Benefits in God

Copyright © 2016 Fred Igbeare.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

King James Version (KJV) by Public Domain.

Quotes from Greg Laurie are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotes from Norman Geisler are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotes from Jack Graham are used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2103-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2104-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2102-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015919476

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/6/2016

Contents

Introduction: God Loves You

Acknowledgements: all Praises to God

1.   Love: Children of God and Partakers of the Divine Nature

2.   Salvation: Life in Abundance Forever

3.   Peace beyond Understanding

4.   The Holy Spirit: Power, Love and Self-Control

5.   The Power to Overcome

6.   Good News of Great Joy

7.   Born Again: Rebirth into Eternity, a Fresh Start

8.   Forgiveness: Guilty No More, Showing Others Mercy

9.   Hope: Faith in God for a New and Better Life

10.   Purpose: Directions for Life

11.   Rest from Your Burdens

12.   Priority Number One: God – His Kingdom and His Righteousness

13.   The Ministry of Reconciliation: Ambassadors of Christ

14.   Success by God’s Grace

15.   Confidence: Favored for Greatness and Godliness

16.   The Knowledge of God

17.   Spiritual Intelligence: Of Sights and Insights

18.   Freedom: Walking in the Way, the Truth and the Life

19.   Prosperity: Riches in Jesus Christ, Rich toward God

20.   Prayer: Unlimited Access to Heaven

21.   Praise Power: Praising God to Prevail

22.   Healing: Succor for the Soul

23.   Protection for Eternal Life

24.   Satisfaction beyond Measure

25.   New World: No More Sorrow

About the Author

"Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His

Benefits…"

(Psalm 103:2, NKJV)

Love – Salvation – Peace – The Holy Spirit – Power – Joy – Born Again – Forgiveness – Hope – Purpose – Rest – Priority – Reconciliation –

Success – Confidence – Knowledge – Spiritual Intelligence – Freedom – Prosperity – Prayer – Praise Power – Healing – Protection –

Satisfaction – New World

Introduction: God Loves You

Benefits in God aims to inform and remind people (unbelievers and believers) about the benefits of embracing God’s love and sharing it with others.

For unbelievers especially, this book shows why they should pay particular attention to the true gospel of God. It is the good news of great joy, offering peace between God and humans as well as peace from the troubles of this world. The gospel shows us how we can be saved from all of our problems. That includes personal, political, social, economic or spiritual problems. It’s the good news of how we can obtain enduring success and everlasting satisfaction with access to the kingdom of heaven forever! Praise God!

In the gospel, we find hope for a new life. That’s eternal life in abundance, with freedom from the pain, sorrow, decay, sin and death of this world. But there are fake gospels out there that can blind you to the truth. So beware! Don’t be deceived. Get to know the true gospel of God’s kingdom. Then decide whether to accept or reject it. But choose wisely. Don’t make your choice based on wrong information or bad intelligence.

Seek rather spiritual intelligence from God about life and its issues. Get truthful and deep insights beyond normal human perceptions. Consider carefully and thoughtfully the information presented in this book. Know that God gives everyone a choice between life and death – this book makes the case that choosing life, eternal life, is the best path to everlasting success and fulfillment.

For believers, Benefits in God provides a reminder of the beauty and rewards of having a relationship with God. It endeavors to offer deeper insights into the wonderful benefits of being a citizen of heaven, a child of God and a partaker of the divine nature. This book can especially serve as a resource for sharing the good news of great joy with others. It makes the case that those who sincerely seek God will find a bounteous harvest of many benefits. These include love, joy, peace, hope, power, confidence, knowledge, success, freedom, prosperity, protection, healing, satisfaction and ultimately, eternal life.

Believers will get to spend eternity with God (in whose presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forever – see Psalm 16:11). God is a fun being who loves us deeply and wants us to inherit the kingdom of heaven with all its joyous glory and abundance. Desiring the best for us, the Lord God takes no pleasure in the misery and destruction of human lives (see Ezekiel 18:32).

A recurring theme in this book is love. Because of love, God sent His Son to die for our sins. Benefits in God looks at how God wants us to embrace love as a lifestyle, specifically in terms of how we relate to other humans. That is because it is through love that we can overcome sin, which is at the core of our problems. We are hurting each other under the influence of sin, instead of loving each other in accordance with God’s law (see Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:36-40 and Romans 3:21-26). Everyone is guilty of sin except the Son of God (see Romans 3:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Sin has so tainted us that we don’t accurately reflect God’s essence: love. As a result, sin destroys our peace, joy, prosperity, freedom and ultimately life, among other things. It is taking this world on a downward spiral to disaster. Sin puts us at war with our Maker (and each other). It corrupts God’s image in us and terminates life, preventing us from fully enjoying the splendor of God’s vast wonderful creations!

