The Father’s HeartMany millennia might have transpired since those words echoed across the star studded universe, but it has never for once lost an ounce of its force or of its significance, for the most profound of God's heart desire was to create a master piece and that He did, but it became marred.
After an eternity in fellowship with the Son and the Holy Ghost, it was time for God to share the excellence of His glory with another being that can willingly and truly appreciate and respond to Him, so He created Man “after His likeness” breathing in him His breath of life and with it His (“genes”) very nature and dominion over all created things, but the fall of man from that pedestal of glory to the depth of shame and separation left a dent on what has been a perfect and matchless work of genius and excellence. But God would never let anything or anyone for that matter thwart His plans and purpose for His masterpiece,1 and through the ages He has been working to bring every thing back to His original plan.
The purpose of this essay is to help us see the workings of Gods master plan for the restoration of man to that place of fellowship and perfection in Him. It is about how the common is made holy by the hands of God, about how sinners are made saints by the working of Gods Spirit through sanctification.2
“And this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; that they all may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”(Jn.17:3, 21.KJV)
It has always been such a great challenge to read the thoughts and minds of others, how much more the mind of God, yet the heart beat of God had always been to make known the very depth of His heart to us His children; for us to know His desire to draw us into His glory so that we may fellowship with Him in a most intimate way without fear or any restrictions, had been the object of both awe and envy among other created beings (Heb.1, Rev.12:10b) and we are constantly being restrained from attaining that consummate fellowship that He craved all because of the sinful nature passed down to us, through generations starting from the fall of the first man and woman.3
Sin itself is a “genetic mutation”, a product of the pride and indecent ambition of one of Gods most honoured and trusted angels, Lucifer, who through his rebellion originated an eternal separation from God of all created things that would dare chose to go against His eternal plans and purpose. (Is.14:12-15)
His redemption plan constituted in creating ways through which sinful man may possible approach an impeccable and pure God, whose holy presence repels all forms of impurity.
So He patiently started through the patriarchsm (Abraham, Jacob and Joseph) to reveal His holy nature and the essence of His person, then to the prophets and priests of old (Moses,David and Isaiah etc.) making his ways ever more perceptible to man until finally He took on the form of man in the person of Jesus Christ His only son, who was in every respect Man yet excelled in the fullness of character and moral purity that can only be attributed to a holy God.
It is through this God-Man that God completed His plot of incarnation or well “infiltration” of the human race, working now from within expanding outward. He dealt an effective blow to the very heart of the infecting “virus” of sin that has threatened to devour all of His creation, and by dying on the cross He opened an excellent way for sinful man to approach a holy God (Heb.10:19-23)Jesus in his high-priestly prayer implored the father “I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth” (Jn.17:15, 17)
Sanctified: Through His word He set us apart, distinguished by the restoring power of His Spirit at work in us so that we may be able to approach the holy God, such that by approaching Him we may know Him and by knowing Him we may love Him and by loving Him we would become one with Him and fulfil His original plan and purpose.
Commissioned: through those whom He had set apart God has instituted a mandate, and specific lines of responsibilities for the restoration of the lost humanity and continues to work from within the human race to eradicate the virulent virus of sin, He works through their lives to shine as a light house, leading others still lost at sea, back to the safety of shore, and through their continued work of faith lost souls will come to know God as He is and come to love Him too.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”(I Jn.1:7)
The shadow of Sin:
Very essential to the Christian's growth is the constant consciousness of the power of sin, and its ability to drive a wedge between us and God,5 for “there remains in a regenerated man a
Smouldering cinder of evil, from which desires continually leap forth to allure and spur him to commit sin.”6
“Put to death that which is earthly in you, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Col.3:5, Eph.4:23)
Dying Daily:
The story is told of a little boy who complained to his Sunday school teacher that his hands wouldn’t stop stealing some cookies from his mothers cookie jar; His teacher pondered his dilemma for a while and suggested that when next those little hands would want to go to the jar, he should tell them not to misbehave.
It turned out that on a bright sunny day, the little fellow with his right hand “trapped” in the jar, cried out loudly and painfully, his mother hearing his cry came running to his rescue; when she saw his hands in the jar she panicked fearing that they were stuck there, but they weren’t, so she wondered out loudly why he was crying and why he had his hand in the jar and he told her what the Sunday school teacher had suggested that he should do, “ I warned them that they should not take your stuff mum but they wouldn’t listen, then I warned them again and again mum but they still wouldn’t listen so I started to cry” he moaned.
We understand from apostle Paul in Rom. 7, that even though his heart has been renewed and transformed and he “ delights in the law of God after the inward man” yet there still remains the force that is warring against the “law of his mind, bringing him to captivity to the law of sin in his body.”
To deny the existence of the strong tendency to sin in the life of a Christian, even after conversion to Christ, could only be equated to the proverbial ostrich that hides its head in the dust, 7exposing the rest of its body. This is to say that it would be spiritually suicidal for a believer to ignore the fact that in as much as we are completely dead to sin, the force of sin never dies completely in anybody’s life for as long as we are on this side of eternity. “For Jesus has saved us, he saves and is continually saving us and will eventually save us on the last day”8 when we step into His glory.
This is to say that salvation is a continuum, a dynamic process that ends in eternal life. This requires that we should daily “put to death” every pre-conversion dispositions, any remnant of our old self that could rear up its ugly head in any area of our lives, no matter how insignificant it may seem, such as the desire to do that which is sinful, the lust of the flesh,(which is the strong desire to fulfil the cravings of our human nature, illicit sexual desires, impure thoughts and other impure acts) and of the eyes ( which comprises sinful indulgences that entertain our eyes, it could be sensual, or centred on ostentatious material possessions, desiring things that may not necessarily be within our reach).
This act of putting to death involves a conscious and consistent line of action on our part and the empowerment to accomplish it, from the Holy Ghost.
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and that ye put on the new man of the faith , and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the which after God is created in the righteousness and true holiness. Till we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph.4:24, 13)
Clothed with Christ.
As we are constantly dying to our old nature, new foundations are being laid,9 and it is on this foundation that the new structure of holiness and righteous living is built with Christ as the model and chief corner stone. This is to say that every thing we think or do should be moulded in the light of the life of Christ and our daily living developed around Him and His word. There could be times when we discover that the hate or anger to which we have already died previously, is coming back to life, in that case we need to die again, and it could be that while we are dead to anger and hate we still need to die to lust of the eye or addiction to alcohol or to the life destroying tobacco; the key is that if we are willing and trusting, by the power of the Holy Spirit, all is possible to them that believe.
Resurrected in Him:
Seeing that Christ did not stay dead when He died, but was raised from the dead by the Spirit to dwell eternally in the presence of God, we also should aspire to be raised from the ashes of our weaknesses and failures to a new life of daily victory in Him.Paul said that “if we have been planted together (with Christ) in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Rom.6:5) Christ died for our sins and was raised, by the Spirit, in the fullness of Gods glory forever. We as well ought to be raised with him after that we have died to our former ways and habits, to a new life that is marked by purity of thoughts and life, a life that is centred not on ourselves and our wishes and desires rather one that is focused on fulfilling the will of Christ to the glory of the father.
“sanctification is the increasing experience of “life” or “eternal life”, of which God is the source. Our sanctification therefore must be a work of God.”10
Hand in hand with Him:
Our sanctification is basically the collative work of the Godhead, involving the special act of God the father through incarnation in the person of His Son Jesus Christ and by the power of His Holy Spirit. For the very purpose of fulfilling the special will of the father, we were saved by grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ who has set us apart unto himself as a holy nation and He continues to effect His work in us by His Spirit who lives in us, “for it is the Spirit that quickeneth (gives life), the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life” (Jn.6:63, 5:21) KJV.
But while God is at work in our lives He does not expect us to lie easy with our hands folded between our thighs, He longs for us to enter into partnership with Him in this work by obediently following His guidance and by being available to be used of Him as material instruments and by being sensitive and responsive to Him when He calls.
Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians urged them to mortify (put to death) all earthly passion and inclinations, implying an active and dynamic process on their part rather than a passive and observational state of inactivity. (Col.3:5)
Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into and old wine skin, else the skin would burst and waste the wine the skin also would be ruined as well.” (Mt.9:17, Mk.2:22, Lk.5:37-39)
Divine Overhaul:
“When we moved into our home 5 years ago, we discovered that the former owner had left us six dinning room chairs. They were covered with fabric of beautiful African art-tasteful zebra stripes…when we recently moved again; those chairs needed a makeover to match our new décor. So I called an upholsterer and asked, “Should we just put the new material over the existing fabric?” He responded, “No, you will ruin the shape of the chair if you just put the new material over the old”11
The truth in the above illustration is clear as it was in the words of our Lord to the people of His time, there is no way that one could mix his old life with the new life in Christ and hope that thing would just turn out normal. New life in Christ requires a new way of life, stuffed with new thought process, new attitude, new habits and new outlook on life.12 This is to say that we might have to stare at things that once trilled us, right in the face and find that we are ready to retch with disgust, but at other times it might require all the consciousness and will power one could muster and the ever present grace of God for him to click the mouse or hit the red button. but which ever way the story goes, the truth still remains that for one to walk side by side with Christ, there must be some tearing down to do and some building up as well, till Christ becomes the very centre of our being and we are completely dead to the things that once moved us, so as to come alive in a new realm with a new mind, new thoughts and new passions for Him and for the souls of people in our world.
