Month: July 2021

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Fire in my Bones

Be careful mighty man | Pst J.O Lawal.

Date: July 28, 2021 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 4, No. 11

“This is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: “Go, say to this steward, to Shebna, who is in charge of the palace: What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?” Beware, the LORD is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, O you mighty man. He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there your splendid chariots will remain — you disgrace to your master’s house! I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position.” (Isa 22:15-19NIV)

Daniel, once, having received a revelation from God about what the future holds for the kingdoms of men, said these words: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever, wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others…” (Dan 2:20-21NIV) Did you see that? Wisdom and power belong to God. So, regardless of how wise you may think you are, the owner of wisdom is God. And if you will not acknowledge this, humble yourself before Him and use whatever measure of wisdom He has blessed you with to do His will, He will someday deal with you and frustrate your so-called wisdom. This is why we have had wise people that lived and died without leaving any significant mark on the world of their time or accomplishing their lofty dreams.

Also, regardless of how powerful you may be, regardless of what position of power you may be occupying in life, never forget that God is the owner of power. So, if He had not permitted you to be in that position you are now occupying, you could not have been there. And if you will not acknowledge this and use your position to make life better for others, He is able to remove you from your secure position and put someone else there.

Now Daniel witnessed this in his day. First, he saw how that mighty emperor, Nebuchadnezzar, was driven away from his throne by God because of his pride. This man ran mad and lived as an animal among animals for some years. And if God had not been merciful to him, forgiven him and restored him, he would have perished as an animal. (Cf. Dan 4)

In addition, Daniel saw how this man’s son that became king after him, Belshazzar, was judged by God as unfit for the position he was occupying and taken away in death the very night he was judged. But this man had been forewarned about the looming disaster. Why did he do nothing about it? Procrastination, most likely! Appararently, this man had no idea that the judgment God had announced was coming on him the very night of the day Daniel warned him. He probably thought he had more time to fix things. Unfortunately, he died that same night and lost his position to another, just the way God had said. (Cf. Dan 5)

Furthermore, as we see in our opening bible text, God told Shebna, the palace administrator during the reign of King Hezekiah, that He was going to judge him, break his power and send him far away to a strange land to die there. Exactly what this man did to merit this kind of judgment we are not told. But it is evident from the context of the text that he had been abusing his power and acting in arrogance, thinking he was some mighty man. In fact, he had even prepared an expensive tomb for himself in some choice place, as though he were in charge of his own future. But God, speaking through His prophet, Isaiah, said that He would uproot him from his position of power, throw him away like a ball and replace him with a better man. (Cf. Isaiah 22:15-24)

So, regardless of how mighty you think you are now, be careful. Yes, watch how you use that might or power that you have. That is because God, the owner of all might, power and dominion, is watching your every move. And if you are already failing Him, He may, at some point, have to show you that He has the power to uproot from your secure position and throw you away to a place where you may remain useless or irrelevant for the rest of your earthly life. How soon can He do this? It can be as soon as now. So, waste no time to repent of every abuse of your position or power. That may just be the difference between elevation and disgrace for you.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2021 Pastor's Desk

Why you may miss the supernatural | Pst. J.O. Lawal

from pastor's desk

Date: July 25, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk
| Number: Vol. 10, No. 12

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour. It is with great delight that I welcome you to the last week of the month of July 2021. And I pray that God will keep the eyes of your spirit illuminated to always distinguish what is spiritual from what is natural, so that you will never again miss His provisions for your peace and exaltation. Amen.

One of the reasons many of God’s people today often miss His provisions for their peace and prosperity is the erroneous belief that the spiritual always has to be spectacular or grand. But the spiritual isn’t always spectacular or impressive. I mean that it is not every time that God’s healing, deliverance, transformation or exaltation comes in an amazing way. And if we do not understand this, we are likely to miss or even reject what He has sent to us because it does not appear to us in a spectacular way.

