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COC AWASO, Awaso (2026)

02/10/2022

CHURCH OF CHRIST, AWASO (GHANA)
TEACHING
TOPIC: SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST
BY: ENOCK ASIAMAH
BIBLE VERSE: 2 CORINTHIANS 11:3
DATE: 25-10-2022
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SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST

Good morning brethrens and lovely people around the world, hopefully i know you are all doing well by the grace of God. Greetings from Church of Christ,Awaso(Ghana), West Africa, Western North Region.
This morning i would love to share with you about the sermon the simplicity in Christ,how simple we must be as Christians to be related to Christ.

Simplicity is that which is clear, plain and easy to be understood or done. It is not complex or complicated, but natural. This is what we find when it comes to Christ and to Christianity. Now sometimes we like to make Christianity complicated when it is not necessary. Paul speaks about the simplicity in Christ to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Paul understood that Christ and His message was simple for us to understand, but their always someone out their that is ready to make His message difficult and when they do this it become confusing and opens the door for false doctrine. To help us see the simplicity that is in Christ lets us begin by looking at the simply life Christ lived while He was on the earth.

His Mother Marry and stepfather Joseph were just common people that happened to be a part of the lineage of Christ. Even when Jesus was born of a Virgin in Bethlehem showing that He was the Messiah that was to come. His birth was a simple one.

Luke 2:6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now you might think the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would be born in a great palace with servants attending to His every need, but that was not the case as we just read. It was just a simply place that wasn’t even part of the inn because it full up thanks to the Census that was being taken.

We are not told very much about Jesus early life but we do know that he was raised in Nazareth which was a simply village that was poor and off the beaten path. Jesus didn’t attend any fancy schools or live in the life of luxury. No, He lived the simply life and He learned to work with His own hands.

Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

We learn from this that Joseph was carpenter and this means that Jesus was a carpenter as well, because during that time the father would always teach the son the craft he knew so He would have a skill to provide food for himself and His family. Again, Jesus was living the simply life.

Even though Jesus was God in the flesh He humbled Himself before God the Father as He was baptized by John even though He had no sin. This was an important event that showed that Jesus was the Son of God because the Holy Spirit descended on Him and remained there. Then Father spoke out heaven saying,

Mark 1:11 "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Once Jesus identity was revealed you might think he would be given a crown and a thrown, but instead He is led out to the desert for 40 days and 40 nights where He fasted and was tempted by the devil.

Once he survived this and put the devil in his place we find him living and eating with sinners.

Luke 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

In fact many times Jesus found himself without a home as he traveled about during His ministry. When Jesus went around teaching the Word of God His message was simple for those who were willing to listen. For instance, notice what He says in,

Mark 12:35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' 37 "Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?" And the common people heard Him gladly.

See His message was simple enough for the common person to be able to understand and receive His words gladly. The Sermon on the Mount is another example of how simply Jesus message was. One of Jesus’ main teaching was that the kingdom was at hand.

Then finally Jesus died a lowly death that was designed for criminals. In every way Jesus lived the simple life.

We also learn that Jesus brought forth a simple gospel message based up on his death, burial and resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

In fact when look through the book of Acts you will find that this was main message that was being taught wherever they went because Jesus death, burial and resurrection is foundation of Christianity and without it we would have no hope.

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up -- if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

This was the simple message the apostles taught at the birth of the church and it caused many to pricked in the heart and they wanted to know what they were suppose to do know that knew the Jesus was the Son of God and that He had died for them. Again the message was simple.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

The people who had believed that Jesus was the Son of God had no problems understanding Peter’s message because 3000 of them repented and were baptized into Christ for their remission of their sins. The apostles were teaching the same simple message the Jesus had taught them.

Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Jesus also established a simple church that He purchased with His own blood according to Act 20:28. The church could have been made into something complicated like humans like to do. For instance just look at the Catholic church. They make elaborate buildings and they have a Pope, priests and all kinds of complicated procedures. However, Christ kept it simple.

Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

This means that we don’t have earthly headquarters or a Pope that is the head of the church not Jesus is our head so this means out headquarters are in heaven. The church is not a fancy building it is made up of Christians. 1 Cor. 12 makes this point clear as it refers to Christians as being members that make up the one body which is the church.

We find out the Jesus is the savior of that one body.

Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

We also find out at what point a person enters into that one body that Jesus will save in,

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free -- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Acts 2:47 …And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

So this shows us that Jesus is the head of the body/church and in order to be added to this church by God you must be baptized into it. We also learn that Jesus had made each congregation responsible for itself and wants each congregation to have qualified elders that oversee the church 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1:5. Deacons who are qualified and willing to serve the Lord 1 Tim. 3. Then finally the rest of the church is made up of saints which includes the minister. You can see all three of this in,

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

We also find that Jesus didn’t make our worship to God into something complicated as many humans have done. Some have added all kinds of rituals while at the same time taken away the simple way we are taught to worship God. Jesus said,

John 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

So we must worship God from our heart and from the truth of God’s Word. When you study the pattern of worship in the NT will discover 5 basic things that are included in worship to God.

From 1 Cor. 14 we can see 3 different things that we do in our worship to God.

1. We sing praises to God through song.

2. We read the scriptures and study them in the form of teaching or preaching

3. We pray to God

We learn from 1 Cor. 16:1-2 that we are give our money on the first day of the week when we come together to worship God and Acts 20:7 teaches us that we also partake of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the weak as well. These are 5 things that are involved in our worship to God on the first day of the weak.

We also learn from 1 Cor. 14 and 1 Tim. 2 that the men are to take the leading role in conducting the worship service. This is how the church is organized and it is simple to understand because Jesus made it that way.

We also learn that Christ gave us a simple book which we call the Bible. Now there are certainly some difficult passages that require a person to dig deep, but most Bible is very easy to understand. Some groups out there would have you believe that on a few select people can actually understand the scriptures and you just need to listen to them if want to know what it says. But, that goes against what the Bible says about itself.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Notice it doesn’t say the scriptures equip a select few but that ever Christian will be equipped for every good work by reading and studying the scriptures. Notice some other passages that bare this out.

John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John is letting us know that all of can read the scriptures and learn about Jesus and what He did which will cause us to believe.

Ephesians 3:3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

Paul is telling us when we read the scriptures we will the same understanding as an apostle. So, we don’t need some special to explain to use what the scriptures mean because we can all read and study and the Bible will explain itself.

There are other people who like flex the intellect and they will come up with all kinds of theories about scriptures and tell you that every verse has a hidden meaning and so you don’t know really for sure what it is saying. People who try and make the scriptures into something harder than they should be remind of Paul told Timothy in,

2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

People like this are so busy trying to find hidden meaning or new ways to further their false doctrine that become blind to simple message of the scriptures. So, don’t ever forget the Bible has a simple message that you and I can understand and follow.

Since Jesus was a simple man who gave us a simple plan we should do our best to follow in footsteps. We need to learn to be humble like He was and to consider those who around us. We need to love God with whole heart mind and soul and in turn love our brethren. We need to read and study our Bible and then live our life based on what we have learned. We need to put God first in our lives and worship him spirit and in truth without adding to or taking away from the pattern He has given us in His word.

I like the thought Paul gives us in,

Philippians 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

This is what Christianity is all about. Sometimes it is so simple that causes people to stumble because they are always looking for mysterious and difficult things.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

I hope this lesson has shown the simplicity that is found in Christ. I hope that each us will not allow ourselves to get caught up in all kinds theories and concepts to the point where miss the simply message of God’s Word.

THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST SALUTE YOU.

18/09/2022

CHURCH OF CHRIST,AWASO(GHANA)
BIBLE TEACHING
BY: BRO ENOCK ASIAMAH
BIBLE VERSE: JAMES 1:5
DATE: 18-09-2022
PLEASE SHARE,FOLLOW,LIKE, COMMENT AND STUDY ON OUR PAGE www.facebook.com/COCAWASO/ AND OUR GROUP CHURCH OF CHRIST,AWASO(GHANA)

FROM THE HEART TO THE TONGUE PART 2

Last week we talked about some the physical attributes about the tongue and then we spent most of our time looking at what the Bible says about the tongue. One of the main points from last week was whatever is on a persons heart will eventually make it way to the tongue hence the title of our lesson from the heart to the tongue. We looked at several ways the tongue could be used for evil or for good and in today’s lesson we are going to continue examining ways the tongue can be used and how we as Christians should be using our tongues.

Our first point this morning has to do with Critical words. This could include gripping and complain or always having negative to say about someone or something. I really believe that some Christians do not realize how critical they have become because they started out small until they have grown into the monster they are today. They have slowly conditioned themselves with critical thinking and critical words that they are just part of their everyday lives and they can not see what they have turned into. A great story that illustrates what I am talking about comes from a murder mystery.

