BE OPEN TO CORRECTION

TEXT: PROVERBS 9: 7-9

 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

One popular says is “no one is an island of knowledge.” Another one says “Only a fool knows it all.”

Nobody is too “small” to learn from if you really want to learn. If the Lord can instruct us to learn from the Ants (Proverbs 6: 9-11) one of the smallest (if not the smallest) creatures on earth, then you have no excuse not to learn from your fellow human being.

If you are not open to correction, if you believe you have known it all, you will be limited in wisdom and knowledge.

You will only be able to perform in the level of the wisdom and knowledge you acquire.

We need to learn from each other so that we can add to what we know- for your knowledge and wisdom to increase and not become obsolete, you need to constantly learn from others.

Wisdom and knowledge can come to you as a form of CORRECTION. When it comes like that let your heart be open to receive it will joy and gladness, so that you can add to your wealth of wisdom.

We need to learn from each other so that we can add to what we have already known. Nobody is hundred percent complete- that is why we need to rob minds so that we can exchange ideas, knowledge and wisdom.

Your area of weakness could be someone’s area of strength. If you are not open to correction, how will you be able make amends and work on your weakness?

Would you prefer to continue in the act of foolishness rather than accepting to be corrected in love?

 People that are not ready to be corrected are proud people. Their pride is what hinders them from adding to their wisdom and knowledge- Pride has made their mind to be closed from all great ideas, wisdom and knowledge that they could have gained from others.

They become narrow minded because they refused to inculcate into their lives Romans 12:2 which says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Your mind can only be transformed and be renewed from its original state when you are open to correction.

Our text says “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. The Bible refers to those that are not open to correction as mockers, wicked and foolish people. The text says they hate you when you correct them- when you want good thing for them, they want evil for you- they take you as their personal enemy!

The text said on the other hand that when a wise person is being corrected, he will take your correction on board and make amends; and add to his wealth of wisdom and knowledge to become wiser. Wise people accept correction with gladness of heart and love you for correcting them. What a big difference between the wise and the foolish.

“Rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” (Prov. 8b-9).

The conclusion of today’s message is that you should not be too “big” to be corrected- have a receptive heart to corrections, good ideas and advice – if you want your wisdom to be relevant at all times, learn new wisdom from others.

For you not to be a mocker, a fool and an evil person, you must be receptive to corrections. God bless.

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CONTROL YOUR ATTITUDE LET GOD CONTROL THE HEAT

TEXT: DANIEL 3: 8- 27

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²² Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

The Lord did not promise us smooth sailing journey in life, He never promised that we will always be seeing sunshine without dark cloud and rainy days. He only promise us  in John 16: 33 that no problem will over power us because He has overcome the world for us, therefore we should be of good cheer (positive attitude).

Along the journey of life, we will encounter situations that are not good or pleasant, because giving your life to Christ is not the assurance that you will have problem-free life, but your assurance as a child of God is that the problem will not overcome you; rather you will be the one to overcome the problem and come out victorious because the Lord is your ever present help in your time of trouble. As believers and as children of God; the battle of life that we are facing has already been won by God; therefore victory is certain for us!

The three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) gave their loyalty to the Most High God; they refused to bow for the Babylonian god. They were arrested and thrown into the fiery furnace to die. These boys were able to control their attitude by not getting angry with God; they did not say "WHY  should they be arrested when they are loyal to the only true God." They did not ask God why He allowed that to happen to them, instead they continued in their loyalty to God. They were calm and trusting God to show His mighty hand to deliver them. These boys were of good cheer (they maintained positive attitude) as the Lord has told us.

They controlled their attitude during a challenging period; this made God to be pleased and happy to control the heat of the fire so that they will not be hurt. The Lord took out the heat of the fire, and turned the fiery furnace to “air condition” for the boys!

The fire was heated so well that it killed the people that threw the Hebrew boys in the fire. Yet these boys did not feel the pain, they did not die in the fire, the fire had no effect on them that when they came out of the fire; there was no smell of fire on them!

In the same vein, if you can control your attitude during a negative season, if you can maintain positive attitude when things are going wrong around you, the Lord will help you to control the heat of the problem so that you will come out unhurt and become better after the problem is over.

Many people throw in the towel; they say derogatory things to God when they are in problem. They are unable to control their attitude; they cannot be of good cheer as the Lord has admonished us.

Let us learn from the three Hebrew boys, let’s learn how to control our attitude during problem and affliction, and leave God to control the heat of the problem for us so that we would come out victoriously. 

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MAINTAIN YOUR INTEGRITY

TEXT: JOB 2:3-9

“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”  So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.  Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Integrity is the act of doing the right thing at all times and in all situations, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes discipline and determination to live a life of integrity, it takes years to build integrity but it can take a second to destroy what has been built over a period of lengthy years. The world has become a place where there is no regard for integrity, instead the popular slogan by Niccolo Machiavelli “The end justifies the means” has become an acceptable norm!

