₦airaland Forum

Snitch24:
Well I have nothing to say about this
I hate talking about the bible
But believe me most religious fanatics are been brainwashed
And until the end before we know the truth

The whole point is of this teachings is not to get you to become a "religious fanatic" who have been brainwashed. You would agree with me that the above discussions have a solid backing from the scriptures, and not "what my pastor told me". These are clear teachings that you and I can scrutinize comprehensively using the Bible.

So, the "truth" you speak about isn't something you have to wait until the very end to find, because The Truth is present in Word of God already.

Colossians 1:5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

Colossians 1:6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

these, and many many more verses tells us how the truth lies in the Gospel of Christ, and not just that; That truth brings the knowledge of the grace of God, which is one of the most wonderful things we could really find.

So, if you have questions or opinions or reservations concerning some of these things, you can share them, and we'll begin to see the real truth about them, using numerous verses from the scriptures, as opposed to just airing another opinion which might make you think it's just a product of "religious brainwashing".

You could even send a PM if you've got a lot of grey points concerning things such as bad things happening to good people. I'll be willing to break things down with you, using the Bible only.

Dtruthspeaker:
I am glad you observed what I had in my soul when I said "art thou good".

Nearly all that you said is correct save for "i don't think I should bother on the question of if I'm good or bad".

In my opinion our goal is to keep the Commandments as you said, and do you know what happens to the man who keeps the Commandments?

What happens to the man who keeps the commandments?

Dtruthspeaker:
Art thou good oh man, art thou gooood? Hian!

Matthew 19:17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

The purpose of having a relationship with God is not to show yourself approved as good before men (Claiming it for yourself openly and telling people how good you are at every chance you get). It is to find true Life, eternal life just as God has made available for all of us through Christ Jesus.

Simply put, I don't think I should bother on the question of if I'm good or bad as much as I should on seeking and obeying the commandments that would give me Life. This is something all of us should consider, rather than seeking to sound good in the crowd, and have people come around you to hear how good you are.

Snitch24:
Believe it or not we r all coursed
So I still believe bad things don't happen to good people

Romans 6:23 says that "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"

Death and all its works -grief, disease, war, pestilence, chaos, disaster- have an authority in Sin! The simple rule is that death is what you get when there is sin according to the Word of God.

In the normal life we all live, when we work with our hands for someone, we have the right to be given wages, it's our rightful possession. We can lay claim on it anywhere we're being asked

That's the same way Death becomes the reward for Sin, as simple as that.

As for the question all of us being coursed (maybe it's cursed you mean) so that good people can't get bad things to happen to them, I'd like you to consider this analogy:

You live in an area that has a good road network, streetlights and public amenities that are free, but you found out that it was someone (other than the government) that set it all up for charitable reasons. You would agree with me that you can enjoy those things without as much as wondering the correlation between what you've done previously, and how it warranted you to be a partaker of such good things, your recreational life begins to improve, and you enjoy a much better peace and wellbeing which others aren't enjoying elsewhere, because of one man's single generous actions.


On the flip side, if you're experiencing an unusual level of unrest in your area, with gunshots and violence everywhere there, and you found out that it's because the garage chairman caught his wife in his rival's apartment thereby sparking a gang war in an area. Does that mean that everyone in the area deserves to partake in the ensuing violence by virtue of what they have done? No! Everyone gets to taste the bad thing because of the actions of one man (or three as the case may be)

I want you to understand that God isn't interested in innocent people dropping dead all the time for things someone, 100 times removed, did. Which is why he has promised us the gift of eternal life through Jesus. This beautifully shows God's justice and mercy in all of the things He does.

Whatever law of Sin that works in the earth right now, He is able to show mercy and give gifts because He loves us really, and wants us to be with Him.

Snitch24:
Bad things don't happen to gold people unless they deserve it

Not necessarily. The same way you don't receive acts of generosity and good, strictly because you deserve it. The point is that all things -good or bad- have origins, and those origins are most of time, the results of something that has been done - itself good or bad.

So we see that God allows things happen to a few or to very many people, as an example for others, living illustrations. The nation of Israel is a living illustration. To worry, "But why would God allow them to be an illustration? Doesn't He care about how they felt or how they feel?"
I will answer this question this way: “I am a father. When my children misbehave, I discipline them. How much do I care about how my child feels when I am spanking him or her? When I spank them for misbehaving, I am concerned about the outcome, the kind of child he or she will become. If my child sees something — say a piece of cake or a biscuit — liked it, wants it, and then stole it without permission; when I cause him or her pain, they cry. You hear children say things like, "Why did Daddy beat me like that?" ‘Well, I beat you like that so you wouldn't do it again; so you'd be a living illustration to your other siblings, so you would remember it as an example of what happens to people who act that way or do those things. I am looking at the long term effect, not just for you, but also for your siblings. I can cause you pain for others, I can cause you pain with good in mind.’”

