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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

fmb_Love is not always in a hurry_J.O._Lawal

Recommended Citation:

Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 2). Love is not always in a hurry. Youth for Jesus, 7(46).

“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” (John 11:5-6NIV)

When you love someone, how do you treat anything that concerns them? You treat it with all the seriousness it requires. But that does not seem to be what we see in our opening text. As we see in it, Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and their sister, Mary. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.

Now that did not look like an expression of love, or did it? No, it did not. If He had loved Lazarus indeed, then, He would have been in a hurry to get to him before he died. But He did not do that. Instead, He waited until the man had been in the tomb four days before He went to raise him up from the dead. And that made everything look like He deliberately used Lazarus’ misery to promote His own glory.

But was it really like that? No, it was not like that. As the account shows us, even though Jesus waited two more days where He was when He heard that Lazarus was sick, the man was already lying in the tomb four days by the time He got to his town. That would mean that it took the messenger that had brought Him the news at least one day to get Him, just as it took Him at least one day to get to Lazarus’ place. Judging by that, Lazarus had already died by the time the man that brought Jesus news of his illness got to Him.

More so, Jesus Himself later plainly told His disciples that Lazarus was dead, that is, before they all left for his place (John 11:14). How did He know that? It was by divine revelation. So, Jesus did not wait two more days where He was because He wanted Lazarus to die before He would go and see him. Rather, He waited that way because He knew that the man was already dead and there was no need to be in a rush to go and raise him up.

But then, He could still have left immediately to raise Lazarus from the dead. And if He had done that, Lazarus’ sisters and their people would not have had to mourn him as much as they did. But He did not do that. Instead, He waited two more days before going to see him. Why?

Well, in answering that, first, Jesus was not in a hurry to go and raise Lazarus from the dead because He knew that the power of God could not be hindered by time or decay. So, regardless of when He got to where Lazarus was, the power of God would still work in bringing the man back to life.

Second, if Jesus had immediately gone to raise Lazarus up from the dead, his family and others with them may not have appreciated the awesomeness of God’s power as they did when He raised him up when his body was already decaying and smelling. In fact, some people may even have said that the reason it was easy for Him to bring him back to life was that Lazarus merely fainted or went into a coma for a while. And that way, they would have dismissed any involvement of the mighty power of God in what happened to him.

But Jesus would not make it easy for anyone to dismiss the awesomeness of God’s power as nothing. So, even though He loved Lazarus and his sisters very much, He handled the bringing back of the man from death to life in such a way that everyone who got to know about it would appreciate it and glorify God for it. And that is showing us that true love is not always in a hurry to help or solve problems. Rather, it is always thoughtful enough to handle whatever it does to help others in such a way that it will be adequately and appropriately appreciated.

Unfortunately, many of us know nothing about this quality of love. Therefore, we are often in a hurry to express our love to people anyhow, instead of acting in thoughtfulness in expressing it. But there are times that love needs to let people appreciate the enormousness of their problems in order for them to also appreciate the solution that it offers them. Otherwise, they may just treat an invaluable gift of love as something ordinary or common. And where that is the case, love may be wounded, paralysed or killed. That explains why some people now find it hard to act in love towards anyone. Their love was wounded, paralysed or killed by some who should have appreciated it.

Well, if you don’t want that to happen to your love for anybody, don’t always make something difficult look easy, just because you can do it. And don’t always make something expensive look cheap, just because you can afford it. Then learn to let people see the need for them to be helped before stepping in to help. Otherwise, you may just make your love or acts of love look like nothing to individuals who have difficulties recognising genuine love.

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

Just One Hour_J.0_Lawal

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 30). Just one hour! From Pastor’s Desk, Vol. 12, No. 48.

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the transition week between the months of March and April 2025. My prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart to do all that is right for you to do to remain pure and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

In order for our Lord Jesus, when His time came, not to shrink back from dying on the cross for the redemption of humanity, He needed to do one thing. What was it? He needed to pray. And how much time did He need to pray? He did not need a whole week or a whole day to pray. He needed just one hour to pray.

Now how did we know that all Jesus needed at that time was just one hour of prayer? We knew through Scriptures. As the account goes, as He saw that His time was at hand, He took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John, with Him to pray in a place called Gethsemane. But instead of praying with Him, they were simply sleeping. And that was because they were very tired. Just look at what the bible says about these things:

“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”” (Mark 14:37-38NIV)

Did you see that? How much time did Jesus expect these disciples to spend in praying with Him? Just one hour! Of course, Jesus could pray to God for more than one hour. Before this time, He had prayed on several occasions for hours, sometimes all through the night. So, He did not choose to pray for one hour on this occasion because He could not pray for more hours. Rather, He chose to do so because He knew that a lot could be changed or done through even one hour of prayer.

Now, of course, because of that one hour of prayer that He offered to God for His soul in that hour of darkness, He received sufficient strength and courage to die on the cross and obtain eternal redemption for us. But what about His disciples who could not join Him in praying for themselves for just one hour? They all went on to deny and desert Him. And if He had not prayed for them before that their faith would not fail, that would have been the end of their relationship with Him.

