Author: james chasez

He Came to Set Captives Free (24/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” – KJV

As Jesus began His public ministry, He read from the book of prophet Isaiah. The statement He read was His mission on earth, the reason He came. He came to set prisoners of sin free, heal the wounded and broken hearted, preach good news of God’s salvation, deliver captives, and declare a perpetual year of jubilee. The year of jubilee was after every 50years. Then, slaves would be freed, debts cancelled and property restored(Leviticus 25:10). In His earthly ministry, He did this by the Holy Spirit Who annointed Him for service. He still does it today.

From the time of man’s fall in the garden of Eden, men never fully enjoyed what God originally intended for them. Sin distorted God’s order. To date, we see and experience this distortion. God’s people are lost from God, bound, wounded, oppressed, enslaved and don’t enjoy the liberty God intended for them. Many are hopeless and without a sense of purpose and direction. All the conditions Jesus came to address are effects of the fall being perpetuated by the devil.

The great news we proclaim is that Jesus came to free all those the devil had bound. He defeated the devil, the causer of sin who held men captive. Each of us in Christ, can now enjoy the liberty and victory over Satan and his sinful schemes. Satan is forever defeated. Anyone still in his traps can go free by coming to Christ Jesus Who came to set the captives free. He longs to see you free enjoying His peace and joy. Glory be to God our Redeemer!

1Jo 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

Shalom children of God. Merry Christmas

‘Using’ God? (20/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

John 6:30-31 “So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” – NIV

The previous day, Jesus had fed five thousand men, besides women and children and twelve basketfulls of bread remained. The people realized this was no ordinary man who can give them ‘free’ food. They wanted to be with Him always so that they could enjoy free food. So they looked for Him the next day, not because of the miracles they saw Him perform, nor to learn more about the ways of God, but for food. Jesus challenged them not to seek for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life. This would happen if they believed in Him. The miraculous sign they asked Jesus to perform was about food as they made reference to their forefathers eating daily manna from heaven in the desert.

Jesus saw into their hearts that they really didn’t believe in Him, but wanted to follow for what they would gain from Him. Several people today claim to be followers of Christ, attend church, active in various ways and make mention of His name. But the reason they are there is not because they are committed to truly trust and obey God, but because of what they think they will gain by being close to God as did those Jews. Instead of God using them for His service, they want to use God for their selfish reasons. No wonder the fruit of their lives doesn’t reflect a transformed God nature in them even after several years in church or ministry!

God calls us to believe in Him, primarily for Who He is and what He created us to be. All other things we need shall be added. And He knows that we need these things and is willing to supply them to us(Matt 6:32-33). Why are you in Christ, that church or ministry? Is it because you are genuinely called, believed and desire to live for God, or for some opportunities and ‘deals’ you saw to benefit from? You and the God Who searches the motives and intentions of every man’s heart, knows it. Are you a victim of what Isaiah said;

Isaiah 29:13 “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”

Shalom children of God. Merry Christmas and a fruitful 2020

Your Labour is not in vain (19/12/2019)B

ByPastor Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Corinthians15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” – NIV

Apostle Paul in the reference chapter expounded on a central teaching of the Christian faith; death and resurrection. This gives us the assurance and hope of life now and here after. Without the resurrection hope, all our current efforts in the Lord’s service are in vain. It was on that basis that Paul encouraged the Corinthians to stand firm and not be moved in their work for the Lord.

Every labour effort is geared towards some profit from its returns. This principle applies across the board regardless of the nature and objective of the work. These expectations give the impetus to move against the odds and contradictions in any endeavor. It is certain that whatever we give ourselves to do will attract opposition, however noble. Service to God will likewise face resistance from satanic forces. Without commitment, focus and sense of purpose in our labours, discouragement and temptations to give up are real. Many fall along the way for those reasons.

God, in His justice and righteousness, always recognizes our labours in Him, however small. Because He recognizes them, He will reward us now and/or later. And so we know we are not labouring in vain. This makes us go through thick and thin, invest our resources and lives in this work as we persevere in it. Cheer up child of God. Your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

Shalom children of God.