For example, after Jacob had left his father’s house for Haran, he decided to pass the night in a certain place that offered him little or no comfort. All he could get in the place was a stone that he used in place of a pillow. But right in that same place, he dreamt of God, of His angels and of heaven. He even received a word of blessing from God’s mouth in that dream. And when he woke up, he was terrified and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it…How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” (Gen 28:16-17NIV)

So, God can be very much present in a place, and we may not know it, if our eyes are not opened to see Him. And you know that God is always actively present in all the meetings of His people, for Jesus has said to us, “Where two or three of you come together in my name, there am I in their midst.” But how many of us always take this very seriously, so that we may take advantage of it? How many of us always function with the consciousness that when we come together with other people of God, the Lord is there with us, watching everything we are doing and ready to reward our faith in Him or punish our misbehaviour? (Cf. Matt 18:20; Acts 5:1-11)

A lack of understanding of these things is the reason many attend church meetings week after week and do not experience the miraculous in any tangible way. It is also the reason many go from prayer mountains to prayer mountains and from prophets to prophets, seeking miracles that are not lost. To say the fact, the miracles many are running up and down to find could have easily taken place in their local Christian assembly, if they had taken the presence of God in their meetings very seriously.

See, you can be in a meeting that is so full of the power of God and not know it or experience it, simply because your mind is spiritually dull of understanding. Paul says this to us: “When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present…” (1Cor 5:4NIV) Did you see that? Anytime we are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, His power is present with us to save, heal, deliver, exalt and even judge evil. And all we need is to recognise this, even though we cannot see it or feel it, and take advantage of it to change our situations for the better.

But when our minds are dull of spiritual understanding, we will be looking for the wrong things in our meetings. We may be looking for some great music, thinking that is where the power lies. Or we may be looking for someone that will scream the word of God into our heads or someone that will spice us up with some sweet words to pray or someone that will do something that will make us shake or have goose pimples. And when we don’t see these things, we may conclude that God is not active in those meetings, if He is there at all.

Now that is a sure way to miss God’s power and provisions for us. While nothing is wrong with having great music, great preaching or loud praying in believers’ meetings, it is not these things that make God’s power or blessings available to people. Rather, it is God Himself. Yes, it is His presence in our lives or our meetings that makes His power available for our enjoyment. Therefore, if, instead of putting our faith to experience the miraculous in Him, we put it in some spectacular performance from people, we will not experience His power that we are seeking to experience. It is as simple as that.

All of this is why we must continually pray that God will keep our hearts right, so that they will not be led astray by the spectacular and miss the supernatural. And may He grant this request in your case, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Know who you take things from | Pst J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: July 21, 2021                | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 4, No. 10

“Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost.  “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.” (Prov 23:6-8NIV)

From what we see in the bible, love must be the motivation for anything we do in life (1Cor 16:14). Therefore, anything that is not based on love will be rejected by God as useless, regardless of how grand it may be in the sight of men. And since that is how it is with God, since He will not accept from our hands anything that is not based on love, we too must study not to accept from people anything that is not based on love.

The point I am making is that it is not every gift or act of kindness from people that we can accept or must accept. It is true that love does not just give but also receives. But it is not every gift that people give or everything that looks like an act of kindness or generosity from them that is borne out of love. And it will be wisdom for us to be able to tell when what someone is trying to give to us or do for us is not being motivated by love, so that we may reject it. Otherwise, someday, we may have to pay a very costly price for something that we thought was free.

For example, in our opening bible text, we are warned not to eat the food or delicacies of anyone that we know as stingy. Why? It is because stingy people always think more about the cost of what they want to give out than their relationships with those they want to give to. So, their giving is hardly motivated by love but by necessity. This being the case, you cannot trust them to give you anything of quality. And even if they should give you something of quality, it will certainly come with a price.

Now, of course, once you receive the gift or help of a stingy person, you will have to say ‘Thank you’ to them. But as Solomon further tells us in that bible text, soon enough, you will realise that you have wasted your compliments or thanksgiving. Why? It will either be because what they have given you or done for you is utterly worthless or that the price you have to pay in order to use or enjoy it is even greater than thing itself. Then you end up blaming yourself for receiving their gifts or allowing them to help you.

