Category: FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2023

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Ever since I have known you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 26, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 47

Beloved: grace and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I give thanks to God for safely bringing us into the last week of this month, the month of March 2023. And I pray that He will also succeed in making our lives all that He intends them to be, according to His good purpose, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Now one may wonder if God can truly fail in accomplishing what He desires in people’s lives. But the word of God shows us that God can actually fail in fulfilling His good purpose in a man’s life. Why? It is because the fulfilment of God’s good purpose in our lives does not depend on God alone; it also depends on us. Yes, the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives also depends on our response to the word of His grace.

The bible says God’s word of grace is able to build us up and deliver our inheritance in Christ Jesus to us (Acts 20:32). But His word will not automatically build us up, if we do not humble ourselves to accept it and to act accordingly. Also, His word will not make us possess and enjoy our inheritance in Christ, if we will not wholeheartedly embrace and practise it.

For example, as we are further shown in the bible, even though God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with the sole purpose of taking them into a land flowing with milk and honey, He could not bring many of them into it. Why? It was because of their attitude towards His word. Most of them did not take His word coming to them seriously. And their attitude towards His word was so bad that Moses once said to them, “You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.” (Deut 9:24NIV)

Now think carefully about that. Moses pastored these people for about forty years or so and taught them everything they needed to know about the will God. Yet his testimony about them was they had always been rebellious and unwilling to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. So, for forty years, those people heard the word of God but refused to accept it or be changed by it. No wonder they never mature spiritually. No wonder most of them never made it to the land of their inheritance.

Unfortunately, many of God’s people today are not much different from these Israelites that Moses pastored. Though they have been in the church for years, they have refused to humble themselves before God’s word. So, if their leaders would testify about them, they also would most likely say, “You have been rebellious ever since I have known you,” or “You have been an adulterer ever since I have known you,” or “You have been stingy and selfish ever since I knew you.”

Perhaps this is the case with you. Perhaps it is this kind of bad testimony that your leader has to give about you. The word of God is coming to you again and saying, “You don’t have to continue like this, when you can repent and be set right.” And if you will listen to what He is saying to you and humble yourself and repent of your errors, He will forgive you and cleanse you of all your unrighteousness. Then His good purpose will begin to fully find expression in your life.

But if you refuse to listen to what God is saying to you and continue in your path of rebellion, pride, immorality, selfishness, stinginess or laziness, then, know that you can go on like that for the remaining days of your life and never become the person God wants you to be or enjoy the things He wants you to enjoy in this life. My prayer is that your heart will be rid of any form of stubbornness that is keeping you from yielding yourself to God and His good word that is coming to you. Amen.

Have a blessed week.

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Don’t relent | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 19, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 46

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date March 18, 2023
No Comments on Don’t relent | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 19, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 46

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace 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. My prayer is that God will always strengthen you in every good word and deed, so that you will not be unprofitable in any way. Amen.

One of the things that are abundantly made clear to us in Scriptures is that we must not relent in generosity. That is because God will surely reward us for it. For example, writing to the Galatians, Paul says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9NIV) Did you see that? If it is not possible for us to become weary in doing good, we will not be given this instruction. If situations that could make us become weary in doing good do not exist, we will not be told not to become weary in doing good.

But such situations exist. Look at the challenges we are facing in the country, for instance. Fuel price has terribly gone up. There is scarcity of cash to spend everywhere. We also have to daily deal with epileptic power supply. And these things are causing prices of goods and services to increase daily, even though the money many are making is not increasing.

Now because of these things, many who have been generous to God and men before are drawing back and using the situation as their excuse for not being generous again. And if those who have been generous can act like that, how do you expect those who have never been generous to act? Well, the word of God has anticipated that things that can make us relent in generosity can happen. That is why it tells us not to become weary in doing so. Why? It is because at the right time God will reward us for all our acts of generosity. He will not overlook or forget any one of them.

