Month: November 2021

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2021 Pastor's Desk

Be faithful in your service to Him | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: November 28, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Vol. 10, No. 30

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to the last Sunday of the month of November 2021. I pray that the goodness of God will overflow your life and home throughout the remaining days of the month and also the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I want to admonish you to take your service to God seriously and handle it wholeheartedly. Why? First, it is so that God can use it to accomplish His purpose in the lives of men. When we do not serve God wholeheartedly and according to His will, we may taper with the results He wants to get with whatever we are doing. And that will not be for our good or the good of those we are serving on His behalf.

For example, though the Jews of the earthly days of our Lord Jesus had priests, teachers of the law, Pharisees and Sadducees, who were ministering to them, the Lord still said that they were like sheep without a shepherd. In other words, the ministry of their religious leaders was not achieving the purpose of God in their lives. Why? Was it because something was wrong with them? No! Rather, it was because most of these religious leaders of theirs were hypocrites, whose hearts were not truly devoted to serving God according to His will. (Cf. Matt 9:35-36; Matt 23)

Now if we compare their ministry to that of the first seven deacons of the church, we see a great difference. That is because even though these deacons were not ordained to preach but to handle the sharing of food among God’s people, their ministry still resulted in the spread of the word of God and the growth of the church. Why? It was because they ministered with hearts that were faithful to God. So, if we are faithful in our service to God, He is able to use whatever we are doing, however insignificant it may seem to men, to accomplish His good purpose in people’s lives. But if we are not faithful, as I said before, we will most likely hinder or destroy His work. (Cf. Acts 6:1-7)

Yes, of course, there are times that God ignores people’s unfaithfulness in serving Him and still accomplishes His purpose through what they are doing. For example, there was a time that Moses and Aaron disobeyed Him and still got results. In other words, in spite of the disobedience of these men, God still performed a miracle for His people through what they did. But did they get rewarded for their unfaithfulness? No! Instead, they got severely punished for it. (Cf. Num 20:1-13)

Also, when we look at the life of Samson, we see that one main lesson it teaches us is that it is possible to be unfaithful to God in our lives or in our service to Him and still be seeing Him at work in what we are doing. But then, as we also see through His life’s story, if we continue to act in unfaithfulness in our lives or service to God, there will certainly come a time in which He will have to allow us to face the consequences of our unfaithfulness, which may be too much for us to handle. (Cf. Judges 13-16)

So, if you are unfaithful in your service to God, know that there will be consequences. One of them is that you won’t be receiving any reward or praise from Him for whatever you are doing. And the forms other consequences may take is not something I or anyone else can talk about. But they may be very grievous. All of this is why you need to watch the quality of service you are giving to God. Remember that He cannot be deceived or mocked. That means what you sow is what you will get. (Cf. Ps 18:25-26; Gal 6:7-8)

If you sow deception, unfaithfulness or hypocrisy in your service to Him, the fruit you will reap will show it. And if you sow faithfulness, diligence and love in your service to Him, the fruit you will reap will also show it. So, stop lying to yourself about your service to God and face the truth about its quality. Yes, examine and test the quality of your service to God in the light of His word in order that you may do what is needful. Otherwise, you will have only yourself to blame when He begins to treat you as your service deserves. I pray that you will not end up losing your reward for serving Him or get severely punished for not serving Him appropriately, in Jesus’ 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

Find your strength in Him | By: J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: November 24, 2021 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 4, No. 29

“David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.” (1Sam 30:6NIV)

Why was David distressed on the occasion mentioned in the bible text above? He was distressed because his fighting men were talking about stoning him? But why were they talking about stoning him? It was because each of them was bitter in spirit because their wives, sons and daughters had been taking captive by the Amalekites. And they blamed him for it. They blamed him for it because he was their leader that took them far away from their family without leaving some armed men behind to protect them.

So, in a sense, David was actually to blame for their misery. But stoning him or killing him in any way was not going to bring their wives, children and possessions that had been captured back to them. Also, it could not in any way have brought comfort to their hearts or taken away the sorrow of losing their loved ones. But because they allowed their distress to overwhelm them, they totally forgot that David had always been a good, kind and reliable leader to them all and to their families and began to think of killing him.

Perhaps you too are in a similar situation right now. You made a mistake or certain circumstances have come up against you that are threatening to destroy you or your reputation. And instead for the people that you have loved and cared for to show some sympathy and help you walk in victory over what you are faced with, all they can think or talk about is how to punish you for allowing your problem to become their personal problem or how to make sure your problem does not become their personal problem.

Now how you respond in such situations will go a long way in determining whether they go from bad to worse or are turned around by God for your good. In David’s case, though he must have felt really bad that his men and friends, whom he loved dearly and had been taken care of, could be so selfish in that situation that all they could think about was killing him instead of rallying round him to find a solution to their common predicament. Nevertheless, he did not fight or argue with them. Why? First, it must have been because he admitted in his heart that what happened was partly his fault. He overlooked a part of his leadership function, which was to secure the lives and properties of his people. So, in that instance, he failed them.

