WHAT YOU NEED TO BE TO RECEIVE THE NEED / MIRACLE FROM GOD

 (Ps. 78:41, 42-48)

INTRODUCTION

Do not go back and give it to God who has begotten us a second time by bringing salvation through Jesus Christ.

I. THE GREAT MISTAKE THEY MADE

They went back.

They gave it to God.

They forgot the works and wonders that God had done among their founding fathers.

We must not forget the works of God and the miracles performed by Him from the Old to New in His faithful servants.

II. WHAT TO DO

To have a good relationship with God.

Make the right decision to remain faithful to God and to His Covenant and Promises to your end without giving Him a limit to everything.

 REQUIRED:

i. Believe in God (Mark 11:22).

ii. Do not doubt in your heart (Mark 11:23).

iii. Believe you have received in the power of Jesus Christ (Matt. 7: 8a, 19:26). What you don't want is gone, it's already gone. What you want is in your hands.

iv. Rejoice if you find a miracle today.

Rejoice if you do not receive it now (Phil. 4: 4, 11-13)

v. Realize that God's delay in answering your prayers does not mean that you are dismissing them.

Sometimes God has a great purpose in His mind to reflect His glory (John 9: 3, 11: 4, 2Cor. 12: 7-10).

"KNOW THAT IF YOU HAVE GIVEN YOURSELF COMPLETELY" GOD CANNOT FORGET YOU AND FORGET YOU, HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH THAT HE DRAWS YOU IN THE HANDS OF HIS HANDS (Isa. 49: 15-16, Ps. 121: 1-2).

Prepared by

Rev. Joseph Marego.

info@tanzaniagospel.org

QUALITIES OF GOD'S GOODNESS

 (Ps. 139: 7-8)

INTRODUCTION

Many of the qualities of the true God, and especially his qualities, are similar to those of man. Yet its qualities are at a higher level than ours.

It should be emphasized that our ability to put into practice these traits relates to the fact that we are created in the image of God (Gen. 1: 26-27) in some respects, we are like him and not like him.

1. God is good (Ps. 25: 8, 106: 1 Mk. 10:18) all that God created from the beginning was good, a development of His own nature. (Gen. 1: 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 31). He continues to be good in His creation by supporting it on behalf of all His other creatures (Ps. 104: 10-28, 145: 9).

NB: God is especially good to His people when they call on Him in truth (Ps. 145: 18-20)

2. God is love (1 John 4: 8). His unselfish love is the love that embraces the whole world of sinful mankind (John 3:16, Rom. 5: 8). The revelation seems to send his only son Jesus to die for sinners (1 John 4: 9-10).

3. God is merciful (2 Kings 13:23, Ps. 86:15, 111: 4)

To be compassionate means to feel sorry for someone else's mistakes, and to be willing to help.

In His mercy to man, God offers forgiveness and salvation (Ps. 78:38).

Caution: However, God's patience and forgiveness should not be misused, by deliberate disobedience and rebellion. If we continue to grieve Him for our sins, He will eventually judge us in His wrath as He did for Israel (Heb. 3: 7-19).

4. God is patient and not easily angered (Ex. 34: 6, Num. 14:18, Rom. 2: 4, 1Tim. 1:16).

God first manifested His character in the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sinned. He had the right to destroy the human race, but he did not (Gen. 2: 16-17).

God was also patient in the days of Noah when the ark was being built (1 Pet. 3:20). God is still tolerating the sinful generation of mankind. He does not judge now to destroy the world, because he patiently waits to give everyone the opportunity to repent and be saved (2 Pet. 3: 9).

5. God is truthful (Deut. 32: 4, Ps. 31: 5, Isa. 65:16, John 3:33)

Jesus called himself "the truth" (John 14: 6) and the Spirit is known as the Spirit of truth (John 14:17).

6. God is faithful (Ex. 34: 6, 7: 9 Isa. 49: 7, Heb. 10:23).

God does what is revealed in His Word, His promises and warnings (Num. 14: 32-33, 2 Sam. 7:28, Job 34:12, Acts 13:23, 32-33)

God's faithfulness brings great comfort to believers

.................................................. ................. continues ................................ ......................

Prepared by

Rev. Joseph Marego.

 email: info@tanzaniagospel.org

ARCHBISHOP WANTS TO CUT OFF FREEMASONS

The Independent - UK

The new Archbishop of Canterbury has said he believes Christianity and Freemasonry are "incompatible" and has refused to appoint clergymen to senior posts because they are members of the Brotherhood.

Dr Rowan Williams, who becomes head of the Church of England next month, told The Independent that he is not in favour of ministers being Masons because it is a "secret organisation" whose views are questionable.

