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Do we still believe in a Radical Church?

On Mission
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Do we still believe in a Radical Church?

For many people, unity within the body of Christ is an outdated concept. Whilst on our mission trip to Tenerife, Our Director, Mike Omoniyi teaches why we need to go back to the biblical blueprint for the Church.

At Our God Given Mission, we take Jesus’s call for mission work in Matthew 28 seriously. Twice a year, we take a group of individuals to Tenerife for a life-changing Mission trip where we partner with local Churches and Charities as well as heading to the party strips to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Prior to the trip, we have a five-week training course in which we equip the attendees with the tools they need to effectively witness whilst on mission, it is also a great opportunity to familiarise yourself with the rest of the team.

Click here if you would like to join us for our next mission trip!

“I just don’t find Christians funny”

On Mission
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“I just don’t find Christians funny”

In this week’s episode of the podcast, we are bringing to the table, entertainment. We discuss how Christians should navigate the world of entertainment and what principles we should consider when choosing what to consume.

Guests: Toye Akinoso, Raphael Olu-Jide, Sonja Lee Barnett, Susanna Clapcott

Join the discussion online by using the hashtag #onthetable.

We Need More Zeal For God

On Mission
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We Need More Zeal For God

Joke: Why couldn’t Jonah trust the ocean? – Because he knew there was something fishy about it.

A disciple can be forgiven if he does not have great mental ability. He can be forgiven also if he does not display outstanding physical prowess. But no disciple can be excused if he does not have zeal. If his heart is not aflame with a red-hot passion for the Saviour, he stands condemned.

After all, Christians are followers of the One Who said, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (John 2:17). Their Savior was consumed with a passion for God and for His interests. There is no room in His train for half-hearted followers.

Discuss

  • What does this scripture mean to us?
  • What does mean to be eaten up?
  • Do we have any examples in our lives of people who are eaten up?

Where is the Zeal in the bible?

The Lord Jesus lived in a state of spiritual tension. This is indicated by His words, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished” (Luke 12:50). And again by His memorable utterance, “I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

The zeal of John the Baptist was attested by the Lord when He said, “He was a burning and a shining light” (John 5:35)

The apostle Paul was a zealot. Someone has tried to capture the fervency of his life in the following sketch:

He is a man without the care of making friends, without the hope or desire of worldly good, without the apprehension of worldly loss, without the care of life, without the fear of death. He is a man of no rank, country or condition. A man of one thought—the Gospel of Christ. A man of one purpose—the glory of God. A fool, and content to be reckoned a fool for Christ. Let him be called enthusiast, fanatic, babbler or any other outlandish nondescript the world may choose to denominate him. But still let him be nondescript. As soon as they call him trader, householder, citizen, man of wealth, man of the world, man of learning, or even man of common sense, it is all over with his character. He must speak or he must die, and though he should die, he will speak. He has no rest but hastens over land and sea, over rocks and trackless deserts. He cries aloud and spares not, and will not be hindered. In the prisons, he lifts up his voice, and in the tempests of the ocean, he is not silent. Before awful councils and throned kings, he witnesses in behalf of the truth. Nothing can quench his voice but death, and even in the article of death, before the knife has severed his head from his body, he speaks, he prays, he testifies, he confesses, he beseeches, he wars, and at length he blesses the cruel people.

Discuss

  • Is this description achievable?
  • Is this extreem?
  • Can this be realistic in the 21st century

Other men of God have shown this same burning desire to please God.

C. T. Studd once wrote:

Some want to live within the sound

Of church or chapel bell.

I want to run a rescue shop

Within a metre of hell.


And, incidentally, it was an article written by an atheist that spurred Studd to all-out dedication to Christ. The article was as follows:

If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything. I would cast away earthly enjoyments as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought, and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of Eternity alone. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences would never stay my hand, or seal my lips. Earth, its joys and its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon Eternity alone, and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in seasnon and out of season, and my text would be, WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN IF HE GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD AND LOSE HIS OWN SOUL

John Wesley was a man of zeal. He said, “Give me a hundred men who love God with all their hearts, and fear nothing but sin, and I will move the world.”

For many Christians today, if friends and family had to speak about our passions, what would they say. Are we more passionate about Football, Tennis, careers? What is our song?

The disgrace of the church in the twentieth century is that more zeal is evident among Communists and cultists than among Christians.

