Category: FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Don’t forget God your Maker | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 27, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 26

Beloved: grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the transition week between the months of October and November 2024. My prayer is that God will comfort you wherever you may be hurting, as you go through the week and the remaining part of the year and fill your heart with overflowing joy. Amen.

My word of exhortation to you, as we begin this new week, is from some of the things God says to us through Prophet Isaiah, which reads:

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread.” (Isa 51:12-14NIV)

What is the first thing the Lord announces to us here? It is that He is our comforter. That means unless He comforts us no one can comfort us. This explains why many in our country today, including Christians, are downcast and depressed. Instead of looking unto God for comfort, they have been looking unto certain people or to the government for comfort. And as long as they continue to do this, they will never experience true comfort from all the things seeking to put them to shame or destroy them.

The second thing God tells us through Isaiah, as we see in that text, is that it is a mistake to allow the fear of men to make us forget that He is our God and Maker. Yes, we may have all kinds of people around us that are all out to oppress or destroy us. Even the government of our land may be doing nothing but hurt us and make life hard for us.

Nevertheless, we must not forget that the government is not our maker, neither are the criminals in our land are our maker. God is our Maker. So, we must not allow anything that the government or the criminals in our world may be doing to make us live in constant fear or terror. That is because God our Maker will surely comfort us and turn around everything being done against us for our good.

Just look again at what God is saying to us through Isaiah. He says even though those oppressing us are bent on destroying us, He will turn their wickedness against us into nonsense. So, though we are waiting to see what their plans to oppress us will amount to, we will see nothing.

Furthermore, God says that He is sending help to those who have been imprisoned by the current state of things in the country and cannot take proper care of themselves and their families. He says that they will not die in that condition. That is because He will rescue them and satisfy their hunger.

Now do you believe these things? Do you believe that God will surely comfort all of us in this country that are hurting and looking unto Him for help? Do you believe that as our Maker He has the power to frustrate all those who are oppressing us and are working towards keeping us forever in the prison of poverty and shame?

If you believe these things, then, stop all your fears. Yes, stop the fear that you and your household will die of hunger or that you will not be able to give your children quality education or that you will end up dying as a tenant or that you will never be able to measure up to your counterparts in life. That is because you will be adequately comforted by God your Maker. Then you will forget all your days of pains and sorrow. And so shall it be, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Don’t allow His word to be choked | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 20, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 25

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 the month of October 2024. My prayer is that God will rid your life of everything that is preventing it from being exceedingly fruitful with His word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the Scriptures, it is not enough to hear God’s word; it is equally important to bear the fruit that the word we hear is talking about. Otherwise, everything we are hearing will just be going to waste. And one main way to bear the fruit that the word is talking about is to act on what the word says. Yet many people who hear the word of God don’t act on it. In fact, the bible speaks of certain individuals that are ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. Why is that so? Why will someone continually come around for church meetings and still not know the truth God is saying to them, not to talk of act on it? (Cf. 2Tim 3:7)

Well, as our Lord shows us through one of His parables, one of the reasons for that is that people allow the word that they hear to be choked by thorns. And what are these thorns that the Lord is speaking of? Here is what He says about them: “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18-19NIV)

Did you see that? Among the thorns that choke the word of God in people’s lives are worries. In other words, when people give themselves to worrying about their problems instead of meditating on what God is saying to them, their worries will at some point choke the word that they have received. So, it will not work in their lives. Sadly, there are people that come for church meetings and spend all their time worrying about their problems, instead of listening to the word of God that they are being taught. How can such people bear fruit with the word of God?

In addition, the Lord tells us that the deceitfulness of riches and human ambitions are also among those things that choke the word of God in people’s lives. That means when people are desperate to have money, position, fame or pleasure, even if they are listening to the word of God, they will be too occupied or busy to meditate on it and apply it to their lives. So, the word will not be able to work in their lives and change them and their circumstances.

This, as I mentioned earlier, is the reason many people attend church meetings week after week and remain unchanged. Yes, it is the reason many hear the word of God in their church meetings week after week and still make very foolish decisions about their lives, marriages, businesses, jobs and so forth. They are not allowing the word of God to work in their lives and make them the people God wants them to be. Instead, they are choking it through unsanctified relationships, the pursuit of wealth, position and fame and passion for enjoyment.

