Author: Pastor J.O. Lawal

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Never allow Eliab

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 8, No. 22

“When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” (1Samuel 17:28-29)

What did Eliab, David’s oldest brother, hear him discussing with some of the soldiers in the camp of Israel? He heard him discussing what would be given to anyone who killed Goliath and ended the harassment he had been giving the entire army of the nation. And was it wrong of David to ask questi ons about such a matter? No!

See, even though David was not yet in the army at the time, he was a free Israelite like every soldier in that army. So, he had a right to ask questions about anything relating to the welfare of the army and of the nation as a whole. Of course, those he was talking to may refuse to answer him, since he was not their commanding officer. That still wouldn’t change the fact that he had a right to ask them battle related questions.

More so, David was not asking questions that day about what would be given to anyone who killed Goliath simply for the sake of being informed. Rather, he was asking to see if risking his life to confront and kill that giant would come with any meaningful appreciation.

But his oldest brother was not even going to let him speak. He just wanted to shut him up. Why? There was no sensible reason offered in the account. He just did not think David should be talking to any of the soldiers. And since he was far older than him, he was ready to use his age to bully him into keeping quiet.

Now perhaps you too are like that. You like to bully others and shut them up, without making any effort to find out whether they are making sense with their words and actions or not. And you are ready to use any advantage you have over them, which may be age, wealth, education or position, to silence them. You are just another Eliab. You are nothing but a discourager, a killer of good dreams. And anyone that allows you to silence them may never amount to anything in life.

Thankfully, David would not allow Eliab to silence him, even though he was his oldest brother. Of course, he would not insult him or speak disrespectfully to him. Nevertheless, he would not allow him to silence him and put out the fire of greatness burning inside of him. So, he went on to become great as God had ordained him to be.

You too should never allow any Eliab to silence you or put out the fire of greatness or success that God has lighted in you. No, never allow anyone, who has no word of encouragement, comfort or inspiration to give you, to kill you on the inside, Instead, as David turned away from Eliab to talk to others who would tell him what he needed to hear, you too must be ever ready to turn away from any Eliab, regardless of who they may be.

Now you don’t have to be disrespectful to do that. You just need to respectfully and wisely excuse yourself from their discouraging and dream killing words. And may God continually strengthen you to walk in victory over every form of discouragement till you reach His goal for your life. Amen.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: How passionate are you?

Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 14, No. 23

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025. I pray that God will supply whatever is lacking in your passion to be all that He wants you to be in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in Scriptures, one of the things that will determine whether we become the people God wants us to be or enjoy His provisions for us is our passion. If we are passionate enough to be what He wants us to be or to enjoy what He wants us to enjoy, He will see to it that we are not put to shame. That is because the bible says that He is a rewarder of those who diligently or passionately seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

But if we are not passionate at all or enough to be what He wants us to be or to have what He wants us to have, we may not enjoy His goodness at all or as we are meant to, if we are not shown mercy. So, if there is any prayer that we ought to regularly offer, it is that God will daily make our passion for Him and for all that He has in store for us adequate.

For instance, when Prophet Elisha told King Jehoash of Israel to shoot arrows of victory over the Arameans, he shot them only three times. And that got this prophet angry. Why? The reason was that three rounds of victory over the Arameans were not enough to give the Israelites complete freedom from them. They would need as much as six rounds of victory to completely free themselves from their enslavement. (Cf. 2Kings 13:14-19)

Why, then, did their king shoot only three arrows of victory that day? The reason was that he was not passionate enough to totally escape from the cruel bondage of the Arameans. He simply felt that if he could defeat them three times, that should be enough. So, he missed the only opportunity he had to get total freedom for his people from their oppressors. What a shame!

But look at Naaman. Even though Elisha was a prophet of an enemy nation, his passion to be healed of his leprosy made him come to him. And despite his status as the commander of the army of his country, he set aside his pride to do what the prophet told him to do. Why? He was passionate to receive his healing. And did he receive it or not? He did! (Cf. 2Kings 5)

So, even though God does not always look at our passion to do things for us, there are things in life that He will never do for us or make us enjoy, if we are not passionate enough for them. How passionate are we, then, to be what God wants us to be and to do the things He wants us to do? This will show in our attitude towards God’s word, prayer and Christian fellowship.

If we take these things seriously, then, we are truly passionate for God and for what He has in store for us. But if we do not take them seriously, then, we are showing that we don’t care much or at all about the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives. Therefore, we may never experience the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives. And will that be good? No!

So, pray that God, in His mercy, will daily supply all that you lack in passion for Him. That way, His good purpose for your life can be fully realized.

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: When they wouldn’t say anything

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 21

“Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.” (2Sam 13:22NIV)

Why did Absalom hate Amnon? He hated him because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. How? By raping her!Now was Absalom right to hate Amnon? No! But Amnon raped his sister. Yes, Amon raped his sister.