In 1903, one man with seventeen followers began his attack on the world. His name was Lenin. By 1918, the number had increased to forty thousand, and with that forty thousand, he gained control of the one hundred sixty million people of Russia. And the movement has gone on and now controls over one-third of the world’s population. However much one might be opposed to their principles, one cannot help admiring their zeal.

Many Christians felt strongly rebuked when Billy Graham first read the following letter, written by an American college student who had been converted to communism in Mexico. The purpose of the letter was to explain to his fiancé why he must break off their engagement:

We Communists have a high casualty rate. We’re the ones who get shot and hung and lynched and tarred and feathered and jailed and slandered, and ridiculed and fired from our jobs, and in every other way made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary to keep us alive. We Communists don’t have the time or the money for many movies, or concerts, or T-bone steaks, or decent homes and new cars. We’ve been described as fanatics. We are fanatics. Our lives are dominated by one great overshadowing factor, THE STRUGGLE FOR WORLD COMMUNISM.

We Communists have a philosophy of life which no amount of money could buy. We have a cause to fight for, a definite purpose in life. We subordinate our petty, personal selves into a great movement of humanity, and if our personal lives seem hard, or our egos appear to suffer through subordination to the party, then we are adequately compensated by the thought that each of us in his small way is contributing to something new and true and better for mankind. There is one thing in which I am in dead earnest and that is the Communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife and mistress, my bread and meat. I work at it in the daytime and dream of it at night. Its hold on me grows, not lessens as time goes on. Therefore, I cannot carry on a friendship, a love affair, or even a conversation without relating it to this force which both drives and guides my life. I evaluate people, books, ideas, and actions according to how they affect the Communist cause and by their attitude toward it. I’ve already been in jail because of my ideas and if necessary, I’m ready to go before a firing squad.

If Communists can be as dedicated as this for their cause, how much more should Christians pour themselves out in loving, glad devotion for their glorious Lord. Surely if the Lord Jesus is worth anything, He is worth everything. “If the Christian faith is worth believing in at all, it is worth believing in heroically”—Findlay.

If God has really done something in Christ on which the salvation of the world depends, and if He has made it known, then it is a Christian duty to be intolerant of everything which ignores, denies, or explains it away—James Denney.

Our Zeal Must Increase

 Psalm 63 – The cry of early church fathers

A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing.

It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one things, he lives, for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God.

 Whether he lives, or whether he dies—whether he has health, or whether he has sickness, —whether he rich or whether he is poor,—whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offence, —whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish—whether he gets the blame, or whether he gets praise—whether he gets honour, or whether he gets shame—for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing, and that one thing is to please God and to advance God’s glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it—he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, and work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray. Yes: if he is only a pauper, on a perpetual bed of sickness, he will make the wheels of sin around him drive heavily, by continually interceding against it

How to share the Gospel at work

Tumininu Olaoshun
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How to share the Gospel at work
Prefer to listen? Listen here!

After nearly six months off work, I found myself back in the familiar settings of my staffroom. Whilst the fixtures looked the same, everything else had become so different. It was arranged and organised to be ‘COVID-19 compliant’ and staff members danced around each other, keeping two metres apart like awkward teenagers on their first date. It took a few days to adjust seeing everyone again and actually having conversations that did not require us to ‘unmute’ or turn the camera on, and I have to say, I thanked God daily that I was able to work at work, see my class students again and be able to have some normality in the most abnormal year yet. 

However, after a few weeks of getting back to our ‘new normal’, I noticed an uncomfortable feeling, and it definitely wasn’t due to the rushed lunches whilst simultaneously replying emails I realised; it was conviction. I kept asking myself, ‘how am I sharing the light of God at work?’ I remember, pre-lockdown, being ‘salt and light’ was a prayer I regularly prayed. But working from home, that prayer was being prayed less and less. And now I had found myself, feeling uncomfortable. Had I blended in too well with the culture and language of my work environment? Had I been using the world’s vocabulary instead of the Word to describe our current state of affairs? I soon felt very uncomfortable and immediately, I asked the Lord, “how does my life, speech and conduct look different to those who don’t believe?”  I was led to Romans 12, a chapter that convicts, corrects and teaches me often about comparison and my mind. And as always, the living Word came alive in a different way.

