It comes out stronger in Kiswahili. I had a chance to share that message on 6 April at PCEA Eastleigh Church.
Readings:
Deuteronomy 8:11-20
Luke 17: 11-19
Guiding Text
11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today,..19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.
It is a tragedy that MAN is the only being that defies God. God lays out His command and expects man to obey 100%.
God is the Creator of the expansive universe. He set everything in motion and told the stars and all objects in the universe to be in motion until he tells them to stop. The whole universe obeyed. He created the earth and separated the waters from the land. He told the sea to only "come this far". And it obeyed. He also created man and told gave him His commands. And Lo! He cannot keep His commandments!
I have come to the conclusion that salvation not as easy as many want us to believe. You attract Salvation by the person you have become. It is not something that you merely pursue.
The most valuable things in life are placed on the higher shelf. You cannot get to them unless you qualify. To reach the items that are placed on a higher shelf, we have to step on something. It is the books we read and the people you meet that help you reach those items. Salvation is that way too. You must read His Word and obey to get it. You will need fellow believers to reach it.
We cannot sit and hope we will make it to heaven. We must work out our Salvation "with fear and trembling." It calls on the believer to:-
(a) Be disciplined. Discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you are supposed to do when you should, whether you like doing it or not. A believer must determine to be disciplined otherwise they will not make it to heaven. You have to force yourself to do what you have to do to make it there.
(b) Planning. You cannot just hope that you will make it to heaven. You have to deliberately plan to make it there. We all need a strategy to make it there. Otherwise you will not end up there because even failing to plan is also a plan in itself. You will end up where you didn't want to go if you do not plan your destination.
(c) Have quiet time. Unless you have sufficient time, you cannot be able to hear the voice of God. God only speaks to us as we are listening. We must find sufficient time for our minds to settle and calm down so that we can hear from God. Research as shown that our minds only really calm down and become clear when we settle for at least 25 minutes. Our minds are often like a bucket of water filled with soil. Unless you leave it to settle, the water cannot become clear. We too must find time to settle and listen to Him.
Thanksgiving is one way to remember the Lord. 6 June has been set aside by the Church as Thanksgiving Day. What will you give to the Lord for His goodness towards you?
The 10 lepers were all healed. It is only one that returned to worship. The others did not bother to return to the Lord to give Him glory. Is it possible you have forgotten what the Lord has done for you? Come back to the Lord with a gift to thank Him for what He has done for you.
Jihadhari! Beware lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments. Have you forgotten to keep His commandments? Do you obey Him?
He warns us that if we do not obey Him, He testifies that we will perish. I know we do not want to perish. We will perish, not because He is punishing us for our sins. Rather, our sins will destroy us. The nations that do not obey Him will be destroyed, just the way those who lived in Canaan were destroyed.
Are you obedient to the voice of God? Are you listening to Him? Beware lest you forget the Lord and do not listen to His voice.
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