The Love of God

The Promise of a new heart and the Fulfilment of this Promise

A) The Heart of Man

• Biblical description of man’s heart 

- The foundation of man’s reasoning, thoughts, passions, affections, motives and intentions – Matthew 15:18-19

- The hidden man – 1 Peter 3:4

B) The heart of the unregenerate man caused by the effect of sin:

Only evil continually - Gen 6:5 ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.’

Will not seek or love God, full of filth and is ungodly – Psalm 14:2-3 ‘ The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. vs 3 ‘They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.’

Wicked, Deceitful, Sick – Jeremiah 17:9-10

Point for discussion:

- Genesis 4:6-10 – Cain’s heart was wicked and sick

- The Israelites’ wicked heart of unbelief

- King David’s story in 2^nd Samuel 12:1-9 and his prayer request in Psalm 51:10 after he realised the state of his heart.   King David realised this need after he committed the sin of adultery and murder and did not realise his terrible state until God sent Nathan the prophet to him.

- The fool who denies the existence of God in his heart    

- Ephesians 4:17-19

Ask members of the group to cite more examples of the various manifestation of the natural (carnal, unregenerate) man’s heart.

C)  God’s promise of a new heart

God gave this promise because of His love for man

Ezekiel 11:19-20

Ezekiel 36:26-27

Jeremiah 31:31-34

D) The fulfilment of the promise is made available through Christ

-  Romans 10:9-10; 2^nd Corinthian 5:17; 2^nd Peter 1: 3   

E) The fruit of the new heart is love – Love of God received, man becomes able to love God, to love himself and love his fellow human beings.

Man becomes a partaker of God’s nature – 1^st John 4:15-17;  2^nd Peter 1:3

Each of us having a new heart, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a new spirit of faith, hope and love 2^nd Corinthians 5:17

Galatians 6:15

The Secret of a Happy Life

Text: Psalm 127:1

        Life is nothing without God. God created man with great aspiration to progress and move forward in all spheres of his endeavours. This desire had kept man labouring without ceasing. This restlessness and discontent generally develop themselves in man seeking outward escape from things, circumstances and miseries that can limit them. It is, however, regrettable that these man-made ways of escape generally carry us, as they did the Israelites out of one trouble, only to land us in another.

           Man’s effort will continue to be futile except he receives help from God. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psalm 127: 1).

We are utterly helpless except we trust and depend on God for our life, direction and sustenance. David knew this and inspite of the various adversities he went through including the many attempts by King Saul to kill him, he depended on the Lord. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). Our Lord Jesus authoritatively affirmed “…for without me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Efforts of man can be ultimately successful only when they receive the favour of God. This is because “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16). You can overcome the current challenges of life you are going through only when you realize that God is turning the adversities and misfortunes of life Satan plans to choke you as stepping stones to climb the ladder of success in your life. What are your testimonies? Have you allowed the voice of Satan and his agents to overwhelm you with unbelief and doubt that you can never make it in your marriage, business, studies and in all endeavours of life? Now is the time to make an enduring decision to follow Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

          God wants us to depend on Him the Giver and Sustainer of man’s life. It is when a man discovers God and His saving power that the secret of a happy life can be revealed to him. When a sinner repents of his sins, he receives pardon and power to live successfully and happily in times of sorrows. You cannot live without God for Life without Christ is full of crises.             

Things to reflect/ponder on

• List some practical things that you need to do daily to show your dependence and trust in God and ask Him to empower you.

 Worthy of Praises

TEXT: Psalm 107:1, 8, 21, 31-32

An appreciative spirit is a sign of good conduct and attitude. Such attitude always attracts additional benefits. At whatever point in life, there is always something for which to be grateful unto God. The deliverance from the foolishness and negative effects of the sinful life, freedom from the afflictions of the wicked one, answers to prayers made to God in our times of sickness, trouble, distress, uncertainties and fear and the gracious salvation from eternal destruction should attract spontaneous gratitude from the depths of our hearts unto the great God. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:21).  What shall we say of the wonders of His creation and the works of His hands which are daily manifest in the air, on land and in the deep waters. The whole realm of nature as beautifully made, are all under His firm control.  Fools may not appreciate God, but the discerning ought to. “And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing”. (Psalm 107:22). 

