Author: Pastor J.O. Lawal

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

It is for your good | Pst. J.O. Lawal | July 17, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 11

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of July 2022. May God continually supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Now that prayer was first offered by Paul in his letter to the Philippian church. And why did he offer it for them? It was because they made him very happy through the gifts they had sent to him. As he pointed out in his letter to them, he was not expressing his happiness because he could not do without their gifts. He could do without them. That was because he was a man that had been taught by God to be able to thrive in any circumstance, whether he had plenty or little. (Cf. Phil 4:10-13)

So, even if none of the people God had used him to establish in the truth of Jesus would support him, he would still be fine. God would surely see to it that he was fine. Remember that God once used ravens, unclean birds, to bring His servant Elijah food, morning and evening, during a time of famine, a time when nobody had time to think about him. In like manner, He is able to take care of all His servants who put their trust in Him, whether people care for them or not. (Cf. 1Kings 17:2-6)

However, as Paul also notes in his letter to these Philippians, it is for their benefit to share good things with him from their possessions. Why? First, by doing so, they will be fulfilling the will of God for their lives. God has ordered that those who preach the gospel should live from doing so. Therefore, anyone sharing from their ministries and being blessed through it must also share in their needs. (Cf. Luke 10:5-7; Phili 4:14; 1Cor 9:14; Gal 6:6)

Then, as Paul further points out to these brethren, by sharing our possessions with those ministering to us in the word of God, we will be crediting our eternal accounts with God. So, even though it is men we are giving to, if we do so generously and without grumbling, God Himself will take our gifts as fragrant offerings and sacrifices that are pleasing and acceptable to Him. And once He receives our gifts in this manner, we can be sure that He will reward us for them at the appropriate time and in appropriate ways. (Cf. Gal 6:6-10; 2Cor 9:6-8; Phil 4:18-19)

Besides all this, when we fulfil God’s will for us by giving to those ministering to us, we will not only cause them to overflow with thanksgiving to God for us, we will also move them to wholeheartedly offer prayers for our good, just as Paul does for those Philippians in his letter to them. And who knows what tremendous impact those prayers could have on our lives? (Cf. 2Cor 9:12-14)

If you, then, have not been devoted to sharing good things with the ministers God is using for you, you are not walking fully in the will of God for you and are also cheating yourself of many things that could have been yours. So, wake your heart up to take this matter seriously. Determine how you are going to consistently support them with your resources according to how God has blessed you financially. And may God strengthen you to excel in doing so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cheers!

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@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Why you are permitted to witness it | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: July 13, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 5, No. 9

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.” (Dan 5:22NIV)

Those were the words Daniel said to King Belshazzar when God was set to end his reign. The man began ruling over Babylon after his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had passed on. And from what God wrote on the wall of his palace concerning him, it is clear that He had expected him to be better than his father, especially in the area of humility.

As bible accounts show us, this king’s father, Nebuchadnezzar, was once a very proud king. He was proud because he was a great and mighty king that was feared and honoured by the peoples of all nations. But what he did not know at that time was that his greatness was a gift from God. He did not make himself great. It was God that raised him up, gave him honour and splendour and put all the peoples of the world under his dominion. (Cf. Dan 5:18-19)

Now because he did not know the source of his greatness and splendour, he began to nurse proud thoughts in his heart and to act arrogantly towards God and men. So, God dealt with him ruthlessly. He caused a strange thing to happen to him, a thing that made him live like an animal and among animals for some seasons. And when his sanity was restored, he lost no time in acknowledging God as sovereign over all men and their kingdoms. Therefore, he was shown mercy and given back his kingdom and his glory. (Cf. Dan 4:28-37)

Why did God show this king mercy and didn’t allow him to waste away like an animal? It was so that he would be a living witness to all men of God’s greatness and of how far He could go in judging pride. That means God wanted all the people in the lives of this man, especially his princes and officials, and others who would hear about his story to learn from him and humble themselves before Him.

