A SERMON PRESENTED AT ORI OKE BAPTIST CHURCH, TARAA, OGBOMOSO ON HER

100TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON THE 22ND OF JULY, 2018

TOPIC: Overcoming the Challenges of Modern Day Christians!
Text: Psalms 46:1, 2 Timothy 2: 14
It is with great humility that I stand before you people of God to help lead this three day revival. I am
here today for two main reasons.
The first is not unconnected to the change of address of my father, Evangelist Job Adegboyega Alabi
who passed into glory about 12 months ago. As usual we have invitations to minister the gospel
running into some two to three years ahead, and the invitation to Ori-Oke Baptist Church was already
in his file for future appraisal. And for the Church to agree that I should come in his stead is both
humbling and challenging.
The second reason is because of the providence of God. I returned from the United Kingdom some
years ago with the assurance that I should return home. I obeyed the voice of the invisible God and
like Hebrews 11: 27 says; “By faith my family and I left the United Kingdom, persevered as seeing
him who is invisible”. I grew a bit tired and although I personally had open doors to preach the
Gospel into the year ahead, I felt I was wasting my time here since I did not know even know for sure
why God wanted me to return home. I proceeded to make plans and even foolishly threatened God
that I had obeyed and now I am leaving Nigeria again. I got accepted into one of the most prestigious
schools in America and had planned to leave in January this year, but when my father passed, it
became obvious the reason why I was led to return home. I do therefore see this has God’s
providence. I trust that God will do only what His words says and Jesus Christ will be exalted and
glorified in this revival.
The Topic before me is “Overcoming the challenges of modern day Christians”. I studied what is
called Philosophical hermeneutics and one of the essential skills one ought to develop while training
in this field is how to “Ask the right questions”. I find the phrase “Modern day Christians” a little
problematic. The very idea of Modern Christianity objects to the Absoluteness of the truth of what
makes up Christianity. The very essence of Christianity is “Christ” . Hebrews 13:8 projects Jesus
Christ as unchanging- yesterday, today and forever. That alone makes it impossible to have modern
Christians as the term suggests. Christ remains and the essence of Christianity must be preserved.
I will however suggest the topic; “Overcoming the modern day challenges of Christians”. This said, I
will want us to relate this to three questions we shall start of this morning as the foundation:
1. Who is a Christian?
2. What is modernity and its challenges?
3. How can Christians overcome today?
1. Who is a Christian?
This is an essential question for the Church today. I usually joke when people say; “Jesus Christ is the
answer!” by asking; “What is the QUESTION?” Who is a Christian is not just essential because of
what it helps to define but because the starting point should be who a Christian is not.
Naturally, asking who a Christian is would be easy but the idea of the label “Christian” was not of
those who believed in Jesus Christ. It came from an unknown source. In Acts 2:7, they were called
Galileans.
In Acts 24:5, they were called Nazarenes. But in Acts chapter 9, different names were also given to
those who believed in Jesus Christ. Acts 9 has DISCIPLES (v.1), PEOPLE OF THE WAY (v.2),
SAINTS (v.13), and THOSE WHO CALL ON HIS NAME (v.14),
These names have been used many times until Acts of the Apostles chapter 11:26.
However, the new name came after the second appearance of Saul who was later called Paul. It is
important to note that Saul’s appearance on the faith scene had earlier brought great peace to the
Church (Acts 9:31) and now when Saul again joined the believers in Antioch, a new name was again
pronounced- CHRISTIANS. The word Christian was given to indicate the similarity between the life
of the believers and that of Jesus the Christ. That will be a very high standard to fulfil.
Let me tell you how high that was, the Son of God became the son of man. Jesus Christ was so
powerfully used of God that the whole nation and even the Samaritans got converted through Him, yet
at the point of His death, they had to pay someone to identify Him.
His life was such a high standard that the one who could make the deaf ear, the blind see, the lame
walk was stripped, beaten, spat on and nailed, yet He did not make the slightest attempt to fight back
or curse His opposition.
Such a high standard to follow! Now why did they call them Christians or should I say what makes
them Christians? The initiation of the label Christian was because of;

1. WHAT THEY PREACHED (v.20) - they preached the Lord Jesus. They preached that Jesus Christ
was the Lord. Imagine a topic; “Jesus is Lord” which implies, they proclaimed that Jesus Christ alone
defined, determined their life and destiny.
2. WHAT THEY MANIFESTED (v.23) - they manifested the grace of God in Jesus which means
they showed that nothing else could have changed this people but grace.
3. WHAT THEY PURSUED (v.23) - they kept the faith by holding on to the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
In a nutshell, the Christian is the adherence to a script of Jesus’ life. The Christian life is the LIFE OF
JESUS CHRIST. Nothing else!
We are not permitted to manufacture our own kind of Christian life!
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ONLY ONE. IT IS THE LIFE OF CHRIST JESUS. We are not sent as
Gospel preachers’ to manufacture believers with multiple identities. Only one identity, the identity of
Christ.
Does that mean there won't be diversity? No Romans 6:3-5 says we were baptized into His death and
raised with Christ in newness of life. Baptized means identified with Christ until nature
&characteristics are made & manifested as similar. A white cotton handkerchief soaked in a blue dye
shares the characteristics of the dye but retains its cotton material.
Everyone retains their diversity but shares the characteristics of Christ alone. Listen to Ephesians
4:13; "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect
man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:".

2. What is modernity and its challenges?

I remember sharing on politics and where the Church stands with a minister and scholar some few
years ago. His argument was that Christians should vote for fellow Christians and I said, Christian as
in a Church goer or a person who exhibit the characteristics of Christ Jesus Christ. He suggested that
it is better for believers to choose the lesser evil. I am a student of philosophy and do understand
situation ethics, but if that principle is applied, where is the position of God in our choices. Do we
allow God when we want to make marital choice but not political choice? Should we allow God when
we want to make financial decisions but not when we want to make a political choice? I therefore
asked him a seemingly simple question; “How many teams are in a football match?” His response
was that there are two teams and to which I replied; ‘no there are three teams’. Three teams? Yes,
three teams- team A, team B and the Team of officials. Many do not remember that the Match
officials are also a team. They have a little book of rules that determine what and how they act. They
are not in support of team A or team B, their allegiance is only to the little book of rules of the game
they have in their possession.
Brethren, believers are the Third team in the world. Our ultimate allegiance is with the Bible. The
Bible alone stipulates where we stand.
However, standing contrary to the Word of God is the description of the World in which the “Match”
as it were is being played- IT IS MODERN. Modernity is defined as; “the self-definition of a
generation about its own technological innovation, governance, and socioeconomics”. Modernity is
sketchily influential in the modernisation of the human society. However, there are other causes of
modernisation and this creates such diverse tentacle of what modern may mean. Globalisation,
politicisation and post secularism have all contributed to what is termed modern age. Being modern is
both dynamic and metamorphotic in nature. Cambridge dictionary defines being modern as; “existing
in the present or a recent time, or using or based on recently developed ideas, methods, or styles”.
There is the school of thought that agues that Modernity is the invention of the Christian faith. It was
the attempt to seek for freedom to think and be. This freedom birthed the likes of Nietzsche who
projected that modernity will bring about the loss of any morality and possible remove the need for
religion.
My concern here are the challenges of modernity. I will like to use Romans 12:1-2 as the template for
discovering the challenges of modernity. Romans 12:1-2 reveals the challenge that the World will
always present; “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what
is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
The World, modern or ancient seeks to do only one thing- CONFORM Christians. The major problem
is the problem of conformity. Although, the attempt to conform Christians may have different
nomenclatures, but it is ultimately targeted at making Christians look, see, think, talk and aspire like
the World. The New Testament uses the English word “World” in at least four ways. The first is to
refer to the planet earth John wrote of Jesus that “He was in the world” (John 1:10). The second
meaning of the word World in the New Testament could also mean the inhabitant of the planet earth
which are people and this is in John 3:16; ““For God so loved the world”. The Third could mean the
period or dispensation like it is in Matthew 24:3;”The disciples questioned Jesus about the “end of the
world”. And the fourth is used to refer to the system or activities or method of the World as it is 1
John 2:15; ““the things that are in the world”.
Here in the book of Romans 12:1, the Word World refer to the system, activities or methods of this
World. The religious intolerance experienced in the North east of Nigeria seeks to have Christians
conform to the pattern of the World. Every arsenal of the enemy seeks to make Christians conform to
the pattern of activities, system and method contrary to Christ. This leads to the third question, How
can Christians overcome today?

3. How can Christians overcome today?

There are two ways for Christians to overcome today.
The first is to know the Lord as the ancients did since the God of the Bible remains the same for all
eternity. Psalms 46:1 says; “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The God
of the Bible becomes the refuge when He is made the source of a persons being. This means a person
who has come to make the God of the Bible their source for life, gains victory. The Epistle of John
chapter 5 verse 4 to 5 explains this further saying; “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world,
but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” The new birth guarantees and provides victory
over the World. The faith that was bestowed according to 2 peter 1:1; “…To those who have received
a faith of the same kind as ours” makes for victory over the World. This is worth shouting on the roof
tops- THE NEW BIRTH IN CHRIST by faith makes victory over the World challenges accessible.
I love the scriptures and I read once how the people of God would be described and identified IN
PSALMS87:6; "The LORD will record, as he registers the peoples, "THIS ONE WAS BORN
THERE." Selah". Hallelujah!
You must be born there, if you were only born here- things of these cosmos or world would be what
defines you. Now you who call upon the name of the Lord- shall you be described as one "born
there"? Over 2000yrs ago- the death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ opened a register in
which your life and destiny are described. Were you also born there? Were you born when Jesus
Christ died and rose again?
The Second way for Christians to overcome today is tied to 1 Timothy 2:1-17. Some words with the
same purpose stand out by observation- Heard, Teach, Remember, consider, Remind and Charge.
These words suggest strongly that there is a Source and that source requires a re-echo, re-enactment or
repetition. Believers must remember, be reminded, be charged, consider and teach others the truths
that existed about their victory in Christ.
“This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.
If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
The Bible says be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that the will of God will be known
and done. God’s word believed and practiced is the key to victory.

The new birth makes victory of the challenges possible, and the knowing and doing the word will
make the experience of that victory a reality.
Therefore, the challenge rings true, how much do you know to be transformed and live victoriously
above the challenges Christians face today. Challenges shall come but victory is assured in Christ.
Shalom!