Show them the Gospel

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”

Romans 12:9-16

When pondering over sharing the Gospel at work, Romans 12:9-16 really spoke to me, and I hope it does for you as you read it. Verse 9 tells us to love others, to really love others. As with all relationships, it takes effort and care to love. We can all share common courtesy and be polite, but to love our colleagues, even the challenging ones, requires us to go above and beyond. Not just sending an email about the deadline due, but also checking in with them, taking note of the things they mention and being bold to ask about the things they don’t mention. Being thoughtful, like making a note of the birthdays in your team for example. These things cannot be grown out of a stale and cold existence, it comes out of a relationship. It means taking time, staying a little longer in the office to have that chat, or sending that text after working hours. How else can we rejoice and weep with others, if we don’t know what is even going on with them? Perhaps, through the connections we are intentional to make, the Holy Spirit can minister directly to that person through us. 

Preach to them the Gospel

As believers, we are called to verbally share our belief in Christ Jesus (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19). Romans 10:9-10, tells us that, “faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God”. Yes, the Bible is clear that our conduct needs to speak of Christ, however, we must not use that as a way to absolve ourselves of the responsibility to preach the Gospel to them.

In being faithful to live out what the Bible says, I believe we are sowing seeds, watering the ground to make the gospel easier to receive. But that doesn’t always mean that it will be. At the end of the day, being the nicest person in the world isn’t going to convict someone of their sin. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. And the gospel is offensive and being a ‘nice’ person doesn’t soften the message of the gospel. but our hope and prayer is that, by us being in their environment, physically and spiritually, God will cause their hearts to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and perhaps even use us to lead them to repentance. 

Quick Tips:

  • Pray and challenge yourself to connect with one new person in your workplace, remotely or face to face and establish some common ground
  • Write their name down and commit to praying for them weekly, you can even add your whole work place too.
  • Challenge yourself to speak about Jesus to your colleagues.

I hope these tips are challenging, they are supposed to be, to keep us dependent on the Holy Spirit. I will be right there with you, trying to complete them also. It is essential we do the job we are paid for and do it well, that in itself is part of our witness. But even at work, let us not forgot about our Kingdom work. 

God Will Give You Strength

Shumi Mararike
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God Will Give You Strength
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Those of us on Twitter may have come across “secure the bag twitter” – a community which esteems the self-made person. Their resounding message seems to be that you determine your own success. Everything you are and all that you obtain is down to yourself. Your efforts, your abilities, your talents, your money – YOU YOU YOU. But what about when despite all your skills and resources, you find yourself at ground zero? All that you supposedly built yourself comes crashing down and there seems to be no way back. You’ve crumbled under the pressure of trying to have everything figured out by your own power as you’ve exhausted all your resources. Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us without aid in this helpless state. You don’t need to be strong. In our lowest points, God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Humbled when we’re self-sufficient

God humbles the self-sufficient, that’s a given. It’s just a matter of when He chooses to do so which is not made known to us. It may be in a year’s time, it may be decades later. He may do so in this lifetime, or perhaps in the next. For King Uzziah, God humbled him as soon as his head became inflated.

Uzziah was one of the commendable kings of Judah who enjoyed a prosperous fifty-two-year reign, marked by instruction in the fear of God through the prophet Zechariah (2 Chronicles 26:1-4). Despite all this, God struck him with leprosy which plagued him to the point of his death (2 Chronicles 26:21). So what went wrong?

In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skilful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.

2 Chronicles 26:15-16

The acclaim and success which came Uzziah’s way puffed up his head. His success was founded upon divine aid. God had strengthened Him throughout his reign but withdrew His power from Uzziah the moment he became strong from which came pride. Pride is rooted in self-sufficiency. This caused Uzziah to think too highly of himself, his skill, power and authority to the point where he took it upon himself to carry out priestly duties instituted by God for those from the tribe of Levi who were consecrated to the priesthood (2 Chronicles 24:16-19). As he lost sight of the God who was the means of his success, he pridefully transgressed the limits of his authority and God gave him his dues.

Acknowledging our weakness

The demise of Uzziah should be a solemn warning to us all not to fall into the trap of self-sufficiency. We can start by acknowledging our weakness. God often brings us to our lowest point to magnify our weakness and bring us to total dependence on Him. This was evident in the ministry of the apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he tells us about the “super-apostles” at Corinth, a group of false teachers at Corinth who were rapidly gaining popularity. They undermined the gospel through their false teachings and set out to malign Paul’s character. Rather than choosing to confront them by boasting about the magnificent supernatural things God had shown him (2 Corinthians 12:1-4), he acknowledged his own weakness in which he boasted (2 Corinthians 12:5-6).

