C.A.C Sunday School Manuals For April 21, 2024 Lesson 14: Topic – SPIRITUAL POWER AND GIFTS FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST
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CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH Nigeria And Overseas
2024 SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
UNIT 2: GOD GIVES GIFTS PURPOSEFULLY
THEME: SPIRITUAL POWER AND GIFTS FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST
LESSON Fourteen
21th April, 2024
TOPIC: COMBATING FALSEHOOD AND DARK POWERS
MEMORY SCRIPTURE : And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen (Romans 16:20).
Like soldiers in the exercise of their military training and skills, we must put our spiritual gifts to task in combatting falsehood in all forms and the powers of darkness.
BRIEF COMMENTS
The Church of God faces threats from the darkness. Satan, the chief of dark powers, launches assaults against the body of Christ However, Jesus has overcome sin, devil and the world, so Satan can never succeed. We are grateful to God for thwarting evil’s bid against His people. God promised to crush Satan under our feet. The devil is in trouble because the God of peace is at war with him. Therefore, we receive the grace of Jesus Christ to establish our victory in Christ Jesus.
DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS
Mon. 15: Pharaoh Encounters God’s Raw Power (Exo. 7:8-10)
Tue. 16: Pharaoh’s Magicians See God’s Supremacy (Exo. 7:11-13)
Wed. 17: Power Of God Sets Captives Free (Isa. 61:1-2)
Thur. 18: Paul Dislodges Demon In Jesus’ Name (Acts 16:16-18)
Fri. 19: Prayerfully Resist Satan With God’s Power (1 Pet. 5:8,9)
Sat. 20: Power-Packed Victory Available In Christ (1 Cor. 15:57)
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
1 Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s power, we have total victory over the devil’s power and cunning.
2 Christ’s power is matchless. That is why the devil will continue to suffer untold defeat as the believers ceaselessly maximise their God- given Power and gifts. Be powerful in Christ!.
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Genesis 3:15,16
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
AIM: To show that by exercising spiritual gifts and power, falsehood and dark powers can be defeated.
OBJECTIVES: By the end of this lesson, learners should be:
i. able to discuss the meaning of falsehood and dark power;
ii. able to identify the operations of falsehood and dark powers in the Church, or anywhere; and
iii. be ready to combat falsehood and dark powers using their God- given power and gifts.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: 1 KINGS 18:1FF; ACTS 5:1-11; 13:6-12; 16:16- 18; 19:11-20; 2 CORINTHIANS 11:13-15; COLOSSIANS 2:11-15; 1 TIMOTHY 4:1FF
Last week, the lesson was focused on one of the purposes of spiritual gifts, i.e., MEANINGFUL SERVICE AND MINISTRY. The Holy Spirit has graciously released His gifts and spiritual power for active Christian service, stewardship and communion in the body of Christ. Don’t abuse them.
This lesson is the 14th in the series, and it harps on how we can combat falsehood and dark powers through the instrumentality of God’s power and gifts graciously made available to us. If not for Christ’s power and spiritual gifts, falsehood and powers of darkness would have dominated everywhere, including the Church. They would have been unabatedly having their field day. This is another reason for the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit, which God has graciously released to His Church.
May the devil and his minions be continually shamed and silenced as we exercise our God-given gifts in His power at work in us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
LESSON OUTLINE
I. UNMASKING AND SHAMING FALSEHOOD
II. SHAMING DARK POWERS
LESSON EXPOSITION
1 UNMASKING AND SHAMING FALSEHOOD (Acts 5:1-11; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 1 Tim. 4:1ff)
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you (1 Tim. 4:16).
a) Falsehood is chief among the challenges facing the Church (cf. Eph. 6:10ff; 1 Pet. 5:8,9). Our ignorance of Satan’s devices gives him room to take advantage of us (2 Cor. 2:11), but thank God He has given us His power and gifts to tackle such prevalent falsehood.
b) 2 Cor. 11:13-15: For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light to deceive the Church and wreck havoc. We shouldn’t be surprised that there are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ (v. 13).
c) 1 Tim. 4:1-2: We aren’t ignorant that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies… (vv. 1-2). As a good servant of Christ, face this trend headlong with His power and gifts (vv. 6ff).
d) Acts 5:1-8: Had the Holy Spirit not helped Peter to discern the lies cooked up by this couple, the Church would have been seriously swindled, the result of which could have been devastating.
e) vv. 9-11: With the Holy Spirit’s enablement, the Church detects and confronts satanic lies. Don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. (1 Jn. 4:1)-Discerning of spirits.
f) More importantly, we must be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit Who would sharpen our spiritual senses to uncover the wiles of the devil and put them to shame (Col. 2:15).
g) Nothing counters heresies and falsehoods like God’s Word. Those with the unadulterated Word are tough for the devil to deceive.