Nevertheless, it was wrong of him to hate Amnon. That was because the law God had given to them says, “Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.” (Lev 19:17NIV)

So, though what Amnon did to Tamar was terrible and unacceptable, Absalom shouldn’t still have hated him. Instead, he should have confronted and rebuked him frankly. In fact, he could have petitioned their father, the king, not to let Amnon go unpunished for his crime. And that may have made the story end differently.

Unfortunately, Absalom did not petition the king about the matter at all. He just kept quiet about it and was watching to see if anything would be done about it. Also, he would not confront Amnon about it at all. In fact, as we see in our opening bible text, he would not say a word to him on the matter, either good or bad.

Instead, he despised and hated him in his heart. And after two years, when it was clear to him that the matter had been swept under the carpet and that justice would not be served, he made his move to kill Amnon and succeeded.

What a pity!Now could Amnon have saved himself from Absalom’s hidden desire to kill him? Maybe! How? Would that be by continually being on guard? Yes, that may work for a while. But remember that Absalom did nothing about the matter for two years. He did not say any word that could make him suspicious.

Also, he did not do anything that could make him suspicious. Instead, he patiently waited for two years before striking him. He waited until everybody had most likely forgotten the matter before making his move.

And if he had needed to wait even for more years, he would still have done so. Why did he wait for as long as he did? The reason was that his heart was already filled with hatred for Amnon. And unless that hatred was removed from him, he would not rest until he was able to punish Amnon and satisfy himself.

So, even if Amnon was on his guard all the time, a day would surely come when he would face the wrath of Absalom. And how adequately prepared would he be that day? No one could tell.

How better, then, could he have handled the situation? He could have handled it better by meeting Absalom and Tamar for forgiveness. At least, it was clear to him that Absalom would not talk to him about the matter at all. That should have informed him that something was off and that whatever it was should be addressed. But he was a spoilt, overprivileged and unrepentant child.

So, he may not have seen any need to make peace with Absalom and Tamar. For him, what had been done had already been done and life must go on. That was why he went to Absalom’s party two years later and was bold, arrogant and careless enough to get drunk.

So, he lost his life cheaply.What is the point of all this, anyway? First, it is that we must learn to make peace with people, if we have offended them. And we should take the doing of this more seriously when those we have offended would not say anything to us about our offence, whether good or bad.

See, it is better for the one you have offended to shout or scream at you and let you know how terrible you are or how bad they feel than for them to keep quiet and act as though what you did was nothing. That is a dangerous sign. It is a sign that they may just be another Absalom. And if you ignore this sign and refuse to make peace with them, their wrath may fall on you when you least expect. So, make every effort to make peace with them when you still have the opportunity to do so. And may God help you.

The second point of this account is that if someone has offended you, deal with it without delay. Yes, confront them with the truth about their offence or error. And if you think that is going to be a waste of time, then, forgive them and forget about it, as God has commanded us to do.

Otherwise, that wound you are refusing to treat may fester and become worse. And where that is the case, you may not know when you will have become another Absalom, ready to murder.

Would God, then, be able to lead you back from your murderous path? No one can tell. He was unable to stop Cain from murdering his brother Abel. And He was unable to stop Absalom from murdering his brother Amnon. So, don’t even allow yourself to get on that path at all. And may God help you.

Amen.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: An unserious generation

Title: An unserious generation

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 22

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the transition week between the months of September and October 2025. My prayer is that God will daily teach your heart never to make any excuse again for not embracing His will for your life, so that all may always go well with you and all that is yours. Amen.

Now I offered that prayer for you because our generation is a generation that is given to making excuses for not doing what is right, as our Lord Jesus Christ has pointed out to us. And if those of us who are children of God will not watch ourselves, we too will find ourselves making excuses all the time for not living in the will of God for our lives.

Just take a look at what Jesus says about this:“”To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”” (Matt 11:16-19NIV)

What do we see here about our generation? We see that it is an unserious one. And that is why it is given to making excuses for not doing the will of God. As our Lord points out in the above bible text, even though He and John the Baptist did not handle their respective ministries in the same manner, both of them came from God to bless humanity. And that is showing us that we are not to judge anybody’s ministry on the basis of external things; rather, we are to judge it on the basis of the fruit it is bearing. If it is bearing the fruit of God’s righteousness, then, it is of God.

But if it is not bearing the fruit of His righteousness, even if it appears holy on the outside, it is not of God. And please keep that in mind.In any case, we see that the Jews of the time of our Lord Jesus Christ would not accept Him or John the Baptist, even though both of them ministered differently. Why? They were just unserious. As we also see in that bible text, John’s way of ministering showed that he did not care much about food, clothing, housing or interaction with people. He just wanted to proclaim the word of God to the whole nation and make them ready for their Messiah.

And whether they listened to him or not, he did not care. So, the people called him a mad man. In other words, their excuse for not accepting him and the word of God that he brought to them was that he was not acting like a normal person. (Cf. Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6)

But when Jesus came and began to minister, He did everything that John would not do. He ate. He drank. He interacted with everybody, including sinners. And one would expect that they would accept Him because He was acting like a normal person. But instead of accepting Him and the word of God that He brought, the people called Him a glutton and drunkard.

Can you now see that they were unserious? Yes, they were unserious and had no intention of taking God seriously. Therefore, they would use anything as their excuse for running away from His will for them and eventually destroy themselves.

Unfortunately, the story is still the same today. Our generation has not changed at all. We are still as unserious as ever. So, we will use anything as our excuse for rejecting God. For example, I read in the news recently of a young influential man that told his reason for saying ‘Bye’ to the church in an interview. And what was his reason?

According to him, he drove early to church one Sunday morning and was asked to park his car outside. And as he was about to do that, he saw that some of those who came after him were asked to park their cars inside. Why? Their cars were more expensive than his.

So, instead of parking his car outside, he just drove back home. And ever since then, he had stopped attending church meetings.Now is it right for anybody to be treated like that in any church? No! But if it is God and the salvation of your soul you are after, you will not allow something like that to drive you away from the church.

However, if you are unserious and not ready to do the will of God, you will use anything, even something as unimportant as the way the chairs in a church are arranged, as your excuse for running away from the church or for changing churches as one would change garments.

Well, the word of God is coming to you now and warning you to stop making excuses for your unseriousness in doing the will of God. That is because none of your excuses will be able to keep you safe on the day that the Lord returns to judge the whole world. So, warn yourself.Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Never arrive there

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 20

“Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.” (Ecclesiastes 4:13NIV)

What is Solomon saying to us in our opening bible text? Is he telling us that young people are by all means better than old people? No! Truly, youthfulness has its own advantages. But that does not mean that old age does not have its own advantages as well. It does.

Therefore, it is faulty reasoning to simply say that it is better to be old than to be young or that it is better to be young than to be old. Both are good. And what can make the one better than the other is the measure of wisdom that is applied in handling it.

Now that, of course, is one of the points Solomon is communicating to us through what he says in that text. He is saying that the fact that you are old, rich, powerful and influential does not mean that you are better than any young person around you or in your life. If you are not walking in wisdom, then, any young person around you that is walking in wisdom is better than you, even if he is poor and unknown.

What, then, does it mean to walk in wisdom? That, actually, is not a simple question to answer. But thankfully, Solomon tells us one of the things that will show that a man is walking in wisdom in that text. He refers to it as the willingness to take and act on counsel, godly counsel. And as he points out, the moment we arrive in that place in our lives where we no longer respect godly counsel, we have become nothing but fools, irrespective of our age or position in life.

Remember that Solomon himself, at some point, arrived in that place in his life where he no longer yielded to godly and scriptural counsel concerning the many strange women in his life. And even though God appeared to him twice to warn him, he still did not listen to Him. So, in his old age, the strange women in his life led him into the worship of idols. That, of course, was the foundation for the loss of the larger part of the kingdom by his household. (Cf. 1Kings 11)

So, when this man is telling us that it is better to be young, poor and unknown and receptive to godly and spiritual counsel than to be old, rich, influential and powerful and be deaf to godly counsel, he knows what he is talking about. That is because that poor and unknown young person can become rich, known and powerful by acting on the godly counsel coming to him. But the one who is already rich, powerful and known can lose everything and be put to shame, even in his old age, if he should begin to despise and reject godly and spiritual counsel.

Never arrive there, then! No, never arrive in that place in your life where you think you already know it all and begin to do away with spiritual and godly counsel. That is because it is a foolish place to arrive in. And once you are there, regardless of how old you are or how far you have come in life, all that you have done or accomplished in wisdom may soon be lost.

So, mind yourself.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Is it what you need to hear?

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 21

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the third week of the month of September 2025. My prayer is that your ears will never again be deaf to the voice of the Spirit of God, so that you will not perish with this world of darkness. Amen.

As we see in the book of Revelation, one of the things the Lord Jesus kept on saying to His churches that He wrote letters to was that the one who had ears to hear should hear what the Spirit of God was saying to the churches. That is telling us that it is not everyone that has ears to hear the voice of the Spirit of God, whether for their promotion or protection. What some people have ears to hear is their own voice or the voice of the devil. So, regardless of what God is saying to them by His Spirit, they cannot hear it.

For example, despite the warning of Prophet Micaiah to King Ahab, this king would not listen to him. His words could not just enter his ears and cause a change of decision, so that he may be protected from the death that was awaiting him in battle. But the words of Ahab’s prophets entered his ears and made him bold to go to a battle that would claim his life. Why? Those prophets told him what he wanted to hear. (Cf. 1Kings 22; 2Chro 18)

So, one of the reasons people become deaf to the voice of the Spirit of God is that they want to hear only what they want to hear. And even if they have to pay someone to tell them what they want to hear, they will gladly do so.

No wonder the bible says:“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2Tim 4:3NIV)

Now perhaps you too are one of those that we are talking about. All the preachers and people that you are listening to are only the ones that will tell you what you want to hear. But is what you want to hear what you really need to hear? If what you want to hear is not what you need to hear, then, you are not different from King Ahab. So, you are already exposing yourself to danger. And if you fail to repent on time, you will surely ruin your life and soul someday.