So, if you have been drawing back on giving to the people in your life, you need to renew your devotion to doing so. And if you have been drawing back on giving for the work of God and to the people feeding you with His word, you need to renew your devotion to doing so. Otherwise, you will be cheating yourself of all the benefits of doing so. Remember that you cannot reap what you have not sowed. So, if you refuse to plant because you think your seed is not much and you eat up everything, you will surely have nothing to reap at the time of harvest.

This, I believe, is what Paul has in mind when he says the following to the Corinthians about their giving:

“And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.” (2Cor 8:10-12NIV)

From what Paul says here, it is clear that the Corinthian brethren had once been devoted to giving generously to support other churches of God in need. In fact, this apostle says that they were not only eager to give but also prompt in doing so. But at some point, for some reasons we would not know, they began to draw back in generosity and would not complete what they started.

Therefore, Paul had to address them in his letter about the matter and told them it is not enough for one to express willingness to give; you also have to match up that willingness by actually giving according to your means. And as he furthers points out, as long as the willingness is there, whatever we give will be accepted by God based on what we have and not what we do not have.

So, as long as you have something, be sure you are giving out of it instead of making excuses. That is because God will not reward your excuses but your obedience to His word. My prayer, then, is that you will never find yourself in a position in life in which you will be so empty that you will have nothing to give, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a peaceful week.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

If you want to be used by Him | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 12, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 45

Beloved: grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to another week of the month of March 2023. My prayer is that God will always find you useful in communicating His goodness to those in your world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God, as we see in the bible, is always looking for those that He can use to communicate His will and His goodness to humanity. And all He requires are those who will make themselves available to Him wholeheartedly. Then, even if they do not have any special ability that could make them outstanding among men, He will equip them with all that they need to serve His purpose. And if they will go on like that to faithfully serve Him, their names may end up being known all over the world.

What special abilities did people like Peter, James and John have to become men that God used in making His glory known all over the world? None that we are aware of! The bible indeed speaks of men like Joseph, Solomon and Daniel who were exceptional in wisdom, knowledge and understanding. But the men who were first called by the Lord to be His apostles in taking the good news of God’s grace all around the world are not described in the bible as exceptional in any way. On the contrary, we are told in the bible that most of them were unschooled. Yet God used them to do fantastic things, things too much for the wisdom of the world to grasp.

Why, then, did God pick such men to use? The bible says it is so that no one would be able to boast that it’s because of certain abilities that he possesses that God is using him. God is able to use anyone, regardless of their abilities or inadequacies. In fact, the bible says God is able to use foolish people to shame wise people and people that are considered to be nothing to shame very important people. (Cf. 1Cor 1:26-29)

Now what does God need to use such people? First, He needs them to be available to Him. Being available to God in this manner, of course, goes beyond being present where He is. It also involves showing that you are present where you are for Him. Someone can be present somewhere and still not be available to help or serve anyone. So, if you want God to use you, in spite of what you have or do not have, always show yourself as someone that is available for Him to use. (Cf. Isaiah 6:1-8)

Second, God needs those that He will use to willingly yield themselves to Him (Rom 12:1; James 4:7). That means they have to submit to Him to do things the way He wants them done and not according to their own desire. It follows, then, that anyone that is not ready to submit to God and do things His way cannot be used by Him to accomplish His good purpose, even if the person is available.

Third, God needs such people to be ready to purify themselves. God is not just after what we can do for Him but also after the heart with which we do it. The kind of heart with which we do His work will either make it effective in accomplishing His purpose or corrupt His work. So, we must be ready to let Him purify us of anything that could contaminate His work through us and make it unprofitable. Anyone, then, who is opposed to words of rebuke, correction or discipline is not a fit candidate for His work, however gifted he may be. (Cf. 2Timothy 2:20-21)

Well, the apostles of old met those requirements, even though they were not educated, influential or wealthy people at the time they were called by the Lord. They all made themselves available to be used by the Lord, yielded themselves to serve Him as He pleased and also surrendered themselves to be washed and made clean by Him. So, He took them, build them up and used them in ways nobody ever thought was possible. And if we too want to be used by Him in like manner, all we need is to do as they did.

