Category: Uncategorized

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

A form of godliness, denying it’s power

2 Timothy 3:5 “…Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” – KJV

Paul enumerated the several characteristics of the evils of the end times. Among these is people having a semblance of religion and godliness and yet ironically denying the power of the gospel to transform them. This is a state in which people have self styled godliness, talking about God, but the fruit of their lives clearly contradicts their claims. It was the same thing Joshua told Israelites who said they would obey God and yet continuing in idolatry (Josh 24:19-24).

God’s power saves the sinner, transforms from a worldly evil mindset, and enables us to live godly lives pleasing to God. But this power of the Holy Spirit works with our willing submission, humility and obedience to God. To have a form of godliness and yet deny the transforming power of the Holy Spirit which enables us to live godly lives is a contradiction. It can only imply having a form of self created godliness in which God is not at the centre. Such redefine, qualify and justify their ways before God like the Pharisee praying in the temple as he justified himself before God, confident in his own righteousness (Luke 18:9-14).

Today we see so much of this. Many no longer have the fear of God which hates evil (Prov 8:13). They claim to be godly and at the same time living in obvious evil, and yet comfortable with it! This is another sign that they have drifted from away from the God they claim to serve. May God, the searcher of mens hearts, search us. May we also examine ourselves in light of our godliness claims against what actually manifests in our lives. And where we have fallen short, let’s return to God in repentance.

Proverbs 14:14 “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man [shall be satisfied] from himself.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland.”_ – NIV Israel sinned against God, and He handed them over to their enemies who devastated their land and many died. God promised restoration to them despite a very dark past. He was going to do a new thing. Theirs was to forget the past, and look forward to it.Some of the things that eat up people internally are the past messes, failures and pains. So many have been held hostage by their past. The devil who enjoys accusing always uses it as a key weapon of condemnation. Some of our past is so horrible and painful that you wish it could be erased out of existence. Good or bad, the past is gone. We cannot change it. We can only learn the lessons and move on.Whether through your own messes or as a victim of what others did to you, bring the burden of your past to God. Come as you are, hiding nothing and surrender it to Him. Let Him take that burden off you and set you free. God calls us not to remember or dwell on the past. The more we dwell on it, the more we lose focus of the future blessings and fail to enjoy the present. In Christ, God can bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and glory out of shame. Behold the new thing God is doing, and move along with it. Paul did._1 Timothy 1:12-14 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”_Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Rituals without Relationship (31/1/2022)

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices– mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law– justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” – NIV

Jesus was addressing the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. It was one of those hard talks in which the Lord rebuked the hypocrisy of the religious folks of the day. He spoke seven woes. The one in the scripture above related to how their religion had gravitated to mere rituals without a relationship with God. They were now more focused on performance of outward activities of their religion(more to be seen by men), but had ignored what the God they claimed to serve valued most. Religious outwardly, but without a living relationship with God! Jesus called them hypocrites.

A lot of times, as we go through routine activities supposed to enhance our devotion to God, we end up doing them as a tradition but the spirit is lost. We pray, fast, read the bible, attend church and participate in other religious activities, dress, talk and generally look devout, but the heart has lost connection with God. When this happens, we are into rituals without a relationship with God. God wants us to relate intimately with Him beyond the usual rituals of our routine religious activities. He looks into the state of the heart, and that is what reflects our true standing with Him.

What is your current state with God? Many claim to be in right standing with God just because they attend church, are active members in a particular religious sect, adhere to the requirements of their faith, pray, give thithe and offertory, support the needy, do good, etc. But their hearts are not right with God. It’s fine to do some of these, but not neglect the true state of your heart with God. Get back to loving God with all your heart.