Then follows the next question: “But what good can come after someone is dead?”
That's what it all boils down to. If you know that there is life after now, that there's an after-life, there's more to come in millions (maybe billions or more) years, then why on earth would you be so fixated on what happens in a period of anywhere between two to a hundred years? Why would it matter so much? God always sees the large and long term picture so these things that happen to mankind in a short time are not as massive in His eyes as you think. This is super important, we must never forget it!

Something very terrible happened: a child was dropped off in boarding school. He felt like his heart would fall out. He's in such pain. He cannot believe that his mother and father would do such a thing to him.
“Why would they abandon me in this place and go away for three months? Why would my mommy ever do such a thing?” the child asks.
The reason parents can do such a thing is so that the child would grow up, get educated, learn all the virtues of independence and survival, and all the benefit that flows out from it, not just to yourself, but to your family and the rest of the world, would be reaped forever. Pain is permitted because of its benefits. The things that God allows are linked to the long term benefit for the whole earth and all creation.

All the questions, the specifics about why evil happens, why good people are born and they die, why Judas did what he did, etc., has one answer: good will not come if it is not done. There are benefits for the child who goes off to boarding school. After a while, he may look forward to going back to secondary school. He may have friends after the first term. The darkness will be past, and the day will dawn.

Good is not selective, it reaches out to others. Evil also does same. We must accept that this is the reality of existence and stop calling God into question. If you throw a knife into the air and you stand under it, and it comes down and plunges its blade into you, into some part of your body, it is called consequence. Nobody has ever gone on a tirade against [what we know about] gravity, we just accept it. We should also just accept that there are consequences for the acts of men that affect others.

Now, when God acts many times, it is to intervene and adjust some of the consequences, and we call His acts miracles. But other times also, God allows things happen that are directly a result of actions. He has allowed things happen too, that are not a result of an action, but as a part of His long term plan.

So, finite humanity, who cannot see beyond their noses, want to understand what possible good can come out of genocide. I can tell you some good [in my finiteness]. Amongst the good that can come is a warning to many, many others who are tempted to stir up hatred against another group of people. All around the world, the story of Rwanda is being told, and is a cause for pause for many other societies that would have degenerated into a similar situation. So it's an example. The Bible tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah were judged as an example to others.
Luke 17:28-30 – (28) Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; (29) but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. (30) It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

2 Peter 2:6 – God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes. He made those cities an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them.

Jude 1:7 - What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them is an example for us of the punishment of eternal fire. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God's people and the angels did, because they committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities.

Likewise, the Bible also tells us that Israel’s experiences are given as an example for us.
1 Corinthians 10:6,11 — [6] Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved [11] Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

We cannot just receive good and not receive evil (Job 2:10 – But he said unto her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.). Within us, nobody really sits down and goes into asking and questioning and challenging why God allows someone to donate money and feed those who do not have enough. No one really questions why someone is permitted to pick up an orphan or some poor family and cater for them, providing for their needs. No one asks those questions. Everyone seems absolutely fine and goes like, "Ah! This is how things should be." No one has any issues with enjoying the consequence of a good action. No one really thinks, “So why are people going outside the country to the United States?” or “Why do people want to go to so-called greener pastures?” No one complains about those things. No one challenges them. We take it in stride that good things should come to people from others and we're happy with it.

How many times do you sit down and say, "God why? Why should God let this? Why should it be that Mr. A worked and Mr. B is enjoying the fruits of Mr. A’s work, through the magnanimity and the generosity of Mr. A?” No, we don’t ask that. But we are quick to ask “Why do bad things happen?” Bad things happen because people, beginning with our first parents (Adam and Eve), disobeyed God. That's all! The plain answer, the big answer, the ultimate answer – bad things happen because mankind chose to disobey God. And till tomorrow, whenever people disobey God bad things will happen.

Now that we have seen why bad things happen, let us look at the more specific question: “Should bad things not happen ONLY to the person who took the action?” [In other words, “Why do bad things happen to good people who did nothing?”].

Just like doing good things does not affect only the person who took the [good] action, so also, bad things do not only affect the person who took the [bad] action. So let’s say someone does something good, carries out good acts, for example, executes a road repair project leading up to his house. Everyone who passes along that road will enjoy the smoothness of the ride. If someone powers a house with many tenants, many people will have electricity. If someone sets up a factory so that he can have money to take care of his family, in the process, other people will be employed. Those people who will be employed will have money to take care of their own families.