So, before you turn away from whatever anyone is telling you, first ask yourself whether what the person is saying is what you need to hear or not. And if it is what you need to hear, if it is what will truly benefit your life and set it in the right direction, know that it is the voice of the Spirit of God that is talking to you. Accept it, then, even if it hurts. That will be your wisdom.

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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The fruit of the Spirit

Title: Fellowship (a)|Fruit bearing 9

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This morning, we want to continue from where we left off on ‘Fruit bearing’. We have been looking at what Scripture says about God’s desire for us to be bearing fruit, fruit of the Spirit. And for us to bear fruit as He wants, Jesus says that we must abide in Him. He describes our relationship with Him as that of the vine and the branches. Now for branches to bring forth fruit, they must abide in the tree that they belong to. Otherwise, they would not be able to bring forth fruit. Bearing fruit for any branch is supposed to come naturally. It is not something it should struggle to do. And it will not struggle to do it, if it remains in the vine or in the tree, whatever tree it may be, that it belongs to. In like manner, we must abide in the Lord Jesus Christ in order for us to continually bring forth the kind of fruit He wants us to bring forth and to bring it forth abundantly.

Then I proceeded to show you how to abide in Him. The first thing I mentioned had to do with meditating on His word. We must remain in His word. We must allow His word to remain in us. If we allow His word to remain in us, then, we are going to remain in Him. That involves meditating on His word. It’s not a one-off thing, as I pointed out. It’s something we must continually do. It’s something we must give ourselves to doing every day.

Then I talked about prayer. We must give ourselves to prayer. We have all kinds of Scriptures that point to the fact that we must give ourselves to prayer every day. Why is that important? It is important because prayer is one of the ways we express our dependence on God. It’s one of the ways we show that it is He that we are counting on for everything that we need. Then prayer is one of the ways we receive from God what He has provided. It’s one of the ways we draw from Him what He has freely provided for us.

There are things that God has freely provided for us as we are shown in scriptures. In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 12, we are told that one of the reasons we are given the Holy Spirit is that He may make us understand those things that God has freely given to us. The things God has freely given to us are for our growth. They are for our fruitfulness. It’s the job of the Spirit, then, to make these things known to us. But it doesn’t end there. We also must make efforts to take advantage of these things. One of the ways we take advantage of these things is through prayer. When we pray, we are able to take advantage of what God has provided for us. So, whatever it is that you need to bring forth the kind of fruit God wants you to bring forth, you can receive it from God through prayer. 

There is, then, no excuse for any child of God not to bring forth abundant fruit of the Spirit. There is no excuse. If we would learn to meditate on the Word of God and to also pray, we would be able to take advantage of all of God’s provisions for us to be the kind of people He wants us to be. Keep that in mind.

Another way to abide in Him – because we are looking at abiding in Him so that we can bring forth the kind of fruit He wants us to bring forth –  is to stay in fellowship with His people. Now this may not make sense to anyone that is not given to Scriptures. And you may not see how staying in fellowship with other people of God equals abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ. But Scriptures show us that one of the ways we abide in Him is by staying in fellowship with other believers, especially those of our local assembly.

Why is this so? It is so because we are plainly told in Scriptures that we all are members of the same body, that is the body of Christ. Look at Romans chapter 12, from verse 4: 

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5NIV)

Here, believers are referred to as the body of Christ. And we are told that just as a body has many members, so in Christ, though we are many, form one body. In other words, in Christ Jesus, all of us form one body. And then it goes on to say, “Each member belongs to all the others.” And that’s how things are with our bodies. Each member of your body belongs to all the other members. Each part of your body is a member of all the other parts of the body. That means there is no member of your body that can exist by itself. It has to remain with other members of the body, with other parts of the body for it to exist. Otherwise, it will not exist at all.

Now a member or a part of any body that is going to exist on its own is going to be a severed part of that body. And once it is severed from that body, it is dead. That’s plain and simple. We have had people whose certain parts of their bodies were amputated or severed. Can we still say those parts of their bodies are still members or are still parts of their bodies? No! Or would they keep those parts of their bodies that were severed somewhere? No! The moment they were severed, they would begin to disintegrate; they would begin to smell and give off bad odors. So, nobody was going to keep those severed members with them. They would have to get rid of them.

I am saying that to just let you understand that there is no part of our bodies that is self-existent or that can exist on its own. It has to remain in the body. It has to remain a part of the other parts of the body. So, each part of our body has something to contribute to the growth, development and welfare of the entire body. It doesn’t matter how small that part is. It has something to contribute to the growth, development and welfare of the entire body. There is no part of the body that is there by mistake or that is there by accident. There is no part of our body that is useless. We may not know its function, but there is no part of our body that is useless. Every part of our body has its own functions. And interestingly, there is no other part of the body that can carry out the functions of another part of the body the way that part of the body can carry it out. 

Yes, for one reason or the other, we may be able to do without a certain part of our body. We don’t pray that will happen to us. There are people that have had to do away with certain parts of their bodies. They did that reluctantly. They did that because it was going to ultimately save them, save the other members of the body. But they did so reluctantly. And that’s because there is no part of the body that is useless. And once a part of the body is not there again, the body cannot function as well as it is meant to function again – its functions become limited.

It’s not a mistake, then, that our body is used to explain how the body of Christ operates. It’s not a mistake at all. It is just to make us appreciate the fact that we all belong to one another. And because we all belong to one another, we all have something to contribute to the overall growth and development and welfare of the entire body of Christ. 

As I said before, each part of the body has something that it is contributing to the growth, development and welfare of the entire body. So, it means for the body to be what it is meant to be, all the parts of the body must draw whatever each part of the body has to offer or deliver. They must draw from it. They must take advantage of it.

The entire body relies on the eyes to see, right? And the entire body relies on the ears to hear what is happening around. Is that not correct? The moment the body, however, begins to ignore what the eyes are seeing, what happens? It gets into trouble. The moment the body ignores what the ears are seeing, what’s going to happen? It’s going to get into trouble. 

Now these things happen in our body all the time, even though we are not paying attention to them. All the parts of our body are cooperating for us to survive, even though we are not paying attention to that. In like manner, all the members of the body of Christ must cooperate for us to be all that God wants us to be. The point I’m making is that there is no way any of us can bear fruit the way God wants them to bear, if he is not going to draw from other members of the body of Christ. It is not possible. Each member of the body of Christ has something to offer for you to be as fruitful as God wants you to be. 

See, it does not matter what level of spiritual growth you have attained. It doesn’t matter how well-known you are in the body of Christ or how highly respected you are in the body of Christ. The truth of the matter is that each member of the body of Christ has something to contribute to your growth and development, to your welfare, to your fruitfulness. And if all the other parts of the body of Christ are not contributing what they are meant to be contributing to your growth and development and welfare, you will not be as fruitful as God wants you to be. It’s a simple fact.

And what it means is that even the one among us Christians that we can refer to as the most mature, if we can use that language, can still not be said to have become as mature as he can be, as long as other members of the body of Christ are not contributing all that they are meant to be contributing to his growth and development. Can you relate to what I’m talking about? What I’m saying is that there are many of us that would have become better believers, if other members of the body of Christ have been contributing what they are meant to be contributing to our lives. And many of us would have been more fruitful than we are right now if we are consciously drawing what other members of the body of Christ have to contribute to our growth and development. We need to understand this so that we can begin to make a conscious effort to draw from one another whatever it is that God will want us to draw from one another for our growth, for our development and for our fruitfulness.

This is one of the reasons those who don’t take Christian fellowship seriously cannot grow as they are meant to grow in the body of Christ. They can’t develop as God expects them to develop. They cannot mature in the things of God as God expects them to mature. They may have an appearance of godliness, an appearance of holiness. They may appear to be doing well in the faith. But the truth of the matter is that they are not doing well in the faith. If you go close to them, and you watch their lives, you will see that they are not doing well in the faith as they are meant to be doing or as they can be doing.

Yes, you may say, “I can study Scriptures on my own and meditate on the word of God on my own.” That’s fine. You can and you should be doing that. You can say, “I can pray on my own and get answers from God.” Yes, you can and you should be doing that because the word of God commands you to be doing that. But I’m saying that it is not enough for you to be as fruitful as God wants you to be.

That’s because when you got born again, you got born again into a body. And you cannot be all that God wants you to be without that body. You cannot. It’s not like it is hard for you to be all that God wants you to be without that body. It is impossible for you to be all that God wants you to be without that body. But you will have to learn to make the most of what other members of the body of Christ have to offer you for your growth, development, welfare and fruitfulness in Christ Jesus.

Now Paul says something similar to this in 1 Corinthians 12, from verse 12. Look at it:

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (1Corinthians 12:12-13NIV)

What Paul is talking about here is the body of Christ. And he’s telling us that Christ is not one person; Christ is a body of people. That’s something that you need to pay attention to as a child of God, so that you may know how God views you and where you belong and make the most of your position in the family of God.

Well, Christ is not one person; Christ is a body of people. When we talk about Jesus Christ, Jesus is a person. Jesus is the anointed one. And what we are told in Scriptures is that He is the head, the head of the body of Christ, you see? But I’m saying Jesus is just one person. And if He is the head of the body, that means that body has members, that body has parts. So, every member of that body can be properly referred to as Christ. That’s because the head alone doesn’t make the body. 

The head must have a body, alright? Since Jesus, then, is referred to as the head of the body of Christ, it means He is not the only one we can properly refer to as Christ. All the people that make up that body that He is head over are also Christ. And that is why it also says that we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body. We are all brought together by the same Spirit to form one body. So, we all are members of the body of Christ. He is the head. We are the body. So, we are jointly united; we are jointly connected.

