Category: Pastor’s Desk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a splendid week.

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. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to another week of this year. And I pray that God will keep your heart right and humble before Him all the time, so that you will not experience any kind of downfall but elevation this year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a splendid week.

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 to you 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 January 2023. My prayer is that everything God has been saying to you will succeed in making you the person He wants you to be in this world and not work against you on the last day. Amen.

Once, while addressing the Jews, Jesus said the following to them: “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” (John 12:47-48NIV) From what the Lord said to these people, it is clear that it is not a new thing for people to hear His words and not act on them. So, if you have been hearing the word of God and not acting on it, it should not surprise anybody.

In any case, the Lord says that He is not ready to judge anyone that hears His word and rejects it. And that is because His mission at this time is not to judge people but to save them. That, however, does not mean that those who reject Him will not be judged at all. They will be judged at the last day. And who will judge them? According to the Lord, it is the very word that they have rejected that will stand in judgment against them on that day.

Therefore, if the word of God is coming to you and you are refusing to take it seriously and act on it, know that this same word will testify against you someday. And this is not something that will happen only in heaven but also here on earth. For instance, Solomon, while addressing his sons about adultery, makes it abundantly clear to them that if they will not pay attention to him, a day will come when they will remember his words and condemn themselves.

Look at his actual words about this: “At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”” (Prov 5:11-14NIV) Now has something like this ever happened to you? Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you began to condemn yourself for your own failure to act on the wise counsel you had received from your parents, church leaders or other good people in your life?

Well, I have been there. And trust me, it is not a nice experience at all. I am talking about a situation in which you know that you are the cause of your own trouble. That is because you can vividly remember all the words of warning and caution that you heard and that you failed to utilise. Then you begin to wish you had acted on them; you begin to wish you had not been stubborn. Yet you also know that the damage has already been done and that unless God shows you mercy, you will have to live and die with the mess you have made. And though you beat and condemn yourself at such a time, it will not change anything.

Now that is how the word of God judges people and how it will judge them on the last day. They will remember every truth they have heard and have failed to utilise. And they will know they have no excuse for failing God. They will know that they have no excuse for messing up their own lives or for choosing hell. But it will be too late to change anything then. It will be too late at that time to change the results they have gotten. So, they will have to live eternally with them.

But while we are still here in the world, there are things we can change. As long as we still have the breath of life in us, we can turn back from the path of disobedience to God and start listening to Him and taking His word seriously. That way, He can heal us, save us from the consequences of our past mistakes and set our lives right. Then we will not have to live forever regretting the wrong choices we have made. And my prayer is that you will take these words to heart and turn away from doing those things that will make the word of God stand against you someday in this world or on the day of the Lord. 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. I am pleased to welcome you to the second week of this new year, year 2023. And I pray that God Himself will lift you up in the year in every area of your life where you are due for exaltation, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a splendid week.

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 gladly welcome you to the first day of this new year, year 2023. My prayer is that all your steps in the year will be ordered by God in the path of rest, health and excellence, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Of first importance, we ought to give thanks to God for the gift of this new year. As you will agree with me, there were many who longed to be a part of this new year but who are now dead, for one reason or the other. Those of us, then, who are alive to witness the year and be a part of it ought to understand that it is not our strong desire, power or wisdom that has made our being a part of it possible. Rather, it is the mercy of God that has made it possible.

The bible says, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” (Rom 9:16NIV) Since it is God’s mercy that has given us this new year as a gift, we ought to thank Him for it. Not only that, we ought to also make up our minds to use the gift of the new year to honour Him. Yes, it is normal for us to have dreams and aspirations for the year. But nothing may become of those dreams and aspirations, if we ignore the one that has given us the opportunity to dream and aspire or choose not to give Him His rightful place in our lives.

Once, while teaching His disciples about how to have their needs, dreams and aspirations fulfilled in life, our Lord Jesus said this to them: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:33NIV) Now these words are still very much true today as they were when they first fell from the lips of the master. The only way to have all of our needs and dreams realised is to always put God first in our lives.

