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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Is your heart right before Him? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | May 15, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 2

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to another week of this month and pray that God will keep your heart right before Him all the time, so that your Christian race in this life will not be in vain. Amen.

In the book of Acts we have the account of a man called Simon the Sorcerer. This man, as the account goes, used to live in a Samaritan city where Philip first proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when he saw the miracles and wonders that that evangelist performed, he was so thrilled that he too got baptized in the name of the Lord like other Samaritans in the city. (Cf. Acts 8:5-24)

But this man was a sorcerer, one that had amazed the people before that time with his magical powers and sorcery. So, by becoming baptised in the name of Jesus, he was acknowledging that Philip was operating by a greater and higher power. And that is something every child of God ought to keep in mind. We are operating by the greatest power and the highest authority in all the creation of God. Therefore, we should lose all our fears of witchcraft, sorcery and divination. Yes, we should lose our fear of the devil and his demons. That is because we have authority and power over them in Christ Jesus – all of them are under our feet. (Cf. Luke 10:19; Rom 16:20; 1 John 2:14; 1John 4:4)

In any case, having being baptised in the name of Jesus, Simon began to follow Philip everywhere, for he was astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. That means he too began to pose like a child of God, like a true Christian. But when Apostles Peter and John came to that same city and began to lay hands on the believers there to receive the Holy Spirit, the evil in Simon’s heart was revealed.

What did he do? He offered them money to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why? He too wanted to be doing what Philip and these apostles were doing. And he was so desperate about doing so that he was willing to pay money for the ability to do so. So, it is not a new thing to have people who will go to any extent, including joining secret cults or using charms and sorcery, to be able to amaze people and present themselves as important in the kingdom of God.

Now how did Peter respond to what Simon did? He responded by saying these words: 

”May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” (Acts 8:20-23NIV)

Can you see that? What was the problem with Simon? It was that his heart was never right with God. He was never truly born again. He never had any part in Christ. But he was moving around with Philip and the apostles. He was very close to them and enjoying their company. He might even have eaten with them on a number of occasions or carry out some errands for them. Yet his heart was not right.

So, that you are coming for church meetings regularly or moving around with preachers and other believers does not mean that your heart is right. Truly, people may not know what is going on in your heart, if it is not revealed to them, as in the case of Simon. They may not know that you are filled with envy, greed, impurity or bitterness. But God knows. You too know. And if you do not repent on time, a day may come when certain occurrences will expose the falsehood and wickedness in your heart. 

Besides, as long as your heart is not right before God, even if you are indeed born again, your experience of the goodness of God will always be affected. This explains why the promotion, healing, fruitfulness, peace of mind or prosperity that some believers are looking forward to may never be theirs. Their hearts are not right. And until they repent, things can only get worse for them. So, always guard your heart with all seriousness and keep all forms of greed, bitterness, envy and wickedness out of it. And may the God of grace enable you to always do so for your own good, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely 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)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

What are you doing here? | Pst. J.O. Lawal


Date: May 08, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 1

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Welcome to another week of the month of May 2022. My prayers it that God will always see to it that you are settled in the right place for His purpose to be fully accomplished in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Once God appeared to Prophet Elijah at Mount Horeb and twice asked him this great question, “What are you doing here?” Now when do we ask people this kind of question? First, we ask them when we do not expect to find them where they are, that is, when we expect them to be somewhere else. Second, we ask them when we want to know their mission where they are and if it is worthy enough to bring or keep them there.

So, when God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” first, He wanted him to know that He was not expecting him to be there at the time. Second, He wanted to know his mission there. And did He not know his mission there? He knew it. Yet He wanted to hear it from his own mouth. (Cf. 1Kings 19)

In any case, Elijah’s reason for being at Horeb at that time did not really matter to God. That was because he was not supposed to be there in the first place. Yes, it was life’s pressure that drove him there to seek death. But he was not supposed to be there. That was because his job on earth was not yet finished. So, God told him to go back the very way he came and complete his mission. And he did.

In like manner, there are people today that are in the wrong place in life. And that is the reason they are not flourishing or seeing God’s purpose being accomplished in their lives. Yes, like Elijah or Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant, life’s pressure has driven them away from where God wants to be to where they are not supposed to be. But regardless of how comfortable they may be in those wrong places, the purpose of God cannot be fully realized in their lives. (Cf. Gen 16)

Therefore, they need to see these things and move away from where they are to where God wants them to be. And He is already asking them, “What are you doing here? Do you realise that you are not supposed to be here? Do you realise that my purpose and promises for you cannot be fulfilled here?” But can they even hear His voice? If they can, are they willing to move to where He wants them to be, so that they may have room to flourish and experience the fulfilment of His good purpose for them?

