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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Do not put your trust in them | From Pastor’s Desk | Vol. 11, No. 10 | Pst. J.O. Lawal

Date: July 10, 2022

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 the month of July 2022. My prayer is that God will keep your heart strengthened and encouraged always to maintain your trust in Him. Amen.

In recent times, there have been much talks on who should be the next president of this country or who people should vote for. And while it is appropriate for everyone to follow their conscience in this matter, it is equally important that we do not ignore what the word of God tells us about putting our trust in humans. Otherwise, we will not stop being victims of our own choices.

Now what does the word of God say about this matter? It says, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” (Ps 146:3NIV) What is our instruction here? It is not to put our trust in human beings, however influential, righteous or powerful they may appear in our eyes. But why? As the Psalmist puts it, it is because they do not have the power to save us or lift us up.

Yes, they may desire to do us good, save us or lift us up. But desiring to do something is not the same thing as possessing the power to do it, even in the face of opposition. Only God possesses the power to do whatever He purposes to do, against all odds. And if He does not empower man to do what he purposes in his heart, however good it may be, his desires, purposes and efforts can only amount to nothing (Ps 127:1-2; Prov 19:21). So, we must not rest our hope for a better life or a better nation in any human being but in God. That is because if God does not aid them, all their promises and good intentions towards making life better for us can only fail.

Another reason we must not put our trust in men is that they are dynamic. In other words, they can change. And this change can either be for good or for evil, for better or for worse. So, even if God has chosen someone to do certain good things for us, they may still end up not doing them. They may, at some point, temporarily or permanently turn away from the will of God to do their own thing.

For example, the bible makes it clear that Jeroboam, the first king of the northern nation of Israel, was God’s choice. He was anointed by God to rule over His people, comfort them and lead them in true devotion to Him. But this man, having settled down as king, did not pursue the will of God for himself or for the people at all. Instead, he permanently turned away from serving Him to worshipping some other gods, gods of his own making. And he also led the people to do the same thing. (Cf. 1Kings 11-14)

Now did that surprise God? No! Such things don’t surprise Him. That is because He knows that we are dynamic. He knows that He created us to be able to change. And whether our change is for something positive or negative, He is up to the task of dealing with it. We, however, are often not prepared to deal with such changes in men. So, when they change and fail us, we become clueless and lose ourselves to whatever ugly circumstances their change brings upon us. And that is one of the reasons our country is where it is today.

In any case, God is speaking to us again and telling us not to put our trust in men but in Him, as we approach another election season. That is because He does not change in faithfulness (2Tim 2:13). So, we can always rely on Him to do good to us, even if men fail to do so. Not only that, He also possesses the power to heal our land and lift us out of our mud of shame and plant us on a solid rock.

And look at what this Psalmist further tells us about Him:

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” (Ps 146:5-9NIV)

My prayer is that these things and even much more will be our experience all across the nation in the coming months and years, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a glorious 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

Hidden death | Pst. J.O. Lawal | July 03, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 9

Beloved: grace and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. I am delighted to welcome you to the month of July 2022. My prayer is that God, in His mercy, will continually keep you and all that is yours safe from every hidden trap of the devil. Amen.

As bible accounts go, twice the king of Israel, Saul, talked to David about marrying his daughter. The first time it was Merab, his older daughter, that he presented to him. But the young man declined. He told him that his people were not rich and influential enough to become the king’s in-laws. So, Saul dropped the idea and gave his daughter to someone else. (Cf. 1Sam 18:17-19)

Then, sometimes later, Saul was told that his younger daughter, Michal, was in love with David. So, he immediately told his men to talk to David again that he had another opportunity to be his in-law and that all he needed was to bring him a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. That means David would have to first kill a hundred Philistines before he could get their foreskins. (Cf. 1Sam 18:20-25)