But did the people in the life of Nebuchadnezzar learn anything at all from what happened to him? Evidently, they did not. If they had learnt from what happened to him, his son Belshazzar, would not have gathered his wives and one thousand officials of his to get drunk on wine, using articles of silver and gold belonging to God, and to sing praises to the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Imagine the fact that over a thousand nobles got together for revelry and idol worship. It was a shameful thing. (Cf. Dan 5:1-4)

In any case, because Belshazzar, who was a direct son of Nebuchadnezzar and who also witnessed first-hand how God judged his pride, failed to take to heart and utilise the lessons from his father’s fall and restoration, God judged him too. In fact, He made an end of his reign without delay and without mercy. (Cf. Dan 5:22-31)

What, then, is the point of all this? It is that there are incidents or events that God permits us to witness in order for us to learn and imbibe certain virtues. And whether these things concern someone’s fall or exaltation, it does not matter. What matters is what we gain through it for our own preservation or exaltation. Otherwise, we may someday blame ourselves for being too dull to learn what could have separated us from death, failure or disgrace when he had the opportunity to do so.

So, as people are being lifted or brought down around you, see to it that you learn all that you can about what is responsible for their elevation or fall. Don’t just act unconcerned or uninterested. That is because you may need to deal with situations similar to theirs one day. How, then, will you fare, if that should happen?

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 give His place to anything | Pst. J.O. Lawal | July 06, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 5, No. 8

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)” (2Kings 18:4NIV)

We have in the book of Numbers the account of how God sent venomous snakes among the Israelites because of their ingratitude and grumbling. And when they cried out to Him for forgiveness and mercy, He listened to them and told Moses what to do for their salvation. (Cf. Num 21:4-9)

What, then, was Moses to do for the salvation of these people? He was to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole for all of them to see. Then anyone that was bitten by a snake only needed to look at this bronze snake in order to live. And it was so. All those who were bitten by snakes and who looked up to the bronze snake lived and did not die – the venoms of those dangerous snakes had no power over them.

Now what was in that lifeless bronze snake that made it effective in keeping alive any of the Israelites that was bitten by a live poisonous snake? What power was it carrying? The answer is ‘None’. There was nothing powerful about it or in it. It was just what it was – a lifeless bronze snake.

Why then did it work in saving the people? The truth is that it wasn’t that bronze snake that saved those Israelites. Rather, it was God that saved them. Remember that it was He that told Moses to make the bronze snake and put it on a pole for the people to look at. And He could have asked him to put up something else or to do something totally different for their salvation, and it would have worked as well. Therefore, their salvation did not come from the bronze snake but from Him and through their obedience to His instruction.

Unfortunately, they and their descendants after them did not see things that way. They thought it was that snake that saved them from death in the wilderness. So, somehow, years after Moses had left them, they idolised it and set it up in a high place as a god to worship. And they continued to worship it until Hezekiah became king and totally destroyed it and ended its worship, as we are shown in our opening bible text.

Now try to imagine the kinds of suffering those people must have experienced from God’s hand, year after year, for worshipping that bronze snake in place of Him. Yes, He was the one that gave it to them. But it was merely an instrument that He used to get their attention at the time and make them trust Him for their salvation. So, it was never meant to be kept as an object of worship. But they turned it into another god for themselves and became idolaters and sinners. 

In like manner, there are many today that have idolised certain people, things or processes that God used at some point for their salvation, healing or exaltation. So, anytime they have any problem or challenge, they look up to these things for help instead of looking up to God. They may have been doing this thoughtlessly. But it does not change the fact that they have become nothing but idolaters.

Now, as it is made very clear to us in Scriptures, God has zero tolerance for idolatry. He always judges it in very ruthless ways. That is why we are commanded by Him to flee from idolatry (1Cor 10:14; 1John 5:21). So, if you have anyone or anything that you have idolised in your life, perhaps because God once used it for your healing, deliverance or promotion, you need to redefine your relationship with it and smash whatever altar you have erected for it in your heart. 

See, people are people, not God. And things are things, not God. Yes, God may have used them in the past for your good. But He could as well have used other people or things or even nothing at all. So, don’t exalt them to His place in your life and arouse His jealousy. Don’t turn them into the solution to every problem you have or encounter. God alone holds the solution to all your problems and challenges. And if you give His place to another in your life, utter disgrace and destruction are the only things you can hope for.