Yes, if we will not put Him first in our lives, we may have certain or even many of our needs, dreams and aspirations fulfilled in life. But when all has been said and done, if we have not put God first in our lives, we will realise that our most important needs in life have not been met and could not have been met. For instance, there is a longing in the heart of every man to live eternally. Yes, in the heart of every man is this urge to reach out to a life that is bigger and richer than the one we are living on this plane. We know that life is there ahead of us. And we know that we need it. Yet we can’t just fathom how to go about having it or how to take hold of it. (Cf. Ecc 3:11)

But God, the author of life, knows how to meet this eternal need of ours. Also, He possesses the power to meet it. Not only that, He cares about us and wants to meet this need and any other need we may have. No wonder the bible says that He cares about us and is daily devoted to bearing all our burdens. All that we need to do, then, to have Him take care of all our needs, aspirations and dreams is to put Him first in our lives. (Cf. Ps 68:19; 1Peter 5:7)

Now are we going to put Him first in our lives this new year? Will you put Him and all that matters to Him first in your life? If you will do that, then, as our Lord Jesus has made clear to us, there is none of your needs, material, spiritual or emotional, that He will not take care of. In fact, He will take care of even those needs of yours that you know nothing about and make sure you are absolutely satisfied when the year is over. And my prayer is that your heart will be strengthened to always put Him first in all your ways all through the year, so that nothing you need in the year will be unavailable to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Happy new year.

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 glad to welcome you to the last week of the year, year 2022. My prayer is that you will receive from God a perfection of all that concerns you in the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, as we come into the last days of this year, it is important you rid your life of all forms of bitterness, hatred, hostility and selfishness, so that you may fully experience the blessings of God that have been poured out upon us in Christ Jesus. Yes, it may be because of the things that you have suffered from the hands of people that you are now bitter, hateful, selfish and hostile to others. But if you can remember that you too were once hostile, hateful, bitter and selfish towards God and yet He forgave you, you should have no problem ridding yourself of these things as you relate to others in your life.

While speaking to the children of Israel about the need for them to always release their brothers, who had served under them as slaves, every seven years, God said this: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.” (Deut 15:15NIV) Did you see that? God wanted these people to always keep in mind where they came from and how they were brought to where they were. They too had been slaves before. And it was God’s mercy that set them free, not their power, might or wisdom. So, in dealing with their slaves, God wanted them to remember this so that they would not be harsh towards them or deny them their liberty at the set time.

Unfortunately, centuries later, when these people had been well established in their land, they became perhaps even more wicked in treating their slaves than the Egyptians had treated their forefathers. So wicked were they in treating them that they would not set them free at the times appointed by God. And even when the word of the Lord came to them from Jeremiah about this, they would not listen. On the contrary, those who had already freed their slaves among them went back to forcefully take them back in order to enslave them again. So, they brought God’s judgment on themselves. (Cf. Jer 34)

In like manner, many of us today often forget how kind and gracious God has been to us in saving us from our sins and also in lifting us up from our mud of shame and poverty. We often forget those days in which we were crying out to God to save us from our sufferings and how He answered us and saved us. So, we deal ruthlessly and mercilessly with those in our lives and those under our authority. And we harden our hearts not to forgive or show mercy to those who have offended us or hurt us. Yet we expect the grace and goodness of God to abound towards us. How can that be?

Well, the word of God is coming to us now and commanding us to remember how kind God has been to us and so let go of all forms of malice, hatred, bitterness and hostility towards those in our lives, regardless of how bad or unfaithful they may have been to us. And as we do this, especially as we come to the last days of this year, all God’s blessings that have refused to manifest in our lives will begin to find expression. Then the new year ahead of us will overflow with honey and milk for us in every way.

Merry Christmas

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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 another week of the month of December 2022. And with all my heart I pray that God will teach and strengthen your heart to always take Him seriously in every area of your life, so that whether you are faced with trials or not, you will always be able to find strength and wisdom for victory in Him. Amen.

Most times, when church leaders are admonishing God’s people to take Him very seriously in their lives and not be epileptic in their devotion to Him, they think they are being unnecessarily worrisome. But it is all for their good that they are being counselled in this manner. And it is only those who take this counsel seriously and act on it that will be able to find strength and wisdom for victory in God in the day of evil.

As Paul shows us in Ephesians 5, we are living in evil days. But it is not everyday that the evils of these days threaten our lives, our peace or our joy. And that is because of the goodness and mercy of God to us. He is the one who, in His goodness and mercy, has never permitted the devil to be free to mess up our lives or our world as he pleases. May His Holy name be praised forever.

