THE CHALLENGES WE FACE AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM When we received the life of God through the Lord

Jesus Christ, He picked us up from the kingdom of darkness and placed us in the kingdom of His dear Son (Col 1 :13). We became a new species of human beings with a different nature from that which we initially had, with different destinies and destinations from that which we had when we were still in the world ( 2 Cor 5: 17). Before we became born again we had an assignment which we gave ourselves or which our parents or friends gave us. But now that we are born again we have all received one assignment though in different environments that is The Great Commission. We have also received adequately potent equipment with which to execute to the fullest this assignment and to live lives worthy of God our Father ( Eph 6: 13; Col 1:10). Simply put, a challenge is a problem or a task that stimulates effort and interest. We are interested in solving the problems in our lives as individuals and then together as members of the Body of Christ. Every believer can conveniently divide his/her life into five categories: 1. Spiritual life, which is the life that stems from the Life of Christ. It can also be seen as your personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that is the born again life. Essentially, every other category we are going to talk about here draws strength from your spiritual life, but in order to conveniently analyze the challenges we have put it apart. 2. Ministry, which is your spiritual service to the Church ( the Body of Christ) and to the world. In other words, it is meeting the needs of the Church and the world. (For instance, evangelism is ministry to the world).

3. Academics/Carrier, which has to do with learning and practicing your profession. 4. Family, which is your home, either your parents home or your own home. 5. Others, which will deal with every other thing you do out of these like music, writing, sports, business, etc. We will look at the challenges in these five categories and how to overcome them. A. SPIRITUAL LIFE 1. Growing up spiritually: When you become born again, you are start up like a child, needing milk in order to grow up. Being in Christ is not all; its just the beginning. You need to grow up. The only way you can do this is to feed upon the Word of God which is your food. Without spiritual growth the Christian life becomes boring and uninteresting. 2. Intimacy with God: When you received Christ, a relationship was established between you and Him. That relationship is the very source of your productivity in life. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. John 15:4 The greater the relationship the more productive you are in everything you do. There are two things which make you intimate with God; the Word of God and prayer. You see, God and His Word are the same. The more of the Word of God you get into your spirit the more of God you get into you, and the more God gets you into Him (James 4:8). Practically, you

have to meditate on Gods Word EVERY DAY! Dont say you are too busy. Once a believer begins to become busy to meditate on Gods Word, he starts failing in the things he is busy doing. 3. Putting off worldly habits and worldly friends: Man is a spirit, having a soul and living in a body. It is actually your spirit that got born again, not your soul or body. So your spirit is saved and all it needs now is to be fed with the Word so that it can grow. However, you need to do something about your soul and body. The soul is composed of your mind, will and emotions. All the worldly things that were in your mind before you got saved wont just disappear because you got saved. You have the responsibility of taking them out. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND Rom 12:2. Renewing your mind means removing the information it has and putting in another information. So you have the responsibility of taking out the worldly thinking and putting in heavenly thinking (Col 3:2). You do this by putting in the information contained in the Word of God. The body is the physical house in which your spirit lives. It has its own lusts. Those lusts will not just disappear because you got saved. You have the responsibility of killing those lusts. That is, making them becoming less and less significant till they disappear from your life. Lets see a few fleshly lusts listed in Galatians 5: 19 -21. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness (physical or moral impurity), lasciviousness (behavior or thoughts designed to stimulate crude sexual desires and lusts), idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (quarrelling and strife), emulations (unfavourable jealousy), wrath ( anger), strife (bitter conflict and fighting), seditions (divisions), heresies ( opposition), envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings ( rioting), and such like This list is

not exhaustive. Stop and consider what the Bible calls works of the flesh! You could have some of these things operating in your flesh, but the Bible tells us to put off these. How do I kill them? If you want to kill anything, the most important thing to do is to refuse to feed it. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and MAKE NOT PROVISION FOR THE FLESH, TO FULFILL ITS LUSTS THEREOF.Rom 13:14. Do not act on that fleshly problem if you want it to die. Its difficult but as you practice, it will become easier and easier. It works! You also need to separate yourself from unbelievers because these things are normal to them and they cant help you out ( 1 Cor 15:13). If you compromise this you are compromising your relationship with the Lord. B. THE MINISTRY 1. Learning evangelism: When we became born again, God made us agents through which the rest of the world might be saved( Matt 28:18 20). If we miss this truth then we have missed our purpose for living. God wants us to preach the gospel. He wants to reach the world through us. Thats why evangelism is indispensable in the life of a successful Christian. To learn and practice it start by participating in evangelisms organized by your cell, class Bible club and the general Bible club. Try as much as you can not to neglect and undermine this. 2. Fellowshipping with brethren: If a child is born and immediately taken to the forest to live with monkeys, he will grow up to think, behave, talk and act like monkeys. Similarly, if a man is born again and is not brought up in the company of other believers, he will have a difficult life that resembles that of unbelievers and he will end up backsliding(falling away from the faith). Desire to be in constant fellowship with brethren. Make up your mind to attend all cell, class and