Now perhaps you are one of such people. My prayer for you is that God will open your ears to hear what He is saying to you and also strengthen you to act accordingly, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a splendid 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)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 wisdom for living

Cast them down | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: May 01, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 52

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the fifth month of this year, the month of May. My prayer is that God will cause your joy to overflow everyday of the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Recently, our online space was inundated with news about a ten-year old girl that was supposedly gang-raped by some of her fellow students while they were in Dubai for some international games. And since then, all kinds of comments have been made about the matter. Some have blamed it on poor parenting. Some others have blamed it on the irresponsibility of the school in handling their students. And yet some have blamed it on some social medial influencers and their culture of indiscriminately sharing contents of their immoral lifestyles on the internet.

But then, I have asked myself the following questions concerning the case: How many of us are truly better than these children in the way we now live our lives? And how many of were better than them when we were of the same ages as they now are? At least, I can very well remember that when I was the same age, I had my own evil desires and demons to fight as well. So, I could have become like one of those kids or even worse.

Why, then, did I not become like them? It was the grace of God that kept me from becoming like them. And how did His grace accomplish that? First, it provided me with parents who did not provide the circumstances to become like them for me, whether by their words or actions. Second, it placed me in a church where I was continually exposed to the word of God, prayers and godly counsel. So, these evil thoughts that could have made a mess of my life could not thrive or find expression in me.

So, if you are a parent, let God use you to preserve your children and other children around you. How? Watch the kind of atmosphere you create for these children to grow in, through what you do and say. That is because it will, to a large extent, determine whether evil will prevail over them or not. And if you are not a parent, you need to be truthful to yourself about the evil thoughts and desires trying to find expression in you. Otherwise, they will surely prevail over you and ruin your life. No, the world may not know or hear about the ruin of your life as they did about that girl and a number of others. But what does it matter? If your life is ruined, it is ruined.

This is why you must face the reality about the evil thoughts and desires you have. Don’t pretend they are not there. Instead, deal with them. All of us are daily troubled by them. Even Jesus and the apostles of old were also daily troubled by them. That was why Peter wrote to the churches, saying, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” (1Peter 2:11NIV) So, evil thoughts, impure thoughts and destructive thoughts are continually at war against our souls. And we must accept this as our reality. Otherwise, we won’t be able to effectively deal with them.

Now, of course, those thoughts are not our thoughts. They are Satan’s thoughts. For example, it was not Jesus’ idea to jump down from the temple top and die. It was Satan’s. And it was not Judas Iscariot’s thought to betray Jesus. It was Satan’s thought. But the difference between Jesus and Judas was what they did to the thoughts Satan brought to them. While Jesus cast down those evil thoughts with the word of God, Judas allowed them to take charge of his life and ruin it. (Cf. Matt 4:1-11; John 13:2; 2Cor 10:5)

In like manner, if we do not want the evil thoughts warring against our souls to find expression in our lives and ruin them, we must take advantage of the word of God, prayers and the fellowship of God’s people to recognise and demolish them. And we must be ready to do this every day, for Satan is also ready to ruin our lives every day, as the opportunity to do so comes to him. So, wake up from your slumber and get ready for action. This is our fight of faith. And it is a good fight, for we already have what it takes to be victorious in it every blessed day.

Do have a fabulous May 2022.

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)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Honour in place of shame | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 24, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 51

from pastor's desk

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the last week of this month. My prayer is that you will experience divine elevation in every place where you have been ignored, cheated, oppressed or robbed, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now I offered that prayer for you because it is in line with what God has already said through the mouth of one of His prophets of old concerning His people. And what did He say? He said, “At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.” (Zeph 3:19NIV)

Did you see that? First, God promises to deal with the oppressors of His people. So, if there are people oppressing you at the moment, know that their time is up. That is because God will surely lay hands on them and deal with them as their actions deserve. What He will do to them is not your job to know but His job. But you can be sure that when He is through with them, they will never again think of oppressing anyone else, if they are still breathing. King Abimelech of Abraham’s day would tell you what if feels like to have God deal with oppressors, even when they have acted in ignorance, if you would ask him. (Cf. Gen 20)

Then God says that He will give praise and honour to His people in every place where they have suffered shame. And that is going to be your experience, if you will accept His word by faith. He will cause people to celebrate you in all the places where they have mocked and disgraced you in the past.

