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Love and Submission

Ephesians 5:15-24When people get married, they often say, "We have decided to "tie the knot." Given the numbers of people who are deciding not to tie the knot at the present time, I think that is an admirable decision.

I try to point out to them that when we think in terms of Christian marriage, it's not so much two people deciding to tie the knot as God deciding to join two people together. It's not so much a human decision as a divine action. Marriage is all about God joining two people together. I say this on no less of an authority than Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, He went even further, saying, "Whom God, therefore, has joined together, no man should separate!”

  

So when we think in terms of marriage in these terms – “God having joined two people together” – it's rather obvious that two independent people now being brought together in some new union are going to have a lot of adjustments to make.

In Ephesians 5 Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul gives some very helpful teaching on this whole business of how the husband and the wife adjust to each other. He does it in a very balanced way. For instance, here is a familiar verse, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). It's very familiar because the wives have heard it over and over again.

It’s also very familiar to the men. Some men, who don't know any other verse in the Bible, know this one very well, indeed. However, if we're going to look at what Paul actually said in Ephesians 5:25, he said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church." You see, it's rather like a pair of scissors – when you have a pair of scissors, you've got two things (blades) that have been joined to form a new whole. If the scissors are going to work, then both sides have got to be in operation and in harmony.

So Paul would say, “Look, half the story about marriage is ‘wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord;’ the other half is ‘husbands, love your wives, as Christ loves the church.’” Today I'm going to talk to you about the first half of this relationship, this business of adjustment. “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Next time it will be about “Husbands, love your wives,” and no you cannot go and play golf! You have to listen to both of these, unless you're going to try and operate with half a pair of scissors. 

It's very important that we understand the context in which Paul is giving this teaching, because if we don't understand the context, we may get Paul all wrong. If you look at Paul in his immediate context, what you will discover to your amazement is that he was a radical, and that he was doing more for the emancipation of women and other oppressed groups at that time than anybody else on earth. But you will never understand it until you see it in context. It's important that we see this, because many people are simply dismissing this aspect of biblical truth concerning marriage.

First note the historical context. First Century Greco-Roman culture was the culture in which Paul was living, to which he was writing. They were particularly interested in maintaining law and order! They said, "The way you do that, is by breaking society down into its most manageable pieces, and maintaining law and order there." The most manageable piece of their society was the household. That’s very different from the nuclear, suburban household which many of us are used to at the present time. This could be a rather large group of people, certainly husband and wife, children and very often slaves and many servants.

They maintained order in that household by giving absolute authority to the husband, the father, and the owner of the slaves. He could rule that household with a rod of iron. For instance, if his wife gave birth, in his opinion, to too many daughters, he could order the infant baby girl to be exposed and die. That wasn't a problem in that culture. If his son became unruly and disobedient, he could be thoroughly beaten and – if necessary in the father's eyes – he could be imprisoned. If a slave escaped from the household and was captured, he could be executed at the command of the head of the household. 

The wife was regarded not as a person, but as a piece of property. She was not allowed to make decisions of her own, particularly in the area of religion. The father and husband decided what everybody's religion was going to be. She had no rights whatsoever. So as far as the women, the children, and the slaves were concerned, they didn't rate at all.

So when Paul came and preached the Gospel, this was a dramatic intervention in their culture because he told these people: You're all created in the image of God. God loves all of you. You slaves, God loves you. You women, God created you in the image of God, as much as He created your husbands in the image of God. Christ died for all of you. All of you are sinners, you have that in common – men, women, children, slaves, wives, husbands, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

He said: Christ died for all of you that you might be reconciled to God. If you're reconciled to God the Holy Spirit will come into your life, and He will baptize you into the Body of Christ, and He will give you gifts. In the Body of Christ, men, women, children, slaves, slave owners, husbands, wives, you will be all one in Christ Jesus. “For in Christ there's neither Jew, nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor slave owner.” We’re all one in Christ Jesus!