general meetings (Heb 10:25). In so doing, you will think, behave, talk and act like born-again children of God do. 3. Learning and exercising leadership/ understanding mentorship: Your leader is that one who knows where he is going and influences you to follow him. We all have leaders in various aspects of our lives. It is important for you to know those who lead you in the way of God and follow them. This will accomplish two things in your life; it will shape and give your life a focus and it will also train you to become a leader. Leadership is all about setting the pace for others to follow. You leader will do this for you. If you are a leader know that you are responsible not just for telling people what to do but also for showing them how to do it. For instance, if you tell people to come for meetings whereas you do not attend meetings regularly you are not practicing good leadership. A mentor is a more senior or experienced individual who helps and advices and younger or inexperienced individual to also become experienced. Mentorship is a specialized kind of leadership. It is important for you to have someone who mentors you in order to ease your Christian walk, amplify your academic output and teach you principles of submission in life. 4. Knowing your spiritual calling: Now a lot of people face difficulties knowing exactly what the Lord has called them to do. Three principal things will help you to know your spiritual calling: 1) the Word of God 2) the witness of the Holy Spirit and, 3) the witness of mature believers. Thus, setting your heart to know Gods Word, fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit and fellowshipping with other believers are things which you must not give up doing. 5. Understanding spiritual, mental and physical rest: Some believers, in practicing the work of ministry, have had recurrent burn-outs

(physical and psychological break down). You have to do the work of the ministry the way God wants you to do it and not your own way. If you try it your own way by becoming over-busy, then you are predisposed to burn-outs. Spiritual rest does not mean your spirit is resting because your spirit doesnt get tired. It means sitting down for some other person to minister to you either in a meeting, a video/audio message, or a gospel music ( a Scriptural song). At this time you are not the one ministering, but you are being ministered to. Make out time to enjoy spiritual rest every day, depending on you. Mental rest means staying away from stressful mental activities like studying. To achieve this, use your time to do things which will not cause your brain too much thinking, such as taking a nap, visiting a friend, watching an edifying gospel movie, etc. Avoid exaggerating this as it can lead to laziness. Your body also can break down if you over use it. Get enough sleep for the day. Feed yourself properly. Clean yourself adequately. If you are a leader, learn how to motivate others to help you do the work. Dont do it all alone. This will not only enable you to rest but will also train them in leadership. This does not mean you push your work to others it means to get help from them. 6. Financial contributions: We know that we are supposed to do the work of ministry which may involve concerts, retreats, picnics, meetings with rented chairs, and many other activities that need money. How does all of this money come about? God doesnt open the skies and pour down banknotes. We are responsible for getting the money we need here on earth, by His intervention, to do His work. It is therefore our responsibility to finance the work of God. The only way God blesses us financially is if we use our money in doing His work. Otherwise, we will face financial challenges in our lives. To reap money you have to sow money. Make up your mind to pay your Bible Club contributions, tithes (discuss with your leaders about this) and any other contributions that

will come up. In so doing, you will be planting money seeds that will be multiplied back to you. Let financial contributions not be a problem to you it is a channel of blessing! C. ACADEMICS AND CARRIER 1. Understanding lessons: You may be very intelligent but if you dont have a good study strategy you will have difficulties getting along with your studies. You need to make it a great objective to understand your lessons. Try to know what the teacher is saying. You can do this by: 1) Paying attention to the teacher even if you dont understand the language 2) Asking questions where you have doubts 3) discussing your unanswered questions with friends after the class 4) Making sure, at the end of the class, you have complete copied notes or soft copy of the lesson which you can read at home 5) Having the habit of discussing difficulties with seniors It is important for you to always review your days work when you go home so that you can locate yourself properly. 2. Passing exams: Classically, understanding your lessons will lead you to pass well. However, this is not always the case. You need to familiarize yourself with past questions and get used to answering them with friends. Also practice participating in tutorials. 3. Handling re-sits: There are many reasons why someone can have a re-sit. Whatever the reason is you need to make sure you pass that course. Never panic, but keep on and on telling yourself that you will pass that course. Then pray to the Father about it and study with past questions. As much as you need it, get advice and encouragement from your leaders. 4. Being of help to others: It is so important to realize that we are co workers together with other brethren. No one can be able to do the work of God alone. Also, there is no one without challenges. We are supposed

