KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:32 KJV “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

We continue with our discussion on divorce and remarriage. We realized in our last discussion that although there are a thousand and one causes of divorce, the underlying causes are just two. These are selfishness and lack of reverence for the word of God.

Marriage is an institution that gives no place to selfishness. The moment one enters into marriage he is willingly declaring that every self-will has ended with him. This is the reason God’s original intent for marriage had no place for polygamy. Gen 2:24 KJV “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” It is selfishness that breeds dissatisfaction in very simple trivial matters. Anger, unforgiveness and almost every emotional outburst, are all deeply rooted in self centredness.

The next major cause of divorce is a lack of reverence for the word of God. God’s word is His manual for successful living.

2Timothy 3:16 KJV” All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works”. Divorce of many marriages proceed from unforgiveness, that   breeds bitterness and finally rage. The party who feels hurt will not heed to any voice of scripture that calls for forgiveness or showing mercy. If Christian couples will make the word of God the sole authority in all matters of faith and conduct, there will be less of these frequent marital break ups.

The Lord said that the one who divorces a woman, if not on grounds of marital unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery. This is the instance if she remarries. The one who marries her also commits adultery according to Jesus Christ. My question is, what would happen to those who have divorced their wives on grounds which has nothing to do with marital unfaithfulness? I do not judge anyone but please be very sincere with yourself. What would happen to you, after you leave this life to meet Christ when you blatantly broke His word when on earth? Will God forgive you because you asked Him to forgive you? NOTE that He said if anyone has a grudge against you, then go to him and reconcile.  This one(divorced) would definitely hold a grudge against you.  Married man or woman do not break the scripture. Dear brother or sister always tell yourself that DIVORCE IS NOT AN OPTION. Work from that understanding and find a way out of that problem.

PRAYER

 Oh! heavenly Father, stir up selflessness in the hearts of all your children, and a great reverence for your word. Let there be peace in all homes.

FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 2:4 KJV “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

John 12:48 KJV” He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:32 KJV “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”

The Lord Jesus along His teaching now talks about divorce and remarriage. Marriage from scriptural point of view and natural occurrences, is between a man and a woman who have agreed to live together after observing various traditional marriage rights of both families. As Christians these couples receive the blessing from the people of faith. Two men or two women cannot marry. Natural occurrences does not support that, neither does the Bible permit that too. (Romans 1:26,27)

Marriage is very important because it is the basic unit of our communities, and societies. A deteriorated society is as a result of a poor non-functional families. One major trouble faced by most families is divorce. It happens to all persons, including Christians, non-Christians, Pastors, church members and almost every body. What did the Lord Jesus say about divorce?

The Lord said in   Matthew 5:32 KJV “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. In this very verse the Lord said, any one who divorces his wife on any grounds except fornication causes her to commit adultery. Why did the Lord say so? Fornication on the part of one of the couples breaks the marriage union.

The Lord’s reason for making this statement was in a way, expressing His dislike for divorce.

Malachi 2:16 “KJV For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away(divorce): for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” The Lord says He hates putting away. Divorce on many occasions is a result of lots of treachery and mistreatment, done to one of the couples, or each one antagonizing the other. The Lords says that divorce or putting away is something He hates. These days it has become very normal to see marriages dissolved. Some of them having the flimsiest of excuses. Someone said he does not like the way the wife looks like in the morning, and so divorced her. One divorced his wife because, he says she lacks table manners. A man divorced the wife, because another woman looks more beautiful than his wife. These reasons are indeed petty, yet it happens.

These days, there are a whole lot of reasons why marriages are dissolved, of which they have nothing to do with fornication on any of the couple’s part. Some of them includes

1.Financial stress, plays a very big role in causing divorces of marriages.

2 Differences of mannerism and upbringing can create incompatibility among some persons, leading to divorce.

3.Lack of children in the marriage union can also break some homes.

4.Differences in believes, whether religious or secular, can cause a divorce

5.When one person feels his or her commitment to the marriage does not have a corresponding commitment from the spouse. This can trigger a divorce.

