What it means to be a Strong Christian (Duality) 30.04.2023 pt1

Name. Blessed be your name, Lord Jesus, Thank you, Lord Jesus,

Thank you, Lord Jesus, Thank you Lord Jesus. Nahlah bahlah blahlah

Bandeli reme me me mess uh gord caraballah blah blah blah, Thank you,

Jesus, Thank you, Lord Jesus. Cantania tolsa to b thank you,

Lord Jesus. E kenna rabah bah bah bay name and unto no door we

give you thanks So Lord braba nor shame, Holy cad I are time.

Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord

Jesus. Blessed be your name, O god Father. This morning we bring

thanksgiving. This morning, we bring praise. This morning, we say thank

you for all that you are to us. This morning, we refuse not

to be silent. This morning we declare that you are good and your mercies

endure forever. This morning we declare that you are faithful, and we declare

that you love us with a love that is everlasting. And so, Lord,

please receive our praise this morning. Please receive our thanks this morning.

Let the lifting up of our hands be pleasing to you. This morning,

Let the lifting up of our voice be pleasing to you this morning, and

Father, glorify yourself richly in our lives. In Jesus precious name, we

have given thanks. Let her believe us. Shout a believing and a big

amen. Amen, hallelujah. And can we call up our hands for Jesus

as we celebrate him. He's a good God. Celebrate Jesus with a shout

on to the Lord. Celebrate Jesus, Celebrate Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Might tenay amen on behalf of our father and the Lord, the Archbishop

Nicholas, Uncle Williams. This morning, please look to your left and to

your right and tell them that you are welcome to church this morning. Oh,

please say to your other neighbor you are welcome to church this morning.

Please say to your neighbor, it's good to see you in the glory of

God. So you are very welcome to church this morning. Please tell your

neighbor I love you with the love of God, and it's good to see

you in church this morning. Amen. Let's clap my hands with Jesus one

more time. Will take our seats in the presence of the Lord. Amen.

Please be seated in the presence of the Lord. Hallelujah. Amen,

misu peon stop today we are preaching together. Amen. You're all welcome to

church. This one is good to see all of you. Amen. How

many of you are returning from school? I saw some new faces who have

not been with us in months. Anyone here returning from school? Where did

Daisy pass? She's still here? Oh? I can't see here about.

How are you sitting now? Please rise on your feet. Let's welcome you

back. Amen. She's shining. Amen. You're welcome back. Amen.

You're welcome by whole school. School is good. Amen. You're winning,

winning, winning and being on top. Amen, So you're welcome back.

Amen. Is there anyone else here who's here for the very first time?

We like to welcome you also to church this morning especially. Please be on

your feet and let's welcome you with a youth in action. Welcome. Please

be on your feet. I can see some new people here. Amen.

If today is your first time, don't be shy. I want to get

to know you, so please stand on you Please please rise amen? Amen.

Oh are you clapping and thanking God for bringing them to our service this

morning? Amen? You are welcome to church. Please tell us your name

and where you're coming from divine than I'm from Nigeria, so I just came

or he just came from Nigeria. Please welcome Divine Amen. Welcome to church.

Amen. Please be seated. Please, let's get his details. Amen.

Let's welcome our ladies. Also, please tell us your name and where

you're coming from. My name's Cheryl. Yeah from here, Yeah from God

turn and I'm from South Africa, from South Africa. Amen. Are we

welcoming them? Amen? Please be seated in the presence of God. Amen.

So please ask your neighbor seated by you, So you when are you

inviting someone to church? Please ask ask them? When are you inviting someone

to church? Amen? You've got to invite someone to church. That some

people they don't talk when you come to church or when it's time to when

you have an opportunity to ask them something, ask them. Amen, ask

them again, when are you inviting someone to church? Hopefully next week someone

will invite someone to church. Amen. Can I get an amen for that?

Amen? And so God bless your riginally for coming to church this morning.

Amen. Again, on behalf of our father in the law of the

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams you are all very welcome to church this morning. Amen.

For our brethren who are now joining us or who are visiting us for

the first time, we've been going through a series of teachings with the aim

of helping us grow and to become better Christians, with the aim to help

us become better versions of ourselves according to the will and purpose for our lives.

Amen. And so in the past month we've been dealing with the message

of duality, duality which we define. It came to understand that it is

not in our best interests as children of God to live a double life.