But why was Saul bent on giving his daughters in marriage to David? Was he the only man around that was qualified to marry his daughters? No! Or was it because he was really pleased with David and wanted him to be a member of his family by all means? No! The bible is clear about the fact that he was jealous of David’s military success and popularity among the people. So, it was not because he was really delighted to have him as his in-law that he wanted him to marry one of his daughters; rather it was because he wanted to use the marriage thing as a trap to get him killed. And if God had not been with him, he would have been dead while trying to become the king’s son-in-law. (Cf. 1Sam 18:29-27)

What is the point of this? It is that there are times that certain people’s so-called favour to us or request from us may just be death, destruction or disgrace pills coated with sugar. And if God does not open our eyes to see what they are up to and also show us the way of escape, we can end up becoming victims of their evil schemes. So, we must never think we will be safe because we are always good to those around us, because our ways are pure before God or because we are always careful in the way we relate to others. Instead, we should continually commit ourselves to God for safekeeping. That is because if He does not keep us safe, we will not be safe, regardless of how sensitive we are or what things we are doing to stay safe (Ps 127:1). 

Remember Uriah, one of David’s warriors. Remember that he was the one that bore the letter of his death sentence. Yet he did not know anything until he perished. And how could he have known that the king he trusted with his life and was ready to die for any day and any time had hidden his death sentence in the letter he gave to him? Or how could he have known that all the kindness and favour the king was showing him during his last hours on earth were just a way to trick him to accept a bastard as his son? He could not have known these things unless they were revealed to him. So, he perished because he had no revelation that could prepare him and lead him to escape from what was coming for him.  (Cf. 2Sam 11)

That is telling us that good, upright and faithful people can become victims of the wickedness of even those that they trust, if God does not show them mercy and protect them. So, again, I am saying that you should learn to always entrust yourself and all that is yours to God for safekeeping instead of counting on your goodness or smartness. And my prayer is that He, in the fullness of His mercy, will always reveal to you every hidden snare of the enemy and also keep your feet from being caught by it. Amen.

Have a great July 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

Your own enemy | Pst. J.O. Lawal | June 26, 2022 |Vol. 11, No. 8

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to the last week of the month of June 2022. My prayer is that God will rid your life of everything that is hindering the full manifestation of His blessings in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the parable of our Lord Jesus about a man who gave his servants certain amount of money to work with, we see a very important life principle. And it is that anyone who will not intelligently put their God’s given relationships, abilities, opportunities or privileges to work will not increase in good works or in the good things of this life. It is only those who sensibly utilize and continue to utilize what God has given them that will continue to abound in good works and good things. (Cf. Matt 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-26)

As the account goes, a man, who was going on a long journey, decided to share some of his money among his servants, so that they may put it to work. In other words, he did not want all of his money lying fallow and gathering dust in his safe while he was away. So, he gave part of it to his servants to work with, according to the ability of each of them. To one he gave five talents. To another he gave two talents. And yet to another he gave one talent.

Now, after a long time, this man came back and began to settle accounts with the servants he had entrusted his money to. And to his surprise, only two of them worked with the money he had given them and multiplied it. The man with five talents made a profit of five more talents with his money. Likewise, the man with two talents made a profit of two more talents with his money. But the man that was given one talent only came around with excuses. He did nothing with the talent he was given and so got nothing in addition to it.

Why did he do nothing with his own talent? Well, the popular answer is that he did nothing with it because he felt that what he was given was too small, when compared to what others were given. But that was never the reason. In the first place, their master gave each of them money according to their abilities. So, what he could handle was what he was given. Second, historians will have us know that a talent at that time was about 20 years of a day labourer’s wage. So, it was a lot of money that this man was given.

It follows, then, that it was not because his money was small that he did nothing with it. Rather, in his own words, it was because he was afraid of losing it that he did nothing with it (Matt 25:25). But as his master told him, he could have deposited the money with the bankers, and he would have received it back with interest. So, fear was not enough reason for him not to do anything with such a huge sum of money. He had another problem, which was laziness. In other words, it was because he was lazy in his mind and with his hands that he made no effort to consider how to multiply what he was given. So, he allowed the very thing his master was trying to avoid to happen – he allowed his money to lie fallow.

