Blessed be the Name of the Lord, You are worthy to be praise and adore, Lord we lift up our holy hand in one accord, singing, blessed be Thy Name, blessed be Thy Name of The Lord.//  Magnify the Lord with me, exalt the Name of Jesus, Magnify the Lord with me, praising the Name of Jesus.

O Lord, we lift up Your Holy Name in the highest for You are God, there is none to be compared with Thee. Thank for another glorious day You made and said we should rejoice and be glad in it. Be thou exalted in Jesus Name. O Lord my God, we honour You, we blessed Your Holy Name forever and ever. Amen!

Beloved, how are doing? Another faith clinic is here with us praise God. As we promised we will still be bring forth lessons that will help our Christian faith every Thursday as we have been doing in the past. In Tholuck exact word explained the secret of his life in a single sentence: “I have but one passion, and that is Christ.”

Take a survey of this statement across a number of people, say a sample of ten people “what is your passion?” You will have diverse answers ranging from “embarking on mission, evangelism, help the poor, the needy, school for the handicapped, building the tallest building in the world, the best dancer ever live, name it.

Interesting, many of us have great and lofty ideas and plans what we want to do for God, still we do not take out time to find out exactly how to go about it. Going by Tholuck passion, beloved, if your passion is Christ. Wow! What can you not achieve? You will walk as Jesus walked while He  was here on earth.

The humility in Christ helped Him to achieve everything He was sent to do. Beloved, you want to live a worthy live, “let your passion be ‘Christ.’ if it is, you will make it through to the end.

Jesus said ‘learn of me that I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ Matt 11:29.

Unlike Lucifer who exalted himself and said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isa 14:12-14).

Beloved, pride is a road to destruction as we can read in verse 15 of the above chapter, “yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

Compare it with what is written in Phil 2:9 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father Phil 2:9-11 (KJV)

Beloved, where are you exhibiting pride other than humility? One of the most dangerous enemies against which the young Christian must watch, is pride or self-exaltation. There is no sin that works more cunningly and more hiddenly. It knows how to penetrate into everything, even into our service for God, our prayers — yea, even into our humility: there is nothing so small in the earthly life, nothing so holy in the spiritual life, that self-exaltation does not know to extract its nutriment out of (Isa 65:5; 2 Cor 12:7).

We must therefore be on our guard against it, must listen to what Scripture teaches about it, and about the lowliness whereby it is driven out. The meekness in Christ is what we must desire and purse as we yearn for other good things in life. And as we do that, we will be accepted in the Lord our Savior and will be His beloved. We will be justify before God by the blood and accepted in Him also:

“Accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:6

 

What a state of privilege! It includes our justification before God, but the term acceptance” in the Greek means more than that. It signifies that we are the objects of divine complacence, nay, even of divine delight. How marvellous that we, worms, mortals, sinners, should be the objects of divine love! But it is only “in the beloved.”

Some Christians seem to be accepted in their own experience, at least, that is their apprehension. When their spirit is lively, and their hopes bright, they think God accepts them, for they feel so high, so heavenly-minded, so drawn above the earth! But when their souls cleave to the dust, they are the victims of the fear that they are no longer accepted.

If they could but see that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low despondencies do not really depress them in their Father’s sight, but that they stand accepted in One who never alters, in One who is always the beloved of God, always perfect, always without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier they would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour!

Rejoice then, believer, in this: thou art accepted “in the beloved.” Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, “There is nothing acceptable here!” But look at Christ, and see if there is not everything acceptable there. Thy sins trouble thee; but God has cast thy sins behind His back, and thou art accepted in the Righteous One.

Thou hast to fight with corruption, and to wrestle with temptation, but thou art already accepted in Him who has overcome the powers of evil. The devil tempts thee; be of good cheer, he cannot destroy thee, for thou art accepted in Him who has broken Satan’s head. Know by full assurance thy glorious standing.

Even glorified souls are not more accepted than thou art. They are only accepted in heaven “in the beloved,” and thou art even now accepted in Christ after the same manner.

Don’t forget that you enter redemption through faith, do not allow Satan to be tormenting your life with sin forgiving you by God. If you believe that Jesus died for your sin so it is and that opened door to salvation for you.

Is there anything you believing God for? Believe and God will do it out for you. You must first believe then God will orchestrate a path to the fulfillment of this desire of yours, beloved ‘if thou canst believe:

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe.” Mark 9:23

A certain man had a demoniac son, who was afflicted with a dumb spirit. The father, having seen the futility of the endeavours of the disciples to heal his child, had little or no faith in Christ, and therefore, when he was bidden to bring his son to Him, he said to Jesus, “If Thou cast do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”

Now there was an “if” in the question, but the poor trembling father had put the “if” in the wrong place: Jesus Christ, therefore, without commanding him to retract the “if,” kindly puts it in its legitimate position. “Nay, verily,” He seemed to say, “there should be no ‘if’ about My power, nor concerning My willingness, the ‘if’ lies somewhere else.” “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

The man’s trust was strengthened, he offered a humble prayer for an increase of faith, and instantly Jesus spoke the word, and the devil was cast out, with an injunction never to return. There is a lesson here which we need to learn. We, like this man, often see that there is an “if” somewhere, but we are perpetually blundering by putting it in the wrong place.

If” Jesus can help me—”if” He can give me grace to overcome temptation—”if” He can give me pardon—”if” He can make me successful? Nay, “if” you can believe, He both can and will. You have misplaced your “if.” If you can confidently trust, even as all things are possible to Christ, so shall all things be possible to you.

Faith standeth in God’s power, and is robed in God’s majesty; it weareth the royal apparel, and rideth on the King’s horse, for it is the grace which the King delighteth to honour. Girding itself with the glorious might of the all-working Spirit, it becomes, in the omnipotence of God, mighty to do, to dare, and to suffer.

All things, without limit, are possible to him that believeth. My soul, canst thou believe thy Lord to-night?

Beloved, it takes a humbly heart to accept emptiness, helplessness, unworthiness. Is there any of these in you today, humbly yourself before God and ask for His help and you will come out of it triumphantly in Jesus Name. Have faith in God and everything will be possible to him that believeth. Believest thou?

Remain blessed in the Lord.

Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu

 

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