Should we give up all our relationships because we want to be with Jesus? No! The word of God has not commanded us to do that. However, it has commanded us to sanctify all our relationships. In other words, we are to handle all our relationships in ways that glorify God. Any relationship with anyone, then, that is not bringing glory to God must be rejected by us. Otherwise, that relationship will not stop choking the seed of God’s word in our lives.

Also, is it wrong to be wealthy, to be in a position of greatness or to be famous? No, it is not wrong. But if we allow any of these things to come first in our lives, then, there is no way the word of God will be able to produce fruit in our lives as it should. What about pleasure? Does God not want us to enjoy ourselves? He does. But if we reduce everything about life to pleasure and we begin to think something will go wrong with us, if we can’t be in some parties, watch some movies or eat some delicacies, then, the word of God will not be fruitful as it should be in our lives – it will be choked.

So, if you are concerned at all about being fruitful with the word of God you are listening to, you have to identify everything that may be choking it in your life and deal with it right away. Otherwise, even though you keep listening to God’s word till Jesus comes, your life will not change and become what God wants it to be. And is that what you want? I pray that you will be strengthened by the Spirit of God to begin to do the right thing from this moment, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Don’t be wise in your own eyes | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 13, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 24

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I rejoice in the Lord with you as we come into another week of the month of October 2024. My prayer is that your feet will be kept away from the path of destruction in the week and throughout the remaining part of the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I want to admonish you with the words of Solomon that say: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Prov 3:7-8NIV) What is the instruction here? It is that we should not be wise in our own eyes, as far as our dealings with God are concerned. In other words, we should never think that we know better than God, our Maker. That is because we don’t know better than Him or even as much as Him. And if we agree that we don’t know as much Him in any matter, we will humble ourselves before Him and walk in His fear.

Unfortunately, even Solomon who said these words to us failed to keep them in handling his own marriages. How? Well, God, in His wisdom, had told the Israelites not to intermarry with the people of the nations around them. Why? Was it because He did not love those people? No! God loved them as well. But they were not worshipping Him but idols and demons. That being the case, if the Israelites should begin to intermarry with them, it would not be long at all before they started luring them too into idol worship. So, God warned them solemnly not to intermarry with them. (Cf. Ex 34:16; Deut 7:3-4)

But Solomon totally ignored this word of wisdom from God and went on to marry all kinds of foreign women. Why? It must have been because he felt that he was wise enough to handle those women. Remember that God had given him wisdom and understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. And that must have given him the impression that he would be the one leading those women to the worship of God and not the other way round.

However, it was the same God that had given him wisdom that instructed him and his people not to marry foreigners. And if he had believed his own words that say, “Do not be wise in your own eyes,” then, he would have known that any deviation from God’s instruction is not a demonstration of wisdom at all. Rather, it is acting wise in our own eyes. In other words, it is acting according to our own wisdom. And when we ignore the wisdom of God in order to act on our own wisdom, we will eventually find out that our wisdom is nothing but foolishness.

Now because Solomon ignored the wisdom of God and acted according to human wisdom in matters of his marriages, he ended up becoming a foolish king. Look at what the bible says about that:

“He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.” (1Kings 11:3-6NIV)

Did you see that? Solomon’s foreign wives ended up leading him astray when he grew old and was no longer strong enough to handle their nagging. So, what God’s wisdom had said would happen was exactly what happened. And that made Solomon to lose the larger part of his kingdom to one of his subordinates. What a shame! (Cf. 1Kings 11:26-39)

What, then, is the point of this? It is that once the wisdom of the word of God has spoken to us about a matter, we should just embrace it and not look for an alternative, whether it is a convenient alternative or not. That is because any alternative to the wisdom of God is foolishness. And that alternative will not bring health and peace to our lives but will drive them away, as it was the case with Solomon. So, be careful of acting wise in your own eyes in your business, workplace, school, neighbouhood, finances, Christian service, marriage or friendship. That is because doing so will prove to be nothing but foolishness in the end.

Have a lovely week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Don’t be desperate | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 06, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 23

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to a new week in the month of October 2024 and pray that God will daily keep you from all forms of desperation, regardless of what you may be faced with in life, so that you will not ruin your own peace, joy or life. Amen.

As we see in the bible, even though God wants His people to have everything they need to live meaningful lives, He does not want them to be desperate about having anything. That is because desperate people are bound to do foolish and harmful things in their quest to having what they want. So, even if they end up having what they want, the price they will pay for it may be as great as their very souls. But there is even no guarantee that they will have what they want. And if they don’t get what they want, that will be double jeopardy for them.

For instance, because King Saul was desperate to keep his kingdom, he once went on to offer to God a sacrifice that Samuel was meant to handle. But was he a priest? No! Did he have any revelation from God about the nature of sacrifices that was to be made on that occasion? No? Why, then, did he go ahead and offer the sacrifice? He did so because he was desperate to keep his kingdom. (Cf. 1Sam 13)

But did he give himself that kingdom? No, he did not. It was God that gave it to him. What, then, made him think that he could keep for himself what he did not give to himself? Foolishness! And because of that foolish act, God told him that his kingdom would no longer endure but would end with him.

Also, on another occasion, because this man desperate to know the outcome of a battle he was going to have with the Philistines, he decided to visit a witch. He had tried to get God to talk to him about the outcome of the battle. But God was not going to say anything to him, seeing that he had been ignoring Him until that moment of need. And because he was desperate to know the outcome of that battle, even if God was not going to talk to him about it, he went to find out from a witch. That, of course, was how he lost his soul along with his kingdom. (Cf. 1Sam 28)

What is this telling us? It is that we must not allow our desire to have something or do something make us desperate. As I said before, there is nothing we want that is in line with God’s will that He is unwilling to give to us. But He will give us everything we need only at the right time. So, we must be patient with Him. Otherwise, desperation will set in.

Now once desperation sets into our lives, we will begin to look for what is not lost and in places we have no business being. So, a child of God may find himself in the house of a witchdoctor for money rituals or for the fruit of the womb. Or a child of God may find himself in an arranged marriage, just because he wants to live outside the country. And when all has been said and done, the joy, peace of mind and prosperity he thinks he is going to have will have eluded him. That is besides the fact that he will have lost his soul.

So, regardless of how eager you are to have something or what pressure you are facing to do something, learn to trust God and to wait for His time. That way, you will not end up losing your peace, joy and soul in your quest to becoming happy or successful in life.

Have a glorious week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Hunger and thirst | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 29, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 22

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the transition week between the months of September and October 2024. My prayer is that God will continually cause your heart to greatly thirst for Him, so that you can know Him as you should and so that you can enjoy all the good things He has in store for you. Amen.

The bible says this to us about how to know God adequately and be fully satisfied by Him in life: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matt 5:6NIV) What is this telling us? It is that even though God wants to reveal Himself to us and fulfil His good intentions for our lives, it is only those of us who are hungry and thirsty for Him and for what He has for us that will end up being satisfied to the full. Those who are not hungry and thirsty for Him are showing that they can do without Him. So, even though they profess Him to be their God, all they can hope to enjoy are His general blessings.

Look at the bible, and you will see that those who knew God well and who also enjoyed His blessings in unusual ways were those who demonstrated great hunger and thirst for Him. For instance, we are told this about Moses and the children of Israel: “He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel…” (Ps 103:7NIV) Can you see that there was a vast difference between the way God related to Moses and the way He related to the children of Israel? All that the children of Israel could see were God’s miraculous works done on their behalf. They could not understand why He did those works or what to do to make them happen.

But Moses could tell the reason God did whatever He did for the Israelites. He also could tell why God gave them the Laws He gave to them. And that was because he knew the ways of God. But how did he know God’s ways? Was it simply because God called him and also sent him to deliver the nation of Israel from Egypt? No! Rather, it was because he himself was hungry and thirsty to know God and to know His ways. Look at some of his prayers to God:

“If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” (Ex 33:13NIV)

““Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”” (Ex 33:18NIV)

Did you see that? Moses was not satisfied with just being the leader of the nation of Israel. And he was not just satisfied with being a miracle worker. Instead, he also wanted to know God adequately and to see His glory. Why? He knew that he could only be the leader of the nation of Israel and a miracle worker for a while. At some point, he would die and leave everything. But if he knew God and saw his glory, he would live with Him forever. And because this was what he was hungry and thirsty for, God satisfied him with it.

Look also at David. Why did he know God the way he did, even though he was not a priest or a prophet like Moses? It was because he too was hungry and thirsty for Him. He once said, “Oh God, earnestly I seek you; my soul is thirsty for you, my body longs for you.” And did God satisfy him or not? He did. (Cf. Ps 63:1)

Therefore, if we too are hungry and thirsty for God, not for home videos, comedies, parties and other things that hardly edify, He will satisfy us with His fullness and the world will see His glory in us. And the truth is that most of us are not experiencing the glory of God in our lives the way we should because our hunger and thirst for Him is not enough. How, then, do we show that we are seriously hungry and thirsty for Him? We can show it by passionately and consistently going for His word, praying and fellowshipping with His people.

Remember that Nicodemus, though he was an old man and a great teacher in Israel, humbled himself and came to learn from the Lord Jesus one night (John 3:1-2). Why? He was thirsty for more of God. I can also remember going out of my way some years ago to borrow Christian books and sermon tapes from people who were not even my church brethren, just because I wanted to know more of God. And many times, I woke up in the middle of the night to read those books or listen to those tapes so that I could return them to their owners on time. What was that? Hunger and thirst for God! And did it pay off or not? It did.

So, if you are hungry and thirsty for God, you will surely know and enjoy Him beyond your expectations. But if you are not hungry and thirsty for Him, there are things you will never know or enjoy about Him. Pray, then, that He will daily awaken true and great hunger and thirst for Him in you, so that you may experience His fullness.

Have a lovely week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Distinguish yourself for the miraculous | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 22, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 21

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to the fourth week of the month of September 2024 and pray that God will equip you every day of the week with all that you need to receive and enjoy all His good provisions for you. Amen.

Now from what we see in Scriptures, those who receive God’s provisions for their lives in spectacular ways are often people who are ready to separate themselves from the crowd. Yes, they are often people who are ready to do what others will not do or what others are afraid of doing. Therefore, God will pass over others to perform astonishing miracles for them.

For instance, our Lord Jesus says this to us about Naaman and the widow of Zarephath:

“I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian.”” (Luke 4:25-27NIV)

Did you see that? Even though there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha (in fact, four of them are mentioned in the bible in connection to a famine that occurred during Elisha’s time), we have no record that he healed any of them. Why? Did he not want to heal them? No! He would love to heal them. But none of them recognised him as possessing enough power of God to heal them. (Cf. 2Kings 7)

However, when Naaman the Syrian heard about him from a slave girl, he travelled all the way from his country to meet him. He did not look at the cost of doing so or the stress that would accompany it. He did not look at his position as a general or at the fact that the nation of Israel was subject to his own country at the time. Instead, he humbled himself and came to him. And when he did, he received an astonishing miracle of healing. His leprosy was cured. Why? He did what other lepers like himself would not do. He distinguished himself for the miraculous! (Cf. 2Kings 5)

What about the widow of Zarephath? Why did God pass over all the widows in Israel to find her during the three and a half years of famine that happened in Elijah’s time? It was because she distinguished herself as a cheerful giver. This woman was willing to share her last meal with the man of God, just because God had told her to do so. And because of that, not only were she and her son sustained with food during the famine, she also received a resurrection of her son when death came to steal him from her. (Cf. 1Kings 17)

What, then, is the point of all this? It is that if we are not willing to distinguish ourselves from others in zeal, in prayer, in meditating on God’s word and confessing it and also in giving, there are miracles that we will never witness in life. Are you, then, willing to distinguish yourself to receive unusual miracles from God?

Well, God is not going to force us to do anything to distinguish ourselves from others in order to receive from Him. But if we do so, He will surely pass over many to amaze us. And my prayer is that your heart will be strengthened to begin to do those things that will set you apart for usual miracles, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Faith and patience | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 15, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 20

Beloved; grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the third week of the month of September 2024. My prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart to continually walk with Him with patience, so that you can receive in full every good thing He wants you to have, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, faith in God is not the only thing required to receive from Him; patience is also required in order to receive from Him. In fact, there are things we will never receive and enjoy from God unless we walk with Him with patience. Why? One main reason is that God is not just interested in doing things for His people or in giving them things; He is also concerned about their full enjoyment of whatever He gives to them or does for them.

Therefore, before God does or gives anything to His people, He will first ensure that He has taken care of anything that may hinder that thing from bringing Him glory through their lives or that may hinder their full enjoyment of it. And that may take some time. If His people, then, do not understand the need to be patient in dealing with him, they will often miss out on many of the good things they are supposed to enjoy from His hands.

All of this is why the bible says to us, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Heb 6:12NIV) Did you see that? It takes both faith and patience to receive from God. So, even when we are certain that God wants us to have something, we must not just believe that He will give it to us; we must also patiently wait to receive it from Him.

Sadly, many of us believers do not want to be patient at all in receiving from God. We think once we have faith in God and are doing His will, all the good things He wants us to have should naturally begin to come to us. But this is not always so. Walking in faith with God and doing His will is like farming. A farmer does not plant his seed today and expect the harvest right away. Instead, he patiently takes care of what he has planted until the time of harvest.

Now that is exactly how it is with walking in faith with God and doing His will. We have to keep doing so until the time of harvest. But when is harvest time? We wouldn’t know. It is whenever it is. Truly, farmers, through experience, can tell when they will harvest their crops. But we cannot tell when we will harvest the promises of God for our lives or the rewards for doing His will. So, the word of God says this to us:

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Heb 10:35-36NIV)

Did you see that? Don’t throw away your confidence in God because you are yet to see the harvest of His promises to you. Instead, persevere in doing His will until everything that is meant to be yours is yours. Yes, persevere in praying, in meditating on the word of God and confessing it and also in walking in righteousness. And as you do so, all that is meant to be yours will surely be yours by the grace of God, if you do not faint.

Have a splendid week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Be willing and obedient | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 08, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 19

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great delight that I welcome you to the second week of the month of September 2024. My prayer is that your heart will be strengthened now and always to desire for yourself what God desires for you and to also discipline yourself to go for it. Amen.

One of the things we are consistently shown in Scriptures is that it is not enough for God to want us to have something; we too must also want to have whatever He wants us to have. Not only that, we must as well be ready to do whatever He wants us to do in order to have whatever He wants us to have. Otherwise, unless we are shown mercy, we will not have what He wants to have.

All this, of course, is why God say this to us through Isaiah: ““If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land…” (Isa 1:19NIV) From what God says here, what does He want us to have? It is the best of the place we are dwelling. And we must understand that He is not talking here about the best the place we are living in is currently dishing out to us. That is because the best the place we are living in is dishing out to us at the moment may not be good enough for us or for our families. But the best God has deposited in the place for us, which may not be visible to anybody yet, will always be more than good enough for us.

How, then, are we to access the best God has planted in our land for our good? First, as He shows us through Isaiah, we must be willing to have it. In other words, we must not be ready to settle down or be satisfied with anything that is less than His best for us. This, of course, is not to say that we are not to be thankful for what God has already given to us or done for us. We must always be thankful to God for everything He has done for us and is also doing in our lives. But as we are giving thanks to Him for what we are enjoying from His hands, we must also be moving forward to take hold of every other good thing He wants us to have. Otherwise, we will end up living lives that are inferior in quality to the kind He wants us to live.

Look at what is said in Scriptures about Joshua towards the end of his life: “When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the LORD said to him, “You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.”” (Josh 13:1NIV) Did you see that? Even when Joshua had become very old, God still had very large areas of land for him to take over. That means he had not yet fully experienced the best God wanted to him have at the time. Sadly, his body had become too weak at the time to still take hold all of the things God wanted him to have. What a shame!

So, till our old age, God will always open our eyes to see His good provisions for us. And how beautiful will it be, if we are able to take and enjoy all of them? Well, one way for that to happen is for us to be willing and eager to have all of them. Otherwise, like Joshua, it is when we have become old and our bodies have become too weak to run around that we will be seeing all that we could have received and enjoyed from God’s hands. But it may have become too late by then. I pray that it will never become too late for you to realise God’s best for you and go for it. Amen.

The second thing God says we must do in order to enjoy the best He has for us in our land is to be obedient. In other words, we must give ourselves to following His instructions on how to take over and enjoy His best for us. Otherwise, even if we are willing to have His best, we will still not be able to access and enjoy it. And even if we access His best for us by following our own ways, whatever we receive in this manner can only introduce corruption into our lives. Therefore, we will end up not enjoying it the way we are supposed to enjoy it.

Now my prayer is that you will not only receive God’s best for you in this country, in spite of the situation of the country, but also enjoy it to the full. But you must be willing to receive and enjoy it and also obedient to all of God’s instructions to you.

Have a lovely week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

They may be ahead of you in the kingdom | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 01, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, 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 this new month, the month of September 2024. I pray that none of the things meant for your peace of mind and elevation will be hidden from you in the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this new month, I want to remind you of a parable of our Lord Jesus Christ that goes like this:

“”What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”” (Matt 21:28-32NIV)

What is the main point of this parable? It is that it is not enough to mentally agree to do the will of God; we must also go ahead and do it. And unless we are actually doing what we know and agree to be the will of God for us in every area of our lives, we will not be different from those who do not believe in God at all.

As we see in the parable, when that father spoke to his first son about going to work in his vineyard, the young man told him plainly that he would not go. Why? We are not told. He must have had his reasons. But later that same day, he thought about his refusal to obey his father and concluded that it was wrong of him to do so. Therefore, he repented and went to do what his father had commanded him to do.

But when this father spoke to his second son, he did not argue with him at all. Instead, he said, “Yes, sir. I will go and work in your vineyard, as you have commanded.” However, he never went to do the father’s will. Why? We are not told. He must have all kinds of excuses for not going. But the point of it was that he did not go to do the will of his father, even though he had originally agreed that he would do it.

Now, having told this parable, Jesus went on to make its point clear to the religious leaders of the Jews that He told it to. And what was its point? It was that that those that they considered to be sinners would get into the kingdom of God ahead of them. Why? It was because even though they knew the will of God and were preaching His will, they would not do it. But those that they referred to as sinners and useless people were turning away from their sins to do the will of God at the preaching of Jesus. So, they would surely get ahead of them into the kingdom of God.

In like manner, we may think of ourselves as godly and spiritual people, simply because we attend church meetings, carry bibles around and say ‘Jesus is Lord’ all the time. But if we are not doing the things God wants us to do in our lives and in our society, we are just deceiving ourselves and are not better than those who do not believe at all. If, however, those that we think are worthless sinners begin to turn around to do the will of God in their lives, we will someday be surprised to see that they are ahead of us in the kingdom of God.

How, then, will you feel, if you find out on the Day of the Lord that certain individuals that you do not think know anything about God or the way of righteousness are in the kingdom of God while you are in hell or are occupying better positions in the kingdom of God than you? Well, I am sure you know that such feelings are hard to imagine. But that will be the case, if you are not devoted to doing the will of God wholeheartedly. So, stop using religion to cover up your disobedience to God and begin to do all that you know to be His will for your life. And I pray that you will be strengthened to do so, even as you journey through this month and the remaining part of the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a pleasant September 2024.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Be filled with the Spirit | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: August 25, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 17

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the last week of this month, the month of August 2024. My prayer is that God will perfect all that concerns you in the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we face this new week, I want to remind you that the will of God is for you to continually operate in life from the fullness of His Spirit that is living in you. In other words, He expects you to always speak and act from the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That way, whatever goes out of your life will be something that will please God and also edify those around you.

Now look at what Paul says to us about this:

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5:17-20NIV)

What is the first thing Paul says to us in this text? It is that we must not be foolish but understand the will of God for our lives. So, it is foolishness not to know the will of God for our lives. Yes, it is foolishness to be making excuses for not knowing what God wants for our lives. That is because we can know His will for our lives, if we want to know and also make effort to know. And if we don’t know His will for our lives and live accordingly, we are going to waste our lives.

Then, having told us how important it is for us to know the will of God for our lives, Paul goes on to tell us something about the will of God for us. And what is that? He says it is the will of God for us not to get drunk on wine but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why does he compare getting drunk on wine with being filled with the Spirit of God? It is because when people get drunk, they lose control of themselves to wine and start speaking and acting from its fullness in them. In like manner, when people are filled with the Spirit of God, they lose control of themselves to Him and start speaking and acting from His fullness in them. Which, then, do you want, to be controlled by wine or to be controlled by the Spirit of God?

Well, the will of God is that you allow His Spirit to take charge of you and control what you say and do. And how do you do that? It is by filling yourself with the word of God. That is because the word of God and the Spirit of God are one. And when you fill yourself with His word, you will naturally begin to act, speak and sing from the fullness of His word in you. It follows, then, that if you are not acting, speaking and singing from the fullness of the word of God, you are not full of His word – it is something else you are full of.

As I pointed out before, when people are full of wine, they speak and act from its fullness. But it is not only wine that people can be full of. People can also be full of bitterness, greed, anger, jealousy, pride or lust. In any case, whatever it is they are full of is what they will speak, sing and act from its fullness.

Now, of course, people may say that they are full of the Spirit of God. But what they say that they are full of is not what is important but what their lives are giving out. Do you know that by checking the status of some people on WhatsApp, Facebook or some other social media platforms, you can tell what they are full of? Yes, you can tell whether it is the word and love of God that they are full of or whether it is anger, depression, frustration, bitterness, lust, envy, murmuring or pride that they are full of. But as for you, what you must be full of is the word of God. And as you fill yourself with His word, you will find yourself naturally living a life that is worthy of God and blessing your world.

Have a lovely week.