BLESSED IS THE MAN

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Psalms 1:1-3

You may be familiar with this passage of scripture. It makes for such a grand introduction to the wonderful book of psalms. It strikes you right between the eyes and sets the stage for the rest of the book. It starts on a high. A recital that you need to have in your bank.

It starts with proclaiming a blessing. The word used in Hebrew is esher which means among other things -how happy!. Happiness is increasingly becoming rare in this world. All around you see more sadness than happiness. People are depressed, stressed out and just want to be happy. We envy those that are always bubbly and laughing all the time. We are even angry with them for being so happy. Happiness is an expression of joy. The Bible says it is possible to be this happy. To be that bubbly guy. I will show you how.

This blessing, happiness is qualified by prescribing what this man ought to do to enjoy this blessing. He ought not to walk with the wicked nor stand in the way of sinners or sit in the company of mockers. These represent the degrees of sin that we ought to be wary of. Walk. Stand and Sit. Walking with the sinner implies a meeting of minds. NIV uses the words being in step with the wicked. When two people walk together they are accomplices. They are united in doing wrong. Remember, do two walk together unless they are agreed? Amos 3:3. Paul reminds us that bad company corrupts good morals. 1 Cor 15:33. To understand what it means to stand in the way of sinners, we have to look at the original Hebrew word used which is amad. It means among many things, to confirm, continue, dwell, be employed, endure, establish. All these words to mean condoning and affirmation of the sinners' ways. Paul warns us not to be equally yoked with unbelievers 2 Corinthians 6:14. The Hebrew word for sit is yashab that implies to inhabit, to dwell, to marry. Becoming one. Walk. Stand. Sit. Sin has a graduating effect. The righteous man starts with walking with the wicked, and then confirms their actions by condoning them and finally becomes one of them. James 1:15 explains this trajectory, 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Avoiding all these degrees is key to the blessing.

So the blessed man avoids sinners in every way but does not stop there. He delights in God’s law and meditates on it day and night. The MSG translation puts it perfectly; “Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night”. Psalm 1:2-3. Joshua 1:8 reminds us to never allow God’s word to depart from us. Col 3:16 exhorts us to ensure that God’s word dwells in us richly. Friends, the Word of God is life to us. The word of God is symbolized as water in scriptures Eph 5:26. It is what makes the tree not wither. It is the stream of water that makes the tree bear fruit in its season. When you meditate on His Word, you get to trust God and He becomes your confidence. Jeremiah 17:7-8 then applies in your life and you become fruitful and never worry in a year of drought. This is what blessing is all about. God’s desire is for you to bear fruit. To be productive. Unfruitfulness in God’s kingdom is dealt with rather harshly. Jesus cursed the fig tree when he could not find fruit on it. Mark 11:12-25. Every tree that does not bear fruit will be pruned to bear fruit, Jesus said in John 15. Pruning friends is not pleasant. It is discomfiting and intrusive. It is the price we must pay for not bearing fruit. The leaf withers when it is disconnected from the tree. When it is cut off from the supply, it withers and dies. In the same way, if we disconnect from Him, we wither and die. The MSG translation of John 15:5-8 sums it up;

'“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. '

So you want to prosper, be blessed, be happy? Then do not be yoked with sinners, meditate on His Word and only then can you be fruitful. Be that man. Be that woman who God calls blessed.

WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:7-8

Micah was one of the minor prophets in the Bible sent to Israel to proclaim God’s judgement. He lived at the same time as the prophet Isaiah. They spoke the same message to Israel albeit in different styles. God does not contradict Himself as is often the case with modern so-called prophets. The message is consistent. What God spoke to Isaiah concerning Israel is more or less what He spoke to Micah. When you read through Micah you get the feeling of a different prophet. Don’t get me wrong, he is typical, he has pronouncements of judgement as is often the case with the other prophets, but he also with equal measure pronounces mercy and retribution for sin. His message of judgement is peppered with mercy so you don’t end up feeling all doom and gloom. The passage we have read today is one of the most notable scriptures from the book of Micah.

