Category: Pastor’s Desk

Beloved: grace and mercy be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I gladly welcome you to the last week of this month, the month of November 2023. And my prayer is that God will rid your life of everything that is associated with disgrace or that has become a source of constant sorrow to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible story of Naaman, he was a great man. He was a man that was highly regarded by his king and by his people. And that was because, as the commander of their army, God had used him mightily in giving them great victories over their enemies. (Cf. 2Kings 5:1)

However, as great and honourable as this man was, there was something that was a source of constant pain and sorrow to him and his family. And it was the fact that he was leprous. How did he become leprous? We are not told in the bible. But we are told that his leprosy was so troubling to him that he was willing to do anything, including visiting an enemy king, in order to get rid of it.

What is that teaching us? It is that if there is anything inconsistent with the will of God or that is associated with pain, sorrow or disgrace in our lives, we must not ignore it, regardless how well things are for us in life. Instead, we must deal with it. Unfortunately, there are many that are sleeping and waking up with habits or situations that are destroying them and yet are not doing anything about them. Why? They believe that they have enough comfort to cover up the harm those things are doing to them.

But like Naaman’s leprosy, you cannot cover up any habit or situation that is secretly eating up your life forever. At some point, the harm that thing is doing to you will become obvious to everyone. Then it might be too late for any help that comes to you to make a difference. So, don’t cover up anything that has become a source of constant pain or sorrow to you or your family. It has to be brought out in the open and dealt with.

Naaman did not cover up his leprosy. That was why the Israelite slave girl that was brought to his house was able to lead him to be truly cured of it. You too should not cover up that sin, habit or situation that is gradually consuming your life. Instead, expose it, so that you may experience true salvation from it.

However, the fact that you will not cover up that thing that is constantly troubling you does not mean you are going to get true help for it. Yes, when some people in your life know that you are in trouble, they may seek to lead you to the solution to it. But any solution to your problem that people are leading you to outside God is no solution at all. Yes, it may look like it is working. But any solution to your problem that does not come from God is only going to add to your life problems that were never there. So, don’t go for it.

The solution that Naaman was led to was in God. So, it was a perfect solution. If you too will turn to God with whatever is hurting you or eating you up, He will supply you with a perfect and permanent solution to it. All you will need to do is to simply act on His word, as Naaman did, regardless of how foolish it may seem to you. And you will surely have great testimonies of His goodness and love to share.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of November 2023. And my prayer is that God will perfect all that concerns your walk with Him, so that you will not fail to fully receive and enjoy your own share of the inheritance that He has stored up in heaven for all His saints, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things we learn from Scriptures is that it is possible to associate ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ or His people and still not be a part of His kingdom. It is even possible for us to preach and perform miracles in His name and still not be a part of His kingdom. For example, Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve men that were closest to the Lord Jesus during His time here on earth. And like all the others, he too preached and performed all kinds of miracles in the name of Jesus. Yet when all has been said and done, it was revealed that he was never a part of the kingdom of God. Of course, he was very close to entering it. But he never really did enter. So, he lost his soul. (Cf. Matt 7:21-23 & Matt 10)

Also, there was a teacher of the law that Jesus once had a conversation with. And when they were done talking, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But this man was a teacher of the law of Moses. How come the Lord said that he was only close to the kingdom of God but not yet in it? It was because even though his heart was right and willing to serve God, he had not yet put his faith in Jesus as his Lord. And it is only those who put their faith in Him as their Lord that will be saved and transferred into God’s eternal kingdom. (Cf. Mark 12:28-34; Rom 10:9-10)

In addition, we have in the bible the story of a man called Cornelius. Though this man was a soldier, even God Himself testified that he was godly, prayerful and generous. Nevertheless, a day came in which God had to tell him to send for Peter to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with him, so that he would accept Him as his lord and be born again. Otherwise, he would only remain close to the kingdom of God but would not enter it till his death. What, then, would become of all his good works? They would all amount to nothing. (Cf. Acts 10)

In like manner, there are many in the world today that are only close to the kingdom of God but have not entered it. They may be good, kind, generous and god-fearing in many ways. But as long as they have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and the Saviour of their souls, they are not yet in the kingdom of God. And we need to let them know the truth about this. We need to let them know that though they ae not far from the kingdom of God, they are not yet in it. And if they should die without entering it, their souls will be lost forever and all their good works will just go to waste.

Then, though this is unfortunate, we equally have many who have identified with one Christian assembly or another but who are not yet in God’s kingdom. Yes, they too are not far from entering it. But they are not in it. I often refer to some of these as friends of the church. That is because they love to pray, sing, dance and listen to the word of God with us in our meetings. Some of them even love to finance all kinds of church projects. But their hearts are not yet ready to yield to the lordship of Jesus. And it does not matter how long they stay with us and how much service they do with us in that condition, they will only be close to the kingdom of God — they are not a part of it.

Now ask yourself, “Am I indeed in the kingdom of God or am I only close to it?” My prayer is that God will enable you to be truthful to yourself in answering this question, so that you will not wake up one day and realise that you do not really belong where you think you belong.

Have a fabulous week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of November 2023. My prayer is that God will vindicate you wherever you are being cheated or unjustly treated and also secure for you every good thing that is yours that others are keeping from you. Amen.

One of the things we learn from the bible story of Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant, is that there is no one God does not care about. And because He cares about every one of us in the world, He is always watching our lives to see what is going on there and to make everything work together for our good. But we need to be conscious of this, so that we will put our trust in Him totally and not give ourselves to any form of wickedness that will hinder the fulfilment of His good purpose in our lives.

As the story Hagar goes, her mistress, Sarah, at some point had taken her to her husband, Abraham, so that he would sleep with her. Why? They were desperate about having a child of their own. And even though God had promised to give them one, Sarah felt that time was running out for her. So, she brought Hagar into the situation, thinking that any child she bore for her husband would be adopted as her own child. (Cf. Gen 16:1-3)

Now everything seemed to be going well for all of them until Hagar became pregnant. When she realized that she had become pregnant, she began to despise Sarah, her mistress. That means pride took over her life and she stopped showing her mistress proper respect. Why? She probably thought it was her turn to take over and become the mistress of the house.

Unfortunately for her, Abraham had no intention of allowing any spoilt girl to ruin his marriage, even if that spoilt girl was carrying his child. So, when Sarah reported Hagar to him, he told her to deal with her as she thought best. And she dealt with her so harshly that she ran away from the house. But who was to blame more for what happened to her? She was to blame more. She was the one that abused the privilege she was given to share her mistress’ husband with her. She was the source of her own misery. (Cf. Gen 16:4-6)

Nevertheless, while she was running away, the Lord found her and spoke comforting words to her. Look at some of the things said about this in the bible: “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”” (Gen 16:7-10NIV)

Can you see that even though Hagar knew where she was coming from at that time, she did not know where she was going in particular? She just felt that she needed to run away from her mistress. But the Lord told her that running away from her mistress was not the solution to her problem. The solution to her problem was for her to get rid of the pride in her and go back and submit to her mistress. Why? If she did not get rid of the pride in her, she would not stop doing things that would make those who loved her drive her away from them.

Then, to let her know that God cared about her, even though she was a slave, He told her that He would multiply her descendants on the face earth, so much so that no one would be able to count them. Not only that, God went on to tell her some secrets about the future of the son that she was going to have. That was so that she would not allow her position as a slave at that time to make her lose hope. (Cf. Gen 16:12)

Now did Hagar do as she was instructed by the Lord or not? She did! Not only that, she named the well where God had appeared to her ‘Beer Lahai Roi’, which means ‘the well of the Living One who sees me’. And do you know that this same Living One sees you too, regardless of how bad things may seem for you and regardless of what brought you to where you are? Not only does He see you, He also has solutions to whatever challenges you are facing. He knows where you should and the secrets of your future. You just need to listen to what He has to say to you and be ready to act on it. Then every form of hopelessness will leave you too and you will be on your way to fully experiencing His good purpose for your life.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the first week of the month of November 2023. My prayer is that God will continually fill your heart with adequate wisdom and boldness to use the authority He has given to you in Christ Jesus to always destroy the works of the devil in your life and all around you. Amen.

Do you know that God has given all of us who are His children authority over the devil and all his works? Yes, He has done so through His Son, Jesus Christ. Look at what our Lord Jesus Himself says about this: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19NIV) Did you see that? Satan actually has power. And that is why he is able to cause all kinds of troubles in our world and even in our lives.

However, the Lord tells us that He has already given us authority to overcome his power and to destroy his works. Think about that. He is not going to give us authority over the devil and his works – He has already given it to us. And it is now up to us to acknowledge what we have received from Him. Yes, it is up to us to daily function as those that have been entrusted by God with the authority to destroy the works of the devil.

Remember that it is said about our Lord Jesus that He came to destroy the works of the devil (1John 3:8). It is also said about Him that He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38). And though He is no longer physically present in the world, He has given those of us who believe in Him the authority to carry on the works He was doing when He was here. He has given us the authority to resist the devil in our lives and all around us and get him running.

But we must show that we have actually received this authority from the Lord. How? First, it is by thanking Him for it. It is written in the bible that people were always praising God for giving to humanity the authority to destroy the works of the devil, whenever Jesus set someone free (Matthew 9:8 & 15:31). And if you too know that you have received the same authority from Him to destroy the works of the devil and make your life and this world better, you should continually thank Him for it.

The second way to show that we have received from God the authority to overcome the power of the devil is to use this authority. Authority that is not used to serve the purpose for which it has been given is useless. So, until we begin to intelligently use the authority God has given us over the devil to frustrate him and his angels, that authority will be as good as useless in our hands.

See, it is our use of the authority God has given us over the devil that will cause peace, joy, prosperity and healing to reign in our lives and in our land. It is our use of this authority that will bring salvation to the lives of many. For example, Luke, speaking about the ministry of Paul in Philippi, tells us of their encounter with a lady that had the spirit of divination in her. According to him, this lady troubled them for many days with her spirit of divination. That was because she was following them up and down, telling people that they were servants of God and giving them the impression that they were being used by the same spirit. (Cf. Acts 16:16-18)

Surprisingly, God did not do anything to that young lady. God did not drive her away or stop her from disturbing the works of these apostles. Why? He had already given them the authority to deal with the spirit in her. If they, then, chose not to deal with it, the problem was theirs and not His. But when Paul rebuked the spirit in her in the name of Jesus, it left her and she was set free. So, she stopped disturbing them and also stopped deceiving people.

In like manner, there are times that if we do not use the authority given to us by God to deal with the devil, God may not do anything about his works in our lives and around us. Yes, we may be in pains and not be happy at all because of Satan’s wicked works. Yet, if we will not use the authority we have in the name of Jesus to deal with him, God may just be looking at us. And perhaps that is why you are experiencing pains and sorrow in certain areas of your life right now. While you are waiting for God to do something about those pains you are having, He also is waiting for you to use your authority to make yourself free. My prayer, then, is that your heart will be strengthened to rise up and begin to use that authority that is yours in Christ Jesus to end every evil work of the devil in your life and around you, so that you may experience perfect peace. Amen.

Have a splendid November 2023.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Welcome to another week of the month of October 2023. I pray that your heart will always be strengthened never to settle for anything less than what God wants you to have and enjoy in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things we see in Scriptures is that God does not force people to embrace and enjoy His provisions for them. If we will not accept what He is offering us, He may not do anything to make sure we have it. And if we also decide to settle for anything less than what He wants us to have, He may not do anything to make us have everything He wants us to have.

For instance, as we are shown in the bible, when King Jehoash of Israel went to visit Prophet Elisha before he died, he showed himself as not passionate enough to experience the height of victory God wanted him to have over his enemies. As the account goes, Elisha had told this king to get a bow and some arrows to shoot. Why? Was it to entertain himself? No! Rather, it was something spiritually symbolic. As Elisha pointed out to him, the arrows he would be shooting were the Lord’s arrows of victory over the Arameans. (Cf. 2Kings 13:14-17)

Until that time the Arameans had been terribly oppressing the Israelites. The situation was so bad that Jehoash’s later father was left with only fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot-soldiers – the rest of his army had been utterly crushed (2Kings 13:7). So, if the land would be delivered and established in prosperity again, they would need to have victory over these Arameans as many times as necessary.

But it would take the miraculous for that to happen. God would need to step into the situation and give them victory over and over again for them to be completely free from the oppression of the Arameans. Why, then, did He not go ahead and give them all the victories they needed? Did He not care about them enough to do so? Or must they pray to Him before He would show that He cared about them?

Well, to answer these questions, God really cared about these Israelites and wanted to set them free from their oppressors. And as we see in the story, He was not even going to wait for all of them to gather to pray to Him before He would do something about their situation. However, He did not want to do anything about their matter without first letting them know that He was the one at work. Otherwise, they may give the credit meant for Him to themselves or to some dead gods. That was why He told Elisha to inform their king about it before it started happening.

In like manner, there are times that God may have to show us some of us some visions or dreams or send some prophets or angels to us before He does certain things for us. And this is so that we will know that the success, healing or protection we are enjoying is not a product of chance or anything we have done for ourselves. Rather, it is a product of His good works in our lives.

Furthermore, God wanted this king, Jehoash, to see how passionate he himself was about subduing his enemies and establishing his nation in peace and prosperity. So, He instructed Elisha to tell him to shoot those arrows of victory over the Arameans. Unfortunately, though this man knew exactly the implication of what he was doing, he shot only three arrows and stopped. That means he was satisfied with defeating the Arameans only three times. (Cf. 2Kings 13:18)

But would defeating them only three times be enough to permanently destroy the yokes they placed on the Israelites? No! Even Elisha, who was neither a soldier nor a politician, could tell that three back-to-back rounds of victory over the Arameans was not enough to give them permanent peace. They would need like five to six consistent rounds of victory over them for that to happen. Sadly, for some reasons, the ruler of the land, who was also their representative before God, decided that three rounds of victory was enough for him. And God approved it. He did not even tell him to go over the process again. He simply sealed his choice.

In the same vein, if, maybe because of fear, laziness or failure mentality, we too should go for anything less than what God wants us to have, He may just let it be. But soon enough we will realise that anything less than what God wants us to have will never be sufficient for us to experience the peace, rest and fruitfulness He wants us to enjoy in life. So, in relating to God, don’t ever aim for anything less than what He wants you to have or what you truly need. Otherwise, you may forever feel sorry for yourself for doing so.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour. Welcome to another week of the month of October 2023. My prayer is that God will meet all your needs in the week and throughout the remaining part of this year according to His generosity, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

According to Scriptures, we can ask God for anything we need and expect Him to answer us, as long as we ask according to His will (1John 5:14). But then, even though we are praying according to His will, we should also learn not to base our expectations of His answers on how hard we are praying or on how much we are asking Him to do for us. Instead, we should always base our expectation of His answers to our prayers on His generosity.

Look at how Paul prays for the Philippian brethren along these lines: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19NIV) Think about that. Paul is not asking God to meet the needs of these brethren according to what they need or want. Also, he is not asking Him to meet their needs according to their labour or what they give to others. Rather, he is asking Him to meet their needs according to His wealth in Christ Jesus.

Now, of course, God can meet people’s needs according to their needs. But if He meets only their needs, will they be able to support others in any serious way? Not likely! Also, God can meet people’s needs according to their labour. But will what He give them through their labour be sufficient to take care of them and those they are responsible for? Not likely!

Then if God has to give to us according to the degree of our generosity, how many of us will receive anything tangible from Him? There are some of us that have remained ever stingy to God, to His servants and to the people around us, even though we have heard all kinds of sermons on the need for us to be generous in order for certain blessings of God in our lives to freely flow. And if God has to consider this in supplying our needs, will what we will be receiving from Him be enough to make us happy? I don’t think so.

There are many today that are unhappy with God and with what they are receiving from Him because they believe they deserve more than He is giving to them. These ones are wondering why those who are not as intelligent as they are, who do not work as hard as they work, who do not pray as hard as they do and who are probably as not as generous as they are could be receiving more from God than them. They think it to be unfair. And this is affecting their devotion to Him.

But is God really being unfair to them? No! If you want God to provide for you according to your labour, prayerfulness and generosity, He will do so, unless He just decides to show you mercy. And if He does so, you yourself will see that your works can never be enough to enjoy His best. This is one of the things the Lord Jesus teaches us through the parable of a farmer that went out one day to hire workers to work in his vineyard. (Cf. Matt 20:1-15)

Now, as the story goes, the first set of people this man hired that day told him what they would want him to pay them for a day’s job. And he agreed. But after they had started working, the man realised that they were not enough to finish the job for the day. So, he kept on going out till the evening of that same day to bring in more people to work for him. However, he made no agreement with those he brought in later concerning what he would pay them. He only told them that he was going to pay them whatever was fair.

Well, when it was time for this man to pay everyone who worked for him that day, he told his foreman to pay all of them the same amount, beginning with those who were hired last and on to the first. This, of course, led those who were hired first, who had thought that they would be paid more, to protest that the man was being unfair. But he told them that he was not unfair to them at all and that he paid them based on what they agreed to collect from him, while he paid others based on his generosity.

What is the point? It is that while it is important for us to be devoted to serving God, praying to Him, giving for His work and to others and also working diligently, we should never seek to receive from Him based on what we are doing or have done. Instead, we should always seek to receive from Him based on His generosity. That is because it is only that which He supplies us based on His generosity that will satisfy us and make us truly happy. And I pray that we will be strengthened to learn this truth fast and begin to daily apply it in our lives, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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 second week of the month of October 2023. My prayer is that God will clear the way for you to receive and enjoy all that He wants you to have this year that you are yet to have, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of the ways to receive without delay what God has already given to you or experience His salvation from satanic afflictions is to take advantage of the presence of the leaders He has appointed over you in your assembly. As we see in Scriptures, among the reasons God gives us leaders in our various churches is that they may watch over us and also supply whatever is lacking in our faith by the power of the Spirit of God. So, they are authorized to say words that will change our lives forever, to pray to God on our behalf and receive answers and to also rebuke the devil and frustrate his works in our lives. (Cf. 2Cor 10:8; 1Thess 3:10; Heb 13:17)

However, we must learn to recognize the positions they are occupying in our lives and make adequate use of them in order for us to fully enjoy their ministries. For example, we are told in the Scriptures of how a widow ran to Prophet Elisha for assistance and got it. As the account goes, after her husband died, a man he owed began to threaten to take her two sons away as slaves. Now we are not told whether the woman first met their family members or friends to help out in the situation or not. If she met with them, then, they probably had no help to offer her. But she did remember that her family had a close relationship with Prophet Elisha. In fact, the prophet knew her husband well enough to be able to recommend him to anyone as a righteous man. So, she ran to him for help. (Cf. 2Kings 4:1)

Now did Elisha attend to this woman or not when she went to him for help? He did. How? Did he give her money? No! He probably did not have enough money to give her to offset her husband’s debt. But he did have sufficient spiritual authority to bless and multiply what she had, so that she would be able to pay her debt and also come out of poverty. And that was exactly what he did. He gave her a word of blessing that changed her situation forever. (Cf. 2Kings 4:2-7)

But do you know that this woman’s husband also could have taken advantage of his relationship with Elisha to receive a word of blessing that would pay his debt before he died? Perhaps if he had done that, he would not have died prematurely as he did. Who knows? In any case, his wife did what he would not do and saved the family from generational poverty.

In like manner, you too, by taking adequate advantage of the spiritual authority of the leaders of your assembly, may save your business, marriage or family from certain problems that have refused to go away. But will you do so? Will pride allow you to do so? Will timidity allow you to do so? Will your devotion to a life of secrecy allow you to do so?

See, there are many of God’s children that are suffering in their bodies, finances or marriages simply because they will not take advantage of the ministries of the leaders of their churches. And these ones may just die suffering, if they continue to refuse to do what is right. Look at what James says to us along these lines: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14-15NIV)

Did you see that? Any child of God that is sick does not have to die on his sick bed, even if it is sin that is responsible for his sickness. All he needs is to let his church leaders pray for him in faith. And he will be healed and also forgiven, if he has sinned. Why? They are authorised to receive healing and forgiveness for him through faith in Christ Jesus. But what if he will not reach out for them for prayers? He may just die in his sickness.

Now I am aware, of course, that it is not every so-called church leader that is a person of faith and that can be trusted to do what is right for the good of the children of God under him. But inasmuch as you know that your own church leaders are people of faith and can be trusted to always work for your good, learn to make adequate use of their spiritual authority for your healing, promotion and salvation from every attack of the enemy. And may the Spirit of God continually fill your heart with adequate wisdom and understanding to do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to the month of October 2023, the month of independence celebration for Nigeria. And I pray that God will fill your life and home with sweetness and rest every day of the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, even though today marks the 63rd year that this country has gained independence, many do not see anything to celebrate in the fact that we are independent. Why? It is because our independence has not resulted in significant growth and development for us as a nation. And why has it not resulted in these things for us? It is largely because, as leaders and as those being led, we are not devoted to doing things that will result in growth and development.

See, growth and development don’t happen by chance or accident. There are things that make them happen. Yes, ultimately, it is God makes all things grow (1Cor 3:6-7). However, even though God is the one that makes all things grow, there are still things that He expects us to do in order for His life to work in us or whatever we are doing and make it grow.

For example, even though it is God that will make our babies grow in stature, wisdom and knowledge, we must give them adequate food, expose them to all kinds of education and also encourage them to exercise their bodies. Otherwise, the potential for growth in them will not manifest. And that will not be God’s fault.

So, if we want our country to grow and become great among other nations of the world, we all must identify those things that will promote her growth and devote ourselves to doing them. And this must reflect in the choice of leaders that we make during our elections. We cannot continue to choose self-centred, greedy and incompetent people as leaders and still expect them to do things that will result in the greatness of our country. It may take a thousand miracles for that to happen.

Similarly, if we want to grow spiritually, as God’s children, we must give ourselves to doing those things that will result in our growth. Truly, God wants us to grow up in our walk with Him. He does not want us to remain babies, having been born again. Otherwise, we will not be able to live up to His expectations in this world. And that is why He commands us in His word to grow in the grace and knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ (2Pet 3:18).

But God will not force spiritual growth on us. There are things we must do for it to happen. And we are told what these things are in the bible. We are told to give ourselves to the word of God, to prayer and to the fellowship of God’s people. And unless we give ourselves to these things, even God Himself will not be able to make us grow in our faith and in our usefulness to Him.

At any rate, the point I am making is simply that if we want any form of growth to happen in our lives, we must identify what we need to begin to do in order for it to happen. Now, of course, it may take a while for some kinds of growth happening in our lives to be obvious, even if we are doing what will make them happen. But as long as growth is happening in our lives, it will surely become obvious at some point that we are truly growing.

So, even if it is not clear to you or anyone around you that you are growing spiritual and in other areas of your life, don’t give up on doing those things that will make you grow. Instead, continue to do them. And at the right time, your growth and progress will become evident to all. My prayer is that God will open our eyes to see everything we need to in order to experience true growth and development in our lives, homes and country and also strengthen us to devote ourselves to doing it. Amen.

Happy independence.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and through our Lord Jesus Christ. I am glad to welcome you to the last week of the month of September 2023. My prayer is that God will teach your heart how to make the most of all His provisions for you to live a meaningful and excellent life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the reasons many who are Christians don’t experience the power and goodness of God as promised in Scriptures is that they don’t commit themselves to learning from Him how to do so. As we see in Scriptures, the beautiful things God has in store for all those who put their trust in Him are beyond what we can count or imagine (Ps 40:5; 1Cor 2:9). And He is devoted to making us receive and enjoy them all.

However, we have to learn from Him how to receive and enjoy what He has provided for us. Otherwise, we may end up not receiving or enjoying them. For example, towards the end of the ministry of Prophet Elijah here on earth, God told him to go and anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat, to succeed him as the chief prophet in Israel. And he went and publicly anointed him, though not with oil but with his own garment, in his farm, as God had instructed him. (Cf. 1Kings 19:15-19)

Now Elisha, having been publicly anointed like that, could have gone around the country telling everyone to start calling him ‘Prophet Elisha’ and ‘God’s chosen one to replace Elijah’. What would have been the result of that? A sort of ministerial accident! Why? It is because even though Elijah had publicly anointed him as prophet in his place on the day he found him, the authority and power to function in that capacity did not come on him that day. Besides, though God had chosen him as a prophet, all that he still knew at the time was how to farm and not how to stand as God’s mouthpiece.

For Elisha, therefore, to be able to stand as God’s mouthpiece, he needed to learn. Otherwise, he may end up being rejected by God and replaced with another person, as it happened in the case of King Saul. And somehow, Elisha himself knew this. So, he left his job as a farmer, followed Elijah and became his attendant in order to learn from him how to become the prophet God had chosen him to be. (Cf. 1Kings 19:20-21)

Did that decision, then, pay off for Elisha or not? It did. That is because, as we are further shown in the Scriptures, on the day that Elijah was being taken to heaven by God, he made it clear to him that even though he had fulfilled his part of publicly choosing him as the prophet that would take his place, it was not in his hand to give him the authority and power meant for that office. That was God’s job to do. And if God would not do it, that would most likely mean that He had chosen someone else for that office. (Cf. 2Kings 2:1-15)

Thankfully, on that day, Elisha proved that he had learnt enough from Elijah to be able to see what he needed to see in order to receive the authority and power he needed to function as God’s lead prophet in Israel. So, he went on to serve God faithfully from start to finish. He did not corrupt or abuse his office as a prophet. Instead, he used to make life better for his people.

Unfortunately, the same thing could not be said of Gehazi, the man who later became the attendant of Elisha. Though he was with this prophet all the time and went everywhere with him, he did not learn from him anything tangible enough to be able to take his place as the lead prophet of God in Israel. Instead, he corrupted his way with greed and became leprous. So, instead of becoming what God had chosen him for, he ended up as a story teller in the palace of the king of Israel. What a shame! (Cf. 2Kings 5 & 8:1-6)

Well, in the light of all this, Lord Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30NIV) Did you see that? In order to enjoy rest from the Lord Jesus and become all that God wants to become in this life, coming to Him is not sufficient. We also need to humble ourselves to learn from Him, as Elisha humbly learnt from Elijah. Otherwise, our coming to Him may end up not accomplishing anything significant in our lives.

So, be sure you are not deceiving yourself but are truly learning from our Lord Jesus all that you need to enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings given to you and to become the person He wants you to be in this life. And may you daily be strengthened by the Spirit of God to take this matter seriously, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)