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? — (1)

This question will not be so preeminent in our hearts when we understand God's big picture; the plan of the ages, the time of the restoration of all things, when justice will be done, when mountains will be made low and valleys will be exalted. Until we understand these things, we will still ask…

"If everyone has a purpose, then what about the people who were killed in the Rwandan genocide?"
“What about all the people that were killed in all the world wars? Why did their lives have to be wasted”
“What about the children that were born and died before they were a week old, after being carried full term by their mothers? Why did they have to be born if they were going to end up dying so young?”
“What about the seeming senseless deaths that abound worldwide? Why does God allow all of that?”
These questions abound in different shapes and forms. They can all be subsumed in one…

Many people have questions like these. These questions will be answered in very sufficient ways when we understand God's big picture. When we ask about a particular event like the Rwandan genocide (which took place in 1994, and in 3 months, an estimated 800000 people were slaughtered), we should know that the Rwandan genocide is not special in anyway. Worse genocides have occurred throughout the ages. Why? What is behind such events? I think it's very plain that sin is behind it. This is why when God says that you should not do something, you should not do it. It should be obvious to any serious follower of Jesus who is paying attention: the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.)

One of our human problems is the inability to take the fault for our actions, the inability to acknowledge that things do not occur totally independently of themselves. That means that my actions, even right now in answering this question, or my failure to do so, will have consequences. If I refuse to answer the question, it could be due to selfishness or because I feel that it doesn't deserve an answer; or depending on who is asking, I may feel that someone needs to do better homework and pay better attention. On the other hand, love can drive me to make an effort.

In a very real, large cosmic sense, God is doing things in the earth to demonstrate His heart and mind, not just to mankind, but also to other parts of His creation that we are unaware of. We must acknowledge that actions carry consequences and the consequences don't affect us alone. If our parents misbehave or act wrongly, or their parents act wrongly, or the Governor of their state or their boss in the office misbehaves, there would be a ripple effect on other people. That's the reality. This is the same way a righteous act leads to a ripple effect. If a government official spends money making good roads, or to provide electricity, everybody is happier. There are consequences of actions.

So it's fascinating what the cameras can do. They lie. And they do it so well that what is projected looks different from reality. So this fellow who got born again said that they reported a protest by Christians against abortion or something, and there were like 300 people in that rally, but if you watched the video, you'd think there were only 20 people there. They made the gathering with only 20 or 50 people look like there were hundreds of people in it, and they made the gathering with many people look like there was just a handful of people who attended the event. They would look for the stragglers, the people on the side, and hold the camera in a way that makes them look so few. That is how they make the new. When you watch that on TV, you’ll begin to feel embarrassed and think, “But why are these Christians so few? They should just leave the place and let things be.” And when you watch the event with the people who don't fear God, even though they are actually very few, you'd think they were so many. 15 of them will be interviewed, while for the meeting of Christians, they would interview 2 or 3 people. Then they would spend a long time talking. Out of those they interviewed from the Christian meeting, they would only broadcast the worst speakers.

Now this happens all the time. You watch all sorts of things on TV and you believe all of it. Didn’t everyone believe that Donald Trump would lose? If you watched the news — and it doesn’t matter if you loved him — you believed that he would lose. The foreign news [BBC, CNN, etc.], all said that Hilary Clinton had a 90% chance of winning. The question I'm asking is this: “Where did all the people who voted Trump come from? Did they just come from the moon that night?”

I’m using that example because the whole world saw it happen. People said things like, “It's a miracle.”
What miracle? There's no miracle about anything; there was always that number of people who were in support of Donald Trump before then, but the news media were completely against him and they used their power against him — making it seem like he had very few supporters. Don't joke with the power of the news media.

How many times have you seen — or been a part of — a group of people who sit down together and talk about people?
There is an expression that “Little minds talk about other people, average minds talk about events and great minds talk about ideas.”The challenge with that expression [which is nice, by the way, and encapsulates what I'm thinking], is that it is limited when it says ‘Little minds talk about other people’. No. I believe the correct phrase should be ‘Sinful minds...’. That is, it's not just that such a person has a little mind; such a person is causing trouble. The habit of talking about people, saying negative things about them, is something that we have to unlearn. When it’s said that you have a little mind, you could be super intelligent, and you might be able to talk about great ideas, but also like talking about people too much. I mean, I don't even like talking about people in the news; like presidents and governors and all that. I don't like talking about them, because not everything you read or hear about them in the news is true. Did you know that? Many people don't know this. You think that everything that news media report is true. No. They’re not.

Listen, most of the times, the news media make news. Do you know the difference between ‘reporting’ something and ‘making’ it? To report would be to say what someone is doing, just state what’s happening. To ‘make’ something, on the other hand, is to say what you want people to think a person is doing. So if I want people to think that you’re doing something, I take a picture that seems to show you doing what I said you're doing, and I post it.

So let me give you an example, and this is real. Someone who used to work in the news media got born again and began to talk about the kinds of things that they do. So if the media is covering a gay parade, and all those guys are pro-abortion in the US, and there are about 20 or 30 people parading, when you watch the video you'd think there were hundreds of people in that parade — because the guy on the camera knows how to hold the camera. If you have ever been involved in handling a camera [especially in Church meetings], you should know how it works. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just telling you that it's possible. It happens. So they hold the camera in a way that magnifies the number of people in the meeting. When you watch it, you wonder, “Is that the same prayer meeting I was in?” because the people seem so many. How it works is this: if there are empty seats on one side, the camera does not go over the edge. The camera will never show the empty seats. It will always stop at the edge so it gives the impression that the maximum capacity was reached, that the seats were filled up. And there is a method, because even the cameras are set in a way that makes the videos look as though the cameras are at a very far distance. At the end, there is a massive difference between real life and the fake thing. I remember walking into a very popular church building in Lagos and I was surprised at the number of people there. I had gone to just take a peek in, I didn't really have the time to stay for the meeting. But this church broadcasts her meetings on TV, and you should see how different real life is from TV. On TV, with all the lights, the background and camera effects, it looks really cool. But in real life, it doesn't look that nice. And the number of people in the meeting are not actually what the videos portray.

(Cont'd)

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GIVING?��✨ — PART 1
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IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT WORKS! (Cont'd)

Many times, it’s not even demonic, it’s just something that would have still happened (with or without your giving to that rich person). After all, all your other acts of goodness and kindness were noted too (and could have been a reason for the reward).

Have you never had a confirmation to do evil? For instance, you started to have immoral thoughts about someone, and then that person calls you that day. Was that from the Holy Spirit? One of us had a dream of an ex-boyfriend being immoral with her and then he called her the day after she had the dream. So, is that like proof that God wants her dream to come to pass? You may have thought of a movie or a music clip, and it wasn’t a good movie or a good song. And next thing, you actually come across it and you wonder, "What’s that? Is that being prophetic? Is God leading me to go and watch a movie that scarred my Spirit when I first watched it four years ago?" That's how someone might mention a movie, and then stumble across it in someone else’s laptop or phone. Does that mean that God wants you to collect it? Does it mean that there’s something He wants to teach you in it when all it can do is stir up lust?
Remember, how the enemy talks to us is the same way God talks to us. You receive good calls and bad calls with the same phone lines. It’s the same form of communication. We must understand the spirit realm.

Many people have told stories of how they gave to a rich person, and then got blessed as a result of that giving and some of them are not being totally honest, but some are. The former give the impression that something very dramatic and special happened that one time that they gave, when it is not so. It's why, if you listen to people, you will probably hear someone say, "It was this person I met [and my life changed]…" and meanwhile, they are saying this in a congregation where the person leads, and because they are preaching there, they tie a transformation in their life to that person. I suspect that many of these servants of God have other similar stories connected to some other people — "Oh, it was when I met this person that my financial life changed," "It was when I met this one, that this happened…," and they have different times for different people, because this pleases men. It pleases men exceedingly to hear these things. And it immediately makes you like them, so that even if you are not a part of that [church] group, thereafter, they will like to follow you and to listen to you.

So, we must understand that deceiving spirits will say things and confirm things too. If a deceiving spirit needs to win someone over, he can stir another person to give money to that person. Are men not stirred up all the time to give money to girls so that they can get them between the sheets? Is that the leading of the Spirit? Is that generosity? Is that love? I am sure that the devil gives people ideas; people have thoughts that seem good. People have had visions of people’s mothers being witches and trying to destroy their families. Does it mean that those visions are from God? Are you not to know things (judge) by the fruits? You will know a true teaching by the fruit of that teaching. Does it make the people righteous or more God-loving? Or did it make them more greedy and more displeasing and unpleasant in behaviour?
This is the truth that we must know and carry.

Ita Udoh
6th October, 2020

[For more teachings on this topic and others, visit https://g-lh.org

© God's Lighthouse

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GIVING?��✨ — PART 1
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4. IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT WORKS!

2 Corinthians 9:13 - “By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from the confession of the gospel and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.”
Paul was saying, "You submitted to God, and it flowed from the fact that you confessed the gospel of Christ and your generosity arising from your contributions for them and all others led them to give thanks to God."
Now that thanksgiving is what the Lord recieves, because money does not leave the earth. The money, the resources, the provisions, all go to humans, saints — these are the children of God; needy saints, not comfortable preachers. The focus of giving in the body of Christ is to needy saints. The emphasis of our contribution is to help them. At least two people receive from an act of giving; but three in this case: the saints that received it, God who is glorified, and the sower who has his seed multiplied. So even the thing which is gotten as a result of generosity is so that there will be more seed and there will be more harvest, as verse 10 says.

At the end of 2 Corinthians 9, verse 15 says — “Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift…”
After talking about giving, Paul says that we should thank God for His inexpressible gift.

Verse 14 says, While they long and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you…
What is the surpassing grace Paul is referring to? He began in chapter 8 to lay it out: ‘the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia’ (2 Corinthians 8:1) - the grace of giving. That is the grace that he speaks of and thanks God for.

