Category: Teaching

What I Learned In Church – 29th July, 2018

Prepare to Meet Christ – Truth Missionary Baptist Church

So today was another Sunday and as always it was a blessed time to be with other believers in Church to give glory to our God and to hear His timeless word preached by Pastor Ferguson Kcofie. The title of his sermon was ‘Prepare to Meet Christ’ and it was taken from Matthew 25:1-13 also known as the ‘Parable of the Ten Virgins’. Let us take a look at it below and then we shall consider the lessons that we took from this:

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom [a]is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour [b]in which the Son of Man is coming.

 

Context

Before the key lessons, it would be helpful to understand the cultural context behind this parable as the original hearers would have understood clearly what Jesus was teaching. In those days, marriages were in 4 stages:

a. Betrothal – A short and simple ceremony in the bride’s home (think today’s engagement). However, this was a binding agreement in that culture showing the importance placed upon marriage.

b. Period of Preparation – Typically lasted 1-3 years and required the man to prepare a place where he will come and live with his bride.

c. Procession – A date was set when the groom would come from out of town and would be welcomed by selected bridesmaids (virgins) as we can see in our parable to take him to the bride.

d. Marriage – Vows were made and the marriage was finalized with the groom taking his bride to their new home.

Our parable therefore takes place between the second and the third stages of the marriage. Christ represents the Groom and the Virgins represent mankind and it is all about how one will enter the kingdom of heaven as verse 1 clearly outlines.

Lessons

  1. There are 2 Classes of People (v 1-5)– We see 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins compared and contrasted in this parable. This is similar language from Jesus as He used earlier in Matt 7:24-27 when He talks about the wise and the foolish builders. This is exactly how it is in the real world. There are basically only 2 kinds of people. Wise or Foolish in the sight of God depending on their standing with God. Men may make much fuss about people of different races and abilities and personalities etc and all these are important in their own place but in the grand scheme of things, there are only 2.

Wise

  • The ‘Wise’ were those who possessed spiritual life.
  • They had a reverence for God. They knew to be alert and ensured they had oil.
  • Realized the privilege they had to be selected and granted grace. Not everyone got to be a bridesmaid during this ceremony.

Foolish

  • Hebrew word stands for ‘moron’ or one who is thoughtless and cannot reason.
  • Many are like that today and are very careless with their souls. They live without regard to their eternal state.
  • They assumed they would go to heaven based on the externals of life and had no inward reality of salvation (represented by the extra oil).

2. Time will soon end (v 6) – We notice the groom arrived at midnight. Basically, it was at an unannounced time. We do not know the day nor the hour that Christ will come. We also do not know the time of our own departure from this earth so we must be ready at all times. It is an act of grace that God has waited so long before Christ coming and we know it is so as many as will may come in.

However, the delay is also a test. True Christians will be proved through many trials and will endure to the end 1 Peter 1:6&7.

3. Grace can not be shared (v 7-9) – No one can share their spiritual life with another. That is why the wise virgins told the foolish ones to go and buy their own oil. Salvation is a personal thing. Your parent cannot believe for you, your spouse cannot believe for you and no man can confer it upon you during infant baptism or any other such religious ceremony. Every person must individually be born again by repenting and putting their faith in Christ.

4. The Door of Grace will be shut (v 10) – The time and space to repent will not go on forever. God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in Christ Jesus. Never put off coming to Christ till tomorrow or till a more opportune time. That may never come for you. Remember the story of Noah’s Ark and the Flood. Eventually, the flood came and we are told that God Himself closed up the door of the ark and no one could enter in afterwards. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.

5. Foolish Virgins Disowned and Rejected (v 11 & 12) – Finally, the most fearful saying that any person could every imagine is Christ saying on that day that “I do not know you.” Can you imagine the terror of that statement when you swing out into eternity?  In Matt 7:21-23, Jesus says this again. On the last day, many will come to Him with all kinds of activities claimed to have been done for Him and He is going to tell them He never knew them. Please do not think this is talking about someone who was saved and lost His salvation (The Bible does not even teach that but that is for another day). He says He never knew them. Not, He knew them and then the relationship got broken along the way. HE NEVER KNEW THEM! How many people sit in churches today are making these very assumptions without having true life in them?

To conclude, let us all seek the Lord while He may be found. What is the priority in your life? What consumes your affections and desires? Can you in all honesty say Christ is the centrepiece of your life and not an accessory you call upon when you are in some need?

Let us prepare to meet Christ!

The Christian woman’s role in the family (part 1 of 2)

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. – Titus 2:3-5

November 2018 will mark 8 years since I became a Christian. In that time I’ve been privileged to sit under a lot of godly teaching in Ghana, but no pastor in my memory ever covered Titus 2:3-5. Nor do they seem likely to given how the current Ghanaian culture glorifies women working outside the home and vilifies anyone who suggests otherwise. Time to rectify that today with two pertinent articles on the subject.

Today’s corporate women and the curse of ‘maidservanthood’

This opinion piece by Daniel Ofosu-Asamoah appeared on Ghanaweb on 17th May 2018. While it is not written from a Christian perspective, it is interesting for the unflinching look it takes at the various challenges faced by Ghanaian women in balancing working outside the home with their God-given mandate to care first for their husbands and children (Titus 2:5).

However the article contains a lot of flawed examples. Here’s one telling sentence: “The present economic situation of today does not allow one man to be the breadwinner of a family of three or four and above and reduce the woman of the house to a housekeeper.” First off, does the present economic situation really not allow men to be breadwinners? Where are the figures to back that assumption up? As Wikipedia would say, “Citation needed.” I would be genuinely interested in a comparison of the costs of living, say, 30 years ago and now to see if it’s as impossible as the writer declares.

More glaring, however, is the phrase “reduce the woman of the house to a housekeeper.” Reduce? You see the way feminism diminishes the role of a woman at home and makes homemakers feel inadequate? Why must a woman’s self-worth only come from discarding her own role and taking over a man’s? What is demeaning about caring for your own children, raising them to be godly and spiritual people, loving your own husband, managing the health, finances and food of your own home?

Especially in light of the various problems Ofosu-Amponsah raises with the opposite approach:

  • No time for family.
  • Active interference by maids in marriage.
  • Children receiving poor care and training.
  • Children picking up negative values from caregivers.

Just the last one alone will tell you the immense value of a Christian mother in the home overseeing the development of her child. After all, if you just want to put your child through school and feed them food so they grow, anyone can do that. But if you want to counter the direction the world is going in, to raise them to love God and Christ, to believe what you believe then you have a huge task ahead of you. A task too large to outsource to random househelps, school teachers and relatives, as helpful and welcome as such people may be.

It’s almost amusing but also sad how the article lists all the various problems and even adds, “When I was young, one of the momentous periods in my life was when I came home to see my mother in the house,” but never comes to the realization/admission that maybe the solution is a return to the natural order of things.

And with that, I introduce the second article I read today on the subject of Christian women and the family. It’s actually a letter by a 44-year old homemaker to a Christian radio program. The letter itself dates from 1995 but the sentiments expressed are even more relevant in 2018.

The Infiltration of Feminism in the Church

It’s a long but good read, and I urge you to pay special attention to the quote:

“A woman holding down a demanding full-time job cannot also raise her kids. It is the person who is with them all day who decides what they will read and see, how well they handle anger. Caretakers instill, bit by bit, their moral codes, their manners and even their enthusiasms. That doesn’t mean that a mother who works is irrelevant to her children – only that the major task of childrearing has been subcontracted out”.

Emphasis mine. If we don’t stamp our own imprint on our kids in their formative years, someone else will.

The article also deals with the question of guilt and the working mother. Should women feel guilty for working outside the home? That they do is evident just from a quick Google search, but should they?

“Guilt can be good if it brings to the person realization of the fact they have done something wrong.” Indeed. Guilt is bad if it is rehashing sins that have been confessed, repented of and forgiven. But if you are currently outside the will of God and you know it, you should feel bad. It’s the healthy Christian response.

We’ve seen how much the family loses by disregarding Titus 2:3-5. What does the family gain in exchange? Prestige in the world’s eyes. Work experience. Nicer houses and cars and smartphones. Money. “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.

A mother’s role in the family is indispensable. If a worker drops dead today, there’s another person in her role the next week. I know because I saw it happen at my former workplace. “Hii, hii, oh Elizabeth!” A few days later there was an advert in the Graphic. And life went on.
“How long will you love what is worthless and aim after deception?” Psalm 4:2b.

A woman exchanging her immense contributions to her family for titles and money should feel guilty, in the same way someone who trades a gold necklace for plastic beads should feel bad.

I have more to say on this subject, particularly on the effects of these trends on Ghanaian families in particular. And of course the pressing question, “Where are the men in all this?” Join me next time for Part 2 of “The Christian woman’s role in the family” as we tackle this (needlessly) thorny and sensitive subject and look at the way forward.

Sermons on Salvation in Fante

Hi Dear Readers,

We want to take this opportunity to upload a few sermons in Fante. This is in response to one of our readers, who made a special request so she can share the gospel with members of her family. These sermons were preached by Pastor Bentum Ennin of Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coast.

Topics include:

We hope it will be helpful to others as well. Especially for those of you with family members who don’t speak English but desperately want to hear sound Bible teaching in their local language. We hope to be able to add more Fante sermons later as well as other resources in Ewe, Ga, Twi and other languages.

Stay blessed!

Resource: Downtown Bible Class with Scott Gilchrist

All the resources I have posted so far have been online resources. I hope you have found them helpful and educational. Still, there’s no doubt that online resources are a drain on precious bandwidth and credit so this week I bring you an offline resource: Downtown Bible Class on Spring FM 102.7. It’s a radio program that airs every weekday evening at 9pm sharp and features 25 minutes of sound, eye-opening Bible exposition by American pastor and teacher Scott Gilchrist.