How often times we have wondered what God wants from us? This passage reveals the will of God for our lives in the most simplistic ways. It is not ambiguous. It is direct. Before we dissect what God wants from us, Micah speaks for all of us when he lists down those things we would rather do to win God’s favour. Lev 5:15 required a sinner to bring in a ram without blemish as his sin offering. This was the common practice and we see it also when Solomon was anointed King in 1 Chron 29:21. We notice the same case when Solomon was dedicating the temple in 1 Kings 8:62-63. The idea was to get God’s attention through sacrifice. Yet this is not what God requires from us inasmuch as we are still required to offer sacrifice albeit now, not through the blood of animals but rather through our lips and service to Him. A grain offering would then be offered after a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to God. Lev 6:15. Olive oil would form part of the grain offering. These sacrifices would make up for your atonement for sin. Micah had informed Israel of their sin and naturally, this would be their response. The firstborn belonged to God as we see in Exodus 13:2 and would serve as a reminder of how God redeemed Israel from Egypt. He was to be offered to God and be redeemed back. He was not to be sacrificed. This was a malpractice that Israel had picked up at the time from their neighbours. 2 Kings 3:27. Giving only one of the sacrifices required a lot of effort and time let alone thousands of rams or rivers of oil. Micah was essentially saying that we cannot buy our freedom.

Yet as much as a sacrifice is important, God would require us to do 3 things. Act justly. Do what is right with God -obey Him and follow His decrees, with your neighbour -Love your neighbour as God has requested us and love yourself. This is justice. Doing unto others what you would want men to do with you. Matt 7:12. The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. Eccl 12:13 Love Mercy. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain Mercy. Matt 5:7. Part of showing mercy is pure religion as James 1:27 tells us. Visiting the orphans and widows in their afflictions. This is part and parcel of our Christian heritage. We must intentionally be different and show mercy just as we have received mercy. Walk humbly with God. This could mean a lot of things but I would concentrate on prayer as one of the ways we humble ourselves to God. If my people who are called by My name would humble themselves and pray…2 Chron 7:14. When we pray we are showing humility to God. When we fast, we are humbling ourselves to God. Remember God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6.

God delights in these three things. When we do these things then we can boast that we know Him for Jeremiah 9:24 tells us that He is a God who delights in justice, kindness and righteousness. Knowing God is delighting in the things that He delights in. You want to know God? Then friends, let’s seek justice and mercy. Let’s remember, justice and mercy are the foundations of His Throne. Psalm 89:12

STRIVING WITH HIS SPIRIT

Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

This is the prelude to the first account of God punishing Earth for its sins. You remember after this, God spoke to Noah to build an ark. The Spirit of God had not yet been poured out from on high as Jesus promised. Peter in his inaugural address post infilling of the Spirit declared that the gift of the Holy Spirit was to those who listened to him, their children and to all those God will call. (Acts 2:39). Instances of the move of the Spirit of God before Jesus ascended to heaven were limited to individuals and not everyone could enjoy this gift. Prior to Noah’s Ark, after God had chased Adam and Eve from His Presence (Eden), the Spirit of God was still hovering over the face of the waters and would move as permitted by man. Enoch had enjoyed His presence and had an encounter. Thereafter, we see Abraham enjoy fellowship with God, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua…Samson…David…all these men encountered the Holy Spirit and God used them. Their faith commended them as Heb 11 says. Inasmuch as we are in a new dispensation where the Spirit of God has been poured out freely to all who shall receive Him, the same principle applies. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His statutes do not change. His Spirit will not contend with man.

As we have already seen, God is holy and sin would push Him away from us. God would not dwell in a vessel that continues to sin against Him. David understood this and we see Him begging God not to take away His Spirit from Him after sinning against Him. Psalm 51:11. The Israelites though chosen by God, vexed His Spirit and He turned away from them. Psalm 63:10 Samson wist not that the Spirit had departed and we know what happened after that. Judges 16:20. Samson's continuous dalliance with the enemy validates the fact His Spirit shall not contend or strive with man. Despite God asking him to stop being yoked with the Philistines, he insisted on sinning against Him and he lost his sensitivity to God’s Spirit. He forgot that it is His Spirit that gave him strength and when the Spirit departed Him, he lost his strength. A vital lesson for us today and a reminder that it is His Spirit that gives us strength. It is not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit. Zech 4:6.

In the new dispensation, we see that this promise is still kept. His Spirit is still not striving with men. Paul understood this and asked the Ephesians not to Grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30). He also instructed the Christians at Thessalonica not to Quench the Spirit. (1 Thess 5:19). Stephen in his maiden speech in Acts 7:51 decried how his people have always resisted the Spirit of God just like his forefathers. We grieve the Spirit when we indulge in those practices that are against His will or He has forbidden. When we disobey God, we grieve the Spirit. When we IGNORE His leading, we quench the Spirit. When we refuse His leading, we resist Him.

Friends, God has sworn He shall not strive with men again and when we do these things i.e. disobey, ignore, reject Him, we deprive ourselves of the gift of the Holy Spirit who is our helper, the One who is supposed to enable us live this Christian life. As a gentle dove, the Spirit will not settle where He is not enthroned. Let us not lose our sensitivity to His promptings and leadings. Let us not strive with God!

