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Q. The bible talks about praising God with timbrel and dancing. Is it right to beat drum and dance in God's house? If yes, why are we not doing it?
AnswerA. Psalm 150:4 “Praise him with timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.”
Exodus 15:20,21. “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaroon, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances…” All through their journey, this was the only time they danced, there was no time God instructed them to do it, they did not also do it frequently. It was not in the camp, but it was in the field, and they were alone there, not with men.
2 Samuel 6:16,22. David danced and leaped before the Lord, he danced alone, not with any woman, not even with his wife. The dancing of the children of Israel was not to disco music that people dance in churches today, the dancing of the children of Israel was just jumping up, dancing to them was a sign of humility and loneliness before the Lord.
Jesus did not dance with his disciples, neither did the apostles dance. Since dancing could make us forget holiness and righteousness, we don't dance in the church.
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Q. Jesus told his disciples that “a little while ye shall see me, and a little while ye shall not see me.” Our teacher said it means Jesus appearance to his disciples after resurrection. Is it True?
AnswerA. John 16:16-28. Jesus told them a lot of times that He would leave them for some time, He emphasized this so that they could understand Him. John 20:19-20, It means He would die and leave them for 3 days and when they were sorrowful, He told them that He would also rise and see them and they will be joyful when they would see Him. He died, and a little while they saw Him when He rose from the dead. John 16:16; 14:19; John 15:26; Act 2:33. He told them a little while, ye shall not see me because I go to my Father. He links this with the coming of the Holy Ghost who would comfort them and do as Jesus had been doing to them. In summary, it means:
1. I will rise from the dead and you will see Me.
2. I will send the Holy Spirit as a Comforter.
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Q. We learn that the Holy Ghost will guide us into all truth and reveal many things to us. Before something will happen to us such as armed robbery attack, as a child of God, can one receive such kind of revelation?
AnswerA. John 16 vs 13; Acts 20 vs 22; 21 vs 11; 22 vs 17,21
The Holy Ghost guides us on the basis that we are able to receive the truth that he reveals to us. When revelation comes, it depends on what we are able to do about it. In the case of Paul, it was revealed through Agabus, the prophet, in Acts 21 vs 11; and God spoke to him personally on what will happen to him at Jerusalem (Acts 22 vs 17,21) but he did not accept the voice of the Spirit. God can reveal something to his children, but it depends on their attitude towards the revelation. If Paul had obeyed the instructions of the Holy Spirit, he would not have suffer all he suffered. Sometimes, God does not tell us earlier if He knows that we are not matured enough to receive or act on it. So when God speaks to you, have the right attitude.
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Q. What is the different between the Spirit of God that leads a person to Christ and the Holy Ghost?
AnswerA. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter and also the Spirit that convinces the sinner of their sin and leads them to repentance.
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Q. A sinner is saved by the grace of God, He is saved but not baptised with the the Holy Ghost. Can He now say he is led of God since he is not baptised in the Holy Ghost yet?
AnswerA. Proverbs 20 vs 27. The Spirit of God leads and guides. At conversion He abides in a measure, at Sanctification He comes in a greater measure but at baptism in His fullest.
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Q. Can the Holy Ghost share the same place with an evil spirit?
AnswerA. Matthew 4 vs 1-11; There is a difference between influence and infiltration, oppression and possession. The devil can speak to harass, tempt or oppress any person. Even our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil after he had fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. When the devil is speaking from outside we call it oppression not possession., influence and not infiltration, Therefore, it is not possible to be filled with the Holy Spirit and yet be possessed of the devil at the same time.
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Q. Is it possible for a person to be Saved, Sanctified, and be Baptised in Holy Spirit at the same time? Taking Cornelius as a case study (Act 10:2-6; 31-35,44).
AnswerA. Cornelius believed in God, He depended completely on him Acts 10 vs 1-4. God spoke to Cornelius that his prayers were answered and gave him the direction with which to send people, and at the same time ministered to (Peter. vs 13-18). God spoke to Peter that those whom God have saved should not be called common or unclean, that means, God had saved him from sin, Sanctified him before he received the vision of the angel. So it is not possible for someone to be saved, Sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost simultaneously without praying.
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Q. Leviticus 25:23 "and the land shall not be sold forever for the land is mine for ye are strangers and sojourners with me." The Bible said we should not sell land. I am confused because in my place, we do sell land. Sir, I need more explanation.
