CHRIST on the Streets

How God the father anointed Jesus of Nazareth who WENT ABOUT doing good and healing them that were oppressed of the devil because God was with Him! (Acts 10:38).

Jesus while He was on earth always “reached out” to the people. In Luke 5:31-32 it says “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
His horizon was towards the lost, the oppressed, the poor, the guilty, the stray, the sick and the sinners. In the church of today, most Christians have forgotten that Christ came to save sinners. As far as they are concerned, the thugs, the area boys, the gangsters, the hoodlums, the ghetto boys, the club guys, prostitutes and the like do not need to be saved because they are lost already and hope has been given up on them. However, Christ came to save the lost. CHRIST WAS FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE TYPES OF PEOPLE MENTIONED ABOVE AND WAS ALWAYS ON THE STREETS DOING HIS FATHER’S BUSINESS! Matthew 18:11, “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost”.
The Grace Community Church has caught this vision and has been running with it of recent.

  Here are some accounts:


On Sunday the 6th of February 2011, the outreach team of TGC led the church to the streets of Moyo Agoro in Ogba, Lagos state. There was a live performance anchored by Emeka Nwanze and Kehinde …… (Kenny Dude) with the music band. The gospel music was electrifying and caught the attention of the whole neighbourhood. Tracts and evangelism materials were shared and there was one-on-one ministration to passers by. There was a voters’ registration poll beside the location and the participants paid full attention. Eventually, there was a sermon by Sister Bimpe Williams. The street crusade was rounded off by Brothers Dike Obi and Kunle Popoola. The impact was really felt on that street but beyond that, only God can really tell the extent to which lives were affected.


Early one Sunday morning in January 2011, Brother Kunle Popoola and Pastor Sammy Nwanze were driving past the Idumagbo bridge at Lagos Island and they saw a crowd of youths playing football on a wide expanse of land beside the bridge. Suddenly, it occurred to them that they could be reached out to with the gospel. They prayerfully prepared for it and eventually chose a Sunday morning to go there.
If not for the boldness which the Holy Spirit had given them, their hearts would have been in their mouths as they walked into the midst of vicious street boys with hard faces. These boys had no source of livelihood and had in most cases resorted to crime and violence for their subsistence. Some of them played football believing that they could develop a career in it and eventually move to Europe. In some parts of the field, there was a smokescreen created by the Indian hemp and cigarettes of these hoodlums. As the brethren proceeded, there were expressions on their faces of the hoodlums ranging from curiousity to suspicion. Could these brethren confront them? Yes! They broke the ice and preached Christ to them. They were all captivated as a football match was eventually converted to a fellowship. There was a prayer session; but some of them began to express their feeling of disgust and wanted to cause pandemonium. There were now two parties – for and against. Those that showed interest told the other party, “Do you want us to die in these our ways? Are we going to smoke this thing (Indian hemp) for the rest of our lives?” I am glad to tell you that was not their last visit and today, that place is a missionary site with short Sunday services scheduled to commence soon. The quantum of work is expanding by the day and has even been extended to the fishermen and traders in that vicinity.
In view of this ripe harvest, labourers are needed for the work. Do you want to follow Christ to the streets? You can volunteer today! Contact the following people:

Ayo Adeoye                     08058606664
Dike Obi                           08027339188
Samuel Nwanze              08027339569
Kunle Popoola                 08023543349

CALLED BY PURPOSE

One of the most profound truths that every individual needs to realize is that the purpose of mankind can be found only in God. A godless person, group, society, nation or concept cannot exist without a meaningful purpose. By meaningful purpose I refer to the original intention of God for man: we can always define our self-suiting purpose or vision to any course under the sun, but that cannot substitute for the original, God-given basis why we are here in the first place. It follows therefore that once we take God out of the picture then there is no reason to assume an original intention, since our existence must have been accidental. Like one Bertrand Russell, an atheist rightly pointed out “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless”.

The aim of this write-up is not to argue for the existence of God. The Bible is clear on the fact that only a fool says there is no God (Psalm 14:1, Romans 1: 20-22). And in the words of Apostle Paul:

 1 Corinthians 8:6 (KJV)
⁶ But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

As believers what defines us is the acceptance of Jesus as being the Savior of mankind according to the scriptures. In other words, we are not Christians because we have some earthly affiliation to the orthodox religion called Christianity (in any shape, form or fashion), nor are we Christians because we attend a church or read the Bible. What makes us Christians is the fact that we have come to the realization, acceptance and personal belief in the person of Jesus as the Savior of the world.

Now what has that got to do with the issue of purpose? Remember I said godlessness intrinsically implies purposelessness. Godlessness is the state of man without a cordial relationship with God. Ephesians 2 describes the Gentiles as people “without a hope or without God…” Man lost cordiality when Adam sinned and threw humanity into a spiritual tailspin. The Bible says through Adam sin entered into the world and death by sin (Rom 5). Since then God started implementing his eternal plan not only to restore man to the state of cordiality He originally shared with him, but much more to introduce man into an eternal purpose to which He called him. Cutting the long story short, through the mediatory role of Jesus, we become recipients of the purposeful life in God. Paul describes this phenomenon in a most interesting way:

 2 Timothy 1:8-10 (KJV)
⁸ Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; ⁹ Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, ¹⁰ But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

In other words we have been saved by virtue of the grace and PURPOSE of God, and not by virtue of our own works and purpose. This also means that we received a new purpose at salvation – God’s purpose for our lives. There is a new life, a new direction, a new purpose which is revealed to us in the gospel of Jesus.