He also voiced doubts in a letter to Hugh Sinclair, who has been investigating the Brotherhood: "I have real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession ... I have resisted the appointment of known Masons to certain senior posts."

Dr Williams' comments will renew controversy about the Freemasons. In the past 50 years some of its most senior members have been in the Church's higher echelons, and there have been links between the two organisations for centuries. Thousands of leading clergymen and churchgoers are among its 350,000 British members.

The Rev Gregory Cameron, chaplain to Dr Williams, said: "He questions whether it's appropriate for Christian ministers to belong to secret organisations. He also has some anxiety about the spiritual content of Masonry."

A spokesman for the Archbishop said he was "worried about the ritual elements in Freemasonry – which some have seen as possibly Satanically inspired – and how that sits uneasily with Christian belief". He continued: "The other idea is that because they are a society, there could be a network that involves mutual back-scratching, which is something he would be greatly opposed to."

A spokesman for the Freemasons in England said: "As far as we are concerned, there is no incompatibility between Christianity and our organisation whatsoever."

The 'Satanic' Brotherhood with clergymen in its ranks

Freemasonry: Dr Rowan Williams reveals his concerns over a secret society he believes is incompatible with the Christian faith

By Jason Bennetto

15 November 2002

Freemasonry describes itself on its website as the "UK's largest secular, fraternal, and charitable organisation". So why does the new Archbishop of Canterbury think it is a secret society with dubious spiritual credentials?

And why does Dr Rowan Williams also believe that Church of England ministers should not belong to the Brotherhood, an organisation he describes as incompatible with Christianity?

His views will be greeted with astonishment by the significant number of senior clergymen and Christians who are members of the 350,000-strong Craft, who have organised a slick media campaign to counter bad publicity.

The Freemasons of England now have a website – www.freemasonry.net . The United Grand Lodge of England says that it is not a "secret society", but merely holds private meetings.

"Freemasonry does not try to replace religion or substitute for it. Freemasonry requires a belief in God and its principles are common to many of the world's great religions," it says.

"There are elements within certain churches who misunderstand Freemasonry and confuse secular rituals with religious liturgy."

It adds that many of its members are Anglicans and Catholics and would be "dismayed that the churches should attack Freemasonry".

But some observers believe that at the heart of the Craft – and known only to those who reach the highest levels – there is a sinister quasi-religion based on a composite Masonic God, known as Jah-Bul-On.

In his 1984 book The Brotherhood, Stephen Knight turned the spotlight on the inner workings of the Masons. "I have spoken to 57 long-standing Royal Arch Freemasons [one of the most senior groups], who have been happy to talk to me.All but four lost their composure when I said, 'What about Jah-Bul-On?'," he wrote.

A spokesman for Dr Williams said yesterday that many Christians believed that Jah-Bul-On was considered to refer to the "incarnation of Satan". He added that the Masons promised in the 1980s to drop any reference to Jah-Bul-On because of the offence it was causing.

In a letter to Hugh Sinclair, a man who for years has been investigating the Brotherhood, Dr Williams said: "I have real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession." He later said he questioned whether it was "appropriate for Christian ministers to belong to secret organisations" and expressed "anxiety about the spiritual content of Masonry".

He also raised the issue of "back scratching" and the possible debt clergymen may feel towards fellow members of the Craft.

The relationship between Freemasons and the Catholic and Anglican churches has been a complex and at times a fraught one.

Dr Williams' spokesman said: "From the end of the 19th century a lot of Anglican clergy got involved in Freemasonry. In the 20th century a number of very senior clergymen were Masons. In the 1960s people started turning against the idea of secret societies and a number of Anglican ministers saw it as possibly Satanically inspired."

The influence of the Brotherhood within the Church of England has continued and the Freemasons acknowledge that many clergymen and Anglicans are members.

Leading Mason Church of England clergymen of the past include the former Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, who headed the Church of England from 1945 to 1961. He held the senior post of Grand Chaplain for the United Grand Lodge of England.

Robert Milburn, the former Dean of Worcester, held the same senior Masonic post as the Archbishop.

John Habgood, the former Archbishop of York, told the General Synod that he believed Freemasonry was a "fairly harmless eccentricity" and later expressed the view that he did not see any conflict in being a Mason and a Christian.

In July 1987 the General Synod, the governing body of the Church of England, ducked the issue when bishops endorsed a report looking into whether being a Christian and a Freemason were compatible.

A working party concluded that Freemasons who belonged to the church did not think there was a problem, while non-Masons thought there were difficulties. The issue has not been debated since.

At one stage Catholics were banned from being Freemasons, but the two are no longer seen as incompatible providing Catholics belong to a British branch of the Masons.

Critics believe this is partly due to the influence of members of the Brotherhood within the Catholic church.

 

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