The Sunrise Magazine is the magazine of The Redeemed Christian Church of God. Follow this link to access all issues of the magazine. The magazine captures the vision and mission of RCCG, articles from men and women of God across the ministry, and church general announcements. Some of the articles provide insights into how to raise children in the contemporary world, advice to young people and singles as well as Christian history education.
When a person becomes a Christian, his conduct and personality
should undergo certain changes. One of these changes has to do with
emotions i.e. temper. A Christian should react in a Christian way. He
should not lose his temper. Handling anger properly is a critical life
skill for Christians. Anger can cripple communication between two
people and rip apart families and relationships in churches. God’s
Word not only teaches how to deal with anger but also how to
overcome sinful anger.
Read more from https://rccgkog.org/anger-in-the-church-a-case-study-on-samson/
Repentance is the activity of reviewing one’s actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by a commitment to change for the better. Other words to describe repentance are Sorrow, regret, pricked conscience, and remorse. Repentance means to ‘clean up your act’. It may also stand for repair, reconciliation, and restitution. It is the admission of faults, acknowledgment of wrongdoing, and taking proper precautions or seeking help to ensure that similar situations don’t arise. Salvation is a gift of God, but it came at a price. Does repentance lead to salvation or will salvation give repentance? It is assumed that man can repent by his own strength but the moral evidence and the constant struggle and failure to attain a godly life in our world today is pointing to the fact that repentance like grace and faith is a gift of God to our heart which has the great capacity to stray after evil. (Ephesians 2:8) For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God.
Read more from https://rccgkog.org/files/2022/12/KOG-Newsletter-Issue-6.pdf
Unbelief is like doubt yet different doubts come from ignorance and lack of intimacy with someone or an idea. When we doubt God, it points to our lack of knowledge of His promises, a false idea about His personality power and ability. It results from the build-up of strongholds in our minds formed by experience, thoughts conceptions and environment. Unbelief, however, is when you know and acknowledge that there is a God, who is powerful, yet you don’t believe His word. (Psalms 78: 21-22). ‘Therefore, when the lord heard, he was full of wrath a fire was kindled against Jacob, His anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust his saving power’. Unbelief is a direct whisper from the devil to the mind of a person. A negative opinion formed about God is usually deposited in our minds by Satan.
Read more from https://rccgkog.org/files/2022/12/KOG-Newsletter-Issue-8-1-1.pdf
A publication by KOG MEDIA TEAM
A growing awareness suggests that 21st century Christianity differs in some important ways from the pre-21st century Christians who preceded them in terms of Christian Maturity. Generational differences challenge ministry leaders in ways that are similar to cultural differences, in that, attempting to help individuals grow in faith who may have significantly different life experiences, beliefs, values, and habits than our own. The call to follow Jesus and to grow together to spiritual maturity is timeless, but disciples also live in particular cultural and historical circumstances that in some ways foster and in other ways inhibit their growth.
Spiritual maturity is something that should be a priority for every Christian. It’s important in our lives how we serve God, interact with other people, and take care of our families. Today’s biblical teaching on spiritual maturity will also provide criteria for identifying the discipleship needs of Christian maturity in the 21st century and guidance regarding how to help them navigate the spiritual challenges they face.
Introduction
What is spiritual maturity? The New Testament uses the word “mature” to describe a spiritual state that should be attained by most disciples of Jesus after a reasonable period of growth (1 Cor. 2:14–3:4, 14:20; Eph. 4:1–5:2; Phil. 3:1-16; Col. 1:28; Heb. 5:11–6:2).
Mature discipleship begins with a full conversion, a new birth, resulting in a state of spiritual infancy. These spiritual newborns are eager for the “spiritual milk” of God’s word (1 Pet. 1:22–2:3), a metaphor that signifies the basic teachings or “first principles” (Heb. 5:12) of the faith. But spiritual infants and children must grow into spiritual adults, otherwise, they will be “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their
craftiness in deceitful wiles” (Eph. 4:14). And they will be unable to discern even basic “spiritual” things such as knowing that they should treat each other lovingly and seek unity rather than divide into prideful factions (1 Cor. 2:14–3:4, NRSV). Spiritual infancy is a wonderful miracle resulting from new birth in the Spirit, but part of the wonder of this new life is that it connects the believer to God who will provide growth to maturity. Whether we are speaking of natural or spiritual infants, “failure to thrive” is a serious diagnosis that should prompt concerted action.
Either as part of explaining the Gospel call or soon after, we must convince the 21st Century Christians that spiritual maturity is both attainable and desirable. We should seek to establish a culture in our churches and youth ministries that assume, as did Paul and the author of the book of Hebrews, that all followers of Jesus should become spiritually mature after a reasonable period of growth. We must make clear to all concerned that helping each disciple grow to maturity is one of the purposes of our ministries, just as Paul did (Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 1:28). To go on toward maturity, there is a need to help in learning the basics of the faith and in discerning how those basic truths should shape their daily lives. Since only “engaged” Christians seem to have a sound and secure grasp of the faith or of Christian morality. Christian Maturity and the 21st Century Christians
Growing spiritually requires growing in prayer, worship, and knowledge of the Bible. Most importantly, to mature spiritually means to grow in faith and repentance.
Though spiritual maturity is a process. The grace of the Lord Jesus allows us to grow in our faith and the more we do, the more we will look like Jesus
By Kemi Adesola
Reference Texts: 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Genesis 3, Ps 5:3, Ps 145: 18, James 5:16, Ephesians 6:19, Col 4:3, Romans 8:26-27, Matt 6:10, Heb 12:2
INTRODUCTION
When we cease to pray, our troubles become even bigger mentally and physically, especially when our own solutions fail and weariness steps in. Hopelessness becomes unavoidable without prayer because only God can solve our issues the perfect way in our best interest.
If there was ever a time when Peter, James, and John needed to remain awake and pray it was in Gethsemane. If James had persisted in keeping awake it might have saved his decapitation a few years later. If Peter had stirred himself to really intercede for himself and others, he would not have denied his Christ that night in the palace of Caiaphas.
Conditions a Prayerless Life Reveals
The Damage Prayerlessness Can Cause
Fighting Prayerlessness
CONCLUSION
Every day of our lives ought to find us in prayer, praising the Lord of
our salvation! May each of us examine our prayer lives; and if it is
not as it should be, we need to root out one of these and perhaps a
myriad of other conditions that have brought us to that sad and
dangerous place. God would be delighted to hear from you again!
By Kemi Adesola
Ananias and Saphira – A case study on the evil of self – centredness.
Bible references: Acts 5:1-11, Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 15:3, Psalms 90:12.
When the believers began to increase their needs increased as well so there was an urgency to provide for the less privileged. As Jesus taught His disciples to deny themselves in order to help others, the believers decided to share their possessions in common.
When Jesus requested that His disciples should feed people in (Matthew 14:14-16)
And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples
came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat’.
The culture of togetherness was built and handed down by the lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles to the believers after the Pentecost and it continues till today. Any actions that go against this humble lifestyle is a recipe for crisis.
When Ananias and Saphira decided to sell their personal belongings,we understand that they were not forced to do it but as they realised that having been blessed by others, they need to bless people too, so they wanted to do good by their actions, but they have not opened their hearts to the goodness of God and so they ultimately do not fear God deeply enough to tell the truth.
Giving is tied to your level of personal truth, because nobody can check your bank account apart from you and God or your personal banker. The only barrier to giving to one another as Christ recommends is Self -centredness, when you start to think too much of yourself above others. Another meaning of the word is to be concerned solely with one’s own needs and desires.
Any instance of individuality or self- centredness will usually invite confusion and strife.
In Malachi 3:10-12, God emphasized the need for His children to practice togetherness through the payments of tithes and offering.
Any believer that doesn’t practice the payment of tithe is leaning towards individualism because they believe their earnings belong to them only and they can use it as they like.
Lack of faithful tithing is depriving the local church of financial strength as it should have and the unpaid money by believers which is used
elsewhere is giving support to other areas of life which may not necessarily glorify God.
When Christians don’t pay tithe and they attend a local church they are not only robbing God but fellow brothers and sisters who pay theirs to keep the local church running smoothly. They need to repent and ask God to show them the revelation
behind tithe payment.
Other bible passages to support openness as believers: 1stCorinthians 10:24, Philippians 2:4, 1st Corinthians 13:1-13.
Deliberately keeping back our possessions when there is a need in the local church is a sin to any believer and it can lead to a closed heaven because God can not be mocked, He releases financial grace to us simply because of the need in the local church and the poor among us.
By Kemi Adesola
Bible references: Psalms 119:9-10, Philippians 1:9-10, Ephesians
5:8-11, 1Thess: 4:1-4, Titus2:11-12, 1 Peter5:5-6.
Many people who claim to be Christians are living their lives based on that assumed status. Some even attend churches regularly as a religious duty but statistics have shown that the average church – goer usually attends for non- spiritual reasons which include:
A. To meet new people
B. To meet a prospective life partner
C. To make business connections
D. To seek for financial support
E . To seek for emotional support
F. To see the pastor for deliverance prayers.
The list continues….
These are wrong reasons for joining a church because the church is a spiritual place from the word Ekklesia which means ‘The called out’ and ‘The assembly’.
The church is an assembly of the called out, so joining a church is a calling on our destiny. If our Christian destiny is to shine, then we must see the church as a spiritual destiny hub, avoid church ‘ hopping’ at all cost or at least minimize it if we have to change church due to relocation or life changes and ensure that we make it a personal duty to be spiritually transformed.
We all claim to be Christian based on our belief and the finished work of Christ. We are assumed to understand what it means to be a member of the body of Christ which us the church. The physical church or (online since 2020) and a universal church which is the invisible spiritual church of the lord worldwide is connected by the holy spirit. When a person becomes baptized and decides to follow Jesus, the next step is to belong to a church and function there in obedience and submission, receiving the gifts of the holy spirit and using them to serve the body.
The two factors above however, does not guarantee spiritual transformation of the believer because it is possible to attend church for decades and remain as unchanged as the first day you stepped into the church if the heart is not submitted to God.
The only agent of transformation is the holy spirit, He guides us on this spiritual journey and He alone understands every man’s heart and motives because the heart of man is deep and sometimes downright wicked. May God have mercy on us. Amen.
Spiritual growth is a process and it is a personal journey that cantake place individually and as a group. We must strive for it andmake it a daily priority as we look towards our heavenly destination.
Some good questions towards spiritual transformation are;
By Kemi Adesola
The various military branches of our government expect that their members will perform their duties. The Army’s duty is to follow orders, not originate them. The chain of command reaches up to the generals and admirals themselves, as even they are ultimately under the command of this country’s “Commander-and-Chief,”. Duty is paramount, no matter what the soldier’s rank. A similar situation exists for the Christian.
The book of Hebrews forcefully reminds Christians that our relationship to God in Christ is far better than any which existed in the Old Testament. On that basis, the writer does not hesitate to challenge Christians in the closing verses of the book. These concluding words, abrupt in tone and pointed in comment, call believers to perform their Christian duties before God.
“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” – 2 Tm 2:3,4
A Christian’s struggles are struggles of war, not a physical war but a spiritual war. Ephesians 6:12 says “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) None of the battles that we are called to fight can ever be won without enduring persecution. Both, the soldier that has just been recruited into the army and the one who is now in training can say they are soldiers, but its only on the battlefield where it will be revealed what kind of soldiers they are.
“Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.” – 2 Tm 2:5
To receive a crown at the end of this race, you must follow the rules and the rules are clear: you must deny yourself. You cannot submit to the flesh whenever temptation comes your way, instead you must submit to the Spirit and resist temptation because that is part of being Christ’s disciple. When trials and tribulations weigh the disciple down with much pain he must endeavour to continue onward. In comparison to sin, the weight of the cross is an easy yoke and a light burden. As he suffered, we suffer, and like the apostles we rejoice because we are counted worthy to suffer for his name.
“The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.” – 2 Tm 2:6
All three of these professions have one common characteristic:endurance. The farmer works hard, patiently tilling the soil and sowing his seed, and day after day carefully watching over his garden protecting it from insects, animals, and if possible, the weather. We must work before we rest, we must sow before we reap,we must work in the garden before we receive the harvest. Timothy was being reminded that if he wanted the crown as Paul did, he must be willing to endure hardship. All of our rewards and treasures that are laid up in heaven are not given freely. Crowns are not earned,but those crowns and treasures that will be received once we get to the judgement seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10) have been earned through our faithful labour and patient endurance for the Lord. He records all things- every idle word (Mt 12:36) is written down and will be repeated back to you someday.
Apostle Paul makes it clear in this triple picture that not every soldier wins his commander’s applause, but only the veteran who devotes himself heart and soul to his profession being forever faithful; not every athlete wins the crown or prize, but only the one who trains with painful care; not everyone whop lows the ground gathers will gather the earth’s fruits, but only the patient worker will. It is the same for the Christian. It is not enough to say we are Christians, or even to wish to be of the brotherhood of Christ. Men must really live the life of Christ we our love for. We are doers of the word and not hearers only.
Like other gifts (the revelation gifts and power gifts) which we have already studied over the last three weeks. You will all agree with me that all are the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, with reference to our last lesson on “The Power Gifts of Holy Spirit“. They are not simple characters or learning abilities. They are from the Holy Spirit and they are supernatural. Each one is a visible evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
There are three gifts under the vocal category: prophecy, diverse tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
Main Text: 1 Corinthians 4:2-5
Prophecy is a vocal miracle of speech in one’s own language. It is speaking under the inspiration of God for “edification, exhortation, and comfort.” The Hebrew word for “prophecy” means “to flow forth or to spring forth.” It means to “speak for another.” It also means to be the spokesman for someone else. Literally, it means to speak for God or to be His mouthpiece.
