A GODLY INHERITANCE

                                                      Ephesians 1:15-18

It is the desire of every parent to leave inheritance for their children. A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children... (Prov. 13:22)

We serve a faithful God who would not call any of His children to seek Him in vain (Isaiah 45:19).

As a loving Father, He had made great provisions for all His children (chosen us in Him) before the foundation of the world...Ephesians 1:3-6.

Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian saints, commended them for their faith in the Lord and the love they had shown towards God’s people. The Ephesian church was well known for its faithful unto the Lord, in spite of the practice of idolatry in the city, and the deeds of the Nicolaitans (Acts 19:24-33; Rev.2:6).

Jesus Christ also commended the church of Ephesus for its works, labour, patience, perseverance, integrity and sensitivity… However, He had something against them – they had forsaken their first love! (Rev. 2:1-5).

Like the church of Ephesus, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, are we found faithful? In the midst of apostasy, idolatry and mammon worship going on everywhere, the church inclusive, where do we stand? 

Can the church of our days still produce the qualities found in the Ephesian church of old? Even though the Master still declared them imperfect…

God in His infinite mercy has given us a glorious inheritance which cannot fade away (1 Peter 1:3-4). His mercy qualifies us for such a life of fulfilment and divine abundance.

Let’s examine some of the dimensions of our inheritance in Christ, as highlighted in Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:4 - He appointed us unto holiness before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:11 - He predestined us to walk in the counsel of His will, according to His purpose.

Ephesians 1:14 - He gave us the Holy Spirit, as the guarantee of our inheritance.

Ephesians 1:18 - He has given us true riches and glorious inheritance as God's people.

The only way we can activate and fulfil this glorious inheritance is to walk in the fullness of the Father’s love (Rev. 2:5).

I pray that the Lord God will grant you the Spirit of wisdom and that He will reveal Himself to you, that you may know Him better! 

I also pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints.

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR

     

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HE'S CALLING YOU

Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43

The desired outcome of every call of God is to bring glory to God (Romans 8:30). God has counted us worthy to be among the called and to be partakers of the heavenly calling. There is a generic call that has been extended to everyone, but not everyone will respond to it.

‘He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons...’ (Mark 3:13-15).

This scripture highlights specific call that God places upon people according to His will. He went to the top of the mountain and called unto Himself, those He wanted and they responded to the call positively. 

Every call of God carries within, a dimension of grace which the called could latch on to.

Furthermore, the primary reason for this call is to be with Him…thereafter, He sends His disciples to go and preach the Gospel, to heal the sick and to cast out demons…

Jesus was passing through Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude followed Him. A roadside beggar called Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, heard the noise being made by the multitude and he made enquiries about what was happening in his environment. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

Immediately, he cried out saying ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’. They tried to shut him up, but he kept crying the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’.

The cries, prayers and travails that lead to revival are usually unstoppable and such cannot be intimidated by the threats, warnings and mockery of men. Neither can they be ensnared by the fear of men. 

People who are trusting in God entirely for transformation have nothing else to fall back on, they put their entire hope in the Lord.

This blind man’s sincere heart-cry drew the attention of Jesus and the Lord commanded that they should call him. 

The moment Jesus sent for him, the same folks who tried to shut him up earlier, now encouraged him saying, ‘Cheer up! Rise up on your feet, the Master is calling you’.

In response to the call, he threw his garment aside, rose on his feet and came to the Master. Lay aside those things that easily beset you, strip off those unnecessary weights that slow you down. Rise up and come to Jesus! (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The Lord asked him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, that I may receive my sight’.

Then Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you whole’. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus on the way…. glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

The call of God yielded a great dividend in the life of this man. He started out as a blind man, depending absolutely and living on others, but he ended up as a follower of Christ, such that people gave praise to God through him. 

His life became a living example for others to follow and a testimony to behold.

The Master is calling you! He wants to give your life a ‘face-lift’. Respond positively to His call today and you will be glad you did…

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR

     

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THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

                                        John 11:25-26; John 20:1-8

Jesus Christ is alive forever! Death had no grip over Him, even the grave could not hold Him captive. He was, and He is, and He will forever be Lord over all…

In John 10:17, He said, ‘Therefore My Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I may take it again’.

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I have the keys of hades and of death (Rev. 1:18).

There is no resurrection experience outside Jesus, because the Spirit of Jesus is the one who quickens our mortal bodies… (Romans 8:11).

It is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh yields no profit (John 6:63).

If Christ had not risen from the dead, our preaching and our faith would have been futile, and those who had fallen asleep would have perished! (1 Cor. 15:14-18).

Looking at the resurrection of Jesus according to John’s account (John 20):

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus, probably to anoint His body, but she discovered that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb. She told Peter and John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) about what she saw and immediately, they (Peter and John) ran to the tomb.

She was zealous for the Lord, yet she gave a wrong report about what actually happened at the tomb! She hadn’t seen the risen Christ, neither did she have the slightest idea that He had risen from the dead. 

Until we experience Jesus and the power of His resurrection, our message about Christ will never be balanced…

John outran Peter and got to the tomb first, but he couldn’t enter. He stopped at the entrance. Peter later on got to the tomb and entered, leaving John at the entrance.

The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first… (Matt. 19:30).

When John saw the boldness with which Peter walked into the tomb, he also went inside. The moment he saw the clothes and handkerchief of Jesus, he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead!

He saw and he believed… 

May the Lord reveal Himself to us, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection…

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR

     

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