KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Peter 3:9. “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing”

In our previous study we painted a rather gloomy picture about most families, of which many are Christian homes. Why is this the case? Why are a number of Christian homes on ‘fire’, whiles it should have been a place of peace, love and brotherliness. Many Christian couples do not have personal relationship with GOD.A great number of Christians know their pastors and their prophets, yet they do not know God or they do not have any personal relationship with him. They would quickly run to the prophet or pastor, for prayers, and when things go well, they resort to their old lives A great number of them are also very lazy and do not make time to pray, study the bible or even meditate on the word. In addition to all the above, most Christian couples have not made up their minds to obey the word under any condition.

Dear child of God, the home of every Christian can be a peaceful glorious place. Please throw away the familiarity that couples have about each other and respect one another dearly on the bases of the word of God. God is the third party and the main witness to the marriage covenant. Malachi 2:14 “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”. Please note this, God is the main witness to your marriage, and is the one to whom the marriage vows were made. Every act of unfaithfulness goes against God. Every act of violence we do to our partner goes against him. You put yourself in great danger before God as a child of God to maltreat your spouse.

Dear Christian couples, you are saints, the separated ones, or the holy ones. You are one with Christ and must reveal the Christlikeness to each other and the world. Stop keeping hurts and getting bitter about each other. So long as you live together there may be offences. Make up your mind to quickly forgive your partner whenever he or she falters. Relate to each other on the bases of the word. Be mindful of the fact that every wicked act towards each other would attract God’s judgement. Don’t allow your marriage to send you to hell, because you failed to honor God’s word in your marriage. You are lovers and must be very moderate towards each other.

PRAYER

I pray for all families to experience the power of conversion and also the working of the Holy Spirit creating harmony and fellow feeling among couple. Let the Spirit of disunity be absolutely destroyed from all these homes in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Ephesians 5:33. “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverences her husband”.

Malachi 2:16. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore, take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 5:21. “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God”.

God after creating all things including the first man declared it is not good for the man to be alone, I will make him a help meet for him. Although God initiated the marriage, many people will either make it to heaven because of marriage, and many more will also make it to hell because of their marriage. Our key scripture admonishes us to submit to one another in the fear of God. This is something very difficult for many to do. I listened to the testimony of a pastor who died and was raised to life again at a church service. He testified that he went to hell. His reason for missing heaven and going to hell was because he would not forgive his wife over an issue, but died during his state of unforgiveness.

I have seen certain Christian couples who appear very nice to each other, when they are in the midst of others. yet at home the wife becomes a punching bag, and the wife also retaliates with very massive insults. The home has become a place of high-level emotional outbursts. This is so because God’s instruction to submit to each other in the home has been flouted so much. The scripture said, they were naked and not ashamed yet, this kind of being naked and not being ashamed has rather been used negatively. Most couples have no respect for each other. Some tell lies to each other with ease. They pretend to be the best of couples when in the midst of others, yet the worst of enemies when alone. God brought the two together to break that loneliness, yet their company at home creates more loneliness than when they are apart. Dear reader, if this is your experience then the Spirit of God must be allowed to be Lord over the home.

Matters get worse when partners become unfaithful to each other. Normally the men are the worst culprits. He starts having an affair with another woman somewhere. The Christian home should be a place of love, respect, trust, and godly examples to influence the children in a positive way. The Lord states one of his reasons for a GODLY home in the following verse. Malachi 2:15a, “And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed”. He says he has joined the two together to become one flesh (not three to become one), so he could have godly children. Infidelity in the home defeats God’s plans for the home, that is to raise godly seeds. The above scenarios is a very wrong picture of God’s idea of the home. The Christian must be Christian or like Christ everywhere. The home is the first point of call for both mother and father to reveal Christ. If people do not change from such actions, a lot of Christian couples would end up in hell.

PRAYER

Father, I pray for all Christian couples to fear you above all things, I pray that your word will take first place in their life. May the Christlike life be seen in them.

FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 4:5. ‘Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand’

Matt 12:3 6. ‘But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment’.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 12:9. “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good”.

