Sovereign Grace Community Church, Abuja

He is God of the Apparently Mundane (happenings) also - Bro Martins Obono

Esther 4:14¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther’s rise from obscurity to eminence is one of those inspiring stories that reveal a grand-ordering. Inventors of evil seeking to deny any form of transcendent involvement in our everyday lives explain away mundane or magnificent events as chance, luck, happenstance, coincidence or accidental. The story of Esther is a splendid twisty narrative of destiny, grace, sovereignty, purpose, providence, precision, and many peculiar foreshadowing. If you’re reading this synopsis, who knows whether you have not come by this sermon for such a time as this?

Somewhere Along The Road - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 35:3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

From this year 2019 onward, I decree you shall never suffer, you shall know no pain, there'll never be a sad day in your life, you shall neither die nor lose anyone, your path shall know only prosperity and laughter, no more distress in the name of Jeee... SCAM!!! We've at some point embraced these man-made decrees, and if you never did or the prayers failed for you, "you didn't have enough faith". Nothing like a good jolt of pain to #bringbackourreality; the true reality of the Christian life is...

Les Misérables - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 34:25 ²⁵ On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.

Today, we consider the tragic narrative of a barbaric rape, a botched restitution & a brutal retaliation. Dinah's defiling spirals down to even more depravity. As the king makes a selfish but appealing marriage proposal, her brothers demand a steeper bride price. The life of all men for one man's sin. if the wrath of Men is this fearful, does it make you wonder how more terrifying the justified wrath of God is? Without our Saviour King, we are truly Les Misérables.

Grace Recognized - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 33:4
⁴ But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Having wrestled with God & blessed with a new name, Jacob now Israel is on a collision course for another bout with man; Esau & his 400. Knowing impressive wrestling skills wouldn’t win this one, he opts for systematic appeasement. As Esau throws an arm, Jacob takes a bow, an unnecessary duck as no punches were pulled just an embrace thrown. Alas, Grace, not Wrath! The Face of God and not the doors of hell. A timeless painting of the Gospel. Also in this sermon, a question to contemplate; Can we consider Esau an Elect on the basis of his outstanding kindness alone?

Wrestling With God - Pastor Chris Okowgu

Genesis 32:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

Angels. Mahanaim. Puzzles. Esau. We Saw. 400. Ahead. Dread. Reform. Return. Pray. Pause. Plead. Promise. Payback. Present. 200.20.200.20.30.40.10.20.10. Servants. Sojourn. Family. Flee. Alone. Stranger. Danger. Wrestler. Enough. Never. Blister. Striver. Tough. Bless me. Name me. Israel. Lord? Dawn. Worn. Sore. Limp. Linger. Listen.

Jacob's Flight - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 31:2-3
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. ³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

Its been 20years since Jacob sought refuge at Laban’s home. While he found a place to rest, it was a thorny bed of deception, dishonesty & denial. Its been 20years since Jacob’s first visit to the ‘house of God’(Bethel). While he found stones to rest, it was a rocky bed of Providence, provision, and promise. Our mortal masters may not always deal fairly with us, but our service is first to an ever-present God who always deals mercifully with us. Jacob and his nation of wives, children, servants, and flocks undertake a stealthy escape; it's interrupted by a reconciliation banquet.

Speckled Sheep & Spotted Goats - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 30:32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages.

Jacob, having served faithfully for several years seeks a fair recompense. Given a blank cheque, he humbly requests for the imperfect lot of his master’s hoard. Well, Laban, the supplanting maestro isn’t about to find virtue. He dips into his basket of deplorables for one last sucker punch; all the while forgetting that Jacob is the undefeated Greatest Of All Time, a “true kin”, supplanting is home advantage. Although this fraudulent bout makes for a good pay-per-view, we’d do ourselves some good to stare at the title belt. Yea, the speckled and spotted lot, those ones right at the corner; that’s you and I… wait, what!?

No Love Lost for the Loveless - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 30:1
¹ When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”

Jacob got trouble for his double, Rebecca and Leah. One, the love of his life and the other a wife he doesn’t love. As with other ills of polygamy, the wives are at war for the sole affection of their man. Weapon of choice? Children! They make for good arrows & baby names make fine daggers. It’s now a race to fill their quiver and drive right at the other's heart. Poor Jacob is caught in the crossfire. But of what benefit is this narrative to us?

The Mystery of Providence - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 29:25 (ESV) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”

The narrative of Jacob's experience at Laban's home exposes human-hypocrisy. His deceptive meal was served back cold and for one who had schemed his way to get major life 'breakthroughs', he didn't seem to like the taste. Boomeranging blows are bitter to us all. From what we have seen so far about the life of Jacob, he wouldn't be featuring in our hall of faith anytime soon, regardless, God through His gracious providence is working His purpose out; making a former faithless fugitive a future faithful follower.

God With Us - Pastor Chris Okogwu

Genesis 28:13 (ESV) And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

 

Comfort arrives for Jacob from One who is All-Knowing & can't be manipulated. A lifetime of scheming has earned him stones for pillows and an outcast badge, least of weightier repercussions he deserves. But the Lord isn't down with the stonecasting mob. He gave the most reassuring words to the undeserving. "I AM with you". Weary, worn and sad Jacob finds a resting place and a glad embrace in the Words & Promises of his Creator. May you find comfort for your weary heart as you listen.