My Post for October 2015
Hello, everyone! This is Moses Nyiku again with another newsletter. The soul winning continues every week and the Lord is regularly saving souls and adding them to the church. The school ministry has reached many children and their teachers, which goes on to reach their parents and friends. The Lord has been so good with the ministry! As always, we are grateful to God for the opportunity to serve Him
God has been greatly blessing our labors in the field and we are thankful to Him for His help! Praise God! Please remember us and the Lord’s ministry here in Nigeria with your prayers and financial support for our material needs, as the economy here is so meager that survival is barely possible! However, our mission to the lost and poor in Africa has the Lord’s favor and we intend to continue as long as humanly possible.
- He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
- Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Not having any great abundance of new news to write about, I’m going to preach a sermon in its place, which I pray will be a blessing to many.
- ¶ Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
- And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
- Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
- And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
- And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
- Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
- And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
- And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
- And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
- And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
- And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Four States of Being
Today I’m going to talk about four states of being in Hausa, one of our native tongues.
- Rasa, rasa: meaning a person with no wealth, no salvation. Due to God’s favor towards the poor where they are given opportunities for salvation exceeding that of the rich who trust in their wealth, it is difficult to find Scripture verses that represent them because the poor usually respond favorably to the Gospel with nothing to lose and everything to gain through salvation.
- The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
- Samu, samu: meaning a person with wealth and salvation.
- And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
- Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
- And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
- Samu, rasa: meaning a person with wealth but have no eternity in heaven.
- Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
- Rasa, samu: meaning a person with no wealth, but have eternity in Heaven.
- ¶ And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
- And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
- And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
- For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
In Acts 3:2 above, there was a certain poor man, a beggar, who was born lame. All his life, this man was “rasa, rasa.”
Spiritual Blindness of the Lost
From verse 2, we see that he has a real physical need where he couldn’t walk or do anything to help himself. Being spiritually blind to his lost and poor state of being, he acted upon what he believed was his need for silver and gold.
From verses 3-6, we see that Peter and John realized this lame man’s need for God in his life—he needed to walk, physically and spiritually, and glorify God with his life.
Tragically, many “Christians” are also spiritually blind and do not see their need to live separated lives from a corrupt world filled with fornication, which is idolatry, and glorify God.
- For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
- Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
- And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
- And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
- And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
The problem with so-called “Christians” that fail to “separate” is that they love their sin more than they love God and don’t want the word of God to judge their lives. The purity of the King James Bible convicts them of their sin.
- The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
- ¶ Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
Therefore, they will corrupt the true word of God, or hold to a corrupted one, knowing that they can corrupt it further without remorse. At last count, there were 103 corrupted complete English versions [1] of God’s word—a flavor for every sin—not counting the incomplete versions.
- For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Many of these false Christians teach that God’s word was only in the original writings, lost thousands of years ago. While it’s true that the original writings are lost, it is false that God gave His word only in the originals. God’s word is so precious that He has magnified it even above His name. It is not logical that God would not make His precious and pure word, the King James Bible protected by a Crown noncommercial copyright, available to every man in the world—free of private commercial profit.
- I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
In Acts 3:6, Peter steps into the Office of Ambassador for Christ, as a representative or agent of the King of kings. In this Office, Peter is no longer Peter, but is acting in the capacity of Jesus Christ. When Peter is acting in this capacity, all the power of Christ is available to him through the Spirit of Christ.
- Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
- Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
However, there is nothing special about Peter. Any other born-again man, separated unto the Lord, could have done the same in the capacity of the Lord’s ambassador.
- And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
- They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The Right Hand of God
The power of God is in His right hand.
- Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
In Acts 3:7, Peter, acting in the capacity of Christ’s ambassador, took the lame man’s right hand in his own and, transferring power from the Lord Jesus Christ to the lame man, lifted him up out of his lost condition with the power of Christ.
- When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
- And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
- But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
The saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ can lift anyone up out of their sin, if they want it. All they have to do is call upon the name of the Lord.
- For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
In Acts 3:8, the former lame man, now healed and saved but still without wealth, was leaping and praising God Almighty—glorifying God as commanded. The people were amazed that God could make a lame man whole. However, it’s even more amazing to realize that God can give life to a pile of dirt, such as we are, and then give His own Son’s life to redeem ours from the condemnation of sin. As Bible believers, we are to know the truth, which is Jesus, and to stand faithfully upon it, separating ourselves from sin and glorifying God Who has purchased us, as the healed man did.
- What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
- For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Where Do You Stand?
Because our economy here in Africa is so desperate, prosperity preaching easily carries away the people where they fail to realize that they need a Saviour most of all. The reverse also happens in other countries where the economy is rich; the people trust in their wealth and believe that there is no need for God. Little do both groups of people realize that there is absolutely no benefit of wealth after death. They can’t take it with them and it can’t save them.
There is an urgent need to give to missions. There is a need for souls to be saved.
- For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
- How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
- And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
- Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
How bad it is that Christians can’t see the need to have a godly home (family).
- ¶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
If you are unsaved and you’re reading this sermon, there is a need for you to accept Christ as your savior. Because of our sin, he came, died and was buried, rose on the third day, and now is on the right hand of his father.
Where do you stand? You might be “rasa, rasa.” You might be “samu, samu.” You might be “rasa, samu.” You might be “samu, rasa.” Before God, we all are equal.
- ¶ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
- For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Wealth and fame will not get you to Heaven and neither will suffering. The only way to God the Father and Heaven is Christ Jesus.
- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.