Pastor John MacArthur (a popular preacher on many radio stations) claims that the gift of prophecy is merely the gift of being able to preach the gospel. However, to preach means to proclaim, to announce, to cry to tell. Prophecy is not simple oral ability. Many people, politicians, lawyers, and teachers have oral ability even though they have never received the Holy Spirit. There is nothing supernatural about oral ability. An oral ability can come through education and training, but prophecy only comes through the Holy Ghost. Prophecy is a supernatural gift and should not be confused with the natural ability some people have to remember and quote Scripture. Even the devil can quote Scriptures.
Sometimes there is an element of prophecy in preaching when one is anointed by the Spirit and is inspired to say things which come from the spirit rather than just from the mind, but that is only one of many ways in which prophecy is expressed. Sometimes a Spirit-filled believer may be witnessing to someone when the Lord suddenly anoints the witness to say things which he or she didn’t plan on saying. They are inspired by the Holy Spirit to say it, and it causes the person to break or to repent. That is another way the gift of prophecy is applied in our Christian walk. Prophesy always exalts Jesus as the only Savior of men (Revelations 19:10). It is for women as well as for men (1 Corinthians 11; Acts 2:15-16). It is to be “desired” (1 Corinthians 14:1). It always agrees with God’s Word.
Some have claimed that the gift of tongues is nothing more than the ability to learn foreign languages. They have claimed that this is an ability which God sometimes gives those who are preparing themselves to go into a foreign country to preach the gospel, so they can communicate with those whom they are going to witness to. However, this idea does not line up with the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 14:14 where Paul plainly states that he doesn’t know what he is saying when he speaks in tongues. Paul says his spirit (the inner man) knows, but Paul’s mind did not understand it. 1 Corinthians 14:14 says: “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.” This plainly rules out the ability to learn a foreign language because a person who speaks in a foreign language is both able to speak it and understand it.
Some have claimed that the gift of tongues is a childish thing which was meant only for the most immature Christians. They have claimed that the more mature Christians go on to better things and eventually cast off the gift of tongues. However, if this was the case, the Apostle Paul (a mature Christian and Apostle) would not have claimed that he spoke in tongues “MORE THAN…ALL” of the immature believers at Corinth. Paul makes this statement in 1 Corinthians 14:18 “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:”
The gift of tongues is a supernatural utterance in a language or languages (earthly or heavenly) which the one doing the speaking does not understand. It is a vocal miracle. It is a miracle of speech (Acts 2:4-8; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:1-6; 1 Corinthians 12-14).
The gift of tongues can be used to witness (Acts 2), to pray (1 Corinthians 14:2), to sing (1 Corinthians 14:15), to give thanks (1 Corinthians 14:16-17), and to praise the Lord (Acts 10:46). Tongues with interpretation is equal to prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:5). The gift of the Holy Spirit prays through a believer and make intercession according to the will of God causing everything to work together for Good (Romans 8:26-28).
The gift of tongues has a multitude of purposes. but I will list a few to give a general idea. Jude 20 states that the gift of tongues builds up the believer. Romans 8:26-27 teaches us that the gift of tongues allows the Holy Spirit to help us pray right or pray according to the will of God. 1 Corinthians 14:16-17: the gift of tongues helps us to “give thanks well” (when we don’t know what else to say and we still have a heart full of thanksgiving, we can pray in tongues to give thanks to God).
It is a spiritual gift of the Holy Ghost for the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God using one’s vocal organs, giving utterance in one’s own language, telling the meaning of the words which have been spoken. It tells the meaning of what is spoken in a supernatural language. It is a vocal miracle. Paul says that interpretation of tongues is equal to prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:15). He says this gift helps us to profit as a church (1 Corinthians 14:16). God says for us to pray for this gift if we speak with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5), and for us all to speak with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5 & 1 Corinthians 14:13). Paul said LET someone interpret (1 Corinthians 14: 27). There should be SOMEONE to interpret each message. It doesn’t need to be a CERTAIN one, neither should there be competition (1 Corinthians 14:27).
Interpretation of tongues is not the ability to translate languages. It is not a written word and it cannot be written. Though one without the Spirit of God can have the natural talent of translating languages, he or she will never hear or understand or translate the tongue of the spirit of God.
Because the interpretation of tongue is not a word for word translation, it may be given in first, second, or third person. Which means God can pass a message in different ways but with the same meaning.
It is not the gift of interpretation, but the interpretation of tongues. It is not, and cannot, be used if there have been no supernatural tongues spoken. It is not an interpretation of people’s, thoughts, or hard sayings, actions, riddles, dreams, or anything in the natural; but it is the interpretation of supernatural tongues. It cannot be learned at school in a million years but can be given by the Holy Spirit in a moment to any Spirit-filled person.