Saturday, February 16, 2013

SEVEN PROOFS THAT GOD REALLY EXISTS



ARGUMENT FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
1. The Argument Of Change
The material world we know is a world of change. Children , trees growing we see change every where .
Nothing changes itself. Apparently self –moving things , like animal bodies, are moved by desire or will- something other than mere molecules . in death the molecules remain but the animal no longer moves because the desire or will is no longer present to move it.

The question now is are there other things outside the changing thing also changing ? are the movers also moving? If so , all of them stand in need right now of being acted on by other things , or else they cannot change . no matter how many things they are in the series , each one needs something outside itself to actualize its potentiality for change.
The universe is the sum total of all these moving things, however many they are. The whole universe  is in the process of change . we have concluded that there is the need for an outside force to ensure change , that outside force for the universe is GOD. If there is nothing outside the universe then there is nothing to cause change but since change is a reality then there must be something that transcend the universal elements of time , space, and matter and that thing must be the unchangeable changer God.

2.The argument of efficient causality. 
We notice that some things cause other things to be. E.g the violinist creates music we hear. The music stops when he stops. All those things which are causing other things to be, need a cause. Everything that exists , therefore, on this hypothesis , stands in need of being caused to exist.  Existence is like a gift given from cause to effect. If there is no one who has the gift the gift cannot be passed down . but we do get it ; we exist. Therefore there must exist a God: an uncaused personality who does not need to receive existence like us- and like every other link in the chain of receivers -
1.      The Argument From Desire
  1. every natural ,innate desire in us corresponds to some real objects that can satisfy that desire.
  2. But there exist in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth no creature can satisfy .
  3. Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth and creatures, which can satisfy this desire.
  4. This something is what we call “God” and “life with God forever”
There are two kinds of desires 1. innate and externally conditioned e.g food , sex, drink 2. non-innate or supernatural. Eg , power, ability to fly, super eagles wining the world cup. Utopia . 
According to C. S.  Lewis
“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exists. A baby feels hunger ; well, there is such a thing as food. A  duckling wants to swim ; well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well , there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy , the most probable explanation is  that I was made for another world. “  

4.The argument from Aesthetic experience . wherever you turn you see beauty all around , this speaks of an organized process of creation by an artist. No artwork appears on its accord. So is creation.
5. The Argument from religious Experience 
Some sort of  experience lies at the core of every religious faith. And the following could be adduced from them all .
a.       many people of different eras and of widely different cultures claim to have had an experience of the “divine,”
b.      it is inconceivable that so many people could be wrong or under psychosis from generation to generation.
c.       Therefore there exists a “divine” reality which  persons of different eras have experienced .
6.The Argument From Miracles
 a. a miracle is an event whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God.
b. there are numerous and well-attested miracles.
c. there are numerous event whose only explanation is a direct intervention from God,
d. therefore God exists.
7. The Argument From Conscience

There is a moral absolute which binds every body and that is that we should all obey 
Our conscience. Even the most ardent moral subjectivist agrees with this maxim. The question now is where did conscience get such an absolute authority. There are only four possibilities .
  1. from something less than me –nature
  2. from me- individual
  3. from others equal to me – society
  4. from something above me – God
lets analyze the various conditions since you cant be obligated to something lesser than you say a dog, or to yourself which will then mean you have become the absolute authority, neither will allow yourself be obligated to someone your equal therefore the only realistic answer is that there is a God who put in man conscience and we are all obligated to Him. The ten commandments are the blue prints to our moral code..
  

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE HOUSE OF GOD .WOMEN ARE NOT INFERIOR TO MEN PART 2




 “There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither bond nor  
free, there is neither male nor female, For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’ Gal 3:28

The role of women in the old testament
1.         Miriam – The older sister of Moses. Miriam was a primary participant in the deliverance of Israel from oppressor

a)         Saved Moses life – This was perilous time for Moses, but his courageous older sister Miriam risked her life to save him. Exo.2:3-4

-           She arranged for Moses Mother to nurse him Exo. 2:7-8

b)        Worship leader and prophetess. Exo. 15:20-21
            Music ministry is best led by those with a prophetic anointing upon their life, and this was true to Miriam

c)         Leader with Moses and Aaron. Mic 6:4.  Just as Moses was important to the children of Israel, so also was Miriam

d)        Acted presumptuously (confidence grounded on something not proved)
            Some leader tends to exercise authority beyond their office and anointing Num.  12:1, Num 12:10, Num. 12:13-15.  Both women and men must be aware that exercising leading authority can lead to arrogance and pride which can destroy.

2.         Deborah:  was a married woman who held two offices an administrator and a priest.   Under Deborah’s leadership, the children of Israel were delivered from a twenty-year long occupation by an enemy army.

           
a)         Prophetess and Judge. Judges 4:4-5  Through Deborah’s prophetic insight, she called for the Israelite Gen. Barak to go out with 10,000 men against a superior army and they won

b)        Fulfilled Ancient purpose for man and woman to have dominion. Judge 5:13

Huldah¨ During the reign of Josiah, the book of law, priest read who gave specifies of a coming judgment already determined in the counsel of haven.

a)         She was a prophetess of reformation. 2King 22:14

4.         Isaiah’s Wife
            a)         She was a Prophetess. Isaiah 8:3
Her presence in Isaiah’s life gave him (Isaiah) a distinct advantage over other Prophets.  This explains why Isaiah so accurately foretold the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Ecc. 4:9

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, WOMEN ARE NOT INFERIOR TO MEN



GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CHURCH   Part 1
                                 WOMAN ARE NOT INFERIOR TO MEN


Memory Verse:       The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those women that published it.  Psalm 68:11

The word company is translated from Hebrew word ‘tsaba’, It is feminine in gender and means “a mass of women organized for warfare (an army).

GOD’S PURPOSE FOR MAN AND WOMAN

1.         Rule Together
This means that the original intents for man and woman was they be co-regents (rulers together) over the renewed creation.  The unique partnership is confirmed in I Cor. 11:13

2.         Full Participation
God intended the woman to fully participate in what the man does.  John 5:20, John 5:21

3.         Responsibility of Judging
The Greek word judgeth is ‘Krino’, it means “to decide (Judicially), to punish, avenge, judge, act as a lawyer (barrister).  This illustrates Gods intent for women as co-regent with the man John 5:22, Eph. 5:30-32.

4.         Submission and Obedience
The office of the husband is an administrative one requiring specialized functions commensurate with the abilities ( physical) of the administrator .It is like the pilot and copilot of a commercial airline , they are equally important but for administrative reasons someone has to lead in marriage the man is the cerimonial leader. It is like embarking on along journey with a trailer it is easier for the man being the stronger( physically) to drive while the woman assists .   So women were told to obey their husbands Gen. 3:16, Eph. 5:22. Even though women were told to obey their husband, she was not inferior to him Eph. 5:21, Gal. 3:28

Thursday, February 14, 2013

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRISTIAN'S FAITH AND REASON



RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND REASON
From the point of view of a theist and Christian theologian ,faith is not a mere anticipation of events or delusion , as portrayed in this discuss, it is against this background that i would like to throw some light on The relationship between the object of faith and reason. Faith ( "pistis" in the Greek ) simply means man's total reliance on God while appropriating all that has been created to achieve a desired objective. It is the dictionary by which we decode concepts and positively access and manipulate the essence of creation.
The dynamics of Faith :
1 the object of faith means all the things believed .
2. the act of faith is more than merely an act of belief , it is something to live every moment for. It involves 1. The intellect 2. Emotions 3. Volition 4. Heart.
Emotional faith is feeling assurance or trust or confidence in a person this includes hope and peace .
Intellectual faith is belief. This is stronger that emotional faith in that it more stable and unchanging . my mind could believe while my feelings are shaken “.it is the act of the intellect, prompted by the will , by which we believe everything God has revealed on the grounds of the authority of the One who revealed it.”
Volitional faith is an act of the will, a commitment to obey God’s will. This is also known as fidelity.
The intellect is the soul’s navigator, but the will is the captain
Faith begins in the heart. The heart is where the Holy Spirit walks in us . The scriptures declare that the just shall live by faith. Rom 1:16-17 . For instance, by faith we believe in the effectiveness of the internet as an effective means of communication without necessarily knowing the internal workings of the computers and series of technicians involved in making this process possible . To appropriate this we simply made some hypothetical assumptions of 1) believe the internet exists 2) it can do what the makers say about it. we took them at their word and today we are beneficiaries of our faith in them: so is our relationship with God, he created all things for man's enjoyment and to give him glory.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

FAITH AND REASON CAN NEVER CONTRADICT EACH OTHER



Why Faith And Reason Can Never Contradict Each Other
 Only Falsehood Can Contradict Truth , the truth that the human reason naturally knows cannot be opposed to the truth of the Christian faith. For that with which the human reason is naturally endowed is clearly true, thus it is impossible to deny or think of such truths as false. For instance, what has colour has size. We cannot deny the truth of such a proposition. Since, therefore, only the false is opposed to the true , as is clearly evident from an examination of their definitions , it is impossible that truth of faith should be opposed to those principles that the human reason knows naturally.
God is the teacher of truth and faith. That which is introduced into the soul of the student by the teacher is contained in the knowledge of the teacher- unless the teacher is fictitious, which it is improper to say of God. The knowledge of the principles that are known to us naturally has been implanted in us by God: for God is the author of our nature. These principles are contained in divine wisdom. Opposing them is opposing divine wisdom.In other words, every possible argument against every Christian doctrine has a rational mistake in it somewhere, and therefore can be answered by reason alone.

Inputs from Peter  Kreeft & Ronald k. Tacelli 

Friday, February 8, 2013

GOD HAS GIVEN US POWER TO LIVE IN FINANCIAL ABUNDANCE



ACTIVATE THE POWER FOR FINANCIAL ABUNDANCE
Faithfulness will energize you to be diligent even if you have never been that way in the natural.
The Word repeatedly says we are to diligently seek God, hearken to what He says and obey His commands. Why? Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says when you hearken diligently, blessings overtake you! Because ".he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). Diligence increases you. As Proverbs 10:4 says, "The hand of the diligent maketh rich."
Be diligent and faithful to God in your natural life as well. Make a decision to be faithful on your job, at your church, in your prayer life and in putting the Word first place in your life.
BUILD A LIFESTYLE AROUND THE WORD
Building a life around the Word of God ensures you are always in tune with the anointing to prosper . You should always be ready for a divine prompting for you can never tell when God will give a directive that would lead to the place of plenty. We should not only be diligent when faced with an emergency. This creates panic and anxiety which makes it difficult to hear from God.     Our soul – mind, thoughts, emotions and senses- prospers as we spend time in the Word, believe it and create a lifestyle of obeying God. The result will be what I John 3:22 says: "And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him" (The Amplified Bible).
The number one law of receiving is never quit! Stay with the Word. Stay with what God has told you to do. Even if you make a mistake, repent and get back on track in obedience to the Word . That's faithfulness. It's part of the prosperous life because "a faithful man shall abound with blessings." (Proverbs 28:20).
Tithing and Sowing
"Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency and with the firstfruits of all your income; so shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine" (Proverbs 3:9-10, The Amplified Bible).
My wife and I never knew what financial increase was until we became  faithful in tithing. At first it looked impossible to give that 10 percent. But when we did, the 90 percent we had left went further than the 100 percent we had before. We found out that we spent less to acquire more as the anointing of favour enveloped us as we obeyed this unfailing principle of financial increase.
We tithe under the dispensation of grace just as we use the anointing oil and take the holy communion , they all have the same origin : the Abraham covenant of which we are partakers , it is not to be seen as a do or die affair. Tithing is a covenant transaction that gets God involved in what you are doing. The first 10 percent of your income or  your net profit as a business person —the tithe—belongs to God. It is sacred .  The Bible calls it firstfruits. It's devoted to God, and it goes to support ministries that feed you spiritually. It is your token or symbol of honour to God. It is your proof of submission to divinely constituted authority, a mark of humility which is a prerequisite to promotion financially.  “God sets himself against the proud,
but he shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6, when I was struggling with finacial stagnation God told me non tithers were proud people and that tithing was a way of humbling yourself before God before a human witness.  
Tithing is how you honor God with your money. It makes a way for God to release the blessings upon you supernaturally. Honouring God through tithing frees you from financial insecurity.  Ever time we tithe ,we are sowing a seed of honour  and in return we receive a harvest of honour ,e.g  our proposals are honoured as a result of the anointing for honour initiated by our sacrificial giving of the tenth.  Dt 14:23......
so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
NIV this is the reason we give the tenth part, learning to put God first in our lives.
Notice Malachi 3:8-10 says we are to bring all the tithes to God. It also says by doing so God will open the windows of heaven and bless you "That there shall not be room to receive it!" You don't want to keep anything that belongs to God. Leviticus 27:30 declares, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord."
Real tithing is done with the heart and with the mouth, in faith. God's people were commanded to bring their firstfruits: "And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house…" (Deuteronomy 26:10-11). They were to recount how God had delivered them out of bondage. And they were to worship Him and rejoice for all the good He had given them.
Whatever we do must be in obedience and in faith for God to be pleased with it.
Everything we do toward God must come from our heart. Otherwise it doesn't count. Jesus said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." (John 6:63). We are to give with a willing heart, as an honor to God, and worship Him with our tithes. Then He is in partnership with us.
After we tithe, we are to sow according to what the Lord lays on our heart, and we are to do it with the right attitude. The Hebrew word for offering comes from a root word that means to "draw nigh." We draw nigh to God with our offering. II Corinthians 9:6 says: "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."
The Scripture plainly says you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). If you desire to be a receiver, you have to be a giver. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38).
Tithing is supernatural—don't miss out on the benefits. God has an interest in your finances—He desires to increase you and bless you because He loves you.
BELIEVING AND SAYING
"We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak" (II Corinthians 4:13).
The Bible says several times, "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Abraham was blessed because he lived by faith. He believed God. We're supposed to live the same way: "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Galatians 3:9).
Faith must be in two places—in your heart and in your mouth. "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Romans 10:8). Believing in your heart and saying with your mouth produce the operation of faith.
"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith" (Mark 11:23).
 I have learned for over twenty years that when it comes to operating supernatural laws , it is best to take the Word literally as God speaking to me. I discovered  if we put it in our eyes, put it in our ears, and let it get down into our hearts in abundance, it would come out our mouths in faith-filled words and it would change our lives and circumstances.
We realized all that stood between us and walking in the dream God had for us was knowing what is in the Bible and doing it. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8).
 These principles are infallible , they work all the time regardless of who works them. They will bring you in to a place of supper abundance at all times. Receive your financial breakthrough as you read and put these principles to work in Jesus name.
Prayer of Salvation : heavenly father I come to you as a sinner , I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and I receive Him now as my lord and Saviour. And I ask that you fill my heart with your Holy spirit . Amen.
Contact for counseling : Rev. Mike Benson Ajayi. 234-08035536911, 234-08056036091. email. gracevinemin@yahoo.com. Address: 23 alcon road woji Ph.  Po box 1084.