What is this teaching us, then? It is simply that we cannot measure or quantify what our heartfelt prayer can accomplish for us or for all humanity, even if it is only for one hour. In fact, just one minute of prayer can be the difference between life and death, success and failure, victory and defeat. How long did it take David to pray that God would frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel? It probably took him less than a minute. Yet that prayer changed everything about the rebellion he wanted to end. That prayer led to his victory over Absalom. (Cf. 2Sam 15:31)

Am I now saying that you should only be praying for just one minute or just one hour? No! To say the fact, there are problems that will probably take us hours or days of prayer to handle. But if we will learn to recognise that our prayers can change history, then, we will begin to make the most of every moment we have to pray, even if it is just one hour. And my prayer is that our hearts will be filled with adequate strength from God to daily walk in the light of this truth, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a pleasant 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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Single Message Series

Competence to help_J.0_Lawal

Recommended Citation

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 23). Competence to help. See to It.

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I want to further share with you on the instructions we have in Scriptures that say that we should see to it that none of us falls away from the grace of God or develop a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. This, of course, calls for a careful watching on our part over one another. And we have instructions along this line given to us in the book of Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12.

Now, in dealing with this, I said we must know what is going on in the lives of our brethren. In other words, we must be actively and deliberately involved in one another’s lives. We will not be able to protect ourselves from the evil one, if we are not involved in one another’s lives and also know what is happening in one another’s lives. But then, in order to be effective in doing this, our leaders must take the lead. They must be the first in opening their lives for us to see. Until they are open in their lives, they will have no moral right to ask us to be open with our lives for them to see. But when they are open with their lives and we can see what they are up to, we can be encouraged to do likewise.

So, if you are a leader of God’s people in any capacity, your life must be opened to those who are under your care. You must deliberately do this. Your brethren must know enough about you. They must know enough about what is going on in your life. They must see that you are not a hypocrite and that the life of faith you are calling them to live is what you yourself are living, not something else. That way, you will be able to help them, if they are missing it.

Another thing that is important is that we know how to live right, especially those of us who are leaders. Let me say this again: church leaders have to take the lead in doing these things, if they will work at all. I mean that if we will be able to adequately and appropriately watch over one another, the leaders must take the lead in doing what is right. So, those of us who are leaders must show ourselves as possessing sufficient knowledge about how to live right. At least, what we want is for our brethren to consistently live right before God and not turn away from His grace. And we too have to consistently live right before God and before them, if we will be able to help them in doing this.

For example, Paul says this to the Thessalonian brethren:

“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.” (1Thessalonians 2:10NIV)

What does this mean? It means that the lives of Paul and his companions were open to the brethren in Thessalonica for them to see. And what they did they see in them? They saw that they were holy, righteous and blameless in the way they lived. It is important, then, for leaders not just to be open with their lives but to also show with those lives that they know what they are doing. It is one thing to be open with your life; it is another thing for people to see the right things in your life. You may be open with your life. That does not mean that what is going on in your life is helpful to the people of God.

It is bad enough not to be open with your life in relating to the people of God, if you are a child of God or a leader of His people. But when you open your life for them to see, what do they see? Is it hypocrisy? Is it bitterness? Is it envy or jealousy? Or is it righteousness, peace and joy of the Spirit of God?

The Thessalonians were witnesses of the holiness, righteousness and blamelessness in the lives of Paul and his companions. That means it was not only God that was a witness to the quality of life these men lived; the Thessalonians were also witnesses to it. So, I am saying that if we will be able to watch over another in line with the will of God, each of us that sees it as his duty to do so must not just be open with his life but must also show himself as possessing sufficient knowledge about how to live right and not fall away from the grace of God. Otherwise, we may soon become a part of the problem we are trying to prevent or solve.

In this same 1Thessalonians, chapter 4, Paul says this to the brethren in verse 1:

“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (NIV)

Did you see that? Paul says we instructed you how to live to please God. So, these brethren were taught how to live to please God. They knew how to live to please Him. And they were living to please Him, at least, at the time this letter was written to them. So, Paul only needed to tell them to continue or persist in living to please God. And they could be told to persist in living to please God because they already knew how to live to please Him.

It follows, then, that if we do not know how to live to please God, even if our lives are open to the brethren, they will be able to draw no strength or encouragement for true Christian living from what they see. So, if we will be able to watch over one another and keep ourselves from falling away from the grace of God, it is important that we show ourselves as possessing sufficient knowledge on how to live right. Not only that, we also have to be living right. We must not be a part of the problem we are trying to prevent or solve.

If we ourselves have already fallen away from the grace of God, how can we prevent others from falling away? It cannot work. Jesus says a blind guide that is seeking to lead a blind man can only lead both of them to fall. So, if you are not living right, you cannot help others to live right.