What is this purpose exactly? Again God does not leave us in the dark as to the reason why He has saved us. Apostle Peter says:

 1 Peter 2:9 (KJV)
⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light

In a nutshell, we are to reveal God’s glory. Having become partakers of His own nature and glory, we naturally reflect the glory of God! (2 Peter 1:3). Our eternal destinies are inherently interwoven with worshipping the God of heaven and earth. By ‘worshipping’ I do not refer to singing and dancing or even praying in church, but I refer to the statement of Jesus about those who worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) which refers primarily, to a state (of being born again) and by extension to the things we do that emanate from this state. Thank God by virtue of the life and the Spirit of God in us we are pleasing to the Father. Before we cry “Abba” we are already accepted in the Beloved! God has fashioned us in such a way that we are suited for His own purposes. Paul says:

 Ephesians 3:9-11 (KJV)
⁹ … the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: ¹⁰ To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, ¹¹ According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord

Is it not amazing that we are the very demonstration of God’s many-sided wisdom? We indeed have come into the real life – the life hidden with Christ in God! (Colossians 3:3). We are free from the hold of spiritual death, purposeless, mundane life. Ours is a life of godly adventure and exploits. We have what it takes, because it’s not about who we are in the flesh but about the new nature and ability we have within – the Seed of God

What then? Beloved, it’s time to stop looking at yourself as an ordinary person “just like the rest”, in a rat race, seeking to find a focus in secular world that offers nothing of eternal significance. The purpose we have is for now and for eternity. Let the exploits start now! Begin to see yourself in the light of WHO you are in Christ, and not what you are by virtue of some physical, social, or any other secular attributes. The way forward is to start acknowledging “every good thing that is in you IN Christ” (Philemon vs 6); “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). You are specially created, specially crafted, and called, according to divine purpose!

THE CONCEPT OF PROVIDENCE, FAITH AND PREDESTINATION

God is in control! There’s an active effort by Him to make all things work together for our good!

Highlights of PART 1 - The CONCEPT OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Rom 8:28)

Providence can be said to mean the foreseeing care and guidance of God over the creatures of the earth and human affairs. In other words, it is God’s wise directing of the affairs of the earth. The closest word to ‘Providence’ is ‘provision’, means to take care of something; to see to something. The concept simply means that God in His divine benevolence in control of the affairs of the earth.

The concept of divine providence is one of the fundamental concepts lost in Christianity. Paul, affirmed the concept of providence as something commonly held amongst them, a firm conviction, assurance or confidence that God was in control of affairs and worked [good or bad] all things together for their good! This is encapsulated in Rom 8:28 –31, and was even summed up in their greeting –“GOD FOR US”.

A distortion has gained momentum in the world on the issue of control, sadly perpetuated by the faith movement and others in charismatic circles. Three possible spheres of control: [1] YOU in control; OR [2] Nothing in control - and that things happen by CHANCE, ACCIDENT, or LUCK, OR [3] God is in control. These three are mutually exclusive – if one is true, the other two are false. The biblical view from the story of Joseph and all that happened to Him is that God is control. The series of events that happened to Him, which eventually culminated in the preservation of the nation of Israel, from whom the Messiah came, admits no other conclusion than that God is in control – the unseen Hand orchestrating all things.

There is nothing that takes place on the earth aside God’s control. If anything can operate outside His control, then He is not God. Even if people are unwilling to ascribe to God this control, because of the disasters and evil that occur in the world, none can dare say that He had no power to prevent them. So in such circumstances, it can be concluded that he permitted it. The reasons may be incomprehensible to humanity, but nonetheless, his control is indisputable.

Everything you are, have, your family, advancement, progress in life, achievements, you owe it to God’s providence, not your intellect, hardwork, wisdom, or power, since there are many that are better than you in these qualities, and yet may not have the same achievements or success.

This concept is first seen in the story of Abraham in Gen 22, when God asked him to take his only son Isaac for sacrifice. Abraham was sure of the provision of God when his son asked him for the sheep for the burnt sacrifice Gen 22:7-8. From that episode, the word JEHOVAH JIREH emerged, which is popularly said to mean GOD OUR PROVIDER. But the original meaning of JIREH is ‘see’. So the concept of JEHOVAH JIREH means God would decide and see to the issue based on His determination and foreknowledge. God sees to the situation irrespective of you; God taking care of the situation even before you find yourself there!

2 Concepts that illustrate this are: The concept of sustenance of creation; and the concept of concurrence.

The concept of sustenance of creation -The Hebrew word for creation is ‘bara’, and it means to create and preserve. God creates and preserves what He creates. God didn’t just create the earth, He created it and He sustains it.  The earth keeps revolving round the Sun because of this, because He is in control. God put gravity their within the context of His plan. It illustrative of God’s providence that He sustains whatsoever He creates [ Philippians 1:6, Acts 17:25-28]

The concept of concurrence - We as human beings have a free will and make our decisions based on that. However, the things we do based on our seemingly free will fall in line with God’s plan. It’s like two rivers coming from two different directions, meeting at a point, and from there going in the same direction. This explains the concept of concurrence. Even your sins, mistakes, wrong decisions and choices, may attract consequences, but do not ultimate frustrate God’s purpose and plan. Judas betrayal of Jesus did not. The Jews killing of Jesus did not – it all fell in line with God’s set purpose [Acts 2:23,4:28,13:27

These two foregoing concepts are vital in understanding the concept of providence i.e God ultimately being in control and constantly working out all things for our good. The system of the world today has tried to replace the knowledge of God with chance. But there’s nothing like chance in the dealings of God! Chance is a probability, a mathematical concept and doesn’t have power to do anything! Nothing happens outside of God’s control. You are not in control. You do not determine what happens to your life. In whatever situation you are, find out the reason why God will have you be in that situation and make the best of it.

The concept of providence is fundamental to us as believers and we must therefore imbibe it. As we live our lives, we must know that God is ultimately in control and that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose!