Category: FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2022

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Are you helpful to them? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | October 16, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 24

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 15, 2022
No Comments on Are you helpful to them? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | October 16, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 24

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to another week of the month of October 2022. And I pray that God will cause you to multiply in usefulness to Him and to those in your world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he says this to him about John Mark: “…Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” (2Tim 4:11NIV) But there was a time Paul did not want this same Mark to travel with him at all in carrying out his ministry duties. And that was because he had once deserted him and Barnabas when they seriously needed him. So, Paul considered him at the time useless to him in ministry matters. (Cf. Acts 13:13; Acts 15:36-41)

But Mark did not remain useless to God or to His servants for life. He grew up in spiritual things. At some point, he acknowledged whatever bad habits or attitudes he had that made him useless to the people of God in his life and dealt with them by the power of the Spirit of God. So, later on in Paul’s life, he insisted that Timothy look for him and bring him to him, because he was helpful to him in his ministry.

There is another young man mentioned in the bible who had a similar life story. He too was once useless to his master, even though his name meant useful. In fact, he was so useless and irresponsible that he ran away from his master. But when he met Paul, he became born again. Since then, his life took on a new direction and he began to live up to his name, ‘useful’. And he became so useful to Paul that he felt like keeping him to be with him for life. But because he wanted his master to see how God had changed his life, to freely forgive him for all the bad things he had done to him and to also enjoy his usefulness, he sent him back to him. And I am talking about none other than Onesimus, Philemon’s servant. (Philemon 1)

We can see, then, that God has the power to make useless people useful and irresponsible people responsible, if they will yield their lives to him. And He wants to make you too useful and responsible in all your relationships. But are you willing to be useful and responsible to Him and in all your relationships? Unless you are willing to be useful in an increasing manner, God cannot do much for you. It is only those who are willing that God will enable to do those things that are necessary for them to become useful to those in their lives and to continually increase in usefulness.

Well, like Paul, leaders of every church of God need useful people to support them in their ministry and to keep moving the work forward. They need those they can rely on to support them with their time, spiritual gifts, money, skills and anything they have. And are you one of those people? Are you useful to your church leaders in any way? If they are thinking of those to rely on to get certain things done, will your name come to their minds at all? If this is not the case, then, you are useless to them. And if you are useless to your leaders in church, you are most likely useless to the God who has appointed them over you.

Do you, then, want to remain useless to them or do you want to become useful? That is the question for you to answer as you face this new week. And this goes beyond asking them, “How can I be useful to you?” It is also about showing them what things you can do to become useful to them. I pray that God will lead you away from everything that is making you useless to Him and to those in your world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a fruitful 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)

Tags Are, Are you helpful to them?, Helpful

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Always learning but never gaining | Pst. J.O. Lawal | October 09, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 23

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 8, 2022
No Comments on Always learning but never gaining | Pst. J.O. Lawal | October 09, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 23

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to the second week of the month of October 2022. I pray that Spirit of God will cleanse your life of everything that is limiting your fruitfulness with the word of God that is coming to you in this assembly, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, says this about certain people in the church that he must not have anything to do with: “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2Tim 3:6-7NIV) From what this apostle says here, we can see that one of the reasons he tells Timothy not to have anything to do with these brethren is that they are masters in the art of dominating and manipulating people, especially women.

But why is it often easy for them to manipulate and take over people’s lives and homes? It is because they usually go for those who are ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. In other words, they don’t target everybody. Instead, they target those that are dull in learning and acting on spiritual truths.

I once heard that a certain prophet had a culture of sleeping with married women that came to him for prayers about the problems of their lives. Why was this man successful in doing that? It was because his victims were gullible. And why were they gullible? It was because they had refused to embrace the truth of God that they had been learning.

Was it that they did not know God’s mind about adultery? Or was it that no one ever taught them that having sexual intercourse with someone that you are not married to is wrong? They must have been taught these things again and again, especially if they were Christians. But it is one thing for people to be learning the truth from God; it is another thing for them to understand the truth they are learning and see how it is applicable to their everyday lives.

When people fail to grasp the relevance of the truth they are learning in church, they will most likely not act on it. And it is such individuals that usually become preys of false teachers and false prophets. It is such people that easily fall for the deception of the devil and get corrupted, cheated or injured.

