Do You Understand What You Read?

Do You Understand What You Read?

[My Offline Bible] Isaiah 29
10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Two things may happen when you hold your Bible to read.

1. It may be to you as a book sealed. Even if you are learned, a sealed book means nothing. It is like coded mass of words. The information may be to the reader a matter of life and death but if they are coded they mean nothing. The simplest of the words is a mystery. They profit nothing. It is a message in unknown tongues and in a strange language.

Until understand and interpretation are sought, they are useless no matter what those words were meant to create in the lives of those they are sent to.

2. It may also happen that you just don't have the spiritual skill to read or interprete the words and thoughts put in there. It maybe a case of outrightly not being able to read or inability to unlock the words to bring out the salvation embedded.

Both ways, we miss out of the food that our hearts long for. The sustenance of the spirit of man to mature towards producing the fruit of the spirit is supplied by the word of God.

When the word of God becomes scarce, the heart is famished and goes further away from God.

When the rod of spiritual bread is broken, the space left is occupied with chaff with no nutrients capable of producing godliness. In a religious setting, people can only draw near to God with their mouths while the heart remains far far away.
Nothing can produce true righteousness and holiness outside the word and the wisdom of God from the scriptures.

When the word of God is scarce, men's wisdom takes over. It becomes the main antagonist of God's word. Pitched in rivalry against God's word even among the priests.

What to do and how it is done now comes from the wise and from men's thoughts. The only way out is for God to bring the wisdom and understanding of the wise to nothing and to keep it in hidding so that His word can thrive again and bring joy to the poor and increase joy to the meek.

The Ethiopian Eunuch that God sent Phillip to in Gaza from Samaria in the Acts of the Apostles was in the same dilemma. A religious man, so zealous to have travelled from Ethiopia to worship in Jerusalem. He took his religion very seriously, ready to spend and to be spent.

Just as a man of God put it yesterday, he was not looking for the fruit of the womb, nor breakthroughs in finance, he was not looking for a visa he wasn't qualified for, neither was he sick, seeking divine healing or to destroy and be free from household enemies.

Many come to church seeking these things today but not all. The ministers of today believe without a doubt that everyone who comes fit in to one or more of these categories. And they minister in that mentality and so sideline those who aren't in any of these categories.

If the minister of today had met the Ethiopian Eunuch, he would have lost the harvest. Philip didn't. He saw him reading. Many are genuinely seeking to know but are being exposed to other things that don't satisfy.

Philip asked, 'do you understand what you are reading?' And the man was truthful enough to answer...

[My Offline Bible] Acts 8
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

That same truthfulness is what God is looking for in us today.
Do you understand what you read? Is there a way you can understand by someone explaining?
Would you rather pretend you are ok when your heart is famished and going farther away from God, getting weaker and weaker against the onslaught of Satan, the world and the flesh?
Won't you take advantage of what God is providing for us all to learn more?

The eunuch said...how could he understand except someone explained?
There are things from God's word, things you have learnt that you need further explanation.... upon which salvation in certain areas of life depends.

This is the reason for
The Bible Class, TBC
Non denominational Bible Discussion Class.

The Ikeja centre and the first of many debuts this

Thursday, 26th February

@83, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos

Afterwork hours
6pm

Be there!

This is exclusively a study class environment, and not a church service setting. Come with your questions, writing materials and Bible study helps and not your dancing shoes. We are expecting you!

Good Morning! It's going to be a great day! The loads of benefits of today shall not pass you by in Jesus name!

From Parables to Understanding!

From Parables to Understanding!

[My Offline Bible] Matthew 13 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The position we are with God matters. God has no favourites but there are positions in our relationship with God and each position determines what we get.

It is clear throughout the days of the earthly ministry of Jesus that the crowd is apart from the disciples. Within the disciples we have the 70, within the seventy we have the twelve and within the twelve, we have the three and within the three we have the one, the bossom friend.

We know also that the degree of commitment separate one from the other and not just primordial sentiments. There are conditions for becoming a disciple of Christ apart from being just in the crowds.

