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Baptism: It’s Importance and What the Scripture Says

1Peter 3:20-21 – Can baptism alone save me?…No

Can I get to Heaven without being baptised? Yes….. St. Luke 23:39-43

Jesus’ Instruction:

  • Matt 28: 18-20 (after resurrection)
  • Mark 16: 15-18 (after resurrection)
  • Luke 24: 45 – 50 (after resurrection)
  • John 3: 3-7 (before resurrection) – speaking of those being born again
  • Acts 1: 4-5 (after resurrection) – Jesus stayed with disciples 40 days
  • We are saved by grace not works; baptism is works – Eph 2: 5-9

Steps I must take to get to Heaven

  1. Must believe that God exist
  2. Must be born again (repentance, forgiveness for ourselves and forgiving others, & baptism) in Jesus Christ’s name.
  3. Must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that He was crucified, buried, resurrected and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
  4. Love God more than anything else, loving our neighbour as ourselves
  5. Be obedient to God, die daily to the flesh (stop sinning)
  6. Endure to the end.

Jesus Christ has given us the steps to follow Him, so let us use them. This is not to say that He cannot do it another way, He is God. The man who was on the cross beside Him was not baptised but he is in paradise.

So now we know that contrary to what some Christians might think, baptism alone cannot save us as it is only part of the process. The more important part of being born again is that of us repenting for our sins and being forgiven by God. When we are born again, we start a new account with God, a good account. Good works cannot save us but they do become more valuable with the new account.

-Bruce Campbell & David Williams

The Script

There is a certain script in our mind of how we expect our lives to go. This script includes what we expect of God and the things we expect him to do in our lives (not what he expects of us but what we expect of him).

When the  script does not go according to how we wrote it in our minds, we become frustrated, disillusioned and disappointed, and wonder what God is doing, why is He not doing what is expected of Him? Sometimes we blame God and persons around us for our script not going according to how we wrote it.

We fail to understand that God also has a script written for our lives from before we were even conceived, which is totally different from the one we have  written for ourselves, one which we have no control over, as He is the Author and Finisher of all things.

To live a life that is pleasing to God and to find some sort of peace in this world, that is fast decaying, we need to get rid of the script that we have written for our lives and focus on the one that that Lord has written for us (this can be found in His word, the bible).

If we disregard God’s script for our lives we will become as the children of Israel who disobeyed God and followed their script instead of God’s script, and ended up going around in circles in the wilderness for 40 years, going through unnecessary struggles and tribulations when they could have reached their destination in a much shorter time.

Sometimes when we find ourselves in situations that keep coming up over and over again, we need to examine ourselves and ask the question, am I following my script or God’s script for my life? In coming up with the answer be truthful to yourself, bearing in mind that only you and God know the truth, and while you may lie to yourself and others, you cannot lie to God because He knows.

As the end of time approaches, whether by us dying or the world coming to an end, both are inevitable. Are we really prepared for the life after death? Most persons are preparing themselves for the present life , e.g house, car, health insurance, money in the bank, etc., but what preparation are we making for life after death. This is the most important part of our existence as after death wherever we end up that is where we will spend eternity.

Can you imagine spending eternity in hell? Where there will be constant torment, much worse than what you might think you go through here on earth at times, and there will be no more forgiveness from God there. You would be doomed forever. Thanks to God there is a way out. We can spend eternity with him where there will be no more sorrows, no more pain, no more struggles, no more deaths, a place where peace and joy abound. All we need to do is to follow God’s script and not ours.

 

The Beginning of Our Walk With God (Part 2)

So we have started our walk with God and we have committed to reading specific portions of the word at specific times with the help of the Holy Spirit ( “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will add….). The sins we do, have now started to make us feel uncomfortable, so we adjust on our own or we allow God to reshape us. There are three things to remember at this point, that 1) the devil will try everything to trip us up and to destroy every plan that God has for us. 2) If we are in doubt as to whether or not a particular thing or action will displease God, then exclude it, leave it out! 3) That obedience is greater than sacrifice.
When the questions start coming to our mind, we must pray about them, continue to read the word and God will lead us to the answers. One question that will arise is, what is my purpose, what can I do for God? Persons like Jeremiah and Samuel were predestined from they were in there mother’s womb (Jer.1:4-10 and 1Samuel 1:10-20), while Paul was called at a much later stage of his life Acts 9. We can know our purpose for God by the different types of gift(s) He has given us and also the anointing to function with those gifts. We can know our purpose by what we are drawn to do or what we feel fired up to do for God. We can walk into our purpose by :- (1) associating with persons who will pull us or help us in the direction we should go, (2) being given the opportunity to take the lead or to function on our own.
At the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, the law (also called Moses’ law) was fulfilled by Him and condensed into one word, love. St.Matthew 22:36-40. If we love God with everything inside us, then it would be impossible to worship false god or anything else but God. If we love our neighbour as ourselves, then we could do no harm to any person.
As we continue our walk with God, we will walk more by faith, we will learn to endure long suffering while becoming soldiers for Christ, teaching and sustaining others instead of being sustained by them. The word of God says that “he that endureth to the end shall be saved”, which means that although we have given our lives to God, we still have to recognize current or future failings and to repent of them while humbly and constantly going before God.
We must remember and honour our covenant with God as He will return for our words as He did Daniel (Daniel 10:11-12). Being lazy or selfish with our salvation should never be an option for any of us.

Jesus was not always meek

Most of us would have grown up believing that Jesus did not and would not hurt anyone and that He was always meek. The bible tells us in Numbers 12:3, that Moses was more meek than anyone on earth at the time but he got into trouble with God when he got angry at the waters of Meribah, Deut.32:51. Anger can be good if channelled correctly, for example:- 1) In defence of someone who is being abused, 2) In dealing with the devil or his nominees. For sure, you cannot be meek with a stubborn demon!

A few days after completing His first miracle, Jesus who was full of zeal, went into the temple at Capernaum and chase persons and animals out of the temple using a scourge which He had made ( a scourge is a wip used for severe punishment ). The Jews tried to rebuke Jesus, thinking that He had set a bad example! St. John 2:12-18. God will allow His people to take strong action if the situation warrants it. How many times have we taken the quiet route when we needed to have spoken up against abuse or against some form of injustice? The good Samaritan did not just “pray about it” when he saw the injured man by the roadside, he took the man to the inn and ensured that he was looked after. Caring for the destitute is not just about praying. And yes, God wants us to help the old lady across the street or to take her bags up the road if that is what is required to help her along.

Bruce, 19th Feb 2014.

What Is A Sacrifice?

A sacrifice is an act of giving up something you value for the sake of something that is more important or valuable. This is like Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac because he wanted to be obedient to God, Gen.22:1-12 or like God sacrificing His only Son Jesus Christ so He could have power over sin and death and be glorified. The prophets also sacrificed a lot. Ezekiel ate cakes baked with cow’s dung while lying on his side for over a year to bear the iniquity of Israel and Judah. (Ezekiel 4).

There are also some other types of sacrifices as follows:-

1) The sacrifice of praise – Heb.13:15, “By Him (Jesus Christ) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name”. Also Ps.116:17, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord”.

2) The sacrifice of joy – James 1:2, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptation”. Ps.27:6, “And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord”.

3) The sacrifice of thanksgiving – Ps.100:4, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His name”.

Anything that we have in our lives that we are unwilling to give up, has great value to us. If they are good things, then by all means hang on to them but if they are bad we must endeavour to get rid of them. Whatever the sin, if we love it enough we will keep it but if we hate it enough we will get rid of it. Having made up our minds to give it up, then it becomes easier to get rid of. After we have given up or gotten rid of a particular sin, it becomes a sacrifice and we get more of God.

It was after the woman in 1Kings 17:12-16 obediently sacrificed her last meal to Elijah, that the miracles started happening in her cupboard. So a sacrifice is when we dare to defy the devil to find joy, praise and thanksgiving to give to God in spite of what our circumstances are saying to us.

Bruce, 12-11-13.

Suffering for the cause of God and the bringing forth of His people

WHILE WE ARE STILL ALIVE, ALL THE PAIN, STRESS AND EMOTIONAL AFFLICTIONS, STILL DOES AFFECT US……………. THOU WE DIE DAILY.

Ezekiel 3:14 states, “So the Spirit lifted me (Ezekiel) up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; BUT THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS STRONG UPON ME”. The Spirit of God physically lifted Ezekiel up and took him to the river Chebar where God’s people were being held captive. Ezekiel sat with them seven days, at the end of which God spoke to him the following:- (1) that He had made him a watchman unto the house of Israel, and (2) that He will speak to him and Ezekiel is to warn the people on His behalf. So whether you are watching over a church, people, a city or a country, you need to speak up about what you have seen or heard that has gone wrong, because that is exactly what God wants. The river Chebar represents both a place of captivity and a place where God will speak to you.

Essentially, God wants us to warn the wicked, to warn sinners, to warn His people (Christians) who have turned from righteousness before we pronounce His destruction or cursings upon them. Please spend some time and read Ezekiel 3:18-21. Verse 18 begins “When I (God) say unto the wicked, Thou shall surely die; and thou (Ezekiel) givest him not warning…..”, and it goes on to say that God will hold us responsible when the man dies in his iniquity and was not warned. If however, the man dies in his iniquity and was warned, God will not hold us accountable (verse 19).

Verses 20-21 of Ezekiel 3 suggest that when a righteous man (Pastor, Priest, Prophet or any person of God ) turns from his righteousness and this is seen by the watchman and he says nothing to warn the person, then the persons righteousness shall not be remembered when he dies and the watchman shall be held accountable. If the person is warned however, then the watchman will not be held accountable at the person’s death.

There are too many church leaders out there who consider themselves beyond reproach or rebuke so they have not and probably will not return to righteousness in spite of repeated warnings. God will ultimately consider them reprobates and in the end say to them depart from me, I know you not.

I will summarize Ezekiel chapter 4 on how God used Ezekiel tremendously as a sign to Israel and Judah, and although it must have been extremely difficult, Ezekiel obediently acceded to his Master.

  1. God told Ezekiel to take a tile (large flat stone) and to build a miniature (small) version of the city of Jerusalem. He was then to lay siege against it (attack it). This included building a fort against it, casting a mount against it, camping against it, setting battering rams against it, taking an iron pan and setting it between the miniature Jerusalem and himself. All this was to be done as a sign to the house of Israel (in full view of them). This was like a dress rehearsal.
  2. God told Ezekiel to bear the iniquity of Israel and Judah as a sign to them. So he was made to lie on his left side 390 days for the 390 years of iniquity for the house of Israel. He then had to lie 40 days on his right side for the 40 years of iniquity of Judah. Ezekiel had to suffer a day for each year of iniquity of both Israel and Judah.
  3. Ezekiel then had to besiege Jerusalem by facing it with his arm uncovered while prophesying against it. For the amount of days during which he lay the siege, he could not move from side to side as God had banded him in one position.
  4. During the 390 days that he would lie on his side for Israel’s iniquity, he would eat specific amounts of cake baked with cow’s dung and drink specific amounts of water as a sign of how polluted and scarce the food would be while they were among the Gentiles. All this happened because of disobedience, stubborness, idol worshipping, wickedness, rebelliousness, etc. These are some serious precepts of God.

With God all things are possible, but……..

If we believe that God exists without seeing Him, then why should we continue to restrict Him. We use our wisdom to reason God out, not being able to believe for an instant that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is also God! There are those who have simplified God by saying Jesus is God full stop because they cannot comprehend the varied awesomeness of God. So what of Rev. 21:22 or St.Mark 13:32?

God has made it possible for us to be promoted to the highest levels in his kingdom but how do we attain this? The answer is that we all have to qualify by doing His will. Most persons are just interested in saving their own souls, but rather than that being the end, giving your life to God should just be the beginning. Jesus Christ laid it out to his disciples in St.John 14:12, when He told them that greater works they would do than He did while on earth and in St.John 20:23, Jesus told them that they could remit (forgive) the sins of persons. In Romans 8:17 the Apostle Paul tells us that if we suffer with Christ we could become joint heirs with Him.

Isaiah 54 speaks of a woman called by God when she was forsaken, refused, grieved in the spirit and who suffered much affliction and was not comforted. Isaiah 54:17 shows the authority and the heritage that God accords His servants. Isaiah 58 shows that if we do the will of God, which includes fasting for the correct things, we are then treated royally by God.

Simeon who God saw as qualified because of the life he lived, could not die until he saw baby Jesus in the temple and bless God for him. Anna the prophetess who served God with fastings and prayers in the temple, was seen fit and proper by God to give thanks to Him for Jesus Christ in the temple. We must be encouraged therefore to strive for the highest position in God, being joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

Can God Find a Place in His Temple?

With the coming of Jesus Christ, there was a shift from the physical to more of the spiritual. God continues to use the physical things to instruct us in the spiritual things.
Why is there no more need for the ark of God, which contained manna, Aaron’s rod and the tablets with the ten commandments?
God has written His words on our hearts and has allowed us all to have our own testimonies. God is now using our bodies as temples, which has to be kept clean and in good order like the physical temples of old. The more we keep our bodies as temples onto God, then the greater the pleasure God has to dwell therein.
Father we thank you for another day and we pray that we will see a bit of your glory. Father we thank you for your people across this land in Jesus’ name. Father we continue to stand in your word and on your promises. Amen.

Getting Rid of Demons

Let Your people be not destroyed for a lack of knowledge in Jesus Christ name, protect their minds, cover them completely as You edify in Jesus Christ name, amen.
Video of demonic possession:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF-vKrYyqOY
After watching a youtube clip of a deliverance service in Nigeria, I thought again about demonic possessions and how the devil will use such persons to destroy the lives of other persons and even churches. Some points from the clip to note are :-
1) that in that instant, possession started from before the birth of the child and continued afterwards ( that is why it is important to pray for the unborn child so God can be in control of it from in the womb).
2) that the manifestation took place during the service when the man of God tried to pray for the person.
3) why was the delivered man instructed or allowed to burn the dead chicken and the remaining witchcraft items which caused him to be struck by the dumb and deaf spirits? The burning should have been done by someone else.
4) it must be noted how sustained persistence is used when deliverance is carried out.
Back in the year 2005, a woman started exhibiting strange behaviour during a praise and worship session one Sunday morning at a church I use to attend. Her action was that of a slow gyration while walking up to the alter and back down the isle, while constantly attacking the Pastor verbally. I prayed earnestly with the help of some brethren during this attack. I attempted to lay my hands on the lady which she did not allow. The sad thing for me was that during all that was taking place, the Pastor pretended not to see or understand what was happening and therefore offered no assistance or leadership in dealing with the situation. I can now say that my attempt to deal with the situation at the time was weak and inadequate.
Not all of us would have been predestined, called or sent. Not all of us will be given the same gift(s) or levels of anointing but for those of us whom God have purposed in a particular or peculiar way, we must learn to engage as we travail and travel along. Romans 8:21-23
For if you were chosen to be a soldier of Jesus Christ then I pray for great courage, strength and endurance in Jesus Christ name. A soldier should never be feeble or faint hearted. 2 Timothy 2:1-4