrews 11:24

→ 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:

(a) Joseph refused to sleep with Potiphar's wife (Gen 39:9)

(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.”

(d) Peter and John refused to obey a decree not to preach in the name of Christ → (Acts 4:17-20)

- 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

(Luke 14:25-33)

→ You must be willing to cut links with your family and loved ones, if need be (verse 26)

→ You must carry His cross (verse 27)

→ give up everything for the sake of Christ (verse 33)

* 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

* 2nd Timothy 3:1-5

→ 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