Am not really a fish person, but I love salmons, though the trill I get from these unique fish has very little to do with gastronomy, that is to say that I love to liken the ways of the Christian to that of the salmon fish, which could navigate “impossible” obstacles, “go against the flow” on its way back home for spurning.13
It is rather sad to say that most times it is increasingly becoming tough to distinguish our priorities as The people of God, from what has become generally accepted norm of the world around us; from how we present ourselves to the world14 to what we aught or aught not to see, what types of media we consume; the World and the Church has become so intermingled that only the power of the Spirit of God in His word is able to draw that so much needed line of separation. (Heb.4:12)
“reality is relative and dynamic but truth is immutable…The Truth never changes because He is the Son of God
Freed by the Truth:
“For you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” some one said that only the truth you know and do can set you free, implying that it is not just enough to know the truth, rather to live by the truth day by day.
Also knowing a particular point of truth may not always be helpful or useful if we are not in touch with the the actualised realities surrounding it and of its application. For instance,
Rap music at one time could be generally equated to obscenities15 and could be quite unhealthy for Christian youth or any Christian for that matter but today that truth may not be real any more if one would consider the number of Christian rap16 artist and their works.
We should be able to distil what is the essential truth of our calling in Christ, the basis of our calling from doctrines that may not always apply to all people at all times.17
We should also be able to identify issues that may be prone to generate confusion as a result of inexplicit reference to it being made in the scriptures, and try not to build doctrines around them instead depending on whatever revealed and related information there is, that could be gleaned from the Word and the Church.
God is unchanging but His ways are dynamic, ever changing from generation to generation as He continues to reveal Himself to people.
The atom at one time was accepted as the smallest indivisible and indestructible unit of matter, and to Dalton’s 18contemporaries that reality was the Truth, but today we know far better than that.19 That was why the apostle Paul said that “we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is Spirit. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part but then I shall know Just as I am known” (2 Co.3:18.RSV, 1Co.13:12 AV)
We may deduce from all these that there is bound to be a dynamic growth in our understanding and appreciation of divine truth, and may not at any time in this life attain a complete knowledge of the whole truth, rather we are to formulate our opinion and thoughts based on the revealed truth while we yearn and wait for the time when all things will be made plain in the presence of Jesus Christ. (Deut.29:29)
Humble and Holy:
“keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. True humility is confidence properly placed”20
To be humble is to put down all our natural self centred inclinations and to put on the nature of Christ, so as to lift up Jesus in every situation thereby making it clear to all that to Him and Him alone belongs all the glory for whatever good there is to be found in us.
When our society emphasises self and hails egocentric values, it become quite challenging to practice true humility without being branded as weak and spineless, but we must not see surrender as defeat, rather as the onset of victory, because Christ was glorified when He surrendered His will to the purpose of His Father and by doing so He was able to restore all the dominion that the enemy has stolen from man in the beginning.
Growing In Jesus: “It is expected of a workman that he be found faithful”.
The Christian life is more than a set of beliefs; it is a skill. It is the skill of a wise person who knows how to live practically in the ways of God”21
Christian growth is a continuum that would extend till the end of life of the individual here on earth when such a one is made perfect in Christ. “The growth process begins with the knowledge of Gods will, which we find in Gods word”22 but it does not just stop there for it is not just good enough to know Gods will if such knowledge is not backed up with the necessary line of action.
The knowledge which is formed in our thoughts should be crystallized in our emotions and subsequently galvanised into action and so on.23 This is therefore how “faith (becomes) the basis of all that we are and do” since faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Rom.10:17)
Free @ Last: The internet provides the kind of liberty and flexibility that is quite unimaginable as it is real yet there could not be that many things that can so much to enslave an individual as it has proved capable of doing. This is to say that freedom from one master could most often mean bondage to another and the difference now would be made by the character and magnanimity of the new master over that of the former.
This is to say that being free from the Law does not mean that we are to become lawless, rather it means that we should become yoked to Christ who has paid the price for our liberation thereby gaining ownership over our lives. Therefore “being alive and free in Christ is the birth right of every child of God”24
“perfect love brings liberty and where the spirit of the lord is there is liberty"
Freedom is power: To be free in Christ is to know our place in Christ or well, knowing our place in Christ is the beginning of our freedom in Christ, because one who does not know the extent of what Christ achieved for us on the cross would find the Christian race more difficult and confusing than one who is settled in the place of victory and pardon that Christ bought with His blood.
That you built a house on a gold reserve does not make you wealthy until you discovers the treasure and subsequently mines it; it is therefore proper to say that knowing of the existence of the treasure does not necessarily change the economic state or status of the owner if no effort is made to appropriate it.
Spiritual speaking, this means that for us to be truly free in Christ we need to be well informed of the treasures and riches that we have in Christ, and more, we need to walk in the victory and fullness of what He had accomplished for us through His life and death on the cross. This truth as great as it may be, has a caution side to it, “ shall we continue to live in sin so that grace may abound?” Asked apostle Paul to the Romans, and responded with the same breath “God forbid!” this is to say that there exists a danger inherent in taking our liberty in Christ to the “liberal” or as well its “conservative” extremes.
This could be compared to two kids asked by their teacher to illustrate their respective fathers with their most prominent imaginations; one Child sketched a furry cuddly teddy bear while the other drew a vivid and ferocious Polar bear baring its canines.
The Liberal Extreme: both images in the afore mention illustrations have so much in common as they share in disparity, the image of a teddy bear is one of a harmless and quite friendly bear that the child can manipulate at her whim and caprice and who in most cases would agree with her and affirm what ever she does weather she pouts or laughs teddy would most certainly not criticise her action nor question her intentions.
The Conservative Extreme: On the other hand it is very clear that a polar bear is one animal that you cannot afford to meddle with and one that you may have to approach with ultimate caution “IF!” you must have to; one that would devour you if you misbehave around it or become careless in anyway towards him.
Applying these parallels to our relationship with our heavenly Father we only need to look at what His Son said of Him and how He related with Him, the bible said that Jesus though He was the Son did not “meddle” with equality with the father, this is to say that not even one who is part of the God-head and who was in the very beginning with the Father had ever dealt irreverently with Him or neglected in any way the utmost majesty and awe that accompany the glory of the Father. He showed his love and affection when He called Him “Abba!” or Daddy, showing a deep sense of intimacy and union that exists between Father and Son, by this I believe that nothing more could better explain the position that the Christian should occupy in Christ, for He wants us to be free to enjoy Him and to walk with Him but He “despairs the situation when our freedom degenerates into an irreverent association where God becomes just the Old man upstairs, or when we fail to feel the power of His majesty, treating Him with the same nonchalant attitude that we sometimes display towards our earthly fathers, forgetting that the same God who is loving and patient is also a consuming fire.
For us to walk freely in Christ we need to be where He is, for Christ is in the father (Jhn17) and above the rudimentary laws and rules of this life, His life is not ordered by some do-s and don’t-s rather by the Godly nature in Him, His integrity and His holiness. This is where He wants us to stay, this is where He had made us to dwell, in the heavenly places far above all principalities and powers above all the dominion of the devil in this world.
One family of three firmly united members is one of the pictures that come to mind each time I think about the Godhead. A family of love and sharing, of unity and trust, the Father through His Son, by the empowerment of His Spirit, is at work to bring all of humanity into His wonderful Family and that is where He so desires that we stay-forever.
In His Presence
In an age where every media preaches a do-it-yourself message and popular education tends towards self reliance and independence, (all being good and positive qualities) it would appear rather awkward and absurd to say that growing toward the fullness of Christ is the one thing that we can never achieve by any form of self effort nor by any amount of trying. This is to say that for us to be like Christ we need to be in Christ, firmly grafted and adapted to the nature and character of Christ; that is the only way that we can be sure to draw the necessary nutrients and strength that is required to bear fruits and for the upward march towards fullness and maturity in Christ and if this is all that it takes to enjoy fullness in Christ why is it then so hard to attain?
Loose Bonding: If the newly grafted scion is not tightly and firmly bound to the main vine the chances are that it would not grow well and may wither and fall off.
People who tend to emphasise a do-it-yourself type of approach to growing in Christ would most likely be those who have had reasonable trouble with connecting with others, Parents, siblings,
friends etc. and as such would find it hard and absurd to surrender completely their long held secrets and safety mechanism so as to become completely dependent on another.
Improper Bonding: on the other hand if the branch is not properly placed, let us say it is placed pointing downwards, it would not experience a proper growth in the right direction and in fruit bearing.
The other extreme of not being free to let-go-and-let-God, would most likely be to shove all our responsibilities over to God and use Him more like a fix-it-all Guy, who is always at our beck and call.
True bonding: Jesus is the Truth and the Holy Spirit is the agent of Truth that sanctifies us25.
The agent of true bonding is the person of the Holy Spirit, He is the Spirit of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, the binding agent in the Godhead, so also He indwells believers so as to fuse them to the “God-community” by leading them to the Truth.
Jesus in His high priestly prayer for His disciples prayed “sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth” (Jn.17:17)
Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which lives and abides forever. (1 Pet.1:22-23)
We were born again by the word and it is the word that sets us apart in this present world and from the world itself, like a drop of mercury we are to bond together and stick to nothing of this present life, staining nothing and letting nothing stain us, by daily letting ourselves be washed with the water by the word, through the Spirit. (Eph.5:26)
As we walk in fullness and peace with ourselves, with one another and with God, we are continually being drawn into that most holy place where His glory dwells, we grow to experience Him in fresh and new ways as His Spirit purifies us with the glorious light of His presence, we begin to loose sight of those things that had encumbered us, the worries of this life, our association with others, our needs and desires takes less significance in the light of His ever abiding presence, we grow in assurance that He is able and willing to “handle anything that comes our way,”26 and to accomplish what ever He has promised.
David desired that he may dwell in the presence of the Lord forever; I think that that should be the earnest desire of each and every believer.
“(God’s) divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue…that by these you might be partakers of His divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”(2Pet.1:3,4b)
Victory in Christ. (16-18)
“Victory is a child of struggle, for there is no victory without a battle before it, and no conquest without a contest.”
The Flesh: For us to sit in that heavenly place of victory in Christ, we must always have this reality vivid on our minds, for the carnal man lives after the dictates of the base human nature and the urges that are ruled by the desires of the flesh. His priority tends toward the gratification of these “natural” urges or desires. while the spiritual man lives above the natural and tends towards the “supernatural” desires and passions that only gratifies the eternal Spirit inhabiting the
individual, such a person when in tune with the Spirit finds peace and comfort, not by indulging his senses rather by stirring up the Spirit within, and by living a life that diminishes self and uplifts Christ.
No wonder John the Baptist said to his disciples, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn.3:30) in other words nothing contends with Him, He must have the pre-eminence and supremacy in my life and in all things around me.
The World: The above mentioned thought could be termed pure utopia, given that we live in such a world and such a time when everything around us indicate the contrary, selfcenteredness is hailed as independence, pure greed and egocentric behaviours becomes drive and objectivity, and all these weaknesses (by biblical standards) are hailed as virtues and attainable goals and Gods people are not totally left out in the contest. The current global economic crisis, resulting from year of lies and greed in high places, more than verifies this theory.
The world around us with its ideologies wield such great influence on the life of the Christian individual, some of which are apparently innocuous but non the less detrimental to his growth toward the fullness of Christ. The entertainment industry is booming and growing by the day, from music, to videos and video games and gradually little attention is being paid to the impact of content on the spiritual well-being of the individual.
The tide of fashion and trends also affect the life of the Christian person in the world and could possible erode good virtues when and if such a person is caught up in its current.
“The world hates the cross because it reveals the ultimate error of the world’s attitude that man is adequate and capable of finding life on his own terms”27
The Devil: The devil is a defeated adversary, yet to be done away with, but while he waits for the day of final judgement to come, he still strives with his last breath and is still causing great havoc in the world today.
Victory Accomplished: The battle for the human race has been fought and won and Chris is the victor while the devil is the vanquished, by dying on the cross Christ bought our freedom at an astronomically high price. The devil on the other hand lost an age old foothold and control over humanity because Christ has made a public show of him and shamed him forever. (Col.2:15)
It is sad to say that irrespective of this great victory the enemy still take hold of men and women to complete his devious will simply because they refused to accept the redemption price paid on their behalf by the blood of Christ.
Conclusion.
Victory in Progress: Even though the devil has been eternally defeated he would not give up yet, rather he continues to fight restlessly through the Flesh and through the World system which he controls. But those of us who are in Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh and its sinful desires, the lust of the eyes and of the flesh, the pride of life, and every thing that does not glorify Christ, and have died to the world and to sin and are alive to Christ, this is to say that we swim upstream, pressing hard against the erosive current of this present world system; we are non conformist, not compromising to the trends and ways of this world. It means that we make a continuous and conscious decision not to let ourselves yield to any urge that would not build up our spirit and glorify our Lord Christ. Jesus urges us to take up the cross daily and follow him.