to care for one another spiritually, academically, materially, financially, etc. If a brother/sister has a financial need, offer help if you can. If not, take him/her to meet a leader who can arrange with the catering department for help. Be concerned for one another, always being ready to encourage and strengthen. Dont tell yourself that you dont know how to socialize. Rather, tell yourself that youll learn it. 5. Financial difficulties: If you have a financial difficulty, make sure you inform a brother/sister about it. You can also tell your leader. Surely, God solves our problems using us. 6. Standing for God among your colleagues: A lot of brethren mask their identity when they are with unbelievers. They do this by actively participating in their unedifying discussions, neglecting to share the gospel with them etc. Beloved, we are there so that they can know God. If God does not bring us to them, they will not know Him. We are Gods way of lighting the world. So be bold to say you are a believer and to preach Christ to your colleagues as you have the opportunity. D. THE FAMILY 1. Family persecutions: Every Christian is entitled to persecution. Persecution is part of our inheritance so we must face it (2 Tim 3:12). Never feel bad when you are persecuted. Rather, be filled with joy and thankgiving (Matt 5: 10 12). If you undergo persecutions in your family, one of the best things you can do is to discuss it with your leader. Dont bear it alone. Also, dont get out of Christ in order to solve a problem that came because of your being in Christ. Your leader will tell you practical things you can do in order to endure those persecutions. 2. Trouble in the family: There could be times when your family has financial difficulties, sicknesses, failures, instability, imminent disasters etc. This will be an opportunity for you to use your faith. Dont fear.

Meet the brethren and tell them. They will fill you with the Word of God on the subject. And by prayer, every mountain shall be removed by the Holy Ghost. 3. The salvation of family members: You may be in a family where everybody is not saved or nobody is saved. You are the light in such a home. God has appointed you to show a pattern which they can follow. God wants them to see Jesus in you and follow Him. May up your mind to tell them the Word as much as you can. Pray for them that God may send people to minister to them. Endure every hardship you incur from them with all patience. After much endurance, prayer and patience, you will win your family to the Lord. Dont also forget to tell the brethren so they can join you in prayer. 4. Building your own family ( handling relationships with the opposite sex): Every one of us has the desire to have a wonderful spouse and to build and excellent home. Some, however, do not know how to go about it. Some dont think they have any role to play. They feel God will just automatically give them a good home. If you really want a good home you must build your life on the Word of God. The things you think, say and do must be driven and guided by the Word. The Word works everywhere, even in relationships. In the Body of Christ, you dont get into a relationship with someone in order to try and see if the person is suitable for you or not. No! We are too honorable for that kind of life. You get into a relationship and walk in it towards marriage. That is why sexual immorality should be ruled out of your mind. God did not call us to uncleanness but in holiness 1 Thes 4: 3 7). Never force a relationship because you see or feel that you are not getting any younger. If you see someone of the opposite sex you think you love, tell your leader/mentor and he will guide you on how to go about it. Dont make it secret, no matter how much you think you love each other. If

you make it secret, darkness will easily creep in. Your leader/mentor will teach you how to handle a relationship Gods way. You can have a wonderful relationship if you would learn how God wants you to go about it. God will make it beautiful because he wants you to also be able to teach others. Remember You are the light of the world. Matt 5: 14 16. If you are in a relationship with an unbeliever dont hesitate to put a stop to it, because it will attack your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. E. OTHERS 1. Creating time to develop talents and learn other skills: You may have a talent ( a special innate ability especially for art or music) that you want to develop or a skill( an expertise naturally acquired or developed through training) that you want to learn. We encourage you to take it seriously. You are unique and only you can do what you do the way you do it. Meet people you think have similar talents or skills and learn from them. Make your life beautiful and interesting. We know of brethren in our midst who are great designers, singers, dancers, pianists, guitarists, gospel artists, etc. You definitely have something to offer! 2. Avoiding distraction: By distraction we mean something that diverts your attention from the Lord Jesus, from fellowship, from studies and from your objectives in life. There are long term middle term and short term distractions. Short term distractions are things like video games, idle talking, bad company ( which can also be long term) Middle term distractions are things like wrong relationships with the opposite sex, spiritual holidays( pausing spiritual activities) due to school work, etc Long term distractions are those things that will occupy you indefinitely causing you to deviate from your main objectives in life as a believer. It could be vain financial and material pursuits. Dont misunderstand us,

finances and material projects are good, but if they take you away from your precious Lord and from the brethren, then they are vain no matter how lucrative they aspire to be. 3. Generating finances: As you mature in life it becomes normal for you to start learning how to take care of yourself in every aspect, including finances. It doesnt mean you tell dad and mum Im a big man now so dont bother about me. You can, depending on you, decide to do something to generate finances, especially if you dont have a good financial background. We know of brethren who do teaching, selling of jewelry, documentation, just to name a few. This is important but it depends on you. However, never make this come in the way of your relationship with the Lord and your fellowship with the brethren. If you do, you are heading for a fall.