Also, in Romans, chapter 15, verse 14, Paul says this to us:

“I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” (Romans15:14NIV)

There are three qualities that Paul mentions here. And these qualities are ones that we must possess, if we will be able to help one another live right and remain true to the grace of God, from start to finish. The first is being full of goodness. Paul could say of the Roman brethren that they were full of goodness. In other words, their hearts were right. The goodness of God had settled in their hearts. So, they would not deliberately do evil. They may make mistakes. And that someone is full of God’s goodness does not mean that the person cannot make mistakes. He can. But he will not deliberately do anything that is wrong. Whatever he does will always be with the right intentions. So, even if he misses it, he will be missing it with the right intentions.

Well, my point is that we have to be full of goodness, if we will be able to help one another. And this has to be obvious, for Paul says, “I am convinced that you are full of goodness…” So, people have to be convinced that we are full of God’s goodness, if we will be able to help one another live right and not develop a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. That means we must be known as good people by our brethren; we must be known as people whose hearts are right.

What we are saying is that our brethren must have no doubts about the fact that our hearts are right, as we relate to them. They must have no doubts about our intentions. And this is one of the problems we often face in the church – lack of conviction about the intentions of the brethren. When people are not convinced that our intentions are right, as we come close to them, they may not make room for us to affect or help them.

Mind you, this is not something that will happen automatically. The fact that we are in the same assembly does not mean that we will be able to automatically help one another. We have to give it time. We have to consistently show over a period of time that we are full of goodness and that our hearts are right. Yes, every child of God can manifest the goodness of God, for His goodness is in every one of us. But it is not every one of us that is currently manifesting the goodness of God. So, if people will allow you in their lives, they must see that you are a good person. This must be obvious to them from the way you talk, live and interact with others. And when they are convinced of this, they will have no problem allowing you to be a part of their lives.

The second quality Paul mentions is being filled with knowledge. That means being full of goodness is not enough to help God’s people live right; we also have to know what we are doing. That means we need to be educated in the will of God. Remember that we read from 1Thessalonians 4 of how Paul instructed the Thessalonians how to live to please God. So, people must know that we know what we are doing, that we are knowledgeable enough in the things of God to help their lives and faith. Otherwise, they may not want to have anything to do with you.

What I am saying is that if you are ignorant of the things of God, other people of God may not see why they should permit you to interfere with their affairs. So, you must show yourself as possessing sufficient knowledge of how to live to please God. But this will not happen by accident. You will have to give yourself to prayer. You will have to give yourself to the word of God. You will also have to give yourself to fellowshipping with the people of God, so that your faith is built up. This, of course, is not just about having bible knowledge; this is about possessing the knowledge of the truth, the knowledge about living to please God.

The third quality Paul mentions has to do with competence in helping one another. And this kind of competence only comes from the Spirit of God. It has to do with wisdom to help others. And as I said, it only comes from the Spirit of God. He is the only one that makes us competent to live to please God and competent as ministers of the new covenant.

Now all of these three qualities were possessed by the Roman brethren. So, Paul was convinced that they could real help one another in their walk of faith. If we possess goodness but lack knowledge of how to please God, we may end up becoming a part of the problem we are trying to solve. In fact, we may not be able to help anybody at all.

Also, if we possess goodness and knowledge but possess no ability or wisdom to use our goodness and knowledge to help others, we are still going to be failures. People will be falling away from the grace of God right under our noses. Yet we will not be able to help them. Yes, we may love to help them. But we won’t be able to help them. Whatever step we take will be counter-productive.

See, there are people who are good in their hearts and who also possess the knowledge of true Christian living. Yet they are not able to help anybody live right. Why? They lack the wisdom and the skills to do so. They really want to help. But they just can’t. You may have encountered people like that before. They truly meant well and wanted to help you live right. But everything they did was counter-productive. Their words were counter-productive. Their moves were counter-productive. That was because they were not wise. So, they could not help you live right.

So, we are dealing with possessing the wisdom of the Spirit to be able to help one another here. We are talking about a situation in which we know what to say and what not to say, when to talk and when not to talk and when to visit people and when not to visit them. We must know these things. And as I said, we will not become competent like this by accident. We have to give ourselves to prayer, the word of God and Christian fellowship. That way, we will be growing in the truth of Christ Jesus.

If we are not growing, we can be of no help to nobody. And it is the degree that you grow in your faith that you will be able to help others in their faith. So, don’t feel bad that you are unable to help certain brethren in their faith at the moment. It only shows that you have not grown enough in your faith to be able to help them. What, then, should you do? You should commit yourself to doing those things that will make you grow in the faith even more. These things have to do with spiritual maturity. A man cannot go beyond his strength. So, the more you grow in your faith, the more fit you are to help other people.

We will stop here for now. Let us pray.

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

A gift or a curse_J.O._Lawal

Recommended Citation

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 26). A gift or a curse. Youth for Jesus, 7(46).

“The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”” (Gen 3:12NIV)

Those were Adam’s words to God, when He asked him if he had eaten the forbidden fruit. And his words showed that he, after his fall, no longer saw Eve as a gift of blessing to him from God but as a curse.

But from what we see in the bible, when God first brought Eve to him, he brought her to be a blessing to him and not a curse. In fact, before God brought her to him, He had said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” So, God never intended that Eve would be a curse or a problem to Adam. On the contrary, all He had wanted was for her to be a blessing to him in all ways, so that life would be easier and more enjoyable for him. (Cf. Gen 2:18)

More so, when God brought Eve to him, he himself could not hide his joy. He said, “”This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, for she was taken out of man.” So he was truly happy to have her. And he was not ashamed of her or to be around her, even though they were both naked. (Cf. Gen 2:23-25)

It is surprising, then, that this same man could freely blame God for bringing Eve to him, just because she was instrumental to his fall. Yes, it was God that brought Eve to him. But as I said already, He brought her to him only to make life easier and more enjoyable for him, not for her to be a trap for Satan to catch him. If she, then, became a curse to him, if she became the reason he fell away from the grace of God, who was to blame.

Evidently, Adam himself was to blame for what became of the gift of God to him. At least, from what we see in the account, he was right there when Satan deceived Eve and made her eat the forbidden fruit. And what did he do to stop her? Nothing! He just stood there and watched, as the woman was being messed up by the devil. Not only that, he took the fruit from her hand and ate it, showing that he approved of what she did. (Cf. Gen 3:1-7)

How, then, was he able to freely accuse God of being indirectly responsible for his fall, when he could have prevented what happened from happening? Did God make the woman head over him when He brought her to him? No! Did God say that he could not teach, rebuke or correct the woman, if she ever missed it? No! Why, then, did he not check the woman when she was being deceived by the serpent? Why did he not step into the situation to protect her from Satan’s lies?

Well, we are not given answers to these questions in the account. But we do know from the account that God judged Adam for listening to the voice of his wife instead of rebuking her and also protecting her from the devil. Yes, God judged him for taking the word of His gift to him more seriously than His own commands to him. (Cf. Gen 3:17-19)

Very similarly, as we see in the bible, God judged Eli and his household because he allowed his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to become a curse to him and the nation of Israel. These sons were given to him by God Himself as gifts of comfort, as gifts to perpetuate his family line. But he allowed them to become a curse by not dealing with their excesses and wickedness, showing that he valued the gifts more than the giver. So, God told him that He would punish his household because he honoured his sons more than him. (Cf. 1Sam 2-4)

Now what is all this teaching us? It is that we are to pay attention to how we relate to any gift God has given to us in life. That God is the one that has given something to us as a gift does not mean that thing cannot become a curse or a problem to us. If we would not relate to it with the wisdom of the Spirit and also with caution, it may end up becoming the reason we will fall or fail God.

So, don’t assume that God’s gifts of things or people to you will always automatically be a blessing to you. They may just become a curse to your life, if you won’t learn to relate to them according to the wisdom of the Spirit given through the word of God. And you won’t relate to them according to the wisdom of God’s Spirit, if you value or cherish them more than God Himself who has given them to you. So, watch 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 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025

Friendship with the world_Pst_J.O_Lawal

Recommended Citation:

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 23). Friendship with the world. From Pastor’s Desk, 12(47).

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to another week of the month of March 2025. My prayer is that God will daily keep His love in your heart burning, so that you may remain true to Him to the end. Amen.

As we face this new week, I want to admonish you with the words of James that say, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4NIV) What point is James making here? It is that there is no way we can choose God as our friend and still be in love with the world. Once we choose the world as our friend, then, we have already chosen God as our enemy. And how that will hurt us is not something anybody can tell. But it will surely hurt us.

Now it is unfortunate that we have many so-called children of God who claim to love Him but who are still in love with the things of this world. They still want to talk and dress like those of the world. They still want to party like them. And they are still in love with their music and movies. How, then, can they truly say that they love God? Or how can they say that these things of the world that they are in love with are not hurting their relationship with God? It is only a liar that will say that.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that everything being done by those of this world is wrong. To say the fact, there are a lot of things being done by those of the world that are right and good for God’s people too and that God’s people can learn from. But there are also things that those of this world do to basically pollute themselves and others. And the child of God must identify such things and separate himself from them. Otherwise, regardless of how much he claims to love God, he will be polluted and turned into an enemy of God.

Remember Lot’s daughters. Even though they left Sodom as virgins in their bodies, they were actually not virgins in their minds. Why? The reason was that the things they saw and heard in Sodom corrupted their minds. In fact, it is possible that they had practised in their minds all the things they were seeing and hearing in Sodom before they left the place. Therefore, at some point, when they could no longer control themselves, they got their own father drunk and then slept with him. What a shame! (Cf. Gen 19)

In like manner, we may think that the things we are seeing and hearing through our friendship with the world are not hurting us. But we are only lying to ourselves. There is no way we will be in friendship with the world and its pollution will not enter our lives. And once it enters our lives, we too may one day do as Lot’s daughters did. We may do the unthinkable.

All of this is why the word of God warns us against friendship with the world. It can only make us enemies of God. And if we should become His enemies, what will become of our hope of His eternal kingdom? It may just slip out from our hands. I pray that the hope of God’s kingdom will never slip out of our hands. But we too should watch ourselves.