Who is Scott Gilchrist? What is Downtown Bible Class?

Scott Gilchrist has been Senior Pastor at Southwest Bible Church in a suburb of Portland, Oregon since 1979. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and has a passion to see God’s Word taught and understood. He is heard daily on the radio broadcast “Downtown Bible Class” and teaches the Bible to the business community in downtown Portland each week at the Portland Art Museum.

Downtown Bible Class: We are a non-denominational Christian ministry whose purpose is to bring clear, Christ-centered Bible teaching to the marketplace. We believe the Bible is God’s word, and that it is the only reliable source for truth. Since the spring of 1993, DBC has met each Wednesday in downtown Portland, Oregon. (official website)

Best things about Downtown Bible Class

It’s available for free on Ghana radio, 102.7 FM at 9pm every weekday. If you have a phone, you have a radio. Set an alarm and tune in every day. Radio programs don’t use up any bandwidth, they don’t cost any money and they’re easy to share with your friends, family and anyone in a 10 foot radius.

I’ve been listening to Pastor Gilchrist since 2011 and he has never steered me wrong but has instead provided clarity on a variety of difficult and tricky issues. His teaching is 100% based on the Bible, illustrated with pertinent examples drawn from real life. He has a real passion for the unsaved and for educating Christians about who they are in Christ, and it shows in all his sermons.

There’s also an element of humility and a willingness to admit when he doesn’t have all the answers that is missing in some otherwise excellent Bible teachers (no names will be given) but he doesn’t guess or give up either.

Let me give an example: in Hebrews we are told that Jesus Christ gave up his life once and for all and then sat down at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 10:12). In Acts, on the other hand, Stephen looks up into heaven and sees Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand (Acts 7:55-56). So which is it, is Jesus sitting or standing in heaven right now? Pastor Gilchrist doesn’t brush the question aside or skip over the seeming contradiction but instead examines the issue from all sides and all arguments and gives his (prayerfully-considered) opinion. It’s very helpful.

Hm? You want to know his answer? Well then you’ll have to listen to Downtown Bible Class!

Drawbacks of Downtown Bible Class

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Downtown Bible Class itself. The problem is with Spring FM’s presentation. Gilchrist does verse-by-verse exposition of the New Testament book by book. Spring FM jumps around from sermon to sermon without notice. I tracked them for a week. One day they were in Acts 7. The next day in Hebrew 7. Then in Acts 6. And on and on with no semblance of order. That’s not how the Bible is meant to be read or how Bible exposition is meant to be followed.

It’s also a bit inconvenient that you can’t pause and reflect on the sermons or listen to them right away when they’re on the radio. I like to pause, take notes, check the Bible and think a little sometimes before going on.

More information and further sermons

There used to be a website called essentialchristianity.net where you could get all the past Downtown Bible Class sermons in one place. The radio program still advertises it, probably because it’s an older recorded program. Sadly that site is now down, but all the sermons have been moved to the Southwest Bible Church website (click here) along with Gilchrist’s latest sermons. Now you can listen any time you want!

Until next time, keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. As will I.

Resource: I’ll be Honest.com

I’ll Be Honest (illbehonest.com) is a massive collection of audio and video sermons to inform, admonish and enlighten the growing Christian. In their own words:

I’ll Be Honest is a media ministry that is part of Grace Community Church of San Antonio, TX (gccsatx.com). We are seeking to publish Biblical Christian Videos on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Unlike the previous resources I’ve posted, I’ll Be Honest offers material from not one preacher but up to 66 different pastors, teachers and godly men and women of proven character. Some of them have over 50 years of experience in ministry. This allows I’ll Be Honest to cover a much wider variety of topics than any one preacher can cover in a lifetime.

It also means you get access to a bigger variety of accents, approaches and teaching styles. I don’t mean to encourage an “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos” attitude, but it is true that some people are better at explaining certain topics than other people, perhaps because they have a special burden for that issue.

I’ll Be Honest offers hundreds of sermons and recorded teaching services on topics like Christian Living, Church Life, Theology, Salvation, Family, Sin, Outreach and False Teaching. For a new believer, I particularly recommend the various titles under Examining Yourself and Assurance of Salvation to strengthen your hope in the promises of God and enable you to manifest the faith and love of Christ (as explained in Colossians 1:5).

The only disadvantage of I’ll Be Honest is the sheer size of most of the sermons and teachings means it takes a lot of bandwidth. I recommend downloading the mp3 versions instead of watching the videos if data is an issue. Their teachings are also in-depth and involving, which is a good thing but does take time and concentration to get through. It’s not quite suited for quick soundbites throughout the day (I recommend Wretched for that).

Apart from that minor drawback, I’ll Be Honest is a great resource for Christians seeking to grow and deepen their knowledge of various theological, moral and personal issues. Give their website a browse whenever you get the chance.