Remember He did something similar for Joseph. In the same place where he once served both as a slave and prisoner, he also later served there as their prime minister. You can then imagine how people like Potiphar and his wife must have afterwards related to him. That was just an example of how God can lift people up and honour them where they have been despised. (Cf. Gen 39-41)

So, don’t lose heart, regardless of what your current position in life may be. Instead, embrace the word of God to you concerning your elevation and honour. Yes, embrace His word by saying the same thing in agreement with Him, in spite of how things may now look for you. And if you do not faint, you will certainly witness a fulfilment of His good word concerning you at the appropriate time.

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)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Are you living at all? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 17, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 50

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of this month of April. My prayer is that the reason for all that Jesus Christ came to do for humanity will be fully accomplished in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As you probably know, this Sunday, many believers all around the world are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. And though we are not given any direct instruction in the bible to set apart a day of the year to publicly or unitedly celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, it is not a bad idea for believers to do so. What will be wrong, however, is for us to let the celebration of His resurrection end with any such day.

Also, it will be wrong for us to be publicly rejoicing in Jesus’ resurrection when we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. And that, in fact, is where the problem often lies with many so-called believers in Christ Jesus. They are not bringing forth the fruit of Christ’s resurrection. Why? It is either because they do not know that their lives must be lived to accomplish the purpose for which Jesus died and was raised from the dead for them or because they just don’t care.

In any case, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection, we have no business celebrating it. In fact, our so-called faith in Him is questionable, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. That is because the bible says this to all of us who have believed in Him and identified ourselves with His death, burial and resurrection: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom 6:1-4NIV)

Not only that, it also says this to us: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2Cor 5:14-15NIV) Can you see that? Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in order to make it possible for us to live a new life. He died and was raised for us so that we will no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised again.

So, if what He has done for us means something to us at all, then, we will stop living to please ourselves, or to please anybody else. Rather, we will start living to please Him. And is that what we are doing? Is that what I am doing? Am I living to please the one who made my new birth into the family of God possible? Or am I living for myself, my friends, my family, my community or some institution of my choosing?

Well, we must know that to live for ourselves or any other person or thing other than our Lord Jesus Christ is not to live at all. Really, it is to defeat the true essence of living. Doing so, of course, may make us feel happy, great or accomplished. But as I already said, it is as good as not living at all. And when a man does not live at all, he wastes his opportunity to live; he wastes his life and is not fit for any form of praise from God.

So, as you go this new week and as you probably join others in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, be sure that you are truly living to fulfil His purpose for your life. Otherwise, all you are doing can only amount to a waste. My prayer is that your life and activities in this world will not end up as nothing but a waste, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely 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)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

It’s not about ruling over people | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 10, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 49

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to another week of the month of April 2022. And I pray that you will continually be taught to serve God wholeheartedly, so that you may receive all the good things associated with doing so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now if any of us truly wants to serve God wholeheartedly, then, he must bear in mind these words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45NIV)

Can you see that the Lord is not against our greatness? He wants us to be great people, especially in His kingdom. However, He also wants to know that the only way to be seen by God as great people in His kingdom is for us to be devoted to serving others. This, of course, does not mean that we are to turn ourselves to everybody’s slaves and allow them to abuse or insult us. Rather, it means that we, in humility, are to make ourselves available for Him to use in carrying out His will in people’s lives.

As our Lord points out in that text, He Himself came into the world to serve men and not to be served by them. And how did He serve them? It was by doing things that would fulfil the will of God in their lives. For example, He taught them the word of God, healed their sick folks, raised their dead people and eventually died for their sins. Why? It was so that they would become the people God wanted them to be, spirit, soul and body.

In like manner, we also are to serve men as He did. And though we are not required to die for anybody’s sins, there are several other things we can do to serve men and bring about the fulfilment of the will of God in their lives. We can be praying for them, teaching them God’s word, sharing our resources with them, correcting them when they are wrong, looking out for their welfare and interests, making our meeting places comfortable for them to stay in, aiding their ministries and so forth. 