Therefore, if you don’t want to be wasting your compliments on anybody, if you don’t want some so-called gift or help done for you by some person to eventually become a terrible burden for you, know who you receive things from and what you receive from them. Some people are not stingy but arrogant. These ones like to boast, even to the point of exaggeration, about what they do for others. So, you can always expect them to take more credit for whatever they do for you or give to you than they deserve. And if care is not taken, at some point, they may start making everybody believe that they made you. So, regardless of how needy you may be, mark them and do your best to stay away from their help or gifts. Or someday you may regret ever receiving anything from them. (Cf. Gen 14:21-24)

Then some others only give to others and do things for them for the sole purpose of being able to use them at some point or trap them. That means their help or gift is either a bribe or a trap and not a love sacrifice (1Sam 18:20-21). You equally must do your best to stay away from their help or gifts, even if you are in serious need of what they are offering. Otherwise, whatever you receive from them may end up leading to your fall or enslavement. And may God fill your heart continually with wisdom to know what sort of help or gift is not good or appropriate for you to accept, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2021 Pastor's Desk

Recognize, embrace and bless them | Pst. J O. Lawal

Since God our Father is a finisher of everything He sets his hands on to do, we too, as His children, must cultivate the culture of finishing every good thing we lay our hands on to do

Date: July 18, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 11

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of July 2021. I pray that the Spirit of God will keep your heart right, so that you will never miss His visitation in your life through your rejection or poor treatment of the people He has appointed for your elevation, prosperity and peace of mind. Amen.

As we see in the bible, God has wonderful plans for all His children. In fact, Paul tells us that God’s plans for us are so great and wonderful that our minds cannot fathom or handle them. So, it will take His Spirit to make them known to us and guide us into a full enjoyment of them. (Cf. 1Cor 2:9-12) However, the Spirit of God does not always work alone in accomplishing God’s purpose in the lives of men. Many times, He uses others that He has trained, gifted and built up in certain ways to bring about what God wants in their lives. And unless they recognize, accept and treat well those He has raised up in this manner for the fulfilment of His wonderful plans in their lives, they may never experience a realization of what He has planned for them in life.

For example, our Lord Jesus was sent by God to first seek out the lost sheep of Israel before He would go to the rest of the world with His free gift of salvation (Matt 10:5-6 & 15:24). That was why they were the first to hear His messages of grace and to benefit from His anointing to heal, deliver and restore. But did they accept and relate to Him well? No! Instead, as a nation, they rejected, abused, persecuted and eventually killed him. (Cf. John 1:10-13)

Now what about His own people, those of His hometown, where had been brought up? Did they accept Him, even if it was out of tribal sentiments? No! On the contrary, what He experienced among them was even worse than what He experienced in other places. Look at what Mark says about this: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith…” (Mark 6:5-6NIV) Did you see that? These people’s unbelief shocked the Lord to the bones. So, though He was anointed of God to bless them in many significant ways, He could not.

In any case, towards the end of His ministry among the people of His country, He wept for their capital city, Jerusalem, and said these thought-provoking words: “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”” (Luke 19:42-44NIV) Also, He said, “”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”” (Matt 23:37-39NIV)

Look at that. Those people had been praying and waiting, all along, for God to come and save them. But when He sent the Saviour they needed to them, they did not receive Him. Why? It was because they did not recognise Him as their Saviour. So, He told them that their house would remain desolate until they recognised, welcomed and blessed Him as the Saviour sent to them by God.

In like manner, until we too recognise, accept and bless those God has sent by His Spirit to guide, build up, heal or exalt us, our lives will remain stagnant and desolate in many ways. That is why one key prayer we must continually offer for ourselves is that the people and things God has provided or sent for our lives to be what they ought to be will not be hidden from us. So, again, my prayer for you, as you continue your journey in this life, is that your heart will be set right to recognise and embrace appropriately the people and things God has provided for your life to be what it ought to be, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Share your prosperity as well – July 14, 2021

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus Number: Vol. 4, No. 9

“When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.” He sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa and Racal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.” (1Sam 30:26-31NIV)

As we see in Scriptures, God’s people must learn to bear one another’s burdens. In other words, they must learn to be there for one another in their moments of trials or pains. That is because it is one of the things that show that we see ourselves as members of the same body of Christ and also love one another. (Cf. Gal 6:2; Phil 2:1-4)

To say the fact, there have been people that left the fellowship of the brethren because they were abandoned or ignored in their moments of need. And even now, there are people who are no longer taking their fellowship with other people of God seriously because they have been offended along this line. Certain trials of life came upon them, and they expected the people of God in their lives to show concern, even if they could not help. But no one was there for them. Everybody was just busy with their own thing.

