KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:18 “And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

The scripture said that as they went to pray, a young girl who had the spirit of divination (note: people with the secular worldview would say the girl had psychic powers, yet the bible said she had the spirit of divination). A spirit is an invincible being with intelligence that lives in her and works through her.

The girl followed Paul and his team, declaring that these men are true servants of the Most High and show unto us the way of salvation. (Acts 16:17). The bible said Paul was grieved in his spirit after a time. Wasn’t this girl saying the truth? Yes, she was, yet she was having a contrary spirit that was imposing as the Spirit of truth. In our day-to-day encounters, we come across people or even persons who hold the bible to preach, yet they are liars. They have contrary spirits and not the spirit of the LORD.

How can we know such people? Jesus said in Matthew 7:16a that, “ye shall know them by their fruits….” Apostle Paul was grieved in his spirit. We need to allow the Spirit to lead us to know the credibility of certain individuals we may be dealing with. It takes the Holy Spirit to help us know whether some people are genuine or not.

The bible said she brought her master much gain (money) by soothsaying. It is always dangerous when the Gospel becomes a means for extorting money from people.

  Certain soothsayers have camouflaged themselves as servants of God. Soothsaying always goes with enchantments and the use of objects of divination. They have special perfumes, powders, and oils, and can even request the slaughter of animals as a form of sacrifice. Please, if you find such people parading as men of God, run away from them.

  Some of them teach that these things were done under the old covenant. Yes, they might have been done under the old covenant, but we are no longer under the Old Testament. Our Lord Jesus established a new covenant. In Matthew 26:27-28, the Lord Jesus did the following: “and he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for the remission of sins.” Hebrews 8:8 also says “for finding fault with them, he said, behold, the days come, Saith the Lord, when I would make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ” Please, we are in a new covenant, and our Lord Jesus is the sacrificial token of the covenant, and no blood sacrifice is ever needed under any condition. Any man of God who asks you to sacrifice any animal for any form of pacification is practicing divination (occult origin), and it has nothing to do with the Spirit of Christ. Beware!

  CONFESSION

Our Lord Jesus established a new covenant with His blood. His sacrifice is an eternal one that requires no more blood sacrifice of any form. I am accepted, justified, and eternally redeemed.

FURTHER STUDIES

Hebrews 8:9  “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord”.

 Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not Christ

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:13 “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.”

 It was the custom of Paul to join the Jews in their times of prayer on the Sabbath. The Jews normally located their place of meeting or synagogue close to a source of water because of the many washings that characterised their worship procedures. This meeting place was by the riverside.

 The apostle Paul took the opportunity to share the Gospel with the women sitting by the riverside. He sat close to them and shared the good news with them. Paul was an amazing servant of God who was addicted to pleasing the master at every moment and every opportunity that came up.

He said,” I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and to the Greek.

(Romans 1:16). He meant the Gospel is the only means by which man could be freed from the clutches of sin and spiritual death.

If it is the only means, then we must give it the needed attention at sharing it with all whom we relate with.

Through the preaching of Paul to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, a woman named Lydia received the message. The bible puts it this way in Acts 16:14 “and a certain woman named Lydia a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira which worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened that she attended to the things which are spoken of Paul.”

It was the Lord who opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul. This is the reason why we must not just stand up to go and preach. But to spend time in travailing prayer for the Spirit of Christ to touch and open their hearts.

Some ministers believe that at their present status, they are above witnessing on a one-on-one basis. If you think this way, it is pride, and so repent from such an attitude. We have been commanded to go to all men and disciple them. Matthew 28:19-20. May we throw away every pride, shyness, fear, etc., and go knocking on doors of houses, and go to our friends in the classroom, workplace, schools, and everywhere we have the opportunity to speak to people or individuals.

Daniel 12:3 reminds us that “And they be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.”

 You are called the wise one if you turn one to the path of righteousness, and you would shine like the stars. Do as Apostle Paul did, share the gospel.

  PRAYER

Father, awaken the church of God to your commission to go and make disciples of all men. I pray, breaking every deception that causes them to be shy or afraid. Work with your children to produce signs and wonders in Jesus’ name. Amen

FURTHER STUDIES

John 4:7” There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.”

Acts 20:20  “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

Once again, Paul was assayed to go to Mysia, but the Holy Spirit did not allow him to go. The work of evangelism is to keep going wherever you find people to share the word with. The Holy Spirit is the chief executive of the work. As we go, he tells us where not to go and, in some cases, tells us where to go. In the meantime, without any specific word from Him, keep going.

Paul had a vision, according to Acts 16:8, where a man from Macedonia was calling on him to come and help them.

In Acts 16:9, the Bible said he had a vision in the night. This was apparently through his dream at night.

 God can speak to his children through dreams. Dreams come in various forms. The dream from the Spirit of God may come as a symbolic dream or a direct dream. A symbolic dream through the Spirit may come being represented by certain symbols. An example is King Pharaoh’s dream of the seven fat cows being swallowed by the seven lean cows. (Gen 41:2&3)

These are the kind of dreams that one needs the Holy Spirit to interpret the meaning to him or her.

There are certain individuals with the gift of interpretation of dreams like Joseph or Daniel who can help you decode such a dream. There are also direct dreams like Paul received in which a man from Macedonia was asking him to come there and help him. Such a dream needs no interpretation.

Besides all that has been discussed above, the Bible says one’s activities that fill his mind can play back as a dream. Such dreams do not come from the Spirit of God or even from the devil in any way. Eccl. 5:3 “For a dream cometh through the multitudes of business, and a fool’s voice is known by the multitude of words”. Before you start worrying about or over your dream, ask yourself what has been occupying your mind and your attention.

Thirdly, demons can also communicate their intention to you. Every demonic message always carries a bad message. They always convey failure, death, destruction, and all forms of Satanic attacks. Reacting to such dreams depends on the depth of knowledge of God’s word in you, which has built up a strong confidence in God. Such a person may ignore these things, and nothing would happen to him. But if your knowledge of the word is shallow and your faith is weak, then you must pray to resist the demonic activities. Make sure you refute every evil intention of the wicked one. (Isaiah 54:17)

Some people have allowed their dreams to control their moods and, therefore, have destroyed their lives as a whole. You have power in Jesus’ name over every devil. Don’t allow anything to torment your life.

CONFESSION

I am given to the word of God. My mind dwells constantly on the word. Demons can not manipulate my life through whatever means in any way, for it is only what God says that moves me.

FURTHER STUDIES

Daniel 1:17 “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

Acts 2:17 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:3 “Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”

Read Acts 16:1-6

Paul continued his missionary journey with Silas. In Lystra, they found a disciple whose mother was a Jewess but a Grecian father. He was called Timothy. Apostle Paul discovered in this young man one who could be very useful for the work. He took him and circumcised him.

Circumcision in those days was without any anesthesia (anesthesia is a drug given to a patient to numb the body so he or she would not feel any pain during surgery). It was extremely painful to be done by the elderly person, yet Paul insisted that he was circumcised. Paul knew that there was no sacrifice too dear for anyone to make for the course of Christ.  Apostle Paul made sure that there was nothing about Timothy that would place an impediment to the ministry of the gospel among the Jews. As Christian leaders and workers, there may come a time as leaders that we have to make decisions that call on our members to make grave sacrifices. Do not be afraid to let such members do it. There can be no sacrifice too dear to make that we can’t make for God. When it has to do with the course of Christ, no sacrifice is too dear.

In verse 5, Apostle Paul went round the churches and established their faith in the Lord. The churches increased in number (Verse 5). They taught them the word that established their faith to be established. A church that is well taught in the Word, whose faith is strong in the Lord, would increase in number. It is the spiritual growth that results in numerical growth. May we focus our attention on raising sound, strong, and stable Christians, and the effect would be a consistently growing church.

In Acts 16:6, the scripture says, “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia”. Paul was restrained from going ahead to preach in Asia. What does this mean? Was Paul not preaching in these places by asking for the direct instruction of the Holy Spirit before going to a place? The answer is no, he did not ask. They went anywhere they wanted to go because the word says so. This implies we must not wait to receive specific instructions before going out to share the word. We must go because the Lord tells us in His word to go everywhere preaching the word. Acting on the word is the leading of the Holy Spirit. God’s word has given us the instruction. Just go ahead and do it. If the Lord does not want you to go to a particular place, He will tell you. Until you have that specific word not to go to a particular place, keep going to all people and as many as you can reach out to.

