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Are You Washed in that Blood ? (20/11/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Hebrews 9:22 “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” – NIV

What can wash away my sins
Nothing but the blood of Jesus…

So goes the hymn. In the old covenant, and in some traditions to date, blood of animals was used to wash sins committed in various ways. Not only would people be purified with it, the utensils used in the temple service were as well cleansed with blood. Because people sin everyday, it meant that animals were killed and their blood was regularly sprinkled. Once every year, the high priest would make atonement for all the people’s sins by entering the most holy place in the temple.

Under the new covenant that Jesus brought, He offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb of God. He shed His blood so as to atone for our sins once and for all. We no longer need to kill animals and sprinkle their blood to take away our sins. Jesus did that for the whole world. All we now do is to come to Him by faith, acknowledging and repenting of sin and His ever fresh blood washes it away. This offer is open to all humanity. Whoever will come to Him, receives forgiveness and life already fully paid for when Jesus died on the cross. One doesn’t need to continue in sin and death any more unless by choice.

Whatever else we do, to do away with sin and escape its grip without coming to the Lamb of God, is futile. Some wish it away, try good works, excuse and justify themselves, trivialize or cover up sin. All this won’t help. Only Jesus, by His blood, sets free from sin. Come, confess and be cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord and be free from the guilt of sin, both now and on the day you stand before the just Judge of the universe.

Matthew 26:28 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” – Jesus

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Speech is a wonderful gift God gave man to build relations and make life better. Words can tremendously encourage or discourage, uplift or destroy, cause things to happen or fail to happen, excite or dumpen. They are a reflection of what is in the heart. They show the real character of the person. So change the heart and the speech will change. Jesus said out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Pretend and hide as one may try, what fills the heart will somehow come out. Our aim should be to bring out what benefits others and make things better.

Paul is reiterating the same principle in the scripture above. Everyone speaks in line with their heart values. The Christian, belonging to God’s kingdom, is expected to consciously speak inline with the values of that kingdom. Anyone listening to Him expects a language commensurate with his faith. Unwholesome talk which does not encourage, uplift or minister life, is not part his language. Paul said, “Do not let…” implying a sense of awareness and choice of what or what not to say. In Ephesians 5:4, he mentions utterances that should not be part of a Christian’s vocabulary because they are out of place; “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”

Some pay very little attention to what they say or how they say it. It’s wisdom to carefully weigh what you are about to say because it could do more harm than good, and you may live to regret it. It’s then better to keep quiet than speak at all. The wise man Solomon, said even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent (Proverbs 17:28). Mind what you say!

Matthew 12:34-35 “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

Shalom children of God.

God’s Power Serves His Purposes

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 9:54-56 “And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save [them]. And they went to another village.” KJV

They were on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus sent some of His disciples ahead to prepare the way. On getting there, the Samaritans didn’t welcome them. James and John, aware how prophet Elijah by God’s power had called down fire to consume the sacrifices, knowing and having witnessed Jesus’ power to do all kinds of miracles, then asked if Jesus could authorize them to call fire to destroy these rebellious Samaritans. Jesus turned and rebuked them for such a thought, reminding them that their manner of spirit was NOT to destroy but to save lives.

True Jesus had, and still has the ultimate power and authority to do anything. He had also given it to His disciples. But it was not, and never will be for use in any other manner other than to save lives, do His will (which is never evil) and glorify Him. The disciples wanted to use it for revenge, to pinish these bad guys. In the believer in Christ resides the power of God that comes with the Holy Spirit in us (Acts 1:8). Jesus commissioned the church to go to the whole world and make disciples. He entrusted His power and authority with the church so as to carry on His works on earth the same way He did (Matt 28:18-20).

It’s important that we understand the purpose and right use of this power and authority, otherwise it will be abused. It’s never meant to promote and boost our names or ministries, and make some appear more powerful than others. It is given for us to be His effective witnesses, save souls and glorify God and do His good pleasure. God does not display His power just to show how great He is. He doesn’t need to.

May every gospel minister watch out against this temptation to use this power for self centred reasons. Some wrongfully think they can ask God to do anything they wish. The Sovereign God is NOT our servant, but we are His servants. I believe one reason we don’t see much of the release of God’s power is because people are not well prepared to use in the right way. God then withholds it since it may cause more harm than good as it would have happened in that Samaritan village.

Shalom children of God. Have fruitful week

Weldone Good and Faithful Servant

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Matthew 25.21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!'”

How we conduct our business in this life will determine how we shall be recieved on the other side of eternity. To illustrate this, and to emphasize that we shall all account to God at the end, Jesus gave a parable of the talents. Each person was given talents according to their abilities; five, two and one. They were expected to trade in them and to give an account. The ones with five and two multiplied theirs and were congratulated by their master. The one who had one hid it, and gave it back as it was first given to him. In anger, his master rebuked him for laziness and cast him away into outer darkness and torment.

We are all gifted in different ways by God. The talents, special abilities, privileges and other blessings He gave us are meant to be utilized to benefit others and for His glory. These talents and gifts are part of our everyday life and are reflected in how we relate with others, the decisions we make and our general conduct of life wherever we are. One day, the Owner Who gave them to us will require of us an accountability how we used them in this world. Are you consciously faithful to Him in the way you live? Will He give you with a ‘weldone good and faithful servant’ reception, or will He say, ‘depart from me you lazy wicked servant’? Watch how you live!

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

Shalom children of God.

In His Image

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

The Hebrew root words for ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ mean resemblance, representative figure, manner, similitude. Image and likeness, therefore, not only imply appearance and form, but also include character qualities and functioning as well. Man was made in God’s image and likeness, meaning we resemble Him, we are His representative figure, similar to Him, possess same character traits and operate in like manner as Him. God breathed the breath of life to man. He put His Spirit, what makes Him God, to man so he functions like God. With God’s attributes in him, man was then commissioned to manage the earth and all in it as God would manage. This is a profound mystery about the nature of man. Unfortunately, the fall of man distorted God’s original intent purpose.

Jesus came in human form to restore us to God’s original position before the fall. But sin has so pavaded human nature that the reality of who we were created to be appears like a myth. The truth of living the God kind of life here now sounds impossible to many. Even those who profess faith in Christ are still shrouded in the distorted fallen nature, shaped and controlled by the basic principles of this world. But as many as believe in Him, and choose to walk in the truths of who they really are in the new and higher life Jesus gave us, will reflect the image and manifest the likeness of God Himself. As He is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17).

Beloved, this is our heritage in Christ. It is no sacrilegious statement to say we can be like Christ Jesus. The bible says so ( Matt 10:24-25, Eph 4:13). That is why Jesus promised that those who believe in Him would do the same things He did, and even greater (John 14:12). He gave them the right and power to be called sons of God (John 1:12). Let’s rise to be who we were created to be.

2 Peter 1.3-4 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Shalom children of God.

The Log vs the Speck

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Matthew 7.3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Jesus was teaching against passing judgment on others. To judge is to form an opinion about someone or something, and conclude it as right or wrong. Such assessments are based on ones’ beliefs, values, desires and character informed by their environment and knowledge acquired over time. Good judgment guides good decisions, and vice versa. Nevertheless, man’s fallen nature makes his view of things unbalanced. Knowledge of God’s word should always guide our judgement of things and others.

Jesus is discouraging passing judgment over others’ weaknesses from a ‘holier-than-thou’ position, while ignoring one’s own fatal weaknesses. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. A plank or a log in one’s eye is a huge fault they posses. The speck is a tiny fault in the others. With these huge weaknesses informing opinions over others, one is not in right position to objectively see and offer meaningful help to another. Whatever help offered in that state will be skewed, not objective, truthful or in love with a view of helping. It’s destructive instead. Neither should this be an excuse for one not to correct others, nor those in the wrong to reject correction based on God’s word.

We are called to correct others in love. Love has with it the humility and not the judgemental approach. It gives the right view of others from God’s perspective. It recognises that we are what we are by God’s grace. What we see and conclude about others, is not how God sees. Only God sees the heart, the motives and intentions why people do things the way they do. To us, some appear evil, yet God sees a genuine person. True judgment is best left to God who knows the true state of peoples hearts. Let’s learn from how Jesus did it:

John 5:30 “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”
John 8:15-16 “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.
But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.”

Shalom children of God.

What Keeps God With You?

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

2 Chronicles15:2 “He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

God has promised never to leave nor forsake us. But by virtue of His nature and character attributes of truth, righteousness, holiness and justice, He expects us to do similarly so that He remains with us. Over and over again in the bible, God mentioned the kind of lives men ought to live for Him to be with them. Indeed He was true to His word and abandoned them whenever they forsook His ways and did evil. The word of the Lord came to king Asa through prophet Azariah, emphasising God’s commitment to be with those who are with Him.