So, with time, those people began to see their devotion to Christian fellowship as a waste of time and to seek fellowship elsewhere, where they would be loved, wanted and cherished. And this, in fact, is the reason some people joined some secret cults or help societies. They wanted in their lives and around them people who would not leave or forsake them in their hour of need. While, of course, it is only God can play that role in our lives, it is people that He often uses to do so. And when His own people that are supposed to be readily available to be used by Him to comfort one another in this sense will not make themselves available, others that have inferior things or nothing at all to offer are bound to fill in the gap.   

Therefore, wherever we are, as children of God, we must not get so carried away by our lives’ affairs that we forget to care for other children of God in our lives. We must not be like Cain, whose mantra is ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ We are our brethren’s keepers. And we must take this very seriously, for God will hold us accountable someday for the roles we play or fail to play for their fall, shame or destruction, if any of this should happen to them.

But then, it is important to also note that it is not only our burdens that we should want people to share with us or bear for us but also our prosperity and increase. See, one of the reasons some people of God no longer give themselves to supporting others in their moments of need in any serious way is that they have experienced diverse manifestations of ingratitude from those have helped or supported in the past. You too may know one or two people that you supported at some point in their lives but who, when things began to go well for them, would not let you know about their progress or totally severed their relationship with you. And it is people like such that often kill in us the desire to help or support others.

It is true that God’s children are not to help others or support them because they want their praise or gratitude. Otherwise, they would not have the praise and reward of God for any degree of help they are giving. (Cf. Matt 6:1-4) However, that is not to say that it is wrong for people to show us gratitude for being there for them in their moments of need. It is not wrong but right. In fact, God Himself wants us to learn to be grateful, not just to Him but also to those that He is using to help or comfort us. Otherwise, we will be shutting the door of more or greater help or support against ourselves.

So, if God has used anybody to share your burden or bear your burden in the past, remember to share your prosperity or increase with them in the day of your comfort (Gal 6:6). It will make their hearts leap for joy and also encourage them to help you or others in the future, should they need their help. David once demonstrated his understanding of this, as we are shown in our opening Scripture. He and his men went against certain raiders that had taken their families and possessions away, defeated them and brought back a great plunder. And instead of just taking everything for themselves, David decided to send some of the plunder to the elders of the different towns that had accommodated and supported them, when they were roaming around as fugitives.

Now that is what it means to be grateful. I am saying that to be grateful means to be willing and ready to share your joy, comfort and prosperity with others who have also shared in your burdens or borne them for you. And have you been doing this? Have you really been sharing the good things of your life with the people that have been there to share the bad ones with you? If you have not, you are wrong and need to repent. Otherwise, it is not only yourself that you will be shutting the doors of future help against but also some others that you may not even know.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2021 Pastor's Desk

He can make you forget all your trouble | Pst. J.O. Lawal

Date: July 11, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 10

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Welcome to another week of the month of July. My prayer for you is that God will cause you to experience in it things that will make you forget your years of trouble and all the evil things people have done to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, even though Joseph eventually became a very great man, according to the plans of God for him, the road to greatness was a very rough one for him. First, it was members of his own family, his own blood brothers, that ganged up against him and sold him into slavery. Why? It was because they were envious of him and also bitter against him. They did not like the fact that their father loved him more than all of them and did not hide it. Also, they did not like the fact that he was always reporting their bad behaviours – they weren’t just pleased with the fact that his life was upright and not twisted like theirs. In addition, they did not like the fact that he was the one always having dreams of becoming greater than everybody. So, they did all they could to get rid of him. (Cf. Gen 37)

But because God loved him and would not abandon, he found himself as a slave in the house of a man who appreciated his uprightness and industry and permitted him to thrive. Therefore, after a while, he became the most important person in his master’s house. He became the manager of this man’s wealth and servants and everything going on in his household. Unfortunately, just about when his life seemed to be taking shape again, the wicked forces that were determined to destroy his life moved his master’s wife to take immoral and foolish steps that landed him in the prison. (Cf. Gen 39)

Yet God would not abandon this young man, even in the prison. Instead, He caused him to be favoured again and to meet a very influential person that eventually opened the door to greatness and peace of mind for him (Gen 40). And here is what the bible says concerning him, when he eventually had his firstborn some years later: “Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”” (Gen 41:51NIV)

Think about that. God made Joseph forget all his trouble and all the bitter things he suffered from the hands of his own brothers. In other words, God brought about circumstances that took away all his pains, sorrows, regrets and even anger against those who offended him. So, he was able to live the rest of his life in prosperity, gladness and peace of mind. What a marvellous thing!