6. Unforgiveness does lead to divorce.

7.Husband complains that the wife does not respect him, and wife also claims husband does not love her. This is a major cause of divorce. There are many more causes of divorce which I have no space to talk about now.

Looking at most of the causes, one sees two main things running through most of them

1.  SELFISHNESS
2. A LACK OF REVERENCE FOR THE WORD OF GOD

I will pull the breaks for now, and continue at our next discussion.

PRAYER

Lord I pray for all hurting families and even those that have already dissolved. May your word prevail over these marriages and bring restoration of these homes one more time in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 15:3 KJV” For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.”

Philippians 2:2 KJV” Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:29 KJV” And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

We stay with the multitudes on the mount as the Lord teaches. Among the many things he taught, was what He said concerning the following” And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell”. He says if your eye causes you to sin, then you must do away with it. Note that the Lord calls sin an offence against yourself. He says be ready to lose your eye if it causes you to sin. Why should you pluck out your eye when it makes you sin.? Because sin would lead you into hell fire. Many have been teaching that hell is just the grave. The grave has no pain, to give us, even if your dead body was to be burnt. No dead body can feel any pain. The Lord was referring to the soul of a man that would be cast into hell.

Dear child of God, God is a Spirit, and He lives in the realm of the Spirit. Hell is a spiritual state, where the spirit of man which is not physical goes. Mar 9:45 KJV” And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:” THE Lord says the fires of hell does not go out and your spirit and soul keep burning in hell. Dear brother can you compare any loss you make physically in this physical world, to the pain of suffering forever in hell? Testimonies of people who have visited hell and back is indeed very scary, and something no one must go there by intent or by mistake.

HOW do people get to hell?

1When you reject Jesus as Lord of your life. (John 3:3, Hebrews 2:2)

2. If a Christian live in disobedience to the word of God, he or she would end up in hell.

3. If you live after the dictates of the flesh (Rom 8:13)

4. Christians who die at a time when they would not forgive those who have offended them. Matthew 5:23&24

What must you do, to have a place in heaven?

1. Make Jesus Lord of your life, if you have not surrendered your life to Him.

2. Always forgive anyone who hurts you.

3. Live diligently according to the word of God

4. Stop any known sinful way

5. Live in expectation of the coming of Christ.

Amen

CONFESSION

Jesus is Lord of my life; I live in anticipation of the coming of Christ. I do not allow sin of any form to have a hold of me. My life is a living praise unto God.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Peter 1:10 KJV” Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”

2 Peter 1:11 KJV For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:23 KJV Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Our Lord kept instructing His audience at the mount. ‘Just sit among the audience this time and allow the Holy Spirit throw more light on some of the things He taught’. The Lord made a very important thought which each of us must fully realize and align our lives according to it. He said, if you happen to bring your offering to Him, and there you remember your brother has something against you, leave the offering there, go to your brother and settle the issue before you come to him again and offer that offering. God values our right treatment of all persons to any so-called worship we want to give him. The Holy Spirit makes this point so clearly in the following verse 1John 4:20 KJV” If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

You can’t claim you love God while you break the lives of others. Men are the earthly highest symbols of the invisible God and when you neglect, hurt and are mischievous towards them, you have, hurt, neglected and been mischievous to God. Matthew 25:40 KJV” And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” This is the reason the Lord says, when you sense your brother is hurt with your actions, then God is also hurt with your actions, and he will not accept that worship.

What is happening in homes that husbands mistreat wives and wives retaliate, whiles each party does not care to make amends in anyway? These people are always in church praying and worshipping. According to our study does God accept any of their worship? I think if God would not accept such worship, do you believe God will ultimately accept such people into heaven? There are some men who break the hearts of ladies with ease and do not have the slightest thought to apologize.  Some head Pastors of certain churches are feeling hurt about the way some sons of their ministry left them by taking portions of the congregation to start new churches, and do not care to go and make amends. I want to say blatantly here, that, such a one is never in favour with God and is rather under a curse. Never think God is interested in your praying and preaching, when you are mistreating others. You don’t rob or steal from any man and give it to God. It is unacceptable in God’s sight.

CONFESSION

I see all men as very precious to God. I make sure I treat all men fairly and even see them as representatives of God. If I mistreat them, I have mistreated God, so I do everything possible to handle all men fairly.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 25:45 KJV” Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”

Matthew 2:14 KJV” Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:20 KJV” For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

We continue with our walk with Jesus through the gospels. The Lord continuous with His teaching on the mount. This time His focus was on the fact that those who would be children of God would have to exhibit a higher righteousness than that of the scribes and the Pharisees. What kind of righteousness did the Pharisees and the scribes manifest? The Pharisees were strict observers of the law. They were self righteous individuals. (Luke 18:11-12) The Pharisees also acted in such a way to attract public attention Mark 12:40.

Now what type of righteousness should the Christian manifest?

The Christian must manifest supernatural righteousness. This is a righteousness by faith. These people have a religious righteousness without knowing the God they were serving. We must serve God knowing the God we are serving.

These Pharisees served God without loving this God. We are to serve with love for Him. The Christian manifests a righteousness that proceeds from the God kind of righteousness which we have by faith in Jesus. Philippians 3:9 KJV” And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

The Lord in His teaching explained the higher righteousness as the righteousness from the heart. He said if a man looks on a woman to lust in his heart, then he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. This is the righteousness that demands that you do not smile facially with an individual whiles you hate him at heart. It is a relationship with all persons based on sincerity. The Lord made statements like, if one slaps you on one cheek, give the other to him to slap as well. This statement was not to be treated as literal, that is to literally give the other cheek when slapped, but the idea was not to be offensive at all, but rather to be a person of peace. This is a higher righteousness and since the Holy Spirit lives in us, we are able to demonstrate a higher righteousness than that of the Pharisees.

CONFESSION

I am born of God. I manifest a higher righteousness than that of the Pharisees. I have a sincere heart towards God and always keep my heart pure from every impure thought. Thank you, Lord. for the Holy Spirit who enables me to live according to your word.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 5:28 KJV” But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart”.

Matthew 5:22 KJV” But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:18 KJV” For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

After our Lord Jesus talked about fulfilling the law in His life, He added that every part of the law, in this context every word of God stated in the law will be fulfilled. He said, till we come to the end of the age everything written in the law will be fulfilled.

The Lord Jesus remarked in John 10:35 as follows “If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;” The fulfilling of the law of God is in two ways:

1.If one does what the law or word of God says, whatever promise attached to it would be fulfilled in that individual’s life, and on the contrary those who fail to honour the word will experience the repercussions of disobedience. Secondly it also means every prophetic word written, would be fulfilled.

The Lord’s statement about the word of God shows the authority the word of God holds. Creation is held in place by the word of God.  Hebrews 1:3 KJV Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; God’s word is forever settled in heaven. The word expresses His action towards all persons. Everyman will be very wise to just submit to what the word says. In the Lord’s statement, He said, not a jot or tittle shall pass away. A jot and a tittle are the smallest part of the Hebrew alphabets. As small as these words are, they would not fail, but come to pass.  Every scripture is absolutely reliable.

Dear child of God, all that our discussion has tried to establish is that God does not lightly treat or attend to any word. If he said it, He would follow through with it. Secondly it also means every written word is inspired by Him. When apostle Paul talked about the inspiration of all scripture he was literally talking about the words of the old covenant or old testament. 2Timothy 3:16 KJV “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”: This word simply means God’s breath or Spirit is in every word. Believe it, talk about it, act on whatever the word says. It may sound unreasonable., yet so long as God said it, you can depend on it.

CONFESSION

All scripture is given by the inspiration of God. I believe the words of scripture. They make me wise unto salvation. They lead me in the paths of life and my life is preserved. Thank you, Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

Psalms 119:45 KJV And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

Psalms 119:89 KJV LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:17 KJV” Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

The Lord Jesus in our key scripture tells his audience not to think that he has come to abolish or destroy the law, but rather he came to fulfill it.

