Sermon

CHRIST'S IMAGEMAKER (PART 1)
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2.
If Jesus Christ hadn't a perfect understanding of his divine mandate, he might just have been like any of the Jewish Scholars of his days and passed on to forgotten history.
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me," he says, " because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19.
The same mandate he transferred to his disciples when he said to them, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." John 20:21.
But what if those he mandated to carry on his good work and project his image to the world were either not ready or willing to do so, for Isaiah raised a lamentation for him in Isaiah 53:8, "He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living...''
Indeed those he mandated were not quite ready to declare his generation to the larger world until he found a man after his heart, the apostle, Paul.
Unlike the other apostles who prevaricated on their mandate, the man Paul, hit the ground running, plunging headlong into the gentile worlds with nothing in his kitty but the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. With great relish, he wrote to the Romans:
"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16. Hear him? He is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
(To be continued)

DO NOT APPLY THE SCRIPTURE UNLESS IT FITS THE OCCASION. Matthew 4:5-7.
Do not deliberately put yourself in harm's way just to prove the saving power of God. If you can, avoid trouble.
Do not be so spirit-filled that you can now disregard obvious dangers. 'I can do all things through Christ which strenghtheneth me' (Philippians 4:13) doesn't make you a superhuman.
The devil quoted the scripture correctly but out of context. Jesus refused to take the bait not because he would have fallen to his death if he had done so but because the scripture referred to did not fit the occasion. Indeed, Psalm 91 from where the devil randomly picked the scripture is completely at variance with the situation in which Jesus found himself. Notice how after he had passed the tests angels came down to minister to Jesus. His decision not to misapply the scriptures earned Jesus the Father's approval.
"And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me (Psalm 50:15) is not a licence to stupidly walk into a trap just to commit God to act on his word.
There is a story of a prophet, who probably because his first name was Daniel, sought to demonstrate the power of God by entering a Lions' cage. Coming face to face with the Lions, Prophet Daniel Abodunrin is alleged to have spoken in other tongues and frenzily recited all scriptures on the subject in overlapping succession. We all know how it all ended for him. Not that the word of God had no effect but that the scriptures relied upon by this unfortunate prophet in his foolhardiness were not in sync with the situation which he created for himself. Scriptures don't work unless they suit a given situation.
Only recently in Lagos, the Oro worshippers clashed with some Christians holding a vigil in their local church. Before then, these traditional worshippers had given notice of their intention to observe the fe**sh rites of Oro. For this reason they implored (perhaps with government backing) residents to remain indoors on the night of Friday the 19th of August all through to Saturday, the 20th. Many Churches had to postpone services slated for that period. However a particular church ignored the warning and went ahead with their vigil on the fateful night. In defying the Oro worshippers, the church must have relied on some scriptures for justification.
Now compare the above to what is recorded in John 20:19. Were they not all disciples of Jesus Christ? Yes, but notwithstanding, "...the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews." Did Jesus rebuke them for locking the doors for fear of the Jews? No.
If the Church in question had shut itself behind closed doors(Jesus' presence would still have been felt as seen in the above scripture) or had postponed the vigil to a future date, the intervening fracas which resulted in the death of an Oro worshipper would have been averted. The church in question was zealous for God but not according to knowledge, for the scripture says in Proverbs 22:3, "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished."
The story of that church reminds me of the lamentation of Paul in Romans 10:1-2:
1."Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2."For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge."
There are many today who have a zeal for God, quick to apply the scripture, but not according to knowledge, with the result that nothing is achieved thereby.
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting, get understanding." Proverbs 4:6.
STAY BLESSED.
Barr. (Pst) Godwin Efemena Macaulay.