In like manner, the same God who made Jospeh forget all his trouble and bitterness of soul is able to make you too forget all your trouble, sorrows, pains and even anger against those whom Satan has used or is using to hurt or torment you. Yes, He is able to bring about in your life circumstances that will make you totally forget what it looks like to suffer or be in distress. All you need to do is to trust Him wholeheartedly and have the right attitude as did Joseph, and He will bring you to that place in life where your heart will be so occupied with gladness that you will have no time to cry, regret or think of taking vengeance on anyone for what they did to you.

See, people who have time to blame, hate and seek vengeance against others are like that because they have not experienced certain measure of the joy of the Lord. But if such people are thrown into the rivers of His joy and are overwhelmed by it, all their anger, complaints and hatred will vanish, and their focus will simply be on enjoying the fullness of the blessings God has bestowed on them. What, then, do you want? Is it to live the rest of your life complaining, hating and blaming others for the roles they played in your miseries and misfortunes? Or is it to live the rest of your life in the fullness of the joy of the Lord, where you have no time to remember the failure and pains of the past or the wickedness of those treated you shamefully?

As for me, I will live the rest of my life with a heart that is free of hate, sorrow, bitterness or vengeance and that is only occupied with joy and thankfulness to God. That is because I am certain that He is causing all things, including the wickedness of men towards me, to work together for my good and progress and for the praise of His glorious name (Rom 8:28). And I pray that you too will find strength in Him to have in you the same mind, in Jesus’s precious name. Amen.

Do have a fabulous week.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Exalt the man with the solution | Pst J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: July 07, 2021 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 4, No. 8

“So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”” (Gen 41:41NIV)

As the bible shows us, when Pharaoh of Joseph’s time had two dreams that troubled him, he lost no time to summon all the magicians and wise men of the land to come and interpret them for him. Why did he do that? It must have been because they had been interpreting dreams or solving very difficult riddles for him in the past. But on that occasion, none of them could tell him the meaning of his dreams. (Cf. Gen 41:1-8)

Now, while this king was yet troubled and wondering what those dreams he had could mean, one of his officials, who had benefited immensely from Joseph’s gift of interpreting dreams, remembered that the young man was gifted to handle such matters. So, even though he knew that Joseph was not their citizen but a foreigner, slave and prisoner, he still recommended him to Pharaoh. And did he disappoint him or not? No, he did not disappoint him at all.

On the contrary, as the bible further shows, he delivered beyond everybody’s expectations, including Pharaoh. That was because he not only interpreted the king’s dreams, he also told him the solution to the problem at hand. So, without wasting time, Pharaoh set him free from the prison and put him in charge of the whole country. (Cf. Gen 41:9-57)

But Joseph was merely a foreigner and a young man too. What does it matter? This young foreigner came up with solutions that could make the nation richer and greater and also keep it from going into extinction. And that was at a time that all the old magicians and wise men in the land were utterly lost and helpless. So, who should be exalted to manage the affairs of the entire country, if it was not him? None other!

So, Pharaoh did what he had to do. He did what any true lover of his people and their welfare would naturally do. He put Joseph in charge of the whole nation of Egypt. And remember again that he did not do this because somebody recommended the young man or because he was an Egyptian or because he was his family member. Rather, he did this because the young man proved himself as one possessing what it would take to wisely lead the nation and save it from future ruins.

That, of course, is one sure way to make any nation, society, family, business or organisation experience true progress and safety. We look beyond people’s tribe, ethnic group, colour, social status, sex, age or family relationship to what they are actually capable of doing to make life better for all in determining what we recommend them for or what position we place them in life. Unfortunately, we don’t usually do this, when we are given an opportunity to recommend or put people in certain offices or positions that require some level of competence or intelligence to handle. What we usually do is to recommend for or put in those positions our friends, families, neighbours, tribal or town’s people, religious group members and so forth, even when we know quite well that they are not fit for them.

Why, then, do we act like this? Sometimes, it is because we want people who will always be loyal to us to be in positions where we can use them for our own benefits. At other times, it is because we want the praise or approval of men, especially those close to us or related to us. Then, there are also times that we do this because we want to reward people for certain acts of kindness they have done for us or to us.