But there is good news. We can have peace with God and freedom from sin. Because of God’s love demonstrated through His Son, humans can gain victory over sin and death. We can come to fully realize our potential as those created in God’s image. Through the Holy Spirit, God can help us to begin the process of becoming more God-like, more loving in perfection and holiness.

A great advantage of making peace with God is that we become born again (read more about it in this book). It is only by being born again that we can enter the kingdom of heaven. After the Son of God returns to usher in a new world, God’s kingdom will be the only realm standing. This world will be destroyed, along with those who do not follow God’s way grounded in love. Benefits in God shows how we can be part of the new world that God will create. It is a new world free of sorrow, pain, tears, sin and death but full of love, joy, rest, peace and life everlasting. Enjoy!

Acknowledgements: all Praises to God

All thanks go to God for the favor, privilege and vision for writing this book. I am forever grateful for salvation made possible by the incomparable sacrifice on the cross by the Son of God. I thank God for working through the Holy Spirit to shape my life, helping me to become better. I am profoundly grateful for the much-needed insights to navigate the topics in this book. Overall, I thank You Lord for I know that you have blessed me beyond measure!

A million thanks indeed go to all those (friends, family or ministers) who have assisted me in various ways in putting together this book. Much gratitude go to God particularly for Joe Focht, senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Philadelphia. I got a pleasant surprise one day when I approached him about the ‘Benefits in God’ project, initially for an evangelism website. As it turned out, I learnt then that a speaker at the church’s recent women’s seminar had spoken on a similar topic! Wow! God is certainly good. Pastor Joe then went on to provide me with a copy of the conference CD, a great resource.

Moreover, he later hosted a free apologetics conference at the church. Among the excellent presentations at the conference was one by author Norman Geisler, a most valuable resource quoted thankfully in this book. In addition to Dr. Geisler, I thank God for Greg Laurie and Jack Graham, both ministers of the gospel, who have also graciously granted permission to quote from their writings.

There are, additionally, two other people that I’m especially grateful to God for. Of great benefit has been the feedback and assistance from my dear sister, Grace Ibemere, who made very specific and useful suggestions. At one point, indeed, she and her family hosted me for about three months. They took care of my needs as I focused on writing and rewriting this book. Also, my dear friend and minister of the gospel, Kevin Miles has been a true friend and valued encourager in times of need. We spent many evenings discussing the topics of this book as initially published on an evangelism website. His friendship, insights and feedback have been most helpful. My deepest gratitude also goes to the following friends and ministers for their much appreciated feedback on the book: Leo Akpan, Marcia Dover, Katherine Joyce-Reilly, Luke Mason, Cecilia N’jie, Bill Ricker, Vivian Shackleford and Tony Tilford.

Over the years, my grasp of the gospel has grown tremendously from listening to, learning from and observing certain ministers (up close or from afar). I thank God for using them to enrich my life. Some have gone on to be with the Lord like my dear Uncle Mercy Igbeare (a most loving minister of the gospel), Kenneth Ware (overseeing pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle’s Prayer Band ministry when I served there) and Carlo Boerkstaaf (who preached so deeply multiple Friday nights at the Prayer Band meetings – enriching and unforgettable). Also quite memorable were Sister Ware’s praise and worship songs, resounding and reverberating many, many years beyond those Friday nights.

Special thanks, furthermore, go to God for Jim Cymbala, senior pastor at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, for his selfless service and sincere devotion to preaching the gospel. With a heart for prayer and reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Cymbala’s desire is to see people get saved no matter their status or race. (For what it means to be saved please see the chapter titled Salvation: Life in Abundance Forever.) What a great example of ministry to observe firsthand!

Others I am grateful to God for include: Enoch A. Adeboye, Sonny Arguinzoni, Emmanuel A. Bada, A.R. Barnard, Nicky Cruz, Carol Cymbala (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir), Michael Durso, Tony Evans, Dotun Gboyega, David Geisler, Billy Graham, Charles Hammond, Myrna Hammond, Jack Hayford, Georgina Hill (Royal Family Kids Camp), Mark Hill (RFKC), I.V. Hilliard, David Ireland, David Jeremiah, Brother Joe, Eric Lambert, Jr., John MacArthur, Tyrone McDonald, Donnie McClurkin, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Brian Pettrey, Mac Powell (Third Day), Lloyd Pulley, Raul Riese, Michael W. Smith, Zollie L. Smith, Jr., R. C. Sproul, Charles Stanley, Lee Strobel, Charles R. Swindoll, Al Toledo, Anthony L. Trufant, Ed Young, Sr., Ravi Zacharias and many, many others. Any omission is an error on my part – please forgive me!