Now ask yourself, “Am I really learning anything from the things I am being taught in our church meetings?” You come week after week for church meetings to pray, worship God and learn His word. But are you really learning anything? Are you gaining the knowledge of the truth of Jesus through the things you are learning? And are you seeing the application of the truth you are learning to your life?

If your answer to all these questions is not ‘Yes’, then, you too are one of those that are ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore, we can’t trust you to act on the word of God that you are learning. Then even our prayers for you may not be able to protect you from those seeking to take advantage of you and ruin your life. My prayer, at any rate, is that God will fill your heart with a clear understanding of His word each time you hear it and also strengthen you to always act accordingly, so that you will never again be a prey of any liar or deceiver that Satan may send to ruin your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Tags Always, Always learning but never gaining, But, Gaining, Learning, Never

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Don’t be reluctant to do His will | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 25, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 22

Beloved: grace and peace without measure be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer. I welcome you with joy into the month of October 2022. My prayer is that your heart will be strengthened every day of the month to serve God wholeheartedly, so that you will be established in the place of His provisions for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things that the bible story of King Saul teaches us is that reluctance to fully do the will of God is as bad as complete disobedience to Him. And this could make us lose our place in His scheme of things. As the story goes, God, through Samuel, gave a direct command to King Saul to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they had. And did he go or not? He did. He went to fight the Amalekites and to destroy them and all their possessions.

However, when he got there, he failed to fully carry out the command of God. Look at how the bible puts that: “Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs — everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.” (1Sam 15:7-9NIV)

Did you see that? Saul and his men were reluctant to destroy all the animals of the Amalekites because of greed. Yes, they killed all the people and all their worthless and weak animals. But they were unwilling to destroy the best of their animals. And how did God judge that? He judged it as complete disobedience to Him and rebellion against Him. Therefore, He took the kingdom away from Saul and his descendants after him and gave it to someone else.

In like manner, if we are reluctant to fully obey God in any area of our lives, He may judge it as total disobedience to Him in all ways. In other words, partial disobedience to God is nothing other than complete disobedience to Him. And that may cost us certain positions or promotion that He has already destined for us. Therefore, if there is any area of your life in which you are reluctant to act on the will of God, you need to retrace your steps and begin to do what is right before it is too late.

Personally, I know what it means to know what God wants of you and yet to be reluctant to do it. It may be because of certain temporary enjoyment you are deriving from acting contrary to His will or because of fear of people or because of love for the praise of people. Whatever the reason may be, being reluctant to do what God wants us to do can only ultimately put us in trouble.

Our Lord Jesus, writing to the church in Thyatira, says this about one of their women: “I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Rev 2:21-23NIV) Did you see that? The Lord was going to punish that woman and those walking in her ways of adultery and idolatry with sickness and death. Why? It was because of her reluctance to repent and do His will.

So, no one can actually tell how the Lord will judge our reluctance to do His will in any area of our lives. And perhaps He is already judging us for our reluctance to wholeheartedly do His will in certain areas of our lives. We may never know this, if He does not reveal what He is doing to us. But whether we know or not, what is important is that we lose no time in doing what He expects of us in every area of our lives. Otherwise, things may get worse for us. I pray that God will set your heart right wherever you are reluctant to do His will and strengthen you to do what is right before it is too late. Amen.

Do have a great October 2022.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Don't lose your place, Faith, From pastor's desk, God's will, HIS WILL, wisdom

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Don’t steal from them | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 25, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 21

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of September 2022. My prayer is that God will secure all that is yours and all that He has appointed this year for your enjoyment for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I offer that prayer for you because it is in keeping with the words of David’s Psalm that says, “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.” (Ps 16:5NIV) Who secured David’s inheritance in life for him? God! And who alone is able to secure our inheritance, profit, job, position, joy, peace, relationships and lives for us? God! And that is why we must learn to daily entrust everything that we have and that concerns us to Him.

However, as we trust God to secure our lot in life for us and keep us from being robbed or cheated, we too should see to it that we are not stealing from others or robbing them. The word of God says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” (Eph 4:28NIV) So, in whatever way you are stealing from those around you, you have to stop it.