KEEPING IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

I love how the MSG translation brings to life scriptures that we have known all along. Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to address the hot debate between the Christian Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews had believed that righteousness could only be achieved through the laws of Moses. Paul debunked this by saying that it is through faith and not works which is now a new dispensation. Paul argued that the circumcision that the Jews were insisting on was now being fulfilled in the heart. Righteousness was to be achieved only through the help of the Holy Spirit. He who was given to us freely as a helper John 14:26 to enable us achieve the righteousness that God required of us. Paul goes on further to urge the Galatians to walk in the Spirit in order not to gratify the desires of the flesh. Gal 5:16. He then demonstrates the conflict that exists between the flesh and the Spirit. This constant struggle that the law of Moses was not able to free you from. Paul asserts that the new dispensation now that is about faith through Jesus leverages on the fruits of the Spirit that we must possess within us. These fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control when they grow within you will help you overcome the desires of the flesh. In order to keep the fruit growing, Paul reminds the believers that it is only possible by crucifying the flesh and living in the Spirit.

Friends, in order to enjoy this freedom from the law, freedom from condemnation we must keep in step with the Spirit. We must allow the Spirit of God full access to every aspect of our lives (MSG). He is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. We cannot have it both ways. We must live our lives as Prov 3:5-6 requests us i.e. trusting and submitting to God wholeheartedly and letting Him direct our paths. Your desires and wants must take a backseat and the Lord’s will must be at the forefront of our minds. We must intentionally seek His will to know which way He is leading us, every step. The analogy as depicted in the NIV translation (Gal 5:25-26) is step by step. He leads, we follow. We keep up with Him. If someone must keep in step with you they must be close enough. This is a fellowship. A communion. In order to fellowship with Him then we must then cultivate those habits that shall develop the fruits of the Spirit. Get rid of old habits i.e. the works of the flesh that are obvious, in other words, resist the devil and he will flee away from you. (James 4:7)

Today, I encourage you to concern yourself with the things that concern Him. The Bible encourages us to set our minds on those things that are above (Col 3:2). For us to keep in step with the Spirit, then we must fix our eyes on Him. (Heb 12:2). We cannot lose focus. We must forget those things which are behind us and press toward the calling. (Phil 3:13-14). Brethren, true freedom is found in the Spirit. The freedom that we desperately crave, freedom from the war within will only be found where the Spirit is. (2 Cor 3:17). If we are close enough, we shall keep in step with Him and experience this freedom.

“The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” This quote is attributed to Dwight L. Moody.

VESSELS OF HONOUR

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21

I am sure by now you have been inundated by lots of election messages and I do not wish to add on to what has been said. Rather, I’d like us to pick up from last week when I shared with you the struggles we experience with sin coupled with feelings of condemnation as we struggle with obedience in our pursuit of holiness. We were comforted to know that first we are not alone in our struggles and second, there is grace for all of us. Today, I’d like us to continue with more or less the same theme of this journey of living a life worthy of the calling you have received. Eph 4:1

The passage of scripture in 2 Tim 2:20-21 is one of my favorite scriptures. We are all called to God’s kingdom. Like many, we heeded the invitation and we find ourselves in this large house. We are all God’s children. We are vessels of God to be used by Him. While all of us are fit for purpose, from this passage God reveals to us that we have different purposes. Some are for common use while others are for special use. Other translations use the words, “honor and dishonour, noble and ignoble”. Not quite easy to read. Yet we all belong in this house.

Years ago my friends and I wondered out loud what heaven would look like. As young minds a lot had been said to us concerning heaven; streets of gold, mansions, all round goodness. There are scriptures to confirm all these were accurate but we asked ourselves, if heaven is full of mansions, could there be slums in heaven? I mean there is always another side to the city. Jesus told His disciples that heaven has many mansions, other translations use the word rooms. He said He is going to prepare a place for us. (John 14:2). Think with me for a second, if God will judge all of us and reward each according to what he has done on earth (Rom 2:6), I wonder about the thief who repented next to Jesus and was promised paradise. What would he find waiting for him on the other side? His deeds were largely evil during his time on earth. He was just saved by a whisker and made it to the kingdom. Would he be in a mansion or would he be in a slum? Albeit in heaven? Just thinking…you see we were young minds full of imagination…a story for another day.