There are some situation we find ourselves that makes us wanting to doubt the power and the wonders of the name of God. Most of the time afflictions come after you have decided to walk uprightly with God, and have forsaken the way that leads to eternal damnation. Are you asking why this is so? Well the reason is not farfetched; Satan is a liar and a deceiver. He wanted to deceive you to believe that God is not a custodian of every good and perfect thing. He wants you to think and be convinced that he is the only one that can give you all that you would need to be happy, and enjoy the best in life. Satan deceives his victims by enticing them with “perishable blessing” to make them forget the giver of “imperishable blessing”- the only living God.  The lesson here is that dishonesty may give you instant gratification, but it won’t last. At times you wonder why sinners and unbelievers should be flourishing while believers are languishing in lack. Satan blesses his victims with quick blessing because he is sure that his time and that of his victims are limited (Revelation 12:12). He wants them to enjoy their short lived blessing, before they will end it up together in Hell.

It is when you have make up your mind to walk uprightly with God that Satan will be bringing afflictions your way so that you can change your mind against God, he is doing this to win you to his kingdom. Beware!

The text shows how Job was affected by Satan so that he would sin against God. God was pleased with Job for being upright and He was boasting about him to Satan. Satan detests when God is boasting about any of His children, he will make all effort to cause the person to compromise and sin against God. Hear God- “And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him and ruin him without any reason.”  God was impressed by Job maintaining his integrity despite all he was going though. “Job made up his mind and determined not to compromise. “I will maintain my integrity until I die” (Job 27:5^b). One good lesson here is that, no matter what is happening to us, we must maintain our stand in God. Do not throw caution into air, always maintain your integrity even in the face of affliction, be rest assured that God will come to your rescue; He will not leave you alone in the mess.

Job was afflicted with painful sores, the wife got fed up and told him to forget about his integrity, and instead “curse God and die” she advised! (Job 2:9).

Many times we go through tribulations and afflictions that “advisers” would be coming with different counsels and “solutions.” Be very careful to select what and who you listen to when you are in any difficult situation. Your closest people can be used by the devil to make you compromise your stand in Christ, and cause you to lose your integrity- like the devil wanted to use Job’s wife to cause his downfall.

If you maintain your integrity at the time of trial like Job did, the lord will bless you the way He blessed Job. “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first… (Job 42:12^A). After the cross comes the crown, endure affliction to get the blessing. DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD DAMAGE YOUR INTEGRITY. May the Lord grant us the grace to maintain our integrity in Jesus name. Amen.

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COME LET US REASON TOGETHER

TEXT: ISAIAH 1:18

“Come now, let us reason together says the lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are Red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

The scripture made us to know that the eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13) yet God did not hate sinners but the sin in them. Sin is a stumbling block that deprives man from enjoying quality fellowship with God.

When Adam and Eve committed sin in the Garden of Eden, there was separation between them and God. They were unable to continue the privilege of God coming down to them in the dawn of the evening to “gist” with them. Despite their sin, God was still protecting and providing for them. This shows that God loves sinners, He does not want them to die in their sin but repent and turn away from their sinful way, and then He would embrace them and adopt them into His kingdom as children. If your child soiled him or herself with chocolate and was coming to you in your flowing white attire, you would not embrace the child; instead you would move back so that your white apparel would not be soiled too. If the child cleansed herself and ran toward you to embrace you, you would not move back but embrace the child to show your love to him/her. This illustration is applicable to us and God. When our clothes are soiled with sin, God would not embrace us, but when we are clean without any blemish; He would be willing and happy to embrace us. Moving away from your child that soiled himself with chocolate; does not mean that you hate the child, but because you wouldn't want to be stained with chocolate. For God to keep sinners at arm length does not mean He hate them, but he wants them to do the right thing- to clean up their “mess” so that He would be able to embrace them.

Our text is giving the assurance that no matter how deep you are in sin, God is ALWAYS ready to cleanse and forgive your sin. It does not matter how far you have travelled with the devil, if you can make a U turn and follow the right route by confessing your sin and depart from it, He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness( 1 John 1:9). Don’t continue in sin, don't allow the devil to rob you of your salvation, don't fall for the lie of the devil that your sin are too grievous to be forgiven.

Like the prodigal son, make a U turn today; go back to your maker, ask Him to wash and cleanse you of every iniquity. Rededicate your life to Him and make every effort to live for Him alone.

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GIVE AND TAKE

PSALM 18: 24-26

“The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.”

Who you are determines who God will be to you, our God is capable of changing from being a Lamb to a Lion. He can change from being a fountain of love and rivers of life to the consuming fire. Your attitude and your behaviour will determine the side of God that He will show to you.