There was a man who wanted to kill his wife but he wanted to do it in such a way that he wouldn’t get caught. He, decided to poison his wife. Here what he did. For months he gave himself small doses of the poison so his body would be able to handle the poison without out killing him. Then he put poison in their food that night and his wife died while he suffered no ill effects because his body had built up a resistance to the poison. Now at first they ruled him out as suspect since he ate the same food but by the end of movie they finally figure what he did.

But the whole point is just as this man conditioned his body to get used to the poison we can do the same thing as we use poisonous words more and more each day. We become num to those things that we say or hear all the time. Many of us today are not shocked nor do we even pay that close attention to curse words that are said on TV or movies because everyday even in commercials now you will hear some sort of curse word and so we become use to them and we ignore them.

Thanks to these new reality shows many have discovered just how critical and grouchy they really are because they get to see themselves in action and they don’t like what they see. I have see some of these people call themselves monsters and they would began to break down and cry because for the first time they really get to see just how they really are toward others.

I promise one thing I don’t know of anyone that likes to be around a person very long that is full of criticism because is type of torture. If fact one person I read about said that continual criticism is like undergoing water torture where water is dropped on your forehead over and over again. Critical words can destroy relationships and can reek havoc on people self-esteem but the question becomes how can we recognize if we are being critical in our lives?

Well, I will tell you it is not easy task but it can be done. It will take help from God, from you and from those around you. Notice what James says in,

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Here is the best place to start. I believe that we should all pray for wisdom especially in the area of how we deal with people. We should ask God to open up our eyes to the way that treat others and that we use the right words instead of the wrong ones. We should be humble enough to ask God to help us recognize our weaknesses and to have the wisdom to make ourselves stronger in the areas.

Next I would suggest that we must be willing to test ourselves and try and view our behavior from another perspective. On any given day we need to make a conscience decision to evaluate what we are saying to other and then think hard if what we are saying is negative or positive. To the best of our ability we need to try and figure out the impact of our words or we might consider how we would take if someone used our exact words against us. If we really pay attention and evaluate how we using our tongue on any given day I think some of may be shocked at some of the things that we say and we must be willing to try and change and stop being so critical. Life is to short to live a life full of negativity.

Another tool we can use is our children because they are like little recorders and they will mimic you and say some of the same critical words to others. Watch you children’s word carefully and if you see a negative attitude or nothing but griping and complaining they probably learned it from you which means you need examine yourself closely. We need to remember what,

Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

If we are constantly bashing our children with negative words and complaining then it going stir up anger in them and its going to be difficult for us to train in the way of the Lord. A good question to ask yourself, is am I criticizing my child more than I am encouraging them? We need to be careful of how we treat our children because if continue to criticize them all the time they will being the same way and they will most likely have a low self-esteem. It up to us to break the cycle that we learned from our parents or for someone else so that these critical words will stop at this generation.

Another tool that can be used to help us see the light in our critical behavior is by the help of our loved ones letting us know how critical we are being to others. A great example of this has to do with the children of Israel as they escaped from the Egyptian bo***ge. As soon as the Red Sea began to gripe and complain about everything and Moses even got to the point to where he prayed to God for him to take his life so that he wouldn’t have to listen to their complaining any more. Well, God stepped in several times and punished the children of Israel for criticism.

Now granted this was God that intervened and showed these people that they were griping and complaining to much but this same thing can be done today by us. When we see that our friend or our loved ones is being negative all the time it important that we talk to them and let them know how they are being or else they may never know. I can’t tell you how many times people who were critical never recognized they were being that way until someone told them and helped them see the light. Now that person may get mad at first but if they are Christian they should take your instruction to heart.

Proverbs 10:17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.

I also want to point out that there is good criticism and bad criticism. So far we have been focusing in on bad criticism and how it tear people down. But not lets talk about using the tongue for good constructive criticism.

Giving criticism is never easy because no matter how hard you try sometimes it may hurt the other person feelings. But we must understand that constructive criticism help us grow and become better than we were and talk more about how to receive criticism in a minute. But for now let talk about how we should give criticism. I found a couple of quotes that will help us.

“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots” (Frank A. Clark)

“Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet” (Chinese proverb).

The first thing I would suggest is that you learn not to criticize someone for everything they do wrong instead learn to pick your battles and just focus in on things that are really important. Now sometimes people will criticize others without having all the facts so we need to know the all that we can before we offer our criticism.

Another thing we can do is to learn from Jesus when he was speaking to the 7 churches in book of revelation. If there was something good about that church he started out with praise and then he tell them their fault and they need to make a change. Paul did the same thing when he went to Athens. Instead of jumping on their case about all the idols they had he found some good to talk about first and then he move on from there to tell them about God. In fact let look at those verses,

Acts 17:22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

So when you give criticism make sure you also include those that they are doing good that way they know that you are not just trying to belittle them.

Another thing we should avoid is absolutes when we give constructive criticism. In other words don’t say “you always” or “you never” do this or that. Statements like these are overstating the matter. It important that we learn new a better ways to give our criticism. We might do it the form in the question like, what do think about doing this way? Or we might say something like, Now, I could be wrong, but from my experience this way or that way is a better way to do this.

Now lets talk about taking criticism. Please notice the following quote:

“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism” (Norman Vincent Peale).

Most of would rather not hear criticism but again we need to realize that it will benefit us and make us stronger and better. Let look at few ways that we should take criticism as Christian even if it is bad criticism.

The first thing we need to do is listen. We will never be able to find out if a person is offering us good or bad criticism unless we hear them out. The mistake that we make sometimes is jumping to conclusions and before the person can get the second sentence out of their mouth we go the defensive and we interrupt them and argue with them on their first sentence.

So its important that we take the time to consider what has been said as James says,

James 1:19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

Even when someone says something that doesn’t sound right there still may be some truth in it. Sometimes it will help if we restate what they said in our own words to see if that is what they are really saying.

We must also learn not to retaliate and sometime the best response to negative criticism is by saying I’m sorry you feel that way or as Jesus did many times silence is sometimes the best answer. Now if you are getting good advice we can thank that person for their thoughts and we should consider them to see if what the said will help us out or not.

I want to share with several verses from Proverbs that show the benefits of choosing your words wisely.

Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 13:3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

Proverbs 15:23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

Proverbs 17:27 He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. 28 Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.

Based on these passages we learn that a few well spoken words are much better than overflowing mouth. A person that is just dieing to talk all the time will usually end up saying things are sharing things they wish they never had said so we must be careful that while our tongues are in drive that our brain is not in neutral.

Now when someone sins against either by word or deed Jesus explains to us how we are to handle that situation in,

Matthew 18:15 " Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17 "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

If your brother or sister sins against with their tongue then Jesus says we are to first go to that person alone and try resolve the issue. However this does not always happen because some will take those sinful words and instead go tell everyone else about them without even trying to talk to the person who committed the sin. One wrong does not justify us to bypass Jesus’ way. So let always strive to go to that person first and if they will not listen then bring along a witness or two and if you still can’t resolve the issue then bring it before the church. This is proper way we should deal with a situation like this.

Our next point comes from,

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

For us to really appreciate what Paul is saying here we need to understand just how important salt was during the 1st century. It so highly valued that people would trade Gold for it the Roman soldiers of the day even received an allowance for salt money. According to one author the first trade routes between Egypt and Greece were built for the purpose of transporting salt. As you can see salt highly valued and it has the following Characteristics:

Salt Saves. In the first century they didn’t have refrigerators so they used salt to preserve their meat and fish. So in similar manner we must learn to use our words wisely so that it might bring about salvation in someone’s life.

Salt flavors. Notice Job’s question in,

Job 6:6 Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?

This is one of the nice things about salt because if your food is bland you can add some salt to it to make it taste better. Again this same concept should be used in our speech. Our words should be wholesome and easy to swallow instead harsh or mean. Jesus warns about the danger of us losing our flavorful influence in,

Matthew 5:13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Salt also cleanses as in the days of Elisha where he threw salt into the Jericho spring to cleanse it in 2 Kings 2:20-22. In a similar manner we are to make sure that our speech is clean and that we only speak those words which are befitting a child of God.

All of these thoughts show us a much deeper meaning of what Paul meant when he tells us to season our words with salt. Peter also tells us something similar in,

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Notice our response to others is to be done with meekness and fear. If we can learn to season our words this way then we will have a much better chance of reaching those around us. There are many more things we could look at regarding the use of the tongue such as using encouraging words, teaching, or talking to the lost but our time is out for this morning and hope you have found this lesson helpful on using your tongue wisely instead of foolishly. I want to close my lesson with last humorous quote.

“The reason a dog has so many friends is because it wags it tail more than it does it tongue”

THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST SALUTE YOU. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

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