That's old hat to us; we've known that ever since we've known anything about Christianity. But this was a radical message to the people to whom Paul was preaching. The women couldn't believe their ears, "What is he saying about us?" The slaves couldn't believe what they were hearing. "What is he saying about us?" The men, they were having fits! "Wow, these women might start believing this crazy character. They might start to thing they're as important as we are. These slaves might get all kinds of big ideas about themselves. We will lose control, and if we lose control in the household, it's only a matter of time until law and order breaks down in the household, and then the whole of our society will collapse.”

That's why Christianity was regarded as dangerous and subversive at that time. How many of you think that the man in the street in America today regards Christianity as dangerous and subversive? Now the man in the street in America generally regards Christianity as fundamentally weak-kneed and irrelevant. That will give you some idea of the change in culture.

So the Apostle Paul is bringing a message to those women who are hearing something so exciting, so radical, and so emancipating that it's very important that he teaches them very, very carefully how to enjoy their freedom in Christ while living within their culture. Come to think of it, that's what we have to do today! How can we live uniquely free in Christ, within our culture, so that we don't become a scandal to the name of Christ in the culture of which we are a part? 

Another aspect of this context we need to recognize is what I would call the spiritual context. That starts in Ephesians 5:1, which says: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." That is a command; it is a principle for all believers. Are you a dearly loved child of God? The answer should be: "Yes!" Than this is what dearly loved children of God do! They seek to imitate God – to become more like Him.

How do they that? They do it by living a life of love. But how do they live a life of love? They do it just as Christ loved us – He gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is the overarching rule of a Christian. Christians are dearly loved of God, and they bask in the love of God. Because they bask in the love of God, they want to imitate Him; they want to live more like his Son, Jesus, who lived a life of love and of submitting gladly to the will of God.

So what is it you expect to see in your average Christian? You'd expect to see two things: A loving attitude and a submissive spirit. Why? Because that was Jesus, and we wish to emulate Him.

You say, “How in the world can you live in this world and in this situation, and in my marriage in particular, with a loving attitude and a submissive spirit?” The answer is: You can do it in the fullness of the Spirit. So do you have a context here? You don't start with "Wives, submit to your husband;" you start with "As dearly loved children, be imitators of God."

What that means is that you become more like Christ. What was Christ like? He was loving! How did he demonstrate His love? By submitting to the will of God, and sacrificially giving Himself on the cross. Then emulate His example! You say, "I can't!" Yes, you can in the fullness of the Spirit. If you're living in the fullness of the Spirit, this is what will be showing: your speaking, your singing, your thanksgiving, and your submitting. Submitting to who? One another – that's what Christians do.

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How to attain success in Life

How to attain success in Life

1.      DEVELOP THE SPIRITUAL MAN

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole SPIRIT and SOUL and BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

—1 Thessalonians 5:23

We get a picture of the threefold man—body, soul, and spirit—from this text. We will study the spirit man—the real you—in this message.

Millions of dollars and shillings are spent every year to develop the physical man—and there's nothing wrong with that. I myself spend a certain amount every year on a health club membership to keep my physical body in shape.

Paul said, "Bodily exercise profiteth little" (1 Tim. 4:8), but he didn't say it didn't profit. I have found that a physical body that is in shape produces a spirit that is more finely tuned. If you discipline the outward (or physical) man to run or work out, you can apply the same discipline on the spirit man, and he'll become just as much in shape as the natural man.

Millions of dollars also are spent every year to develop the intellect—and you should be spending money to develop your intellect. You may argue, "But I've already gone to school." Fine, but the bookstores are full of good materials you could purchase to read up on what is happening in the world. To be successful, you should be learning continually.

You should be involved in getting your physical man developed; your intellect educated; and your spirit trained.

I won't go into the development of the physical and intellectual man here, because most of you already have been taught that in school and elsewhere.

There are four steps in the development of the spiritual man:

The way to feed information to the intellect is by studying books and other materials. The way to feed information into the spirit is by studying the Bible.

