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THE UNFATHOMABLE RIGHTEOUS HOPE LINE WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

THE UNFATHOMABLE RIGHTEOUS HOPE LINE WE HAVE IN CHRIST. PASTOR TOKUNBO OSHOKOYA. Two Stories that I feel like sharing before I go into the heart of the message. [1] The Power Of Relationship with The Father.

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THE UNFATHOMABLE RIGHTEOUS HOPE LINE WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

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  1. THE UNFATHOMABLE RIGHTEOUS HOPE LINE WE HAVE IN CHRIST. PASTOR TOKUNBO OSHOKOYA

  2. Two Stories that I feel like sharing before I go into the heart of the message.

  3. [1] The Power Of Relationship with The Father I was on a 'keke marwa' today heading to TBS. A woman with three kids hopped in. Of course she is paying for a seat. I volunteered to carry one of the kids immediately.

  4. You would know they are poor. The kid stepped on me. She didn't even take note. Hahaha Just relaxed on me. Playing with my hand. Now I was the one who felt so loved.

  5. I actually wanted to keep the kid close to me. Suddenly they had to set down. As she was leaving the little girl gave me this loving look like, "Hey Bro, hope it was worth it".. She never took note of my stained shoes and I didn't even bother.

  6. I watched the woman carry her armies with her and all of a sudden I felt alone like the little girl shouldn't have gone.

  7. Then I was just pondering over the scenario when the Lord spoke to my heart... He said.. "Did you notice you valued the embrace of the little child above the stain on your shoes that you were not thinking about it?"

  8. I said, Yes. He said again... "Did you also notice you didn't want her to leave?“. I said, 'Yes'.. He then continued.. "That is how I see My children. I place them above their errors and mistakes. Their mistakes don't change how I see them, what I will do for them and how I relate with them.

  9. I long for their fellowship. The same way you didn't want her to leave because you loved the closeness, it is the same way I want to hold you close all day and keep whispering in your ears My unconditional love for you

  10. One look from My children sends sparks into My heart that I can't restrain from lavishing their faces with kisses. But religion has lied to them telling them I'm angry at their mistakes. I am not an angry God. I am LOVE. I love the company of My children more than their efforts to please Me"'

  11. These words struck my heart. I looked at my shoes, hahahahahaha, and wiped them. ' That is how I wipe your mess without calling your attention to it...' He said... That scenario made my day. Beloved, GOD IS NOT ANGRY WITH YOU. HE IS THRILLED WITH YOUR COMPANY!

  12. The Judge With The Eye On The Great Future • James Kosta was an IT Consultant who earned $1,500 dollars every month at the age of 13. With an 18 year old girlfriend, pockets full of cash and friends aplenty he began skipping school and staying out late into the night.

  13. Then his parents issued him with an ultimatum: If he wanted to live under their roof he had to give it all up and focus on school. Kosta reacted by legally emancipating himself from the custody of his parents.

  14. Very soon, Kosta’s Computer skills attracted the attention of hackers. Together they hacked into major Computer Networks such as General Electric and IBM. At the age of 14 he was arrested by the FBI.

  15. Since the emancipation he wasn’t technically a child. So the FBI charged him as an adult and was sentenced to prison for 45 years. The story didn’t end there.

  16. Yes, Kosta was given a prison sentence of 45 years. The Judge however wanted to give him a second chance. He ordered that Kosta be sent to the Juvenile detention centre, instead of a maximum security prison

  17. and suspended his sentence on the condition that he will not commit another crime and join the Military when eligible.

  18. Kosta was released after a year and joined the Military. Later he was recruited by the US Army, the Navy as well as the CIA to help them trace crimes committed using Computers around the world. Long story short today Kosta runs the

  19. multimillion dollar game development firm known as 3G Studios. A huge part of his company is focused on teen mentoring for troubled youth. Kosta will not be who he is today, if it was not for that Judge who gave him a second chance.

  20. These two stories, especially the Kosta’s story reminds me of a well known parable in the Bible which is also called the “Pearl and Crown of all the parables”. This is none other than the parable of the Prodigal Son.

  21. As I turn to the heart of the message, let us remember that the body of Christ is the only place where sinners will find their second chance. So let’s not deprive them of that gracious opportunity by being judgmental of them.

  22. Instead I want to encourage you to receive those who come to the church family with great joy because we can’t forget the fact we owe our righteousness and salvation to the Lord who loved us and died for us.

  23. Luke 15:11-32 THE CHRIST HOPELINES: • Today, we again turn our attention to the most famous of our Lord’s parables. This extended parable in Luke 15 Is intended to teach the truth that God loves sinners.