Many have assumed God’s presence with them even when they are living in evil or concealing sin. In His grace and mercy, God gives people opportunity to forsake their evil ways and turn to Him. He will still protect, provide and guide them. This is mistaken by some to be an endorsement of their evil ways by God. They take God for granted as did Israel when God pleaded and warned them for long to stop sinning. Finally, He handed them over to their enemies who cruelly tormented them. Apostle Peter warned that we shouldn’t think God is weak in keeping His promises (and threats), but He is patiently waiting to save all (2 Peter 3:9).

Friends, don’t take God’s presence for granted. Live in such a manner that pleases and brings glory to Him to maintain it. Some have lost His presence and don’t even know, like Samson (Judges 16:20). They operate on presumption and mechanically act out God’s presence! The glory departed and they now have a semblance of it! He will be with you as long as you deliberately walk with Him.

2 Corinthians 6:17 “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Colossians 1:10 “… And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…”

Shalom children of God. Have a blessed week in God’s presence.

His Presence Makes the Whole Difference

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Exodus 33:14-15 “The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

They were still on their journey from Egypt to Canaan land. Moses had been away in the mountain with God for one of the longest times. Aaron circumed to pressure from the people to make gods to lead them (?) since they didn’t know what had happened to Moses (and his God). An idol was made and worshiped. This greatly provoked God’s anger and He threatened to destroy them. He also wanted to withdraw His presence from among them. Moses, understanding what God’s presence meant to them, passionately petitioned God not to leave them, or else they wouldn’t take even one more step in the journey.

To Israel (and to us too), God with them meant protection from fierce enemies, provision of all needs, guidance in all endeavours, peace, progress and life itself. The Psalmist stated many dangers they faced if God was not on their side. He said their enemies would have consumed them (Psalm 124:1-5). David said in the presence of God is joy and pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11). When God seemed to have left him following the sin against Uriah and his wife, one of David’s key prayers was that God would not cast him away from His presence (Psalm 51:11). Jesus on the cross cried out to His Father asking why He had forsaken Him. David said he would not fear going through the valley of death shadows because God was with him.

His presence means life and everything to us. It’s important that we remain with Him more than gain the whole world without God, since even those things we gain are meaningless without Him. May that be your prayer and commitment, to ever live in His presence. “Without me”, Jesus said, “you can do nothing.”(John 15:5).

Psalms 27:4 “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

Shalom children of God.

What Defines You?

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Luke 12:15 “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

The world and nature categorizes people according to age, sex, race, skin colour, ethnicity, social, economic, intellectual statuses, religious inclination, and so on. These attributes are used to define who we are and form the basis of treatment. The less privileged recieve less attention than those considered superior. Some have believed they are less important than others and vice versa and behave so.

Some of the inequalities and conflicts and their attendant consequences in society are a result of these beliefs. This is why people struggle, compete and fight to acquire things and positions because they belief they define who they are. Such attitudes drive men into all kinds of greed as Jesus warned in the scipture above.

Be that as it may, our Creator God has a far superior and common definition of us. We are His beloved people, created in His image for His good purposes. A good identity is an inherent human need, and we can only find it in the God Who made us. Anything or anyone else cannot give us our true identity. Only God will. Our lives cannot be defined by the abundance of things as the rich fool in the parable thought to himself.

Dear friends, even as we seek after these things, let’s not allow them to define who we are. What God says about us is what we truly are and is discovered in our relationship with Him. Regardless of our state, what we posses or don’t posses, God looks at us as His people, called by His name, fearfully and wonderfully made. You can walk with your head high, and yet in confident humility before God, if you know who you are.

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Shalom children of God. Have a great weekend.

Do Good to All

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Matthew 25:35-36,40 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’… “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

Jesus in this teaching related how service in the kingdom of God is viewed, and how it will be at the judgment. It reveals what is in the heart of God in feeling and caring for suffering humanity. All the categories of people listed are needy, disadvantaged or under privileged – the hungry, homeless, sick, imprisoned, elderly, children, disabled. They are God’s precious people, even though they may be the least in the sight of men. Jesus called them His brothers. Such are plentious all around us, giving an opportunity to minister to the Lord through them.

By being sensitive to them, thinking about and meeting their needs, you become an extension of God’s hand to them. Some of these people may be burdensome to others because of prolonged abnormal conditions needing continuous support. Their plight touches God’s heart. If we have His kind of heart, we should similarly be touched by the suffering of others and always avail ourselves to do good to them. Practicing compassionate care not only meets their needs, but it also qualifies one to inherit God’s kingdom(V.34).

Let’s seek to genuinely meet the needs of people we meet. Everyone is needy at one point or another, and everyone has something they can offer to meet someone else’ need. That’s powerful ministry to God and humanity.

Proverbs 19.17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

1 John 3:17-18 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Shalom children of God.