You may ask yourself? Is it pre-determined? Was I meant to be just a wooden vessel? A vessel of clay? Actually, in Jeremiah 18; we are all clay in the hands of the potter. Romans 9:21 even goes on to say; “ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? “ This alludes that it is God who determines who is for common use or special purpose. We have no role to play. Or do we? We must look at the bigger picture to understand. Israel, rather the Jews as a people, nation have been set apart as God’s nation. Jesus said, He came to His own people and they received Him not (John 1:11). He said he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 15:24) so how did you and I come to the kingdom? Romans 9 and 10 says that because of the stubbornness of the Israelites, God grafted us in and sat us on the King’s table like Mephibosheth with full privileges. Paul gives us a chilling reminder that if God could do it to His special people, what makes us think He would not do it to us if we disobey? Peter exhorts us to be diligent and make our calling and election sure so that we may not fall. (2 Pet 1:10). He goes on to say we are now a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a chosen people.2 Peter 2:9. We have no excuse. Friends, we have a role to play.

This brings me to my point today. We have noble vessels and ignoble vessels. What sets you apart is determined by the works you do. What works? The work to cleanse yourself in other words, sanctify yourself. Moses and Joshua would commune with God face to face and not be consumed. Yet when the children of Israel requested to meet with God, they were requested to cleanse themselves for 3 days to be ready to meet with Him. Yet after doing so, they were not able to meet with Him and still were God’s children. We know that Moses put in the work. His resume is laid out in Heb 11:24-29. He denied himself the goodies of Egypt as a prince child to be identified with the sufferings of his people. This sacrifice set him apart. Our works go before us. When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt. (Henry J. Kaiser).What you do determines whether you are a special purpose vessel or just a common vessel. God’s word that dwells in us, is flawless. It is tested like silver and gold. Refined 7 times. Psalm 12:6. This is testing, this furnace is what refines us and repurposes us from clay works to special works. Do not fret at God’s furnace. We must be ready to go through the refiner’s fire to do good works just as Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38).

Brethren, don’t just be a common vessel. Let us strive to be used as vessels of honour. Fit for the master’s use. You know what you need to do. Is there a better way to encapsulate this than using the MSG translation of our theme verse 2 Tim 2:20

20-21In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing

HOLINESS

Holiness 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV) 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

The message of holiness has become somewhat a taboo in recent times. It is mystic and left to each one’s interpretation. I do not wish to delve in these murky waters but I will attempt to decipher and decode this ambiguous topic thereby making it palatable. I’d like to state from the onset that holiness is what we all aspire to and I do not purport to have attained. Remember, we have learnt this week that obedience is what God demands of us and we have the grace to say No to ungodliness. We also learnt that the Holy Spirit is there for us to convict us not to condemn us when we fall short in our pursuit of righteousness with our constant struggle with sin. Question is, why bother? Why bother to chase a moving target? God has commanded us to be Holy, just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Peter was quoting Leviticus 11:44. This is not only for the dispensation of the Law but we too in this dispensation of grace are called to be holy.

A calling that is an impossible task. A calling we simply are out of depth and lack the capacity to attain. Yet, He who is holy, He who whose eyes are purer than to behold evil (Hab 1:13), He who turned His back on His son Jesus at the cross because of sin, is asking us to be like Him. He created us in His image, His likeness. We are gods (Psalm 82:6), his children curved out from Him carrying His DNA. The DNA that is pure, blameless. Holy. All of a sudden, this fact changes everything. You see, if the DNA is holy, then we can safely debunk the myth that it is impossible to attain Holiness.

Holiness. The Hebrew word is qadowsh or qadosh {kaw-doshe'}; to mean sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary:--holy (One), saint. From this I pick out an interesting description of holiness; i.e. oneness. Deut 6:4 says, the Lord our God is ONE. Unity.

Coming back to our theme scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 breaks man into 3 parts. The spirit, the soul and the body. All 3 must be kept blameless. It is possible to be contaminated in your spirit, yet your soul is blameless or be impure in your body but your spirit soul are blameless. 1 Corinthians 5:5 Paul instructs the church in Corinth to handover the fornicator to Satan for the destruction of his body to have his soul saved. Here we see a disconnect between the soul and the body. Luke 12:20 in the parable of the rich fool, Jesus says that the rich fool’s soul was required that night. It is required that the soul is also saved since we know that the soul that sinneth shall surely die. (Ezekiel 18:20) .

The desire of God is to have the entire being -spirit, soul and body blameless. This is holiness. We have noted that holiness is ONENESS just like God is ONE. Our aspiration is therefore to attain the unity of the spirit, soul and body to become blameless in all these parts. Holiness is not attained if one or two parts of the entire being are pure. All 3 must be in tandem for holiness to be attained. In essence we must work on our spirits, our souls and body. God has called us to holiness -the unity of the spirit soul and body.

Your spirit is regenerated when you get born again but your soul and body are not immediately converted. The Spirit -the breath of the almighty that gives life (Job 33:4) takes over your spirit and begins to wash and sanctify your soul. Your soul is your mind, your feelings, your emotions, your intellect. It is where reasoning takes place. Your soul ought to be born again -the renewing of the mind, take the mindset of Christ. Your body is your physical house -where your spirit and soul reside. Your body is condemned to sin and must be born again as well. Bible says do not lend your body to sin, flee sexual immorality that sins against the body, do not offer your body as instruments of wickedness. (Rom 6:12-13). You must discipline your body to obey the spirit man. Your body is as important since it is the agent through which God's will is accomplished on earth. Bible says we offer ourselves as living sacrifice -holy and acceptable. (Rom 12:1) The body has gateways to the spirit and the soul. The eyes, the mouth, the sex organs, the ears. These must be guarded and be kept pure. The eyes must keep away from all appearance of evil, (1 Thess 5:22) the mouth must not speak blasphemous words or ungodly talk (Eph 4:29), the body must not engage in sexual immorality i.e. perversions or be a hint of the same. (Eph 5:3) The ears must hear the word continuously and not evil. Isaiah 55:3 says, incline your ears to hear God. Remember in Leviticus 8:23 Moses sanctiied Aaron’s right ear with blood. The hands must not teach the unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:17), the feet must not take you to the company of the wicked, or sit in the seat of mockers (Psalm 1:1)

Friends, the demand for holiness is heavy. Your life is not your own. We must be stewards of what God has given us. We must engage in spiritual disciplines that cut across our entire being. From prayer feeding our spirit, fellowshipping with fellow brethren feeding our souls to fasting beating our body to submission, we must get intentional with holiness. The Word of God is living and active (Heb 4:12) dividing soul and spirit. Every fiber of our being needs the Word to be sanctified and only then can we begin to look like God. Holy. The MSG translation renders 1 Thess 5:23-24 in such a beautiful way and I do not have any better words to encapsulate what I have shared today!

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!

SAYING NO TO UNGODLINESS

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted 2 Timothy 3:12

We live in a time when evil is promoted and glorified. Godliness is shunned and frowned upon as a backward idea and the idea of salvation in Jesus Christ is increasingly becoming more of a notion than reality. At a time when technology has advanced and knowledge has increased in the world, I would dare say that now more than ever, this world needs a saviour, a compass to direct us to the true North especially because everyone has an opinion on what life is all about. How then can a young man keep his way pure in this generation? But this is not just about a young man. It is about you and I. Those that have subscribed to the gospel of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. It is by His grace we shall make overcome.

Titus 2:11 is a scripture that encourages us that there is GRACE. More often people mistake grace as condonement of bad behaviour. This is not a foreign idea because it happened during the times of Paul when he retorted, ‘Shall we sin that may grace may abound?’ Romans 6:1.

The word grace is the Greek word, ‘Charis’ and this is the original translation. It means acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace(- ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank(-s, -worthy). It is a gift from God essentially. It is freedom. Yesterday, we looked at struggling with sin and how much it feels like bondage. Here today we see that God has given us a gift. The gift of freedom. We are free from the shackles of sin. The other meaning is joy. Psalm 16:11 is a favorite scripture that speaks of joy in His presence. This is the grace I am talking about. The kind that comes from being in His presence. It goes on to say that His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthian 12:9) and has appeared to all men. Very important to note. This grace is not measured or selective. It is given to all. Everyone has access. There is no one who is superior in this. This grace teaches us to say No. Let’s dissect a bit that word, teach’. The original Greek word is paideuo that means to train up a child, i.e. educate, or (by implication), discipline (by punishment):--chasten(-ise), instruct, learn, teach. This does not merely mean a one-off Bible Seminar and that is it. The Greek word implies a training. An education. Time. Discipline by punishment. Hebrews 12:5, the verses we looked at yesterday speaks of how God disciplines the one He loves and chastens everyone He accepts as His son (NIV). This is teaching.

So this grace that is freely available to everyone and is a gift, trains us, disciplines us to say no to ungodliness. Matt 5:37 Jesus told us to simply let our yes be yes and no be no. I want to submit to you friends that it takes absolute training -military training to say no in a puff. This is not as simple as it sounds. We are hard pressed at every side (2 Cor 4:8) and only training can help us endure and push back the evil that surrounds us. To resist those passions that were once ruling us as Titus 3:3 says, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”.