The Lord showed the side of favour to the Israelites at the Red sea, and they walked on dry land. At the same time God showed His side of vengeance to the Egyptians, the Lord did baptism of destruction for Pharaoh and his chariots at the Red sea. What an awesome God we serve!  Though our God is a merciful God, yet He is a God that stands His word.

Our text can be used to drive home the fact that whatever you sow you will reap (Galatians 6:7). The Lord will reward each and every one of us according to what we do and who we are. If you are kind; you will receive kindness, if you are mean and cruel; you will drink from the same cup. If you are faithful; the lord will not forsake you, He will remain faithful to you in all your ways. If you live to bless others, the Lord will bless you beyond your imagination. If you use your wealth to oppress others, you will be oppressed in return.

If your work is blameless and you live pure, the same measure will be used for you. Search yourself today, take the inventory of your life, do genuine examination of yourself. “Let everyone examine himself; and let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Only you can genuinely examine yourself, no one else can. Do the soul searching today and make necessary amends. 

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CALLED OR CHOSEN ?

TEXT: JEREMIAH 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I chose you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nation.”

God created each and every one of us for a purpose; nobody came to the world by an accident or by mistake. He predestined us to come to the world to fulfill our different purposes He created us for. God has good plan for all of His children at creation (Jere 29:11) and He want His children to fulfill these purposes as He has planned.

However, many people are out there running the wrong race, they have deviated from the predestined calling, trying to emulate others or trying to follow multitude to engage in reigning thing like business or Endeavour that people are trooping in to do, not minding if that is what God want them to do or not.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:30 that “and those He PREDESTINED, He also CALLED, those He called justified, those He justified He also glorified.” You don’t need to run after people’s vision, because it is not your vision; you may not see it clearly. It may become an illusion to you. You don’t need to steal people’s dream and make them yours. You were not in the dream when God gave the dream to the owner. Therefore you CANNOT interpret it well; no stolen dream can achieve much!

Many are cultivating another man’s land, dressing and watering another man’s seed. Stay on your path; don’t lose your track because that could be dangerous and frustrating.

Our text pointed to the fact that everybody has been appointed and ordained for one purpose or the other. God showed Joshua his own divine purpose, you too can be shown yours if you ask God. Trying to fulfill another person’s purpose (which is impossible) will lead to failure.

In psalm 105:26 the scripture says “He sent Moses servant and Aaron whom He had chosen.”The question now is are you sent or chosen? The dreams and visions you are trying to fulfill, are they yours? Your purpose and vision gives you great joy and fulfillment even when you are not getting any financial gain from it. If the vision and dreams you are running after are not marked out for you by God, it would lead to frustration if your expectations are not coming to fulfillment. You need perseverance to run the race that has been marked out for you (destiny race) because God ordained you to fulfil a vision do not mean you will not meet with challenges, but when you are sure that you are in line with destiny, you will have divine booster to keep you going. God will not back you up in what He has not called you to, be sure you are called or chosen for that assignment. Shalom.

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TRANSFORMED OR CONFORMED? (1)

TEXT: ROMANS 12:2 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

When something is conformed it outwardly takes the shape or form of whatever has exercised pressure on it without changing the substance of the thing conformed. If pour juice into a cup it conforms to the shape of the cup but it remains juicer. But when something is transformed, it is changed from the inside and it becomes something different to what it was before. The same juice can be transformed by freezing into ice. Transformation can be said to be a period of metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis as defined by dictionary.com is a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly. Transformation therefore is the complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.

 Paul says that people can be conformed or they can be transformed (from the inside). Therefore we have two possibilities – transformed or conformed. We can be shaped by the world into its image or by Christ into His image (Romans 8:29). This verse is telling us what God wants from us “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” God does not want us to conform to the image of the world but of His son Jesus Christ.

 Many are transformed by the World and have conformed to the World in their daily living, all they know how to do; and all they are interested in are the things of the world! These are people who are inwardly and outwardly like the world; this is so because they were born into sin. We call these people “unsaved” or “unregenerate”. They are at their core worldly and they don’t try to hide that fact. Consequently their actions, dress, speech, habits, values and lifestyle are worldly. Many of them are living around us.

Another category of people are those transformed by Christ but Conformed to the World. These are people who are born again but they have not allowed Christ to change them inwardly and outwardly. Though they claim to be changed people, but their way of living has no relevance with the Christ they are confessing. They have dual identity, they want to serve God yet they don’t want to let go of worldly things. Their dressing and conversations makes people to doubt if they are really followers of Christ, the scripture refer to them as carnal minds, they find ways to justify their behaviour. In Corinthians Paul gives several examples of carnal behaviour, regrettably, many people in churches fall into this category and it is they, to whom Paul appeals when he says: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2). You cannot be on the fence when serving God, is either you are for God or you are against Him. You cannot serve both God and Mammon, the Lord said in the book of revelation that is either you are hot or cold! Lukewarmness is not an option in the kingdom of God.