KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 16:26 KJV “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

What is the soul of a man? The soul of a man in the light of our discussions is the immortal spiritual entity in a man. It is the real person that lives on into eternity when the physical man dies or expires.

The soul of a man is more precious, valuable and expensive than all physical things or wealth combined. Every physical thing, buildings, cars, planes and what have you are all products of the dust. It is actually dust and would end up on the dung hill. Your soul is not physical or from the dust. The Lord asked, what shall it profit a man, if he gains all the wealth in this life and loses his soul? How is a soul lost.? When that soul is not subjected to the Lordship of Jesus. The soul is lost if it is not born from above by the spirit of God. It is lost when that individual places or prices carnal physical things above the place of Christ in his life.

Many people have not come to this understanding, and have sold out their souls to the devil and gone for fame, money, lust and many more. Satan cares less about giving you anything in exchange for your soul. He knows those things have no eternal value, but your soul does. He knows the value of your soul. The value of a thing is the price paid to purchase it. The Lord Jesus shed his blood to pay for your soul. The price of your soul is the life of Jesus.

Do not let the sacrifice of Jesus go waste. Make God’s investment for your soul become beneficial to you, and to God. Now if you refuse and still tread on the path of rebellion and disobedience, WOULD GOD BE RIGHT TO PUT YOUR SOUL IN HELL FIRE?

  . This is the worst thing that a man could do to himself. Repent from your ways and make Jesus Lord of your life.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father forgive me for my stubbornness. I repent from every rebellion and accept the Lordship of Jesus. Save my soul from Hell.

FURTHER STUDIES

Proverbs 29:1 KJV “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy”.

1 Peter 1:18 & 19. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 8:12. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”.

Darkness is the domain of Satan and his devils. Darkness also stands for the works of the devil, which includes, sin, sicknesses, demonic activities and many more. Human experiences have so many evil happenings such that, human life is prone to evil more than good things Just listen to various news networks, and it is all about something evil happening from one place to the other. Let’s consider how the scriptures describe the state of men. Isaiah 60:2 KJV” For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Satan manifests his works in the affairs of men yet God comes to you with His light, that is His glory.

YOU may be under the influence of darkness in one form or the other. It may be some sinful life with very negative repercussions. It may also be a deplorable state, that leaves you feeling victimized or helpless like a health condition. There is a sure answer for you. Our key scripture says, in John 8:12 KJV that ” Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Come to Jesus for His light to overcome evil in your life.

Light will always cheaply stop every form of darkness, no matter how dark it may be. The Lord said he is the light of the world and anyone who follows him would not walk in darkness. This is an invitation to total liberty. He added that the man who comes after Him shall also have the Light of life. You would also become light.

 Beloved brother or sister that evil life of sin, condition or problem that is reigning in your life, because of the absence of light will cease if you would come to Jesus.  Come to Jesus and you would not only have light but you would be light to deal with every darkness. He is your only answer.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly father, I’m tired living by my own abilities. I surrender my life to Jesus accepting Him as the Lord of my life today.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 1:9. “There it was–the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person”.

John 1:4,5. ” In him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].”

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV ” To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”.

God’s love for mankind is such an amazing thing. Men keep rejecting His love because many have not come to terms with God’s love for them.

Please let’s consider an aspect of the love of God for all men. According to the Bible, the sins of men was what l separated them from God, before the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross.

Isaiah 59:1&2 KJV “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” From the preceding scripture, we see that, our sins hid God’s

face and actually separated us from the father. This condition, as a result of God’s amazing love for us is no more the situation.

Our key scripture reveals that now through the death of Jesus, God our father does not count the sins of the sinner against him or her any longer. The scripture says God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. The word ‘ reconciling’ is the Greek word ‘katalasso’ which means to ‘change thoroughly’ or ‘to be brought into favor’. The scripture said He did not impute or count their sins against them., why? Because Jesus has taken the sins away and brought  them into favor with the father .

Oh, such love. It is not the sin of the sinner that keeps  God away from him, but rather man’s decision not to accept the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins. God in His love for mankind has taken away the sin of the world through Jesus.

John 1:29 KJV “……., Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” .If a man dies without accepting God’s love, he or she would end up in hell fire because he did not make use of God’s offer of love. Dear brother or sister God our father is not counting your sins against you. The Lord Jesus has brought you into favor with God. He took away your sins and nailed them to the cross and is waiting on you to accept this great act of love. Now what must you do?

 1.Repent or change your mind about God’s love for you.

2.Accept the love of God by believing Jesus took away all your sins.

3.Confess Jesus as the Lord of your life.

Note “When a man accepts that his sins has been taken away, he would not go back to them. “

PRAYER

Heavenly father, I believe in your love for me. I accept that Jesus took all my sins away. I confess Him as my Lord

FURTHER STIDIES

Rom 4:8 KJV “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin”.

2 Corinth 5:21 KJV. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 3:16 AMP. “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life”.

Someone once asked, how can God love the world when evil seems to abound so much? Diseases seem to multiply beyond medical help. Natural disasters strike in dimensions that the hearts of people tend to fail at the sight of such scenes. Why is it so? Beloved brothers or sisters, the abundance of evil is basically a sign of people’s rejection of God’s love. Jesus remains God’s solution to every crises of men.  Rom 1:16 KJV “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” .The word salvation is a comprehensive word which means, peace, security, deliverance, healing, forgiveness of sin and preservation and many more.

Once you believe in Jesus according to Rom 1:16, God makes his salvation possible to you. It is not, God who brings these evils on men John 10:10 reads: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Satan is the arch enemy of men. God ‘s love still prevails and is ready to set anyone who would believe in Jesus free. Sin and rebellion against God and His word keeps men out of God’ s reach to save them. God does not force His salvation on anyone. It is the right of every man to accept God’s love demonstrated through Christ. God is not pleased in the destruction of the sinner

Once again be reminded that God so loves you that He has given the answer for your complete salvation now and the life to come. Jesus died to bring us eternal life. It is such a great loss for any man to reject such a salvation. Heb 2:3 KJV How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; “; Don’t be deceived by philosophy and intellectualism for life is spiritual. Accept the love of God and be saved from eternal destruction. Repent from your ways and believe in Jesus.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly father, forgive me for rejecting your salvation through Jesus. I believe in Him and make Him lord of my life. Thank you for saving my soul. In the name of Jesus, I ‘ve prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 5:8 KJV” But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 15:13 KJV” Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 3:3. Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.

There are basically two kingdoms that reign over men. These kingdoms are God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom. All men by virtue of our lineage from Adam and Eve have become subjects to Satan’s kingdom. Rom 5:12 KJV “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”: Death and sin are not just actions or a state but spiritual entities that proceed from their master Satan. These are the taskmasters assigned to everyone born into this life. They rule men and manifest themselves through men. Death and sin became our very nature. When Pharisee Nicodemus visited the Lord Jesus, the Lord did not delay to tell him he must be born again. Sin and death cannot be part of the kingdom of God. You need to have eternal life, to be part of the kingdom of God. You MUST be born with a new life that would establish you in God’s kingdom.

We do not get into God’s kingdom by joining a church, or being a good person, but being born from above. How can one be born again? The Lord shows us how to be born again in John 3:5 KJV “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”.

The agents of this new birth are the water and the Spirit. The water stands for the word of God. Eph 5:26 KJV” That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”. Another scripture which shows us that, it is the word that gives us this new birth is 1Pe 1:23 KJV “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever”. The word and the Spirit always work together. The moment you believe what the word says the Spirit goes into action to create what the word says.

In this instant the word says. John 1:12 KJV” But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”: This is very simple but very true. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today and receive this new life or to be born again. You express this through confessing Jesus as Lord of your life. Why not do so now so you can enter the kingdom of God. Read Romans 10:9&10 ‘Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and, in your heart, believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus you are the only way to the kingdom of God. I accept you and believe you died and rose again. I declare you are the Lord of my life.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 3:8 KJV ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit”.

1 Peter 1:23 KJV” Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever”.

KEY SCRIPTURE Matthew 18:9/KJV” And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire”.

The following is a true story narrated by Bishop Dag Heyward Mills the general overseer of Lighthouse Chapel International or The United Group of Churches worldwide

He said an Assemblies of God church pastor from America or Australia was invited to Preach at a church on a Sunday. He returned to his hotel room that Sunday evening and was visited by the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus took him down to hell. Whiles there he saw a great number of people screaming in the fire. The scene was very horrible. He came across a man he knew, who was his roommate, when he was in the University. He asked him ‘what are you doing here?’. The friend answered I was involved in an automobile accident last Friday, out of which I died and came here. This friend was really in a great torment.

After this encounter the Lord brought him back to his room. The pastor decided to call his mother and talk over a few things with her. After his discussion with his mother, she exclaimed have you heard about your roommate? He was killed in an accident only last Friday. This pastor was shocked and dump founded.

He met this friend in hell, only for his mother to confirm the information he received from the friend in hell.

The serious and sad aspect concerning the message about hell is that many people treat it as a myth. Some say how can a loving God put men in hell to suffer forever. This is where many people are missing it. Their confusion is compounded by the teachings of the Jehovah’s witnesses.

No human being (flesh and blood) goes to hell. It is the spirits of sinful men and women that go to hell. The spirit is not flesh and blood, but is immortal and as an immortal sinful spirit cannot be allowed to live among us. Hell is a temporal spiritual prison of torment for all those who reject the great salvation of Jesus. Heb 2:3 KJV ” How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him”; There is no escape if you do not surrender your life to Jesus. Let’s not be unwise, repent and believe in Jesus. If you claim to be a Christian and you have sin in your life, please repent and let Jesus be Lord indeed.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus I am a sinner. I accept your salvation this day. I confess you as my Lord and savior. Fill me with your Spirit to lead a victorious life to your praise and honor. Amen.

FURTHER STUDIES

 Isaiah 5:14/KJV “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it” .

Isaiah 14:9/KJV. “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations” .

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 7:18. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]

Our key scripture portrays the experience of many. All that the Bible is describing here is a nature of sin. There are a lot of people who do not like the wrong things they keep doing. They desire to do what is right and good yet the sinful things keep repeating itself in them. How can such an individual be free? The answer is in receiving a nature of righteousness.

 Righteousness is a nature which God gives to any man who would surrender his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To surrender to the Lordship of Jesus is to give over the rule and control of your life to Him. He comes into your life as a king and everything He is and has is established or given to you.   Jesus is perfect righteousness. When He becomes Lord of your life, He gives you that perfect righteousness. [[Rom 5:17/ISV]] For if, through one man, death ruled because of that man’s offense, how much more will those who receive such overflowing grace and the gift of righteousness rule in life because of one man, Jesus the Messiah! This gift of righteousness through our Lord Jesus would make you rule in this life. Sin makes slaves out of men no matter your social status. Don’t be deceived by your affluence, so long as sin controls you in any form you are a slave and death are the reward it pays you.

You would be free from the nature of sin when you surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. Just consider the following scripture. 2Co 5:21 ISV “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that God’s righteousness would be produced in us”. Please note when you give your life to Jesus God gives you the very righteousness of Jesus. This righteous state means your past life of sin and failures no longer exist. No wrong thing of your past has any reference to you before God the father. You have a perfect faultless standing before God our father

By your new righteous nature, you can now do that which is right. Doing right is just your very nature. All these is possible by making Jesus the Lord of your life. How can you make Jesus Lord of your life? Let’s consider the following scriptures. Romans 10:9 & 10

 “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and, in your heart, believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation”.

CONFESSION.

Jesus, I confess whole heartedly that you are the Lord of my life. I believe you rose up triumphantly from the grave. Thank you for saving my soul.

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom 10:3 ISV ” For they are ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God while they try to establish their own, and they have not submitted to God’s means to attain righteousness”

Philippians 3:9 ISV “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness of the Messiah, the righteousness that comes from God and that depends on faith”.

KEY SCRIPTURE 1 John 5:11. ” And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son”.

There are various forms of life. There is plant life. There is animal life. There is also human life. There is finally a divine life. The kind of life of the creature determines its quality and unique characteristics. The natural life of every human is called ‘psuche” in Greek. Romans 7:14 said the following in reference to this natural life  

“We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am a creature of the flesh [carnal, unspiritual], having been sold into slavery under [the control of] sin”. This natural life is a fallen nature and controlled by the forces of this life. Sin is not only an action it is supernatural evil power that has absolute control over man’s carnal flesh. Our answer is a supernatural life far superior to sin.

The Lord Jesus came into this life to give His life, which is a supernatural life to mankind, so we could be free from Satan and the evil forces in this life. John 10:11 KJV ” I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” The life that the Lord Jesus gave to us is called, eternal life. 1John 5:11 KJV And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Every man who surrenders to the Lordship of Jesus receives eternal life.

Dear brother you were born with a natural life which is prone to sin, sicknesses and Satan’s control. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice so we could become superior to Satan, and his works, why would you continue to live for yourself and remain a slave to sin and its evil powers? There is a life of peace, power and victory, just as Jesus himself demonstrated when He was here. Surrender your life to Jesus today and escape the corruption that is in the world. 2Peter 1:4 KJV “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”.

Life is full of corruption and misery. The solution is to have this divine life. When you surrender your life to Jesus, to become Lord over your life, He imparts His divine life into you. This is your moment to receive eternal life. Romans 10:9, Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and, in your heart, believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

CONFESSION.

As the scriptures teaches, from my heart I confess Jesus as my Lord. I believe he rose up to life after His burial. Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.

FURTHER STUDIES

1John 5:13 ISV “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life”.

John 3:15 ISV so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 6:23. “For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Our opening scripture from the amplified Bible says, for the wages which sin pays is death. The scriptures say further in Romans 3:23 that. “Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives”. All men have sinned and most of them are still living in sin. Now from our first scripture we see sin being represented as a person or master who pays his wages. He pays men with death.

Every man under the power of sin has death actively working in him. This is a power that constantly breeds failure and decay or corruption. (sin, diseases, poverty, and death) Romans 8:2 calls it, the law of sin and death. A law is a principle that functions or operates when the required conditions are available. What are the required conditions for the law of sin and death to operate or function in the life of a person.? Answer: When Jesus is not Lord of that individual.

The second part of our opening scripture says the gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life according to Romans 8:2 is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hallelujah! It is the power of life and success. It is the life of Christ imparted into us. It makes us free from the power of sin and death.

Now consider these contrasts, men labour for sin by doing all the wrong things, and it rewards them with death, yet with God His request from us is to believe in His Son Jesus, and we would be rewarded or gifted with eternal life, the very life the Lord Jesus resurrected with (Ephesians 1:19&20). Which of these would you choose? Eternal life or death?

You can have eternal life by believing in Jesus and making Him Lord over your life.

Romans 10:9. “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and, in your heart, believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The step to salvation is clearly stated in the above verse.”

CONFESSION

Heavenly father, I believe that our Lord Jesus was crucified for my sins. I believe He rose up from the grave. I confess Him as Lord of my life today.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 3:16″ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. John 1:12. “But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–”

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

We start a new series on various ways of preaching or sharing the gospel or goodness with an enquirer or a group of people. Apostle Paul speaking to the brethren in Ephesus said he taught them the word of God publicly and on personal level. 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”, The challenge with a number of us is that we do not know what to say to people we meet whom we may wish to share the gospel with them, or what to say to a group of people when we meet them. This series will assist you in that direction, if you have the challenge of not knowing what to tell the sinner

The gospel is all about the great sacrifice our savior Jesus made for us when He gave His life on the cross for us. 1Co 15:3 & 4″ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”. In sharing the gospel, we seek to make the enquirer see his need for the life Jesus gave, because he is dead in his sins, and to help him to make a response by making the Lord Jesus Lord of his or her life. This must be done passionately and lovingly.

Travailing agonizing prayer for the souls of men is a very important aspect of winning the lost. James 5:16b

. “… . The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. The Bible describes the kind of prayer that releases God’s power to save the lost. It says the heartfelt continuous prayer makes tremendous power available. This prayer with strong desire for the conversion of the sinner must be continuous is not a one day issue. To be very effective in preaching, you must soak yourself in prayer for the lost.

PRAYER

I pray heavenly father for all believers and myself as well, that we will receive a strong passion to win the lost. Stir in our hearts the spirit of prayer for the lost. Thank you, Father, in Jesus name we have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 1:14 KJV “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise”

March 16:15 KJV “And he said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”.