If you continue in His word, you will become one. If you forsake all you possess, not having any personal attachment to whatever God has given you for Christ's sake you will become His disciple. When you rate your relationship with and commitment to Him higher than that with anybody else, you are fulfilling the demands of discipleship. When you deny yourself and carry your cross and follow Him daily, you fulfil the discipleship condition. If you walk in a sacrificial, responsible love towards all especially those in the faith, you work yourself into His elite group. If you get committed to bearing fruit and blessing others with what God has given you, you become His disciple. When you aspire to be exactly like Him in all things and you are ready to commit all to that aspiration, you are on your way there!

And when you do, you leave the crowd behind. You go beyond entertainment to real understanding. You go beyond sentimental attachment to real mutual commitment. You go beyond parables to mysteries of wisdom and of the knowledge of God's word.

The crowd members are content with parables, they are burdened with anything beyond that. Once they are fed with food and physical comfort they are satisfied. They won't ask questions and they feel good with the parabolic stories.

Disciples won't rest. They would like to be fed also with knowledge and understanding. They don't mind the miracles but they also want their faith to be built to move mountains like that of their Master. They seek more than fish, they want the hook, the line and the sinker! And so their eyes are blessed they see more than the public show, their ears are blessed they hear like the learned. To them is given to know the mystery of the kingdom. They are more than those who discovered a gift in them to follow Christ, they are those who by personal decisions and sacrifice followed Christ. They were not after what they can get but to become like their Master.

These have ears that ear, they are not dull in hearing. They don't ever get tired of hearing the word undiluted, they can endure sound doctrines. They don't have itching ears wanting to hear what they want to hear, but always ready to endure the hard sayings of inconvenient truth. They are content with Him who has the word of life!

They have eyes that see. That see beyond what eyes normally see. They see beyond the lusts of the eyes, they see with concentration and so see beyond deceptive facades. They don't see distractions, their eyes are single and they are full of light. They see beyond signs to what the signs point to. They see beyond wonders to what creates the captivating scenes so that they don't continue in captivity. They won't stop at the sign post, they follow on to the destinations. They are not easily satisfied so they aren't easily deceived.

They seek understanding. They aren't satisfied with human wisdom or with devilish or earthly wisdom, they want the wisdom from the Only wise. And because they hear with their ears, see with their eyes and understand with their heart they operate at another level of conversion, full persuasion and renewal of mind that give God no options than to attend to them as a doctor attends to a patient. God is always on call waiting on them.

It's time to remove the dullness from our ears, and get excited to learn of God more and more. It's time we open our eyes to see what's important to God. It's time we remove the weight on hearts waxed gross to receive with meekness the engrafted word able to save souls. It's time we seek understanding rather than entertainment. It's time to move from the crowd and become His disciples and gain access into all that's available in Christ.

Good morning!

Be at and/or refer someone to

The Bible Class, TBC
Non denominational Bible Discussion Class, Ikeja centre

As from Thursday 26th February 2015 Next Thursday

Afterwork hours 6pm

83, Adeniyi Jones Avenue Ikeja, Lagos

We are Moved!

We are moved!

[My Offline Bible] Acts 20
24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

[My Offline Bible] 1 Corinthians 15
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Fundamental and basic laws of nature tell us that an object remains stationary or at a constant motion until an external force moves it. It seems same goes for our walk and work with God.

We are moved. We may be stationary at some point or at this point. But we are not unmovable. We may be at a constant motion, we can be moved to stop. We are subject to external influences. But we determine what eventually moves us and what doesn't.

[My Offline Bible] 2 Peter 1
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Holy men of God are to be moved by the Holy Ghost to do and to speak. Yes, a man may be moved by his own will, it all depends on what he is after but holy men of God, out to do the will of God, must be moved by the Holy Ghost if they must fulfil their course and the ministry they have received of the Lord.

So we can deduce that aside the Holy Spirit and our own will, other things are out there endeavoring to move us in order to either get us out of the way of divine fulfilment or move us to do their own will.