In short, when we are talking about service in God’s kingdom, it is all about what we can give to people and not about what we can take from them. Unfortunately, many do not understand this. So, often, they associate service in God’s kingdom with a possession of some measure of power to control God’s people as they like and to take from them whatever they want. In fact, some are so desperate to rule over God’s people that they can go to any extent to have power over them. That is why we have church leaders today that are involved in sorcery, witchcraft, divination, manipulation and so on.

Now people like such are like Simon the Sorcerer of bible days, who wanted to buy the gift of God with money. Why? He was desperate to maintain the control he once had over the people of his city. Such people are also like Diotrephes of bible days who, because he wanted to have control over God’s people, was ready to have a face-off with the apostles of the Lord. But the truth is that individuals like such cannot go far in their attempt to possess and rule over God’s people. That is because, at some point, God, the owner of all souls, will certainly deal with them as their actions deserve. (Cf. Acts 8:14-24; 3John 9-10)

So, do not imitate them or walk in their footsteps. Instead, imitate our Lord Jesus, who gave Himself in service for us all, so that our lives may be a fulfilment of the will of God. And God, who never cheats, will surely reward you adequately and appropriately for all that you do for His people, if you do not faint.

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)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Inspire them to activate His blessings | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 03, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 48

Beloved: grace and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another month of this year, the month of April. And I pray that you will witness a full expression of the blessings of God in your life all through the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are rightly told in the bible, God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3). So, no one can bring you any more blessing or any special blessing or a greater blessing other than what God has already given you. You already have all the blessings you are ever going to need in this life to be all that you can be and enjoy yourself to the full.

However, since blessings are basically spiritual, we must know how to activate them, so that our experience of them will not be limited to the realm of the spirit. In other words, we need to witness manifestations of the blessings we have already received from God in the natural realm as well. Otherwise, those in our world will not think of us as blessed and we ourselves will not fully enjoy our earthly lives as blessed people.

How, then, do we activate the blessings of God? First, we can activate them by saying the same thing in agreement with Him about our lives and also acting accordingly. That means when we are saying the same thing God is saying about our righteousness, peace, health, prosperity, safety and other beautiful things of this life and also taking steps in agreement with what we are saying, we are activating His blessings. And sooner or later, we will begin to witness in the natural realm what is already true about our lives in the spirit realm.

Second, we can activate God’s blessings through prayer. Jesus says, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.” That means through prayer we are able to receive in the natural realm an experience of what God has already given to us in the spiritual realm. And this, according to the Lord Jesus, is one way to make our joy full over various matters of our lives. (Cf. John 16:24)

Another way to activate God’s blessings in our lives is to have others, especially those who have some form of authority over our lives, to proclaim His blessings on us. Don’t forget that I already said no one can give us greater, better or more blessings other than what God has already given us. However, some people, because God has given them some form of authority over us, can activate certain blessings of His that are already ours through their words of prayer. Then we will begin to witness manifestations of those blessings in our lives.

What I am saying is that people with legitimate authority over our lives, such as our parents, church leaders, husbands, employers, bosses at work and even traditional or political leaders, can activate certain blessings of God in our lives through their heartfelt words of prayer. This is why we must learn to make them happy, in accordance with the will of God, so that they will regularly be moved in their hearts to proclaim God’s blessings over us.

For example, though the blessing given to Abraham was already resting on his family, it had to be activated in the life of each of his descendants for them to experience it. In Isaac’s case, for example, it was his obedience to God in a time of severe famine that activated that blessing for his financial prosperity in life (Gen 26). Then his prayer for his wife activated it against their barrenness and made them fruitful (Gen 25:21). But in Esau’s case, it was Isaac’s heartfelt proclamation of that blessing on him that was supposed to activate it. So, he was instructed by Isaac to prepare a delicious meal that would make him so happy that he would activate the blessing of his father in his life by praying specially for him. And though Esau was not the one that eventually obtained that blessing, Jacob, who did, did not fail to make their father, Isaac, happy through the meal he brought to him. So, he got the blessing activated in his life through Isaac’s word of blessing, and his life never remained the same again from that moment on.