Now is it really wrong to have people who are loyal to us occupying certain positions of advantage in life? No! Or is it wrong to use our position to elevate or promote the welfare of others, especially those who are related or close to us in one way or the other? No! Then is it wrong to reward people for the good they have done to us in the past, when we are in a position to do so? No!

However, if we recommend for or put someone in a position they are not competent to handle, we will certainly be hindering the progress of whatever society or organisation we want them to serve, regardless of how loyal they may be to us. And if we want to use our position to elevate or promote the welfare of others close to us or to reward them for whatever good they also have done to us, we should mind their level of competence or capability in determining what we do for them. That means we should elevate, promote or reward them on the basis of their competence or capability. Otherwise, we will never be able to build lives, institutions, organisations or societies that are strong, healthy, fruitful, productive, safe and progressive, regardless of how hard we try.

So, next time you are thinking of exalting someone or recommending someone for elevation, think about these things. Exalt or recommend the man or woman with leadership solutions or competence and not just anybody you feel like picking. By doing so, you may just be saving all of us from years or decades of hardship and pains.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2021 Pastor's Desk

How you hinder His provisions | Pst. J.O. Lawal

Date: July 04, 2021 | Number: Vol. 10, No. 9

Beloved: grace and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great joy that I welcome you to the first week of the month of July 2021. And I pray that you will be kept from doing anything in the month that will hinder the flow of God’s provisions into your life and home, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of the things that can hinder the flow of God’s provisions into our lives or our access to His provisions for us is stinginess, stinginess to God and to the people He wants us to be generous to. For instance, in addressing His people through Prophet Haggai, God says the following:

“”Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.”” (Hag 1:7-11NIV)

Did you see that? God, in this bible text, is taking responsibility for the failure and poverty that His people are experiencing. In other words, He is the one preventing them from experiencing His blessings in their lives and affairs. But why? As He points out, it is because they are not generous to Him. All of them are busy building their own houses and taking care of their personal businesses. But they will not do the same for the house of God in their midst. They just won’t commit their time or resources to building it. Therefore, they began to experience labour loss. And as God further tells them, until they repent and start using their time and resources to build His temple, things will not get any better for them.

In like manner, if we too ignore the work of God’s kingdom, if we will not commit our time and resources to doing it, we will block the flow of His blessings in our lives. Yes, He has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3). However, we can hinder the activity of His blessings in our lives through selfishness and stinginess. So, though we are blessed beyond measure, we may also find ourselves being frustrated beyond measure in life, that is, because of our stinginess.

Also, speaking through Malachi, God accuses His people of stealing from Him by not being faithful in bringing their tithes and offerings to take care of His priests, the poor people in the land and the strangers among them. That means when we keep for ourselves what God wants us to give out to others, we are stealing from Him. How, then, are we going to steal God’s properties and still expect His blessings to freely flow in our lives? It won’t work. (Cf. Malachi 3:8-12)

Furthermore, God says that even when these people bring Him offerings, it is blind, lame and diseased offerings they bring to Him. Think about it. These people are so shameless that they bring to God things they will not offer to their bosses, governors or even in-laws. And this gets Him so angry that He tells them to just shut the doors of their temple altogether and stop bringing Him useless sacrifices and offerings. If He, then, considers what they are bringing to Him as useless, will He reward them for it? No! (Cf. Malachi 1:6-14)

In the same vein, if we too are stealing from God by not being generous to the people He has commanded us to be generous to, we will be shutting the windows of His provisions against ourselves, as the people of Malachi’s day were doing. And if we are giving for His work or to those He wants us to give to blind, lame and diseased offerings (things that are beneath us and beneath His grace on our lives), we will have no reward from Him for our giving, whether here on earth or in His eternal kingdom. How sad would it be, then, if I found out someday that all my giving had been done in vain? It would be really sad.

But then, someone may say, “But the bible says we are to give on the basis of what we have and not what we do not have. And that is what I am doing. Why, then, should God or anyone say that I am not giving enough?” True talk! But that person must also understand that God knows everything we have. So, He can tell when what we are giving out of what we have is something beneath His grace on our lives. And when that is the case, we are cheating Him and so can get nothing from Him for our giving. Therefore, pay close attention to your devotion to generosity because God is also paying close attention to it. And I pray that He will always find you faithful in these matters, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a pleasant week.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)