Then be careful not to allow anyone to use you or anything from you to replace God in their lives. And if this is already happening, you need to stop it right away before you ensnare yourself. That is because God will never share His place as God with anyone or anything. And scriptures are very clear about this. So, watch yourself.

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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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Do not put your trust in them | From Pastor’s Desk | Vol. 11, No. 10 | Pst. J.O. Lawal

Date: July 10, 2022

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of July 2022. My prayer is that God will keep your heart strengthened and encouraged always to maintain your trust in Him. Amen.

In recent times, there have been much talks on who should be the next president of this country or who people should vote for. And while it is appropriate for everyone to follow their conscience in this matter, it is equally important that we do not ignore what the word of God tells us about putting our trust in humans. Otherwise, we will not stop being victims of our own choices.

Now what does the word of God say about this matter? It says, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” (Ps 146:3NIV) What is our instruction here? It is not to put our trust in human beings, however influential, righteous or powerful they may appear in our eyes. But why? As the Psalmist puts it, it is because they do not have the power to save us or lift us up.

Yes, they may desire to do us good, save us or lift us up. But desiring to do something is not the same thing as possessing the power to do it, even in the face of opposition. Only God possesses the power to do whatever He purposes to do, against all odds. And if He does not empower man to do what he purposes in his heart, however good it may be, his desires, purposes and efforts can only amount to nothing (Ps 127:1-2; Prov 19:21). So, we must not rest our hope for a better life or a better nation in any human being but in God. That is because if God does not aid them, all their promises and good intentions towards making life better for us can only fail.

Another reason we must not put our trust in men is that they are dynamic. In other words, they can change. And this change can either be for good or for evil, for better or for worse. So, even if God has chosen someone to do certain good things for us, they may still end up not doing them. They may, at some point, temporarily or permanently turn away from the will of God to do their own thing.

For example, the bible makes it clear that Jeroboam, the first king of the northern nation of Israel, was God’s choice. He was anointed by God to rule over His people, comfort them and lead them in true devotion to Him. But this man, having settled down as king, did not pursue the will of God for himself or for the people at all. Instead, he permanently turned away from serving Him to worshipping some other gods, gods of his own making. And he also led the people to do the same thing. (Cf. 1Kings 11-14)

Now did that surprise God? No! Such things don’t surprise Him. That is because He knows that we are dynamic. He knows that He created us to be able to change. And whether our change is for something positive or negative, He is up to the task of dealing with it. We, however, are often not prepared to deal with such changes in men. So, when they change and fail us, we become clueless and lose ourselves to whatever ugly circumstances their change brings upon us. And that is one of the reasons our country is where it is today.

In any case, God is speaking to us again and telling us not to put our trust in men but in Him, as we approach another election season. That is because He does not change in faithfulness (2Tim 2:13). So, we can always rely on Him to do good to us, even if men fail to do so. Not only that, He also possesses the power to heal our land and lift us out of our mud of shame and plant us on a solid rock.

And look at what this Psalmist further tells us about Him:

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” (Ps 146:5-9NIV)

My prayer is that these things and even much more will be our experience all across the nation in the coming months and years, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a glorious 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@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Hidden death | Pst. J.O. Lawal | July 03, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 9

Beloved: grace and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. I am delighted to welcome you to the month of July 2022. My prayer is that God, in His mercy, will continually keep you and all that is yours safe from every hidden trap of the devil. Amen.

As bible accounts go, twice the king of Israel, Saul, talked to David about marrying his daughter. The first time it was Merab, his older daughter, that he presented to him. But the young man declined. He told him that his people were not rich and influential enough to become the king’s in-laws. So, Saul dropped the idea and gave his daughter to someone else. (Cf. 1Sam 18:17-19)

Then, sometimes later, Saul was told that his younger daughter, Michal, was in love with David. So, he immediately told his men to talk to David again that he had another opportunity to be his in-law and that all he needed was to bring him a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. That means David would have to first kill a hundred Philistines before he could get their foreskins. (Cf. 1Sam 18:20-25)

But why was Saul bent on giving his daughters in marriage to David? Was he the only man around that was qualified to marry his daughters? No! Or was it because he was really pleased with David and wanted him to be a member of his family by all means? No! The bible is clear about the fact that he was jealous of David’s military success and popularity among the people. So, it was not because he was really delighted to have him as his in-law that he wanted him to marry one of his daughters; rather it was because he wanted to use the marriage thing as a trap to get him killed. And if God had not been with him, he would have been dead while trying to become the king’s son-in-law. (Cf. 1Sam 18:29-27)

