From: Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien (sabuohien godwino) in the IVORY COAST: I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ! "I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven." - Matthew 16:19
The authority by which the church does its work rests on this confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus terms the authority in the words, "keys of the kingdom of heaven." The function of a key is to unlock a door to allow passage or to lock a door securely in order to prevent someone from entering. The function of the keys which Jesus authorizes for use in the church is for binding and loosing. To
learn what he meant, we look at what he said later to his disciples on
Easter evening. He appeared before the frightened group and said,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And
with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If
you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive
them, they are not forgiven" (John 20:21-23).
Jesus Christ came to earth with divine authority to forgive sin. He
gives that same authority to his church on earth. It is a power and
right the Lord Jesus gives to every individual believer of his heavenly
kingdom.
Martin
Luther stated in his Small Catechism: The use of the keys is that
special power and right which Christ gave to his church on earth, to
forgive the sins of penitent sinners, but to refuse forgiveness to the
impenitent as long as they do not repent.
When people are burdened by the guilt of their sin and realize their great need for God’s merciful help, the key that opens the door of heaven for them is the good news that through Jesus their sins are fully and freely forgiven. However, people who ignore their sin and refuse to trust Jesus as Savior must be warned that heaven's door is locked as long as they remain impenitent. A key that goes unused will eventually get rusty and maybe even unusable. So use the keys that Jesus has given. Unlock the sins of the people in your life who are repentant, and let them know that God forgives them, and that you forgive them, too. Prayer: Jesus, inspire me with your love and give me the desire and ability to share the gospel with others. What a privilege is mine to announce that through you their sins are forgiven and declare that by faith in you the kingdom of heaven is open to them! Amen. …………………………………………………………………………….
Message produced by
Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien
The Great Commission Ministries International,Inc Ivory Coast Charter
Charter
(2).
From: Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien (sabuohien godwino) in the IVORY COAST: CHANGE YOUR SPIRITUAL CLOTHES!
And
he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the
LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD
said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath
chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the
fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the
angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him,
saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said,
Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair
mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and
clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the
angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge,
then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and
I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O
Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for
they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant
the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon
one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving
thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of
that land in one day
Zechariah 3:1-9.
You
were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your
old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made
new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created
to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. - Ephesians 4:22-24
I’ve
never liked changing my clothes. Ever since I was a boy, changing
clothes seemed like such a bother. I was too busy to change clothes.
I had places to go and things to do. My mother thought differently.
When my brothers and I would come home after a long summer day of
playing in the dirt and mud, our mom would tell us in no uncertain
terms, “Change out of those filthy clothes before you come in this
house!” She would not have her well-kept house fouled by our filthy
clothes.
Spiritually
speaking, we are filthy sinners. There is no way God will allow us
into his holy home called heaven unless we are clean. Fortunately,
that is precisely what Jesus did for us. He lived a sinless life.
Through faith in Jesus we are robed with his righteousness. In God’s
eyes we are cleaned up and he promises us entrance into his home of
heaven.
While
we are still living here, though, we are stained with sin. We are
constantly changing our spiritual clothes – taking off our old sinful
self and putting on the new self Jesus has created us to be. It is not
easy. You will not always feel like changing. But, keep doing it!
Toss aside your old sinful self like a pair of dirty jeans. In its
place put on the new self – the holy self Jesus has made you to be.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for earning a new set of spiritual clothes for me. Empower me to throw off my sinful self today and to put on your holiness in its place. Amen. …………………………………………………………………………….
Message produced by
Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien
The Great Commission Ministries International,Inc Ivory Coast Charter
...................................................................................................... (3).
From: Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien (sabuohien godwino) in the IVORY COAST: UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE OF GOD!
You
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might
become rich. - 2 Corinthians 8:9
I
grew up on a small farm, working side-by-side with my dad. On a farm
there are some tasks that demand your full attention. Other tasks,
however, you can safely do on automatic pilot. During those kinds of
tasks, Dad and I would carry on conversations in order to pass the
time. It was during one of those conversations that my Christian father
focused my mind on a word that has never left me.
The
word? The word was grace. If you look up that word in a Bible
dictionary, you will find definitions like, “undeserved mercy,” or
“undeserved love.” But on that long-ago day on the farm, my dad said
this: “The older you get, the more you understand what the word grace
really means.”
At the time I thought I had a fairly good handle on what the word meant. I was wrong.
You
see, the longer I’ve lived in this world, the more evidence I’ve piled
up – evidence that proves how sinful I really am. Day after week after
month after year, my sinful weaknesses and failures tell me something
with a firm and certain voice. They tell me that I define what it means
to be an unworthy sinner. They tell me that when it comes to expecting
anything good from God, I have no business even lifting up my eyes. A
candid look at my life demonstrates that I deserve nothing good from
God. Nothing.
And
yet every morning I wake up as a forgiven child of God. Every morning
the Lord embraces me with the same zeal he had when he first claimed me
as his own. Every morning the guilt of my sin is gone from God’s sight.
Every morning he promises all over again to take care of me, to carry
me, to bless my imperfect efforts, to guide all things for my good. All
this I have, not because I deserve it, but because God wanted to give
it to me. All this I have, not because I deserve it, but because Jesus
Christ did what he had to do to make sure I have it.
“The
older you get, the more you understand what the word grace really
means.” Thanks, Dad. And thank you, Lord, for your amazing grace in my
life.
Prayer:
Amazing grace – how sweet the sound – that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see. Amen. …………………………………………………………………………….
Message produced by
Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien ....................................... (4).
From: Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien (sabuohien godwino) in the IVORY COAST: JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE! Once
the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When
they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi,
when did you get here?" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are
looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you
ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils,
but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will
give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then
they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus
answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has
sent." So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give
that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers
ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.'" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not
Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who
gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said,
"from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread
of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes
in me will never be thirsty. - John 6:24-35
In
our lives there is a constant tension between the physical and the
spiritual. Some say physical is for the body and spiritual is for the
soul. Others say that our physical natures are concerned with matters
right now, but our spiritual natures look to the future. Jesus’
encouragement was not to work for food that spoils (physical things),
but to work for food that endures to eternal life (spiritual things).
All
of us by nature care more about physical things then spiritual things.
In Jesus’ ministry individuals came to him on a regular basis looking
for help with physical concerns. Some of them wanted food. Some
wanted to be healed of different diseases. Others looked to Jesus to
help their friends or family members. Jesus was happy to help
The
problem was that many of those individuals came to Jesus caring only
for their physical needs. They wanted him to be some type of Savior
that would just make this world a better place to live. They didn’t
even consider the world that was yet to come. They tried to fill their
physical needs, but didn’t even consider their spiritual needs. We can
do the same thing. If we think Jesus is only a God who will help us
pay the rent or mortgage, buy groceries and maybe get the car we want,
we don’t understand his true purpose for coming to the world.
Jesus’
mission was a spiritual one. By coming to this world as true God and
true man, Jesus began his work as our Savior. He lived a perfect life
and gave his life for ours to pay for our sins. He rose from the dead
as proof that God has forgiven us. Now he offers us every spiritual
gift we need. He offers us forgiveness for the things we have done
wrong. He offers God’s love even when we don’t deserve it. He offers
a restored relationship with God not only for this life, but also for
eternal life.
God
has made you both a physical and spiritual being. Remember that Jesus
is truly the “Bread of Life” who takes care of every need that you have.
Prayer: Jesus, Bread of Life, I praise you for answering all my spiritual needs. Keep me from worrying about the physical needs that I have in life, confident that according to your good will for me, you will answer them, too. Amen. …………………………………………………………………………….
Message produced by
Bishop Osagiede Godwin Osabuohien
The Great Commission Ministries International, Inc. Ivory Coast Charter
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