PRAYER

Father, I pray for all children of God to be ready to make every sacrifice, even if it will cost our very lives, grant us the grace to make it to glorify your name.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Timothy 4:2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.”

  KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:39 “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so, Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;”

In this verse, a very distasteful event occurred between these two wonderful missionaries. This was a problem emanating or coming out of the different temperamental traits in these two gentlemen.

After Paul had suggested that they go back to every city where they had preached and raised the brethren, Barnabas suggested that they add John Mark to their team. Apostle Paul said no, for John Mark cannot be trusted. He said when they were in Pamphylia, he (John Mark) deserted them from continuing with the work (Acts 13:13). Barnabas insisted that Mark could be beneficial to them, so he must come along. Paul, who was predominantly choleric, would not take any person who was not ready to endure challenges and would not be faithful. Was it true that John Mark would have failed this second time round? Couldn’t Apostle Paul forgive his earlier mistake and take him along?

Barnabas, who is called the son of consolation, a builder of the weak, with his phlegmatic traits, was softer with John Mark and felt he needed to be given a second chance.  Paul would not take any such views. Our key scripture says the contention was so sharp that this amazing missionary team was divided, Paul went with Silas, while Barnabas went with John Mark.

Many splits that occur in certain ministries proceed from human and temperamental differences, as it occurred between Paul and Barnabas. In such moment’s parties take entrenched positions and are not ready to give up their grounds. The unfortunate aspect is when they get personal and start attacking each other with harsh words. They have entered into the flesh, and their actions on many occasions break the faith and confidence of some of the followers.

Other ministerial splits proceed purely from carnal motivations.  Financial consideration and anticipation are some of the major causes. To some people, it is all out of pride, a desire to obtain some title. These things are very unfortunate. Let all things be done orderly and to the glory of God.

 One may ask, can the Lord allow a split to achieve his purpose?? Please note that it is not every negative occurrence that is of the evil one. What would have happened to the church of God in the Dark Ages if the reformers had not come to the scene? Men like Martin Luther, the Wesley brothers, Tyndale, etc., played a very important role in shaping certain youths of the church, although their actions brought some division to the church. Anything done out of selfish motive and arrogance cannot be of the Lord.

 PRAYER

Father, I pray for the church of God to allow the Spirit to lead in all things. I pray that the children of God will continue to be united against our arch enemy until we see his kingdom destroyed. In Jesus’ name, I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Ephesians 4:31-32  “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Romans 8:28” And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:36 “And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do”.

Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch to teach the brethren there for quite a long time. After a while, Apostle Paul suggested to Barnabas, “…. let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do”.

Paul decided that they would follow up on the brethren.  A soul won is not a task finished until that individual has become a disciple. There is a need to maintain constant contact with that individual or group of people to bring them up to become disciples. The Lord said in John 15:16, “ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain that whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he may give it to you”. The fruit must remain. A child brought into this life cannot remain if it is not carefully attended to.

There are no rewards for you. If a soul wins, it does not remain to finally make it to heaven. This is the need to effectively disciple him or her so that one can be sure that this individual will make it to heaven.

This brings me to the following working definition of a disciple. It is as follows: “One becomes a disciple when he becomes stabilised in the faith and has an ongoing commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and has developed the basic disciplines of Christian living and service, so that the lifelong maturing process is guaranteed as much as is humanly possible “. From this definition, the work of discipleship is laid out.

The convert must be stabilized in his faith. He must receive teachings that make his faith in Christ firm.

Must develop a commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ: should be taught and enlightened on the need to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Must develop the basic disciplines of Christian living and service like prayer, quiet time, bible study, fellowshipping with other Christians, giving, fasting, evangelism, and sacrificial giving, etc. He must be taught and made to practice them.

When he or she develops these disciplines and practices them personally, without any special supervision, his maturity would be guaranteed as much as is humanly possible. Do all these with a consistent prayer for him or her.

PRAYER

I pray for all new Christians to be established in their faith and live such that they would not fall back into sin again. In Jesus’ name, I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have6 commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”.

John 15:8 “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so, shall ye be my disciples.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:25 “It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,”

Apostle Paul in this verse was described as a chosen man and “our beloved”. Why did he receive all these beautiful qualifications?

Paul had distinguished himself by the way he went about the task given to him. In 1st Corinthians 15:10, he says, “By the grace of God, I am what I am: and the grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me”. Paul says he set up his mind to do his best through the grace of God, He laboured more abundantly. Acts 15:26 “Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. They jeopardized their lives. Paul was a man who did not count his life as anything important or loved his life in respect to the call of God. Now listen to what he says in Galatians 6:17: “from henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of our Lord Jesus”. He says the marks or scars on the body of Jesus are the same that he bore on his body. His skin was not as smooth as most of us have. He had a multiplicity of scars all over his skin. This made him stand out. He was an example. He was an inspiration. He was an encouragement. He was proof of how one could live absolutely for Christ and proof of Christ’s faithfulness.

What example are you giving to your generation? Are you living for yourself or living for Christ? Apostle Paul admonished Pastor Timothy in 1st Timothy 4:12 as follows: “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in Spirit, in faith, in purity”. Timothy was called to be an example to the flock so that no one would have the cause to disrespect him as a pastor. An undisciplined life will cause many to dishonour you. Walking in knowledge, sacrifice, and discipline are some of the main virtues needed to make one an example. To be disciplined is to restrain yourself to live within the rules or the regulations.

You need to love the Lord Jesus above everything else, and even above your very life. (2nd Corinthians 5:14,15). Greatness in life is not acquiring riches or enjoying pleasure.  Greatness before God and men is a life given to honour God and his word above all things. It is a life given over to do everything that would glorify God.  Some may sacrifice just to win the favour of men. This is not the right way.

Do all things solely to the glory of God. This is what made Paul distinguish himself.

PRAYER

May the Lord stir up in all the children of God to be more dedicated and live to honour the name of the Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES:

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

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.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:12” Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.”

We will continue with our discussion on how to work miracles. We will major in how to heal the sick. The Lord Jesus spent a great part of His time healing the sick, and he commands us to do the same. (John 20:21) “Heal the sick that are therein and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you”. The disciples sped up the work of saving souls through healing the sick. Men, no matter their background, will respond and attend to the working of miracles.

To be successful in bringing healing to the sick, you must be convinced about God’s willingness to see the sick healed. You also have to accept that the healing of the bodies of men was settled by the Lord Jesus in His atoning work through His passion. Isaiah 53:4 & 5 says, “Surely, he has borne our griefs (sickness) and carried our sorrows (pains), yet we did esteem Him stricken of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and by his stripes you were healed”. He has settled the sickness question, just as he has done for our sins. (Ps 103:3)

Learning from how our Lord Jesus ministered to the sick; we see that he either commanded the devil to leave or just asked the sick to do that which he could not do. He never prayed for the sick. He treated sickness as an enemy or personality that must be cast out. From his example, you must treat sicknesses as a personality that must be cast out. When casting out a demon or ministering to the sick, don’t focus on yourself. You must be aware of Jesus’ presence in you. He works the miracles. You should not worry about how it is going to turn out. Focus your mind on His presence in you and on the Lord’s promise that says.  Mark 16:17″ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Always come in anger against the devil and his works in the life of the victim. Expect the sick to be healed immediately. After your command, encourage the candidate to act on his faith. He must do something he could not do earlier.   There are various ways to minister to the sick. In Acts 3, Peter commanded the cripple to rise and walk, and he did. Some blow air onto the sick, and they are healed. others may declare be healed and they get results. Another person will command the devil to leave its host, and it will have to go. Let your faith be in God’s word and how the Holy Spirit leads you, and not in somebody’s approach.

After these instructions go out to be a blessing unto others. God would honour His name by healing the sick through you.

   PRAYER

I pray for boldness for all children of God to arise and be miracle workers in Jesus’ name. May Christians leave their closets and get on the streets and visit homes to bring healing to the sick in Jesus’ name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Psalms 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Matthew 8:16-17 “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:12” Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.”

Apostle Paul and Barnabas rehearsed the many miracles that the Holy Spirit used them to work among the Gentiles. Can every Christian be used to work miracles? The scripture teaches that every Christian can work miracles, especially bringing healing to the sick.

To be able to work miracles in the name of the Lord, one has to know certain biblical truths.

The very first truth to know is that God has declared that if you believe in Jesus, you will work miracles.  John 14:12. “Verily I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto my father”. The main condition to be a candidate to work miracles is to believe in Jesus.  In John 6:28,29, the disciples asked Jesus What must we do that we might work the works of God?  The Lord gave the following answer.  “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent “. Believing in Jesus means believing whatever he told us. The Lord Jesus is the eternal Word of God, and faith in Him gives one the ability to work miracles.

In Mark 16:17-20, the Lord reveals that certain signs would follow all those who would believe in him.  They would cast out devils, lay their hands on the sick, and they would be healed, and many other signs. After the Lord was received into glory, the disciples went everywhere, and the Lord worked with them, confirming the word with signs and wonders following. Miracles are confirmations by the Spirit of God as we act on the word of God.

The next truth to know is that as a Christian, you have the same Holy Spirit as was in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit in us means we are anointed with power. His presence in you is the same in every child of God.  Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come unto you. And you shall be my witnesses (proof producers) both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”. The Holy Spirit in you is the anointing.  He is the worker of miracles.  Fellowship with the Spirit through prayer and bible study to activate His power in you.

There are a few other pieces of information to know, yet you can go along with these truths and do miracles in the name of the Lord. FAITH IN JESUS AND ACTING ON HIS WORD IS WHAT PRODUCES THE MIRACLES.  In working miracles, we act or speak for God in his name against the devil.  In working miracles, you do not consider yourself but acknowledge the almighty power of God at work in you.  No glory goes to you as well because he does the miracles for His glory to bless men. Do not be worried about shame coming to you if nothing happens. Always see yourself as an instrument being used by God for His glory.

  CONFESSION

I am one with Christ. He lives in me and works through me. His presence in me works the miracles. Nothing is too big for Him to do because He is the creator of all things. Indeed, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. As I speak and command, He commands through me.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Matthew 10:1 “And 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: Acts 15:10. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Peter the apostle asked those who were trying to call for the circumcision of every male before they could be saved that they should not tempt God by putting a yoke on the Gentile Christians’ neck, which even their fathers could not bear. He was referring to the law. He says the law is a yoke.

What is the law? The law is the righteous demands of God with no divine provision for its fulfillment.

God gave the Israelites about four hundred and thirty laws. Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 3:10 as follows: “As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written cursed is everyone that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them”. The real challenge about the law is not one’s inability to follow through with all of it, but the lack of provision or ability to do it.

Galatians 3:11 continues, “but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident for the just shall live by faith”. The law exposes the weakness of man and makes him a slave to sin. 1st Corinth. 15:56 “The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law”. Sin is made stronger because of the law.

The following lamentation of Paul the apostle is what the law does to man. Rom. 7 :9-11 “For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment(law) came sin revived and I died. And the commandment(law) which was ordained to life I found to be unto death.

For sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me and by it slew me.

Paul says he was living a free happy life, but when he got to know or informed about the law, his nature, which was death because of sin, began to show its true nature. He could not overcome the desire and the urge to sin because he had a sinful nature. The law made sin stronger. All men are dead in their sins. (Rom.5:12) The law exposes this deadness. This is why Peter says the law is a yoke of ‘bondage’. The grace of God is very different. The grace of God is a divine ability that works in your heart such that you are able to fulfil the righteous demands of the law (Rom. 8:3-4). Grace is the answer to the question posed by the law. Grace is not a license to sin but a provision for excellence.  Grace is the person of Jesus Christ taking His abode in man and expressing His life through man.

 CONFESSION

I am free from sin because the grace of God is at work in me. God’s divine provision for perfection works in me. I have a great life of peace, power, 6 prosperity because of the grace of God. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 8:3-4” 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.”

Romans 7:14” For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”