What is the point of this? It is that there are times that certain people’s so-called favour to us or request from us may just be death, destruction or disgrace pills coated with sugar. And if God does not open our eyes to see what they are up to and also show us the way of escape, we can end up becoming victims of their evil schemes. So, we must never think we will be safe because we are always good to those around us, because our ways are pure before God or because we are always careful in the way we relate to others. Instead, we should continually commit ourselves to God for safekeeping. That is because if He does not keep us safe, we will not be safe, regardless of how sensitive we are or what things we are doing to stay safe (Ps 127:1). 

Remember Uriah, one of David’s warriors. Remember that he was the one that bore the letter of his death sentence. Yet he did not know anything until he perished. And how could he have known that the king he trusted with his life and was ready to die for any day and any time had hidden his death sentence in the letter he gave to him? Or how could he have known that all the kindness and favour the king was showing him during his last hours on earth were just a way to trick him to accept a bastard as his son? He could not have known these things unless they were revealed to him. So, he perished because he had no revelation that could prepare him and lead him to escape from what was coming for him.  (Cf. 2Sam 11)

That is telling us that good, upright and faithful people can become victims of the wickedness of even those that they trust, if God does not show them mercy and protect them. So, again, I am saying that you should learn to always entrust yourself and all that is yours to God for safekeeping instead of counting on your goodness or smartness. And my prayer is that He, in the fullness of His mercy, will always reveal to you every hidden snare of the enemy and also keep your feet from being caught by it. Amen.

Have a great July 2022. 

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@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

A lesson from Bathsheba | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: June 29, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 5, No. 7

from pastor's desk

“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.” 2Sam 11:2-4NIV)

The story of David’s scandal with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, is one of the most popular stories of the bible. That is because it illustrates for us those warning words from the Scripture that say, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” David fell when and where he never thought he would fall. And the consequences were of very terrible proportions for him and his family. (Cf. 1Cor 10:12)

But then, was it only David that fell? It was not only David that fell into the mud of adultery. Bathsheba also fell into this same mud because she too was married. Yes, God held David more responsible for what happened. That was because he was the one that initiated the whole thing. He was the one that sent for Bathsheba and most likely sweet-talked her into committing adultery with him. But it was not a rape case. It was a voluntary sexual escapade between two consenting adults.

So, David was not the only one to blame for this gross sexual misconduct that eventually led to the murder of an innocent man. Bathsheba was also to blame. It is true, according to the account, that David was in a wrong place at the wrong time. He was not supposed to be in town at all at the time, for it was a time when kings led their armies to war by themselves (2Sam 11:1). But for reasons best known to him, he chose to send his general in his place at the time. And that was what exposed him to the situation that Satan used to ruin his testimony as a man after God’s own heart.

Therefore, always avoid being in the wrong place at any time, not just the wrong time. Avoid making excuses for not being where you should be when you should be there. That is because you don’t know when your being in a wrong place will expose you to battles you should never have any business fighting or to situations that may damage your life, relationships or reputation permanently.

But as I pointed out before, David was not the only one to blame for what happened. Bathsheba also was to blame for it. How? Was it her fault that she was beautiful? No! Or was it wrong for her to take her bath the very evening David saw her? No! How, then, was she also to blame?

Well, for the most part, she was to blame because she did not take her privacy seriously enough. Think about the case yourself. Was she living in a village, where life was low and the people uncultured? No! She was living in a city, in fact very close to the palace of the king of the land. What, then, made her, a married woman, choose to take her bath in a place so open or conspicuous that anyone aimlessly wandering around could see her? Only God knows. But poverty of a good bathroom was most certainly not the reason.

Yes, I am certain that this woman did not go out that evening expecting the king to see her while taking her bath. But she ended up exposing herself to the sin of adultery by not taking her privacy seriously. And even at that, she could have politely rejected the king’s adulterous proposal. If she had, David would have needed to rape her to succeed. Then the story would have ended differently. But she did not. Why? I will leave that to your sanctified imaginations, since we are not told the reason in the bible.