You know that we don’t have to carry a gun to steal from people before we steal from them. Anytime we take for ourselves what we are not permitted, authorised or privileged to take from others, we are stealing. Also, anytime we refuse to pay people, organisations or governments duly for services they have rendered to us or for jobs they have done for us, we are stealing from them. And these things will certainly affect the security of what belongs to us to one degree or the other.

Also, as we trust God to preserve our lot for us, we need to be careful that we are not stealing from Him. How do we steal from God? Is it by taking money for ourselves from offering bags or by breaking into a church meeting place and taking for ourselves the money or facilities there? Yes, by doing any of these things we will be stealing from God. And that will affect our safety and the safety of our possessions. But stealing from God is more serious than those. It also involves keeping back for ourselves what we should have given to God’s servants who are ministering to us.

Why did God call the Jews of Malachi’s day robbers? Was it because they broke into the temple’s treasury and stole things from there? No! It was because they would not give to God’s priests that were ministering to them the tithes and offerings meant for their upkeep. And why were they told to give these priests their tithes and offerings? It was because God did not give them any inheritance in the land and had commanded them to devote themselves to serving all the people. So, by not giving to those priests what was meant for them, the people were robbing them and also robbing God who had chosen them to serve them. No wonder they and their possessions were not safe from the activities of devourers. (Cf. Numbers 18; Malachi 3:8-12)

In like manner, the Lord has commanded us to take care of those He has sent to minister to us with our resources. Therefore, when He was sending out His apostles to preach, He did not give them any money to take along. Also, He did not leave any money for them when He was ascending into the heavens. And that was because He expected those that they were serving to take care of them. His words were, “The worker deserves his wages.” So, if those that they were serving would not take care of them, they would be stealing from them. That, of course, as the Lord points out, will keep the blessings of their ministries from fully settling on them. (Cf. Luke 10:1-7; 1Cor 9:14; Gal 6:6)

So, if we do not take giving to support our ministers of God seriously (AND ONLY FEW OFTEN TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY IN MOST OF OUR CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLIES), we are stealing from them and stealing from God. How, then, can we expect the blessings of their ministries to fully work in us or expect the things God has given to us to be kept safe from devourers? This explains why brethren hardly prosper in material things in assemblies where their leaders are not joyfully and adequately cared for. Such brethren may be devoted to staying away from sin and walking in righteousness. But they won’t prosper as brethren who are not as devoted to living in righteousness as they are but who are devoted to caring for their leaders.

Well, the point of all this is that if you are robbing God by robing His ministers of the things you are supposed to give to them or do for them, the manifestation and security of your prosperity will be adversely affected. So, repent now and begin to do what is right. Otherwise, Satan won’t stop seeing opportunities to steal from you.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, From pastor's desk, wisdom

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Don’t steal from them|By: J.O. Lawal|Date: September 25, 2022|Series: From Pastor’s Desk|Number: Vol. 11, No. 21

Have a lovely week.

Tags 2020, 2021, alaythia bible church, christianity, Faith, From pastor's desk, wisdom

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

An evangelical woman|By J.O. Lawal|Date: September 11, 2022| Series: From Pastor’s Desk|Number: Vol. 11, No. 19

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 10, 2022
No Comments on An evangelical woman|By J.O. Lawal|Date: September 11, 2022| Series: From Pastor’s Desk|Number: Vol. 11, No. 19

Beloved: grace and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the second week of the month of September 2022. My prayer is that God will fill your heart with great inspiration to lead many others to Him, so that they also can enjoy His goodness and salvation, just as you are enjoying them. Amen.

In John’s gospel, he shares a story with us about a Samaritan woman that our Lord Jesus met by the well of Jacob in a town called Sychar. Evidently, the woman we are talking about must have a very troublesome one. That is because, as the conversation our Lord with her reveals, she had gone through five different marriages and had been divorced by her five different husbands. And even at the time the Lord met her, she had moved in with another man that she was not married to at all. Imagine, then, the kind of reputation she must have had in that town and among her people. I believe that is the explanation for her being all alone at the well to fetch water. She was somebody most people did not want to have anything to do with. (Cf. John 4)

Yet, when the Lord was done talking with her and introducing her to His well of living waters, she left her water jar, went back into the city and practically brought everybody with her to listen to Him. And that was how He ended up spending two more days with them.

