Missions (Rev. Reuben E. Ezemadu) 30-10-2016

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Family Worship Centre (FWC)

Wuye, Abuja  

30th October, 2016 

Picture Credit: FWC Media 

☆ SERMON: 

* Speaker: Rev. Reuben E. Ezemadu  (Founder, Christian Missionary Foundation Inc.) 

* Topic: Missions 

* Text: Matthew 24:1-14 

* We are living in a special time in God's agenda and program. 

→ It is the End Time! 

→ Many prophets of old, talked about it; Jesus amplified it (Matthew 24; Luke 21) 

* Satan is doing all he can to distract us from fulfilling God's agenda, hoping he will delay it 

* There had been political regimes that resisted the spread of the Gospel: 

→ One of the recent ones was Communism (the Iron Curtain)

→ Presently, Russia has banned all forms of missionary work and evangelism 

→ Christians are being persecuted all over the world 

* These are events that point to the fact that the end is near 

★ Matthew 24:37-39 

★ Luke 12:54-56 

* The challenge before us is that many people (including Christians) cannot discern the times  

* Many people will become lovers of self → [survival mode] 

★ 2 Timothy 3:1-5  

★ Matthew 9:35-38

* NOTE: The events that are happening in the world today (violence, oppression, terrorism, wars, economic recession, political turmoil, migration etc) are creating opportunities for ministry

→ Jesus describes this as 'big & ripe harvest'  (see: Matthew 9.37) 

* God is using persecutions, and diverse events to bring the harvest closest to us 

* The reason that Jesus has not come is because we have not finished the work [of evangelizing the lost] 

* The Lord is not leaving the Church just to worship Him. There will be plenty worship in Heaven  

→ God expects us to do what cannot be done in heaven; that is outreach (reaching the unsaved) 

★ Revelation 7:9 →"After these things, I looked, and there was a crowd so large that no one was able to count it! They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb and were wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands." 

* God is raising people of all races and tribes to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth 

* God ordains and orchestrates unlikely situations and circumstances to advance His Kingdom 

★ Acts 1:8 →"But you’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you’ll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

→ we all have a part to play 

→ the reward you will receive in heaven will be determined by how well you play your part 

* You cannot remain idle and expect a rich reward in Heaven 

* You must convert your earthy resources (money, time and talents) into eternal treasures 

* You must identify your portion and occupy it 

☆ How You can Fulfill your Part:

→ God has an assignment for everyone in the work of missions 

* Some suggestions:

1. You can go (into the field and evangelize) 

2. You can support the work of missions (financially & materially) 

3. You can pray for the success of missions and missionaries 

★ Matthew 25:34-36 

★ Matthew 5:13-15 

* God expects you to use your skills and profession to preach the Gospel of Christ 

* Every Christian is supposed to be a witness of Christ everywhere 

→ Slave girl in Na'aman's  house (2 Kings 5:1-4) 

→ Jael the housewife aided Israel's victory (Judges 4:17-24) 

→ Mordecai the gate man (Esther 4) 

* You should use the resources you have to advance God's kingdom 

★ Exodus 35:21-22 →" and every person whose heart moved him and all whose spirits prompted them, brought an offering to the LORD for constructing the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. Both the men and women came—all whose hearts prompted them—and brought brooches, earrings, rings, pendants, and all kinds of gold jewelry. Every person presented a wave offering of gold to the LORD." 

→ Everyone should take up his/her responsibilities 

→ It has to be with the realization of urgency. Opportunities do not last for ever (see: John 9:4) 

* NOTE: There is no corporate reward in heaven! 

⇒ Every one will be personally accountable to God 

* Your work cannot earn you Salvation 

→ You must believe personally

→ After you believe, you must do the work 

→ It is the work you do that determines your reward 

* A spectator has no reward! 

→ Only active players are recognized and paid 

★ Matthew 25:23 →"His master told him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant! Since you’ve been trustworthy with a small amount, I’ll put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master’s joy!" (ISV) 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 

☆ Pastor Sarah Omakwu 

→ You must constantly have a Kingdom mentality 

→ Do not be concerned about gathering material riches on earth 

→ What is on God's mind is not your next breakthrough! 

→ God is more concerned that the lost are saved 

→ How many people are you saving? 

→ There is no horror compared to loosing heaven 

→ Today is the perfect time to write your name in the books of Heaven 

→ The most important thing you can do on this earth is to get people saved and reconciled to Jesus  

★ John 10:16 → "I have other sheep that don’t belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they’ll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd." 

* How many people have you led to Jesus Christ? 

→ If you have not done so, you are failing 

* There are endless opportunities to bring people to Christ everyday 

* Do the things that please God. That is the souls of men 

* Your testimony is a powerful tool of evangelism 

→ You can share your story with others 

* To those going all over looking for love and acceptance in the wrong places:

→ God has the key to everything that you need in life 

→ God wants to give you rest and peace of mind 

☆ QUOTE

"A great church is not known for its seating capacity, 
but by its sending capacity." 

