Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain – Part 1

Rev. 3:1- 3 states, “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things, which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

No one can doubt the fact that we are in the very last days, and that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is at hand. As a result, we should understand that the present situation requires serious watchfulness in all we do in order not to lose what we have gained in the Lord. This is because whenever we are off-guard by neglecting the importance of our salvation, there is the likelihood that we shall lose our ground on holiness. We can attest to the fact that all prophesies of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ are almost fulfilled or are being fulfilled before our very eyes. Consequently, it has become very imperative that we hold on to all the godly teachings we have received, and repent from all that we have departed from, when we embraced the gospel.

Matt.24: 3-13 says, “And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

If you look at what is going on in our society today, you will see that this Scripture is almost fulfilled. There are lots of killings, evil and wickedness going on everywhere in the world, including pestilences, sickness and diseases that are ravaging humanity, which evidenced that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is at hand. We are also presently witnessing some of the prophesies of His second coming, such as economic recession, famine, pestilence and earthquakes in diverse places.

Rev.1: 3 says, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

The Scripture says the time for the rapture, that is, the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is at hand. That’s why it is of essence that you examine yourself to ensure you are not taken unawares on that day. You should know we’re in injury time and must thus conduct ourselves appropriately in order not to scuttle our chances of making heaven, as the trumpet is expected to blow any moment. Everybody should be aware of the Lord’s coming and prepare, because if you are ignorant of His coming, you can in a slapdash fashion drift into worldliness.

1Thes. 4: 13-17 says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we, which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Brethren, we must not allow ourselves to be ignorant of His coming, because it is expected of us to know that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ or rapture is the next item on God’s programme, and no believer should close his eyes to this. All true believers that are Heavenly minded must be at alert in expectation of this programme – the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amos 4:12 says, “Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.”

Having known what the Lord’s next agenda is, every real Child of God should, therefore, prepare to meet with the Lord. The preparation entails ensuring good and godly conduct in all manner of conversation and avoiding getting involved in any evil/wickedness, for of certainty, the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God nor make rapture.

1Cor. 6:9-10 say, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

If you are among those living unrighteous life, the Scripture says you cannot make heaven. So, it is necessary you must now examine your life to find out what could hinder you from rapture and get rid of them. That is why you are called to strengthen the things, which remain. Any area of your life that is not measuring up to godly standard must be addressed before it’s too late. And as you do this, I’m assuring that you will make it, when the trumpet shall sound in Jesus name.

Rev.3:3, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

You have been told that the coming of the Lord to rapture the saints will be like a thief. And everybody knows that a thief does not give notice of his visit; it’s always when you least expected him that he visits. That’s the reason you are asked to be ready at all times, so that you will not be bothered by the Lord’s surprise coming.

Testimony
How God Delivered My Children From Mysterious Sickness
My name is Sister Nkechi Mbanaso. I reside at Ijegun, in Alimoso local government area of Lagos State. I want to glorify God for delivering my son Chukwudi Mbanaso, who is standing beside me, from a mysterious sickness that nearly took his life and that of his brother. Before now, we were residing in Ire-akari Estate, in Isolo and it was the emergence of this sickness in my sons’ life that caused our relocation to Ijegun and also joining The Lord Chosen Church.

The sickness was first contracted by my first son. As we were battling to unravel the cause of this mysterious sickness, by going from one hospital to the other consulting physicians, my second son suddenly got afflicted also. This additional problem financially, emotionally and physically shook our family’s very foundation. It was like we were in a miniature hell. All the diagnoses done to ascertain what the sickness was proved abortive and before we knew it, our two children became paralysed. There was no known hospital we didn’t visit and yet, after spending huge amount of money, we would go home disappointed.

While this was going on, the first son’s problem degenerated further to the extent that he lost appetite and would hardly allow anything into his mouth. At that point, we resorted to placing him on Lucozade Boost, which we were buying in cartons. As their situation continued to deteriorate, no hospital agreed to admit us, even the prayer houses were not forthcoming in providing hope, thus frustration and confusion set in. Having expressed my frustration one day to my husband, he asked whether we had tried the Lord Chosen Church and I answered no, then he suggested I should take the children there for deliverance since orthodox medical doctors were of no help. I was initially reluctant to submit to his wish because I was not a member of The Lord’s Chosen and also had concluded that it was going to produce same result as other churches I visited. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a trial after receiving advices from close friends. So, on a fateful Thursday, being their deliverance service, I took a chartered Keke Marwa (tricycle) to bring them.

When we got to the Church, ushers helped to carry them out of the tricycle into the church and laid them on the floor. As soon as the General Pastor mounted the pulpit, he prophetically commanded all those that could not walk to stand and walk. Suddenly like a machine, my first son stood up and beckoned to the second one, Chukwudi, to follow him and that one in obedience stood up.

Again, from the pulpit, the Pastor commanded that they should not only stand, but also walk and do every other thing they could not do before. Brethren, my first son began to learn how to walk again. And not quite long after that, my second son followed and the two started walking. Lo and behold, that was how the God of Chosen healed my children from unknown sickness and removed reproach from me. Since that day, I decided to pitch my tent where I have experienced God’s presence and quick intervention. Beyond that, I discovered that my salvation is rejuvenated and refreshed daily by the undiluted Word of God being preached by the Pastor. Even now, I thank God for allowing the sickness, which brought me to Chosen, where I have gotten a better relationship with Him. Praise the Lord!