Knowing God’s grace is sufficient

Paul’s weakness was made all the more apparent through his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). This was a metaphorical thorn which God allowed a Satanic agent to afflict Paul with. A tool deployed by the Almighty to keep his apostle humble in light of the supernatural wonders he had experienced in the heavenly realm and his ongoing strivings with the false teachers. Paul cried out to God for Him to remove this pain from his life. Our Bibles tell us that Paul pleaded with God “three times”, but some scholars believe that Paul was using a Hebrew figure of speech which communicated the idea of doing something ceaselessly. In other words, he repeatedly asked God to remove it. Continually and desperately crying out to God to alleviate his suffering. Rather than giving Paul what he wanted, God gave him what he needed. God kept the thorn in his flesh for Paul’s own benefit. It enabled the apostle to acknowledge his weakness and open his eyes to the sufficiency of God’s grace to strengthen him when he was most frail.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Depending on God’s grace

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:10

When Paul acknowledged his weakness and the sufficiency of God’s grace, he was then able to confront the immense ministerial challenge in which he was engaged. As we live in total dependence on the grace of God in all aspects of our lives, His strength becomes available to us in the eternal power of Christ Jesus and through the Holy Spirit at work within us, making our weakness strong.

This is anti-cultural. Strength is not gained through self-sufficiency. It is worked in us as we realise our self-deficiency and humbly and draw from the ever-flowing reservoir of God’s grace by which Christ’s power which rests upon us.

The Importance of Christian fellowship

On Mission
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The Importance of Christian fellowship

Joke: How does Moses start his morning? – Hebrews a pot of coffee!

The church began on the day of pentecost. The spirit of the lord came, 3000 were converted and the church began. 

What does the word say? 

ACTS 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Discuss

  • What stands out in this definition of church?
  • Do we still think about church this way?
  • How has COVID-19 changed how we think about church?

“Common shared life” “Breaking off bread”“Prayer” “Common trust so they could provide help for each other”

All expressions of fellowship. A community of people committed to one and another. This is the first expression of the life of church. Mutual commitment to each other. 

In 1st Corinthians 12, Paul gives another metaphor for this kind of common life that should be in any “church” community.  12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

This is the defining character of the church. A body with a common life under one leadership which is Jesus Christ. Unity, shared life, commonality, community: FELLOWSHIP. 

Christian fellowship is meaningful

Christianity is not a spectator sport that happens on Sunday, it is a common shared life with other believers.

In a grey dawn of an April day in 1945, in a Nazi camp in Flossenburg, a pastor by the name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed. He was executed by special order of Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s executioner. Hw has been arrested two years before and over that period he had been moved from prison to prison. From Tegal to Berlin to Buchenwald to Schonburg and finally to Flossenburg. Because of the moving, he lost all contact with the outside world. Everyone he knew was severed from him. He lost, according to his own testimony the most precious possession he had and that was Christian fellowship. He wrote a book called “Life Together” based on Psalms 1:33. He wrote in that book about the richness of fellowship which he later lost up until his death.

“The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparably joy and strength to the believer,  a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God.  How inexhaustible are the riches that open up for those who by God’s will are privileged to live in the daily fellowship of life with other Christians!
“Let him who until now has had the privilege of living in common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”

We are a living organism dependant on each other. Fellowship is so crucial so to this.

Growing up, fellowship meant going to fellowship hall. Where they served stale cookies and dilute to taste Ribenna. Talk of fellowship there was superficial. But true fellowship is spiritual. It’s about being one.
This is the high priestly prayer of our Lord  Jesus in John 17.

That everyone who would be saved through redemptive history would be one. That we today would be one. The prayer is answered because that is what happens when you believe. You are placed into the union of the body of Christ. You are connected to a long history of other believers and you are part of a long future of believers if the lord tarries

But you see this should work it self out in our conduct with each other.

Questions

  • Why don’t we see this radical togetherness? Why don’t we see a shared life?
  • What is stopping true Christian fellowship?
  • Organisation vs Organism – Do we think organisationally about church rather than embracing the body as an organism.
  • Doing Life together? – To do life together means to journey with each other. Continually sharing and re-sharing. – Do we do this?

Overcoming Chronic fear

On Mission
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Overcoming Chronic fear

Joke: What do you call a baptized Mexican? – Bean dip.