In like manner, if we too will learn to make those with authority over our lives happy through the things we do for them and to them, often, we will find that they are inspired to say to us things that will activate certain blessings of God in our lives, so that we can begin to witness their physical manifestations. But if we think that their words of blessing don’t mean much, perhaps because of our knowledge of the fact that we have already received all of heaven’s blessings from God, then, there are manifestations of those blessings of God that we may never see in our entire lifetime. Let us, therefore, learn from Jacob and regularly consider how we may inspire those with authority over us to activate God’s blessings in our lives. And may God humble our hearts to take this seriously, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

The reward of the Lord’s anointed | Pst. J.O. Lawal |March 27, 2022. |Number: Vol. 10, No. 47

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the last week and days of the month of March 2022. I pray that God will cause His favour to overwhelm your life in the week and drive all kinds of good and wonderful things that you will never be able to get through hard work to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now it is not enough for us to be praying to God to cause His favour to overwhelm our lives and make amazing things happen to us. It is equally important that we too are doing things that will cause His favour to work for us. And one of such things is being generous to those anointed by Him to feed us with His word, pray for us and lead us to walk in the path of His righteousness. Look at what our Lord Jesus says about this: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” (Matt 10:40-42NIV)

Did you see that? Anyone who receives an anointed person of God because he believes that he is truly sent of God will certainly receive the reward of that anointed person. Even if it is just a cup of cold water that he gives him, he will not fail to receive his reward. What that reward will be, however, is not what anyone can say. It all depends on how God leads or moves that anointed person to bless the one involved.

For example, the reward that the Shunammite woman got from God through Elisha was a son that Satan couldn’t take away, having been barren for years (2Kings 4:8-37). Also, the reward that the widow of Zarephath got from God through Elijah was the preservation of her life and her son’s life during a terrible period of famine in their land (1Kings 17). And the reward that Mary, the sister of Martha, got from the Lord Jesus for her generosity to Him was a name that will always be mentioned and praised in God’s kingdom and wherever the gospel is preached (Matt 26:6-13).   

So, no one can actually predict how God will reward those who relate in generosity to His servants. But He will surely reward them with things that money, hard work or intelligence can never get. Unfortunately, many of us are missing these things not because we cannot have them but because we are stingy, selfish or insensitive. What will a cup of cold water cost any of us? Nothing much! Yet many of us have been missing the rewards that could be ours just by regularly giving our men and women of God some cups of cold water. Just think about it

Now am I saying that you are to start pursuing your pastor or leader in church with cups of water everywhere he goes, whether he is thirsty or not? No! Or am I saying that as long as you are giving your church leader cups of cold water, you have done all that God requires of you? No! Of course, if all you can indeed afford to give to support your church leader or the Lord’s anointed sent to you is a cup of water, it is fine. God will surely reward you for it, according to His standards. 

But the truth is that many of us can do far better than that. And the Lord will not expect us to do any less. Otherwise, we will be cheating ourselves. Look at what He says in the Law of Moses to His people about this: “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.” (Mal 1:14NIV) Did you see that? Well, thank God we are not under any kind of curse because Jesus has taken care of all curses for us. However, this is written down to teach us that it is a sign of utter disrespect to God to give Him or His servants among us less than He has blessed us to give. It was, in fact, that kind of thing that got Ananias and his wife Sapphira killed instead of being greatly rewarded by Him (Acts 5:1-11).

Now my prayer is that we will not get injured, killed or demoted where we ought to have been richly rewarded by God with all kinds of beautiful things. But we too need to cultivate the right attitude in our generosity to God and to those He is using to minister to us. And may His good Spirit make this so for us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a lovely 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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Don’t lose your sense of rightness | Pst. J.O. Lawal

Date: March 20, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 46

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Welcome to a new week of the month of March 2022. My prayer is that the evils of these last days will not make you lose your mind and become what you have stood against all your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The bible speaks of a time in the land of Israel when everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6 & 21:25). In other words, for example, if someone felt that taking his neighbour’s daughter as his wife without the man’s permission was a good thing to do, he could do so, as long as he had the might or power to do so. You can then imagine how widespread evil must have been in the land at the time. People were committing all kinds of atrocities and were justifying themselves for doing so.

