FREEDOM FROM WORRY AND ANXIETY

September 28, 2017

FREEDOM FROM WORRY AND ANXIETY

Matthew 6:24-34; Psalm 55:22

Worry and anxiety are twin evil that has plagued our present world. It had led many people to stress and many unexpected sicknesses while many had even committed suicide. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is gradually creeping into the church and affecting some so-called believers. Christ taught us not to be anxious or worry about anything. As we belong to God, making Him our focus and our shepherd, believers are to manifest total confidence in the Mighty keeping power of the Lord for protection, provision, and preservation always. Therefore, Christians should know that as God cares for less valuable beings of the sea and the sky, much more than these, He cares for us whom He had created in His own image. All we need to do, based on this knowledge is to look unto Jesus always and cast our burdens upon Him 

Causes of Worry and Anxiety. Matt.6.24-28, 1 Tim.6.10, 1John 2.16, Luke 10.40-41,

Christ clearly explained that “ye cannot serve two masters”. The main cause of worry and anxiety in the world today is the choice to seek and serve mammon instead of focusing on eternity and its gains. Mammon means money or valuable possessions. To serve money is to place a high value on money and material possessions so much that it occupies our thought above our faith in God. Or, to see money as our source of happiness and security at the expense of our soul. Once anyone regards money beyond righteousness or God’s kingdom, it will always bring anxiety. However, other related factors include Power and influence, Politics and its passion, position seeking, worldly attainment and wanting to be like the world, Pride of life, popularity, and fame. Sometimes, outright disobedience to God leads to worry and anxiety. These are some of the factors, but God wants us to be free from them all.

Consequences of Worry and Anxiety. 1Tim.6.10,  Luke 12.19-21, Gen. 20. 11, 1 Samuel 13.11-14,

Worry and anxiety always result into covetousness which is sinful and always bring sorrow. In many cases, such victims find it difficult to return to the Lord as they are being entangled by the passion and the snare of their bait. When a man looks away from God’s promise and provision and allows anxiety, he will be seeking help where none is and begin to act foolishly. Abraham was worried about being killed in Gerar, told a lie of Sarah his wife, and almost lost her to Abimelech (Gen. 20.11). Worry and anxiety ruin the nucleus of one’s faith in God and lures him in the direction of eternal doom. Saul, the first king of Israel lost his kingdom due to worry and anxiety. (1 Sam. 13.11-14). Worry and anxiety lead to earthly disaster and ends up, if not redeemed, in eternal damnation. We are therefore cautioned against anything that can lead us to worry and anxiety. Amongst many others, worry and anxiety leads to shame and reproach, it leads to loss of fellowship with God and His word, leads to compromise of the faith, leads to irritation and separation from God’s people, it also leads to undue suspicion amongst family members (e.g Mary and Martha in Luke 10.40-41). Apart from the spiritual effects, anxiety leads to much physical damage to the individuals. It makes such individual not to be able to think with a focus on realities. It brings undue fear that may lead to suicide. It also makes some to loos self-esteem and self-respect.  

Conquering worry and anxiety.  Matt. 6. 25-34, Ps 37:5; 55:22; Mt 6:25; Lu 12:11,22; Php 4:6; Heb. 13:5

The Lord had given us the blueprint on how to conquer this monster. Believers must always remember that God who created us had the power to sustain us. He is able to keep us from falling spiritually and also materially. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about. To maintain a steady and stable confidence in God for this, Christians must (i) Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt.6.33), (ii) Be resolute that your heart is purged from every form of worry through constant meditation on God’s words and promises. (iii) Maintain regular fellowship with God daily by prayer through which you pour out your requests to Him. (iv) Trust in God’s ability and power to solve every problem and make all provisions available unto you. (v) Never allow any distraction to take your mind away from the Lord but be firm. (vi) Delay is never a denial, if your request seems delayed, wait on God and trust His unfailing promises by reading testimonies of other people of similar need. (vii) Let, your focus be on eternity asking yourself always if the rapture takes place now, will I be able to go with the Lord. Pray ceaselessly that God will keep you from falling into the temptations of worry in any way, and the Lord will keep us all in Jesus name.

The Danger of Silence in a Sinful World.

TRETS 14/9/2017

The Danger of Silence in a Sinful World.

Ezekiel 3. 17-20, Ezekiel 33. 7-9, Isaiah 58.1

There are grave consequences when Christians keep silence in this wicked, sinful and corrupt world. His sin is a great transgression against God who had called him to be a watchman over the people. Believers are to be a purifying agent in the world and at the same time be a warning signpost to the sinners in the world. His purpose is to extend God’s love to the world and to warn unrepentant sinners of the coming judgment of God. However, his silence and indifference to the plight of sinners around him would be seen as negligence which brings upon him the blood of the unreached sinners around. Even the world would assume that he is in their support as “silence means consent”. The Lord, therefore, wants every saved soul to rise up to the call to be watchmen in our communities and neighborhood irrespective of our tribe, tongue, color or race and to reach out to souls that are dying around us. Doing this shall surely bring God’s blessings unto us in this world and in the world to come.

Deplorable Conditions of the sinful and wicked world

Ezekiel 22.23-29, Hosea 12.7, Jeremiah 8.20, Luke 10.30, Ezek 18.4, Luk. 13.3-5, Romans 1.29-32.

The world is filled with wickedness and extremely sinful. As it was in the days of prophet Ezekiel so it is today (if not worse). Prophet Ezekiel described the land as being greatly polluted with 1. Corruption 2. Violence 3. Robbery 4. Political and ritual killings 5. Fake drugs and substandard products on our markets (This trend has destroyed many lives and rendered many people almost useless and paralyzed) 6. Bribery and corruption among the general public and security agents 7. False prophets and teachers deceiving many unsuspecting worshippers. 8. Immorality and unfaithfulness among young people and married couples. These are sinful practices that attract divine indignation and judgment from the Almighty. And God has appointed a day of judgment which can come upon them unawares any time (Luke 21.35).

Divine Call to be a Witness in the World. Ezekiel 33. 7-8, Isa. 58.1, Mark 16.15, Acts 26.18, 2 Cor. 5. 18-20, Ephesians 5. 11.

Every Christian is a watchman in his community over the souls of sinners around him. We are called to salvation to save others from sin and to bring them to the savior. Our task is to live holily and righteously before them and to preach God’s love to them. Not only that, we are also to warn and reprove them of the impending judgment. We are to caution them boldly whenever we see evil doing. Our position and must be clear and firm against sinful practices as we must vehemently resist all form of compromise that may drag us into the world and its lust. Our lifestyle must be distinct from that of the world as we live to the glory of God. We also must preach to them everywhere using every available opportunity we have so as to reconcile them to the Saviour. Finally, we must constantly pray for their salvation, that God should break their hardened heart and make them tender to God’s word. We can see examples in Ezekiel, John the Baptist, Paul the Apostle, and the early church.

Damnable Consequences of silent watchmen in the World.  Ezekiel 3. 18, 1 Kings 20. 39-40, Luke 12.47, James 4.17.

To be a watchman is to be alert, awake and being outspoken to warn always. Silence at the sight of danger is contrary to the ministry of Watchmen and it's tantamount to his peril. The world is already at the extreme sinfulness against God, and God is angry with the sinners every day, hence His judgment looms upon them and may come anytime. There are dangerous consequences of being silent in the midst of the perilous world. (i) The sinners whom Christ died for will continue to perish against the will of God, (ii) the labour and sacrifice of Christ over them will be continuously wasted, (iii) many new converts would not have a strong model as example to follow and can easily fall back to sin (backsliding of new converts), (iv) The conscience of tender ones will become hardened in sin and wickedness will persist without the fear of God in the land. (v) The church (God’s mouthpiece) will have no voice in the society anymore and everyone will continue in wickedness as they like, (vi) God’s fury shall come upon the wickedness of the land, (vii) God’s judgment shall come upon the silent watchman. To avert these negative consequences, we must repent of all indifference towards evangelism. We must use every opportunity to win souls into the kingdom before it’s too late.

The Making and Commitment of True Disciples

The Making and Commitment of True Disciples Matt. 28. 18-20, 

Matt. 4.18-22

The great commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is for all believers to “..go ye into all the world”, and make disciples of all nations. By this, we are to preach to people everywhere and teach them to become followers of Christ. A disciple is a follower, who learns from his master, obey his master, submit to his master and do the will of his master always. As believers, we are called by Christ as He called the early Apostles and mandated with the same commission to go and preach. Obedience to this commission brings blessings to us and deliverance to the sinner. It multiplies the disciples for Christ ensuring that more people would stand for Him in this world. However, disobedience to the master’s command has grave consequence and penalties. Furthermore, making disciples of all new converts extends to every believer. We must make adequate provisions for all new comers and invitees to fully know the Lord and to be committed to serving Him. This can only be achieved when we, leaders and members of the church, devote concrete time to teach, train and mentor them to be like our Master  

The Characteristics of True Disciples Matt.28.18-20,  Matt. 4.19, John 15. 1-3, John 8. 31-32, Acts. 4.13,

True disciples are very easy to identify. They strive to be like their master and always do His will. The following are some of the characteristics of a responsible disciple.  (i)  Commitment to the work of God (John 4: 34), (ii)  willingness to do the will of God (John 5:30), (iii) Always follow the Lord and abide in His teaching (John 8:31), (iv)  patterns his life after the master (Matthew 10:24; 1 Peter 2:21), (v) always do things that please God (John 8:29), (vi) A disciple believes the sound teaching of the word and allows it to control his life and (vii) A disciple continues in the word of God and a (John 8:31)

Christ-like Method of Training Disciples. Matt. 4.18-19, Acts 15.36, John 21.15-17, 1 Thess 1. 7-10, Luke 9.23, Col. 1.23

The work of evangelization of the world is not for one or few believers but for the whole church. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our model in raising disciples. His pattern and methods are precise and purposefully directed to fulfilling the goal of raising disciples of all nations. Like Christ, raising disciples of all men begins from but not limited to preaching. (i) We are to preach to the sinners everywhere they may be and patiently explain to them the dangers of sin and the need for the Saviour till they get converted.(1 Cor 9.16, Rom. 1.16, 2 Tim.4.2, John 4.34).(ii)After their conversion, we must follow them up to establish them in the faith. This is done through consistent teaching of God’s Word (Acts 15.36) to teach them of their new life in Christ (2 Cor.5.17, Gal.2.20). (iii) We must baptize them in water helping them to identify with the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (iv) We also need to mentor them by showing them examples of Christian discipleship by our lifestyle. This could be achieved through teaching and practice through our familiarity with them. Christ taught his disciples how to live as Christians and also showed them how to exercise Christian faith. Paul the Apostle also discipled the Thessalonians believers in this same manner. (1 Thess 1. 7-10). We must charge these new disciples to continue in faith, taking up their cross daily and following Christ. We must also teach and demonstrate to them total trust in God for daily provisions and to set their affections on things above and not on things of the earth and not conforming to the worldly pursuits (Col. 3. 1-3, Rom. 12-1-2). We can only achieve this by fully identifying with them individually and being friendly with them. We must encourage them to study God’s word personally and teach them to meditate on it and to grow in the grace of God and in Christian experiences through constant personal prayer. Finally, it is our responsibility to empower them by enlisting them and giving them opportunities to preach to others and to give generously for the evangelization of others (within and beyond), beginning from the House caring Fellowship.

Commitment and Commendation of Truthful Disciples Isa 6.1-8, Luke 24.46-48, Luke 11.23, John 4.36, Mark 16.20,

The need of the World evangelization is high. Souls are dying in their multitudes daily all over the world without Salvation. Without making disciples of all nations, it will be difficult for Christ’s prayer to be met(Matt. 6.10, Luke 24.46-48). Therefore a faithful and reliable disciple (both new and old) must consecrate their lifetime to the fulfillment of the purpose of Christ. To make disciples of all nations is to ensure that every sinner around us is reached for Christ, and every convert is discipled for the kingdom of God. We must consecrate our time, talent and treasures to get this done. Not just to bring them to the church, but also to get them into being and behaving like Christ. This is the only way by which we can gather with Christ to receive bountiful harvest.

The Lepers of old realized and lamented “We do not well..”(2Kings 7.9), Isaiah caught the vision and exclaimed “Here am I, send me”(Isa 6.8), Paul the Apostle caught it and proclaimed, Woe is me if I preach not the gospel,(1Cor 9.16) Jesus declared the servant that knows his masters will and do it not shall be beaten with many stripes (Luke 12.47). What will you declare to your Lord who died for the salvation of the world.

Nevertheless, those who obeyed and do the will of the Master will always receive the reward of their obedience (John 4.36), His abiding presence is certain upon all reliable disciples who go forth and preaching the gospel. Their prayers shall be answered, they shall shine like the brightness and stars forever, and whatsoever they do shall prosper. Signs and wonders shall equally follow them and they shall reign with God eternally.