To cut a long story short, apart from the punishment that this lazy and unprofitable man was given to serve, his master commanded that his money be taken away from him and given to one of the servants that had shown themselves worthy of receiving more. And in conclusion, our Lord Jesus says that is exactly how things work in God’s kingdom. Those who acknowledge all that God has given them – people, resources, skills, gifts, education, position and so forth – however small or insignificant these things may be, and are putting them to good use are the ones He will continue to promote and increase in good things. But those who do nothing with what He has given them can only expect what they have, even if it is little, to be taken away from them. This explains why poor people often get poorer and rich and influential people often get richer and more influential. 

So, if you are not utilizing what God has given you or enabled you to acquire by His grace, you are simply showing yourself to be unprofitable and unfit to be introduced or elevated to higher heights in life. You are your own enemy then, regardless of what your excuses may be. You are the one limiting and pulling yourself down. Therefore, you should not expect things to get better but worse for you.

Now my prayer is that things will only get better and better and never worse for you. But praying about it alone will not do. You also need to wake up from your slumber, stop making excuses for failure or poverty and identify everything God has given you that you can use to increase yourself in relevance, good works and resources in life and begin to put it to work. And as you do this, you will be amazed to see all the blessings of God that have been inactive or dormant in your life fully finding expression.

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 Pastor's Desk

Share the good news | Pst. J.O. Lawal |June 19, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 7

Beloved: grace and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of this month. I pray that you will be counted worth of the calling you have received from God all through the week and for the remaining part of your time here on earth. Amen.

One of the things the Lord expects of everyone that has been a beneficiary of His goodness and salvation is for them to share with others the good news of what He has done for them. That way, those they share this with can be moved to come to Him to experience His goodness in their own lives as well. For example, after setting that mad man that was possessed by a legion of demons free, the Lord said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19NIV) 

Now did that man do as he was instructed by the Lord or not? He did! In fact, he went beyond what was expected of him. He did not speak only to his family members of what God had done for him. Instead, he also went talking about it to everyone that cared to listen to him in a region called ‘The Decapolis’, which means ‘The Ten Cities’. 

Imagine that. That man went all through a region of ten cities, talking about what Jesus had done for him. Why? First, it was because he was really grateful for what the Lord had done for him. Second, it was because he also wanted others, who were under satanic bondage, to know that they too could obtain deliverance by coming to the Lord, however terrible their cases may be.

In like manner, if the Lord has indeed been good to us too in our assembly, we owe it to Him to let others know about it. If He has indeed been changing our lives for the better and moving us forward through His word, then, we should let our friends, family members, colleagues at work or in school and neighbours know that they too can become partakers of His goodness with us. As I pointed out before, God Himself is expecting us to do this. That is because one of the reasons He is doing us good is that we may become doors through which He will have access to the lives of others around us and also do them good.

What this means, then, is that if we will not spread the news of His goodness to us to those around us, we are not just being selfish but also hindering His work. And there is no way we will be acting in selfishness and hindering God’s work and will not suffer for doing so, to one degree or another. Perhaps the reason for the stagnation some of us are experiencing in our lives is even this. We will do well, therefore, to repent without delay and begin to passionately lead others around us to experience the goodness of God that are already enjoying.

This, of course, does not mean that we should force or manipulate anybody to become partakers with us in enjoying the goodness of God. Rather, it means we should do all that we can to encourage and inspire as many as we can to come and see for themselves how good and gracious the Lord can be to them. And may the Spirit of God continually teach and strengthen our hearts to take this matter seriously in our lives, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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 Pastor's Desk

Keep yourself humble. | Pst. J.O. Lawal. | June 12, 2022. | Vol. 11, No. 6

Beloved: grace and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of June 2022. I pray that God will keep your heart humble before Him all the time, so that redundancy or stagnation will not take charge of your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are told in the bible, the reason the angel of God that we now call Satan became Satan was pride. Originally, he was made by God to be perfect in beauty and wisdom and was given a very high place among the angels of God. But when he allowed his beauty to fill him with pride, he was thrown down by God from his position of prestige and power. (Cf. Ezekiel 28:11-19)