II. SHAMING DARK POWERS (1 Kgs. 18:1ff; Acts 13:6-12; 16:16- 18; 19:11-20; Col. 2:11-15)
Having disarmed principalities and powers; He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (Col. 2:15).
a) We aren’t ignorant that we are up against Satan’s dark powers (Eph. 6:12), but we are fighting from victory to victory in Christ
Who gives the Church authority over such powers (Matt. 28:18ff; Mk. 16:15ff; Lk. 10:19; 1 Cor. 15:57).
b) Col. 2:11-15: God’s power has elicited the public disgrace of the devil and his minions. Christ settled everything, once and for all, … triumphing over them in it. Hallelujah!
c) 1 Kgs. 18:1ff: On Mount Carmel, God worked through His power and gifts in Elijah to inflict disgrace on Baal and his prophets. When we put our gifts to use, God is glorified and Satan’s power is dismantled.
d) Acts 13:6-12: As Paul was ministering the Gospel, the devil was working through Elymas, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. The timely release of God’s power struck the devil. Then, the proconsul believed, …being astonished at the teaching of the LORD. We need more of such.
e) 16:16-18: The exercise of the gift of deliverance in Paul on a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination inflicted serious shame and loss on the devil and his associates.
f) 19:11-20: By the right exercise of spiritual power and gifts, many were converted to Christ and delivered, with magical books and charms destroyed in Ephesus. A similar exploit happened during the 1930 revival at Oke Ooye, llesa, Nigeria. God has not changed (Heb. 13:8).
g) Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola and other Church forebears fought against dark powers to establish churches and prayer locations, halting their threats to the gospel.
LESSONS DERIVED
1 Manifesting the gifts of the Holy Spirit helps to discern and thwart lies coming from the pit of hell.
2 Darkness can never prevail against Light. The Holy Spirit guarantees victory over dark powers in the right exercise power and gifts. of His
QUESTIONS
1 Describe how we can discover and dismantle falsehood in the body of Christ today.
2 The Holy Spirit’s power and gifts help the believer to gain total victory over powers of the enemy. Discuss.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS:
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1
*. We must be ready to exercise our God-given spiritual power and gifts
*. Preaching and teaching sound doctrine must be our priority because it is only light that can dispel darkness.
*. The Church must not in any way cooperate with the work of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8).
*. We must be prepared to rebuke any appearance of evil in our midst. No indulgence!
*. Also, we must be aware that Satan can transform as an angel of light. So, we must not be susceptible to his lies (2 Cor. 11:14,15).
ANSWER TO QUESTION 2
*. Yes, of course, the believer is helped by the Holy Spirit to gain victory over the powers of the enemy.
*. The victory we have is not our making. It is gained for us through Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection, and available through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13,14).
* Therefore, anyone who wants to have access to this victory must believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord, cooperating with God through the Holy Spirit (1 Jn. 5:4,5).
LIFE APPLICATION
In acounselling session, an evangelist was prompted by the Holy Spirit to check under the table where he sat with a counselee. He discovered a ring on the counselee’s big toe, leading to a confession that the man was an herbalist with dark powers. After his willingness to be saved, a prayer team was sent to destroy his shrine, and he was set free from Satan’s influence. This incident highlights the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit, as He exposes the devil’s secrets and contributes to the growth of God’s kingdom when spiritual gifts and power are in operation.
CONCLUSION:
We conclude lesson 14 here. Our sincere hope is that you have gained the knowledge to combat falsehood and dark powers by utilising your spiritual gifts and power. By exercising your God-given powers and grace, in Jesus’ name, you will no longer be a puppet of the devil, swayed by falsehood and dark powers.
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