Before we go further here, let me read to you from Ephesians chapter 1, from verse 22. Speaking about Jesus, Paul says: 

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1:22-23NIV) 

God has placed everything under the feet of who? The feet of Jesus! And then He appointed him to be head over who? Over the church! He has been appointed to be head over us. Paul goes on to say that we are His body. So just as we can refer to Him as Christ, and we should refer to Him as Christ because He is Christ, we also can be referred to as Christ. 

Now that may appear strange to the religious mind. So, we may not want to bother the religious mind about that. Because if you say to a religious man, “I am Christ,” it is going to bother him. It is going to disturb him. And he will want to drag things with you. And you don’t need to get involved in any kind of quarrel with anybody. It is not necessary. But you should know that for yourself, that you are Christ. It should be personal knowledge to you.

Think about this: If you are looking for someone, and maybe the person is probably looking over somewhere or bending somewhere, so that you can’t see the person’s head but just the body, you are not going to say, “Oh, that is Joshua’s body.” What are you going to say? That is Joshua! Is that not what you will say? That is what you are going to say. Someone will have to be dead for you to say that is his body. If the person is alive, you are not going to say that is his body. You are going to say that is him. Right? If you are pursuing a thief, and they cannot see his face, but they can see him running somewhere, what are they going to say? They are not going to say that is his body. Rather, they are going to say that is him.

So, we can properly refer to ourselves, all of us who are in Christ Jesus, as Christ. That is because Paul tells us in this text that Christ is the head and we are his body. He even does better in explaining this to us. He refers to us as the fullness of him. Look at it, verse 22 again: “…which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Who are the fullness of Christ? We are the fullness of Christ. We are His completeness. We complete Christ. That’s the point. And that is because it is the same Spirit that has made Jesus Christ that has also made us Christ. It is the same spirit that gave birth to Jesus that has given birth to us. We have not been born by a different Spirit. We have been born by the same Spirit. We have been recreated by the same Spirit. 

Now that’s what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 12. He says by the same Spirit we all have been made or baptized to form one body. So together we make one body. That’s the kind of relationship we have with one another. We are members of one another. And we must keep this in mind, that we are members of one another and that each of us has something to contribute to the growth, welfare, development and fruitfulness of the others. No, we may not have learned enough about how to do this. But each of us is in that position, placed there by God to be able to contribute to the overall growth, development, welfare and fruitfulness of the entire body of Christ.

I really won’t be able to finish up with this this morning. But then, I should say this in advance: the fact that we are saying this, that each of us has something to contribute to the overall welfare, usefulness and fruitfulness of the entire body of Christ, does not mean that everyone that refers to himself as a Christian is able to do the same thing. Because as I’m pressing this further, I am going to show you how each of us is able to contribute to the fruitfulness of the others. That means we must be in proper fellowship with one another for that to happen. It means we must respect one another. It means we must take one another seriously. It means we must relate to one another in unity for that to happen.

But then, we are warned in Scriptures that there are certain individuals that refer to themselves as believers that we must stay away from. So, while I’m saying this, I must also let you know that it’s not every believer or every so-called believer that has something to contribute to your growth or that has something to contribute to your fruitfulness. It is not everyone that refers to himself or herself as a believer that you will interact with and your life will become better.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, from verse 9, Paul says:

“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case, you will have to leave this world. But now I’m writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” (1Corinthians 5:9-11NIV)

Look at what Paul is saying here. He says, “I wrote to you in my letter.” What letter? We do not have that letter. So, evidently, there was a letter before what we’re referring to now as 1Corinthians. Paul had written them a letter before he wrote this one. And in that letter, he told them not to associate with sexually immoral people. Now he is clarifying for them those that he’s actually referring to, those that he’s saying they must not associate with. And he’s saying that I’m not referring to those of this world who are sexually immoral or who are swindlers or who are idolaters. In that case, you will have to leave this world.

So, when the word of God says do not associate with sexually immoral people, with those who are greedy, with those who are involved in idolatry, it’s not essentially referring to those of this world who are unbelievers. We cannot run away from such people. They are all around us. Some of them are our family members. Some of them are our neighbors. Some of them are our colleagues at work or in school. We buy things from them in the market. And you can’t make certain choices about whether you’re going to relate to them or not relate to them. No, you can’t run away from relating to them. You just have to relate to them. Otherwise, you will need to leave the world. You can’t insist that the person that is going to sell pepper to you in the market must be a Christian. You are not going to eat at all if you want to do that. You can’t insist that the motorcyclist that is going to carry you must be a Christian. You will soon wear yourself out if you want to do that. If you want to rent a house, you can’t insist that the landlord must be a believer. You may not get a house to rent if you want to do that.

The point we are making is that we cannot totally avoid relating to those of this world simply because they are immoral or greedy or wicked. For one reason or the other, we will need to keep on relating to them. Of course, we are told how to relate to them in Scripture. So, don’t miss my point. We are given sufficient instructions in Scriptures on how to relate to such individuals as well. But we are not told in Scriptures not to associate with them at all. If we want to do that, we will probably need to leave the world. Not only that, we will not be able to affect them with the Word of God. So, take note of that.

But the people I am referring to are those who refer to themselves as believers, those who refer to themselves as believers but who are sexually immoral or greedy, who are involved in adultery, who are swindlers. We are told not to associate with them. We are told not even to eat with them. Why? They have nothing to contribute to your growth. They are not going to help your faith. On the contrary, they may ruin your faith. They may pollute your life and destroy the good work that God is doing in you. So, Paul says, “Do not associate with such individuals.” 

You can see that we already have a clear instruction about this. And that is not to say we are to hate them. It is not to say that we are to abuse them. But it’s just to let them know that the kind of Christianity they are practicing is not the one we are called to practice in Scriptures. So, you must stay away from them.

Also, from 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1, Paul says this: 

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,

boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” (2Timothy 3:1-5NIV)

Again, is Paul referring to unbelievers here? No! I used to think, growing up as a believer, that Paul was referring to unbelievers. In fact, growing up, I heard messages preached along this line that suggested that Paul was referring to unbelievers. But look at what he says again: “Mark this: People will become lovers of themselves, lovers of money and so forth in the last days.” Now are unbelievers becoming these things? No, they are already these things. They are already lovers of themselves. They are already boastful. They are already unforgiving. They are already disobedient to parents. And that’s why we properly refer to them as unbelievers. Is that not true? So, they are not becoming these things. They are already these things. 

Paul, then, cannot be referring to them. Conversely, he is referring to believers. They are the ones that can become these things. Because of the times, they can become these things. And he further tells us that they will have a form of godliness, that is, an appearance of godliness. That means they also are going to be involved in doing most of the things that godly people are doing. They are going to be praying in the name of Jesus. They are going to have personal bibles. They are going to be attending bible study meetings. They are going to be attending prayer meetings. They are going to be giving tithes. They are going to be giving offerings. Some of them would have changed their names to bible names. That is what Paul means when he says that they are going to have an appearance of godliness. 

However, the power of God will not be in expression in their lives. Because it takes the power of God to be godly. It takes the power of God to manifest godliness. It takes the power of God to manifest holiness. It’s not something based on mere talk. It takes God’s power, divine power, to live a godly life. It is impossible to live a godly life without God’s power. It is impossible. God’s power must be at work in you for you to live a godly life.

If His power, then, is not at work in you, it does not matter how you try to fake it, it is not going to work. You are just going to be an actor. That’s all. It’s not going to work. And the believer is told to stay away from you. So, stay away from such people. Why? They are not going to contribute to your growth. They are not going to contribute to your fruitfulness.

Now I’m saying this in advance so that you get my point and don’t misrepresent what I’m saying. The fact that I’m drawing your attention to the reality of our oneness in Christ, to the fact that we all have something to contribute to each other’s fruitfulness doesn’t mean that everyone that claims to be a Christian is in that position to help your faith or to help your growth. Do you get my point? 

We’ll close here this morning. Let’s bow our heads and thank God for his word that’s come to us.

Copyright © 2025 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: 08146472876)

Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Be safety conscious

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 19

“Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.” (Ecclesiastes 10:8-9)

What is Solomon speaking to us about here? Basically, he is speaking to us about the need to be careful in all that we do. And he uses four different activities that we may engage in to illustrate his point to us.

First, he speaks about the digging of pits. As we all know, we often dig pits for various good reasons. And there are times that we dig pits to deliberately endanger the lives of others.

In any case, Solomon’s point is that we must always keep in mind the fact that we ourselves can fall into a pit that we have dug, even if we have dug it for a good and legitimate reason. Therefore, when digging any pit, we should put safety measures in place.

That way, nobody’s life, including our own very lives, will be endangered by it. Then we should be careful never to dig a pit for anybody’s fall. That is because we may end up being victims of our own wickedness.Solomon also speaks about breaking through walls. And there are times that we need to break through some walls to move ahead in life or to enjoy some relationships or to know some secrets.

But whether it is a necessity that we break through a wall or not, it is important that we demonstrate utter carefulness and preparedness in doing. That is because we may not fully know or appreciate what is waiting for us behind that wall. And if it should be a snake or something even more harmful, we should meet it ready.

Otherwise, we may end up being sorry for ourselves.What we are saying is that what is behind a wall of limitation may be more dangerous and limiting than the wall itself. And where people don’t function with an understanding of this, where all they are after is just breaking through their limitations and they are not preparing for what may be behind those limitations, they may end up losing their lives or endangering their lives in ways beyond their expectations.

Furthermore, Solomon speaks about the quarrying of stones and splitting of wood. And while these things can be done legitimately, it does not cancel out the fact that there are dangers associated with doing so. Therefore, anyone quarrying stones or splitting wood ought to know that he may endanger himself and others around him while doing so, if he is not safety conscious.