I don't mean grabbing it for five minutes and turning to the Proverbs and Psalms, either. That's what some people call reading and studying the Word. They think five minutes' reading and a quick prayer is all they need to do each day.

(You'll find they are very weak spiritually. They have a very weak spirit man. He follows every wind of doctrine that comes along instead of settling down in a good church somewhere and becoming part of the family of God.)

Yes, we're born into the family of God, but we need to be part of a local body, fellowship, and reach out to those who need to be helped.

Sometimes I get a little tired of preaching to those who are running after "the fire." It's good to preach to the sheep—the stable ones.

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To Know Yourself More

Prince Emma Opanyi

To Know Yourself More

Do you ever feel that there is something missing in your life? That even though how hard you pray and study as well as meditate on God’s word, still, there is something that you want to look for? Do you ever feel that you do not know yourself that much and been looking for ways on what is lacking on you and discover more of yourself? Feeling lost and insufficient though you almost had everything in life?

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
“If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.” – Job 36:11 (KJV)

The very reason why many people today feel that something is missing in their lives and are discontented though they almost have everything is because of the inability to know themselves more. Never knowing the deeper you cause discontentment and confusion to whether or not you are in the right direction to where God is leading you.

It is very important to know the deeper you for it will not just bring you contentment but will also reveal to you God’s plans for you to prosper. Discover more of yourself as you speak with a prophet today. Get your free written prophecy and unfold ways that will make you feel contented as you celebrate each day in abundance.

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SEEK WISDOM

Prince Emma and Beatrice Opanyi

SEEK WISDOM

Joshua said, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Josh. 1:8).

Another translation reads, "And then shalt thou be able to deal wisely with the affairs of life."

How can you be a success if you can't deal wisely with the issues of life? The thing most lacking among all the faith and charismatic people—and church people in general—is wisdom.

As a pastor friend said, "It's the easiest thing in the world to be involved with the Spirit, but the crux of the matter is in having the wisdom to know how to operate in the gifts."

People operate the gifts unwisely because they have not built up their spirit; they lack knowledge.

Wisdom is necessary in all areas of life; even in the business world. If wisdom abounds, you will operate your business wisely. If you don't have any wisdom, you'll operate the business unwisely and it will fail.

If your first store is barely making it, do you go out and open three more? That would be unwise, wouldn't it? You need capital to carry the new stores until they get going.

But for some reason or other, people who get into spiritual things launch out without using any intelligence, saying, "Well, God will take care of me." Then they get so busy they dry up spiritually. They run out of anything to give out. I'm not advocating not being busy for God, but I am advocating not running all over the place trying to be involved in too many things. Settle down into one church and get involved there; don't run all over the country.

I could slip into teaching about the family here—such as a wife running all over town to prayer meetings or spending all day shut up with a tape recorder, and when her husband comes home, her hair is still a mess, she still hasn't put her makeup on, she's still in her robe, and the house looks like a cyclone hit it—dirty dishes everywhere and no dinner prepared. The minute her husband comes through the door, she starts hollering, "Brother So-and-so's over at such-and-such church. Get ready—we're going over there. We'll have snacks on the way!" And her husband's already eaten hamburgers for dinner the past seven nights! That's not being wise. That's not dealing wisely, either spiritually or naturally.

Success is not measured by anybody else in the congregation. Success is not measured by your peers or by any other church. God once told me, "You're successful if you're doing what I told you to do, whether you've got 3 or 3,000 people in your church. If you're doing what I told you to do, then you're successful."

If you're doing what God told you to do, whether it's working with children, teaching a class, taking the offering, or otherwise helping in the church, then you are successful—no matter what friends, relatives, or neighbors say.

Some may ask you, "If you're going out in the ministry, why don't you get on out there?" Maybe you're not supposed to get out into the fivefold ministries yet; maybe you're supposed to stay in the church and help and teach.

God does not compare you with anybody else. I know that from studying the Word of God and from being a parent. Do you measure the success of one child by what another child is doing, or do you judge them on their own merits? Did you know God does the same? He judges our success on our own merits. He doesn't even judge us by our wives, thank God. Maybe it should be the other way around, too: He doesn't judge you ladies by your husbands. When I've preached this, I've noticed some wives were afraid to laugh because their husbands were looking at them. 