However, sometimes, for various reasons, God allows the devil to confront us with some of the evils of these last days. That is when we begin to feel like we are the only ones facing challenges in life. And as Paul further says in his epistle to the Ephesians, it is only those who take God seriously and put on His armour that will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil in such evil days. Those who don’t take Him seriously, if not shown mercy, will end up being crushed by their challenges, running away from everyone in their lives, turning away from God Himself or taking their own lives. (Cf. Eph 6:11-18)

Why did King Saul end up visiting a witch and then taking his own life? It was because he would not take God seriously in the days of his prosperity and peace. All along, he had been living as though he could do without the God who put him on the throne of Israel. He even went as far as despising God’s prophets and killing His priests. But when a challenge that was bigger than what his brains and his army could handle showed up, he began to desire God’s attention. (Cf. 1Sam 13, 15, 19, 22 & 28)

Unfortunately for this man, God, at that time, no longer had anything to say to him. He had spoken to him severally before. But he would not listen. Not only that, he had the book of the Law of God with him but would not consult it. What, then, was he expecting God to say to him? Well, when he realised that God was not going to talk to him, he went to meet a witch and opened the door of his life for utter destruction.

In like manner, there are many so-called Christians today that think God is only for emergency purposes. They think they can go ahead and live their lives as they please and then come running to God for salvation in the day of trouble. It will never work. So, they also, like King Saul, may find that God has nothing else to say to them about how to come out of trouble. And unless they humble themselves and go back to acting on all that He has been saying to them, they will never be saved.

Now is that to say that God is not a merciful God? No! He is a merciful God. However, He also knows when His mercy will not change a man or keep him from ultimately destroying himself. And where that is the case, He may choose not to say anything to such a man. Look at what Isaiah says about this: “My soul yearns for you in the night in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the LORD.” (Isa 26:9-10NIV)

Did you see that? Grace and mercy don’t always make people take God seriously. But challenges and judgment are always able to let them know that He is not someone anyone can take lightly. Why, then, should you, like Saul, wait until certain challenges come for you or you are faced with God’s judgment before you agree that God must be taken seriously? Why should you push yourself to that place where God’s grace will not work for you in the day of disaster?

Well, the word of God is coming to you now and telling you to learn to take God seriously every moment of your life. People like Joseph, David and Paul the apostle were never for once defeated by their challenges. Instead, they always walked in victory over them. And that was because they were not waiting for trials or judgment to come before they would take God seriously. They always took Him seriously, trials or no trials. And if you too are like them, it does not matter when evil shows up, you will always be ready to handle it and walk in victory over it by the power and wisdom of God, instead of losing your mind.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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 December 2022. I pray that your heart will be kept humble always to receive the ministry of those sent by God to build you up, so that all that concerns your life will be perfected, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are shown in the bible, there are people chosen and gifted by God in the church to build us up in His will (Eph 4:11-16). And how we receive their ministry will go a long way in determining whether our lives are perfected in God’s will or not. Truly, we may not have issues receiving their ministry, when they are doing or saying to us things that make us happy or that are pleasant. But what about when they are doing or saying things that do not make us happy but which are in line with the will of God? Are we still going to accept their ministry and relate to them with the respect they deserve?

It is unfortunate that many of God’s people think their church leaders are meant to always do and say only those things that make them happy. But that is not the will of God. The job of a church leader is not to do things that make anybody happy but things that will build them up.

Paul says to the Corinthian church, “…everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.” (2Cor 12:19) Did you see that? The focus of every church leader must be to do only those things that will strengthen the brethren and build up their faith. And some of these things include rebuking, correcting and sometimes punishing the brethren.

Now we know that correcting, rebuking and punishing people are not always pleasant for those involved. But they have to be done for the health of the church of God. Therefore, whether those being rebuked, corrected or punished appreciate what is being done to them or not, what has to be done has to be done. And this is why every leader of God’s people must be bold and also possess adequate strength of character. Otherwise, he will not do what he has to do for the growth and establishment of God’s people. Instead, he will be like Aaron who, out of fear, allowed the Israelites to run wild in the wilderness and give themselves to idolatry, to their own destruction (Ex 32).

But what did God say to Ezekiel, when he was appointing him as a watchman over Israel? He said this to him:

“The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.” (Ezek 2:4-7NIV)

Look at that. God told this man not to bother at all about the disposition of the Israelites to his ministry. Instead, he should keep declaring His word to them, whether they are happy about it or not. And that is how to get God’s work done. Our focus must never be on pleasing men but on pleasing God who has sent us.

If we, therefore, end up being hurt while our leaders in the church are doing what God wants them to do to us and for us, we should not get upset. On the contrary, we should humbly embrace the will of God for our lives, knowing that everything He does is for our good (Heb 12:5-12). And my prayer is that your heart will be kept humble always to be yielded to spiritual discipline, so that your life can be perfected by God in all ways, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

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