RESPOND TO THE CALL OF GOD

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

RESPOND TO THE CALL OF GOD

Preacher: Mrs Rita Abrahams

Bible Readings: Jer 1:4-10 / Heb. 12:18-29 / Lk 13:10-17

Date: 22 August, 2010

13th Sunday after Pentecost

I have many times avoided being asked to preach in this church; trying to avoid the call of God. But I asked God to forgive me and also to reveal to me if He really wants me to preach and He did it.

God knew Jeremiah before he was formed. Jeremiah was sanctified while in his mother’s womb to preach. He was made holy in the womb.

Like Jeremiah, God is calling all of us today to his Ministry. He has sanctified us all even while we were in our mothers’ wombs.

We are to go and spread His praises, to go and evangelise, to spread the truth.

In 1Pet 2:9 , the Bible says: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. He has made us kings and priests. He has ordained us to go and preach the Good news. We cannot say ‘no’ to Him. Some of us say we are old, we are shy; our work schedule does not allow us to evangelise etc. We do not have any excuse and God will not accept any excuse from us if He did not accept Jeremiah’s excuse of incompetence. He has given us authority over the problems we shall encounter in the ministry; and his Spirit will strengthen us to spread the message of Jesus Christ. He has given us authority to go and break down and destroy the barriers in peoples’ lives and in their stead plant the word of God and build lives for His Kingdom.

God is calling us to a life of holiness and sanctity. We must therefore be holy and portray God’s likeness.

REF: Rev 5 9,10 -9 and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."

1Pe 1:15 but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 1Pe 1:16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

In Hebrews 12 , Paul presents a dramatic contrast between Judaism and Christianity; where God is calling us out of death to life; into a new covenant into the glorious company of Christ Jesus. We cannot be our old selves.

In Hebrews 12: 28-29 is a final warning to those of us who are contemplating whether to respond to the call or not. There is a more severe punishment for them that do not respond to the call of God, more than those who rejected Mount Sinai. God is a consuming fire!

Heb 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe;

Heb 1229 for our God is a consuming fire.

2Co 3:6 ¶ who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Let us therefore respond to the call and join this glorious company.

It is our duty to respond to the call of God. We can run but cannot hide.

Mt 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

Jesus’ encounter with the woman who was bent for over 18 years and could not stand straight is instructive here. She responded to Jesus’ call. She did not make excuses with her condition. Anyone who encounters and responds to the call of Jesus never remains the same.

Jesus is calling us to respond to his call to holiness, to a lifestyle of his likeness, to the new covenant. We cannot respond to the call and be the same.

This morning the question is not who is called? or have you been called?; but rather will you respond to the call of God like Isaiah did or will you be like Jonah?

Let us respond to the call of God.

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Rev'd Seth Kissi - Minister-in-Charge

+233 24 476 4263

email: sethrevkissi@yahoo.com
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LADIES' AND GENTS' CORNER

JUST GOT MARRIED?:
20 MISTAKES NEWLY-WEDS MAKE
By Francesca Di Meglio (About.com Guide)
Newlyweds are a lot like freshmen. They are still learning the ropes of marriage. They are human and make mistakes. But making yourself aware of common mistakes might help you avoid making them yourself. Here is a list of 20 mistakes newlyweds make -- and some tips on how to overcome them:

1. Failing to think beyond the wedding
Some couples get so wrapped up in the wedding festivities that they fail to comprehend what they're getting themselves into. You're married. The party was probably a lot of fun, but it was one day. Now, you have to live together, get along, and form your own family. Enjoy the wedding planning and the afterglow of your big day from watching the video to reminiscing with friends but keep the big picture in your head at all times.

2. Trying to change your spouse
Presumably, you married your spouse because you are in love with him or her. If that's the case, then there's no good reason for changing your spouse. Frankly, most adults don't drastically change, so your best bet is to accept your spouse and love him or her for the ways he or she is unique and different and not in spite of those things. Trying to change your spouse will only hurt his or her feelings and damage your marriage.

3. Getting off on the wrong foot with your in-laws
If the damage has already been done, do whatever you can to improve the relationship you have with your in-laws. Be the first to extend the olive branch because the only person who gets hurt when you fight with the in-laws is your spouse, who feels caught in the middle.

4. Letting your emotions win in an argument
Getting aggressive or yelling and screaming is not going to help you and your spouse resolve problems or differences of opinion. Rational, calm discussion will get you farther. You're putting your marriage at risk if you can't control yourself when you and your spouse argue, so do whatever it takes from taking a break from the conversation to seeking professional help in the form of a therapist.

5. Avoiding important discussions
No one likes to talk about difficult subjects like how to handle money, what to do if you can't have children, or how to prepare for the unthinkable such as death. Now that you're married, however, you have no choice but to discuss these matters. Your marriage depends on these matters. Be an adult and discuss it all with your spouse. Seek counsel if the subject requires it, but don't just ignore these issues.

6. Fighting over silly stuff
Every married person has argued with his or her spouse over something that seems insane to outsiders from the notorious cap left off the toothpaste to underwear left on the doorknob. Save your arguments for more important subjects. Let these pet peeves remain as simple pet peeves. Honestly, if the worst thing your spouse does is leave his dirty socks on the floor, you should consider yourself lucky.

7. Being jealous
Your spouse has already chosen you for life. Being jealous is a waste of time and just offends your spouse, who will start to believe that you don't trust him or her. If he or she has always been trustworthy, you should not even bother with jealousy. It is poison to a relationship.

8. Acting like you're still single
Now is the time to grow up. Hanging out with your friends all night and going to clubs was all right when you were a single person with no one waiting for you at home. As a married person, there are behaviors that are no longer appropriate. You know what's right and what's wrong, so just do the right thing.

9. Letting pride get in the way of your relationship
A spouse who holds out for an apology after every argument, always has to win, or denies his or her spouse affection is doing nothing good for the marriage. He or she is letting pride get in the way of resolving problems and loving his or her spouse. You must allow yourself to get softer and find a way to take responsibility for your own actions.

10. Spending too little time together
You need to tend to your marriage as though it's a flower. Without water, sunlight, and some attention, it will never grow. Therefore, you have to manage your schedule, so that you spend quality time with your spouse.

11. Rushing into having children
Some couples don't give themselves enough time to be married to each other. If you can wait to have children, you should consider it because you'll never have this time alone again. Once children arrive, they will have to be the focus of your attention. Your heart certainly has room for children and a spouse, but you should spoil one another while you can.

12. Going into debt
Starting off your marriage with bills you can't afford is a terrible beginning. It's an additional strain on your relationship that you can't afford. If you are already in debt, make a plan for getting rid of it. Stay on budget, get your finances in order, and you'll probably fight less. If nothing else, you'll sleep better at night.

13. Having unrealistic expectations about marriage
If you think marriage is always a walk in the park, you have another thing coming. There will be hard times. It takes a while to get the hang of living with this other person and making the relationship work. Don't think that the problems you had before you walked down the aisle are simply going to disappear because you're married. They won't. Some problems never will go away. It's how you deal with them that counts.

14. Letting resentment build
Never let things fester. If something is really bothering you, say so. If you find you're the only one doing things around the house and that upsets you, don't do it anymore. The worst thing you can do is allow resentment for your spouse to build inside you. It tears apart your love.

15. Being insensitive to your spouse's feelings
We're all different. We all react differently to various situations. In time, you will learn to anticipate some of your spouse's reactions. Don't make light of them. Don't judge them. Simply accept them and do what you can to comfort your spouse in the way that he or she needs to be comforted.

16. Making decisions without consulting your spouse
There are two people in your relationship. When you were single you might have made decisions about where to go after work, what vacations to take, how to spend your money, without discussing it with anyone. Now, however, your decisions have an impact on your spouse, too. He or she has a right to have input in these decisions.

17. Being intolerant of your spouse's quirks or differences
When you marry someone, you are accepting him or her warts and all. It's not fair nor is it worth the time and energy to get angry about things like your spouse's slight lisp or his political leanings.

18. Not giving each other enough space
Everyone needs time for themselves. Find a quiet place or do something you love all on your own. Give your spouse the chance to do the same.

19. Taking your partner for granted
Remembering all the reasons you love your spouse and appreciating the little things he or she does for you and your family takes some work. But it's an integral part of building a strong marriage. Once you start to forget or simply expect your spouse to do certain things for you, he or she may feel unappreciated and you could start having problems.