Another way to be successful is found in the first verse I memorized as a little boy: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...." (Ps. 1:1).

News commentators and financial analysts make their predictions through the media, telling you, "Now's the time to do this; now's the time to do something else. Buy, sell, borrow, lend...."

Often we can follow their lead—unless God is speaking to us to do otherwise. If we disregard His leading at such times, we cannot be blessed, because we're taking the counsel of the ungodly. We've got to use wisdom in these circumstances.

PSALM 1:1-3

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall

not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

That sounds like Joshua 1:8; doesn't it? It means that when wintertime comes, that man or woman is not going to dry up when the sap goes down and the leaves fall off. That gives you a picture of what happens when hard times come to the tree.

In winter, when the sap's not running and goes back down into the roots of the tree, that tree—unless it's an evergreen—looks like it's dead. But the life is in the foundation or roots of the tree. There is a root system beneath that tree that's deep enough and strong enough to support its height. All of the life is there. That tree is just as much alive during winter as it is during any other time of the year; it just doesn't look like it.

It says here that the man who walks in the way of the Lord and meditates in the Word will bring forth fruit in his season, and his leaf shall not wither or fade away. And whatsoever he does will prosper.
May whatever you do this season prosper in Jesus name.

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THE POWER OF CHOICE

Mr. and Mrs. Opanyi Bril

THE POWER OF CHOICE

Over the past 28 years I have come to a point of saying I am who I am, because of the choice I have made. Your life is just where it is not because someone forced it there but because you pushed it that direction by the number of choices you made whether negative or positive.

When I was a teenager life denied me opportunity to be happy. It was like Pandora box was opened for me. I was totally squeezed to a tight corner in everything pertaining life. As a child I grew up in the hands of one step mother to another one where everything was left to chance.

Life indeed became a big struggle. One remarkable U-Turn of my life was on the evening of 23^rd June 2001 when I gave my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. My family being a Catholic stronghold, being Born Again was the number one hard decision I had to make.

In Genesis 12 when God called Abram, it was left to Abram to agree or disagree with what God said. The choice Abram made changed his identity from Abram to Abraham. And in Genesis 21 it gave him a son of the promise. He is also considered the greatest intercessor that ever lived on earth. (Genesis 18:16-33).

Abraham became the father of many Nations not because of anything else but it was because of the choice he made to obey God’s voice. I love this wonderful statement that came from the mouth of God to Abraham “… I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” Genesis 15:1 NKJV. Hey this did not just happen out of the blue. It took an obedient ear of father Abraham to hearken to God’s voice. Abraham was an ordinary man from a background of idol worship but at 75 God called him out of his background, fears, and kindred and out of his comfort zone so as to make him great. If God is to make you great in this world, He will always inconvenience you out of your comfort zone so as to organize you for greatness.

Most of the tears, regrets, disappointments and tragedies that we face today is a result of the choices we made in life. In the middle of that fire and storm of life you are going through, if you choose to listen to God you will always make a right choice.

When I was a teenager, time came when I got tired of what I was going through in the hands of my step mother. I was this young quiet and humble boy but the day before I got saved, I had this crazy plan of having my step mother hurt but surprisingly as I was sleeping that afternoon in my room I heard a voice call me three times “Emma, Emma, Emma” I got shocked because when I checked around the house there was no one at home. So when I sat on the chair I had a voice tell me ‘go to where you are hearing that sound’ only to reach there it was a gospel crusade and it was time for altar call. Immediately I found my two hands up and I gave my life to Christ that day. Remember after getting saved I found out that this was the last day of the crusade but today I have lived to see every single word come true that the preacher in that crusade spoke over me.

I want to speak to you reading this “it doesn’t matter how many wrong choices you have made in life that has brought your life to where it is now. It is not too late to make a U-turn back to where you turned wrong so that you can turn right”.  And this is what the Lord God who has loved you says: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you.. ‘’ Isaiah 43:1-4 NKJV

If I may ask the married people who are reading this article now, When God first spoke to you about your spouse did you say yes there and then? Many of you first said no because you had a cautious approach wondering whether what you were going to decide was right or wrong. 75% of the couples I have come across through counseling and prayer engagements have always made such a statement as this: “after ten years of our marriage I am grateful for having made this choice of a man for a husband or woman for a wife”. This is what I call the power of choice. The result of making the right choice.

THINGS YOU NEED IN ORDER TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE

For you to make the right choice in life there are qualities that you have to develop

1. You must develop a heart of obedience. Earlier on we looked at Abraham and when you go through his history, he is a man who obeyed God. For you to reach a desired place of your destiny, you must be obedient to God and to your spiritual and physical parents. Genesis 26:5.

2. You must have Faith.

When it comes to making choices in life, the level of one’s faith or lack of faith is paramount. Abraham’s success depended first on obedience to God and then Faith. That is why he is referred to us the father of Faith.  Matthew 17: 20 says that ‘if you have Faith as small as a mustard seed nothing shall be impossible unto you’. as a Christain, don’t allow circumstances to attack your faith like it happened to Peter who looked at the wind with fear. That’s why Jesus said in Luke 21:26 that ‘Men’s hearts shall fail them for fear’. Proverbs 24:10 Living Bible says: “You are a poor specimen if you can’t stand the pressure of adversity”

The right choice must be made at that critical moment. You will need faith to enable you make it.

3. Divine Wisdom

After looking at obedience to God and walking in Faith as a requirement for making the right choices in life, applying divine wisdom will also enable you to always make the right choices in life.

Proverbs 1:5 says: ‘A wise man will hear and increase learning’

Proverbs 4:5-9 5 ‘Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’

The great men and women who are successful in life are people who made right choices. And how did they succeed? They applied wisdom through their toughest life journeys. In verses 6 of Proverbs chapter 4 it says: forsake not wisdom, and she shall preserve you, love her and she shall keep you’. This means that thought it’s not easy to make the right choices in life due to the fighting forces around us, when we get wisdom we will be preserved and kept.  I remember before I got married I went through some relationship challenges and my Spiritual parents sat me down one by one and spoke to me words of wisdom that will never leave me. I remember Pastor George telling me this simple words but with power in them ‘Emma its time you concentrated on seeking God’. These words may not be enough to help some people due to their inability to discern when God is behind a word spoken by someone.

3. Utilize the blessing of Spiritual parents.

In order to make right choices in life, the aspect of spiritual fatherhood is paramount. Many of the errors we see in life today even among renown men and women of God lies under one simple question. Where were they natured spiritually? (Who is their spiritual Leader?) When you sit under your spiritual leader for some good time, because you are under a spiritual cover of that leader you will find yourself making the right choice or decision. Every spiritual leader has got a specific divine definition. For example at VCCM when it comes to marriages and finance you can’t struggle. That is why people who come to VCCM are blessed with marriage and finance. I myself I am a big testimony of being under VCCM. I come from a polygamous setting where no one has ever married ceremonially and the same with my wife and as a matter of fact these polygamous forces from our foundation tried to fight us but what made us prevail over those forces is the spiritual cover under which we serve. Friend, when you humble under your spiritual leader automatically no one will need to tell you to learn the word. Why? Because right spiritual leaders give right spiritual food to their children. Utilize the spiritual cover under which God has put you. One thing I cannot forget is all the success and progress I have attained in life is because of being under the right spiritual parents.

Finally, I want you to know that for one to make the right choice in life, one has to be obedient, walk in divine wisdom, have faith in God and utilize the value of Spiritual parents. However for you to attain the above you must take the word of God keenly. May God help you make the right choices in life that will pave the way for your greatness. And may this be the year that you will start afresh in whatever you do and in a big way.

May God bless you

Mr. Opanyi Emma

brilemma@yahoo.com +256 775585176

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