Now Solomon says this to let us know that each job has its own hazards. It will be wise of each of us, then, to appreciate the dangers associated with whatever work we are doing and put measures in place to protect ourselves from them. Otherwise, we may end up endangering ourselves and others that we love. And how painful would that be?

At any rate, while it is highly important that we are safety conscious in all that we do, we must also never forget that unless God keeps us safe, we will not be safe, however careful or safety conscious we may be. So, we must never put our trust in our being safety conscious but in God. And may God continually keep us all safe from all forms of accidents and hazards, in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

Categories
FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Even if you are a king

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 20

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be abundantly yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of September 2025.

My prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart to take His word seriously for you to always be successful in all your endeavours, in Jesus’ name. Amen.As we see in the bible, it does not matter who we are in life, God wants us to take His word seriously.

Why? It is because it is only through His word that can truly succeed in life and also enjoy our success. So, even if you are a king over people, you still need the word of God to be a successful king, a king that those under him will flourish.

Look at the instruction Moses gave to anyone that would be king over the people of Israel:“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.

It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.” (Deut 17:18-20NIV)

What is the first thing anyone that becomes king over the people of Israel must do? He must get a copy of the book of the law of God for himself. Why? First, it is so that he may give himself to reading it and also to meditating on it all the days of his life.

Second, it is so that he may be careful to live his life according to God’s word. And if he will do this, as Moses points out, he and his descendants will prosper and also reign a long time over the land.You can see, then, that even for any king in Israel to prosper and have many descendants that will reign after him, he must take the word of God seriously. He cannot ignore His word or claim that he is too busy for it.

Otherwise, his reign will not last. Unfortunately, as also see in the bible, most of the people that became kings over the Israelites did not take the word of God seriously.

So, their kingdoms did not endure. Instead, at some point, God had to send all the people into exile because of them. And we see the same thing happening in our world today. Wherever leaders do not take the word of God seriously, they cannot prosper. Instead, they are bound to lead their people into all kinds of slavery.

In any case, the point I am making is that if kings need to take God’s word seriously in order to prosper in life, we who are not kings cannot expect to prosper in life without taking His word seriously. So, if you have not been taking His word seriously, you need to repent for your own good.

How? First, get your own copy of the bible that you can read and understand. Second, give yourself to reading it and to also meditating on it. And as you daily do so, it will not be long at all before you find yourself living according to what God is saying to you.

Now anyone that is daily living according to what God says is bound to prosper in life. He may start small in life like David. Yet God will see to it that he prospers. He may also face many challenges in life like Joseph or Job. God will still see to it that he prospers. So, regardless of your position in life at the moment, take the word of God seriously. And true and lasting prosperity will be yours.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

Categories
Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: The Lord looks at the heart

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 18

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”” (1Sam 16:7NIV)

When did God say the words of our opening bible text to Samuel? It was when he was in the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king over Israel, that is, in place of King Saul. And who was Samuel not to consider his appearance or height? It was Eliab, Jesse’s first son.

Now why was Samuel not to consider Eliab’s appearance or height? It was because God needed more than his appearance and height in order to make him king. God also needed his heart to be right.

Unfortunately, the man did not have the kind of heart that could make God choose him as king over His people. So, he was rejected.But then, it was not only Eliab that was not considered by God to have the heart of a king among Jesse’s sons. Six other sons of his were also considered by God not to have the heart of a king. Only David, the man’s last son, was considered by God to have the kind of heart He needed His king to have. And it was he that Samuel was told to ordain as king over the people of Israel. (Cf. 1Sam 16:1-13)

What is this teaching us? It is the fact that even though God is the one that promotes or exalts people in life, He does not exalt them indiscriminately. On the contrary, He exalts people based on what He sees in their hearts.

The fact, then, that someone is in a low position does not mean that God is going to exalt him. If the heart of the person is not right for exaltation, God is not going to exalt him. Yet we may see Him taking someone that is already in a high position to an even higher position. Why? The person’s heart is right for exaltation. Therefore, if you want God’s exaltation in life, take care of what is in your heart.

Yes, it may look like you are qualified for certain positions in life because of your education, beauty, intelligence, family background or social status. But if pride, bitterness, lust, envy, hypocrisy or dishonesty is your heart, God may not consider you fit for those positions. We would not know exactly what God saw in Eliab’s heart and in the hearts of his other brothers that made Him reject them for the position of king over Israel. But He saw what He saw. And what He saw displeased Him. So, He rejected them.

Now perhaps there is something God is seeing in you too that is making Him reject you for certain positions of elevation that could have been yours in life. You need to rid your life of whatever it is. But you cannot do that unless you know what it is. How, then, will you know what it is? God Himself, who knows what is in every heart, will have to reveal it to you.

If there is any prayer you, then, must learn to pray, it is that God will constantly reveal whatever displeases Him in your heart to you, so that you may rid yourself of it. And may He, in His mercy, answer you each time you offer this prayer to Him, so that you may do the needful about the state of your heart and never hinder yourself again in life.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)