Second, David did not fight or try to defend himself before his men on this occasion because he knew that it would not solve their problem. On the contrary, it would only make an already bad situation worse. So, instead of trying to defend himself, he turned to God for comfort, strength and restoration. And did he find these things, which he could not find in his warriors and friends, in Him or not? He did. As the account further shows us, David not only found strength and comfort in God on this occasion, he also found victory over his enemies in Him. He was able, through God’s enablement, to defeat those who had taken his people captive, take back everybody and everything they had captured and also take the goods of these enemies of his. (Cf. 1Sam 30)

How seriously we need such leaders like David today, leaders who will admit their wrongs when they are wrong instead of acting in arrogance, leaders who will seek God’s face and take every step within their power to solve the problems of their people instead of trading blames? Unfortunately, what we have in many places of authority today are selfish, self-occupied and arrogant leaders, who busy themselves with fighting and insulting everyone that is pointing out their flaws instead of admitting their failures and dealing with them.

In any case, you don’t have to be a leader to be in a situation similar to David’s. And if you too will look to God for your comfort, strength, boldness and wisdom to do the right thing, you will certainly walk in victory over whatever that situation throws at you. But if, instead of doing this, you give in to bitterness, quarrelling or blame trading, you will soon enough realise that you have made a bad situation worse for yourself and others. And the following consequences may not be pleasant at all.

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

Don’t let them condemn you | Pst. J.O. Lawal


Date: November 21, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 29

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of November 2021. I pray that it will overflow with the goodness and favour of God for you and your home, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this new week, let me remind you of the words of Paul, which say, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col 2:16-17NIV) What is the point this apostle is making here? It is that we must not allow anyone to judge us according to the Law of Moses.

But why will Paul say this? It is because we will often come across people who will want to judge us according to this law. Yes, we will often find people who will want to measure our standing before God on the basis of our commitment to this law and ruin our liberty in Christ (Gal 2:4-5). I, for example remember how, when we just started holding church meetings, one of the ladies that joined our choir began to complain about some our sisters that wore trousers to church meetings. And when I asked to know why she was doing this, she said it was because what they were doing was not in agreement with what the bible says. And what part of the bible is she referring to? Evidently, it is the part in which we have the Law of Moses.

Unfortunately, this same sister used to wear trousers when she was not in church meetings. And when I asked her, “But I have seen you in town a number of times in trousers. If it is not wrong for you to wear them outside church meetings, why, then, should you think it is wrong for others to wear them to church meetings?” But instead of giving me a direct answer, she just said, “I just know that it is wrong, according to the bible, for a lady to wear what pertains to a man.” And that was how she stopped attending our church meetings altogether.

Now that is nothing but hypocrisy. It is hypocrisy to accept that something is wrong according to the God’s word and yet be doing it, whether openly or secretly. It is also hypocrisy to condemn in others what you yourself are doing. It gets even worse when you are condemning the innocent. And there are many of God’s children today who still wrongly condemn other children of His. Why? It is because they are not paying attention to the truth of Scriptures.

For example, as Paul shows us in that bible text above, one of the truths which many do not pay attention to is that the Christian must not allow himself to be judged at all on the basis of the Law of Moses. Why? It is because that law was never given to him by God. Rather, it was given to the Israelites when they just came out of Egypt as their national law and was later set aside by God after Jesus had fulfilled it and introduce a new and living way to serve Him. (Cf. Ex 24:12; Acts 15:1-29; Heb 8-10)

Is all this to say that the Christian cannot learn anything about God from the Law of Moses? No! He can learn a lot from it. And he should do his best to learn all he can from it. However, as Paul further shows us, that law is simply a shadow of what God wants His people to know about Him and life. The truth is in Christ Jesus. That means if you really want to know the truth about God and about life, it is the Lord Jesus Christ that you have to give your attention to. He is the way, the truth and the life. And no one can come to God or know God or life apart from Him. (Cf. John 14:4) So, it is the truth that is revealed in Scriptures about Him that we ought to pay attention to and get ourselves busy with. Also, it is the truth that is revealed about Him in Scriptures that we should always use as our basis for interpreting other things that are said in them. That is because it is the truth about Him that will make us free to live the kind of life God wants us to live.

All of this is why we must not allow anybody to pressure or trick us into living any kind of life that is not in agreement with what is revealed about our Lord Jesus in Scriptures. And it is also why we must refuse to feel bad or sad because certain individuals are angry with us for not embracing the law of Moses or some traditions of men that are contrary to the truth of Jesus. But we will feel sad or even succumb to the pressure of those who may want to lure us away from the truth of Jesus with their false religion or devotion, if we do not know the truth that is taught about Him in Scriptures and continue in it. So, make it your business to keep learning and acting on the truth revealed about Him in the Scriptures. And you will never be a victim of anybody’s error or excesses.

Do 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)