Topic: Understanding Christian Courtship (3)

Welcome to the third teaching on Understanding Christian Courtship.  I am sure that what you have learnt so far has been of great blessing to you. May you begin to enjoy your courtship as you put those facts into practice in Jesus’ Name! This week, I will be teaching on “Some major characteristics of a good Christian courtship.” These are necessary things to watch out for in your courtship as it will help you to know whether you are on the right track or not.

Agreement

The bedrock of marriage is agreement and the first stage takes place in courtship. There must be an agreement between you and your partner from day one.  Both of you must have agreed to spend the rest of your lives together in marriage. Both of you must be able to agree on pressing issues that concern your future together. God’s Word in Amos 3:3 says: Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Where there is no agreement, there will be confusion, disorderliness, disunity and that home will definitely become a workshop for the devil.  A solid agreement will go a long way in ensuring the success of your relationship, even after your courtship period.

Christian Character

Character is like smoke; no matter how hard you pretend, it cannot be hidden. You and your partner must have good Christian characters that speak. Both of you must be God-fearing and doers of God’s commandment on truthfulness, commitment to the things of God like fellowship, Kingdom service, tithing, offerings etc. This is why God commands that you join yourself with someone of like belief and faith. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

The character of the two of you must radiate the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Ephesians 5:9 and Galatians 5:22-23. A good Christian character will guide your partner from acting the way any natural person would, thereby saving you from sorrows and hurts.

Progress

A Christian courtship must progressively culminate in engagement and then marriage.  Proverbs 4:18 says: But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. This means constant progress/advancement is being made towards your goal i.e. marriage. Therefore, progress must be made physically, spiritually, materially, mentally and in every other area.

Lack of progress leads to defilement (Proverbs 13:12) or stagnation and ‘stagnant water, they say, stinks.’ The success of every good courtship period is that it should end in something more meaningful.

Pre-Marital Sex

Many begin quite well in the spirit and end up messing themselves up by engaging in the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 lists the various works of the flesh. Since courtship is not marriage, you have no marital rights over each other.  God’s Word in Hebrews 13:4 says: Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled… What you do with the bed during courtship is laying a foundation for what your marriage will be like when you get into it.

There is no room for sexual relationship or anything that leads to it while in courtship. Yes, you intend to marry, but as long as you are not yet married, it is sinful for you to go into it.  Pre-marital sex does not only defile, it also destroys trust, honour and respect from your spouse in marriage. It is like a wound. Even when it’s healed, the scar still remains.

With the AIDS scare terrorizing the world today; even the skeptical world has discovered the need for purity. It has suddenly realized that there is no safer precaution than choosing a life of purity and chastity. It is possible to say ‘No!’ to pre-marital sex. Just choose to seek the Lord uncompromisingly and He will preserve the treasure He created in your bodies.

The misery of promiscuity can be avoided, if you would accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. You can accept him right now by saying this prayer of faith with me: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

Congratulations, you are now born again! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name. Call or write to share your testimonies with me through [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

Topic: How to Access Power [Tuesday August 22, 2017]

God does not give power to those who deserve it nor to those who demand for it.

God gives it to those whom he likes. He doesn’t like people without basis. He doesn’t like people arbitrarily. Likeness is by attraction, he likes those who serve Him.

Nothing impresses Him like our service towards Him.

To impress God is to please Him and when He is pleased He releases grace for enlistment.

1 Chronicles 28:4, Psalm 89:20, Genesis 6:1-8

Topic: The Church Of God II — Wednesday 23, August 2017.

Memorise: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: – Ephesians 4:13

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:1-11 (KJV)

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 4-5; Ezekiel 29:10-30:4, Hymn: Sing hymn 18: Onward Christian Soldier

MESSAGE:

The Church of God is the embodiment of Christ here on earth and for all eternity (Ephesians 1:23). God will continue to inhabit His people, and His people will continue to live in Him and worship His majesty forever (John 14:16). The Church of God on earth is the representation of His personality among men. She is the Body of Christ, filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and so, she renders all honour and adoration to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although the Church is operating in the world, there is no room for the world in the Church (John 17:16)

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1

The Church of God called to live in blameless unity. Unity is a characteristic that distinguishes God’s people. We derived this characteristic from the nature of God in us; therefore, God expects His Church to manifest unity, through commitment to one another. In essence, the Church of God is one, because it is founded on one gospel, united in one Lord and walking in one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4-6). However, the unity of the Church is constantly under attack because the enemy knows she is unstoppable when she walks in unity. Because it is inherent in our fallen human nature for people to be divisive, unity needs to be continually maintained and actively expressed in fellowship. The fellowship that Christians share as a result of our common union with God through Jesus Christ is expressed as we share the triumphs and challenges of life together. The Bible strongly emphasizes the importance of Christian unity. Act 4:32 says,

“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.”

God exhorts the Church to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3-16). We as Christians are to preserve the oneness that the Spirit imparts to all are baptised into the Body of Christ, which is identical to the oneness of the Holy Trinity. The unity of the Church should be evident in our love for one another, in worshipping together and in a practical commitment to one another, which is demonstrated through deep concern for the weak and a readiness to provide for the poor and needy.

Prayer Point: Father, please baptise your Church with true love and bind the Body of Christ together with a strong cord of unity in Jesus’ Name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Israel’s Doom Foretold — Tuesday August 22, 2017.

Text: Amos 8:1-10

Key Verse: “And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more” (Amos 8:2).

Janet is a Christian lady who teaches “Sunday School” in her local assembly. She also heads a sales outfit that sells “rebagged” cement. They carefully open a bagged cement, remove some quantity from it and sew it again. What they get from four bags then becomes a new “bag’. But they still sell the rebagged cement at the same price.

God had such persons in mind when he gave the message in the text to Prophet Amos. The vision of the basket of summer fruits showed that God’s judgement over Israel would no longer tarry. The impending judgement would be so terrible that the songs of the temple shall be howling in that day and there might be dead bodies. Also God “will cause the sun to go down at noon. God’s controversy with Israel stemmed from their lives of fraud, duplicity, cruelty and oppression of the less privileged. They delighted in making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit. They bought “the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes and sold the refuse of the wheat. God’s patience will not last forever. He would visit iniquity with judgement.

Today, there are so-called Christians whose business conduct do not agree with the righteous requirements of the Word. To them, business and religion cannot go together. But the truth is that our Christian profession and conduct must reflect in our daily life whether in the family, church or work place. We are commanded to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. Like Israel, God’s judgement awaits anyone who flagrantly ignores His warnings to abide by the rules. God’s grace is available for anyone who sincerely desires to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Thought for the day: Let your deeds show the light in you.

Bible Reading in one Year: Jeremiah 51-52

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

Topic: How Would You Appear On The Final Invitation? [Tuesday August 22, 2017]

Scripture: 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. And be not conformed to this world…. Romans 12:1-2

Thought For The Day: To follow the fashion of the world is to end where the world is going to end – eternity in hell fire.

It is true that when we get to eternity, there will be too many surprises owing to our levels of preparation. Some ‘Christians’ will be surprised to be addressed by God as workers of iniquity.

People prepare to meet with the President of a nation or the governor of a state but many people are not prepared to meet God. Now, here is a critical question everyone should answer as a guide to maintaining upright living: What would you do if you have an invitation to meet the King of kings? Would you meet Him with a dress that exposes some sensitive parts of your body or in a pair of seductive trousers? Would you meet Him with a face painted with all manner of colours like a masquerade or with the artificial things that have transformed everything about your looks?

To follow the fashion of the world is to end where the world is going to end – eternity in hell fire. You cannot join the children of the devil to publicize demonic fashion or activities and expect to end in God’s Kingdom.

Beloved, how would you appear if you were standing before God (The fearful God who threw Lucifer out from Heaven to hell and he could not find his way back)? What adjustment would you make before standing before God? Decide to appear like that every day because one day you will suddenly appear before Him.

Remember this: To follow the fashion of the world is to end where the world is going to end – eternity in hell fire.

Assignment (s):

1. Assess your dressing; if you cannot wear it if you were to literally appear before God, do not wear it anywhere.

2. Avoid the fashion of the world. Help popularize godly and decent dressing.

3. Be involved in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Prayer: O LORD, I receive the grace to be a reflection of Your Image on earth. Let me please You in all I do, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

Quote: Change your world. Do not allow your world to change you…Do not die living other people’s convictions. Culled from WHO ARE YOU? by Dr Paul Enenche.

Daily Reading: Job 4:1 to 7:21, 1 Corinthians 14:18 to 40, Psalm 32:30 to 40, Proverbs 21:27

Amazing Fact: In one day, your blood travels 12,000 miles around your body. That’s four times the distance across the US from coast-to-coast.

Today In History: 22/8/1846 – The second Federal Republic of Mexico was established.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a powerfully anointed church, headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr Paul and Dr Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities.

Topic: No Consolation Prize — Tuesday August 22, 2017.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. – James 1:4

I talk a lot about faith. But there’s another force that goes along with it that’s just as important. It’s patience—the ability to stand fast on the Word of God even when your victory seems slow in coming.

Patience is not automatic. It won’t go to work unless you let it go to work. So many people don’t understand that. They somehow think faith and patience will go to work for them without their help. They just let the devil tear their lives apart and then they say silly things like, “Well, I guess God sent that trial to strengthen my faith.”

Don’t you ever get caught saying that!

In the first place, James says, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God…” (James 1:13). And in the second place, that trial isn’t going to make your faith stronger. In fact, it’ll destroy it if you’ll let it.

If I were to give you a set of weights, would that set of weights make you any stronger? No. As a matter of fact, if you dropped one of them on your foot, you could end up painfully weaker. It’s what you do with them that counts, right?

Well, the same thing is true when you run into some kind of trying circumstance the devil’s brought your way. If you just lie down and let it run over you, it will damage you. But if you’ll let patience have her perfect work, if you’ll remain consistently constant, trusting in and relying confidently on the Word of God, you’ll end up perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

“Wanting nothing.” That phrase alone should convince you that patience is no consolation prize. It’s a first-rate power that will put the promises of God within your reach. It’s a force that will make a winner out of you.

Scripture Reading: Genesis 26:15-22

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

Topic: Ripe for Harvest — Tuesday August 22, 2017.

Read: John 4:35–38, Bible in a Year: Psalms 110–112; 1 Corinthians 5

Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35

In late summer, we went for a walk in the New Forest in England and had fun picking the blackberries that grew in the wild while watching the horses frolicking nearby. As I enjoyed the bounty of the sweet fruit planted by others perhaps many years before, I thought of Jesus’s words to His disciples: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for” (John 4:38).

I love the generosity of God’s kingdom reflected in those words. He lets us enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labors, such as when we share our love for Jesus with a friend whose family—unbeknown to us—has been praying for her for years. I also love the implied limits of Jesus’s words, for we may plant seeds that we will never harvest but someone else may. Therefore, we can rest in the tasks before us, not being hoodwinked into thinking that we are responsible for the outcomes. God’s work, after all, doesn’t depend on us. He has all of the resources for a bountiful harvest, and we are privileged to play a role in it.

God, may I be alert to the opportunities to share Your good news.

I wonder what fields ready for harvest are before you? Before me? May we heed Jesus’s loving instruction: “Open your eyes and look at the fields!” (v. 35).

Prayer: Creator God, thank You for Your great generosity in entrusting us to do Your work. May I be alert to the opportunities to share Your good news.

We can reap what others have sown.

Insight:

Context is significant for understanding the meaning of a passage in Scripture. The context for today’s passage gives some eye-raising information to the original reader. These verses follow the story of the woman at the well. She was a Samaritan, a people-group the Israelites hated.

Jesus’s words “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35) follow John’s statement that the people “came out of the town and made their way toward him” (v. 30). In other words, Jesus was telling the disciples that God’s harvest of people was right in front of them and from a group they would have least expected.

This is partly why Jesus says we reap what we have not worked for. The disciples had not worked for the harvest of Samaritans; indeed, they probably never would have dreamed of working for such a harvest. But our God is a great gardener and He grows fruit where we cannot.

How can you express your trust in God to bring a harvest where there doesn’t seem to be one coming? J.R. Hudberg

This message was written By Amy Boucher Pye [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Celebrate Your True Image — Tuesday August 22, 2017.

“For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” James 1:24 (KJV)

God intends for you to see your true image through the scriptures. And the only way you can actualize that which is your image is by doing what you see in the scriptures. There are many believers who find out what their image is and still go about having a wrong image of themselves because they have carried the wrong image for so long that they find it difficult to receive the true image of God. You hear things like “yes God said it, but …” Beloved, it is time to get rid of the image the devil has planted in you over the years because that is not your true image.

No matter how anointed a preacher is, no matter how many hands are laid on you or how many buckets of oil is poured on you, if you don’t begin to see yourself the way God sees you, you can never benefit from the promises of God. Every negative picture or image you find yourself is not your true image. You must begin now to meditate strongly about who you really are. The day you gave your heart to Christ, something new started. You were delivered from one kingdom into another kingdom. We have been redeemed from every curse of the law. You have been delivered from the powers of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear son. This kingdom is a kingdom of light. It is a kingdom of victory. It is a kingdom of breakthrough. It is the kingdom of open doors, divine health and fruitfulness. All these things have been made available for you in God’s Kingdom.

Do not allow the stronghold that has been built through the nature of sin in your lives to continue. Discard the image that tradition has built into you. Throw away every image that peers and friends had built into you. Don’t allow society to mould your image. In Christ, you are a brand new creation. And the Bible tells us that Christ in you is the hope of glory.

Further Reading: James 1:22-25, Colossians 1:12-13

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 110-112; Evening- 1 Corinthians 5

Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.

Topic: God Provides — Tuesday August 22, 2017

For we know that when this tent we live in now is taken down-when we die and leave these bodies-we will have wonderful new bodies in heaven, homes that will be ours forevermore, made for us by God himself, and not by human hands. — 2 Corinthians 5:1 (TLB)

Death, to the Christian, is the exchanging of a tent for a building. Here we are as pilgrims or gypsies, living in a frail, flimsy home; subject to disease, pain, and peril. But at death we exchange this crumbling, disintegrating tent for a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

The wandering wayfarer comes into his own at death and is given the title to a mansion which will never deteriorate nor crumble. Do you think that God, who has provided so amply for living, has made no provision for dying? The Bible says we are strangers in a foreign land. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven. When a Christian dies, he goes into the presence of Christ. He goes to Heaven to spend eternity with God.

Prayer for the day: Dear Lord, today keep me mindful that as Your child my real home is not on this earth, but that one day I will exchange this tent for a house made by You in heaven.

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.

Topic: Receive The Gift Of Salvation – Tuesday August 22, 2017.

Mark 10:21 “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

MARK 10:21-27

Notice that the scripture makes special mention of Jesus loving this rich young ruler. This is stated after this young man said he had kept all of God’s commands, which was not the truth. Jesus was showing him that he had broken the very first commandment that states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3), and also the tenth commandment that says, “Thou shalt not covet…” (Ex. 20:17). Jesus’ tough answer of “sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor” was not intended to hurt this young man. It was said from a heart of love and intended for his own good. This man’s money had become his god and it had to be dethroned before Jesus could become Lord.

The one thing this young man lacked was faith in Jesus as his Savior. This young ruler was trusting in his goodness and not in the salvation that Jesus offered as a gift. Millions of people are making the same mistake today. They trust in themselves instead of God.

Jesus only came to save sinners. Unless an individual acknowledges that he is a sinner, he cannot be saved. Because the whole world is guilty before God, He has provided one way of salvation for everyone. In the same way that everyone is guilty, everyone also has been justified freely by God’s grace.

That does not mean everyone is saved. Everyone has had the sacrificial offering of Jesus made for their sins by grace but grace alone doesn’t save.

We have to put faith in what God has provided for us by grace. Although the price has been paid for the sins of the whole world, only those who receive it by faith will benefit from the salvation that Jesus offers.

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net)