FEAR. We all have the capacity to make it our constant companion. Chronic fear can paralyze us, keeping us stuck in misery and brokenness. This is never more true than in the aftermath of a shattered heart! When the world turns upside down, it can be difficult to figure out how to reconcile fear and faith.

Sometimes, in that place of darkness, even the Bible can seem a bit confusing on the subject of fear. We’re told again and again not to fear, and yet we’re also told TO fear God. 

So from down in the depths of despair, it’s pretty easy to think ourselves in circles, and before we know it, fear has taken hold and spun out of control.
What we need to do is look at the whole Bible and compile what it has to say on the subject of fear so we can come away knowing exactly where we should stand

Exercise

  • What kind of things do we fear?
  • Why do we fear these things?
  • What’s the effect of having this fear in our life?

Chronic Fear

Most of us know, or have at least noticed that anxiety and depression seem to be on the rise. It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing or hearing something on the subject.

 According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. They say these disorders affect 40 million adults in this country alone! And the statistics don’t change much in the world at large with the World Health Organization reporting 1 in 13 adults suffer from anxiety globally.

I wish I could say this struggle with chronic fear lessens within the church. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, if these numbers from LifeWay’s Facts & Trends research are accurate, the numbers might even be higher in the church.

Being Afraid vs Living in Fear

Discuss – Is there a difference between being afraid and living in fear?

Fear can be the right response to some situations

Fear is defined as an emotional state triggered by real danger that is in front of you, whereas anxiety is created from an image of danger that is not present in that actual moment.

This is a huge distinction. Look at fear as a positive, instinctive emotion that serves you loyally – fear gets you out of danger. It is explained in the body by a general activation of our sympathetic nervous system (the fight-flight-freeze mechanism). Fear flows through us and onwards. It is a powerful and delicate emotion; a multi-layered experience rather than a flatline concept that should be avoided. Fear can actually be exciting – think of your last roller coaster ride or perhaps a parachute jump. Fear is part of our awakened natural animal world.

Living in fear is a negative thing that can cause you to be a shell of yourself

When you live in fear, it’s like living in our own internal TV show that is produced and directed by ourselves. It uses stock images borrowed from many other sources.

According to 2011 statistics released by the US Department of State, you are 35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than because of a terrorist attack. And of course, anxiety is a major contributing factor to heart disease. Doesn’t it make more sense to focus on overcoming the threats that are more likely to harm you?

Besides, believers are commanded not to live in fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind

Facing Fear

In this study, we’re standing toe to toe with that ugly monster, and reminding it who sits on the Throne of Heaven! He is the same God who has made His temple in our own hearts! And this is what HE tells us about fear:

One the major ways we can overcome Chronic fear is to remember tho is with you!

John 14:26-27 – But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

1. Thank God for his love

Psalm 138 1 – 8

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
    and will praise your name
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
    you greatly emboldened me.

4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for the glory of the Lord is great.

6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
    though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
    with your right hand you save me.
8 The Lord will vindicate me;
    your love, Lord, endures forever—
    do not abandon the works of your hands.

2. Live in the love of God – 1 John 4:7–21

‘God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us’ (v.17).

The words ‘love’, ‘loves’ and ‘loved’ appear twenty-seven times in this short passage. Here is the heart of the New Testament. Here is the heart of the Bible. Here is God’s heart.

Love is the antidote to fear: ‘Perfect love drives out fear’ (v.18). Or, ‘perfect love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror’ (v.18, AMP). Love is the opposite of fear. They are like oil and water. Love is something everyone wants. Fear is something everybody wants to get rid of. We see in this passage four keys to overcome unhealthy fear in your life.

  • Understand God’s Love
    ‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins… so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment… there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love’ (vv.10,17–18).

    Unhealthy fear entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned. They hid from God. When God asked, ‘Where are you?’ Adam replied, ‘I was afraid… so I hid’ (Genesis 3:10). Adam was afraid that God would punish him.

    The deepest root of fear is condemnation – the feeling that God is cross with you. But God ‘sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (1 John 4:10). Jesus took your condemnation. God wants you to have confidence before him.
  • Experience God’s Love
    ‘We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit… we know and rely on the love God has for us’ (vv.13,16).