 What do we make of what the scriptures talk about grace and the law? These matters are very important to consider because there are some people who hold very strongly to the law as the real dispensation of the church.

 The Bible said the following concerning Jesus and the law. Galatians 4:4 KJV” But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” Since he was made under the law he had to live under the law and fulfill all the requirements of the law. He said, he had come to fulfill the law because, He was born under the law.

Please note that before He was crucified on the cross, He introduced a new covenant. The law is, the old covenant, which the Bible talks about its introduction in Exodus 24:7&8.  Exodus 24:8 KJV “And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.” The old covenant was established by the sprinkling of blood.

The Lord Jesus, at the tale end of his ministry also introduced a new covenant. Mat 26:28 KJV” For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  The old covenant was promulgated by the sprinkling of Blood. The new covenant was also promulgated by the shedding of Jesus blood. The old covenant was the law given through Moses What was then the new covenant? The answer is as follows. John 1:17 KJV” For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”. The new covenant is the covenant of grace. The scriptures present this so beautifully this way, Gal 3:24 KJV “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith”. In Christ we are saved by grace through faith. (Eph 2:8&9) This is what it means to be justified through faith.

Now we live under the new covenant of the grace of God, in which the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us by the power of the Spirit through faith. (Rom 8:4)

CONFESSION

I have been saved by grace through faith. Now the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in me. It is now my nature to walk in the righteousness of the law by the power of the Spirit.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 8:3 KJV” For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”

Galatians 3:10 KJV “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:14 KJV” Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”

The Lord Jesus in some of His teaching taught about things that His audience could not easily grasp, because he was referring to a kind of people who were not in that gathering as yet. I mean those who would be born again. He said the same thing in the gospel of John, this time he revealed how they could become light of the world. Joh 8:12 KJV “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” It is the light of life in us that also makes us light of the world. Dear reader of this article, you can’t become light of the world without the light of life. You need to accept Jesus as Lord of your life, before you can have this light of life, that also makes you the light of the world.

To be light has two main abilities or properties. As light you have absolute power over Satan who is darkness and functions with darkness. Joh 1:5 KJV “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not”. The second ability is to give light to the world without hindrance.

Some Christians seem to be over powered by darkness. How could that be possible. This can only be possible when the child of God allows the devil to deceive or control him or her, so His light is deemed or may be put out. He becomes ineffective and can be messed up by the enemy.

The Christian as light should never be overpowered by the devil, so don’t allow him to deceive you (Ephesians 6:10-18). You are a city set on a hill, and so you must shine. Shinning means drive away darkness. The Lord Jesus was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. This must be your focus. Manifest love where hatred reigns. Encourage when everyone seems hopeless. Inspire faith when unbelief and fear seem to dominate. Act righteously when crookedness abounds. Stand for the truth when manipulations and lies seem to be the order of the day.

The Lord said, let your light so shine, that men may see your good works, and give glory to your father who is in heaven. This also means come against any work or operation of Satan. Heal those that Satan has bound with diseases. Know that as light you have authority and power over devils and so you would continually stop their works, whenever you encounter them.

CONFESSION

I am the Light of the world, and I have the Light of life. Darkness can never overpower me. I shine by manifesting righteousness, Preaching the goodness and revealing the glory of God.

FURTHER STUDIES

Ephesians 6:11 KJV “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Matthew 5:16 KJV” Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:13 KJV “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

Salt has a multi purpose. It is used for flavourings and preserving food. It can also be used for tanning, dyeing, bleaching and in pottery, soap and chlorine production. It is used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce various medications. Salt is a very useful substance. The Lord says you are the salt of this world. You are a solution provider. Ephesians 2:10 says ” For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Our source of saltiness is our make up. We have been manufactured from our Lord Jesus Christ. As he is so are, we in this world. (1st John 4:17). We manifest our saltiness when we acknowledge who we are and act likewise (Philemon 1:6)

 Among the many benefits of salt, two uses stand out clearly. They are, being a preservative and a flavourings agent. As a preservative we are those who keep our world from decay. We do this by living the Christlike life. We are in the world, yet we are not of this world and so we bring the heavenly life of holiness to bear on our world.