AnswerA. God wrote to the children of Israel concerning there dispensation at the time they lived. Acts 4:36; Joses sold his land and brought the money, in the new dispensation what is important is the Spiritual implication of what we read in the Bible in the Old Testament. In our present day, we don’t separate the seventh year as a Sabbath year, also fiftieth year as year of jubilee but now we are under the declaration of the year of liberty that Christ proclaim. He said in Luke 4:18-19; “the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blinds, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” So in your area, they could sell land. It is not part of the land of Israel and we are not under the Old Testament era.
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Q. We have been warned not to cover up sin in the church. My question is, what if the sin was committed a long time ago with no one knowing about it? If one happens to know about it much later, will it still be proper to report it to the church leadership?
AnswerA. Well, the fact that you later got to know about it, even though it was committed sometime ago shows that the sin has not been fully dealt with. That is, the person who committed it has not settled with God and with people who may have been affected by the sin either directly or indirectly. To start with, there are people who don’t take it kindly when you call them to ask; “I heard that you did such and such a thing, is it true?” Sometimes they flare up. And the first question that readily comes to their minds or lips is: ‘who reported me? Who is the tale-bearer?’ To them, the person that reported them to church leadership committed a greater sin. And this takes us back to the question: seeing that all these things are so, is it proper to report sin that recently came to one’s knowledge even though it was committed sometimes ago?
First, you ought to understand that no human answer can suffice on a question like this. That is why then we will need to go to the Bible for a guideline. What does the Bible say on issue like this? “it is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1). Paul the Apostle, who wrote these words had been used of God to establish the church at Corinth. But by this time (of his writing) he had left the church. Even though he had left the church, a report of what was happening was still brought to him. And, in this case the fornication charge was pinned down on young men messing up with his father’s wife. However, it is not this that made the case a remarkable one. It is rather the fact that Paul never got to hear it immediately it happened. It took sometime before the news eventually got to him. In fact by time he learnt about it, it had already become a common story in many quarters. Which was why Paul the Apostle used the phrase: “it is reported commonly” to start his judgment on the issue.
Note that this was not even the first time Paul would receive reports concerning the church at Corinth. When there were bitter divisions in the church, Paul wrote to express his disappointment at what he had been hearing: “for it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you” (1 Corinthians1 :11). Here again Paul the Apostle, was not at Corinth. But the report of the acrimony, the in-fighting and the divisions among the brethren was, all the same, brought to him by the family of Chloe. Obviously, they were not happy with what was going on at Corinth. So, they reported the matter to Paul looking forward to his intervention and advice.
Now after a report has been made should the church leader act on it or just ask the individual who brought it to go and mind his own business? Again, the Bible has the answer: “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:4,5,7). Why would Paul become so strict in his judgment on the issue? The reason is that if nothing is done to rebuke such an individual, others would to follow his examples. That single sin committed by the individual, if ignored may eventually lead hundred of others, especially young believers, to hell. To avoid that, Paul came out to deal with the transgressor swiftly and decisively. That’s what leader’s today should do anytime there is a confirmed report of sin in the church. It dosen’t matter who is involved. If such transgressor is allowed to go without punishment he will certainly overturn faith of many.
In fact, he will not only weaken young believers, he will also hinder the gospel from reaching those outside. And you will start hearing sneering statements like: “they are all hypocrites: after all one of their sisters committed abortion sometime ago without anyone knowing about it or one of them got pregnant before her wedding day”. If it is a brother who was involved in shady business deal, you may hear: “Church Church, we are all the same. Before I gave contract to that man he brought bribe to me”, if it is a husband and wife living a cat-and-dog life, you may not be surprised such statement as: “ Don’t mind them. Everyday, they come here to tell us: ‘our church is the best, our church is the best’, but they fight more than lions. In fact we are the people that settle their disputes everyday”. And if it was a young lady that got involved in immorality before she got a job or promotion, you may likely hear it being broadcast from the roof top: “Ah, call so-so-and–so, let her come and confront me: before we gave her job or promotion in this place, she knows how many times we slept together. Ask her if I am lying”.
That is why the church today will need to deal with sin decisively. If it is allowed in any way, it will hinder the gospel. Sinners outside will come to think that everybody in the church is the same. “Them that sin rebuke before all that other also may fear” (1 Timothy 5:20). Rebuke! Do you do that by smiling? No. when you rebuke, you should be as serious as the occasion demands so that others watching may fear to go into sin.
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