Have a great 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

Don’t make yourself a victim_J.0_Lawal

Recommended Citation:

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 19). Don’t make yourself a victim. Youth for Jesus, 7(45).

“Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” (Gen 4:8NIV)

Why did Cain kill his brother Abel? He killed him because he was jealous of him. He was jealous of him because, while God accepted Abel and his offering, He did not accept him and his offering. He had probably thought that he would be more favoured by God on that occasion. But when things did not go as he had expected, he became very jealous and angry. And because he would not deal with these things, he ended up murdering his own brother, a brother that he was supposed to be protecting.

But why did he succeed in murdering Abel? He succeeded in murdering him because Abel was either naïve or unobservant. As the bible tells us, after Cain and his offering to God had been rejected, he became very angry. He was so enraged that God had to quickly come to talk to him about his attitude and sin’s desire to posses him to do something stupid and dangerous. (Cf. Gen 4:1-6)

Now did Abel not see that his brother’s face was downcast because God did not accept him and his offering? If he did not notice that, then, he was totally unobservant. That means he was not paying much or any attention to what was happening around him. How, then, could he possibly tell if he was safe to be where he was or not?

Personally, I do not think that Abel was unobservant. The account does not show that he was unobservant. On the contrary, the account suggests that he too could see that his brother was very angry because of how God treated him and his offering. Yet he was not on his guard against him. Why? It must have been because he did not think at all that his brother could harm him, regardless of how angry or jealous he was.

But that was naivety on Abel’s part. It was naïve of him not to know that anger could turn someone into a mad man, making him do unthinkable things, things that he himself will later regret doing. It was also naïve of him not to know that jealousy always poisons people’s lives, making them dangerous and unreasonable. Since Cain, then, was filled with both of these things, he should have been on his guard against him.

Unfortunately, he was not on his guard against him. So, he lost his life prematurely to the cruelty of his own blood brother. And God did not protect him. Why did He not protect him, even though he was a righteous man? We are not told the reason in the account or anywhere else in the bible. But our Lord Jesus tells us something that may help us understand why God may not protect a righteous person from the wickedness of those in his world. He says:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matt 10:16NIV)

Did you see that? The righteous is not just supposed to be as innocent or meek as a dove, he is also supposed to be as clever as a snake. In other words, he is supposed to always be attentive, observant and on his guard against any form of danger. Otherwise, he will often make himself a victim of the hatred, bitterness, jealousy or sexual harassment of the wolves in his world.

Truly, regardless of how smart or clever we may be in our conduct, if God does not protect us from the evil schemes and anger of the wolves in our world, we will not be safe. But we should at least first obey His command that tells us to be as clever as snakes in dealing with those of this world. Then we can trust Him to take care of every other thing that concerns our safety.

If we, however, fail to obey what He has told us to do, we may end up making ourselves a victim of the wicked, as Abel did. And God may not protect us. Yes, He will avenge us. But we would have already suffered. My prayer is that you will never again suffer from the hands of the wicked and unreasonable. But you too should be as clever as snakes, just as you are as meek as doves.

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)

Categories
Single Message Series

Open up leaders_J.O._Lawal

Recommended Citation:

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 9). Open up leaders. See to it.

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I want to further share with you on the need for us to take seriously what Scriptures tell us about watching over one another as believers in Christ Jesus. And in the last lesson, I showed you from the Scriptures what we are told to do to so-called believers that are living in sin. We are told not to associate with them. But then, I asked, “Should we wait for any of our brethren to become immoral or ungodly and then have to dissociate with them? Should we allow that to happen at all?”

As we also see in Scriptures, there are instructions to us not to allow any of our brethren to fall away. And I want us to look at some of those instructions again. First, in Hebrews 3, we are told this:

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:12-13NIV)

We have a similar instruction in Hebrews 12. From verse 15, we are told this:

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears he could not change what he had done.” (Hebrews 12:15-17NIV)

These instructions are all pointing to the same thing, which is that we are to keep watch over one another, so that none of us develops a sinful heart that turns away from the living God. That means we are to pay attention to ourselves, so that none of us becomes immoral or ungodly. Otherwise, we will also have to obey the word of God that tells us not to associate with them. The word of God tells us not to associate with them for two major reasons. The first is that they may see how terrible their condition is and see the need for them to repent. The second is that they may not pollute us. And we must bear these two reasons in mind. If anyone that we know to be a believer becomes immoral or ungodly in any way, we have to dissociate ourselves from him for these reasons, if he is not willing to repent.

But I am saying that we should not allow any of our brethren to become immoral or ungodly. And this is not just something good for us to do; we are also given instructions to do so in the bible. We are told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful heart that turns away from the living God or falls short of the grace of God.

However, we also need to know how to go about this. If we do not know how to go about this, we will just realize that, day after day, we will keep having brethren that are turning away from the living God and won’t be able to stop them. So, first, we need to know what is happening in the lives of our brethren. And for us to be able to do that, we must be deliberately involved in their lives.

Now I know that someone may ask, “What if our brethren don’t want us to be involved in their lives at all?” I will come to that later. But we must deliberately be involved in their lives. That way, we can know what is going on in their lives – what businesses they are involved in, what sort of friends they have, what places they go, what people they listen to or follow, what teachings they are exposed to and so forth.

All this, of course, does not mean that we have to unduly police our brethren or interfere with their lives. I will get to that as well. But it is just important that we are fully involved in their lives that we may know how they are faring. Look at some of the things Paul says along these lines to the Thessalonians:

“But brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul, did, again and again – but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” (1Thessalonians 2:17-20NIV)

Here Paul is expressing their desire as apostles to visit these brethren in Thessalonica. They had ministered to them and among them for a while and had also had to leave them hurriedly because of persecutions. But after a while, they began to long for them. They wanted to see them and know how they were faring. And personally, as he points out in the text, he made effort to go and see them. But twice, as he equally points out, Satan prevented him from doing so.

How did Satan prevent Paul from visiting these Thessalonian brethren? He would not say. He does not disclose that in the letter. But he makes it clear in the text that it was Satan that prevented him from visiting them on the two occasions that he had attempted to do so.

Now if visiting them was not important or significant to their faith, why would Satan prevent him from doing so? I mean that if Satan did not know the relevance or significance of Paul’s visit to these brethren, why would he prevent him from visiting them twice? So, even Satan knows how important it is for us to keep in touch with one another as believers. And he will do whatever he can to isolate us and keep us from continually fellowshipping with one another, so that he may have his way with some of us or all of us and ruin our faith. We, unfortunately, are the only ones that seem not to appreciate the significance of this.

Well, Paul, in chapter 3 of this same letter to the Thessalonians, goes on to say:

“So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labours might have been in vain.” (1Thessalonians 3:1-5NIV)

Look at that. Paul was concerned about visiting these brethren because he wanted to know how they were faring in the faith. And he was concerned in this manner because he was aware of the devices of the devil. He knew that Satan would use any opportunity he had to tempt these brethren and to turn them away from the truth of Christ Jesus. So, he wanted to be sure of their faith conditions by visiting them.

Now that is how it has to be for us too. We must be concerned about the faith conditions of our brethren all the time. And to show that we are concerned, we have to be participating fully in their lives all the time. Yes, we have to know what is going on in their lives.

However, charity begins at home. What I mean is that we have to set an example in this manner. In other words, we, especially those of us who are leaders, have to make our lives open to the brethren. That way, we can continually get to know what is going on in their lives. So, we have to set examples for them. We have to let them know what is going on in our own lives. That way, they can see that we have nothing to hide and that our lives are a clear example of what we are telling them to do or how we are asking them to live.

In Ephesians chapter 6, from verse 21, Paul says this:

“Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.” (Ephesians 6:21-22NIV)

Paul is setting an example for the believers here of how important it is for them to know what is going on in one another’s life. Otherwise, they may not be able to fully fulfill the word of God that tells us to watch over one another. Well, he says I am sending Tychicus to you to tell you how I am and what I am doing. That means he wants the brethren to know how he is faring and what is going on in his life and in the lives of his ministry companions. And if he is opening up to them like this, then, they too will not see it as something strange to share their lives with him.

Also, in Colossians, chapter 4, from verse 7, Paul says:

“Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.” (Colossians 4:7-9NIV)

Paul, again, is being open to the brethren about what is going on in his life. So, no one will have to start investigating his life or carrying around any rumour about him. That is because he has already made plain and open his life and what is going on in it. Therefore, no one will say that they do not know what is going on in his life or what he is up to.

You can see, then, that it is important that people know what is going on in the lives of their leaders. Otherwise, they may begin to misbehave. Remember that when the children of Israel did not know what was going on with Moses, they began to misbehave (Exodus 32). In like manner, when people cannot tell what is going in the lives of their leaders, when they cannot see anything about how they are living their lives, they may begin to misbehave.

Yes, leaders may be giving their brethren all kinds of faith instructions. They can be instructing them on the relevance of praying and studying Scriptures. But can they see them praying? Can they see them studying the word of God in any serious way? Can they see them living righteous lives where they live or work? If they cannot see these things, then, they may not take very seriously the instructions that these leaders are giving to them about living right. So, I am saying that, as leaders, if we will be able to fully get involved in the lives of our brethren and fulfill the word of God that tells us to see to it that none of us falls away from God’s grace, we must first be open with our own lives.

Before I move on, let me give you another Scripture that shows us the significance of watching over one another. It is from Acts of the Apostles, chapter 20. From verse 28, it says:

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:28-31NIV)

We see here, again, how important it is for us to keep watch over one another. It is important because, as I said before, Satan will be looking for whatever opportunity he has to deceive us and turn our hearts away from the living God. He will be looking for any opportunity he has to introduce impurities, greed, bitterness and other forms of ungodly things into our lives. And once he succeeds in sowing any of these wicked seeds into our lives, it will not be long before the seed grows and begins to bring forth fruit. Then we will become upset and begin to raise alarms.

