Humans lust for many things, from sex to power, from money to a religious fix. The Body of Christ mustn't assemble to fulfill a 'religious' lust! Remember that apostasy invaded the New Testament church while the apostles were still alive. If people would not endure instruction in righteousness back then, how much worse is today, 2000 years later? 21st Century life is ablaze with disparaging voices that seek to erase past cultural standards. A thin line separates the narrow way from the broad path: "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). Our heaven Father uses His called ministry to protect that thin of truth by preaching the unadulterated word of God.

Brother Sam recounts the countless blessings we have experienced as a congregation throughout the past two-plus years. While isolation has been hard for people, we have had to learn new ways of engaging in the worship of our God. Our outreach has expanded this message of the Kingdom to many people worldwide. While God has used this period to invite us into a deeper relationship with Him, our challenge is to develop the mind of Christ, meaning his nature. We need to learn to think as Jesus does according to the principles of God the Father.

Last Sunday, our pastor received a touch from the Holy Spirit while recounting the story of Billy Graham's experience in the home of John Wellesley in England. This touch initiated a deeper form of conversion in Brother Singh's life. Conversion, as we know, is both progressive and lifelong, as evidenced by Luke 22:32. It took the Apostle Paul some 32 years from the time of his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road until he could declare, "I am noW ready to be offered up" (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Many of us live as spiritual underachievers. But if we learn to pray, we develop confidence in God while surrendering self-confidence. The Apostle James wrote: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). Most certainly, the opposite is also true. The ineffectual prayer of a righteous person avails nothing! So, we may be living right yet be ineffective witnesses because we are disconnected from the source of our power, God!

Elders play a vital role in God's ministry. While the Lord speaks to an assembly through His anointed ministers, the elders reinforce the messages delivered from the minister's lips. Thus, elders must be faithful men of good character, capable of conveying the primary teachings in practical terms to the saints. Their ability is referred to as "watering the message" -- the faithful reproduction of the core message concisely and accurately in their own words. Brother Sam & Brother John are reliable stewards of God's work in Mississauga, encouraging us to hold fast as the end of the age approaches.

The burden of a pastor for his little flock is enormous in these most trying times. Evil penetrates our homes via technology; materialism and immorality abound. Deception is rampant. And no more incredible illusion exists than self-deception! It is almost impossible to draw a person out of their iniquity if steeped in religious tradition. For instance, consider our use of the term "being out of Babylon." We deceive ourselves if we think Babylon symbolizes only apostate religion. Instead, the word is synonymous with the "spirit of the age." It is an all-encompassing ungodly influence that touches every aspect of our lives. 

The Jews then murmured at Jesus because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:40-41). Murmuring indicates not only a lack of understanding but lack of faith. In this lesson, Brother Desmond Singh briefly recounts the numerous ways in which God leads our little assembly. Illumination takes time—so while we may not always comprehend the vision of the man of God — we mustn't murmur against it. Our pastor urges us to be patient and wait for things to unfold. God makes ways for His people that are impossible for men! Murmuring led the Jews to reject Jesus, and it can lead us to despise the man of God. We live in dangerous times. We need God's continual direction and guidance like the Hebrew children in the wilderness.

Marking our Passover weekend, Brother Sam broaches the subject of atonement for sin. The concept of a single sacrifice offered to atone for the world's sins was foreign to the Jews. Traditionally under the Old Testament law, an unblemished bird or animal bird had to be sacrificed to cover the sins of an individual. However, under the New Covenant: "But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." (Hebrews 9:11-12) Yet, the onus still rests with the individual. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). The critical aspect of our atonement for sin (salvation) lies in an individual relationship between the redeemed (you and me) and our redeemer, Christ Jesus.

Every seven-year-old knows Jesus died to atone for our sins. Yet that is only half of the equation. “{He} gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4). The Biblical meaning of the term world is “age.” So, the greater purpose was —Jesus gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age! Those with eyes to see and ears to hear will immediately grasp the implication of 1 John 2:15. “Love not the world." Our heavenly Father intends that there be a clear distinction between the values of the world and our relationship with Him.

How should a child of God face tragedy? It is a vital question for today as judgment falls throughout the world. There are many lessons to be learned from the life of Job. He was "perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." (Job 1:1) His public testimony was blameless, but God sees us differently than we do. He weighs the heart. "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth {prunes} it, that it may bring forth more fruit," Jesus said. (John 15:2) So, in God's eyes, Job had far greater potential than was evident to human understanding.

When God speaks to us through a form of chastisement— listen to God—not to some source that cannot offer eternal value.