When we undergo this training through discipline, chastening by the Lord we develop the internal resistance to say no to worldly passions. Psalm 119:71, David confesses that it is God’s affliction that taught him the statutes of God. Friends, this is what grace leads us to. A season of affliction, God's school of hard knocks!. His grace being sufficient helps us get through training and graduate to be able to have the skills to live in this present age. Let’s take those difficult moments that we go through as training to learn His statutes. Gaining an education to say No to ungodliness and in so doing we will be self-controlled, upright and look forward to doing good.

STRUGGLING WITH SIN

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Hebrews 12:1-4

Hebrews. One of the complex books in the Bible. It’s author is not yet known at least by the many scholars who have attempted to lock down its author. It is argued that it was written sometime during the latter half of the 1st century. During this time there was a sport known as pugilism. That is an ancient word of Latin origin to mean boxing. Like modern day boxing or wrestling there would be an arena and two men would box each other as the people watched and cheered. You’ve probably watched some ancient roman movies and this is the imagery here. The author in verse 4 speaks of our struggle against sin as one who is fighting in the arena and usually in those games blood would be shed. The more blood shed the merrier the event would be. You are the man in the arena. Sin is your opponent. You are throwing your punch and it is feeble. Sin throws his punch and gets you right in your chin. Down on the floor you find yourself. The cloud of witnesses gasp wondering if you are going to stand up again. In the cacophony of noise, you see the referee looking at you helping you to get up again. By now you are bloodied. You cannot even see. Your tooth is out. One eye is shut. Your head is swollen. Sin is definitely winning. As you are down there on the floor you wonder why try again. Why stand? Why don’t you just give up. Sin is mocking you. You are clealy not getting out of this arena alive. It looks like you are condemned to die. Like Samson you are ready to die with the ‘Philistines’.

Sin. Like a sore thumb it just refuses to go away. It sticks out. We are all very familiar with this man called sin. He is there constantly. To understand this, we must go back to the very beginning. At the dawn of humanity. We know that story in the garden of Eden. Sin is not a Johny come lately. He is there at the onset of what we called life. He is older than you. He was there long before you were conceived. He owns this place. You are just in his space. Sin is not going away. Many have attempted to beat him and he has held them captive. Who do you think you are trying to fight sin?

7 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:17 This for me is the best definition of sin. It is as personal as it gets. It is fighting battles no one knows about. I wish it would be only that. It is not. Sin is beyond personal. Sin is universal. Gal 5:19 speaks of the works of the flesh as obvious. They are well known. Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry…the list goes on. Problem is there are those that are not known. Those that are personal. What James is speaking of in James 4:17. Only you know what you promised God to do but did not do it. They are those that categorize sin in two parts; sins of omission and sins of commission. Omission -you have not even committed ‘that’ obvious sin. You are not fornicating. Good. You have not done anything on that list. But you are not praying. My friend, you have committed a sin. (1 Sam 12:23). Then there is the sins of commission. Those things you know that are wrong but you do them. It is Romans chapter 7 all over again. Oh wretched man I am. Who shall deliver me from this?

John comes to our rescue with the verse 1 John 8-10 (MSG) If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way -we are sinners. All of us have sinned and fallen short. Rom 3:23. What is Hebrews talking about? Resisting sin, to the point of shedding your blood? Remember we looked at Paul’s war being against principalities, rulers and this is our fight as well. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27. Paul encourages us to keep our focus. To keep fighting. We must get to the finishing line. We also looked at how we react when we fall. Being convicted versus being condemned. It is complex friends. It is stumbling and getting back up again. It is staying in that ring, just refusing to quit and therein lies the victory against sin if there is any. The fact that you refuse to give up. The fact that you bounce back up again. The fact that you say I will try again. Sin is perplexed that you are still here. Fighting.

My appeal to you today is don’t stop fighting. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Heb 12:3). The verse preceding the fight against sin. Don’t grow weary. Don’t lose heart. He is with us. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Deut 7-8 (MSG) Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, “Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he’d give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”

You are in the arena. Fighting. Boxing. But you are not alone. God is with you. The Holy Spirit is there with you and this is what this makes this fight different from every other. You are not alone. He is that referee who was reaching out to you to stand up. He is biased towards you. He is not playing fair to sin. He is pulling strings in here. You have won even when the world thinks otherwise. Of course you think so too. How did I win? I was beaten to a pulp but I won. You won because He is the righteous judge. Because He who began a good work in you must bring it to completion. Phil 1:6