But what were we doing when Satan was planting those seeds? We were not paying attention. And we would not know anything until the seeds have become big trees that are producing fruit of immorality, greed, jealousy and so forth. If we, however, will begin to pay sufficient attention to what is going on in our lives, then, we might be able to tell when Satan is sowing some evil seeds into our brethren’s lives and then move in to prevent him or uproot his seeds from their lives.

Well, the point I am making is that it is important that we watch over our brethren, if we do not want any of us to fall short of the grace of God or becoming unbelieving and turn away from the living God. Then I am saying for us to be able to watch over them well, we must be involved in one another’s lives. And the leaders must take the lead in doing this. The leaders must first make their own lives open to their brethren. Then they can expect them to follow suit.

Now look at what Paul says about this in 2Corinthians, chapter 6, from verse 11:

“We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange – I speak as to my children – open wide your hearts also.” (2Corinthians 6:11-13NIV)

Paul, here, is challenging the Corinthians to be open to them about their lives and affairs. And on what basis is he doing this? He is doing it on the basis of the fact that he and his ministry companions have already done this to the Corinthians. They have already opened wide their hearts to them, expressing their love and concerns for them. Why, then, are they not doing the same? That is his question to them. Why are they withholding their affection from these servants of God? Why don’t they want them to know what is going on in their lives? Well, he tells them that as a fair exchange, they too should open wide their hearts.

In like manner, there are brethren who may not want us to know what is going on in their lives until we begin to deliberately show them what is going on in our own lives. When we let these ones know what is going on in our lives, then, they will not think of it as strange, if we are asking them to let us know what is going on in their lives. So, leaders must take this very seriously.

If a leader wants to travel, for instance, he should let his brethren know. But there are leaders who will not want their brethren to know their movement. Even if it is fear that will not allow them to do that, it is still inexcusable. I do not, of course, mean that you have to inform the brethren of every step you take. But they need to be able to tell where you go and where you don’t go and what you do and what you don’t do with your life. They don’t have to rely on outsiders to be telling them about you or about your life. It really should not be in the dailies or on the social media that they will be finding out what you have been up to.

So, let them know what is going on in your life, if you are not having some secret affairs. And be deliberate about this. Be deliberate about letting them how you are faring in life and in business. Let them see what sort of challenges you are facing and how you are handling them by the power of the Spirit of God. You will be using this to teach them to open up.

Now remember that until we know what is going on in their lives, we may not be able to help them stay in the faith. Also, remember that if any of our brethren should fall away from the grace of God, we will have no choice but to dissociate ourselves from them. But what is the guarantee that they will be restored to the Lord, if we have to stay away from them in that manner? Yes, we have to stay away from them so that we do not become corrupted by them and so that they may see the need to repent. But what is the guarantee that they will repent on their own?

So, it is better we do not let any of our brethren fall away at all. Yes, regardless of how much attention we give to some brethren, if they are determined to mess up, they will surely mess up, just as Judas Iscariot did. But we have to be sure that we do our own part in ensuring that none of our brethren falls away. And I am saying that in order to do that, we must be fully involved in one another’s lives.

Let us pray.

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 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025

Guard your heart_J.0._Lawal

Recommended Citation

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 16). Guard your heart. From Pastor’s Desk, Vol. 12, No. 46.

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 another week of the month of March 2025. I pray that God will daily keep your heart from being messed up by the devil in any way, so that you will never take any step that will result in regrets for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov 4:23NIV) What does this mean? It means that one of the most important things you can do for yourself as a child of God is to guard your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. And why is this important? It is important because everything you do in life proceeds from your heart. If you, then, will not protect it well, Satan will fill it with all kinds of evil. And before you know what is happening, you will have found yourself doing what you never thought you could do.

For instance, did Judas Iscariot think that he could betray the Lord Jesus, when he first became one of His apostles? I don’t think so. Yet, because he would not guard his heart against greed, Satan succeeded in entering him and driving him to betray his Lord and Saviour. What a shame! (Cf. John 13:2&27)

What about David? When he was first ordained by God to be king over Israel, did he think that he could one day snatch another man’s wife and then kill the man? No! He loved God too much for that. Yet, because he did not guard his heart against lust, he ended up doing the unthinkable. He snatched Bathsheba from Uriah and also killed the man. (Cf. 2Sam 11)

Now if David, a man after God’s own heart, could act like that, simply because he would not guard his heart, don’t you think that we too can do similar or worse things? And if Judas Iscariot, a man privileged to live, eat and drink with Jesus, could betray Him because he would not guard his heart, don’t you think that we too can do similar or worse things?

Therefore, in the wisdom of God, He tells us to take the protection of our hearts against evil thoughts and desires very seriously. Otherwise, we may end up messing up our lives and faith in ways beyond what anyone can ever imagine. So, shut the door of your heart against those thoughts of bitterness, jealousy, hate or lust. And my prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart by His Spirit to daily do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a pleasant 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 Youth for Jesus

Cursing the Deaf_Lawal_J.0

Recommended Citation

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 12). Cursing the deaf. Youth for Jesus, 7(44).

“Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.” (Lev 19:14NIV)

What point is God making by saying to us the things we have in our opening text? It is that we are not to use the weaknesses or handicaps of others to exploit or hurt them. Doing so, as He further points out, can only show that we do not fear Him.

Now, of course, we may say, “I can never do that. I can never curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person.” But any time we are using someone’s ignorance, weakness or position of disadvantage in life to exploit or hurt them, that is exactly what we are doing. We are cursing the deaf. We are putting a stumbling block in front of the blind.

For instance, a pastor that I once knew was transferred to replace another pastor in a chapter of their assembly. And the first thing he did when he got to that assembly was to reduce the stipends being given to all the staff he met there. Why? Well, his reason was that they were performing far below what they were being given.

But what those people were being given at the time for what they were doing was quite little, compared to what most graduates like them were earning. Yet this man did not care at all. He just did what he felt that he had to do.
Now was he not afraid that those staff members may resign and leave? No, he was not. Why was he not afraid? First, he was not afraid because he knew that those staff members had put in some years of their lives into serving that church, years that they could have used in building some careers, furthering their studies or building some businesses. So, leaving the church office like that would be like starting all over again. It would, then, take a very bold and daring person to do so.

Second, that man was not afraid that his staff would leave because he was aware that most of them, if not all of them, came to work in the church office because they believed that God wanted them to be there to serve Him. So, he judged that they would not want him to start telling the church members that the reason they left was that they were unwilling to make sacrifices for God. And did he judge right or not? He did.

In fact, none of those staff members left at the time. Instead, they all stayed to justify the fact that they were not working for God because of money but because they loved Him. But were they happy to stay? No! What, then, can we say that the man did to them? He used their situation, their sense of commitment to God, to exploit them. And that is nothing but cursing the deaf and putting a stumbling block in the way of the blind.

Now there are several other things that we too can do that will amount to cursing the deaf or putting a stumbling block in the way of the blind. For instance, people will know that the price of an article has gone terribly up. Yet they will go to someone who doesn’t know and buy everything they have from them at the old price, instead of telling them that the price had changed. And too often, it is their own customers that do this to them. So, the person ends us suffering some losses that could have been avoided. What is that? it is cursing the deaf and putting a stumbling block in the way of the blind.

What about those who take advantage of those who come to them for help in dealing with sexual abuse or sexual sins? They are cursing the deaf and putting a stumbling block in the way of the blind. How? They are well aware of the weakness of those coming to them. They already know that they cannot help themselves in their situation. Yet they mess them up while claiming to be offering them help. Are they not cursing the deaf and putting a stumbling block in the way of the blind? They are!

In any case, the word of God tells us that a lack of the fear of God is what will make us do such things. That, then, means there will surely be consequences. So, if there is any way in which you are using people’s ignorance, handicaps, weaknesses or position of disadvantage to exploit, harass or hurt them, you need to repent before it is too late. That is because God is watching you. And He will pay you back in full for whatever you do, good or bad. 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 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Be Careful and Prayerful_J.0.Lawal

Recommended Citation: Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 9). Be careful and prayerful. From Pastor’s Desk, 12(45).

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to the second week of the month of March 2025. And I pray that God will keep you from falling into any trap set by the devil for your soul, so that you may stand blameless at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I want to admonish you with these words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36NIV)

What are the main things the Lord wants us to note and take seriously, as we see in this bible text? The first is the need for us to be careful. Why do we need to be careful? The reason is that our enemy, Satan, will daily use all kinds of things to fight our souls in order to enslave us and make us forget that this earth is not our permanent home. And if we are not careful, we will have been lost to the anxieties of this life and to all kinds of ungodly things that will ruin our lives and souls before we know what is happening.

So, be careful. Be careful of where you go. Be careful of who you make friends with. Be careful of what you allow your eyes to see and what you allow your ears to hear. And be careful of what thoughts you permit in your mind. Otherwise, you may just lose yourself to the world and to the devil before you know it.

The second thing the Lord wants us to pay attention to, as we see in that bible text, is our devotion to prayer. There are, of course, all kinds of prayers. But the prayers He is talking about here have to do with the preservation of our souls in these last days. So, first, He tells us to pray that we will be able to escape all the terrible things, accidents, calamities, plagues, famines and so forth, that will be happening in the last days. Second, He tells us to pray that we will be able to stand before Him when He returns.

What is the point of all this, then? It is that none of us can escape the dangers and corruption of the last days, if we are not preserved by God Himself. Our boldness, determination and strong will are not enough to preserve us. God Himself has to preserve us. Otherwise, we will just wake up one day and realise that we too have become everything we have once preached against.

Therefore, apart from being careful in our daily walk in this life, we must also give ourselves to earnestly praying that God, in His mercy, will preserve our lives and souls from all the dangers and corruption of these last days. And if we will continually do this in faith, we will not be put to shame. Instead, we will be preserved pure and blameless when our Lord Jesus returns.

Do 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)