IT IS FOR THE GREATER GOOD

 
 

 By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi
   Matt 20:23“And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”
    The Greek word for the phrase ‘ye shall drink’ is “pino”  it means to “imbibe” " It means: to receive into the mind and retain as moral principles, assimilate or take into solution like a sponge absorbs moisture _  Merriam-Webster dictionary . As Christ’s disciples, we will indeed be plunged into the same sufferings that He experienced.
         Suffering is part of the Christian life, it is caused by(1) God (trials)(2)Self: as a consequence of disobedience and(3) Satan(temptation). Regardless of its origin sufferings end up working out for our greater good .
      In Matthew 20:17-25, the disciples had imagined Jesus’ kingdom on earth that encouraged celebrity status but they were surprised to learn that it was not God’s will for us to exercise dominion over our fellow man .The dominion theology  results in covetousness, rebellion and disunity in families. Dominion doctrine  is behind the political instability and poverty of  the African Continent : it is not based on love, Dominion thrives on hate . Love does not dominate . We are called to serve, Matt 20:25-28 KJV says “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them .But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: ....” It is the quest to dominate that's behind the failure in the family system. 
     Dominion theology exploits the weak resulting in widespread sufferings. King Solomon’s wisdom was tainted with this through his luxurious lifestyle at the expense of the poor(1kings11:1-9) with his subjects praying for deliverance from painful levies (1kings12:8-18) as it is in many religious centers today. True worship demands simplicity with pure motives.  
      Praying with wrong motives with an unrepentant heart results in painful trials . (James 4:2,3. Jer. 5:25) therefore ,true repentance is a condition for deliverance. 
     Sometimes repentance results in persecution for one's faith in Christ and that is when we develop Christian character. It is like squeezing grapes to produce wine ,troubles brings out the best in us. God’s power is easily made manifest in times of sufferings: we should be willing to suffer like Jesus did (Phil 3:10). If men hated Jesus for his righteousness they will hate us too , however , there is an eternal consolation in all this, Rom 8:18-19 says” Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later”. 
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 the Holy Spirit and grace  to overcome trials and tribulations in Jesus name. 
Free prayer/counseling +234 8035536911, +234 8098536911
email: michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BREAK EVIL FAMILY PATTERNS

Image
 By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi  Titus 1:12 -14 "One of themselves,   even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians   are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.  This  witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply,  that they may be sound in the faith;  Not giving  heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of  men, that turn from the truth."       The church in Crete was in disarray and the apostle assigned Titus to go and put things in order . On investigation it was discovered the church suffered from a vicious cycle of evil family  patterns. They were not enjoying the fruits of the salvation experience . An example of evil family patterns is that of King David who defiled Uriah's wife ,murdered him and his son Absalom murdered his brother Amnon (2Sam13) dethroned him and defiled his concubines openly (2Samuel16). His son Amnon defiled his sister Tamar (2Sam.13) and so on yet David was the anointed of the Lord.     Many christians suffer evil family patterns ( repeated d
Read more

CONSEQUENCES OF LACK OF FAITH

Image
By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi " Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God." Hebrews 3:12 NLTBible  ' Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”John 20:27 NLTBible     Faith is the guarantee of the manifestation an unseen reality . It is the reason behind the hope we have in God and the fulfilment of his promises. It is the substance ( title deed) of things hoped for ,the evidence of things not seen (Hebrew 11:1) .The Bible warns against not having faith in God. Lack of faith is equal to calling God a liar and untrustworthy. This type of reasoning turns us into enemy's of God.    The gospel is so much under attack by the activities of faithless religionists . They plan to replace the holy scripture with humanistic dogma. The danger in this is the relative approach t
Read more

COMMON CAUSES OF DISUNITY.

Image
 By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi "Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following."Acts 20:30 NLT   "An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin." Proverbs 29:22 NLTBible        Disunity is defined as : disagreement and conflict within a group. It is the greatest hindrance to the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Disunity creates an avenue for Satan to promote sin.       The causes of disunity are not farfetched ,they include : Unhealthy Crave for power or self- promotion. Whenever there is an unhealthy pursuit of influence in a family or group it results in resistance. Self-promotion gives birth to unfair practices and injustices. In Numbers 12: 1-15  Moses' sister Miriam and Aaron rebelled against him desiring to rule by force and in Numbers 16 :1-35 Korah led an insurrection against Moses desiring to be part of leadership. In both cases ,God was not pleased with the rebels
Read more