screenshot taken from the prayer meeting
Hello Brethren, hope everyone is doing good. Today, I wish to give my contribution in response to the MCGI prayer meeting which I was fortunate to attend last night according to my regional time.
In this session of the community program, Brother Daniel and Brother Rodel, expantiated and elucidated so many protocols through the scriptures on living our lives as children of the light, not letting the sun to go down in our anger, not using our liberty as an excuse for evil practices etc.
I must appreciate and congratulate the Church on the latest and successful baptism of about 2000 Brethren and may God strengthen those who gave themselves for the baptism.
Nonetheless, the following scriptures made up the night prayer session rendezvous of the MCGI program which I trust you may love going through in your leisure:
Psalm 55:14, Gal 6:2, Eph 4:18, 26, 27, Gal 5:13, Heb 5:14, I Tim 4:7, I Pet 5:8, I Thess 5:5, I Cor 7:5, I Cor 9:24, 24, Phil 2:14, 15,16, Gal 6:22, 23, I Cor 4:3, 4, Rom 2:23, Eph 4:27, I Pet 5:8, Eph 4:26.
screenshot of Brother Daniel during the prayer meeting
Psalms 55:14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.(KJV)
This was a prayer of David on the course of the oppression of his enemies so he raised this psalm to show his grieve that even his enemy was a man of his acquaintance whom they had at a time had taken similar council and had in a company walked into the house of the Lord.
In this context, Brother Daniel lifted this content to encourage the newly baptized Brethren to continue in the faith and be mindful of unfriendly friends.
Although we may be in the same house of fellowship with the Brethren, there are still those who may decide to hold their deference, so we have to be very observant both in the spirit and in the physical against falling victim to situations we could have managed with wisdom.
For instance Jesus said he never gave himself to the Jews because he knew them in John 2:24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,(KJV)
Although everyone is in the Church, some persons have their reserves and believers are to be careful about this because it's obvious that we may have the same goal but not the same thought and such, we have to be observant but not judging disrespecting anyone in our heart as we are advised to submit or agree to one another in the fear of God according to Ephesians 5:21.
So we have to submit to our Brethren in the fear of the lord and not against the direction of the scriptures but according to wisdom.
Ephesians 4:18.
This scripture was an admonition of Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus where he encouraged them not to live as other gentiles do, who walk in the vanity of their mind and have been darkened in their understanding and being aliens from the life of holiness which comes from God.
In verse 26 & 27, all believers and not just the Church in Ephesus are encouraged not to give room to the devil either in our anger probably on account of what people had done to us.
The fact is that human anger does not work out God's glory because the reverberation of our anger will always put things in a mess which will bring remorsity afterwards.
So to avoid disappointing those who are looking up to us for an adjustment of their lives, we have to avoid anger. Although there will always be room for one to get angry, we are also advised not to let the sun go down in our anger, meaning that we shouldn't let the day pass while we hold those reserves against anyone that has provoked us.
For instance, someone provoked me on Monday and it got to Tuesday when I saw the same person, I still remember the wrong he did to me on Monday. That means the sun which is the day has gone, while I still keep those vexations and reserves against the person. We are advised to give people their sins so that God will also forgive us.
Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.(KJV)
This is a reminder to every believer that we are no longer living in the bondage of the law because he that is under the law must observe all the dictates of the law, and if he fails in one, he has failed in all of them.
As people who are not under the law of Moses but under the grace of Christ Jesus, which we know according to the scriptures in John 1:17 that the law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Christ. Also in Ephesians 2:15 we can see that the law was abolished in the body of Christ as to make peace between man and God no longer through the dictate of the law but through the sacrifice of his body for us.
Now we have to consider this freedom from the entanglement of a law that cannot be fully observed because even the priests who are considered the teachers of the law first offers sacrifices for themselves before entering the Holy of holies to atone with the blood of animals for the sins of the people.
Nevertheless, if we have this freedom that came on account of God's grace unto us, we shouldn't use it in a carefree manner by giving room to the flesh but rather we have to use it to serve our fellow men.
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
In this regard, Apostle Paul admonished the Brethren concerning the manner of persons we ought to be, intending that we ought not to be bebes who are still longing for milk as food but as matured people who through discernment of good and bad have come to know God and such eat the bones which are the word of God and exercising of faith in God and not waiting on others to guide us or instruct us of and on what to do at each time.
Also in I Timothy 4:7, we are advised to avoid irrelevant talks but rather concentrate on living a godly life.
When we engage in ungodly talks, we are invariably giving room for the devil and when he has fully gained ground through those unwholesome fables and talks, we will no longer be able to observe the reality and truth in God's word.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:(KJV)
The devil who was defeated through the blood of the covenant is not always happy that we have come to know the truth. He is always looking for believers he'll bring down not really to death but through their faith.
I love the expression and simile used by Apostle Peter, that the devil is like and not that he is the Lion himself.
So the devil is always in a disguised form, for instance we could observe how Christ said that he saw the devil fall like lightning from heaven in Luke 10:18 and in verse 19 Christ said he has given us power to overcome the devil and he can't harm us.
So as believers, the expression of Apostle Peter to us is that the devil isn't the lion because we have the true lion according to Revelation 5:5 which is of the tribe of Judah that is Christ Jesus and he has overcome the devil who is pretending to be the Lion.
Becoming a believer is not a criteria for overcoming the devil but it's an emblem that one has passed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
For one to overcome the devil according to Apostle Peter, we have to be vigilant or prayerful as believers because the devil might not come in a conspicuous way for one to easily recognize that this is actually the devil working because he is a creature with wisdom, and he can disguise himself in different ways as to look like the lion in deception of anyone that may be falling pray to him.
Believers are to be prayerful as to overcome the devil because even our faith will overcome the world and we also have to exercise our faith through prayer as to overcome our adversary the devil.
1 Thessalonians 5:5, we are reminded of who we are. We believers should live our lives as true believers and not like the children of the devil.
For instance, the fish in the river cannot survive on dry ground and humans cannot survive in water. Likewise, believers should know that we cannot live or make it in our walk with the Lord if we live in the darkness of this world which is the Life of corrupt practices seen in the world today.
screenshot of Brother Rodel during the prayer meeting
Conclusion
We must gain mastery over ourselves, as not to be used by the devil but rather we have to give ourselves to godliness and works of righteousness.
Believers must be prayerful as not to fall back to the worldly lives and practices we once lived because if peradventure one falls back to sin after believing, it tantamount to trampling on the blood of the covenant which equals telling Christ that his sacrifice was ineffective.
God is able to give us victory in all our ways if we keep our faith in Him, despite the temptations of the devil in a corrupt world, since the earth and its fullness is the Lord's according to Psalms 24:1
We are not to fear anything because He that called us is faithful and will do that which he has promised. All we need is to believe God and obey His commandments.
God bless his servants for such an encouraging word to the believers around the world, and God God bless all those who are partnering with the Church to edify our spirit with this program thanks and 💗