What makes it easy for things to move us is how dear we count our lives to be to us. Our fear of death, of embarrassment, of pain and of suffering tie us to the tetters of entities eager to move us. Paul said he counted not his life to be dear to him that he might fulfil God's ministry with joy...

Persecutions and its pains are basic tools to torture a person out of the way of fulfilment as it was the case with Apostle Paul, and with the offer of ease many have abandoned their first love. Demas loved the world and departed Paul, moved out of the way of destiny by the lure of lust and pride.

There's joy in finishing the course, the pathway God set before us to walk in, doing the good works He had before ordained for us. We must not be like Esau who for a morsel was moved out of his birthright.

Having identified the course to fulfil and the ministry received of the Lord, remain steadfast and unmovable. Set your eyes as the flint and let no pain or persecution move you. Set to abound more and more in the work of God in spite of the pain. Do not let your needs or sufferings move you away from the course, so that you don't substitute the joy of fulfilment with sorrows and regrets.

Nothing compares with fulfilling your course. Nothing brings fulfilment beyond being able to deliver the ministry committed of the Lord. Nothing bubbles inner excitement within beyond meeting a need by the gifts and divine empowerment locked up inside.

Needs may stack up high as a mountain, and pain excruciating almost heart crushing but they are out to move you out of the course, don't let them. We, like Paul must not permit the schemes of man, the fear of pain and suffering or the fear of death to move us away from the course. We must not permit the lures of a better life outside of God's perfect will to change the course...it may seem right but the end is always destruction.

And if you have been moved or being moved out of the way, all you need is to change gears and come under the power of the Holy Ghost.

Rest upon the wings of the Holy Spirit and let Him drive you to the place prepared. He is still moving people and bringing them to the fulfilment of their God ordained visions. Move on with the Spirit of God let nothing men do move you.

Let the Spirit move you and let Him wake you morning by morning to hear like the learned so as to speak a word in season to the weary backed up by the demonstration of the power of God and meet the need God has sent you to meet.

Good morning! Share this with someone if you can. It's not written having any particular setting in focus but for general learning and betterment of all and so is every article from here. Love to all. Visit evansademanuel.blogspot.com and leave your comments... Thanks for reading... Good morning!

Good Enough

Good Enough

When are we going to be good enough? When are we going to be like Christ and be as perfect as God? 
I'm sure some believe they have already arrived. Many who think of their self righteousness are also those who feel holier than the rest. They are good enough and none is as good as they are.

I have seen people who believe they need nobody, only others need them. I have met people who believe they are the only ones who can be offended, they are too perfect to offend any.

They are the ones who can judge others no one can judge them. They stand and others fall. They are good, others are bad. They can't make mistakes others can. They only are help to others, none helps them.

But in reality there are no such people. The scripture says it is when we see Christ that we shall be like him. It is when we see Him that our mortality will give way to immortality and our corruption will give way to incorruption. The feelings that make us think we have arrived or have become good enough is a trap to keep us from seeing Christ.

The reality is that our imperfections call for divine help and divine help shows also in people offering the good in them for us to get better. When we can't see good in others we don't see God. Only God is good, so said Jesus Christ, so whatever good others do is God doing so through them, inability to see that good is equal to blindness towards God.

The same goes with the good we do to others. It is God in us who does the work and nothing to attribute to self. Attributing the good we do to self is equal to contending with God, and His glory He will not share with no man nor His praise with any graven image.

We will have to keep striving till the day we see Christ. Pressing to be as good as God wants us to be. Forgetting both past good or bad we have done. Striving, not stopping, not looking back, knowing we are yet to know as we ought to, we are yet to speak as we ought to, we are yet to give as we should or love as God expected.

The sense of self perfection stagnates us. The sense that we are doing enough brings decay. The sense that we are at our best cuts off help from reaching us. The sense that we are good enough covers up the decay within and let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. The sense of standing doesn't make us take heed until we have fallen. 

If we enjoy righteousness it isn't because we are so disciplined or determined no to sin. The grace of God helps so that sin won't have dominion over us. Righteousness is a gift, the righteousness we work for, the type we can boast of is that which won't take us anywhere. It's the type that smells like menstrual rags before God! Only that righteousness soaked with Christ's blood can weather the storms of divine judgment and it is the gift of God.

