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KEY SCRIPTURE 1Ti 4:11 KJV” These things command and teach.”

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Apostle Paul now tells Pastor Timothy about how to present such important truths to his congregation. He said he must command and teach  them to do or observe all that he has been telling them. To Command demands a level of seriousness for what he is saying. When the Lord was speaking about Abraham during the period when the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah had risen to Him. He made the following statement about Abraham: Gen 18:19 KJV” For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

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The people  of Sodom and Gomorrah had no guides or restrictions, and so they lived like wild beasts. The church, which is the pillar and ground of truth, must  not tolerate  certain ways of doing things but must insist. that God’s acceptable ways are adhered to

The pastor must demonstrate a level of sternness in his presentations.

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An example of a pastor who was not stern with his children, and so their deviant ways cost him his very life. This was Eli the priest. 1Sa 3:13 KJV ” For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” Eli was not stern with his sons. He allowed them to do what they wanted. Eli died on the very day his sons were slain on the battlefield. The scripture tells pastors to warn the unruly in the church. 1 Th 5:14 KJV “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.”

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Dear pastors, Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy as well as the church leaders in Thessalonica, yet by extension, he is writing to every pastor or minister who speaks to some congregation of a sort.Dear pastor, a command has no ambiguity about it. It is the only way certain things ought to be done. Failure to do them or doing it the way that is required would result in corresponding consequences that are always unpleasant.

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In John 2:15 the Lord seeing that the house God which should be a holy place of prayer had teaching of God’s word , had  become a market  centre where all kinds of things was sold.The Lord made scourge of cords and aggressively drove out these traders and money changers.There moments when the pastor should come against evil with the seriousness that it deserves.

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THOUGHT:.BE AS WISE AS A SERPENT AND  AS HARMLESS AS A DOVE

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Joh 2:15 KJV And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;

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Mat 10:16 KJV” Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Ti 4:8 NET For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”

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This time, we look at how to train ourselves in patience. Every Christian needs to exhibit patience in one matter or another. It is very unfortunate to see Christian couples at each other’s throats, mostly because of very trivial matters. This is all because they have not trained themselves to relate patiently with each other. The tool to prepare yourself to act rightly is the word of God.

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Every Christian virtue has faith as its foundation, upon which other virtues are added to make a complete superstructure. 2Pe 1:5 NET “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge;”

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How do you add these virtues to our faith.You do so by calling yourself a  person of great patience.Many people describe themselves by the common traits that they normally portray. As we said in one of the discussions, we said the tongue controls or bridles the whole body.Jas 3:2 NET” For we all stumble in many ways. If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well.”Each time you claim you are inpatient you set up your whole system to act impatiently.

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The scriptures have revealed that our spirit is love, which manifests in a number of positive virtues. Consistently tell yourself  you are loved and so very patient. Respond to people’s mistakes by saying that you are patient.

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Sadly, the common feeling is that if you talk this way, people will take advantage of you. That is an error. Acting from the spirit’s control makes you win or puts you in charge always. Rom 2:7 NET” eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honour and immortality.” Always choose the way of the spirit. Those who choose the path of the word are always rewarded with peace, honour,glory and eternal life. What more can you ask for?

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The Lord Jesus practised the acts of speaking rightly about himself always.The Lord never said one negative thing  about Himself.He said I am meek and lowly in heart and so my yoke is easy and my burden is light Matthew 11:28-29.He said I am the light of the world and that was His normal practise.Indeed He never acted wronggly or ever failed to relate well to people.Train yourself to be patient and act rightly always by saying to yourself as well as others that that is what you are.

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SAY THE FOLLOWING:  My spirit is one with the Holy Spirit, and so I am love personified. I have peace, joy , and patience, and I never misbehave under any condition. I am always in control of myself. Glory be to God.

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Jas 3:10 KJV” Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be.”

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: James:3

[2] We all fail in many areas, but especially with our words. Yet if we’re able to bridle the words, we say we are powerful enough to control ourselves in every way, and that means our character is mature and fully developed.

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:8 KJV “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

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We continue with our discussion on godly training. One important ingredient in every form of training is discipline. Discipline is restraining yourself to live within the rules. You must know what you seek to achieve, and then the requirements for achieving that goal. After setting up your goal, you discipline yourself to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

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This time, we will look at how to effectively feed our hearts and minds with the word of God. The greatest good you can do for yourself concerning the word of God is to accept that it is the absolute truth. It would be of no benefit to have so much of the world in you without it having any transforming power  over your life. The power in God’s word can be encountered.

When we believe all that it says.

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God’s word is extremely powerful. Heb 4:12 KJV” For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It can be of benefit if you believe it.

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Now, one way of building the word into your  being is to keep hearing it over and over again. We live at a time that  we have the word of God right on our phones, and it could be read to us while we may be driving , walking or doing household chores. The bible says faith comes by hearing the word of God. Rom 10:17. Discipline yourself to keep hearing it. You can also use your leisure moments to read it to yourself. Just keep at it, and you will soon see how far you have grown in the spirit.

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This is a discipline that you must practise always. If you were very diligent at it , then you could go through the bible in just two weeks. As the scriptures fill your soul, your spiritual capacity will increase. God places various responsibilities into our hands according to our spiritual capacity.

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You can also listen to messages of anointed  men of God, whether they are  dead or living presently. Anytime you listen̈ to a man of God, you   have  an opportunity  to fellowship with the grace that worked  in their lives. There have been some people who have been anointed by the anointing of these men just by listening to them over and over again. You would learn a lot.  As well as being impacted positively, as you listen to such anointed men of God.

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THOUGHT: TO GIVE ATTENTION ÙNTO THE WORD OF GOD IS TO GROW YOUR SPIRIT MAN

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Psa 119:130 KJV The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple

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Psa 119:105 KJV NUN. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:8 KJV” For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

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We continue with our discussion on our topic of godly training. We said in our previous study that the state of one’s spirit determines whether weak or strong he may be. One is said to have a strong spirit if his or her life is dominated by the word of God. We learnt that one aspect of conditioning our spirit to be submitted to GOD is by meditation.

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We would study how to employ meditation to condition our lives in various ways. The bible teaches that if a man does not offend by his words, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle  his whole body. Decide that no wrong word will proceed from your mouth. By wrong words, I mean words that are contrary to the scriptures.

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You can use the word of God by meditation to condition your mind and spirit to help you  to speak rightly always. Meditate on Proverbs 4:24 that says:” Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.” You can frame it this way: According to the instruction of the scriptures, I put a froward mouth away from me, and a perverse lips far away from me. Practice meditating on this for an appreciable length of time till you see that you are very cautious about the words that proceed from your mouth.

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The next step is to train yourself to speak words of faith and actually believe them. Most people speak words of doubt or unbelief, and so they are almost always defeated. Some also speak words of hope, which is good, but to benefit from the words of hope, you must turn them into words of faith. If you  are anticipating a need to be met, you may boldly say , ” My father has answered me, and so I would have it. Anytime you are asked about it, you say God has answered me, and I will have it. Do not say I am believing God for it. This throws your answer into the future, and you may never have it. Train yourself to talk rightly always. If you are sick , you may say Ì believe I have received my healing.

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Now you should also practise controlling your temper. You may do this by telling yourself that you do not have a bad temper. Say I don’t  keep offences but easily forgive. Even when your emotions suggest to you to be offensive, tell yourself I have the spirit of love, and so I am gentle with all persons. Keep saying these things to yourself, and very soon, you will never throw harsh words at anyone.

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THOUGHT:YOUR ACTIONS ARE ALWAYS A PRODUCT OF THE WORDS WITHIN YOU

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FURTHER STUDIES

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1Ti 4:15 KJV “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”

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Psa 1:2 KJV” But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:8 KJV “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

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Godly training is all about building up your Spirit man. Man is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body. The spirit of man is the God-conscious part of him. It is where we have the new creation. It is the state of our Spirit that determines whether we will be victorious or not. Our Godly exercises are about training our spirit to take over our lives. The rule of the flesh is called carnality, and that is death, Rom 8:6, but the rule of our spirit is life and peace.

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We must do everything to make our spirit have dominance over our bodies or flesh.

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One of the means to let our spirit come alive is meditation. The Hebrew word is hagah, having the following meanings: growl, utter mutter, whisper, say, roar. During meditation, you keep nurturing a verse or statement of the scriptures  for a couple of minutes or for one or two hours. This act of speaking one word or a phrase in the bible for a long period actually establishes that word firmly in your mind and your spirit.

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This act must be repeated  over time. It could be done for two months or even three, repeating the same thing. In order to be successful, you have to be very disciplined, especially with your time, as well as repeating the same thing. You might start muttering, that is saying it under tone, but after some time, you may start speaking it louder, Joshua 1:8

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One great man of God who has been used in the area of healing said he had to meditate on Acts 10:38 over a very long time to find himself being very prolific in the healing ministry. Acts 10: 38 says,” How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” He quoted it as it is in the Bible, and then he began to personalise  it. In place of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, he would say ‘me’ or his name and his location. As he diligently observed it over a period, he realised that great healing anointing was functioning in his life.

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Dear one, just as physical exercises take great discipline, a spiritual one also demands more discipline. In the spiritual exercises, demons would not want you  to attain higher heights in the spirit, and so would create conditions to distract or divert your attention. LET YOUR GOAL BE CONSISTENCY  LEADING TO PERFECTION.

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Think through this message and decide on an area to master in the spirit. WHAT YOU MAY NEED IS TO SET YOUR TIME, DURATION  AND YOUR LOCATION to observe your meditation.

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THOUGHT: JUST AS DISCIPLINED PHYSICAL EXERCISES MAKE GREAT MUSCLES, SO WOULD DISCIPLINED SPIRITUAL EXERCISES PRODUCE STRONG SPIRITUAL MUSCLES

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Jos 1:8 KJV This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

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Rom 12:2 KJV “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

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KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:7 KJV” But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.”

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May we remind ourselves that we are taking a study of Paul’s letter to Timothy, who was the pastor of the church of Ephesus. Although the advice and counsel are predominantly for pastors, the lessons are applicable to every Christian.

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This time, Pastor Timothy is counselled to refuse old wives’ fables or silly myths that have no touch with reality or to assist spiritual growth. Well, in our time, we may not be saddled by baseless superstitious beliefs but rather are occupied with the mobile phone. A brother shared an event of pastors  where an elderly man was unduly delayed in the washroom for a very long time. He said he climbed up to see what had happened to the man. As he looked, he saw the man was glued to his mobile phone, watching pornographic videos. This was a pastor using his precious time to demoralise himself. Sadly, there are many such men who spend their private hours attending to their phones. Apostle Paul instructs us to REFUSE to attend to such things.

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He counsels that we would rather train ourselves in godliness. The Greek word for train or exercise is gumnizo, from which we derived the word gymnasium. As we know, a gym is a place where people train themselves in many ways. The next verse says that bodily exercise profits little. Meaning its impact  or benefit would be only for our physical body. He added that godly training or exercises have a greater benefit. It benefits us now and in life after here.

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What are some of these godly exercises? They are as follows.

1 prayer

2 Scriptural reading and studying

3 Meditation on the Scriptures

4Fasting

5 GIVING

6 Evangelism

Please note that these scriptural exercises train our spirit man to be agile and strong. The scripture says the spirit of a man would sustain his infirmity. But who can bear a wounded spirit? A strong spirit would not give in to adversity. Our spiritual senses, like sight, hearing and general spiritual discernment, can be developed through these exercises.

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After certain periods of prayer and fasting, one can find his spiritual sight opened, and his ears also opened, such that he or she could see things in the spirit.

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When the Lord Jesus lived physically among men, he did not function by spiritual gifts but by a developed spiritual man. He could easily know what people were thinking. Jr discrrned spirits of infirmity. He healed at will and also knew when the enemy spoke through people. By the ability of His developed spirit. Satan or his demons were never able to outwit Him.

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THOUGHT: TRAIN UP YOUR SPIRIT AND BE MORE EFFECTIVE FOR THE LORD

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FURTHER STUDIES

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1Co 14:4 KJV He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

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Jos 1:8 KJV” This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:6 KJV “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”

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We continue with our discussion on keeping up with sound  doctrine. In our previous study, we said that sound doctrine is to continue in the apostles’ doctrine. One major truth that the apostles taught was about the impact of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. His death was like a seed planted, and we are the result of His planting. Isa 53:11 KJV” He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”Jesus bore our iniquities in order to justify us.

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Every seed planted produces fruit with seeds just like itself. The apostles taught that every Christian is in every way just like Jesus. 1Jn 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.” This is the mystery of Christianity. As  He is, so are we in this world. The victorious life of the Christian stems from the fact that we are one with Jesus. His life is our life (Col 3:3,4)

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God’s intention is to raise a generation of men and women who are more than  conquerors. He has called us to show the praises or demonstrate the victories of the Lord. Eph 3:10 KJV” To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” When the Lord walked on the shores of this earth, He consistently demonstrated absolute power and dominion over devils and satan. This is exactly what He has made us. He has invested the very nature of His Son into us.

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The apostles consistently taught that we ‘ve been made victors  and should demonstrate this victory in our lives. 1Jn 5:4 KJV “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

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Now, what areas does Satan seek to dominate man?. These are as follows.

1 SIN

2 DISEASES AND SICKNESSES

3 POVERTY

4 DEATH

If in Christ we have overcome the world, then we have overcome every one of these areas of dominance of Satan. The means for our triumph is our faith. This is the truth and teaching they brought to the world by the ability of the Holy Spirit.

GLORY BE TO GOD.

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Declare the following boldly. I am born of God and have the life of God in me. I have the faith of Jesus, and so I have overcome the world. I have overcome sin , diseases, poverty, and death, for the victorious Christ is my  very life. I refuse to be deceived by the wiles or lies of Satan and insist that in Christ, I am more than a conqueror.

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THOUGHT:JESUS HAS INVESTED ALL OF HIMSELF INTO US SO AS TO DEMONSTRATE HIS VICTORY TO THE WORLD.

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FURTHER STUDIES

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1Pe 2:9 KJV “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

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Rom 5:17 KJV” For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

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KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:6 KJV “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”

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Our world is filled with all kinds of teachings and informations.The social media is laden or saturated with diverse kinds of teachings.Some of the teachings are indeed very strange yet most church members across board are being bombarded with such doctrines.The pastor would do very well to establish a line of sound doctrine that helps his congregation to easily identify error, so they may stay away from such.Apostle Paul says the pastor who does that would be a good minister of our Lord Jesus Christ , who would be well nourished in the words of faith and of sound doctrine.

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I would advise that pastors learn the message that the apostles preached and held. That was the very message the Lord said: ” I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” John 16 :12. Staying with the apostles’ doctrine is what the Lord wants evéy Christian to maintain.

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What was the doctrine of the apostles? They taught  about the divine life of God that indwells a man who believes in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.( 1 John 5:11-13, Gal 2:20) They gave insight into the grace of God and the fact that this grace has made us more than conquerors and champions of demons. The grace of God has made us one with Jesus( 1st Corinth 6:17) Joint heirs with the Lord Jesus( Rom 5:17) and has made us the very  righteousness of God.( 2 Corinth 5:17) Through the exceeding great and precious promises  we have become  partakers of the divine nature having escape the corruption that is in the world through lust( 2 Pet 1:4).

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Through the teaching of the apostles, we  learn that we no longer try to become acceptable  before  God ,but through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, we are made Holy, unbeatable, and unreproveable in His sight  . These and many more are the teachings of the apostles.

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The apostles also taught that, in the light of what the grace of God has made available to us, we must  live above the ordinary person. Sin, sicknesses should not in any way have dominion over us( Rom 6:14 , 1st Peter 2:24). Love is our nature, and so we exhibit  all the attributes of love , that is peace , joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness , meekness , self-control Gal 5:22).We live as people in the light without blame in a world of sin . Christ lives in us, and we manifest Him to our world as we live victoriously.

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Any kind of teaching that does not align with this teaching  of the apostles, as demonstrated by our Lord Jesus, is false, and this would assist the congregation  to know what to accept or reject.

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THOUGHT: THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE LIFE AND SUFFERINGS OF JESUS OUR LORD ARE REVEALED IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Eph 2:20 KJV” And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.”

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Eph 3:2-3  KJV If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,”.

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 4:5 KJV “For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

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The Holy Spirit, at this point speaking through Paul, says that when the food is received by faith, that is, by the word of God and prayer, it is sanctified. This verse could be said this way: The food is sanctified by the word of God through prayer. This means that through the prayer, you declare what God has said. The food we take is only one of the things that we have to apply this principle to make it fit for our consumption. Food is one of the main means by which people are attacked by various kinds of diseases. We have men and women being afflicted with diabetes, hypertension, cancers and many more through the food we take. This has led food scientists and nutritionists to instruct us on the best foods to take in order to stay healthy. These things are good and very wise to apply, yet God’s word gives higher and the best counsel for faith and practice . In Exodus 23:25,  KJV” And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” The Lord says over here that as we devote our lives to Him , fellowship and serve him, he would bless our bread and water, and He would also take sicknesses away from us. We see here that the blessing of our food takes away sicknesses from us. Do not underrate the blessing of the food we take.

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From our key scripture, our  food is sanctified, set apart or made whole through prayer as we declare the word. God’s word is His cleansing agent to make all things clean. He said in John 15:3  KJV,” Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” The Lord says that  we are purged or made whole as we  hear the word. The Lord also said in John 17:17 as follows, ” Father sanctify them through thy word.” God’s word has a very powerful cleansing ability. For the word to do so, you must say what the word says and also believe it, for all things are possible to them that believe . In dealing with our food, the scripture says you received it with thanksgiving. The first aspect is to thank God for the food  you have received. The next is to pronounce a blessing over the food and declare it sanctified

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The following could be your prayer during meal times. Thank you, Lord, for this meal. Lord, I bless this meal and pronounce that it is sanctified perfectly for my consumption and well-being in the mighty name of my Lord Jesus. After this prayer, believe that the food is perfect to keep you well and strong. The only caution is not to overindulge yourself. Overindulgence  is gluttony, and that is sin. You know sin is a transgression of the word of God, and that would surely give Satan an advantage over you. If you would not overindulge yourself, but obey the word through thanking God ,blessing the food  and pronouncing the meal is sanctified, no devil can afflict you any longer with his diseases.

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THOUGHT:GOD’S WORD CLEANSES EVERYTHING THAT IS DEFILED

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Mat 14:19 KJV” And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

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1Ti 4:4 KJV “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.”

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KEY SCRIPTURE:1Ti 3:1 KJV” This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”

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Apostle Paul  opens this chapter by admitting that it is true by saying that anyone who desires the office of a Bishop has desired a good thing . A Bishop basically  plays a supervisory role. He is an overseer over  the people of God    as one body or a number of bodies under  one umbrella. The Bishop  can be described as a shepherd or, better still, a pastor. Shepherds are very indispensable. Of all animals, sheep are the only animals that can never survive in the jungle or out of the jungle without a shepherd. In Mark 6:34, the Lord Jesus wept over the multitude of people who had followed  Him to be healed of their diseases and also  to listen to him preach. He said they were like sheep without a shepherd. It is always very terrible for sheep if they do not have a shepherd.

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This is the reason the apostle says that  it is a true saying when one decides to be a shepherd or an overseer  of the flock of God. The term overseer has assumed the airs of superiority, and so certain individuals attend to that office with pride. They consider the affluence and certain privileges that go with it, and that becomes their persuasion to seek that office. This is a very wrong motive. Apostle Paul describes such people in the following way. Phi 3:18-19 KJV (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

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Now the call to shepherd is never a pleasure trip. It is fully a sacrificial one. The Lord said a good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep. A true pastor would feed his flock adequately. Jer 3:15 KJV And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Apostle Peter instructed the shepherd as follows:1Pe 5:2 KJV” Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;”God’s love for his flock is the reason why it is a very good cause for one to desire the office of the Bishop.

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THOUGHT: A SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD IS LIKE A BABY WITHOUT A MOTHER

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FURTHER STUDIES

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Jer 23:1 KJV” Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.”

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Joh 10:11 KJV” I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”