Why, then, are we told this in the bible? It is so that we may know that God hates pride. And why does He hate pride? It is because pride is a symptom of our refusal to give Him credit for whatever good thing we have or are able to do. As we see in the bible, we all are nothing apart from God and can have nothing apart from Him. He is our creator and the creator of everything else that exists. So, there is nothing we can take credit for in this life or in the age to come. He is before all things and all things are from Him and for Him. (Cf. Ps 24:1; Col 1:16-17; Rev 4:11)

But when we fail to acknowledge this fact and begin to act like we are something, whether towards Him or towards men, we are positioning ourselves to be thrown down by Him, just as Satan was thrown down by Him. The bible says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So, it does not matter who we are or what height we have attained in life, the moment we allow pride in our lives, the moment we start to think or act as if we were God, we would find Him resisting us. And if we fail to repent quickly, we will soon enough find ourselves trampled down on the floor of life or in the pit of hell. (Cf. James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5)

So, give no room for any form of pride in you, regardless of how smoothly life is going for you or what position of advantage you are or how useful you have become in the hands of God. Remember that Satan was once a great instrument of praise in the hand of God. But pride ruined him. And it can ruin us too. It can corrupt our beauty, wisdom, knowledge, position and usefulness, if we too allow it. It can turn us into beasts, beasts that God will not want to have anything to do with.

And is that what you want? Do you want to become someone that God will begin to seek to discard or get rid of? I am sure you don’t. But that is what may eventually happen, if you allow any form of pride in you. So, watch yourself. Watch the way you relate to God and the way you relate to men. And may the Spirit of God open your eyes to whatever form of pride you have in you, so that you can deal with it before it leads to your downfall, 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

Reset your life focus | Pst. J.O. Lawal | May 29, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 4

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the year, which is the transition week between the months of May and June. I pray that your heart will continually be strengthened to take seriously whatever ministry God has given to you in His kingdom, so that you will not fail Him and lose your reward. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus once said this to His disciples: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” (Cf. John 4:34) On another occasion He also said to them: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4NIV) Why did our Lord speak like this? First, it was because He knew that God had given Him a ministry to carry out here on earth. Second, it was because He had a sense of responsibility. And this was driving Him to take the ministry God had given to Him seriously. Third, it was because He knew that He did not have forever to do the job God had given Him. So, if He did not give His ministry the attention it deserved, He would not complete it by the time His time here on earth was up.

In like manner, each of us too has received a ministry from the Lord. Each of us has a job or a set of jobs that God has assigned him to do for Him and His kingdom here on earth. That is what the bible tells us. It is on us, then, to know what the ministry we have received from Him is and to begin to carry it out diligently and with the intent of finishing it on time. And Paul, speaking along this line to the Ephesian-elders, says this about himself: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24NIV)

Can you see that Paul’s focus in life was not at all different from our Lord Jesus’ focus in life? His focus too was to do the will of God with his life and to finish His work. And would that be convenient for him? He did not expect it to be convenient. In fact, he said that the Holy Spirit had already warned him not to expect this to be convenient for him (Acts 20:22-23). However, whether it was convenient or not, he was determined to please God with his life in all ways and to diligently complete the task He had given to him. Why? It was because he knew that the one who called him and set him apart for Himself would always be with him and ensure that he succeeded. 

Now if we too would function with the mindset that both our Lord Jesus and Paul had about living for God and doing His work, then, we will never fail God, regardless of how hard or inconvenient things may be for us. But is this the mindset with which we are operating in life? Are we functioning with an abiding consciousness that our lives must be lived to please God and to do the work He has given us, whatever this work may be and whatever the circumstances of our lives may be?