The physician is always around and those who can identify their illnesses are enjoying Him but those who can't feel their pains die silently. He who is whole has no need of the physician. Jesus, the physician has only come for the sick, but who is not sick except the proud who doesn't think so? He is a physician to himself others need him, he needs no one.

Those who enjoy the power of sustaining grace are those who glory in their infirmities, and take pleasure in their reproaches, necessities, persecutions and weaknesses because when they are weak then the power of God falls upon them and they become strong and give the glory to God. They do the good and forget it...it isn't theirs but God's.

We can't give enough to boast about our giving, we can't do good enough to tell the world how much good we have done, we can't be godly enough to broadcast how godly we have been, when we do, we tell the world how ignoble we are and make the grace of God of no value and we become saviors to ourselves and stand to be so judged by God!

Let's learn the lesson that we aren't good enough in ourselves and that we only do as we were moved of God and be grateful sincerely for whatever good God works out of us as we awaits His coming, when we shall see Him as He is and become just like Him, in His likeness and His express image. For now let's be content with our gradual change.

Good morning! Share this with someone if you can. It's not written having any particular setting in focus but for general learning and betterment of all and so is every article from here. Love to all. Visit evansademanuel.blogspot.com and leave your comments... Thanks for reading... Good morning!

Time to Turn to the True God

Time to Turn to the True God

[My Offline Bible] 2 Chronicles 15
3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.

The coming election has thrown up lots of hidden decay in our Christianity. We as the church have revealed so much workings of the flesh within us. It has shown us as a body that's not yet one with the truth of God's word. It has shown our fear and the direction of our hope and survival. It has shown the true level of our faith.

Many ministers are on their way out of the country in fear irrespective of the state of the sheep. The same fear that held us at the jugular when Ebola virus was on rampage. Many died not of Ebola but of the fear.

Where went our peace? Whence comes our fear? Why is God and His power dead to us? Where is the Spirit of wisdom and revelations in His knowledge to show us the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe which He wrought when He raised Jesus from the dead and made Him to sit on His right hand far above all powers that be in the spiritual?

The situation was same in Israel in the days of King Asa. Every incident was a source of fear and vexation of spirit. Every thing points to threats and insecurity. No one could trust in God!

How did they get to that point? How did a one time super power become a jelly shaken by every threat?

The answer is in the three phenomenon missing in their polity. There was no true God, no teaching priests and no law!

Was the true God dead? No! He was alive but at that time His manifestation wasn't in Israel. Though they had a form of religiosity and service towards an untrue god!

No law! When you say there was no law, it is hard to believe because over 400 years before Moses had received the law from God. Some decades before king Asa, King David had instituted temple worship where the law was read daily. So how come there was no law? Here is the real problem!

No teaching priest! This is the real problem. God is alive, His principles and laws remained sacrosanct. He had not changed His mind nor His truth. But there was no teaching priest to teach His ways for men to follow His path!

That same scenario will always create disaster. We are in a state where the teaching ministry has no clear cut voice of authority. Everyone is now a teacher and the result is showing in what we believe and in the strange things we permit and practice.

The service we do with strange fire cannot bring forth the manifestation of the true God. What we call value and good character can not be that of the True God when what we teach for doctrines are far from His Spirit!

When people without the teaching grace bring forth principles to follow,  establishing them in their practice and doctrines because of the influence they have we stand in danger of losing the True God.

We can, true subtle errors, create another religion out of Christianity unknowingly if we refuse to listen to our teachers! Regret is always for those who refuse to listen to their teachers and yet continue in their pernicious ways.

This is the time to return to the true God by seeking Him in His word! It is time to ask questions and query every belief, every practice and every doctrine judging by the Word and the Spirit of wisdom and revelations. It is time to listen to our teachers.

I am of the strong faith that the revival we all look out for is waiting for us to go back and learn the ways of God for there we can discover Him and He will revive us again.

It's time to cast off all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word of God which is able to save our souls...

[My Offline Bible] James 1
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Good Morning!

