The Sunday Conversation | with Pastor Luke Okoro | 2. 1. 2022
Psalms 1 :1-6. Job 14:1 -2. Proverbs 3:1-8. 4::1-13. 5::1-14. 23: 26-35.
” Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the way, and see and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls .
But they said ,we will not walk therein.”
Jeremiah 6: 16.
” Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
” Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him “.
Isaiah 3:10-11.
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”
Galatians 6:7.
Ordinarily, a journey is a movement from one place to another. Sometimes, it could be short and brief. At other times, it is far and lasting in time – days, months to years. But whether short or far and long, journeys entail displacement, dislocation and demands preparation before being undertaking.
For the purposes of our conversation, we will define Journey here as that travelling which the believer undertakes as soon as he confesses Jesus Christ here on earth to the time he meets his maker at the end of this life — in death or in rapture.
Accordingly, we are talking about being displaced here on earth to be with the Master. Jesus says in John 14 that we should be of good cheers because He has gone to prepare a place for us. And that He will come to take us home to that place now in preparation by Him. Issues of faith sometimes appear foolish to those who are wise and self- conceited This explains why many who claim to be wise on earth find it difficult to accept the simple message of the gospel to be born again so that they can be saved, and to commence the Journey that we are talking about here.
Meanwhile, the point must be made clear that anybody who has not received Jesus as Lord and Saviour is undertaking another kind of Journey with a different destination.
This is because the guide for such a journey is Satan. And according to Isaiah quoted above, such people who reject Jesus are wicked and can ONLY qualify to go to hell. Revelation 20 :12-15. Jesus said if you reject Me here on earth, I will also be ashamed of you before My Father who is in heaven. As you go through this conversation, it is important to be resolved and settled in your heart that you have answered the call — Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Indeed, the Journey of life begins with a sure resolution of this call: That you are now in Christ Jesus with old things passed away. 2 Corinthians 5:17. And until a man resolves this issue which guarantees eternity with God, every effort made here on earth for time and eternity is vain, null and void. This position may sound harsh, unreasonable and offensive to many, but that is the position of God in His Scriptures. John 1:12. 14:6 and Acts 4:12.
There is no point to humour a sinner because the Bible says that it will be ill with the wicked. Besides, even if we humor the sinner, the wicked and the ungodly, it will still not change the VERDICT of God — That their place is in the lake of fire which burns with brimstone or sulphur as stated in the book of Revelation above.
Now that we have come to the understanding that the life we are holding is a journey, we can as well note that any journey is prefaced with some preparations. Preparations are necessary because there could be unusual challenges on the way. It’s only reasonable to plan how to overcome such challenges.
How prepared are you as a Christian journey maker?
Are you aware of the challenges ahead of you as you journey along? As BELIEVERS, we MUST be consciously aware that there are challenges before us as we journey on. Most of them unforseen, some perhaps self fulfilling , and possibly planned for. The Bible says that Jesus knew the hearts of men, hence He avoided them before His time. The Bible also tells us that God mandated Israel to despoil the Egyptians before leaving their land. These are instances of preparations ahead of a journey.
But there are occasions you cannot just prepare enough even as believers. In Genesis 4, the Bible tells a story of Cain killing Abel his brother. Abel could not have imagined that his brother would kill him because his, Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God. The same thing happens to us today. Sometimes, the believer is confronted with dangerous and violent people, as we see it in parts of the globe including Nigeria.
Whereas Cain had attitudinal challenge which led to his offering being rejected, and rather than addressing it through repentance and acceptance of God’s plan for his life, he turned against Abel. Are you getting the picture of what is causing bickerings in our churches? So much anger, so much jealousies and so much moral failures by those on the journey of life. I am persuaded to ask whether you are a Cain hindering or Abel’s journey? Or God’s children on a Journey? Should you not Repent?
In Genesis 12, where God called Abraham, we note that he left with Lot. Lot wasn’t in the equation of God in the CALL OF ABRAHAM. But sadly, Abraham, (though then Abram) took Lot on that Journey.
Thankfully, Abraham had the right presence of mind to disentangle himself from Lot very fast. Don’t forget that it was after Lot parted with Abraham, that Abraham was given a renewed covenant and a heavenly recommitment by God to fulfill all that he had earlier covenanted with him. Genesis 13.
You can be holding on to Lot and believing God to give you Canaan or Isaac. Yes, so many believers are suffering in their Journey unnecessarily because they are carrying baggages — weights and sins that blur God’s vision of knowing them. Hebrews 12:1-2.
Again let me ask: What is the Lot you are holding that is impeding, delaying your movement?
(To be continued).
Happy New Year. God bless.
•Pastor Okoro can be reached on:
08051000462.
January 2, 2022.