  24. . He loves the lost enough to go after them in their lost condition, as evidenced by all three illustrations in this chapter. He loves the self-righteous sinner enough to tell them about their condition, which is why He told this parable to begin with.

  25. As the Lord Jesus reached the end of this parable, He continued talking about lost things. Verses 1 and 2: The attitude of the Scribes and Pharisees toward lost sinners.

  26. The elder brother in this text pictures a person who is involved in the things of God, but who has no real relationship with God. He is in the father’s house, but he is lost. He is in the “far country” in his heart!

  27. Verse 11: The father had “two sons,” and both were lost. • The younger son was lost in “the far country.” • The elder brother was lost in the father’s house.

  28. • The younger son was a lost hedonist; he lived for pleasure. • The elder brother was a lost moralist; he lived to maintain appearances.

  29. There are two ways you can be lost. • One way is to break the rules and do as you please. This is how the younger brother lived, and he was lost. • The other way, is to keep all the rules and to be good. This is how the elder brother lived, and he was lost too.

  30. We don’t get this because we equate being good with being saved. But, if you are only being good to earn favor with God, you are lost. If you keep the rules so that God will have to hear your prayers and bless you, you have missed the point.

  31. . The Gospel is not be good and you will be saved; the Gospel is be saved, and you will be good.

  32. This message is designed to speak to two classes of people. • The primary message is to those who are lost in sin and need to be saved. You might be religious, you might be a church member, you might be a good, moral person, but you have never been saved.

  33. God has a word for you today. • This message also has a word for people who are saved, but who have the same spirit an attitude as the elder brother.

  34. - It speaks to people who are upset when God blesses His people. - It speaks to people who do not like it when the prodigal sons come home.

  35. - It speaks to people who refuse to rejoice over what God is doing because it isn’t being done their way. - It speaks to people who are like the elder brother.

  36. (1) THE PRODIGAL SON A reminder of the society today and the sorry state it’s in. He returned to his father because he realized the error of his ways after working for the foreigner for some time. This stage of his life reminds us of the backslidden people who decide to turn from their wicked ways and return to God.

  37. The results of living away from our Heavenly Father’s influence are always disastrous, and nothing can prevent the ultimate consequences from catching up with us. The farther away we run, the worse the destruction gets.

  38. As exciting as the world appears, the Father’s house is the only place where real life and love are experienced. The world is the illusion; the Father’s house is reality.

  39. In the culture of Jesus’ day, children did not even leave home when they became adults and married. The father simply added on to the house, especially if his estate was wealthy.

  40. To leave home was to leave everything — your family, relationships, work, and future. But the father did not want his son to stay home if the son did not want to stay. He did not want him to be there out of some kind of obligation.

  41. WHY DO PEOPLE BACKSLIDE? (I) To think independently of God is just the beginning of backsliding. It draws us away from God. (Compare Luke 15:11-12 with Isaiah 53:6)

  42. WHY DO PEOPLE BACKSLIDE? (II) The absence of God, which results from the drifting, leaves a spiritual emptiness in us that worldly pleasures cannot satisfy. (Compare Luke 15:13-14 with Jeremiah 2:13)

  43. WHY DO PEOPLE BACKSLIDE? (III) The more we struggle to satisfy ourselves, the more we will sink into degrading personal conditions. (Compare Luke 15:15-16 with Revelation 3:17)

  44. IMPLICATIONS Secular media often buzzes about being self dependent, self sufficient and self reliance. When we look at certain types of so called human rights today, we understand that they are actually sinful desires (gay rights, euthanasia etc.) which contradict God’s standards of living.

  45. I am not saying independent thinking is wrong. There are seasons and reasons in life that we have to think and make decisions independently from our parents, leaders and children. But there are no excuses for thinking independently of God.

  46. A life independent of God is actually a life separate from his love, fellowship and authority. In fact true independence comes only when we totally and voluntarily surrender ourselves to his will.

  47. The world looks so appealing, and people seem to be so free and having such a good time. You think you are invincible, and you are immune from the destruction that takes place in other people’s lives. You are smarter than they are, and those things will never happen to you. But they do happen to you, don’t they?

  48. Galatians 6:7-8 (LB) 'Don't be misled; remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death;

  49. but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him” God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage. – Rick Warren

  50. (2) THE FATHER - PRODIGAL AS WELL? • Some people are surprised that God acts like the father in this story. He does nothing to stop the son from taking advantage of him. He doesn’t even try to keep him from leaving home and engaging in behaviors he knows will be destructive to the young man’s life.

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