THE NATHAN REPORT: October 26, 2014

Dear all, welcome to THE NATHAN REPORT!
We started off with praise and worship. Below is the playlist:

1) We will worship the Lamb of Glory - Dennis Jernigan

2) Nothing is impossible - Israel Houghton

3) My redeemer lives - Reuben Morgan

4) Here is love - Welsh Hymn

5) How great is our God - Chris Tomlin

Beautiful session worshiping our Lord. This followed up with today's announcements:

- The VBS went very well and children as well as their parents were encouraged. Thank you for all your prayers.

- One of our church member, brother Richard, was unwell. He has recovered very well and has been able to attend today's service.

Today's topic is, "Are you sleeping?"

Followings are few of the very basic reasons when you can guess if someone is sleeping, Pastor Daniel Olukoya explains:

1) When thoughts of heaven and eternity cease to be regular in your life.

2) When you are singing Christian songs when you are singing christian songs and chanting christian words just from the lips and not from the heart.

3) When services in the house of God hold no delight for you.

4) When with the slightest excuse you avoid spiritual duties, you have slept.
5) When you are working for the Lord and not with the Lord.

6) When you are contended with your lack of spiritual power and you no longer seek power from high. The first key to spiritual power is lack of rest in your soul because you are not satisfied with your present level.

7) When spiritual discussion becomes a source of embarrassment to you. For example, in your office, talking about Jesus or spiritual things becomes highly embarrassing because you know that those around will certainly know that you are not behaving like a Christian.

8) When things like leisure, sports, recreation, entertainment, etc. take a large part of your time, sleep has crept in and if you don’t wake, up the enemy will come and sow tares or lay eggs if they have not already done so.

We need to repent if one of these things from above matches our lives. And this is a clear signal that, "We are sleeping!"

Like Paul said to Christians, “Awake thou that sleepest and Christ has shown you light.” So, it is time to awake from our sleep because now is our salvation nearer than it was before. Do not waste time clearing the evil eggs that the enemy has laid in your life while you were sleeping. The time you should do useful things for the Lord, you are busy using it to do deliverance for what happened to you while you were sleeping. It is better to be awake and pursue the enemy right into their gates. This is a serious matter and must be tackled aggressively.

Illustration: Someone asked a riddle, "What is it which is Red, White and Black?" Well, someone after a long wait answered, "Newspaper".

In the Bible, there are books which are called "Wisdom Literature". The books that make up the Wisdom Literature in the Bible are as follows: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. The general focus of wisdom literature is a reflection on the realities of life. The purpose for this is to make one walk in Lord and serve and the key is "Fear of God." Bible says fear of Lord is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge, Joy and moreover Christian faith.

Few References:
Proverbs 3:7, "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil."

Proverbs 16:7, "When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

Proverbs 10:27, "The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short."

Proverbs 10:26, "Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him."

Proverbs 14:27, "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death."

Proverbs 15:16, "Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it."

Proverbs 19:23, "The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm."

Proverbs 22:4, "The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life."

Proverbs 11:28-30, "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. 29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise."

The true believer is a branch of the living Vine. When those that take root in the world wither, those who are grafted into Christ shall be fruitful. He that brings trouble upon himself and his family, by carelessness or by wickedness, shall be unable to keep and enjoy what he gets, as a man is unable to hold the wind or to satisfy himself with it. The righteous are as trees of life; and their influence upon earth, like the fruits of that tree, support and nourish the spiritual life in many. Even the righteous, when they offend on earth, shall meet with sharp corrections; much more will the wicked meet the due reward of their sins. Let us then seek those blessings which our Surety purchased by his sufferings and death; let us seek to copy his example, and to keep his commandments. The wise is the one who wins souls for Christ. Here we are not talking about the cleverness but the wisdom given by God.

Mark 16:15, "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

Luke 14:23, "And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled."

Daniel 12:3, "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."

Psalms 126:6, "He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."

From the verses above, we clearly can see that God is interested in saving souls.

