ONLY CHRIST HAS THE ANSWER
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, June 3rd, 2020, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Staying on Fire for God. The Bible is very clear about having an active pursuit of Jesus in keeping His fire burning inside of you. So many who start out on fire for God do not remain in the same fervency that they once had. You see, being on fire for God doesn’t come automatically. You have to intentionally work at it. Staying on fire for God and understanding the things of God are so important in the times we are living in. People’s eternal destiny depends on God and us and how on fire for Jesus we are. We have one life, and we don’t have the luxury of wasting it. God has not called us to a trivial life. He has called us to a life of divine purpose and destiny. In this message: “Staying on fire for God,” I encourage you to fan into flame the fire of God in your life and be constantly zealous for the things of God. If you have to describe your life today, how would you describe it? Is your life a wonderful, exciting journey? Is it a continuous challenge? Or one not knowing what to accomplish? Is your life a painful disappointment? Well, you can describe your life in many different ways, but Jesus came to give us life and give us more abundantly. Abundant life is a life which is fulfilling, a life of contentment. Not a life without heartache and sorrows and troubles. But then, a life which even in the midst of troubles and difficulties, you can step ahead and beyond all that. A life that can surpass all of that. Halleluiah! And that’s the life that Jesus came to give to us. But sometimes we find ourselves dry and hollow and with lack of zeal for the things of God. Maybe you are stuck in life, you feel like a prisoner, and you are not getting anywhere. You don’t know what’s happening to your life, but you want to get back to where you used to be. You want to be on fire for God again. How do you keep the fire of the Holy Spirit burning? How do you keep what God has done in your life fresh? If you have not trusted Christ as your saviour, you can receive Him and be on fire for Him. It’s really up to you. It’s not God who determines whether you continue or not. People talk about; have you got hungry? Have you lost your first love? Have you got dry? Sometimes people lose their desire to go on and as a result they become dry and empty. But then, the Bible says that there is a race of life for everybody. God has set a course or path for all of us and we are to run and win. How do we become dry and stay off track? There are many reasons for that. Usually because we are distracted by something, sometimes it’s someone or some influence of other people who are actually distracting us. That’s why the Bible says that: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,Nor stands in the path of sinners,Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;But his delight is in the law of the LORD,And in His law, he meditates day and night.He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,That brings forth its fruit in its season,Whose leaf also shall not wither;And whatever he does shall prosper.(Psalm 1:1-3) So be careful who you associate yourself with. We are to associate with the God kind. God wants us to associate ourselves with Him and with His people. So how do you become dry and lose your zeal for the things of God? Maybe it’s because the person gets busy in their business. The busier they become the less time they have for spiritual things. They find themselves in other interest in life. Sometimes it’s a particular pleasure that has attracted them. For example, sport or some hobby or whatever it might be. But you see, it’s a drift in process, it doesn’t happen at once. A person doesn’t just decide I will stop praying, stop reading the Bible, stop giving, stop going to church, stop serving and do my own things. It’s a gradual process. Before you know, you become empty and I pray that, that will not happen to you. Their eyes begin to move in other directions. And they have many reasons to justify themselves. I love God and He loves me. They can even say, ‘you don’t have to go to church every Sunday’. What they don’t know is that they have been tricked by the devil. Little by little, Satan causes them to drift. And if somebody doesn’t get their attention, before long, they have become so dry and have lost their zeal for the things of God. So, another question is how do you stay on fire for God? How do you get back on the route to fulfil God’s purposes for your life? The first thing you’ve got to do is to acknowledge that you have become dry and losing or have lost the fire. The Bible is not as important as it used to be to you. You are not excited about God’s word. You are not excited about Godly music. You find yourself more excited by things that are not related to the spiritual. Then you know that obviously things are not happening the way they should be and that something has got to be done. And when that happens, people will say; have you lost your first love? They keep talking about all these. They want a new outpouring and a fresh touch. They even say; oh God come and revive us. There are partial truths in all that, but one thing which is
No Regrets At The End Of This Life
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, April 6th, 2020, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Life is full of many different pursuits and possible achievements, but as followers of Christ, how do we live our lives to reach our full potential so that, in the end, we will have no regrets? All of us have done things in our lives we wish we could do over. It may be an action that hurt us or someone else, a bad financial decision or relationship, or maybe some words we wish we could take back. All too often our lives are held captive by the actions or experiences that we regret. But the great news is that there’s hope for moving past our regrets. We must learn to let go of past mistakes, lost opportunities, and failed expectations to live richly in a present filled with hope of new possibilities. Maximising every day is key. Be encouraged to look at life now with the end in view in this message. Don’t waste your life. Live your life consciously and be aware that each moment you breathe is a gift. We must leave a legacy and fruit behind and impact our generation so that when our time to pass from this life to the next life comes, we don’t have any regrets on how we lived. We can live our lives to the full, being proud of the life that we lived, and happy with the life that we lived. Regardless of who you are, it’s imperative that you make sure that living with regret hasn’t become a subtle part of your life and how you do what you do. The Bible says in Isa. 38:1–5 that, in those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,3 “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.”And Hezekiah wept bitterly.4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.’” So, here’s the thing nobody wants to hear: Set your house in order, for the reality is that we are all going to die one day. It’s not a question of if we’re going to die or when we’re going to die. The appointed time to the end of this life can be unexpected — it can be the most unlikely time. Throughout history, death has become well known for turning up in unexpected time. It’s the most challenging time of this life for us. The question is, what have you done with your life? What are you doing with your life? Is your life a blessing to your generation? Hezekiah reminds me of myself, and he reminds me of so many people because when it came to the time to set his house in order, what did he pray for? He prayed for more time. When Hezekiah was about to set his house in order, the only thing on his heart was ‘I wish I had more time,’ and so God gave him more time because God is gracious. God gave him 15 more years. But I just want us to be able to meet our end — being transferred from this life to the next life — without wishing we had more time. So, if there’s something that we need to do, we should do it today. The word that is dear to the heart of God is the word “today,” but Satan’s favourite word of all words is the word “tomorrow.” Today is one of the greatest gifts God has given to mankind. “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.2 For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2) Today, don’t harden your heart while you hear His voice. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is not the day. Yesterday wasn’t the day — but today is. Tomorrow can be a dangerous word, for tomorrow has robbed many dreamers of their dreams. It has robbed students of educational achievement and career opportunities. It has kept more men and women from coming to Christ than any other word in the dictionary. Let me remind you that tomorrow will rob you of opportunities to serve the Almighty God. What’s the first thing that a man needs to fulfill his God-given purpose? What’s the first thing that a man needs to live the abundant life that God created us for? It’s a day — it’s today. As simple as that sounds, every day is a gift, and it’s so precious. God gave us structure. He gave us a day, He gave us weeks, months, and years. He gave us seasons. They all begin with a day, and that could be today. This is God’s provision for our purpose. So the first thing that a man needs to fulfill his purpose is a day. The day God puts something on your heart is the day you should start moving in that direction. I’m talking about when the Holy Spirit has put something on your heart. He’s trying to lead, guide, and direct your life — but we do nothing. Now, if there’s one thing that’s going to be responsible for change in our lives, it’s when we take immediate action to do the thing that God has revealed
What are the benefits of salvation?
It’s so important to understand the benefits of salvation because sometimes I run across Christians who don’t seem to have experienced any change in their lives. But we should be experiencing change from the moment we were saved. There should be something going on, so let’s refresh ourselves in this and see what it’s about. For you to experience the benefits of salvation, you must understand the gospel because the gospel and the power that it carries releases the benefits of salvation in our lives. The gospel itself is God’s power. The understanding of the birth, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ, and of being born again to become a new creation are all part of the gospel. So, there are benefits of salvation that we should notice as we accept the Lord as our saviour. As we believe in the Lord and begin our Christian Walk, we should be noticing something different in our lives and the way we conduct our lives. The term “salvation” has become so familiar to Christians that the true meaning and understanding have been lost. Salvation is much more than just being born again. This refers to every benefit that the believer is entitled to, through Jesus. Salvation means much more than just forgiveness of sins; it includes healing, prosperity, and deliverance in every area of our lives. Therefore, if we are not experiencing the abundance that Jesus provided for us in any area of our lives, then we are having a problem understanding what salvation truly entails. The truths of the gospel are not commonly preached or understood in many churches. This is the reason so many Christians are not walking in all the benefits of their salvation. They don’t have the power of the gospel working in them. The word ‘salvation’ needs to be explained because today salvation has been cheapened from what it originally meant to be. The word salvation as used in the bible is not limited to forgiveness of sins. It includes forgiveness of sins, but it’s much more than that. Most churches today use the word salvation and forgiveness of sins interchangeably. Yes, salvation includes forgiveness of sins, but as I said earlier, it also includes prosperity, healing, and deliverance. Everything that was purchased for us by Jesus is a part of what salvation produces, Only in Christ can we find true happiness and peace in this life. Salvation is not just an insurance policy; it is the way to experience the supernatural life and goodness of God in our daily lives here and now. Salvation is something that was done and completed in the past yet continues to have present results. God’s grace has already provided all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and our faith reaches out to God and receives the benefits (Romans 5:2). Putting faith in what God has already provided by grace is the key to victorious Christian living. Jesus paid it all. It’s not based on my performance; it’s based on my faith in what he did. Salvation is the gift of God unto the forgiveness of sins, the healing of your body, your prosperity, joy, peace, deliverance, emotional stability, and many more. But for some Christians, this seems a radical thought to them that healing has been purchased through Jesus for them just as much as forgiveness of sins. Prosperity has been purchased for them just as much as forgiveness of sins. Deliverance from oppression, depression, fear, anxiety, anger, have been purchased for you through what Jesus did. You don’t have to do something else to earn them. They aren’t addition to salvation, They’re integral part of salvation. Jesus wants you healed, delivered, set free, prospered, just as much as he wants you forgiven of sins. And it’s the gospel that releases that power of salvation for healing, deliverance, joy, peace, and forgiveness of sins. Mix what God has done with faith (Hebrews 4:2). And faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Evangelist Paul AcquahPaul Acquah is the founder of Christ Is All Ministries (CIAM), an evangelical ministry meeting the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of people. He is passionate about seeing people transformed by the Word of God and making heaven more crowded! Read More
How do you get saved?
God wants everyone to be saved.“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). And how do you receive salvation? By confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you shall be saved. The Philippian Jailer came to Paul and Silas and said what must I do to be saved? The jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16: 30-31). Paul didn’t say well, confess your sins, ask God to forgive you, and that’s what a lot of people tell you to do. What would happen if you forgot a sin? Does that mean it’s not under the blood? And that it wasn’t forgiven? No, you don’t confess your sins, you must admit that you are a sinner and that you need salvation. You have to come to that realization that if you don’t turn from trying to save yourself then you can’t truly make Jesus your saviour. So, there is an acknowledgment that you are a sinner, but you don’t confess your sins, you don’t have to mention every single sin. Paul told the Philippian Jailer that believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved and your house. Jesus has done everything, but you must put faith in him and him alone. It can’t be faith in him plus faith in yourself. You must trust Jesus alone. So, if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved (Romans 10:9). It would be a shame for you to stand before God and say well, Iwent to church, and I did all these things but that’s not what salvation is. If you can imagine somehow or another you and meand other people standing before God and God says what makes you worthy to enter Heaven. If you start saying, I went to church, I paid my tithe, I lived a good life. If you give any of those answers you would go straight to hell. The only answer that will get you into heaven is, when he says what makes you worthy? You would have to say nothing that I’ve done but what Jesus has done. Jesus Is my saviour I put faith in a saviour and he’s the one I am trusting. If you trust in any of these other things, I’m not saying that you don’t go to church and that you don’t live a good life, but if that’s where your trust is, instead of in a saviour, you’re going to hell. You need to put faith in a saviour and there’re many people reading this today who agree with what I’ve said, and you have done it and you are born again but you don’t clearly understand this and you can’t explain it to other people. You need to meditate on these things so that you can clearly present this to other people. You are a witness for the Lord, you are the only Bible some people are ever going to read and so you need to be able to know these truths and understand them and explain them. You really need to not only experience salvation, but you need to get to where you can give an answer and explain salvation. First Peter chapter 3 verse 15 says sanctify [e]the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; We need to have our lives seasoned with salt and be ready to give an answer of the hope of the calling that lies within us. You need to understand it yourself and you need to be able to explain it. Evangelist Paul AcquahPaul Acquah is the founder of Christ Is All Ministries (CIAM), an evangelical ministry meeting the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of people. He is passionate about seeing people transformed by the Word of God and making heaven more crowded! Read More
Are there many ways to Heaven?
There’s so much confusion about this and there’re people who think that there’re many ways to Heaven. Jesus said specifically of himself in John CH 14: 6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. There aren’t multiple paths to God. There aren’t many ways to heaven. Some people say well, all paths lead to God. That’s a total lie, it’s a deception, it’s not the truth. Jesus is the only way to the father. If there was any other way to have salvation, God would not have gone to the expense, or to the effort to hurt, and the pain that he suffered to become a man and live among us and then suffer our sin and our punishment in his own body. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1Peter 2:24). The only reason he did that is because there was no other way. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]” (Acts 4:12 AMP). It doesn’t matter how good you think you are; you aren’t good enough to earn salvation and go to Heaven. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord”. There’s a payment that comes for our ungodliness. There’re people who don’t hear these things and there’re so many people who are comparing themselves with other people and thinking that comparative to other people, I’m a relatively good person. You must understand that other people are not your standard. Jesus is your standard and if you aren’t as perfect as Jesus is, then you need a saviour. You need to recognise that it’s not about you being good and doing good. You just need to come to the end of yourself and say, ‘oh God have mercy on me a sinner’. You need to call out and put faith in what Jesus did. You even need to go beyond just asking God to save you and asking for mercy. You need to believe that he’s already paid for your sins and done everything that’s necessary. All you must do is just sign your name to this deal. Jesus has already come and signed his name to it and paid for your sins. All that is needed is your cooperation by putting faith in Jesus and when you do that you become a brand-new creature. Jesus even said that therewill be many people who will come and say ‘Lord, Lord, haven’t we lived a good life, haven’t we done this, haven’t we done that’, and he’s going to say depart from me you workers of iniquity I never knew you. Here’s what Jesus said in Mathew 7: 21-23; 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your nameperform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ The Bible says in Romans chapter 10:9 that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That’s more than just saying those words, but if it’s from your heart,and with your mouth you say Jesus I make you my Lord, Iturn my life over, I trust you and you look to Jesus and you believe that he paid for your sins, you will be saved.. Jesus has already paid for your sins; He is the only way to heaven. So, if you will confess that with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved and have right standing with the Lord. That’s the promise of Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and it’s really that simple. Evangelist Paul AcquahPaul Acquah is the founder of Christ Is All Ministries (CIAM), an evangelical ministry meeting the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of people. He is passionate about seeing people transformed by the Word of God and making heaven more crowded! Read More
Are all religions leading to God?
There is no other salvation, there aren’t many paths leading to God. Some people think that Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Harikrishna and Muslims are all seeking the same God. That’s not true. All these people who are saying you are okay so far as you believe in something, and you are being kind and nice to other people are not telling the truth. Those telling people these things are sending people to hell because what it’s doing is, making people trust in their own goodness instead of trusting in a saviour. And don’t ever think as long as I’m good, I’ll be able to go to heaven. No, none of those things are true. You and I were all sinners, and we were all on our way to hell. True Christians are followers of Jesus. Jesus paid our sin debt because there was no other way. There is no other way to God or to Heaven and until you turn from yourself, and turn from trusting in your own goodness, and turn from any other religious system, and you only put faith in Jesus, there can be no true salvation. There can be no true way to heaven or to God. There’re people reading this right now that are being upset with what I’m saying. This is upsetting you because you think well, ‘I’m a good person and I thought that God was going to accept me’. It’s not based on your goodness; it’s all based on Jesus alone. Jesus is the only way to have relationship with God the father. He is the only way to heaven. He paid the price for our sins because there was no other payment that could be made. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). If you are trusting in yourself or any other system to be right with God, then you are on your way to hell. You are not going to be accepted. I don’t care if you’re better than me, you need the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m speaking to people who are a part of some religious system, and you are trusting your religious observances for salvation. You’re trusting your own good works and other things and what I’m saying is really bothering you because some of you think, well, ‘what about all these people who haven’t ever heard about Jesus’? You need to know that there’s an intuitive knowledge of the Lord on the inside of every person. It says in Romans chapter 1 that God has revealed himself and shown every single person their need for a saviour. We are all without excuse. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened ” ( Romans 1: 20-21). You may be one of those people who believe that there’s a God. You may even have a love for God but that doesn’t mean that you’re accepted. You must put faith in the saviour. Jesus suffered the rejection of God. He suffered the wrath of hell, he suffered all of these things, but he didn’t let it overcome him. He overcame them and he rose from the dead and now he is offering salvation to anyone who will receive it. And how do you receive it? The Bible says in Romans chapter 10:9 that If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:10-13). That’s more than just saying those words but if it’s from your heart and with your mouth will say ‘Jesus I make you my Lord, I turn my life over, I trust you’ and you look to Jesus and you believe that he paid for your sins, you shall have right standing with the Lord.. So, if you will confess that with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved. That’s the promise of Romans chapter 10:9 and it’s really that simple. Jesus has already paid for your sins; he suffered the rejection of his father. He said ‘Lord, why have you forsaken me’. And it’s all because of our sins. Just put your trust in Jesus and receive the gift of salvation. This is powerful, what I’m saying, and there’re people reading this today that have been trusting in your rituals. You’ve been trusting in your religious observances; you’ve been trusting in your holiness, but you haven’t been trusting in Jesus. Do so now. Evangelist Paul AcquahPaul Acquah is the founder of Christ Is All Ministries (CIAM), an evangelical ministry meeting the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of people. He is passionate about seeing people transformed by the Word of God and making heaven more crowded! Read More