At any rate, what I want you to learn from her is the need for you to take your privacy seriously and to guard it jealously. There are many women today, married and singles, who, like Bathsheba, do not take their privacy seriously at all. They wear whatever they like, regardless of where they are or of where they go. And they often blame this on weather, fashion, pregnancy, motherhood, tiredness or anything else their mind can think of. We now even have those who record and store their private activities, especially immoral ones, on their mobile phones.

Now what all such people need to know is that they are playing with fire. And someday, like Bathsheba, they may get burnt. They may end up exposing themselves to people or situations that will take away from them things that neither money nor time can buy. Then their lives, happiness or reputation may be gone forever. And if you will ask around, you will discover that some are already living testimonies to this. So, watch yourself.

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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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Your own enemy | Pst. J.O. Lawal | June 26, 2022 |Vol. 11, No. 8

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to the last week of the month of June 2022. My prayer is that God will rid your life of everything that is hindering the full manifestation of His blessings in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the parable of our Lord Jesus about a man who gave his servants certain amount of money to work with, we see a very important life principle. And it is that anyone who will not intelligently put their God’s given relationships, abilities, opportunities or privileges to work will not increase in good works or in the good things of this life. It is only those who sensibly utilize and continue to utilize what God has given them that will continue to abound in good works and good things. (Cf. Matt 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-26)

As the account goes, a man, who was going on a long journey, decided to share some of his money among his servants, so that they may put it to work. In other words, he did not want all of his money lying fallow and gathering dust in his safe while he was away. So, he gave part of it to his servants to work with, according to the ability of each of them. To one he gave five talents. To another he gave two talents. And yet to another he gave one talent.

Now, after a long time, this man came back and began to settle accounts with the servants he had entrusted his money to. And to his surprise, only two of them worked with the money he had given them and multiplied it. The man with five talents made a profit of five more talents with his money. Likewise, the man with two talents made a profit of two more talents with his money. But the man that was given one talent only came around with excuses. He did nothing with the talent he was given and so got nothing in addition to it.

Why did he do nothing with his own talent? Well, the popular answer is that he did nothing with it because he felt that what he was given was too small, when compared to what others were given. But that was never the reason. In the first place, their master gave each of them money according to their abilities. So, what he could handle was what he was given. Second, historians will have us know that a talent at that time was about 20 years of a day labourer’s wage. So, it was a lot of money that this man was given.

It follows, then, that it was not because his money was small that he did nothing with it. Rather, in his own words, it was because he was afraid of losing it that he did nothing with it (Matt 25:25). But as his master told him, he could have deposited the money with the bankers, and he would have received it back with interest. So, fear was not enough reason for him not to do anything with such a huge sum of money. He had another problem, which was laziness. In other words, it was because he was lazy in his mind and with his hands that he made no effort to consider how to multiply what he was given. So, he allowed the very thing his master was trying to avoid to happen – he allowed his money to lie fallow.

To cut a long story short, apart from the punishment that this lazy and unprofitable man was given to serve, his master commanded that his money be taken away from him and given to one of the servants that had shown themselves worthy of receiving more. And in conclusion, our Lord Jesus says that is exactly how things work in God’s kingdom. Those who acknowledge all that God has given them – people, resources, skills, gifts, education, position and so forth – however small or insignificant these things may be, and are putting them to good use are the ones He will continue to promote and increase in good things. But those who do nothing with what He has given them can only expect what they have, even if it is little, to be taken away from them. This explains why poor people often get poorer and rich and influential people often get richer and more influential. 

So, if you are not utilizing what God has given you or enabled you to acquire by His grace, you are simply showing yourself to be unprofitable and unfit to be introduced or elevated to higher heights in life. You are your own enemy then, regardless of what your excuses may be. You are the one limiting and pulling yourself down. Therefore, you should not expect things to get better but worse for you.

Now my prayer is that things will only get better and better and never worse for you. But praying about it alone will not do. You also need to wake up from your slumber, stop making excuses for failure or poverty and identify everything God has given you that you can use to increase yourself in relevance, good works and resources in life and begin to put it to work. And as you do this, you will be amazed to see all the blessings of God that have been inactive or dormant in your life fully finding expression.