    You truly start living when you know you are unconditionally loved by God. The Holy Spirit gives us the experience of God’s love for us. When Pippa was a little girl, whenever she was frightened, her father would pick her up in his arms and sing, ‘Daddy’s got you now’. This is the work of the Holy Spirit – God picks us up in his arms and reassures us of his love for us.
  • Believe God’s Love
    ‘We know and rely on the love God has for us’ (v.16). The Greek word used for ‘rely’ is the same word as for believe. Even when we know and have experienced God’s love, we need to keep on believing.

    Object permanence is an expression used by psychologists of a child’s ability to understand that objects still exist even if they are no longer visible.

    Up to about four months old, babies don’t have the capacity to believe something exists if they can’t see it. If you hide a toy it no longer exists as far as they are concerned. They reach a stage where if you hide a toy, they will keep on looking for it. They realise that objects exist even when you don’t see them.

    This is a sign of Christian maturity: when we continue to believe in God’s love even when we don’t see it or feel it. We remember and recall. As we believe in the sun even when it is not shining, we continue to believe in God’s love even in times of darkness when we don’t feel his love.
  • Perfect God’s Love
    ‘No-one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us’ (v.12). ‘Perfect love drives out all fear’ (v.18).

    The more you love him and demonstrate that reality by loving one another – the less you are prey to fear. Develop a culture of love – giving and receiving love. This is the opposite of competition and gossip. The more love you give to others – the more fear disappears.

3. Stand firm in the love of God – Daniel 11:2–35

People who know their God (v.32) are people of love. Love is not weak. The people who really know God resist evil leaders. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a man who knew God and firmly resisted Adolf Hitler whilst praying, ‘Give me such love for God and men, as will blot out all hatred and bitterness.’ Over the centuries many people who have known their God have stood firm and resisted evil.

Once again this prophecy has different levels of fulfilment. The immediate historical fulfilment concerns the various kings and rulers who reigned between 530–150 bc, many of whom were evil and ungodly in their actions.

However, there is also a long-term fulfilment. As we saw yesterday, Jesus referred to the abomination that causes destruction (9:27; 11:31; Matthew 24:15). He was probably referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70, which was a foreshadowing of the end times.

In the midst of all this evil ‘the people who know their God will firmly resist [the evil one]’ (Daniel 11:32b). As the RSV puts it, they will ‘stand firm and take action’. Or as The Bible puts it, ‘those who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand’ (v.32b). It goes on, ‘those who keep their heads on straight will teach the crowds right from wrong by their example… The testing will refine, cleanse, and purify those who keep their heads on straight and stay true’ (vv.33,35).

Today, thank God for his love, live in the love of God, overcome your fears, stand firm and resist evil.

Why Must the Church Stay Connected?

Oluwaseyi Sobogun
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Why Must the Church Stay Connected?

This pandemic has changed the Church. In a short space of time, we have rewritten the rules of the modern church. The vital part of the Church, the true meaning of the word became the focus when the actual doors of the church were shut. Since then, we have seen the shift of our church services to online platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. We have embraced the new invite to services through links in a WhatsApp message or an email flyer. We have seen our claps turn to emojis and our praises shouted in capitals on a chat. We have seen the Church adapt. Now that we are no longer required to leave our house to attend service, (can we remain connected to Church or are we still connected to the Church)?

Embracing the ‘New Normal’

At this critical moment, we, believers in Jesus Christ, must reflect on why we attend church in the first place. We must go back to what church was at the very beginning of Christianity if we are to have a chance at staying connected amidst this pandemic.

It is understandable that attending church online may have not been the first choice for many of us, however, this pandemic has forced a lot of things upon us that we had not expected. Jesus said we would experience trials (John 16:33) but I know none of us expected this. Nonetheless, when the pandemic hit, the first lockdown was enforced and the church doors closed for the first time, we had to find an alternative way to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Technological innovation has merely improved the way we worship and allowed the Gospel to be more accessible globally. We can now invite multiple people to church than ever before. It is as simple as sending a link to a YouTube page or website. Also, we now have the chance to truly come as we are. No dressing up to impress others at church. People have arrived in their pyjamas, eating breakfast or still in bed- however, reverence towards God, in these moments, must be exercised. We can ‘attend’ church from home any day of the week.

Have we lost the formality of Church?

The Church was never meant to be formal. Formality was what the Pharisees were about, not Jesus nor Christianity. The church was a place to fellowship with other believers and it often happened in a house, not a state-of-the-art auditorium. The western world has glamorised the church, to the point that unbeliever’s question if they are good enough for God. Good enough to attend church because they are not ‘good’ or they do not fit a mould that has been formed by imperfect humans.