→ Oswald J. Smith 

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

Dangers of Pride (Reverend Maxwell Dayok) 12-11-2000

★MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN)

(Now Church of Christ in Nations)

Hwolshe, Gigiring, Jos

Plateau State, Nigeria

12th November, 2000

SERMON

* Speaker: Reverend Maxwell Dayok

* Topic: Dangers of Pride

* Theme: Jesus Christ & Mission

* Since we as a Church are not praying, the devil has occupied us with himself

* The prayerless Christian is at the mercy of Satan

* If you are not filled and empowered by the spirit of God, then you are filled, empowered and controlled by the devil

* There is no neutral ground in spirituality - either you are with Christ, or with Satan

* Everyone filled, empowered and controlled by God's Spirit manifests the fruits of the spirit of God

* When you are not filled with the Spirit of God and yon think you are, then there is danger

* One of the dangers of prayerlessness is that pride comes in

* Many Christians consider themselves as giants, and are filled with pride, but inside, they are empty

* God opposes those who are proud

★ Isaiah 29:13

★ Matthew 15:8-9

★ Proverbs 12:22

* You need to adjust yourself and who you are in reality

* Come back to God and humble yourself and ask God to help you

★ Proverbs 8:13

* Some Christians, instead of hating evil, plan and encourage evil to God's disgrace

→ If you fear God, you'll hate evil

★ Proverbs 11:2

* Unless you understand this, you'll soon be disgraced

* Stop thinking you are big, and humble yourself before the Lord

★ Proverbs 13:10

* Pride only breeds querells but wisdom is found in those who take advise

* Begin to think of yourself as nothing

★ Proverbs 16:18

★ Proverbs 29:23

* Pride is a demoter

* There is nothing that you have that has not been given to you by God

* The reason why you are growing in pride is because you are not praying much - you have become powerless; flesh becomes prominent in all you do and tradition surpasses the things of God (the Christian tradition)

Rescue the Harrased and the Helpless (Pastor D. D. Sakoma) 07-06-1998

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA),

(now Evangelical Church Winning All)

Airport, Abuja - Nigeria

[Missions Week]

7th June, 1998

* Speaker: Pastor D. D. Sakoma (from ECWA Karu)

* Topic: Rescue the Harassed and the Helpless

* Text: Matthew 9:35-38

★ Romans 12:18 →"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in peace with all people."

★ Romans 10:13-15

★ Romans 6:9-10

* Our God is a "seeking God''. The Bible is a record of the Shepherd seeking the lost sheep

★ Genesis 9:6 →“Whoever sheds human blood, by a human his own blood is to be shed; because God made human beings in his own image."

→ Man was made in the image of God

★ Exodus 3:7-9

★ Matthew 9:35 →"Then Jesus began traveling throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness."

* God sent His Son into the world to rescue men. He sent His Word to bear witness

* The harassed and the helpless are those that are the sinners and those under the bondage of the enemy; those that have not yet heard the Gospel

★ Matthew 24:14 →"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

* Jesus will not come unless the Word (Gospel) has been heard by everyone

* If you cannot go out to the rescue mission, then you can pray, or give to support missionary efforts

★ Philippians 2:10 →"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."

* Jesus humbled himself to become man. He was afflicted and brutally murdered but eventually, He rose from the dead.

* Poser: What are you doing (as a Christian) to share in the suffering of Christ?

★ 1st Thessalonians 2:1-2 →" For you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a waste of time. As you know, we suffered persecution and were mistreated in Philippi. Yet we were encouraged by our God to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition."

★ Romans 1:14 → " Both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish people, I am a debtor."

* The Gospel is an obligation that Christians are indebted to

★ Romans 5:6 →"For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, the Messiah died for the ungodly."

* If we don't preach the Gospel, our brethren will be left to die in darkness

★ Ezekiel 33:8-9 →" If I should say to a certain wicked person, ‘You wicked man, you’re certainly about to die,’ but you don’t warn him to turn from his wicked behaviour, he’ll die in his guilt, but I’ll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you. However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behaviour and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself.”

* Unless you tell the lost about the love of Christ, if they die in darkness, God will require their blood from you

→ See: Romans 1:16-17

☆ HOW TO ENGAGE IN MISSIONARY WORK

1. Let people see the light of God in your life

2. Pray for the progress of God's work and the workers

3. Support the work through generous giving

4. Go out and tell others that are lost and are in darkness about the love of Christ

 

* Many Christians have turned from evangelism to back-biting and grumbling

* The lost cannot be found unless someone goes and tells them;

* God will require their blood from you if you relent in spreading the Word of truth that gives life

* NOTE: Missions is the heartbeat of God