Have a very pleasant week.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Judging wickedness | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 05, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 44

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date March 4, 2023
No Comments on Judging wickedness | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 05, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 44

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 March 2023. My prayer is that God will build you up to be someone He can always rely on to restrain or judge wickedness wherever you are, so that His righteousness may reign there, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now judging wickedness or people’s misconduct is not always an easy task, even in the church of God. That is because people often frown at it or resist it. However, it is something that must regularly happen, if our society will be healthy and safe for us to dwell in. And it is only those who are always ready to judge evil and misconduct in lawful ways that can be God’s true leaders, whether in matters of this world or those of the church.

Solomon, in his book, Ecclesiastes, says this to us: “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.” (Eccl 8:11NIV) Did you see that? If people are misbehaving and no one will rightly punish them for their misbehaviour, they and others who see them getting away with their wickedness will surely be strengthened to misbehave even more. And if the situation continues like that, at some point, God will have to step in to judge the wicked Himself.

For example, there was a time that the men of Israel that Moses brought out of Egypt began to indulge in sexual immorality with the women of Moab. And these women took advantage of the situation to lure them into idol worship. Therefore, God sent a plague among them to destroy them. Why? It was because no one addressed or judged the matter when it got stated. If someone had addressed and judged it when it all started, then, there would not have been many of the men that would participate in the nonsense and God would not have had to step in.

In any case, by the time Moses woke up to judge the matter, many people had already lost their lives. And even while he was still addressing the judges among the people to investigate the matter and deal with those involved, a son of one of the leaders brought a Moabite woman into his tent right before their eyes in order to commit sexual immorality with her. That, as I said before, is usually what happens when people are misbehaving and no one is calling them to order. They will become more daring to do worse things. (Cf. Num 25)

Thankfully, there was a young priest that would not allow the nonsense going on in the land to continue. That was Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. This man took a javelin, went after that stubborn Israelite and killed him and his partner right where they were committing their wickedness. And when he did that, as the account further shows, the plague immediately stopped. Then God said these words of commendation about him to Moses:

“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.” (Num 25:11-13NIV)

Did you see that? God said that Phinehas was the reason He did not destroy all the Israelites for their sin at that time. How? According to God, Phinehas made atonement for the sins of the people by judging that man and his partner in their sin. So, when we duly judge wrongdoing or any kind of wickedness, we are in a sense making atonement for our people and preventing God’s judgment from falling on us all. And just as God honoured Phinehas on that occasion, He will honour us too.

Therefore, wherever you are in a position to judge evil or condemn people’s wrongdoings, don’t hesitate to do so. Yes, those involved, even in the church, may condemn you or call you names for doing so. But you have to do what you have to do. Otherwise, like Eli who failed to judge the wickedness of his sons, you will be inviting God to judge the matter Himself. Who, then, knows how he will judge?

Have a glorious week.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 General Post Pastor's Desk

Humble yourself to accept it | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 26, 2023 |Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 43

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you into the transition week between the months of February and March 2023. I pray that God will keep your heart ever humble to receive His word that He has given to save your soul. Amen.

In his epistle, James tells us this about the word of God and the attitude we must have towards it: “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:21NIV) What are we to do with God’s word that is being planted in our hearts?

According to this apostle, we are to humbly accept it. That means as long as what is coming to us is the word of God, we must not reject it, ignore it or argue with it. Instead, we are to receive it with humility, knowing that even if His word sounds foolish in our ears, His foolishness is still wiser than our wisdom. (Cf. 1Cor 1:25)

Then why are we to humbly accept God’s word, as we are told by James? It is because it is able to save our souls. The word of God has the power to save us from this corrupt world and from all the schemes of the devil meant to destroy us. But we will not experience the saving power of His word, if we do not humbly accept it and act on it.