Everyone is welcome to the Church.

Church with a capital ‘C’ refers to the body of Christ, whilst church with a small ‘c’ is the physical reference of the building. We have seen that we do not need a church to be the Church. We are the Church, the body of Christ.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.…Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it

1 Corinthians 12:12, 27

The Church needs you

Anyone, through salvation, can be a part of the body of Christ and in the body, each member is essential. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:26). There is an importance to fellowshipping together in the body. It is great to tune into the live service on a Sunday, but we need to engage further. Together, with the foundation of Christ, we can continue the community built out of Acts 2:42, which says:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…. and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.

We understand the restrictions do not permit the physical gathering, but virtual gatherings are accepted, even welcomed. Therefore, whether in person or online, let us continue to worship God through our love and fellowship with each other. The body of Christ, the Church, needs to be together. “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). Especially now that we are back in lockdown.

With this new lockdown, it is also important for us to remain connected to the head of the body, Jesus (Colossians. 1:18). We must remain in Him if we are to bear the fruits that will help us to better serve our brothers and sisters during this time. Jesus never neglected such fellowship and there is a lot of encouragement in scripture for us to continue in the same manner. An example on how from 1 Peter 3:8:

  • Show empathy – We do not know the burdens of another. (Galatians 6:2)
  • Love one another – Just as Jesus has commanded (John 15:12)
  • Be compassionate – The same compassion God has for us (Ephesians 4:32)
  • Be humble – Let’s think of others above ourselves with a selfless attitude (Philippians 2:3)

Then when we physically gather once again, we will be more connected as the body through our love for Jesus and each other. “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (1 Thess. 5:11).

When it’s time to go back to Church

The last 7 months have not been easy. When the doors of churches finally open again, let us pray that we do not forget the lessons we have learnt in this pandemic. The importance of fellowship, in fact, the simplicity of it. We do not need the stage, the worship team to have all the instruments or to be seated in a large auditorium with flashing lights and an amazing sound system. We simply need to have hearts that want to worship Jesus with fellow believers. Also, to be welcoming to anyone who may find their way into the congregation that day.

Jesus made it that it would not matter where we worship but that we worshipped. “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23).
We are no longer bound by worship only in a temple. We are the Temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). We can worship God anywhere, at anytime. The closing of the church buildings has not stopped us worshipping God. It cannot and should not. Let’s stay connected.

Why You Need To Read Your Bible Daily

Chude Obuaya
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In John 17:17 Jesus prayed that God would sanctify us in the truth and that God’s word is truth. The latter portion of this verse is increasingly being debated and disbelieved by believers. Moreover, more people are doubting the truthfulness of scripture and its relevance in our everyday lives. I believe that this development should be met with great sadness. The scriptures are declared as God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training each believer in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). With the many exhortations in scripture for the believer to grow and pursue holiness the questions one must ask is, is the bible relevant for us today and if so why should I read it daily?

The Word is truth

Before Jesus went to the cross, He conducted a prayer that centred around the glory of God. Jesus gives an account to God, confirming that He completed the task that He was given – namely to make God’s name known (John 17:3,6). Jesus prays for Himself (vv, 1-5), then for His disciples (vv, 6-19), and finally for later believers (vv, 20-26). In verse 16, when praying for His current disciples; Jesus declares that they are not of this world as He is not of this world. Then in verse 17, He prays that His disciples would be sanctified by God’s word. This is pivotal. The disciples would be kept unstained from the corruption of the world by the truth – which is the word of God. The word sanctified in verse 17 has both a relational and moral component to it. The relational component refers to separation from being influenced by and participating in evil and the moral component refers to growth in holiness in all aspects of life. Sanctification occurs according to the truth. This means that as the disciples, and by extension Christians worldwide, believe and live according to the truth they are being sanctified. The Greek word for truth (alētheia) in verse 17 is not an adjective, it’s a noun. Therefore, the implication here is that God’s word doesn’t merely conform to some external standard of truth but is truth itself. This means that if God’s word is truth, then it is the standard by which we test and compare everything else against.

