KEY SCRIPTURE:2Ti 2:12 KJV” If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”

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Apostle Paul assures the church that to stand for Christ in all things is the means to reign with Him. I wish to clarify a few issues before we go into the topic fully. Our Lord Jesus in His atoning work on the cross took our sicknesses, our sins and lack for us. The scripture said surely He bore our sicknesses and carried our pains, and by His stripes we were healed. ( Matt 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24) Suffering for him does not involve sicknesses, which He calls the oppression of Satan.

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As a people called out of the world to demonstrate the heavenly life on earth, we would have to endure certain conditions in order to win men unto him. The very people we are supposed to win  would oppose our efforts to win them. Some become very hostile to us. We do not fight back, but show the love of Christ to them. In certain instances, our call to lead upright lives raises offence among some associates who want to be crooked and mischievous. Such people may want to attack or persecute us. We endure such contrary acts of people. There are even communities that lack certain necessities of life, yet the gospel must reach them. Going there involves enduring some difficulties. These are not very comfortable situations, but the gospel must reach them all the same.

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Our love for our master compels us to choose certain actions to keep the message going. On certain occasions, we may have to forgo our comfort of money, cars ,lands and houses so that the gospel would be sponsored across the globe. The word suffer is an Old English word meaning “to allow”.For the advancement of the course of Christ, we must allow certain situations to project the name of the master.

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The scripture said if we suffer these things, we would reign with the Lord. As much as this refers to our future reign in heaven, it also relates to having spiritual authority as a result of offering our lives as sacrifices unto the Lord. Please note that in God’s dealings with His people, the fire of God comes down when the sacrifice is placed on the altar. When we offer our lives as sacrifices, we receive God’s fire, which is his mandate in our lives to rule over satanic  powers.

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THOUGHT: SACRIFICE BRINGS DOWN GOD’S FIRE TO REIGN IN THIS  LIFE.

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Rom 8:17 KJV” And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together”

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Act 14:22 KJV “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”