OBEDIENCE QUOTIENT

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete

2 Corinthians 10:5-6 9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything 2 Corinthians 2:9

The above portions of Scripture is an extract of a bigger story. Paul is sort of reading the riot act to his ‘children’ at Corinth. He is defending his ministry against accusations brought forth by strangers and in his defense he counters by arguing that his war is in an another dimension. You can feel his anger, frustration reading through 2 Corinthians 10-11. Think about it, you have laboured and invested in these people only for them to be swayed so easily by others. He goes on a tirade and even allows himself to be caught up in this foolishness (2 Corinthians 11). It is worth noting that after all, Paul was human. He like all of us would get agitated and frustrated when things did not go his way. As it were, I pick out something interesting he speaks of in his verbosity. He appreciates the fact that he is speaking to Corinthians -those whom we know from other accounts that they are babes in Christian maturity (1 Cor 3:1) undeserving of meat from God’s word but those still nursing with carnality. He knows that they are still struggling. They are still doubting. They are still tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. He postpones his punishment of them till their ‘obedience’ is complete. He is quite frustrated that they are not yet ‘ loyal’ as they ought to be. (6And after you have proved your complete loyalty, we will be ready to punish any act of disloyalty (Good News Translation))

This brings me to my point of obedience. Paul was demanding of full obedience, loyalty to himself and teachings and is a carbon copy of what Jesus was with his disciples. Indeed Jesus also showed his frustration when he realized that his disciples could not keep up with him. He exasperated, for how long he had to be with them for them to believe (Matt 17:17). In God’s kingdom, obedience is what is required. John 8:31 says that the true test of discipleship is obedience. Throughout scriptures, God demanded total obedience from men and those that did not fulfill His commands, instructions ended up missing the mark. It is military in God’s kingdom. The centurion servant touched a vitality when he showed Jesus that he understood rank and instructions. (Luke 7:1-10). In fact 2 Tim 2:4 attests that we are indeed soldiers who ought not to be caught up with civilian affairs.

Abraham was commended by God for obeying His commands to the tee. He did what he was told. David was commended by God for being a man after God’s own heart who did all that God asked him to do. (Acts 13:22). Moses missed the mark despite being a great leader. In his anger he hit the rock and God dealt with him rather harshly by denying him entry into the promised land. God anointed Saul as King and repented of this when he did not execute His will. Yet in this journey we do not start out as obedient men. We fight with God’s will at every turn. We do not yield or surrender to Him at the very first instance. We walk this journey. Paul understood this and he knew that the Corinthians had a journey to take to get to that place of total obedience. It is comforting to know that the disciples were in the same WhatsApp group -and many of us are. Our obedience quotient is small but we have a journey to take. I will show you why.

Often than not we do not do what God asks of us. We question His will. We try to negotiate. We even promise to do it ‘later’ maybe when the time is right by us. We do what is convenient and leave out what is uncomfortable. Unfortunately, in God’s kindgom, delayed obedience is disobedience. David says in Psalm 119:60, “I was up at once, didn’t drag my feet, was quick to follow your orders (MSG)”. As a parent, I expect my child to do what I ask him to do when I ask him. Abraham was asked to leave his parents house and he immediately did.(Gen 14) Peter, James and John left everything they were doing and followed Jesus. Prompt. This is complete obedience. Saul fulfilled partially God’s command we saw yesterday in 1 Samuel 15. God rejected him because partial obedience is disobedience. Jesus gave a parable of the two sons in Matt 21:28-32 in which we see the principle of obedience. One was told to go work in the vineyard. He flatly said, ‘No’ . He later changed his mind and did what his father asked him. The other son was asked the same thing. He said, ‘I will’ but did not do it. Jesus asks, ‘who did the will of his father?’ . This parable shows that there is redemption for us. We might have started out by saying no to what God has aked us to do but later God works on us. His Holy Spirit convicts us and we change our minds and do it. We end up doing His will. What is worse is saying that we will and not do it. Or postpone it. We do not know whether the other son who said he will do it was just taking his time. Maybe he still was planning to go work in his father’s vineyard. We do not know but what we know is that he did not end up doing it. Let us be wary of saying yes and not doing it. Reminds me of Jonah. He said no at first and suffered for it. He said yes the second time and he was redemeed. We know from the story of Jonah that the word of God came to him a SECOND time.(Jonah 3:1). Another lesson here is what our Pastor keeps saying, ‘God will not advance you beyond your last disobedience’

Friends, I do not wish to belabour the point but I would urge us to examine our lives and ask ourselves, ‘What has God asked me that I did not do?’. Repent of it and do it immediately. Today, I want you to go back to your hearts and minds and check. Is there a pending instruction yet to be done? Do it. Now. Leave that relationship. Now. Don’t wait. God’s commands are in His words written in our hearts and in the Bible. Let us take this journey together and rid ourselves of civility and go on to maturity. To the place of total surrender. Let us get our obedience quotient to the highest level. Total complete obedience.