The Word transforms

So, if the bible is true – if it is the word of God, then Christian, you must read it every day. This isn’t legalism; this is life. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:105, that God’s word is a lamp unto his feet and light unto his path. Whilst we remain in fallen and corrupted bodies we are susceptible to fallenness and the corruption of this world. We will be changed. Jesus promises that. But this transformation to glory isn’t a passive experience but an active one. We aren’t just called to believe that we are holy, we are called to pursue it (Hebrews 12:14). We don’t grow in holiness by trying harder but by beholding the One who is altogether holy, worthy, and wonderful. Reading the bible and praying enables us to see Jesus for who He is – the supreme Treasure of our lives. Jesus is the Truth and if we are to follow Christ we are to be people of the truth and there is no better place to get the truth than in the word of God.

How Do I Share the Gospel with Atheists?

Jimi Olaleye
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How Do I Share the Gospel with Atheists?

Oftentimes, we as Christians feel inadequate when it comes sharing the gospel with individuals who oppose scripture, especially those from the science community. Witnessing to atheists is often quite a daunting task and a lot of us often feel ill-equipped to provide a defence of our faith. However, although they may often feel like threats to the faith, atheists, as much as any other religious group, need to hear the Good News. So, therefore how can we make Christ known, without ignoring objections raised against the Bible, especially evolutionary claims?

Know Christ and make Christ known

Not much is to be known about the Apostle Peter’s educational background, but the Bible makes it clear that he was a fisherman by profession. In Acts 15:6-11, we see Peter mightily proclaiming the Gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus, opposing men who were teaching a different gospel, that circumcision was necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1). How could Peter so boldly preach the Gospel, without any (assuming he had none) formal education or training?

Peter could boldly preach the Gospel without hesitation, not necessarily because of what he knew but because of Who he knew. Just like Peter, we as Christians have experienced a very real encounter with Jesus, and both of us know Him and have fellowship with Him. Christians are people who’ve been saved from the consequences of their sins, through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of cavalry. Recognising the mercy of God, now comes the responsibility of sharing the message of Christ to our neighbours, hoping that through hearing the Gospel, it would do a work in their hearts. Often when we do this, we discover the various worldviews people have that contradict Scripture, one being evolution.

Evolution vs Creation

In the world of academia, the matter of evolution vs creation is one which is highly debated. The title is an oversimplification. The evolution being debated is macro-evolution, the belief that everything came from nothingness, and that life evolved over the ages to produce humans. An example of this is man evolving from apelike creatures over millions of years. The Creationist view on the other hand simply espouses that God created the world and everything in it in 6 days by His word (Genesis 1).

When sharing the Gospel with those who believe in evolution, the contention comes when both camps have different starting points. Evolution removes the need for God and allows an unbeliever to systemise their denial of the existence of God. The Bible on the other hand teaches that everybody knows God exists through His creation, implying that evolutionists believe in God but are suppressing the truth they know about Him. The task at hand is to engage in apologetics, explaining to our atheist friends why we believe the Bible is true, and why any alternatives are false. However, we are given a warning in 1 Peter 3:15 to do this with gentleness and respect, not to win arguments but to win souls.

Evolution requires blind faith

Evolution is built on a rocky foundation. It is by no means scientific because science necessitates observable repeatable experimentation and no one has ever observed an ape evolve into a man or a star evolve from hydrogen. The Big Bang theory of evolution contradicts Newton’s Law of motion which states that anything that is at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Basic understanding of such realities shows that the creation necessitates the Creator.

Despite the lack of evidence for evolution, we still often have to deal with dogmatic assertions coming from opponents. Rhetoric espoused by the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have now been accepted as fact, and are believed without actually considering the validity of the claim. If somebody claims ‘It’s a proven fact that mankind evolved from apes,’ you could ask ‘Could you give me the proof of that claim?’ It’s often the case that the individual actually has no real proof, but has blind faith in authoritative assertions.

To believe that the all-powerful and all-knowing God created the world on the other hand is perfectly rational and logical. We believe in a God who orders the universe and makes it function in a consistent and law-like fashion, as God upholds all things by His power (Hebrews 1:3). We often take the uniformity of nature for granted (that the laws of the universe will be the same in the future as they have been in the past, e.g. gravity), but we would do well to realise that we don’t live in a ‘random chance’ universe because God sustains the heavens and the earth. The Big Bang (though not true anyway) wouldn’t even make sense without God!

The issue of contention isn’t evidence, as we’ve all been given the same evidence of God’s existence (Romans 1:18-21). The problem is the sinfulness of man, which would rather choose the foolishness of denying the God who they know exists to live without accountability. Because we were all at this place once in our lives, it’s important to not see these conversations as ‘winning debates’ but to share Christ. Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners, and we must make a clear path to get this message as far as we can.

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