Month: March 2022

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

The reward of the Lord’s anointed | Pst. J.O. Lawal |March 27, 2022. |Number: Vol. 10, No. 47

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the last week and days of the month of March 2022. I pray that God will cause His favour to overwhelm your life in the week and drive all kinds of good and wonderful things that you will never be able to get through hard work to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now it is not enough for us to be praying to God to cause His favour to overwhelm our lives and make amazing things happen to us. It is equally important that we too are doing things that will cause His favour to work for us. And one of such things is being generous to those anointed by Him to feed us with His word, pray for us and lead us to walk in the path of His righteousness. Look at what our Lord Jesus says about this: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” (Matt 10:40-42NIV)

Did you see that? Anyone who receives an anointed person of God because he believes that he is truly sent of God will certainly receive the reward of that anointed person. Even if it is just a cup of cold water that he gives him, he will not fail to receive his reward. What that reward will be, however, is not what anyone can say. It all depends on how God leads or moves that anointed person to bless the one involved.

For example, the reward that the Shunammite woman got from God through Elisha was a son that Satan couldn’t take away, having been barren for years (2Kings 4:8-37). Also, the reward that the widow of Zarephath got from God through Elijah was the preservation of her life and her son’s life during a terrible period of famine in their land (1Kings 17). And the reward that Mary, the sister of Martha, got from the Lord Jesus for her generosity to Him was a name that will always be mentioned and praised in God’s kingdom and wherever the gospel is preached (Matt 26:6-13).   

So, no one can actually predict how God will reward those who relate in generosity to His servants. But He will surely reward them with things that money, hard work or intelligence can never get. Unfortunately, many of us are missing these things not because we cannot have them but because we are stingy, selfish or insensitive. What will a cup of cold water cost any of us? Nothing much! Yet many of us have been missing the rewards that could be ours just by regularly giving our men and women of God some cups of cold water. Just think about it

Now am I saying that you are to start pursuing your pastor or leader in church with cups of water everywhere he goes, whether he is thirsty or not? No! Or am I saying that as long as you are giving your church leader cups of cold water, you have done all that God requires of you? No! Of course, if all you can indeed afford to give to support your church leader or the Lord’s anointed sent to you is a cup of water, it is fine. God will surely reward you for it, according to His standards. 

But the truth is that many of us can do far better than that. And the Lord will not expect us to do any less. Otherwise, we will be cheating ourselves. Look at what He says in the Law of Moses to His people about this: “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.” (Mal 1:14NIV) Did you see that? Well, thank God we are not under any kind of curse because Jesus has taken care of all curses for us. However, this is written down to teach us that it is a sign of utter disrespect to God to give Him or His servants among us less than He has blessed us to give. It was, in fact, that kind of thing that got Ananias and his wife Sapphira killed instead of being greatly rewarded by Him (Acts 5:1-11).

Now my prayer is that we will not get injured, killed or demoted where we ought to have been richly rewarded by God with all kinds of beautiful things. But we too need to cultivate the right attitude in our generosity to God and to those He is using to minister to us. And may His good Spirit make this so for us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2022, 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 Youth for Jesus

When your survival depends on it | Pst. J.O. Lawal | March 23, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Vol. 4, No. 45

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”” (1Kings 17:7-9NIV)

Why did Elijah go to the widow at Zarephath during the years of famine that the nation of Israel experienced in his time? It was because the Lord asked him to do so. The Lord had been supernaturally taking good care of this man during those days of famine, even though he was not working. He had been sending some birds to bring him food both in the morning and in the evening. (Cf. 1Kings 17:1-6)

So, here is our first lesson from this account: the Lord is able to take care of His people even in a time of famine, regardless of what sort of famine it may be, a famine of food and water or a famine of good jobs. He may not give them all they will need in a year at once. But He will make sure that they are well taken care of, according to every day’s need. And all He wants is for them to always put Him first and to always depend on Him absolutely for all that they need.

Our second lesson from the account is that we must learn to use our resources with an understanding of the times we are living in. God did not feed Elijah three times but two times a day during those years of famine, even though He had the power to do so. And did the man complain or grumble as a result of this? No! Instead, he received every meal, which was the same type all the time, with thanksgiving. That is contentment.

In like manner, we too must learn to be grateful for God’s provisions for us and also to be contented and wise in using them, however little they may be. So, instead of grumbling or complaining that what God is providing for you now is too small, first be thankful for it. Then, as you trust Him to supply you with more, use what He has provided with wisdom. For example, don’t consume in one day what you can actually use for three days, if well managed, and then start complaining that God is unfaithful. He is ever faithful. You are the one being foolish, not understanding how to administer God’s provisions according to life’s seasons.

Well, as the account we are considering goes, some time later, when the brook that Elijah had been drinking water from dried up, God told him to go to Zarephath because He had instructed a widow there to take care of him. So, he was not going to meet a woman that had no clue as to what God wanted her to do but one that had been well instructed by God to minister to him.

But why did God send him to this woman, when He could have kept the brook from drying up and when He could have continued to send birds to bring him food? It was because He wanted to preserve the woman and her son throughout those years of famine. Exactly what the woman did to attract God’s mercy and favour in this manner is what we are not told. But we are told that her survival and the survival of her son depended on her generosity to this man of God that was sent to her.

It was up to her, then, to either do the will of God and be preserved or do her own thing and be destroyed. Thankfully, she did the right thing. Therefore, she and her son were preserved throughout those years of famine. Not only that, her son was rescued from an unexpected death that would have taken him away from her, famine or no famine, if the man of God had not been living with them. (Cf. 1Kings 17:7-24)

In like manner, there are times in life that our survival, exaltation or fruitfulness in certain matters depends on our generosity to certain people. Some of these people, like our parents, church leaders, the poor around us and so forth, have already been revealed to us in the bible. AND WE SHOULD TAKE OUR GENEROSITY TO THEM VERY SERIOUSLY. But there are among them people that we can only recognise by divine revelations. So, our prayer should always be that God, in His kindness, will enable us to recognise such people on time and also strengthen us to do for them what He wants us to do for them, so that we can receive the reward of doing so.

However, we must not allow anybody to use this story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath as a tool for manipulating, threatening or pressuring us to do for them what we are not convinced in our hearts that we should be doing. Even if we are convinced in our hearts that it is the will of God for us to be generous to someone, our generosity to them has to come from a willing and cheerful heart. Otherwise, there will be no reward from God to us for doing so. (Cf. 2Cor 9:6-7)

The widow of Zarephath was not manipulated, coerced or threatened by Elijah to do what she did. Rather, she did what she did because God had already spoken to her about it. So, if God has not plainly revealed it in Scriptures or spoken to you through a revelation about giving to someone or supporting them, don’t give in to any manipulation, threat or pressure to do so. And may you be kept from any devourer that may way to prey on your life or soul on account of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright © 2022, 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 Youth for Jesus

Don’t be used by them | Pst. J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: March 16, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 4, No. 44

“On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.” (Matt 14:6-12NIV)

The bible story of the death of John the Baptist is another confirmation of Jesus’ words that men love darkness instead of light because their works are evil (John 3:19). John the Baptist was evidently a man of God, a true prophet of God. That was, in fact, the reputation he had among his people, the Jews. Therefore, though he stayed mostly in the wilderness, many continually went to him to hear the word of God, to confess their sins and to be baptised in water as a pledge from a heart that is ready to give up sins and live for God.

Now, in his quest to see the land rid of unrighteousness, John preached against the sins of all categories of people. And in doing this, he did not leave out the religious leaders of the land. Instead, he rebuked them severely for their hypocrisies and insincerity. Even soldiers and tax collectors (who were at the time regarded by many as the worst of sinners) were coming to this prophet to learn the way of righteousness. (Cf. Matt 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-18)

However, as the bible further shows us, when John began to rebuke Herod the tetrarch, the king of the land, for his unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife, he had him arrested and locked up (Luke 3:19-20). Sadly, there are still people like Herod today. And you need to be on your guard against them. That is because besides the fact that they do not love to be confronted with the truth, they are also willing to go to any length to punish, harass or harm anyone who confronts them with the truth. These ones must just do something to make you fee that you are wrong or out of line to tell them the truth.

At any rate, as we see in the bible, though Herod had John locked up, he really did not know what to do with him. Why? It was because, just like the rest of the people, he too considered this man to be a true and righteous man of God. He even listened to him preach from time to time, though he would not act on his messages. Why then did he arrest him? It must have been because his lover, Herodias, wanted him to do so. The bible says that this woman nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him because he had spoken against her marriage to Herod. And she would really have killed him, if Herod had not intervened and protected him. (Cf. Mark 6:17-20)

Nevertheless, it was clear that Herod, against his wish and belief, was being used at that time by his lover to harm an innocent man. And to make a bad situation worse, during a birthday celebration of his, he made a careless promise to Herodias’ daughter, a promise on oath to give her anything she wanted up to half of his kingdom, just because the girl impressed him with her dance. Then the girl, knowing that she was not wise enough to make the right request, innocently went to consult her mother. Unfortunately, the woman saw that as an opportunity to use her too. She told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. And as the story goes, she got what she wanted. (Cf. Matt 14:1-12; Mark 6:21-27)

Now that girl could have become one of the richest or most powerful persons in the land that day, if she had made a wise request, as did Solomon when God told him to ask for anything he wanted. But that did not happen at all. Instead, what happened was that she became a tool in the hand of her mother, a tool used by her to destroy an innocent man that did not offend her. Therefore, instead of being remembered today as probably the richest girl that ever lived, she was being remember as the foolish girl that was used by her mother to destroy one the greatest prophets of God that ever lived.

What is the point of all this? It is that we need to be careful in relating to those who have one form of influence or the other over us. Otherwise, they may end up using us for their dirty works or to fight battles that we have no business fighting. I am saying that if we are not careful, even our parents, siblings, family members, friends, lovers, bosses, teachers or neighbours can use us as tools to do things contrary to the will of God. They can influence to waste opportunities given to us by God to change our lives forever or to make our world a better place on meaningless or useless fights or endeavours. And when all has been said and done, all we may have left are regrets and a bad reputation.

So, regardless of how much you love or respect the people in your life, always conduct yourself in a manner that will let them know that you are not someone they can use to do anything they like. Also, be very careful not to seek or take any kind of favour or benefits from people that may enslave you to them or make it possible for them to blackmail you. I pray that God will always keep you safe from the traps of anyone who may be seeking to use you to do evil. Amen.

Copyright © 2022, 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)