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.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Matthew 18:21-35 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times…”_ – NIV Jesus was teaching about those who sin against us and the approach to restoring them to fellowship. Then Peter wonders how many times one who sins can be forgiven. Many today would ask the same question regarding those who hurt us over and over again. He suggested seven times, but Jesus said not seven, but seventy seven times, implying offer forgiveness always. Jesus attached our forgiveness of others to our own forgiveness by God. He noted that if we don’t forgive, neither will God forgive us (v.35).As earlier noted, we are constantly hurt by people intentionally or not. Out of some of our own failures, we regret what we have done. All these haunt a person within. Not only are we to leave the past behind us, but also forgive from the heart those who have sinned against us. We should also forgive ourselves. Unforgiveness creates room for anger, resentment, bitterness, revenge, hatred, and demonic influences. It steals our joy, peace, and enjoyment of life. It keeps inner wounds of the soul fresh and painful. When we forgive, we release the matters to God, gain our joy and peace and begin to heal internally. Unforgiveness is a huge baggage to carry. It primarily affects the victims, keeps them in bondage, and retards meaningful growth and progress. No one keeps in unforgiveness and at the same time remains peaceful and happy. Release yourself and others to God. James says our healing comes from confessing our faults one to another and praying for each other. Paul adds that we ought to forgive as the Lord forgave us – unconditionally. Leave vengeance to God. _James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”__Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”_Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Maturity Vs imaturity (25/6/2021)

1 Corinthians 3:2-4 “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”

At some point, maturity is expected to be attained. But when that doesn’t happen at the right time, it becomes awkward. Beautiful and lovely as a child is, he is expected to outgrow childhood stage. The Corinthians, by the time Paul wrote, were still babies immature in the faith and yet expected to have matured. This manifested in being worldly, disunited, jealousy, and quarreling among themselves. These are still the marks of immaturity.

On the other hand, there are signs of maturity expected to be exhibited. These include the fruit of the Spirit love, peace, patience, kindness, …(Gal 5:22-23), unity in the faith, becoming more like Christ. It is in the maturity of God’s people that He is most glorified as we reflect Him. The church’s mission in the world is to be ambassadors of God, representing Him and His kingdom. In imaturity, the church brings more shame than glory to God.

Let each one of us who is individually a member of the body of Christ seek to grow so as to meaningfully contribute to the body and bring glory to God. Paul said there is a view of things, approach to issues and perceptions of people in a dignified manner that shows maturity. It sees everything from God’s perspective. Let God help us attain that level.

Philippians 3:15-16 “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Nehemiah 1:3-4 “They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven…” – NIV

Nehemiah was one of the exiles privileged to serve the king as the cup bearer. But when his brother Hananiah came from Israel and informed him about the terrible state of affairs in Jerusalem; the broken walls and suffering people, he broke down and wept. He lost peace despite a comfortable position and life he held. He fasted and prayed for several days seeking God how to remedy the situation back home. The king eventually noticed and asked him what he would do to help him go back home and help his people.

Thus began Nehemiah’s journey to restoring the walls of Jerusalem and reorganizing his people. An intense burden to make right what is going wrong is one indicator of a call in one’s life. While everyone else sees it and life goes on, the one called to rectify it can’t rest until a solution is found. They are willing to lay down their lives to see something done. To Moses, God expressed the burden in His heart to rescue His people from Egyptian bondage.

Anyone who has greatly been used by God to achieve much is driven by a burden. A burden is one indicator of purpose, God showing you what He wants you to do to rectify what is going wrong. Paul stated how he had unquenchable burden to preach the gospel and to see churches established at all costs. Others are driven by burdens to liberate the oppressed, alleviate suffering and see people become their best. What burdens can’t you get out of your mind? That could be a pointer to God’s purpose for you. Pursue it.

Romans 9:1-4 “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel…”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Galatians 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."_ - NIV 

Paul vehemently defended the gospel he preached about Christ as true. So firmly true is it that he made such strong statements of curses for anyone who perverted and preached a different gospel. He noted that some people were deliberately doing this to take them back to salvation through the law. Why such strong words? Because such compromises have eternal consequences.

We are to love, respect and even please others in what we do for encouragement, communion, support and to move together. That’s in God’s will. The dividing line, however, comes when our attempt to please others puts us at enemity with God. This includes sinning, compromising doctrinal matters, breaking fellowship with God because you want to impress men. In that case, as it was for Paul in the scripture above, we have to choose to please God and not men.

Such situations always come – in homes, community, work places, in seeking opportunities, etc. We have to decide, commit and settle it in our hearts that we shall choose to please God. The price may be high, leading to lose of opportunities, friends, facing ridicule, rejection or forfeiting other benefits. Anyone who has lived for God amidst the evils of this world, has paid that price to stand for God. You too, guided by a firm foundation of godly values, can stand. If you decide to please men in such cases, you cease to be a servant of Christ. _

1 Thessalonians 2:4 "Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives."_

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

How we grow (26/6/2021)

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – NIV

There are no shortcuts to growth. Growth is both the effect of personal commitment of each one of us, as much as the result of the inputs into our lives. We often admire the early church and their great accomplishments for God. But few want to ask what they did to grow so strong in the Lord and to attain what they achieved. The scripture above gives us the secret: daily devotion. Nothing replaces a personal intimate walk with God towards quality spiritual growth.

Four major avenues of growth are mentioned: devotion to teachings of the apostles, fellowship among themselves, breaking of bread and prayer. The word was the centre of teaching. Their fellowship with one another was sincere. They broke bread in communion with one another and with the Lord. They prayed daily. Such was their lifestyle. And they grew so much to be like their Lord that they were nicknamed Christians (Acts 11:26). We cannot do less and expect to be like them or better.

Growth is first and foremost individual. And this means devotion to the teachings of the word through personal study, fellowship with others, communion with the Lord and prayer at individual level. What manifests publicly is developed and shaped in the secret chambers. The church is only as strong as its individual members. The extent of our growth is determined by the quality of our personal devotional lives with God.

Acts 2:46-47 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

John 4:31-34 “Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” – NIV

Jesus was going to Galilee from Judea and had to pass through Samaria. He was now hungry and thirsty. While at the well, a Samaritan woman comes and He asked her for water to drink. When the disciples came back from buying food, they urged Him to eat but He couldn’t, atleast at that time. Something was burdening Him more than ordinary food; the need to preach to people the woman had rushed to call.

The will of His Father, the souls who would be ministered to, so filled His heart that food had to wait. That’s passion. It made Him do what He was doing wholeheartedly without reservation and out of a willing heart. Although not all zeal and passion is indication of ones purpose, when one is operating in the things they were created for, it flows seamlessly and is done with passion. The combination of a burden and passion are sure to push a person to excellence and perseverance despite the odds to fulfill their purpose.

A natural love and drive to do something without coercion and persistently is an indicator of purpose and calling in that area. Such passion is inspired by the Holy Spirit to enable one serve their purpose. Think of anyone truly fulfilling their purpose in life. They certainly enjoy and are fully immersed into what they do. The passion has consumed them and their lives resonate with it. They are even willing to forsake anything that stands in the way, including laying down their lives. Find out what you are so naturally passionate about. It could point to your purpose. Hear Paul express his passion in preaching;

Acts 20:23-24 “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Shalom children of God.

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

1 Samuel 15:13-15 "When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”_ - NIV 

God’s message and instructions to Saul were clear; to wipe out the Amelekites and everything they owned. Saul went and selectively destroyed what was unpleasant and spared the best bulls and sheep, purportedly to come and sacrifice to God. They also spared Agag, their king. When he met Samuel to report, he confidently said he carried out the Lord’s instructions. This act of disobedience displeased God so much that He regreted why He made Saul king, and removed him from the kingship.

Disobedience comes in various forms. Outright or partial refusal to heed instructions. When what God requires of us is interpreted and executed as one wishes or finds convenient, that’s disobedience. We are not at liberty to choose what we wish to do and what we don’t like as far as God’s word is concerned. God calls us to simple trust and complete obedience. Jesus commissioned the church to teach obedience to His commands.

How is it that some are living in sin and disobedience in one area of their lives and yet appear very confident, committed and zealous for God in other aspects? Because of self styled godliness which has redefined God’s word and instructions to conveniently suit their ungodly bodily desires. It is double dealing with the world. The Bible says God cannot be mocked by such hypocrisy. We ultimately reap what we sow. Choose to simply trust and obey God. That’s the way of peace._Galatians 6:7 “Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. People will reap exactly what they sow.”__

Matthew 28:20 "...and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”_ 

Shalom children of God.