Have a splendid 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@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

God’s man or another Pilate? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | June 22, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 5, No. 6

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.” (Luke 23:20-25NIV)

From the passage of the Scripture above, it is clear that Pilate knew quite well that Jesus did not deserve to be punished at all, not to talk of being given a death sentence. Yet he gave him a death sentence. Of course, he did this reluctantly, for as we are shown in a parallel passage, right before the people, he washed his hand with water and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this man.” (Cf. Matt 27:24)

But the fact remains that he gave Jesus a death sentence. He gave him a death sentence, even though it was in his place to release Him and let Him go in peace. He gave Him a death sentence, even though he had examined him and found him guiltless. Yes, he gave Him a death sentence, even though his wife had earlier sent a message to him not to have anything to do with the condemnation or death of an innocent and righteous man.

Now why did Mr Pilate do that? Why did he use his office, which was the highest office in the land at the time, to promote injustice, when the right way to judge was very clear to him? It was because he wanted to please the people; he wanted to go with the crowds (Mark 15:15). Of course, he did not see it that way. That was why he used water to publicly wash his hands off the case. But what was that? That was nonsense. He was in a position to use his authority to save an innocent man from a jealous and ruthless mob. But he would not. How, then, could he think a bowl of water was all he needed to free himself from the sin and guilt of murder?

In any case, similar things still regularly happen in the world today. Here and there, we see people who are in a position to promote justice or what is upright act contrary what to what they know and even believe to be the truth. Why? Fear is always the reason. 

When we are afraid of being different, afraid of becoming unpopular with the majority, we may find ourselves throwing away our sense of justice or our duty to give justice in order to please men. And then we will start looking for ways to justify ourselves by saying things like, “If you can’t beat them, you join them,” or “God sees my heart and knows that I am not in support of this.”

But the word of God says ‘No’ to such things. His word commands us never to follow a multitude to do evil (Ex 23:2). And that is not because our refusal to go with the multitude will be easy in every situation. Rather, it is because the will of God is for us to separate ourselves from every kind of evil, even if doing so will set us against the whole world.

To say the fact, there may surely be times in our lives in which our stand for justice or morality will set us against the crowd or the majority. Yes, there may be times in which our refusal to go with the majority in promoting wickedness, injustice or immorality will be the only chance for righteousness to win where we are. And it will be good of us not to be like Mr Pilate but like God the true judge on such occasions. Otherwise, whatever we do afterwards may not have any power to change the history we have already made.

Pilate made history as the head of a supreme court that sentenced the only sinless man that ever walked the face of the earth to death. Yes, God wanted things to end that way. But Pilate did not have to be the one to make it happen. And you also don’t have to be the one to once again illustrate to the world that the natural man will always choose evil over good, if the circumstances are right, when you can be one of those that will be showing the world that God still has righteous people here on earth that will always do His will, even if they have to go against everyone else. 

Which will it be, then? Will you be God’s man or another Pilate? Or shall I say, “Will I be God’s man or another Pilate?” I guess we all will find out someday in eternity.

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 you are not fit to judge evil | Pst. J.O. Lawal | June 15, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 5, No. 5

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home.” (Gen 34:5NIV)

As outrageous as the case of Dinah’s rape must have been to her father, Jacob, he did not do anything about it when he heard of it. Why? It was because he was already an old man at the time and his sons were not around. He must have reasoned, then, that there was no way he could possibly deal with the prince that had raped his daughter and not get himself into a bigger trouble or even killed.

Therefore, as the account goes, he waited for his sons to come back home from tending their livestock. And when he told them what happened to their sister, they handled the case. Yes, how they handled the matter surpassed his expectations and even made him afraid. But the fact remains that they did not allow the wickedness done to their sister to go unjudged.

In like manner, even though Joab, David’s most accomplished army general, did certain horrible things that required that he was judged and punished severely, David had to leave his judgment to Solomon, his successor (1Kings 2:5-6). Why? First, it was because Joab was his nephew, a son of his sister, Zeruiah. Second, it was because he was one of those few faithful men who went through everything with him in order for him to be all that God wanted him to be. Third, it was because this man, being very close to David, also probably had some of his dirty secrets, like the murder of Uriah, which he could use against him any time.