            This is the time for us to look back in retrospect of all the dealings and doings of this wonderful God in our lives and raise up an altar of praise unto Him who is worthy of all praises and adoration. Think of His provision, protection, preservation and countless other blessings He has heaped upon you, the family, other brethren and the church. What a great God we serve who will never abandon His children no matter the challenges they face in life. Raise praises to God and make it a regular feature and pattern in your life as it attracts the presence and blessings of God into your life.

Things to reflect on.

Ponder on your blessings from the beginning of the year and have quality time to praise the Lord.            

If I was a bird…
Would I fly away every time I saw the wind turn?
So I wouldn’t have to learn..
Learn what it feels like to deal with any stress or pain…
When there’s a storm, to avoid taking on responsibility again,
Would I just fly away?
Or perhaps if I was a snail…
I could get left behind from all the drama,
Which perhaps I would much rather,
Because I wouldn’t have to make another big decision,
To have the mentality to make it with such fine precision,
Perhaps no-one would notice me at the back,
And I could just stay quiet on the straight and narrow track,
Or just… maybe if I was a whale…
No-one would be brave enough to offend me…
Or surely if I could just be…
Be something else, perhaps a zebra…
That way people couldn’t read me to then tease me
They would ask am I black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
Was I feeling good with a tint of bad?
Or did my heart feel happy or feel sad?
It would be confusing to work me out,
At least no-one could use my emotions to push me about,
Or perhaps if I was an elephant,
No-one would walk over me,

Perhaps I would never feel intimidated or uneasy,
Or what if I was a cat,
I could be daring and brave,
With nine lives until the grave,
Well so they say,
I could go in and out home when I like each day.
But what I know is that God has made me…
To face the times when people may offend me in the day,
To face it when there’s hurtful things people say,
To be open and straight with God and to trust,
And to me to have faith which is a must,
To stay protected in God’s heart,
So I can distinguish who has respect,
And true love for me from the start,
I am human, I am a child of God, I am me,
And there’s no other creature or person God has called me to be.

A POEM PENNED BY MISS CATHERINE GARDNER.

PEACE  OF  GOD.

Considering all the disaster going on in various parts of the world,

the calamities we hear in the national and international news; the

way lawlessness is abounding within this society and also the

temptation to get anxious and worried over this issues.

Jesus Say’s ” Peace i leave with you, my peace i give to you;

not as the world gives do i give to you. Let not your heart be

troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27.

The peace of God is that tranquillity of mind freeing the believer

from fear and worry. As a Christian, we need to be aware of what

our Master, Saviour, and Soon Coming King has given to us. He

has warned us not to allow our heart to be troubled or afraid.

We should not allow our love for the Lord to wax cold because

of the issues happening around us and we also need to be watchful

and pray without ceasing. We are expected to keep our heart fixed

on the Lord daily and put our trust in Him. The peace received

from Christ is the inward peace of conscience that arises from a

sense of pardoned sin and of reconciliation with God.

It is not given sparingly, selfishly and for a short time. His gift of

peace is forever. Let us continue to keep the bond of unity and

carry on doing what we have all been called to do as stated in

Mark 16:15-18 “ go ye into the entire world,and preach the gospel

to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;

but he that beliveth not shall be damned. And these signs shall

follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils;

they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents;

and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they

shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover”.

As the master said to his servant in the parable, our Lord Jesus

gave in Luke 19:13 ” OCCUPY TILL I COME“.

LO I AM WITH YOU.

Sometimes you feel lonely. The day appears so long and the night so cold.

The coldness may not have anything to do with the weather.  At times, the

Christian journey becomes dreary. These are but feelings, the reality is that

despite all this problem, Jesus is saying ” Lo i am with you“.  