Prepare for the Inaugural Class of THE BIBLE CLASS, TBC on Thursday, the 26th Feb., 2015
83, Adeniyi Jones Ikeja Lagos.

After work hours 6pm

A non denominational, questions based Bible discussion class...

Let's start the revival now!

The Burden of Freedom

The Burden of Freedom

One thing I will forever remember Miles Munroe for is that mind transforming book he wrote, The Burden of Freedom. That was one book I read that got my head spinning.
I can't say if that's his bestseller but it's one I wish every one read.
I learnt that freedom is fearful and can become another bondage if certain laws are not obeyed.
It lets me know also why to many bondage is preferable to freedom particularly if they can't bear the burden.
It reminds me of the Galatian Christians, who started in the spirit but went on seeking perfection in the flesh. And apostle Paul had to admonish them to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had set them free and not to be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. The apostle had wondered who had bewitched them...since it takes some voodoo abracadabra to lure someone back into a snare such had just escaped.

That means even for a Christian, the possibility of spiritual re-entanglement is quite high and every one would have to watch and stand fast defending the freedom Christ bought for us with a great price.

Miles Munroe had used the example of the Exodus. Personal meditations brought me into more insights. Pharaoh won't want you to go. If he lets you go, he'll demand you don't go too far and if he permits you to go far he would want you to go empty.
But you must keep your mind on the mandate of God: let my people go that they might serve me!

Freedom is for service and that service is towards God. Pharaoh wanted service to self but you can't continue in Egypt to serve man...when God wants your service even at first in the wilderness.

You can't serve God with the tetters of pharaoh, nothing on earth must dictate how far you go in serving God otherwise that has become god.

You can't tell what God will demand for service so you can't go empty or go with less than all you have to serve God. So Moses told him, our young ones will go with us and also all our herds, who knows what God would want of all of them!

In the wilderness, the burden of freedom came and complains came up. The mixed multitudes who left halfheartedly saw the red sea and started complaining and so they kept complaining until they missed the promised land.

Jesus has set us free to serve Him with all the gifts and abilities in us. We need freedom to express all that and to do the will of God. Whatever stops us binds us.

Fear is the major tool to bind a man. Fear brings to a snare. The fear of the burden of freedom. The fear of the loss of Egyptians' garlic, onions, cucumbers and even their graves! The fear of the unknown, the fear of the raging pharaoh's army trying to squeeze against the sea. The fear of personal responsibilities, the fear of the less comfortable zone...all those fears that only exist in the negative imaginations of the faithless and the slothful.

The wildness is a place of personal choices. Choose between going back to Egypt and weathering the storms by faith to enter into the promise land. Choose between the cucumbers and manna, choose between the garlic and the quails, if you won't mind the manna and the quails, God's own table set in the wilderness then you won't miss the milk and the honey of Canaan!

Break off the chains that hold you back. Jesus has set us free to be able to declare on the housetops the things He told us in the ears, and to tell it in the light the things He told us in the dark. The dark hours of hearing from God and the time of listening to receive from Him won't mean much if you are not free to declare as God would have you do.

You are free in God, your yokes are broken but don't use that freedom as a cover for sinful lifestyles but use it to develop full yieldedness to God. Paul said to the Romans, to whom you yield your members to obey to such you are a servant. He also said to the Corinthians, that we have been bought with a price and shouldn't be servants of men.

God sets us free but waits for us to use that freedom as a means of willingly submitting to His Lordship, when we do we set a safe boundaries for our freedom so that we can differentiate the edge guardrails of satan from a fence. When we go beyond the boundaries of freedom we fall disgracefully into the ditch of the devil's bondage again.
The burden of freedom demands we take the responsibility of keeping the freedom Christ has bought for us so that Jesus alone remains Lord over our lives to do His will and to enjoy the abundance of His kingdom.

[My Offline Bible] Colossians 1
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Good morning! Share this with someone if you can. It's not written having any particular setting in focus but for general learning and betterment of all and so is every article from here. Love to all. Visit evansademanuel.blogspot.com and leave your comments... Thanks for reading... Good morning!