So, judging Joab’s acts of wickedness was something David could not handle objectively and without some sentiments or fear of the consequences that could follow. But he knew that the man must be punished for his sins. Therefore, he passed the matter on to his son, Solomon. And Solomon, unlike his father, had no reason to be sentimental in handling Joab’s case. There was nothing good the man did for him for which he needed to reward him or overlook his wrongdoings. On the contrary, Joab was even one of those who did not want the throne to go to him but to his brother, Adonijah. (Cf. 1Kings 1)

Therefore, having become king, he just needed to wait for an opportunity to use his good office to judge this man for the murder of innocent people and perhaps some other acts of wickedness that were not on record. And when the opportunity came for him to do so, when Joab got himself entangled in another conspiracy move, he did not hesitate at all to judge him. (Cf. 1Kings 2:13-35)

What is all this teaching us, then? It is that there are times we are not in a position to judge wickedness, even though it is our utmost desire to see it judged. This may be because we are not powerful or influential enough to judge it or because we ourselves have gotten involved in certain things that make us morally unfit to judge it. It may even be because judging it may mess up certain important relationships for us and put us in some bad light for endangering innocent souls in our pursuit of justice.

Whatever the case may be, we must know when we are not fit to judge evil or wickedness. And whenever that is the case, we should wait until we are fit to do so or wait until we find someone else that is fit to do so and that we can hand the matter over to. Otherwise, we may end up destroying ourselves or other good people and relationships in the process.

Then the fact that we are not fit to judge evil now does not mean we should totally overlook it or act as if it did not exist or as if it were nothing. Evil is what it is. So, we must always condemn it, even where we are not fit to judge it. That way, we will be sensitising our society against it and also strengthening those who have what it takes to judge it to do so at the right time. Otherwise, God Himself may have to step in and judge the evil we have left unjudged in His own way. Then even those of us who have ignored it may not be spared at all. 

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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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Share the good news | Pst. J.O. Lawal |June 19, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 7

Beloved: grace and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of this month. I pray that you will be counted worth of the calling you have received from God all through the week and for the remaining part of your time here on earth. Amen.

One of the things the Lord expects of everyone that has been a beneficiary of His goodness and salvation is for them to share with others the good news of what He has done for them. That way, those they share this with can be moved to come to Him to experience His goodness in their own lives as well. For example, after setting that mad man that was possessed by a legion of demons free, the Lord said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19NIV) 

Now did that man do as he was instructed by the Lord or not? He did! In fact, he went beyond what was expected of him. He did not speak only to his family members of what God had done for him. Instead, he also went talking about it to everyone that cared to listen to him in a region called ‘The Decapolis’, which means ‘The Ten Cities’. 

Imagine that. That man went all through a region of ten cities, talking about what Jesus had done for him. Why? First, it was because he was really grateful for what the Lord had done for him. Second, it was because he also wanted others, who were under satanic bondage, to know that they too could obtain deliverance by coming to the Lord, however terrible their cases may be.

In like manner, if the Lord has indeed been good to us too in our assembly, we owe it to Him to let others know about it. If He has indeed been changing our lives for the better and moving us forward through His word, then, we should let our friends, family members, colleagues at work or in school and neighbours know that they too can become partakers of His goodness with us. As I pointed out before, God Himself is expecting us to do this. That is because one of the reasons He is doing us good is that we may become doors through which He will have access to the lives of others around us and also do them good.

What this means, then, is that if we will not spread the news of His goodness to us to those around us, we are not just being selfish but also hindering His work. And there is no way we will be acting in selfishness and hindering God’s work and will not suffer for doing so, to one degree or another. Perhaps the reason for the stagnation some of us are experiencing in our lives is even this. We will do well, therefore, to repent without delay and begin to passionately lead others around us to experience the goodness of God that are already enjoying.

This, of course, does not mean that we should force or manipulate anybody to become partakers with us in enjoying the goodness of God. Rather, it means we should do all that we can to encourage and inspire as many as we can to come and see for themselves how good and gracious the Lord can be to them. And may the Spirit of God continually teach and strengthen our hearts to take this matter seriously in our lives, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid 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@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)