When you pass through the water, it will not overcome you. Why? Because

Jesus is there with you.  Just as He took the Israelites through the Red sea,

He will make a way for you. When you pass through fire, it will not sting you.

Will He be there? Sure He will. He was there with Shadrach, Meshach and

Abednego in the fiery furnace. When friends forsake you, He is there saying

to you  ”I will not leave nor forsake you“. He is ever true to His words,

promises and covenants. No matter what and how you feel, how heavy the

weight of the problem is, call on Him. He said “My yoke is easy and

my burden is light“. He will lighten the load, un-burden you and give you

the freedom that is associated with His awesome presence.

Be sure He is there with you. Don’t send Him away through sin or disobedience.

Agree with Him, the problem solver. He will sort things out so that you will have 

the reason to praise Him.  Keep keeping on.

Maranatha.

 PROMISES, CONVENANT & BLESSINGS OF GOD.

Going through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation we find numerous and immense blessings, promises, and covenants that God has given to us as His dear children.   Let us start by giving the definitions of the word promises, covenants and blessings.

The definitions are according to Cassell’s English Dictionary;

Promise is a verbal or written agreement or engagement to do or forbear from doing some specific acts. It could be ground or basis of expectation especially of success, improvement or excellence. It could also mean giving grounds for favourable expectation.

Covenant is defined variously as :

a. An agreement on certain terms.

b. Formal agreement under seal.

c. An agreement between God and a people or group.

Blessing however, is divine favour, an invocation of divine favour or happiness or a gift. Promises and blessings are usually generalized e.g. seed-time and harvest, the  promise of rainbow, the blessing of minerals etc.

Covenant for a special group like the children of God, co-heir with Christ. A covenant was made between God and Abraham. The original utopia, the garden of the Lord is situated in modern day Iraq a desert but a place where four rivers parted  to give life supply to their area. It is like a blessing of the spirit flowing from God’s throne, like in Iraq God has given us assurance of more blessing in our own land. Therefore we should not allow anything to tamper with the joy of blessings. We differ from Satan because we have valuable gifts of peace and joy that he does not have.

The word of God can be compared to a seed that is sown; it will receive water and warmth, break up and sprout into a new plant that will produce fruits and seed perpetually.  When God speaks, they happen so He makes good all His promises. The patriarch Jacob represents the beginning of another generation or more importantly, dispensation. The dispensation of Jacobs is that of his relationship with God. From Abraham God has been using the the word  YOU  but as from Jacob God changed it to MINE . The culmination is that Jesus came to cement the relationship between God and man.

God——————————–Jesus-a-link————————————-Man

Jacob the ancestor of the Israelites served as a link between the Jewish nations until Jesus did it for all mankind including Israel Gen.28 vs 16-17.   Jacobs says God is here and i do not know. This episode makes Jacob to realize the presence of God in His life and those of his descendants. He built a tabernacle to God as a remembrance. The tabernacle represents the earthly abode of God.

To preserve the posterity of Israel God made Joseph,(Gen. 45 VS15) to be a preserver of his generation. His brothers who were traitors like Judas to Jesus could not destroy the dream of Joseph. Gos was telling the generation through Joseph that vengeance is mine.  God allowed famine so that the dreams of Joseph would come true. We can learn from here that when God is out of one’s life, one is exposed. God was in Joseph’s life and He preserved him but the secrets of his brothers evil deed were revealed later. This is an assurance that no enemy has any clue about us and therefore His promises to us will surely come to pass(will be fulfilled). As Joseph was a blessing unto his brothers so also must we be a blessing unto our brethren.

In Gen 45:10 God has reserved the land of Goshen for the Israelites,His people because God told Abraham,the great grandfather of Joseph, that his descendant will come to Egypt where he will make them a great nation: Goshen was a place that is near to Joseph the preserver of life to his family.It was a temporary camp of God.

a) The presence of God.                                                                                                            

b) There is provision of God.

c) Abundance of God.

d) Protection of God.

e) Light of his presence.

Anywhere we are, God is always around us. The Psalmist say’s surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.�

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!