Christian Searchlight

    This generation is witnessing not only the perilous times spoken of by the Bible – 2Timothy 3:1- but also times of terrible confusion arising from messages of different tunes and emphases as opposed to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ is simple and without ambiguity -.   Quite unfortunate that many of the messages today are rather sinking Christianity into unimaginable levels of ineptitude, ineffectiveness and contradiction. The reason for this is not far-fetched. It is because of inaccurate understanding of what the gospel message is. We therefore, tend to limit the gospel to bringing people to church and believe that what counts most is the size of our church organization and the number of branches we have. No wonder we boast too much of mega and super-mega churches, branches at home and abroad.   The result of the Great Commission is three folds – making disciples of all the nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father a...

  Introduction:  The believers’ life is described in many ways such as a race – 1 Cor (:24; Heb 12:1; a Contest – Jude 3; a Fight – 1 Tim 16:12; a war – 2 Cor 10:3-5; I Tim 1:18 and 2 Tim 2:4 a wrestling – Eph 6:12 etc. All these and many other terms summarise the nature of the journey of faith. This is so simply because of the opposing forces from the enemy – devil who uses among other things, a three dimensional approach to ensnare the believer – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (all that the world comprises of). 1 Jn 2:16. Contending for the faith involves the immediate rejection of any teaching that uses grace as a license to sin vs 4.  It also requires that we rebuke and reject any teacher who seeks to glorify self, rather than God vs 8-19. On the positive side, contending for the faith involves praying continuously in the Spirit, knowing that this type of praying promises to build up our faith vs 20-21. What is Christianity and Servi...

  God has so much interest in His people that He will not want them to be oblivious of the right direction and guidance to Him. He provides for them priests to lead them in spiritual matters. In the Old Testament, God raised men from time to time, such as Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer and Ithamar. In certain instances some occupied the office of the High Priest. Their duties were well spelt out as found in Leviticus 19, 21, 22; Numbers 3; Deuteronomy 31:9; Joshua 4, 4 and 1 Kings 8:3. Not only their duties but also the manner and garments for appearance before the Lord were specified. Priests are people who are qualified to perform religious duties and ceremonies. They are those whose lips should keep knowledge (Malachi 2:7), who bear rule (Jeremiah 5:31), and are obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).    “And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word...

  Introduction : Prior to His death and resurrection Jesus made this statement: “I am the resurrection and the life” to confirm His authority over death and life. To confirm this He called Lazarus from the dead. No wonder, the religious leaders, the pseudo-powers of His time made all efforts to kill the truth of His resurrection. They did all that they could do including bribing the soldiers. “And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, say ye His disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governors ears, we will persuade him, secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” – Matthew 28:12-15.   Today, this same strategy is being used by the enemies of the gospel to ‘counter and kill’ the truth as did their fathers. Alas, the truth cannot be killed. They tried it with the ...

  Resurrection is central to the Christian faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. The resurrection is the rich jewel of the gospel. The more we have of the power of the spirit’s in working, the deeper and stronger are the convictions of the resurrection; the richer, sweeter, more assured the consciousness of our salvation by hope, the more profound the certainty of the adoption of these bodies into the glorious family of the heavenly home. Without resurrection our faith is vain – 1 Cor 15:13-19.   All that needed to be done to prevent Christ from achieving this purpose was done – Before, during and after they killed Him. But all to no avail – Christ rose. Herod wanted to kill Him. People went against His doctrine, His principles; His practice etc. at death, they sealed His sepulcher Mt 27:64; Mt 28:11-15, His humiliation  Mt 27; Lk 24:2 – At last, the stone is rolled away!   Implication for Christians: 1.      Hope of glorious resurrection 1...

    A Shepherd is someone who looks after sheep. He usually takes the sheep out into fields so that they can graze. No wonder, the Psalmist says “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pasture, he leads me beside the still waters.” Psalms 23:1-2. The shepherd’s job is also to ensure that the sheep are safe from the attacks of predators. To this end, he is always alert every time, so he keeps the sheep within his jurisdiction to shield them against any eventuality.   When we understand the intimate relationship that exists between the shepherd and his sheep, the figure of the Lord Jesus as a Shepherd of His people takes on new meaning. The skill of the shepherd and personal relationship to them is clearly seen when he guides his sheep along narrow paths. The Psalmist says: “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.” Psalms 23:3.   Feeding the  flock of God “…which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint,...

    Introduction: A tabernacle is place of worship for Christians. It was used by the Jews in the ancient times. Hence the Israelites made it a small and movable place of worship in the course of their journey in the wilderness. The tabernacle, therefore, symbolized where God dwells and the people of God would always want God’s presence wherever they went and constantly, they worshipped God in tabernacles.   Thus, it became an annual great feast for the Jews in commemoration of the forty years spent in the wilderness. The feast lasted a week, and was held annually beginning on the seventh day of the seventh month (7/7). Booths were erected in which the people lived during the feast. The first and last days were days of holy convocation or public worship, and the intervening days were devoted to the free enjoyment of the festal season. Throughout the week an elaborate scheme of sacrificial offerings was carried through. It is therefore instructive that God has al...

  Introduction: We give all the glory to God who spared our lives to see this day as we celebrate the 21st Anniversary of this noble Society. We also thank God for the leadership (past and present) of the society and we pray that the legacy they are laying will endure to the glory of God.   We know that this society is primarily set up to take members to a high and comfortable level of economic life. However, a comfortable economic level cannot be achieved without a sound spiritual base. No wonder, the association does not only focus on financial viability of members but also the spiritual soundness of members.     While thanking God for the opportunity given by the Executive to me to give this charge, my prayer is that the Lord will grant all of us long life and prosperity and as we count our years, our years will count for the Lord.   Therefore, if there is any topic that I consider to be suitable for this occasion it is:   “They Go fr...