Believers Podium

29/11/2024

23/11/2021

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God,
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Be with you all.

18/10/2021

08/07/2021

Knowing The Lord Through The Holy Spirit
r SCRIPTURE READINGS: John 16:12-16, 1 Corinthians 2:12

EXPOSITION:
The disciples of Jesus had enjoyed his ministry for a little over three years when He made it clear that he was going to die and that it was better for them (John 16:5-7). It was better because the Holy Spirit, who could not be arrested, killed, or limited would be sent to the disciples and all of us.

One of the primary ministries of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus and reveal Him to the unbeliever and believer, for salvation and intimacy, respectively. The Holy Spirit is a person we can relate to and commune with; as we do that, He will take that which is of Jesus Christ and show it to us: He will impart the knowledge of the Lord to us in a very special way- what an amazing truth.

Are you conscious of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit? Do you commune with Him daily? Are you aware that He is a teacher and revealer? Come on, you can start talking to the Holy Spirit and establish a much more intimate relationship with him, by so doing, He will reveal the Lord to you in a way that will bring convictions.

PRAYER:
Dear Holy Spirit, I believe you live in me, open the eyes of my understanding to know Jesus the more.

06/07/2021

Diligent Seeking
r SCRIPTURE READINGS: Jeremiah 29:10-14, Hebrews 11:6

EXPOSITION:
The Prophet Jeremiah prophesied that it was God’s will for Judah to be sent into captivity for their sins for a period of seventy years and that God would restore them afterwards. This prophecy was not a pleasant one and so many other prophets fought Jeremiah.

Jeremiah through the Holy Spirit however adds that afterwards “you shall seek me, and find me, if you shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). This is a profound truth! To really find or know God, we must seek him; for our search to be fruitful, we must do it with all our hearts. Knowing God deserves all of our hearts and time. It is not a part time occupation that can be fruitfully carried out with a halfhearted devotion- we must seek Him with all our hearts.

The writer of Hebrews buttress this very thought by writing that God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. This completely suggests that some people are casual at seeking God and are never rewarded for their efforts. A casual enquiry of God will not pass the test. Why don’t we commit our hearts to diligent and wholehearted seeking of the Lord? We shall be rewarded with His knowledge and His presence.

PRAYER:
Lord, I commit my whole heart and energies to seeking you daily. You are all I need in this life.

05/07/2021

Divinely-Permitted Boasting
r SCRIPTURE READINGS: Jeremiah 9:23-24, Gal. 6:14

EXPOSITION:
Boasting is not one of those phenomena approved of by God. There are a lot of Scriptures that warn against and place boasting as an affront to God just like other heinous vices. Jeremiah through the inspiration of the Spirit outlines three cardinal areas of human boasting that God disallows, that is, wisdom, strength and riches. All these three cannot transcend this terrestrial realm; they are only good for the here and now.

God through the Prophet Jeremiah gives us an alternative divinely approved cause of boasting- to know God as Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth for He delights in this (Jeremiah 9:24b). God delights in his children knowing Him. Knowing God as one who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness means that we also have to exercise these virtues on earth.

Wisdom will be brought to nothing, strength will wane and riches will fly away but he who knows God will endure forever. May God help us to focus our energies on knowing him and rejoicing (boasting) in His knowledge.

PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I rejoice and make my boast in you. You are my surest foundation and joy. Help me to know you more.

02/07/2021

The Marks Of The Early Church: Going Back To Our Knees
r SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 12:1-12; Acts 16:13-16

EXPOSITION:
Prayer is the act of communicating to God. The Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye said “Prayer is an invitation to stand before God and to drink from the Holy Ghost.” Prayer is serious business because God takes it seriously. Prayer is not getting our will done but God’s will be established. Power is released as we pray. Effective prayer is not in the amount of our shouts but the amount of God within us. Every problem you encounter, finds its solution by the exercise of prayer and commonsense. You cannot function without an infusion of the Word and prayer. Men are God’s method and God cannot do much without the involvement of men. Whiles the church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men…What the church needs today is not more machinery or novel methods but men whom the Holy Ghost can use - men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not come upon machinery but men. He does not anoint plans but men of prayer.

Giants in prayer and faith are not born; they are made. We must commit the first couple of hours of each day to find out what God has on His mind for those particular 24hours. Anything we do without prayer is just we being busy. Until there can be a significant move of God, prayer must become a culture (Luke 18:1). The church must arise to intercede for communities, nations to effect the purposes of God on the earth. Intercession cannot be ignored in these times. Build your capacity to pray. It is time to go back on our knees. Let’s arise and ‘roar’. At least, decide that before the end of every day you would have prayed for 30 minutes.

PLEDGE:
I commit myself to at least 30 minutes of prayer every day.

29/06/2021

The Marks Of The Early Church: Total Commitment To God
r SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 2:42; Acts 4:7-21

EXPOSITION:
Commitment is the trait of sincerity and focused purpose or being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action. Total commitment is giving your 100% to God irrespective of what life presents. It simply means preparedness to die for a course, for a person which you are passionate about (Acts 4:17-20).

Total commitment is non-negotiable in the Christian walk. Giving a part of you to God and the world is impossible and would not help you any further. Many at times, we think when we withhold our commitment to God we are being smart. No! Whenever we miss total commitment, we miss the purpose for which God has launched us and what we have being called to achieve.

Jesus Christ demands and commands commitment. You must make a solid decision of committing your time, money, talents, and gifts to God absolutely (Acts 4:33-35). Do not be a partial believer. Without commitment our Christian journey cannot be effective. Peter and John got to the point where they did not care much about their lives. The early church died for what they believed in, what about you? We have a lot of Christians today who use many things as an excuse not to be involved in the activities of the church, but commitment requires discipline and absolute dedication. We must therefore not allow anything to cause us to give up on God (Romans 8:35, 38). Stand for your convictions and daily renew your commitment to God.

PLEDGE:
Lord, I pledge to be committed to you and your work.

28/06/2021

This far by the grace of God. He has been good.
What do you think we do, leave your comments.

28/06/2021

The Marks Of The Early Church: Christlikeness
r SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 4:13; Acts 11:26

EXPOSITION:
The people in Antioch called the disciples Christians because they identified them with Christ. The Greek word for Christian is christianos which implies a follower of Christ or a person of the party of Christ. When an individual belongs to a party it can be seen in their talk, dressing and pledge of allegiance. That individual doesn’t struggle to be known. If we truly belong to Christ, then we must fully reflect Him in all our ways. Christlikeness is living and showing forth the character and nature of Christ in everything you do. Christianity stands on Jesus Christ. He is the beginning (2 Corinthians 5:17), sustainer (Galatians 2:20) and the finisher and goal of the Christian (1 John 3:2). Jesus being the pivot of life was an irrefutable mark of the early church and it must not fade in this generation and beyond. Whatever the early church saw Jesus do was what they imitated strictly.

APPLICATION:
The object and pursuit for the Christian must be to be like Christ in every way till we exit the earth. The church must model Christ in every endeavour as the early church did. Acts 3:12-16, the person they projected in every deed was Jesus Christ and not themselves. The church today must have Christ as the ultimate focus.

PRAYER:
O Lord, cause me to be like Christ.