It is unfortunate that many who call themselves God’s children and who are regularly hearing His word will not humble themselves to accept it and to act on it. Why? They are proud. They think they are wiser or smarter than God and can take care of themselves without Him. But is there any of us that is really as wise as God our maker? Is there really any of us that can handle his own life by himself and not ultimately ruin it? There is none of us that is fit for this.

But each time we ignore what God is saying to us and choose to do as we please, what we are actually saying is that we are smarter than Him and have no need of His guidance and provisions. And where this is the case, salvation is bound to elude us. This explains why many of God’s people have remained stagnant for years or have not experienced salvation from certain activities of the devil in their lives. They keep hearing the word of God but will not humbly accept it. So, His word is unable to save them.

Now perhaps that is the situation with you too. Perhaps the reason the word of God has not been working in your life is that you will not humbly accept and act on what He is saying to you about your life, faith, job, business, education, marriage, health, finances and so forth. Then you need to repent and change your ways. What is the point of spending hours week after week to listen to something that you will not act on? Is it not better you stop listening to it altogether?

Well, to say the fact, it is even worse not to listen to the word of God at all. That is because that will shut you away from every opportunity to be saved by it. So, you need to keep listening to His word. But that is not enough for it work in your life. For it to work in your life and separate you from stagnation and destruction, you must also humble yourself to accept and act on it. And my prayer is that your heart will be strengthened to always do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a very beautiful week.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

If God’s choice can fail | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 19, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 42

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of February 2023. I pray that God will cause His peace to reign in our lives and in every part of the country all through the week, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

It is not news that we, as a nation, have now come into election weeks. And people from every part of the country will begin to go to the polls to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. Now while it is not my job to tell you who to vote for or who not to vote for among the various candidates contesting, it is my job to tell you not to put your confidence in any of them but in God.

Yes, you surely will have your reasons for wanting to vote in whoever you intend to vote in. But regardless of how genuine and upright your reasons for choosing this person may be, don’t put your confidence in them but in God. And why should you not put your confidence in them? It is because even if they are God’s candidate, they may still fail.

This, unfortunately, is what many of our church leaders who have been prophesying and saying all kinds of things about certain individuals that they believe God has chosen to become leaders of our country and states don’t understand. And they don’t understand this because they have not been paying attention to Scriptures. The Scriptures show us that the fact that someone has been ordained by God for a leadership position does not mean that he will do well or be a blessing to his people. He may just turn out to be a curse to them and a disappointment to God.

For instance, we are told in the bible that it was God that chose and ordained Saul, son of Kish, as the first king of Israel. But did he turn out right? No, he did not. So, at some point, God got tired of him. Look at what is said in the bible about that: “Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.” (1Sam 15:10-11NIV) Did you see that? Even though it was God Himself that chose and ordained Saul as king, He later regretted choosing him.

Now people often say that God never regrets doing anything. But that is their own thought, and it is contrary to Scriptures. From what we see in Scriptures, there were times God regretted doing certain things. And He did not lie to Himself at such times. Instead, He faced the reality and dealt with the things that brought Him regret. So, if you too are having a feeling of regret or disappointment about certain decisions you made in the past, decisions that appeared to be good at the time you were making them but which have now turned bad, don’t be too hard on yourself. Instead, face the reality and do the needful.

God had to face the reality in Saul case and do the needful. He had to anoint someone else in his stead, even while he was still on the throne. But was He happy about the fact that He had to do that? No! What about Prophet Samuel who represented God in handling Saul’s ordination? Was he happy with the fact that the man lost his way and could not be brought to repentance? No! On the contrary, we are told in the bible that he kept on mourning for him until God stopped him from doing so and told him to go and anoint someone else in his stead. (Cf. 1Sam 15:35 & 16:1)

What is my point? It is that even if you are voting for God’s anointed leaders in these coming elections, you cannot guarantee that they will not fail you, for they may fail both God and you. And if God’s choice can fail us, can we confidently say that our own choices won’t fail us? We can’t. And if they should fail us, what are we going to do? Are we going to continue to mourn like Samuel until the next elections, that is, for the next four years?

Now my prayer is that none of those who will become leaders during these elections will end up making us mourn in this country. But we must be careful not to put our trust in any of them but in God. That way, even if they fail us, we will be able to count on God to turn their failure around for our good.

Have a splendid week.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

How to be preserved | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 05, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 40

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 February 2023. And I pray that God will protect you from all the evils of these last days that are ruining people’s faith and lives. Amen.

I offered that prayer to God for you because I know that it is His desire to preserve all of us that are His children from all the corruption and evils of these last days. In fact, the bible tells us that we can trust Him to preserve us because He is a faithful God (1Thess 5:23-24). But it is one thing for God to be committed to preserving our lives and faith; it is another thing for us to place ourselves where He can do so. If you do not position yourself where God can preserve your life and faith, you will not be safe. And that is not a curse. It is the reality.

How do you position yourself where God can preserve you from the corruption of these last days? It is by yielding yourself to the word of His truth, whether it is pleasant for you to accept or not. Paul, writing to Timothy in a letter, says this:

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. 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 4:1-4NIV)

What does Paul tell Timothy to do in this text? First, he tells him to preach the word of God, not his ideas, the popular opinions of men, community stories or traditions. Second, he tells him to be ready to correct, rebuke and encourage the people of God, whether it is convenient for him or not. But is Timothy not supposed to be aware of these things already, since he is a pastor of pastors? He is supposed to be aware of them already.

Why, then, does he need someone to charge him to give himself to doing them? As we see in the text, it is because a time is coming (and that time is now here) when many so-called believers in Christ Jesus will not put up with sound doctrine but will look for those who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. Paul, in fact, goes on to say that these people will turn their ears away from the truth in order to listen to myths and lies. And when this happens, there is every tendency that Timothy may feel that he is the one that is being too harsh and so want to change his sermons to suit them. So, Paul warns him before God and before Jesus Christ not to do so. Otherwise, he will ruin his ministry and lose his reward.

In like manner, many in the church today do not want to put up with the truth again, that is, if they have ever put up with it. That is why they keep going from one assembly to another assembly and never really settling down anywhere. They prefer leaders like Aaron who will give them whatever they want, even if it is an idol of gold, to leaders that will confront them with the truth about their lives and the will of God for them. (Cf. Exodus 32)

Now the truth is that such people cannot be preserved by God from being polluted or from being misled and destroyed by the devil. And if you don’t want to end up like them, if you want God to keep you safe and sound in the faith in these last days, you had better yield yourself to sound doctrine and spiritual discipline instead of looking for those who will pamper you until you are utterly destroyed. And know this: there are still some of us that will never change our sermons to suit you. Yes, there are still some of us that will never give you any golden calf to worship, regardless of what you say about us or think of us. That is because we are not answerable to you but to God who sent us. And may God grant you a heart that is ever humble to receive His word of truth without disputing. Amen.

Have a great February 2023.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Take special note of them | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 29, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 39

Beloved: Grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to another week of this year. And I pray that God will keep your heart right and humble before Him all the time, so that you will not experience any kind of downfall but elevation this year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As the bible tells us, pride is one of the major reasons people experience downfall or are prevented from experiencing elevation in life. If we are walking in pride, then, we may just be brought down from whatever position of advantage we are or prevented from rising beyond where we are in life. So, watch out for every form of pride and see to it that it is not allowed to take root in your life. (Cf. Prov 16:18; James 4:6-7; 1Pet 5:5-6)

Now one form of pride that God’s people don’t easily recognise but that is very much present in many of us is that which has to do with disobedience to spiritual authority. And when I am talking about spiritual authority, I am talking about those leaders that God has placed over you in your Christian assembly. These ones have been ordained by Him to feed you with His word and to watch over your soul through prayer and fellowship. So, I am not saying that every pastor, prophet, evangelist or apostle you meet is your spiritual leader and that you must obey them.

If someone is not your church leader, you are not under any obligation to follow any instruction he gives you, right or wrong, unless you have a relationship with the person and sees him as trustworthy. But if someone is your church leader, you are under an obligation to obey his instructions, as long as those instructions are consistent with the will of God. It is a shame, however, that we often find God’s people showing much regard for church leaders that are not directly over them while despising the ones that are directly over them in their Christian assemblies.

But this is wrong and contrary to the will of God for our lives. Paul, while addressing the Corinthians on this note, says that if they were supporting and respecting church leaders who were not directly over them, should they not support and respect him all the more, since he was their father in the faith and had never stopped ministering to them in the word of God and in prayer? They should. (Cf. 1Cor 9:11-12) In like manner, if you too find it convenient to support and respect church leaders that are not directly watching over you in the faith or that you have never even met, why should you find it hard to respect and support the leaders of your local assembly that are continually ministering to you even more? Well, one of the reasons we disrespect our church leaders in this manner is pride. When we feel that a church leader does not know enough or is not old enough or is not smart enough or is not educated enough to instruct or lead us, we will not obey them or take them seriously.

Also, when we are ignorant of the consequences of disobeying or disrespecting our church leaders, and many in the church today are ignorant of these things, we may freely disobey or despise them. But as we see in Scriptures, there are very terrible consequences for despising our spiritual leaders or encouraging rebellion against them, regardless of how young or unimpressive they may appear. So, warn yourself concerning these things. Otherwise, you may soon enough get into problems that God won’t save you from. (Cf. Num 12&17)

Finally, Paul says this to us about how we should relate to those who don’t take our leaders in the church seriously: “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” (2Thess 3:14-15NIV) Did you see that? We are told to take special note of anyone in our Christian assembly that does not take our leaders seriously, talks anyhow about them or encourages rebellion against their instructions. Why? First, it is so that we may warn them. Second, it is so that if they do not take warning, we can separate ourselves from them. Otherwise, we may end up partaking in the consequences of their disobedience.

So, always watch how the people you move with in the church relate to spiritual authority, regardless of how much you like them. Then you will know whether they will contribute to your growth in the kingdom of God or to your downfall. And may God fill you with sufficient understanding, strength and boldness to do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Where do you need to excel? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 15, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 37

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to the third week of this new year. And I pray that God will cause you to excel in everything that is good and righteous in His sight every day of this new year, so that your life will cause all those around you to continually glorify His name, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul, in a letter to the Corinthians, says this: “But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (2Cor 8:7NIV) In what things did the Corinthian brethren excel, as pointed out by this apostle? They excelled in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in zeal for God and also in love.

It is unfortunate that many people of God in our various assemblies all around the world today are far behind in these things. They are far behind in their faith in God, in their knowledge of Him, in their zeal for Him, in speaking with grace and in their love for another. Therefore, though they profess to know God, people find it hard to believe that they are related to Him.

And it is possible that we are also like that? We claim to know God but it is not obvious at all to those around us that we belong to Him. That is because there is nothing excellent about our faith, love, speech, knowledge and zeal for God. And this is not the will of God for us. His will for us is that we will excel in every good thing. If we, therefore, do not want to continue to live fruitless and unprofitable lives, we need to begin to take advantage of His grace that is ever available and sufficient to press to excel in those things that will cause men to glorify Him on account of us.

As we see in the case of the Corinthian brethren, Paul could confidently say that they were excellent in faith, in speech, in zeal, in knowledge and in love. The only area in which they were behind was that of giving. So, he said to them, “Just as you have been excellent in other fruit of the Spirit, you need to see to it that you also excel in the grace of giving.”

What that means is that there is no area of our lives in which God does not want us to be excellent. So, if there is any area of our lives in which we are coming behind, God will surely point it out to us. He may do this as we are examining our lives with His word by ourselves. Or He may do it through our church leaders or some other brethren.

Whatever the case may be, as long as God is showing us what areas of our lives in which we need to strive for excellence, we should not argue with Him or with His messengers or begin to make excuses for our being behind. Instead, we are to embrace what He is saying to us and begin to immediately strive for excellence where it needs to be obvious in our lives. That is what will show that we truly want to grow and become all that He wants us to be.

So, as you go this week, make a commitment to examine your life in the light of God’s word to see where you have been behind in excellence. And as you do this, the Spirit of God will open your eyes to see what you need to see and also strengthen you to do what you need to do to be where God wants you to be.

Have a very lovely week.

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

God exalted Him | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 08, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 36

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date January 7, 2023
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Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the second week of this new year, year 2023. And I pray that God Himself will lift you up in the year in every area of your life where you are due for exaltation, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, the only one with the power to exalt people or bring them down is God. For example, Paul, in his letter to the Philippian-brethren, says this to them about our Lord Jesus: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…” (Phil 2:9NIV) Who exalted Jesus to the highest place in the whole universe? God! Who also gave Jesus His glorious, holy and powerful name? God!

So, our Lord Jesus did not become lord over all the creation of God, including angels and demons, by Himself. It was God that exalted Him to that position of having authority and power over every being and over everything. Also, He did not make His own name glorious, powerful and popular. It was God that gave Him this name and invested it with all His authority. That is why His name is revered everywhere in all of God’s creation, here on earth, in heaven and under the earth; it is why every knee must bow at the mention of His name and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Now since our Lord Jesus Christ could not exalt Himself and had to be exalted by God Himself, who then in this world can exalt himself? No one! Also, since our Lord Jesus could not make His own name great and powerful but needed God to make it great, powerful and beautiful to hear, who in this world can make His own name great, powerful and sweet to hear? No one!

Yes, people may attempt to exalt themselves through hard work, diligence, association with already great people, manipulation, brute force or even witchcraft. But if God does not want them in a high position in life, they will never be there. In like manner, people may do all kinds of things to have a great and beautiful name, a name that people will rise to honour when it is mentioned. But if God does not gift us with a great and influential name, all our effort to make our names great can only amount to nothing.

Also, to show that God is the only one that can exalt people and bless them with great and powerful names, there are times He brings down already exalted and great people for not acknowledging Him as the source of their greatness. For instance, in the book of Daniel, chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar shares his experience with God along this line. He tells us how he once thought that he was the one that made himself great and powerful and how God brought him down, so that he may learn the truth about his greatness. And before this man was exalted again, he had spent some time living like an animal, like a mad man.

Therefore, if we desire to be exalted in life, and we should, if we desire to become great in this life, and we should, the only one we should look to is God. We should not look to our strength, education, smartness, wealth or relationship with some great people. None of these things will work. In fact, it is pride that will make us count on our abilities or relationships for our exaltation or greatness. And as the bible tells us, proud people can only expect one thing from God – humiliation. (Cf. James 4:6; 1Pet 5:6)

So, if we desire to experience exaltation in our lives this year, let us humble ourselves before God and before the word of His grace. And He will surely see to it that we are not passed over at the time of our promotion. That was how our Lord Jesus was exalted. The bible says that even though He is one with God the Father, He made Himself nothing and humbled Himself before God and obeyed Him, even to the point of death on the cross (Phil 2:5-8). So, God exalted Him to the highest place in all His creation. If we too will imitate Him in humility, as we have been commanded to do in Scriptures, obeying God in all that He tells us to do, even if we are faced with death, He will exalt us as well. And there is no one that can say how high He will take us. Therefore, humble yourself before God this new year, and He will take you from greatness to greatness.

Have a splendid week.