But how did this troublesome woman suddenly become evangelical? How did this woman that nobody wanted to associate with succeed in bringing a whole town to Jesus? She must have spoken passionately to all the people about her experience with the Lord. That means what she heard from Him so blessed her that she forgot about her bitterness and hatred for those around her and began to freely tell them to stop deceiving themselves and come and meet their Lord and Messiah.

In like manner, if we have been blessed at all by our Lord Jesus, He expects us to become evangelical like this woman, forget about all the wrong things people have done to us and begin to lead them to Him. This is so that they too, like us, can experience His salvation and goodness in their lives. Unfortunately, many of us are not doing anything about this. We are not inviting others to come and join us in the beautiful fellowship we are having with the Lord and His people.

Why, then, are we like this? Could it be that we are not enjoying His goodness in our lives at all? Or could it be that what He is doing for us and in our lives is not worth talking about? Or could it be that we are ashamed to be associated with Him? Whatever our reasons may be, it is selfish of us not to lead others in our lives and around us to the one that is doing our lives good and bearing all our burdens for us moment after moment.

So, if the Lord has been nothing but good to you in your life, home and affairs, as we face this new week, become evangelical like that Samaritan woman and begin to lead those around to join you in fellowshipping with our Lord Jesus Christ and with us too. Truly, you may not know how to preach. That woman also did not know how to preach. Yet she brought all her townspeople to our Lord Jesus, the one who knew what to say to them. You too should bring all those people in your life who are in need of the Lord Jesus into our fellowship. And the Lord will give us the right words to say to them and meet them at the point of their needs. May the Spirit of God will your heart with great passion and boldness to act accordingly, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have yourself a splendid week.

Tags abc, alaythia bible church, christianity, From pastor's desk

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Take submission seriously | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 04, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 18

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the month of September 2022. My prayer is that none of the beautiful things God has prepared for your enjoyment in the month will be hindered from being yours, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now when we are talking about people experiencing hindrances in their lives, it is not every time that Satan is to be held responsible. Sometimes, God Himself is to be held responsible for it. But why will God, who loved humanity so much that He gave His only begotten Son for them, want to hinder any man or woman from advancing in life? Pride is the reason.

Both James and Peter in their epistles tell us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5). So, if you are proud, you can surely expect God’s resistance to progress in certain or all of the areas of your life. And one way we often unconsciously manifest pride is in our unwillingness to submit to authority.

As we see in the bible, there are people God has already commanded us to submit ourselves to. For example, our parents, husbands, employers and bosses, community leaders and government leaders are among those He wants us to submit to. He does not want us to disrespect these people or to disobey them, where their instructions do not conflict with His word and principles for righteous living. And if we go against this and begin to disregard them, we are simply walking in pride and will certainly see Him in action against our progress. Only He knows, then, how many of us are being limited or hindered in life because of this. (Cf. Romans 13:1-5; Eph 5:22; Eph 6:1-3; 1Pet 2:13-14; 1Pet 3:1-2)

Furthermore, in the church, we are taught by the Lord to submit to our leaders out of reverence for Christ (Eph 2:21). That means the church of God is not a place where you flex your muscles and act as you like. There are people God has placed over you there to watch over your soul and care for you, so that you may become all that He wants you to become. It is important, therefore, that you yield yourself to these people and not make it difficult for them to lead you, as long as they are not leading you away from the truth of God’s word. Otherwise, as the bible points out, it will not be for your benefit at all. God will certainly deal with you according to your pride. (Cf. Heb 13:17)

Unfortunately, there are many in the church today that pride will not make them learn what will profit them or make them experience the fullness of the goodness of God that could have been theirs through their leaders. They are like the nobles among the men of Tekoa mentioned in the book of Nehemiah, who would not submit to their supervisors when the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt by all the people (Neh 3:5). Such people are unconsciously hindering the work of God among His people. So, He too will limit His works in their lives.

You can see, then, that rebellion to authority is not at all in your interest. So, deal with whatever form of pride you have in you that is causing you to act in rebellion towards those that God has appointed over you. And may be the Spirit of God lead and also strengthen you to do what is right about this matter, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a pleasant week.

Tags alaythia bible church, counsel, Faith, From pastor's desk, submission, submission to God, wisdom

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022

Don’t lose your place | Pst. J.O. Lawal |FPD28/08/2022

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 28, 2022
No Comments on Don’t lose your place | Pst. J.O. Lawal |FPD28/08/2022

Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 17

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you with joy to the last Sunday of this month, the month of August 2022. And I pray that your place in the kingdom of our God and Father will never be given to another in Jesus’ name. Amen.

After the ascension of our Lord Jesus, the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem and held a meeting to choose someone else in place of Judas Iscariot. And Luke, reporting the occasion, says, “”For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, “‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “‘May another take his place of leadership.’” (Acts 1:20NIV) Did you see that? Peter, on that occasion, drew the attention of the other disciples to what the Scriptures say about Judas and how another person must take his place in the kingdom of God. But why must another person take the place meant for this man? It was because he lost it. And what made him lose it? It was greed that made him lose it.

In like manner, each child of God has a place in the kingdom of God, a place specially prepared for him by the Father. In fact, our Lord Jesus says people will come from every part of the world and take the respective places prepared by the Father for them in His kingdom (Matt 8:11). But taking one’s place in God’s kingdom while in this world is one thing; keeping their place till the very end of all things is another thing entirely.

Judas, like the rest of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, also came to take his place in God’s kingdom. But he eventually lost it. And God alone knows how many like him have lost their places in the kingdom and have had them occupied by some other people. So, it is not enough for us to know that we have a place in the kingdom with our Lord Jesus and the Father. It is also important that we don’t lose our place with them.

Peter, in his second epistle, says the following to us: “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” (2Peter 3:17NIV) Did you see that? If we are not on our guard, we may fall from our secure position in the kingdom of God. Greed made Judas fall. And it can make us fall too. But even if it does not make us fall, what about pride, lust, rebellion, jealousy or bitterness? Will any of those not make us fall?

If Judas Iscariot had been on his guard against greed, he would not have fallen the way he did. And remember that the Lord taught them to be on their guard against all forms of greed (Luke 12:15). Unfortunately, he did not pay attention to that. So, he fell and lost his place in the kingdom. And if we too won’t pay attention to what He is saying to us about the things we ought to be on our guard against, we may as well end up like Judas.

Yes, we may travel all around the world in the name of the Lord Jesus and do all kinds of things by His power, just it was the case with Judas Iscariot. But all of these things won’t matter after all, if we should lose our place in His kingdom. And prayer is that our hearts will be kept steadfast in the truth all the time, so that we will not give in to anything that will make us lose our place in our Father’s eternal kingdom. Amen.

Have a great week.

Tags Don't lose your place, From Pastors Desk, office, position, your place

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

What do you want to hear? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: August 21, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 16

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of August 2022. And I pray that God will continually humble your heart before Him, so that you will always embrace His word for your daily edification, exaltation and salvation. Amen.

Paul, writing to Timothy in a letter, says to him, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2Tim 4:3-4NIV) Who are the people this apostle is referring to here? Is he referring to unbelievers? No! Rather, he is referring to so-called Christians, to people who claim to have been born again through faith in Christ Jesus.

And what does Paul say about these people? He says they have a wrong attitude towards the truth of the of the Lord Jesus. In what way is their attitude towards the truth of Jesus wrong? First, as he points out, it is by not putting up with it. In other words, they detest it and do not want to embrace it. In fact, Paul says they turn their ears away from it. Why? It offends and hurts them. Why does it offend and hurt them? It is because it is contrary to their way of life.

Perhaps you too hate to hear the truth about God or about yourself or about life in general. Perhaps you too are continually turning your ears away from the truth when you are confronted with it. It only means that your life is contrary to it and you don’t want to admit it. Therefore, you will never be free from whatever binds you and is destroying you, for it is only the truth that makes people free (John 8:32).

Another thing that Paul says about these so-called Christians is that they gather around themselves a great number of teachers that will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. That means these people know what they want to hear. But it is not the truth. And in order to satisfy themselves, they will do anything to look for those who will tell them what they want to hear. Even if they have to pay handsomely for this to happen, they will do so.

It is no wonder, then, that we have a lot of preachers today who have departed from the truth of Jesus in order to teach errors, myths and other related nonsense. And interestingly, they also have a great number of people that are willing to follow them anywhere.

Now perhaps you too have certain things you want to hear from God or your church leaders other than the truth. Maybe there are things about money, sex, Christian devotion and so forth that you want to hear from God but which are contrary to what He wants to tell you. I want you to know that you will never be free from the trap of sin and death until you humble yourself to hear and embrace the truth He is bringing to you. Yes, you may go from prayer mountains to prayer mountains or from prophets to prophets for deliverance or exaltation. But as long as what you want to hear is not what God wants to say but what your itching ears want to hear, you will never experience the salvation or exaltation you are seeking.

So, what do you want to hear? Is it God’s truth that will bring you perfect liberty in your life or men’s lies and stories that have no power to give you any serious help? As for me, it is the truth of God that I want to hear all the time. And that is why I join Habakuk to say, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.” (Hab 2:1NIV)

Do have a week of delight.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, From pastor's desk, wisdom

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 General Post Pastor's Desk

False claims | Pst. J.O. Lawal | August 14, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 15

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 14, 2022
No Comments on False claims | Pst. J.O. Lawal | August 14, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 15

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It with great pleasure that I welcome you to the third week of this month, the month of August 2022. And my prayer is that you will be strengthened by the Spirit of God to turn away from everything that is not in agreement with the new life you have been called to live in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he tells him this: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”” (2Tim 2:19NIV) What are the main points of these words of admonition? The first is that the truth of God never changes. It will always be the same, regardless of the time or location. So, what God says about righteousness will never change. And what He says about sin will never change. It is now up to us to choose whether we want to stand by His word about these things or follow our own opinions.

The second point Paul wants us to pick is that God knows very well those who belong to Him and those who do not. He can always separate His own people from the crowds. Remember that He it was not difficult at all for Him to separate Noah and his family from the world of his days. And it was not difficult for Him to separate Lot and his family from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Also, it was not difficult for Him separate seven thousand people for Himself during the reign of that wicked King Ahab, even though the whole land was overloaded with idolatry at the time. (Cf. Gen 6; Gen 19; 1Kings 19)

Therefore, He has no trouble knowing those who belong to Him in this country of ours, even though our population is now above 200 million people. And if He has no trouble knowing that, you should know that He has no trouble knowing those who belong to Him in this town and in this assembly. The question, then, is this: Does God consider you as one of His own people in this town and in this assembly? Then do you know yourself to be one of His people? And you cannot be guessing here. It is either you know or you don’t know.

In any case, God knows that it is not everyone that calls himself a Christian, that attends church meetings, that speaks in tongues, that prophesies or that works miracles that belongs to Him. Jesus once said to the people that came to hear His sermon: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt 7:21-23NIV)

Did you see that? Many who attend church meetings, who bear bible names or who do all kinds of things in the name of Jesus will be sorry for themselves when the Lord comes. That is because He does not know them as His people. And why is that? It is because they are not devoted to doing His will. As Paul shows us in that word of admonition to Timothy, those who are calling on the name of Jesus must turn away from wickedness and give themselves to righteousness. It is a must for them to do so. Otherwise, their claims that they belong to Him are false.

Could it be, then, that our claims of belonging to Jesus are false too? Could it be that each time God looks at us, He simply sees us as self-deluded people, people who are deceiving themselves about their devotion to Him? And that is exactly how He sees us, if, even though we are calling on the name of Jesus, we have refused to turn away from sexual immorality, greed, pride, hypocrisy, lying, sorcery or any other wicked act of men.

Well, the word of God is coming to us now and telling us to stop deceiving ourselves and face the reality about our situation, so that God can truly save us from those things that are destroying us. And I pray that your heart will be rid of all forms of self-deception, if you are self-deceived, so that you can yield yourself truly to the Lord Jesus Christ and experience His saving power. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

Tags Claim, False, False claims