But what led them, the whole nation, into such deep darkness? It was a loss of sense of rightness. Don’t forget that these people had been entrusted with revelations of God about how to live in righteousness. So, they were in a position to know what was right and what was wrong. If they, then, came to a point in their history where what was right or wrong was judged based on individuals’ interpretation of things, they definitely had abandoned the word of God. That was why they began to tear themselves apart and to ruin the land with bloodshed and immorality of all kinds. Therefore, they could not prosper as a nation or rise among the nations of the world of the time. (Cf. Judges 17-21)

In like manner, when we too set aside God’s word and His revelations about how to live, we will lose all sense of what is right and what is wrong. And where this is the case, we can only do things that will ruin our lives and our world, things that will keep peace, joy and prosperity far away from us. Look at many of us who call ourselves Christians today. Are we living on the basis of God’s word or on the basis of our judgment of things? If we are living on the basis of God’s revelation, then, we will know, for example, that things like sex outside marriage relationships, bribery, lying, slander, malice, embezzlement of public funds, forgery, money rituals, swindling and other terrible things that many of us now freely get involved in are wrong.

But we do not see these things as wrong anymore. That is because we are now the ones judging for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, not God. We have become like those of the world who, because they have lost their sense of rightness, now cheerfully say that nothing is wrong with homosexuality and other similar nonsense – everything depends on individuals’ perception of things. And as I said before, where this is the case, we can only ruin our lives and even the lives of others as well, when all has been said and done.

Now the trouble, often, is that we can be running our lives and not know immediately that we are doing so. For instance, it did not become clear immediately to Samson that his indulgence in sexual sins was ruining him. But it was secretly weakening his inner strength and character. Then there came a time that it totally subdued and cut short his life. (Cf. Judges 16)

So, even if it does not look like the wrong things you are involved in are ruining you now, a day will come when you will clearly see what sort of mess it has been making of your life all along. My prayer is that God will restore your sense of rightness and lead you to repentance right early, so that that day of ruin and disgrace will never surface in your life. Amen.

Do have a wonderful 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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

That He may teach you warfare | Pst. J.O. Lawal

from pastor's desk

Date: March 13, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 45

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Welcome to another week of this month. And may your heart be continually strengthened with adequate boldness to take advantage of God’s grace to walk in victory over whatever challenge you might be confronted with in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Often, people wonder why God sometimes allow His children to face certain trials or challenges in life. Could it be because He does not love them? No! Could it be because He does not care enough about them? No! Or could it be because He does not have their best of interests at heart? No! Why, then, does He allow Satan, the archenemy of His children, to confront them with certain trials and temptations that may end up destroying them?

Well, we have very sure answers to these questions in the bible. For example, we are told this in it: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1Cor 10:13NIV) From what we are told here, we can see three major reasons God allows us to face challenges and temptations in life. And the first among them is that there have been people like us that faced whatever challenge or trial we may be currently facing, just as there are people like us that are facing the same nature of challenge or trial we are facing at the moment. So, we should not see any challenge or temptation that comes to us in life as strange or peculiar, for it is not. Instead, we should see it as something common to man.

Another reason God allows us to face these things is that He is in charge of life and the creation as a whole. So, He is able to determine what sort of challenges come to us or do not come to us in life. And He has promised never to let us face any challenge we cannot handle. So, if it comes to you, know that it is because God knows that you can handle it. But will you really be able to handle any trial or challenge that comes your way? Yes, you will. You will because God will see to it that you have all that you need to do so. And that is the third reason He allows trials to come to us. He allows them because He knows that His provisions to walk in victory over them are already available for us.

You can see, then, that none of us should be afraid of confronting life’s trials or challenges. But we are often afraid of confronting them. Why? We want to be comfortable and without any form of distress in life all the time. But the truth is that without being confronted with trials in this life, there are heights we cannot attain, things we cannot accomplish and levels of enjoyment and comfort we cannot experience. And since God knows this, from time to time, He permits certain trials or temptations to flow into our lives. That way, we can learn to take advantage of His grace that is more than sufficient for us to walk in victory over them and occupy the places meant for us in life.

Now look at what is said along this line about how He dealt with the children of Israel:

“These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.” (Judg 3:1-4NIV) Did you see that? One of the reasons God left those enemies of Israel around was to teach them warfare. In other words, He left them to teach them to take advantage of His grace. It was up to them, then, to take the word of His grace seriously for their victory over these enemies or to ignore it, to their own defeat, regret and shame.

In like manner, we must learn to think of all our trials as God’s way of teaching us spiritual warfare instead of being afraid of them or giving up on life because of them. Yes, we must think of them all as avenues to take God’s word seriously and utilize His grace for our victory. And as long as we are functioning like this, we will never again be afraid of any trial. Instead, we will always boldly join Paul to take advantage of God’s grace and to say, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)