The Greatest in God’s in God’s kingdom.

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 22:24-26 “Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.”- NIV

Jesus was about to go. He had been with His disciples for three years. They knew Jesus to be the king of the Jews and expected, as His closest followers, to be appointed to high positions in the next kingdom. Their argument stemmed from their understanding of worldly leadership in which the most authoritative, commanding, vocal, active or prominent were counted greater than others. It’s a show to impress. Jesus noticed their argument and explained how greatness is defined in God’s kingdom. It was, and still is, a total paradigm shift from the worldly view.

The notion of who is greater and better than who, is a worldly view. With this attitude, people will do all sorts of things to appear better than others. They will speak, dress, fight, lobby, pull others down, do make up, acquire and accumulate things (they may even never need) at whatever cost, just to out compete and appear better than someone else. This is an exercise in futility. It only leads to fights, jealousy, envy, pride, low self esteem and endless frustrations. The fact of life is that you will always be better than someone. And someone will always be better than you one way or another.

When we find our true meaning and purpose in God, we develop a security and confidence that makes us never compete or fight to bring others down. This brings true humility which enables us appreciate who we truly are, and to use our privileged positions, power and authority in leadership to serve others genuinely in love. The secret then to greatness in God’s kingdom, is humility and servant leadership and service. To the world, its the other way around. Jesus demonstrated it like no one else. Shall we?

John 13:12-14 “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.”You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”

Shalom children of God.

Who Sinned?
(17/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

John 9:1-3 “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned,his man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

The disciples of Jesus, on seeing this man born blind, attributed his condition to some sin. To them, such could not just happen. Whereas it’s true that some conditions are a result of sin as Jesus pointed out to the paralyzed man He healed at the pool, its not so for every occurrence in life. “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”(John 5:14).

Some situations are allowed by God to enable the display of His work. We may not even understand why He does this. Is God a sadist, Who enjoys inflicting suffering so as to intervene and proof a point? No. He is such a loving merciful God Who, in His omniscience, works in every situation for our good and His glory. Remember Job, Joseph and many others who ‘innocently’ suffered.

What the disciples concluded about the blind man’s state, is true for many of many of us in interpreting life’s circumstances. Many may point the cause of troubles to something gone wrong in one’s life, ye some of the things that happen to us are not necessarily because one sinned, but are a channel of God to show forth His works. The blind man himself could have had his view about his condition based on such superstitions. Let’s then seek to know God’s will in the situations of our lives. They are for God’s glory, even if started by the devil to destroy us.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Shalom children of God.

Making the Word Work for You (vi)
Pray Through the Word (14/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

1 John 5:14-15: “And this is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.” (NIV)

We pray because we expect answers to our peayers. One of the most effective prayers we can make, that makes God answer and yields sure results, is praying through God’s word. Bring Gods word back to Him in prayer. The word of God is His will revealed. And apostle John says this is the confidence we have in approaching God and to recieve answers from Him. People pray and ask God for things for various reasons. Some genuinely seek God’s will and to have needs met, some want prestige, fame, revenge on their enemies, favours, etc. Some prayers are in line with God’s will, and others carry selfish motives and evil intentions. God is obliged to answer what is in line with His will.

In the word are declarations of what we already are, or have by being in Christ, and promises conditioned on fulfilment of certain actions on our part. Sometimes we are begging for what we already have only waiting for manifestation or claiming promises without fulfilling their requirements. Get the word right, understand what it is, and pray over it appropriately. If God, for example, said I will be with you till the end of the age, you should not be asking Him to be with you because He already commited to it. Instead, you should be thanking Him, declaring and living like He is with you. If He said He answers prayer according to His will, then you have to find His will on a particular thing first, then do or claim it.
Fill yourself with the word so as to effectively pray. God is watching over His word we bring back to Him, to fulfill it. That’s His commitment and He will not fail.

“The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” Jeremiah 1:12

Shalom children of God.