LIGHT FROM THE WORD

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: A man created in Christ is not ordinary.

To behold, is to see. As a new man in Christ, you have the responsibility to see that all things are now new. For you to be able to see well as a believer, you must begin to see things the way God sees things. You must also see yourself the way God sees you. Our text for today tells us that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, made in the image and likeness of God. You are not an ordinary man. A man created in Christ is ordinary. If God says that you are now born again in His image, having been conformed to the image of His son Jesus Christ by adoption, then you must see yourself that way. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

God is seeing you as a son, His special creation in Christ Jesus (John 1:12). Apostle Peter in 1Peter 2:9-10 says, “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: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy”. Therefore, you must see yourself as a son of God specially created to show forth his praise and his word will find expression in your life.

INSTRUCTION: Acknowledge that all that are become new.

Prayer: I am born of God. In this New Year, I will show forth his praise, in Jesus Name!

QUOTE: You are not an ordinary man.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 6; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 6

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek   – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: The Gospel is the power of God.

The gospel is about the forgiveness of sins. It makes possible our translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Nothing changes the situation of a man other than the gospel. The Gospel is centered on the person of Christ. It is the only message that has the ability or power to save. Faith in Christ is faith in the gospel. It is faith in the resurrection. Until you have faith in Christ, salvation is far from you. The gospel of God is the news that was announced in the Old Testament. It is the promise in the Holy Scriptures (Romans 1:1-3). The promise announced in the scriptures was about a person – Jesus Christ. The gospel is the power of God. It is about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The gospel brings salvation. A saved man is a victorious man. He is not a man looking for victory, but he is victory personified. A saved man is not the man looking for healing but he is the man that has already been healed. He does not go about looking for things; He already has all things. A saved man is not the man whose sins are about to be forgiven; but he is one whose sins have already been forgiven.

The gospel makes faith in Christ possible. It is the faith in Christ that saves. The gospel brings faith for salvation. Any message that does not testify or witness about the resurrection of Christ is not the gospel. It is in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed. The summary of the life of the believer in Christ is faith in His resurrection. There is no way a man can be saved or reconciled back to God outside the gospel.

INSTRUCTION: Go after the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation.

Prayer:  Lord, I thank you for the salvation of my soul, in Jesus Name!

QUOTE: it is in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 5; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 5

LIGHT FOR THE NOW: The gospel of Christ is the power of God.

From what I taught yesterday, you can clearly tell anyone what the gospel is all about. The gospel of Christ is the power of God. Whenever a message is preached and is devoid of specific facts; it is no longer the gospel of Christ but another gospel.

Only the gospel of Christ describes the power of God. What then are the specific facts you should look for in a message, irrespective of who preaches it, where and when. The following are the concrete elements that constitute the basis for the gospel of Christ:

Christ died for man’s sin. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:3‘For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures’ and in John 1:29 the Apostle John is reported of saying ‘John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’.Also 2 Corinthians 5:21 [NIV] says ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’. Jesus Christ never committed sin, but He received man’s sin and died.

Another fact to establish in a gospel is the burial of Christ. There can’t be burial without death. Christ died and He was buried. He actually went to Hell – appeared before the Supreme Court of the Universe for judgment. Bear in mind that the accuser the devil accuses the brethren day and night. So, Christ had to be judged. We read in 1 Timothy 3:16 ‘And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory’. It is in Hell that Christ was judged in the Spirit. He was justified – not found guilty of the charges leveled against Him! Yes, Christ was judged, discharged and acquitted. This is part of the vital components of the Gospel of Christ that must be preached!

He rose again the third day. This report is made by the scriptures! It is not an assumption. There are specific and emphatic documentations in the scripture to this effect: that Christ rose the third day. Read Luke 24:1-8; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 20.

INSTRUCTION: In every message preached, look for the facts of the Gospel of Christ.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for the revelation on what the gospel of Christ is, in Jesus name.

QUOTE: The gospel is what makes salvation available

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 4; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 4

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) -Romans 1:1-2

LIGHT FOR NOW: The gospel of God was centered on Jesus Christ our Lord, and nothing else!

The gospel of God spoke of by Apostle Paul was the news that was announced by the prophets in the Old Testament. Verses 3 and 4 convey specific words concerning God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was in the flesh made from the Seed of David. ‘Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead’. The gospel explains that Christ is the power of resurrection from the dead. It can be summed up in this way; that the gospel of God is about the resurrection of Jesus, and the power of Jesus Christ.

Paul explained that the gospel of God was centered on Jesus Christ our Lord, and nothing else! The gospel tells us that Christ would be resurrected by the Spirit, from the dead. This is a clear indication that it was a promise, that Christ will come, suffer, die and then be resurrected.

Paul stated in verse sixteen of Romans chapter one “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” It can be deduced that Paul says that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God and vice versa, and he made his stand clear on this matter – he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! The resurrection of Christ from death is the power of the gospel.

Again, Paul in Romans 10:9 states that God raised Christ from the dead. He pointed out that salvation emanates from your confession of the resurrection of Christ. ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ The power of God is basically concerning Jesus resurrection from death. This is the Gospel!

INSTRUCTION:

Jesus Christ is the Gospel of God. Confess Him and be saved!

PRAYER: Thank you Lord Jesus, for the knowledge of salvation by you.

QUOTE: You only confess Christ to be saved.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 3; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 3

“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever ” – Genesis 13:14

LIGHT FOR NOW: In this New Year, what you see will determine what you will get.

We are in an era where one is tempted to see all kinds of things, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you see well. What you see is key to what God has in store for you in this New Year.  The greatest weapon for access into the treasures and possibilities in God is in your ability to see. You must always ensure that you see something from God’s Word that will give hope. In the service of God, what you see is fundamental to what you can have of Him. Throughout the writings of Paul, you will never see where he prayed for the church or believers to have things. Rather, he always prayed for them to see or know what they already have and to take possession of it. In Ephesians 1:17-18, he says, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”.

Apostle Paul was talking about the eyes of the mind, which is beyond the physical eye. This is because the believer sees possibilities from the eyes of his mind and not from the physical eyes. As a believer in Christ, there is a new way of seeing things. As a matter of truth, it also affects the way you see your salvation. It is your responsibility to see things from a new perspective as a new man. Never see the old. See that all things have become new. In this new year, you must consciously drop old habits and develop new ones that are consistent with who you are in Christ. Stop seeing failures and begin to enjoy success. Never see limitations but see all the possibilities that you have in Christ Jesus.  In this new year, what you see will determine what you will get.

INSTRUCTION: Stop seeing the old. Embrace the new.                                      

Prayer: Lord, I receive grace to see and embrace the new, in Jesus Name!

QUOTE: What you see determines what you get.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 2; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 2