The Local Church

People who make impact here on earth are those that think of the other side. -C. S. Lewis

Success in God's eyes is you progressively accomplishing what God has called you to do in life. Many times, Christians get confused and say they don't know what God would have them do. They seem to be grasping for some divine purpose to life, and they get involved in nothing at all or all the wrong things due to this. We must realise, however, that being part of the vision of your local church is doing what God has called you to do. Success is not just an isolated event that happens to us individually. As believers, whatever we may be involved in must contribute to and not take awsy from the local church otherwise, it is not qualified as success in God's eyes.

A believer who is part of a church (as all believers should be) and is not involved with or faithful to the vision of the church will probably not hear a new "vision" for his or her life. God's plans for each and every one of our lives will be carried out through the local church. The local church is more important than we realise or even care to admit. The local church is the Body of Christ and no e heavenly-minded; don't live life on earth detrimental to your call as a Christian. Simply obey God and you will see things work for you by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Ghost. ione can be faithful to their call without being faithful to and in the church. If you do not seem to be seeing any visions or hearing any voices telling you what to do in life, relax. Keep calm and be part of your local church. Serve in the church with your gifts, talents and abilities. Working for your church should make you glad, not ashamed. The local church is God's takeover plan; it is not our second agenda!

The local church is headed by the pastor, who is the shepherd. The members are the sheep. Shepherd do not beget sheep. Sheep beget sheep. So, your church is your responsibility, much more than it is your pastor's responsibity. Embrace the vision of your church as a personal vision. Find ways to express it. Make sure that the vision blooms and grows in your hand. Do not live life only seeking personal attainments. Live heavenly-minded; not vicariously to the detriment of your call as a Christian. Simply obey God and trust Him to make things work by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Righteousness of Faith

Paul, in his time, spoke about the end time. He said that they were in the end time in those days! This means we have reached the very end of the end time! And because of the times in which we live, when many things are failing, ignorance is not an excuse. It is necessary to know and be convinced about certain things from the Word of God otherwise you will live and fall like a mere man when you ought to be living like the New Creation that you are. 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” You are not a mere man, because you have the life of God in you. The Greater One lives in you and you have ceased to be an ordinary person. John 10:10: “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.” 1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You must be established in this otherwise you will get swept away with the fear that is going around in the world. You must not be ignorant or the devil and traditions and the law will thrive on your ignorance about what God has done for you. You are not a normal person. You are not an ordinary person! You will be in the midst of crisis and terrorist attacks and bombings and dangers and accidents, and you will walk out of them unhurt. You will be in the midst of dangerous diseases and viruses and you will be unhurt. The things that harm and kill normal people will come to you and you will still be standing, because “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made you free from the law of sin and death.” The presence of the Holy Ghost in you has made you a super-person! You are better than the superheroes you see on TV like Thor and the X-Men. What you have in the inside of you is far greater than what they have. The circumstance or danger doesn’t change what is inside you; it brings out what is inside you. Just like the warrior in Thor rises to the challenge, so we ought to let the power on the inside of us rise to the challenge around us. What if you are not exempted from the trouble when it comes? What if you are in the midst of it? Psalm 20:1: “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;” The Lord will deliver you in the middle of the plane crash, or the bomb blast! Psalm 91:1: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:7-8, 11: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked…For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” The day of trouble reveals the character of your spirit and your soul. In the day of trouble, what is in your head will be of no effect but what is in your heart will answer to the situation.  We are raising champions here! God has made you a champion and you are manifesting what He has made you. Give voice to the Christ in you! When you come to the place of lack, and your knees are jittery, do not despair! Go back to the Word and let it soak into your consciousness until it bursts out of you and you kick the lack out! Assume the character of God’s Word until it begins to paint pictures in your heart and fear dissolves! God is your Refuge, your Provision and your Defender, He is your Protector! You have no reason to be afraid because you are not taking care of yourself. You are not your protector and your defender, God is! And you must let this become a conviction that settles in your heart. Come to know the principle of life that is at work in you. It eliminates death. Romans 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” You are in Christ; your sins are forgiven; you are righteous. You are better than Superman!

USHERING & DECOR UNIT DAY CELEBRATION

Ushering and Decoration Unit merged to hold their Unit Day celebration today. This marked the kick-off of Unit Day celebrations in SGC Makurdi for the year 2015. The Unit Heads planned quite a beautiful service, having all their members arrayed in black with red accessories. The atmosphere was beautiful, filled with laughter, peace and fun (Psalm 16:11). There were testimonies from different church members as well from a Moslem who had been invited to church by one of our own. It was truly a celebration of God's goodness.

The Ushering Unit Head, Momoh Ojoma, in a charge, left us with these truths. They are bound to change your life if you put them in your heart and in your mouth:
* We are righteous not by our actions, good or bad, but by the eternal sacrifice of Jesus.
* Righteous = CLEAN. The devil has nothing on us because we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
* We do not have covered sins. Our sins, past, present and future, have been forgiven. Jesus requires no payment of us, we are forever pardoned.
* We are righteous; every promise in the Old and New Testament can be appropriated by us because we have believed in Jesus, who has fulfilled all requirements for us.
* As righteous people, we have hope in death. We are favoured, our prayers are effective and our words have impact on this world and its inhabitants.

Righteous people celebrated the goodness of God today at Savannah Grace Chapel Makurdi. We will do it again...and again...and again...until our last breath.