“Jesus turned what was the peak of disgrace and human tragedy into the turning point for all of human history”
Victory through the cross:
“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, being made conformable unto his death”(Phil.3:10)
We were bought by His death on the cross and we are being purified as we take up our cross daily to follow Him. Paul desired to grow in perfection like Christ even to the point of experiencing the sufferings and gruesome death that He endured.
We are adopted into the family of God through Chirst and must grow into the full likeness of Christ in purity and holiness.
Notes:
1 Paraphrased words of Pastor Dan Stump. ICB Spain. 2005.
2 Neil.T Anderson and Robert L. Saucy. Gods Power at Work in You (Harvest House Pub. Eugene Oregon.2001)pg10
3 “For thousand of years the enemy has repeated the same strategy.”(of using deception to pull men and women down) for more, see Our Daily Bread, sep 7.2005.(RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids MI.2005)
4 Bishop Amechi Nwachukwu. Amazing Love Assembly, (Enugu. Nigeria. 2004)
5 Pop culture tends to make us believe the contrary , “in TV shows and movies the characters rebel against the moral laws of God but live happily ever after. There is even a perfume called “My Sin” its fragrance so alluring, so charming, so exciting …you would never guess that sin is such a stench in the nostrils of God” Sept 7 2005. ODB. (RBC Ministries. Grand Rapids MI.2005)
6 Anderson and saucy. pg 87 as in, John Calvin, The Institute of the Christian Religión,III,iii,10.
7 Pastor Tunde Bakare. The Latter Rain Assembly. Ikeja Lagos Nigeria. 1999.
8 Dennis Chime, Scripture Union Nigeria (Ngwo-Group)
9 Jimmy Swaggart. (Growing in Jesus)
10 Neil.T Anderson and Robert L. Saucy. Gods Power at Work in You (Harvest House Pub. Eugene Oregon.2001)Pg105
11 Story as narrated by Dennis Fisher, Our Daily Bread Aug.23, 2005 (RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids Michigan. 2005)
12 Pastor Dan Stump. The International Church of Barcelona. (ICB) 2005.
13 Taken from Documentary courtesy of National Geographic.
14 A Christian lady once challenged me over the issue of proper dressing code for a Christian person, in her opinion people should not be concerned with what others chose to cover themselves. Ironically the problem was not with the covering rather the uncovering that could be provocatively detrimental to the spiritual growth of others, so in that case the concern actually should belong to the wellbeing of others more than the gratification of a personal indulgence, if the scripture is to be respected. (I Chor.10:22-24,29,33)
15 This is not to say that rap music has become free of obscene contents.
16 Kirk Franklyn and a host of other gospel artist have been able to use rap as a medium of praise and worship.
17 Christians in places around the world still grapple with such issues as, should women were trousers? Should women preach in church? Should Christians touch alcoholic beverages etc? While some of these may not be of concern to some group of believers, it might be of vital import to another group at a particular location as result of the sociological circumstances surrounding them and its effect on their ministry.
18 John Dalton (1766-1844) was an English chemist and philosopher, he postulated the Dalton atomic theory and concluded that atoms can neither be created nor destroyed and that chemical reaction result from rearrangements of atoms. (from Chambers Biographical Dictonary.2003)
19 Neils Borh’s extension of Albert Einsteins and Max Plancks Quantum theorries has thrown more light into a better understanding of the sub-atomic structure of matter, such that today we do not only know of the existence of electrons, protons, neutrons and quacks etc but could also manipulate them with considerable ease.
20. Neil.T Anderson and Robert L. Saucy. Gods Power at Work in You (Harvest House Pub. Eugene Oregon.2001)150
21Neil.T Anderson and Robert L. Saucy. Gods Power at Work in You (Harvest House Pub. Eugene Oregon.2001) Pg 184
22 Ibid.pg172
23 ibid.pg175
24 Ibid.pg186
25 Neil.T Anderson and Robert L. Saucy. Gods Power at Work in You (Harvest House Pub. Eugene Oregon.2001)pg222
26 Morris Chapman. Integrity music. 1993
27Neil.T Anderson and Robert L. Saucy. Gods Power at Work in You (Harvest House Pub. Eugene Oregon.2001) Pg272
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