2Timothy 3:10-12: “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience. 11: Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all theLord delivered me. 12: Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
The route to eternal life in heaven is not and will never be a bed of roses. Christians, who are desirous of being with their maker, our Lord Jesus Christ, should not expect things to go easy for them. Therefore, they are bound to face challenges, temptations and,even, persecutions in the course of the heavenly race. The Devil is in constant war against Christians, simply because they have their faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In league with the fallen angels; Satan, the Devil mounts challenges, temptations and oppositions against God’s children to make them fall out of godly faith and be destroyed in hell fire.
The Devil, as a result of pride, leading to his attempt to usurp power from God, caused war in heaven in which other angels led by angel Michael fought, defeated and threw him and about a quarter of the angels who followed him, into the earth. He knows there is no chance again for him to enter heaven or be with our Lord Jesus Christ; hence, he resorted to fighting the people who are obedient to God’s word. He wants all to disobey God, sothat, nobody will enter the kingdom of God and be saved. He, therefore, mounts oppositions, challenges and temptations against God’s children.
Fortunately, challenges and temptations are good for the heaven-bound Christians, as they are preparatory for them. It is when one faces challenges that he is strengthened to do exploits for God’s kingdom.
In the lead scripture, it is written that the people who will truly serve God must suffer persecutions.
Christians are bound to suffer challenges and temptations to strengthen them. In its original Greek translation, the word ‘tempted’ literally means to test for weakness. It is the same word used for the process of testing a sword for strength and proper forging: the same process can be called tempering in today’s parlance. This was done by putting the sword in fire. The steel for the sword is heated until it was red-hot, then beaten flat into proper shape, and held up for observation; any grayish spots in the red-hot metal indicateareas of weakness. The sword then goes back into the fire and the weak spots are beaten with hammer on an anvil to smash the molecules together so they would be tighter and stronger. After this, the sword is placed in cold water to freeze the molecules. Then, it is heated to red-hot level again and re-examined for weak spots. This process of examination, hammering, cooling, reheating and re-examination are repeated until all the weak spots are beaten out of the sword. Only then is the sword ready for use in battle. An untested sword could break in the heat of the battle, with the deadly consequences for the soldier who is using it in the battlefield.
Therefore, the word “tempted” means to test for weakness, not out of a desire for destruction, but for the purpose of making one strong and unbreakable. So challenges, oppositions and temptations are to strengthen believers in the work of God and to enable them face challenges that might arise in the course of the heavenly race.
God’s children are never consumed by temptations and oppositions or defeated in a battlefield, because God will always intervene to give them victory. In the Bible, the Israelites were turned to slaves in Egypt after the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph mounted the throne. They were subjected to forced labour, their daughters were taken into marriage without proper rites. At the heat of this, God’s intervention led to their delivery from this bondage. While on their way to the Promised Land, notwithstanding they were led by God’s will and guidance, they met stiff oppositions and great lack in the wilderness. They faced enemies that engaged them in battles. They lacked food and water ,even faced snake bites, but in all the situations, God helped them and they were victorious.
When a Christian is faced with temptations, oppositions and challenges, they are meant to strengthen and make him bold to forge ahead. Apostle Paul, while using himself as an example to encourage believers to endure whatever comes their way in the course of the heavenly race, said in 2nd Corinthians 11:24-28: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25: Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. 26: In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. 27: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28: Beside those things, that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”
Apostle Paul suffered these things yet he overcame them and was happy to say at the end that he waited for the crown of righteousness, which the righteous God will give to him and to all the people that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. It should be noted that the more persecutions and oppositions suffered by them, they were able to do more exploits for God’s kingdom. God will not allow us to be tested beyond our capacity; hence He is always with us to ensure we overcome temptations and challenges. The Bible in Romans 8:35-39, says: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ is the focus of every Christian, and as long as God is with us nothing shall separate us from loving, serving, and following Him to the end of all things when we will reign with Him in the New Jerusalem.
Temptations, trials, challenges and oppositions are bound to come. Whenever we are faced with these, God has given us answer to troubles and oppositions in Psalm 50:15 saying: “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” When we are confronted with troubles from the devil and his agents the solution is to call on God. His intervention will bring deliverance to us. Temptations and challenges are for our good because they are there to strengthen us, but when it becomes hard on us we call on God for intervention and deliverance and our prayers will be answered in Jesus’ name…Amen!
Testimony Of The Lord’s Doing
Children Secure Local And International Scholarships
SISTER Ijeoma Ralph Mba lives in New Jersey and worships at the branch of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries over there. According to our sister’s testimony, when they initially arrived in the United States of America, they resided in Virginia and as time went on, she discovered that Virginia was not good for her children’s education. God helping them, they moved over to New Jersey and there, her children’s education continued, but when it was time for her first daughter to enter college, it became a problem because they did not have papers.
Sister Mba said she trusted in God and coupled with the fact that General Overseer was always praying for people seeking scholarships and she always claimed the prayers for her children.
In her words: “a day came that her first son came back home and reported that the scholarship board was coming to their school and that his name was among those to be interviewed. She said she encouraged him to pray and commit everything into God’s hand. Eventually, the board came to the son’s school and interviewed them and to the glory of God, her son passed the interview and after two weeks, the boy was granted full funded scholarship that will run for four years,” Praise the Lord!
As if that was not enough, the second child (a daughter) was also granted scholarship just like her brother and to crown it all, the third child (a daughter) also received international scholarship, juicier than the scholarships granted to her two otherchildren.
Another good news, according to Sister Mba is that two of her children had successfully graduated and would want to further their education, but before they could do that, they must obtain permanent residency.
“So, they applied and to the glory of God, the request has been granted. Today, they have been granted permanent residency, meaning that their desire to further their education is now very possible. Praise the Lord! God of Chosen is so great. May His name be glorified in Jesus’ name,” Sister Mba said.