Paul W. Powell, in The Complete Disciple, described this condition: “Many churches today remind me of a laboring crew trying to gather in a harvest while they sit in the toolshed. They go to the toolshed every Sunday and they study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes, grease their tractors, and then get up and go home. Then they come back that night, study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes, grease their tractors, and go home again. They come back Wednesday night, and again study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes, grease their tractors, and get up and go home. They do this week in and week out, year in and year out, and nobody ever goes out into the fields to gather in the harvest.

You might be very intelligent, not wise. Crooks and thieves can be intelligent as well, definitely not wise. The one who wins souls is wise. We must understand the heart of Jesus and passion. He shed his blood blood for all of us, not to heal the sick or not to give satisfaction to a hungry stomach or to do miracles, but to save us.

1 Timothy 2:4, "Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Bill Bright, president of Campus Crusade for Christ says, "Millions of surveys which we have helped to take around the world indicate that approximately 98 percent of the Christians do not regularly introduce others to the Savior."

If we’re going to be the Church, sharing our faith is not a choice. We have to be reaching out to others with God’s love and sharing the message of Jesus and telling others what He has done in our lives.

Few characteristics of a wise person:

1 - Wise person understands the heart of the father and wins soul.

What is the most basic reason of Jesus? Not to sit with the tax collectors or the fishermen to feast. The reason Jesus came on earth was to save us and to establish our relationship with God.

Paul said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

Mark 16:15, "And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

Matthew 28:19-20, "19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"

The evidences of the truth of the gospel are so full, that those who receive it not, may justly be upbraided with their unbelief. Our blessed Lord renewed his choice of the eleven as his apostles, and commissioned them to go into all the world, to preach his gospel to every creature. Only he that is a true Christian shall be saved through Christ.

2- The wise will not give up.

If you want to win souls, don't give up.

Galatians 6:9, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Many excuse themselves from the work of religion, though they may make a show, and profess it. They may impose upon others, yet they deceive themselves if they think to impose upon God, who knows their hearts as well as actions; and as he cannot be deceived, so he will not be mocked. Our present time is seed time; in the other world we shall reap as we sow now. As there are two sorts of sowing, one to the flesh, and the other to the Spirit, so will the reckoning be hereafter. Those who live a carnal, sensual life, must expect no other fruit from such a course than misery and ruin. But those who, under the guidance and influences of the Holy Spirit, live a life of faith in Christ, and abound in Christian graces, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. We are all very apt to tire in duty, particularly in doing good. This we should carefully watch and guard against. Only to perseverance in well-doing is the reward promised. Here is an exhortation to all to do good in their places. We should take care to do good in our life-time, and make this the business of our lives. Especially when fresh occasions offer, and as far as our power reaches.

3. Wise people have an eyesight of God.

Luke 10:2, "And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Romans 10:14, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"

There is not one God to the Jews, more kind, and another to the Gentiles, who is less kind; the Lord is a Father to all men. The promise is the same to all, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, as God manifest in the flesh. All believers thus call upon the Lord Jesus, and none else will do so humbly or sincerely. But how should any call on the Lord Jesus, the Divine Saviour, who had not heard of him? And what is the life of a Christian but a life of prayer? It shows that we feel our dependence on him, and are ready to give up ourselves to him, and have a believing expectation of our all from him. It was necessary that the gospel should be preached. Somebody must show them what they are to believe. How welcome the gospel ought to be to those to whom it was preached! The gospel is given, not only to be known and believed, but to be obeyed. It is not a system of notions, but a rule of practice. The beginning, progress, and strength of faith is by hearing. But it is only hearing the word, as the word of God that will strengthen faith.

Illustration: When Henry Ford purchased a large insurance policy, the Detroit news papers blazoned the fact, since the amount was so large and he was so prominent. The story was read by one of Ford’s old friends, who I happened to be in the insurance business. The old friend went to confront Ford to see if the story was true. When Ford assured him that it was, the friend asked him why the policy was not purchased from him, since he was a personal friend and had been in insurance for many years. Ford’s reply was, "You never asked me."

