Have you been in that position in your life and circumstance when you know that something is wrong but still you are unable to put your finger on what is really the matter? Several times I have looked at the church of Jesus Christ particularly in my nation of Nigeria. Deep inside me, I know that something is wrong with the church in Nigeria, with all of us who profess the faith of Jesus Christ. We are so many. We number in the millions. We fill several worship houses every Sunday morning and yet the impact of our message on our society is at best marginal. There is a yawning need in the country for men of integrity. There is a gaping need for honest men and women of good report full of the Holy Ghost who may be assigned to salvaging our numerous institutions that are languishing, whether they be the power sector, the oil sector, the educational sector: name it, for whatever sector of our national life you look at we see a need for solid men and women of vision and integrity who can step forward with courage to steer the affairs of the land. They will be humble enough to hear the truth and to receive it and courageous enough to plant that truth in any and every facet of our national life that is their privilege to oversee. Men and women who have their senses fully exercised to see truth from error, right from wrong and who have the inner strength to always come down on the side of truth no matter whose ox is gored. They are noiseless revolutionaries who like yeast permeate the bread of our national life and purge it of iniquity, selfishness and greed.

I yearn for the time and the season in our national life when leaders in the nation will be sending to leaders in the church with an urgent request: “I need a man or woman of integrity to oversee this or that. I need a man or woman of integrity who is priceless and so un-purchasable to be my eye in this or that committee to ensure that the best interest of the nation is done to the glory of God. I need an eye of sanity and purity to watch over the affairs of this sector of our national life. And as these requests come through, the leaders in our churches will respond and say: “I have such a man and woman in whose heart is the fear of God, who will not fail God and man in that assignment.” Because such men and women live daily in the fear of God, they will go to their assignment as missionaries determined to bring light in every world of darkness to which they are called.

Where can we find such men and women with a heart that is tender before God, tender because it has been nurtured in the fear of God; tender because it is fed daily by the Word of God that is light and truth; tender because the love of God at Calvary’s Cross has been revealed deeply in their heart and so they are committed to a life of sacrifice and service to God and humanity. Tender because they are conscious of their weaknesses and are depending entirely on the strength that He gives us to do His will and His bidding on earth.

As I searched for answers, the Spirit of God led me this morning to Acts chapter 2 to see the daily life of the early church and why they succeeded so wonderfully in transforming their world: Acts 2:40-42 (NRSV) ⁴⁰ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation!” This was the message that separated the believers from the unbelievers. Three thousand accepted the message to come to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior in order to save themselves from the corruption that was prevalent in their society. Those who came forward to be baptized committed to live a life that is different from that of their corrupt society. The people who came forward to join the small church in Jerusalem knew when they joined that they were joining a group that committed to live a changed life from the evils all around them.

It is obvious that our message today is not that clear. Sinners are very comfortable under our preaching. But under the preaching of Peter, sinners came under conviction and were moved by the Holy Spirit to repent of their sins and commit to daily godly living. Sinners were pricked in their hearts and they began to cry out: “I want to be saved! I want to be saved from my sins! I want to follow Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! I want to taste His love and His life! I want to know the manner of His life and the sacrifice of His death.

The professors were truly possessors of Christ. How do we know that? Because they devoted themselves to the apostle’s doctrine, which doctrine was centred on Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour from sin, self and the devil: Jesus Christ as the Saviour who came to model the God-kind of life for us all so that we may know how the Creator wants us to live daily here on earth: Jesus Christ our Lord, our Saviour, our brother and friend who taught and exemplified the meaning of true love for God and for man.

Having been with Jesus for three and a half years of itinerant ministry, the apostles had tasted of His life and doctrine and had made it their life and doctrine. So to continue in the apostle’s doctrine was to continue in the doctrines of Christ.

I want you to join me to pray and mourn for the church in Nigeria and by that I mean myself and yourself that we will go into our world to show them the life of Jesus. There are so many who have ambitions to save the world. But the apostle Paul said to Timothy his protégé: “Your preaching should first save you and then it can save those who are listening to you. 1 Timothy 4:16 (NRSV)
¹⁶ Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

The apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to preach to himself first and to live what he is preaching before his congregation so that they would know from him and through him that it is possible to live godly on this earth by the power of God.

As Christians who go out to invite others to come to Christ, we must pay close attention to ourselves and to the doctrines we expound to them. Our doctrine must bring people to Christ to join us in striving daily to live like our Master, Saviour and Lord. 1 John 2:6 (NRSV)
⁶ whoever says, "I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked.

One could only imagine what would happen to us if we all lived like Jesus. Could you imagine what would happen to our families if husbands and wives and parents lived like Jesus? It would not be difficult to believe that our nation would be rapidly transformed if we all individually lived like Jesus.

A band of believers are meeting weekly, every Saturday, for Kingdom Life Seminars at the Canaan Mall, 2^nd roundabout Lagos-Epe expressway, to encourage each other in this Way. It is a sunrise meeting that runs from 7 am – 9 am. Please join us so that together we can become a yeast movement armed with the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to permeate every facet of life in our blessed Nigeria. Our Lord and Saviour taught that THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE LEAVEN (YEAST Matt. 13:33) hidden in dough to transform it totally, Amen.

Our next KINGDOM LIFE SEMINAR is SCHEDULED FOR this SATURDAY the 12^th of NOVEMBER 2011 @ 7 am prompt.

Okey Onuzo