20. Abandoning your sex life
Marriage does not have to mean the end to good sex. It is part of your job as married people to maintain your sexual health, keep things interesting, and make sure you and your spouse are satisfied. When problems do arise, you should address them and do what you can to improve the situation.

Read your Bible and pray together at least once a day.

The family that prays together sticks together, and it's a happier family.
MARRIAGE
Check these Bible passages to give you Biblical basis for your marriage and your actions.
- Divinely instituted
Gen 2:24
- A covenant relationship
Mal 2:4
- Designed For:
• The happiness of man
Gen 2:18
• Increasing the human population
Gen 1:28; 9:1
• Raising up godly seed
Mal 2:15
• Preventing fornication
1Co 7:2
- Lawful in all
1Co 7:2,28; 1Ti 5:14
- Honourable for all
Heb 13:4
- Should be only in the Lord
1Co 7:39
- EXPRESSED BY
• Joining together
Mt 19:6
• Making affinity
1Ki 3:1
• Taking to wife
Ex 2:1
- Indissoluble during the joint lives of the parties
Mt 19:6; Ro 7:2,3; 1Co 7:39
- Should be with consent of parents
Gen 28:8; Jg 14:2,3
- Consent of the parties necessary to
Gen 24:57,58; 1Sa 18:20; 25:41
- Parents might refuse to give their children in
Ex 22:17; De 7:3

People in the Bible - Nicodemus

Nicodemus was a religious leader among the Jews in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is mentioned only in the Gospel of John, where he appears three times.

The first is when he visits Jesus one night to listen to his teachings (John 3:1-21)
The second is when he states the law concerning the arrest of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles. Present at a meeting of Jewish leaders who were considering how to silence Jesus, he asked "Does our law judge a Man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" (John 7:45-51); and to this, others replied, "Are you from Galilee, too?"
The last, in John 19:38-42, he follows the Crucifixion, when he assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the corpse of Jesus for burial: "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. ‘Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there."

But the best-known of these passages is John 3, in which Jesus tells Nicodemus: "In order for a man to see (enter) the Kingdom of God, he must be born anew (or born from above), born of water and of the Spirit."

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know You are a teacher Who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with Him."

"In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see The Kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

"Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked."

"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - The Son of Man . Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life."

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
(John 3:1-21)

Most Christians have understood this as a reference to Holy Baptism, but others suppose the water to be amniotic fluid, and take the reference to "water and the Spirit" as contrasting natural with spiritual birth.

Unlike nearly all, if not all, of his peers at the time, he recognized Jesus Christ as The Messiah.

The discussion with Jesus is the source of several common expressions of contemporary Christianity, specifically, the descriptive phrase born again used to describe the experience of believing in Jesus as Saviour, and John 3:16, a commonly quoted verse used to describe God's plan of salvation.

Though there is no clear source of information about this Nicodemus outside the Gospel of John, the Jewish Encyclopedia and many Biblical historians have theorized that he is identical to Nicodemus ben Gurion, mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular holy man reputed to have had miraculous powers. Christian tradition asserts that Nicodemus was martyred sometime in the first century. Nicodemus is venerated as a Saint by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

Roman Catholics celebrate his memorial on August 3. The Franciscan Order erected a Church carrying his name and the name of St. Joseph of Arimathea in Ramla.

The Orthodox Church celebrates him on the Sunday of the Myrrh bearers, a variable date falling always on the third Sunday of Easter and also on August 2, the date when tradition states that his relics were found, along with those of the Apostle and Proto martyr Stephen and Gamaliel (another member of the Sanhedrin who, according to a disputed Christian tradition, converted to Christianity).

Few characters in the New Testament seem to me more intriguing than Nicodemus. Even his name, which means "victory for the people", implies someone marked out for leadership

John's Gospel tells us that Nicodemus was indeed a leader, a member of the Sanhedrin, the governing council and the court where Jesus would appear for his ecclesiastical trial on a charge of blasphemy.

He was a believer – a secret believer- but became an open disciple after Jesus’s death.

He was eager to learn and asked questions until he gained some kind of understanding.

Culled from the internet

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Tuesday, September 7, 2010