It is not in our interest at all. And we used Sampson from Judges

fourteen as our example to learn on duality. We found out that those was

separated into God, he lived a double life and he indulging things that eventually

brought his life to a premature death. So his life ended without him fulfilling

his purpose on earth. Amen. And we also discovered that something didn't even

have a child. He didn't have children. So, according to the intent

and purpose of God and the will of God for our lives, according to

Genesis two twenty eight, we're supposed to be fruitful and multiply, but Samson

was unfruitful. Samson did not multiply because he lived a dual life. Amen.

And so as a foundation, we've laid the grounds ready to help us

to become a strong Christian. And so today, by the grace of God,

I want to speak to you on how you and I can become strong

Christians. Amen, how we can become strong Christians a man. And so

let's take our foundation scripture from efficients chapter six, verse ten, Efficient chapter

six, verse ten. And this is a letter that was written by the

apostle Paw to the church in Ephos, the church in Ephioes, because they

were also guilty of duality, guilty of living a double life. They were

guilty of being weak Christians. And so he said to them, finally,

my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Please, can you tell your neighbor for free, be strong in the

Lord and in the power of His might. And so the will and purpose

and intent of God for us as Christians is that we become strong Christians,

that we are strong Christians who are walking in the power of His might,

rather than being weak Christians who are not walking in the power and the might

of our God. And so during our discussions, because usually for our Sunday

services, after the teachings, we break into smaller groups based on age and

we discuss and a few questions came out that stood out amongst all the questions

that came and essentially on duality. So someone asked a question, why do

I need to be a Christian? Why do I need to be a Christian?

And the answer to it, let's go to the next slide. I'm

going to use this slide to demonstrate why you need to be a Christian,

why you need to be a Christian. So there are three cups with what

you call it we flew. It's in there. The first cup is you,

you as a vessel. We have the middle of cup that represents sin

or everything worldly. And then we have the third cup that represents Christ,

Jesus or represents God. Amen. So please play the video pause it now.

So by the original design of God for you and I, we are

created in the likeness and in the image of God. That is what the

Bible says in the Book of Genesis. God created man in his image and

his likeness. So as you can see the glass that contains you, the

vessel that contains you is like the glass that contains Christ or God. You

are created in the image and the likeness of God. But because of the

disobedience of Adam and Eve play the video Sin and into man. So then

Man now disqualified himself from being in the image and in the likeness of God.

So if you look at you, there is nothing in there that looks

like Christ. But when you become born again, the Bible says that for

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever

believes in him should not perish, but however, lasting life. So by

believing in Christ, you receive Christ into you. And as Christ comes into

you, the nature of sin that has contaminated you and corrupted you. By

Christ being present in you, that nature of sin is taken away. So

then you begin to look like Christ again. You begin to look like God

again. Amen. Now, when Christ came into the world, the Bible

says, he took on the sin of the world. He was without sin,

but he took on the sin of the world. And he see,

sin tried to corrupt Christ. But sin had no power over Christ. Oh,

I thought you'd say an Amen, Sin tried to corrupt Christ. Bible

says that he was tempted in every way. The temptations you've been going through.

Now you think that, oh God doesn't care about you. Christ Jesus

was tempted in every way, but he did not sin. So sin had

no power over him. But Christ Jesus, because of the Finnish work on

the Cross of Calvary, has power over sin. He has power over death,

he has power over the grave. And so please play the last part.

Let's see where the poor Christ into the sin cup. So watch this.

Sin will try to corrupt after Christ Jesus cleanses Us. When they try

to pour the black substance into the cup with Christ, you realize it has

no power over him. Sin has no power for Christ. But when Christ

is poured into a situation with sin, will he will neutralize sin completely.

Amen, he will neutralize sin. So the reason why you are a Christian,

or the reason why you should be a Christian is because of the heritage

of God. Is because of the heritage of God. If you read your

Bible carefully and you see how God, how God works. God deals with

generations. He deals with one generation and he deals with another generation. The

Bible says that God called Abraham out of his family, out of his nation,

out of his kindred, and he said, go to the place where

I will show you, and I will make you my own. I will

give you children that you will become my people. So God called him out

of one generation, Abraham had Isaac, that was another generation. So Abraham

passed on the heritage he had received from God, the promise he had received

from God from his generation. He passed it on to Isaac. Isaac had

two sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau decided to be rebellious. He'sa married

women that were not supposed he was not supposed to have married. They were

from another tribe, and so he denied himself passing on the heritage. He

denied himself passing on the promise of God. But Jacob married where his father

told him to go and married, and so the heritage was preserved, and

Jacob passed on the heritage to his twelve sons. Jacob had twelve sons.

