Friends Of God

03/04/2021

'Life is short' - one of the most misused phrases ever, tweaked to fit in almost every context conceivable to the human mind. It has become a generally accepted way to justify stupidity, wildness, careless and reckless living, and immorality in general. One of the generally accepted contexts in which the phrase is used is 'life is too short for you to be so careful about your actions. Savour every day with reckless and daring abandon.'

No one considers anymore that the true meaning of the phrase could be a call to set our paths right with God. 'Life is short, so get busy fulfilling God's purpose for creating you'. Tomorrow can never be ours, all we have is Today. Even the next minute we can never be sure of, all we have is the 'now' at every point in our lives. Jesus said, 'I must work the work of He who sent me while it is day, the night cometh when no man can work.' The popular opinion is to use the now foolishly and carelessly enough to make God sorry He created us, to completely go in the opposite direction from God's purpose for our lives. Most of us get so engrossed in sating the desires of the flesh, they forget there's any other meaning to life than enjoyment.

The lives we live don't belong to us, we are just custodians and as Paul once said we are not our own, so let us glorify God in our bodies. Let's quit wasting our now and use it to work the work of He who made us and walk the talk of the scriptures. It's high time we got busy living for God and doing His will, because 'the night' is coming, and you never know, yours could come the next day, or even the next minute. 'The night' could be sickness - chronic sickness, old age, loss of vigor, or even death. We have now - our morning, let's work like the next second is the night, do what we can for God now, like we won't have the opportunity tomorrow.

Coram Deo

16/09/2020

01/09/2020

01/09/2020

🙏🙏🙏

25/08/2020

Church service wasn't designed to make you feel good. It was designed to teach you how to be good...

-Allwell Uzoma Harrison

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25/08/2020

When we read the Bible, let us look for something to obey.
-Chimdi Joshua

06/08/2020

To forsake all and serve Jesus is no sacrifice, it is the only sensible thing to do... That He gives us Himself is all we ever need.

Jeff Bys

24/07/2020

13/07/2020

09/07/2020

AGENTS OF SANCTIFICATION

1. The word of God. The word of God is our primary agent of sanctification. This is how God sanctified us quietly without being disgraced in public! If you do not like public disgrace, embrace the word of God and let God change your character quietly and lovingly. Paul puts it this way:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Rom. 12:2.

Man cannot change himself by himself, he needs a pure and superior agent to do that…….and that is the place of the word of God. The word translated ‘transformed’ is from the Greek word meaning ‘metamorphosis’. Its a gradual change, a gradual process. ‘Renewal’ means ‘renovation’. Now, this takes place in the mind. It is the mind that needs renovation because we already have a new man or a recreated human spirit which is already after God in righteousness and true holiness. Eph.4:24. Paul says ‘be ye transformed…’. Allow your self to be transformed by the Holy Spirit……..this can be certain by studying the word of God.

Paul says 'But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2Cor.3:18’.

We are metamorphosis in our minds by the Holy Spirit. The ‘open face’ is the mind. The glass is the word of God. Jam. 1:23. The image we are metamorphosed into is that of Jesus. Rom.8:29. All the processes of transformation is done by the Holy Spirit. This is a lifetime process.

2. Holy Spirit. The holy spirit directed your path and checks you in all manners of behaviour. This is usually done in the place of meditation of the word of God. This is God's way of also speaking to you to caution and bridle your tongue.

Paul says 'For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Rom.8:14’

This refers to the ministry of the Holy Spirit within a believer; the total inward working of the spirit of God in us. This total inward working helps us and assures us that we are not reprobate. He helps us in our daily walk and this makes us know that we have been saved. If any man does not have the spirit of God dwelling in him, he does not belong to Christ. Rom. 8:9. One can only have the spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit), when he has a new man.

3. Fellow Christians. This is one of the reasons why we are not to forsake the assembling together of ourselves. God can use a Christian to correct you, to chastise you and to buffet you. God just sets some Christian to be on your neck until you change. They pick on you every single minute and they always find fault in almost everything you do. With these people around you, you are broken at all cost. That fellow Christian that does not agree with your posts on Facebook is being used by God to make you better in tune with him in your Christian walk. It takes humility to see where you are wrong and realise that the other Christian has a better scriptural stance than what you have. A Christian who thinks he knows it all will start decaying! We must never be afraid of criticism.

4. Unbelievers. God uses them just as pharaoh was used against the Israelites, just as judas was used to betray Jesus and just as Alexander the coppersmiths were used to persecute Paul. They deal with you, especially when you are out of God's word and His will. They misuse you and deal with you. That boss in your place of work was set there by God for your buffeting and sanctification. That friend on Facebook that attacks your views can be used by God to change you for his own glory.

5. Circumstances of life. That challenge you are going through, though it may be caused by your disobedience and stubbornness, God uses those challenging times to bring you back to himself. He uses it to humble you and make you know that all power belongs to God.

EFFECTS OF SANCTIFICATION.

How do we know we are being sanctified?

This divides a Christian into two groups: 1 Cor. 3:1-4.
1. Carnal Christians
2. Spiritual Christians

A. Carnal Christians are babes in Christ. Paul gave us the traits of babes or carnal Christians as
1. They still need the milk of the word. There is the milk of the word. Lol.
2. They are unable to take the meat of the word.
3. Envying
4. Strife
5. Divisions. This is party spirit. Having the wrong affiliation! Some are for Lagbaja, some are for Tamadun, some are for Solomon and some are for Lakasegbe etc. some are for both. One leg in, one leg out!
6. They walk as men. They walk like natural people. Though they are not natural, they behave as though nothing has happened to them in terms of salvation.
With the above, they exhibit lusts of the flesh as shown in Gal. 5: 19-21 at varying degrees.
John called them 'little children'. 1Jn.2:1,12,13,18,28; 3:7,18; 4:4 and 5:21.
They are always failing to understand the power in the grace of God not to continue living in sin. They can't grasp grace. They mostly live by personal effort. They are easily tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Eph. 4:14.

B. Spiritual Christians live on the meat of the word. Though they fall into sin, they do not continue in sin. They have come to know the father. 1Jn. 2:13,14. These are the only references to fathers! Ah! They are not to be worried over! Spiritual Christians are not obsessed with gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are more interested in 'a more excellent way of LOVE'.

Spiritual Christians are opposed to all listed about Carmel Christians. They are not sin-conscious but Christ-conscious. They fully depend on the sacrifice of Jesus in all they do.

Is your Christian walk today better than yesterday? If they are the same, your growth is stunted, if it has fallen, you are backsliding, if it is better, then you are growing. Your growth must be in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your growth in grace is a sign of a sanctified life.

Is your growth by personal effort or by God's help in grace?

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thess. 5:23.