If we are not functioning with this consciousness, then, we are simply wasting our lives. No, it may not look like we are wasting our lives, especially if we are being praised by men for our accomplishments in different areas of life. But a time is coming when, as Jonah eventually did, we will realise that all our race outside the will of God can only end in the belly of a big fish, in a place of utter darkness, where there is no gain, where there is no reward. And that is when we will know that all that we have done has been for nothing. My prayer is that your race and toil here on earth will not eventually amount to nothing, in Jesus’ name. But you too must reset your focus, if it has not been on doing the will of God and finishing the task He has given you.

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

Very sad but not strange | J.O. Lawal

from pastor's desk

FPD/05/2022_11(3)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of May 2022. I pray that you and all that is yours will always be kept safe from all the evil expectations and activities of the enemies of the Christian faith, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Recently, there was a great outrage all over the country against the brutal killing of Deborah Yakubu Samuel, a student of a college of Education in Sokoto State. And while this act is very sad and highly condemnable, we must understand that it is neither new nor strange to the world. Similar acts have happened before and are still happening in different parts of the world today, especially in places where people think it is their job to fight for God or defend His honour.

Do you know that even under the leadership of the Holy Roman Catholic Church priests, centuries ago, many good and righteous people were wrongly stoned to death, beheaded or burnt at the stake for blasphemy or heresy? So, if the church is no longer killing her own members, it is not because she has never done so before; rather, it is because the Spirit of God has cleansed her of her ignorance and set her right.

Then we must also not forget why our Lord Jesus Christ Himself was cruelly murdered by the religious leaders of the Jews of His earthly days. It was because of blasphemy. Those Jews, as we see in the bible, had zero tolerance for blasphemy. So, when Jesus began to refer to Himself as the Son of God, they equated that to blasphemy and began to call for His head. But their leaders did not just pick Him from the street and kill Him, as a mob would do. Instead, they arrested Him, got people to testify against Him and then condemned Him to death.

Why did they not kill Jesus for blasphemy the very moment they had Him arrested? First, it was because they knew that there were many people in the land that believed that He was a true man of God. So, unless it could be proved that He had done something sacrilegious, like saying something blasphemous against God, they could not lay their hands on Him and not meet with the anger of the people. And even at that, it was against the Law of Moses to kill a man like that without a proper trial. You must first bring at least two people to testify against him. Then you must allow him to also speak for himself. Otherwise, you will be shedding innocent blood before God by killing him. And that was exactly what they did with Jesus before condemning Him to death. (Cf. Deut 17:2-7; Matt 26:57-66)

The second reason they did not immediately kill Jesus was that there was a higher law in the land at the time, the Law of the Romans. And there was no way they would kill a popular person like Him, even if the person was guilty as they may have alleged, without first trying him according to that law and not get into trouble, if their Roman overlords should decide to look into the matter. That why Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, so that he may ratify the death sentence they had already passed on Him. And He would have been set free, if Pilate had not been a weak and fickle leader. (Cf. John 18:26-19:16)

So, it is not a new thing for righteous people to be unjustly killed under the guise of religion. And such things usually happen where leaders are weak like Pilate and love the praise of men more than the praise of God. Even Paul, for example, on one occasion, would have been lynched by a Jewish mob because of things like this, if the Roman army general stationed at Jerusalem at the time had been weak or slow to intervene. (Cf. Acts 21:17-23:35)

What is my point in all this? It is that while we ask for justice for Deborah Yakubu Samuel and also pray that God will comfort her family, we must not fail, as children of God, to learn from what happened to her. And what are the lessons for us in that matter? The first is that we must always be careful in relating to people of other religions, especially those who are hostile to the Christian faith, so that they will never have any legitimate reason to slander or condemn us.

The second lesson for us in the matter is that wherever the leadership of our place of residence is weak or unjust, God may not be able to use it to protect us from wickedness. So, unless we are sure that God wants to use our suffering or death there to glorify Himself, we should mind how we attend to religious issues in such a place. Otherwise, we may end up sleeping in Christ before our time. And may the God of all grace continue to keep all His children in this country and all over the world safe from every kind of evil. 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@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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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)