PREPARATION FOR A GLORIOUS FUTURE
By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi
1 Peter 4:17-18 NKJV “ For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
This scripture underscores the importance of social reforms in the development of any nation or community ; it is a process that begins with God's people. There can be no true governance outside the perimeter of God’s elect.
Our individual prosperity is meaningless without the prosperity of our communities. It is against this backdrop that the church should pursue a vigorous and holistic approach towards social justice and equity in our communities beyond partisan and ethnic divides Jeremiah 29:7 says “ And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare."
Our individual choices affects over seven billion persons on earth.If you kill one ,you kill all, likewise, if you love one ,you love all. The church is a pool from where tested and genuine leadership is sourced (Acts 6:1-7), therefore, the church is mandated to be at the forefront of sustaining the morally standards of society.
Good governance has a spill over effect of promoting the acceptance and propagation of the gospel (Acts 6:7) God is more interested in the quality of those who constitute church membership than quantity. Church growth is not measured by how many persons are in our auditoriums but how many less sinners we have in a given community. God is not impressed by human demographics but by our faith in Him.
All that was needed was a congregation of four persons: Daniel and his three faithful friends to change Babylon for the better and yet with the millions of followers in our churches society buckles under the weight of social maladjustment .We should pursue after the righteousness and grace that produces the highest level of transparency and accountability by default. The non-spiritually inclined judges us by the degree of integrity displayed . They are not interested in our theatrics. This is why we must of necessity go through trials and temptation, through temporary deprivation Eccl 3:1-8, that means things would not always go the way we plan regardless of how much spiritual exercise we put into receiving them. God wants us to learn how to value human relationship and our relationship with Him more than we do with material things (Rom 14:14-16,1 Thes5:22) craving for things leads to diminishing returns in our walk with God ( Mk 4:7,19) . Satan uses materials things as bait against us and God does not want us to fall prey to his antics.
Some of the things we desire bring shame to the community and dishonor to the lord; during trying times we learn to identify and refrain from such things (2cor 6:3) also the true intents of our hearts are revealed so that we may be able to identify true believers (Deut 8:2, Exodus 20:20) as such periods draws them closer to the Word of God. Sometimes battles are set up by the lord to test our resilience and love for His word (Judges2:21-22). It is easier to distinguish between true and false lovers during trying times.
Through trials we also learn to be better managers of resources and invest wiser (Jn 15:2) thus making us more useful to the community (2Tim 2:21,) this sometimes requires the total destruction of our old plans for prosperity for something new and better ( Jer 18:4) .This is to prepare us for a glorious future ( Deut 8:16) and give Him all the glory as the scripture says in Deut 8:17-18 “He did all this so you would never say to yourself, 'I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.'
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me of my sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation I receive him as lord and saviour and receive grace for recovery in every area of life in Jesus name.
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me of my sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation I receive him as lord and saviour and receive grace for recovery in every area of life in Jesus name.
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Email : michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
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