May God bless you all abundantly!

– Fred Igbeare

Chapter 1

Love

Love: Children of God and Partakers of the Divine Nature

Highlights:

• God loves us despite our faults, frailties and failures, offering to help us overcome our limitations so we can gain everlasting life, success, satisfaction and other great benefits in God.

• We don’t need to be perfect or holy to come to God. A loving God gives us a fresh start when we become saved (believers), using the Holy Spirit to enhance us with the love, power and self-control needed for the new and abundant life forever – praise God!

• God’s love opens the door for believers to enter a coming new world of joy, peace, rest and righteousness in the kingdom of heaven. Believers get to be:

(1) unique royalty as children of God,

(2) partakers of the divine nature in love, perfection and holiness,

(3) conduit of God’s love to others,

(4) citizens in the kingdom of heaven,

(5) heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, the true King of kings,

(6) recipients of a new spiritual, incorruptible body, and

(7) beneficiaries of a coming new and better world to live in God’s perfect presence forever – praise the Lord!

When a tornado hit his home, wreaking havoc, Don Lansaw moved fast. Using his body as shield, he swiftly covered his wife Bethany. That move saved her life – but he did not survive. To protect her out of love, he had sacrificed himself for his wife. Afterward, the grateful wife described her brave husband as her hero (Roth, 2011).

To surrender one’s life to save another is undoubtedly the greatest act of love (see John 15:13). What Don did for his wife that day reminds me of a fascinating day in human history. On a Roman cross many years ago, Jesus Christ gave up His life to save us all. He is my ultimate hero: not Superman, not Batman, not Spider-Man or even Iron Man. These are all fictional heroes, but Jesus is real! And they don’t even come close to the supernatural powers Jesus Christ controls to rescue and save human beings (see John 10:17-18).

The Kingdom of Heaven

The Son of God died to save you and me from our sins, which are at the core of humanity’s problems. Jesus died to give us the joy, peace and beauty of eternal life with God in the kingdom of heaven. He died to save us from the pains, sorrows and death of this world. Those who are saved get to partake in the kingdom of God, the only realm that will supersede this world, which is destined for destruction.

Only God’s perfect kingdom will remain standing in the coming new age. It will replace all corrupted governments, societies or entities in this world. God’s kingdom brings righteousness, peace and joy everlasting for those who can get in. Those who get in avoid the second death and the coming end of this world. Believers are saved ultimately from the wrath of God against sin.

Jesus, who is Himself without sin, is our atonement for sin. He paid on our behalf the penalty for sin, which is death. By rising from the dead afterward, He opened the door for believers to be resurrected to live with God forever when He returns. We get to enjoy the full benefits of the incorruptible, joyful and everlasting life with God. Death has forever lost its power over humans who believe in God! And that is, only by God’s grace!

Why Me?

Because of God’s love demonstrated through Jesus Christ, you can be equipped to cope with the travails of this world. Moreover, you can escape the impending destruction of this world. You can be part of the coming new world. It’s a new world order under God’s direct rule free of sin, death, pain and sorrows but full of love, joy, peace, beauty, pleasures and wonders!

Why me? you may wonder. Why did the Son of God die for me? The answer is simple: God loves you. You are created in His image: male and female alike (Genesis 1:26-27). You are invaluable, worth more to God than you may imagine. God values you so much that even the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30, New King James Version: NKJV).

God’s love is inexorable. It is powerful. No sacrifice is too big for God’s love! As an early follower of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, wrote in Romans 8:32 (NKJV): He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

This is the extent of God’s love for us: He is willing to give us all things (see also Revelation 21:7). We get to inherit the vast expanse of God’s wonderful, endless creations. To enable us obtain our divine inheritance, God has gone to great lengths to redeem us from the devastations and sorrows that sin and death have wrought upon the human race.

New World: Everlasting Love and Peace

Because God is love (1 John 4:8), it is His nature to love you. He takes no pleasure and gains nothing from the destruction of human lives through sin (see Ezekiel 18:32). God desires for us all to be saved from sin and death. That is why Jesus Christ took the hit for us all. His sacrifice makes it possible for us to get access to God through the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 2:18). And with access to God, we have access to all that we need to overcome human problems.

Indeed, with Jesus Christ we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). And peace with God grants us access to great and everlasting benefits in God. Those who are saved (believers in God) get to inherit a new and better world free from sin and death – praise God! Believers get to live forever in endless love and peace (see the chapters of this book titled: Peace beyond Understanding and New World: No More Sorrow).

Because He loves us, God could not stand aside and allow us to keep suffering and dying from sin without hope in a diseased world.