So when a preacher says that giving to the rich is what will make you 'rise', and emphasises that 'it works', you must know that because something works [generates results] does not mean that it is the truth or that it is God's will. If someone gave you some money after you 'sowed' to a rich person, does it mean that no one ever called you and gave you some money before then? Even if it's so and no one had ever given you money before [which is highly unlikely], it could be lying signs. Many of us have had experiences where we came to know God, and around that time, a person of the opposite sex that we had always liked and admired (and desired to be in an immoral relationship with) in the past suddenly comes and wants to be close to us. Does that mean that it's God's will that you be close to such a person? No. So, it's not about what works! The fruit is not just seen in what happened. It’s in how it happens, the circumstances around how it happened.

Lying Spirits work! When you do what Napoleon Hill says, it works. If you go into witchcraft and summon the spirits of great men to come and sit with you and you consult them, it will work! It works! That’s why people join the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians — because something works. Stop going with what works! Go with what the Scriptures approve. Go with what God commands! Obey God! This is the lesson! Obey God! Don’t go with what works! Fraud works!

Psalm 73 tells you about rich wicked men who prosper and live in peace. It works for them [but that same Psalm 73 tells us about how they'll end]. We have to stop saying, "It works." God help us! Who told you that whatever happened to you at that time would not have happened ordinarily?

I have been giving to the poor, practiced it for more than a decade, and I have a comfortable life. I give to the poor, and I live in a 6-bedroom duplex. I was giving to the poor and in the space of about 7 years, I drove 5 different cars. So, what works? Obedience to God works.

There are things that God doesn’t want for you. Stop trying to make things work that should not work. And understand the workings of lying spirits; lying signs and wonders make things seem to be confirmed.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GIVING?��✨ — PART 1
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3. GIVING THAT MAKES THANKSGIVINGS OVERFLOW

In Matthew 5, Jesus said that you should be perfect by doing good works as your father in Heaven is. He said that when men behold your good works, they would glorify God who is your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). So good works are actions expressed in giving of what you have. Remember, it is not you who is doing this. It is God making His grace abound to you. And the purpose of His grace abounding to you is for sufficiency, so you may abound in every good work. This is the purpose of all grace abounding to you, this is always the purpose — so you can abound in good works.

Paul expounds on this by sending us to Psalm 112:9 which he quotes in 2 Corinthians 9:9 - “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever.”

He has distributed freely… And who did he give to? He gave to the poor! His righteousness endures forever. Proverbs 22:16 says that if you oppress the poor to increase your riches, and if you give to the rich, you will be poor. But we read here that the Lord Jesus’s grace makes you rich, it doesn’t make you poor. The second half of Proverbs 22:16 says “Whoever gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.”
So, giving to the rich makes you poor, it does not make you rich.

In 2 Corinthians 9:9, we see that if you distribute freely and you give to the poor, your righteousness will endure forever; your doing the right thing (1 John 3:7) endures forever.

And then in verse 10 - we’ve already seen who the sower is. It’s the same person that all grace is abounding to — the guys in Macedonia who were poor and yet they took what they had and gave to the needy (it is obvious that they did not give it to the rich). Those are the sowers!

“He supplies seed to the sower and bread for food…”
The seed from the sower is bread for food to the eater, but also, whatever the sower eats is bread for food.

...Now the one who supplies...
Who is it that supplies? God. God gave seed to be sown. You sow by giving it and we are told in verse 6, not to sow sparingly. He told you what would happen if you sow sparingly and what would happen if you sow bountifully; and you are encouraged to sow bountifully, according to your means as 2 Corinthians Chapter 8:12-14 says.

And then it says that, “He will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” The harvest of your righteousness is bread for eating too. But the harvest also becomes the seed. So you then have to decide how much of it is bread and how much is seed again. But remember, He will multiply your seed for sowing.

He multiplies our seeds for sowing, so that, like the Macedonians, we can give to the poor, to the needy! That’s who they sow to. We don’t see any other context in these passages.

“You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity” (verse 11). Again, he makes it clear as to why you are enriched: because you are generous, not to the rich, but to the poor.

If you are not still convinced that this giving is to the poor, verse 12 says, “For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God”
They did not give to the wants of the rich, they gave to the needs of the saints.

How much thanksgiving flows out to God when you give to the rich? Do you understand this? When goodness overflows to needy people, it is supplying the needs of the saints. This is where your money is to go. Automatically, thanksgivings rise to God just like the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, that men will behold your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. Rich people don’t behold, they don’t see the works. They are swimming in luxury already, and they barely notice it. Many times, they even despise it, so giving to them might even result in grumbling instead of thanksgiving.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GIVING?
��✨ — PART 1
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2. 'SOWING SEED' IS A MATTER OF 'SUFFICIENCY'

In 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6 says, “The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
This immediately conveys the knowledge that what has been discussed so far and what will be discussed is a matter of sowing. So, the concept of seed sowing is under discussion; it is not to be separated from giving, it’s the same. It began in Chapter 8, and continues in Chapter 9.

2 Corinthians 8:7-8 - “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
Seed sown is shown in your ability to abound in every good work. When God’s grace abounds to you, it results in your having sufficiency.

Did the Macedonians have sufficiency? What they had was sufficient, according to their ability, according to their means, and they gave according to that. In all things, and at all times, God is able to make you have all sufficiency. That means, child of God, that typically, if you are working hard and faithful in what you do, whatever you do have to give, is enough. It will be sufficient.

I am going to clarify this. When this ministry began in its second phase in 2016, I had no job. But I would strive to share what little food I have with all those who came around for Church meetings [University students especially]. Sometimes, people just came around or were there after the Church meetings, or were there earlier before the Church meetings. And since the meetings held in my house, I would strive to share what I had. I would share the soup we had, the rice; I would share actual food or snacks, whatever was available. Things were very tough, very. The soup would be very watery many times. The piece of meat inside the soup would be very tiny. All those things happened, but look at what the Scriptures says — it says that you will have all sufficiency in all things at all times. God is able to make all grace abound to you. The point is that, sharing what I had, that was me having all sufficiency. For something to be sufficient does not mean it's excessive, it means that you have enough! And I have shared in times past, that we were never hungry. Our tummies were never empty. We were not hungry. We had enough. I didn’t say we had luxuries. We didn’t have extravagance, but we had what was sufficient. Hunger pangs were not gripping us. God provides what is sufficient. So, no matter how much we shared what we had, no matter how crazy and irresponsible my behaviour and that of my household seemed in sharing what we had, God’s grace is what abounds to keep us, so we may abound in every good work. Every good work!

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GIVING?��✨ – PART 1
(1 of 5)

1. THERE MUST BE FAIRNESS?

2 Corinthians 8:1-2 - _“We want you to know brothers about the grace of God that have been given among the Churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part…”

Paul is talking about the churches in Macedonia. He talks about a combination of events in their lives: they had a severe test of afflictions, as well as extreme poverty. But they also had an abundance of joy in all of that. These things may seem incompatible [a combination of poverty, afflictions and joy], but it is real when we walk with the Lord. This extreme poverty of theirs combined with an abundance of joy and a severe test of affliction “overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” This is extreme poverty overflowing in a wealth of generosity. We know of course, that one cannot give too much if they are extremely poor, but remember how the Lord judges this — that’s found in Mark 12:42-44 and Luke 21:1-4, where the Lord Jesus points out the widow who gave all she had (2 mites) and had nothing left and He said that she had given the most.

2 Corinthians 8:3-4 - _“For they gave according to their means as I can testify and beyond their means of their own freewill, begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints…”
They had heard that the saints in Jerusalem were being relieved and they insisted that they wanted to be part of it. From their deep poverty, they made a choice. They thought, _
"This is a chance to bless, this is an open door to support, we will be part of it." They begged earnestly to do so, because likely, the apostles said, "No, no. Things are too hard with you here." And they would respond, "No, this is an open door, this is a chance to give, to support needy saints."

We’ve noted that they gave according to their means, which is the standard God gave, but they also gave beyond their means, which is not a standard God demands. They went beyond the call of duty. Duty is to give according to your means, according to your ability which you see further down 2 Corinthians 8 (verses 12-14). They gave beyond their duty, towards the relief of the saints. How were they able to do this? Paul calls it ‘the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints’ (2 Corinthians 8:4). You are doing yourself a favour when you relieve the saints of God.

Verse 5 - “And not as expected, they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us:
How do you give best to the Lord? Give yourself. We're to give ourselves to the Lord. It is you, given to the Lord that will result in your being able to give [to people] properly. Give yourself to the Lord first, give completely to the Kingdom; then you will be able to give according to your means and beyond it.

In verse 7, we are told to excel in this grace also and it's not a command (as verse 8 says). The Lord Jesus is an example — He was rich, but He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). And what should you do when you are rich?
You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…, he said in verse 9 [And everyone prays "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…", not knowing the implications of that 'grace']. Verse 9 says that Jesus has the grace of being rich and becoming poor for the sake of others. Therefore you become rich, and what should you do immediately with that? Become poor! How? By enriching others! This is the way of God.

In verse 12, it says, “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” Verse 13 says, “I don’t want others to be eased and you burdened. Let it be a matter of fairness. Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.”

Hebrews 10:32-36 — Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

– Pastor Ita Udoh
10th June, 2020.

[For more teachings on this topic and others, visit https://g-lh.org ]

© God's Lighthouse.

WHAT'S COMING: WHAT TO DO (3)

You want God to hear your prayers? You must seek peace. So when someone brings a complaint about another person before you, you listen as they speak and you sympathise with them [where they are not at fault and don't deserve a rebuke]. You say, "Oh dear. Is that so? Then we need to pray for her. She actually said that to you? I hope you didn't answer her?"
You are not the person to spur them to quarrel and fight. Don't say, "You are always too quiet..." If you do that, then you don't seek peace. You are acting contrary to the Scriptures. And then you'll be praying fervently and expecting answers, after you have disregarded God's words. You can't ignore God's words and be okay. You must be obedient to the word of God. A lot of people everywhere want to just pray. To them, the solution for everything is prayer. But that's not true. The body of Christ must know that prayer is not everything. We saw 1 Peter Chapter 3 tell us that the ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the righteous, His eyes are on them. It says that His ears are attentive to their prayers and it tells you how to be righteous: don't tell lies, don't speak evil, etc.

We need to be people whose prayers God is hearing. That's all that matters. We have to be people who dial God's line and He picks up. So that when you pray, He listens and then responds and tells you what to do so that you can get ready. He tells you what to do. All you need is to be led by the Lord.

The difference between any true child of God and other people is that they have the Lord with them. That's the difference between us and others; the reason you're not like others. It's God with You! That's what God said; that the difference between His people and other people is that He is with them. It is not the things that's happening in the country. Sure, things will happen, but He is faithful. I have seen Him faithful. Remember the word He gave us at the beginning? He said, "In everything, say hallelujah. Give praise to God."

Do not allow yourself to be carried away by "life". Do not sin against God with your mouth. Pursue peace with everyone. Ask the Father to forgive you if you are not living in peace with people as you should. Some people find it easy to tell a lie — if they have a challenge or when they are afraid or trying to escape responsibility. Some tell lies even about things that are not of any consequence. Your lips must be cleansed from deceit. If you are a child of God, you are not permitted to walk in deceit of any sort. You cannot lie. Ask God to cleanse your lips and rid it of falsehood of any sort; anything that will tamper with your ability to speak to heaven and be heard, anything that silences your effectiveness in the realm of the spirit.

You must give thanks. I Thessalonians 5:18 — [18] In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Thank God for the thingsthat you have suffered and for the comforts that you have enjoyed. Be willing to comfort other people in the way that you have been comforted.
II Corinthians 1:3-4 — [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

And you must learn to endure suffering as a soldier of Christ.
II Timothy 2:3 — You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 3:10-12 — [10] Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, [11] persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! [12] Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

(Cont'd)

Shortyy:
Very interesting. The tongue is a dangerous weapon, it can kill and destroy a life.
We should be careful and cautious of the things we say to people. And mind the way we talk.
May God guide and help us all.

Amen

Those things rub off on you. Now there are people who may be 'filth-proof' because they have proofed themselves with so many layers of armour [by staying away from evil music, always staying in an atmosphere of worship, listening to edifying songs that give glory to God, and being washed by the words of God actively by reading the Bible]. Those who are barely coming out of a love for bad music which they were used to are to stay away from such things.

Peter told us who the righteous people are, and he didn't say that they are those who have been washed by the blood. Neither did John, in 1 John 3 verse 7 [7]Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.].

The Bible says that we cannot be those who speak evil with our tongues. You must not be neutral, you must do good. You must seek peace, you can't like trouble. Yes, the hand of God is toppling and changing things but peace must be your default nature; have peace with all men.
You don't stir up wrath and anger in your heart against your neighbour. You don't stir other people to anger. You don't say, "Why? What did she say? She insulted you? Did you give her an answer? You just kept quiet? You did not insult back? Why?!"
That attitude can never please God.

WHAT'S COMING: WHAT TO DO (2)

Many times, God allows something to happen, and then the enemy takes it and distorts it. Christians have the power to pray and put restraints on demonic activities. When the #BlackLivesMatter protests were on, people looted stores and supermarkets in the United States and one would wonder what the connection was between the looting and black lives mattering. So people screamed, "Black lives matter!" and then vandalized supermarkets and stores, stole beverages, foodstuff, etc. People were emptying supermarkets; it was just so bad. How was the looting connected to anything President Trump said? No, it's the devil that had been looking for an opportunity to come out. He saw a chance and he jumped at it.

God will hear our prayers, the prayers of the righteous. When a million righteous people are praying, God's ears are open and so He hears a million voices. Now the other unrighteous people can make all the noise they like, or have all the tarries they want, but His ears are not open to them.

What does it mean to be righteous?
Now there are people who will say that you are righteous just because you are saved by the blood. The Bible tells you how to be righteous. It says, you keep your mouth from telling lies, among other things. So you don't habitually tell lies from morning till night like a hobby and then say "God's ears are open to my prayers because I am washed by the blood." This is not from the Old Testament. It's the book of 1st Peter. Peter is not speaking from ignorance in 1 Peter 3:10-12. He was moved by the Holy Spirit to say those words and he tells you how you qualify for your prayers to be heard.

1 Peter 3:10-12
[10]For, "The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. [11] "He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it. [12] "For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

This is why we must constantly walk in righteousness. We must be righteous people. We must walk in the fear of God constantly and when we do that, God will be able to hear us and we can bring change wherever we go. We can transform our society. There must be no deceit in our mouths.

2 Corinthians 13:11
[11] Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Romans 12:17-20, 21— [17] Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. [18] If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. [19] Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

You were called so that you may inherit a blessing by repaying evil with blessings.
You don't say, "I can never help those people. What have they ever done for me?"
Repay them with a blessing. This is not just in saying, "God bless you," but you should bless them by actually doing them good.

What do you want? Do you love life? Do you want to see good days? Then you must keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Please do not disqualify yourself from getting God's promise. And do not ever change anything that God has said. Whatever new knowledge you have, whatever growth you undergo, whatever gifting begins to manifest, don't forget the basics. You want to see life and enjoy good days? Your tongue must avoid evil. Don't speak evil. Speaking evil is not only about telling lies. When you speak carelessly, you may adopt words that you shouldn't utter. You may even pick up these words from what you listen to. Why should you listen to bad music or watch filthy things?

(Cont'd)

If you have any questions, you are free to send an email to geekworkmail@gmail.com. May we be given eyes to see, ears to hear, heart to understand and a mouth to speak plainly. Amen.

So if you want to see good life and enjoy good days, keep your mouth from speaking evil, be at peace, don't tell lies, speak what is good, pursue peace with all men. Don't seek to be angry. Look at what is happening in the world. In Nigeria, in America. Look at the rage, look at the anger. When it started in America, we thought it was an America-Trump problem. But then the #BlackLivesMatter protests spread. Became riots that even got into the UK and other countries. Now, in a sense Babylon is being judged, but there is trouble and the demons are having a field day. They are stirring up mayhem and violence.

For years, I have said that the earth is coming to a season. And plagues are not the only things that are coming. On TV, there was Racism: Whites against Blacks. But it doesn't end there. There's also Blacks against Blacks, Yorubas against Igbos, The northerners against southerners, Fulanis against Nigerians, and even Annang against Ibibio [Annang and Ibibio are 2 tribes within Akwa Ibom, a state in Southern Nigeria]. In all of these, the spirits of violence, anger and rage are active.

So there is trouble everywhere, all over the world. Babylon is being judged; the Babylonian system, the government and different things. The same way the Coronavirus pandemic came and kept everyone at home unexpectedly in the strangest fashion, in the same way different things will be toppled and changed in society in ways that we don't know. BUT WE MUST PRAY. And why? So the devil does not take too much advantage.

The devil is already doing a lot. He is happy with anything that involves lots of anger and rage and wrath. The devil gets very excited, and demons love to step into those kinds of places and stir up things. It's their job. So we must be careful. We must not allow things get out of hand, where we can influence them.

The Church of God has to understand the power that they have. We must not joke with it. Some of us think that there is really nothing that we can do, especially when we cannot help situations physically. Some of us think, "What can prayer really do? What can I really do?" But let's look at Acts 12, when Peter was imprisoned. The Bible says that the church prayed night and day and an angel walked him out of the prison.

Acts 12:5,7,9-11
[5] So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. [7] And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands. [9] And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. [10] When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. [11] When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

There is a gift of life that will come through when we put in our efforts in prayer. You must never joke about the power that you have, people of God. You must never joke with it. You have authority to help situations that you cannot help directly. What happens when we pray is that we keep dialling God's phone number and sometimes we have conference calls in the spirit, and God's hotline is bombarded. So He goes, "Alright. Let's do something before these people burn our lines." And He acts. It's real authority that the righteous has. John 9:31 says: We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to Him.

Similarly, James 5:16 says: Therefore, confess your sins to one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in it's effect.

1 Peter 3:12 says: Because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.

The Scriptures above emphasize that God answers the prayers of the righteous. 1hows us what it means to be righteous. Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.

We must therefore direct our focus and energy to living an obedient lifestyle; a righteous one. The words of God are the standard of what is right and wrong. 1 Timothy 2:8 says; Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up HOLY HANDS without anger or argument.

The ears of the Lord are open to the prayers of the righteous. There are all sorts of unrighteous people trying to pray but God does not listen to them. 1st Peter 3 repeats what is in the 34th Psalm. Psalm 34 says:
[12] Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy life? [13] Then make sure you don’t speak evil words or use deceptive speech! [14] Turn away from evil and do what is right! Strive for peace and promote it! [15] The LORD pays attention to the godly and hears their cry for help. [16] But the LORD opposes evildoers and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. [17] The godly cry out and the LORD hears; He saves them from all their troubles.

(Cont'd)

That camera array is poor, if it's true to the leaks and rumors

Katier00:
but you know technology has its own bad effect on us human, why saying his post is untrue

4G is an electromagnetic wave that doesn't react with the medium it passes through. It has no bad effect

seanwilliam:
it still cannot optimise like iphone 11 pro max

Yeah, iPhones generally.

This is Untrue.

This thing has up to 16GB of RAM!!!!!
Now that's illegal.