He asked it on to the twelve sons, so the twelve sons became the

children of Israel. The twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. Amen.

And so you are a Christian because you are the heritage of God.

Amen. You are the heritage of God. You need to be a Christian

because you are the heritage of God. For many of us, our grandparents

were Christians. Our parents were taken to church, they encountered God, they

got to know about God by going to church. So the heritage was transferred

from one generation to another. And by the grace of God, they took

us also to church, and we also met Christ, we received Christ and

we've also become a carrier of the heritage of God. By the grace of

God. We have also married, we have children, and we are also

passing down the heritage of God to our children. Amen. So for every

generation, because you are a child of God, you are bought by precious

blood. You are now the heritage of God. You are a gift of

God. Bible says, our children are the heritage of God. Children are

the gift from God. Amen. So it is not it is in your

best interests to be a Christian and to be a proper Christian and to be

a strong Christian. So you can uphold the heritage of God and pass it

to your children. When you have children. When you have twins like Aquillian

a coll you pass on the heritage to them. Amen. So it is

in our interest to be a heritage carriers. Is our interest to be Christians

because we carry the heritage of God. Amen. And so today, as

carriers of the heritage of God, the Bible has admonished us to be strong

Christians. Amen. And so today I want to share with you a few

thoughts on what it means to be a strong Christian. Can I get an

amen? Amen? And so all throughout the Bible, Christians have been exalted

to be strong very often. The phrase be strong appears many times in the

Bible. Moses when he was about to be taken up, when he was

about to end his ministry on earth, he told Joshua, be strong and

be of good courage. Be strong. So God is admonishing us to be

strong as Christians. Amen. And the unfortunate thing is that many people are

strong physically. There are people who go to the gym seven days a week.

They are very strong. Well, they seemingly look strong. Because I

tested that theory and I found out I wasn't true. There was a mate

of mine who used to gym. He used to take all these protein shakes,

and as me compared to him, I'm very skinny, he was like

very very big. It's when he does this you can see his you know,

biceps and triceps all up there. And so one time he shook my

hand and I decided to squeeze his hand to test if he was truly strong.

But to my attack dismay, I realized he wasn't strong at all because

I was squeezing his hand and he was trying to run away from me.

Amen. There are people who go to the gym seven days a week who

are strong physically. They are strong, they can lift heavy weights, they

can do all sorts of things. There are people who do karate. They

know taekwon. Do they know tai chi as propower demonstrating Yeah, yeah,

they know all of that. You dare not meet them on the wrong side.

Amen. There are people who are into spots. They are very active,

they are very strong. They can jump. I believe my brother Chie

can down. He can do a slam dunk you do, He can dwell

and then put the ball in the basket. There are people who play football.

They have stamina, they are strong, they can play ninety minutes they

don't get tired. If we go to Kenya, my friends in Kenya,

they can run and not get tired. The Bible was retained for them.

They run and they not grow weary. They don't grow weary when they run.

They can run. You see, they're running. When the Americans and

the rest and my South African friends are getting tired, they are still running.

They are going, they are changing. They are strong physically. They

are people who are strong mentally. There are people who are strong emotionally.

They are people who are strong psychologically because they've developed the art of getting themselves

strong. Amen. But unfortunately, we have many Christians who are strong physical,

psychologically, emotionally, but when it comes to spiritually, they are very

weak. Amen. They are very weak. They are weak Christians. And

so God's word for us this morning, God is telling us that we need

to be strong Christians. Amen. It is in your own interest to be

a strong Christian and look weak and feeble on the outward. Amen. You

can look skinny on the outward, but in the spirit you have to be

a strong Christian. I gave you guys a testimony a few months back.

We're a security guy in our house had just collapsed and he was dying,

and they came to call us as home with my wife and they came to

call us. Just imagine the situation where someone was about to die and then

they call a skinny guy, and then they call a metro guy. They

expected outcome will be that the metro guy will carried the guy and put him

on and run with him to the hospital or something. But in this case,

there was no matro guy around. So they called me the skinny guy.

And when I got there, I had to exercise my strength in the

Lord. I had to show them that I am a strong Christian. Because

the moment I got there and I called the guy's name, Ernest, someone

who had collapsed put his hands in his ears to block hearing my voice.

So I knew that there's a demon infestation here, and as a child of

God and a strong Christian, I need to exercise myself as a strong Christian.

So I removed his hand and I said, in the name of Jesus,

you foul spirit.