How many of our friends can say to us, "You never asked me," as to our sharing Christ with them? God’s concern is people and He uses you and me to reach them. Do you share God’s concern? Do you have a passion for people?

Illustration: There was a boy, who felt eating an egg but had no money to buy it. He approached the store and realized that the storekeeper is busy somewhere. So this boy without giving any other thought stole an egg and brought home. He asked his mother to cook it for him, so she boiled it. The same thing repeated the second day and the third day and on and on until this boy started stealing bigger thing. One day he planned to rob a house, but the house owner caught this boy. This scared boy in hurry stabbed the owner to get rid, later realizing the man has died. Boy gets arrested. Due to past records of other crimes, this boy was sentenced to execution. The boy was asked if he has to say anything, he pleaded to speak to his mother once. As soon she arrives, the boy bit the ear of his mother so hard, stating, "She never asked me, where I bought these eggs from. Had she asked the very first day, I might not have ended like this."

When Dwight L. Moody was in London during one of his famous evangelistic tours, several British clergymen visited him. They wanted to know how and why this poorly educated American was so effective in winning throngs of people to Christ. Moody took the three men to the window of his hotel room and asked each in turn what he saw. One by one, the men described the people in the park below. Then Moody looked out the window with tears rolling down his cheeks. “What do you see, Mr. Moody?” asked one of the men.

“I see countless thousands of souls that will one day spend eternity in hell if they do not find the Savior.”

Obviously, D. L. Moody saw people differently than the average observer does. And because he saw eternal souls where others saw only people strolling in a park, Moody approached life with a different agenda.

Proverbs 11:13, "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered."

A faithful man will not disclose what he is trusted with, unless the honour of God and the real good of society require it.

Illustration: While I was young, I completed my education for Lord's ministry. There was one of my friend, who used to laugh at me when I took my mission studies and tried to speak with him. Later on, I was blessed by becoming a minister of God, even this friend started respecting me. He passed away few years back without Christ. The point is, God keeps His children and brings them above everyone.

There was a fiery old revival preacher named Peter Cartwright who was famous for telling it like it was. He was preaching one time near Washington D.C. and the people of the church heard that Andrew Jackson was coming to visit. So they pulled Mr. Cartwright aside and said, "Listen Peter, the President is going to be here on Sunday and we know that sometimes you can get kind of offensive, so would you tone it down. We don’t want to upset the President." So Peter got up in the pulpit the next Sunday and his first three sentences were these. "I understand that the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson is with us this morning. I have been asked to be guarded in my remarks. Andrew Jackson will go to Hell is he doesn’t repent." The church was appalled, but when worship was over Andrew Jackson grabbed Mr. Cartwright’s hand, shook it and said, "Sir, if I had an army of men like you I could whip the world."

In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:

"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear."

Dear friends, I have a question for you, "Are you sleeping?"
If yes, then this is the time when you need to wake up from your slumber and repent as seek Lord's guidance to establish your relationship with Him and let Him use you for the purpose you have been made.

Let as all pray:

Dear father, thank you for today! We pray for our slumbers to vanish and we arise in doing what we have been created for. For the very purpose that you made us for. Wake us up from every spiritual sleep, in the name of Jesus. Every evil seed sown into our lives while we were sleeping, be removed by fire, in the name of Jesus. Cover us with your blood and by the fire of your Spirit O' God. Help us reach out to people who may end up in an eternal hell and that they even don't know what a gracious God you are. Lord, help us reach out and speak to our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues, our relatives. For this we will be requiring your strength and wisdom. Bless us with it dear God that whatever we speak be spoken through your spirit and all our actions be guided by you dear father. Built opportunities for us to meet peaple and that we share the word of your wisdom. We trust in you and with your most beautiful name, "Jesus", we pray. Amen!

Post service, we had few testimonies from parents who testified their and their children's experience during VBS. Below are few of the photographs: