Christ Diplomat (Exhortations)

TEXT: John 15:14-15 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. MESSAGE When you think  of your best friend, what comes into your mind? He's a person whose company you enjoy, a person whom you are fond of, right? He's very importantly, our confidant. It's very common for men to have friends. But one thing that is beyond even our widest imagination is the friendship between man and God. Once upon a time God called a man his friend. That man was Abraham. God singled him out and blessed him (Isaiah 51:2). He was so blessed of God that in Him was all men to be blessed. In fact God literarily gave him the C of O of the Earth. Apart from blessing him, God made Abraham His confidant. He didn't feel comfortable hiding his plans from Abraham (Gen 18:17). Now there...

TEXT: Romans 6:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? MESSAGE No matter what the devil throws at you, be it pain or pleasure; attack or allure, his end is to separate you from the love of God. He can no more stop God from loving you than a man could stop the sun from shining. He however means to stop you from receiving or relating with God's love just as a man can blindfold another from seeing the light of the sun That has been his trick from the very beginning back then in Eden. He's not got much up his sleeves. Unfortunately many still fall for the same 6,000 year old trick. You wonder why. Religion is the snare that makes even Christians to be susceptible to the tricks of the devil. Religion or the traditions of men (as Jesus calls it Matt.15:1-7) is man's idea of of how they believe they could please God. The evil in religion may not be evident in the beginning. ...

TEXT: 2Cor 5:14-15  14  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. MESSAGE The consciousness of God's love is the purpose and crux of the Message of Grace. When you begin to relate with this message, it  makes your life an endless stream of praise and thanksgiving. You cannot stop praising God. Your prayer language will change from complaining and murmuring to thanksgiving. Since you know that God has unconditional love for you, you will understand that He delights to grant any request you make. No wonder Jesus premised his invitation unto prayer on the love of God. He says; "at that day ye shall ask in my name: and i say not unto you, that i will pray the father for you: for the father himself loveth you..." (John 16:26-27) The c...

TEXT: Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. MESSAGE The Gospel of Grace is the Good News of God's unconditional love for man which he expresses in giving us Jesus His only begotten Jesus so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but  have the same life that God has--everlasting life (John 3:16). It is the news of God unusual love by which he offers His best, His life packaged in Jesus to condemned criminals like us who deserve nothing but death and destruction. Now that you are in Christ Jesus, the Gospel of Grace tells you that the unconditional love of God does not end after conversion, neither does it become qualified or conditional. Rather it remains with you. " [If] While we were still God’s enemies, God’s Son died. He died so that we could become God’s friends. So, even more certainly, now that we are God’s friends, his Son will save us. Christ will save us because he...

TEXT: Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. MESSAGE Grace is not that concept that makes us think God has changed his perspective about sin thereby giving us licence to misbehave. That is very far from the truth! Now one of the first thing you must understand about the work of grace as it relates to sin is that by grace we have become the sons of God and God treats us as His children not slaves or strangers. Now consider a parent and the child. Does bashing your dad's car make him disown you? Of course not! Rather, a sincer apology and maybe a promise not to repeat the wrong may put an end to the issue forever, grave as the offence may seem! Thereafter normal relationship returns. Even if you were arrested by the police for damaging someone else's fence with the car, your Father comes to bail you out and helps you through the case. You see, many of us think we are more loving than God. You don't chastise y...

TEXT: 2Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.  MESSAG: Ask an average Christian today what he knows about grace, he'd simply tell you, "Grace is unmerrited favour". Well, close as that may seem, I think it depreciate from the true meaning of what Grace actually is. Grace is the manifestation of God's unconditional love as revealed in Jesus by which He transmits to man His fullness (his person, power, presence precepts and providence) to man who doesn't merit it. Grace gives unconditional access to God and His resources. It is the reason why you can do anything because His full resources are made available to you on the platter of grace. Grace is the reason why nothing can oppose you successfully because God has taken His side  with you and as such no one can be against you. It is grace that brings salvation (Titus 2:11).  Salvation is tha...

A LIFE OF LOVE TEXT: 2John 4:16-17  16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. MESSAGE God is love. Love is not just a characteristic of God, it is His nature. If therefore you are born again, love is your nature which is superior to every other nature. You see, whatever dominion we have over the enemy is a matter of authority not power. Cars will stop at the signal of a traffic warden not because he has the power to make them stop, but because they recognize that the State, which is greater than everyone has put the authority to  determine the behavior of the traffic in that traffic warden. The devil flees from us when we resist him in Jesus Name because he recognizes the authority invested in our new identity in Christ. Refusing t...

1Pet 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. MESSAGE Every one of us is concerned with one issue or the other at various time, season or period. We worry about getting married and for that matter, married to the right person. We worry about what to eat, what to wear, where to stay and even what someone may say about us. Some have spouses that don't care about them and their feelings. Others have troublesome children that give them concern. For these and many more, many have cried themselves to sleep and others have wearied themselves to death. It shouldn't be so, dear Chritian. You have a Father that you can actually speak to. He cares, He hears, He listens. He is interested in you and so He wants to bear your burdens for you. Now that is a work of Grace. God's grace is so great that He wants to be your burden bearer. God says that you should cast ALL your cares on Him. All means ALL to the exclussion of none. In as much as it is a cause of concern, i...

TEXT: Judges 6:12-13 12  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 13  And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. MESSAGE : The Israelites were under oppression at the hand of the Midianites. One unique thing about these oppressors was that they had no problem with the Israelites toiling to make ends meet. But once it was time for them to reap the fruit of their labour, these Midianites came and disposessed them of their harvest. They came in such number and force that the Israelites had to vacate their own land and go to hide in caves. You may be experiencing the same challenge. You might have had so much experience in failure at the edge of success...

TEXT: Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. MESSAGE Few years ago, 1997 to be precise, dignitaries including Hillary Clinton, Madame Aline Chrétien, the wife of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien; leaders from East and West; leaders of various religion, Christians, Muslims, Bhudists, Judists, etc, all converged in one place. Their sword of animosity were shealted for a moment and their pomp were silent for a while. It was like the world stood still. At the center of it all, a little woman, Mother Teresa. A woman who lived her life as an epitome of love, touching the untouchables, giving hope to the hopeless. When her health began to deteriorate, Doctors told her she should "slow down." Her reply: "I have all eternity to rest, and there is still much to do ... Life is not worth living unless it is lived for others." No wonder in her death, the world stood still for such a life lived in love. The former U.N. Secretary-Ge...

TEXT: Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. MESSAGE Few years ago, 1997 to be precise, dignitaries including Hillary Clinton, Madame Aline Chrétien, the wife of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien; leaders from East and West; leaders of various religion, Christians, Muslims, Bhudists, Judists, etc, all converged in one place. Their sword of animosity were shealted for a moment and their pomp were silent for a while. It was like the world stood still. At the center of it all, a little woman, Mother Teresa. A woman who lived her life as an epitome of love, touching the untouchables, giving hope to the hopeless. When her health began to deteriorate, Doctors told her she should "slow down." Her reply: "I have all eternity to rest, and there is still much to do ... Life is not worth living unless it is lived for others." No wonder in her death, the world stood still for such a life lived in love. The former U.N. Secretary-Gen...

FRIENDSHIP AND RELATIONSHIP TEXT: Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. MESSAGE Today the Lord highlights the issue of friendship and relationship. Every relationship comes with a responsibility. Many times, the responsibility to a relationship is conformity. This is why we must be very careful the type of relationships we enter into. We must understand the cost of every relationship and make good ones. The demands of a relationship will eventually make or mare us. Solomon was a godly man once. But his relationship with many women led him astray and his wisdom became like foolishness. This was the testimony about him: " But king Solomon loved many strange women...of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in...