We now look at practical holiness in our service of the Lord. What do we mean when we talk about practical holiness in our service unto the Lord? It simply means to demonstrate the Christ life. Someone may say this is impossible. It is very wrong to think that it is impossible. JESUS DEATH AND RESURRECTION HAS MADE US JUST LIKE HIMSELF IN EVERY WAY. 2Corinth 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”. This word “sufficient” is from the Greek word “hikanos”, and it means qualified, to arrive or to be made capable

Serving in holiness is to love without hypocrisy. Love with sincerity. Love God in sincerity. Love all men without hypocrisy. Love is the covenant word that makes one give of his or her best effort. The key scripture says you must abhor evil. Abhor every evil. These include lies, evil desire, strive, anger, jealousy and many more. These things are alien to us, they do not belong to us. They are not part of us. Do not give attention or access to any evil act. Romans 12 :11 instructs us on the right attitude and way to serve in holiness.” Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord”; To be slothful is to be sluggish due to a lack of enthusiasm. Love for God is the answer to all these. It is a selfless attitude

Dear child of God to serve practically in holiness apply all that we have learnt about serving in holiness, which include serving in gratitude, being selfless, living and doing everything for God and to the glory of God, serving in the spirit and ultimately revealing Jesus in all you do. The Christian life is all about revealing Jesus and not ourselves. Be joyful and very glad about the great privilege to serve the Lord in His vine yard in various capacities. 1Corinthians 15:58 ” Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord”.

CONFESSION

Jesus is the essence of my being. He is alive in me and manifests himself through me. I am totally solid out to Him serving Him in HOLINESS.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”.

Romans 12:3. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:24. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”

This study is a continuation of the previous study. The next point to consider in our discussion on serving   God in holiness is to:

3. Serve in the Spirit. The Lord advised all who would follow Him to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. Luke 14:26 says clearly “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple”. Self would always project every other thing but the Spirit. The Lord said if the flesh is not crucified you cannot be his disciple. To serve in the spirit the flesh must remain crucified.

In the establishment of Moses temple, the Lord gave him a special instruction for the kind of garment that, the high priest must wear. Ex 28:2 ‘And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty”. This garment could not be compromised under any condition. It is a holy garment. The garment of the high priest was called the Ephod. This was the garment the priest had to were before he could meet with God and render any service.

The ephod is a symbol of the Spirit. Our key scripture says the true worshippers shall worship the father in Spirit and in truth. The believer is not in the flesh but in the Spirit. How does the believer serve in the spirit.? Romans 8:5 gives us the answer “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit”. The state of your mind determines where you are. In a more elaborate way, to serve in the Spirit is to act or do everything in faith ‘This means doing everything in the light of what the word says and placing your trust in the word. He that bears the name of the Lord must depart from iniquity.”.

The minister of God in any capacity of service, that is whether a preacher. an usher, a singer, or a personal worker sharing the gospel with an enquirer must understand that it is the Spirit of God actively and vitally working through him or her. As the high priest wears the ephod you must never do anything for the Lord without the consciousness that it is the Spirit of God doing the very work through you. Secondly whatever you do directly for God or in your normal life at home, in business, school or for yourself, it must be done with the awareness that the Holy Spirit is with you and acting through you. You can’t have this awareness and tell lies.

CONFESSION

I serve the Lord by HIS Spirit. My mind is ruled by the word of God. It is the Spirit who sanctifies. I maintain the awareness of the Spirit in me and allow Him to function through me as I do all things in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom 8:9. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”.

Gal 5:16 KJV “This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

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

Our key scripture is indeed an amazing one. It says we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation and a peculiar people. We are not yet going to be these things but we already are. You are a holy nation. This is all inclusive. It is not only the pastors who are holy or the elders alone, but everyone including that sinner who made Jesus his Lord today. In the light of what he has made us he tells us to show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness, into His marvelous light.

How do we serve in Holiness? The answer is revealed in the statement, showing forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. To serve in holiness means the following:

1. Serving in gratitude. We were called out of darkness. We were indeed darkness but have been brought into His light. We are not just in his light but we are light. (Matt 5:14 “Ye are the light of the world….”) We have been made holy, not by ourselves but by His grace. We are a peculiar people, a special people with special privileges and authority. A royal priesthood. Not just ordinary priest, but kings who are priests. Our priesthood is with royalty! what an honor. We ought to feel very privileged and therefore serve in all gratitude. Apostle Paul says in 2nd Corinth 4:1 “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not”; It is a mercy God has shown to us.

2. Serving in His name. All that we do, must be done in His name and to His glory (Colossians 3:17). We do not do anything for ourselves. Anything done for ourselves does not have His approval. There would be no strive and competition among children of God when we know we are doing it for Him and to HIS glory. Do not preach to show how good you can preach or sing to show how good a singer you are. Any attraction we make towards ourselves is unholy. To Him alone belongs the glory, power, and the kingdom. Those who pray for people and push them down to show how anointed they are, are really joking. It is unholy, it is a sin. Holiness means, it is unto the Lord. If it is not for the Lord it is not holy. This has to do with our motive.

CONFESSION

I have been shown great mercy and I’m very grateful to the Lord for it. All that I am and have is the Lord’s. I do all things to glorify His name. I live to please Him.

FURTHER STUDIES

Colossians 3:17. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him”.

Deuteronomy 28:47 ,48. Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Peter 2:5. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

In our earlier discussions, we have established that holiness is the foundation of the existence of our Father God. Holiness therefore becomes the bases He relates with everything. Every servant of God must do so in holiness. Every Christian before God is an active servant in the body of Christ. When the body of Christ is considered as a building, the Christian is seen as a living stone that plays a role in the building up of the house of God.

We are holy through our separation unto God and we are also holy in essence, that is, our being is made holy by virtue of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The Holy Spirit in us is the anointing that consecrates us. We see an analogy of this in the consecrations of Moses temple and the priesthood. Exodus 40:9 “And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy”. Through the anointing of the vessels they were hallowed or sanctified and were made holy. God cannot have any vessel in his presence which is not hallowed. I wish to tell you dear child of God that you are a vessel in the house of GOD. The Holy Spirit in you has hallowed you, or has sanctified you. You are holy and must not defile yourself.

With this understanding, we rather maintain our holiness than trying to be holy. Trying to be holy is a struggle, yet that is not the case with us. Reading further in Exodus 40:10 we see that Moses anointed the altar and everything was made holy “And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy”. Now understand this, it was not the vessels that made themselves holy, it was the anointing by Moses that made them HOLY. If the Spirit in you has made you Holy why soil yourself. Why defile yourself with impure thoughts. Why steal God’s money. Please you are not a sinner trying to be holy, but the holy man that sin wants to take you captive, resist it. Serve the Lord in Holiness for you are holy.

CONFESSION

I am holy not by my ability but by the anointing of the HOLY SPRIT.I do not attempt to be holy; holiness is who I am. I do everything in holiness.

FURTHER STUDIES

Exodus 40:13. “And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office”.

1 Peter 2:9. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

KEY SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 22:4. By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

Fear as a natural human trait has some very negative effects. The scriptures say fear has torment. 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love”. On the flip side the fear of the Lord has immense blessings to anyone who decides to do so. It is a great liberation to the total being. In this study we are considering a number of scriptures and the words of assurance that it says about the fear of God. The following are some of the blessings of the fear of God.

1. Proverbs 10:27. “The fear of the LORD prolongs days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Long life according to the word of God is a great blessing. One of the greatest pursuit of all humans is to have long life. Dear child of God, the Lord assures us that you will live long when you fear him

2. Prov 14:26&27.  In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death”. In proverbs 14:26 the word says the fear of the Lord is strong confidence. The root meaning of this word, confidence is a refuge or security. It can also mean safety. You are well secured to live in fear of the Lord. Abstaining from evil and forsaking arrogance is a security for your whole being. The proceeding verse says it is a fountain of life.it is the source of life. Dear child of God, determine to forsake all ungodliness for it does not profit in anyway. My heart goes for the young man who is prepared to sacrifice human life for money. If you do so, you have sown a tree of death into your life.

3. Proverbs 15:16. “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith: Beloved. The lord says it is better to have little and to fear the Lord than to be greedy, a liar, and covetous of all that others have. I am told of a supposed ‘man of God’ who had gone for contrary power to raise a very large congregation, but on every night a strange being lands on the roof of his building. This beast or whatever it is, enters the room and sodomises him. This man wears a diaper because of the discharges from his anus. (This confession was made by the man before another congregation because he wanted help.) Oh, what a misery. Dear readers, the word of God is the only wisest way, don’t go any other way.

Demons and the devil are defeated and fearful creatures who dread the presence of holy men and woman. The man who refuses to surrender to the rule of GOD becomes a helpless victim of these merciless task masters. Why become a victim when you can be a victor over them, and torment them anywhere you encounter them? Fearing God is the key.

CONFESSION

I have chosen the path of the fear of God. My life is full of divine life. I have the authority of God as my defense. Devils are subjected to me because I surrender to God’s rule.

FURTHER STUDIES

James 4:7. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.

Proverbs 19:23. The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Genesis 39:9. There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

There are two main areas of weakness why men sin. Men sin because of the weakness of selfishness and secondly, they sin because of fear for themselves against a number of issues (Galatians 5:19&20). Many tell lies because of some fear of some kind. People cheat and steal because of self-centeredness due to lust for whatever they seek to get. Fear of God is the answer to all these. From our key scripture, the young man Joseph was been seduced to satisfy his lust as well as submitting to the influence (fear) of Potiphar’s wife. Joseph overcame because of his great fear of God.

Another example of one of God’s servants who passed a major test of life was Daniel (Daniel 6). King Darius had been deceived into making an irreversible decree that anyone who would ask petition of any God within thirty days would be thrown into the lion’s den. Now the fear Daniel had for God over ruled every fear he had for himself or for his life. Daniel prayed three times each day with his windows opened to Jerusalem. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den yet the God he feared above his own life delivered him. Every kind of unfaithfulness demonstrated by any man or any person of trust is all due to a lack of fear of God.

Husbands or wives who have been unfaithful to each other, results from a lack of fear for God. In Africa most economies have not been working because most of the politicians have no fear of God although many of them claim to be religious people. Beloved reader Satan the arch enemy of humanity knows very well that men love their flesh, and would even curse God, if they feel God is not faithful to them. Job 2:4

“And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face”. Please note that Satan takes advantage of this knowledge to make people rebel against God so he could easily destroy them. Fear God in all you do and you would conquer satan in all situations.

PRAYER

I pray for myself and all children of God to place the fear of God above all self and any other thing. Raise o God a new generation of men and women who would stand for you under all circumstances.

FURTHER STUDIES

Revelations 12:11. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death”

Psalm 34:9. “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 8:13. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Man is a creature of fear. Fear naturally emanates from man because, man is a fallen being and has a great sense of insecurity. The sad truth is that man naturally does not fear God. The basic fear of man is the fear of evil but God does not in any way symbolize evil. He is a manifestation of good and love. Fear is a deep sense of emotional insecurity.

Whatever you fear has control over you. The Lord says in Isaiah 8:12, “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid”. We are told not to fear the fear of the world or the devil and all that he claims he is. We must rather Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be our fear, and let him be our dread.(Isaiah 8:13).Our key scripture says ,the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way. This is what holiness is also all about. Indeed, there cannot be holiness without the fear of God. Fearing God is wisdom. Job 28:28

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. The scriptures declare that the man who has no fear of God is not wise.

Fear for God is not a product of the mind, but a response of the spirit of man to the word. It is a sense of acknowledging the awesomeness of God with the understanding that failure to please Him would spell your eternal damnation (Matt 10:28). Just as we grow our faith through knowledge of the word and practice of what the word says, fear for God comes through the knowledge of God and acting on his word. The more a man knows God the more he or she trembles at the word of God. One sure sign of a man who knows God is humility. It is this visible demonstration of meekness that also reveals that hidden inner virtue of Holiness. Such a man exudes or manifests beauty of spirit that communicates the presence of God and causes the ungodly man to be convicted of his sins. On many occasions such a man may not even talk to sinners yet a great conviction of sin falls on them.

CONFESSION

I have a great fear for God. This fear of GOD causes me to forsake every action, thought or feeling that opposes God. I reverentially do what the Lord asks me to do. This makes me live in peace and power.

FURTHER STUDIES

Psalms 111:10. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever.

Proverbs 1:7. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Corinth 6:18. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

The whole world view about sin and morals has been so corrupted by the devil such that a very serious act as fornication is so trivialized such that it has market sites where lady and gentlemen stand around looking for buyers to sell their bodies to them for money. It has been reduced to a commodity that can be sold and bought.

1.Fornication remains the one main scripturally permissible grounds for marriage to be dissolved, whereby the offended partner can freely remarry if he or she chooses. Matt 5:32. “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”.

2.Fornication makes you one flesh with the one you commit the act with. This allows demons of infirmity to freely flow into any of the two. Certain diseases example HIV have mainly been spread because of the sin of fornication. 1Corinth 6:16, “What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh”.

3.Every other sin may be outside the body; fornication is the only sin that makes an individual sin against his own body. To sin against the body implies to make your body a sacrificial object for the devil, as well as an altar inviting demons to access your bodies in reproach unto GOD. This makes GOD angry with such people and ready to destroy it. 1Corinth 3:17, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”.

4. Fornication which is a lack of honour for God’s family system is the result of the excesses of wickedness in our world with no or little parental control. Fornication or adultery constitutes about half of all unrest in most homes across board. Some men are ready to make grave sacrifices for their girlfriends and would not give a dime to their wives and children.

5. One act of fornication can result in an irreparable damage to a whole family or generation. 2Samuel 12:10. “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife”.

6 A man may lose his glorious destiny if he should give in to fornication’. Joseph would never have fulfilled his destiny of becoming prime minister in Egypt, the then super power in the world, if he had given in to fornication. Genesis 39:12, “And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out”.

CONFESSION

Thank you, father, for giving me the ability to live by the spirit. I remain in the spirit and do not walk in the flesh. By grace sin has no power or dominion over me. My life is free and at peace.

FURTHER STUDIES

Proverbs 5:3&4. “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword”.

Proverbs 5:9. “Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel”: