Category: FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

His power is available for us | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 31, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 48

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to a new week and also to the last day of this month. I pray that, as we move into a new month this week, the month of April 2024, God will cause the power that raised our Lord Jesus from the dead to raise you too up from where you are to where you are supposed to be in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we all know, many Christians all around the world are today celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and rightly so. However, the celebration of His resurrection must go beyond what we choose a day to handle; rather, it is something we are supposed to be doing every day. And we will be celebrating His resurrection every day and every moment of our lives, if we fully understand what it means to us.

Now what does His resurrection mean to us? The bible actually mentions a number of things that it means to us. And one of them is that it makes the same power that raised Him from the dead available to those who believe in Him. Look at how Paul puts that in a prayer for the church:

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Eph 1:18-21NIV)

What is the focus of Paul’s prayer here? First, it is that God will open our eyes to know the eternal hope to which He has called us. Second, it is that He will make us understand how rich and glorious God’s inheritance, the beautiful things He has deposited in us, is. Third, it is that God will make us know His incomparably great power for those of us who believe.

Now what does Paul say about God’s incomparably great power? He says it is for those of us who believe. In other words, God’s great power is available for you and me to utilise. But we will not utilise it the way we ought to, if we do not know how great and powerful it is.

So, Paul gives us an example of the working and greatness of this power. And it is that of the raising of our Lord Jesus Chrit from the dead. According to him, it is this power that God released into Jesus when He wanted to raise Him from the dead. So, without anybody praying or fasting for Him and without anybody laying hands on Him, this power released Him from the jaws of death, even though He had been dead for three days. Hallelujah!

Then Paul goes on to also tell us that it was this same power that enabled Jesus to ascend on high and seat at the right hand of God, far above every authority and power and far above every name and title that can be given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. So, we are looking at a kind of power before which death cannot stand. Yes, we are looking at a kind of power that cannot be kept from exalting people to where God wants them to be. And this power has been made available for those of us who believe. Not only that, it is now at work in us as well. (Cf. Eph 3:20)

Therefore, first, we should continually give thanks to God for making this power, the power of Christ’s resurrection and ascension, available to us. Second, we should, like Paul, always pray that God will cause us to appreciate this power and how it works, so that we can daily utilise it to destroy anything that is called death in our lives and also utilise it to rise above every challenge of life and be the people God wants us to be. And may we be strengthened by the Spirit of God to give ourselves to doing these things, so that the benefits of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ will not elude us. Amen.

Have a great week.

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

We too can do the impossible | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 25, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 47

Pastor J.O. Lawal

Beloved: grace and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of March 2024. My prayer is that God will strengthen you to continually fix your gaze on Him and on His word, so that you can walk in victory over every limitation of life and become all that He wants you to be, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the gospel of Matthew, he records an incident for us in which Jesus walked on the water. As the account goes, one night and after a meeting, He had made his disciples get into a boat to go on ahead of Him to a place called Gennesaret, while He went to pray. And none of them bothered to ask Him how He would join them. They just left because He had said that they should leave. (Cf. Matt 14:14-22)

However, when He was done praying, seeing that the wind was contrary to them, He went out to meet them, walking on the water. And when they saw Him, they were all terrified and began to cry out in fear, thinking that they were seeing a ghost. But He told them not to be afraid and that He was the one. (Cf. Matt 14:24-27)

Now, as soon as Peter heard that it was Jesus that was walking on the water, he just said, “Lord, if it is you, then, tell me to come to you on the water.” Did he think about this before saying it? No! But somehow, in his heart, he just knew that if it was indeed the Lord Jesus that was walking on the water, He was in a position to speak the word of authority and power that would enable him also to do the same thing. And that was exactly what happened. When he made that request, the Lord answered and said, “Come!” (Cf. Matt 14:28-29)

Did Peter, then, walk on the water or not? He did! He walked on the water in the full view of the other disciples with him in the boat. However, Matthew goes on to tell us that when this man saw the wind, he became afraid and began to sink. Then he cried out to the Lord to save him. And did He save him or not? He saved him and they both walked back to the boat on the water. But He told him that the reason he began to sink was that he doubted and that it was his doubt that weakened his great faith and turned it into little faith. (Cf. Matt 14:28-32)

In any case, it will always be on record that Peter did the impossible by walking on the water with our Lord Jesus. Yes, it will always be on record that he did what no other disciples of the Lord did. Why? First, it was because he desired to do so. Second, it was because the Lord gave the word that he could do so. See, desiring to do or have something is not enough. If there is no word from God to back it up, it can only result in pains or in disasters. That means faith in God must be based on His word and not on our desires or feelings or on the experiences of others. And there have been those who ignorantly injured themselves because they were trying to use faith that was not based on a sure revelation of God’s word.

The third reason Peter walked on the water with Jesus was that he acted on the word of the Lord that said, “Come!” If he had not acted on that word, he would not have walked on the water as he did. But note that when the Lord answered Peter, He did not say, “Come, Peter!” Instead, He said, “Come!” That means that word of authority and power was for every one of them in the boat. But it was only Peter that acted on it. It was only Peter that stepped out of the boat and walked on the water. Others just simply stood in the boat in amazement, watching their friend and partner walk on the water to meet Jesus.

Why was that so? It was so because Peter was the only one at that time that had in him a desire that was strong enough to do what the Lord had said that all of them could do. And the lesson for us simple, which is that we too can do the impossible through our faith in the Lord Jesus. Yes, we too can separate ourselves from other people and walk on the waters of sicknesses, poverty, stagnation, fear and death. And that is because the word of God has said that we could. All that we need, then, is to strongly desire to do so, to daily take those steps of faith that God is asking us to take and to fix our gaze on Jesus. Then, before anybody knows what is happening, we would have done the impossible and opened the door for many to praise God on our behalf.

Do have a splendid week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

You too can be a Comforter | By: J.O. LAWAL | Date: March 17, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 46

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of March 2024. My prayer is that God will cause you to experience His comfort in every way so that you too can be a comforter to all the people in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul says these words that are worthy of our attention: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2Cor 1:3-4NIV) Why does Paul praise God in this bible text? He praises Him for being a comforter to him.

Now have you also known God as a comforter? Paul tells us that He is a comforter. In fact, he tells us that God is more than a comforter – He is the Father of compassion and God of all true comfort. In other words, every form of true compassion and comfort emanate from God. So, if you need compassion and comfort in your life, turn to God wholeheartedly. And He will show you great compassion and also comfort you in every way, in spite of your weaknesses and failures.

As Paul points out to us in that bible text, even though he and his ministry companions had all kinds of troubles and trials in life, God comforted them in every one of them. How did God do that? He does not share the details us. But it is clear that the kind of comfort they received from God was so great that they were full of praise for it. Also, the kind of comfort they received from Him was so great that they were able to comfort others too who were in any trouble with it.

This is showing us that it is those who have truly experienced God’s compassion and comfort and are grateful for them that can truly comfort others. Those who don’t know God’s compassion and comfort cannot be true comforters to the suffering or troubled ones around them. Look at Job’s friends, for instance. Even though they were all wealthy, wise and righteous men, they could not comfort him in his time of distress. They simply added to his pains. Why? It was because they did not know that all the comfort they were enjoying in their lives did not come to them as a result of their righteous works and diligent labour but as a result of God’s compassion.

In like manner, if we too think that we have earned whatever measure of comfort we are enjoying in life, we will not see any reason to be compassionate towards others and comfort them. Instead, we will often assume that the reason they are suffering in life is that they are not righteous or hardworking enough. But we are not enjoying our lives because we are righteous and hardworking, even though God wants us to be righteous and hardworking. Rather, we are enjoying our lives because God has chosen to be compassionate to us and to comfort us. And if we fail to realise this and give Him praise for it, we may soon enough begin to lose whatever measure of comfort we have until we realise and admit that He is the true source of all comfort.

Well, the point I am making is that if you need any form of comfort in your life at the moment, turn to God, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort for it. And He will show you compassion and comfort you. Then, as you are daily experiencing His comfort in your life, open your eyes to those around you that you too can comfort with the comfort you are receiving from Him. This, of course, goes beyond giving people money. That is because there are people that will not have any relief, even if they are given all the money in the world. But a word of prayer or a word of admonition given to them by the leading of the Spirit of God can set them free from all their fears and troubles and fill their lives with comfort.

So, don’t rely on your money or position in comforting anybody. Instead, rely on God, who is the source of all true comfort, for everything you need to truly comfort those in your life. And my prayer is that God will make you a true comforter to all the people around you that are in distress, so that they can glorify His name because of you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Who told them to leave? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 10, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 45

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date March 9, 2024
1 Comment on Who told them to leave? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 10, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 45

Pastor J.O. Lawal

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be made abundant to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of March 2024. My prayer is that God will fill your heart with adequate and complete knowledge of the right steps to take to walk in victory over the current economic and security problems of our country, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

It is no news that our country is really facing very serious economic and security challenges. And it is only God’s intervention that will see us through. That is why we, who know Him, must not stop praying to Him until our joy is full over the nation. Remember that our Lord Jesus tells us to ask until our joy is full. So, as long as our joy is not yet full over our nation, we must keep on praying to God for her. (Cf. John 16:24)

But then, while we eagerly expect God to intervene and save our nation, we, as individuals, also need to know the right steps to take to flourish and not be destroyed by the problems of the nation. And the only person that can show us what to do is God. So, as we are praying to Him for our country, we must also be praying to Him for ourselves. We must be praying to Him that He will fill our hearts with the exact knowledge of what to do to walk through this trying period of the nation and come out victorious. And if we will sincerely do so, He will surely answer us and guide us in the way we should go.

Again, remember that the word of God tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, to acknowledge Him in all our ways and to not lean on our own understanding. That way, He will lead us in the path of victory. It is sad, however, that even many among God’s people are no longer counting on Him to guide them in the way they should go during this period. Instead, they are relying on their wisdom and understanding. And those who are functioning like this are abound to suffer disgrace, sooner or later, if they are not shown mercy by God. (Cf. Prov 3:5-6)

Remember the story of Naomi and her family members. They all left the land of Israel for the land of Moab because there was a very severe famine in the land. But who told them to leave? Was it God? We are not told that at all. But we are told that Naomi ended up regretting what they did. That was because she was the only one of them that came back home alive. And even though she came back alive, she came back with nothing. (Cf. Ruth 1)

But consider the case of the Shunammite woman, whose son Elisha had raised from the dead. There was a time that she too left the land of Israel with her family because of famine. But did she lose her family members or her possessions where they relocated to? No! Instead, as we are shown in the bible, when the famine was over, she came back with her people, alive and well. Not only that, the king commanded that everything she had left behind be given back to her, including all the money made on her possessions. (Cf. 2Kings 8:3-6)

Why was this woman favoured like this? It was because the steps she took to leave the land during that period of famine was commanded by the Lord. Look at what the bible says about that: “Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.” (2Kings 8:1-2NIV)

Did you see that? That woman did not just run away from the land with her family members because she felt it was the right thing for her to do. Rather, she left the land because her spiritual leader, Prophet Elisha, told her that it was the will of God for her to do so. So, she was simply obeying the command of God. No wonder she did not regret it.

We too will not regret it, if we will allow God to lead us during this period of national crises instead of jumping here and there to do anything that comes to our minds or anything that others around us are doing. And He will lead us, if we will pray to Him to do so. How? It may be through the Scriptures, through visions or dreams, through angels or through our spiritual leaders. But God will surely lead us to prosper, in spite of everything, as long as we keep our hearts open to be led by Him.

Do have a splendid week.

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

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Protests are not enough | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: March 03, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 44

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another month of the year, the month of March 2024. My prayer is that God will bring us times of refreshing in every part of the country in the month and also preserve you and your family to fully enjoy the times of refreshing that He will bring to us. Amen.

As we all can see, our country has been plunged into a terrible season of famine. That is why even though many are working hard and smart, it is getting harder and harder for them to survive. What we need, then, is divine intervention, not more hard work, not more protests.

Now don’t get me wrong. Hard work is important and has its place in life. Therefore, the word of God admonishes us to be hard working and not lazy. Then protests too have their own place in life, that is, when they are not motivated by a spirit of rebellion or geared towards making an already bad situation worse. For instance, when Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On protested against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, God judged them and all the people with them with a strange kind of death. The ground opened its mouth and swallowed all of them. Why? They were out to destroy the leadership of the anointed of God among them and turn the entire nation away from the will of God. (Cf. Num 16)

However, when the five daughters of a man called Zelophehad protested to Moses that their father’s house should not be neglected in the sharing of the inheritance, simply because he did not have a male child, God did not rebuke or punish them. Instead, He granted their request. Why? It was because they were not seeking to tear apart the leadership of Moses or to stir up the people against him. Rather, they just wanted him to know that it would be unjust for their father’s house to be set aside in the sharing of the Promised land. (Cf. Num 27:1-7)

So, it is not wrong to protest against something that is not working or right where we are. Otherwise, those in authority or in a position to change things may just assume that everything is fine with everybody. For instance, during Elisha’s time, there was a famine in Israel that turned some of the people to beasts, beasts that were already eating their own children. And the king, living in the comfort of his palace, would not have known anything about what the famine was doing to his people, if one of the women that were already eating their babies had not come to protest to him. (Cf. 2Kings 6:24-30)

But then, even though the protest of that woman woke the king up, it only made him realise that he had been far removed from the plight of his people. It did not solve the problem. In fact, the king had no solution to the problem on ground, for it was beyond his intelligence. So, all that he could do was wear a mourning cloth and threaten the most recognized prophet in the land at the time, Elisha. Why? He thought it was because he was not interceding enough for the land that things got as bad as that. (Cf. 2Kings 6:30-31)

Therefore, even where protests are in order, they cannot give leaders solutions to the problems of their land or of their people. If they do not know what to do to help their people, then, then protests won’t solve whatever problem that is on ground. As I pointed out earlier, the protest of that woman did not end the famine in the land of Israel. But it woke the king up to the need for divine intervention. And did God intervene or not? He did by addressing the root of the famine the land was having and giving them overnight prosperity. (Cf. 2Kings 7)

In like manner, God can deal with all the roots of the famine we are now experiencing in our country and also give us overnight prosperity. And we don’t need to wait until people start eating their own children or until there are bloody protests everywhere before we who know Him begin to call on Him for His urgent intervention. But how many of us still believe that God can really turn things around for our good in this country? It is those who still believe that will not stop praying to Him until miracles of deliverance happen for us. They are also the ones that will taste and enjoy the deliverance that is coming. And may your heart be strengthened to be numbered among them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid March 2024.

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

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

May He not replace you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 25, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 43

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to the last week of the month of February 2024. My prayer is that God will keep you and all that is yours safe and sound all through it and also keep you from doing anything that will make you lose the place He has chosen for you to another, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, King Saul, the first king of the nation of Israel, was not the choice of the people or the choice of the man of God that was leading the country at the time, Samuel. Rather, he was God’s choice. It was God Himself that personally sought him out and chose him to be king over His people. Yet, at some point, God rejected him as king and looked for a replacement for him. (Cf. 1Sam 9-16)

What is that telling us? It is that the fact that God has chosen someone for a position or task does not mean that He cannot reject the person and then replace them with someone else. He can. That, however, does not mean that God will reject the person as one of His own people. If we do not reject God as our God, He also will not reject us as His people. But He can reject us as unfit or unsuitable for a position or task He once chose us for.

For instance, even though God rejected Saul as king and also replaced him someone else, He did not reject him as one of His own people. But when Saul rejected him as God and turned to a witch for help, God too rejected him as one of His own people. So, regardless of what problems we may be faced with in life, even if they are problems we have brought on ourselves, we should never reject God or turn away from Him. Otherwise, He too will have not choice but to disown us. (Cf. 1Samuel 28; 2Tim 2:12)

But then, why was Saul rejected and replaced? Look at what the following Scriptures say about that:

“”You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”” (1Sam 13:13-14NIV)

“But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!”” (1Sam 15:26NIV)

Did you see that the problem with Saul was that of not taking God’s word seriously? But it was God that made him king; he did not make himself king. Not only that, God, who chose him to be king, also wanted to establish his kingdom for all time. But because, at some point, he began to think that he was wiser than God and could revise God’s command at will and also despise His prophet, God changed His mind about him, rejected him and chose a boy to replace him.

So, if you have cultivated the attitude of choosing your own understanding above God’s instructions for your life, you are in danger of being rejected and replaced by God for certain great positions or good works in this life, even though you have been originally chosen for them. Of course, you may have your reasons for wanting your own will to prevail over God’s will or for having no serious respect for the leaders He has appointed over you. But when all has been said and done, you will see that those reasons are nothing but flimsy excuses that God can never accept.

Saul also had his reasons for despising God’s word and His prophet. The desperation to keep his throne was one. The fear of his soldiers was another. Nevertheless, God rejected and replaced him. And there was nothing else he did to secure the throne for his descendants that worked. There is nothing we too can do to secure for ourselves a position or task God has taken away from us. So, we should watch ourselves and not allow unbelief, stubbornness, fear, desperation, greed, lust, bitterness, pride, jealousy or anything else for Him to reject and replace us. My prayer is that we will always be filled with adequate wisdom and strength to be mindful of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Delivered from all his fears | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 18, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 42

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to another week of the month of February 2024 and pray that God will rid your heart of every thought of fear that is paralysing you and keeping you from taking the right steps to experience the prosperity that could be yours in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the parable of the man that gave his servants money to work with, which our Lord shares with us, the reason the servant that did nothing with the money he was given did nothing with it was that he was afraid. For years, preachers have taught us that the reason he did nothing with the money given to him was that he considered it too small for him, compared to what others were given. But there is nothing in the account that says or suggests that. (Cf. Matt 25:14-30)

First, as we see in the account, what this servant’s master gave him was much, even though it was a talent. That is because, during that period, a talent was a lot of money. Second, his master gave him and his fellow servants money according to their individual ability (Matt 25:15). So, it was not because the money given to him was too small or was not as much as what others were given that he did nothing with it. According to him, he did nothing with it because he was afraid of losing it (Matt 25:24-25).

In any case, because this servant allowed the fear of losing the money he had been given to possess him, he became blind to every opportunity that he could have utilised in using the money and multiplying it. So, while his fellow servants were multiplying their own talents, he was busy with irrelevancies, things that his master would not ask him questions about. That, of course, was how he lost his talent to one of those that worked hard with their own talents and also lost his place before his master, instead of being promoted. (Cf. Matt 25:24-30)

What is this teaching us? It is that fear paralyses. Fear opens people’s eyes only to failure. And when all you can see is failure, there is every tendency that you will forget that you have God and that He can show you how to turn failure around to success. So, you will find yourself giving up and surrendering to defeat, death or poverty.

But you don’t have to surrender to defeat, death or poverty. None of us has to surrender to these things. Yes, we may be confronted with all kinds of fear because of the circumstances of our lives or of our country. We may be confronted with the fear of hunger, the fear of our children’s school fees, the fear of house rent that has not been paid, the fear of an illness that is troubling our body, the fear of some unpaid debts, the fear of a business or job that is failing in our hands, the fear of a coming examination or the fear of losing someone dear to us.

Whatever form the fear we are confronted with may take, what we need to do is to talk to God about it. And He will handle it for us. David, in one of his psalms, says, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” (Ps 34:4NIV) Did you see that? When David sought the Lord about everything bothering him and making his heart afraid, He delivered him from all his fears.

How did the Lord deliver this man from all his fears? We would not know, for he does not tell us in detail. But his testimony is that when he sought the Lord, he was delivered from all his fears. So, if you did not know before, know now that God is able to deliver you from whatever fear you have that is filling you with depression, making you sick or making you want to run away or commit suicide. All you need is to seek the Lord’s face about it. And He will deliver you from it, open your eyes to see His provisions for your experience of success and victory and also give you great testimonies to share.

Have a splendid week.

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

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

He will surely visit us with help | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 11, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 41

Pastor J.O. Lawal

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of February 2024. My prayer is that God will visit you and your family with times of refreshing wherever you are hurting, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, in the days that Judges ruled in Israel, there was a severe famine that made people start leaving the land for other places where they believed that they would be able to feed and live well. It was during this period that a man called Elimelech and his wife Naomi left the land with their two sons for Moab. Unfortunately, their relocation to Moab did not work well for them at all. That was because Elimelech and his two sons lost their lives there. Not only that, his sons died without leaving any children behind. So, the family was left with nothing but three poor widows. (Cf. Ruth 1)

Now there may have been others who relocated to Moab or some other places during the same period that did not have the kind of nasty experience that the family of Elimelech had. But one of the lessons of the story is that relocation to another place from our workplace, house, town or country is not always the right solution to famine or a period of hardship. If we change our job or location without divine revelations or guidance, we may end up regretting it.

Therefore, don’t be in a hurry to run out of this country in this time of famine, just because everyone you know is running out of it. That may not be God’s way of preserving you and causing you to prosper. For example, as we are also shown in the bible, there was a time that Isaac wanted to go down to Egypt because of the severe famine where he was. But God told him not to go but to stay where he was. Why? The reason was that even though there was a famine there, His provisions for him to prosper were there as well. All that Isaac needed, then, was for him to see those provisions and begin to utilize them. And when he saw them and began to utilize them, he became so wealthy that everyone around him became jealous of him. (Cf. Gen 26)

What is the point of that? It is that the fact that there is hardship in a place does not mean that God’s provisions for us to prosper are not there. So, before we consider changing our location because of the hardship where we are or because an opportunity to enjoy life better somewhere else shows up, we should first of all pray to God and hear from Him. Otherwise, we may find ourselves ignorantly running away from our place of prosperity to a land of emptiness.

Elimelech and his family left Israel for Moab because they thought the place would be a land of prosperity and rest for them. But they later found it to be a land of emptiness for them. So, even though they went there full, Naomi, who was the only one of them that survived, came back empty. May you not use up all your life, resources and devotion to pursue emptiness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In any case, while Naomi was still in Moab, not knowing what to do with her life and the lives of her two daughters-in-law, God visited the nation of Israel. The bible says, “When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.” (Ruth 1:6NIV) Did you see that? God eventually visited His people with help by providing food for them. And the visit was so great that someone like Naomi remembered home and set out to go back there.

So, regardless of how hard things may be for us in the country right now, God is still able to visit us with great help, the kind that will make all our people that have relocated to some other countries to start coming back home. And God will surely visit us with help because some of us are praying without ceasing for Him to do so. My prayer is that you will be where you are supposed to be when His help finally comes and times of refreshing are brought to us. Amen.

Have a great week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

A cover-up for evil | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 04, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk| Number: Vol. 12, 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 2024. And I pray that God will cause His favour to multiply to you every moment of the month, so that you will never lack any good thing in it. Amen.

As we begin this new month, I want to admonish you with the words of Peter that say, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” (1Peter 2:16NIV) Who should live as free people? It is those of us who have been set free by the Lord Jesus Christ from our sins and from the power of the devil. Remember that the word of God says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” And He has set us free. So, we are free indeed, free in reality. (Cf. John 8:36)

Now since we are already free people, Peter tells us to go on and begin to live as free people indeed. In other words, we should go on and live like those who are no longer under the dominion of sin, the devil and destructive human traditions. Yes, we should go on and live exciting and joyous lives.

However, as Peter further points us, we must not use our freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for any kind of evil. Why does he say this? He says it because it is possible for us to use our freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for all kinds of atrocities.

How, then, is this possible? Well, it is possible in this manner: if we live as true believers in Christ Jesus long enough, those around us will begin to believe that we have indeed been saved from our sins, from the power of the devil and also from the wrong influences of human traditions. And where this is the case, people will start to trust us and to think of us as incapable of participating in any kind of wickedness. That, of course, is when we can fool them and use the trust they already have in us as a cover-up for evil.

Look at Judas Iscariot, for example. John tells us in his gospel that he was a thief. He used to steal Jesus’ money. How did John know that? Jesus must have personally told him, for other disciples did not know at the time. And how did Jesus know it? Did He catch him red-handed? No! If it had been so, it would have been reported in the bible. How, then, did He know that Judas was stealing from Him? It was by revelation. And did He say anything to him directly about it? No! Why? It was because he had listened to enough sermons to change his ways. (Cf. John 12:4-6)

Unfortunately, there are many today in the church that we may not know anything about the atrocities they too are committing, if God does not reveal it to us. Why? They have perfected the act of cover-up. They have learnt to wrongly take advantage of people’s trust in them as true children of God to steal, fornicate, swindle others, practise sorcery or get involved in different kinds of wicked activities.

That was how Judas operated. He started out, just as the other apostles, as a man of true faith in Christ Jesus. And because of his demonstration of faith and trustworthiness, Jesus made him His treasurer. But after a while, he started stealing from the Lord. Yet none of the other apostles suspected him. Why? They thought he was still the person he used to be. But he had changed and had become greedy and dangerous. He was only using the good reputation he had built among them to cover up what he was doing.

Now what does the bible say about those who act like that, those who cover up their sins? It says that they will not prosper. And that was exactly what happened to Judas Iscariot. He did not prosper. Instead, he perished without remedy. None of the other apostles could help or save him because they did not know what he was up to. He had successfully covered up everything with his past good reputation. (Cf. Prov 28:13)

Well, the point of all this is that we must be careful not to use our freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for evil. We must not use the fact that people now trust us and see us as good Christians as a cover-up in lying to them, stealing from them, swindling them or setting traps of immorality for them. We will be hindering the outworking of the blessings of God in our lives, if we are functioning like that. And God may not say anything directly to us about it, if He believes we have heard enough of His word to change our ways. Also, He may not give anybody a revelation about us that will enable them to save us. And where that is the case, we may just perish suddenly and without remedy someday. May that not be your portion, in Jesus’ name. Amen. But stop using your freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for evil.

Happy New Month!

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Be generous to God | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 28, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 39

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to the transition week between the months of January and February of this year. And I pray that God will open your eyes to see all the right steps you need to take to be established in His goodness and in prosperity in the year and also strengthen you to take them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of those steps you need to begin to take to be established in God’s goodness and in prosperity this year is that of generosity towards God. And how do we show generosity towards God? At least, as we well know, God will not spend our money, eat our food or live in any house we build for Him. How, then, do we act generously towards Him?

Well, we show generosity to God, first, by giving to promote His work among men. Second, we show Him generosity by giving to those He has sent to feed us with His word and to guide us in the path of righteousness. Third, we show that we are generous to Him by giving to the poor around us. (Cf. Deut 15:7-11; 1Chro 29:1-9; Prov 19:17; Matt 25:40)

Why, then, is it important that we act generously towards God in this manner? First, it is important because not being generous towards Him can open the door for labour loss in our lives. For instance, in the book of Prophet Haggai, we see that one main reason God’s people that came back from the Babylonian captivity were experiencing labour loss was their neglect of the building of the temple of God. These people just saw that even though they were working hard, their hard work was not promoting prosperity in their lives – it was just going to waste. And if God had not sent Haggai to tell them what was wrong, many of them would have perished in poverty. (Cf. Haggai 1)

In like manner, there are many believers that are working like elephants today but are getting the rewards of rats because they are not generous to God. They, like the people of Haggai’s day, always have one excuse or the other not to give for God’s work, to God’s servants and to the poor around them. And unless they repent and begin to do the right thing, they may end up dying in poverty. May that not be your lot in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Then it is important that we are generous towards God, if we want to fully enjoy the fruit of our labour. Our Lord Jesus tells a parable about a rich man whose ground did well one year. And according to Him, all that this man could think of was how he would build bigger barns and settle down to enjoy His wealth for many years to come. He did not thank God or say anything about giving for His work. Also, he did not say anything about supporting the priests in the land or helping the poor around Him. All he thought about was himself. What a selfish and stingy man! (Cf. Luke 12:16-21)

To cut a long story short, when he was done praising himself and talking about his future enjoyment, God responded and told him that his life would taken from him that very night. That means he would not be allowed to enjoy the fruit of his labour. It was some other people that would enjoy it. And the Lord concludes the story by saying that that is how it will be for everyone who is laying up treasures for himself but who is not generous to God. So, stinginess to God can cut short a man’s life. And you should keep that in mind.

The third reason we should be generous to God is that our own prosperity in life may sometimes be tied to it. For example, for the widow of Zarephath and her son to survive and prosper during the famine of King Ahab’s time, she needed to be generous to the man of God, Elijah. She may have been generous in her time of plenty. But her generosity in her time of plenty was not what opened the door of miraculous supply for her in the time of famine. Rather, it was her generosity in that time of famine, when she had very little, that opened that door for her. But what if she had not freely shared with the man of God at the time? Would she had survived that famine? No! (Cf. 1Kings 17)

Therefore, the word of God says, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Prov 11:24-25NIV) Did you see that? Generous people will prosper. But stingy people will end up in poverty. Make up your mind to be generous to God and not stingy to Him, then, this year. And God will surely enlarge the boundaries of your prosperity greatly. Amen.

Do have a great week.