CONVICTION NOT CONDEMNATION

 3-4Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”

They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”

5Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself

Matthew 27:1-5 (MSG)

Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried. (Matthew 26:75 MSG)

Two men who were disciples of Jesus. One became the Rock upon which the Church was built (Matt 16:18) while the other went to ‘his’ place (Acts 1:25). 

Two men who essentially committed the same sin -betrayal of Jesus. Both betrayed Jesus with their lips -one with his lips while the other with his words. 

How come one was replaced while the other was restored? Both were remorseful for their actions. One repented and was restored the other was drowned by sorrow.

Saul and David. Two men who God appointed and anointed as King over Israel. Two men who sinned against the Lord. One was rejected the other was restored. 1 Samuel 15 tells the story of Saul and Samuel and how God rejected him for not doing what he was asked to do by God. David is a man whose sins are well documented. A failed parent (2 Samuel 13:21), a man whose hands were full of blood (1 Chron 28:3) who disobeyed God quite a few times (1 Chron 21) but seemed to get away with it every time. Saul was remorseful and seemingly repented for his sins as recorded in 1 Sam 15. David’s prayer in Psalm 51 is his confession and repentance for one of his many sins. God accepted his prayer. God rejected Saul’s sacrifice. 

The Christian journey is very much a pilgrim’s progress.One full of treacherous paths and getting to your destination is not guaranteed. Only those who faint not get there. It is reminiscent of the words of Jesus, that the road is narrow and few find it. Matthew 7:14. Most times, you will feel like Peter or Judas. You promised just yesterday that you are not going to do THAT again. But here you are; you are smack right back in. You pick yourself up and you do ‘right’ by your own standards only to fall back again albeit a few days nay weeks even months later. It takes you back to that feeling of hopelessness. You and I are Peter and Judas. We are disciples but we betray Him. We often than not feel like we are crucifying Him all over again. (Heb 6:6). We are anointed like Saul or David but we find ourselves in those compromising situations. These men were insiders, not bystanders, they were very much the inner circle. We are not talking about ‘unbelievers’ but men who had been set apart for God’s work. Really just like me and you. It is inevitable that we will fall short of God’s purpose and plan for our lives. Yet their reaction when they fell determined their destinies. Those were the defining moments. How we respond when we fall very much determines where we end up. 

These two men demonstrate the difference between condemnation and conviction. What is condemnation? What is conviction?

From its etymology, condemnation is essentially pronouncing judgement. It is punitive at its core. Conviction is to reprove, rebuke, to convince. In legal terms, conviction and condemnation are basically the same thing but you must go a little deeper to cite the difference. In a court of law, a man is convicted of his wrongdoing and then sentenced in a judgement. 

All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) for all have sinned and fallen short of His glory (Rom 3:23) but there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). We are like condemned men to die in the arena. There is no escape. We deserve this. Judgement is passed. 

Satan the accuser of Brethren (Rev 12:10) has presented himself to God (Job 1:6) armed with facts against you (Zech 3:1) awaiting your sentencing! You are not getting out of this. Your remorse is not enough. The facts speak for themselves. But just like in a court of law where new evidence can turn a conviction to freedom, Jesus our advocate (1 John 2:1) who pleads our case to the Father comes in and presents new facts. He takes your place. He takes your filthy robe and clothes you with His righteousness. You are pardoned. You are free!

John 16:8 tells us that the Holy Spirit will come to CONVICT us of sin, righteousness and judgement. In other words, He will distinguish between conviction and condemnation. He will show you your sin and lead you to repentance like David or Peter. The Spirit of God is the difference between being condemned and being convicted.

Conviction leads you to repentance (2 Cor 7:10); condemnation drives you to despair. condemnation says you are a wretched man, no one can save you. (Rom 7)

2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. (NKJV)

Conviction inspires you to keep pressing (Phil 3:13-14); condemnation tells you to quit. 

Conviction allows you to approach his throne with confidence (Heb 4:16); condemnation casts you away from his presence (Psalm 51:11)

Like the prodigal son, conviction shows you the answer; condemnation only shows you the problem. 

Today as we begin this month, let us remember that we who are in Christ, God has provided a way back to Him when we fall short of His glory when we sin, that there is a voice behind us saying, this is the way, walk in it. (Isaiah 30:21)

Don’t be like Judas or Saul who confessed their sin to men hoping God would hear, instead be like David or Peter, who took their remorse to Jesus. David says, Against You Only Have I sinned. Psalm 51:4

"Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (NKJV) Heb 3:15. Though we stumble, let us not fall (Prov 37:24  and if we fall, let the conviction of the Holy Spirit work in us and may He help us rise again even if it is 7 more times. (Prov 24:16)