 Our Lord Jesus greatly impacted our world with his life of love for all and His power to break the works of man’s ‘enemy, the devil. This is exactly what we are designed for. The life of Power of the church is mostly confined to the church walls. This is exactly what the Lord acted against. He went out and demonstrated this power to the world. Healing the sick and delivering the oppressed.

The Lord taught that we must not be conformed to this world. Beware of worldliness. Worldliness is not about dressing, but anything that makes your heart cold towards the Lord and his ways. Maintain your love for Jesus and keep doing what He tells you. This is the way to keep salty all the time.

HOW can salt lose its saltiness?

1.Sin is an evil power of corruption and decay. (Heb 3:13) Kill every sin from your life, if you must remain salty.

2. Lack of knowledge of who you are and the power of God available to you. (Isaiah 5:13)

3. Failure to acknowledge who you are. The Lord never ceased saying He is the answer to man’s crisis. He called them Gods to whom the word of God came to. (John 10:35) Acknowledge you are one or in the class of our master Jesus.

4. You would establish your saltiness, if you share the good news and heal the sick.

IF you fail to be salty, men would trample upon you. This should never be. Take your place and be the salt that you are.

CONFESSION

I am the salt of the world. I am filled with a divine life and power to be a solution to my world. I commit my life to the ways of my Master and I bring His life and power to bear on my world.

FURTHER STUDIES

 1 John 4:17 KJV” Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”

Matthew 10:1 KJV” when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:10 KJV” Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Lord Jesus iterated in John 15:20 as follows,

” Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they have kept by my saying, they will keep yours also “This implies, as the Master was persecuted, so would we His followers be likewise persecuted. Persecution may come in varying degrees. It may be either a neglect, an insult, a beating or even an outright killing, all in the name of one’s service and love for the master. The world with their god hates that, we live in righteousness, and would do everything to deter men from living godly. 2Timothy 3:12 KJV” Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”. Persecution is Satan’s way of deterring men from living godly. Choosing to suffer for Christ is the happy way for all Children of God. You would be counted worthy for the kingdom of heaven.

A mind that is ready to suffer persecution is secured from being dominated by sin.

1Peter 4:1 KJV” Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin”. (Don’t suffer for doing the wrong things any way.) According to this scripture, although Satan seeks to use persecution to stop your service and love for the master, one is rather armed against sin when he or she has a ready mind to suffer for the cause of Christ. In the light of the above, serving Christ implies we also suffer for His name

Philippians 1:29 KJV “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;”. This truth must be fully accepted by every child of God.

From the above discourse it is fully established through the teachings of our master Jesus that suffering for the sake of our Lord is part of our service unto him. Does conditions like sicknesses, demonic dominance part of the sufferings? Our Lord Jesus on the cross made an atonement or made a substitution for us, which we must no more bear. His atonement covers our sins, sicknesses and every demonic control (Isaiah 53:1-10). During the Lord’s walk on this earth, he demonstrated that man should be free of all sicknesses. (Acts 10:38, Luke 13:16,) Psa 103:3 KJV “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases”; Don’t accept sicknesses as part of the persecutions of Christians. Persecutions are Satan’s means of using men to resist the children of God from serving their master in various capacities. When you stand for God, it is a testimony to those men of your love for Jesus and a witness to them to believe in Jesus. Welcome such persecutions, but give no place to any form of satanic direct aggression against you. The Bible clearly teaches us to steadfastly resist the devil in faith. (1st Peter 5:9)

CONFESSION

The Lord calls on us to a life of glory in Him, plus persecutions. I have armed myself to suffer for His name sake. I count myself blessed to suffer for the cause of Christ. It is a means of testifying to the world that my Lord Jesus is alive and I am ready to stand for Him as a means of witnessing (MATYRS) to His Lordship.

FURTHER STUDIES

Mark 10:30 KJV “But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. “

Romans 8:17 KJV” and if children, then heirs; heirs of him, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”